The Heliosa system was a binary star system. Besides Heliosa itself, there was another inhabited world, Amad.
Amad, unlike the Avenian mountain world of Heliosa, was classified as a prairie world.
Within the castle of House Haven, Luther draped in a black robe, stood in the shadow of the curtains. Through the polished glass, he looked down at the training grounds below.
The training grounds were divided into three areas: The nearest, a square field, where five-man knight squads raised their arms, their matchlock rifles spitting black smoke as bullets flew at targets.
Behind them, the second rank of knights observed while making final checks.
The third rank reloaded; the fourth cleaned their barrels.
Adjacent to the firing range was the swordsmanship training ground, where knights in plate armor faced each other in pairs.
The outermost training ground bordered the prairie.
Beasts resembling the elephants of ancient Terra wandered at its edge.
Bonannott reminded Luther of Aldurukh. Amad reminded him of the home he had sworn to protect, Caliban.
The knights of this world resembled those of Caliban before the Emperor's arrival.
Though they rode elephants instead of warhorses, they meticulously maintained their matchlocks, manufactured ammunition, and honed their swordsmanship.
"Lord Luther," the patriarch of House Haven, standing behind him, spoke respectfully.
"I am ready. We will launch our attack in four hours."
"My lord..."
Luther turned slowly, fixing Bonannott with his gaze, and said succinctly, "Speak."
"I command only one thousand five hundred and eighty war-elephant knights," Bonannott said, his voice laced with worry.
"House Falck has ruled Amad for over two thousand five hundred years. They have at least nineteen thousand war-elephant knights."
"Their fortress also has laser cannons. A single volley could kill dozens of knights."
The corded muscles on Luther's neck, left from his artificial enhancements, rippled. "Do not worry. You will see true war-elephants."
"Iron elephants."
'Iron elephants.' Bonannott left the room, his mind filled with questions.
Luther took a communicator from his belt, opened a vox channel, and contacted Bukayo Arshavin, Chapter Master of the Third.
The Black Emperor had ordered him to plan the attack on Amad and had dispatched the Third Chapter to assist.
Luther was somewhat surprised by this. Bukayo was renowned throughout the Great Crusade. His Third Chapter had a distinguished reputation for siege warfare.
The Third Chapter and its primary recruiting world's Auxiliaries, the Mordian Iron Guard, were extensively equipped with armored vehicles.
The Third Chapter's armored vehicle strength was rivaled only by the Iron Warriors' main tank formations, the Iron Hand' heavily armored clans, and the Ultramarines' Fourth Chapter.
Bukayo had served as the spearhead at the Battle of Taxal, tearing through the Rangdan xenos' defenses.
His achievements in the Crusade were often compared to Howard fender of the First Chapter, Ezekyle Abaddon of the Luna Wolves, Sigismund of the Imperial Fists, and Raldoron of the Blood Angels.
Bukayo, despite being the Dark Angels' deputy commander, had not achieved comparable glory, making his reputation even greater.
'Aside from the Black Emperor's favor, there's probably also the reason of field-testing new equipment, the Mastodon. Heliosa is a mountain world, unsuitable for heavy tanks.'
Luther knew that the Mastodon was already being fielded by various Astartes Legions. This new iron beast had a transport capacity far exceeding that of the Rhino, the Land Raider, and even the Spartan assault tank.
Its transport bay could carry forty Astartes in standard power armor, or twenty Astartes and two Dreadnoughts.
It was equipped with a void shield, and its defenses far surpassed those of similar vehicles.
Limited by the production capacity of the Forge Worlds, each Legion only had a small number.
Luther recalled a report from three years prior: the Dark Angels' Dreadwing had sixty-one Mastodons, more than most Legions. But the Shadows of Order had over three hundred and fifty.
He knew this was not the Imperium prioritizing the 11th Legion. In fact, the Imperium had not supplied the Shadows of Order with provisions in a long time.
As the Great Crusade progressed, the Regent Malcador's burden grew. He had reached an agreement with the Black Emperor: the Imperium would provide STC templates, and the Shadows of Order's domain would manufacture its own weapons and equipment.
The Ultramarines, with their Five Hundred Worlds; the Iron Hands, closely linked to Mars; the Iron Warriors; and the Salamanders, all produced a degree of their own supplies. But none approached the scale of the Shadows of Order.
Worlds under the Black Emperor's command, such as Triken and the Firestorm system, had production capacities rivaling Forge Worlds.
