Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

It seems we need to change tactics. Even though the Black Legion is large and powerful, we can't easily ignore the deaths of eighty warriors. A standard Space Marine Chapter consists of only ten companies of one hundred men each. The loss of eighty men means that a company will lose its fighting capacity.

Fortunately, the failure of the raid did not affect the naval battle. The Chaos army's battleships continued to swagger and tear through the Space Marines' defenses, even forcing some of the strike cruisers to resort to extreme tactics such as self-destruction.

"Commander, what's the next step?"

Some officers questioned Abaddon, whose anger was stirred by the deaths of eighty Black Legion warriors. After a moment's thought, he ordered the fleet to continue forward, surround the Exterminator, and then send the Beastmen and Mutants, who were willing to die as many as they wanted, to board the Exterminator and capture Otto Saint alive.

Komi naturally noticed the Chaos Fleet's movements. He understood that continuing to entangle them here would only increase casualties and would serve no purpose. So he contacted Azrael and asked him to lead the Space Marines to retreat and rendezvous with Luvansberg's fleet to regroup.

"And what about you? What will you do?"

In response to Azrael's question, Komi simply chuckled and took out a tarot card he had made from a demon, saying, "Of course I'll continue to mock them and lead them in circles. Remember the tactics I used in the Battle of Wuding Port?"

Captain Spyder suddenly realized what was going on and immediately said, "You mean a very short subspace jump!"

“That’s right, Spier. I will try my best to draw their attention and give you time to regroup.”

After speaking, Koji ordered Fesses to release his voice via unencrypted radio waves, wanting the Chaos army to hear his precise humiliation of them. At the same time, the Punisher continued to move forward, making it seem like a suicidal act of deliberately entering the encirclement.

This provocation was intolerable to the World Eaters. They even ignored Abaddon's orders, abandoned the pursuit of the retreating Space Marine ships, and rushed at full speed to surround the Exterminator.

This persistence was incomprehensible to some Imperial Navy admirals. It can only be said that Komi was not cursing them. If these people had Holy Blood Angels on their ships, Komi could easily make them furious with a casual remark about Saint Gilles, forgetting everything written in the Astartes Codex.

If mortal captains attempt to stop them, they will most likely be chopped down by the Holy Blood Angels and have their command taken away.

The situation was similar inside these Chaos warships that had gone berserk. The World Eaters, already weakened by the Butcher's Nails, lacked rationality, and Komi repeatedly stepped on their landmines, saying things like: "You wretched World Eaters, your father never loved you. He saw you as cowards!"

The Devourers were grinding their teeth to the point of breaking. If you asked the Chaos Captain to remind them not to be led by the nose by Gu Jian at this moment, you would be asking them to think they were living too comfortably.

Thus, the Punisher in the void was like a small fish surrounded by countless sharks, constantly at risk of being swallowed up. Captain Spiel watched from afar, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"May the Savior protect..." Spear murmured.

The World Eater ships surrounded the Exterminator. Instead of ordering the macro guns to fire, they launched boarding torpedoes. They were in sync with Abaddon, wanting to capture that damned Otto alive and torture him by any means necessary.

Komi showed no fear as the dense swarm of boarding torpedoes hurtled toward him. He once again gave the order for his crew to prepare to enter subspace.

No one questioned or hesitated; everyone acted swiftly at Komi's command, opening a rift to the subspace in front of the Exterminator.

However, that wasn't enough. Komi let Mimi out, allowing this demon to envelop the hull of the Exterminator, thus making the warship temporarily ignore the constraints of the laws of physics.

"This guy's gone mad!"

"He wanted to kill himself before we could kill him!"

"Wizards, stop his warp warp! This is too easy for him to die!"

However, the Chaos warlords were unaware of Komi's intentions. They assumed that Komi had chosen to end his own life in despair, allowing the Exterminator to be torn to pieces by the forces of warp and gravity.

"Entering the Warp! May the Savior protect us!"

With a loud shout from Koji, the Punisher entered the rift. Under the incredibly shocked gazes of the warlords and fallen technicians on the Chaos Ship, this mocking warship did not fall apart, but successfully entered the warp and disappeared.

"Damn it! How could he be so lucky?" The Devourers were furious. Unable to enjoy Otto's blood, they vented their anger on the other unfortunate souls on the ship.

The boarding torpedoes that were launched were also propelled further into the void by the engines. They did not stop after running out of fuel and could not return to the battlefield. The only hope was that the Chaos Fleet would win the naval battle and then use the signals from the boarding torpedoes to find them one by one.

In the subspace, Komi was struggling to find a way out of the storm using his tarot cards and the Spirit Bird Divination Instrument. The eerie colors of the raging thunder and fire pounded against the Geller Force of the Exterminator, and the chaotic energy, which even the Chaos Ship could not withstand, attempted to change everything on the ship.

