Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes.

Chapter 352 Attack and Defense [-] The Arrival of Hope

Time continued to pass, and the offensive and defensive battle on the ground of Ophelia 7 World was still in full swing.

The renegade Astartes were assisted by direct fire from heavy armored units and a large number of rebels as servants.Relying on the help of orbital bombing, they pushed forward towards the defenders of the City of Divine Grace.

The defense line was forced to shrink under heavy pressure, and a large number of small and medium-sized fortifications were destroyed under the direct fire of heavy artillery.

The flames of war once extended to the edge of the city of grace, and the soldiers of the empire had no way to retreat.

It wasn't until the Imperial Fist squad threatened the enemy's rear from the flanks that the defenders pushed the enemy's offensive out of the city again under a desperate battle.

During the hours-long battle, the defenders relied on the permanent fortifications around the holy city, using these and the dense underground passages and corridors to make the enemy pay a heavy price.

At least five regiment-level units were seriously injured, and three of the complete star realm legions were completely destroyed, losing the value of reconstruction;
At least 40 Leman Rus tanks, and three times as many Chimeras, were destroyed in the push.

Even the Alphas, who were the core force of the battle, paid the price of half the company's casualties and the complete destruction of at least one relic-level Flying Blade heavy tank.

But Hornthorne didn't feel easy.Because not long after this battle ended, the enemy who felt the delay in the battle opened up a new battlefield on the other side of the Holy City under the pressure of time.

With no choice, against the background that the two Astartes companies, the Imperial Fist and the Ultramarines, were pinned down, in order to withstand the tyrannical combat power of the enemy Astartes, the Battle Sisters went to the front line of the war without hesitation.

But they were different from the Astartes after all.

The one-letter difference between a paramilitary organization and a military organization represents a comprehensive gap in daily training subjects, tactical literacy, assembly tendencies, and goals from the beginning of construction.

This difference makes these Battle Sisters who are accustomed to battlefield environments such as special operations and law and order recourse, and their proud light equipment and squad combat mode pale in comparison with the Astartes Chapter on the Imperial side.

Not to mention the Alphas who have not been "baptized by the Holy Code" since the era of the Great Crusade and have completely retained the combat mode of the Legion.

In a sense, these ghosts left over from the Legion of the Great Expedition era, when they can unite as one, have a more complete war organization than the Imperial Astartes.

It was destined to be an unfair battle, but the war itself was never fair.

The proud battle nuns discovered their unprecedented desire for heavy equipment in this personal battle with a powerful enemy.

It was also during this battle that they belatedly discovered their own more fatal flaws:
That's why the simple company-level tactical reserves of these emperor's daughters who pride themselves on being capable on weekdays are so pale and clumsy in front of the truly professional Alphas.

This difference is not obvious in previous wars, because most of their mission backgrounds are special operations at the squad level;

Even if they occasionally have the opportunity to participate in large-scale battles, the enemies they face and the tasks they are assigned are mostly mortal rebel assaults and fixed garrison tasks.

And when they are actually put on the battlefield, dancing with the war machines built by the Emperor himself;
Their shallow tactical knowledge and poor tactical reserves were fully understood by the Alphas in the first few rounds of tentative attacks.

This is not to say that the Battle Sisters are too weak.

But in front of these Astartes who respond with millisecond-level nerves, their tactical construction foundation is not at the same level at all;
The degraded feedback power armor showed a huge gap in terms of strength and agility when facing the original Mark series power armor.

The Alphas tacitly began to cut the positions of the Battle Sisters. Under their rough penetration and precise shooting, the Battle Sisters were always unable to keep up with the enemy's rhythm.

In the eyes of the fighting nuns, these alphas can always move forward safely under the cover of the firepower of their comrades-in-arms, and when the fighting nuns aimed their weapons at the alphas who were in charge of covering, the enemies who had advanced forward began to shoot unscrupulously again.

And that's not counting the difference in heavy weapons.

When the Battle Sisters aim the most powerful single-soldier fusion weapons in their hands at the enemy, and the enemy's Terminator and Despiser fearlessly block them all with their stand shields;

Seeing the concentrated fire of the plasma weapon, a high-ranking nun was vaporized together with the rosary beads on her body.

These battle nuns from Scarlet Rose finally decided to change the status quo of the battlefield.

"It can't go on like this!" The commanders realized the gap between them and decisively started a suicidal defense.

They are no longer trying to rely on barriers to defend against damage, but are setting up positions in layers without giving themselves room to retreat.

When the enemy reached the position they were in charge of, they chose to use all means to delay their footsteps, and then create opportunities for the rear sisters to cover firepower.

"In the name of the emperor, fire at me!" This sentence is no longer a slogan, but actually happened in this tragic battle.

When the sisters on the front line shouted the name of the emperor and rushed towards the enemy with their remains;
The Battle Sisters in the rear felt their will, and shot bullets full of hatred and anger at the enemy.

"The emperor's daughter never sheds tears! You don't want to see our weakness!"

"The Emperor's daughter bleeds only! San Mina and Aspira bear witness to our sacrifice!"

The fiery flames on the battlefield testify to their purity and inviolability;

The retreat of the enemy after paying a heavy price once again forged their will and loyalty.

After the battle reached a fever pitch from the very beginning and lasted for a full three hours, it finally ended with the alphas not wanting to lose any more and voluntarily withdrawing from the battlefield.

However, the three companies of the Bloody Rose Order, who were the victors in the battle, were buried under the enemy's retaliatory orbital bombing before they could even celebrate.

The courageous sisters immediately took over the defense area here, filling in the gap in the position exposed by the death of the bloody rose.And in the next few hours, they fought again with the regrouped Alphas...

Twelve full days have passed since the world of Ophelia 7 sent a signal for help.The entire Storm Star Region and even the southern border of the empire began to have support forces rushing here.

They are annoyed by the long-standing fortified city, and they feel pressured by the loss of strategic suddenness.

But the orders of the Warmaster cannot be disobeyed. After trying various methods, they fell into a short period of internal chaos under the anxiety and rage.

It was also when the enemy fell into a debate about whether to bomb the main city with the fleet's heavy artillery.Deep within the increasingly active tides of the Warp, fleets from the Imperial side and more shadowy forces loomed.

　NEW

　　
　
(End of this chapter)