The battle situation was extremely unfavorable for the Imperium. The Leviathan's sheer size said it all.
Some might say, 'Since when did bigger automatically mean stronger? Can't smaller beat bigger?' But this logic hardly needs explanation.
Yes, bigger is stronger. Orks even live by the philosophy, 'Me bigger, me stronger!'
The two Cobra-class destroyers, utterly helpless, demonstrated this. From the moment the tentacles seized them until their destruction, only minutes passed. Both ships were total losses, blasted in two.
The Leviathan attempted to seize the trailing Lunar-class cruiser, but its lance batteries pivoted and precisely struck the extending tentacle.
The accuracy was almost un-Warhammer-like.
The Emperor-class, at the vanguard, absorbed endless Zerg Swarm firepower, attempting to break out with the two remaining Lunar-class cruisers.
†I admit it. I underestimated the enemy. Their strength exceeds our expectations. But next time, I'll return with our entire fleet!†
Underestimated?
Frank never underestimated. To deal with possible local heretics, he'd even brought an Emperor-class battleship—a vessel that couldn't be rapidly mass-produced. How was that negligence?
The Emperor-class had suffered less than 15% damage. The two Lunar-class cruisers were just over 30% damaged. But he knew if they continued, all would be lost.
This was a pointless battle. He still didn't know where the enemy commander was.
Even Orks had a Warboss or Warlord. But Frank hadn't located the enemy commander.
In truth, the Zerg Swarm's commanders had been in Frank's sight from the very beginning—among the first units he saw.
[Overlord]
Those Overlords were Cerebrate Zasz's command nodes. But Frank and his soldiers ignored these thick-skinned, clumsy creatures that didn't flee when attacked. If all Overlords were killed, the Zerg Swarm's unit count would drop by at least half.
Regardless, the current situation left Frank no choice.
"Warp drive, Gellar Field—prepare for activation. Stand by for Warp translation!"
"Captain, we're only a few days from our homeworld. Must we risk Warp translation?"
"That behemoth behind us won't give us the luxury of a slow flight!"
The Leviathan appeared cumbersome, but its void speed was far from slow. If the Imperial ships tried flying back to their homeworld, it would tail them relentlessly. The two Lunar-class cruisers would never make it.
"As you command, Captain. Notify the Astropaths to prepare for Warp environment. Gellar Field generator ready. All hands, prepare for Warp translation!"
The Gellar Field: the Imperium's sole protection against the Warp's chaotic energies and twisting daemons. Its origins are as ancient as the Warp drive itself, dating back to the Dark Age of Technology in early M18.
It projects a bubble of realspace around the vessel, stabilizing local reality within.
If the Warp is a vast, tumultuous ocean, the Gellar Field is a fragile soap bubble, carrying the Imperial ship into the roiling sea of Warp energy.
The Warp drive ignited. A Warp rift materialized in the midst of the battlefield—a kaleidoscopic vortex of iridescent colors. Through the rift, glimpses of the Warp's狂暴 energies and twisted, luminous Warp planets.
†Holy shit! That's insane! Opening a Warp rift in the middle of combat! Are they not afraid of death?!!!†
Frank knew the risks of Warp translation perfectly well. But he gambled that these creatures wouldn't dare enter the Warp.
He won a small bet.
The Zerg Swarm certainly wasn't stupid enough to enter the Warp. Scourge and Mutalisks veered away. Even when the Swarm Overmind projected its gaze into the rift, a searing pain lanced through its mind.
Its consciousness felt torn apart—distortion, chaos, disorder. Everything about the Warp was fundamentally incompatible with the Zerg Swarm's existence. In its daze, the Overmind glimpsed several eyes fixated upon it, heard low, piercing laughter.
It wrenched its gaze away and mentally raised its middle finger at the Warp.
†This godforsaken place—I NEVER want to go there!!!†
In his eyes, the Warp is the cesspit of cesspits of cesspits. But now, Imperial ships were escaping through it.
†Take down as many as we can! Imperial ships are almost defenseless while translating! Scourge, ATTACK!†
Maintaining the Gellar Field required shutting down every possible hatch and weapon port. The ships were turtles withdrawn into their shells. This was why the Overmind called them insane—opening a Warp rift surrounded by enemies.
Who voluntarily disables all weapons and shields right in front of the enemy!!!
Scourge swarmed. Without macro-cannons and weapon batteries firing, their effectiveness peaked. The trailing Lunar-class cruiser suffered catastrophic damage.
Its Void Shield generator immediately overloaded and exploded, a muffled detonation causing severe internal damage. More Scourge slammed into its armor. Even with structural integrity fields reinforcing it, the armor couldn't withstand the relentless bombing.
In the cruiser's final moments before Warp translation, Scourge blasted several massive breaches in its hull. Its fate was sealed.
Upon entering the Warp rift, hull breaches caused Gellar Field failure. Countless Warp entities swarmed in—daemons of myriad forms, not exclusively serving the Four.
But all were evil, chaotic beings. The crew fought not only the whispers and visions conjured by Warp energy in their minds, but also the daemons materializing within the ship.
Daemons phased through walls, hung inverted from ceilings, even manifested directly on crewmen's bodies, cackling piercingly. They were everywhere, unstoppable.
Compared to this chaos...
The Markers from Dead Space seemed like well-behaved neighbors.
Within minutes, the Lunar-class cruiser's every function ceased. It was utterly lost in the Warp, another wreck among countless Imperial ship graveyards.
Frank witnessed this, helpless.
Mercifully, those bugs didn't follow.
†Let them run. Only a fool follows into the Warp!†
The Swarm Overmind would rather let them escape than pursue into the Warp.
Don't ask why. Anyone with even basic Warp knowledge understands: not pursuing is correct. Anyone who pursues is an idiot.
The Tau developed a special Warp-capable drive. They forgot the Gellar Field. An entire fleet entered the Warp; only a handful returned. One of Warhammer's greatest jokes.