Author Notes:
Welp, here we are again, another GSS chapter, another opportunity to see Ein's impact on the Cadian battlespace.
Fingers-crossed she will soon brandish the things she managed to acquire in the Honkai universe soon... Hopefully. Maybe. Possibly... Anyway, enjoy!
For my fics:
https://discord.gg/cVZxJ29ruh
https://www.webnovel.com/book/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich_23809095505377305
https://www.webnovel.com/book/in-the-grimdark-sector-with-a-system_31596105108346205
https://www.webnovel.com/book/my-soul.-occupied-body---please-the-other-me...!_35377211308783905
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2271569/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich/
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
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The sky, if you can call it that, is nothing but a patchwork mess of rusted steel structures, pipes, ventilation fans, and half-finished maintenance scaffoldings. To illuminate Installation 08's underground, massive lamps, either belonging to the initial uncorrupted construction of the installation or haphazard recent additions made by cultists, are mounted on the alloy ceiling, acting as miniature suns... Suns that barely provide enough illumination as is, many of which are in a constant state of flux, struggling to work either due to lack of servicing or corrupted influence. Some of these fake suns, improperly secured to their overhanging structures, dangle precariously in the air; their prior warm, yellow glow has somehow twisted into a sickening, blueish light. This, coupled with the messy underground war that is still ongoing, has created a very depressing sight, as is common in the Warhammer universe.
Beneath this dark, dreary sky, partially obscured by the hazy fog of war, the massive and sprawling underground level of Installation 08 is a hub of activity... At least for the most part.
In the dark, hidden corners of this small stage on the intergalactic scale, the foul source of this whole conflict continues to orchestrate whatever plan that will see them rise onto the annals of Ruinous power. Although they have experienced some sudden setbacks, they see it as nothing but the tests and trials that they must overcome to garner the blessing of the Lord of Changes. Things they will overcome, if only because they have no other choice but to succeed.
So, although it's beneath them, to buy time for their grand orchestration to reach its finale, some of the masterminds have deigned to take the stage, aiming to hamper the Imperium's progress by removing some of its more capable elements. Via scrying using sorcerous spells, the followers of the Lord of Changes have identified hubs of strong Imperium influence, places where their subordinates and underlings have been unable to breach despite the obvious advantages of fighting on their home territory, and the Imperium lacks heavy hitters like the Salamander Chapter and Cadian armor. The masterminds will destroy these sites personally.
Hidden as they are, however, the movements of the masterminds in the dark don't escape notice of the patient stalkers in the dark. The Lucifer Blacks, having long since infiltrated the shadiest parts of the underground labyrinth, are quick to notice the force deployments of humanity's arch-nemesis, the Aspiring Sorcerers belonging to the Traitorous Legions that condemned humanity to a war that never ends. The black-clad troops are quick to triangulate the locations of the traitors' strongpoints, judging from the places the Aspiring Sorcerers have just vacated themselves and their subordinates. These strong points may very well hold either the devices or the sorcerous spell circles that are upholding the barrier that separates the main force of the JTF from those on this side of the front.
Although the Lucifer Blacks, top experts in the human combat arts and stealth, have chosen to ignore the battlescapes from afar, and the Imperial lives being lost with each moment that passes, they never once forget their mission to eliminate the source that creates the blockade. Now, having located their objectives, the elites of the Tempestus Scions waste no time at all in organizing a simultaneous surprise attack on all strongpoints. Although the lack of a Vox link makes it hard to convey timely information, there are more traditional methods to transmit orders and such, something the Lucifer Blacks easily make good use of in their preparation phase.
Unit leaders of the Lucifer Blacks sync their chronos, awaiting the appointed time to give the attack orders. Meanwhile, soldiers beneath them make sure their gears are in proper working order, that their Hellguns are set to the most lethal setting, and their Melta weapons are in abundance. For this crucial mission, even the Colonel of the Lucifer Blacks participates in person, clutching his favorite and most powerful battle gear with the confidence of a timeless veteran.
