Chapter 106: Ha-ji Xiang Leina

"Ah ha-ji ou-mo-man-bo-no-mi-ji ha."

In the Ninth District, inside the church that the Astra Militarum had commandeered as a command post, Xiang Leina sat wrapped in a blanket, a cup of hot water cradled in her hands, a stream of disordered syllables spilling from her lips.

Her whole body trembled like a cat that had been electrocuted, and her eyes were filled with confusion and terror, as though her mind had been shattered.

The Shadow in the Warp.

When the Tyranid swarms descend, the Shadow in the Warp unleashed by the Hive Mind blankets the entire star system, severing the link between the material realm and the immaterium.

At such times, the daemons of the immaterium find it extremely difficult to enter the material realm, and likewise the material realm struggles to conduct warp travel and psychic communication.

In addition, all psykers are generally affected.

Astropaths hear the Tyranids' hungry roars, while Navigators gaze upon an endless dark shadow and go mad from it.

An ordinary psyker like Xiang Leina suffers violent headaches, seizures, and uncontrollable screaming.

Zhou Yun had warned Xiang Leina in advance to be on guard against the Shadow in the Warp.

But taking such a blow so suddenly, Xiang Leina couldn't pull herself together for the moment.

Zhou Yun could only pat Xiang Leina on the shoulder and say comfortingly, "Drink more hot water."

Saying so, Zhou Yun took out his canteen and poured Xiang Leina another cup of hot water.

Steam rose warmly from the cup.

"A-mi-ha-ji-no-man-bo."

Xiang Leina's face twisted into an expression even more wretched than crying, and broken, incoherent sounds escaped her mouth.

The Shadow in the Warp had affected her brain, her consciousness, even her soul; her thoughts and speech were now shattered into fragments.

She would need a little more time to recover.

Zhou Yun guessed she might be expressing gratitude for his thoughtfulness.

"No need, don't thank me, we're all bros here." So saying, Zhou Yun patted Xiang Leina on the back.

Xiang Leina's expression twitched even more.

Zhou Yun straightened the blanket draped over her, then turned and walked toward General Drost.

Before General Drost's eyes, the star map of the entire Hades Star System was displayed.

The outer perimeter of the Hades Star System was encircled by two asteroid belts.

One was the Adamant Shield, composed of ice crystals.

The other was the Castellan Belt, made of ore-rich rock.

Between the two asteroid belts lay the position held by the Imperial Navy.

On the star map, several thick crimson arrows pointed toward the Hades Star System, marking the advancing Leviathan hive fleet.

"Have you contacted the Imperial Navy?" Zhou Yun looked at General Drost and Tech-Priest Saholic.

"Not yet," General Drost replied, frowning.

With the descent of the Shadow in the Warp, even the machine spirits felt fear, and communications across the entire star system had grown far more difficult.

"Contact established." Before General Drost could finish speaking, Tech-Priest Saholic suddenly spoke up.

A burst of crackling came from the communicator before them.

The blurred figure of Admiral Justus Van Avarco appeared on the communicator's screen.

He was a gaunt man who looked sharp and fierce.

"Drost, war is upon us. Why do you keep pestering me?"

"Lord Justus." General Drost turned his lone violet eye as he spoke: "My opinion remains the same as before."

"You should fall back into the Castellan Belt and join our forces in resisting the Tyranid fleet together."

"The Adamant Shield cannot hold back the Tyranid swarm!"

Hearing General Drost's words, the admiral on the communicator showed a contemptuous expression.

"If that is the case, then we of the Navy should all the more hold the front line against the enemy."

Justus Van Avarco cleared his throat twice, then said:

"In any case, the Tyranids will be at their weakest after passing through the Adamant Shield."

"We should strike while they have yet to recover from the bitter cold."

"Drost, the Navy has no interest in sharing the glory of war with you."

With that, Justus Van Avarco cut the communication.

"He's done for," Zhou Yun said, looking at the severed connection.

". Bastard." General Drost cursed.

His gaze shifted from the Adamant Shield to the Castellan Belt behind it.

"My finest gunners and engineers are stationed here. With macro-cannons and lance weapons, I have transformed these asteroids into the sturdiest fortresses and the fiercest gun platforms."

"They are the finest Cadians. Can they defeat the Tyranid hive fleet?"

General Drost looked at Zhou Yun. Zhou Yun silently shook his head.

Neither the Castellan Belt nor the Adamant Shield could withstand the full assault of a Leviathan hive fleet.

Those living ships were weapons far more dangerous than the Cadians' asteroid gun platforms.

". Then they will do their duty." General Drost said, his expression unmoved.

When the augur array showed the Tyranid swarm closing on the Adamant Shield, Admiral Justus Van Avarco had just ended his communication with General Drost.

Across the entire luminal display of his flagship, countless points of light converged, rapidly growing brighter and more numerous, their range expanding.

These points of light swiftly split into several streams, and in the form of multiple small detachments, stabbed toward the Hades Star System at speed.

