"We're losing altitude! 6 miles (10 km)!" Lencillus warned. "The main force of the Black Legion is directly below!"
"Perfect. Hans, ignore the flyers! Level the Mana Baneblade Cannon at the horizon!"
> The horizon, Master? We are falling vertically.
Hans noted brilliantly.
"Recoil, Hans! We need to push ourselves toward that glacier, or we're hitting the empty icy floor!"
BOOM--!!
The massive Baneblade cannon turned around again and fired. The sheer force of the massive shell exiting the barrel at hyper-velocity acted like the necessary thruster and Gerhard added to that, by pushing using his [Flight] skill.
The 400-tonne tank hopped through the sky, crushing a stray Hell Talon as Gustav corrected his course toward the Imperial survivors.
"See?" Gerhard laughed, seemingly having lost his mind. "Aerodynamics are just a suggestion when you have enough firepower!"
> That makes no sense, Master. The physics involves--
'He has lost it,' Liora signed.
'It was a miracle that it took this long,' Kaelen agreed.
"Hans, bring the turret 5° left of full front."
> What am I trying to hit?
"There's a nice little patch of black there. We might as well introduce ourselves."
> Black Legionnaires exterminatus miniature version.
The turret moved almost to the full frontal position and aimed at the area where the Black Legionnaires were attacking the Imperials and the Eldari.
"Fire."
.
Down below, the battle between the Black Legion under Abaddon and the Imperials alongside the Eldar had been going on for a few minutes by this point.
Twice, the Despoiler had led a charge toward them, and twice, the Eldar had pushed the Black Legion back. Through it all, Cawl and his company staggered deeper into the Xenos ranks until the crest of the mountain where they were fighting was behind them.
Saint Celestine was hovering in the air and suddenly looked further up, noticing what was going to happen.
"INCOMING!" she shouted.
"Hm?"
The only one who may or may not have had time to feel the danger approaching was the Warmaster himself. And even then, he only managed to be teleported out of there because of the four Chaos gods' interest in him.
Their interest in him translated into high luck and that translated to plot armour.
BBBOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM----!!
The Mana-forged Baneblade Cannon shell hit the ground, right in the middle of the fighting Chaos Marines, and detonated in a massive explosion, ripping apart legionnaires and Land Raiders by the hundreds.
"WHAT THE--!!!"
"Who's trying to kill us?!"
The Eldari were surprised as well and recoiled from there. A large crater had appeared, and it promised not to remain the only one. And they were right, a moment later...
BBBOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM----!!
BBBOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM----!!
Another two massive shells impacted the ground and killed hundreds. The Imperial survivors and the Eldar pulled back, moving further up the mountain towards a natural valley.
.
[Chaos Space Marine - Black Legion defeated] x32
[+300,000 EXP] x34
[Chaos Space Marine - Black Legion Terminator defeated]
[+470,000 EXP] x28
[Chaos Land Raider defeated]
[+910,000 EXP] x4
[Maulerfined defeated]
[+1,400,000 EXP]
[Level up]
[Level up]
Gerhard ignored the notifications and focused on positioning Gustav now, or they would have a very unpleasant landing.
"Gustav, open the missile hatches and give me full power. Fire at 18-second delay."
G: > Affirmative.
"Hans, bring the turret back full front and fire on my mark."
H: > Ready.
"Sera, cut the last parachute!"
The missiles shot forward but were forcefully held back by Gustav, giving that minor thrust at the moment when Hans fired both cannons.
Gerhard used his [Psychokinesis] at full power, even enhancing it using the Warp now and pushed the nose of Gustav slightly upwards, so that they were once again in a horizontal position, after Sera had severed the last parachute.
They sped up the final few hundred meters, but Gerhard was ready for that.
[Psionic Mana Shield]
[Psionic Mana Shield]
[Psionic Mana Shield]
[Mana Reinforcement]
[Mana Reinforcement]
[Mana Reinforcement]
[Psychokinesis]
Gerhard reinforced the tank several times and cast the shield again, all while creating protective bubbles inside to shield those inside and soften the landing.
He pushed his mind to the limit of his strength and lifted the 400-tonne tank to slow it down.
BBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM----!!
They crashed.
...
...
The massive impact caused the mountain to rumble and an avalanche to roll down. The shockwave travelled farther and hit the Chaos Space Marines as well, at least those closest and still alive.
Belisarius Cawl stopped walking and looked back at the scattered and broken warhost of Black Legionnaires. Abaddon was nowhere to be seen, having been teleported somewhere. And the tank... which just fell from the sky and did more damage than they had over the last couple of days, was nowhere to be seen.
A datacluseter on Cawl's person confirmed the presence of the notorious rune-witch, Eldrad Ulthran. A famous and most definitely the most powerful psyker among the Eldar race at this point.
However, Cawl's analysis did not yield firm conclusions regarding the others. He didn't recognise them. This was hardly surprising, as the Eldar were known for their inconsistency, changing their personalities as effortlessly as they switch their masks, in the Imperium's mind at least. What caught Cawl off guard was the diverse array of Xenos cultures fighting together as one.
And he was right to be surprised, as that normally never happened.
