Anacharis Scoria continued to channel his spirituality into the starlight above, maintaining the electromagnetic disruption generated by the "False Astral Configuration."
[Program code upload progress: 90.83%...]
Whoosh!
The "Astronomer," Anacharis, lowered his arm along with Arkhan Land. Their spirituality was spent.
He launched no further attacks, his bionic eyes fixed on the tripedal walkers.
Compared to the time of the Rangdan War, they were now a third larger. Their chassis was noticeably broader than a Warhound Titan's.
Energy beams lanced out, sweeping across the lantern-shaped gun batteries.
Boom, boom, boom...
The lantern batteries shattered, spraying clouds of debris.
A rain of fragments cascaded down, pounding against the broad bridge-like platforms where the batteries stood, with a dull roar.
The bewildered batteries, finally finding a target, began to turn.
Cold, shimmering beams, similar in color, shot towards the tripedal walkers.
Crash, crash, crash...
Anacharis's vision crackled with cascading blue runes. A string of binary scrolled across his strategos array's logic engines.
[The tripedal walkers differ from the database. A new defense mechanism has appeared.]
[Scanning... identifying... analyzing... Confirmed: void shield.]
[Tripedal walker defense rating has increased by a factor of 50.68 compared to the database.]
As Anacharis reached this conclusion, a sheet of golden flame descended from the sky.
Amidst the crackling detonations, the golden flame melted the blue armor of the Super-Elite Warriors and the silver armor of the common troops.
The thick, purple blood was burned to black smoke, rising in wisps.
Wiltshire strode forward. He nodded to Anacharis, Arkhan, and Zadkiel, then surveyed the area.
After the two Archmagi had uploaded their program to the Olamic Quietude's network, neutralizing the anti-aircraft arrays, transports carrying the tripedal walkers had descended through the massive breach created by the orbital bombardment and deployed to the surface.
The Gardinaal-pattern walkers engaged the Olamic Quietude's turrets in an energy-weapon duel.
Battery after battery exploded. Occasionally, a tripedal walker was destroyed under concentrated enemy fire.
'The Gardinaal Mark III tripedal walker's defenses are significantly enhanced compared to the previous two generations. Survivability is greatly improved.'
'However, if we were to capture the entire planet, we might suffer total losses.'
The Second Chapter currently had two hundred and forty-nine tripedal walkers in service.
The number of tripedal walkers was limited not only by production capacity but also by the availability of crews.
Though tripedal walkers were simpler to operate than Titans, requiring less training and crew, only the descendants of the original pilots of the initial model were capable of piloting them.
On the orange-yellow planet below, hive-spire towers, spaced six hundred and seventy kilometers apart, were studded with countless gun emplacements.
Boom!
A tripedal walker exploded. Countless beams of light, like a thousand knives, tore the massive machine apart.
Thousands of metal fragments gouged blackened scars across the ice.
Heat rose. Lantern turret after lantern turret fell silent.
Their barrels did not fire. They slowly ceased turning.
Thump, thump, thump...
Elite Warrior after Elite Warrior in silver armor collapsed.
Zadkiel watched the loathsome, Dreadnought-sized blue giants fall. A gleam of triumph shone in his eyes.
He sheathed his power sword, quickly removing his right gauntlet.
He took a double-numbered black metal case from his belt, steadied it with his left hand, and rapidly tapped a series of runes with his right.
As cold mist billowed, the sealed case unlatched with a click, revealing a pitch-black potion within.
'My Lord commanded me to drink this upon the plan's success.'
'Now is the time.'
'I thank my Lord for this gift! Praise the Black Emperor!'
After praising the Black Emperor, Zadkiel drew his ritual knife and deactivated the spiritual wall.
Gulp!
Zadkiel tilted his head back and drank the potion. A chaotic mix of odors exploded in his mouth.
The potion slid down. Green spots and red light swirled.
It felt as if worms were crawling through every part of Zadkiel's body.
Chaotic noise erupted in his mind.
The sounds of countless deaths.
The sound of the social network dissolving.
Suddenly, the voice of "Majesty," the Black Emperor, rang in Zadkiel's mind.
"After drinking the potion, fix your gaze upon the scene of the Olamic Quietude's order overthrown. Meditate to gather your scattered spirituality."
Instinctively obeying the Black Emperor's command, Zadkiel turned his gaze upon the fallen blue and silver forms, the silent batteries.
Gradually, he found his thoughts again, meditating to gather the dissipated energy.
Moments later, the newly advanced "Mentor of Disorder," his right hand unarmored, his muscles writhing and extending, his left hand enveloped in his gauntlet, clasped both hands together in an inverted hold.
"I thank my Lord for this gift!"
...
Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, in the Primarch's office.
Nareth leaned back against his throne. Arsena stood between Anacharis and Arkhan, holding a datapad, and began his report.
"My Lord, I have compiled the Legion's casualties."
"The Legion suffered four hundred and sixty-one fatalities. Of these, the Tenth Chapter lost three hundred and eighty-two, most during the seizure of the orbital facilities."
Nareth nodded. The casualty count was lower than the losses of the Space Wolves' 3rd Great Company in his memory.
'Hmm, I didn't have to hurl the drydock at the Olamic Quietude's homeworld. This is thanks to Zadkiel's successful plan, and the technical support of Anacharis and Arkhan.'
He thought of Zadkiel, who had left the system ahead of them, having just advanced to "Mentor of Disorder."
'Zadkiel's abilities now are far greater than in my memory.'
'At the very least, he'll be able to bring me a Despoiler-class battleship.'
As Nareth mused, his Primarch's attendant continued.
"In addition, the Second Chapter lost twenty-five tripedal walkers."
"They were destroyed by the towers' energy batteries."
"Aside from one tower that was severely damaged, the rest were captured intact."
Nareth nodded slightly. 'Not only were the casualties lower, but the drydock and the entire world's industrial capacity are also nearly intact.'
'Though the manufacturing processes differ greatly from Imperial standards, the data storage device makes conversion possible. After some adaptation, it should be capable of the output of an industrial world.'
'More importantly, it is an industrial world with the defenses of a fortress world.'
"My Lord, Anacharis and I have compiled the acquired data and transferred it, along with the data storage device, to the Techmarine contingent."
"This is the greatest technological discovery of the Great Crusade."
Arkhan looked at the Omnimessiah, leaning back upon the throne. His holy light had guided him to this treasure.
Fifteen thousand years of civilization, following a completely divergent technological path, had accumulated a wealth of technological knowledge: Energy shield adjustment technology. Social network technology.
...
Through Anacharis's logic engines, a torrent of data flowed: Vibration weapon technology. Acceleration weapon technology.
...
'My strategos array will evolve again.'
'I must also forge a Starlight Staff, to fully realize the power the Omnimessiah has bestowed upon me.'
Nareth's mind turned to the orange-yellow mechanical sphere.
'The greatest prize is, of course, the data storage device. It was nearly destroyed by a catastrophic error of the 40th Expedition Fleet.'
'Arkhan is right. The complete STC of Orios enriched our technical archives, but the Olamic Quietude's discovery represents a completely separate technological path.'
'Another possible path for human civilization, distinct from Terra-Mars.'
He also considered the intellectual and artistic achievements it contained, the legacy of a civilization created by humans before they lost their humanity.
'Not just a technological treasure, but an artistic treasure as well.'
'Hmm, Perturabo, Sanguinius, Magnus, and Fulgrim would be utterly captivated if they saw it.'
....
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