Chapter 359: Sigismund Intercepted
The message briefly explained the organized Greenskin attack from an unknown source and clearly pointed out the possible conspiracy behind it.
Magos Dominus Vox's response was extraordinarily fast.
The communication was connected almost the instant the request was sent, which in itself demonstrated the level of importance Nexum attached to Akira and his projects.
"Situation acknowledged, Magos Akira." Vox's voice, mixed with mechanical static, came through with a solemn tone. "Hold the line. Reinforcements have been mobilized immediately. Two full macroclades of Skitarii, and..." He paused slightly, emphasizing the next part, "a Titan Battle Group belonging to the Steel Hounds Legio, will accompany the Skitarii to your location at maximum speed."
A Titan Battle Group! This far exceeded the conventional force required to deal with a small-scale Ork attack.
Vox's move was not only to provide full protection for Akira—an important collaborator and "Ancient STC contributor"—but also to show the determination and power of the Forge World of Nexum to the hidden mastermind, and even to the factions across the galaxy coveting this place, with an unquestionable and unyielding stance.
Any threat directed at Akira and his research would be viewed as a direct provocation against Nexum and would invite a devastating response.
"Reinforcements are estimated to arrive in the orbit of your star system in seventy-eight standard hours," Vox finally added. "During this period, ensuring your own safety and the safety of the core projects is the highest priority."
Communication ended.
Akira incorporated the new time node into his operational planning.
With the promise of such massive reinforcements, the immediate Ork threat seemed much more insignificant.
However, the vigilance in his heart was raised to the highest level.
The faction capable of driving the Greenskins to launch such a precise surprise attack was absolutely not ordinary.
He mobilized more computing power and began to fully analyze and trace the final trajectories of those Ork meteors before they entered the planet's orbit, attempting to find clues of the hidden enemy from the background radiation and gravitational disturbances of the sea of stars.
The true storm might have just begun to brew.
Just as Akira's Death World base was under fierce Ork assault, Sigismund and the Black Templars fleet he led also encountered unexpected obstacles in the Warp.
The originally stable warp routes suddenly became incredibly violent. Surging energy turbulence and materialized malicious whispers formed a deadly storm, tearing at the ships' Gellar Fields.
The massive hull of the Eternal Crusader trembled violently in the energy turbulence, and alarms blared throughout the bridge.
"High Marshal! Gellar Field overload has reached critical mass! We must drop out of the Warp immediately!" The Navigator's voice was distorted by pain, his Third Eye bearing indescribable pressure.
Sigismund ordered without hesitation: "All ships, emergency translation! Set coordinates for the nearest real-space sector!"
The fleet struggled to tear open the boundary between reality and the void, stumbling back into the material universe.
However, what awaited them was not a peaceful void—
The moment they dropped out of the Warp, a massive number of IFF signals suddenly flooded the sensors.
A massive fleet, exuding an aura of decay and death, had been waiting here for a long time.
The hulls of these ships were covered in pustule-like turrets, green slime continuously oozed from the armor seams, and a sickly green light flickered from within the viewports.
The faded but still recognizable emblems on the hulls declared their identity: the Death Guard.
"Mortarion's lapdogs!" a Black Templar warrior roared, his hand already resting on his sword hilt.
The traitor fleet did not hesitate.
The instant the Black Templar fleet completed their translation, dense macro-cannon shells and lance beams had already torn through the void, pouring toward them.
Several corrosive torpedoes trailing green wakes took the lead, striking a frigate on the fleet's flank.
The warship's void shields rapidly collapsed in the face of the bizarre corrosion. Its armor plating melted like rotting flesh, and it soon detonated into a foul-smelling fireball in space.
"All hands, prepare for battle! For the Emperor!" Sigismund's voice echoed through the entire flagship via the internal vox-network. "The appearance of these traitors and the Warp storm is absolutely no coincidence. They are trying to stop us from reaching the Death World."
The massive hull of the Eternal Crusader began to turn, and its broadside weapon arrays lit up one after another.
As a Gloriana-class battleship, the firepower it possessed was enough to rival a small fleet.
When its first volley roared out of the barrels, the entire void trembled.
A massive lance beam directly pierced through the midsection of a Death Guard cruiser, triggering a chain of secondary explosions.
But the Death Guard fleet was equally not to be underestimated.
Their Nurgle-blessed ships displayed astonishing resilience, capable of continuing to fight even when heavily damaged.
The green, purulent turrets continuously spewed corrosive energy spheres, sticking to the void shields of the Black Templar ships and constantly weakening their defenses.
A brutal void battle erupted.
Lances crisscrossed, torpedoes flew wildly, and the fiery light of explosions continuously flashed in the cold universe.
Sigismund stood on the bridge, his expression grave.
He clearly realized that some hidden mastermind behind the scenes was not hesitating to use the power of Chaos to stop his meeting with Akira.
"Send an encrypted message to the Death World," Sigismund ordered the vox-officer. "Inform Magos Akira that we have been intercepted by traitors and our arrival will be delayed. At the same time..." He looked at the approaching Death Guard ships outside the viewport and clenched his fists, "Ask him to hold the line, no matter what."
Sigismund stared at the traitor warships exuding an aura of decay outside the viewport, a cold fury igniting in his eyes.
He loosened his clenched fists and drew the power sword at his waist with a steady, forceful motion. The blade shimmered with a deep blue light accompanied by the hum of activation.
"Prepare the boarding torpedoes." His voice carried through the vox-caster across the entire flagship, bearing an unquestionable resolve. "Templar Brethren, board with me. It is time to let these blasphemous traitors personally experience the Emperor's wrath."
He did not choose to continue remotely commanding this war of attrition from the bridge.
Facing tenacious traitors like the Death Guard, the most effective method was to strike directly at the heart—to tear apart their command core with power swords and bolters.
The glory of the Black Templars was forever forged in close-quarters slaughter.
The broadside armor of the Eternal Crusader slowly opened. Several ferocious-looking boarding torpedoes launched like unsheathed swords, drawing deadly trajectories across the void and aiming precisely at the flagship of the Death Guard fleet—a battered but still massive Plague Cruiser.
The torpedoes, carrying Sigismund and the most elite Templar Brethren, stabbed viciously into the decayed armor of the traitor warship like searing daggers.
The instant docking was successful, the hatch blew open with a bang.
"For the Emperor! For Dorn!"
Sigismund's battle cry was like a thunderclap. He was the first to charge out of the torpedo chamber.
His power sword drew a deadly arc, instantly cleaving two Death Guard legionnaires who rushed to the scene into two halves, armor and all.
Rotting bodily fluids and twisted metal splattered everywhere, but could not taint him in the slightest.
Behind him, the Templar Brethren surged out like a tide. The roar of bolters and the hum of power weapons instantly filled the narrow corridor.
They formed a tight formation, using Sigismund as the spearhead, and ground their way unyieldingly toward the bridge.
Every swing of the sword, every shot fired, carried the most extreme hatred for the traitors and the most fanatical faith in the Emperor.
Sigismund's goal was clear—to find the commander of this ship, the traitor hiding in the putrid bridge, and use his head to declare that the will of the Black Templars could not be stopped.
He had to end this battle as quickly as possible. Akira, on the Death World, was still waiting for reinforcements.
Any entity attempting to obstruct this meeting, be it Greenskins or Chaos traitors, would be turned to dust beneath his blade.