"I must remind you, firstborn of my Master: you have no authority to utilize those engines of war."
The Custodes' refusal was unyielding. The muscles in Lion's face twitched slightly as he suppressed his emotions, masking his anger toward the Emperor's bodyguards. He had already mentally prepared himself, trying to comprehend the unique and absolute arrogance of the golden-clad sentinels, but facing it directly still kindled a flicker of wrath within his chest.
As a Primarch and a true son of the Emperor, the blood of the Master of Mankind flowed through Lion's veins. At times, he genuinely could not understand how the Custodes could display such sheer hubris in his presence.
"I indeed lack the authority," Lion replied, putting aside his prejudice to acknowledge the legality of the Custodian's words.
Hearing the response from the Emperor's firstborn, Shield-Captain Odysseus's brow relaxed, his expression softening slightly. He remained silent, waiting for the Primarch to finish what he had to say.
Unless absolutely forced by circumstances, Lion would never willingly contact the Custodes and subject himself to the constraints of the Emperor's authority and edicts.
"As the Emperor's Guard, you are duty-bound to deploy and eliminate the xenos."
As Lion's commanding voice fell, a holographic projection flickered into view.
Within the projection, dragonfly-like alien warriors buzzed their wings, their mouthparts chewing continuously as they flew above the ranks of the Rangdan host. Their faces were hideous and terrifying, their crimson compound eyes shifting constantly. Their slender upper limbs clutched long spears, and their pale gray bodies were encased in chitinous armor.
The Shadow-Stalker Reapers. The formidable xenos that served as the personal guard of the Rangdan Overlords had appeared on the frontline battlefield for the very first time!
Lion had not wanted to ask the Custodes for help, but pressed by the sheer might of these xenos warriors, he had no choice but to seek their aid. With just over a hundred thousand Dark Angels facing a Rangdan host of four hundred thousand, they had no surplus strength to spare against high-tier units. Going toe-to-toe with more than five hundred Shadow-Stalker Reapers would mean a slaughter for the Space Marines. Even if they managed to eliminate them, the cost would be more than the Dark Angels could bear.
On the other end of the encrypted vox-channel, Shield-Captain Odysseus nodded, understanding the Primarch's intent. He knew the specific data on the Shadow-Stalker Reapers inside out; the Custodian Guards were fully prepared to match such formidable adversaries.
In terms of pure combat prowess, the Custodes and the Shadow-Stalker Reapers were evenly matched, though their strengths lay in different areas. While the Custodes excelled in martial artistry, the reapers utilized flight and the advantage of a full field of vision.
"We will deploy," Odysseus inclined his head proudly, well aware that if the Custodes did not intervene, the Dark Angels would suffer catastrophic losses. On a battlefield that would dictate the destiny of mankind, the Emperor's Guard would not let prejudice blind them to the human warriors fighting the xenos.
"I look forward to your arrival."
Having secured a definitive answer from the Shield-Captain, Lion breathed a sigh of relief. The purpose of the transmission had been achieved. Though he coveted the war machinery, he knew those assets were not things he could touch until a critical juncture arrived. Thus, he had taken a roundabout approach to draw the Custodes into the conflict.
The holographic link cut out, and Odysseus turned to the herald beside him: "All units equip jump packs. Stand ready for the Primarch's call at a moment's notice."
With the Shield-Captain's command, the Custodes' combat apparatus shifted into high gear to reinforce the Dark Angels Legion!
At the blocking positions of the war-fortress, the Dark Angels and the Rangdan host had already locked horns. Three hundred thousand elite Rangdan soldiers had abandoned their heavy firepower, carrying only high-speed assault equipment to push forward, intending to sweep the Dark Angels aside with thunderous momentum. Massive bio-mechs and high-speed assault skiffs slammed into the perimeter of the war-fortress.
A gruesome melee erupted beneath the ramparts as the bodies of Dark Angels tumbled from the battlements and the Rangdan host swarmed onto the walls. Facing three hundred thousand absolute frontline troops, it was impossible for mortals to survive on the walls; their shooting actions were meant solely to buy firing opportunities for the Astartes. Unfortunately, courage and fearlessness could do little to stem absolute might.
When the Shadow-Stalker Reapers buzzed their wings, closing onto the walls with phantasmal speed, they brandished their spears to impale the legionaries. They moved too fast, flickering between the embrasures and automated turrets, leaving the Space Marines no time to react. By the time a Space Marine caught sight of a reaper or heard the drone of its wings, the world was already spinning out of control. Heads were lopped off, hearts pierced through, and entire spines ripped clean out by the xenos warriors!
The apex predators killed to their hearts' content. Unleashing their savage instincts, the five hundred warriors annihilated over a thousand Space Marines in an instant.
The Dark Angels decisively abandoned the mortals, beginning a fighting retreat. They had to use the Imperial Army auxiliaries to draw enemy fire and buy time to fall back. The first wave of the Rangdan assault was simply too ferocious; a few thousand Space Marines could not possibly hold the walls. The blocking action at the wall was intended to buy time for the layered defenses to unfold. The original plan included evacuation protocols for the mortals, but the Rangdan advance was too overwhelming, forcing the Legion to abandon covering them.