The crew, undeterred by the bloody battle, prayed for the Savior's protection, clung tightly to their weapons, which they had cared for with their souls and emotions, and sang loudly the songs that had accompanied them through so many difficult times.

As the singing filled the air, the terrifying atmosphere outside the ship became less menacing, and the ominous shadows that lingered in the darkness quietly dissipated.

"Found it! Everyone, prepare to jump!" Komi confirmed the location, and then the bow of the Punisher tore through the storm, precisely seizing a sliver of calm and sailing out of the subspace.

The Punisher returned to the battlefield, appearing outside the encirclement of the Chaos warships. Koji's annoying voice once again filled the Chaos warships' communication channels. He even fired a few shells to remind them to find the Punisher's location.

"How did he get out again? Did the storm push him out?"

"Squeezed out by the storm... I recognize each word, but why does it sound so unfamiliar when put together? That's a warp storm! Are you trying to tell me that this person was lucky enough not to be torn apart by gravity during a warp jump, then was lucky enough to survive the storm, and was finally spat out intact?"

"Perhaps the gods of darkness are in a good mood today..."

The dark mechanical monks couldn't understand the situation and could only huddle together, exchanging their opinions. Meanwhile, the Chaos Warlords, enraged and even laughing, gave another order, turning the ship around and heading towards the Punisher once again.

They didn't believe this ship could successfully carry out such a dangerous operation a second or third time, if it really could...

A Black Legion warrior sneered, "If he keeps running around like this, I'll find a way to get myself a Black Shield identity and serve the Empire!"

Chapter 603: Help Me, Brother Kayan

After a while, the Black Legion warrior who made the oath was devoured and turned into a chaotic egg, because the Exterminator not only succeeded a second time, but also made a third and fourth ultra-short-distance subspace jump that was beyond everyone's expectations.

He kept jumping out of the encirclement and then firing and shouting at the rear of the Chaos Fleet.

Once, the World Eaters got so enraged that they opened fire on the Exterminator's position before they could even form an encirclement. Light spears and macro cannons rained down on it, and even if the warship's engines were overloaded and their efficiency increased tenfold, there was no chance of dodging.

But the Punisher had anticipated something was wrong; the Chaos Fleet had barely opened fire when it plunged into the warp rift, causing their firepower to miss once again...

Compared to the anger and frustration of the Chaos Fleet being repeatedly mocked, Abaddon felt a chill. He regarded the Exterminator's ability to complete the warp jump so easily as a blessing from Slaanesh, and he was now wondering how much value this blessing actually had.

Is it that only the Punisher can perform such a rapid and absurd warp jump, or can any warship under Otto's control do this?

If it's the latter...that would be quite terrifying...

The Punisher was merely an insignificant frigate in naval warfare, but if it were replaced by a cruiser or heavy cruiser, its threat level would be greatly increased.

Abaddon envisioned a cruiser loaded with torpedo tubes using a supershort subspace jump to arrive behind the Vengeance Soul and launch torpedoes.

A cold sweat immediately broke out on his back. A warship with such high maneuverability was practically cheating. Even the Eldar warships couldn't maneuver so quickly and easily using the network.

Abaddon clenched his fists tightly. He felt he had gained another target. He not only wanted to capture Otto alive, but also the Punisher. He was determined to uncover the secret behind the warship's ability to perform ultra-short-distance subspace jumps, and then use that knowledge to completely rewrite the rules of naval warfare...

But before that, Abaddon felt he needed a friend's help.

“Kayan…” Abaddon contacted the Thousand Sons Wizard, who was busy on Tarantis, leading the Black Legion warriors, Chaos Cultists, and the Masked Dancer’s demonic minions in battle.

Kayan wanted to sacrifice the people of this planet to weave a soul shriek that would paralyze the souls of the Imperial warships, but the masked dancer's obstruction made his work extremely slow.

To make matters worse, Kayan's usually irresistible voice of corruption found it difficult to spread among the people of Tarantis.

Psychic energy had formed crystals that shone with dazzling light, and the whispers of demons mingled with the wind, flowing through every street. Even with all this, Kayan did not see hordes of mortals lose their minds and offer their souls and loyalty to him.

"Strange resilience, damn demons, anyone who didn't know better would think I was fighting Kadia." Kayan grumbled, casting a spell with one hand to strengthen the Black Legion warriors, and swinging his axe with the other to cut down the demon minions that pounced on him.

The masked dancer sat atop a throne made of piled bones, watching Kayan's battle with a smile.

"Kayan, get back to the Vengeful Spirit. I need you to hold down a warship."

Upon hearing Abaddon's call, Kayan did not hesitate and immediately used all the souls he had hunted on Tarantis to construct a portal back to the Soul of Vengeance.

"Retreat, warriors of the Black Legion! Let the mortals of this world live a little longer!"

Before Kayan left, he left these words, and the masked dancer did not stop him, just watching him go.