Justus Van Avarco stared at the scene on the luminal display, momentarily stunned.

"What are the Tyranids trying to pull?!"

According to previous predictions, the Tyranid swarm's bio-ships should have gathered into a dense formation before entering the Mandeville system,

This was common sense — bio-ships clustered together could more easily withstand the bitter cold of the Shield of Insanium,

And the naval fleets within the Mandeville system had likewise gathered into a large force to deal with this,

Waiting for the Tyranid bio-ships to pass through the Shield of Insanium, and before they could shake off the bitter cold, the navy would concentrate all firepower to swiftly annihilate them.

This should have been a certainty!

But now the situation had changed,

The Tyranid bio-ships had actually split into small flotillas

Admiral Justus Van Avarco grew somewhat impatient for a moment, and he could not help but recall Drost's warning

"Damn it, it was nothing but a rumor heard from some underhive thug!"

!. Read

Justus Van Avarco stared fixedly at the light points on the screen

The light points pierced into the Shield of Insanium. Their advance slowed!

Auspex detected that the moment the Leviathan hive fleet entered that frigid asteroid belt, their speed began to slow,

The bitter cold of the Shield of Insanium was taking effect! Tyranid bio-ships continually succumbed to this abnormal cold, one light point after another stalling within the Shield of Insanium.

Hah!

Just a pack of brainless beasts, despicable xenos after all,

Just like that underhive thug hanging around Drost, they know nothing of the subtleties of warfare!

The Tyranid swarm's bio-fleet was still moving, but their speed had slowed to a crawl

It was only a matter of time before these xenos were destroyed by the frigid realm.

"All fleets, full speed ahead, split into small detachments and harvest the bio-ships passing through the Shield of Insanium region!"

Justus Van Avarco would not let a single Tyranid creature slip past his defensive line,

Not a shred of glory would he share with the Astra Militarum in the Castellan Belt behind him.

Through the glass-curtain-like wide-angle detector, Justus Van Avarco saw the Tyranid bio-fleet amid tens of thousands of brilliant stars and ice crystals,

It was a swarm of bio-ships with thick chitinous shells and pale red writhing flesh, looking like peculiar worms magnified to the size of starships.

Justus Van Avarco smiled disdainfully,

Only because these Tyranid bio-ships were all encased in layers of thick ice crystals,

These ice crystals, illuminated by the distant Mandeville system's crimson twin stars, glittered like beads of blood.

For Justus Van Avarco, this was more like fruit waiting to be picked,

He lightly raised his hand to issue the command————

Shells, torpedoes, and light lances poured forth from the Imperial Navy's fleet, igniting the dim stars,

Justus Van Avarco savored this moment——————

"Admiral?!"

Justus Van Avarco's subordinates cried out in terror.

He himself also widened his eyes, staring at this scene in disbelief,

The Tyranid bio-ships were completely unscathed under the successive bombardment of shells, torpedoes, and light lances

Justus Van Avarco's body trembled slightly,

He noticed that the surface of the Tyranid bio-ships was secreting some kind of mucus, which froze into ice under the extreme cold, serving as armor for the Tyranid bio-ships

The bitter cold within the Shield of Insanium had not only failed to slow the Leviathan hive fleet, it had instead reinforced their armor.

"All fleets"

Before Justus Van Avarco could give the order, the azure light radiating from the screen dyed his face blue,

The Tyranid fleet's bio-plasma fired in unison, the emitted electric light swelling outward, transforming into streaks of brilliance upon the Imperial Navy's ships, harshly stinging the eyes of Justus Van Avarco and the naval soldiers.

What followed were concentrated acid cannons, bio-fish, and smaller Tyranid ships bearing predatory tentacles,

Dense attacks swallowed the Imperial Navy's fleet in the blink of an eye,

These Tyranid creatures had barely suffered any damage within the Shield of Insanium, and their numbers now far surpassed those of the Imperial Navy.

Justus Van Avarco watched with a pale face as more and more light points devoured the naval fleet,

He had proven himself so utterly incompetent

What should be done next? Retreat into the Castellan Belt?

But if so, with the Tyranid bio-ships and the Imperial Navy fleet mixed together, the Cadians in the Castellan Belt would be unable to fire at all.

Justus Van Avarco might survive, but the Tyranid hive fleet would also pour into the Mandeville system unopposed.

His expression suddenly changed drastically, and he gritted his teeth and said: "No, no matter how incompetent I am, I will never be a cowardly weakling."

"All fleets, hold the hive fleet at full strength, wear down their ships as much as possible!"

In no time at all, brilliant bio-plasma engulfed Justus Van Avarco.

"The Navy has gone silent." Tech-Priest Saholic said.

General Drost stood beside Zhou Yun, silently watching the Leviathan hive fleet gradually pour into the interior of the Mandeville system on the screen before him,

They had already approached the Castellan Belt,

General Drost's fingers trembled slightly, and after taking a deep breath, he said in an extremely firm tone:

"Have the artillerymen within the Castellan Belt proceed according to plan"

(End of this chapter)