"Punch through them, we can't afford to stop here."
Atharion shouted as he lead the 1st company Terminator squads punching through the Templar fortification.
With the tunnel is larger than Atharion expected with it feature two railroad leading from outside into the Palace, Atharion decided not only the Terminator squads and Veteran squads shall be part of the attack, the 2nd company will also be part of it.
As Atharion cleaves two Templar in one swing, multiple Rhinos broke throught the metal wall that they build and from within it, Astarte from 2nd company rush out with their bolters and chainswords ready.
"Punisher approaching." One of Atharion Honor Guard report with his mechanical voice.
Hearing this, Atharion turned towards where the engines sound coming from. And true to the report, two Punisher moving in high speed with multiple transport trucks, full of militias.
Just as the Punisher cannons starting to spin, both of the Punishers are destroy by Plasma Cannons fire by the destroyer squad.
The twin explosions of the Punishers lit up the tunnel, sending shrapnel and flames in all directions. The militia-packed trucks behind them swerved and crashed, some flipping over, their passengers thrown out like ragdolls.
Before any of them can regroup, the assault squads of the 2nd company charge forward, chainswords revving as they tore into the disoriented militia. The confined space of the tunnel amplified the screams and the roar of bolter fire as the Astartes cut through their foes with brutal efficiency.
"My lord," A Veteran Sergeant from 2nd company said as he's just shot a Templar with his melta pistol. "We are approaching the exit of the tunnel."
"Good." Atharion reply with his power sword impale inside a Templar, and his hand grabbing another Templar by the head. "Keep up the momentum," He crush the Templar head and retract his power sword. "Order the Terminator squads forward, they will form the vanguard."
As Atharion still fighting with his Honor Guards and 2nd company, another 100 Terminator from the 1st company arrived on the front in a flash of lighting.
The sudden arrival of the Terminators threw the enemy into chaos. One moment, the defenders were preparing themselves to meet Atharion advance, and the next, a hundred towering figures clad in Tactical Dreadnought Armor materialized in flashes of blue-white light.
"Crush them!" One of the Sergeant bellows with his mechanical voice as he slice a Templar through the metal wall with his Lighting claws. "Leave none alive! Make them repent!"
"Don't worry!" Atharion can hear one of the officer clad in Templar armor shouted. "They are slow, move around them and attack their back!"
Atharion smirk behind his helmet. Indeed, normal Terminator were slow compared to regular Astartes. But, these are not normal Terminator.
As the officer leading two men to flank one of the Terminator, both of the men suddenly got kill by the Terminator. Moving with unnatural speed, the Terminator swung his lightning claws, slicing through the two Templars trying to shoot him from behind.
The officer staggered back in shock. "Impossible… Terminators aren't this fast—!"
Before he could finish, a storm bolter roared, and his body was torn apart by a hail of mass-reactive rounds.
The remaining defenders hesitated. They had expected slow-moving Terminators as what their officers told them, not a fast-moving and agile one. But there are no time for them to stop and hesitate as the Terminator squads didn't try to hide their speciality just when they are operating with fellow Astarte.
The Terminator armor that have the Helfrost system already assigned to the whole 1st company and the other companies Terminator squads, even the Space Wolves have received an amount of Terminator that enough to equip 200 Astarte.
But both the Dark Knights and the Space Wolves were careful. They never used these special armors in battles where others could see them. The Space Wolves kept most of their Helfrost Terminators locked away in their armory. Only the Great Wolf, Wolf Lords, Wolf Guard, and a few honored warriors were allowed to wear them. Because of this, most of the Imperium still didn't know this armor existed.
The Dark Knights, on the other hand, often fought alone without needing help from others. Because of that, they used the armor openly. Their Terminator squads trained to hide their speed and agility, making them look like normal, slow-moving ones during battles with other Imperial forces.
That's why, when the 1st Company appeared during the Crusade wearing their Helfrost-enhanced Terminator armor, many Astartes and Hediatrix forces were surprised and curious. They wondered how a Chapter that was only around 200 years old could have so many Terminator suits, without realizing that these armors were something special.
Now, with only fellow Astartes from their own Chapter and the enemy around, the 1st Company had no reason to hide. They could fight at full strength, using all the power and speed the Helfrost gave them.
