Chapter 112: Tyranid Behemoths

“Long time no see.” The old one-eyed man looked up from the map and smiled at Zhou Yun.

The old one-eyed man had also joined this battle; he was once an elite warrior in the PDF, one of the few in the Lower Hive with military command experience, and the man who trained the Ark Gang members.

Thus, the old one-eyed man’s duty became commanding the Ark Gang in coordination with the Astra Militarum’s operations.

Because the Thirteenth District had previously required minimal cooperation from the Ark Gang, he had mostly operated within other sectors of the Hive, directing the Ark Gang to assist the Cadian Shock Troops in street-to-street combat.

This street fortress was built by Ark Gang members under his command, using gathered materials.

“We’ve only been apart for a day,” Zhou Yun shrugged and replied with a smile.

“A day? That’s true,” the old one-eyed man chuckled. “But a day is long enough—battlefield time drags painfully, second by second.”

Zhou Yun observed and found the old one-eyed man’s mental state was still decent.

He had rushed here from another major district; no doubt he’d barely rested on the way.

Zhou Yun then turned his gaze to Leina.

Leina’s face showed no fatigue, yet her expression was tightly drawn.

She kept her mouth tightly shut, as if unwilling to speak.

Leina had been affected by the Warp shadows; though she had mostly recovered, lingering aftereffects remained.

Her speech function was slightly disordered, and she involuntarily slipped in meaningless syllables.

These syllables sounded oddly funny—even well-trained Cadians sometimes couldn’t suppress their laughter.

Zhou Yun, of course, couldn’t help bursting into loud laughter every time he heard them.

This had made Leina reluctant to speak.

“Want to get some rest?” Zhou Yun asked, watching her tense expression.

Leina’s face twitched slightly, and she whispered: “I’m stimulating my nerves with psychic energy Igu-bu-gu.”

“Psychic energy converts into my vitality Maka-baka.”

Hearing Leina’s speech laced with chaotic syllables, Zhou Yun understood: she was using psychic energy to stimulate her nerves, igniting her inner vitality to sustain her alertness.

Zhou Yun nodded slightly; he guessed this method had side effects.

But with war raging, there was no time to consider them.

“How’s the situation?” Zhou Yun asked, looking at the map on the table.

An irregular circle marked the districts still under Imperial control.

“The Tyranids have begun clearing the skull-servants. We can only confirm they’ve resumed movement,” the old one-eyed man said, pointing at the map.

Zhou Yun nodded, then joined General Droste and Leina atop the street fortress, observing the distance from behind its cover.

The old one-eyed man had chosen the fortress’s location perfectly.

This road was one of the few major thoroughfares in the Lower Hive; all the chaotic structures piled atop it had been cleared away, revealing a wide, clean roadside.

This was done both to expose the Tyranid swarms to the fortress’s artillery and to allow the Cadian Shock Troops’ armored units to deploy.

The 186th Cadian Armored Regiment’s Leman Russ tanks, Hellhounds, and Vindicators lined up before the fortress.

Such fortresses were placed across different districts to intercept the main Tyranid forces.

In narrower alleys, smaller bunkers had also been constructed, occupied by Astra Militarum soldiers holding the high ground.

The Hive’s orange-yellow lights hung high in the air. Zhou Yun gazed down the street’s end, waiting for the Tyranids’ arrival.

He didn’t wait long.

The entire Hive trembled as the swarm surged forward like a tidal wave, unleashing countless biological munitions upon the Astra Militarum’s fortresses.

The first to charge were vast numbers of Gunners and Scythes—Tyranid creatures resembling hunting hounds, roaring as they stormed toward the Cadians.

Then, artillery and lasers erupted across the battlefield.

From the Leman Russ tanks’ barrels, massive cannons roared, treads howling as the tanks rolled forward like moving walls.

Shells exploded amid the swarm, blasting Gunners and Scythes into bloody mist that sprayed through the air.

The Tyranids, made of flesh, seemed insignificant before the steel line.

BOOM!!

A thunderous tremor shook the ground.

Scorching biological plasma tore through the street, detonating against the Leman Russ tanks, sending up thick clouds of smoke.

Beasts roared.

Three massive Tyranid Behemoths—each taller than a tank, armored in thick chitin, with four limbs—emerged from the street’s end.

Their upper arms ended in razor-sharp crimson scythe-claws; their lower limbs gripped three different writhing biological artillery pieces. Executioners! Tyranid Behemoth Executioners!

These behemoths moved so fast they reached the Leman Russ tanks in the blink of an eye.

