Warhammer 40 Spring: Loyalty of the Multiverse

Chapter 18 Nightmare
Human beings are weak, but the saying "many ants can kill an elephant" is not without merit.

The situation was manageable in the positional battles outside. When the retreat took place, those mortals who had already anticipated their own fate had volunteered to stay behind and resist these Chaos traitors so that the remaining personnel could safely retreat back to the hive.

However, after everyone retreated, they discovered that it was an even more silent but brutal battle.

Everyone enters through the bottom nest, but in that environment, various aliens and mutants live in cramped conditions.

Leaving aside the mutants, the aliens were completely corrupted by Chaos.

When the security personnel in the hive were evacuating civilians, they also tried to go down to the hive. However, the aliens inside and those mutants who were extremely hostile to the Empire's rule drove them back.

Coupled with their environment, these mutants were only slightly tempted by chaos and quickly fell into depravity.

Along the way, various degenerate mutants ambushed and attacked the group.

Less than one-tenth of the original number of mortal soldiers had managed to retreat intact into the hive. Even the planetary governor, Fal Sigirit, who had risen through the ranks of political commissars, fell to a crude kinetic weapon made by a mutant.

Almost every mortal bore wounds. Coupled with the corrupted mutants and harsh environment of the Underhive, those wounds began to fester and become somewhat strange.

However, those narrow-minded ordinary people did not think much of it. They simply had the logistics personnel apply medicine and bandage them up hastily before rushing to their respective positions.

Commander Afus still remembers what Quan Tiehua said before the battle.

Therefore, even during the evacuation, he maintained the formation of the team. Quan Tiehua was placed in the middle of the team.

While there's nothing wrong with returning to the throne, who would want to die when there's a chance to live?
But at this moment, the commander, Afus, had a somewhat somber expression. The brothers around him all noticed this change.

"What happened?" Tilter was directing the construction of defensive fortifications for urban warfare. Seeing the somewhat uneasy expression on Commander Afus's face, he felt a pang of anxiety and quickly went to his side to ask in a low voice.

"A large-scale zombie invasion has occurred in the agricultural areas of the southern part of the planet." Tilt wore a helmet, so his expression was unknown, but his voice remained normal.

"What's the specific situation?"

"It's very bad. Without our support, there has been a massive rout and infection there." Commander Afus looked at the soldiers who were still carrying out hauling and patrolling. His voice became softer, and he even put on his helmet.

The warband's communication channel instantly crackled with their conversation: "That's an agricultural area. Even if the population of the Northern Hemisphere has retreated there, the distance between settlements is separated by vast agricultural fields. How could it have fallen in just over a day?"

"That's the problem. According to the last report, all the food was infected. After eating the food picked there, everyone got infected and turned into zombies."

Quan Tiehua put down the explosive gun he was wiping in his arms. The other combat brothers also stopped what they were doing.

"So, in other words, the only remaining population on this planet is our group of just over 100,000 people?"

"Yes. I've already had the ships in orbit conduct orbital bombardment. This should relieve some of the pressure on us here. But as for the agricultural areas, I think we should give up. The ultimate fate of this planet will probably be an extinction order. After all, the entire Southern Hemisphere has been contaminated by chaotic forces."

Quan Tiehua remained silent, only glancing once more at the progress bar panel of the system in his mind.

A complete, beautiful, and prosperous planet with a population of billions was reduced to just over 100,000 normal people in just one month on Terra.

Even the word "normal" has to be put in quotation marks. If this war is won, 95% of the normal population will be executed by the Imperial Inquisition. This is because they have faced chaos and are at risk of being corrupted and degenerated.

If this war is lost, then all the remaining people, including their entire warband, will be corrupted and degraded by chaos.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Captain Aphros and Tilt had ended. Neither of them made any further moves, but instead silently gazed at each other.

They have already suffered too many losses in this war. "Commander." Quan Tiehua suddenly broke the silence and appeared abruptly in the battle group's communication channel.

All the brothers turned to look, and saw Quan Tiehua walk up to them. But the communication remained silent.

All the brothers knew that the time had come for the leader to make a decision.

"Let's hold our ground and wait for reinforcements."

In short, everyone began checking their weapons, ammunition, and equipment.

It wasn't that he didn't want to withdraw now and preserve the fighting force; rather, he felt that things hadn't reached a point where it was impossible to continue.

"Ah ah ah."

A sudden scream startled everyone, instantly shattering the tense atmosphere.

Those mortal soldiers who were intently focused on the entrance were startled by the sudden appearance and instantly pulled the trigger. With one person taking the lead, countless others followed, and in an instant, countless attacks were fired into the empty, dark passage.

Astartes reacted extremely quickly, instantly pinpointing the source of the scream. Then, watching as the person, terrified and covered in sweat, sat up abruptly.

In an instant, countless gun barrels were pointed at that person.

He looked exactly like someone who had been woken up from a nightmare.

Just as Astartes was about to ask what had happened...

At the entrance defense point on the front line, fierce attacks rang out.

At the same time, all sorts of roars and screams rose and fell.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!" A loud command rang out, and everyone went into battle mode and took their positions.

No one paid any attention to the bewildered mortal, whose eyes held a hint of anger and lingering fear.

At this moment, a battle has already broken out at the entrance.

A dense mass of bald, green-skinned humans, brandishing their weapons and shouting "For the Four-Armed Emperor!" charged madly toward this place.

"Gene thief".

Isn't that a coincidence? A mortal's nightmare directly alarmed everyone. A mortal soldier, whose nerves were already on edge, instinctively pulled the trigger after being startled, which immediately triggered a chain reaction.

Meanwhile, the group of gene stealers who were secretly trying to escape and break through the blockade also suffered an undeserved disaster.

They thought they had been discovered, but who could have imagined it was an accident?

The battle began instantly.

Where no one could see, the mortal, terrified by the nightmare, had eyes that were filled with anger and bloodshot.

……

(End of this chapter)