Warhammer, about my years with the Wolfpack

"Ehmmmm," Jonson snorted, not raising the question again. Then, he looked at Perturabo. This time, the Behemoth and Gorgon fleets would join forces and attack a system called Betra. This system contained three habitable worlds: an industrial world, Betra 3; an agricultural world, Betra 2; and a garden world, Betra 3. Because of the vast biomass, the two Zerg fleets, having suffered losses in previous battles, were determined to capture this system. And this was where the first major decisive battle between the two sides would take place.

"Perturabo, my brother, is your war object ready?" Jonson asked. While humans could use the Webway, it wasn't available in many places. Therefore, current human Warp navigation relied on both the Webway and the Astronomican. Another reason for choosing this location for the decisive battle was that outside the Betra system, there was a massive Webway exit, fully capable of allowing a massive entity like the war object to enter the real universe.

The basic strategy was set: the Ultramarines would hold the Zerg horde head-on, the Iron Warriors would provide support and super-war machines, and the other Legions would be ready to strike at any moment. With the War Spheres in place, defeating the Zerg would be a simple task. After all, once the Norn Queen's location was known, the War Spheres would lead the Iron Warriors' fleets directly towards her and eliminate her. The Primarchs were truly troubled by the fact that once the Zerg swarm was destroyed, it would disintegrate into countless fleets, causing trouble throughout the Imperium. Therefore, the Zerg had to be rounded up and annihilated en masse.

As for what the Dark Angels were planning, Jonson had already set his sights on the en route Kraken Fleet. He decided not to allow them a chance to launch a planetary landing, but to inflict a heavy defeat on them directly in a naval engagement. Indeed, if the Kraken Fleet were tactful and willing to proceed to the Plague Stars, Jonson could spare them. In short, according to the Primarchs' plan, this time the Imperium would decisively destroy the three Hive Fleets, allowing the Great Devourer to prepare for its arrival, while focusing its primary efforts on Nurgle and the Orks, thus facilitating the second phase of their plan.

"No problem. Once we can determine the location of the Norn Queen, I will completely destroy the enemy's command center. Now I want to know whether the outer blockade fleet commanded by Russ can guarantee that no one will slip through the net." Perturabo said.

"No problem, you should trust the hunting talent of the Fenris people." Rus said.

"So, fellow Ultramarines, can your frontal defenses hold the Zerg at bay?" asked Jonson. He remained in command until his fleet completely engulfed the Kraken fleet. As for how he would get through once they were engulfed? That was easy: open a door into the jungle, then exit and you'd be right there with your fleet.

"Sir, we will definitely complete the mission, because behind us is our home." Hill, the front-line commander of the Extreme Legion, said.

"Then let's begin." Zhuang Sen nodded.

Chapter 489 The war breaks out

"My lord, we have discovered the Zerg's vanguard fleet. It is a front line comparable to a legion-level battle. More than 800 warships of various types are arranged in a linear array and rushing towards our defense line." On the outermost line of defense, Calgar, the representative of the new generation of commanders of the Extreme Legion, was making the final adjustments to the battle line with his staff.

"Pay attention to our flanks. The attack width of the Tyranid fleet may be beyond our imagination. Expand the reconnaissance range on both wings. I have a hunch that the other side may not want to attack us head-on, but to completely surround us." Calgar said. Before the battle, Admiral Hill, the front-line commander of the Ultramarine Legion (the legion in this plane can have high-level military ranks) reminded Calgar many times to overestimate the upper limit of the Zerg Fleet.

"Most of the Zerg fleets we discovered are frigate-level, and we didn't find too many battleships. Under the current circumstances, our fleet will have no problem stopping them." said Captain Sicarius on the side.

"Mikael, keep an eye on our retreat and enhance our detection capabilities. I don't want our retreat to be cut off while we're fighting the Zerg. We must learn from the lessons of the Minotaurs and the Malice Warriors in previous battles." Calgar said seriously.

The two regiments used their advantages in range and warship performance to fight and retreat when facing the Zerg fleet. The exchange ratio at the beginning was very good. However, because they ignored the reconnaissance on both wings, or did not expect the Zerg's attack width to be so large, they were surrounded by a Zerg fleet. Once they were sandwiched and lost their room for maneuver, facing the Zerg fleet with an absolute numerical advantage, defeat was only a matter of time.

