Al felt he was incredibly unlucky. He had already been strapped into his seat on a shuttle bound for space when a squad of Astra Militarum burst in, dragging him and the other passengers out under the guise of "security."
However, any lingering resentment vanished the moment the orbital bombardment began. It was replaced by a profound, heartfelt admiration for these loyal soldiers of the Emperor; without them, Al would have already become a captive of Chaos. He couldn't help but worry about his farm, which he suspected had already been turned into a battlefield.
His suspicion was entirely correct.
By the end of the seventh wave of orbital bombardment, the ground was unrecognizable. Almost all fortifications had been leveled, and even the exceptionally deep trenches dug by the Kriegers were nearly filled with displaced earth.
Following the bombardment, the enemy landing craft appeared. The Kriegers emerged from their deep subterranean tunnels, tamping down the soft earth in the trenches with practiced speed. Tanks rolled out from underground hangars, and heavy bolters were mounted atop the parapets, prepared for the first wave of the enemy assault.
Yuki and Yuno crawled out from a pile of dirt. It had to be said that even for them, withstanding direct naval battery fire with their bare bodies was somewhat taxing. They noted the sheer intensity of the fighting; Yuki was particularly curious to see which faction of Chaos was leading this assault.
In the distance, within the zones already seized by Chaos, traces of the enemy appeared. The Kriegers maintained their characteristic silence, watching the charging foes through the lenses of their gas masks. It was a force of well-trained Chaos Traitor Guard.
The battle erupted instantly. Yuki instinctively pulled Yuno down to the ground. Bullets and shells fell like rain. Even under such dense fire, the enemy continued to advance, utilizing temporary foxholes and armored support. From this distance, Yuki couldn't yet discern which Dark God they pledged their souls to.
"East flank! Support needed!"
Finally, a Krieg officer spoke. Yuki and Yuno hurried toward the source. Theoretically, they should have found Oliver, but the man was undoubtedly occupied. Wandering around to observe the "festivities" seemed like a better use of their time. A clash between Krieg and Chaos was a rare spectacle indeed.
When they arrived at the beleaguered east flank, hundreds of soldiers—combat engineers, machine gunners—had already gathered. The enemies they faced were three Chaos Astartes.
Three Iron Warriors, advancing rapidly behind heavy boarding shields, had already closed to within three hundred meters. The massive shields deflected the Kriegers' las-fire with ease. Through firing slits, the Iron Warriors picked off soldiers who posed a threat, specifically those wielding plasma guns or meltas.
Yuki and Yuno nearly got caught in the crossfire but managed to retreat a few steps to safety. Seeing the three Iron Warriors closing in, the Kriegers hesitated for not even a second. Hundreds of men fixed bayonets in unison. Yuki was moved by the sight and wanted to immerse himself in the experience, only to realize with some embarrassment that he had forgotten to draw a bayonet. Fortunately, a nearby Krieger kindly handed him a spare.
Without any verbal command, they charged with an eerie, synchronized precision, splitting into two columns to leave the center clear for the heavy machine gunners to continue suppressing the Iron Warriors. Given their bulk, the Astartes couldn't easily dodge.
However, to them, a Krieger bayonet charge was hardly a threatening maneuver. The Iron Warriors' bolters quickly slaughtered a vast number of the charging soldiers. Flesh and blood mist obscured the giants' vision, causing their shots to begin missing. Then, a practical problem arose: reloading. Unless they were heavy support specialists, even Space Marines couldn't maintain an uninterrupted burst of fire indefinitely.
In the two-second window while one Iron Warrior reloaded, a group of Kriegers swarmed him. Yet, it did little damage. Yuki saw the Astartes shove his shield forward, instantly snapping the bones of several men in front of him. But they were merely a distraction.
A melta grenade was slapped onto the shield. The Kriegers covering the move were almost instantly butchered by the Iron Warriors.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, the trench was filled with dust and smoke. Theoretically, a melta grenade of that potency could kill three Space Marines outright, but it was, after all, a grenade; its yield couldn't compare to a full melta charge. The Kriegers made no reaction to the sacrifice. For them, the only thing that mattered was whether the enemy had been destroyed.
"They're not dead!" Yuki shouted.
All Kriegers trained their weapons on the breach. Through the haze, two Iron Warriors stood up. Their ceramite armor was damaged, but they were largely intact. Those two sturdy shields and the bulk of their fallen comrade had absorbed the lethal blast. They began to run with the gait of giants. The distance between the two sides was now less than a hundred meters. Had that melta grenade not been thrown, they would have launched their own charge by now.
The Kriegers knew that behind these cursed traitors were thousands more. If this gap was breached, the entire defensive line could collapse. No one spoke; they simply braced for the final impact.
Yuki couldn't watch any longer. He looked at Yuno, and she gave him a nod. It was a rare occasion, and since they had run into the sons of Perturabo, he might as well give it a try.
The Iron Warriors threw grenades filled with toxic gas. The Kriegers had no reason to fear gas, but the obscuring effect was a concern. Seizing the moment, Yuki lunged forward.
He grabbed an Iron Warrior by the head, slammed him into the ground, and then dragged him away in the opposite direction at high speed. The Chaos cultists hiding behind the Iron Warrior, attempting to launch an attack, were crushed instantly under Yuki's momentum.
After dragging the Iron Warrior several hundred meters and ensuring no Krieg soldiers could see them, Yuki tossed aside his mask. He hovered in the air, looking down at the Astartes from above.
"I thought you freaks never took off your masks," the Iron Warrior growled.
"Actually, I'm not a Krieger."
The Iron Warrior raised his bolter. "Indeed. I've never heard of a Krieger who was a psyker."
A bolt was fired. Yuki tilted his body to dodge it and immediately used his psychic power to pin the giant to the ground.
"Tell me, Son of Perturabo. What is your troop distribution? How many of your Legion have arrived? And is Huron participating in this raid?"
"A lapdog of the False Emperor thinks he can shake me?"
"If your Gene-Father had shown as much loyalty to the Emperor ten thousand years ago as you show to him now, perhaps the Iron Warriors Legion wouldn't have fallen into such a state."
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
The Iron Warrior crushed a small device in his hand. A powerful shockwave expanded outward, momentarily distracting Yuki. The Iron Warrior broke free from the restraint, raised his gun to fire, and was instantly pinned down again.
"Dammit. It seems I'll have to use some harsher methods."