Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 736 The Battle of Baal, Part Three

The piercing alarms from the sensors shattered the last vestiges of peace before the battle on the bridge of the Indomitable Truth.

On the main tactical star map, several points of light representing the outermost defense line of the Bar system suddenly turned into flashing red, accompanied by energy burst symbols representing the exchange of fire.

"Contact confirmed! Coordinates: Alpha-7 to Gamma-12 orbital defense platform cluster engaged in combat with the Zerg vanguard!" The sensor officer's voice was tense, and he spoke extremely quickly.

The star map was rapidly magnified, focusing on the area of ​​space flashing with battle signals at the edge of the Kuiper Belt in the Bar system.

The orbital defense platforms, scattered like steel islands throughout the region, are now demonstrating their power as an imperial bulwark.

Weapon arrays on all online platforms simultaneously entered combat status.

The energy accumulated by the light spear emitter reached a critical point, and the high-energy particle beam released suddenly pierced through the void like a scorching sword, hitting the swarm of insectoid bio-ships charging at the forefront.

The target that was directly hit had its bio-armor melted and vaporized instantly by the high temperature, exposing its internal structure to a vacuum, which then triggered a chain of explosions that tore the entire ship into burning fragments.

Almost simultaneously, the macro gun arrays equipped on each platform also completed the calculation and loading of firing parameters.

The heavy shells, trailing dazzling contrails, traced long trajectories and fell like a deadly meteor shower into the densely packed charging ranks of the insect swarm.

Each shell's explosion tore a brief gap in the swarm's formation, the shockwaves overturning and tearing apart the surrounding bio-ships, the flying organic debris and viscous fluids congealing in the vacuum into a dangerous wreckage zone.

The first round of coordinated salvo firing achieved the expected results.

Observational data shows that at least seven smaller swarm attack ships were directly destroyed, and more than twenty others suffered varying degrees of damage: some had their propulsion systems damaged, resulting in a significant decrease in speed; some had large areas of their outer shell broken, exposing the pulsating biological tissue inside; and others lost control and deviated from their intended trajectory due to inertia.

The defense platform's fire control system is rapidly calculating new firing parameters in preparation for a second round of attacks.

However, the swarm's response to the attacks it suffered was completely contrary to conventional tactical logic.

They neither retreated to regroup nor changed their attack formation.

The destruction of their kind ahead seemed to have nothing to do with them; the subsequent biological fleets filled the gaps in their formation without hesitation, maintaining the original offensive posture.

Despite the relentless barrage of fire from the defensive platforms, these biological ships continued their advance along a nearly straight trajectory.

Their bio-thrusters spewed ominous green and purple tail flames, tracing eerie paths in the vacuum.

“They… are completely reckless in the face of losses!” a young bridge officer exclaimed in a low voice, finding the tactics that defied all common military sense unbelievable.

The defensive platform continued to unleash a barrage of fire, each salvo clearing a patch of airspace within the swarm array.

But more biological ships immediately surged in from behind, like a never-ending tide, continuously filling the gaps.

Some specialized small units even crashed straight into the defense platform with astonishing acceleration, completely disregarding their own safety.

These suicide crashes triggered violent explosions on the platform's surface.

Although the heavy armor plates withstood the main impacts, the exposed laser turrets and close-in weapon systems began to show signs of damage under repeated impacts.

"Platform 'Steadfast Barrier' report: Close-In Weapon System overloaded, defensive gap identified on the left side!"

"The platform's 'Emperor's Eye' has suffered a concentrated impact, causing the external sensor array to fail!"

The battle reports began to bring bad news.

The Zerg swarm is gradually dismantling the Empire's carefully constructed defenses using the most primitive yet most effective tactic—purely attrition through sheer numbers.

The silence of each defense platform signifies that the outer defenses of the Bar system are being slowly eroded.

Just as the orbital defense platform and the Zerg vanguard were locked in a brutal war of attrition, another form of threat quietly emerged from the Zerg's main fleet.

Deep within that vast, shadowy expanse, which resembled a living wall, countless giant sporangia were released in an orderly fashion.

Each of these sporangia is the size of a small aircraft, its rough chitinous shell gleaming oily under the starlight.

They emit weak bio-propulsion flames from their tails; although the speed of a single one is not very fast, their numbers are extremely large.

