Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 931, 08.930: 'Black Sky'

A formation of dozens of Valkyrie assault transport aircraft, like a flock of giant steel birds, is struggling to traverse a dark sea of ​​clouds formed from endless gunpowder smoke.

Their paint scheme was exactly the same as the "black sun" overhead, obscured by gunpowder and exhaust fumes, almost completely blending into the suffocating sky.

In this churning poisonous fog, each Valkyrie was like tearing open a rift leading to hell.

Inside the cabin, the world is simplified into a deep green.

The countless runes and readings on the instrument panel emitted a cold light, reflecting the focused and tense faces of the pilots.

On their flight goggles, lines of flight parameters refreshed like a waterfall, their only source of information in the pitch-black environment.

Inside the cabin, the deep roar of the engine came through the deck, turning into a tooth-grinding, continuous vibration, as if this steel behemoth was groaning in pain because of the polluted air.

"Full formation, current altitude 9,000 feet. 167 nautical miles from the designated drop zone." A pilot's voice rang out in the encrypted communication channel, calm and devoid of any emotion.

“By the Emperor, this damned fog! I can’t see anything!” Another pilot’s complaint broke the silence, his voice distorted by static interference. “I’m like a blind man, a blind man groping my way through purgatory with only a bird divination device! My machine spirit, even the affinity runes have turned an ominous amber color!”

“Maintain course, 'Bird II'. You heard the order. We must deliver the 'passengers'.” The squadron leader's voice came through, steady but with an undisguised hint of exhaustion. “Hold on a little longer, through this area.”

“May the Divine Emperor protect our journey. But sir, I must request to descend.” The pilot who initially reported spoke again, his tone serious. “The combustible suspended particles in these clouds are severely interfering with the accuracy of the oracles.”

If there's a 'mountain of supplies' piled up in our shipping lanes, by the time our radar detects it, it might be too late.

After a brief silence, the squadron leader made the decision.

The battlefield itself has become a threat that must be dealt with more than any enemy.

"Permission to descend is granted. Each crew shall make its own assessment to ensure flight safety."

“'Bird One' received.”

Upon receiving the order, the entire formation reacted instantly.

The aircraft, like falcons with their wings folded, tilted their noses sharply downwards, piercing through the thick cloud of smoke at a steep angle.

The aircraft shook violently in the thick smoke, as if wrestling with an invisible giant.

In the chilling darkness outside the cabin, the eerie blue exhaust plumes from the engine were dragged into ghostly trails that appeared and disappeared in the night sky before being swallowed up by the deeper darkness.

On the Valkyrie transport plane where Henry Harvey was, weapons operator Lev was staring intently at his active harpoon display screen.

A pale green cursor repeatedly swept across the screen, laboriously tracing the surrounding airspace amidst a blizzard of noise representing electronic interference.

Just as the group of planes was diving, a faint anomaly flashed across the edge of the screen.

It is not a clear signal, but more like a "data ghost," a hard spot of light that condenses by chance in a storm of noise, appearing only once in a scan and then disappearing without a trace.

Lev rubbed his dry, sore eyes from staying up all night, leaned forward, and tried to catch that signal again.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, not at the potential threat, but at his own useless body, "I shouldn't have stayed up all night with that ground crew girl before the mission..."

He forced himself to concentrate and examined the screen again, but there was nothing but endless static interference.

He pressed the communicator on his throat and contacted his colleague on another friendly aircraft: "Cody, have you found anything on your scan array? There was a momentary signal just now."

“What? No, Lev.” Cody’s voice came through helplessly. “My place is as clean as a shrine that has just undergone a purification ritual. You must be seeing things. In this awful weather, even the bird spirit is going crazy.”

“…Maybe.” Lev leaned back in his chair, a flicker of unease in his heart suppressed by exhaustion and his comrade’s response. He shook his head, switched to the internal communication channel, and shouted to the rear cabin, “Guys, get to the landing point immediately, get ready to jump!”

The pilot immediately pulled the switch for the parachute preparation indicator light.

"Ready!" With a deep command, the transmission structure fixed to the shoulders of the Hell Soldiers hissed as the hydraulic rods released pressure and slowly rose.

Henry Harvey stood up, the heavy metallic scraping of his armor and equipment echoing throughout the cabin.

The Hell Soldiers behind him also stood up, their movements perfectly synchronized.

The Valkyrie's tail hatch slowly opened amidst a series of ear-piercing mechanical noises.

In an instant, the gale, like an invisible giant hand, swept into the cabin, carrying the pungent smell of gunpowder and chemicals, along with the icy wind.

The low-visibility cloaks of the scouts fluttered in the wind, beating against their armor.

The world outside the hatch was a chaotic darkness, with only the occasional flashes of fire on the ground briefly illuminating the rolling clouds of smoke.

The parachute indicator light is still red, representing the waiting state.

They stood silently amidst the howling wind, waiting for the crucial green light to illuminate.

Just then, an indescribable cold glint emerged from the pure darkness.

It is not light, but the absence of light, a deeper, dark entity stripped from darkness.

It resembles a poisoned dagger aimed at a giant's throat, its entire body exhibiting an aerodynamically conical shape, with razor-sharp wings extending from all four sides.

It was silent, as if the night itself possessed life and murderous intent.

"Wait!" Lev's pupils contracted sharply.

The "data ghost" reappeared on the oracle screen, this time no longer a fleeting phantom, but a stable, clear, solid red dot rapidly approaching.

His blood froze instantly, and adrenaline surged through his limbs like an electric current.

He was absolutely certain that he wasn't seeing things.

"Enemy attack! Starboard, 3 o'clock! Take evasive action!!"

His desperate warning came too late.

boom!
A dull, terrifying roar, more like a pure, tearing act of violence than a sound.

Henry Harvey's Valkyrie suddenly shuddered, as if the entire aircraft had been struck by an invisible giant hammer.

The violent shockwave sent the Hell Soldiers, who were preparing to parachute, flying off at will, their heavy bodies slamming against the bulkhead with muffled thuds.

"Wh...what happened?" Harvey managed to steady himself and looked out of the cabin window in astonishment.

The turbine engine on the left had turned into a raging fireball, with thick black smoke mixed with orange-red flames, stretched into a long, ugly scar by the high-speed airflow.

The aircraft was tilted severely and was slowly descending at a terrifying angle.

(End of this chapter)