Before the appointed moment arrives, the Colonel of the Regiment of Tempestus Scions looks in the direction he knows there's active, and more desperate combat that is already taking place.
"Hang tight, brothers and sisters..." The Colonel mutters with conviction and steel in his tone. "We will honor your sacrifices, and bear them humbly in our hearts."
The human heart of the Colonel, tempered by the flame of war, still mildly aches for the lives lost in the time the Lucifer Blacks have spent locating the strongholds. That emotion, however, is swiftly snuffed by the Colonel himself; a brief moment of honoring the departed is enough. Although the strongholds should have fewer traitorous defenders than before, since some Aspiring Sorcerers have gone away, the Colonel holds no illusion that his most elite units won't suffer heavy casualties themselves. There's no need to pile on some deaths from far away that aren't his subordinates.
Right now, the Colonel can't afford to be distracted from completing the Lucifer Blacks' mission.
The appointed time has come.
Pulling out a flare gun, the Colonel raises it high into the air before firing a red flare that screeches audibly for all the Tempestus Scion units to hear, not just see.
"In the name of the Emperor and the cradle of humanity Holy Terra! Destroy the heretics!"
The bellow of the Colonel is swiftly drowned out by the initiation of combats, of Las bolts, Melta beams, grenades, and missiles, pummeling the Aspiring Sorcers' stronghold and their occupants.
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Elsewhere, locked in a static frontline that is reeked with blood and superheated air, the Priest, who has temporarily joined 3rd Platoon with the more able survivors of his group in defending their insertion and vantage point, has just parried a crude slash of a hatchet from a cultist with his Eviscerator.
"Repent, heretic scum!" The Priest unleashes his battle cry, stabbing the revolving teeth of his Eviscerator into the belly of the human traitor. The brief moment of contact has nearly torn apart the scum, but the Priest then swings his monstrous melee weapon upward, effectively cutting the heretic in two messy halves.
Behind the Priest, the veterans who followed him thus far swiftly come to provide cover. Some of them raise their Lasrifles, loaded with fresh power packs, and unleash red-hot beams that fall on cultists trying to charge their secured position on the ground level. Others, as part of a Heavy Stubber team, steadily deployed their recently acquired firepower, something they had gotten from the safe rear zone after delivering their casualties. The two-man Heavy Stubber team braces their .57 caliber automatic menace on a destroyed wall section and start unleashing a hail of withering lead, cutting down yet another charge from the heretic side. Above their location, Las shots from 3rd Platoon chime in, dispatching what's left of the enemy wave that the Heavy Stubber hasn't gotten to. The scene is reminiscent of 2K-era warfare, where machine guns and high ground effectively locked down an entire stretch of land, making the human waves tactic a costly endeavor.
"Fire!" The Priest bellows, standing valiantly by the Guardsmen's side as hot brasses fall right beneath his feet. "Fire and deliver the Emperor's judgement upon these heretics!"
"For the Emperor!"
Once the Heavy Stubber of the team next to the Priest runs dry and has to reload, Scorpin and her Special Weapon Squad from above take over, using their own Heavy Stubber to plug the gap in suppressive fire. The seamless coordination between the Cadians injects the Priest with a dose of healthy stimulants, causing him to cry even harder with arms and Eviscerator raised in the air.
"Do not show these fools our mercy! Mercy is between them and the Emperor! It's our job to arrange their meeting!" The righteous words, espoused by the Priest, emboldened the Veterans around him, supercharging their trigger fingers into squeezing more Las bolts out of their guns.
Suddenly, as if having had enough of the stubborn Cadian resistance, from the diminishing ranks of the heretics, a missile is launched against the Cadian garrison.
"Incoming!" Shouts a Cadian veteran as he tucks himself down with a hand securing his helmet tighter on his head.
The Priest, seeing the incoming projectile, does not falter but instead righteously screams into the air.
