Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 279 Weak Flesh and Blood!
The aerosol is definitely problematic!
That was a potion carefully prepared by the stone craftsman Victor, which could put the filarial worms into a deep sleep from which they had no resistance.

The entire city came to a standstill.

The orbital defense cannon continued to accumulate energy, but never received the firing command. The plasma cannon emitted a blinding blue light and finally exploded in a brilliant burst of light.

More orbital defense cannons, under overload protection, cut off the energy supply. As the energy dissipates, the cannon's cooling system activates heat dissipation protection.

The cooling system of the giant railgun spewed out steam, forming localized steam clouds—the sheer amount of energy accumulated was astonishing.

The human empire was delighted with this situation.

After all this trouble, the orbital defense firepower is temporarily unusable, and many internal components of the cannon will be damaged due to overload, thus losing its strategic threat.

As the main human force arrived with the landing ships, the automatic defense weapons were too weak to shoot down the shielded landing ships.

At the Steel Hand landing site, a large number of Imperial auxiliary troops emerged, their weapons and armor far more advanced than those of ordinary Imperial auxiliary troops.

Feralus not only designed armaments for the legions, but also enhanced the armaments of mortal troops, making it easier for them to fight alongside Astartes.

Tanks rolled out of the landing ships one by one, heading to the Space Marine front, ready to integrate the infantry and advance.

The sheer number of armored vehicles was staggering; seeing it with your own eyes was far more impactful than simply looking at the numbers.

The warriors of the Steel Hands, with their exceptional combat skills, immediately surrounded the tanks, connecting their armor servo systems to the vehicles to establish a coordinated system between heavy infantry and tanks.

Predator, Sikaran, Kratos, and other tanks formed a mix of light, medium, and heavy tanks, neatly positioned within the line of fire, awaiting the Primarch's command to crush the enemy.

Anyone who sees so many vehicles parked together, imagining the steel torrent formed by the turning tracks, would feel a chill run down their spine.

Aside from Space Marine vehicles, the civilian auxiliary forces are filled with countless heavy artillery pieces.

Since the auxiliary forces mainly provide fire support, they have fewer vehicles such as tanks and troop carriers, and are mainly equipped with heavy artillery and super-heavy artillery.

With super-heavy firepower support, coupled with the Space Marines' armored assault, it's hard to imagine what enemy could withstand such an attack.

Once the ground positions were set up, a giant stepped out of the landing craft, wielding a warhammer, and descended upon the battlefield—Primarch Marus Feralus, who had come to personally command the battle.

The first thing he did was not to walk into the established command fortress, but to climb to the top of the landing ship and look at the Nur position.

Compared to the bustling army positions, the Nur positions were relatively quiet, but operated more efficiently.

Those automated super-heavy artillery pieces, with their four mechanical legs extended, entered the designated positions, embedded their legs into the ground, and injected a coagulant to stabilize the base. The ammunition supply system followed in coordination, and the automated machinery worked together to quickly form an artillery support position.

Four trapezoidal anti-gravity fortresses floated in the field, their void shields merging together to form an impregnable defense.

Various defensive and offensive equipment rose from the ground under the power of machinery, perfecting the front-line defense, and even laying alloy floors!
The civilian troops rested at the landing site, inspected their weapons and automated infantry, and were ready to join the battle at any time.

Felus's gaze was solemn. Those mortal auxiliary troops were not simple; they were well-equipped, neatly dressed, and coordinated with composure and precision.

He had seen a holographic record of the Randan War. At that time, the Nur Auxiliary Army was still somewhat immature, but after being tempered by the war, it has now become a qualified and strong army.

The Nur vehicle is also different; it has abandoned its traditional shape and become a firepower platform.

It is a scaled-down version of the trapezoidal fortress, about the size of two mastodons. It uses gravity technology to float in the air, is equipped with various heavy firepower, and its projected area shield can also protect the surrounding infantry.

What he saw before him made Felus secretly alarmed, and he couldn't help but wonder: if the hovercraft were to protect the auxiliary army and bring a massive number of automated soldiers to press on, could the Steel Hand withstand it?
He recalled his brother's hints of rebellion, and his heart began to pound.

The mortal auxiliary troops alone are already formidable, not to mention the Doomsday Warriors and Night Guardians, who are even more powerful, comparable to or even surpassing Astartes.

During the month of waiting, Felus came into contact with the Night Guardians. These warriors were very powerful. Due to different degrees of genetic degeneration, the weaker ones could rival Astartes, while the upper limit of the strong ones was unfathomable.

