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Chapter 320: The Hive Fleet Tendril Arrives
🕑 Added 2025-09-25 11:16:36 +0000 UTCChapter 320: The Hive Fleet Tendril Arrives
Back in the governor's palace on Asphodel, Lucan received the victory report from Kerrigan and the others.
"Well done!"
"Lord Lucan, why are you so happy?" Mellen asked.
"Mellen, the Genestealer threat on this planet has been dealt with. And you now have at least six million new soldiers who do not fear death, as well as a massive stockpile of war materials!"
Lucan had Kerrigan gather all the Purestrain Genestealers and kill them. These beings, who had already been completely converted into Tyranid organisms, could have had their control usurped by the Leviathan tendril when it arrived.
"It's only been one day... Six million? Are you talking about those cultists? You can control them?!"
"That's right. I believe these cultists will be of great use. It seems Augus was constantly trying to purge them out of fear, so their numbers are much smaller than I expected."
"Not small at all, Lord Lucan! That's six million! Perhaps we can send all these cultists to the Castellan's Ring. There are many empty defense platforms there. We can have them man the weapons to wear down the xenos' numbers! And these war supplies will allow me to arm even more soldiers! The civilians still don't have any weapons!"
If, as Lucan said, these cultists would unconditionally follow orders, then they were the perfect soldiers for the Castellan's Ring. Even if the Tyranids boarded the defense platforms, the cultists could be ordered to self-destruct without hesitation. This would not only kill the Tyranid creatures but also prevent them from gaining biomass.
Mellen could also pull his elite Cadian soldiers back from the Castellan's Ring, where he had originally expected them to die. These elite warriors were wasted on the ring; they could be of far greater use in the urban defense. And now, he had someone to replace them.
For Mellen, although these cultists still looked human, they were no different from xenos. He would have no psychological burden in spending their lives.
Soon, under Kerrigan's control, countless Genestealer Cultists began to walk out of the underhives. Those who had been hiding in the PDF also revealed themselves. Some even emerged from the ranks of the local nobility and key defensive positions. One can only imagine the consequences if these people had rioted when Leviathan arrived.
One by one, the cultists were issued basic supplies, weapons, and the grenades or melta charges they would use to take the Tyranids with them. They were immediately loaded onto transports to replace the Cadian soldiers on the Castellan's Ring.
For Lucan, the most valuable prize from this venture was not the cultist army, but the intelligence Kerrigan had gained from consuming the Hive Mind. It had now become possible to find the Norn-Queen, that most important synapse creature. If he could take out the Norn-Queen, they might be able to avoid a war of attrition with the Tyranids altogether.
Finally, on the third day, the accelerated Leviathan tendril reached the outer edge of the Diamor Shield. Faced with the asteroid belt full of ice crystals, they plunged into it without hesitation.
In the tactical command center, Lucan stared nervously at the holographic screen. This was his first time fighting the true Tyranids. GW had written the Great Devourer's reputation to be so terrifying that even he felt the pressure.
The Imperial Navy fleet within the Cryptus System and his own nearly one hundred Gorgon transports were already in formation near the Castellan's Ring. In the void, Admiral Justus, the highest-ranking naval officer, was also waiting for the results.
"Admiral! The Tyranid ships have entered the Diamor Shield! Our augurs show that all life signs on those bio-ships have completely disappeared! Are we really just going to wait here at the Castellan's Ring? That's a whole Tyranid tendril out there! That's a mountain of glory!"
An officer at Justus's side couldn't hold his tongue. Justus wasn't the only one who didn't believe Lucan. Most of the captains in the Imperial Navy fleet shared his thoughts.
"We wait!" Justus snapped.
"But..."
"I am the commander of this fleet! Did you not hear my order?!" Justus berated his subordinates. He could already feel their growing dissatisfaction with him, but he had a gut feeling that if he really did charge in, regardless of the orders, something terrible would happen.
At that moment, the Tyranid bio-ships were continuing to advance, relying only on inertia. Justus himself was just as agitated. But thinking of Lucan's threatening command, he suppressed his own impulse.
One after another, the Tyranid bio-ships passed through the Diamor Shield, now completely frozen into blocks of ice. The augur arrays still showed no life signs. Many of the bio-ships even collided with the sharp ice-asteroids and were torn to pieces. Even as they were shattered, the bio-ships showed no reaction.
The first fragments of the Tyranid ships began to emerge from the Diamor Shield.
"They're dead... The bio-ships are all frozen solid. It seems that High Lord wasn't entirely correct after all. In the end, he was just a common Rogue Trader who got lucky with Lord Guilliman."
Justus chose to believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. Even if Lucan were to punish him later, he felt his actions would be justifiable. As long as he achieved a sufficient victory, he believed Lucan couldn't just dispose of him as he pleased. He would not allow himself to miss this tactical opportunity. Everything is for the Imperium!
"All ships, listen to my command! Ignore the High Lord's order! For the Emperor! Advance!"
But just as Justus's fleet began to move, the Stellar Pioneer's Nova Cannon fired first.
Justus's first thought was that Lucan's fleet was trying to steal their glory. But the Nova Cannon shell struck the thick ice shell of the largest Tyranid Devourer-class bio-ship. The ice armor deflected a large amount of the damage, but the power of the Stellar Pioneer's main cannon still blasted away half of its flesh.
With that attack, the Tyranid warship, which had shown no biological signals, instantly came back to life.
Seeing this, Justus immediately screamed for his fleet to halt. On the bridges of almost every warship, the captains stared in disbelief at the changes on their augur arrays. One by one, the Tyranid bio-ships, which had shown no biological signals, reappeared on their scanners.
"They're... they're alive?! They actually withstood the cold of the Diamor Shield? Emperor preserve us... If we had really charged in..."
A cold sweat poured down Justus's back. The officers around him were all silent. They knew their decision just now had almost doomed their entire fleet.
The Leviathan bio-ships had adapted at an incredible speed. As they entered the Diamor Shield, they had begun to secrete a mucus that not only protected them from the extreme cold, but also covered their fleet in a layer of solid ice, acting as armor. If the Imperial fleet had attacked with conventional macro-cannons and lances, they wouldn't have even been able to break through that armor in a short time.
"Fall back!" Justus shrieked. "No one is to advance! Use the Castellan's Ring to engage the Tyranids! Quickly!"
The Stellar Pioneer's attack had awakened the camouflaged Tyranid fleet. Countless bio-ships, now fully restored to life, began to surge forward.
