"For the Emperor..."
Yuno softly read the words inscribed on the control console. The stupidity of humanity was, at times, truly hard to believe. They actually thought that carving words into these pieces of metal would grant them the protection of the Human Emperor. To earn his protection, one should at least demonstrate loyalty rooted in the heart, rather than merely chanting a name or a philosophy.
However, humans were like that—almost all life was. No organism was as powerful as Yuno, strong enough to be her own absolute master.
"Oh, I accidentally let my mind wander too far."
Yuno snapped back to reality. She was currently helping Yuki fulfill his wishes; she needed to be serious about it.
"What a waste of time. I really want to go back and find Yuki as soon as possible."
She reached out, and green light erupted like a blossoming sun. In an instant, the entire control room was reduced to a pool of molten iron. With a slight flick of her slender fingers, the liquid metal obeyed her will. Infused with psychic energy, it shot straight toward the main body of the defense cannon hundreds of meters away.
The thick steel was riddled with holes in an instant, its structural integrity decimated. Seconds later, the massive primary structure groaned and collapsed under its own weight. Yuno felt it wasn't enough; for safety, she released another burst of psychic energy. A thick beam of psychic light sliced the ruins of the defense cannon in two. She only stopped once it was clear the weapon was beyond any hope of repair.
Many human soldiers remained alive, but Yuno had no interest in them.
"I suspect I'm the first to finish. I'll go check on the fifth defense cannon."
Suddenly, Yuno sensed something. She looked up at the sky.
"It seems my calculations were slightly off. I'll leave the last defense cannon to them."
...
The situation was catastrophic.
The supreme commander of the Lyall Defense Bastion, a female Lieutenant Colonel, rarely showed signs of unease—that was the first lesson she had learned at the Schola Progenium. Even now, she did not look back on her days at the academy with nostalgia. Only the weak used memories to escape their current anxiety.
"Still no contact with the other defense bastions?"
"No, sir."
"Then we must prepare for the worst: that High Command, the Inquisitors, the Mid and Underhive forces, and the Navy have all been annihilated. We are all that is left on this planet."
As the Lieutenant Colonel spoke, the expressions of the soldiers nearby turned grim. Noticing their morale wavering, she barked, "Are you afraid? The God-Himalaya is watching you! You cowards, have you no resolve to sacrifice yourselves for Him?"
She prepared to continue her reprimand, but a more urgent matter interrupted.
"Ma'am! Our observers have spotted strange shadows in planetary orbit. Suspected enemy fleet!"
This discovery deepened the dread in the room. In interstellar warfare, planetary defense systems were the final line of defense. Once ground-based defenses were required to go active, it meant the naval fleet and other orbital assets had been wiped out. This seemed to confirm the Colonel's grim theory.
"Activate the systems immediately! We must perform our duty!"
The Colonel dropped everything, and all soldiers entered combat status, returning to their posts. Fuel supply, ignition, energy accumulation, aiming—the process took hours, but every shot could punch through an entire battleship.
As time passed, the gargantuan object within the clouds slowly revealed its face. This battleship resembled a giant arthropod with several long tentacles trailing behind it. It slowed down upon entering the atmosphere, releasing Tyranid organisms into the air. The biological mass was so vast it nearly blotted out the sun. Every resident within thousands of square kilometers noticed the sudden appearance of this enemy.
"Prepare to fire! This is our last chance!"
The Colonel shouted, but the communications officer did not relay her command.
"What are you doing, soldier? Are you a traitor?"
"Ma'am, our aiming systems have been compromised."
"You must be joking!"
The Colonel felt a surge of dread. Muffled thuds echoed from several kilometers away, filtered through layers of fortification. Something had hit the ground.
"Is there any impact? We cannot lose control, nor can we lose faith!"
The Colonel needed to know what was happening to the vital control systems. Communication was briefly restored, and she immediately asked, "Status report, everyone!"
"Ma'am! We are under attack by flying monsters! They've brought a swarm of creatures with them! I... we have no idea what they are!"
Extremely noisy sounds came from the other end. The garrison stationed at the aiming system began firing frantically, but the sound of gunfire was punctuated by strange spraying noises.
"Ma'am, please be careful! These monsters have ranged attacks too! Dammit, what is that? It's as tall as the legendary Death Angels of the Emperor!"
"Ma'am, we're losing ground! Send armored support immediately..."
Those were the final words. Facing such a desperate situation, the Colonel's expression became rigid.
"Who is willing to lead the armored units for reinforcements?"
About a third of the officers in the command room stood up. These were the most capable commanders present.
"Not so many. The Imperium still needs you."
The Colonel assigned three captains. They were ordered to lead elite armored units to retake the areas occupied by the enemy. The armored units had been in a state of combat readiness for days. Under their new commanders, they moved toward the occupied zones.
Seven Leman Russ tanks—nearly the last armored strength in this sector. When the troops opened the blast doors and saw the sky filled with monsters, everyone fell silent.
They could only fire. The Tyranids surged like a tide. These were the first Tyranids to enter the planet's surface, and the garrison of this defense cannon became the first to resist them. The participating Leman Russ tanks were not equipped with high-efficiency flamers; they had to rely on high-explosive shells to barely hold the line. Fortunately, they had not yet encountered particularly difficult enemies.
Hum!
An unsettling sound rang out. A beam of light swept over two Leman Russ tanks. There were no screams, nor even any visible wear on the metal, but the tanks simply stopped moving. Simultaneously, the people surrounding the tanks vanished, replaced by pools of unidentifiable gore.
The soldiers saw two creatures, whose brains occupied two-thirds of their bodies, floating into the air and drifting slowly toward them.
"Monsters..."
Twenty minutes later, the fifth defense cannon was destroyed by the first vanguard tendril of the unknown Tyranid fleet. The entire planet had completely lost its ability to strike targets in space.