Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 845, 08.844: "Reinforcements Arrive, the Hunt Begins"

Meanwhile, at the other end of the bridge, the Imperial Navy boarding force, personally led by Lord Captain Archie, cut precisely into the heart of the battle like a scalpel.

They were quickly divided into two combat teams: one team, under the cover of the Holy Rose Sisters' medical nuns, took the main elevator directly and launched a swift assault on the highest point of the bridge—the command platform; the other team surged up the spiral staircases on both sides like a tide, forming a deadly pincer attack on the scattered Ducari aliens from both flanks.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! For the Emperor and the Captain!" A senior sergeant roared in the communications channel, his voice hoarse with excitement.

He was once the captain Horatio's personal bodyguard when he served as a candidate officer on HMS Indulgence. Now, as he strode into his heavy Void Combat Boots and led his men in a charge toward the command throne, he encouraged his comrades with the most primal shouts.

"Sir! The heavy weapons team is in position!" As a missile launcher was steadily mounted on the railing in front of the command throne, a gunner turned his head and shouted to the lord captain behind him, who was wearing power armor and panting heavily.

In order to gain the upper hand, Archie abandoned the elevator platform and instead led his men to walk up 150 steps, eventually ascending the command throne that symbolized the highest authority on the warship.

"Coordinates 34, Target: Enemy light aircraft! Free fire!"

Archie knelt on one knee, holding the Hellfire Gun in one hand with the assistance of the power armor's servo system, the muzzle pointing steadily downwards.

His other hand, which was free, transformed into a sharp hand blade in mid-air and swung down suddenly.

call out--!
The instant the order was given, the Imperial Navy boarding squadron's gunners had already locked onto the jet motorcycle that was darting through the air using the Thinker built into their weapons.

As the gunner pulled the trigger, a man-portable homing missile roared out of the launcher, trailing a fiery exhaust plume.

Its head-mounted sensors, like a vengeful eye, locked onto the alien vehicle, drawing a graceful white arc of death in the air before finally hitting its target precisely.

The motorcycle engine's shrill roar instantly turned into a groan of failure. Trailing billowing black smoke, it plummeted helplessly from the sky like an iron bird with broken wings, finally crashing heavily onto a Thinker array of a CIC combat platform, exploding into a raging inferno.

"Alarm! Fire detected. Firefighting protocol being activated."

laugh! ——

Several servo skulls floating in the air emitted a low hum, followed by three fire-fighting servo machines climbing out of an ancient shrine on the wall.

Their mechanical appendages sprayed large amounts of white chemical foam, which quickly covered the burning wreckage. Although their "climbing around on the wall" was somewhat frightening, their efficiency was undeniable, and they quickly extinguished the fire on the bridge.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The automatic grenade launchers mounted on the guardrail began to roar.

A series of grenades set to airburst mode were launched into the air, exploding in mid-air along the alien motorcycle's flight path. Countless high-speed fragments, like a steel storm, easily tore through the alien motorcycle's fragile armor and turned the driver into a cloud of blood mist.

Soon after, two more jet motorcycles were shot down from the sky, billowing black smoke.

Those riders who fell to the ground met an even more tragic fate—they were either beaten into a bloody pulp by the swarming law enforcement officers with their electric shock batons, torn to pieces by the ferocious mechanical mastiffs, or had their throats slit by the talons of the bio-engineered falcons that descended from the sky.

Those jet motorcycles that tried to speed over the heads of naval officers and soldiers were also given the same "warm welcome" by the Ministry of Justice - they were "sweeped" down from the sky by the navy's twin-mounted heavy shotguns with larger calibers, larger ammunition capacity and specially designed for shipboard cleaning operations, with an impenetrable barrage of bullets.

The Imperial Navy, having long been a victim of the Dark Eldar, these cosmic locusts, has its valuable assets frequently plundered by these uninvited guests.

Therefore, in the thousands of years of cat-and-mouse game, the Imperial Navy accumulated a wealth of combat experience against pirates, and their weapons and tactics were thus specialized accordingly.

Whether it's the corrupt and blasphemous traitor Astartes or the ruthless Ducalli alien that jumps in, they always have corresponding means and methods to deal with it.

The only difference lies in how many casualties are required.

"Master Chief." Archie's voice came clearly through the communication channel to Valina, the commander of the Hellsentries, "Organize your men to retreat into the assault boats."