These sporangia cleverly used the swarm of insect ships in front as cover, and while the defensive platform's firepower was tied up by the frontal attack, they spread out along various unpredictable trajectories and penetrated into the inner space of the Barr system.

"A large-scale biological airdrop signal has been detected! The number reaches tens of thousands! Trajectory predictions show that the main targets are the northern hemisphere continent of Baal and the equatorial region of the Sekendus satellite!" The sensor officer's voice was filled with obvious shock.

Although the orbital defense system reacted immediately, deploying some firepower to intercept them, and laser turrets continuously blasted the spore sacs in mid-air, causing them to burst into brief green flames in space, the interception effect was quite limited.

The number of sporangia is so enormous, and their flight paths are completely unpredictable.

The spore sacs that successfully broke through the interception began to enter the atmosphere of Barr primary and its satellites.

The intense heat generated by the friction with the air turned their surfaces bright red, drawing countless blood-red streaks across the dark red sky of Bal, like a reverse meteor shower.

These burning sporangia ignored all anti-aircraft fire and resolutely fell toward their intended target area.

"All near-Earth orbit defense units, prioritize intercepting the air-dropped spores! Ground forces, prepare to meet the assault!" Dante's order quickly spread throughout Baal via the communication network.

The first wave of spore sacs struck the barren surface of the northern hemisphere of Baal primary and the gray plains of its satellites at astonishing speed.

The sound of the impact was neither the collision of metal nor the shattering of rock, but a nauseating muffled sound, as if organic tissue had been forcibly torn apart.

Each sporangium that fell to the ground burst open under the impact, spraying viscous acidic liquid and hard shell fragments in a radial pattern in all directions.

These acidic liquids immediately began to corrode the surrounding rocks and soil, emitting a pungent white smoke.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of Tyranids emerged from the ruptured sac.

The knife-like insects, brandishing their sharp bone blades, charged forward first, their compound eyes gleaming menacingly in the dim light of Baal.

Closely following behind are the gun bugs, whose swollen abdomens contract continuously, spraying out corrosive spore bullets.

More distorted low-level units surged forth like a tide, emitting chilling hiss.

These creatures made contact with the Imperial garrison deployed on the outermost perimeter almost instantly upon landing.

The Blood Angels scouts, relying on pre-established defensive fortifications, used explosive guns for precise burst fire.

Each bomb exploded within the swarm, tearing several Zerg to shreds. Astronaut soldiers formed a barrage of fire, the intense beams of their laser guns flashing and crisscrossing across the dim battlefield.

The roar of chainswords began to echo across the battlefields, a sign that the Blood Angels warriors were engaging in close combat with the Zerg that had broken through the barrage of fire.

The first ground battle quickly escalated into a fierce melee, with laser beams, exploding bombs, and the roar of chainsaws weaving together into a symphony of war.

The surface of Baal, the homeland protected by the Holy Blood Angel for millennia, was defiled for the first time by the filth of the Tyranid swarm.

The defense platforms on orbit are still struggling to hold on, while the war on the ground has already begun.

With its signature, relentless, multi-pronged attack tactics, the swarm declared to the defenders that this would be a war with no respite—only continuous destruction and devouring.
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As the battle between the orbital defense platform and the Zerg vanguard intensifies, the Dark Angel fleet is officially deployed to the battlefield.

Led by the "Indomitable Truth," the first battle group consisted of several battle barges and strike cruisers forming a standard wedge formation.

The engine nozzles of each ship simultaneously emitted dazzling light from overload, and the entire fleet, like well-trained hunters, precisely cut in from the flank of the Zerg vanguard.

The fleet's tactical execution demonstrated a high degree of professionalism.

The salvo from the light spear array is not a blind coverage, but rather a concentrated bombardment of suspected command nodes that are unusually large in size and have obvious biosignature characteristics after precise calculation.

Each salvo accurately hit its target, turning those critical biological vessels into burning wreckage in space.

Meanwhile, the macro artillery array adopted a different tactic.

They targeted the waist of the swarm's assault formation with saturation attacks, the dense barrage creating fractures within the biological fleet, attempting to divide the swarm's vanguard into isolated parts.

The Ravenwing fast attack fleet fully leveraged its maneuverability advantage.

These swift small warships constantly patrolled the outer perimeter of the Zerg fleet, continuously harassing smaller Zerg units with precise laser cannon fire and missile salvos.

