Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

If the star's temperature does not recover after defeating the Chaos fleet, then Tarantis will endure a harsh winter.

"Full speed ahead! Full speed ahead! Abaddon must have brought all the ships they could. We must not let them break away from Blackrock Fortress and form a formation freely!" With a command from Gu Jian, the Punisher turned around and sailed away, followed by warships from the Dark Angels and other Space Marine chapters, as well as Captain Spyr, who had been promoted to command a small fleet.

It can be said that they will bear the brunt of the first wave of attacks from the Chaos Fleet.

"Truly decisive..." Abaddon remarked, watching the approaching Imperial fleet. Loading all the warships into Blackrock Fortress was no easy task; the naval maneuvering was a massive undertaking that could not afford any mistakes, unless he wanted to see two warships collide.

Abaddon was also making his deployments, ordering the smallest and fastest Chaos frigates to leave the Blackrock Fortress docking point as quickly as possible, so that they could form the first line of defense to intercept the Imperial fleet.

As for the weapons on Blackrock Fortress, Abaddon has no intention of using them now. After all, Blackrock Fortress has been out of operation for a long time and is extremely lacking in energy. If he wants to use a devastating bombardment to wipe out everything in this star system in the upcoming battle, he must conserve them as much as possible.

The Chaos frigates, a motley crew, far outnumbered those brought by Admiral Luvansberg, including warships that had betrayed them during the Gothic Wars and even older frigates whose blueprints had been lost. They swam in like a school of carnivorous fish.

Komi couldn't possibly engage these warships in close combat, relying on who had the more powerful cannons or the thicker void shields to win. His warships could only rely on those void fighters carrying a large number of plasma and thermal bombs.

One fighter jet after another flew out quickly, like knights in the void rushing towards a giant dragon. The Chaos Fleet also released some Hellclaw fighter jets, but these blasphemous machines could not stop the fighter jet squadron that Komi had painstakingly built.

Of course, it's unrealistic to expect victory with just the fighters on a single frigate. What truly put pressure on the captains of those Chaos frigates were the Space Marines' strike cruisers.

These warships have their main weapons mounted on their sides, which increases their vulnerable area and makes their firepower exceptionally fierce when unleashed in an instant.

The monks, who worshipped the God of Myriad Machines, were tirelessly leading their slaves to maintain the Void Shield Generator and inspect the energy lines throughout the warship to ensure that it could withstand more attacks and not be destroyed in the void.

The strike cruisers charged into the Chaos frigates with an invincible momentum, unleashing boarding torpedoes and having ten-man combat teams slaughter the Chaos crew. Only the Chaos Space Marines could stop their advance under their iron armor and superhuman skills.

However, none of these Chaos frigates were garrisoned by Chaos Space Marines; they were all under the command of the Warmaster and concentrated in the larger cruisers, battleships, and Blackrock Fortress.

It's clear that Abaddon was prepared to annihilate the entire fleet of frigates. Although each ship is a costly steel behemoth, frigates are still expendable assets that can be sacrificed for tactical objectives within the navy.

The void was engulfed in battle, and the planet Tarantis was also plunged into chaos. Kayan said that he could not corrupt the people of the planet because he was too far away. Now he led the Thousand Sons, who were reduced to dust, to the surface of Tarantis, overwhelming the reinforcements with his immense psionic energy, and using the blood of Imperial citizens to outline the ritual site for summoning demons.

How could a chaotic war be complete without these inhuman beings?

The masked dancer chuckled, ready to lend a hand to Koji and lead his servants to fight Kayan.

Chapter 596: Tank taunts, mage deals damage!

"Saint Otto! Please have your warship retreat. If you continue forward, you will expose yourself to enemy fire!"

As the Dark Angels' Chapter Master Azrael watched the Exterminator race further and further away, he couldn't help but remind it over the comms. But Komi's only response was to continue at full speed, even channeling some of the Void Shield's energy into the plasma engine.

Koji dared to make such a decision because of the reconnaissance feedback from his spirit bird divination device into Blackrock Fortress. The huge red dots symbolizing the Chaos warships were crowded together, and the large warships that could threaten the Exterminator were stuck together. Even if they were given another half hour, they would not be able to peek out of Blackrock Fortress.

