Most of the hive cities in Vitoria have undergone several rounds of expansion.
New buildings are erected on the ruins of old ones.
This has led to the formation of intricate underground tunnels.
Kaelen's mission on this trip is to clear out the genestealers hidden in the shadows.
He must ensure that these damned xenos do not interfere with the impending war.
As they approached the entrance of a dimly lit underground tunnel,
a warning sound blared from everyone's helmets.
The auspex built into the Terminator armor detected a large number of biological signals rapidly approaching them.
Without needing further explanation, everyone understood what these signals were.
Strange roars continuously echoed from the darkness.
Soon, the hideous monsters appeared.
Like a tide, they surged madly towards Kaelen and the others.
"Prepare for battle! Don't let those bastards break our formation!" Kaelen shouted.
All the primaris space marines raised their weapons.
As the first signal source rushed into the range of their boltguns,
they fired in unison, as per their training, creating an interwoven net of fire.
The intense firepower instantly tore apart the genetically mutated bodies, which were covered in biological carapaces.
The immense power of the bolter rounds made the entire tunnel shake.
Dust fell continuously.
Countless dismembered bodies and shattered remains were strewn across the ground, like a hellish slaughterhouse.
"Enemies! Enemies!" a masked cultist screamed.
He carried a flamethrower, and promethium fuel surged from a high-pressure tank, igniting as it exited the muzzle, forming streams of fire dragons.
"Damned traitor!" Kaelen roared, raising his boltgun.
He locked onto the enemy's head with precise combat intuition.
Bang!
With a single shot, the enemy's head exploded.
The out-of-control flamethrower spewed high-temperature promethium fuel, causing an explosion on the spot.
Swaths of cultists and monsters were incinerated, emitting a foul stench.
However, the number of those monsters was overwhelming.
Wielding sharp limbs, or carrying flamethrowers and various grotesque weapons, those genetic hybrids charged through the dense gunfire at all costs, assaulting Kaelen and his companions.
As one genetic mutant fell, more would rush forward.
Monsters poured from dim alleys and other passages towards Kaelen's squad.
Kaelen and his men had to suppress them with even fiercer firepower.
Countless genetic mutants were struck down by bolter rounds during their charge, only to be trampled by their comrades over their shattered bodies.
For those genetic aberrations fortunate enough to close the distance, they were either killed by chainswords or smashed to pieces by Kaelen's power fist.
"We need to find that node creature, otherwise this will never end," Kaelen said with a grave tone.
Kaelen had fought countless battles against the tyranids, and he deeply understood the species' terror and weaknesses.
They were fearless, completely devoid of the concept of fear.
Driven by the Hive Mind, the tyranids were dauntless, crushing all enemies.
Without the Hive Mind, tyranids were little different from other beasts, acting only on their instincts.
The Hive Mind could not cover the entire universe.
It also needed node creatures to maintain control over the tyranids.
A single node creature could transform scattered tyranids into disciplined, fearless troops willing to sacrifice themselves.
This was the true terrifying aspect of the tyranids.
The Hive would not hesitate to sacrifice 100 times its numbers to inflict casualties on the enemy, without even blinking.
Tyranids never feared death.
Because the ultimate fate of all corpses on the battlefield, friend or foe, was to become raw material in their digestive pools.
However, this advantage of node creatures was also the tyranids' weakness.
By killing the node creature, the Hive Mind's control over the tyranids could be easily weakened.
The tyranids would lose their fearless characteristics.
Once the node creature died, the tyranid swarm would be lambs to the slaughter.
Kaelen and his men fought their way through, trying to find the node creature.
However, the number of enemies was simply too vast.
Their ammunition was rapidly depleted.
Boltguns were heavy and powerful, but their ammunition capacity was limited.
After a volley of fire against the enemies, the boltgun's ammunition count quickly dropped to zero.
Kaelen reloaded with a spare magazine and handed another empty one to the accompanying ammo servitor.
To cope with the situation here, the ammo servitors dragged heavy ammunition supply crates.
Ammo servitors were specifically designed to carry various equipment.
They assisted Space Marines in replacing their weapons at any time, acting as helpers on the battlefield.
Even without his boltgun, Kaelen showed no fear when facing the tyranids.
With a single punch, he smashed the head of a genestealer attempting to pounce on him.
Then, he grabbed another genetic mutant and tore it apart alive.
The crisp sound of cracking bones sent shivers down one's spine.
After tearing apart several genetic mutants and genestealers with his bare hands, Kaelen took a reloaded boltgun from the servitor's hand.
He pulled the trigger repeatedly once more, unleashing a barrage of fire forward.
The roaring bolter rounds easily tore through the genestealers covered in biomass carapaces.
The mutated humans wielding flamethrowers and laser guns also charged forward, shouting various slogans, only to be crushed by the primaris space marines.
After a breathtaking and perilous battle, a large number of genetically mutated and genestealer corpses were strewn across the underground tunnel.
The bodies were shattered, blood gushed forth, pooling in low areas, quickly filling them.
The battle briefly ended.
Many warriors finished off enemies still moving, and dragged out their wounded comrades.
