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Chapter 89: Sanctus Imperator Renatus
Chapter 89: Sanctus Imperator Renatus
Chapter 89: Sanctus Imperator Renatus
The military momentum died quickly as it came when Night Lords trample over the first two lines of soldiers with ease and slaughtered anyone who stand in their way. The soldiers of the White Lions did their best to slow down the devilish knights with full midnight clad but none of their standard weapons work or did new firearms since Astartes power armor is just too tough. It would require a heavy weapon to hurt them and at this moment, all three tanks armed with heavy weapons are gone thanks to the cultists.
"Slaughter and capture the weak ones for processing." One of the Night Lords said to his brothers after crushing the soldier's head with his hand. Much as Night Lords love to spread terror and fears to the vulnerable, they also enjoy the art of tutoring helpless victims. This is the true nature and tradition of the 8th legion which started from their gene-father, Konrad Curze. 'Fear teaches one's mortality while terror reminds individuals of their place in the world.' This is the basic principle of the 8th and each of the Night Lords cherishes mastery of fear and terror.
Night Lords advance further and further and each advancement is a heavy casualty on the other side. It didn't stop with regular soldiers from the White Lions, many of the knights who overcome the fear of death attempted to break the enemy's advancement. With their courage and chivalry, the knights of the White Lions managed to gather a significant amount of shattered knights into one and coordinated to make one final push against the approaching Night Lords.
"For Alderim! For King Benton and for General Beckett!" The leading knight shouted and the rest of them followed as they made the triangle formation and charged head first with their war horses. With thundering sounds of hooves and a few of the knights blowing their war horns, the knights of the Alderim and White Lions hail down towards Night Lords. Equipped with spears, lances, and swords, the knights increase the speed of the war horses and have no fear in their eyes.
[Forget the peons and target the riders. Target everyone and fire!] Former captain and Hellbrute of the Night Lords spoke to his battle brothers and redirect his range weapons toward incoming knights on horseback. Busy killing weak and non-threatening soldiers, many of the Night Lords took few moments to follow the order but enough of them received and changed to range weapons to fire upon the incoming enemy.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Without any coordination, Night Lords fired their bolters at will without a second thought. Countless bolter shots hit the knights and their war horses as many of them fell hard to the ground, killing them instantly and tripping anyone behind them as an obstacle. Still, the knights continue their advancement and without a show of hesitation, enough of them managed to reach the Night Lords.
The first thing Night Lords in the front felt was the impact of lances when they hit their power armor. The weapon wasn't durable enough or powerful enough to penetrate the armor itself but the brute force itself was strong enough to push them back. After the initial impact of the lances, the second thing followed as the high-speed impact of the war horses hit the Night Lords like a truck.
The collision force from the war horses was powerful enough to trample a few of the Astartes and even on the ground. Still, in exchange for a small victory, many of the knights and their mounts received terrible injuries due to slamming into Astartes. In total, 49 knights out of 120 managed to hit the Night Lords in the frontline and halt the advancement for others to reorganize. As for the Night Lords, only 9 of them fell from the attack not because of the knights' weaponry but rather the impact of the war horses and already damaged power armor during the fight against Sisters.
Those who managed to survive the fall after colliding with the Night Lords struggle to get up from the ground and arm themselves. It was at this point the realization of their error came to light as the remaining Nights Lords began their work to pay back the insult from primitives of this world.
The Hellbrute deliver more damage to the survivor as his power fist and bolter weapons shred the knights before they could get up. The war horses also faced the same fate just like their masters as Night Lords didn't care what was their target and began butchering everything in front of them. Few of them got up to get away from the hostile enemy while their master is still hanging on to them but it was pointless as the bolter shots prevented their escape.
While courageous knights are getting butchered, the Sisters and commanders of White Lions reorganize to prepare for the incoming attack. Sisters of battle already lost one of their Sister Superior due to a sniper shot and lost 48 Sisters during this fight. White Lions, on the other hand, lost more than half of their numbers and their general is already dead to which their goal at this point is to prevent the enemy from capturing her body.
"This will be our last defensive line. If we have to die from this fight, let them fight for it!" Sister Superior Sabina Mire of the Our Martyred Lady said to everyone while holding a bolter gun. The remaining Sisters position themselves behind the surviving tower shield soldiers and some managed to retrieve heavy weapons from the damaged three tanks. Meanwhile, soldiers of the White Lions moved Rana's body to the back and position themselves with every weapon they had with them. This also includes one particular weapon that wasn't tested until now. Gifted by Crown Prince Benton, this weapon was experimental but possess the potential power to kill even Astartes.
"Load the weapon and prepare to fire. We only have one shot and we will make it count." Commander Greenheart gives the order to make the preparation as dozen crew members move the heavy weapon and reposition the wagon. Greenheart knew she only have one shot and will do everything in her power to make it count no matter what.
