After the vanguard troops were destroyed, the remaining tanks and armored personnel carriers of the cult army were forced to retreat and disperse further to the flanks and then continue to advance.
This time, the Black Legion's minions appeared in a larger arc, and their vehicles lined up into a wide crescent shape that almost surrounded the entire southern region.
Heavy explosion bombs and heavy loggers also joined the battle, using armor-piercing bombs to strafuse the enemy's armored personnel carriers, while the enemy responded with shells and cannons, and the air was filled with explosions and flames.
The Astats were not idle either. Their shooting was very efficient, aiming at the weak points in the armor and destroying six tanks in just a few minutes.
The armored personnel carriers did not perform better under the bombardment of heavy-detonated bullets. The armored bullets found weaknesses in their shells and slammed in, causing bloody damage to the troops inside.
Several armored vehicles stopped tremblingly, and when a tracer bomb hits their fuel cells and causes an explosion, the ragged cultists are forced to leave their transport vehicles and rush through the deadly clearing, and are killed by hidden heavy bombs and machine guns.
Twenty minutes after the attack began, the advance of the cult army began to shake and retreat.
They left behind 20 bombed vehicles and more than 3,000 slaves who died in battle. Three machine gun positions on the defenders were destroyed by artillery fire, more than 500 people were killed, and one Astarte recruit was slightly injured.
In this way, the Tenth Company won the first defensive battle, but the battle had just begun.
Because Chaos Space Marine has not yet appeared.
In the next three hours, the defenders of Fortress No. 6 repelled five more attacks.
Each time, the Black Legion will improve their tactics and conduct more intense tentative attacks on the flanks.
Although the cultists suffered heavy losses every time, the number of casualties in the defenders continued to increase, and the loss of equipment gradually increased. The only few remaining laser cannons or re-cutting guns were also transferred back and forth.
For Armin, he felt as if he was slowly tightened by an invisible noose.
In the seventh attack, the enemy fired mortar shells into positions, targeting buildings they knew had heavy weapons to deploy.
By the eighth attack, the enemy's armored personnel carriers became more and more bold, and before being repelled, they had approached within ten meters of the front wall.
An hour before the ninth attack, Astarte had time to redistribute ammunition, and when the first round of mortar shells began to fall, the enemy's simple tanks and armored personnel carriers began to advance, the defenders opened fire with the few remaining heavy weapons and prepared for close combat.
This time, the heretic garbage tanks and armored personnel carriers approached the defenders from three sides. The firepower of the defense was insufficient to block the tide, and the enemy's vehicles broke through the first line of defense at dozens of places.
Armin ordered a fierce artillery rush, forcing the cultists hiding behind the vehicle to rush out of the bunker. In just a few minutes, dozens of squad-level melee occurred on the front hundreds of meters, and extremely cruel hand-to-hand combat was even launched between the infantry.
At this moment, perhaps the commander of the Black Legion felt that the decisive moment had come and the general offensive began.
"There are armors coming from the north! It's the predator and the rhino!"
Alming quickly switched to the command channel and shouted to the highest viewing platform.
“How many rhinos and predators do we have to face?”
"Sir, I saw four predators and eight rhinos!"
A sentry answered immediately.
"The defenders have already begun to fight with them."
The mortal forces in charge of the area held their positions under the enemy's charge, and their four automatic cannons began to spray armor-piercing bombs at the oncoming transport vehicles. Two light armored personnel carriers were hit and parked on the ground. Smoke poured out from the destroyed generators, and the third caught fire and exploded, with burning debris scattering into a large arc.
But such firepower was useless to those heavy armored Astarte vehicles. The Predator's main gun kept firing, destroying one automatic cannon after another.
After reaching the front of the trench, the hatch of the eight rhinos was opened with a slam, and giants in black armor walked out of it.
They were terrifying ghosts of war, wearing war-stricken armor, recorded centuries of killing traces, and these spoils were plundered from every corner of the empire, stained with blood.
Chaos Space Marines appeared, and they caused a massacre in the mortal forces like the god of death. Plasma guns spewed out charged particles, drilled into fortifications and bunkers, and then exploded one by one.
The rhino, who unloaded the infantry, continued to move forward, firing the shells from its double-detonated bomb until it hit the slope of the guard wall.
"Kill all the people of the Empire!"
The black heretics roared, piercing the exhausted soldiers with their roaring chainsaw swords and glowing power weapons.
When the reserve forces arrive, the troops defending the area are on the verge of collapse.
The three teams carried out their operations in an orderly manner, and Armin always looked at the other side of the battlefield, the terrifying warriors in black armor.
He only had three new recruits, but the enemy had at least six full tactical squads. This would be a very painful battle, and the recruits would suffer very, very huge casualties - this was what he least wanted to see. These young soldiers were not ready for such a cruel battle.
As the company commander of the recruits, Soshiyan gave Armin the authority to call for emergency support before departure. Although he did not say what it was, Soshiyan said that he hoped that Armin could allow the recruits to get the tempering they deserved.
Looking at the battlefield where smoke was rolling, Arming frowned—
"For the Emperor!"
Haumor saw a Chaos Space Marine cut down two screaming soldiers and turned to him, and rushed straight toward each other, turning all his anger into a slam.
But this experienced warrior avoided the attack at an astonishing speed and slashed Gomo's wrist with his backhand.
If it is a sharp sword, the sword will cut off Gomo's hand.
Fortunately, Gomo also reacted in time and immediately pulled his arm back, and the chainsaw sword's teeth gently stroked his armor handguard, leaving deep dents on the ceramic plate.
Then he punched the opponent with a backhand, pretending to hit the enemy's head, and then slammed his knee down.
But the Chaos veteran avoided the attack again quickly, then took out his pistol and shot Gomo in the head.
"Damn it!"
Caught out of control, Gomo's head flashed across his head, but the bullet still wiped his helmet, and then the other party kicked him directly to the ground.
When Gomo hit the ground, he noticed another impact on his shoulder and felt blood flowing down the bridge of his nose.
Although the bullet failed to penetrate his helmet, the impact cracked the helmet and damaged the precision circuit under the ceramic plate.