160: Hammer of Dawn

Months later, on the fringes of the Eye of Terror, in a sector known as the Festering Rim.

An unprecedented Human Federation expeditionary fleet, like a pack of steel behemoths emerging from the darkness, had quietly completed its assembly.

This mixed fleet, named the Hammer of Dawn, concentrated the most elite forces of the Human Federation's active service: fifteen of the latest titan-class iv (fully refitted with experimental Living Alloy outer armor, upgraded Conceptual Disintegration-Resonance Cannons, and Desecration Protocol launch arrays), seventy arbiter-class iv, forty dominator-class iii equipped with the latest drone attack swarms and orbital bombardment platforms, and over nine thousand escort vessels of various types, special engineering ships, and logistics support ships. Fleet Commander Alpha-01 sat aboard the flagship, the arbiter (formerly an adjudicator titan-class upgraded to IV).

“All units, final system self-checks complete. Navigation beacons calibrated to the first target of the Rim worlds—the daemon world, Flayed Skull.” A cold electronic voice echoed through the fleet channel.

“adjudicator, initiate full-spectrum information isolation and Chaos prophecy interference,” Alpha-01 commanded.

【Interference field deployed. Coverage: three light-years around the fleet. Expected to effectively disrupt the divination arts of low, mid, and high-rank Chaos Sorcerers and communications not under the direct gaze of the Dark Gods.】 the arbiter responded.

“Very well. All fleet units, maintain silent running mode. According to plan, first-wave assault forces, prepare for short-range jump.”

There was no pre-battle mobilization, only execution precise to the second. The massive fleet, like a Blade merging into the shadows, thrust its first strike toward that starscape defiled by Chaos!

The world of Flayed Skull was one of the territories of the Khorne Daemon Prince, the Blood-Skull Overlord. Its surface was covered in a horrific landscape of bone, metal, and blood that never coagulated. Orbiting it were several chaos cruisers converted from space hulks, bristling with spikes and skull decorations.

When the Human Federation fleet suddenly jumped out of the Warp and appeared in near orbit, the Chaos defenders were clearly taken by surprise. Piercing alarms (mixed with blasphemous howls) shrieked through the channels. Chaos ships scrambled to turn, and Daemon Engines on the surface began to charge.

But the Human Federation gave them no time to organize an effective resistance.

First wave, volley fire! Target: orbital defense platforms and primary cruisers!

A torrent of dark gold instantly flooded the void. With firing parameters optimized by the arbiter, the first round of volleys achieved staggering results.

Under the bombardment of the Concept Disintegration Cannons, the blasphemous shields of two chaos cruisers shattered like thin paper, and more than half of their hulls were instantly evaporated. The orbital platforms were torn to shreds by the dense firepower in an instant.

Second wave, Purifier assault ships, deploy! Target: primary surface Daemon Engine arrays and the Blood-Skull Overlord's palace!

Small assault ships carrying the most elite Purifier units rushed toward the planet's surface like a swarm of bees under the cover of the capital ships' fire. Their latest Living Alloy power armor showed excellent resistance to the corruption of Chaos energy, and their weapons had been specially modified to deal significant damage to demonic entities.

Meanwhile, aboard the arbiter, the Desecration Protocol jammers, specifically designed against Chaos communications and summoning rituals, operated at full power. They constantly projected carefully designed conceptual noise—a mix of logical paradoxes, order-based pollution, and faint questioning of the Dark Gods—onto the planet's surface, greatly interfering with the daemons' response speed and the sorcerers' spellcasting.

The battle was intense and brief. Deprived of orbital support and effective command, the Chaos defenders on the surface, though fierce, quickly collapsed under the Human Federation's efficient multi-dimensional strikes. The Blood-Skull Overlord's palace was leveled by orbital bombardment. When the Overlord himself attempted to take flight and counterattack, he was singled out by the arbiter's main guns and turned to ash along with his mount.