Though the Ironwing of the First Legion possessed more Forge Lords than many others, it could not compare to these five Legions.
Most of the Dark Angels' equipment came directly from Terra, not from Forge Worlds. The Emperor had granted the First Legion secret weapons, and the Ironwing was able to forge some of these technical secrets.
'The Shadows of Order arms its Mastodons at nearly six times the rate of the Dark Angels.' Luther mused.
He gathered his thoughts. "Bukayo, I am ready."
"Luther, my Chapter will arrive on time." Bukayo's voice was calm, finally settling Luther's turbulent thoughts.
...
The knights of House Bonannott stood beside their mounts, armored war-elephants. They saw their patriarch approach, following a towering figure in a black robe.
"My lord, I have prepared a mount for you. He is the gentlest and most obedient."
Luther glanced at the respectful Bonannott and said nothing.
He leaped lightly, his massive form landing on the elephant's back.
Woo...
The elephant shifted uneasily, swaying its trunk.
The "Baron of Corruption" clamped his legs together. The elephant froze in place, unable to move.
Slap!
Luther slapped the elephant's neck, relaxing his legs slightly, his muscles vibrating.
The elephant began to walk, slowly, moving forward.
Bonannott watched, surprised. 'Lord Luther had tamed the elephant so quickly.'
Luther's gaze swept over the middle-aged knightly noble, a memory flashing through his mind: riding alongside Lion El'Jonson through the forests on horseback.
"I learned to ride before you were born."
"My lord is formidable!" Bonannock leaped onto his elephant.
"Move out!"
The knights of House Bonannott, clad in red and white armor, leaped onto their war-elephants, urging them forward.
Thump, thump, thump...
The elephants' heavy footsteps resounded as they advanced.
At the end of the endless green prairie, the fortress came into view.
The ground rumbled. A formation of white-armored elephants, raising a cloud of dust, sped towards them.
The leader, his white armor gleaming in the sunlight, shouted, "Bonannott, without the King's command, you dare to..."
Bang!
A gunshot. Bonannott fired a deliberate warning shot.
"The age of Falck's rule is over."
"Today, the white elephant banner will fall."
"Go back and tell your master."
The white-armored war-elephant knight glared at the approaching red-and-white formation, grunted, and turned his mount.
"Red and white banners will be ground to dust."
He crossed his arms, signaling the fortress.
Blazing beams of light suddenly flared, the ionized air crackling.
A laser beam, as thick as five elephants standing side-by-side, swept through the red-and-white formation.
One beam passed by, and the legs of four iron-armored knights, along with their elephants' broad backs, vaporized.
Another beam swept past; the thick forelegs of five elephants vanished in a series of detonations. The unbalanced animals crashed to the ground.
The knights, their legs tensed, pulled on their reins, struggling to control their mounts.
Bonannott's expression was grim. The Falck fortress was still thirty-four kilometers away.
Thirty-four kilometers of death. His family's war-elephant knights would be subjected to wave after wave of laser fire. By the time they reached the fortress, few would remain.
Bonannott watched Luther's imposing back, thinking with hope.
'My lord, will you have a way?' As he thought, he saw Luther look up.
Bonannott followed Luther's gaze, seeing dark shapes materialize in the sky.
The shapes grew closer, their downdraft flattening the grass, sending up sprays of turf.
With a thundering roar, one iron behemoth after another came into view.
Bonannott's eyes widened. He saw four blazing beams of light strike the iron behemoths, their energy shimmering, like mist spreading over the prairie after a rain.
The iron behemoths were unharmed.
'Are these the iron elephants Lord Luther spoke of?'
Two beams of light, brilliant as stars, flared. One of the iron behemoths spewed two pillars of fire.
Boom! Boom!
Amidst the explosions, the once-impregnable Falck fortress gained two cracks.
'Terrifying iron elephants.'
Bonannott, numbly and instinctively, spurred his elephant forward, following Luther.
The iron behemoths rolled forward, mercilessly crushing the war-elephants into pulp, staining the ground red.
Staining his vision red.
A white war-elephant came into view, and the crimson bled from his sight.
Luther leaped high, his massive form blotting out the Falck Knight-King.
Bang!
With a thunderclap, white armor sprayed. His boots slammed onto the elephant's back. Luther stood tall.
Amidst the billowing smoke, having received Bukayo's signal that House Falck's pastures were occupied, Luther drew the pitch-black potion from his belt and drank it down.
....
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