The Warp contamination continued to spread.
The bodies of the Rangdan warriors twisted and fused with their bio-armor. Letting out brutal, inhuman roars, they lunged at the slave soldiers, tearing and devouring them in a frenzy.
The Warp rift was like a festering scar, pouring out chaotic energy as supernatural phenomena ran rampant in realspace.
Daemons flooded into the material universe through the rift, hunting for hosts and harvesting souls. Their ecstatic roars echoed across the psychic plane.
Possessed by unclean spirits, the psychic species unleashed blasphemous Warp sorcery, harvesting lives with terrifying efficiency before chanting incantations to flee back into the Warp—
For they had sensed it: the Blackstone Fortress was tearing through the warp storms to enter realspace. That demigod had arrived.
If they did not leave now, it would be too late!
"So this is U-2!" Blazkowicz sneered, the full overview of the star system laid bare before his eyes.
The Malchias system, in the Rangdan tongue, signified absolute power and conquest.
The star gleamed blindingly bright. The system held eight planets and was exceptionally rich in mineral resources; the Rangdan had established two Forge Worlds here.
Outside the gravitational pull of the Forge Worlds, two Battle Moons were under construction. The outer hull of the first was completely sealed and undergoing outfitting; the upper half of the second was finished, while its lower hemisphere was currently having its structural forcefield laid down.
"We've caught a big fish!" Harlan exclaimed. As the scanners continuously relayed data, the target value of U-2 skyrocketed.
To say nothing of the Forge Worlds, those two unfinished Battle Moons alone would cost the Rangdan Empire a pound of flesh.
"Attack the Forge World!" Blazkowicz barked, setting their first primary target onto the nearest Forge World, pouring out the Blackstone Fortress's accumulated energy.
The Blackstone Fortress had entered realspace from a non-Mandeville point. Gravity and electromagnetism were in absolute chaos, and the planetary shields had not even had time to deploy. It was the perfect moment for a surprise assault.
The vortex cannons aligned with the Forge World, unleashing the energy they had stored for so long.
Beams of purple light struck the surface of the Forge World. The forge-cities vanished into annihilation in an instant, and the kicked-up atomic dust transformed into a gray storm.
The laws of physics clashed with the power of the Warp, neutralizing each other and triggering violent explosions. Boulders the size of cities were hurled into the air before raining back down onto the surface like meteors.
The vortex cannons fired for a mere second, but the blast radius expanded without limit.
With just this single strike, industrial products symbolizing the wisdom of civilization were turned to ash in a tragic display of ruin.
"Humans, stop!" A pained cry rang out across the public channel, condemning the barbaric act of destruction: "This is the crystallization of centuries of effort by several civilizations! You have completely destroyed it with your savagery!"
On the holographic projection, a Rangdan technician shrieked in agony, its biological tentacles trembling with rage: "Stop at once and leave! Our fleet will be here momentarily!"
"Hmph!" Blazkowicz snorted, a flicker of disdain crossing his face. "Destroying the life's work of several xenos civilizations? To humanity, that is a great service."
"Watch closely as humanity tramples everything you take pride in!"
With that, Blazkowicz cut the public communication and rapidly issued his orders: "Target the Battle Moon with the vortex cannons, and drop electromagnetic bombs onto the Forge World below."
"The Rangdan technician is bluffing, but this is the Rangdan heartland. The enemy's defensive forces are extremely powerful. We must make this quick!"
Blazkowicz spoke rapidly, delivering his operational orders with maximum speed.
The Extermination Fleet had broken into the Malchias system like a rat falling into a grain bin. Before the cat noticed, they had to do everything in their power to inflict maximum damage.
"I'll go drop the electromagnetic bombs!" Harlan called out, sprinting toward the Blackstone teleporter to head to the Extermination Order deployment site.
The Blackstone Fortress ceased its bombardment of the Forge World. Its four-way vortex cannons rotated slightly, locking onto the Battle Moon as they began to gather energy.
"Enemy boarding parties detected!" the Blackstone AI promptly announced, projecting light and shadow images that displayed a massive swarm of incoming boarding skiffs and boarding torpedoes.
The Rangdan technicians were truly desperate, launching boarding actions almost regardless of cost in a frantic bid to halt the Blackstone Fortress and stall until reinforcements arrived.
Blazkowicz decisively issued his command: "Launch the fleet carriers. Coordinate with Blackstone fire to intercept them."
"Activate the Blackstone Guards. Defend against the enemy boarding forces."
As the orders were given, certain specialized entities within the walls of the Blackstone Fortress's deep corridors were activated. Though unseen for the moment, they were very real.
"First Captain!"
"Present!" Atum stepped forward, dropping to one knee before his genetic father. "Awaiting your command at all times!"
"Take the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Companies to defend the engine chambers. Prevent the Rangdan from destroying the Warp portal."
"Remember," Blazkowicz's words were rapid, yet his tone was exceptionally heavy, "as long as the portal stands, the Blackstone Fortress remains secure."
