As the massive blackstone pyramid on the surface crumbled into ruins following a world-shaking explosion, the Astartes fleet—which had been lurking in the planetary shadows and debris fields—immediately bared its fangs.
Bretu had now become the sharp edge of the Imperial fleet's blade. Several Battle Barges, as massive as mobile fortresses, engaged their engines at full power, their blue plasma trails carving brilliant streaks across the pitch-black void. They no longer needed to maneuver with cautious precision; instead, they cut through the depths of the minefields—previously considered a forbidden zone—at staggering speeds along the winding but safe "Death Corridor" marked on Bretu.
The Necron fleet was currently pinned down by the minefields and the firepower of other Imperial warships. Facing the roaring Imperial behemoths, these ancient xenos vessels had nowhere to retreat.
"Brace for impact! For the Emperor!"
Accompanied by a blood-curdling roar from the bridge, the heavy Adamantium prows of the Imperial Battle Barges, adorned with sacred scriptures, slammed into the elegant crescent-shaped hulls of the Necron ships with unadorned brutality.
BOOM—!
In the silence of the vacuum, the collision was soundless, yet the erupting energy waves and the flashes of twisting, shattering metal were enough to strike terror into any observer. The living metal armor of the Necron ships wailed under the impact of millions of tons of kinetic energy, torn open to reveal massive, gaping wounds.
Immediately after, like a pack of sharks scenting blood, countless boarding torpedoes packed with Angels of Death were launched from the broadsides of the Battle Barges. Exploiting the chaos of the collision, they bored deep into the interior of the Necron vessels.
The screeching sound of metal being sliced echoed through the Necron corridors as melta-cutters instantly burned through the final barriers.
At the end of the hallways, ranks of Necron Warriors had already formed up, raising their Gauss flayers. Green energy gathered at their muzzles, ready to deconstruct the intruders into atoms. Ordinarily, the next thing to emerge would be Astartes brethren clad in power armor, wielding bolters.
However, when the airlocks were blown off by explosives, it was not Space Marines who charged out.
"Ogryns! CHARGE!!"
With a deafening roar, a group of Ogryn players—even larger than an Astartes in Terminator plate—burst from the smoke like beasts released from a cage.
These Ogryns were draped in crude but thick armor plates. One hand held a heavy tower shield that could cover their entire bodies, while the other swung massive clubs or rudimentary battering rams.
The Gauss beams of the Necron Warriors struck the heavy tower shields, triggering ripples of green energy and peeling away layer after layer of metal. But these thick-skinned Ogryns didn't care in the slightest; the more they were injured, the harder they charged, intent on earning as much exp as possible before their lives ended. They bellowed and howled, relying on sheer brute force and massive momentum to crash into the orderly Necron ranks like bowling balls.
Thump! Crack!
One Ogryn swung his club, smashing a Necron Warrior's head directly into its chest cavity; another launched a shield charge, pinning three or four Necron Warriors against a wall and crushing them into a pile of scrap metal.
"For the Emperor!"
This group of Ogryns, originating from the Penal Legions, completely disrupted the Necron firing lines. They didn't need marksmanship or complex tactics; their entire purpose was to serve as a mobile wall of flesh, carving a path for the Angels behind them.
Just as the Necron defensive lines were being torn apart by the Ogryn charge, the sound of disciplined, rhythmic firing rang out.
The Space Marines followed closely behind, stepping into the secured landing zone with steady strides. Their bolters spat fury, precisely harvesting the remaining Necron soldiers who tried to bypass the Ogryns to counterattack.
Watching the Ogryns ahead dismantle the Necrons like toys, a Space Marine Captain spoke coldly over the vox channel: "Landing zone established. Let the big ones keep pushing. We follow and clear this ship."
The battle advanced steadily along the eerie green corridors. It felt less like a heart-pounding boarding action and more like a one-sided armed parade.
The internal defense mechanisms of a Necron ship were indeed terrifying. Hidden Gauss sentry turrets within the walls and phase-sword-wielding Necron Lychguard appearing out of nowhere would usually inflict heavy casualties on any Astartes squad.
But today, all these meticulously designed killing traps slammed into a wall of meat named "Ogryn."
When a squad of Necron units armed with giant hyperphase swords tried to use dimensional translocation to ambush the Astartes' flank, they were caught the moment they manifested by the "howling" Ogryns who had been waiting there.
The lead Ogryn let out a shout, swinging his club with such force it created a pressure wave, caving in the ribcages of several Necrons instantly. Then, several heavy tower shields pressed forward like hydraulic presses. The Necron Guard's vaunted dueling skills had no room to be deployed against such absolute crowding and brute force; they could only be pinned helplessly against the corners.
The Space Marines in the rear only needed to poke their bolters through the gaps in the shields to easily harvest these immobilized, high-value targets.
A Space Marine Captain swapped out a magazine. Looking at the bulldozer-like Ogryn players ahead, he couldn't help but remark over the vox: "By the Emperor, I never imagined a boarding action could be this easy."
The other battle brothers felt the same.
Fighting in the enemy's home base—especially within a xenos ship with such high technological levels—usually meant deadly traps around every corner. Molecular cutting nets that could activate at any time, floors that suddenly shifted gravity, or swarms of Scarabs dropping from the ceiling often resulted in unavoidable "first-encounter" kills.
But now, all these death traps were perfectly neutralized by those "high-IQ" Ogryns.
Of course, while these Ogryn players had normal human intelligence, that intelligence simply told them: no matter what is in front of you, just hold up your shield and charge through it.
A hidden disintegration ray trap triggered, striking the lead Ogryn. However, thanks to his naturally tough hide and the half-ton composite tower shield blocking the way, he only lost a layer of skin and half of his shield. The Ogryn merely scratched his head, stomped the trap generator into pieces, and continued charging forward with a roar.
They were like the most rugged, durable minesweepers, using their massive frames and exuberant vitality to forcibly "stomp out" all the sophisticated defenses of the Necron ship, paving a smooth path to the bridge for the Angels behind them.