An hour passed, and although Colonel Acat was still at his post, there was still no news about the Astral Knights.
"Is there still no communication at the headquarters?"
"Yes...yes, sir."
"Don't think something happened——"
Standing in the hatch of the command vehicle, the picture of the battle going perfectly could not calm Colonel Acat's growing uneasiness. He resisted the urge to continue asking the correspondent for information that did not exist, and instead fired heavy explosives and fired at the left tank.
He opened fire in the gaps between them, exploding bloody spray in the sea of zealous people.
Suddenly, night falls, and then suddenly disappears.
A dazzling white light appeared in the sky, and Colonel Acat was startled. He looked up and saw through the smoke the flashes of explosions dancing among the clouds, but no thunder followed.
Colonel Acat stared at the horrific scene, his throat suddenly became dry, and he could not even say the word "no".
The flash disappeared and darkness returned briefly.
Then daylight fell again, and huge debris streaked across the sky, as bright as the sun, like a meteor shower trailing fire.
The white night shattered, the light shone brightly, and some fragments fell several kilometers away from the queue. Along with the shaking of the earth, a thunderous roar finally sounded.
More light, a final light, an explosion of fireballs from the Wild Howl shattered into hundreds of pieces.
Colonel Acat released the heavy explosive bomb, fumbled for the radio receiver, and swallowed dryly three times before he managed to make a sound.
"Everyone pay attention to falling objects and don't be nervous."
There was nothing more to be said for the new political commissar who would maintain morale, no doubt shouting that nothing had changed from what the soldiers had seen just moments before.
Until now, he thought it was an imperial battleship.
The light generated by the death of the Wild Howl gradually faded away at the place where it erupted. The shells continued to fall, the jets of burning promethium cleared the front of the position, and the roar of the main guns also continued.
Suddenly, someone saw a huge aircraft with a blunt bow falling from the sky.
"What!"
For a moment, Colonel Acat had absurd hopes.
He stared at what appeared to be landing craft, as if they would miraculously take on a familiar color.
They don't.
There is no dark green or silver gray, only pitch black and iron gray, as well as disgusting heretical symbols.
He didn't know that it was the Brotherhood of Steel that appeared above him, but he knew that it was definitely not friendly forces.
"Fire at those ships!"
Colonel Acat shouted, and the artillery crews all turned around the fort.
Before the other party launched a rocket, the Hydra anti-aircraft artillery team took the lead in firing, and the sharp sound of the shells instantly tore the sky apart!
But this field air defense alone cannot stop orbital airborne landings.
After the black iron-shelled landing ship sank into the planet's atmosphere, it immediately accelerated and dived down, dumping destructive force onto the mud-filled plain.
Various large armored vehicles, Land Raiders and Predators swept out from the landing ship, carving deep grooves in the mud.
The deadliest of them all is the Waldo tank destroyer.
The Waldo tank destroyer is a tank destroyer based on the chassis of the Malcador heavy tank. A powerful neutron laser cannon is installed on the chassis - a technological heritage from the Dark Ages that relies on powerful
With its main gun, this tank is capable of fighting heavy tanks and even Titans that are several times larger than it.
But this main gun is not without its shortcomings. Although it is more compact and consumes less energy than the larger volcano gun, installing it directly on the chassis of a Makado heavy tank is not enough for this tank.
It was still a bit reluctant for a combat vehicle, so the original turret, front weapons and a side weapon rack had to be removed to house the neutron laser cannon and its power supply components.
This design is effective but has many unreasonable elements. For example, the chassis of Malcador is not as large as the Shadow Sword to provide sufficient safety protection for the occupants. If something happens to the capacitor and power supply coil of the neutron laser cannon, the vehicle will be destroyed.
The team is in trouble.
As such, it is a powerful and dangerous vehicle - both for the enemy and the user.
The Valdo tank destroyer appeared relatively late. It was not until the Horus Heresy that it had a brief opportunity to show its skills. During the Horus Heresy and the subsequent Great Purge, it was used in the Land Raid against the Traitor Legions.
and the Titan Legions of the Dark Mechanicus, and ensured that most of the rebel legions disappeared into the depths of the Eye of Terror, never to see the light of day again.
Originally, there were 20-30 Valdos sleeping in the arsenal of Vraks, unable to be used due to the lack of corresponding technology. However, when the Brotherhood of Steel arrived, the war blacksmiths who had served in the Great Crusade awakened these tanks.
and took part of it with them during the subsequent evacuation.
And the number of this "part" is——
6 aircraft!
However, this time the Brotherhood of Steel did not invest all the vehicles, but only 2. After all, they were too precious.
Not just for the Chaos Warbands, but for the Imperium as well.
Nowadays, the Waldo tank destroyer is a rare combat vehicle. Only a few forge worlds, including Mars, still have the ability to produce and maintain them. Those Astral Legions that are still equipped with Waldo either have a long history or are related to the Red Robes.
Clerics are closely related, such as the Cadian Legion.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Colonel Acat recognized these gray iron-colored vehicles at a glance through the telescope.
When he put down the telescope, only a few words came out from his lips and teeth.
"What the fuck-"
Before he finished speaking, his voice was drowned in the sound of exploding metal.
A red neutron beam hit the front armor of a Leman Russ fifty meters away from the left side of the Chimera command vehicle. In an instant, smoke and flames exploded outward, and the huge chassis suddenly swung like an angry beast.
It jumped up, and its turret fell to the side with a bang in a cloud of smoke.
Colonel Acat immediately turned on the microphone:
"Retreat! Release smoke barrages, all vehicles retreat!"
He realized that another Waldo destroyer must also be aiming, so he quickly ordered the armored formation to retreat and released the smoke grenades on the vehicle.
Soon, a smoke screen more than 500 meters long appeared on the front.
The Predators of the Brotherhood of Steel also moved forward, firing, heavy shots flashing as they hit the ruins surrounding the command vehicle.
Colonel Acat quickly looked away.
"Let's go, go to the back first."
After he finished speaking, the driver grunted in confirmation.
Colonel Acat then took command of the infantry.
"All companies are ready for anti-vehicle operations! Armor-piercing rocket launchers and demolition teams are on standby!"
Suddenly, just as he was deploying, the gunner began to curse. Colonel Acat turned his head and looked at him, his ears filled with a series of curses.
"What's wrong?"
Colonel Acat shouted, and the gunner immediately stopped cursing.
"Sir, a vehicle of unknown model has come around to our right."
Colonel Acat quickly looked to the right with his binoculars, and he saw——