A golden brilliance flashed across the sky. On every embattled planet, the fighting Imperial soldiers erupted with ferocious strength. With the meteor shower came countless drop pods and aerial formations. The ground troops had to carve a path through the swarms to protect the pods and ensure a safe landing.
Facing Tyranid swarms on several planets, Zhou Ye's approach was simple and brutal. Each planet would first get five thousand Space Marines, followed by two hundred thousand auxiliaries, and finally, Zhou Ye's Planetary Defense Forces—who could also be considered Astra Militarum.
The primary objective of the first wave was to capture the anti-air defense networks on each planet and in each fortress, or to assist the defenders in holding the line. They would also place ground-based teleportation beacons to allow for the rapid deployment of larger armies.
Two particularly important planets even had Emperor Titan Legions descending behind them.
At this moment, the Hive Mind was in a state of complete bewilderment. It had never encountered such an enemy. Its units withered into ash in an instant. Forget begging for a meal; its very bowl and chopsticks had been smashed to pieces.
The Hive Mind then initiated its standard procedure: generating adaptations. And just as quickly, it fell silent again.
It discovered that the so-called evolution was completely useless this time. This power was unlike any it had encountered before. Its evolutionary resistance had no effect whatsoever; the resources it invested yielded no reaction.
This was a special ability it had never seen before. The Hive Mind immediately changed its tactics. It began to consume vast amounts of biomass to generate psychic energy and successfully suppressed the withering power. And then…
The Hive Mind froze. A quick calculation left it stunned. The biomass it had expended to protect a single bio-ship was enough to create seven or eight more. What was even more infuriating was that it hadn't even fully contained the effect.
After the withering power and the psychic energy canceled each other out, the decay spread rapidly through the bio-ship once more. The vessel turned to dust again. And then…
The Hive Mind was terrified. This was something it had never encountered before. In its understanding, only one thing could achieve this: the absolute death that was Nurgle.
In that moment, the Hive Mind erupted with unparalleled fury. In its state of extreme rage, it… was just angry for a moment.
Because everything vanished. From its perspective, the Hive Tyrant simply disappeared.
"?"
The Great Devourer slowly projected a question mark.
---o---
On Ashford below, the Hive Tyrant's face showed a trace of fear. Directly connected to the Great Devourer, it had no idea what had just happened.
The unknown is always the most terrifying. This was the Authority of Finality wielded by Zhou Ye.
These Authorities were inherently powerful enough to destroy civilizations. The might he now displayed had completely bewildered the Tyranids.
"ROOOAR!!!"
Although humanity and its objective were right before it, the Hive Tyrant chose to retreat. This was no longer a question of victory or defeat, but of how to preserve its effective strength.
That's right, effective strength. Though their contact had been brief, seeing the rapidly withering corpses turn to ash taught the Tyranids one thing: this would be a war of attrition they could not comprehend. They would be lucky if the biomass they currently possessed even made it back into the Great Devourer's embrace.
But…
BANG!!!
It saw a flash of light as countless beams descended from the heavens. Squads of Space Marines in master-crafted Terminator armor emerged from within. Their powerful aura was a palpable threat, even to the Hive Tyrant.
Before it could react, another figure in black and gold armor—taller than almost any human it had ever seen—smashed into the ground before it. Behind him followed two more giants in Allarus Terminator armor. The moment these figures appeared, all mortals present, including the Cadian Lord General, instantly fell to their knees.
No words were needed. The mere presence of that man, the image of his radiant golden light, was seared into their minds. It represented the most cherished prayer of humanity.
Hope.
That was the only word that came to mind, just as Malakim had told him:
"Hope remains!!!"
Yes, it was hope. Now, that hope stood before him. Moreover, seeing the two figures behind him, Drost, the Cadian Lord General, immediately recognized them. He had once been fortunate enough to see the Terminator armor worn only by the Custodian Guard. That meant the man before him could only be one thing.
An Imperial Primarch.
Faced with such a being, he offered his most sincere and heartfelt prostration.
"Hive Tyrant."
Ignoring the reactions of the crowd behind him, Zhou Ye walked step by step towards the creature. With every step he took, the Hive Tyrant instinctively took a step back.
It realized that the Great Devourer to which it was connected was showing signs of confusion. After all, the Hive Mind was a being on the same level as the five shit-stains of the Warp, so it couldn't perceive anything. The Great Devourer was currently wondering why its Hive Tyrant was retreating from empty air.
But this very emotion was what influenced the Hive Tyrant on the ground.
"Kneel!!!"
Ignoring the Hive Tyrant's reaction, Zhou Ye spoke with a quiet command. Tens of thousands of times normal gravity was instantly released, pinning the Hive Tyrant in place. Its massive yet agile body felt as if it weighed a thousand tons, and under the stunned gazes of the Cadians, it was forced to its knees.
It struggled defiantly, but under the full, point-blank pressure of Zhou Ye's power, it couldn't move an inch. The Great Devourer behind it offered no further psychic support.
It had realized something. It had to cut its losses. By retrieving this Hive Tyrant's consciousness, it could obtain more data.
But…
"Constraint, unfold!!!"
In the next moment, a massive barrier enveloped the creature. In that instant, the Hive Mind permanently lost its connection to this Hive Tyrant. Its soul, or rather its consciousness, would never return to the fold.
"Guh…"
Feeling its connection to the Hive Mind completely severed, the Hive Tyrant's face finally showed shock and terror. It tried to do something but was completely immobilized by Zhou Ye. The other Tyranids tried to charge forward in a frenzy, but under the suppressive fire of Zhou Ye's all-Terminator force, which included two in Allarus plate, they couldn't advance.
