Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 950, page 08.949: "Death Line Approaching"

The hoverbike swooped down at incredible speed, its silhouette appearing sharp and menacing in the dim light.

“That’s just the vehicle of those monkey servants. I’ve seen it,” one of the Dukas said in a contemptuous tone, referring to Severus XIII and his soldiers as monkey servants.

"Don't let your guard down, you fool!" the squadron leader raised his voice. "The savage monkeys who worship the Corpse King have infiltrated our rear lines. How can you be so sure this is a vehicle belonging to our savage monkeys?"

Use your poor brain! If you were one of those simple-minded, careless monkeys, would you go to such lengths to hide your vehicle in your own territory? Go down and take a look! Those are very likely the Zombie King's lackeys!

The leader's orders are not to be questioned.

Three hoverbikes, like birds of prey folding their wings, sped towards the vehicle, descended, and finally came to a silent stop behind a reverse-sloping sand dune a short distance from the off-road vehicle. Their anti-gravity engines emitted only a faint hum before falling completely silent.

Everything seemed to have returned to silence, but it was unlikely that everything would return to silence.

Soon, the first alien emerged from behind the dune.

He wore a long, pointed, dark purple helmet, shaped like a deadly poisonous thorn.

He lay prone atop the dune, his body silhouette appearing unusually slender in the dim light.

The weapon in his hand—a poison crystal rifle—was emitting an ominous, eerie green glow, its muzzle steadily aimed at the seemingly empty SUV.

His superhuman visual system scanned every inch of the land, searching for any heat signal, energy fluctuation, or the slightest movement.

After confirming there was no direct threat, he issued a brief signal.

The rest of the Dark Eldar immediately sprang into action, their movements swift and agile, yet carrying an unsettling silence.

They rushed towards the off-road vehicle across the sand dunes, their steps incredibly light, like dragonflies skimming the water, leaving only barely perceptible shallow indentations on the soft sand.

Their every move exudes a deadly elegance, like killing artists on a stage, each step meticulously crafted to harvest lives in the most efficient and cruel way.

"Captain, the alien is heading towards the side door."

Deep in the shadows of the Gothic building, the sentry, a Hellslinger, swallowed hard.

His voice came through an encrypted shortwave Vox communicator, heavy and cold, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

He lay tightly in the rubble, every muscle in his body taut, like a statue about to unleash destructive power.

"Hold on, sir. Buy us some time." Captain Henry Harvey's voice came from the other end of the communicator, equally calm, but with an unquestionable authority.

"Copy that, sir."

The sergeant, whose shoulder armor was painted with two V-shaped armbands in low-visibility paint, lost communication.

He didn't say another word.

His finger rested lightly on the trigger, his breathing became long and steady, and even his heartbeat slowed down under the dual control of his breathing and mindset.

He locked onto the Dark Eldar man inspecting the off-road vehicle through the optical sight of the Hellfire Gun.

The crosshairs in the scope were steadily aligned with the alien's slender helmet.

Meanwhile, the first Dark Eldar had arrived at the SUV.

He placed one hand on the car body while rapidly operating the instruments at his waist with the other.

"No, this wasn't brought by the servants!" His voice held a hint of excitement at discovering prey. "It was captured!"

The words have not yet fallen.

Jiong!
A sharp explosion ripped through the deathly silence. It was the sound of air being ionized and exploded by a beam of ultra-high energy in an instant.

A blinding crimson laser beam shot out from the sergeant's Hellfire Gun, striking the mask of the Dark Eldar helmet with lightning speed.

The energy instantly melted the armor, turning the organic matter inside the helmet into a cloud of steam.

The dark elf didn't even have time to let out a scream before his body suddenly leaned back and fell limply onto the sand like a doll.

"Savage monkey attack!"

The rest of the Dark Eldar reacted instantly.

They showed no panic, only the ferocity of enraged beasts.

Their poison crystal rifles spewed out eerie green poison crystal bullets at an extremely high frequency, raining down on the soldiers' positions like hail.