"Sir, my squadron will ensure the safety of the main force's retreat." Mikael said.

"Then prepare to begin. Order all aircraft carriers to prepare to release their fleets," Calgar ordered. As the vanguard of the Legion, Calgar led 3 Ultramarine Legion officers and soldiers. His fleet was quite large, comprising 80 battleships and large cruisers, over 300 cruisers of various types, and thousands of frigates. With such a fleet, it seemed easy to eliminate the enemy's 800 frigates, but Calgar had a feeling it wouldn't be so easy.

As the hangars opened, over 100 aircraft carriers prepared to launch the first wave of attacks. All attack aircraft were primarily comprised of Hiryu gunships, with approximately 2% of these aircraft carriers also comprising Sky Patrollers. These 100 aircraft carriers would release over 1.3 carrier-based aircraft in batches. With the support of the Legion's AI system, the entire fleet completed its strike and assigned missions within half an hour. Moments later, the Ultramarine Legion's carrier-based aircraft unit fired the first shot of the fleet battle!

Like a swarm of bees, a fleet of carrier-based aircraft flew towards the distant Tyranid fleet. Soon, the enemy responded, swarming out with swarms of Sky Demons, far outnumbering the Ultramarines' attack aircraft. (The Tyranid fleet also has carrier-based aircraft, seemingly also called Sky Demons, though it's unclear if they're the same as the Sky Demons used in chess pieces. However, the Tyranid fleet doesn't have bombers like other races; it primarily has fighters, or boarding aircraft.)

"These little things can't kill us. Order the covering aircraft to tear them apart." Colonel Titus, who commanded the first round of air strikes, said as he looked at these not-so-big sky monsters in the distance. Even if they were carrying anti-ship torpedoes, the secondary weapons equipped on the Feilong MK10 gunships could still easily tear apart small and medium-sized Titans, not to mention the little guys in front of them that were more than ten meters long.

The dense close-in firepower formed an impenetrable barrier, destroying all the insect swarms, while the bomber groups followed the opened channels and went straight to the enemy.

"These bugs are so weird." Looking at the Zerg frigates in front of him, a technical military officer sighed. Some looked like a large tadpole, and some looked like space squids. (You can find pictures of the Zerg fleet yourself.) Faced with the incoming Zerg swarm, these bugs also began to fight back, but they seemed to lack weapons of the specifications to deal with the Dragon gunships. It was too difficult for the anti-ship weapons to hit such fast targets, and the weapons used to deal with the Sky Demon level were not lethal enough and even breaking the shields was difficult.

Thus, in the first wave of attacks, the Ultramarines strike group achieved great success! Melta and plasma torpedoes weighing over a thousand tons were practically a one-hit kill for these frigate-sized Zerg warships. Although their close-in firepower could intercept some of them, facing an attack group that far outnumbered the warships, the Zerg's frigate vanguard was reduced to a cloud of fragments and spores in the plasma and melta explosions.

"My lord, the spore cloud produced after these insects are destroyed has reduced our detection range." A mechanical priest reported to Titus.

"These spores are extremely sticky. According to our analysis, both the spores and the smoke are poisonous. The fighter planes must be cleaned after we return."

"Some of our aircraft suffered corrosion when flying through the bun-shaped clouds. Although it is not fatal, it will cause a decline in aircraft performance."

As the messages trickled in, Titus sensed something was amiss. Calgar, however, understood the situation more broadly. Within the fleet's long-range detection system, a cloud of debris and spores from the Zerg fleet was making it difficult for the fleet to detect the situation on the other side of the battlefield.

"Another group of Tyranid fleets has entered the scene. There are many cruiser-class warships. There are a lot of them, but I can't determine their specific location." A moment later, the Extreme Legion think tank Tigules reported. Through psychic power, he sensed the arrival of the second wave of fighting, but it was obvious that his prediction could not support fire control.

