The regrouped heretic fanatics, enduring the firing from the entire defensive line, and under the bombardment of heavy artillery, adopted a 'reckless' stance, surging into the second defensive line like a torrent!
At all costs and without regard for casualties, the cult army successfully broke through the first defensive line established by the Planetary Defense Force at the entrance from the Underhive to the Midhive!
And this, also meant… that the cult could completely pour into the Midhive!
The B-17 forward position was located at the edge of the Midhive, surrounded by collapsed ruins from heavy artillery attacks, which became natural cover. Coupled with the urban street fighting… this already brutal war completely entered a phase of attrition!
Street fighting is the most brutal aspect of war!
Emrys commanded three squads, engaging in alternating fire, barely managing to block the swarming cult fanatics at the entrance of this street.
The only good news was that the cult had no organization.
They purely relied on their numbers; for every step forward, a large number of bodies would fall. However, facing the cult's suicidal charge, even a few laser guns were practically smoking, yet they still couldn't stop their advance.
"To hell with their human wave tactics!"
Gazing at the endless heretic army, Emrys, in a trance, even thought his enemies were not Khorne cult fanatics, but damned Tyranids!
Seeing that their firepower was insufficient and they were about to be completely overwhelmed by the heretics, Emrys even began to consider whether to use his psychic powers to unleash a big one on these damned bastards.
Whoosh—!
A sharp shriek suddenly came from above their heads!
The shells of the heavy defensive artillery, dragging an ear-piercing shriek, descended from the sky like the Emperor's wrath!
"Take cover! Take cover!" Emrys' face changed drastically. He yelled, his voice hoarse, shouting desperately over the din of the battlefield, then dove behind cover.
A large amount of dust, kicked up by the explosion of the shells, seemed to have given him a direct bath, almost burying him in the dirt.
Although he was nearly killed by his own artillery, Emrys still couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Hahahaha… Come on, you damned heretics, how does that shell taste?"
Because the heretic fanatics were charging in groups, their positions were quite dense. Previously, in the struggle for the passage entrance, they at least had the cover of the passage and many secret routes, which prevented the full power of the heavy artillery from being displayed.
But now… everyone was gathered in a heap!
A single heavy shell falling directly created a large cloud of blood mist!
Roughly estimated, that one heavy shell just now caused at least several hundred effective casualties, directly clearing a large area of the dense street!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dense shells rained down, hitting what was originally a residential area, but fortunately, that Commander wasn't foolish; all of them landed in front of the defensive line.
But unfortunately… this time, the enemies they faced were cult fanatics influenced by Chaos sorcery, completely fallen into the desire for slaughter, and controlled. They simply didn't care about casualties!
Gurgling blood, on the streets covered with ruins, almost converged into a stream, soaking into the ground. The air of the entire battlefield was mixed with an extremely thick, nauseating, pungent stench of blood!
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"Kill that sorcery-wielding bacon!!!"
"The Blood God is the true God!"
The madmen roared, completely unafraid of the artillery fire. Taking advantage of the reloading interval, each of them, as if injected with adrenaline, charged forward, howling, trying to break through this defensive line directly by virtue of their numerical superiority!
It was clearly a stance of relying on numerical superiority to forcibly break through this eastern defensive line!
"Squads 1 and 2, alternate fire!"
Emrys shouted the command!
The people in the civilian houses on both sides gritted their teeth, showed their heads, and poured firepower frantically onto the cult below.
Every laser shot was bound to take down a cultist!
Their angry roars merged into the entire battlefield, accompanying the sound of guns and cannons, proclaiming the wrath from the Emperor!
"No, we can't suppress them anymore!"
Emrys checked his ammunition; the laser gun's magazine was empty, and the cluster grenades had all been thrown. If this continued… it would be time for close-quarters combat!
But, engaging in close combat with cult fanatics blessed by Khorne, unless his head was full of air, he wouldn't want to do that!
But soon, the second bad news arrived!
According to intelligence detected by the bio-armor, the flanks of this defensive line were about to be breached by the cult fanatics!
If they didn't retreat soon, once the flanks were breached, they would be completely surrounded. At that point, with just these few people, even trading one for one with the cult fanatics would be difficult!
"We need to move!"
Emrys expressed his opinion to the officer: "The flanks of the line are about to be breached, we must move!"
"Move?"
The officer was stunned for a few seconds before reacting. He pulled out his pistol with a furious expression, pointing it at Emrys: "In the name of the Emperor, you are not allowed to retreat an inch! Otherwise… I'll shoot you!"
Although Emrys' performance satisfied him, even somewhat shocked him, it did not prevent him from shooting this 'traitor' who attempted to withdraw from the front line!
"This is a tactical retreat!"
Emrys forcefully argued: "The enemy has already breached the positions on both flanks. It won't be long before we are directly surrounded. If we strategically withdraw two hundred meters back now, we can completely re-establish a defensive position and continue to block the enemy!"
The officer was silent for a few more seconds, then gritted his teeth and said decisively: "No, this is a shameful escape!"
"It's a tactical retreat, officer."
Emrys corrected his wording: "Only by preserving our effective strength as much as possible can we better serve the God-Emperor, kill more cultists, and not stay here to die for a position that cannot be held!"
"No, that's wrong!"
However, this officer was completely stubborn, insisting: "This is an undeniable desertion. In the name of the God-Emperor, you must hold your ground until the last drop of blood is shed, fighting to the very end!"
To hell with fighting to the very end!
Emrys' profanity almost slipped out.
He was so angry he wanted to crush his head to see if it was filled with shit!
Keep the men, lose the ground, and both men and ground will remain!
Keep the ground, lose the men, and both men and ground will be lost!
Doesn't he understand such a simple principle?!
Just as things were tense, and Emrys was already considering whether to shoot this bastard, a communications soldier suddenly burst into the position.
Looking at the two people at odds in the room, the communications soldier hesitated for a few seconds and asked: "Officer Gray asked me to ask you, who was commanding the battle here just now?"
Emrys hesitated slightly, slowly saying: "It was I."
The communications soldier was somewhat suspicious until the officer snorted coldly and nodded in confirmation: "He was commanding the battle."
"Very good, what… was your name again?"
The communications soldier suddenly remembered to ask for the other person's name.
"Merlin Emrys."
"Ahem, Merlin Emrys, according to the order of officer Gray of the Planetary Defense Force, you have been promoted to company Commander, and the four squads around you are all under your command."
The communications soldier read out the order in one breath.
The officer next to him was dumbfounded. How did he become a company Commander in the blink of an eye?!
"Now, my rank is higher than yours!"
Emrys finally let out a sigh of relief, ignoring the livid officer, and directly shouted: "Notify everyone, including those four squads, to retreat two hundred meters and re-establish a defensive position!"
Bad news: he was promoted to temporary company Commander of the 177th Regiment.
Good news… The hive city civilians who survived that brutal street fighting had basically passed the most difficult stage, transforming into barely qualified warriors.
The officer, trembling with anger, roared: "I will report this! Report to officer Gray! You damned coward!"
However, Emrys glanced at him lightly and uttered two words: "Whatever."