Komi kept closing the distance, also to add fuel to the fire of their chaos.

Komi cleared his throat; he was about to launch into a tirade.

“Listen up, you brain-dead idiots, fools who are being manipulated by the dark gods without even realizing it! I, the agent of the Savior’s will, the condemner of the demi-humans of the Gothic Sector, the saint recognized by the state religion, I, Otto, will utterly defeat you here. I will defeat your bodies, and I will defeat your pathetic souls!”

Komi's voice drifted out, turning into a series of data signals that were captured by the Chaos Warship's equipment. Soon, Komi's incredibly arrogant voice rang out on their bridge.

"Many of you call yourselves veterans of countless battles, but I know that's just an excuse to cover up your incompetence! Everyone knows the nature of the Warp; there's no concept of time and space there. You can fall asleep and thousands of years could pass in the blink of an eye. You scum who survived the Imperium's Wrath and lived your lives in the Warp have forgotten this fact, linking the passage of time in the Warp to reality, and then claiming to be a thousand times more experienced and powerful than loyal Space Marines—that's laughable!"

The humiliation of Komi continued. The insults to the honor of the Space Marines quickly caused Abaddon's most volatile and easily angered warbands to lose control. The berserkers who worshipped the Blood God roared and, disregarding the several friendly warships in front of them, immediately ordered their cannons to open a path so they could cut off Komi's head.

"You've enraged the enemy! They're killing each other!" Faith exclaimed with delight as brilliant fireballs burst from the open harbor of Blackrock Fortress, but Koji, sitting on the captain's throne, was not satisfied. He raised the corners of his mouth and pointed his spear at Abaddon.

"Hey, Abaddon, what's wrong with your army of destruction? Is it because their heads aren't as pointed as yours?"

Abaddon listened to Komi's mockery with a dark expression, his murderous intent towards him soaring to an indescribable level. His anger materialized, making even the Black Legion's Terminator troops feel breathless.

"He's trying to provoke me into making an even worse decision, but I won't fall for it."

Abaddon gritted his teeth as he continued to command the Chaos Legion's fleet out of Blackrock Fortress. He prioritized dealing with the notoriously irritable warbands, allowing them to be the first to charge out and take revenge on Komi, who had mocked their honor.

However, Abaddon underestimated Komi's taunts. In a daze, he suddenly heard a song. His first thought was that the Slaanesh demon had appeared beside him, but the next second, the familiar voice made him realize that the source of the song was Komi.

"I always took from you but never said thank you, only realizing how hard it was for you after I grew up..."

Abaddon immediately understood who the song was about; even an orc wouldn't mistake the sincerity in it—it was about Horus, the Primarch!

Everyone has a sore spot, and touching it can make someone furious, but it's really rare to find someone like Komi who carves words and dances ballet on that sore spot.

"Pass on my orders..." Abaddon's voice was deep and hoarse, "Make way for the Black Legion. I want to capture that damned clown alive and tear his incessant, foul mouth apart!"

The servants had never seen the Warmaster so angry. They scrambled to finish the rest of the work for Abaddon. The Warmaster drew his demon sword and could hear the powerful demon's mocking laughter in the soft hum of the blade.

"Heh heh heh... Do you remember, Abaddon? You killed your father with your own hands, even if it was just a shadow of past glory."

"Shut up! That's none of your business!"

"Time, time, please slow down... don't let her grow old anymore..."

At that moment, Koji was singing the song's climax. The lyrics, which depicted the bond between father and son, made the Demon Sword even happier. If Abaddon really wanted to use him to kill Otto, the Demon Sword would definitely show mercy. Such an interesting person was rare.

After Komi finished singing, the feeling of being maliciously targeted was extremely obvious. He felt like a tank busy in a WOW raid, whose taunt skill had drawn all the aggro of the monsters in the entire map onto him!

“Hoo…” Komi took a deep breath. He saw more and more warships rushing straight toward the Punisher from the chaotic dock in the distance. Then he contacted Azrael and said, “I have angered the enemy and made them lose their ability to think calmly. Now it is up to you to seize their mistakes and give them a good beating.”