The Leman Russ tanks roared their fire.

But the endless swarm surrounding the Executioners absorbed the tank shells.

Meanwhile, Cadian warriors atop the fortress fired sharp laser beams.

Yet these attacks barely scratched the Executioners’ thick carapace.

Scorching acid Jiang , razor-sharp biological shells, and ticks erupted from the Executioners’ biological cannons, detonating against the Leman Russ tanks.

The fastest Executioner lunged, driving its claws into a Leman Russ’s armor and tearing the entire tank apart.

But at the same time, other Leman Russ tanks seized the opportunity and unleashed their firepower upon the Executioners.

The Executioner staggered back, its body exploding with torn flesh.

Yet soon, the other two Executioners charged to its side, raising their biological cannons to clash once more with the Leman Russ tanks.

Zhou Yun stood high above, observing the battle.

He felt something was off—could the swarm’s only tactic be these three Executioners?

These few behemoths couldn’t break the Astra Militarum’s steel line.

At least throw in some Baonve , ion cannons, or something.

Hm?

As Zhou Yun pondered, several far larger shapes emerged beyond the swarm.

The first three hunched forward, standing on four limbs, each wielding a flesh-gunned weapon nearly as long as their bodies.

The next three were armored in thick carapace, their four heavy legs planted firmly, while massive cannons extended from their backs—each cannon bore six eyes, seemingly for targeting.

The first were the Baonve Beasts; the second, Ion Cannon Worms.

Zhou Yun’s eyes flickered—just what he’d been thinking of.

!. Read

The Astra Militarum’s armored units also noticed these behemoths.

They quickly identified them from Zhou Yun’s distributed manual, “The Ogryn’s Guide to Tyranid Biology.”

Both were Tyranid organisms specialized for long-range bombardment.

The Baonve Beast’s firepower could pierce a line in an instant; the Ion Cannon Worm, essentially a mobile siege cannon, was even worse.

The Baonve Beasts’ explosive cannons began firing, launching swarms of tick-like creatures as projectiles.

Upon contact with the Leman Russ tanks, they exploded, releasing thick, oily substances.

Then, the cannons fired seed-pods encased in thick shells.

Upon impact, these pods absorbed the oily residue and dissolved the tank armor in a fraction of a second, detonating inside and destroying the front-line Leman Russ tanks.

The Leman Russ tanks tried to return fire, but the Executioners immediately clung to them.

Meanwhile, the Ion Cannon Worms at the swarm’s rear stabilized their positions; their massive dorsal cannons began glowing with blue ion energy.

The three Ion Cannon Worms simultaneously unleashed roaring bio-plasma orbs—capable of shattering the Imperial line in an instant.

The armored units redirected all firepower, trying to break free from the Executioners’ grip.

But these relentless Tyranid behemoths, combined with the Baonve Beasts’ deadly bombardment, left them unable to spare any strength.

The Cadian warriors were pinned down by the close-range swarm; lasers and shells flew everywhere, yet none could reach the distant Ion Cannon Worms.

Zhou Yun waited.

He put on his psychic hood and vanished from the battlefield in an instant.

Then, Zhou Yun appeared almost face-to-face beside an Executioner.

Unlike its subspecies, the Screamer Assassin, the Executioner was built purely for frontline assault.

It was nowhere near as swift as the Screamer Assassin—Zhou Yun’s gloved fist struck the Executioner’s head in a blink.

The Executioner’s head exploded into thick pulp.

The other two Executioners swung their scythe-claws toward Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun flickered again, vanishing into afterimages—the scythes slashed empty air.

Seeing Zhou Yun appear, the Leman Russ tanks redirected their fire to engage the remaining two Executioners.

If they could tie down the Leman Russ tanks, the Imperial armor could now tie them down in return.

The Baonve Beasts fired their anti-armor shells continuously; Zhou Yun’s Shenying flashed, dodging each one.

He waited—waiting for the Ion Cannon Worms to complete their charge.

Blinding, scorching bio-plasma erupted from the Ion Cannon Worms’ massive dorsal tubes.

A hissing crackle filled the air as brilliant blue light surged like an endless tide toward the Imperial lines.

Zhou Yun swung his arm violently, using telekinesis to tear a small gap through the swarm.

His arm, accelerated by gear mechanisms, shot toward his fourth-dimensional pocket with blinding speed.

He yanked out a piece of bright red fabric—

“Ding ding ding ding! Reflective Cloak!”

Zhou Yun swung the reflective cloak in his hand, the lightweight fabric colliding with the plasma torrent in midair.

(End of Chapter)