The great bell tolled, and the incense transported from distant worlds burned with a faint, delicate fragrance. Hopper remained clad in her ordinary Battle Sister power armor, even though her status was now the highest among the surviving Sisters.
"Sister Hopper."
She turned. The armor of the Dark Angels Chaplain had received minor repairs from the remaining Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus; it looked much better than before.
"How many escaped?"
"More than expected. The Mechanicus hid quite a few shuttles. The Skitarii even managed to salvage three of their Warhound-class Titans."
"The Mechanicus here actually possessed Titans?"
"I heard they were relics from the Great Crusade, crippled in battle. The Tech-Priests spent ten thousand years on repairs and only managed to get them functional again about a century ago. Additionally, two regiments of the Astra Militarum survived—about three hundred thousand men—along with a significant amount of armor."
"If there were any more of us, it would start feeling crowded here."
"Three destroyers and two frigates also remained. They are the last naval assets in this sector."
Hopper turned to face the Chaplain. "We have approximately ten thousand Battle Sisters left—all elites. Three hundred thousand Imperial Guard, seven thousand Skitarii with their armored divisions, and only twenty thousand from the PDF and Arbites. That is our entire ground force."
"No. You also have eleven Dark Angels."
"Then I am greatly relieved," Hopper said, her gaze shifting to deep space. "Do you believe this is a large-scale invasion?"
"It is hard to say. We know very little about these monsters. The Ultramarines might know more, but given their rigid protocols, even deep knowledge might not help us much."
Sensing something, the Chaplain chuckled. "Are you afraid?"
"No. I am merely wondering how to kill as many bugs as possible for the Emperor."
"As long as we hold firm until reinforcements arrive, we can achieve that."
"The reinforcements have been traveling for twenty years and still haven't arrived?"
"That is normal. Do not worry."
Hopper's tone grew more severe. "There is a room, milord. No one has known its status since we handed it over to you. Several missing persons were reported to have been near that room before they vanished. Can you explain that?"
"There is nothing to say, Sister Hopper. In these times, if we cannot even maintain mutual trust, it will only lead to the worst possible conclusion."
Hopper frowned. "I—"
"Enough, Sister Hopper. I respect you personally, but take note: this is not the time for such discussions. Look."
The brief moment of levity ended. Following the direction the Dark Angel pointed, a massive Hive Fleet was slowly emerging within their sight. It blotted out the stars. The few warships circling the Convent looked pitifully small in comparison.
"Do not worry. Our initial intent was never to win a space battle. We rely on the Convent itself to hold the line," the Dark Angel explained.
"I understand. You need not say more." Hopper pulled down her helmet's visor. "Just tell us where to stand guard and where we are meant to eventually die."
"Hopper, you should put on better gear. Otherwise, you will only be able to offer spiritual encouragement."
...
Yuki was in a quite good mood as he stepped into the battlefield with a smile. The strength of those few Imperial warships was nowhere near enough to obstruct the Hive Fleet. Debris shattered by macro-cannon fire was simply consumed, digested, and repurposed by the following fleet as they continued their advance.
In some ways, the Tyranids were remarkably similar to the Necrons; at their base level, they were units devoid of independent consciousness.
"You have arrived?"
The more advanced units, however, possessed a higher level of awareness.
"What is the status here?" Yuki asked.
"No surprises," the Lictor replied. Unlike those Yuno had hand-reared on the planet, these Lictors birthed within the fleet possessed much greater combat experience.
They walked through the hangar, which was now devoid of aircraft. The Imperial planes had all been destroyed minutes ago by several Harpies. Sensing Yuki's arrival, the smaller organisms cleaning the battlefield moved aside to clear a path. These creatures were usually born just before a battle; their behavior was pure biological instinct.
"They even behave like this."
"Is that strange?" The Lictor responded through the synapse network. "It is like your hair greeting someone else."
"Fascinating, indeed."
"It is merely our daily reality."
The man and the beast continued deeper into the ship. They reached the ruined bridge, from which the Battle-Convent was directly visible.
"It's fortunate the Convent's propulsion system was damaged. Otherwise, it would have been a nuisance."
"It is not particularly difficult. We only need to tear open a breach, and we can swarm inside."
Various corpses floated in the void. The density of the fire spitting from the Convent's batteries was extremely high. Yuki made a judgment: "They have abandoned all hope of survival. They likely just want to weaken our forces as much as possible now."
"Then..."
"How about we just ignore this place? The biomass inside isn't much. There's no need to expend great effort to take it."
The Lictor seemed confused. "We have never done such a thing. If they can cause us significant losses, should they not be annihilated here to prevent them from obstructing us in the future?"
"On other worlds, I would agree that weakening military strength is the correct path. But in Warhammer, that's basically impossible."
"A request must be sent to the Great Devourer."
The communication request was sent. Yuno, who was currently handling some details of the Aether Fleet, patched in.
"Eh? Yuki, you don't want to fight?"
"I just feel it isn't necessary."
"Can't you treat it as a 'completionist' run? We've taken the entire sector, yet there's still one small victory point left. Don't you think that's embarrassing?"
Yuki was speechless. He took a deep breath and replied, "Fine, let's go."
In his perception, a pair of hands gently wrapped around his neck. Yuno's sweet voice, echoing slightly, appeared in his ear. "I knew you were the best."
"Since you put it that way, I must obey."
Yuno's light laughter rang out. After Yuki truly integrated into the Hive network, his existence was no longer confined to a physical body. Now, he could be with Yuno anytime, anywhere.
"Go then. Kill all those resistors in my name."
"As you command, my Great Devourer."
Yuki looked toward the massive Convent. Yuno's gaze slowly withdrew, and Yuki made his decision.
"Bring all the elite special units. I don't want to cause too many casualties on our side. Use the finest troops. The first strike shall be the final strike. One battle to decide it all!"