From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 580: Large-scale "actual combat" drills are easy and carefree
Boom, boom.

Each time Cardo Diego's magnetic boots struck, spider-web-like cracks appeared on the surface of the permafrost.

The three-meter-three-meter-tall Grand Master of the Grey Knights stood motionless in the polar gale. A faint humming sound came from the hydraulic system operating on his adamantium knee pads, and the exclusive power sword in his right hand also hummed.

As the Grand Master took the seventh step, the entire battlefield suddenly erupted into the "music" of death -

Clang! Clang!

Ri~whoosh——whoosh!

The Grey Knights' bolter volleys formed a metallic storm, and each .75cal caliber Nemesis ammunition drew a blue trajectory in the air.

The plasma spears thrown by Athena's war servants blasted a molten gap with a diameter of ten meters in the outer wall of the fortress.

The Word Bearers' heavy bolts continued to roar, and the bullets engraved with scripture would not stop until they penetrated three heretics.

The Night Lords' melta weapons were as precise as a scalpel, vaporizing the hangar where the TIE fighters were parked, along with the pilots who were about to board.

Inside the fortifications outside the fortress, a Plague Warrior blessed by Nurgle had just raised his festering arm when his rotten body was torn into pieces by five bolt shells that hit him at the same time.

Not far away, a demon apostle of Tzeentch who was trying to cast a spell suddenly froze, because a psychic spear thrown by a Grey Knight had pierced through its bird-beaked skull. The evil spells that were about to be released backfired on itself under the purification of the psychic energy, burning the demon into a glowing skeleton.

And, the most horrifying thing is the "art of killing" of the Greek minor gods.

These absolute veterans who have been tortured by the fallen gods for thousands of years can be said to be special attackers against demons and heretics.

Equipped with armor that looks like ancient Greek heavy armor but is actually as expensive as the Terminator's power armor, this group of Greek demi-gods have already rushed into the fortifications outside the Chaos Fortress.

The descendants of Hercules were able to tear open the brass armor of Khorne's Bloodthirster with their bare hands. Before the fall of Olympus, they were the Greek minor gods worshipped by Hera. Their seemingly traditional flaming arrows were able to burst out with power comparable to Gauss weapons and burn Nurglings into screaming fireballs.

And every time Athena's war servants pierced a demon with their spears, they would leave a burning olive branch mark on the wound, a wound that even the warp could not repair.

When a Grey Knights recruit decapitated a Tzeentchian Horror with his power sword, the demon did not dissolve into blue smoke as usual. Instead, its body disintegrated like shattered glass, and each piece turned into tiny golden points of light that rose into the sky.

In fact, demons killed by the Grey Knights and Greek demi-gods cannot return to the Warp, but will be directly "purified" and become part of the Emperor's psychic energy.

At this time, Diego passed through the fortifications outside the fortress and arrived at the main gate of the fortress first.

He raised the storm bolter attached to his left hand, and three rounds of special ammunition blasted the hinges of the armored door weighing dozens of tons into scrap metal.

Boom. Boom! !
When the gate collapsed with a roar, he saw the horrific scene inside the fortress.

Flesh and blood wriggled on the walls of the corridor, and nerve cords hung from the ceiling and swayed like vines, but more eye-catching were the melting Chaos symbols. They were like ice sculptures caught in direct sunlight, dissolving on their own when the Grey Knights Grand Master approached.

"Record combat data."

The Grand Master's voice spread across the tactical channel, "Confirmed that the purification protocol has a permanent effect on the subspace entity."

After saying this, he raised the power sword high and rushed into the depths of the fortress. The Emperor's Holy Flame on the blade dispelled all the darkness along the way.

The core purpose of this airborne operation is not simply to seize control of Inproco, but to allow the Word Bearers and Night Lords legions to adapt to a head-on confrontation with Chaos forces in advance.

Although these two legions have gradually become famous within the Human Empire, they have never participated in large-scale wars, nor have they faced enemies corrupted by the Warp, especially those Chaos Demons. They still need to accumulate sufficient practical experience.

Lorgar and Curze knew that in the near future they would face Coruscant, a completely corrupted core planet where the level of Chaos pollution far exceeded that of Improco.

At that time, the Word Bearers will need to use the absolute power of faith to fight against the blasphemous whispers of the Warp, and the Night Lords must maintain precise tactical execution in the most chaotic battlefield.

Therefore, the airborne battle in Improco was essentially a large-scale "actual combat" exercise for the two legions.

After the first round of orbital bombardment, the tactical analyzer of the Combined Fleet quickly sent back data showing that although most of the Chaos Fortresses collapsed under the bombardment of the electromagnetic main guns, several core fortresses still stood.

