Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 733 Stellar Radiance
As the clock hands swept past the final mark, the massive array of focusing lenses surrounding the binary stars emitted an unprecedented, soul-crushing hum. With all the lenses finely adjusted, a perfect energy-focusing network enveloped both stars simultaneously.

"Final Protocol Activated." The traveler Anlaqir's stream of consciousness, like a final verdict, resounded simultaneously in Chen Xi's and all the receivers still on the public channel, devoid of any emotion, carrying only a cold sense of ending.

The order had already been issued; execution was imminent.

When the command to "activate the final agreement" tolled like a cold death knell in the communication network, the Imperial fleet, which was already on edge, reacted instantly.

All the surviving ships, whether heavily armored battleships or agile frigates, had their engine nozzles simultaneously spewing out dazzling, overloaded light.

Like a school of startled silver fish, they made a final sprint toward the far side of the nearest planet—the narrow, safe zone that astronomers call the "planetary shadow."

The ship groaned with the strain of metal as it made an emergency turn. The navigators calculated the trajectory with extreme precision, keeping close to the planet's curvature, using this massive celestial body as their only shield against the impending wave of stellar destruction.

Every second was a matter of life and death. The Void Shield was boosted to its maximum power, forming a trembling energy film around the ship, preparing to meet the inevitable impact.

Meanwhile, the space necromancers scattered throughout the galaxy were carrying out their evacuation with a completely different, almost ruthless precision.

Whether it was the spider-like tomb structure locked in fierce battle on the scorched surface or the Destroyer Scythe Ship roaming in the void, they were all enveloped by streaks of eerie green teleportation light in the same millisecond.

Without chaos or hesitation, accompanied by subtle distortions in space and a low hum, they instantly disintegrated into a stream of elementary particles, vanishing without a trace and precisely returning to the solid tomb world buried deep beneath the planet's crust, constructed of living metal and ancient technology.

Without hesitation, they abandoned all temporary outposts and unfinished battles on the surface, returning to their most fortified fortresses, which had withstood the test of 60 million years, to await the passing of the destructive storm.

The haste of the living and the silence of the dead formed a stark contrast in this final moment.

Just as the taillights of the last Imperial transport ship disappeared into the shadows on the far side of the planet, and the last undead warrior teleported away—

As the clock struck its last mark, the focusing lens array surrounding the binary stars emitted a resonance that exceeded the threshold of human hearing.

The universe remains eternally silent, but every sensor is screaming warnings—something beyond the laws of physics is happening.

The light from the two stars was precisely captured, distorted, and reshaped.

The ancient technology of the Mephistopheles dynasty compressed this originally gentle stellar energy into deadly weapons.

Countless lenses, like precise prisms, refocused the stellar radiation into a fan-shaped, destructive storm.

This is not a simple enhancement of light, but rather the distillation of the star's essential power into a pure torrent of destruction.

When this bound energy was finally released, it was as if a wound had been torn open in the void of the Underworld Galaxy.

A pure white light, tinged with a destructive golden glow, swept across every corner like a tsunami, its intensity enough to instantly blind even the most advanced sensors.

This is not ordinary light, but stellar fury enhanced by necromantic technology, containing enough energy to reorganize the basic structure of matter.

In this inferno of light, the fate of the Terran swarm was sealed in an instant.

The bio-ships still pursuing the Imperial fleet, the swarms of insects ravaging the planet's surface, and even the bio-electrical signals they emitted were all completely erased at the same moment.

The chitinous shell turns into blue smoke at temperatures of billions of degrees, and the internal biological tissues are transformed into plasma before they can even complete the carbonization process.

The once fearsome Zerg fleet is now like ice crystals thrown onto the surface of a star, leaving not a trace.

The asteroid belt transformed into a river of lava the moment the light swept across it, and the comet's icy core sublimated directly into a scorching cloud of gas.

The planet's sunlit surface underwent changes that would take millions of years to complete on a geological timescale—rocks melted into glassy oceans, mountains were flattened, and even the atmosphere was stripped away in an instant.

All beings that failed to take cover, whether Zerg, machines, or natural terrain, were permanently erased from the structure of reality at this moment.

Only the Imperial fleets clinging to the back of the planet and the necromantic tombs buried deep underground survived this galactic-scale purification.

