r18novel Page 184
Page 184
Chapter 215 The Mountain Formation Arrives
The Bonebreaker lay on the cold ship's deck, blood continuously flowing from its body, forming a pool beneath it. The pungent stench of blood permeated the air, transforming with the Bonebreaker's death into a venomous snake called "Fear," coiling around the necks of every orc present, hissing coldly.
"For Dorne!"
Helbreshett raised his shield and slammed it down heavily on the body of an orc in front of him. The force of the blow snapped the orc's spine, sending him sprawling to the ground, where a follow-up kick shattered his skull.
More orcs charged forward, but were killed one after another by the Black Templar Grand Marshal's fierce attacks. The deaths of the Bonecrushers inevitably dampened the orcs' fighting spirit and morale, but they were still some distance from collapse, which allowed them to continue fighting the Black Templar.
Now, all that's missing before their collapse is a sufficiently violent explosion.
And coincidentally, Roger Dorn, who had escaped from the battle with the Bonecrushers, was the perfect actor to play the role of the bomb.
Rogue Dorn charged into the heavily armored orcs' battle formation, his face splattered with crimson blood, Stormfang gushing blood incessantly.
Suddenly, an attack from the orc leader flashed out from the enemy ranks—it was the Bonecrusher's second-in-command, and also the strongest orc present. A large part of the reason why the orcs had not been routed was because he was still alive, maintaining the order of the already precarious group.
Clearly, he wanted to take advantage of the chaos to kill Dorn, avenge the Bonecrusher, and seize the position of leader to become the Bonecrusher's successor.
The orc's claws tore through the air, and the gleaming blades, along with the sharp edges hidden in the shadows, were aimed at the Primarch's chest.
This attack consumed the entirety of an orc's life, nearly flawless. Even Grand Marshal Helbrecht felt a deadly threat upon witnessing it.
It's as simple as a straight line drawn by an artist on a blank sheet of paper, yet it contains immense power...
Storm Fang parried with a sharp screech. A burst of silver sparks erupted at the point where the two weapons met.
Rogue Dorn found the attacking orc and, without hesitation, took a step forward before the orc could react, raising Stormfang high in the process before bringing it crashing down.
A sharp cry.
Without the slightest hesitation, Stormfang tore through the heavy orc armor along with the torso it protected, gushing out intestinal fluid mixed with blood, and shattered stones and armor fragments fell to the ground in disarray.
The Black Templar Terminators and veterans swarmed forward, slaughtering the other orcs one by one, and finally forming an empty circle around their Primarch.
Without continuing the fight, Roger Dorn surveyed the area. One orc swallowed hard, then suddenly dropped his weapon and fled towards a passage not far away.
With one leader emerging, a second, a third... and so on. With two leaders killed in succession, the orcish ranks completely collapsed.
Meanwhile, with the two key nodes of the WAAAGH force field gone, the distorted physical rules began to return to normal, and a storm of noise and the metallic scraping sound of teeth-grinding began to echo.
The machine spirit inside Rog Dorn's helmet immediately marked it, and according to the Thinker's calculations, the orc warship would collapse on its own after two Terra hours.
That is, it disintegrates on its own.
“No need to chase.” Roger Dorn raised his hand, stopping his offspring who wanted to give chase. “They won’t survive. Call the Thunderhawk squadron and take us away.”
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The orc fleet began to crumble.
The human fleet withdrew from the battle formation in an orderly manner, without pursuing, but instead used ranged firepower to continuously bombard the orc fleet.
Strangely, the orcs did not retaliate at all, as if they had lost all their strength and means in an instant. Apart from turning their ships around and fleeing in all directions, they could do nothing else.
The Thunderhawks, responsible for the rescue, have brought Roger Dorn and the hundreds of Black Templars who survived the boarding maneuver back to the Eternal Expedition.
In the spacious war room, Dorn watched the orc fleet getting further and further away from him, arms crossed, showing no intention of giving orders to pursue them.
"Sir, it is Admiral Amegiddon."
"The mortal crewman said, raising his head to look at Roger Dorn with deep respect.
Roger Dorn nodded and approved the communication request.
The upper body of a middle-aged man in a white naval uniform was instantly sculpted, and using electronic signals, this projected image transmitted the expression of the person on the other side in real time.