"The xenos will never get near the engine chambers." Atum stood, his voice filled with unshakeable resolve. "Brothers of the designated companies, follow me!"
The company captains saluted and followed the First Captain, heading off to establish defenses in the engine chambers.
"Captain Odysseus." Blazkowicz called upon another.
The Shield-Captain stepped out from the ranks, bowing in salute as he awaited his orders: "Your command, sire."
"I want you to lead five hundred Custodes to stand by in the teleportation chamber. Team up with the Iron Men mechanical units and be ready to reinforce our allies at any moment."
"By your command." Odysseus raised his guardian spear and led the senior Custodes away, leaving a single communications officer behind to attend to the Primarch.
With the orders swiftly dispatched, Blazkowicz turned his gaze outward from the pyramid, assessing the situation outside.
The upper deck of the Blackstone Fortress rotated slowly, its black stone blocks shifting open. Eight aircraft carriers were lifted from their bays by Blackstone clamps, releasing autonomous fighters to intercept the boarding units.
"Sweep with the vortex cannons! We absolutely cannot let it escape!"
Blazkowicz's eyes were sharp as a hawk's. He saw that the unfinished Battle Moon was spinning up its Warp engines, preparing to flee this sector of space.
The fortress shuddered. Countless plasma cannons and lance batteries pounded against its psychic shields, the surging firepower testing the limits of the Warp barrier.
Faced with the increasingly dense incoming fire, Blazkowicz had no choice but to order again: "Pull back the distance. Disengage from land-based anti-aircraft fire."
The starry backdrop shifted slightly as the Blackstone Fortress adjusted its posture. The vortex cannons lifted, firing into the void!
Purple light slashed across the universe with unstoppable might, yet it missed its mark, grazing past the Battle Moon.
The strained nerves of the Rangdan technicians eased: the humans were panicking. Faced with the combined strangulation of land-based anti-ship fire and a Battle Moon, no fortress could hold out.
But in the next second, the technician's heart leaped into its throat again, its psychic waves wailing in intense agony: "No!!"
The central vortex cannon rotated, and the power of the Warp sliced into the flank of the Battle Moon like a blade of pure light!
*Rumble—!*
The backup engines could not sustain the shields. The void shields overloaded instantly, and the vortex cannon tore through the Battle Moon's hull like a hot knife through butter, melting it at will.
Witnessing this, Blazkowicz did not celebrate. Instead, his brow furrowed as he commanded once more: "Reduce shield energy by thirty percent. Channel full power to the vortex cannons."
The moment the vortex cannons hit, a damage report had already arrived; it would take three thousand seconds to completely slice through the Battle Moon.
Calculating the variables in his mind, he made the bold decision to drop shield energy to boost the vortex cannons' output, aiming to destroy the xenos megastructure as quickly as possible.
He would not let the meat already in his mouth slip away!
As the Blackstone Fortress's shield energy dropped, it rocked violently under the multi-directional bombardment, struggling to maintain its defenses and keep the fortress from being overwhelmed by the sea of firepower.
The power of the vortex cannons ramped up quickly, accelerating the bisection of the Battle Moon.
With the shield output lowered, boarding craft seized the moments when the shields flickered to breach the perimeter. Though they were instantly wiped out by patrolling fighters, it signaled the beginning of a saturated bombardment.
To stop the humans, the Rangdan commander screamed frantically, abandoning their defensive shields to direct all firepower onto the human fortress ship, desperate to save the fruits of decades of construction.
Under the saturated attack, holes began to rip open in the psychic shields after fifteen seconds, exposing the interior of the Blackstone Fortress to defensive fire.
"Harlan!"
The first lance beam struck, blowing away a corner of the Blackstone structure. Blazkowicz roared inside the command chamber, urging the Champion Swordsman to launch the electromagnetic bombs; they had to break away from the range of the land-based anti-ship fire immediately.
"Two seconds!" Feeling the Blackstone Fortress shudder, Harlan wished he could replace the mechanical arm himself to ram the electromagnetic bombs into the launcher.
Red lights flared inside the fortress as the automated system's alarms blared: "Fortress structural integrity at ninety percent... eighty-nine percent..."
With almost every passing moment, black obsidian shards were blasted flying into the vacuum, and the fortress's structural integrity steadily declined.
"Boarding parties have entered the ship. Engaging Blackstone Guards imminently."
"Commander, the Warp scanners have detected the enemy. A large-scale Rangdan fleet is approaching."
Urgent reports flooded in one after another. The thunder of artillery accompanied the alarms, forcing Blazkowicz to make a swift decision.
A large Rangdan fleet?
The news struck like a thunderbolt.
Hearing of the incoming fleet, Blazkowicz did not panic. Rapidly assessing the situation, he ordered again: "Continue executing the directives. The Rangdan fleet won't engage us immediately."
A reinforcement fleet could not possibly arrive this quickly or coincidentally; with the Warp energy churning, communications could not have been sent out.
The newcomers were likely a combat-ready fleet arriving for resupply before heading to the front lines!