They pay particular attention to motherships that are releasing spore sacs, and will launch a surprise attack as soon as they spot a target, striving to destroy it in the shortest possible time.

This elite mobile strike achieved remarkable results in the early stages.

Several key Zerg node creatures were transformed into expanding plasma fireballs under the concentrated firepower of the "Indomitable Truth," causing temporary chaos and delays in the Zerg offensive in certain areas.

The harassment by the crowwings also successfully delayed the release of some sporangia, buying valuable time for ground defense.

However, the swarm's numerical advantage soon manifested itself in a desperate way.

Each successful assault and salvo by the Dark Angels fleet can indeed wipe out large swarms of Zerg units, but the latter replenish their numbers much faster.

Before the wreckage of the destroyed biological ships could even dissipate, new living ships poured out from the seemingly endless "wall" behind them, filling the void without hesitation.

The Dark Angels fleet was like fighting against a boundless, living ocean. Every swing of their swords could cut through the waves, but the next moment, even more seawater would surge in.

The Zerg swarm began adjusting its tactics to counter the Dark Angels.

They no longer attempted complex maneuvering confrontations with these steel behemoths, but instead adopted a simpler, more brutal tactic—overwhelming death with sheer numbers.

Large numbers of small biological ships and specially enhanced ramming units, as if drawn by a magnet, launched a suicidal charge on the "Indomitable Truth" and its escort ships from all directions, disregarding their own casualties.

"Port side! A large number of ramming units are approaching! More than two hundred in number!"

"Void Shield energy reading has decreased by 15%! Continuing to withstand the impact!"

On the bridge of the "Indomitable Truth", damage control reports and alarms sounded one after another.

The massive hull trembled slightly from the continuous impacts, and the void shield flickered violently under the energy shock from the self-destruction of the bio-ship and the corrosive effects of its acidic fluids.

Although the thick ancient armor resisted direct penetration, the continuous impact and energy consumption were rapidly accumulating.

At the same time, the pressure on those isolated orbital defense platforms reached its limit.

After destroying dozens of Zerg ships, the shields of the "Unyielding Barrier" platform finally collapsed under the endless onslaught of attacks.

The next second, more than twenty swarms of various types of insectoid bio-ships, completely disregarding their own survival, crashed into the main structure of the platform from different angles.

A series of massive explosions rang out, and dazzling flames instantly engulfed the steel fortress.

When its light faded, the once majestic platform had broken into several twisted fragments, along with the valiant guardians on it, all transformed into cold, metallic tombs floating on the tracks.

This is not an isolated case. As the main Zerg force continues to advance, more and more defensive platforms are losing their signals on the tactical map after running out of ammunition, overloading their shields, or being destroyed by suicide attacks.

The orbital defenses that the Empire has built on the outskirts of the Bar system are being torn apart and dismantled.

Meanwhile, above the main planet of Baal, another silent battle of attrition was also raging.

The planetary-level giant void shield generator was operating at full power, constructing a semi-transparent energy barrier on the planet's surface.

However, this barrier is currently under almost constant bombardment from orbit.

Unable to break through the fleet and platform interception, the remaining spore sacs, along with the rain-like bio-acid clumps deliberately released by the swarm bio-ships, continuously pounded against the void shield.

Each impact creates ripples on the energy barrier, consuming its precious energy.

A green, highly corrosive acid rain seemed to fall from the sky, striking the Void Shield with a continuous hissing sound and rising up large swaths of acidic mist.

On the reading screen in the shield control center, the percentage representing the overall integrity of the shield is decreasing at a slow but steady pace.

The tech priests busily adjusted the energy distribution, trying to concentrate the shield's strength on the areas under the greatest pressure, but the attacks from the orbit were so dense and widespread that such adjustments had limited effect.

Orbital warfare is developing in a direction unfavorable to the Empire.

Although the Dark Angels' elite tactics were formidable, they gradually became overwhelmed by the overwhelming numerical superiority.

The continuous loss of the orbital platform has increased the defensive pressure on the inner space.

Meanwhile, the Void Shield of Baal, the planet's last line of defense, is undergoing an unprecedented test and may be completely exhausted at any time.

Above the sky, the collision of steel and flesh spills endless blood and flames.

(End of this chapter)