Hawk stood on a marble platform of a building, observing the scene in the sky through optical detection devices.
Even after experiencing many battles and fighting numerous times amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
What he saw still caused Hawk to show a look of terror.
The entire sky had darkened.
A spore cloud, blotting out the sun, poured forth from the horizon, covering the entire sky.
To be honest, Hawk had never seen a scene of such terrifying scale.
When fighting the orks.
It was always them attacking the orks, and the air power was superior on the Empire's side.
Now, it was completely reversed.
Looking up, everything within sight was that terrifying insectoid race, waving their tentacles and limbs.
"If they break into the city, I'm afraid we'll all be finished," Hawk said in a low voice.
The two regimental commanders beside him also turned pale upon hearing this.
No one could remain calm in the face of such a terrifying swarm.
Rumbling explosions and beams of light appeared in the sky.
Ground defense artillery arrays and numerous fighter jets intertwined, forming the first aerial defense line.
Brilliant lasers and dense solid projectiles quickly wove a death net in the high altitude.
Large numbers of spore sacs were torn apart by the devastating offensive before they even had a chance to land.
Hawk didn't know if these guys had a concept of death.
He was inclined to believe they didn't.
They were subservient to the Hive Mind; even death meant being converted and absorbed back into biomass.
"For the Emperor, for Guilliman."
Hawk repeated his oath.
At this moment, only such words could bring him a glimmer of courage.
People needed to know what they were fighting for.
Only then could they grip the gun in their hands tightly.
Hawk knew what he was fighting for, and he knew why he was standing here.
At this critical juncture, he remembered Ban.
That old veteran who had left alone.
Humanity needed to change.
And Guilliman was the one to bring about change.
He promised to reshape order, to reshape the rules of the human world, so that everyone could live with dignity.
It was because of this promise that Hawk left Natal, joined the regiment, and became a soldier.
He fought for Guilliman, or rather, he fought for the future that Guilliman had promised.
Many people fought for Guilliman for this reason.
No one wanted to live in hell, nor did they want their descendants to live in hell.
"Get ready, we are about to face the first wave of impact." Hawk looked at his deputy and told him to inform the company commanders to prepare for battle.
Fighter jets swept through the high altitude, and countless missiles and melta beams shot out from their weapon ports, colliding fiercely with the swarm, unleashing fiery flowers of death.
The pilots and the machine spirits became one, making the fighter jets extensions of their bodies, responding to their every command.
They unleashed firepower capable of destroying a city into the endless sea of bugs.
With exquisite piloting skills, strategic arrangement, and the support of ground anti-air fire.
The Imperial fighter formations systematically harvested the spore sacs.
But the sheer scale of the tyranids was ultimately too vast.
Like a mountain torrent caused by dammed floodwaters, it possessed an unparalleled sense of oppression, pouring down from the mountaintop, destroying everything in its path.
Fighter formations composed of Thunderhawks, Stormravens, and many other aircraft plunged into the ocean of grotesque monsters.
Blinding lights flickered from time to time, then were quickly obscured.
As time passed, the battle in the sky became increasingly fierce.
Large numbers of winged creatures swarmed towards the Imperial fighter formations.
Attempting to use their claws and bio-weapons to completely eliminate the humans obstructing them.
Bio-plasma spewed forth, the light brilliant and intense, dazzlingly bright.
A fighter jet was hit.
Thick black smoke and flames appeared instantly.
After flying for a while, a rumbling explosion followed.
The light of the explosion vanished in the bug sea in an instant.
The last cry of the fallen pilot echoed through the fighter formation's communication channel.
"For the Holy Emperor, for Guilliman."
Then the sound disappeared, completely drowned out by the howling of the tyranids.
The mutual slaughter was utterly brutal.
Large numbers of living creatures were torn apart by the fighter jets' weapons.
Numerous pieces of flesh and limbs mixed with bodily fluids rained down from the sky.
Yet the tyranids were endless.
For every tyranid creature taken down, countless others filled the void.
The sky was filled with a tornado of flapping wings and gnashing mouths.
Thorns made of biomass were expelled by powerful muscles.
Large numbers of living projectiles and corrosive bombs poured down like rain.
Imperial fighter jets were heading towards destruction in the madness.
Tycho, as an experienced pilot.
Had already been through countless wars.
This battle was still the most brutal he had ever experienced.
He maneuvered his fighter to evade a winged bug, pressed the missile launcher, only to find that the fighter's ammunition was completely depleted.
Tycho could only request to return to the spaceport.
Soon after, he received a reply.
**B1245, return permitted, spaceport is ready, ground crew is prepared for your maintenance.**
The voice from the spaceport control tower came through the communication.
Permitting Tycho to return for repairs and rearming.
"B1245 received, returning immediately." Tycho replied.
