novelraw Chapter 44: Confrontation
Chapter 44: Confrontation
Morinit's warband raced down the central corridor leading to the starport, a loading zone for tanker trucks transporting fuel and munitions.
The fury within the World Eaters' hearts was building, and he knew his battle brothers were experiencing the same torment.
They were the sons of Angron, and like their Primarch, they had been implanted with the Butcher's Nails. This device ignited the violent potential within a person's psyche.
In the crucial moments of battle, Angron's warriors could harness the boiling, wrathful tide, wielding it like a sharpened blade to cut down their enemies.
The Emperor had once condemned the further use of the implants, believing they would make the World Eaters unstable.
But Angron, in his own wisdom, circumvented the holy decree of the Emperor of Mankind. Even though the edict remained, he had persisted.
They were killing machines. Morinit felt it in his burning blood and marrow. What greater honor could there be than serving the Blood God with blood?
Despite the incredibly tight schedule, Morinit still encouraged his warriors to engage in slaughter as they approached the frigate.
The letting of blood would sharpen their senses for the impending conflict.
His only instruction was: do not stop moving.The World Eaters executed this mission with savage efficiency. Between the breach point and their current position, the ground was littered with a trail of lowly corpses.
However, this reckless slaughter eventually came with a price.
As Morinit and his warriors pushed forward, the orbital station's starport docks looked like a tangled web of metal.
Beyond that lay the "Glorious Saber", looking like a slumbering predator at rest.
The World Eater sprinted toward the end of the strait and the open docks beyond. The scent of blood assailed his nose. The path ahead began to narrow, giving him an ominous premonition.
Just as Morinit was praying to the Blood God that they hadn't been discovered, a group of uniformed defenders appeared before them, blocking their path.
Armed with various heavy weapons, they wreathed the corridor in flames, muzzle flashes illuminating the semi-dark passage. They even brandished armor-piercing rockets.
Beside Morinit, a warrior's chest was blown open by a rocket. His armor was torn apart, leaving him dripping with blood, but he could still continue fighting.
"Charge! Charge forward!"
Morinit immediately ordered a charge. However, he failed to realize how incredibly awkward their position was.
His warband was pressed on both sides by massive fuel tanks stacked atop colossal warehouse structures. Panicked menials and mindless servitors, startled by the commotion, wandered into their path, only to be hacked down by chainaxes or crushed to death.
The World Eaters attempted to close in on the enemy to regain the advantage, oblivious to the death traps flanking them.
Subsequently, one of the fuel tanks was struck by a shell. Instantly, an explosion erupted in a flare of yellow-white light.
A plume of flames splashed into the air like ink. A doomed servitor was thrown like a ragdoll at the edge of the explosion's shockwave. Many soldiers closer to the blast were outright roasted alive or torn to shreds.
The concussive force of the explosion directly ripped a World Eater to pieces.
He was smashed against the warehouse's metal paneling. The wall panels did not yield to the sudden impact of a massive amount of flesh and armor fragments, and the warrior was simply crushed flat.
Even as his warning sensors shorted out, Morinit could feel the heat of the explosion right through his helmet.
He stumbled, but managed to keep his footing, bellowing orders to charge continuously.
They were very close to their target now. The "Glorious Saber" filled his vision like a long wall of steel.
"Don't stop! Don't stop! Charge! Charge forward and seize the frigate, and we can leave!!"
As they dashed through the line of fire, moving rapidly forward, a shadow was cast over Morinit's eyes. It was a massive observation platform overlooking the docks.
Out of instinct, he glanced up, only to see a line of warriors clad in silver-grey Power Armor aiming bolters at them.
"Damn it—"
The next second, death rained down like hail, the gun barrels unleashing copious amounts of prometheum and fire.
Morinit hurriedly rolled into the blind spot of the covering fire, but a warrior beside him was distracted and ducked a beat too slow.
Consequently, he paid the price for his negligence.
A searing blast of plasma blew a hole straight through his body, roasting the World Eater alive right inside his armor.
He collapsed heavily to the ground with a thud. But before he fell entirely, a few of his brothers hoisted his corpse up as makeshift cover. This was the law of survival for a Chaos warband—everything operated with the ultimate goal of staying alive.