(This guy is also quite a tough guy. He once had psychic contact with the Hive Mind, and surprisingly he didn't go crazy. He can even use the Hive Mind to detect the movements of the Zerg.)

"Keep your distance and prepare for medium-range combat." Calgar glanced at the tactical projection. The Zerg fleet's relentless pressure put pressure on him. The joy of destroying hundreds of frigates in one fell swoop was gone. The Zerg had plenty of capital. They could pressure the Extreme Marines little by little by sacrificing part of their fleet until they had no way to retreat, and then eat them up in one fell swoop. After all, this time, the Extreme Marines had to protect their planet and could not retreat blindly.

The Tyranid Hive Fleet didn't keep Calgar waiting for long. As massive shadows burst from the spore cloud, the second round of engagement began! The battle between the two battleships was fierce from the outset. Before the Zerg fleet entered the effective range of its cannons and lances, Calgar quickly unleashed a swarm of attack aircraft. The massive fleet then split into arrays, providing mutual cover, and launched the first round of ultra-long-range strikes with its Nova Cannons.

After accelerating through their immense barrels, Nova Cannon shells roared towards the distant Zerg swarm. Tens of thousands of tons of shells collided with the swarm's cloud of bio-warships, and the violent explosions, like a gust of wind, blew away spore clouds and shields. At great distances, dozens of Tyranid bio-warships were reduced to tangles of shredded flesh. In a conventional naval battle, this wave of attacks would have been enough to inflict heavy damage, but unfortunately, the Zerg swarm was too numerous. More bio-warships surged forward while the Imperial Navy's Nova Cannons were restoring their power, seemingly possessing some means of rapidly advancing.

Then came the artillery arrays of the Imperial warships! Accompanied by the roar of macrocannons and lance towers, dazzling flames blazed from the sides of all the warships. A dense hail of bullets ripped apart Tyranid warship after Tyranid warship, leaving fragments of flesh and bodily fluids floating in the void. Like moths to a flame, the Tyranid Hive Fleet rushed forward, one after another, while the human fleet, with rigorous and methodical fire, slaughtered these alien creatures from beyond the galaxy in droves.

"Pay attention to the fleet's flanks, and leave sufficient reconnaissance forces." Despite being busy with the frontal battle, Calgar remained vigilant on both sides. Over 30 destroyers deployed in a reconnaissance array, continuously sweeping the void. Some even ventured deep into the spore cloud to quickly detect the enemy hidden within. Their efforts paid off. Following the attack warning issued by the destroyer Flame, a low-observable Tyranid fleet was identified.

Calgar decisively dispatched a battleship division with two cruiser divisions to thwart any potential sneak attacks, and concentrated 1% of his attack aircraft to quickly defeat the attacking fleet. The battle between the two sides lasted for a full Terran day. Calgar's fleet repelled at least three enemy charges, while losing no more than 3 capital ships. The corpses of the Zerg warships practically filled the battlefield.

---------

"The Gorgon fleet has also joined the battlefield from another direction. The Behemoth fleet responsible for the frontal attack and the Gorgon fleet on the side are like a pair of pliers to clamp Calgar's fleet. We now have only two choices, either send a new fleet to intercept the Gorgon fleet, or let Calgar retreat." Perturabo said, looking at the tactical projection in front of him.

"Let another fleet block the vanguard of the Gorgon fleet. Let Kagar take the initiative to attack and pull the battle line back to the position eight hours ago." Zhuangsen said after thinking for a moment.

"Are you going to use biological viruses to deal with these bugs?" Perturabo understood Zhuangsen's idea. After a war, if the Zerg can control the battlefield, they will recycle the biomass of the destroyed biological warships and then rebuild new warships. Therefore, after a war, if the Zerg fleet can control the battlefield, the actual losses may be only a part of the amount of damage on the books. Zhuangsen has already asked his men to prepare special neural viruses to deal with the Zerg.

"Not only that, I have also deployed tracking equipment in it, hoping to find the core units of the Zerg as soon as possible. At the same time, I am also very interested in the division of labor within the Zerg fleet. I know very well how this terrifying alien race built such a powerful fleet." Zhuang Sen said.

“Russ, what are your wolves doing?” Jonson asked.

