49: If you can't deal with the shells, then deal with the person firing them.

[Holy Terra - Pan-Pacific Toxic Mire Sector - Battlefield Frontline]

The static charge in the air rose sharply, causing tiny blue electric arcs to dance across the surface of the Astartes' Mk II power armor.

A tooth-aching, high-frequency hum, like tens of millions of bees vibrating their wings simultaneously, even drowned out the sound of the torrential rain.

C-19 jerked his head up, his tactical visor instantly locking onto the distant moving mountain of steel—the Land Carrier, "wrath of leviathan."

The hundred-meter-long Electromagnetic Railgun at the bow had finished charging, emitting a blinding blue light.

Countless electric arcs roamed the muzzle, like a captive thunder dragon struggling frantically.

Warning: High-energy reaction detected.

Warning: Trajectory prediction—Full area coverage. Charging progress: 99%.

C-19's pupils constricted.

This wasn't a sniper shot aimed at a single point; it was an erasure of the entire defensive line.

"Scatter!!!!"

He unleashed a roar into the communication channel loud enough to shatter a Mortal's eardrums.

BOOM—!!!

There was no fire from a gunpowder explosion, only a pillar of blue lightning that pierced through heaven and earth.

A solid tungsten alloy projectile weighing several tons slammed into the rock layer at the Hive City entrance at seven times the speed of sound.

In that instant, the world seemed to stand still.

Then came a devastating movement of the earth's crust.

Tens of thousands of tons of rock were instantly vaporized by kinetic energy. A massive shockwave, carrying molten lava and debris, swept through everything within a one-kilometer radius like a tsunami.

Those Mortal Auxiliary Army soldiers who hadn't managed to retreat into bunkers couldn't even let out a scream before being torn to shreds by the shockwave, turning into a bloody mist in the wind.

Even the Astartes prototypes in their power armor were blown away like toy soldiers by this terrifying force, crashing heavily into the ruins hundreds of meters away... [Holographic Operations Cabin]

Alarms blared throughout the room. The entire console vibrated violently, and Li Cang had to grip the armrests tightly to avoid being thrown out.

[Warning: Outer defensive line has collapsed.]

[Warning: Hive City structural stability has decreased by 12%.]

[Warning: Strong tremors detected in the shipyard area; construction progress is hindered.]

Li Cang looked at the sky full of dust on the screen. There was no fear in his eyes, only an enraged ferocity.

"Very well."

"That single shot burned through at least a tenth of their reactor energy."

He looked at the Land Carrier, which was still glowing with blue light.

That thing was like a tortoise shell, outrageously tough.

If they were trading shots on an open plain, his small force wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.

But this was the wasteland.

This was the Hive City ruins, full of complex terrain, cover, and blind spots.

"C-19," Li Cang connected to the channel, which was still online but filled with static.

"Are you still alive?"

"Cough... Alive... Commander."

C-19's voice came through, accompanied by heavy panting.

One side of his tactical visor was shattered. Glass shards had pierced his brow bone, and blood coated half of his vision. To him, the world was half darkness and half blood-red.

He was struggling to push off a concrete slab that was pinning him down.

"Good that you're alive," Li Cang's voice was cold as ice.

"That gun cannot fire a second time."

"Since we can't stop its shells from the front..."

"Then go onto its deck and slaughter the gunner for me."

It was a suicidal directive.

Using infantry to charge a Land Carrier loaded with defensive firepower?

In conventional warfare, that was called a death sentence.

But in the Astartes dictionary, it was called a "Tactical Boarding Action"... [Battlefield - Ruins Sector]

C-19 stood up from the ruins.

The surface of his power armor was covered in cracks, and his left pauldrons were missing. But he didn't pause for a second.

"First Legion, sound off."

"D-02, in position."

"D-05, in position." "..."

One by one, black silhouettes rose from the mud and rubble.

Though they were in a sorry state and wounded, their murderous aura had not diminished in the slightest.

The previous bombardment was terrifying, but thanks to the powerful defense of their power armor and the superhuman reflexes provided by the Black Carapace, most of them had survived, except for three unlucky brothers who were vaporized by a direct hit.