When the wave of destruction finally subsided and the sensors gradually returned to normal, the images transmitted back showed a galaxy that had been thoroughly "sterilized"—unsettlingly clean and suffocatingly silent.

Only those planets themselves, the Imperial fleet clinging to their shadowed sides, shutting down all unnecessary systems and operating the Void Shield at full capacity, and the Necropolis world buried deep within the planets, protected by ancient technology and planetary mass, survived this all-consuming stellar fury.

As the stellar lensing array completed its destructive mission, the ancient device orbiting the binary star system gradually dimmed. The surfaces of the lenses, which had just been surging with destructive energy, now glowed only faintly, flickering like extinguished embers in the vacuum. The device slowly adjusted its angle, returning to its normal orbit around the star, resuming its silent posture that had remained unchanged for tens of millions of years.

An eerie silence filled the communication channels, broken only by the rhythmic ticking of sensors gradually resuming operation. While radiation readings remained well above the safety threshold, the curve was slowly but steadily declining, indicating that the most dangerous moment had passed. The tech priests began to whisper binary prayers, thanking the machine spirits for their protection during the destructive storm.

Chen Xi stood before the command console, his hands gripping the cold metal railings tightly. The main screen displayed the purified starfield—the void was exceptionally clean, almost devoid of any evidence of the Zerg swarm, yet this cleanliness was chilling. The sunlit sides of several planets were completely vitrified, reflecting an eerie luster under the starlight, like giant tombstones floating in space. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, only then realizing that he had been holding his breath the entire time.

The plan succeeded. The main force of the Leviathan Hive fleet, the vanguard of the insectoid army, has indeed been annihilated.

However, the taste of victory was exceptionally bitter. The Astral Army suffered heavy casualties, the Astartes paid the price with their elite troops, and almost all human colonies in the Hades system were destroyed, not to mention the mortal soldiers who were forever left behind during the evacuation and on the front lines. This victory was not a triumph, but a brutal exchange for survival.

Just then, a new interstellar message broke the silence of the command center through the encrypted channel. The latest report from Baal's reconnaissance fleet stated that the main force of the Hive fleet had crossed the outer observation points of the Hades system, far exceeding the size of the vanguard force that had just been destroyed. Like shadows writhing in the darkness, they resolutely continued their advance towards Baal.

The war is not over.
-
Inside the command center of the "Unyielding Truth," which had just weathered a storm and was still filled with tension and the smell of gunpowder, a high-level meeting that would determine the fate of the Bar system was being held. There were only four attendees, including Lion King Leon Eljonsson, whose imposing figure stood before the star map, his gaze piercing.

Leona stood quietly to her side, the battle marks still fresh on her dark green power armor, her eyes calm and composed.

Judge Chen Xi, his face showing undisguised fatigue, but his eyes remained sharp as he quickly reviewed the shocking loss report he had just compiled.

And Dante, the leader of the Blood Angels, whose iconic golden mask concealed all his expressions, with only his voice revealing a weight and determination that had not been diminished by millennia of trials.

The combined fleet is regrouping, leaving the ruins of the Hades system, and preparing to return to Baal. But time is of the essence; they must finalize their defense plan en route.

"We won the war in the Underworld, but we only severed the first claw that Leviathan extended." Lion King Leon's deep and powerful voice broke the brief silence. He pointed to the massive shadow on the star map, representing the main force of the Zerg swarm, moving towards Baal. "The true behemoth is approaching. Baal will be the final arena."

Dante nodded slightly. He pulled up a detailed star map of the Baal system and data on the defense system built by the Blood Angels over the past ten thousand years: "Baal and his satellites have been fortified according to the highest standards."

Orbital defense platforms, planetary-level void shields, surface fortress networks... we poured everything into them.

Thanks to Rostov's assistance, our soldiers' condition and equipment level are far superior to any previous period.

We have forty thousand Astartes, one thousand Terminators, and all our subordinate units loyal to the name of Saint Gilles. We are determined to live and die with our homeland.

He paused, his tone becoming even more serious: "However, according to reconnaissance data, the number of biological vessels in the main Zerg swarm is likely dozens of times, or even more, than the Vanguard we just destroyed."

