Chapter 973: Norn's Shock

"Firm Bastion" flagship, upper corridor area.

Norn, the Legion Commander, had an ashen face as he watched the signals of his own ships and landing forces rapidly disappearing from the tactical screen.

The constant stream of communications from various ships requesting aid and reporting dire news made him feel agitated and distracted.

Norn had never imagined that the battle would develop to this point.

The envisioned scenario was for the "Guardian" Legion to crush those scarlet alien ships with overwhelming force and completely dismantle the opponent's resistance using boarding tactics.

What made Norn feel distressed was the boarding battle.

The "Guardian" Super Soldiers he had placed high hopes on were at a disadvantage in front of those scarlet warriors!

How could this be possible?!

Every "Guardian" Super Soldier was an elite chosen from a thousand, having undergone rigorous augmentation and training, equipped with the most advanced Power Armor and weapons!

They should be invincible! Those scumbags, how could they?!

Just then, a sound of metal clashing came from the corridor area outside the Bridge.

"Report, Legion Commander! Enemy landing forces discovered in the corridor area! It is a Tactical Squad! They have broken through the outer guards and are pushing toward the Bridge!"

"Trash! A bunch of trash!"

Norn cursed in anger and stood up from the command chair.

"Fourth Honor Guard! Follow me! I want to see for myself exactly what these aliens are capable of!"

He wanted to use the enemy's blood to wash away this humiliation and restore morale!

He needed to prove to everyone that the dignity of the "Guardian" Legion Commander could not be desecrated!

Twenty "Guardian" honor guards, wearing specially made, more ornately decorated dark gray Power Armor, assembled behind Norn.

Norn drew his Power Sword, which was embedded with an Energy Core, and charged out of the Command Center first, with the honor guard following closely behind.

The corridor bulkheads were covered in bullet holes, the Auto-Defense Turrets had been violently dismantled, and the corpses of seven or eight ordinary "Guardian" soldiers and ship guards lay on the ground.

In the center of the corridor, five scarlet figures were rapidly advancing.

Two of them were in the front, holding Bolters and Boarding Shields, picking off any resistors who dared to show their heads, while the other three held Chainswords and Power Swords, ready to tear apart any enemies who got close in melee combat.

Norn's appearance immediately drew the attention of that Blood Angels squad.

The leading Blood Angels Sergeant, holding a Power Sword, raised his hand; the squad stopped advancing and instead formed a defensive formation, facing Norn and his honor guard.

"Alien Commander? Your resistance is meaningless. The will of the Emperor shall purify this place."

The Blood Angels Sergeant's voice came through his helmet's speaker.

Norn was burning with rage and roared.

"Arrogant! This is my flagship! This is the domain of the 'Fist of the Firmament'! You invaders are the ones who should be purified! Honor Guard, crush them!"

The battle erupted instantly!

Norn took the lead, his Power Sword slashing directly at the Blood Angels Sergeant.

The Blood Angels Sergeant met him with his own Power Sword!

Clang!

The two Energy Weapons collided, erupting with blinding energy sparks!

Norn felt a massive force transmit through, causing his forward momentum to stall!

The opponent's strength, how could it be this great?!

At the same time, the honor guard also became locked in a struggle with the other Blood Angels Space Marines.

Gray figures and red figures collided at high speed in the corridor.

Norn discovered that his honor guards were far superior to ordinary troops in both equipment and training.

Yet, when facing these Blood Angels, they were unable to gain the slightest advantage!

One honor guard tried to use an Energy Sword to parry a Blood Angels Space Marine's Chainsword, but was shredded along with his sword by the violent saw teeth; subsequently, the Chainsword cut into his chest plate, disemboweling him.

Another honor guard engaged in close-quarters combat with a Blood Angels Space Marine; his Power Fist struck the opponent's abdomen, but the opponent merely let out a muffled grunt and backhanded him, piercing his throat with a Chainsword.

"For the Emperor!"

The Blood Angels Sergeant parried Norn's attack, let out a battle cry, and thrust his Power Sword toward the neck joint of Norn's armor.

Norn awkwardly tilted his head to dodge, the blade grazing his helmet and kicking up a trail of sparks.

"Damn scumbag!"

Norn was both shocked and furious; he swung his Power Sword in a frantic assault, his sword style wide and sweeping, forcing the Blood Angels Sergeant to retreat repeatedly.

But the opponent defended flawlessly, and his occasional counterattacks were so tricky that Norn had to divide his attention to deal with them.

Another honor guard was hit in the knee by a Blood Angels bolter round, fell to the ground, and was immediately finished off by a follow-up Chainsword.

Of the 20 honor guards he had brought, four had already fallen in just a few minutes of fighting!

And on the other side, only one Blood Angels Space Marine was severely wounded and incapacitated; the other four, though injured, still had high fighting spirits!

This price... was too heavy!

What on earth were these monsters made of?!

The Blood Angels Sergeant spoke mockingly.

"Your warriors are brave, Alien Commander. But courage cannot compensate for the fundamental gap. Death is your only salvation."

"Shut up!"

Norn roared, an unprecedented sense of humiliation and anger drowning him.

He could not lose, he absolutely could not lose here!

Norn mobilized all his strength, covering his Power Sword with psychic energy; the energy light of the Power Sword surged, and a heavy, powerful vertical slash finally forced the Sergeant to retreat half a step, revealing a tiny opening.

"Now!"

A fierce glint flashed in Norn's eyes; ignoring a bolter round from another Blood Angel hitting his shoulder plate, he changed his Power Sword from a slash to a thrust, stabbing toward the exposed neck gap of the Blood Angels Sergeant!

Pfft!

The Power Sword pierced into the joint of the Power Armor, deep into the body! The body of that Blood Angels Sergeant suddenly stiffened.

"For... Sanguinius..."

He let out a final whisper, and the Power Sword slipped from his hand.

Norn pulled out the blade, watching the remaining three Blood Angels Space Marines fall one by one under the desperate siege of the honor guard, until all were eventually killed in battle.

Inside the corridor bridge, silence was temporarily restored.

The corpses of 11 honor guards lay intertwined with the corpses of five Blood Angels.

Norn stood in the middle of the corpses, leaning on the Power Sword.

Victory; he had personally slain a powerful enemy leader.

However, Norn could not feel the slightest joy, only a cold chill shooting straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

To eliminate a five-man squad, he, the dignified Legion Commander of the "Fist of the Firmament," leading 20 of his most elite honor guards, had paid the heavy price of 11 men killed in action, with the rest wounded!

And this was merely a single squad! If such enemies were to appear in organized formations...

His previous disdain for Walton and the others, and his absolute confidence in his own strength, now seemed laughable.

He was wrong. Terribly wrong.

The strength of these enemies who called themselves the "Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance" far exceeded his imagination.

Their individual combat power, their technology, their fighting will... were terrifying.