Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 935 08.934: 'Paratroopers are born to be surrounded'

drip-drip-

The cold, electronic notification sound, like a distant echo from another world, forcibly pulled Henry Harvey back from the abyss of unconsciousness.

"+Vitality signal detection in progress+"

Warning: Two fractured ribs, multiple soft tissue contusions, and mild concussion.

『+Continuous Combat Protocol Activated: Self-Injection of Mixed Potion+』

puff-

After a slight mechanical click, a cold needle popped out from the lining of the power armor and precisely pierced Henry Harvey's jugular vein.

The combat potion stored in his armor, an alchemical mixture of potent stimulants, painkillers, and diluted holy water, was pumped into his body.

"Ouch—"

Harvey let out a suppressed roar, a sound that teemed with both pain and relief.

The drug, like a chemical lightning bolt, restarted his nearly stopped heart.

His eyes widened suddenly as he warily scanned the unfamiliar, burning world through the visor of the Conqueror-class officer's power armor helmet, which was cracked like spiderwebs.

The excruciating pain in my body did not completely disappear, but was instead covered by an even more violent and extremely excited force.

This power surged through his veins, dispelling the drowsiness and making him immediately want to stand up, to fight, to tear the Emperor's enemies to shreds.

pat- pat-

Several pieces of charred metal fell from above and hit his shoulder armor.

He then realized that he was hanging in an extremely awkward position on a "platform" made up of two thick, intersecting branches.

The heavy power armor absorbed most of the impact damage for him; he himself only suffered brief periods of unconsciousness due to the powerful impact and frequent collisions.

Looking around, he found himself surrounded by flames.

The broken trees burned like giant torches, illuminating the forest under the night sky as if it were a living hell.

He had to leave immediately, or the flames would soon burn him, along with his expensive armor, into an unrecognizable, charred corpse.

He mobilized the power enhanced by the drug to support his heavy body.

After confirming that the parachute behind him could still be activated after the violent impact, he took a desperate gamble and jumped from a tree more than ten meters high.

laugh--

The gravity parachute's engine emitted a screeching sound as it struggled against the pull of gravity, but the force of the fall was still too great.

The moment Harvey's feet touched the ground, the hydraulic system of his powered leg armor emitted a piercing overload alarm, and the pistons at his knees were pushed to their limits.

Fortunately, he managed to stay standing.

He was injured, but not dead. He knelt on one knee, making the Eagle Salute gesture across his chest, silently thanking the God-Emperor for his protection.

Xavi immediately opened the tactics list on his arm guard, hoping to confirm his location and the status of his other teammates.

Jiong! —

? !
A crisp, distinctive gunshot pierced the crackling of the fire, freezing Harvey's movements instantly.

He was certain he heard the sound of laser weapons firing.

[Friendly forces?] He thought subconsciously, a surge of excitement welling up inside him.

He could not be mistaken; the unique booming sound produced by the high-frequency energy surge was the sound of the Hellfire Gun, standard issue for the Imperial elite troops.

His gaze swept quickly across the Ulugh map, which showed that there were flashing friendly signals nearby!

However, right after that gunshot, one of the green life signals representing a teammate disappeared abruptly and without warning.

?

Harvey's brow furrowed deeply.

and many more.

Someone...died?
What happened? If it were a battle, there would be no way that only one shot could have been fired.

This is more like a situation that would only happen if... a sniper or an execution.

He forced himself to calm down and recalled the last piece of intelligence he had received.

According to the battle briefing, the Sintila flintlock regiment had abandoned all areas around its forward command post and retreated to the monastery fifty kilometers away.

The area where I am located is undoubtedly an occupied zone.

In short, this is land belonging to either the enemy or a neutral force.

His military instincts instantly put him on high alert. Upon landing, Harvey quickly checked all his weapons and equipment: tactical combat knife, in place.

Bolt pistol, in use, magazine capacity: full.

His primary weapon... He took his Hell Carbine from the side of the power backpack, pulled the bolt, and confirmed that the power backpack was still usable after the violent impact—but how long it would last was unknown.

Everything is ready.

