Chapter 215: Wheel of Fire

Geleigori's right hand tapped lightly on the holographic projection.

He zoomed in on a bizarre structure and said to Mikhailovsky beside him.

"It is hard to see the appearance of a human Hive City from the Ork fortress; the Hive Towers were dismantled and used as materials to build the greenskins' strange structures."

The tower-like structures were not as slender as Gothic architecture; they tapered at the top, giving the whole thing a spire shape.

The greenskins' construction machines were thicker and stranger; they looked like parts picked up from a junk pile, with iron sheets, gears, chimneys, and other things cobbled together.

Mikhailovsky laughed, "They can be considered towers, too."

"In the data issued by Father, they are called Waaagh Towers."

"They are like generators; they can stack Waaagh Energy for the Orks, filling their bodies with strength and making their Dakka and shoota turret firepower stronger."

"Although I cannot yet understand all of this, they are the buildings that should be prioritized for destruction after breaking into the fortress."

Geleigori looked at his friend: "It sounds like you already have a complete attack plan."

Mikhailovsky said confidently.

"That's right, we will deploy our forces and launch an offensive against the greenskin fortress from four directions simultaneously."

"Since the Waaagh Towers can buff the greenskins, we will break through from the south, where there are the fewest."

"Once we break through, the Orks will swarm toward the south, and the other directions can take the opportunity to break through."

The Second Company Captain closed the holographic image and stated his strategic deployment.

"My Second Company will lead the main attack on the south, and your Third Company will launch an offensive from the north."

"Send a request to the Fifth Legion, asking them to launch attacks from the west and east sides respectively."

The Primarch authorized the Third Legion to lead this offensive to attack Planet No. 2, and Karluo, the Lord of the Fifth Legion, deployed his forces according to Mikhailovsky's plan.

Mikhailovsky walked out of the temporary tent and boarded his Vostoyan Rhino armored command vehicle.

The Vostoyan Rhino is a variant based on the Deimos Rhino armored vehicle; compared to the original model, it is longer, wider, and taller, allowing the embarked Order Shadow to be equipped with Jump Packs.

Around the Second Company Captain's command vehicle, the Order Shadow were all standing by in their armored vehicles.

After the Third Legion took root in Modian, the biggest change to the Chapter reshaped by Bukayo was that the entire Chapter became mechanized.

The factories of Vostonia, manufacturing a large number of vehicles according to standard construction templates, provided support for the Chapter's transformation.

The Macharius Defenders of the First Regiment of the "Modian Iron Guard" moved to the front, followed by the Vostoyan Rhinos.

Walking at the very back were the Siege Dreadnoughts of the First Company and Second Company, totaling fifty-two units.

The First Company suffered the greatest losses in the Modian conquest due to Samir's insubordination; many veterans with rich combat experience were interred into Dreadnoughts, and they arrived at the Wheel of Fire along with Mikhailovsky.

As soon as the Ork fortress appeared within the range of the "Modian" First Regiment's Auspex, shells trailing black smoke fired toward the area of the black heavy tanks.

Boom, boom, boom!

Most of the shells, due to the long distance and their own lack of precision, slammed into the area around the steel torrent, kicking up clouds of dust.

A few shells luckily slammed into the hulls of several Macharius Defenders.

After the deafening explosions, it only left the hulls pitch black.

The Defender variant is the most unusual and effective of the Macharius variants; it is a true mobile fortress used to counter enemy strongholds and defensive fortifications.

The Macharius Defenders sped through the artillery fire; the "Modian Iron Guard" were unaffected by the roar of the explosions, and the Crusher Cannons were terrifying once they broke through the tanks to close range.

The Mekboy Boys of the Death Skulls clan commanding on the Ork fortress saw the humies' black Dakka lined up, getting closer like a tidal wave.

A Mekboy Boy with a string of teeth hanging around his neck jumped to the highest point and shouted loudly.

"The humies' Dakka shells are too hard, hit them one by one!"

The greenskins yelled and turned their gun barrels toward the direction he was pointing.

Dozens of cannons fired simultaneously.

With a bang, the cobbled-together Ork cannons exploded, and black smoke shot into the sky.

The Mekboy Boy and a dozen Gretchin were blown away, and a gap several meters wide was blasted into the city wall.

Boom, boom, boom!

Several shells hit their targets, the armor of a Macharius Defender was penetrated, and four of the eight crew members were killed instantly by the explosion.

The escape hatch opened, and the other four crew members, covered in flames, screamed as they crawled out of the furnace-like inner cabin.

