Chapter 75: Strike into the Heart

Chapter 74: Strike into the Heart

The order was given.

Within hours, the strike force was assembled. Fifty Astartes clad in shining ceramite armor, weapons gleaming under the light of Terra's sun. At their head marched Horus, Magnus, and Sanguinius, towering figures of strength and charisma. They were not just leaders. They were living legends. Their presence alone was enough to ignite the hearts of every soldier watching.

After the last battle, the wreckage of the Kree fleet had been combed carefully. From the twisted remains of their warships, navigational logs and encrypted data cores had been retrieved. Teams of engineers and analysts worked nonstop, breaking through layers of encryption by brute-force attacks and manual decryption. From this treasure trove of information, the Imperium learned of a critical Kree supply world. A massive industrial planet nestled deep in Kree space. It was vital for logistics but lightly defended compared to military hubs.

It was the perfect target.

The Tesseract Gate hummed with the energy of the space stone as the assault ships gathered. Thunderhawks and gunships formed up in squadrons, engines roaring as they launched through the gate. In seconds they emerged into the cold blackness of space, just outside the target world.

There was no warning.

The Astartes descended like the wrath of ancient gods.

Drop pods screamed through the atmosphere, fire trailing behind them as they punched through defensive lines. Thunderhawks followed, their guns blazing, tearing apart orbital batteries and scrambling air forces.

Horus was the first to land.

His impact shattered the ground, sending shockwaves through nearby structures. He rose from the crater, massive warhammer in hand, and charged forward like a living engine of destruction. Kree defenders barely had time to react before Horus smashed into them. One swing of his hammer vaporized a dozen soldiers, armor and bodies crushed into bloody ruin. Tanks that rolled into position to stop him were shattered with single blows, their hulls splitting open like tin cans.

Behind him, squads of Astartes poured out of drop pods. They advanced with mechanical precision, bolters thundering, cutting down Kree soldiers like wheat before the scythe. Their armor shrugged off small arms fire like it was nothing. Where Astartes walked, death followed.

Magnus was a one-man siege.

He led his squad straight into the heart of a fortress compound. The walls were reinforced durasteel, meant to hold back armies. Magnus slammed into them with his bare fists, and the walls cracked and split like dry wood. His sheer physical strength was monstrous. Kree defenders opened fire with heavy plasma weapons but Magnus moved forward without slowing. He tore a gun emplacement apart with his hands, ripping the crew from their positions and throwing them aside like ragdolls.

Sanguinius was a blur of speed and fury.

He soared above the battlefield, his jump pack roaring with power. He dropped into enemy ranks with perfect precision, his blade flashing. Every movement was lethal. He severed limbs, pierced hearts, and shattered armor with elegant ease. Kree squads tried to encircle him but Sanguinius was faster than their eyes could follow. He danced through them, a whirlwind of silver and red, leaving only corpses behind.

The Kree responded quickly.

Massive gunships lifted off from hidden bases, firing volleys of plasma and missiles at the advancing humans. Tanks and walkers rolled into the streets, belching firepower. Kree officers barked desperate commands, trying to regroup.

But it was too late.

The Astartes adapted instantly.

Horus led a charge straight into the largest group of tanks. He moved with brutal efficiency, avoiding fire with quick sidesteps and charging head-on. One tank opened fire at point-blank range but Horus twisted aside and slammed his hammer into its side. The impact crumpled the tank like paper, flipping it onto its side. Astartes squads used melta weapons and heavy bolters to reduce other armor to burning scrap.

Magnus seized a heavy plasma turret that threatened his men and ripped it clean off its mount, using it as a club to smash through a squad of Kree marines.

Sanguinius dived straight into the gunship formation, weaving through the air as missiles chased him. He landed on one gunship’s hull, plunged his blade into its engines, and rode it down as it exploded in a fiery crash. Before the debris even hit the ground, he was airborne again, landing amid the panicked Kree soldiers.

At the shipyards, a massive battleship was still under construction.

It was a towering beast of a vessel, bristling with weapon mounts and reinforced hulls.

The Astartes saw it and moved without hesitation.

Horus called out orders. His voice carried through the vox, steady and unshakable.

"Bring it down. No survivors."

The Astartes attacked the shipyard with relentless fury. Heavy weapon teams blew open armored doors. Assault squads stormed the scaffolding and unfinished decks. The shipwrights tried to seal blast doors and lock down the ship but it was useless.

Magnus led the breach into the reactor control room. He charged ahead, shrugging off concentrated plasma fire. He grabbed a heavy Kree officer by the throat and crushed his armor like cardboard, tossing him aside as he slammed into the control systems, smashing consoles and planting demolition charges.

Horus personally led the strike to the bridge.

Kree elites tried to hold the line but were swept away by his hammer and by the roaring guns of his warriors.

Sanguinius cleared the hangar decks, carving through ground crews and fighter pilots before they could launch their ships.

Once the charges were set, the humans withdrew with disciplined precision. They pulled back sector by sector, clearing resistance as they went. Drop ships swooped down for extraction, bolters and autocannons blazing to cover the retreat.

As the last Thunderhawk lifted off, the charges detonated.

The battleship went up in a titanic explosion that ripped through the shipyards, flattening everything for kilometers. Flames rolled across the sky. Chunks of metal rained down like meteors.

The Astartes returned to Terra victorious.

Their armor was scorched. Their weapons were bloodied. But their spirits were unbroken.

Inside the Fortress of Terra, the Emperor met them in person. His face was unreadable, but pride glowed in his eyes.

"You have shown them the strength of humanity," he said.

The Imperium was not just a newborn power anymore.

It was a force the galaxy would have to fear.


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End of revised Chapter 74