He crouched low, crept silently along the sparse bushes on the sand like a stalking beast toward the direction from which the gunshots came.

pat pat pat.

The crackling sound of the burning trees perfectly masked the sound of his heavy footsteps.

Upon approaching the target location, he crouched even lower, holding the Hellfire Carbine in one hand while using the other to crawl forward alternately on the sand.

Through a gap in a clump of bushes, he saw a scene that made his eyes widen in horror.

Several heavily armored soldiers clad in blood-red armor surrounded two Hell Paratroopers who had been disarmed, had their hands tied behind their backs, and were being forced to kneel on the ground.

Beside them lay the corpse of a comrade whose chest had been completely pierced by the Hellfire Gun. The gushing blood, mixed with the acrid smell of proteins burned by the high temperature, stained the sand beneath him a shocking dark red.

Those heavily armored red soldiers had several striking features in common—they wore shell armor that mimicked some kind of muscle armor from the ancient Terran era of cold weapons, leather battle skirts in the style of the ancient Terran Roman legions around their waists, helmets decorated with tall red horsehairs, and they held modified hell guns with stun gun muzzles.

Almost everyone had a metallic glint from the implant on their temple.

Every part of him exuded the aura of 'elite'.

[The Severus Shock Troops?] Henry Harvey immediately recognized them by their distinctive equipment and the hostile forces map in the pre-operation intelligence briefing.

Given the strength of the Principality of Severus, they could only support such an elite force of ordinary people.

At the same time, Harvey also noticed that the captured and executed Hell Paratroopers hadn't even been able to draw their weapons—clearly, they had been captured by the Severus Shock Troops, who had been searching the area, the moment they landed after their emergency parachute jump and before they could even get their footing.

"Speak! Where are your companions? How many are there? What is your purpose in coming here?"

One of the shock troops, who appeared to be an officer, pressed him for an answer in heavily accented Calicus Low Gothic.

He drew a Roman-style short sword from his waist, used the tip to lift the chin of a Hell Paratrooper, and said viciously, "Whoever speaks first lives. If your comrade speaks before you, you die!"

(Severu Shock Troops Officer)

The two kneeling Hellscream soldiers remained unmoved, their eyes showing not even a flicker of emotion.

The temptation to live a life of ignominy and the clumsy intimidation had no effect whatsoever on these veterans who had survived countless battles.

They are loyal to their companions and have absolute trust in them.

"My patience is limited! In that case, I'll cut off his ear first!"

Enraged, the officer began the torture with a cold laugh.

He roughly grabbed the ear of a paratrooper whose helmet had been removed and brought his sharp dagger close.

at this time--

"Abridal!!!"

A thunderous roar, like a bolt from the blue, shattered the deathly silence of the forest.

"Who goes there?" Several Severus shock troops immediately raised their guns alertly and turned towards the bushes from which the sound came.

The two Hell Paratroopers, who were already prepared to face death, had a sudden realization upon hearing this slogan.

They closed their eyes almost simultaneously and turned their heads to one side.

Abridal – Captain of the Overlord-class battlecruiser HMS Pure Flame. During the twelfth Black Expedition, while covering the retreat of the main force of the Imperial Navy's Gothic fleet, as the captain of the closest ship, he single-handedly charged into the energy convergence point of the three Blackrock fortresses, ultimately transforming into a dazzling pure flame, ending Abaddon's yet another black ambition.

From then on, the name "Abridal" took on multiple different meanings in the tactical language of the Imperial Navy's Gothic Fleet.

In the close-quarters combat (CQB) of the Imperial Navy's Gothic Fleet, it only meant one thing—

'Watch out for flashing lights!'

Ding!

A stun grenade flew out of the bushes in a precise arc, landing squarely on the heads of the traitors before their very eyes.

Cluck cluck cluck.

It exploded the moment it landed and bounced.

The dazzling white light instantly engulfed the world in the eyes of the shock troops, illuminating the sandy area as if it were daytime.

Jiong!
puff!
The instant the enemy was blinded, a blazing red laser beam, like a vengeful javelin, pierced precisely through the skull of a Severus shock soldier.

(End of this chapter)