These fortresses are wrapped in thick psychic barriers, and even the main guns of the Emperor-class battleships cannot penetrate them directly.

Other analysis results show that the source of these psychic barriers is not simply generated by chaos rituals or instruments, but is maintained by at least one high-level demon, or a powerful heretic who is about to be promoted to a demon prince.

If you want to completely destroy these fortresses, the best way is to send elite troops deep inside and directly kill the maintainers of the barrier.

What's more troublesome is that if a larger-scale orbital bombardment is rashly used, or even the entire Inproko is directly destroyed, although it can solve the Chaos stronghold once and for all, it goes against the original strategic goal of establishing this place as an outpost for attacking Coruscant.

Therefore, ground attack became the only option.

As the Astartes of the two legions, the Grey Knights, and the Greek Demigods advanced, the Chaos Fortress's defensive strength gradually revealed its true colors.

Stormtroopers who once served the Galactic Empire have now become fanatical followers of Chaos.

Their armor was covered in lines of corrupted flesh and blood, and the barrels of their blaster rifles were twisted and deformed, firing no longer red blaster beams but a foul barrage of warp energy.

Even more alarming are the war machines that have been corrupted by Chaos.

Sharp bone spurs grew on the shells of the AT-ST walkers, pus and blood oozed from their mechanical joints, and the cockpits were no longer filled with human pilots, but instead with crazy mechanical servants blessed by the evil god.

These deformed war creatures staggered across the ice fields and through the corridors of the fortress, with their artillery fire mixed with the screams of demons.

However, not all mechanical units are corrupted.

The Grey Knights rushed into the fortress, and during the advance, the dynamic scanning of the helmet screen also captured a group of "trembling" mouse robots.

They were originally the logistics unit of the Galactic Empire, but now they are hiding in the ruins of the fortress.

Beep beep beep!
When the Grey Knights and the Greek gods spotted them, the little creatures' sensors flashed blue with fear and emitted a faint electronic whine.

After psychic testing, it was confirmed that they were not contaminated by Chaos and were merely "innocent" machines trying to survive the war.

Diego ordered them to be marked, and these little guys would be recycled after the auxiliary troops and clone troops took over the battlefield.

Breaking through layers of defense, the Grey Knight Terminator team led by Diego and a group of Athena's war servants finally reached the bottom of the fortress.

The air here is filled with a strong smell of sulfur, the metal pipes on the walls are twisted into blasphemous runes, and the ground flows with sticky corrupted blood.

And when they detonated the last rusted gate, the sight before them made even the battle-hardened Grey Knights tighten their grip on their weapons.

A huge altar of Tzeentch stands in the center of the spacious underground hall. Above the altar hangs a blue crystal that keeps changing its shape, sealing the complete incarnation of a great demon of Tzeentch.

Its body is made up of countless eyes and a beak-like mouth, and its wings are covered with unpredictable runes, each pattern containing deceptive magic that can distort reality.

"Haha, you're finally here?"

The Great Demon's voice was like a thousand whispers, echoing directly in everyone's mind. "Do you think that destroying this fortress can stop the great Lord of Change's plan? Ridiculous!"

Diego didn't waste any time. The psychic amplifier of the Aegis Terminator Armor instantly operated at full power, and his power sword ignited with dazzling golden flames.

Clang clang clang!
Ri~咻——! !

The Grey Knights quickly deployed their formation. The Terminator's servo system emitted a low hum. They raised their bolters and plasma cannons, and a dense fire network instantly covered the entire altar hall.

The bolts exploded on the wings of the Tzeentch Daemon, but passed through as if they had hit a phantom, causing no real damage.

At the same time, Athena's war servants also launched an offensive.

The special spears they threw drew a blazing white trajectory in the air, but at the moment when they were about to hit the big demon, the spears were strangely twisted and deformed, and finally turned into harmless blue sparks and dissipated.

"Foolish mortal!"

The Great Demon of Tzeentch let out a shrill laugh. Its body was like a flowing phantom, constantly switching between reality and the warp. "Your weapons can't hurt me at all!"

Seeing that the long-range attack was ineffective, Diego activated the "Holy Flame Rune" of the power sword without hesitation, and the blade instantly ignited with an even more dazzling golden flame.

He stepped forward suddenly, and the magnetic boots of the Terminator armor created cracks in the metal ground, and the whole person rushed towards the Great Demon of Tzeentch like a cannonball.