"I'm locating the Zerg's Wormwhisker horn ships. The gravity field they generate allows the Zerg to maneuver in the real universe. As long as we destroy these things, they won't be able to escape even if they want to." Russ said.

"Very good, your choice is correct this time." Zhuang Sen nodded slightly. Just as the Primarchs were discussing how to ambush the Zerg, Calgar, on the front line, finally suffered its first heavy blow since the start of the war. After losing a large number of warships, the Zerg finally brought out its massive main fleet. When these warships, comparable to or even larger than battleships, entered the battlefield, Calgar immediately took on considerable pressure.

"The Storm Squadron encountered a large Zerg battleship!" When the Storm Squadron on the flank encountered the first team of Zerg battleship-level biological battleships, their survival time could only be counted in minutes. The heavy acid cannons on the mouth and back of the leading large battleship aimed at the long-range fire support formation composed of Apocalypse-class battlecruisers. As green heavy shells flew out, the shield of the leading Exemplar battlecruiser was overloaded within a few minutes. The subsequent successive shells burned the 7-kilometer-long battlecruiser into a mass of twisted metal in a very short time.

Protected by a swarm of escort vessels, this fleet of seven biological battleships emerged from the spore cloud and the wreckage of the Tyranid fleet. Their bow-facing configuration and heavy frontal armor allowed them to charge into the Calgar fleet's formation like a herd of wild bulls.

"Have the Steel Sphere's Mechanicus fleet intercept them! Destroy them with long-range firepower!" Calgar, already overwhelmed, commanded immediately. However, the Steel Sphere's Mechanicus fleet soon ran into trouble of its own. Another Tyranid fast battleship detachment had already spotted the long-range attack fleet. As more and more biological warships appeared, Calgar's fleet finally faced its greatest challenge.

"All warships, follow the flagship! We're breaking out of this encirclement!" Led by the flagship, the Glorious Queen-class battleship Fist of Justice, the entire vanguard fleet began a rapid maneuver. Fleet staff and AIs precisely allocated their limited firepower, destroying the approaching Hive warships one by one. The spearhead, consisting of the Fist of Justice and five Splendid-class battleships, seemed unstoppable, forcing a path through the Zerg fleet! Even battleship-class biological warships could only hold out for a moment against the Iron Fist of Justice's barrage.

"If we can escape successfully, we can still hold the enemy for a while longer," Calgar commanded the fleet. He was very satisfied with the current situation. He had bought considerable time for his allies, and the Dark Angels had already planted their deadly poison. Now, if he held on a little longer, he could evacuate.

Chapter 490: Hard Fight and Crushing

However, at this moment, the Tyranids told Calgar that he had underestimated the true power of the Zerg. The Zerg didn't just rely on huge numbers, they also had good quality!

"A powerful psychic signal has been detected! It's Alpha, an Alpha psychic reaction!" Along with the cry of the psychic on the battleship Oath Keeper, a terrifying psychic wave came from the Tyranid fleet. Looking out through the porthole, terrifying psychic lightning was gathering, the surrounding Tyranid biological warships dispersed, and a huge figure appeared in the field of vision of the Imperial Fleet. Its body was so huge that the huge bloody mouth could accommodate a large cruiser, and the sharp corners on the top of the monster were gathering unimaginable psychic energy!

"It's targeting us! All energy to shields!" The captain of the Oath Keeper felt the beast's unwavering murderous intent. Even through layers of void shields and thick armor, that tangible malice still filled the captain with fear. The warship's entire energy supply was drained, and its shield capacity quickly increased to 120%. The once transparent shield turned a pale blue. At this moment, the Zerg super-battleship's attack finally unleashed a flash of white light, slashing down like a sword.

A white psychic tide surged forward, and the shields of ordinary battleships held out for only a few seconds against the surging energy. Then, like a hot knife through butter, the psychic attack split the 10-kilometer battleship in two! Flying debris scattered throughout the Extreme Fleet, indiscriminately attacking the nearby warships of both sides.

Then, surrounded by a group of biological warships, this super biological battleship, which was comparable in size to the Queen of Glory class, quickly cut into the formation of the Extreme Legion. The acid cannons on both sides of its body kept spewing shells, destroying one cruiser after another, and the giant cannon at the front destroyed another battleship in a relatively short time!

