Warhammer: Empire Reboot

Some were killed by the Plague Space Marines' corrupted weapons, some were overwhelmed in melee combat after running out of ammunition, and some, and some, broke through the lines after their Black Fury flared up, charging into the midst of thousands of enemies single-handedly.

They didn't call out their own names when they died.

It is "Horus".

Less than half of the 200,000 Star Guardians remained.

More than 90,000 ordinary people’s bodies were hastily buried in the public tunnels inside the fortress.

The medical officer used up the last batch of hemostatic bandages on the thirtieth day and now had to use shredded strips of military uniform as a substitute.

This fortress is on the verge of collapse.

Gabriel Seth, the chapter leader of the Flesh-Tearers, stood on the third line of defense.

Seth is a big guy.

Even among Space Marines, he was considered to be quite burly.

The crimson armor was covered in knife marks and bullet holes, and the Flesh Rippers insignia on the left shoulder armor, a dripping, serrated skull, had been cut in half.

His eyes were red.

All descendants of the Holy Blood Angels have red eyes.

But Seth's red was deeper and darker than the others.

"Commander."

Company Commander Arian of the Third Company walked up the city wall and stood next to Seth.

When will Lord Dante's reinforcements arrive?

Seth did not answer immediately.

His gaze passed over the city wall and landed on the slowly undulating mountain of rotting flesh in the distance.

This great unclean being launched nine full-scale attacks.

Each time, it personally led elite Plague Space Marines and Daemon Engines to storm the fortress walls.

The first two lines of defense were crushed under its offensive.

The thief did retaliate.

On the thirty-first day, during the counterattack, Seth personally led the Terminator squad of the First Company and fifty brothers who were enraged by black fury out of the city walls, attempting to behead the Great Impure One.

Those black-fury warriors were like beasts that had been completely broken free of their chains.

They howled the Primarch's name as they tore a dozen deep, bone-revealing gashes into the Great Unclean One's body with chainsaw swords and power gauntlets.

A Terminator grabbed the rotten flesh folds on the Great Impure One's abdomen, pushed himself into the rift, and frantically pounded into the demon's internal organs with his power gauntlets.

The Great Impure One laughed.

The laughter sounded like a garbage dump collapsing.

The crack was quickly filled with newly formed pus and flesh.

The Terminator that had crawled inside was engulfed alive within the demon's body, melting into a mass of flesh strewn with terracotta fragments. The other wounds were utterly insignificant to it, barely even a scratch.

The counterattack squad lost twenty-three brothers.

Seth himself had four ribs shattered by the rusty sword of the Great Unclean One.

From then on, Seth gave up the idea of ​​taking the initiative.

This made him feel so pent up every day that he wanted to kill someone.

The shredder is not good at defense.

Their genes yearn for charging, for melee combat, for plunging chainsaws into the bodies of their enemies and feeling the vibrations of metal blades shredding bones.

Every day, Seth had to use four hundred years of experience and willpower to suppress the murderous intent surging in his and his warriors' blood, ordering them to crouch behind the city walls and use ranged firepower to wear down the enemy.

That son of a bitch.

But Seth was a competent Chapter Master. He knew when to unleash the beast within his genes and when to cage it.

The three hundred brothers who died have proven the price of charging out.

He glanced back at Arian.

I'm not sure.

Arian tilted his head slightly.

This didn't sound like something Seth would say. Gabriel Seth was known for being the most straightforward person in the entire Bloodline; he never spoke ambiguously or offered false reassurance to his subordinates.

"The distress signal has been sent out."

Seth said, "You know the Empire's Dark Side communications better than I do. Astrological communications are a complete mess after the Great Rift; if one out of ten messages gets through, you're lucky. I don't know if Lord Dante received our plea for help. I also don't know if he has the capacity to send reinforcements."

Arian clenched his fist.

Seth saw his movement, and a cold, hard smile appeared on his lips.

"But support will definitely come."

"The Klein system is the breadbasket of the Agrippina sector, Ariane. Seventeen agricultural worlds—this is not a local war, but a strategic location concerning the survival of the entire theater of operations."

Seth turned his head and looked directly into Arian's eyes.

"The Empire cannot afford to lose this place. Whether it's Lord Dante or anyone else, someone will come. Our mission is to survive until then."

Arian was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Understood, Commander."

“Go back and tell your brothers.”

Seth ordered, “Check the ammunition, repair the armor, eat. You have one hour.”

His gaze returned to the gray-green hell outside the city.

"An hour from now, that lump of rotten flesh will send its dogs to bite the door again."

Arrian turned and walked down the city wall.

Seth stood alone on the wall.

The wind blew in from the north, carrying with it the smell of decay and sulfur.

He hadn't slept for four days.

Visions of black fury flickered at the edge of his vision: Terra's palace, Horus's black armor, and the blood splattered as the Primarch fell.

With each blink, the images became clearer.

Seth knew he was approaching a tipping point.

It's no secret.

Every brother in the Flesh Rippers knew that sooner or later they would be completely consumed by the Black Fury.

The only difference is whether it's today or tomorrow.

Seth intended to postpone that day as much as possible.

He still has things to do. His brothers need him.

But if that day comes early, he'll make sure that none of his living enemies survive today.

An hour later.

Reports from the forward observation post were transmitted into Seth's communications channel.

"Commander, it's moved."

Seth left the temporary command post and climbed back onto the city wall.

He saw it.

The 18-meter-high mountain of rotting flesh slowly rose to its feet.

The Great Impure One held a giant rusty sword in his right hand.

In his left hand he carried a rotten bronze furnace, within which burned a foul-smelling warp fire, the green flames licking at the corroded bronze ring at the furnace's opening.

Behind it, the main force of the Plague Legion began to assemble.

Hundreds of Plague Space Marines stood in thick, horizontal lines.

The demon engines were in place on both sides.

Three filthy crawlers and two corrupted raider tanks, their mechanical limbs intertwined with demonic flesh.

The horde of plague walkers converged into a gray-green ocean in front of the army.

Hundreds of thousands of rotting bodies crawled forward, trampling over the remains of their own kind, emitting low, continuous groans.

The tenth full-scale offensive.

Seth took a deep breath.

"All." He opened the battle group's communication channel.

The crimson warriors on and below the city walls simultaneously stopped what they were doing and pricked up their ears.

"Those on the city wall, hold your guns steady. If you run out of ammo, throw stones. Those below the city wall, prepare your melee weapons; if they turn around, just slash them."

He drew his two-handed chainsaw sword from his back and started the engine.

"Today is the seventy-fourth day. I don't fucking care if Dante has received the message or when reinforcements will arrive. I only know one thing."

He raised the chainsaw sword.

"We are the tearers. Whoever stands in our way, we will tear them apart."

A deep roar echoed from the city wall.

The weary, wounded crimson warriors raised their weapons.

Behind them, 110,000 Starbound soldiers inspected their laser guns and bayonets.

These mortals survived seventy-four days in hell, not because they were strong, but because the crimson giants standing in front of them blocked everything with their bodies.

Every surviving Astronaut soldier knows that as long as the Flesh-Tearers are around, they can live.