Sergeant Cassian Drusus of Squad Aegis scanned the field, his eyes narrowing as the helmet's Head-up Display caught sight of two women standing atop the distant cliff.
Shock.
Panic.
The intelligence given to them was correct.
This was an army in name only, lacking all military discipline.
[Astartes...] Cassian ordered, his Master-crafted Bolt Rifle lowering by a fraction. [Omega.]
With mind-bending swiftness, the nine blue-armored giants on either side of him blurred into motion, assuming the familiar Formation, its rounded front facing the vast army spread across the plain.
[Open fire.]
The first volley erupted.
The thunder of ten Bolters rolled across the plain like a line of Bombarda Maxima curses detonating simultaneously.
Explosive rounds screamed into the tightly packed host.
Men.
Women.
Goblins.
Werewolves.
Bodies burst apart.
Entire ranks ceased to exist.
Those standing behind them were showered with flesh, blood, and shattered bones before they even understood they were under attack.
Then came the second volley.
And the third.
The disciplined rhythm never changed.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Every Marine fired with precision, all the rounds deliberately placed into the densest concentrations of enemies.
The vast plain transformed into a slaughterhouse within seconds.
Only then did the shock break, screams replacing silence as Witches and Wizards fled without direction.
Many attempted to Disapparate, but nothing happened.
Panic piled upon panic, spreading faster than the explosions.
Then, some recovered, the ones who had been truly aiming to join the ranks of Death Eaters; real Death Eaters.
Green light illuminated the battlefield as hundreds of Killing Curses erupted almost simultaneously.
The Bolters never stopped firing.
[Brother Tiber.] the Sergeant called out.
Without hesitation, the Librarian stepped one pace ahead of the firing line, his Bolt Pistol remaining in his left hand. With a sharp metallic hiss, the faceplate of his helmet folded away as the Psychic Hood rose from his armor.
An aged face emerged beneath.
The left side was charred black, one eye long gone.
The remaining eye glowed with violent emerald lightning.
Electricity surged across his armor as he cast Electroshield with his raised hand, a vast wall of crackling lightning roaring into existence before Squad Aegis.
All the Killing Curses struck it at once.
Lightning met lightning, and thunder split the battlefield.
The curses dissolved into showers of shimmering sparks before ever reaching the Ultramarines.
And, meanwhile… the remaining Marines continued firing.
Where frightened Wizards paused to witness the impossible, exploding bolts rewarded their hesitation.
[Advance.] Cassian said.
The entire formation followed the order as one.
Half the squad advanced while the remainder maintained disciplined covering fire.
Fifty meters disappeared in the blink of an eye before Squad Aegis settled once again, Bolters already thundering without interruption.
"What are you doing?!" a woman's magically amplified voice boomed from atop the cliff. "It's an attack from the Order of the Black Phoenix! Look at them! Look! Merely ten! Barely able to walk! Surround them and kill them! Giants! Dragons! Goblins! Death Eaters! ATTACK!"
The panic didn't fade completely, but the voice did the trick it must have intended.
Massive footsteps shook the earth as dozens of Giants broke into a charge, enormous clubs swinging above their heads while Wizards scattered aside to clear their path.
At the same time, fresh ranks of Death Eaters cast overlapping Shield Charms.
Barriers shimmered into existence, layering one over another until they became a single wall of magic stretching across the battlefield, the front ranks disappearing behind it.
Bolter rounds detonated against the barrier, causing it to ripple, but they failed to penetrate.
For the first time, the Marines' advance and slaughter halted… only for a heartbeat.
The Librarian's remaining eye flashed, instantly identifying a weakness.
Without another word, a spear of blinding lightning burst from his outstretched hand.
The psychic discharge struck one precise point, and the layered Protego barriers trembled before collapsing inward.
[Breach.] Cassian said.
Every Bolter shifted as one, and the opening vanished beneath a storm of explosive rounds.
In a matter of moments, cracks slithered outward and the entire barrier disintegrated.
The Ultramarines resumed their advance as though nothing had happened.
[Brother Lucian.] Sergeant Cassian saw the woman-in-white atop the cliff narrow her eyes before marking her as the Battlefield Commander, giving her priority Alpha.
Meanwhile, the Eliminator moved behind Cassian, calmly resting the long barrel of his Stalker Bolt Rifle upon the Sergeant's shoulder.
Lucian exhaled and fired, the Mortis round hitting a charging Giant squarely between the eyes.
The creature staggered a step.
Instantly, black veins erupted beneath its skin before its colossal body collapsed, raising dust.
But before the Giant had struck the ground—
Lucian had already fired again.
A second Giant fell.
Then a third.
Meanwhile, Brother Gaius stepped half a pace forward, letting his Heavy Bolter roar, its thunder drowning every scream on the battlefield.
Each burst carved bloody corridors through advancing Werewolves and Goblins alike.
Where the Heavy Bolter turned... entire files disappeared.
The sudden charge brought on by the Battlefield Commander's words faltered for a moment.
Then, Cassian spied shadows overhead.
Three Dragons. One descending from the left. One from the right. One directly ahead. All breathing fire.
[Dragon Left.]
[Acknowledged.]
[Dragon Right.]
[Acknowledged.]
Two Marines shifted toward each flank, the rest never ceasing their fire.
Brother Quintus dropped to one knee as his Melta Rifle came to his shoulder, firing a bright beam of light.
The Dragon's chest gained a massive hole.
Molten flesh rained across the plain as the beast crashed into the charging Giants behind it.
Brother Octavian's Auto Bolt Rifle barked continuously, explosive shells tearing through the wings of the second Dragon. Simultaneously, Brother Helion's concentrated fire ripped open its throat, the beast spiraling in the sky before crashing with a squelching thud.
Only the central Dragon reached the formation, raining blue fire over the Marines.
Their Power Armors glowed, almost turning red, but none moved.
Letting out a ROAR, the Dragon descended with jaws wide enough to swallow a man whole.
But only when the beast entered striking distance did Sergeant Cassian move, pulling out his Power Sword as he leapt like a blurry, blue wraith.
The blade hissed through scaled flesh, separating the Dragon's head from its body.
The two halves of the Dragon slid away from the Marines, Cassian landing on the ground, the blade still humming in his hand.
[Advance.] the Sergeant said.
Squad Aegis obeyed.
The firing… never stopped.
********************
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