"Torpedo, launch a torpedo attack!" Groups of cruisers and destroyers rushed towards the behemoth. Other battleships of the Empire suppressed the accompanying Zerg swarms with fierce long-range firepower, and a series of torpedo salvos finally temporarily forced back the behemoth, forcing it back into the shadows. However, before leaving, this guy bit an Oberon-class battleship with damaged power. With the up and down movement of the huge mouth, the battleship broke into three sections, and several kilometers of the hull in the middle fell into the huge mouth.

(In the Blood Angels short film, there is a scene where a Tyranid super-biological battleship instantly destroys a battleship.)

Although the giant Tyranid biological warship was forced to retreat, its attack still left an unhealable wound in Calgar's fleet, and the Tyranid fleet that swarmed in afterwards took a heavy bite out of the Extreme Fleet.

"In the last round of attacks, we lost at least seven large battleships and more than three squadrons of cruisers." A staff officer reported to Calgar.

"This was my mistake. I underestimated this alien," Calgar said grimly, gazing at the floating debris outside the battlefield. Meanwhile, the support fleet dispatched by Hill had arrived, bringing Calgar and his fleet to safety. Overall, as Calgar's fleet withdrew from its blocking position, the Behemoth fleet advanced significantly. They could now see the Garden World of Betera 5 and the star fortress of the Hill fleet, which lay in wait. The planet's abundant biomass sent the Zerg swarm charging forward like sharks scenting blood.

The Gorgon Zerg swarm on the side also launched an attack from the side. The two huge Zerg fleets grabbed the planet, which was larger than Terra, like a pair of big hands.

--------

"Two Zerg fleets have entered the system. I suspect that if their bodies were piled together, their gravitational pull would form an asteroid. We're practically battling a planetary mass." Perturabo said with some emotion, observing the shadows cast by the Zerg fleets on the tactical projection. Perturabo, always confident in his mechanical skills, was also intrigued by the Zerg's alien biotechnology.

(A swarm fleet can carry away all of a planet's biomass, which is roughly a few percent of the planet's mass. Therefore, the scale of a large hive fleet is terrifying.)

"Guilliman was still optimistic. He originally planned to deploy 12 Ultramarines, which was enough to defend this galaxy. Now it seems that it is not enough, but fortunately we are here," said Zhuangsen.

"Guilliman's office is the best place for him," Perturabo said. "By the way, the Necrontyr and Eldar fleets have also begun to move, chasing the Tyranids."

The Eldar and Necrontyr also joined the battle as promised. It must be said that the Necrontyr fleet, as the old galactic overlord, is indeed powerful. Although the fleet sent by the Silent King is not large compared to the human fleet, it is just a dozen tomb ships and their escort warships, but these warships are really powerful. They can move freely in the ordinary fleet of the Tyranids, consuming the huge number of the Behemoth fleet like cutting sausages, although this consumption process is a bit long.

Besides guerrilla warfare, the Eldar fleet also provided psychic support to the Imperium, such as prophecy, detection, and surveillance. With their help, the outer Space Wolves had already formed an encirclement of the two Hive Fleets, and were specifically destroying the node creatures and narwhal warships within them.

However, these minor threats were far less attractive to the Zerg than the biomass-rich planets before them. Furthermore, based on current conventional forces alone, it would be somewhat difficult for the over 200,000 Legionnaires gathered here to deal with these two Hive Fleets. After all, these were two main Hive Fleets!

Meanwhile, Admiral Hill, commanding the Shield of Justice, the largest star fortress in the system, prepared to meet the attack of the Tyranid swarm fleet. Unlike typical Ramirez-type star fortresses, this one, while not as massive as the Mountain Array or the War Sphere, still measured a staggering 160 kilometers on a side! It was a new generation star fortress constructed by the Ultramarines and the Iron Hands through reverse engineering of ancient artifacts captured during the Great Crusade.

