In the void, a large number of Thunderhawks and Stormbirds were descending vertically along the edge of the hulk, passing in front of the huge statue, passing between two bridge-sized piers, and in front of them was a tall window.
.
The next moment, a silent flash of light flashed across, the glass window sank inward, and was reduced to a puddle of debris by the hot melt. The plastic steel shutters inside the glass collapsed with white heat.
Air burst from the breach, shaking the entire ship, and the vehicles continued to shoot behind the windows until a gap was opened large enough for the formation to pass through.
Soon, the air leakage ended, and the drivers carefully drove their vehicles in.
Darkness surrounded the formation, and then the Thunderhawk shook violently.
"The artificial gravity field here is still working."
Talos, who was sitting next to Soshyan, suddenly spoke.
The Stormbird's searchlight was turned on, and the small lighting system illuminated the silent stone statue - a church, extremely huge.
The pilot then lowered the Stormbird near the church door and went 200 meters deep into the church ship. Other aircraft with the logos of the White Templar, Dark Angels, Ranger Warriors, Ascetics and Lamenters Chapters also followed.
Landing not far away.
After a loud bang, the ramp door of the Stormbird opened. With the heavy sound of metal and the hum of the Terminator's large power system starting up, Soshyan strode out.
"Brothers, move forward."
The Terminators took action. From the light of the Storm Bird into the darkness of the church, the warriors of the Astral Knights, including those from other chapters, also poured out of their vehicles and quickly and silently swung out in the vacuum.
In defensive formation, only the Terminator Armor's sensors can detect slight vibrations.
In an instant, the place was occupied by more than five hundred Astartes.
In fact, Soshyan was bluffing when talking to the sages before. This time, the five battle groups combined did not have a thousand people. The Deathwing Company of the Dark Angel only came with more than 60 warriors, and the Suffering Alliance had four soldiers.
The total number of battle groups is less than 700, of which the Astral Knights account for 300, the ascetics and ranger warriors add up to more than 300, and the Lamenters are the least, with a company of 100 people.
After everyone left the vehicle, Ezekiel, the director of the Dark Angel's think tank, was the last to appear. His psychic halo was almost visible to the naked eye, and his scepter was hanging beside him.
The first time they entered, the Space Marines used all technical means to detect the church and sent brothers to various passages to expand the capture area.
Then the Mechanic Cults also entered the church, their loyal incense burners flashing with fire around their waists, symbolizing their undying fanaticism to bring the glory of the Mechanic God to the darkness. Although each forging world does not need to contribute, some personnel still have to
It was also done to reassure them.
As for Soshyan asking them if they had a diagram of the internal structure of the hulk, no one had a reason to provide this, and he was not surprised. He believed that someone must have sent someone to enter the hulk, but since he was unwilling to cooperate with him
Don't force it either.
In the darkness, the Terminator's searchlight was the most dazzling, dispelling the darkness around them.
"There are no signs of danger."
Deathwing Grand Master Belial is near the side of the church. His green robe and bone-white paint look a bit eerie in the darkness.
The floor had cracks under the weight of the Terminator. The walls were dark bronze and engraved with pious scriptures. The Grand Master of Deathwing turned his attention to the broken windows.
"I shall repent for thirteen days for the damage I have done to this sacred place."
Belial chanted loudly in front of everyone:
Glutinous rice
"Because we had no choice but to destroy this sacred place of the Emperor, may the Light of Terra forgive us for our sins, even if they were committed in the discharge of our duties."
The words and deeds of the Deathwing Grand Master made Soshiyang a little confused, but this was someone else's business and he didn't bother to express his opinion. He just focused on what was in front of him.
Judging from this magnificent church, Soshyan concluded that they were walking on a huge pilgrim ship.
The Pilgrim is a unique class of starships of the Empire. They have no class, insignia or plan. Each one is unique, a gorgeous baroque display of devotion to a divine and ineffable plan.
They were funded by the Ecclesiarchy, and their purpose was to bring hundreds of millions of pilgrims from one Holy Land to another, and to bring the Light of the Emperor to other Imperial worlds.
To put it simply, it is a "shuttle bus" that travels back and forth among many holy places in the galaxy, and its routes are basically fixed.
Perhaps it used to be full of religious glory, but now it is just a monument in a huge space cemetery. Along the way, Soshyan saw that the parapet was covered with tall statues of saints and heroes, and it was several hundred meters long.
, corridor decorated with icons.
But all this beauty has become the desolate beauty of a dead body, silent and lifeless.
The huge protruding buildings and corridor portholes reflect the distant sunlight, but there is nothing inside. Darkness rolls between the jagged vertical baffles, and secrets are hidden in this grinning skeleton.
This shining ship built for the God-Emperor has become a mausoleum, not only architecturally dead - but also with an alien aura pointing towards its end.
Considering that the number of people that can be carried on this ship can often reach hundreds of millions or even billions, Soshyan has a new estimate of the number of aliens in the hulk.
According to the originally formulated tactics, the coalition forces of the Tribulation Alliance and the Dark Angels would choose to land at the same place, establish a safe forward base, and then separate into the hulk to search.
The purpose of this is mainly to avoid the danger in the initial stage of landing and to facilitate subsequent support.
As for the other two battle groups, Soshyan ignored them and did not bother to communicate with their command.
On the one hand, I am really unfamiliar with him, and on the other hand, the reputation of that malicious warrior is too bad.
The Malicious Warriors are also an ancient Astartes Chapter, said to have been founded during the M32 period. They are a Chapter known for their brutality, aggressiveness, disregard for life, and their collateral damage. Their name has always been Carnage.
and synonymous with destruction.
Despite their zeal to wage war against the enemies of the Imperium of Man and the Emperor, they have been accused of excessive use of force against civilians, and have even been accused by other Astartes Chapters and asked to denounce and investigate them.
While the Malice Warriors can be considered paragons based on their combat record, many of their allies during the war have questioned the Chapter's conduct during the war, although none doubt their effectiveness during the war.
gender, but several Chapters considered the Malevolent Warriors to be aggressive and hostile, lacking brotherhood with other Astartes, leading many factions in the Imperium to refuse to fight alongside this notorious Chapter.
Soshyan is not a hearsay person, but the reputation of this group of people is too bad. Even if there may be some misunderstandings, Soshyan does not want to get into so much trouble in such an important operation - although the Blood Knight also has similar
reputation, but that is because of problems with their gene seeds, and the Malicious Warriors have never said anything about the problems with their gene seeds.
There is something wrong with their simple thinking.
No matter what the truth is, Soshyan's attitude towards the two war groups is very simple. If they don't meet, they will live in peace. If they run into each other and there is a conflict, then he will never be lenient.
His reasoning with the Mechanicus is out of respect and realistic considerations, but it does not mean that he is a very easy-to-talk person.
Therefore, Soshyan chose to enter from the direction of the pilgrim ship for two reasons. One is that it is far away from the landing points of the other two battle groups. The other is because according to the scan results, this ship was integrated into the hulk relatively late and is still very new. Perhaps the energy source
The system can still be started.
If part of the system can be restored, then it's a very good base to move forward from.