Just like at this moment, the admiral's face clearly showed undisguised anxiety.
"Lord Dorn!"
"The admiral shouted."
"Why haven't you given the order to pursue yet! You've already killed the Bonebreaker; now is the perfect opportunity for us to annihilate this orc fleet in one fell swoop!"
"The time has not yet come."
Roger Dorn said coldly, but this reason clearly failed to convince the admiral. He continued to speak at length, trying to persuade Dorn to change his mind.
Everyone present could understand the admiral's mindset.
As one of the orcs who posed the greatest threat to the Empire, the Bonebreaker wielded an absurdly large influence among the orcs; otherwise, he wouldn't have found so many followers and ships willing to fight alongside him.
Now that the Bonebreakers are dead, these ships have lost their fighting spirit and command, becoming like headless flies. In the eyes of the various commanders of the Imperial Navy, this is a natural target and a source of military merit.
If all these orcs can be devoured, then at least in the Void, the threat posed by the orcs to the human empire can be greatly reduced.
Roger Dorn certainly understood this principle as well.
But he also understood another principle.
That's like a cornered beast fighting back.
Currently, although they have successfully won the boarding battle, the orc fleet is still huge. It is not impossible for the combined fleet to take it all down under their command, but they will inevitably suffer heavy casualties.
Rogdorn needs these fresh troops. He is indeed a ruthless rock, but not like Perturabo, who treats soldiers' lives as mere consumables.
Even in the crevices of stubborn rocks, flowers can bloom.
Moreover, for Rogue Dorn, there is an even more cost-effective way to deal with the orc fleet.
The orc fleet began to exert its power, gathering together and opening an incredibly vast warp portal.
The fleet moved slowly forward, intending to pass through the gate, but just before entering, an incredibly strong subspace reaction occurred.
Immediately afterwards, the orc ships that were closer to the door were dragged inside, while those that were further away fared slightly better, merely being torn to pieces.
"This...this is..."
"Mountain formation." A faint smile appeared on Roger Dorn's face. "It's finally here."
Chapter 216 The Seventh Legion
Within the warp rift, before the orc fleet could enter in order to escape this void that had become a purgatory for them, a powerful warp signal appeared in the consciousness of every Astrologer in the Imperium of Man, causing them to convulse, vomit, or collapse to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.
Roger Dorn felt the excited call from a familiar soul beyond the rift, a call that spanned ten thousand years and was filled with the joy of a long-awaited reunion.
The owner of this cry was all too familiar to Roger Dorn, after all, it was he who had given the other a new life, preventing him from becoming a cold, merciless corpse in the void.
"Mountain Formation..."
Roger Dorn called out the other's name, his voice, unusually, carrying a complex emotion—a blend of joy, heaviness, and感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex feeling of deep emotion).
"haven't seen you for a long time."
An enormous body broke free from the rift in the warp, and the moment it appeared, everyone present, whether mortal or Astartes, orc or human, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
In the Imperial Navy's order of battleships, the largest unit of warships in theory is the battleship.
Among battleships, the largest model recorded in the Empire's official history is the Glory Queen battleship, which was owned by the various Primarchs ten thousand years ago.
Each of the Glorious Queen battleships is over twenty kilometers long. Their massive size does not slow them down; on the contrary, with the support of various ancient technologies, they possess formidable firepower and defensive capabilities. These enormous warships constitute the crown jewel of the human empire's void power, making every alien that hears their name tremble in fear.
However, even as a jewel, the Glory Queen was not the most dazzling one on the crown.
The most dazzling jewel is called the Mountain Formation.
This is an indisputable fact, because anyone who has doubts will understand that it is an undeniable truth once they go to Terra and see the enormous figure orbiting the moon in a circular motion.
The Mountain Array is a massive interstellar spaceship, large enough to accommodate more than a dozen Imperial Navy cruisers on its foredeck. It is the largest known spaceship built by unknown individuals during the Dark Ages, long before the founding of the Empire.
Furthermore, the Mountain Array is not simply limited to its size; it also contains technology that even the Grand Sages of the Cult of Mechanics cannot comprehend. According to some Mechanics sages, the Mountain Array may essentially be a massive space city, and its construction technology and concepts may have drawn inspiration from the Ark worlds used by the Eldar to traverse the stars.
