bookbashuk Page 144
Page 144
The resurrection protocol was activated, and Nath, who possessed high-level privileges, had his mind transmitted back to the Netherworld construct on the surface of Wenmas.
Without their commander, the undead ships were gradually defeated under Peturabo's control. Without a target, the ships began to attack on their own, and the Iron Warriors paid a heavy price for this once again.
Mortarian continued to lead the Death Guard in clearing out the space undead on the main ship. These soldiers were no match for them in melee combat, and compared to the Iron Warriors who were engaged in naval battle, the Death Guard's offensive was exceptionally smooth.
Mortarian had been hoping to encounter another alien leader, but it seemed that the one he had just killed was the only leader.
If the melee infantry of the Necromancers in space are all this strong, then perhaps the pressure on Hades isn't as great as he imagined.
Mortarian thought.
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Chapter 162 Siege
Those were countless, endless undead.
The once vast, yellowish-red wasteland was now devoid of any yellowish soil.
They were all undead.
Undead warriors, scarab swarms, and destroyer troops, summoned by their lord, are rapidly advancing towards the rear.
In a makeshift trench behind a small hill, Hades felt a chill run down his spine. The footage transmitted from the Iron Warrior Stormbird showed that in less than ten minutes, the first wave of returning Necromancers would enter the southern part of the Construct Forge complex.
Meanwhile, the Death Guard and Iron Warrior forces are attempting to break into the complex from the north.
Since the undead from the depths of the earth awoke, these strange and eerie black stone structures have risen from the depths of the planet, their geometric shapes standing at varying heights, their emerald green lines outlining the symbols of the dynasty to which Gatheros belong.
In the central area of the city, formed by black stone geometry, a pyramid-shaped fortress was spewing out undead soldiers—
That was the construct cast by the necromancer to execute the resurrection protocol.
At the very center of the fortress, a towering black pyramid with tiered steps stands proudly, its green stripes cascading down like a waterfall from its top.
What concerned Hades was that, judging from the aerial footage, the interior of this construct complex lacked adequate heavy firepower defenses; the heavy artillery turrets that the Death Guard could detect were all mounted on the outer walls of the city.
Undead warriors were emerging continuously from the construct forged and marching out in formation towards the north of the city.
They are endless and ever-renewing; even if they die, they will crawl out again from the constructs behind them. These soldiers are the lord's cheapest fighting force.
But these numerous soldiers are not their real threat.
For the Death Guards and Iron Warriors, what truly hinders their siege is the city's walls and the heavy artillery on them.
This enlarged version of the Gauss weapon is far more powerful than the Gauss Gun wielded by the Necromancers. It is powerful enough to shatter the defenses of a Space Marine's power armor, causing them to disintegrate at the atomic level.
The good news is that they also have countermeasures; the Iron Warriors' artillery landed along with the airdrop pods.
However, it is far from enough to counter the heavy artillery that the undead have mounted on the city walls with a number far fewer than the enemy's.
Hades looked across at the other side, about two kilometers away, but it was crammed with undead troops.
They cannot be held back, because if they are, the enemy artillery will hit them.
The first wave of attackers will rush up the city walls, eliminate the enemy's artillery operators, and create an opportunity for the main force to follow.
They need to traverse this distance as quickly as possible, enter the complex, destroy key buildings, and use the terrain to their advantage to deal with the approaching enemy main force.
It seems we need a fast-paced team.
Hades said,
Against the enemy's Gaussian weapons, the Space Marines' high mobility will be key to their survival.
What made him somewhat uneasy was that neither the Death Guard nor the Iron Warriors were legions skilled in this area; one was adept at slowly advancing a solid front, and the other at constructing military fortresses.
It would be great if my partner was the White Scars, or some other legion.
Danteok, standing beside him, nodded, interrupting Hades' thoughts and indicating that he was ready.
There was no time to hesitate about tactics. Hades took a deep breath and then opened all communication channels.
Everyone, listen up!
[Those who rank in the top 30% in sprint events during regular training, step forward! They will be paired up!]
[Remember, your mission is to reach the enemy fortress and eliminate their artillery! Do not let the enemy hold you back!]
The queue should not be grouped together; it must remain spread out.
Beware of enemy artillery at all times!
Hades looked at the steel warriors at the back of the column who were operating the artillery. They had already begun digging trenches to cover the artillery and measuring the coordinates of the enemy's heavy firepower.
Okay, no need to remind the artillerymen, they're all very conscientious.
Hades turned around, staring at the battlefield before him. He picked up the obituary and struck a pose.
I'm in your group.
Danteok's voice came through the channel, and Hades was taken aback, but he did indeed intend to break through alone.
No, you'll be in charge of the main force.
Hades said,
We must retain a commander.
Danteok, who was opposite him, remained silent.
When the time was right, a phrase familiar to every Death Guard came over the channel—
【attack.】
Hades was the first to charge out, and unlike the Death Guard, who often engaged in slow advances, Hades frequently experienced highly mobile battles.
Like cold water falling into hot oil, the dense undead army exploded, and Gaussian and Tesla lasers filled the entire sky.
Upon seeing the enemy emerge from the fortress, the cannons turned and began to aim, having received orders.
Hades felt as if he were running through a sea of the dead, each step accompanied by the sound of metal breaking; he swore he hadn't set foot on solid ground.
Don't stop.
Don't stop!
Countless undead warriors reached out from beneath his feet, seemingly trying to drag Hades into a metallic abyss. Gaussian rays from the fortress shot towards him, exploding around Hades and instantly raising black dust—the remains of space undead disintegrated by their own weapons.
Hades's mind went on high alert. According to his previous analysis, he shouldn't be facing this density of undead!
It was as if all the undead on the battlefield were rushing towards him!
