Zander
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Chapter 71: First Contact
🕑 Added 2025-04-22 11:24:39 +0000 UTCThe sky above the red planet burned.
Drop pods slammed into the ground like thunderbolts from the gods. Each one cracked the surface, throwing dust and rock into the air. And when the pods opened, giants stepped out. The Astartes. Mankind’s angels of death. Armor gleaming. Eyes glowing. Bolters ready.
They didn’t say a word.
They didn’t need to.
Across the broken alien ruins, things began to crawl out of the shadows. The xenos were fast, twisted, and built to kill. Blade-like arms. Spines along their backs. Eyes like glowing pits. They moved like insects and screamed like machines being torn apart.
Horus stood in the middle of it all. Calm. Like he wasn’t just standing on a battlefield but standing in his place. He raised his massive blade and pointed it forward.
Clean them out
Then came the storm.
The Luna Wolves fired first. Bolters roared, spitting explosive death. The first wave of xenos were shredded instantly, their bodies bursting into chunks. Limbs flew. Black blood hit the sand. But they didn’t stop. More came. Dozens. Hundreds.
One Astartes was tackled. He went down, his armor screaming as claws scraped across his chest plate. But he punched the xeno in the face and grabbed its neck. With one twist, the creature’s head popped off like a cork.
Another squad used flamers. Fire washed over the ruins. Xenos burned alive, flailing and screeching as their skin melted. The smell was horrible, but the Wolves kept moving.
Then the real beasts showed up.
Massive ones. Four times the size of a man. They charged through the ruins, knocking over pillars like they were paper. One of them grabbed a Luna Wolf and threw him through a wall.
Horus was already moving.
He leapt over the ruins, his blade glowing. One of the beasts roared at him. It charged.
Too slow.
Horus ducked, spun, and cut its legs out from under it. Before it hit the ground, he slammed his sword through its chest and yanked it back out. The thing twitched, then exploded in a burst of black mist.
Other Primarchs were landing now.
Perturabo marched through the ruins like a tank. Bolter in one hand. Power maul in the other. Every swing turned xenos into paste. A smaller alien jumped on his back. He didn’t even look. He just reached behind him, grabbed it, and crushed it like a bug.
Leman Russ dropped in next. He didn’t fire. He just charged with his axes swinging. He howled like a wild animal. Blood sprayed in every direction. His armor was already scratched, already dirty. But he didn’t care. He was laughing.
You call this a fight
The Iron Warriors brought up their heavy guns. Havocs locked into position and opened up with missile launchers and autocannons. Whole sections of the ruins collapsed under the firepower. Xenos vanished in clouds of smoke and fire.
Horus led the push forward. No hesitation. The Luna Wolves moved with him, slicing through the alien swarm like blades through cloth. Every step they took was claimed with fire and death.
They found what looked like a temple in the middle of the ruins. It was covered in alien carvings. Symbols glowing faintly. Whatever was inside wasn’t natural.
Horus raised a fist. Stop
The Astartes held position. Guns aimed at every shadow.
The door opened.
And out came something worse.
It was tall. Taller than a Primarch. It hovered above the ground, its body made of shifting metal plates. Its eyes were blue like the stars. And it spoke in a voice that wasn’t sound. It hit directly in their heads.
Leave this place. You are not welcome
Horus stared at it. Then he stepped forward.
This galaxy belongs to mankind now. You had your time. It’s over
The creature raised its hand. Energy built up. The ruins began to shake.
And Horus attacked.
He moved like lightning. The thing fired a beam of raw power. Horus dodged it, flipped through the air, and brought his sword down in one strike.
The creature blocked it with a shield made of light.
For ten seconds, they clashed. Power meeting power. Every swing sent shockwaves through the ruins. Sparks flew. Dust rained down.
Then Horus roared and shattered the shield. He drove his blade through the creature’s core and pulled it apart with both hands.
Silence.
Then the ruins began to collapse.
All squads fall back
The Astartes pulled out. Behind them, the alien temple caved in. Explosions rocked the ground as the Luna Wolves blew the last xenos apart on their way out.
The first battle of the Crusade was over.
Victory.
As the dropships picked them up and the fleet regrouped in orbit, Horus stood at the edge of the landing ramp. Covered in black blood. Breathing hard.
He looked at the stars.
One world down. A million to go
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End of Chapter 71
Comments
JL
Tftc!