However, there is a natural difference between the Astartes and the Night Guard.

Each of the Night Guardians has received decades or even centuries of military training, possessing both exceptional martial skills and an iron will.

Most importantly, they were loyal to the Norwick royal family and, at the Norwick king's request, ventured into the stars to save humanity from its demise, showing no sense of belonging to the empire whatsoever.

The same goes for those Doom Warriors; they come from outer space, have no sense of belonging to their home planet, and are more loyal to the Father of Genesis than to the Emperor.

Ferrus remained silent as he descended from the top of the landing craft, and in those few seconds he seemed to be thinking a great deal.

Did Doom have treasonous intentions? He felt a chill run down his spine to the back of his head, and his body shivered. He dared not think too deeply and stopped himself from having dangerous thoughts.

Now we are fighting side by side with our brothers, how can we doubt their loyalty?

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Felus focused his attention on the battlefield, trying to dispel his doubts.

He ordered over the legion's communications channel: "All soldiers, check your weapons and prepare to launch an attack."

"The medicine has taken effect, and the aliens are now completely defenseless. Once we're ready, we'll set off, crush the aliens, and purify the entire world!"

"Weak flesh and blood!" The legion warriors shouted in unison, unleashing a deafening roar.

Due to the Primarch's iron hands, the Iron Hand Legion has adopted prosthetic limb modification to enhance the combat capabilities of its warriors.

When their limbs suffer irreparable damage on the battlefield, they choose to replace them with mechanical prosthetics to enhance their combat capabilities, paying homage to the father of genetics.

"Legion, march!" Feralus raised his warhammer, pointed it at the towering buildings filled with aliens, and roared a declaration of hatred: "Let them atone for their sins of a thousand years!"

According to the battle plan, the legion relied on armored units and broke into smaller units to form a cleanup force to clear out the alien city.

Ferrus, commanding the central army, fully utilized his talents, accurately calculated battlefield factors, and dynamically adjusted troop strength.

From the holographic map, the Iron Hand Legion resembles a rapidly growing tree, quickly spreading its branches from its roots and beginning to sweep through the alien city.

The filarial worms were powerless to resist and were dragged out of their dwellings by mortal servants, gathered in squares or open areas, and burned indiscriminately.

The once scenic city was engulfed in thick smoke, and filarial worms emitted mournful cries as they were burned by the flames.

However, as the army advanced deeper into the territory, it began to encounter organized resistance.

The slender, shapeshifting warriors, using the city's shelters, began resisting the legion's attack with laser weapons.

"Why did you break the treaty?" they demanded angrily, firing their weapons to fend off the steel hand with their feeble strength.

"The high-ranking officials signed a treaty, and we lowered our living standards to join the Empire. Why then should we launch an attack?"

Overwhelmed with grief and rage, the sculptor frantically pulled the trigger, determined to defend his happy home to the death.

The legionary soldiers did not respond, instead directing tank fire to destroy the bunker and answering the questioning with explosives.

"The mortal soldiers need not waver; they are no longer our kind, but merely shells possessed by aliens!"

"Their self-awareness exists only because the parasites haven't completely replaced their brains yet."

"These people are beyond saving. Everything we are doing is to expose their falsehoods and illusions."

The Legion warriors shouted rebukes, yet the Shapeshifter still managed to rise and fight.

Perhaps out of a perverse sense of humor, filarial worms coexist with their hosts after parasitizing them, attaching themselves to the host's nervous system.

These individuals, after falling into a dormant state due to the presence of their nervous system, are still able to perform their own actions.

In their eyes, the empire was an aggressor who lacked any sense of contract and launched a brazen invasion, while they themselves were defending their homeland.

While seemingly gaining free will during the filarial worm's slumber, it is actually a puppet of thought, blinded by the illusory harmony it usually sees.

Faced with these humans, the Legion warriors did not waver and sent them to their deaths with a single explosive bomb.

Only death can bring peace to our compatriots who have long since fallen.

The steel tracks rolled forward, and with the combined arms of infantry and tanks, automatic firing points were pulled out one after another, defensive buildings were destroyed, and the army's advance could not be stopped.

Shapers are extremely clumsy in direct confrontation; they are accustomed to assimilating and invading, lacking a culture of direct confrontation.

The development of weapons for warfare was very backward, and the use of some automatic guns and laser guns made it difficult to inflict effective damage on the Space Marines.

As the steel hand crushed the aliens, a massive psionic spell was brewing within Nur's position.

(Guys, work is really tiring.)
(End of this chapter)