Before long, all the enemies have been killed and the 2nd company are preparing two melta cannons, aiming them at the massive gate ahead, the last thing standing between Dark Knights and the inner palace.
As the melta cannons being prepared, Atharion look around the battlefield, he can see some of the Astarte are clearing the area, killing the unfortunate survivors from the attack, while most are preparing themselves for the next battle.
He took a deep breath, letting the silence settle for a moment. But something didn't feel right.
'Where are the Brides?' He thought, frowning behind his helmet.
During the entire siege, from the first attack to the advance through the urban-complex, the Brides had only appeared in small squads, leading ambushes, defending outposts. Not once had they fought in full strength.
Atharion looked at the decorated armor of a fallen Templar officer nearby. The man had died without much of a fight. Too easy.
'They're waiting for us.' Atharion thought grimly.
Just then, a sharp voice came through the vox.
"Melta cannons ready, my lord."
Atharion raised his power sword.
"Fire."
With a loud hiss and crack, the two melta blasts struck the gate. The metal glowed, melted, and then exploded inward. Smoke and steam poured from the breach.
Without words, the 1st company charge through the hole, storm bolters firing and power weapons crackle as they move.
When Atharion stepped through the breach and into the inner palace, the scene before him was already a battlefield.
The 1st Company was locked in brutal combat with the Brides. The grand hallway, once a place of pride and beauty, was now a warzone. Tall pillars stood scarred by explosions, and the stained glass windows above shattered from stray bolter rounds. Red and gold light mixed with the flicker of muzzle flashes and the glow of energy weapons.
Bodies lay scattered across the floor. Blood stained the marble tiles, and smoke drifted through the air like a curtain.
The 2nd Company marched through the gap left intentionally by the 1st Company, striking out unexpectedly from what the enemy thought was an unbreakable wall of Terminators.
Assault squads leapt forward, chainswords roaring to life as they slammed into the Brides' flanks. Bolter fire lit up the hall as tactical squads formed firing lines, pouring disciplined volleys into enemy ranks. The Brides, caught between the unstoppable push of the 1st Company and the sudden strike of the 2nd, began to falter.
But they did not break.
The Brides begin their slow fighting withdraw, showing their discipline as squads of Brides begin to cover the retreat of their wounded and reload squads. Moving like clockwork, one line fired while another fell back, then the roles switched. It was a textbook fighting withdrawal, methodical, precise, and deadly.
While the 1st and 2nd advancing, putting pressure on the Brides, Atharion already give order to Caden and Gideon, stay put the moment they sense something wrong on the Brides' movement and the atmosphere.
After all, with their zealously and fanaticism, they shouldnt even move back when they fighting with them.
"A trap." Atharion said into the vox channel that connect to Caden and Gideon. "Be wary of their movement and your surroundings, the moment you sense something wrong, you can decide by yourself to pull back or stay put."
"Understand my lord." Gideon reply as Atharion hear sound of flesh being slice.
"Your will." A short mechanical reply from Caden.
As Dark Knights keep pushing, more bodies of Brides lay waste on the ground, while they only leave scratch on the armor of Astarte, the most, injury some of them.
But, Atharion can feel something change in the surrounding. The hall become brighter, and using his psychic sense, some of the Brides become happier, more joyful, even when their partners are actively dying.
Atharion furrowed his brow, this can only mean one thing, they are moving closer to the trap the Brides prepare for them.
'But,' Atharion look around the hallway, which remain the same structurly but only slightly brighter than before. 'What's the trap that they have prepared? I doubt them will blow the whole hallway and buried all of them together.'
As he ponder about it, he suddenly feel a sense of danger from the window on his left. Without thinking, Atharion raise his left hand and using the power of Warp, blast the whole wall with the window out.
The wall exploded outward in a flash of light and force. Stone and glass rained down into the area below. The sudden blast surprised both the Dark Knights and the Brides. Everyone stopped fighting for a moment, turning to look at Atharion, whose body was now surrounded by flickers of golden lightning.
Atharion stepped forward and looked out of the hole.
He froze.
In front of him stood the main gate, the target of this whole assault. But something was wrong. The gate wasn't supposed to be there. According to the map, it should have been in a different location.
