The strongest astral army in Warhammer 40K

The screech of the Zerg swarm echoed like a death knell across the shattered battlefield. Van Grey's greatsword, "Imperial Judgment," was stained with the Zerg's viscous green blood; his Terminator armor was riddled with cracks, and his energy shield was long overloaded. However, the enemy before them was far more terrifying than they had anticipated.

Mixed among the swarm of Bladebugs are enormous variants—the **Giant Bladebugs**, whose scythes are even sharper, and whose carapaces are as thick as tank armor, easily tearing through the power armor of Space Marines. Even more terrifying are the **Overlord Bladebugs**, whose size rivals that of Dreadnoughts; each charge sends several warriors flying, and a single swipe of their scythes can cleave a Terminator in two.

"These bugs...something's not right!" Van Grey roared, cleaving a giant blade bug that lunged at him with his sword, but more monsters surged in from all directions.

The barrage of gun bugs rained down like a storm, interspersed with bio-engineered projectiles from the **giant gun bugs**, a single shot capable of blasting the upper body of a Space Marine to smithereens. Even more deadly were the **overlord-class gun bugs**—their bio-cannons were as powerful as a tank's main cannon, a single shot capable of piercing Terminator armor and turning the warriors inside into mincemeat.

"Commander! The Third Company has lost more than half its men!" A hoarse voice roared through the communicator.

Van Grey surveyed his surroundings; the battlefield had become a living hell. The Silver Knights' warriors were still fighting, but the casualty figures were rising at an alarming rate. One warrior had been pierced through the chest by the scythe of a Overlord-class Blade Insect, while another had been reduced to ashes by the barrage of Overlord-class Gun Insects.

"What kind of monsters are these?!" Vangret roared, his greatsword slashing deep into the carapace of a tyrant-level blade insect, green blood splattering onto his helmet.

Jericho Lyon's power staff unleashed a psionic shockwave, temporarily repelling the surging swarm. His voice was deep and grave: "They've evolved, Chapter Master. This isn't an ordinary Hive fleet... They're adapting to our tactics, targeting our weaknesses!"

Van Grey gritted his teeth and beheaded the last Overlord-class Bladebug with a single strike, but more Crimson Warriors were surging out from the depths of the swarm. On his tactical monitor, friendly signals were dying out one by one.

“We need more reinforcements,” Jericho Lyon whispered. “Otherwise… we won’t survive the next wave of attacks.”

Van Grey paused for a moment, then roared into the communication channel: "All survivors, move towards me! Shrink the defensive line! Hold out until reinforcements arrive!"

But deep down, he knew that reinforcements might never come.

The screech of the insect swarm rang out again; a new wave of attacks had begun...

…………

Van Grey's greatsword was deeply embedded in the chest cavity of a Dominator-class Blade Insect, thick green blood gushing from the blade. His respirator emitted a piercing alarm—37% of the Terminator armor's oxygen supply system was damaged, and the hydraulic joint of his left leg creaked from acid corrosion. On the battlefield, fewer than a hundred Silver Knights remained, leaning against the burning remains of the Land Raiders, unleashing their last rounds of ammunition at the swarm with explosive rifles.

"In the name of the Emperor! Fight to the death!" Jericho Lyon's power staff erupted with blinding psionic light, blasting three swarming blade insects into charred remains. But his voice was hoarse as sandpaper, and the power staff's energy core was constantly sparking due to overload.

The swarm's roars suddenly became sharp and piercing.

On the horizon, dozens of burning meteorites tore through the clouds. Those weren't Tyrannosaurus spore sacs—the falling fireballs were adorned with flame emblems, and the insignia of the Salamander Chapter was faintly visible through the thick smoke.

"Unyielding and indomitable!"

The thunderous battle roar shook the earth.

The first landing pods exploded open, and the warriors who emerged astounded even Van Grey—the Space Marines of the Salamander Chapter were on average half a head taller than ordinary Astartes, their black armor flowing with lava-like energy patterns, and their shoulder armor inlaid with bronze-cast fire dragon reliefs. The warriors at the front wielded two-meter-long **Thunderhammers**, their hammerheads crackling with plasma arcs, each step leaving burning footprints in the scorched earth.

"For Vulcan!" the lead warrior roared, his heavy hammer sweeping across the battlefield. The carapaces of three Overlord-level Blade Insects shattered the moment they touched the hammer, green flesh and broken bone blades flying through the air. The Salamander Warriors behind him opened fire simultaneously, their heavy flamethrowers spewing plasma flames that formed a hundred-meter-wide wall of fire, turning the swarm's vanguard into writhing charcoal.

Van Grey's tactical visors flashed wildly—these newly emerged warriors were equipped with weapons specifically designed to counter Tyrion:

- **Shocking Hammer** uses high-frequency vibration waves to shatter the Zerg's carapace.

- **Molten Core Jettor** injects a jet of liquid metal into the Zerg's joints.

- The **Heat-Powered Battle Axe** releases temperatures of 5,000 degrees Celsius when it strikes.

"Contract the lines! Coordinate with our allies!" Van Grey roared. The remaining Silver Knights immediately changed formation, their slugs firing specifically at the insect swarm's compound eyes to create close-quarters combat space for the Salamanders.

Jericho Leon stood back-to-back with a salamander priest. As five scarlet warrior insects pounced, the priest's hammer shattered the first one's skull, Leon's power staff pierced the second's heart, and the priest's **Dragon Breath Gauntlet** spewed out incandescent flames, burning the remaining three into charred, curled-up corpses.

“You’re too late,” Van Grey roared at the Salamander Commander, his greatsword stuck in the carapace of a Dominator-class gun bug.

"No, we've arrived just in time." The opponent bent the bio-cannon barrel of the gun bug with a single hammer blow, and shattered its central nervous system with a second. "Thirty-seven minutes ago, we received a subspace distress signal from Cassius IV—but the sender wasn't you."

The swarm suddenly receded like a tide. In the eerie silence of the battlefield, the helmet detectors of all the soldiers simultaneously emitted piercing alarms—on the distant horizon, a **biological Titan**, as large as a mountain, was rising, its carapace covered with pulsating crimson veins, a **fire-resistant mutant** evolved by the Tyranids against the Salamander Chapter.

The Salamander Commander's visor sneered in the blue light of the tactical screen: "Ready for round two, brother?"