Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 512 A desperate charge
Meanwhile, the battle outside the fortress was like a boiling inferno.

The polluted air was saturated and torn apart by the sharp hiss of the slingshots, the deathly roar of the chainsaw sword, the destructive rumble of heavy weapons, and the endless, sticky wails of Nurgle's minions.

The warriors of the Fifth Company of Ash Knights are not stationary targets.

They formed a flexible and deadly network of fire, relying on the smoldering wreckage of airdrop pods, rocky ridges melted by orbital impacts, and any twisted terrain that could provide momentary cover.

The precise bursts of the blaster were like the scythe of death, specifically targeting the Nurgle gunners who poked their swollen heads out from behind the pustule turrets, or the low-level corruption nodes in the horde of walkers who were trying to pound Imperial armor with their rusty farm tools, and those who were acting strangely and shouting commands.

Each precise triple shot could blast a mutated head oozing pus into scattered rotten debris.

However, Nurgle's blasphemous firepower is equally deadly.

The plague-laden barrage and corrosive acid rained down from the turrets, which were made of twisted bunkers and wriggling tumors.

One after another, sticky shells saturated with highly toxic spores exploded near the Imperial lines, sending up foul-smelling yellowish-green clouds of mist. Even with the power armor's breathing grilles filtering the smoke at full power, the invisible whispers of the plague still tried to penetrate the soldiers' very bones.

Even more deadly was the high-pressure jet of strong acid, which splashed onto the charred rocks and instantly eroded deep pits. It also splashed onto the adamantite shoulder armor, making a piercing "sizzling" sound and rising up highly toxic smoke, testing the limits of the ceramic steel's endurance.

Under the cover of this devastating barrage of fire, the First Company Terminator Assault Team, led by "Anvil" Qasim, charged like the Empire's sharpest living battering ram toward the blasphemous core of the planetary shield generator—the energy node tower that rose into the murky clouds and pulsed with foul green light on the side of the fortress.

Their objective was clear and deadly: to destroy the shields and clear the way for the Primarch's final judgment.

The Terminators' heavy magnetic boots shattered the filthy ground as they forced their way forward amidst intense blasphemous fire, their steps as firm as mountains.

The Stormblaster roared in their hands, its short, deadly bursts tearing hordes of zombies into a shower of filthy flesh. The exploding, foul-smelling pus and blood splattered like paint onto the gleaming Terminator armor, instantly cooling and solidifying into blasphemous graffiti.

However, the real threat is not these cannon fodder, but the Rotten Claw Oathbreakers mingling deep within the horde of corpses, clad in heavy plague plate armor and radiating the abominable afterglow of Astartes.

A Fallen One leaped out from behind a pitted bunker corroded by acid, its rusty, acid-dripping Plague Chainsaw emitting a piercing shriek and a muffled roar spewing from the fused maw of its helmet as it lunged at a Terminator on the flank.

The Terminator warrior reacted like a cold fighting machine, calmly sidestepping, its massive power gauntlets enveloping a dark blue disintegrating force field, tearing through the polluted air to meet the attack head-on.

"Dang - click!"

The ear-piercing, teeth-grinding sound of metal colliding was instantly drowned out by the muffled crack of bones shattering!

The power gauntlet slammed with perfect precision into the most vulnerable transmission joint of the Fallen's chainsaw weapon. The combination of the violent disintegration field and pure physical force instantly twisted and deformed the blasphemous weapon, pulverizing the Fallen's swollen and deformed arm bone into dust!
Foul-smelling pus and blood, along with ruptured tendons, gushed out from the gaps in the deformed plague plate armor, like burst abscesses.

The Fallen let out a roar of pain and rage, its inhuman will driving it to smash its remaining, deformed arm—whose end had mutated into a giant bone hammer—slammed into the Terminator's breastplate.

"Thump!" The Terminator withstood the heavy blow, its thick adamantite breastplate groaning, while the internal servo system hummed at high speed to counteract the impact.

Almost at the same millisecond, the dark muzzle of the Stormblaster in his other hand was almost pressed against the Fallen's twisted helmet covered with murky compound eyes, and he opened fire fiercely!
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!" The close-range barrage of explosives, like miniature bombs detonating at close range, completely blasted the blasphemous head and part of the shoulder armor into flying pieces of rotting flesh and bone, shattered armor plates, and rusted metal debris.

The situation on the other side was even more dangerous, with a Terminator warrior being targeted by two cunning Oathbreakers.

One wielded a massive, slimy, and rusty plague-powered claw, striking its ribs from the side with a stench; another emerged from behind a huddled mountain of rotting flesh crawling with maggots, a disgusting pustule sprayer gushing deadly yellow-green acid from its nozzle.

The Terminator's tactical awareness was ingrained in his bones. He instantly activated the energy shield generator on his shoulder. The dark blue shield withstood the powerful claw's blow, the energy flashing violently and emitting an overloaded hum.

At the same time, the heavy flamethrowers integrated into his shoulder armor roared and spewed out a torrent of scorching promethium, like an angry fire dragon, precisely engulfing the fallen one who was trying to spray acid.

"Sizzle—Aww!!!"

The blasphemous body burned, twisted, and swelled violently in the Emperor's purifying fire, emitting inhuman, shrill howls, and finally turned into a charred, blackened corpse that convulsed violently before coming to a complete stillness, emitting a foul stench of burnt protein mixed with the sweet, pungent smell of plague.

The Fallen, wielding the power claw, was forced back by the raging torrent of flames, its movements momentarily halted. This fatal opening was immediately seized upon by another Terminator.

A beam of molten heat, so hot it distorted vision, pierced precisely through the massive, pulsating pustule on its back from the side and rear, like a divine spear of punishment.

"Boom—Pfft!"

The violent internal explosion tore the Fallen apart from the inside out, filthy pus, shattered entrails, and burning flesh flying everywhere like fireworks.

Qasim himself was a mobile imperial fortress.

Each swing of his power gauntlets carried a pure power capable of shattering mountains, and the dark blue disintegrating force field hummed.

Faced with a heavy internal gate made of huge, decaying bones and writhing metal, he did not hesitate at all. He smashed it open with several heavy blows, like battering rams, until it burst open!
Shards of broken bone, shards of metal oozing pus, and grime-covered claws that suddenly appeared behind the door flew everywhere.

Inside the passage, a dense barrage of corrosive pus sprayed towards them like a torrent of water.

"Suppress fire! Melt down! Clear the way!" Qasim's low growl sounded like a cold command over the communication channel.

The Storm Bomb Gun in his hand roared, its precise bursts silencing several of the pustule spray nozzles.

The Terminator warrior, wielding the molten weapon, immediately stepped forward. The heavy molten gun was as steady as a rock, supported by its armor, and the muzzle gathered a scorching light that was too intense to look at directly.

The next instant, a blinding, scorching, almost pure white beam of light, like divine punishment, instantly tore through the air, vaporizing the obstacle in front of them—composed of viscous fungal carpet, proliferating tumors, and piles of blasphemous remains—along with several Nurgle warriors behind them who were stubbornly resisting and raising their rusty weapons!
The air was thick with acrid smoke from charred flesh and molten metal, and a charred tunnel with bluish smoke and molten glassy edges was forcibly melted out.

(End of this chapter)