Hellsoldier, your performance today has been outstanding. I hereby convey the Captain's highest commendation to you.

Now, withdraw from the battle immediately. Leave this to us. The captain needs you to continue shining on the front lines.

"Yes, sir!" Valina replied crisply, then turned and shouted, "Count the number of people!"

"one!"

"two!"

…… "fifteen!"

A sergeant who had taken over the post of the fallen centurion shouted in a hoarse voice, "Sergeant Major, headcount complete! Fifty men were expected, fifteen are present!"

"We'll collect the corpses after the battle. Now, retreat immediately."

"Yes, Captain! Please take good care of yourself." Valina's reply was swift and decisive.

This legendary sergeant major from Katachon has experienced countless battles in which his men suffered heavy losses.

She was used to it, and she knew that this would not be the last time.

But she knew even better that the Hell Vanguard unit existed from the very beginning, with the sole purpose of setting foot in the real hell.

Death? That's just another way for the officers and soldiers to continue serving the Lord of Humanity.

With the help of the Holy Rose Healing Sisters, the Hell Vanguard swiftly evacuated the wounded, their efficiency and discipline matching those of their countless drills.

From the surprise attack to the final stand, they ultimately achieved an astonishing exchange ratio of nearly 1 to 0.7 against the Dark Eldar aliens.

As a mortal armed force, they achieved a glorious record comparable to that of the Astartes, which was enough for them to boast about for a lifetime.

Seeing that the savage monkey assault force had seized the command bridge in the blink of an eye, the Ducalli aliens realized that their core operation had essentially failed.

There was no point in continuing, so they began screaming and organizing a chaotic retreat, trying to escape with the crew they had plundered.

It turns out that this group of aliens had devised a vicious plot from the very beginning: one elite force headed straight for the command throne, intending to create chaos and eventually detonate the warship; while the other force took advantage of the fire and chaos to loot the lower decks of the warship, kidnapping unarmed crew members and preparing to take them back to Comoros to serve as their new slaves.

Beep—! Beep—!
"Attention! All passages on the command bridge are being closed! Only the passage for armed forces reinforcements remains open! Repeat! All passages on the command bridge are being closed! Only the passage for armed forces reinforcements remains open!" The emotionless electronic voice of the machine servant echoed through the bridge like a death knell.

"Second squad, tighten the encirclement! We have seized control of the command throne and are closing the bridge passage!" Archie shouted to his men using the bridge's wide-area sonic array.

He took the command throne and updated the original command sequence using the overstepping code given by fleet commander Horatio, changing the information of the original captain and first lieutenant to 'dead in action'.

As a lord captain, he took command of the Scimitar-class escort ship and began to close the bridge corridor with his own will.

A rapid, heavy sound of footsteps came from the only remaining passage for armed forces reinforcements.

Clad in void-blue armor and uniforms, their faces covered in smoke and ash from the fire, the armed sailors of the 'Sword of Akali' surged forth like a wave of vengeance from the only remaining passageways connecting the barracks.

The soldiers quickly deployed into battle formation, the red indicator lights of their laser guns forming a continuous line in the dimly lit bridge, aimed at the aliens below who were still fighting with the Ministry of Justice bailiffs.

"Do not fire at long range! Avoid friendly fire! Repeat! Do not fire at long range! Avoid friendly fire!"

"Who are you?" the voice asked from the other end of the sound array.

"I am Captain Archie Cuthbert Collingwood, dispatched by the flagship. I have taken command of the 'Sword of Akali'! I now officially take command of this warship."

"Yes, sir! I am Second Captain Patron. Thank God your support came just in time. If you hadn't sent troops to support me, I would probably have died under the alien's blade just now."

The attackers were distracted by a new threat, allowing me to escape unscathed. Now I'm leading the 'Sword of Akali' armed forces to reinforce you! Give your orders!

The disheveled Second Captain, after meeting up with the probationary officer and his reinforcements, immediately managed to contact the commander of the raid via a sonic array.

"Block all main roads! Shoot down any aliens trying to escape! Send another team to scout the alien landing sites! They must have used boarding torpedoes to get in! Find it, then destroy it!"

"Yes! I...I roughly know where that thing is!"

The second captain responded loudly, then turned to the young officer candidate beside him and instructed, "The previous captain, the first captain, and most of the officers have been killed in action! We don't have many officers left. You! From now on, you are the acting lieutenant officer of the 'Sword of Akali'!"

(End of this chapter)