Having taken the first wall at a negligible cost, the Shadow-Stalker Reapers hovered in the air, their wings buzzing as a string of Space Marine heads dangled from the barbs of their lower limbs, mocking human weakness.
The barbican, the second wall, another barbican, the third wall.
The cycle of assault repeated over and over. One by one, the human lines shattered as if suffering a total rout, retreating rapidly into the deeper recesses of the fortress. Yet the legionaries' retreat was highly disciplined; as they abandoned a defensive line, they systematically destroyed the transit stations and rail lines extending into the interior. This forced the Rangdan host to advance on foot, draining the enemy's energy.
One hour, two hours, four hours, eight hours.
The Rangdan host could clearly feel that the time required to break each human line was growing longer, and the resistance was mounting. By the time they reached the foot of the seventh wall, the irresistible momentum of the Rangdan host showed signs of fatigue and sluggishness for the first time. The staggered blocking actions had finally borne fruit, dulling the razor-sharp edge of the Rangdan advance.
The Firewing forces launched counter-attacks from hidden tunnels and bunkers, utilizing the geography to operate like ghosts across the extended zones of the Rangdan columns. Melting into the shadows, they crouched like veteran hunters, precisely exploiting the xenos' vulnerabilities before striking like sudden thunder. Their multi-directional, lethal strikes yielded significant results behind enemy lines. Simultaneously, the Firewing extended their operations backward, striking at the Rangdan supply lines.
While the results were gratifying, operating deep behind enemy lines was akin to walking on the edge of a knife. The Rangdan counter-measures arrived swiftly. Numerous officers and technical personnel who failed to commit suicide in time were forcibly fed slaving brain-fluids, becoming new thralls under a foul collective will. These thralls provided the Overlords with geographical intelligence, surrendering everything contained within their minds.
The purge followed immediately. The Firewing warriors suffered heavy casualties, forcing them to curtail their high-frequency operations and shift to covert warfare.
Utilizing their thralls to suppress the rats in the sewers and secure the primary zones, the Rangdan host immediately shifted their operational focus. They abandoned their vertical push against the walls, preparing to maneuver horizontally toward Luther's position instead.
However, multiple main gates along the seventh wall slowly ground open, and the black-armored legionaries could be faintly seen within, clearly drawn up in battle formation. No words were spoken, but the signal sent was unmistakable—the Legion would absolutely not break engagement!
The Rangdan decisively split their forces, sending fifty thousand troops to launch a surprise attack on the second landing zone, while the rest of their forces prepared for a final showdown with the humans.
Beneath the seventh wall's barbican, the roar of battle shook the heavens! A bone-white torrent slammed into a black tide. Footsteps served as the drumbeats of war, and blades articulated the absolute resolve to slay the foe. Seventy thousand Space Marines against nearly two hundred thousand Rangdan elites; the disparity in numbers on the main front was staggering. Furthermore, the Rangdan still possessed over four hundred Shadow-Stalker Reapers.
Plasteel and biomass clashed. The Rangdan shrieked, and the Space Marines bellowed in fury. Neither side retained a shred of restraint; they had completely seen red!
The Shadow-Stalker Reapers were in their element. With every dive and pull-up, the barbs beneath their limbs claimed the heads of more human warriors.
Right at that moment, in low planetary orbit directly above the battlefield, a plain, nondescript transport vessel threw open its broadside and aft hangar doors. Over a thousand golden-clad warriors equipped with jump packs leapt from low orbit.
Golden wings spewed streams of particles as a thousand golden arrows pierced the thin atmosphere, slicing down like a meteor shower. Sensing the danger, the compound eyes of the Shadow-Stalker Reapers locked onto the high-speed objects, catching the brilliant radiance of the golden auramite armor.
"For the Master of Mankind!"
Shield-Captain Odysseus roared, the golden pommel of his weapon slamming into a reaper's abdomen as disruption lightning dissolved the xenos' hideous form.
Boom, boom, boom——!!
The meteors slammed violently into the earth, shaking the ground. As the smoke and dust cleared, the golden figures stood proud and imposing, their boots trampling the shredded flesh of the xenos.
"It's the Custodes!" the Dark Angels warriors gasped in surprise. They had never expected to receive reinforcement from the Custodian Guard.
"For the Emperor! For the Lion!" they bellowed in fury, venting the anger that had been suppressed by the Shadow-Stalker Reapers, their morale instantly soaring to infinite heights. The Custodes represented the Emperor; their arrival meant that the Master of Mankind was watching over this very battlefield.
"Face the wrath of the Master of Mankind!"
A Blade Champion wielded a shimmering azure power broadsword, tearing through broken limbs with every swing, unleashing a violence that surpassed even the xenos. Dropping straight into the Rangdan formations, their personal conversion fields flashing around them, they feared nothing from the suffocating encirclement. The Blade Champion hacked wildly, leaving a trail of blood and gore in his wake.
In the skies above, streaks of light chased one another as the Custodes and the Shadow-Stalker Reapers locked into a deadly aerial dogfight. Bodies plunged continuously from the sky—both xenos and Custodes—in a spectacle of unmitigated ferocity.