However, just as he was about to swing his sword, the wings of the Great Demon of Tzeentch spread out instantly, and countless eyes opened one after another, releasing a psychic storm that distorted reality.

Diego's charge trajectory was forcibly deviated, and he was blown away by an invisible force, hitting the distant wall heavily. Even the nearby Grey Knights and War Servants were blown back several steps by the shock wave.

Just when the great demon Tzeentch was feeling proud, a Greek deity holding a shield and a spear suddenly stepped forward.

Her movements were as smooth as flowing water, and the posture of holding the spear high was exactly the same as when Athena threw the Spear of Victory.

Although the power was far less than that of the goddess of war, this attack still accurately pierced the head of the great demon Tzeentch!

"Ants!"

The demon was furious. Although the spear was not fatal, it grazed its cheek, leaving a wound burning with golden flames.

It instantly locked onto the war attendant who dared to challenge it, flapped its wings, and swooped down like a ghost!

Just as the Tzeentch was about to tear the war servant apart—

boom!
An armored iron hand suddenly grabbed the demon's ankle!

At some point, Diego stood up again, and the runes on the surface of his Terminator armor were all lit up.

"."

He roared silently behind the visor, and the hydraulic system of his arm armor burst out with amazing power. He lifted up the Great Demon Tzeentch and slammed him to the ground!

boom--!
The metal floor collapsed and the wings of the Great Demon of Tzeentch twisted and broke.

Roar--! !

It screamed in pain, but soon, fear replaced anger as it realized that the Grey Knights Grand Master was far more terrifying than it had expected!
"Mortals are seeking death!!"

The Great Demon of Tzeentch roared and released his last means of saving his life.

In an instant, the flow of time in the entire hall froze, the movements of the Grey Knights and War Servants were frozen, only the Great Daemon of Tzeentch was still able to move freely.

It climbed up with a fierce smile, and its sharp claws went straight for Diego's throat.

"Die, mortal!"

However, just as its claws were about to touch Diego——

"You've fallen into my trap, demon."

Diego, who was supposed to be bound by time, suddenly raised his head. His voice was cold and calm, and the golden holy flame of the power sword suddenly surged!

It turned out that he had already seen through the tricks of the Great Demon Tzeentch and pretended to be bound by the stagnation of time just to lure it closer.

! !
The deadly golden arc was reflected in the many eyes of the Great Demon of Tzeentch. Its consciousness, woven from millions of lies, finally understood what true fear was.

"This can't be—"

Before its scream could fully take shape, the sword blade wrapped in holy flames had already cut off all possibilities.

The sword blade drew a perfect slashing trajectory, and even time and space trembled wherever it passed.

The demon's head, which was inlaid with countless runes of deception, was thrown high into the air. As it fell, each of its eyes exploded like broken glass.

Its twisted body twitched wildly in the Holy Flame of the Emperor, and the blasphemous words on its wings twisted like a living thing and turned into ashes.

In the end, this subspace entity, which had existed for who knows how long or had just been born, turned into a wisp of twisted blue smoke and was completely decomposed into the most primitive psychic particles.

Moreover, these energies that had transformed into pure energy did not return to the subspace, but instead drifted towards the Imperial Palace on Earth in the main universe like a pilgrimage.

With the complete demise of the great demon, the entire fortress let out a dying groan.

The chaos runes flowing on the walls faded at a speed visible to the naked eye. The flesh and blood covering the ground quickly dried up and cracked, turning into black dust that drifted in the wind. Even the stench of sulfur in the air was washed away by some invisible purifying force, and replaced by a fresh smell with a slight smell of ozone.

The Grey Knights gradually recovered from the stagnation of time, and the surface of their Terminator armor still had ice crystals from being frozen in time and space.

Everyone remained in a fighting stance for a few seconds, and only slowly put down their weapons after confirming that the threat was eliminated.

The war attendant who threw the spear knelt on one knee, placed his right arm across his chest, and gave Diego an ancient Greek military salute.

There was a gleam of awe in her eyes beneath her helmet. After all, that "mortal" warrior had just completed an epic feat of demon-slaying.

Diego sheathed the still humming power sword, and the pure gold guard collided with the scabbard, making a crisp sound.

He walked towards the suspended blue crystal in the center of the altar, and the heavy footsteps of the Holy Shield Armor were particularly clear in the silent hall.

When his left hand touched the surface of the crystal, this container that once contained the essence of the great demon immediately shattered and dissipated.

"Record the results of the battle." He said in a deep voice, "One Tzeentch demon, confirmed to be permanently erased."

Listening to the words of this great mentor is as relaxing as giving a daily report.
(End of this chapter)