A veteran in Terminator power armor was also knocked down.
When his comrades pulled him from the pile of corpses, he had already lost a leg.
The wound had clotted, and the torn power armor continuously crackled with electric sparks.
"Apologies, my lord," the veteran said, his face contorted in pain from his severed leg and inability to continue fighting, "I've held you back."
"Don't say that. You've done your best, and you are worthy of your mission. If the Primarch were here, he would even commend you," Kaelen said, looking at the veteran. "Now, you should retreat and find a medic to treat your leg."
"Do not refuse this order. This is not cowardice or flight; a greater battle awaits us. Our mission is crucial, and you must not die here. I need every ounce of strength to help me resist the tyranid tide until the Primarch arrives."
Kaelen ordered the veteran and several other wounded comrades to disengage from the battle and return to the surface for treatment.
Then, he led the remaining brothers deeper into the tunnel.
To find that node creature and eliminate it.
Without the node creature, the cultists and tyranids would become disoriented and utterly incapable of resistance.
The rebellion would naturally be quelled.
The deeper Kaelen's squad advanced, the greater the resistance they encountered.
The number of corrupted and twisted tyranid monsters grew increasingly large.
Their evolved biological limbs were incredibly sharp, capable of easily tearing through anything.
Even Terminator armor was cut apart by the genestealers as if it were made of paper.
After sacrificing several battle brothers, Kaelen and his group entered the depths of the tunnel.
It was a huge, abandoned factory.
As the hive city was continuously rebuilt, many old buildings were buried beneath, becoming forgotten forbidden zones.
The factories here were also abandoned by the nobles.
A large amount of equipment was forgotten here.
The genestealers had reactivated them, emitting a rumbling sound.
They were systematically producing weapons and various equipment.
The sheer scale of it made even Kaelen's heart tremble.
If a battle with the tyranids broke out, these hidden genestealers inciting various uprisings would undoubtedly lead to catastrophic consequences, causing the Imperium to collapse completely.
At that point, let alone resisting the tyranids, he himself would likely perish here.
With a sense of relief, Kaelen and his men unhesitatingly ordered their warriors to open fire and clear out those abominable monsters.
They destroyed the weapons and equipment produced by the xenos.
Fierce clashes echoed through the long-abandoned factory.
Large numbers of genetic mutants fell, and the production lines, painstakingly repaired by the xenos, were blown to smithereens.
If Kaelen had observed these mutants closely, he might have noticed a detective mentioned in Anna's report—Dimitry.
His body had undergone a drastic transformation, and he had grown two strange limbs.
As a genetic mutant, Dimitry still retained his memories, but he had developed an unimaginable aversion to the Human Imperium and humanity.
How dared such a crude and barbaric species resist the great Illuminator?
That damned Corpse-Emperor distorted human perception, preventing them from glimpsing the true future.
These individuals were human sinners, obstructing humanity's integration with the Illuminator, an unforgivable and terrible crime.
He let out a roar.
To kill these sinners, to let humanity embrace the great Illuminator and embark on the path of ultimate evolution.
Shuk brandished his claws, letting out a series of low growls, and charged forward like many other genetic mutants.
Bang!
A bolter round exploded, directly blowing apart the head of the genestealer in front.
Shuk and several other monsters were also torn to pieces by the immense impact.
Accompanied by a final roar, this unfortunate detective met his end.
Kaelen, unaware of who he was or what he had been, stepped forward, his heavy steel combat boot directly crushing his skull.
As the squad attempted to destroy the factory, a rumbling sound echoed.
It seemed a terrifying beast had awakened in the darkness.
The ground trembled slightly with the sound.
It was as if some terrifying ancient beast had awakened from an endless slumber.
A ten-meter-tall genestealer with a thick biological carapace emerged from the darkness, roaring at the sky.
The extreme malice in its eyes was unmistakable.
Kaelen's expression was grave; it seemed this genestealer was the source of corruption in the Vitoria system.
Genestealers infiltrate a planet through various means, then inject twisted gene-spirals into human bodies, distorting their minds and making them subservient.
Subsequently, these corrupted men and women would continuously procreate, forming a social organizational structure centered around that genestealer.
The first to fourth generations of genestealers had clear tyranid features, but the fifth generation, apart from being bald, was identical to humans.
At this point, they would infiltrate human society.
Subtly gaining high-ranking positions, corrupting humanity step by step, and undermining human resistance.
The original pureblood genestealer would grow larger and smarter as the species expanded.
Ultimately, it would far surpass its peers in strength, size, and intellect, becoming a powerful psyker creature, also known as the Patriarch.
The genestealer before Kaelen was the source of corruption for the many tyranids and cultists in Vitoria—the Patriarch.
Accompanying the Patriarch was a group of genestealer Aberrants.
These Aberrants wielded their biological weapons, letting out incredibly frenzied shouts.
"Purge them!" Kaelen did not hesitate; he had to eliminate this genestealer to completely resolve this rebellion.
The other warriors also surged forward, chainswords whirling.
Instantly, countless shattered remains splattered everywhere.
It was utterly brutal.