Then he turned the fighter's direction and rushed towards the hive city spaceport.
He looked out from the sides of the fighter, the tyranids had already occupied the entire sky.
Humanity was heading towards defeat.
Tycho collected himself, piloting the fighter, attempting to break through the encirclement.
**Unit 7234 requesting support.**
**Unit 7234 requesting support.**
A nearly crying voice echoed through the communication.
Tycho checked the distress-calling fighter and found that it was not far from him, only about twenty kilometers away.
"Consider yourself lucky, the Emperor let you meet me," Tycho said to himself.
Twenty kilometers is but a blink of an eye for a high-speed fighter jet.
Tycho quickly spotted the distressed fighter.
Its tail fin was damaged, emitting thick black smoke.
Its ammunition was depleted.
It was using its equipped plasma beam cannon, desperately trying to kill the tyranids.
But the enemy numbers were too great.
If nothing unexpected happened, this fighter would soon be completely torn apart.
Tycho maneuvered his fighter like a precise surgical scalpel, plunging into the pursuing enemies, constantly cutting through them, giving his comrade a chance to breathe.
"Thank you."
The other party's voice sounded in the communication.
"No need, just remember to buy me a drink later." Tycho laughed.
With Tycho's help, the black-smoking fighter was able to escape.
And just as Tycho was toying with the tyranids and preparing to leave.
A violent tremor occurred.
A piercing alarm sounded subsequently.
On the tactical screen, the Cogitator emitted a series of warning runes.
**Left wing damaged, left wing damaged, thrust reduced by 10%**
**Left wing damaged, left wing damaged, thrust reduced by 15%**
**Left wing damaged, left wing damaged, thrust reduced by 20%**
**Engine number two destroyed.**
A series of damage notifications made Tycho pause.
Then he let out a painful howl.
Massive amounts of data flooded into his mind through the neural cables.
Making every one of his brain cells feel swollen and aching.
Every pilot was connected to the Holy Machine Spirit; they shared the pain of their fighter jets.
After being repeatedly damaged, the fighter lost balance and spun rapidly, crashing towards the ground.
Tycho felt dizzy and nauseous, watching the ground get closer and closer, desperately trying to control the fighter.
"Pull yourself together, baby, you can do it."
Tycho called out to the fighter's machine spirit with his will, hoping it would continue to fight.
Pain came from the vast data, the machine spirit let out a mournful wail, making Tycho scream along.
Fortunately, the machine spirit finally responded to Tycho.
The rapidly descending fighter stopped its fall at the last moment.
The anti-grav array roared, operating once again.
The immense lift reversed the fighter's direction, allowing it to climb again.
Then the overwhelming swarm of tyranids rushed towards him.
**B1245, please return to base.**
Tycho heard the voice coming from the communication.
"Looks like I won't be making it back this time, I got myself into trouble by saving someone."
Tycho showed a hint of a bitter smile.
He was about to pay the price of his life for his kindness.
The spaceport tower was silent for a moment before continuing to speak.
**Then good luck, B1245, may you return to the Emperor's throne.**
"Thank you," Tycho said.
Tycho looked at the prompts on the tactical screen and the information flooding into his mind.
The fighter was on the verge of collapse.
"Baby, let's go, hit them hard, even if we go down, we'll go down in style."
Tycho looked at the fighter he had flown for many years and smiled.
He reached out and pressed a button on the control panel, increasing the fighter's energy level reaction.
A vibration came, the thrust suddenly increased, and the speed accelerated again.
"Die, xenos!" Tycho roared.
The howling fighter, with the help of its plasma thrusters, once again charged into the frenzied swarm.
The swarm, blotting out the sky, was like a vast biological ocean.
The black-smoking fighter charged into it at full speed and was soon obscured.
No one knew the situation of that pilot.
Bio-electromagnetic waves disrupted the Imperial communication, preventing accurate reception of the fighter's signal.
No matter how hard the Imperial Air Force tried.
The unstoppable biological torrent ultimately broke through the firepower defense net, landing on the surface with a rumbling sound.
Ground combat was unavoidable.
A transparent, slightly distorted light curtain appeared in the sky.
Multiple shield generators installed in the hive city were simultaneously activated, and a massive shield enveloped the entire hive city.
As these colossal machines started, the vibrations propagated throughout the entire hive city like ripples.
Large numbers of tyranid creatures attempting to enter the city directly were blocked.
Void shields could block large, high-speed flying targets outside the shield.
Spore sacs had to be slow enough to pass through the void shield; otherwise, they would be blocked outside.
The closer to the hive city center, the slower the speed allowed for targets to pass through the void shield.
The tyranids could only enter from the edges, and without the support of ranged or aerial firepower.
Hawk's unit soon saw the arrival of the first wave of the swarm.