Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 14: Lychguard

"Break them up!"

Forlo's command was transmitted unmistakably across the channel. Following that, the soldiers of the Astral Knights Chapter appeared from the dust like the embodiment of death, and Bolters issued their roars.

The nearby Necrons—the vast majority of which were the lowest-level thralls—didn't realize what was happening until they had been pulverized.

The First and Third Tactical Squads of the Second Company moved in wedge formations on either side of Forlo, raining firepower deep into the nearby enemies. Soshyan's squad joined the firepower on the left flank. He had shared a portion of his ammunition with Axel, causing his own ammunition to become even tighter.

It wasn't long before the Necrons reacted.

Several massive figures faintly revealed themselves from the dust ahead. They emitted loud clanking sounds as they moved, lumbering over clumsily and heavily.

"The enemy has heavy armor."

A Sergeant spoke over the channel, his voice muffled by the shrieks of Gauss guns.

"Cease fire."

Forlo subsequently commanded."Conserve ammunition."

The Space Marines halted, turning their weapons toward the direction within the dust where the sounds were coming from.

There were five of them in total, each as large as a Terminator. Their humanoid torsos were studded with flickering green crystals and covered in brightly lustrous, heavy armor plating. They held swords in one hand and shields in the other. Those massive shields still rippled faintly, indicating the presence of some sort of Deflector Field upon them.

Following a tentative attack, the Space Marines discovered that bolts striking their armor could only draw sparks, while those striking the front of the shields were directly deflected. Only the corpses on the ground delayed their pacing.

These were very likely the Lychguard of a Necron Overlord.

"Focus fire!"

Forlo issued the command while tightly clenching both fists. The bionic servos subsequently emitted crackling sounds.

As a massive amount of firepower poured toward the Lychguard, a Plasma blast struck one of them. The ensuing explosion ignited its shield, but didn't destroy it, only causing the Deflector Field to overload.

What Forlo wore was a Tartaros-pattern Tactical Dreadnought Armor, which was relatively rare in this era. This type of Terminator sacrificed a portion of mobility in exchange for formidable protective capabilities, and was also the only pattern of Terminator to carry a field generator.

At this moment, an armor-piercing projectile flew straight at the Lychguard bereft of its Deflector Field's protection, instantly penetrating the eye of the mechanical skull and detonating inside.

Although it didn't fall, that was enough to turn it into an immobile pillar of scrap.

But the remaining four were already close at hand, the Hyperphase Swords in their hands thirsting for a harvest.

"Keep suppressing them!"

More Necron Warriors had already gathered behind the Lychguard. Walking mechanically, the Gauss Flayers in their hands fired continuously. Although their terrible accuracy caused the vast majority of shots to land around the Space Marines, there were still a few that hit their marks.

Accompanied by the sounds of heavy objects smashing to the ground one after another, the Space Marines' firepower began to weaken.

Following Forlo's command, the two squads subsequently directed their firepower toward them, harvesting the Necron Warriors supported by the Lychguard with a colossal storm of bolts.

"Third Squad, maintain fire support."

Forlo's tone was clear from start to finish.

"First Squad, prepare Grenades and follow me."

He strode forward, letting loose a roar.

While the Third Squad's firepower continued to suppress the Necron Warriors, a squad of warriors had already caught up to Forlo and drawn their armor-piercing Grenades and combat knives.

After taking a few steps, Forlo began sprinting at full speed toward the leading Lychguard, holding his right fist high.

The Lychguard attempted to counterattack with its Phase Sword.

A set of blades carved deeply into the ceramite and Adamantium on his right side, but this strike was deflected aside by the refracting energy erupting from the Terminator core adorned on Forlo's left pauldron.

Now, it was completely defenseless.

Forlo smashed his fist out fiercely, carving a crackling blue flash that pierced through the darkness.

The ferocious impact destroyed the core of the Deflector Shield. The cyan-gray fragments were crushed like metallic flakes following a bolt detonation, and that thick, sturdy shield flew straight out of the Lychguard's hand.

While it was still swaying, a second punch smashed into its chest, shattering its armor plating, causing this mechanical Necron to spew a massive amount of shrapnel and liquid metal out its back, looking just like viscera separating from a torso.

The final punch, with unstoppable power and momentum, caused the shattered Lychguard to crash to the ground.

The shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact, vibrating the corpse-strewn battlefield, immediately followed by another burst of thunder crashing through the dusty atmosphere.

Forlo pulled his fist out from the burning wreckage.

Around him, the First Squad had also joined the battle.

Together, three warriors used armor-piercing Grenades to blow off the leg of a Lychguard. As that machine plummeted, flailing its limbs, one of the warriors directly leapt onto its carapace, viciously bashing the opponent's head with a Chainsword until it was smashed into unspliceable fragments.

During this process, sparks flew everywhere accompanied by a massive pouring of liquid metal. The Lychguard's limbs trembled and then came to a halt.

But this didn't mean they had already lost. The remaining two Lychguard quickly counterattacked.

"Urgh, ah..."

A certain warrior who had sawed his Chainsword deeply into a shield only realized he had fallen for the opponent's scheme when the Deflector Field suddenly activated. But when he tried to pull his hand back, the field severed his right wrist straight from the root.

While the Space Marine stumbled backward, the Lychguard twisted its wrist. The Phase Sword stabbed unimpeded into his Power Armor, and then carved all the way upward, straight to the Space Marine's throat.

But before it could extract its sword, a thunder hammer and a Power Sword simultaneously struck the back of its head and its hip, directly dismantling it into three pieces.

Nearby, another warrior ignited a Lychguard with his Flamer. That icy carapace immediately caught fire.

Yet it didn't stop, instead stumbling into a trot forward, thrusting its weapon forth before that warrior could swap fuel canisters.

That sword stroke pierced straight through the Space Marine's chest, and the Flamer dropped as well.

The joints of the burning Lychguard emitted ear-piercing grinding sounds. Subsequently, it hoisted up that Space Marine, piercing him even deeper.

Scarlet blood spilled onto the Lychguard's burning carapace, conversely causing it to burn even more vigorously.

With a trembling hand, that warrior pulled the pin from an armor-piercing Grenade and shouted across the comms channel:

"For the Emperor!"

The next second, the explosion on the Lychguard's head ignited the fuel canister on the ground. The blazing inferno swallowed both that great warrior and his murderer, but it didn't kill the Necron.

"Damn Xenos beast!"

The enraged Forlo charged toward the enemy that murdered his Battle Brother, his fists flashing with dazzling electrical arcs.

But he didn't make it in time.

A Chainsword abruptly emerged from the flames like a bolt of lightning, burying itself deeply into the chest of the Lychguard standing before Forlo.

That sword only remained for a moment, and then accompanied by a deep, low hum, it was pulled out.

The Lychguard instantly scattered into countless fragments.

Forlo could feel the burning metallic fragments scraping across his Terminator Armor, but they hardly left a scratch.

He subsequently looked at the person who had finished off the Lychguard.

Soshyan towered upon the battlefield, the already warped and deformed Chainsword gripped tightly in his hands. From his frantic breathing and ashen complexion, one could tell he was even more furious than Forlo.

"Well done, Sergeant."

Forlo offered a simple word of praise, then turned around and began to continue walking toward the Necrons' already disorganized ranks.

"Remember this fury, savor it well, and put it to good use."

(End of Chapter)