Their evolutionary capacity and speed of adaptation are beyond imagination.

Conventional, layered defenses will likely end up bogged down in a protracted war of attrition, until ultimately, the enemy is overwhelmed.

Leona spoke up then, her voice clear and direct, pointing to the heart of the problem: "We need to change our strategy. We can't afford to engage in an equal war of attrition with every single line of defense."

The Bar galaxy must become a multi-layered, dynamic death trap.

We need to utilize every planet, every asteroid belt, and every gravity well within the system as nodes to intercept and divide the swarm.

Chen Xi picked up the conversation, pulling up a detailed data analysis of the Hades War: "The Hive's will is not invincible. Its persistent attacks on the control stations in the Hades system, and its reaction to our mobilization patterns, indicate that it possesses some kind of 'priority' judgment based on biological instinct. We can take advantage of this."

He pointed to several key points inside the Barr system, "We can set up multiple 'decoy' areas, deploy heavy forces, disguise them as key nodes, attract the main force of the Zerg swarm to disperse and regroup, and then..."

"Then use decisive force to deliver a devastating blow," Leona interjected, her fingers tracing the inner ring of the Bar star system. "'The Rock' fortress and the main fleet cannot hold a single point; they must serve as mobile anvils and hammers."

When the swarm is lured by the bait, or when its offensive reaches its peak and its formation is most concentrated, we will concentrate the firepower of all our fleets, in conjunction with any special tactics that may be used again, to conduct a decisive battle.

She glanced at Chen Xi, her gaze pointed.

Chen Xi nodded slightly, understanding that Leona meant that if necessary, the power from the "box" could be used again, such as the Warlord-level psionic titan, or other pieces that had not yet been revealed.

After all, Leona herself was a pawn, and she knew that Chen Xi had a pawn that was essentially the same as her, capable of reversing the course of the battle against Baal.

However, how to deploy this piece is a matter that requires careful consideration; her deployment must be at the most crucial moment.

Dante paused for a moment, then added, “Ground warfare will be the final test. Every fortress and every canyon of Baal will become a graveyard for the devouring swarm. We will use our familiarity with the terrain to mount mobile defenses and deadly counterattacks. The Blood Angels are not afraid of close combat.”

The meeting quickly shifted to detailing specific deployments: how to allocate limited fleet forces, how to set up decoy positions that were difficult to distinguish from real ones, how to coordinate orbital firepower with ground defense, how to maintain smooth command and control under the interference of the Zerg's psychological shadow, and...

How to maintain necessary and vigilant communication with the space necromancers who may still harbor ulterior motives, given that the tomb world of the Morpheus dynasty is still near the Barr system.

This is a high-stakes gamble with no perfect answer.

The enemy they faced not only possessed an overwhelming numerical advantage, but also a terrifying ability to constantly evolve and adapt in battle.

Every victory can become an opportunity for the swarm to learn, and every tactic can be countered in the next encounter.

The hope of victory was like a candle flickering in the wind, held together by three fragile pillars: Chen Xi's precise calculations of the swarm's behavior patterns, the selfless sacrifice of countless soldiers, and the last-ditch hope for the emperor's protection, which seemed so far away.

This hope, which seemed so faint in a rational military assessment, became the last pillar that supported every soldier to keep fighting.

The Lion King's eyes burned with the determination of an ancient warrior, Leona's gaze contained a calm will that was of the same origin as the Primarch, Chen Xi's gaze intertwined the Inquisitor's persistence and the wise man's worries, and beneath Dante's golden mask lay an immortal determination to protect his homeland for ten thousand years.

The ripples of encrypted communication spread at the speed of light, traversing the still unsettled subspace, reaching every ship heading towards Baal, and every fortress on high alert.

From the chapter commander to the youngest scout, everyone understood that this was no longer just another border conflict, but a strategic decisive battle that would determine the survival of the Blood Angels and even influence the fate of the Empire's southeastern star system.

As the fleet traced countless jump paths through the void, and as the last batch of defensive fortifications on the surface of Baal were reinforced, the most brutal battle for survival in the galaxy finally entered its countdown.

In this star field where Saint Gilles once fell, the torch of human civilization will clash with the devouring darkness from deep space in an ultimate collision destined to be recorded in history.

(End of this chapter)