As Atharion tried to understand what was happening, the map in his memory began to shift. It changed completely, replacing what he thought was real with something unfamiliar, but also strangely familiar. It was the real map, the true layout.
Someone had fooled him. Someone had changed his memory to make the mission fail.
'That bird!' Atharion shouted in his mind, feeling the Warp around him grow heavier. 'How did he change my thoughts? Even here, on Terra?'
Before he could think further, a calm presence wrapped around him, pushing back the dangerous Warp energy. Atharion looked toward the Imperial Palace. He knew who it was. The Emperor, reminding him of his duty.
Atharion took a deep breath and jumped out of the hole he had made. His Honor Guard followed him closely.
"1st Company, keep advancing!" Atharion ordered, shooting a Bride with his plasma pistol. "2nd Company, follow me! We're taking the gate!"
The 2nd company surged forward, their boots thundering across as they follow Atharion charging into the Brides that hastily preparing for the clash.
As the 2nd Company plunged into the Brides, blood and body parts flew through the air. Chainswords roared, power weapons hummed, and bolters barked in short, deadly bursts. The Brides tried to form a defensive line, but the speed and fury of the Dark Knights' charge shattered their formation.
Atharion led from the front, carving a path through the enemy. His power sword moved with deadly precision, cutting down anything in his way.
With the 2nd company have push the Brides more closely to the gate, Atharion begin to pull to the back of the 2nd company.
While 2nd company have show ferocity and brutality that can't be copy by the Brides, they still stood their ground, holding back 2nd company with much bloods spill onto the ground.
Raising his hand, Atharion once again tap into the warp, trying to locate Eclipse Spear that now in orbit above Terra.
While the progress towards the gate is smooth and without much problem, Atharion using psychic power, he can sense that more Brides are arriving from the inner Palace to reinforce the gate.
Atharion believe that no matter how much Brides arrive, they cns still punch through them and finish the mission. But, more time will have to be spended and it also increase chance one of the Dark Knights fall on he battlefield.
So, to make sure none of this happen, reinforcement have to be brought into the battle.
With a loud, thunderous sound, a warp tunnel tore open in front of him, swirling with golden and blue energy. From within, five Contemptor Dreadnoughts marched out, their heavy steps shaking the ground.
The first to emerge was Rylanor. Ancient, towering, and more ornate than the other four Dreadnoughts, his armor was decorated with purity seals, gold trim, and honor markings that showed his rank and seniority.
Two of the Dreadnoughts that followed bore the markings of the 2nd and 3rd Companies on their left shoulder pads. Like Rylanor, they were armed with a Jotun-Pattern Dreadnought Power Fist, fitted with a built-in plasma blaster, and a Kheres-Pattern Assault Cannon mounted on the other arm.
The other two bore the same markings, 5th company. Both of them are equip with twin Dreadnought Lightning Claws, heavily modified versions inspired by the Blood Angels' Blood Talons and the Space Wolves' Great Wolf Claws. However, these claws were larger, longer, and more brutal in design, making them deadlier than the originals. Built into each claw was a compact flamer, designed to unleash searing fire in close combat, burning enemies as they were torn apart.
Without a word, Rylanor, the commander of the Dreadnoughts, marched forward, his heavy steps shaking the ground beneath him. His gaze locked onto the Brides emerging from the inner palace, their formation tight and disciplined.
He intended to intercept them before they could reach the gate and reinforce their sisters, cutting them off and turning the tide before it could shift.
The other four Dreadnoughts followed behind him in silence, their weapons primed, their presence a terrifying promise of destruction.
With a large swarm of Brides vaporized by the searing blasts of plasma fire, the battlefield lit up with flashes of blue and white. Each bolt from the Dreadnoughts' built-in blasters burned through armor and flesh with terrifying ease.
At the same time, the twin Lightning Claws tore through the enemy ranks like blades through silk. The modified claws slashed wide arcs, leaving behind sprays of blood and shredded bodies. Flames erupted from the flamers built into the claws, bathing the Brides in fire before tearing them apart.
In moments, the air was thick with smoke, the floor slick with blood, and a red mist hung heavy in the air, a small mist made from flesh and fury.