Warhammer: Saving Humanity Begins with the Resurrection of Horus

Page 195

Roger Dorn thought.

Although the ground will be the final battlefield, for now, the main battlefield for both sides is concentrated in the void.

This was a fierce battle between two massive fleets. Even though Rogdoryn had used the power granted by the Emperor to destroy hundreds of Perturabo's warships in one fell swoop, the enemy still possessed considerable Void Force. Furthermore, due to the existence of the Warp, their reinforcements were still arriving in droves, while their own reinforcements were nowhere in sight, with no one knowing when they would arrive.

Moreover, and most importantly, the Ironblood was not destroyed in that attack.

Even though Rogdorn had been pre-calibrated and concentrated its main power on the Ironblood, it was still the same.

On one hand, the massive fleet that had previously controlled the Ironblood had successfully neutralized much of its power. On the other hand, the years of exposure to the subspace had also made the Ironblood a completely different ship, giving it greater resistance and many incredible abilities than it had 1 years ago.

Therefore, even with both the Mountain Array and the Glory Queen in his possession, Rog Dorn dared not guarantee the outcome of this void sea battle.

However, doing his best is the only thing he can do right now.

Rogdorn's gaze hardened. He stepped out of the command room, where a massive Stormbird stood ready to take off and transport him ten thousand years in the past. He was in the command room aboard the Mountain Array.

All the chapter leaders of the Sons of Dorne stood here, following their fathers, all mounted their Stormbirds and Thunderhawks, ready to wage a true war of blood and fire against their nemesis.

This war may even be the final end to the 10,000-year-old feud between two arch-enemies.

Chapter 229 Target: Ironblood

Danas Lysander first felt a violent jolt, followed by an intense pressure that was strong enough to crush a mortal into mincemeat.

In naval warfare, both sides often try their best to completely eliminate their enemy through long-range attacks. Relatively speaking, this approach yields the best cost-effectiveness. However, sometimes, long-range attacks are not the best choice for naval warfare.

Once the distance between the two warships is brought very close, or the difference in their void power is too great, and the weaker side can only be suppressed unilaterally and gain no advantage in long-range attacks, then boarding, this ancient tactic, becomes the best option.

By boarding, elite naval boarding squadrons or Astartes can be sent to enemy warships using Thunderhawks, Stormbirds, boarding torpedoes, and subspace teleportation devices to directly decapitate enemy warship commanders and detonate engines or ammunition depots, thus directly changing the course of the war in a local or even the entire battlefield.

However, such actions are often extremely risky. After all, although the boarding members are the elite of the elite, the counter-boarding tactics have also matured over the years. Unless there is a crushing defeat in terms of hard power, the boarding tactics are very likely to turn into a very brutal "urban warfare" inside the warship.

For example, like right now.

"Steel inside and out!"

A roar of the Iron Warrior Astartes followed by a complete Iron Warrior tactical squad, including an awakened Hellbeast mech.

The Iron Warrior Hellbeast let out a deep roar. This chaotic "dreadlessness" was far more torturous for the pilots inside than the Empire's normal dreadnoughts. However, the intense pain also brought immense power. Every appearance of a Hellbeast on the battlefield was an absolute disaster for its enemies.

Lysander and his boarding squad emerged from the dust and smoke kicked up by the boarding torpedoes that had penetrated the ship's hull. This was a Terminator squad; their bodies were protected by robust, indestructible Terminator power armor, which also granted them greater strength and access to more powerful weapons.

Lysander immediately spotted the hellbeast, which, despite being bound by its master's chains, was unable to contain its killing intent. His extensive combat experience told him instantly that it was the greatest threat in this battle.

Without the slightest hesitation, he activated the disintegration field of the Thunder Hammer in his hand. Blue lightning crackled in the air, causing a burning smell to spread. Heavy armor draped over his body, but it did not hinder his movements in the slightest. To others, his figure looked like a yellow lightning bolt.

"Kill him!"