The sergeant began moving the instant he opened fire.

He picked up the heavy Hellfire Gun and, with an agility disproportionate to his size, rolled backward to take cover in another ledge. A shard of poison crystal struck the spot where he had just been standing, hissing and corroding the hard rock as it emitted plumes of black, poisonous smoke.

He quickly changed positions, preparing for the next precise strike.

However, the Dark Eldar have lost patience.

They abandoned the ground search and got back on their jet motorcycles.

Above the black sky, they circled like vultures, the cold gleam of their cannons aimed at the collapsed Gothic tower—the sergeant's last hiding place.

A barrage of devastating firepower rained down.

Energy projectiles struck the already fragile building structure one after another.

Each explosion caused the tower to tremble violently, and huge stones and steel bars fell from the height.

Finally, with a deafening roar, the entire structure collapsed completely, burying everything cruelly and brutally under tons of bricks and stones.

Ducarli, who was on the ground, seized the opportunity to rush into the ruins.

They searched through the rubble like hyenas, and soon dragged the dying Hell Soldier out from under the bricks and stones.

His armor was cracked in several places, and his uniform was soaked with blood.

The Dark Eldar let out a satisfied roar, and with their gleaming scimitars, they severed his head in a ritualistic and bloody manner, and then used another specially crafted hook to rip out his still-beating heart.

A Dark Eldar held the two "trophies" aloft and let out a triumphant howl to his companions in the sky, as if announcing the initial victory of the hunt.

Amid the deafening crash of the collapsing tower, Captain Henry Harvey and his squad had penetrated deep into the interior of this ancient government data processing center.

The sentry's sacrifice bought them precious seconds, every second of which determined the success or failure of the mission and the life or death of everyone.

“We’ve lost Sergeant Tario,” a team member reported in a low voice, the tone cold and restrained, coming through the internal communication channel into each person’s helmet.

“His sacrifice will not be in vain,” Harvey’s voice was firm. “Keep moving forward. Stay alert and watch the flanks.”

They stopped running and moved with a "tactical advance" pace.

Each person is responsible for a sector, and the gun is always pointed in the direction of potential threats.

Their footsteps were heavy and steady, their thick military boots echoing dully as they pounded on the dusty metal floor.

The entire squad operated silently in the narrow corridor like a sophisticated killing machine.

Harvey turned to look at the two teammates behind him who were responsible for covering the rear and gave the order with a short hand gesture.

That was a decisive nod.

The two Hell Soldiers immediately understood. Without the slightest hesitation, they turned and rushed towards the massive steel blast door at the entrance.

One of them skillfully entered a long string of emergency shutdown codes on the control panel by the door.

With a piercing metallic scraping sound and the hissing of the hydraulic system depressurizing, the heavy door began to slowly close.

click -

The door hinges groaned under the strain, gradually isolating the view of the desolate ruins outside.

Just as the gate was about to close completely, a soldier wearing heavy power armor stepped forward.

His arm armor integrates a variety of demolition and sealing engineering equipment.

He activated the attached welding torch, and a dazzling blue arc of electricity shot out from the nozzle with a loud hissing sound.

He welded the door seams shut to prevent the alien from invading.

Molten metal droplets rolled down from the crack in the door like tears, quickly solidifying on the ground.

This desperate act seems all the more tragic. It appears to be not only sealing off an entrance, but also building a tomb for themselves, and simultaneously a fortress to buy them a final bit of time.

Before long, the sound of gunfire erupted outside the door, growing louder and then quieter until silence fell.

But soon, the sound of the toxic crystal rifles firing rang out again, almost in unison, making a crisp "crackling" sound.

Immediately afterwards, even more powerful and heavier poison crystal cannons and dark light spears began to bombard the gate. Each shot made the entire building tremble, and dust fell from the ceiling, as if this ancient building was about to collapse completely at any moment.

This tremor also signifies that more powerful alien units equipped with special weapons have joined the battle.

(End of this chapter)