Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 163: Blood Axes

After a long wait by the hunters, they finally arrived.

Emerging from the darkness, they appeared as a ragged squad, akin to thieves in the night.

These two squads of fully armed greenskins materialized from the hollow shell of a bombed-out bunker. Like cautious herbivores approaching a watering hole frequented by apex predators, they moved swiftly between the burning wreckage.

Soshyan tightened his finger around the trigger of his bolter.

Then, he relaxed it.

These were merely scouts sent to probe the burning ruins.

The master who dispatched them undoubtedly hoped these grunts would force any potential ambushers to reveal their positions. However, Soshyan had already issued the order: without his command, no one was to fire.

None of the warriors fired, even though every single one of them was burning with the desire to exterminate the xenos.

But to spring a trap and securely ensnare the prey, one had to wait until the target had fully stuck its head into the noose.

Soshyan was very patient; he had already waited an entire week.He observed the enemy forces, noting that their armor paint scheme had changed. Initially crimson, it was now a mottled blend of charred black and bone white.

Without a doubt, their prey was a cunning beast, even possessing the foresight to alter its coloration to camouflage its position and presence.

Within the sealed environment of his helmet, Soshyan smiled with utter contempt.

Such petty tricks could only fool mortals.

Soon, the greenskin vanguard advanced near another intact bunker, still moving with caution and keeping a watchful eye on the sky and the unseen enemy.

Under the cover of the battlefield's gun-smoke, they vanished from sight, obscured by columns of smoke.

Soshyan used the steady rhythm of his heartbeat to track the time and calculate the distance the enemy had traveled.

Occasionally, he wondered if he had made a mistake.

Perhaps the greenskins had divided into smaller splinter forces and evacuated long ago.

Beside him, Armin repeatedly checked their surroundings, his gaze still fixed on the distance.

Then, the grand prize finally arrived.

A horde of heavily armed greenskins emerged from the cover of a maintenance facility, advancing as cautiously as possible. They were uniformly equipped entirely with wargear looted from the Astra Militarum. At their head was a comical greenskin boss dressed in an imitation of a Commissar's uniform, albeit utterly devoid of any actual authority or dignity.

And it was exactly Soshyan's target: the greenskin Warboss of Vorenus V, a Blood Axe Nob.

It was precisely its command and defensive deployments that had cost the Astra Militarum so dearly. It was a threat that had to be eliminated.

According to their intelligence, this particular breed of greenskin boss harbored a fondness for mimicking human tactics, including behavioral styles. Thus, Soshyan boldly deduced that, much like a human commander, it would establish its command post slightly behind the front lines.

But deduction wasn't enough. They spent an entire week continuously scanning radio signals before firmly establishing the location of the greenskin boss's command post.

However, their first strike had failed. They used armor-piercing rockets to demolish the command post, unaware that its primary structure was actually subterranean.

Missing the initial decapitation strike, they found the enemy boss completely insane, calling down an artillery barrage right onto its own position. Soshyan had no choice but to lead his squad in a retreat.

Having essentially alerted the prey, Soshyan simply decided to employ a 'Waiting for a Hare by a Stump' strategy.

He was certain the enemy would eventually relocate their command post—but only after confirming the outside was clear.

After waiting a full week, the enemy's patience finally ran out.

An even more pressing factor was the new wave of assaults launched by the Astra Militarum, this time joined by the auxiliary forces of the Astral Knights. This offensive even included an entire battalion of heavy armor.

Facing this ferocious armored assault, the Blood Axe boss had to risk abandoning the ruined command post to direct the battle where it was needed most, lest the defensive lines crumble.

Utilizing his helmet's targeting recticules, Soshyan calculated that the number of greenskins exiting the bunker reached six hundred. However, they were entirely infantry—no support vehicles, no Dreadnoughts, just a few light artillery pieces.

Clearly, there was nothing there to make him pause or reconsider his strategy.

What did surprise him somewhat was that the seemingly small bunker could actually cram in six hundred greenskins, which meant the subterranean section was quite expansive.

Regardless, he was confident this ambush would succeed, and not just because the enemy lacked heavy firepower.

Soshyan noted the exaggerated caution in the enemy's movements. He realized the greenskins were still in a state of panic.

They seemed to know they were being hunted by something.

Soshyan waited throughout the greenskins' movement until he was absolutely certain no more living creatures would emerge from behind the cover.

Then, he stood up and reached backward.

Ustad unfurled a banner, planting the standard securely at the edge of the ruins where they lay in ambush, before drawing his bolter and returning it to his shoulder.

"For the Emperor!"

Soshyan roared, and the twenty-five warriors of the Astral Knights rose as one.

The next second, a howling gale of bolter rounds savagely washed over the ruins surrounding the bunker. Before the greenskins even realized they were under attack, the terrifying volley had already slain scores of them.

A second volley swiftly followed, killing or maiming another hundred greenskins.

However, these greenskins truly proved themselves to be the most human-like of their kind. After a brief moment of confusion, they rapidly dove into the nearest cover, kept their heads down, and raised their weapons to return fire.

The Astral Knights did not press forward. Instead, they held their ground, pouring fire into the enemy ranks.

In this engagement, Soshyan assumed the role of a keen-eyed marksman. Unhurried, he carefully selected his targets.

He searched for high-value targets within the greenskin ranks. This particular mob of greenskins differed from others; their armor bore numerous decorative symbols denoting rank, making his task exceedingly simple.

Aside from these markings, his targets included those with the most heavily scarred or battered shoulder pads and helmets, as well as those sporting the most grievous scars—all unmistakable hallmarks of the greenskin elite.

He raised his weapon and drove a bolter round through the helmet of a greenskin whose breastplate was adorned with numerous human bone pendants.

Then he killed another. This one had a yellow star symbol carved into its helmet, clearly marking it as part of the greenskin officer caste.

Yet another greenskin, wielding an extended chain-cleaver and a crackling power klaw, was dashing between two broken pillars when it was suddenly struck in the chest, dying instantly as its internal organs ruptured.

Anyone witnessing these kills would have expressed boundless admiration for Soshyan's marksmanship.

Melee combat was certainly a staple of Astartes daily training, but to presume this meant they were not also peerless marksmen would be a fatal folly.

Soshyan quickly emptied his magazine. He ejected the spent casing and effortlessly slapped in a fresh one.

BOOM——!

Suddenly, a string of explosions erupted along the line where the Astral Knights were deployed, knocking roughly three warriors off their feet.

Soshyan recognized the explosions as light field artillery shells—clearly salvaged Imperial weaponry. This was likely the greenskins' final, desperate act of defiance.

But to the absolute despair of the greenskins, all the knocked-down warriors swiftly rose to their feet, brushed the dust from their armor, and resumed firing.

Not a single one ceased their slaughter.