"We will not let your efforts go to waste."

Azrael answered confidently that even a naval intern could see the chaos and disorder of the Chaos Fleet, let alone Space Marines who had been fighting for hundreds of years.

The only thing that puzzles Azrael now is why Komi's song could elicit such a strong reaction from Abaddon. The song is clearly about positive things like filial piety and parental love. If Octar took off his helmet, he would definitely shed tears because he misses Guilliman.

Does this mean that Abaddon did not like his father Horus?

Azrael turned to look at Octar, the victorious Mackrag who had witnessed the Great Crusade and the Great Rebellion, and answered many of his questions about the Space Marine Legions' betrayal.

For example, the harsh treatment of the Iron Lord Perturabo by the Iron Warriors made many Iron Warriors feel relieved when the rebellion broke out, thinking that they no longer had to endure Perturabo's paranoid nature.

What impressed Azrael the most was Octar's complaints about the Word Bearers. Many of these religious warriors saw Primarch Logar as a burden to the Legion. They envied other Legions for having an excellent Primarch commander, while they could only fight hard under a talented but often erroneous Primarch.

Upon noticing Azrael looking at him, Octar assumed that this capable junior wanted him to explain Abaddon's style of doing things so he could analyze this formidable enemy. However, Octar had very little contact with the Son of Horus in the past, so he couldn't offer Azrael any meaningful advice. He could only say with some uncertainty, "Abaddon managed to rise from a company commander to a Warmaster, so he must be quite capable. Don't underestimate him."

Chapter 597: Your surprise attack was exactly what I expected!

The chaotic ships rushed forward amidst Komi's mockery, each fearing that if they arrived too late, they would miss out on a place at Komi's dismemberment ceremony.

This made their ship formation extremely loose, with gaps almost everywhere that could be exploited.

In naval battles of this scale, once one side loses order and formation, the balance of victory begins to tip.

Warships lined up in a row can better concentrate their firepower and allow warships whose Void Shields are about to overload to quickly move behind other warships to replenish their energy.

The Space Marines' strike cruisers quickly dealt with the Chaos frigates that were intercepting them, spontaneously forming a firing line across the void.

Komi also turned the ship around, as the void shield of his small escort ship could not withstand too much damage.

"Don't run away, you shameless scoundrel!"

The furious roar broke through the sound array master's blockade. Koji could smell blood in it, so he wouldn't stay still.

The light spear, imbued with chaotic energy, emitted a scarlet beam. After traversing such a vast distance, the amount of energy that struck the void shield was minimal, disappearing after causing only a slight ripple.

The enemy pursued relentlessly, and Komi quickly retreated, bringing these Chaos ships into the firing range of the Space Marines.

"Protect Saint Otto, and aim at those blasphemous warships!"

The macro cannons opened fire, causing the void shield of the leading Chaos Cruiser to overload and disintegrate under the next volley of shells.

The other Chaos fleets were not deterred by the sinking of their friendly ships. Admiral Luvansberg's ships had not yet reached their operational positions, and they now held an overwhelming numerical advantage over the Space Marines.

Moreover, when it comes to retreat, those who came out of the network tunnels had no way out. The fortresses built by the Imperial fleet guarded every Mandeville point that could safely warp into the warp. They either had to win or risk their lives, praying that they wouldn't be torn apart by the planet's gravity before completing their warp warp.

After the Space Marines' ships fired two rounds, the Chaos Fleet's counterattack began. Unable to form a formation, they were unable to concentrate their firepower and even had to worry about whether their cannons would hit friendly forces who were taking cover in front of them.

Therefore, the initial counterattack of the Chaos Fleet posed no threat to the Space Marines, who continued to advance, compressing the Chaos Fleet's maneuverability and preparing to let the blood of traitors soak their chainswords.

The Exterminator also successfully withdrew under their cover, and the hundreds of fighters they had released returned to resupply with ammunition. They destroyed the Hellclaw fighters with a casualty ratio of almost one to ten, greatly reducing the pressure on the Imperial fleet's anti-aircraft gun groups, allowing them to focus on intercepting the large number of torpedoes released by the Chaos Fleet.