As the psychic gate constructed by the Thousand Sons dissipated, the Masked Dancer stretched and led his servants to turn their swords against the people of Tarantis. Keep in mind that he was a demon, and his obstruction of Kayan was not to protect these people, but rather because he disliked the quick and easy end that Kayan had prepared for these mortals.

"Grab them! Taste their pain, enjoy their screams, and let each of them be slowly sliced ​​to death with blades 60,000 times before they die!" The masked dancer's excited screams overwhelmed the courage of the soldiers and civilians of Tarantis. However, it was already remarkable that they did not collapse on the spot in the face of such powerful demons and became followers of Slaanesh. If they could receive more training from the Saviors' Army, they would surely be able to overcome their instinctive fear and launch a brave charge against the demons.

The extent of the devastation on Tarantis was no longer a concern for Kayan; he rushed to Abaddon's side to ask what he wanted him to do.

Abaddon pointed at the Punisher, hoping that Kayan could use his superior psionic talent to hold it off, giving him enough time to leave his troops on board.

How long will it take you?

"Three minutes."

"I will do my best."

Kayan's straightforward and decisive style made Abaddon increasingly appreciate that he was truly his good brother. He had already prepared a ritual array to amplify Kayan's psionic energy in advance.

It's not a fantasy that Kayan could sit amidst the blood and use psionic energy to drag a warship. On the contrary, he has done it before, back when he wasn't a member of the Black Legion but had his own warship and his own warband.

He was with Abaddon at that time, using psionic energy to drag the Terranok warship and smash the ship that had been with him for hundreds of years onto the Emperor's son's head.

Although he did this inside the Terranock, the Terranock was larger than the Exterminator, and he towed it for much longer, a voyage that lasted several months and nearly drained Kayan dry.

If Abaddon only needs to hold off the warship for three minutes, Kayan feels he can do it from that distance.

"I'm starting now, get ready."

Kayan gave a reminder, then released all his psionic energy, completely unconcerned that doing so would weaken his soul's defenses; he trusted Abaddon to ensure his safety.

Just as Kayan had expected, Abaddon stood guard outside the ritual circle, using the Claw of Horus to warn the malevolent demon against making a foolish move.

Kayan quickly locked onto the Punisher, his psionic energy like an invisible hand gripping the ship's hull.

The psionic energy and the warship's engines were locked in a struggle, causing the warship to groan and creak.

"What's going on? Our warships are stuck in the mud and can't move!" Fesses was a little panicked because he didn't understand the extremely high limit of psionic energy, but Komi confirmed with the demon's reminder and his own senses that it was the result of powerful psionic energy.

“Sir! More boarding torpedoes are surging toward us, and Black Legion warriors are coming in again!” a bridge officer shouted a warning.

"I see."

Koji replied calmly that since Abaddon wanted to use psionic energy to influence the battle, he would let Abaddon see his power.

Komi rose from the captain's throne, the power of the pure white hall flowing in his palm...

Chapter 604: Is there really a resting place after death?

Unlike the chaos and disorder of the subspace, the power flowing in the pure white hall is known for its tranquility and stability. The souls of the dead will turn into solid bricks here. Neither weak mortals nor powerful demons can escape this fate, unless Komi is willing to put in a lot of effort to find them from the vast sea of ​​bricks and then stretch them from bricks into human form, just like the two judges who work for Komi.

Similarly, the pure white room is not independent of this universe, nor is it a magical realm beyond the subspace; rather, it is located in an unknown corner of the subspace.

Therefore, when Abaddon's warships, marinated in chaotic energy, appeared here in droves, the barrier between reality and the warp was weakened, and the connection between Komi and the Pure White Hall became closer, making it easier for him to draw power from this realm that terrified demons.

A remarkably tranquil, yet not deathly, power flowed through Komi's palm, then transformed into a formidable, pure white light that shimmered on the bridge of the Exterminator.

Although the people of the empire always regarded the sacred golden light as the emperor's great power, the pure white light in Komi's hand also earned their unanimous respect and awe, thanks in large part to the contrast of the chaotic nature of the energy.

When darkness is at its deepest point, even a glimmer of light will appear dazzling, won't it?

"May the Savior protect us, for this is His power!"

Faces was so moved by the pure white light that tears streamed down his face. The other crew members were in no better shape. If it weren't for their duties, they would have loved to kneel before Komi and praise the saint for allowing them, in their humble state, to witness the miracle of the savior.

This may be the first time Komi has used the power of the Pure White Hall in front of so many people; in the past, he had always used the power of the Emperor to raise his banner.

“Praise!” Komi cried out, raising his hands high under the gaze of the crowd. “This is the Savior’s mercy, the Savior’s compassion, the Savior’s peace! He commanded me to quell all the chaos here, to restore order to what has been turned upside down, and to return the profaned things to nature!”

"May the Savior protect you! May the Savior be merciful!"

Amidst even louder praise from the crowd, Komi channeled the power in his palm into the Punisher, and then clashed with Kayan aboard the Vengeance Soul.