"The commander of the Iron Warriors shouted, and the two Iron Warriors holding onto the chains immediately released their grip. The Hellbeast roared, its massive body charging towards Lysander with astonishing momentum. Its body was covered with all sorts of sharp spikes, gleaming dangerously in the white lights of the ship. It also wielded a warhammer engraved with blasphemous runes, and with its terrifying force, it seemed that even a Land Raider would be smashed to pieces with a single blow."

Such a formidable enemy would be avoided by an ordinary Astartes commander, or even a company commander.

But Danas Lysander was no ordinary Astartes, nor was he an ordinary company commander.

The Night Watcher-type Storm Shield, resembling the Terminator Cross, was raised, with blue energy flowing across its surface. As the Hellbeast's hammer collided with it, crackling lightning erupted.

Lysander felt an immense force, one that even exceeded the Terminator power armor's tolerance, causing his body to lurch downwards. The Imperial Fist company commander gritted his teeth; he felt as if he had been rammed head-on by an armored vehicle at full speed. The powerful impact pierced through the armor's protection, causing his internal organs to shudder.

but……

It's not enough to let him fail like this.

The Night Watcher Storm Shield perfectly fulfilled its mission. Under enemy attacks, it only emitted a few sparks of lightning, and even the paint on its surface was only slightly scratched off.

So what comes next?

Reflect.

With a sudden burst of strength, the powerful muscles of his body combined with the internal power source of the Terminator power armor unleashed a force that even the Hellbeast couldn't withstand for a moment. The warhammer was deflected, revealing his exposed torso. Without hesitation, Lysander stepped forward and swung the warhammer upwards, a powerful blow that sent the Hellbeast flying, lifting its massive body off the ground before it crashed heavily onto the steel deck of the warship.

The several-ton body caused the ground to tremble, and a large crater appeared. Blood trickled out of the Hellbeast's cockpit, pooling in the crater and quickly forming a small pool of blood.

"For Dorne and the Emperor!"

Lesander roared.

"For Dorne and the Emperor!"

The rest of the Imperial Fist Terminators roared in response, their Storm Bomb Guns and Flamethrowers blazing as their heavy chainsaw gauntlets and lightning claws tore apart enemies one by one. Soon, all the Iron Warriors who stood in their way were killed. Only the commander, whose knees and arms were smashed by Lysander's hammer, lay powerless on the ground, unable to move.

Lysander smashed the head of the last stubborn enemy, then strode heavily to the Iron Warrior Commander.

The Iron Warrior didn't speak, he just stared intently at Lysander.

"Humph."

Lesander snorted and looked up. A team member stepped forward, raised his Stormblaster, and pulled the trigger.

The commander of the Iron Warriors let out a muffled groan, and his body became completely still.

"Company Commander."

An Imperial Fist sergeant stepped forward, looking at the Iron Warrior's corpse with a look of disgust on his face beneath his helmet.

"We have located the enemy's engine."

"it is good."

Lysander nodded, then raised his thunder hammer to his warriors.

"For Dorne!"

----------------

Roger Dorn stood in the central command room of the Mountain Array, before an enormous projection device. Countless red and green dots flickered on the projected screen, along with the double-headed eagle symbol representing the Empire and the skull and eight-pointed star representing the Iron Warriors. Every Terra hour, even every second, a red or green dot perished, signifying the demise of an enemy or an ally.

Taking a deep breath, Wan Shi focused his gaze on the red dot at the very back. Unlike the other red dots around it, this one was larger and brighter, clearly having undergone special marking. In an enemy fleet, the fact that it would warrant such marking made its identity self-evident.

The flagship of the Iron Warriors fleet, and also Peturabo's ship, is the Glory Queen-class battleship Ironblood.

Perturabo commanded the entire operation from that warship, directing his sons, the sons of Rogue Dorne, and the soldiers of the Empire to spill their blood across the land and void of Amegidodton.

"What's the situation on the ground?"

Roger Dorn asked a question, and Helbrecht immediately stepped forward to report the information that had just been passed on to his Father of Genetics.

"The situation is still under control. The enemy used a virus bomb, which caused some casualties to our team. However, with the help of the gas masks we prepared in advance and the underground medical base, the overall defense plan is still operating stably."

"Ah."

Roger Dorn nodded, secretly relieved.