Captain Speyer did not lose his brilliance in the melee; his unique rotating gunnery left both captains speechless.

Some chaotic ships attempted to emulate this, but their firepower was surprisingly inaccurate while rotating, and they abandoned this peculiar and bizarre method of bombardment after wasting two firing opportunities.

Although one Chaos warship after another was destroyed in the void, the older and more powerful weapon systems installed on their warships gradually caused damage to the Space Marines' ships. One of the Void Shields that was used to strike a cruiser overloaded after taking dozens of macro cannon shots at once. The next second, the light spear struck its thick armor, burning out a huge crater with a radius of 100 meters.

If it weren't for the other warship reacting quickly, turning its bow to block the remaining attacks with its void shield, the strike cruiser would have been pierced by the light spear and rendered combat ineffective.

In a naval battle where even cruisers could accidentally crash, Komi's small Exterminator seemed to be of no use. However, Komi was not discouraged by this. He was busy using the Spirit Bird Divination Device to draw clearer tactical maps to support his allies, while keeping an eye on Abaddon when he activated the Blackrock Fortress cannons.

Those elite Pharaohs in the Eye of Faraway Fortress are waiting to grab a Blackrock Fortress and have some fun.

Abaddon's fleet also slowly sailed out. They did not suffer from the problem of loose formation. They possessed an order and discipline that other warbands did not have. Under Abaddon's orders, they quickly formed an offensive spearhead led by the Vengeance Soul and other battleships.

"Now, let those self-important servants of the Corpse King witness the might of the Black Legion!"

Amidst Abaddon's roar, the Black Legion marched forward in perfect formation. The magnificent and orderly scene reminded some veterans of the glorious Legion era, and at this moment, Abaddon's title as Warmaster carried even greater weight in their hearts.

"Abaddon is charging in! Get the crew ready for a fight inside the ship!"

"Admiral Luvansberg's ship will take another hour and a half. We have to hold off their offensive!"

Abaddon's aggressive demeanor was not without reason; as the Warmaster of the Chaos Legion, he could not win solely through technology and tactics.

The wizards completed the spell with a large number of sacrifices, making the void shields supported by those massive battleships as attractive as black holes, which undoubtedly protected the cruisers and frigates.

Round after round of salvoes continued, but the battleship's void shields showed no sign of flickering. The Space Marines' firepower against the strike cruisers was still insufficient to shake the behemoth's defenses.

They attempted to damage the battleships with torpedoes, only to find that their torpedo density was severely limited by the ship's design, making them completely incomparable to the Orcs' shoddy ships that simply piled up firepower.

The battleships' gun crews skillfully and easily destroyed the torpedoes, and under the cover of the Void Shield, they sang songs praising the dark gods.

While battleships possessed formidable defensive capabilities, their firepower was equally impressive. The counterattacks from macro cannons and light spears severely damaged one strike cruiser after another, forcing the Space Marines to retreat.

But as the Emperor's angels of death, the Space Marines would rather die than retreat. Honor sustained them as they completed one impossible mission after another. They drove their damaged ships forward, attempting to destroy the battleships' Void Shield engines using boarding maneuvers.

Abaddon watched their movements and sneered a few times. These Space Marines had no idea of ​​the horrors inside the Chaos Battleship. Their boarding attempt would only be a suicide mission.

Abaddon continued to look at the Punisher, small yet very conspicuous on the battlefield, and asked the wizard when he would be ready.

Urged on by Abaddon, the wizards quickened their pace, working with the fallen mechanical monks to brand the macro cannonballs with demonic energy, thus giving them the ability to spin in the void.

One shot isn't enough, we need more!

Soon the wizards and dark mechanical monks had prepared three such macro cannon shells, and then they opened fire at Abaddon's impatient command.

The cannonballs flew through the void, their trajectories altered by the wizard's psionic energy, circling in a huge arc before crashing into the void shield of the Punisher.

All three cannonballs hit their targets, and the Void Shield crumbled instantly.

Abaddon was overjoyed and immediately waved his hand, ordering the Black Legion warriors to leap in and capture that damned Otto alive!

However, all of this was within Komi's expectations; he was waiting for Abaddon to board the Punisher.