At the same time, aboard the Justice League fleet—
The fleet group, struck without warning by the World Eaters Legion, suffered heavy losses almost immediately. Although the line was successfully stabilized through the efforts of commanders at every level, their disadvantage remained painfully obvious.
And that was merely the result of reorganizing a resistance out of chaos.
After all, the disparity in manpower and warships between the two sides was plain for all to see. No amount of command finesse could compensate for that reality.
Moreover, while both sides had been in a tacit standoff, it was the World Eaters Legion that had attacked first. With a Gloriana-class battleship overseeing the field, this battle had been unwinnable from the very beginning.
Even if the Justice League fleet had opened fire first, circled around to strike from the flanks and rear, and executed a perfect coordinated attack, they might still not have gained the upper hand. Void warfare was different from ground-based meat grinders. On paper, the numbers had already decided most of the battle's outcome.
Krul was now under tremendous pressure.
On the star map, allied signals were disappearing one after another. The small assault fleets she had dispatched were also reporting bad news in succession.
At this point, a timely retreat was undoubtedly the best option.
But Krul had her own difficulties.
Of course she wanted to preserve a portion of her elite forces, withdraw from the current star system, and then find a way to strike back later.
At worst, they could leverage the tactical strengths of the Eighth Legion and wage guerrilla warfare against the enemy.
The problem was that Bruce, the acting commander who stood at the heart of the fleet, was still on Nuceria!
If she withdrew just like that, wouldn't that be the same as selling him out?
In that case, she might as well not retreat at all.
If the acting commander died because of this, regardless of the reason, Krul would have to bear responsibility. When the time came, the Night Haunter Curze, the Lion El'Jonson, Warmaster Horus, and even the Master of Mankind himself would tear her apart.
Compared to waiting for the postwar reckoning, perhaps dying aboard her own flagship would instead be a form of release!
"Still no news from the acting commander?!"
Krul asked anxiously.
At the same time, she issued interception orders to the allied fleets. Although the World Eaters fleet was highly aggressive, they still had to stop them.
Because their target was the Remilia.
"No! We can't contact him, and there is no signal from him at all."
"What's going on? Isn't he on Nuceria?!"
"But his signal disappeared eight hours ago."
"Find him! No matter what, find him!"
"Lady Krul, the ground forces we deployed have encountered resistance. They failed to complete the task assigned by the acting commander. They are requesting reinforcements. Should we respond?!"
"What are they doing? I asked them to destroy a few broken temples, and they still need more men?"
"The surface of Nuceria… is in a very special situation…"
"Send reinforcements! Transfer one company to them! Tell them this is the last manpower we can spare! After that, they'll have to figure things out themselves."
"Yes!"
If pressure had physical form, Krul would probably already have been crushed into a pancake by now.
Sitting in the command chair with her legs crossed, not even knowing when one of her shoes had flown off, she issued each order in a state of barely restrained agitation.
Her commands were correct.
There was nothing wrong with her tactical planning.
On the strategic level, there was nothing to criticize either.
But the only problem was—
They could not execute any of it!
And yet Krul could not simply abandon everyone and flee.
At this point, she was so anxious that she almost wanted to launch a sacred boarding action and see whether they could take the enemy flagship in one decisive strike.
After all, the Primarch of the World Eaters was not aboard it.
Maybe it could work?!
But reason prevented her from making such a reckless decision.
Putting aside whether they could even board the Conqueror, right now it was questionable whether they could stop those madmen of the World Eaters from boarding them.
"Re… report!"
"Speak!"
Krul looked at the gradually collapsing battle line with a splitting headache.
At this rate, forget victory—soon they would be encircled and annihilated!
"The Black Raven sent its final transmission. They failed to hold the warship. They have now overloaded their engines and are launching a final attack against the World Eaters Legion."
Krul fell silent for a moment.
Then she said, "Understood."
This was not the first warship to do such a thing.
But so what?
What could it change?
As she watched the warship turn into a ball of flame on the starry front line, she knew that while this fearless act had indeed bought precious breathing room for the fleet, the enemy was not weak either.
They were insane enough to directly destroy obstructing wreckage with concentrated fire. Even if their allies might still have been salvageable, they ignored them completely.
Against such lunatic tactics, the Night Lords Legion lasting this long was already proof of their exceptional quality.
Of course, more importantly, these were all Krul's own private troops.
Once they died, replacing them would be extremely difficult.
Even so, Krul still chose to grit her teeth and hold on.
Because she had to wait for Bruce to return.
Only then could she consider whether to retreat.