"Emperor is with us!"
As suddenly as it has appeared, the missile is detonated midair by an invisible beam that pierces its body and triggers the explosive charge inside it. The explosion causes no small amount of fragmentation to assail the Cadian position, some of which even put shallow cuts on the grimy faces and arms of the veterans holding the line. Yet, miraculously, as always, the Priest escapes without as much as a ruffle on his tunic. Not one to take a bow at the first sight of danger, the Priest steps forward, helping the veteran who had previously ducked back onto the embankment.
"Not one step back, comrade! The Emperor is with us!"
Ignoring the fresh scrapes on his helmet, the veteran, alongside others, shouts.
"The Emperor protects!"
Immediately afterward, more Las bolts and stub rounds greet the reignited enemy attack. Amidst the flurry of actions and deaths that painted the floor red, explosions constantly happen in the heretics' backline.
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Aligning my scope with the Krak Grenade hanging on a vest of a cultist, I pull my trigger, piercing both the explosive charge of the grenade and the cultist's body. Instantly, a major explosion due to the Krak Grenade exploding consumed the heavy weapon squad that had just finished placing down a mortar tube. The blast then goes on to ignite the mortar shells that some traitors have been carrying in crates slung on their backs, creating a kill chain of detonations that thoroughly ravaged the enemy line.
"By the Emperor," I smirk as I pull out the empty power pack. "I love my fucking job."
Only in the Warhammer universe can I score such an easy multikill using a laser weapon.
[Emperor of Man: Heh.]
[Nuwa: Honestly, I pity whoever is on the receiving end of Ein's sniper rifle. Dying instantly is one thing. Dying in such a colorful manner is...]
[Fuxi: Not something I would want on my epitaph.]
[Jingwei: Then again, I don't think her enemies are at all deserving of pity. Even I can see that they're too far gone.]
[Xuanyuan: You can kinda see it in their gaits and expressions... Some of which shouldn't really be viewed when you're at a dining table. They're disturbing.]
[Emperor of Man: Then wait till you see the unwilling ones. It's those who were coerced unwillingly into serving the sacrileges that are the hardest to stomach. Those of that kind are the real reason why heroes of the Imperium lose their sleep and wail in anguish after they deliver them a merciful judgement."
[Jingwei, Nuwa, Fuxi: ...]
[Jingwei: I believe this is the moment to say... It's all so dark.]
[Emperor of Man: Live in Ein's place for a while, then you will get used to it, for better or for worse.]
[Ein: Yeah... Though it's something neither the Emperor nor I will wish upon any of you if we can help it.]
The conversation in the Chatroom dies down when Weiss hands me a new power pack, with which I load my Long-las.
Ka-click
"I'm good." I say before slipping off my perch, and crouch walk to Weiss' side, patting her on the shoulder. "Come on, Weiss. We should move. You too, Snippar, time to relocate." I nod to my temporary spotter.
Moments later, we found ourselves set up by a hole in the wall, blasted open by a stray rocket or missile that I didn't intercept due to it going way off course. As a sniper unit, it would have been stupid of us to occupy only one position in a drawn-out engagement.
After making sure that nobody is eyeballing our new post, I swiftly dig myself a hidey hole among the rubble of the destroyed wall section and place myself inside, using the hole as both cover and concealment. My temporary spotter, Snippar, does the same near me while Weiss covers our rear as she multitasks with monitoring the Vox-caster.
We barely warm up our new position when I feel myself getting some goose bumps. That's how I feel that things have just been kicked into higher gear. Feeling grateful for my instinct, I open my mouth to warn.
"John! Scorpin! Firepower front!"
"You heard the lady!" John, who is one level below us, bellows. "Firepower front! GL at the ready!"
Scorpin snaps back. "Launchers are primed!"
Now, to wait for the surprise that is just about to show.
In the dust cloud kicked up by the chain detonation earlier, I can see eerie green visors lighting up one by one.