But at this moment, any hesitation would bring disaster, and stopping would mean the enemy's artillery fire would come. Hades had no choice but to maintain his speed and forcefully break through a path leading to the construct.
The scythe swung wildly, the metallic hiss piercing the sky. At this moment, there was no skill involved; facing the densely packed, low-level undead forces, brute force was the best way to get through.
However, outside Hades, Danteok, inside the trenches, was watching the situation on the battlefield in astonishment.
To everyone's surprise, most of the undead on the battlefield were trying to surge toward Hades. Only a few undead attempted to attack the first wave of Death Guards, but these undead were quickly beheaded by the Death Guards' scythes.
Compared to Hades, who was running at the front and was clearly in a frenzy, everyone else more or less realized that something was wrong.
The Death Guardians who charged toward the Necromancer's construct began to consciously purge the undead from space.
Danteok realized this as well, and he began to direct a group of gunners to bombard the area near Hades' location. The density of undead, which was far greater than in other locations, provided an excellent opportunity for their bombardment.
Seeing that the first wave of Death Guards (mainly Hades) was about to reach the walls of the Hades Construct, Danteok also gave orders to prepare to lead the main force forward.
Hades controlled his pace, accelerating and accelerating again. The surging undead warriors could not keep up with Hades' speed at all. He was like a pebble skimming across the water, leaving ripples in his wake.
The black wall is getting closer and closer, we've arrived!
Hades leaped forward and threw his scythe. The blade hooked tightly onto the uneven surface of the city wall. Hades grabbed the loose chain at the end of the scythe and swiftly climbed onto the city wall!
Behind Hades, the other Death Guards also swung their scythes and began to climb the city walls.
Hades, having reached the top of the city wall, shifted his focus to the heavy artillery. Ordinary space undead were no match for Hades, and the number of undead troops on the city wall was far less than those below, making it seem as if Hades had entered an empty land. With the sound of exploding shells, the undead fell to the ground!
The Death Guards who had climbed the city walls also began their encirclement and annihilation. The space necromancers' cannon fire was noticeably weaker, which made it easier for the second wave of Space Marines to charge.
Realizing that his side had significantly reduced the number of enemy artillery pieces, Hades lowered his eyes, as if searching for something.
Finally, in a place distinctly different from the other turrets, Hades found what he was looking for.
right here.
As Hades pondered this, he ordered the precision-engineered backpack on his back to be fitted with molten bombs, while simultaneously directing the Death Guards to leave the area.
After two brief explosions, the walls of the Necromancer's city revealed a gap for them to enter.
It became.
Hades thought to himself, and turned to watch the mixed force of Iron Warriors and Death Guards sweeping a path through the sea of undead.
Danteok stared at the completely wrecked Netherworld construct before him, lost in thought.
Since the main force entered the northern building complex, Hades has been leading a small group of Death Guards to plant bombs in various corners. With just a small amount of explosives, these magnificent buildings will fall with a mournful cry.
The fallen black stone buildings created a defensive zone for them on the north side of the city.
He wanted to ask Hades how he was able to find the weak points of these buildings so quickly, but he swallowed the words back down; it wasn't a good question.
So the commander of the Iron Warriors watched as Hades moved with ease among the various buildings, planting bombs.
Since Hades directly blasted through the resurrected construct on the other side, they were not under much pressure at the moment. The team composed of Death Guards and Iron Warriors fought against the undead in the Blackrock jungle. After losing their ability to resurrect, the last advantage of these low-level undead was also gone.
Seeing that Hades had destroyed at least a quarter of the buildings, Danteok tried to contact Perturabo to inquire about the ground attack's attempt to support the sky. Unfortunately, Perturabo and Mortarion were focused on dealing with the Necromancer's fleet and the Primarch ignored him.
[We can begin setting up the defense queue.]
[At the same time, prepare to have the air force provide support.]
Hades' voice came through the channel, and Death Guard decisively handed over the "defense" task to the Iron Warrior, who was more professional in this area.
On the other hand, Hades didn't feel so good.
Since entering this city built of black stone, he had vaguely sensed that the black stone was vibrating and humming.
What exactly is going on?
But Hades couldn't worry about that now. He continued to direct the Death Guards to plant explosives while observing the battle situation.
As Hades predicted, the fleet in space lost contact. Realizing the speed of the space necromancers, he hoped that the Death Guardians could at least escape the space necromancer ships.
However, as long as the Iron Warriors can hold off the Necromancer's ships, the Death Guards can escape by following the established path.
Hades thought to himself, while continuing to place the bombs—
He suddenly jumped backward!
A beam of green light, even brighter than the Necromancer's Cannon, grazed Hades's edge and splashed onto the building.
Hades quickly turned his head, only to see that the figure of the space necromancer had already disappeared into the black stone building.
It's a mark of death!
The Death Mark is the sniper of the space necromancers, but the lords do not like to deploy these soldiers because the placement of the Death Mark is "a disgrace to them".
But at this moment, Hades only realized one thing!
If a death mark appears on the battlefield, it proves that the lord within this tomb has awakened!
Damn it? !
Wasn't it supposed to be that space necromancers are fast asleep and generally can't be woken up by the nobles in their tombs?!
As if echoing Hades's thoughts, on the pyramid in the center of the city, an alien race, much taller than the other undead, emerged from the top of the pyramid and looked down at Hades and his party.
"Can you dodge it? Not bad."
Gatheros spoke,
Before the lord could finish speaking, a laser beam flashed and pierced through one of the steel warriors!
That death mark has changed its target!
[Watch out for snipers.]
Hades shouted into the communications channel,
"I was actually looking forward to seeing what kind of person you would be."
Gatheros continued, holding a war scythe, with a heavy energy field functioning well within it, as it slowly descended from its high position.