Eroking
patreon
Chapter 213: The Defense of the Shrine
🕑 Added 2025-08-10 14:19:50 +0000 UTCChapter 213: The Defense of the Shrine
The fanatical Sisters stared at the enemies who had landed and were now charging toward them. A dense volley of fire from the walls rained down on the enemies outside the city. The Chaos traitors had to pay a price in blood for every step they took.
The Cadians were unleashing their long-suppressed fury. The rate of fire of the C-14 was perfect for an enemy with such large numbers.
Abaddon didn't care at all about the lives of these mortal traitors. The galaxy lacked everything but people. The weak-willed could easily become new servants of Chaos; they were just cheap consumables.
Several Dreadclaws, accompanied by a piercing screech, slammed directly down within the walls of the shrine. The massive Dreadclaws destroyed a large number of buildings within the fortress-shrine. With the arrival of these special vehicles, the corruption of Chaos also began to spread within this holy place. And the prayers from the choir suppressed the spread of this power with the force of their faith.
These special drop pods, which had been abandoned by the Imperium but were still in use by the forces of Chaos, had blasphemous and powerful machine spirits that could even change their position in mid-air to avoid damage. To call it a drop pod was an understatement; it was more like a weakened version of an aircraft. Heavy armor protected the traitors from the first wave of fire.
The Sisters activated their jump packs and, with the assistance of the Interior Guard, charged directly at the renegades who had struck the center of their position.
The doors of the Dreadclaws opened. Word Bearers, Alpha Legionnaires, and a warband of Khornate World Eaters poured out. Following behind them were elite mortal rebels and even a few Chaos Dreadnoughts. A Heldrake, which had arrived with these Dreadclaws, had just taken to the air when it was intercepted by a squadron of Valkyries.
The Chaos Sorcerers also immediately began to unleash the powers of the Ruinous Ones. For these forces of Chaos, the importance of this shrine was no less than that of any other strategic location. Especially for the Word Bearers, destroying the faith of the False Emperor was not only the best sacrifice to the Chaos Gods but also the culmination of their life's pursuit. And the destruction of a shrine dedicated to the Emperor could also severely damage the morale of the Imperial side.
But the Chaos forces, having just exited their drop pods, saw an enemy they had never expected. A golden giant brandished his spear. He was followed by countless Cadian soldiers in combat suits, and above his head soared the Sisters of Battle. Like their namesake, the Seraphim, they descended upon Cadia like the Emperor's own angels.
Some special mechs also appeared at the forefront of the battle line. To protect the shrine, the Sisters of Our Martyred Lady, with the permission of the bishop, had opened the sealed secret chamber in the shrine. Fifty Penitent Engines, which were only deployed in the most dangerous of times, were activated.
The pilots were bound to the chest of the mech without any protection. A large number of cables and chemical injectors pierced their spines, injecting a lethal dose of combat drugs into their bodies and linking them to these war machines. Pain and guilt constantly reminded these pilots of their past sins, making them atone for their mistakes with their lives. The Sisters supervised their actions; this was also one of their important duties.
These pilots were all once considered pious by the Ecclesiarchy, but they had committed unforgivable sins. Death was the only way for them to atone for themselves, and becoming a pilot of a Penitent Engine was the last resort to make use of their remaining value.
Whether from pain or the desire for redemption, the pilot of every Penitent Engine let out a heart-stopping wail. Heavy flamers and power fists continuously swung at the enemies of the Emperor. They took the initiative to go to the most dangerous parts of the battlefield, clearing a path for the faithful.
"Warmaster! The troops we have deployed to Cadia are being routed!"
Abaddon listened to the battle report. The forces thrown onto the ground were being encircled and annihilated. Although these forcibly landed ground troops had destroyed some facilities, they were far from achieving the results Abaddon had expected. It could almost be said that this landing had already failed.
However, the "ever-victorious" Abaddon clearly did not take this failure to heart. If it succeeded, all the better. If not, it could still help him probe the existing forces and defensive layout on Cadia. Various Imperial military configurations and firepower points were also transmitted back to the Vengeful Spirit by these abandoned Chaos forces.
Some fragmented images transmitted back to the Blackstone Fortress also caught Abaddon's attention. On the plains, an entire regiment of Cadian Shock Troops, re-equipped with combat suits, under the cover of a Baneblade and an entire Leman Russ Punisher squadron, had directly attacked the traitors who had just landed. The Chaos Sorcerers were engulfed by the fire of the earthshaker cannons before they could even unleash their psychic sorcery.
Creed, with his unparalleled strategic vision, had already made arrangements in all the Chaos landing zones in advance. The equipping of the combat suits had also eased the strain on his limited manpower, allowing him to deploy his troops more freely. When the large-scale frontal battle occurred, the advantage brought by the combat suits to the Cadian defenders began to be continuously amplified. A battle that might have originally required the sacrifice of a whole regiment now only resulted in the loss of a single company. The main casualties were still due to the heavy firepower of Chaos.
The hereteks of Vashtorr had not skimped on weapons and equipment. With Abaddon providing a large amount of resources, there was no shortage of heavy firepower configurations. And the initial invasion, when the Imperium was unprepared, had allowed them to harvest a large number of suffering souls that could be thrown into the Soul Forges.
Just as Abaddon was about to reprimand those Chaos Astartes for not providing the necessary support and cover, another segment of footage from within the shrine was transmitted back.
He saw the Custodes... and those shrews of the Emperor were at their side.
Any attempt to block the Custodes was disintegrated. Even a Helbrute stood in their way. The guardian spear in the Custodian's hand easily pierced the armor of this Chaos Dreadnought and stabbed into the pilot's chest. The massive Helbrute crashed to the ground.
Abaddon was not afraid of these Custodes. Even a Custodian, he was confident he could kill. It was just that their appearance was somewhat unexpected. More than one Custodian had appeared on the battlefield. The warp storms stirred up by the Word Bearers should not have allowed reinforcements from Terra to arrive so quickly. And Cadia was not on the verge of running out of food and ammunition as he had imagined.
"This must be related to the weapon the Four Gods spoke of. What in the world is it..."
At this moment, a bad premonition began to rise in Abaddon's heart. These were definitely not things that Cadia should have originally possessed.
"Cease the attack! Have the remaining troops hide and do not press the assault! Disperse to all parts of the planet to increase the pressure on these Imperial forces." After knowing it was ineffective, Abaddon no longer casually consumed the chips in his hand.
A forced assault to occupy Cadia was clearly not feasible. He could now only hope to destroy the Imperial fleet in orbit. When he controlled the orbit, he could also deploy more troops to Cadia. As long as he could disable the defense shields or destroy those Blackstone Pylon arrays, he would win. Too many landing troops were being consumed in the process of bypassing the Imperial firepower.
"Reform the formation! Destroy the fleet of this corrupt Imperium with all our might!"
And on the battlefield of Cadia, neither side had discovered that some invisible beings were lurking in various parts of the planet. They were like beetles made of pure machinery. A large number of cloaked Necron Canoptek Scarabs were observing the battle between the Imperium and Chaos, and continuously sending information back to their master.