In terms of appearance, compared to traditional warships, the Mountain Array is more like an asteroid. Its massive size is so large that it doesn't even reflect the light of a star, making it look like a shining star from the ground.
Its hull is covered with towering spires and intersecting arches, its cross-section is triangular, and its upper surface is covered with weapons and sensory arrays. Two long wings sweep backward from the sides of the hull, trailing directional blades like long, gilded feathers. Every surface is covered with sturdy armor, and every angle is filled with torpedo tubes and light spear cannons, far more than any other Imperial warship. And on its beak-like prow, it is covered with the glory and battle marks left by the Imperial Fist in every battle it has participated in.
And now, this glory will be used to joyfully inscribe new honors on the bow of the ship.
The Mountain Array broke free from the warp, followed by an incredibly large fleet. If one looked closely, one could see that the fleet contained a large number of Astartes battle barges and strike cruisers. Upon closer inspection, one could also see the insignia of the chapters to which these warships belonged—the most prominent being the symbol of the Imperial Fist, followed by the symbols of the two expeditionary fleets of the Black Templar, and then the symbols of the Executioners, Crimson Fist, Celestial Lion, Exorcists, and other chapters.
These chapters have different symbols, but they all share one thing in common in terms of identity.
They were all warbands that broke away from the Seventh Legion ten thousand years ago, meaning they were all sons of Roger Dorne.
At this moment, with the activation of the Final Wall Protocol and the transmission of the Star Language, these Sons of Dorne gathered together and headed towards a planet called Amighiddon, united in purpose and without the slightest opposition.
It was as if the Seventh Legion from ten thousand years ago had reappeared.
And its reappearance can only be attributed to this one reason.
Naturally, it's the return of Roger Dorn himself.
Meanwhile, a man's angry roar rang out from the public communication channel.
"Son of Dorne!"
Commander of the Imperial Fist, Von Hagen, stood in the command room of the Mountain Formation. This resolute warrior exuded a powerful aura, which gave his words a strong infectiousness, causing those who heard them to tremble involuntarily.
"For the glory of Roger Dorn! Fire!"
The Mountain Formation at the very front of the column opened fire first.
For the first time since the rebellion, as if celebrating a joyous reunion, the Mountain Array unleashed a warship's power that neither the Imperial Fist nor the Mechanicus could previously muster. Ancient light bars illuminated, and theoretically sealed-off ancient turrets began charging. Plasma and macro cannons were merely the most basic means of attack; at this moment, the Mountain Array even boasted dozens of neon cannons, traditionally considered only for heavy cruisers.
These powerful weapons charged together, and then together brought the orcs a symphony called "death".
The starry sea was in turmoil as the orcs howled in agony as their warships were destroyed. Some orc warships launched a desperate final assault on the Mountain Array, but their efforts were futile. The Mountain Array didn't even use its powerful firepower to destroy them beforehand; it simply charged forward with its massive body, ramming the orc warships into nothingness in the void. The explosions during this process didn't even leave a noticeable mark on its external armor.
"Combined Fleet, advance, and coordinate with the support fleet from within and without."
Rog Dorn gave the order, and the already impatient Allied Fleet immediately charged out like wild dogs, joining forces with the Imperial Fist and its subsidiary fleets to strangle the orcs.
At that moment, Roger Dorn spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of gentleness that he himself did not notice.
"To all the warriors of the Imperial Fist and its sub-companies, I am Roger Dorn."
The Sons of Dorne, who were engaged in fierce battle, all heard this voice, which gave them a jolt and ignited their fighting spirit.
"After the battle, I will be waiting for you on the surface of Amigidoton."
Chapter 217 The Black Sanctuary's Predicament
Lysander swung his warhammer, smashing an orc's body into a mangled pulp. He wore heavy Terminator armor, his weapons a Thunderhammer and a Stormshield to complement it. As a company commander of the Imperial Fists, Darnass Lysander had actually had the opportunity to become Chapter Master many years ago when the previous Chapter Master died, but he refused the opportunity, citing his own perceived unsuitability.