Previously, Zhou Ye hadn't equipped his Honor Guard with Terminator armor, not because he lacked it, but because they were facing different enemies. The spawn of Khorne required mobility for close combat. But against the Tyranids, there was no need to hold back. He had equipped them all with his personally modified Indomitus Terminator armor.
The powerful firepower they unleashed mowed down vast swaths of Tyranids. And now, without the support of the bio-ship fleet in the sky, their seemingly endless numbers were gone.
"Absolute Zero!!!"
In the next instant, Zhou Ye unleashed the Authority of the Herrscher of Ice upon the completely suppressed Hive Tyrant. In a flash, the creature became a giant block of ice. Zhou Ye then waved his hand.
His men placed a massive stasis field generator on it, then added a layer of the Imaginary Prison for good measure. With another flash of light, the creature was transported to a cell aboard the Hyperion.
Hive Tyrant captured. In that same instant, all remaining Tyranids on the ground began to scatter like panicked grots. Their former organization vanished completely.
They couldn't even defend themselves against the human attacks. Lacking any real soul, only the instinct for survival remained to drive them.
In that moment, they all chose self-preservation. In the blink of an eye, the entire Tyranid swarm on the planet lost its command structure. With the death of the node-beast, they became nothing more than common beasts, their combat effectiveness even lower than that of a Grox.
"Done."
Looking at the recovered Hive Tyrant, Zhou Ye nodded in satisfaction. He didn't have time to deal with it now. He would hand it over to his Magos Biologis and let them study it first.
Once things here were settled, he would properly develop these creatures' potential.
"All forces, advance! Purge every last Tyranid from this planet!"
With Zhou Ye's command, one meteor after another fell from the sky.
Direct teleportation consumed energy. A few thousand men was one thing, but dropping hundreds of thousands, even millions, would be too costly.
Moreover, Zhou Ye needed to divert some of his energy to shield them, lest they be crushed by the immense pressure generated during teleportation.
So now that they had secured enough safe zones, it was time for a conventional drop.
"Mama, look! Meteorites!!!"
Inside the city, a little girl pointed at the sky. At Zhou Ye's command, an army of millions had begun its orbital descent.
Just as the Tyranids had done before, a massive meteor shower now streaked through the atmosphere.
"Waaaah, that's not a meteor shower! That's the fist of the Imperium! We're saved! We're finally saved!!!"
The child's parents hugged her and wept, ignoring her confused expression.
Praising the Emperor, they began to kowtow to the falling stars.
CRASH!!!
At that moment, a massive Thunderhawk descended from the sky and landed beside them. A squad of Trailblaze Space Marines in black and gold power armor emerged and immediately saw the surrounding people.
"We are the hammer of the Lord of Trailblaze. We come to save the innocent. We are not angels."
Looking at the squads of Space Marines, the survivors' faces filled with pious reverence.
The Emperor's Angels. They had finally come. They had finally come to save them.
The Astartes in black and gold immediately dispatched a portion of their forces to organize the evacuation. According to their battlefield intelligence, this area would soon face a large number of scattered, fleeing Tyranids.
---o---
Zhou Ye turned to the Lamenters. At last, Malakim could breathe a sigh of relief.
"Lord Phanes."
"Well done. It seems I arrived just in time. But something is wrong. Where is the Imperial Navy? By my calculations, your situation should not have deteriorated to this extent."
Zhou Ye looked at Malakim and asked, a little stunned. According to his plans and calculations, from the opening of the Great Rift until his arrival, he should have had at least a decade to prepare. But now, he had only prepared for half that time before rushing here.
He originally thought he had ample time, but now the situation seemed rather… Emmmmm.
"Waaaaah, My Lord!!!"
"?"
To Zhou Ye's surprise, the Cadian general before him was completely unable to communicate.
It wasn't just him; all the Cadian soldiers on the battlefield were weeping uncontrollably.
"Sigh. The Fall of Cadia had nothing to do with you. You are still the honored soldiers of Cadia. As long as you live, Cadia will forever stand in the cosmos."
Zhou Ye knew what they were thinking. The fall of Cadia had directly led to the opening of the Great Rift. These Cadians, who had fought across the stars for the Imperium, all believed they were guilty. Like the Death Korps of Krieg, they felt that because they hadn't been there to defend Cadia, it was destroyed. And because the fortress world fell, the Great Rift opened, tearing the Imperium asunder.
Knowing what was on their minds, Zhou Ye offered his comfort.
But…
"Waaaaaah..."
"Aaaaaaaaah…"
His words only made the Cadians cry harder. These soldiers, who had not taken a single step back while fighting the Tyranids in a bloody tug-of-war, were now weeping more intensely than ever.
This left Zhou Ye even more bewildered. What are you crying about? Can we even communicate?
So, Zhou Ye decided to try again.
"All of you, rise! Look at me! Cadia stands!"
"..."
Hearing Zhou Ye's words, the Cadians paused. One by one, they rose to their feet, looking at him with eyes full of awe, shame, and nascent hope.
Then, one by one, they placed their fists over their hearts and roared with the loudest voices of their lives:
"CADIA STANDS!!!"
"Excellent!!!"
Seeing this, Zhou Ye revealed a satisfied expression. Good, at least they could communicate now. Zhou Ye silently gave himself a thumbs-up for his wit.
With Zhou Ye's appearance, the tide of battle was turning in an instant, and not just here.
---o---