At the centre of this host were two enigmatic figures. One was a woman dressed in an elaborate red gown, who seemed to be directing the battle with calm authority amid the swirling storm of different Eldari colours. Next to her stood a tall warrior clad in crimson armour, whose armour appeared to blend aspects of Craftworld designs and the more brutal plate of Commorrite pirates, where the Dark Eldar came from.
Cawl could find no record of this armour's design, even in the deepest of his archives. What he did recognise, though, was the large portal-gate that the Eldar had emerged from and arrived at the battlefield.
It was known as a Webway Portal.
The Dark Eldar and Eldar Harlequins used Webway Portals to enter and exit from the place known as the Webway. Highly portable, it can be carried onto the field for deployment and activation. These devices offer no risk to travellers and do not self-destruct when used.
The Webway exists as a labyrinth between the Materium and the Warp. It exists as a part of both, yet exists in neither. In fact, it has been described as not being a true dimension but instead a complex network of capillaries and arteries. This forms a maze of glowing tunnels, creating a tapestry of hidden threads that spread between the veil of realspace and the Warp.
Ultimately, it is a construct that spans the dimensions, allowing the Eldar to appear unnoticed on the battlefield and making the Dark Eldar especially menacing enemies.
With a flicker of light, a new, familiar figure appeared at Belisarius Cawl's side, the patterns of her mask dancing with light. An Eldar Shadowseer by the name of Veilwalker.
Veilwalker was responsible for Cawl's involvement in the Fall of Cadia and for having to be on this wild goose chase. In a sense, at least for Cawl, this was all Veilwalker's fault. And he was, of course, right about that.
"What is this?" Cawl asked. "Where are you taking us?"
"Into the light of a new dawn."
The Shadowseer, Vtilted her head, as if confused by the question.
"Unless you prefer to remain in the darkness?"
With an effort, the Archmagos ignored what he hoped was an attempt at humour. There were more pressing matters to address right now. Like, why Xenos, like the Eldar of such mixed composition, had saved members of the Imperium.
"The Despoiler has a warship in orbit. You cannot hold them for long."
"We will not have to."
The patterns of Veilwalker's mask danced with new light.
"The ending has passed. It is time for a new beginning. There is a parley to be struck, if you have the courage. They call themselves the Ynnari."
The Shadowseer cast a graceful hand towards the Eldari host.
The Eldar, upon seeing the winged figure of the Living Saint, parted their ranks, creating a clear corridor that led from the Ynnari leaders to Celestine.
To her left stood Inquisitor Greyfax, who was as suspicious of the saint as she was of the Xenos. To Celestine's right was Cawl; his servo-eyes tracked a lithe figure that moved unnoticed into the ranks of the Eldar host, vanishing entirely from sight.
First came Meliniel, Autarch of Biel-Tan, followed by Yvraine, the Visarch, and Eldrad.
In the Imperials' eyes, the Eldar resembled ancient nobles stepping out of the world of myth. As they approached, Greyfax's hand went to the hilt of her power sword.
The Visarch mirrored this gesture, grasping his blade Asu-var with a graceful motion. These small acts of aggression rippled outward among the warriors of both sides, escalating tensions until conflict seemed inevitable.
They might have started fighting if not for the movement that alerted them to something behind them. The snow, which had fallen down the mountain after the avalanche started, began to move, and sounds could be heard from underneath.
Cawl's cogitator and auspex units got the information he needed to know who, or rather what, this was. And the information he got was rather shocking.
Super Heavy Vehicles are a class of tanks larger and more heavily armoured than any Battle Tank and even beyond that of Heavy Tanks, counting as War Engines.
One such example is the Baneblade. Now, a Baneblade is usually around 315-320 tonnes and has no transport capacity. They can drive on the road at up to 25kph (15,5 mph) and off-road at up to 18 kph (11 mph). As for their dimensions, they stand at roughly 13,5m (44 feet) in length, 8,4m (27 feet) in width and 6,3 m (20,5 feet) in height.
But what Cawl saw grinding its way out of the thick layers of snow was something else. It seemed to have once had the chassis of a Land Raider, which had been taken apart and rebuilt into a monster weighing 400 tonnes, measuring 15,5m in length, 10m wide, and 8m high. It was also armed to the teeth and drove far faster than a normal Baneblade should have.
There were the weapons of a Land Raider visible: twin Lascannons and Stormbolters. It was a true Lord of War, which made Cawl itch to find out more about it and to know how it was constructed. The Archmagos' technological side, which was basically all there was to him, was activated, making him want to go over and find out all there is to know and maybe discover a new STC.
The Super Heavy Battle Tank drove right out of the massive amounts of snow, like it was nothing and rolled forward.
The Eldar prepared their weapons again, and the ghost warriors aimed forward, ready to kill if necessary. The sheer presence that Gustav gave off was off the charts. It was literally a presence like any other. One made for pure destruction and for some reason, intelligence. The Eldar were far more sensitive.
Especially, Eldrad Ulthwan could feel the sheer might of the machine as it approached. But what he was more interested in was those who were inside.
Even the Imperials, who were nervous about everything, were prepared to fight.
Celestine was the only one who didn't fear it, instead smiling brightly.
At the top of the Super Heavy Battle Tank, Gerhard popped out and looked at those assembled around. He grinned and addressed them in High Gothic.
"Excuse me. Which way to Berlin?"
"..."
"..."
"..."