"Target: leviathan." C-19 drew the Chainsword from his waist.

The blade was chipped, but it still hungered for blood.

"Tactic: Decapitation."

"Move out."

Under the cover of torrential rain and smoke, over sixty black ghosts began to sprint.

They ignored the ordinary Pan-Pacific infantry. Their eyes were fixed only on that behemoth.

"Stop them! Stop those monsters!" the Pan-Pacific Commander screamed in terror from the bridge.

He saw that group of black reapers who, instead of dying in the bombardment, were charging even faster.

Dense point-defense fire and heavy machine guns rained down.

But under the cover of the complex terrain, the Astartes displayed a despair-inducing mobility.

Using ruins as cover, they leaped between craters like black lightning, approaching in a Z-shaped pattern.

Five hundred meters.

Three hundred meters.

One hundred meters.

They reached it!!

This was the "leviathan's" blind spot.

The massive treads were right before them, like a moving cliff of steel.

"Boarding!" C-19 roared.

He didn't use grappling hooks or ladders.

He directly activated the full power of his power armor, even overclocking the servo-motors.

Sizzle—!!!

Scalding oil mist sprayed from the joints, and the servo-motors emitted an overloaded shriek.

The power armor's movements became stiff and violent, pushing the metal to its absolute limit with every step.

A sprint, then a leap.

Thud!

A large hand covered in Ceramite slammed hard into a gap in the armor on the side of the treads.

Then came a second hand, a third... Dozens of Astartes, like a swarm of bloodthirsty army ants, climbed up the rough hull of the Land Carrier, braving the hail of bullets from above!

"They... they're coming up!" The defenders on the deck were scared out of their wits as they saw a black helmet peek over the edge of the railing.

VROOOOM—!!!

The roar of the Chainsword became the final death knell for this warship.

C-19 flipped onto the deck.

He was met by a squad of elite guards in heavy diving suits.

"For the Deep Sea..."

Bang!

A single bolt shell cut off the opponent's slogan and shattered his head.

C-19 didn't stop.

Like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, he knocked aside anyone in his way and headed straight for the massive railgun at the bow that was recharging.

Electric arcs were already roaming the muzzle, and the smell of ozone filled the air. The charging readout had reached 90%.

"Stop the charging!" He threw two high-energy plastic explosive packs from his hand.

The explosive packs traced a parabola and landed precisely into the railgun's cooling vent.

BOOM—!!!

A muffled explosion rang out from inside the turret.

The electromagnetic coils, which were concentrating energy, short-circuited instantly, and the out-of-control energy triggered a chain reaction of explosions.

The giant cannon, a symbol of the Pan-Pacific Empire's supreme military might, blew into two pieces amidst a blinding blue light.

The massive barrel crashed onto the deck, crushing half of the command tower.

The shockwave swept across the deck, blowing countless defenders into the abyss.

"Is this your god?"

C-19 stood before the burning wreckage, his foot planted on the corpse of a Commander.

Rain washed over his black armor, flowing down mixed with the blood of his enemies.

He looked up at the sky.

The Adeptus Mechanicus ark was still hovering there, its massive shadow looming over the battlefield.

It didn't fire; it just watched silently, as if evaluating whether this Mortal army was worthy of becoming the omnissiah's sword.

"We don't need a god," C-19 whispered into the channel, his voice reaching Li Cang's ears.

"We... are destruction."

... [Holographic Operations Cabin]

[System Prompt: Enemy flagship "wrath of leviathan" main weapon disabled.]

[System Prompt: Enemy morale has collapsed.]

[Time until Strike Cruiser completion: 03:15:00]

Li Cang looked at the smoke-belching steel beast on the screen and let out a long breath.

The most dangerous moment had passed.

Without that gun, the remaining three hours would just be cleanup time.

"Those boys did a fine job."

He didn't order C-19 to completely destroy the ship.

"That ship's nuclear reactor looks like it's still usable."

"And those armor plates—stripping them off would be perfect to reinforce my new ship."

Li Cang calmly calculated the resource utilization rate. He opened the communication channel with Ul-02.

"Archmagos."

"I've found another batch of... decent 'recycled materials' for you."

"Right at the doorstep, still warm."