This star fortress is not only huge in size, but also equipped with some weapons that conventional warships and even Ramirez-type star fortresses cannot install, such as gravity weapons, internally bound stellar fragments, and space vortex weapons. The nova cannons equipped on large battleships are only secondary gun-level firepower on this star fortress.

Of course, what made General Hill most satisfied was that this star fortress had its own power. Although it did not move very fast, the abundant power provided by the stellar fragments allowed the Shield of Justice to become the Spear of War when necessary!

Admiral Hill believed that even if there were Glorious Queen-class warships in the Zerg swarm, they would not be able to destroy the star fortress through normal combat. Their only chance was to paralyze this terrifying fortress through boarding. In order to deal with the Zerg swarm's boarding operations, Admiral Hill was also prepared.

(This massive star fortress isn't something I've made up; the Empire actually has one on this scale. It's called Galtan Star Fortress, and its length is over 100 kilometers. It's said to have firepower equivalent to a sector battle fleet. During the Plague War, hundreds of Nova Marines and tens of thousands of mortal auxiliaries battled the Death Guard here.)

"Order the fleet, with me as the core, to prepare to fight the Zerg. Also tell Calgar to transport the armed personnel from the damaged warships to the planet. We will face a brutal close combat in the void and on the planet at the same time." Hill ordered.

Before the arrival of the Zerg, Hill made adjustments to the planetary defenses of Betera 5. The Shield of Justice could not completely block the opponent's attack. In order to prevent the Zerg fleet from bypassing the star fortress, Admiral Hill specifically deployed several other Ramirez-type star fortresses on the other side of the planet. The original Garden World had also been fortified after several years of construction. From the outer orbit to the surface of the planet, Hill had completed the layout and was waiting for the arrival of the opponent.

"They're coming." When the Justice Shield star fortress appeared in the Tyranid swarm's field of vision, the Hive Fleet seemed to realize that it was a very difficult opponent. They did not rush forward, but carefully waited outside the effective range of the Tyranid fleet. The biggest problem of the Tyranid fleet was that it had no ultra-long-range attack means, unlike the human fleet with its nova cannon.

"I've found Alpha," a blessed astropath said to Hill. He was a fortunate individual blessed by the Traveler. He had accurately sensed the culprit who had just caused such severe damage to the Calgar fleet.

"Very good, I will get the weapon system ready. Don't you agree, Kallio, my old friend?" Hill said to the Star Fortress's AI.

"As long as there is a chance, these guys will not be a problem." The AI ​​said, looking at the Zerg fleet in the distance.

After some hesitation, the Tyranids finally decided to attack. First came the swarms of small, self-destructing warships, whose purpose was to use their spore clouds to weaken the enemy's search range and shield the warships behind them. Then came the Tyranid main fleet. To deal with this tough nut, a large number of Tyranid warships were concentrated together, far exceeding the scale of the fleet that had been used against Calgar.

However, this time the Tyranid fleet was doomed to disappointment. The same old formula persisted, with swarms of suicide ships and frigates destroyed, creating a spore cloud that spanned tens of thousands of kilometers. However, what the bugs hadn't anticipated was that the Fist of Justice Star Fortress could handle them.

"It's just another gaseous nebula. Just ignite it." The heavy defensive artillery on the star fortress fired specially crafted psychic incendiary shells. These shells landed in the thin spore cloud, expanding rapidly like a flame thrown into gasoline. In a short time, the shield created by the Tyranid fleet turned into a sea of ​​fire! Not only did it fail to prevent Imperial detection, it even hindered their own offensive. As the flames dissipated, the Zerg fleet finally launched an attack on the star fortress. Meanwhile, in another direction, the Gorgon fleet attacked the multiple Ramirez star forts on the other side of the planet.

"I've locked onto that giant! Gravity whip ready!" The AI, Kallio, spotted the giant Zerg known as Alpha, charging at the forefront of the Zerg fleet. Its thick shields and armor attracted a significant amount of firepower, so a standard Nova Cannon strike on it merely created a ripple on its shield. This intrigued Kallio.

As the main weapon warmed up, a large amount of energy was extracted from the stellar fragments, then condensed into a special energy beam in the main launch tower. Then, a dark green flash swept across the battlefield. The moment the Hive bio-warships were hit, the gravity within their bodies changed, in some places increasing dozens of times. Then, under the action of their own weight, these bio-warships were destroyed from within. They collapsed inward, becoming a bloody spherical mass. Soon, the beam swept across Alpha.

