A dome sector could be as large as hundreds of kilometers or as small as dozens—large enough to serve as a battlefield for Ultralisks and Hive Crone swarms. Now, it had simply been blown out of existence.
It wasn't entirely gone, but as the Swarm Overmind looked over, more than 90% of the area had been vaporized, leaving only a few scattered fragments of the foundation.
"Find her. Find her... she's not dead, is she?"
"I am fine, Overmind."
The Queen of Blades' voice rang out, responding to the Overmind. She was using her psionic energy to float in the vacuum of space; it seemed she possessed the ability to survive in the cosmos.
"Where is the enemy?"
"Likely dead. Its psionic energy went out of control during our clash, causing my own energy to detonate violently along with it. Those demonic whispers were far too annoying."
That's Warhammer for you—psionic energy is a great tool, but the Warp energy it brings along isn't nearly as pleasant.
"Good, that's enough. Return to the Craftworld interior now; we're changing our axis of attack."
Since the dome where the Tyranid Swarm had landed was gone, it was time to focus on the original objectives. The Swarm began attacking other domes from the Third Dome. Previously, most forces were tied up fighting the Tyranids, leaving other paths lightly defended. Now, the full weight of the Swarm was pressing against the Eldar positions.
"The bugs are coming!!!"
The Zerg Swarm was the first to charge the Eldar lines. The Eldar's curtain of fire once again wiped out most of the Zerg vanguard. Even the lightning-fast Zerglings found it difficult to break through that hail of projectiles. Many of the Guardians might have been mere civilians previously, but the moment they donned those war masks, they became competent infantry.
But this was only the beginning. Soon, Hydralisks and Roaches reached the front lines, accompanied by Ravagers. During the chaotic melee with the Tyranids, Ravagers were hard to utilize, but in trench warfare, they were invaluable. Defilers also moved to the rear of the battlefield, spraying Dark Swarm and Plague toward the Eldar positions.
"Don your masks!!!"
The Eldar were no fools. The Warlocks and warriors who hadn't been wearing their masks immediately put them on. These masks featured self-filtering systems, though the Dark Swarm still obscured their vision, making it impossible to continue their ranged salvos.
"Howling Banshees and Striking Scorpions, move up!"
Squads of Howling Banshees clad in white wraithbone armor stepped forward, becoming the first line of defense against the Swarm within the black mist. These were composed of highly experienced female Aeldari, possessing melee combat skills as rich as those of the Wyches.
Moving in small teams and covering one another, they made it impossible for Zerglings to land a meaningful blow. Even without a Khala like the Protoss, they relied on terrifying reaction speeds and psionic premonitions to dodge and counterattack the Zergling hordes. They could even evade the indiscriminate fire from Hydralisks within the mist. Occasionally, when unable to parry a Zergling's strike, these red-haired warriors would unleash a stunning psionic scream, breaking the Swarm's rhythm.
Under their guard, the Zerg's casualty ratio began to climb. Meanwhile, the Striking Scorpions—warriors wielding chainswords and shuriken pistols—boasted heavier armor. While not as fast, their helmets were equipped with Mandiblaster weapons capable of dealing effective damage to heavily armored units.
The disciplined coordination of these warriors made it difficult for the Zerg Swarm to break through. The Overmind deployed Ravagers, but just as these fire-roaches were about to lob plasma fire at the Eldar lines, a voice that shook the entire battlefield echoed from the distance.
"I RETURN TO THE BATTLEFIELD!"
That shout nearly gave the Swarm Overmind PTSD.
"Where did a Dragoon come from? Where's the Immortal?"
Fortunately, upon closer inspection, the Overmind saw it wasn't a Dragoon or an Immortal, nor any Protoss unit. But what arrived was something even more troublesome: an Eldar Titan.
A massive wraithbone construct strode between the high towers. It held a curved blade in one hand and a bright lance weapon in the other, with a heavy cannon and missile launchers mounted on its shoulders. It paced across the battlefield at a moderate, steady speed.
But don't be fooled by its pace. This thing's agility was identical to an Eldar's; it was a powerful weapon capable of a sliding turn and a horizontal cleave that could slice an Imperial Titan in half. Its height towered far above Ultralisks and Hive Crones.
Inside the Revenant-class Battle Titan, a Spirit Stone was nested, glowing with brilliant psionic light. A closer look revealed it was the Spirit Stone of the Eldar Farseer killed by the Queen of Blades. The Warp Spider Exarch Loken had recovered the stone and installed it into this "Wraith" Battle Titan.
In a way, it shared the same principle as the Protoss Dragoons and Immortals.
Generally, Titan armaments vary. This Revenant-class Titan utilized a combination of a sword, a distorted-space cannon, shoulder missile launchers, and a pulse laser. It was also equipped with a Titan-grade Holo-field, allowing it to evade most attacks.
This thing was far more exhilarating than a Hive Crone. The Overmind estimated that in a small-scale skirmish, the casualty ratio between this and a Hive Crone could reach 1:5—meaning one Eldar Titan might slay five Hive Crones before being destroyed. In a large-scale battle, with the support of smaller Revenant Scout Titans and Eldar armored units, that ratio might rise to 1:7 or even 1:10.
"Revenant Scout Titans are trouble enough, but you have Phantom-class Battle Titans too? Tsk, I suppose I shouldn't expect less from a Craftworld."
A Craftworld is, after all, the primary gathering place for the "White Bean Sprout" (Eldar) forces, so having Phantom Titans is normal. To the Overmind's surprise, there wasn't just one. There were about ten Titans along that narrow front line: seven Revenant Scout Titans (comparable to Warhound-class) and two Phantom Battle Titans.
The latter would have a 70% win rate against a Warlord-class Titan!
"Tsk, so rich. I only have eight or nine hundred Ultralisks, yet they can deploy ten Eldar Titans on a single front. Good thing there are no Warlock Titans; those are even more annoying!"
This was hardly a fair comparison. Eldar Titans cannot be reproduced; each requires a Farseer-level soul to pilot. Where would one find that many powerful Farseers and Warlocks? A Warlock Titan requires an entire group of Farseer souls to drive, and they are so powerful they can counter-kill an Imperial Psionic Titan in a three-on-one fight—making people wonder if the Empire even knows how to play!
In contrast, as long as the Overmind has resources, Ultralisks can be produced by the tens of thousands. Even Hive Crones aren't particularly rare goods.
"Let's try a wave with the Ultralisks first."
The Overmind figured that in just this short time, the casualty ratio between the Swarm and the Eldar had likely surpassed 1:10,000. "Hm? Wait."
Just as it was about to order the Ultralisk charge, the Overmind noticed a system notification.
[Technology Unlocked: Tier 2 Ultralisk (Full Tech)]
"Oh-ho?"
The Swarm Overmind grinned.
"No rush then. Produce a batch of Tier 2 Ultralisks for me. Let's see just how strong my '8-Armor Bad Boys' really are!"