Chapter 347 - 344 — The Advance

Chapter 347: Chapter 344 — The Advance

Chapter 344 — The Advance

Gaius charged.

Tony and Diana followed.

Ahead of them, the remaining Chaos forces were scrambling through the ruins.

The bombardment had shattered their formations.

Now the Imperials were closing in.

"Push forward!" Titus shouted.

The 11th Company surged ahead.

Bolters roared.

PDF weapons joined them.

World Eaters tried to reform their lines.

They barely had time.

Gaius crashed into the first group.

His power fist slammed into a World Eater and sent him through a wall.

Another swung a chainaxe.

Gaius caught the weapon.

He pulled the warrior forward and drove his fist into his chest.

The armor caved in.

Diana cut through two Bloodletters in a single sweeping strike.

Tony shot past them.

Three missiles left his forearm.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The explosions tore apart a cluster of daemons.

"Left flank!" Metaurus shouted.

Titus turned.

A group of World Eaters was charging the PDF.

"11th Company, with me!"

The Ultramarines moved instantly.

Chainswords and power swords met chainaxes.

Bolter fire ripped through the charging warriors.

Metaurus broke into the flank, his power axe cleaving through a World Eater’s shoulder.

Another swung at him.

Metaurus ducked.

A plasma bolt from his pistol blew apart the warrior’s helmet.

"Advance!"

The Ultramarines pushed deeper.

Gaius was already ahead of them.

A Bloodletter leapt toward him.

He struck it out of the air.

Another came from behind.

Diana’s sword took its head off.

Tony flew overhead.

"More coming."

JARVIS marked them immediately.

Tony fired.

Missiles streaked into the ruins.

BOOM!

The path ahead opened.

"That’s convenient," Tony said.

Diana glanced upward.

"Keep doing that."

"Gladly."

The remaining World Eaters attempted to regroup around a large ruined structure.

Their leader raised his chainaxe.

"Stand!"

Several warriors turned toward him.

"We can still—"

Gaius came through the wall.

The structure shook.

The World Eater barely finished turning before Gaius struck him.

The warrior flew across the ruins.

The others attacked together.

Gaius met them head-on.

A chainaxe struck his shoulder.

He ignored it.

His fist crushed the attacker’s chest.

Another World Eater rushed from the side.

Gaius grabbed him and threw him into two others.

Diana entered the formation.

Her blade flashed.

Three warriors fell.

Tony dropped behind them.

His armored fist struck another World Eater hard enough to throw him into the rubble.

The Chaos formation broke.

"Keep moving!" Titus shouted.

The 11th Company stormed through the ruins.

The PDF followed.

Every remaining group of Chaos forces was being isolated and destroyed.

A Bloodletter rushed the Ultramarines.

Bolters tore it apart.

A World Eater reached the front line.

Titus met him.

Chainsword against chainaxe.

Three blows.

Titus stepped inside the swing and drove his blade through the warrior’s chest.

He ripped it free.

"Forward!"

The company advanced again.

The battlefield had changed completely.

What had been a massive Chaos assault was now a series of scattered fights.

Gaius looked toward the center of the ruins.

More enemies were gathering there.

Tony’s helmet highlighted them.

"Big group ahead."

Diana looked over.

"How many?"

"Enough."

Gaius started walking.

"Then we finish them."

Tony lifted off.

"I’ll take the back."

Diana tightened her grip on her sword.

"I’ll take the front."

Gaius looked between them.

"Do not let them escape."

They moved.

Diana hit first.

She tore into the front of the Chaos group, cutting through Bloodletters and World Eaters alike.

Tony attacked from above.

Explosions ripped through the rear.

Gaius drove straight through the center.

The entire formation collapsed around them.

The survivors tried to flee.

The Ultramarines were already there.

Titus raised his chainsword.

"Cut them off."

Metaurus and the 11th Company closed the gap.

There was nowhere left to run.

The last organized resistance broke.

Silence spread across the ruined section.

Only scattered gunfire remained in the distance.

Tony hovered above the battlefield.

His helmet scanned the horizon.

"JARVIS?"

"Remaining Chaos forces are heavily fragmented."

"Any major formations?"

"None."

Tony lowered himself.

Diana looked toward Gaius.

"Their army is broken."

Gaius looked toward the distant ruins.

"Then we hunt the survivors."

He turned.

"Advance."

Titus immediately echoed the order.

"11th Company! Forward!"

The Ultramarines moved again.

The PDF followed.

Gaius, Diana, and Tony led them deeper into the ruins.

The bombardment had ended.

Now came the cleanup.