Yet, under the dense hail of bullets, another World Eater took a shot to the knee. Just as he dropped to a kneeling position, two bolt rounds detonated simultaneously against his helmet and neck, and he too went down.
Morinit retaliated fiercely with his bolt pistol, catching vague glimpses of the targets above through the gaps in the roaring flames and flying shrapnel.
The other World Eaters followed suit, drawing their guns to fire back, adding to the retaliatory firepower.
Those caught in the combat zone at the start of the engagement were blown to smithereens by the crossfire. The roar of guns and the shriek of shrapnel mingled with their screams.
Morinit pressed tightly against the nearest barricade, panting heavily.
He surveyed the surroundings, measuring the terrain, calculating if there was any other route to reach the "Glorious Saber".
In truth, from the moment the False Emperor's lapdogs appeared, he knew the warband's annihilation was inevitable. There had to be a warship, perhaps even a fleet, waiting for them outside.
But he would absolutely not give up, nor would he simply wait for death. They were warriors of the Blood God; even if they died, they would drown in the blood of their enemies.
Then he noticed that, between the cranes and the fuel tanks, a narrow passage was formed, over which hung the observation platform supported by metal pillars, ringed by steel reinforcements holding refueling racks, defense turrets, and clusters of sensors.
This was a vulnerability that could be exploited. While the bolter fire continued to suppress them, Morinit roared from his cover.
"Concentrate your fire there!"
He shouted against the din, trying to drown out the noise.
This tactic worked quickly.
After the second volley, a series of small explosions erupted across the observation platform. The affected areas were blasted to pieces, forcing the warriors above to abandon their high ground to avoiding the collapse.
Morinit stood up and, before the thick smoke could clear, roared his final command.
"Attack! Attack now! Blood for the Blood God!!!!"
"Blood for the Blood God!!!!"
The Traitor Astartes burst out from cover, leaving the dead behind, bellowing their terrifying war-cry.
At the exact same time, twenty Astartes clad in silver-grey armor emerged from the dense smoke billowing from the ruins, launching a counter-charge.
"For the Emperor!!"
For a long time afterward, Soshyan would feel remorse for the decision he made in that moment.
"Open fire!"
Morinit shouted, and the World Eaters obeyed his command.
Both sides unleashed a final volley from their pistols mid-charge.
The result was brutal.
Warriors on both sides fell to the bolter fire. As the rounds struck them, their bodies convulsed violently and spun. Blood sprayed in unknown trajectories before they collapsed at the feet of their comrades.
The outcome of the exchange was one man down on Morinit's side, and one man down on the opposing side.
With the speed of an Astartes, there was only time for a single volley from each side. The highly disciplined Astartes discarded their firearms before making contact with the enemy.
Four Chaos Space Marines; their past glory had completely faded away, leaving only endless madness.
Although it was his first time fighting Chaos Space Marines, Soshyan didn't feel any fear. Instead, he felt only wrath—especially seeing these cowards swinging their blades at the weak and adorning themselves with mortal flesh.
They brought shame to the name of the Astartes. Soshyan charged at the very front without hesitation.
This was a band of brutes. Though riddled with wounds, they still closed in on Soshyan with their axes raised.
In response to his enemy's roar, Soshyan thrust his sword into the chest of one of them.
Instead of falling, the World Eater grabbed Soshyan's weapon, desperately trying to bring his axe down on Soshyan's head.
Soshyan raised his leg and delivered a harsh kick, punting the bastard aside. Then, driving his power sword deeper into the warrior's chest, he wrenched it violently to the right, sending the corpse spinning through the air to crash into its fallen brethren.
"Is this what the World Eaters used to be?"
Soshyan spat.
"Nothing more than this."
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Soshyan saw a World Eater successfully decapitate one of his warriors. At the sight, blood instantly rushed to his head.
The icy Grey Marrow swiftly spread through his limbs and bones.
In the chaotic melee, a mist of blood mingled with the horrifying sound of axes hacking bone. Despite the brutal reality that they were surrounded and at a severe numerical disadvantage, madness still raged through the World Eaters. They didn't break; instead, they fought with an aura of trading a life for a life.
The searing deck soon soaked in the blood of the slaughter.
After just over ten seconds of clashing, three World Eaters fell to the ground, dragging six Astral Knights down with them.
As for Soshyan, he had already engaged the leader of the warband—the last remaining enemy, Morinit.