The Modian Iron Guard did not slow their pace; the Macharius Defenders brutally rammed through the wreckage and continued to advance.

Three consecutive Macharius Defenders were destroyed, but the black steel torrent was like a cold machine, just rushing forward rapidly, with not a single vehicle wasting firepower.

It was not until the city wall entered effective range that the Crusher Cannons of the First Platoon fired their shells simultaneously.

Unlike the Orks' scattered attacks, fifty shells slammed into a two-hundred-meter area around the gap.

Rumble!

The continuous explosions tore apart the greenskin city wall; the gap grew larger and larger, and the city wall tens of meters wide collapsed with a crash.

The Modian Iron Guard, which had been advancing steadily, were like bloodthirsty sharks, pouncing toward the gap.

The greenskin cannons aimed below the city wall, pouring down a rain of bullets frantically.

One vehicle, two vehicles, three vehicles.

The first Macharius Defender rushed into the gap, and the greenskins swarmed in like a tide.

The Macharius Defender replaced its lateral turrets, and the modified five Heavy Bolters hissed and fired, covering three hundred and sixty degrees around it.

The barrage was overwhelming, tearing through green flesh.

The Macharius Defender was unstoppable; Orks fell in droves, and it brutally charged through the breach and drove into the city.

Thousands of big shootas inside the greenskin fortress spat tongues of fire, striking the black armor.

The Macharius Defender dragged its staggering pace and continued to move forward.

Inside the cramped vehicle body, it was like a fiery furnace.

The Macharius Defender possessed five Heavy Bolters and also carried weapons on both sides; the Commander had to double as a heavy gunner.

He shoved the shell into the breech; surrounded by Orks, he had no need to aim and fired directly.

Just as he was about to reload, a stray round suddenly pierced through a hole and shot inside.

The Commander slammed onto the floor with a bang; the soldier near the front left of the vehicle hull immediately dropped the Heavy Bolter in their hands, handing the defense over to the gunner using the side weapon below.

He quickly picked up a shell, shoved it into the barrel, and fired at the enemy.

The Orks noticed the black Dakka of the "shrimp" had weakened on the left flank and charged over, shouting.

The gunner on the left fell, and the gunner on the right filled the gap.

The Macharius Defender charged forward alone for nearly a hundred meters before being destroyed; the Modian Iron Guard killed thousands of Orks before falling in battle.

The second, the third, the fourth.

Four Macharius Defenders were destroyed, their wrecks burning fiercely.

More black tanks surged in; they were harvesting killers in the close-quarters combat of the city.

After the Modian Iron Guard ruthlessly punched through the Orcs' defensive line, the Vostoyan Rhino armored vehicles of the Third Legion's Second Company spewed out one thousand Order Shadows.

The Order Shadows, trailing exhaust flames, leaped onto the city walls and slaughtered the boys of the Si-tou clan.

They were orderly and clear-headed, rooting out the firing points on the city walls one by one.

By the third hour since the Ork city walls were breached, the defensive line was already teetering.

The Orcs inside the Fortress surged madly toward the south wall.

Geleigori, on the north wall, had been commanding the Vostoyan Rhinos, relying on their advanced and excellent Machine Spirits to launch successive charges against the wall.

After drawing the Orks' fire, they retreated rapidly.

After repeated charges to exhaust the Orcs, Geleigori finally caught a gap in the defenses of the Orc Fortress.

"Attack!"

At the Third Company Captain's order, the armored vehicles launched an overwhelming assault on the Ork Fortress.

The Blinding Grenade automatic launchers locked onto the life signals ahead, flew into the air, and slammed against the city wall.

The Blinding Grenades detonated, releasing a blinding light.

The Orks scattered in a panic; the Destroyer Cannons of the Modian Iron Guard's Second Regiment and Third Regiment pulled up close to the wall, and shells rained down.

The artillery fire pounded the north wall of the Orc Fortress without pause, and the hail of bullets fired by the Storm Bolters lashed against the wall.

The firepower of the Modian Iron Guard suppressed the Ork defenders.

Just then, the three Waaagh Towers inside the city roared.

Green mist rose in the minds of the Orks, and they shouted in unison.

"Waaagh!"

Countless Orcs surged onto the city walls, operating the turrets to attack the black tanks below.

The shells of the Waaagh had astonishing power, screaming as they tore through the steel bodies of the Macharius Defenders.

Thousands upon thousands of Orks leaped from the city walls, charging madly toward the black torrent.

The shootas in their hands spat out a barrage of Waaagh.

(End of chapter)