Dense artillery fire rained down, engulfing the city in flames.
The roar of war resounded through the heavens and earth, echoing through every corner of the corrupted Hive City.
The Emperor's servants were attacking Anas Hive with high morale.
They swept through like a broken bamboo, with defensive lines and fortresses along the way being continuously breached.
The rebel leader, Vol, looked at the holographic map before him, revealing a look of despair.
Originally, their situation was excellent; they controlled most of the Planet Atoma, and the sacrificial ceremony was almost ready.
They only needed to capture the inner city of Tirien Hive City to dedicate the entire world to Father Nurgle and receive His eternal blessings.
However, fate is like a fickle bitch.
She can smile at you, or she can treat others as honored guests.
Just as Vol and the others were about to succeed, winning this world for Father Nurgle, the Emperor sent a minion named Guide.
He first regained control of the near-orbit, assisting the remaining loyalists in recapturing the outer district of Tyreen Hive City.
Not long after, he also recaptured Rock Hive City and defeated Father Nurgle's angels there.
Now, he is leading the Emperor's minions in a major counterattack, determined to completely erase Father Nurgle's blessings.
"Sir."
A sticky voice sounded.
The Grand Sorcerer of the Prophet Cult walked up to Vol, gasping for breath.
Blessed by Nurgle, he possessed a bloated body.
A tall, pointed hat adorned with brass flies sat on his head, revealing only his scabbed mouth.
His bloated abdomen swayed as he walked, occasionally splattering with pus.
"What is the result of the ritual?"
"Has the Almighty Father Nurgle—the God of Life and Death—responded to us?"
Vol looked at the Grand Sorcerer, a hint of expectation in his eyes.
The Grand Sorcerer's tone was filled with despair.
"No, there was no response. The gods have completely abandoned us."
Although he already knew the outcome, Vol still showed a look of disappointment.
Since the Rock Battle, Father Nurgle's angels had stopped responding to them.
No matter how many times they tried to sacrifice and communicate, it was useless.
At this moment, an adjutant hurried in.
"Sir, Anas Satellite City 011 has fallen. The Emperor's forces are pouring into the interior of the Hive City through the breach in the defensive line."
"Wasn't Antoinette there?" Vol asked.
"He was killed. According to the fleeing soldiers, the enemy deployed Star Realm Knights."
"The tide of corpses was easily pierced by those guys, and the defending soldiers suffered heavy casualties. The defensive line has completely collapsed."
The adjutant's report made Vol's already pale face lose all color.
"What do we do now?" the Grand Sorcerer asked.
"Let's retreat to Sesos Hive City for now. It's still under our control," the adjutant suggested.
"That's the only way."
Vol was full of unwillingness, but he had no other choice.
Staying here would only mean throwing away his life for nothing.
He had to preserve himself to continue serving Father Nurgle.
Vol and his group moved quickly.
After packing up useful items, they retreated along the predetermined route.
However, not long after they left the command center, deafening horn blasts and explosions suddenly erupted.
Tall war mechs appeared in their sight.
Those mechs used their massive cannons to bombard the fortresses built by soldiers and the tide of corpses.
The already dilapidated buildings turned into ruins with their arrival.
Like gods of war, they crushed everything in their path, advancing towards the direction of the command center.
"Why are they so fast?" Vol's lips trembled.
"They're probably coming for you, sir," the adjutant said. "We need to move faster."
"No, not faster, we need to run. Drop everything, everyone run."
Vol urged his subordinates to abandon everything and flee lightly.
They plunged into the ruins filled with toxic mist, frantically fleeing among the shattered walls.
After a while, they found a few vehicles and drove out of the Hive City.
As long as they could escape the battlefield, they had a good chance of survival.
........
Infantry equipped with exoskeleton armor surrounded the Zagu 01 Type war mechs.
The soldiers operated the machine guns mounted on their exoskeletons, sweeping down any enemies that showed themselves, preventing them from approaching the war mechs and using sticky bombs or other means to blow up the mechs' joints.
"We are still one kilometer from the target. Speed up the advance."
Little Fatty scanned the tactical map; the target location was within reach.
Boom!
A rocket flew out of a building, heading straight for the Zagu mech controlled by Little Fatty.
The deflection shield flickered, detonating the rocket and absorbing most of the explosion's power.