With Gaius, Diana, and Tony on the field, the remaining Chaos forces had little chance.

Daemons were cut down as soon as they appeared.

World Eaters were overwhelmed before they could regroup.

Gaius tore through them with brutal efficiency.

Diana moved from one group to another, her sword and strength leaving nothing standing.

Tony stayed above the battlefield, striking isolated groups before they could reach the Imperial lines.

Within an hour, the fighting had almost completely stopped.

The last daemons were destroyed.

The remaining World Eaters had been killed.

The battlefield finally fell quiet.

The 11th Company gathered together.

Titus and Metaurus joined the formation.

The surviving PDF regrouped behind them.

Gaius stood at the front with Diana and Tony.

Naruto floated above the group, looking over the battlefield.

"So, is the mission completed now?"

No one answered immediately.

Naruto brought up the mission panel.

His eyes moved across the display.

Then he frowned.

"...Huh?"

Mindy looked up at him.

"What?"

Naruto stared at the panel for another second.

"It’s still there."

Tony turned toward him.

"What does it say?"

Naruto looked down.

"The mission hasn’t been completed."

Diana’s expression tightened.

"We protected Varrak Prime."

Gaius said nothing.

His gaze moved across the ruins.

Then toward the sky.

The scars were still there.

Immense wounds stretched across the heavens, filled with impossible shades of purple, crimson, and sickly green.

Gaius had seen them the moment he arrived on Varrak Prime.

He had simply not understood their significance.

Tony noticed where he was looking.

His helmet tilted upward.

"Oh."

The others followed his gaze.

Naruto stared at the sky.

"So those things are the problem?"

Tony looked at them for a moment.

"I saw them when we first arrived."

He paused.

"I just figured that was normal for this planet."

Diana looked at him.

"Normal?"

Tony gestured toward the sky.

"It’s another planet. Strange sky, strange atmosphere, weird natural phenomena."

He shrugged.

"I didn’t exactly have a reason to assume the sky was being torn apart."

Gaius looked back at the scars.

"It is not a natural phenomenon."

Tony’s helmet tilted slightly.

"Then what is it?"

Gaius stared at the sky.

"The Warp is still bleeding into this world."

Diana’s expression hardened.

"So killing the Chaos forces wasn’t enough."

"No."

Gaius continued looking at the scars.

"We stopped the army."

His eyes remained fixed on the sky.

"But whatever caused this remains."

Naruto glanced at the mission panel.

"That explains why the mission hasn’t completed."

Tony folded his arms.

"So Varrak is still being affected."

Gaius nodded.

"The danger has not ended."

Diana looked toward the sky.

"Then that’s what we need to deal with."

Gaius nodded.

"Yes."

Naruto floated higher, staring at the enormous scars across the sky.

"So..."

He looked back at the others.

"How do we fix the sky?"

Everyone looked toward Gaius.

He was the one who is from this world.

Gaius looked upward.

He extended his Observation Haki toward the nearest scar.

The invisible force reached across the distance and touched its edge.

He felt it immediately.

Daemonic energy.

Warp corruption.

The presence of the Immaterium pressed against reality, held in place by something deeper within Varrak.

Gaius withdrew his Haki.

"We need to find whatever is sustaining it."

Tony looked at him.

"What exactly are we looking for?"

"Likely a ritual."

Gaius continued looking at the sky.

"Something is maintaining the connection between this world and the Warp."

He turned toward the others.

"We find it."

A pause.

"Then we destroy it."

Tony looked back at the scars.

"How do we find it?"

He gestured toward the sky.

"Because if we’re talking about searching the planet manually, that’s going to take forever."

Gaius said nothing.

Tony continued.

"And now that I know those aren’t some weird planetary phenomenon, I’m guessing those things are actually connected to the Warp."

He looked at one of the scars.

"We might dont have much time before daemons appear again right?"

Diana nodded.

"Then the source could be anywhere."

"Exactly."

Tony looked toward Gaius.

"So unless you know where the ritual is..."

Gaius shook his head.

"I do not."

He looked across the battlefield.

"But it should be near a population."

Mindy floated closer.

"Near populations?"

Gaius nodded.

"I concentrated the population of Varrak into a few major settlements."

His gaze returned to the sky.

"I only need to get close enough to those locations."

He raised his hand slightly.

"Then I can scan them with Observation Haki."

Mindy tilted her head.

"And that will be enough?"

Gaius nodded.

"Khorne daemons require blood and skulls to be summoned."

He looked toward the scars.

"Something this large would require a massive sacrifice to bring this many daemons into the world."

~~~

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