Warhammer 40: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 213 The Defense of the Temple

The fanatical nun stared at the enemy who had landed and were charging towards them. Dense firepower from the city walls opened fire on the enemy outside the city. Every step the Chaos traitors took required a bloody price.

The Cardians unleashed their long-suppressed rage.

The C-14's rate of fire is ideal for dealing with large numbers of enemies.

Abaddon didn't care about the lives of these mortal traitors at all. The galaxy lacked everything except people. Those with weak wills could easily become new servants of Chaos. These were just cheap expendable commodities.

Some claws of terror, accompanied by shrieks, slammed directly into the temple's walls.

The colossal claws of terror smashed through numerous buildings within the temple fortress, coinciding with the arrival of these special vehicles.

The corruption of chaos began to spread within the temple, but the prayers from the choir, through the power of faith, suppressed the spread of this force.

These special airdrop vehicles, abandoned by the Empire but still used by the Chaos faction, include blasphemous and powerful machine spirits that can even change position in mid-air to avoid damage.

Despite being called an airdrop capsule, it's more like a scaled-down version of an aircraft.

The heavy armor shielded the traitors from the first wave of fire.

The nuns activated their jetpacks and, with the assistance of the internal security forces, charged directly towards the traitors who had penetrated the heart of the position.

The hatch of the Claw of Fear opened, and the Word Bearers, Alphas, and the World Eaters warbands who worshipped Khorne poured out, accompanied by elite mortal rebels and even several Chaos Dreadnoughts.

The demon engine hell dragons, which arrived along with these claws of fear, were intercepted by the Valkyrie flight squadron as soon as they took off.

The Chaos Wizards immediately unleashed the power of the Destruction Mage.

The temple was no less important to these Chaos than any other strategic location.

For the Word Bearers in particular, destroying the faith of the false emperor was not only the best sacrifice to the Chaos Gods, but also everything they had pursued throughout their lives.

The destruction of the temple dedicated to the emperor could severely damage the morale of the imperial forces.

But as soon as Chaos stepped out of the drop pod, he saw an enemy he never expected: a golden-armored giant wielding his spear, surrounded by countless Kadia soldiers in combat suits, while nuns soared above him.

Just like their name, Seraphim, they descended upon Kadia like emperors.

Meanwhile, some special mechs appeared at the forefront of the battle. In order to protect the temple, the martyred nuns, with the bishop's permission, opened the sealed secret chamber in the temple.

Fifty Redemption Mechs, which are only deployed in the most dangerous moments, were activated.

The pilot was strapped to the chest of the mech without any protection.

Numerous cables and chemicals pierce the pilots' spines, injecting lethal combat agents into their bodies and linking them to the war machine.

Pain and guilt constantly reminded these drivers of their past sins, leading them to atone for their mistakes with their lives.

The nuns supervised their behavior, which was an important duty of theirs.

These pilots were once considered devout by the state religion, but they committed unforgivable crimes. Death was the only way for them to atone for their sins, and becoming pilots of the redemption mechs was the last means for them to make the most of their remaining value.

Whether from pain or a yearning for redemption, the pilots of each Redemption mech let out heart-wrenching howls, unleashing heavy flamethrowers and powerful punches at the Emperor's enemies.

They voluntarily went to the most dangerous parts of the battlefield, paving the way for the devout.
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"Commander! Our troops deployed to Kadia are in disarray!"

Abaddon listened to the battle report; the ground troops he had deployed were being encircled and annihilated. Although these ground troops that had forced their way in had destroyed some facilities, they were far from achieving Abaddon's expectations.

It's almost fair to say that this landing has failed. However, the invincible Abaddon clearly didn't take this failure to heart. Success would be best, but even failure would allow him to ascertain the existing strength and defensive arrangements on Cardia.

Various Imperial military deployments and firing positions were also relayed back to the Vengeful Spirit through these abandoned Chaos units.

Meanwhile, some scattered images also came back to Blackrock Fortress, attracting Abaddon's attention. On the plains, the entire Kadia Blitzkrieg, dressed in combat uniforms, launched an attack on the traitors who had just landed, under the cover of an Imperial Venomblade and the entire Lemanrus Punisher Squadron.

The Chaos Wizard was overwhelmed by the Earthshaker's barrage of fire before he could even unleash his psionic magic.

With unparalleled strategic vision, Creed had already made preparations in advance at all the places where chaos would land.

The combat uniforms provided some relief from the shortage of manpower, allowing him to deploy troops more freely.

When large-scale frontal battles occur, the advantages that combat uniforms bring to the defenders of Qadi begin to be amplified.

What might have been a battle that would have required the sacrifice of an entire regiment has now resulted in the loss of only a single company.

The main source of damage is Chaos's heavy firepower.

The black-hearted geeks of Vashtor did not skimp on weaponry. With Abaddon providing a large amount of resources, they had no shortage of heavy firepower. Furthermore, the Empire's unprepared invasion in the early stages allowed them to acquire a large number of tormented souls that could be used in the Soul Forge.

Just as Abaddon was about to rebuke the Chaos Astartes for failing to provide the necessary support and cover, another scene from inside the temple was transmitted back.

He saw the Imperial Guards... those shrewish women of the emperor were accompanying them.

Any attempt to obstruct the Imperial Guard was thwarted, even if the obstacle was a Hellbeast.

The Imperial Guard's powered spears easily pierced through the Chaotic Fearless armor and stabbed into the driver's chest.

The enormous hell beast crashed to the ground.

Abaddon was not afraid of these Guards; he was confident he could kill them, but their appearance was somewhat unexpected.

More than one Cleric appeared on the battlefield; the warp storm unleashed by the Word Bearers should not have brought reinforcements from Terra so quickly.

Contrary to his expectations, Kadia was not nearly out of ammunition and supplies.

"This must be related to the weapon the Four Gods mentioned. What exactly is it...?"

At this moment, Abaddon also began to have a bad feeling.
These are definitely not things that Cardia should have had in the first place.

"Cease the attack and have the remaining troops hide. Stop the assault! Disperse them across the planet to put pressure on these Imperial forces." Knowing it wouldn't work, Abaddon stopped wasting his resources.

A forced assault to capture Cardia was clearly not going to work; he could only hope to destroy the Imperial fleet in orbit.

Once he controls the orbit, he can also send more troops to Cardia. If he can disable the defensive shields or destroy the Black Stone Obelisk array, he will win.

Too many landing forces are now being wasted in the process of getting past Imperial firepower.

"Regroup! Destroy this corrupt empire's fleet with all your might!"

Neither side on the Cadia battlefield discovered that some invisible entities were lurking throughout the planetary battlefield.

They resemble beetles made entirely of machinery.

A large number of invisible Netherworld Scarabs from the Necromancers of Space are observing the battle between the Empire and Chaos, and constantly sending back messages to their masters.

(End of this chapter)