Hive City.
Titus and Forros, each leading their Space Marine, walked through the passages above the Core Area of the Hive City. The area was filled with wounded Astra Militarum Soldiers and the next wave of Soldiers preparing to deploy.
Titus watched a wounded Soldier being carried back from the front. The Soldier cried out in pain, one of his legs blown into a mangled mess. A tourniquet was tied around his leg; otherwise, he would not have made it back alive.
Soon, several medics pinned down the Soldier. Then, one of the medics quickly had someone nearby heat a bone saw with a flamer, followed by a spray of alcohol for sterilization… "Bear with it, we've given you painkillers…"
"Grinding~ Grinding~"
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah! Ah ah ah!"
Despite the anesthetic, the pain still made the wounded Soldier scream. Forros listened to the agonizing screams of the Soldier undergoing amputation and said to Titus beside him:
"We need to speed up."
Titus merely continued walking forward, coldly replying: "Yes."
Soon they arrived at the gate, where Astra Militarum Soldiers were engaged in a brutal offensive and defensive battle with Gretchin. The Gretchin clearly occupied advantageous terrain and defensive fortifications.
Because it was within the Hive City, fire support and air support were completely unusable. If this were an open field battle, several aircraft and dozens of heavy artillery pieces would have already carpet-bombed the area.
Soon, the Space Marine, armed with Bolters, reached a checkpoint. On the other side of the checkpoint, two twin-barreled autocannons were sweeping alternately, hindering the Astra Militarum's advance. Seeing the Astartes arrive, the officer in charge of the area immediately knelt on one knee.
"Sir! The enemy has sealed the passage with autocannons; we have no way to get through."
Titus and Forros removed their helmets, looking at the two autocannons firing alternately at the checkpoint. The road here was too narrow for armored vehicles to pass, and there were too many obstacles at the checkpoint to use rockets for long-range strikes.
"Thank you for your hard work, officer. Leave the rest to us."
"Yes!" The officer immediately rendered an Imperial Aquila Salute and then ordered his Soldiers to make way for the "Emperor's Angels." Titus and the Ultramarines directly shouldered their huge and heavy blue boarding shields… Forros, seeing this formation, sighed inwardly, these Ultramarines… they were just too damn rich! Everyone had a boarding shield. This made Forros and the Carcharodons feel a bit awkward; they were truly poor, even though they had just gotten rich, they hadn't monetized it yet!
Titus noticed Chapter Master Forros and the Carcharodons were merely holding their Bolters, looking at them, their hands empty and pockets bare, and simply said:
"Chapter Master Forros, we will create an opportunity for you. You can look for an opening behind our shields. Cato Sicarius! Form up!"
Forros nodded. An Ultramarines Centurion immediately raised his shield and stood beside Titus, beginning to command the troops to form up. Soon, a shield wall formed by the Ultramarines appeared at the checkpoint, forming a Macedonian phalanx.
The weight and thickness of these massive shields, and the dull thud they made each time they hit the ground, made them feel like a moving wall of steel and rock.
The two autocannons at the checkpoint continuously poured bullets onto the shield wall, but with little effect. The heavy boarding shields mercilessly absorbed all attacks, rendering them null.
At the far end, a Gretchin suddenly appeared, holding a plasma gun he'd acquired from who knows where. A plasma blast shot over, and the plasma explosion directly knocked over several Ultramarines holding shields in the middle.
Titus immediately led his men to fill the gap, enduring the rain of bullets, and shouted:
"Sicarius! Take out that plasma gun!"
Sicarius directly took the plasma gun from his waist, rested it on the firing slit of his boarding shield, and as Sicarius pulled the trigger, a plasma blast directly hit the Gretchin, its high temperature instantly incinerating him to ash.
As the shield phalanx moved closer to the two gun turrets, the Carcharodons Space Marine began to unfasten their engineering backpacks from their backs. The engineering backpack was a modular kit that attached to the power pack.
As the distance gradually closed, Forros shouted: "Now!"
Instantly, a gap suddenly opened at the top of the shield phalanx formed by the Ultramarines. A few streaks of Carcharodons yellow appeared in the sea of Ultramarines blue… One could see the Carcharodons, with all their might, throwing their engineering backpacks with superhuman strength and speed… The heavy engineering backpacks spun through the air, tracing graceful arcs, with screwdrivers and wrenches falling out in mid-air… "Clang! Clang!…"
Several engineering backpacks were heavily thrown beneath the two gun towers. The Gretchin below the gun towers looked at the backpacks on the ground, revealing the wrapped 250 kilograms of high-energy explosives and a constantly flashing countdown:
"00:03"
"00:02"
"00:01"
…In an instant, deafening explosions engulfed the entire battlefield. Fire erupted everywhere, and the gun towers, along with their autocannons, were overturned, collapsed, and finally turned to dust. A massive shockwave carried fragments scattering in all directions.
Seeing this excellent effect, Forros couldn't help but wonder if he had misheard Li Feng's introduction back then… This wasn't an "engineering backpack" but a "siege backpack."
Multiple 250-kilogram high-energy explosives directly destroyed all obstacles in front. The autocannon, which had been arrogant and continuously spitting fire, was directly blown into the air, becoming a pile of scrap metal.
The shockwave generated by the explosion swept over the continuously advancing boarding shield phalanx like a wave. The explosive power of the engineering backpack piqued the interest of many Ultramarines who were seeing this equipment for the first time.
"No, we Ultramarines need to get one too!"
Amidst the smoke and dust, the Ultramarines maintained their advancing formation, while the Carcharodons had rushed into the gaps in the ranks, rapidly spreading out, assaulting the enemy's next defensive line. Titus nodded to Forros, a wordless understanding conveyed in their brief exchange of glances.
Suddenly, a gap opened in the central shield wall of the phalanx. Forros, Titus, and Sicarius, armed with their weapons, charged out, instantly breaking through the Gretchin line attempting to reinforce their defenses.
Though the enemy was routed, endless combat still lay ahead. The passages of the Hive City crisscrossed like a labyrinth, fraught with unknown dangers. Titus looked at Forros, his eyes firm, and said: "Keep advancing, no one retreats until the very last person."
Forros nodded slightly, raised his Bolter, and led the Carcharodons, along with their warriors, to charge fearlessly into the depths of the next battle.
They would be the first to rush into the Core Area, and they would be the first to liberate the planet granted to them.
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