Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 280 The Ritual Attack of the Twilight Raiders
The Fourteenth Army Corps landed on Stevenage II in accordance with Nimrod's orders.

After landing, the "Twilight Raiders" did not launch an attack immediately; they defended against the Andresian attacks and waited for dusk to arrive.

Two honor guard members of "Shadow of Order," Alex of the Eighth Chapter and Schoddran of the Eleventh Chapter, stood atop the mountain, looking down.

They saw the Andresians' strange, disc-shaped tanks attacking the defensive lines at the foot of the mountain.

The disc-shaped tank rotated forward, with four Andres gunners positioned at a 90-degree angle, operating their cannons and firing shells in turn.

The two Shadow Order members discovered that the bizarre design allowed the Andresian artillery to fire continuously, but the shells were only half the caliber of Imperial tanks and far less powerful.

"A flashy but impractical design; the alien tanks pose far less of a threat than the Imperial tanks," Schodrán commented.

The Twilight Raiders, clad in gray power armor, charged through artillery fire under the command of the second company commander.

The warriors in the front row raised their storm shields high.

The Storm Shield is a more advanced and bulkier version of the Battle Shield, offering better defense.

At the same time, it is much larger than the battle shield, and the user must hold it with their hands. Unlike the battle shield, it cannot be used with two weapons.

The dense barrage of alien projectiles slammed into the shield, which was flashing with blue energy, producing crackling lightning.

The Storm Shield can withstand melee and ranged attacks, and can withstand the impact of laser cannons and even super-heavy weapons.

The attacks from the alien mini-cannons did not cause them any damage.

The Twilight Raiders, wielding Storm Shields, rammed into the Andresians' bizarre, round tanks like humanoid tanks, tearing through their armor with energy fields.

The Twilight Raiders raised their Thunder Hammers and smashed them down on the alien.

The Andres tank line was torn apart by the Twilight Raiders in the instant they encountered them.

The tanks in the back row launched a fire attack on them.

The Twilight Raiders raise their Storm Shields.

The lightning sparked by the shells illuminated the entire area.

"Warrior" Alex discovered that the Twilight Raiders were excellent heavy infantry.

The warriors in the front row, wielding storm shields, formed a tight line, blocking wave after wave of alien artillery fire.

The soldiers in the back row followed closely behind them, protecting themselves.

"They were all excellent heavy infantrymen, skilled in survival, and their defense was incredibly tenacious."

"Moreover, their endurance is very strong. Since landing, they have withstood fifteen waves of alien attacks, but their speed has not slowed down at all."

"But their mobility is insufficient. If they encounter orcs, the orc Dakkaken may exploit the gaps on their flanks."

The "warrior" gave his assessment of the Twilight Raiders, and Schoddland nodded in agreement.

"Although the 'Twilight Raiders' do not have the armor and firepower advantage of the 'Iron Hands,' they are also good at head-on combat."

"However, compared to the combat methods of heavy infantry, the Father of Genetics was more interested in how they could take advantage of the time of twilight."

The two shadowy figures then walked side by side into the makeshift command post.

Apart from the second company commander who led the soldiers to resist the attack of the Andres, the other company commanders were all in the camp.

Lawyer Schordran carefully chose his words, following the custom of addressing each other among the "Twilight Raiders": "I've heard that the Unbreakable and the Stormwalker..."

“Well, now we should call them the ‘Iron Hands,’ you’re all from Albia.”

"The 'Twilight Raiders' and 'Storm and Hammer' named for you by the Emperor also originated from the war art of the Albian tribes."

“Yes,” replied Company Commander Balasin, who was wearing gray armor and covered in combat medals.

“This prototype was formed when we launched the vanguard attack in the Battle of Ainside during the War of Unification, but at that time we had not yet determined that the best time to launch the offensive was at dusk.”

Company Commander Tersus glanced at the power sword slung at Alex's waist. As the strongest combat company commander of the "Twilight Raiders," he could tell that the squad leader in black armor was an excellent soldier.

"Only through battle can one truly understand the Unbreakable."

"Follow me, and join the battle."

“Schkodlan, you follow Balasin.”

Seeing that Schordland nodded, Alex said, "Lord Theseus, we will obey your will."

Balasin said to Shkodran, “As Thus said, you shall follow me.”

Then, assuming the responsibilities of the chief company commander, he looked at the holographic image in front of him and began to issue orders.

"The Auger matrix scan results show that this world is composed of numerous honeycomb factories."

"..."

"Tesus, your company is responsible for initiating the counterattack first, tearing apart the alien lines, and then attacking the largest alien factory marked A."

Finally, Balasin said, "As always, the time to launch the offensive is at dusk."

After the Fourteenth Army's war council, Schoddran followed Balazin to the mountaintop again, looking down. He saw that the number of attacking aliens was increasing, they were overwhelming and seemed endless.

Schordland inspected the display interface of the eyepiece, and the data captured by the astrolabe was displayed on the tactical network, showing that Andres had deployed more than 10,000 disc tanks.