The moment it struck, the psykers on the battlefield heard the behemoth's wail. Its shields and heavy armor were no match for the force of the attack. Its bone plates were crushed, its internal organs reduced to a pool of pus, and its external muscles were torn apart by the overwhelming force, leaving it as a floating mass of flesh. Ultimately, however, the creature survived the initial attack. The powerful psychic energy from the Great Devourer countered the damage from the gravity beams, rapidly accelerating its metabolism, repairing and revitalizing its vital organs, while also shielding it from subsequent attacks with a terrifying psychic shield.

"It's just barely hanging on." Though the AI ​​was disappointed by the lack of a decisive blow, it remained resolute in its efforts to destroy the creature. It zeroed in on the enemy with its massive vortex cannon. Unlike previous human vortex missiles, this one borrowed from Eldar technology, shattering space directly through an energy field. This allowed for adjustable range and power, and it was immune to interception. The terrifying force of the warped space descended once again. This time, the already severely damaged Alpha could no longer withstand the distortion. The veil of the Warp was drawn back, and the massive ship was twisted in two. One half was sucked into the Warp, while the other half remained suspended in the void.

The destruction of Alpha caused chaos throughout the Zerg fleet, and taking advantage of the chaos, the Fist of Justice and the Imperial fleet led by them slaughtered the Tyranid fleets one by one like plowing the land.

"These guys are just outnumbered, but their upper limit isn't very high," Kallio told Hill. Simply put, when the quality gap between the two sides reaches a certain level, quantity can no longer make up for it. The Hive Fleet could rely on sheer numbers to crush Calgar's fleet, but against the Shield of Justice, a star fortress already equipped with a multitude of oversized weaponry, it was somewhat outmatched.

Chapter 491 Landing Battle

It must be said that humanity's technological advancements over the past ten thousand years have been quite effective. Before the arrival of the Tyranid fleet, they had already created numerous artifacts that the Tyranid Zerg fleet couldn't overcome with conventional means. The Shield of Justice, like a giant harvester, rapidly mowed down the Zerg fleet on one side of the planet. However, in other directions, the Imperial fleet, with only Ramirez Star Fort as its firepower anchor, was clearly unable to withstand the Zerg's advance. As each star fort was destroyed or captured by boarding ships, the Imperial fleet gradually withdrew from these areas.

The Gorgon Swarm has begun preparing to land, and the Behemoth Swarm responsible for the frontal assault is also increasing its efforts. As the saying goes, when in doubt, turn to boarding. In the battle that lasted for several days, the Swarm faced this problem that could not be solved by long-range firepower at all, and began to adjust its tactics. It stopped the production of conventional warships, and instead produced a large number of thick-armored, high-speed boarding ships.

At the same time, the various warships in the fleet gradually turned their firepower on the Shield of Justice's escorts. While they couldn't defeat the larger ones, they could always deal with the smaller ones. After seven days of fighting, the Behemoth Swarm felt they had completed their preparations. Then, like a flood, a swarm of fast-paced boarding warships, braving the star fortress's firepower, which could crush the Queen of Glory class, rushed towards the Empire's most powerful force in this battle so far.

"There are too many of these guys. I can't intercept them all." The AI, which has already maximized the firepower of the star fortress, sounded the alarm. Although the firepower of the star fortress was like using heavy bombs to sweep away the fart spirits, and used dense firepower to cut off rounds of charges, but looking at the swarms of Zerg approaching from all directions, the AI ​​Kallio has realized that a boarding battle is inevitable.

"This is the last gravity bomb!" As the Zerg battleships in the distant area turned into a pool of mud, Kalio, who had increased the reactor output to 120%, could no longer use his "ultimate move" in a short time.

Finally, as the heavy rams of the boarding ships pierced through the shields and slammed into the armor plating, and as the acid cutters began to destroy the outermost layer of armor, the Zerg finally reached the star fortress that had held them back for seven days. (The shields of Warhammer warships were generally incapable of stopping relatively slow objects; there was no way around it; the boarding ships had given them a leg up.) In a short period of time, hundreds of thousands of Zerg of all kinds poured in.

