Toxic clouds crowded the sky.
It was a world of parched, cracked earth, where rolling yellow sand swirled in constant whirlwinds.
Outside the Hive City, an Imperial Legion clad entirely in black uniforms stood upon the land, surrounded by a multitude of vehicles.
The soldiers all wore dazed expressions, unable to fully process the situation, right up until the passage behind them was violently collapsed by the rebels, completely sealing them inside the Hive City and leaving Sith stranded outside.
At the very center of the Legion, Sith looked at the Leman Russ before him, feeling a sense of wry admiration that the rebel leader called Blasphemous Horn had actually managed to procure a tank for himself.
Although Sith's Legion still couldn't match the Astra Militarum in terms of heavy weaponry, their equipment level now far surpassed that of other Planetary Defense Forces.
A gust of yellow sand swept through the ranks.
Through the howling cold wind, the Greenskin battle cries from within the sandstorm could faintly be heard.
A soldier picked up a canister of promethium fuel and used the black liquid to completely cover the tank's original, blasphemous rebel insignia.
Behind the Leman Russ were two Chimera armored transports.
The new crews of the Chimera transports were hastily familiarizing themselves with the vehicles. However, the hundredfold amplification that had allowed Sith, when personally involved, to withstand heavy firepower and carve a path through the Hive City had vanished completely now that he was not directly participating.
Now, the armored transports only possessed the hundredfold increase in their crew's experience; otherwise, they were just normal Chimera transports.
Sith, however, harbored little regret about this. After the soldiers had finished cleaning and repainting the Leman Russ, he climbed into the tank and took his position as its commander.
Then, a roar like that of a beast—the engine's thunderous growl—suddenly erupted across the parched earth.
This startled Ana, who had just finished inspecting the tank, because in her memory, a Leman Russ engine was incapable of producing such terrifying power.
With a bit more enhancement, it could even serve as the engine for a light Knight suit!
From another direction came the roar of motorcycles. Bruno, riding a bike and leading several soldiers laden with communication equipment, sped over from the distance.
The thick tires kicked up clouds of yellow sand from the gravel-strewn ground.
Not daring to approach the black tank directly, Bruno stopped his bike upon seeing Sith and hurried toward him on foot.
Saluting, Bruno reported with a flushed face:
"All supplies have been loaded onto the trucks. Although we have slightly less food than originally planned, the fuel tanks are all full, and they even gave us double the amount."
Sith, who had been familiarizing himself with the Leman Russ, stopped and looked back from his commander's position toward the now completely sealed-off Hive City.
Blasphemous Horn was clearly terrified that Sith might have enough supplies to comfortably camp outside the Hive City and refuse to leave!
There was no time to waste further on the Hive City now. After all, no one knew when Calgar might arrive.
Sith had to reach the safe zone before the various lunatics on Alert Star started treating exterminatus-grade weapons as standard issue.
Without any sarcastic comment, Sith turned back around.
In the distance was a boundless sandstorm that reached into the sky. The Greenskin battle cries from within it grew increasingly thunderous. Facing all this, Sith gently pressed the accelerator.
The Leman Russ rumbled with powerful force. Gazing at the rolling yellow sands awaiting him in the distance and the dense ranks of soldiers loyal to him at his side, Sith put on his commander's headset and raised his hand, gesturing forward.
Bruno's motorcycle squad moved out first, charging into the rolling yellow sands as scouts.
Then, the Leman Russ carved two deep ruts in the yellow earth. Sith's tank, enhanced a hundredfold, took the lead, followed by two Chimera armored transports flanking it left and right.
And behind them marched a vast force, a mix of numerous supply vehicles and a full twenty infantry regiments.
With their entirely black paint scheme, Sith's Legion in this parched, sand-swept world resembled a dark tide covering the earth.
Then, accompanied by the roar of engines, the dark tide entered the rolling yellow sands.
The yellow sands remained. The desolate world outside the Hive City once again fell into bleak silence.
The world grew so quiet, with only the wind's howl, it was as if this human Legion had never existed.
Yet, after an unknowable amount of time, a single, earth-shaking 'Waaagh!' that echoed to the heavens erupted from the sandstorm, which had previously held only the roar of sand.
Firelight first pierced the yellow sand, followed immediately by the thunderous report of a tank cannon, a hundred times louder!
Raise hand, pull trigger.
Through the sandstorm that limited visibility to just a dozen meters, a Greenskin's ramshackle bike came tumbling through the swirling yellow sands ahead, crashing into the ranks.
The nearby recruits dodged with near-instinctive movements, but the violent explosion still claimed the lives of the closest few.
Sith popped half his body out of the Leman Russ commander's hatch. Bracing against the gale and holding his headset, he fired his sidearm forward while continuously shouting orders through the comms.
The Chimeras, faintly visible in the adjacent sandstorm, continuously fired their Bolter fire. Two lashes of fire spat from their secondary turrets, painting streaks of flame across the yellow sands.
"No close combat! No shoulder throws! Use ranged weapons to eliminate these xenos as much as possible!"
After shooting down another roaring Greenskin Nob, Sith loudly issued orders to the soldiers around him.
Simultaneously, his commands were relayed through the tank's communication system to every infantry regiment under his command.
With Sith's Leman Russ as the spearhead, the entire Legion concentrated its firepower as much as possible, pouring it forward into the yellow sands, mowing down the ferocious Greenskins that charged out one after another.
Occasionally, barrages would also come from the opposite side, often felling a few soldiers who couldn't dodge in time. But compared to the casualties Sith inflicted, the Mortals were, for once, achieving a favorable kill ratio against the Greenskins.
This slaughter only inflamed the Greenskins' fervent battle lust. As Sith killed more and more of them, the number of Greenskins charging from the sands didn't decrease—it increased!
Gunfire, tank treads, Waaagh.
Sith lost track of how long they had advanced through the sandstorm. It felt like his entire world had been reduced to these three sounds.
The Greenskins seemed endless. The Leman Russ's cannon roared without pause. The tank treads were caked with gore.
Just as Sith changed magazines again and looked up to continue picking off any threatening Greenskins, the yellow sand that had enveloped the entire world suddenly vanished, swept away by a powerful gust of wind!
The world abruptly fell quiet. It wasn't that the sand had been blown away by some strange external force; Sith had actually fought his way through the entire sandstorm, pushing back the Greenskins!
Cheers of elation rose from the soldiers around him. With improved visibility, the humans began unleashing even more deadly firepower upon the Greenskins.
And after Sith casually blew the head off a Greenskin Boss with a single shot, the Greenskins finally lost control and began turning to flee back into the sea of sand.
This sight further emboldened the Imperial Guardsmen, but their cheers didn't last long. A single motorcycle, moving at a speed far exceeding before, shot out in pursuit of the fleeing Greenskins.
"Why is the Regimental Commander charging out alone?!"
Bruno, recognizing the rider, hurriedly asked the officers near Sith. But the officers merely watched Sith chase after the Greenskins, their faces filled with bewildered confusion.
"The Regimental Commander said... he needs to ask the Greenskins a question..."
Bruno: "...???"
If not for the fact that everyone wore the same expression, Bruno would have thought he had gotten too much sand in his ears and was hallucinating!
Joining the group in their stunned gaze at Sith charging into the distance, they could only wonder what question their brilliant and mighty Regimental Commander possibly needed to ask the Greenskins!
And ahead, where no one could hear, Sith used his bike to corner a group of panicked Greenskin Boyz. Then, under their terrified stares, he pointed at himself and demanded:
"Tell me, do ya fink I'm da most Waaagh!!!"