“Purge of Flayed Skull complete. Primary Chaos nodes destroyed. Commencing deployment of temporary reality-stabilization beacons and establishing forward base A-1,” Alpha-01 reported calmly.

The first battle was a victory with minimal losses. This was thanks to the surprise attack, crushing technological superiority, and the arbiter's outstanding performance in information warfare.

“Continue following the predetermined target list to clear other major Chaos strongholds in the Festering Rim,” Alpha-01 ordered. “Maintain a steady pace and avoid overextending. Engineering fleets are to follow up synchronously to establish supply stations and reconnaissance outposts in the cleared areas.”

The Hammer of Dawn fleet was like a precise and cold harvester, advancing steadily on the fringes of the Eye of Terror. They avoided areas where Warp storms were exceptionally violent or suspected to be under the gaze of the Dark Gods, specifically picking Chaos strongholds that were relatively weakly defended but held high strategic value.

Relying on the arbiter's precise intelligence and tactical optimization, as well as the fleet's powerful firepower and resistance, a string of victories was quickly achieved.

Inside the Eye of Terror, the Chaos forces finally reacted from their initial confusion. Despite the mutual hostility between various warbands and daemon worlds, signs of a rare, loose alliance began to emerge under the massive threat of the Human Federation, those heretics of order. Several powerful Chaos Fleets began to assemble toward the Festering Rim in an attempt to block the Human Federation's advance.

“Large-scale Chaos Fleet assembly signals detected in the Corridor of Pain sector, including confirmed Black Legion detachments and Death Guard Plague Fleets,” a reconnaissance officer reported.

“adjudicator, simulate response scenarios.” Alpha-01 remained unfazed.

“Option One: Frontal engagement. Utilizing technological superiority and information warfare, estimated casualty ratio 1:2.5. Victory is achievable, but it will consume significant time and resources, potentially delaying subsequent plans.”

“Option Two: Flanking maneuvers. Utilizing the complex Warp currents and reality distortion zones in the Corridor of Pain sector to perform divided annihilation. Estimated casualty ratio 1:3.5. Higher efficiency, but places extremely high demands on fleet navigation and the Commander's on-site adaptability.”

“Adopt Option Two,” Alpha-01 chose decisively. “adjudicator, provide optimal maneuver paths and coordinates for divided strikes. All fleet units, prepare for regional jump.”

The ensuing battle became a classic confrontation between the Human Federation's new fleet tactics and Chaos brute force. The Human Federation fleet wove through the distorted sectors like ghosts. Using the terrain (if it could still be called that) and the arbiter's real-time calculations, they repeatedly lured and divided the massive Chaos Fleets, then used local numerical superiority to quickly devour segments of them. The Chaos Fleets had numbers and ferocity, but they repeatedly struck empty air or lost their way in complex Warp disturbances, only to be hit by lethal strikes from the Human Federation from unexpected angles.

When the last organized Chaos resistance fleet was ambushed and annihilated in the depths of the Corridor of Pain, the primary Chaos military forces in the Festering Rim had been basically cleared.

“Phase One, the Purge Expedition, primary objectives achieved,” Alpha-01 reported from the center of the cleared sector.

“Twelve forward bases have been established, with the preliminary reality-stabilization field covering 5% of the Eye of Terror's fringe. Organized Chaos resistance has been crushed or scattered deeper into the Eye. Our losses: one titan-class heavily damaged (repairable), three arbiter-class lost, and a total of one hundred and forty-seven other vessels lost. Personnel casualties are within expectations.”

“Very good.” Han Zhe's image appeared on the flagship. “Engineering fleets are to move in immediately to begin preliminary preparations for Phase Two of the Firmament Foundation. The Nullifier prototype components have been shipped from the Extragalactic test site and are expected to arrive in sixty standard days. Alpha, your fleet is to transition to a defensive and alert posture to protect the construction zone, and continue cautious reconnaissance deeper into the Eye of Terror to find the optimal deployment point for the Nullifier.”

“Understood.”