They launched wave after wave of attacks on the mountain peaks, like a tidal wave.

However, the Second Company maintained its defensive line intact despite the onslaught. As the gray-armored warriors wielding Storm Shields fell, Twilight Raiders immediately took their place.

The second company launched regular attacks, destroying hundreds of tanks each time.

Schordland silently calculated: [The Second Company directly resisted the armored forces of the Andres, and the defensive line was never breached.]

With fewer than 140 casualties, they were an excellent defensive heavy infantry unit; only our Third Regiment could have done better.

Yes, if it's the third battle group, they've already broken through the enemy lines.
Alex, a "warrior" in the 7th Company of the "Twilight Raiders," looked around and watched the warriors in gray armor preparing for battle in an orderly manner.

Holding a bomb gun in their left hand and a ceremonial bell in their right, they moved slowly and steadily across the bomb gun, meticulously performing the maintenance ceremony.

The Shadow of Order discovered that they ignored the battle below the mountain, seemingly focused entirely on maintaining the ritual to avoid provoking the machine spirits.

The "warrior" couldn't help but feel a greater sense of respect for the gray-armored warriors. He was certain that the Twilight Raiders didn't just use explosive guns as weapons; their maintenance rituals were truly astonishing.

The "soldier" had never seen anyone so engrossed in maintaining their weapons, and even he, who considered weapons as part of his own body, was amazed.

The "warrior" withdrew his gaze, took out a cleaning cloth, poured on the Vostonia-type gun holy oil, and carefully wiped the explosive gun again.

Then, the hilt of the power sword was cleaned with Vostonia-type weapon holy oil.

As Alex performed his second round of cleaning after acquiring the weapon, Schoddland, immersed in his "lawyer" state, pondered deeply the actions of the "Twilight Raiders."

The Twilight Raiders place more emphasis on ritual than other legions; their preparations are more ritualistic.

In every battle, they tended to launch their attacks at dusk.

It's still unclear why they're so persistent. If they were to launch a full-scale counter-attack now, shouldn't they be able to tear apart Andres' defense?
After a moment, he came to some conclusions.

First, this tactic effectively depletes the enemy's strength and morale.

Secondly, by forming habitual behaviors, Twilight Raiders will feel power from these ritualistic acts.

Finally, it should be that they do indeed effectively utilize light during changes in light and darkness; this point can only be concluded through observation once the battle begins.
As Schordran pondered, the forge master of the "Twilight Raiders" walked to the side of Chief Company Commander Barasin.

"The results from the testing instruments, after fourteen rounds of verification, confirm that dusk will fall precisely in seven minutes."

The shadow of order looks up at the sky, gazing at the setting sun.

[almost.]
Schkodran silently set a countdown timer on the eyepiece, ready to verify it later.

He heard Balasin give the order: "Set a countdown and launch the attack on time."

The shared tactical network updated the countdown settings, starting at four minutes and fifty-nine seconds and rapidly progressing.

Schordland noticed that the gray-armored warriors moved almost simultaneously, heading in an orderly fashion to the assembly points of their respective companies and squads.

With three minutes left in the countdown, they arrived at the assembly point and took their positions.

With two minutes left in the countdown, the Andres players launched another attack.

With one minute left in the countdown, the soldiers of the Second Company repelled the alien attack, but no soldiers from other companies took action, nor did anyone provide them with fire support.

The lawyer frowned slightly, thinking to himself.

This is too rigid and inflexible.

If the enemy exploits this ingrained mindset to launch a targeted attack, it could cause significant losses.
As Schordland thought of this, he suddenly felt a slight melting sensation within his body.

As the countdown reached zero, the timer designed by Schöderland sounded a beeping alert.

The shadow of order swept across the sky, and at that very moment, the light vanished completely, turning into darkness.

[Just in time!]
As he pondered, the sound of exploding bombs rang out.

Schordland looked down, and at the same moment, the gray-armored warriors launched their attack.

Like a dam releasing its floodwaters, a dense hail of bullets rained down on the Andres.

Alex, together with the 7th Company, launched a charge against the enemy.
He keenly noticed that at the moment the light and darkness shifted, Andres's firepower paused for a moment.

They were then caught off guard by a sudden attack from the Twilight Raiders, and their lines collapsed instantly.

From the mountaintop, Schordland has a panoramic view of the entire landscape.

[Just as I expected, the defensive battle before the Twilight Raiders exhausted the enemy.]

They seized the moment when light and darkness switched, and the instant the enemy's physiological adaptation occurred, to launch a concentrated firepower strike against the enemy lines.

Only Astartes, with their near-light vision and ability to launch rapid attacks, could seize this opportunity.
He then thought: [While effective, it seems more like a ritual attack; the Twilight Raiders launch their attacks at specific times, in ways they believe in.]
　PS: Chapter 2 is almost here, scheduled to be released at 11:33.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)