The Swarm followed the vessel occupied by the Genestealer Cult, venturing deep into the Tiamat System. Until they encountered the actual Tyranid Hive Fleet, this group of Genestealers continued to worship the Zerg Swarm.
Even the Queen of Blades couldn't help but sigh.
† These monkeys are truly ridiculous. †
Indeed, ridiculous. Even the Emperor would find these Genestealers absurd. You are clearly Xenos, yet you seek to go on a pilgrimage? And even if you do, shouldn't you be heading toward Holy Terra?!
The Tiamat System is in the southeast of Segmentum Ultima, while the Solar System is at the center of Segmentum Solar. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would know the direction of the pilgrimage was wrong, yet these Genestealers persisted in sailing toward the beacon they sensed.
One couldn't help but wonder how they managed to take over a Hive World with such intelligence.
† Still, it's quite interesting. Let's see how they perform. †
Soon, the Tiamat Hive Fleet appeared ahead of the ship. Their numbers were vast, yet this was only a fraction of the full Tiamat fleet. Perhaps sensing the presence of Genestealers within the Gothic-class cruiser, the Tiamat fleet did not intercept them. The Genestealers, mistaking these bio-ships for the same race as the Leviathans, entered the inner system with joy, ready to receive the "God-Emperor's" guidance.
The Queen of Blades, however, was prepared for battle.
†The enemy fleet is quite numerous.†
On her side, the Queen of Blades commanded ten Leviathans and an accompanying Hive Fleet. A Leviathan's size sat somewhere between a Battlecruiser and a Battleship. Before her was a Tiamat patrol fleet, consisting of nearly a hundred Escort-class bio-ships, ten Cruiser-class ships, and one Battleship-class vessel.
In terms of raw numbers, the Queen of Blades held the advantage. Although she had fewer Escorts, she possessed a far greater number of Swarm units smaller than Escorts—numbering in the thousands, nearly reaching ten thousand—which was enough to compensate for the lack of Escorts.
The Tiamat fleet detected the Zerg's arrival and began to turn. Bio-ships equipped with massive ramming prows charged toward the Leviathans. Outwardly, these Tiamat individuals looked different from other Hive Fleets. Their bodies possessed a silvery-white luster; this color variation was one way to distinguish between different Hive Fleets. Generally, purple Tyranid units belonged to Hive Fleet Leviathan.
Unfortunately, the Zerg still lacked their primary aerial unit, the Corruptor, and had to use Devourers and Guardians as temporary substitutes. A combined operation of "lobsters and crabs"—is the Zerg Swarm a seafood producer?
That said, the Devourer and Guardian were worthy of being Abathur's chosen main aerial units. They were capable of fighting both within an atmosphere and in the vacuum of naval space combat. The Devourer, in particular, fired corrosive spores that inflicted continuous damage on the Tyranid Escorts.
†Bio-ships are meaningless against the Swarm. Scourges, get ready!!!†
Against bio-ships without shields, Scourges were devastating. The Zerg had long ago perfected this combat style. Countless Scourges flew toward the Tiamat fleet, launching a frenzied assault. If you want to know how terrifying a Scourge assault is against unshielded enemies, just ask the two Aeldari Craftworlds that were blown apart by them.
However, the Queen of Blades had forgotten one thing.
The uniqueness of Hive Fleet Tiamat lay in their resistance to energy attacks, and the Scourge's attack was a plasma explosion—a form of energy damage. The Scourges slammed into the Tiamat Escorts, triggering a series of massive explosions. Yet, when the plasma cleared, the damage was far less significant than expected.
† Ho-ho, they truly are better at energy defense than ordinary Hive Fleets. †
Upon seeing this, the Overmind became even more excited.
†I love opponents like this. The rewards after defeating such an enemy will be even greater. †
[Mission: Swarm vs. Swarm]
[Objective: Kill 100 Tyranid Bio-ships (0/100)]
[Reward: Corruptor (No technology required).]
† The System is acting up again. †
The long-dormant System had finally reappeared. This was perfect; as long as they wiped out this Tyranid vanguard fleet, the Swarm would finally have its primary aerial combat unit. The Corruptor was the "Big Daddy" of the Zerg air force! Defense, mobility, attack—it was excellent across all metrics. Its only drawback was its inability to attack ground targets.
Fine. It seemed Scourges couldn't be the main force this time. Hmm?
On the Tiamat side, a lead Escort suddenly released a massive cloud of spores. The coverage was so vast it obscured the battlefield, causing over a dozen Zerg Escorts to lose their line of sight.
† Oh no!!! †
A second later, over a dozen "straws" extended from the spore cloud—tentacles with hideous, suction-cup tips that latched onto a Leviathan. Using these tentacles, the Tiamat Escorts rapidly closed the distance and slammed their ramming prows into the Leviathan's body.
Prows and claws hundreds of meters long pierced the Leviathan's armor. Simultaneously, a massive number of Tyranid units flooded into the Leviathan through the tubes, initiating a Tyranid boarding action.
† So it's still a boarding action... †
He thought it would be some high-end tactic, perhaps the Escorts trying to drain the Leviathan dry from a distance. In the end, it was still a boarding war.
† I'm disappointed in you all. †
Boarding? Jumping into a Leviathan filled with Zerg units to fight a war of attrition? If Escort and Destroyer-class bio-ships wanted to test their numbers against a Battlecruiser-class organism, the Overmind was happy to oblige. Since the Tyranids loved boarding, the Leviathan also extended its own tentacles, piercing the Tyranid bio-ships to launch a counter-boarding action.
Units from both sides slaughtered each other within the tentacles and conduits—it was another brutal meat grinder. Zerglings lunged at Termagants, and Tyranid Warriors trampled Zerglings. The intensity of the battle was beyond words. Even in this desperate and dark age, such a battle was rare and remarkable.
The other Leviatans also engaged the Tiamat fleet. Countless smaller Tyranid escort organisms fought the Devourers, Guardians, and Brood Lords outside the ships. Plasma sparks from Scourge explosions lit up the void, while various acidic projectiles flew back and forth, slamming into their targets.
In such a fierce clash, even the Leviathans suffered significant damage, their blood spilling into space. The Tiamat fleet fared even worse. Less than half an hour into the fight, several Tyranid Escorts had been destroyed, their massive chunks of flesh drifting lifelessly in the void.
The Queen of Blades herself launched like a projectile through the vacuum, piercing the thick armor of the largest Battleship-class Tyranid bio-ship to board it personally.
Looking at the Carnifexes and Lictors surrounding her, she merely gave a cold smirk. The bone wings on her back unfurled, revealing her monstrous form.
† Time to kill! †