"Let's rush out to area 16," Hill ordered.

"There's another Tyranid fleet waiting for us there," Kallio said.

"The space barrier in area 16 is thinner and farther away from the planet. We can enter the subspace in a short time and come out after we clear out the Zerg that has landed on the star fortress," said Hill.

"So where do we jump out from next?" asked Kallio.

"We can enter the north of the planet, where the Zerg fleets that have begun to absorb biomass from the planet are located," said Hill.

"Is your goal to drive away those planetary vampires?" asked Kallio.

"No, I destroy these vampires and then throw them to the ground." Hill sneered.

"Uh... that would be a horrific orbital bombardment," Kallio said after a moment's silence. "I'm afraid after this war, we'll need to use planetary cultivators to reset the ecology of this Garden World."

Kallio didn't stop Hill's actions. The areas that had begun to absorb matter were already beyond saving. Ground defenses had been wiped out, and the Tyranid swarm had transformed the region's ecology. Vast vascular structures, comparable to space elevators, stretched into space, continuously transporting matter to the Tyranid fleet. After pushing the vampires down, the matter within was effectively returned to the planet.

"So what next? Have the Primarchs found the core of the Zerg?" asked Kallio.

"The area has been determined, but we still have to wait." Hill asked.

"Why?" asked Kallio.

"Because we found a biological warship in the Zerg that is much larger than Alpha. This warship is not a combat ship, but some kind of transport ship and processing plant. A steady stream of Zerg troops are generated from here. And we want to capture it, and weapons and controllers for this size are being manufactured." Hill said.

"We have killed too many Tyranid fleets in the past few days of fighting. I don't understand why they keep launching attacks when they know they can't kill us?" asked a servant.

"Perhaps, they think that absorbing the biomass of a planet can make up for their losses." Because we still know too little about the Tyranids, Kallio said uncertainly.

"Maybe the Tyranids have no other choice. The long voyage has exhausted their reserves. They are fighting to the death. After all, before they arrived at the preset battlefield, we had cleared the planets along the way and either moved them away temporarily or destroyed them." Hill said.

The best way to deal with the Tyranids was always to fortify their defenses and clear the land. After all, they couldn't travel quickly through the Warp, so starving them to death was the best approach. While the battle raged over the Garden World, the Zerg also dispatched a small fleet to attack the other two planets, but they were ultimately intercepted by the Space Wolves.

Judging from the current situation, the Tyranids have actually reached a certain limit. The poison prepared by the Dark Angels has indeed taken effect, greatly reducing the swarm's regeneration rate, and has stopped recycling biomass in certain areas. After all, no matter how powerful the Tyranids are, they cannot adapt quickly to the nerve agent prepared by the DA.

As the Zerg continued to launch boarding attacks, the Shield of Justice and the remaining fleet began to withdraw, giving up their frontal position. When the Behemoth fleet discovered this move, they did not continue to insist on destroying the fortress blocking the way. Instead, groups of warships crossed the defense line and advanced towards the planet, and then they could not wait to drop spore sacs like rain, joining the Gorgon fleet in this feast.

Meanwhile, on the surface, Calgar was leading the Ultramarines in a defense against the enemy's attack, using the reinforced underground fortress as the core. Most of the surface was effectively untenable, not only due to the terrifying Zerg swarm, but also because the Empire had already considered abandoning the planet, necessitating the massive transfer of personnel and supplies. The deployed troops were primarily focused on defending key points, to test the Zerg's ground combat prowess. Calgar's Ultramarines were less about fighting than gathering data and experience.

"We'll use heavy bolters against spearbugs, heavy flamers against knifebugs, and missiles and lasers against executioners. We also have to be careful of the burrowing bugs beneath our feet. Damn, how many wars did these guys go through to build such a fully functional army?" Calgar and his Ultramarines defended the fortress. There were over 700 Legionnaires and 2500 Astra Militarum battle mechs, plus tens of thousands of other units, including 8000 Mechanicus robots.