However, some of the explosion's force still seeped through the shield, stripping the paint from the mech's surface and leaving it scorched black.
Seeing the damage report on the panel, Little Fatty's expression was somewhat grim.
He turned the Zagu mech's cannon, locking onto the building that had fired the rocket.
"Die, traitor."
As his words fell, the thick muzzle flashed with intense light.
Accompanied by a deafening explosion, the dilapidated building slowly collapsed.
When it hit the ground, it made a deafening sound, sending countless debris flying and raising clouds of smoke and dust.
"This is what happens when you provoke me."
After confirming that there were no life signals in the building's ruins, Little Fatty smiled, turned around, and continued forward.
The mech cluster pierced the enemy's defensive line like a spearhead, charging towards the enemy's command center.
Tank clusters and infantry poured in like a tide through the breach, further expanding their advantage.
The rebel leader, Vol, tried to escape, but was quickly discovered by Little Fatty and other players.
Several fighter jets were dispatched, chasing and strafing the fleeing convoy.
Finally, with a deafening explosion, the vehicle Vol was riding in was overturned.
Realizing that escape was hopeless, he led his remaining forces to retreat into a plague-ridden fortress.
The Grand Sorcerer and six psychics sacrificed themselves, transforming the fortress into a defiled sanctuary for a final stand.
The defiled sanctuary was filled with Warp energy, and disgusting pus seeped from the wall cracks.
Swarms of plague flies circled the fortress like a black cloud of pestilence, their buzzing sounding like the wails of the dead.
"We must never surrender to the enemy."
"In Father Nurgle's name, we shall eventually enter His beautiful garden."
Vol roared prayers praising Nurgle, encouraging the soldiers and cultists around him to resist to the end.
Realizing that the remaining rebels would fight to the death, Alex chose to abandon the idea of capturing them alive and issued an order to wipe out the rebels and their fortifications together.
"Your cover is as ridiculous as you are, traitor. Feel the wrath of the omnissiah."
Little Fatty and his companions wasted no time.
They unleashed all the hellfire missiles and rockets carried by their mechs onto the defiled sanctuary.
The bombardment lasted for several minutes, with continuous explosions that did not cease for a long time.
When the smoke cleared, the accompanying infantry went forward to investigate.
They found that the fortress had been completely destroyed, and the rebel leader and his subordinates had been blown to smithereens.
With Vol's death, the rebels in Anas Hive completely collapsed, scattering and fleeing in disarray.
The Empire's iron tide advanced unimpeded, rumbling over the ruins, and amidst the hum of chainswords and the roar of melta guns, the fleeing rebels fell in swathes like ripe wheat.
Unlike the Tyreen campaign and the Rock Battle, after industrial production resumed, the Imperial army had undergone a major re-equipment.
Even ordinary soldiers wore exoskeleton armor, possessing strong combat power and fast movement speed.
In addition, mechanization reforms greatly increased the army's marching speed.
Most of the rebel soldiers failed to escape and were completely annihilated by the pursuing Imperial forces.
The fall of Anas Hive meant that the rebels could no longer pose a threat.
They still held one Hive City, but many parts of that Hive City were shattered, lacking complete void shields and defensive firepower.
It was completely incapable of withstanding the Empire's relentless bombardment and armored assault.
Within a few days, that Hive City was also swiftly captured by the Imperial army.
As the last rebel leader was killed, a golden light screen indicating mission completion appeared before Alex.
The Sacred Wings he had longed for were finally his.
......
Warp.
A battle barge was struggling to pass through a terrifying ethereal storm.
Without the guidance of the Light of the Emperor, they were lost within Immaterium, unable to find a way out.
"Chapter Master Sard, the Geller Field generator is 30% damaged. If we cannot escape the Warp soon, we will perish here."
An Adeptus Mechanicus, clad in a crimson robe, spoke to the Dreadnought mech before him.
An aged voice emanated from within the Dreadnought mech.
"I had thought the Star Realm Knights' fate would end in a desperate battle."
"Though tragic, at least that would be a warrior's end. I never imagined we would be buried in Immaterium."
Despair permeated the battle barge.
Once the Geller Field was damaged, their fate was self-evident.
Some crewmen prayed to the God-Emperor and secretly hid firearms and poison.
If it came to the end, they hoped to die with some dignity, at least as loyal servants of the Emperor.