Apart from that, the Sons of Horus were also proving extremely reliable. As the main force holding the front line, they were one of the few forces capable of withstanding the World Eaters Legion. If not for them, the line would likely have collapsed even faster.
"In a situation like this…"
Krul murmured somewhat despairingly.
"Even if you come back, what can you change?"
Given the current situation, Krul had already prepared herself either to be killed, or to have the flagship breached and then surrender.
Because at this point, forget Bruce returning—even if a Primarch were here, nothing would change.
A loss was a loss.
This was not something one or two people could overturn by doing something heroic.
War had never been child's play.
Time passed bit by bit.
As the number of warships in the Justice League fleet dwindled, their defensive line was forced into a passive contraction. The World Eaters Legion, meanwhile, continued pressing forward step by step.
They ignored casualties. They ignored risk.
They simply charged headlong toward the battle line.
It was as though they were throwing away their lives for the sake of their Primarch.
Neither the Night Lords nor the Sons of Horus could stop them. Seeing that the entire fleet had already fallen completely into encirclement, Krul opened communications with the commander on the Sons of Horus side to avoid total annihilation.
Then she discovered that the person answering the communication had already changed to a young company captain.
He was even younger than Bruce.
"Forgive me… Lady Krul. Our commander attempted to board the Conqueror an hour ago and died in the operation. I am now the commander. Please state your business."
The young company captain expressed both respect and apology to Krul.
Though he was called the commander, in reality, there was nothing he could do.
Lacking both actual combat experience and personal prestige, he had no way to organize an effective defense or counterattack. As for his battle-brothers, they had long since been overtaken by fury.
Victory or defeat was no longer important.
The focus now was how to make the enemy pay the price.
"I propose that we cover the Remilia's departure from the current war zone, then bring news of the World Eaters Legion's rebellion to the Warmaster's command."
"I am the supreme commander of the joint fleet. I will fulfill my duty and my promise. I will remain here and fight until the final moment."
"Your Excellency, take your men and cover the Remilia's escape from this place as much as possible."
Death was not what Krul wanted.
But in the current situation, if she could ensure that the Remilia survived and left this place, then she would have done right by her father and Captain Sevatar.
"No. I will not leave this place, Lady Krul. I will fight alongside my battle-brothers until the final moment."
"If I fall in battle, someone else will replace me. If all of us die for our father and the Emperor, then our other battle-brothers will avenge us."
"I understand."
Krul nodded.
After that, the communication ended.
Immediately afterward, the Justice League fleet underwent a drastic shift from passive defense. They began to attack, no longer paying attention to maintaining the battle line. Gradually, they turned themselves into a sharp blade aimed at the assault spearhead of the World Eaters fleet.
"No… something's wrong! The World Eaters Legion's offensive has weakened!"
"Frontline report: the Astartes of the World Eaters Legion are showing strange symptoms. We temporarily hold the advantage."
One confusing report after another came back.
Before Krul could even attempt to analyze the battle situation, an astropathic communication that forcibly linked every warship broke in.
Whether on screens or holographic projections, every display changed into the same image.
At first, there was only signal interference, a field of static. Then the distorted image gradually became clear, until finally it stabilized.
A furious face smeared with blood appeared on the screen.
The World Eaters, who had just sensed the death of their father, instantly erupted into cheers.
The Astartes of the Justice League, meanwhile, fell into deathly silence.
This meant...
Primarch Angron had returned.
Now, the situation had become even more unfavorable for the Justice League fleet.
However, the image suddenly changed.
Angron's face was moved aside.
Bruce appeared, holding a severed head in one hand while removing his helmet with the other. Then he calmly announced:
"I, Bruce Wayne, acting commander of the Eighth Legion, spokesperson of the Warmaster of the Imperium, and supreme commander of the Justice League fleet, will now declare one matter."
"Angron, lord of the Twelfth Legion of the Imperium—the World Eaters Legion—has been beheaded by my hand!"
"All World Eaters, listen carefully. Lay down your weapons and surrender to me immediately. This is your only way out. Otherwise..."
"I will personally kill every last one of you!"
"Traitors, I swear this: those who resist will meet the same end as your father!"
Long after his words fell, everyone remained plunged in deathly silence.
At this moment, the fires of war on the front line halted in the face of Bruce's feat.
He had actually killed a gene-Primarch!
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 75
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 100
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 60
The Uma Musume Who Became 60
I'm Definitely Not the King of 80
After Maxing Out Every Class 80
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 57
I, the Elden Sword Saint 50
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No One Knows Pokémon Better 50
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 45
From Trilobites to Titans 45
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 55
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 60
An Anime Heroine Darkened 55
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