The Emperor’s Angel of Death

#2051 - Iron Flow (Part 1)

The Adeptus Vindicator Chapter acted with great efficiency. Once the signal for success was given, Sorkhyan immediately ordered the fleet to close in.

Soon, the orbital facilities of Tovarisc appeared on the flagship's scanning arrays. It was one of Huron's main investments during his rule over the Maelstrom, resembling a girdle of steel and adamantium. The entire main structure was covered with buildings - huge repair docks, composite forging factories, and intricately decorated spires surrounded by massive floating fleet berths.

Originally, it should have been prepared for the arrival of the fleet, but now there was no reaction. The flashing lights even indicated clearance for docking.

Some pirate ships that were originally docked were hastily attempting to disengage.

Clearly, the Adeptus Vindicator Chapter had already completed most of their work, and those escaping ships were quickly attacked by the expeditionary fleet.

The massive *Indomitable Truth* blotted out the stars, its magnificent turrets spewing plumes of plasma and dazzling lasers. Smaller warships gathered around it like remoras around a shark. Even the *Eternal Crusader* looked insignificant in comparison.

The fleet formed an interlocking crescent, encircling the possible escape routes of the enemy ships. Soon, the high orbit of Tovarisc was filled with wreckage and debris.

After resolving the orbital issues, Sorkhyan immediately ordered an attack on Watt Fortress.

Watt Fortress was also in chaos. The defenders didn't know how the enemy had managed to appear in the main city without warning, completely bypassing the warning systems. Many of the defense systems had also been sabotaged by enemy agents. While the Disciples of Decay assassins weren't as professional as those from the Assassin Temples, they were still undetectable specters to mortals. They cleverly avoided confronting the Chaos Space Marines, instead focusing on assassinating mortal technicians and administrators, which caused immense chaos.

In this situation, the city felt a great shock. It trembled from bottom to top, and huge, fiery, and destructive craters were blasted into the massive walls, accompanied by the creaking of ancient metal deforming.

Burning, tumbling flames filled the sky. Every face in every part of the city looked up, staring in terror at the shaking ceilings.

The orbital bombardment was the first step. Although it was blocked by the void shields, the dispersed energy impact affected the aiming of the anti-aircraft weapons.

Soon, the clouds were pierced by enormous, fiery teardrops that plunged down at incredible speeds, causing devastating, tearing wounds to the ground around the city.

The ground assault began—

"All systems debugged."

Sergeant Garian Kerr closed the hatch and sat in his commander's chair. This former member of the Iron Brotherhood warband, now wearing the silver-grey armor of the loyalists, was driving a vehicle from the once-erased Doomed Legion. And he himself was actually an Imperial Fist.

Well, sometimes he wondered if the Emperor particularly hated him, arranging such a tortuous life for him.

But at least things weren't too bad in the Star Knights, and he could still drive his favorite super-heavy armor. As for the future, he would leave it to the Emperor. After all, he used to be a traitor, and the ending couldn't be worse.

The commander's position in the Baneblade was at the upper left of the turret. Because this ancient model used a fully automatic loading system, there was no loader. Even a Space Marine didn't feel cramped inside. Garian had three screens in front of him, integrating the auspex, tactical display, and communication panel. If it were a tank used by other Imperial Guard, every available surface not occupied by the tactical display or controls would be crammed with personal items, but here it was exceptionally simple. This was also the difference between Space Marines and mortals; they hardly needed any external objects.

And because they all wore power armor, there was basically no odor in the vehicle, only the smell that a steel beast should have.

"Landing craft will land in one minute, prepare to disengage the lock, everyone confirm status."

"Instruments normal, reactor normal."

The deep voice of the driver, Valen Cardoso, echoed in the spacious vehicle. He and Garian came from the Iron Brotherhood, but Guy was a true Star Knight.

They were driving a Baneblade named *Iron Dirge*, a super-heavy armor designed for the Astartes. Because of its high level of automation, it only needed four crew members. Garian Kerr was not only the commander but also the communicator. In addition, there were two gunners in the vehicle, a main gunner and a secondary gunner.

If it were a Shadowsword-class super-heavy armor used by the Imperial Guard, it would require at least eight crew members and additional servitors to assist in operation, plus a commissar. The interior of the vehicle would also be very crowded.

Their vehicle had a twin-linked accelerator cannon as its main gun and a demolisher cannon as its secondary gun. There were four-linked lascannons on each side of the vehicle, controlled by servitors.

During the Great Crusade, such great war machines were common equipment for the Astartes Legions, but in the 41st millennium, most Astartes Chapters or Chaos warbands could no longer produce one.

How many did the Star Knights have?

Garian Kerr wasn't sure. The Star Knights' armory was like a huge mystery to him, and it always seemed to have unexpected surprises.

"Main gun normal, weapon control servitor normal, aiming system normal."

The voice of the main gunner, Guy, sounded second. Valen Cardoso and Garian were from the Iron Brotherhood, but Guy was a genuine Star Knight.

"Secondary gun normal, linked subsystem normal, aiming system normal."

The voice of the secondary gunner, Rams, sounded last, his voice still a bit young. He was also a Star Knight.

This was the lineup of their crew, and it was also an arrangement specifically requested by Sorkhyan. He hoped to have these "veterans" proficient in war machines train more similar sergeants, so other super-heavy vehicles had similar configurations.

Then Garian Kerr pressed the communication button.

"Iron Wolf, report your status."

"All normal."

"Bronze Specter, your status."

"All normal."

Their squad consisted of three Baneblades, and Garian Kerr was the commander of the squad. The commanders were also his former "old buddies," and they didn't need so much language between them. Although they had been "brought back to the right path," the habits and fighting styles developed in the Iron Warriors for a long time were difficult to change in a short time.

As the landing prompt echoed in the vehicle, Garian Kerr turned on all the equipment and panels. The ghostly green light immediately covered his entire face, and various data flashed before his eyes.

Just as he thought, everything was normal.