Soon, Night Lords finish their work with the knights and move forward to extend their entertainment. At this point, they lost every sense of accomplishing their goals and proceed to enjoy showing the true nature of the killing. Behind advancing Night Lords, Hellbrute tosses away a dead war horse to a side and follows his brothers to lose himself. It's been a decade since he fill his blood lust for Khorne and collected skulls to continue his biding to the skull throne.
When Night Lords finally reach the final defensive line, they all stopped to face their last victims. Meanwhile, Sister Superior Sabine orders all of the Sisters to ready their weapons and have all soldiers hold their positions with tower shields.
[This is your last moment to breathe and savor it. None of you will live to tell the tale of today…] The Hellbrute spoke through his speaker horn but couldn't finish his sentence as suddenly a shield wall opened in the middle and a single large cannon appeared from behind. With no hesitation, Commander Greenheart shouts, "Fire!" and one of the crew lit the cannon.
The 68-pounder cannon aiming towards Hellbrute fired the cannonball and head towards the Chaos corrupted metal giant. But because this weapon was experimental and wasn't tested, the cannonball missed the Hellbrute and hit one of the Night Lords and others behind him, killing them in the most unusual way in the history of the 8th legion.
[Well, that was unexpected.] Hellbrute turns its upper body to see the damage and return to its original position. With a single signal from his vox communicator, the rest of the Night Lords charge with weapons high, and at the same time, Sister Superior Sabine gave the order to fire at will. The final battle began with a big bang and once again, two armies face each other with everything they have.
The tower shield fell from the formation left and right as bolter rounds explode the moment they hit the shield wall. With gaps open, traitor Astartes broke in through the defensive line and face the Sisters, who were ready to fight them in melee. The rear heavy support focuses their fire at Hellbrute while soldiers of White Lions throw everything they got including smaller artillery fire to support the frontline.
Hellbrute on the other hand didn't like the idea that a 68-pounder cannon ball almost hit him and decided to fire his bolter at the cannon. The hail of bolter rounds from the power fist devastated the entire artillery line as a few of the rounds hit the barrels of gunpowder, creating a huge explosion and killing a large number of soldiers and crewmembers.
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Among chaos on the battlefield and deaths, many engaged in the fight didn't notice the glowing light in the rear line as healers and Sisters of Order Hospitallers saw a miracle they are about to witness. First to notice the white light was one of the healers from White Lions and the rest began to realize as Rana's body generate warming light and began to float in the air.
"By the Emperor's light and living saints." One of the Sisters whisper to herself and just when she finished her words, the light went brighter and blinded everyone at once. The powerful light was impossible to see with their naked eyes and by the miracle, the wounded soldiers and Sisters in the makeshift medical tent began to heal and some managed to regrow their missing limbs.
As for Rana, her wound and poison that took her mortal life vanished without any trace. The light also removed her damaged power armor and reshaped it into something else with a color of gold and green. With a wound from the power sword and deadly poison from the 14th legion gone, Rana's body began the transformation as her physical body became bigger and much more powerful than before.
When the light dimmed to a manageable level for everyone to see with their eyes, they saw a very different Rana Bassilo Beckett. Her height is now 6'5 feet tall (195.58 cm) with dense muscles that could match the strength of Sister in the power armor. Rana's blonde hair is now platinum color and her eyes changed from blue eyes to emerald green, matching the secondary color of the armor which is green.
As for the armor, Rana is wearing a different kind of power armor entirely. Equipped with a golden plate and green silk-like cloth on her hip, Rana was wearing golden power armor similar to Saint Celestine but missing large white wings in the back. With signature wings missing, a noticeable thing about the armor was the style itself. Around Rana's neck is a black ruff and shoulder guards are shaped like a lion's head with holy scrolls in its mouth. The hamlet has large wings on the sides with a green visor that could be placed down to protect the face (Similar to the Valkyrie helmet).
As for the weapons, Rana was holding a medium golden shield with the emblem of the Sisters and Imperium Aquila in her left hand and a large great sword in her right. The newly reborn Saint of Imperium spoke for the first time as she raise the sword up high for everyone to witness.
"Behold, my Sisters. I deliver a message from the Emperor himself. 'Search and destroy all traitors. For you are the righteous blade against the corruption of the ruinous powers!'"
Once again, the bright white light shine upon her body and began to expand beyond the rear line. When the light hit soldiers and Sisters, their wounds healed just like others before and strength returned as if they had a full day's rest.
Eventually, the light reaches the Night Lords and for some unknown reason, their helmet and visor didn't protect them from power light. The blinding light damaged the Night Lords' eyes as their sensitive eyes couldn't handle it and were blinded by it. Once again in their lives since Horus Hersey, Night Lords saw the Emperor's light, and it didn't shine upon them to be their salvation but rather as a beacon of the downfall of the 31st company.