He knew perfectly well that no matter how fierce the battle raged in the void, in the end, everything would only come to an end on the surface of Amigidoton.

The reason is very simple.

Because Perturabo is a competitive guy, he longs to defeat Dorne in every way, whether in the Void, on land, or in a face-to-face, one-on-one battle.

This is his personality, his flaw, and what drives him to be his true self.

He will not allow Roger Dorn to come to the Ironblood, much less defeat Roger Dorn on the Ironblood.

Because that would make him feel like he won unfairly.

He wouldn't allow himself to go to the Mountain Array. If he won, that would be fine, but if he lost, he would be very dissatisfied, thinking that Roger Dorn had taken advantage of home field advantage.

Therefore, the surface of Amighiddon will be the site of their final battle.

But Roger Dorn knew perfectly well that if things really came to that, the dead soldiers would never return, and the dead offspring would never stand by his side again.

But that's war. In war, even the victors are inevitably covered in blood.

Therefore, I cannot afford to lose.

Roger Dorn thought to himself, then lowered his head slightly, burying his face in a dark shadow so that others could not see his features.

Only Bayard—the Imperial Champion, now Roger Dorn's Royal Guard—stood closest to him and clearly saw the fleeting sadness on his father's face.

"Execute Operation Plan No. 1."

Roger Dorn's voice was devoid of any emotion; absolute rationality prevailed in his mind, leading him to issue the order that was most advantageous for the current battlefield.

"Charge the enemy's main warships."

"Received, Operation Order Number One has been issued."

The massive array of Thinkers processed Roger Dorn's command and, within a mere nanosecond, disseminated it to every Imperial warship that carried the instruction. Small transport ships surged from the formation, their specially modified engines propelling them to speeds far exceeding their normal counterparts. Simultaneously, a flotilla of frigates and cruisers drew enemy fire, allowing them to successfully break through the blockade and reach the Iron Warriors' strike cruisers and even battleships.

"By the Emperor! For the glory of Lord Dorne and the Empire!"

The captain of a transport ship shouted over the communications channel that his ship had collided with the enemy strike cruiser USS Omen. The fragile hull was completely destroyed the moment it hit, but soon, a nuclear bomb stored inside the cargo hold exploded instantly. The intense heat directly melted the thick outer armor, further triggering the secondary explosion of the entire warship.

This scenario doesn't involve just one transport ship, but hundreds of transport ships together. Without exception, all of these transport ships have nuclear bombs or high-yield explosive weapons installed inside their cargo holds to ensure that once they break through to enemy ships, they won't be unable to complete extreme maneuvers like one-for-one or even eight-for-one due to the fragility of their hulls.

However, the Iron Warriors' fleet reacted quickly. After the first explosion, all the ships immediately focused their firepower on the transport ships. One after another, the transport ships exploded. The original plan to exchange 150 enemy warships was ultimately only completed with less than 80 targets. However, exchanging transport ships for main warships was a sure-fire way to make money.

Even with the Empire's low efficiency, transport ships still produce hundreds of ships annually in some of the large shipbuilding ports of the foundry world.

Therefore, the biggest sacrifice in this mission was actually made by the crew members on the ships.

does it worth?

worth it.

Roger Dorn's reason told him this.

But his humanity told him that such a sacrifice would come at a price.

It doesn't matter.

Roger Dorn answered his own humanity in this way.

I can endure all pain, I can bear all sacrifices, as long as we can achieve final victory, I can atone for all the sacrifices for the rest of my life.

Right now, I need this victory, humanity needs this victory, so I will spare no expense, even if it means bleeding out the last drop of blood from my offspring, squeezing out the last bit of my soul and value, I will not hesitate.

Peturabo.

Roger Dorn stared at the largest red dot, representing the Ironblood, his expression cold and ruthless.

Let's settle the score with the Siege of Terra, which we didn't finish ten thousand years ago, ten thousand years later.

"Let the Mountain Formation be deployed."

Roger Dorn gave the order, and the Mountain Array seemed to be excited by it, its efficiency increasing by ten percent in an instant, shocking the electronic prosthetic eye of the mechanical priest in charge.