Chapter 8: Seven Consecutive Wins

As Captain Everich of the 7th Company and his warriors advanced steadily, the path ahead looked like a vast, tangled web of metal.

In the distance, a colossal obsidian statue loomed like a dormant predator.

When the captain rushed to the end of the corridor and into the open hall, the stench of foul blood drifted from a slaughterhouse, seeping into his intake grilles. A battle had clearly taken place here; fragments of power armor and severed limbs were scattered across the floor.

Just as Everich was certain they had not been detected, a squad of Immortals wielding gauss blasters appeared before them, blocking their path.

In an instant, a deep green flash illuminated the semi-dark corridor.

Yarok, the standard-bearer standing right next to Everich, was struck in the chest by two gauss shots. The immense energy tore through his armor, and blood sprayed out.

The standard-bearer twisted and fell to the ground, both his primary and secondary hearts ruptured.

"Combat formation!!"

Everich reached out to steady the company banner and handed it to the adjutant beside him.

The squad took cover behind the complex framework on either side. As the Space Marines attempted to close the distance with the enemy to seize the advantage, a scorpion-shaped Necron vehicle suddenly rose from the ground and fired its main cannon.

BOOM!

A pillar of searing fire shot into the air, like ink in water.

At the edge of the shockwave, three Space Marines were thrown back by the force, slamming violently into the metal bulkhead. The plating did not yield to the sudden impact of mangled flesh and ceramite.

Even through his armor, Everich felt the heat of the explosion wash over his face, and his alarm sensors shrieked frantically.

He stumbled but remained standing, roaring to command the charge.

"For the Emperor!!"

When Captain Pilias of the 2nd Company heard the explosions coming from the west and saw the billowing smoke and flames in the sky, he was sneaking through a secret passage.

They were close—one of the World Engine’s energy nodes—but a dense wall of darkness filled the Space Marines' vision.

"Everich, report."

Chapter Master Amurad’s voice came through the helmet comms array; he had noticed the sudden, significant heat signatures appearing on the tactical display.

"I fear we have been discovered, Chapter Master."

"Gather your forces and advance to the energy node!"

"By your command, Chapter Master!"

After replying, Everich ordered his combat squad to quickly disengage from the battlefield, moving through a labyrinth of pipes to lead the other squads he could contact toward the central corridor where he was located.

As they advanced, Everich took the lead, the shadow cast by the massive platform overlooking the surface enveloping them all.

Instinctively, he looked up and saw a row of xenos wielding gauss blasters aiming down at them.

In the blink of an eye, disintegration rays rained down upon them.

Everich rolled into the shadow of a statue.

Gris, another adjutant of the company, was distracted and showed a moment of hesitation. He paid for his laxity with his life; a searing ray blew a hole through his torso, roasting the Space Marine inside his armor.

With a loud clang, he fell to the ground.

Everich responded with the roar of his bolt pistol, catching a glimpse of the target atop a notched main beam as the statue around him was shredded.

The remaining Space Marines followed his lead, raising their storm shields to evade enemy fire while performing a flanking maneuver.

Everich pressed himself against the base of the nearest platform and looked around, gauging the terrain to determine how to lead them the rest of the way to the energy node.

Several narrow passages had formed between the walls and the pedestals, above which were observation platforms supported by metal scaffolding. In the distance were ring-structured anti-aircraft fire, defensive turrets, and clusters of sensor probes.

As bolter fire continued to suppress them, Everich pulled himself back against the rock wall.

"Captain, we're being ambushed!"

A warrior shouted over the comms array, struggling to overcome the noisy environment; even as he yelled, his tone remained remarkably calm.

There was a brief pause after the message was sent, and a blurred voice cut in.

"Support is on the way."

The brief reply vanished quickly; Everich could only vaguely discern that it might have been Sotha's voice.

After the second round of return fire, a series of small explosions swept across the observation platform, and debris showered down like rain.

A tactical squad arrived to provide support.

Everich stood up and roared his orders before the smoke from the explosions could dissipate.

"Don't give them time to react! Take them out! Take them out now!"

The Astartes broke cover and began their charge, leaving the dead behind.

Two hundred stiff-gaited Necrons formed ranks from several passages and immediately began a counter-charge.

"Fire!"

No sooner had Everich roared than he felt the blast of the bolter volley from the warriors obeying his command behind him.

The effect of the volley was brutal. Rows of xenos fell under the onslaught, their bodies pitching forward into their kin, twitching and spinning under the impact of the bolter rounds.

Parts flew in all directions, and the wreckage piled up like sandbags, tripping the xenos following behind.

It was not a one-sided attack; Space Marines also fell under the enemy's return fire, but the disciplined Astartes drew their melee weapons before the first wave of cannon fodder could close in.

A Necron, scarred and stained like an engine worker, approached Everich with a bladed gauss rifle.

The captain met his opponent with the screeching of his chainsword, carving it into the xeno's chest.

The Necron did not die immediately, twisting the weapon in Everich's grip.

The Astartes did not pause for a second, throwing the wretch aside with such force that the wreckage spun through the air and crashed into its lowly kin.

The 7th Company Captain then felled a second attacker with a low, horizontal sweep.

A tactical squad sergeant joined the fray beside Everich with fervor and confidence.

As he charged into the enemy ranks, severed limbs fell like rain, his unhelmeted face displaying a terrifying rage.

Out of the corner of his eye, Everich saw another brother decapitate an enemy attempting to fire, inciting even greater fervor among the warriors.

However, despite suffering relentless, wanton slaughter, these lowly xenos refused to break. They were soulless machines, devoid of any concept of fear, and they would not grow angry at the death of their kind.

"Drive them back!"

Everich roared through gritted teeth, smashing an enemy down with a blow from his combat shield.

But just as he was about to exert his full strength, he suddenly fell backward. Two or three corpses lunged at him from the ground; these machines remained capable of action even with only half a shell remaining.

In the frenzy, he dropped his shield, but as he groped through the sea of fallen corpses, he found the hilt of his chainsword.

Activating the chainsword, Everich cut through the metal to free himself.

But soon, countless hands grabbed him, trying to drag the Astartes down. As he tried to rise, cold, bony fingers clawed at his armor.

This was not the way humans fought, and few xenos would willingly die like this, even when there was something worth dying for.

This was why the Astartes were such lethal warriors; they were the ultimate weapon against any enemy susceptible to natural fear, for a Space Marine could control and banish his own sense of dread.

But the Necrons were a different kind of enemy—an enemy that even Space Marines could not break.

"Damn it!"

Everich spat through his teeth. He shook off a machine that had nothing left but its upper torso and stood up with the help of his comrades.

"Now we have to finish them all."

The company continued to advance under the Necron encirclement, but a shot suddenly struck his side, and Everich felt a burst of intense pain.

"Ugh!"

He staggered, and this gave his enemies the opening they needed.

A suddenly agitated metal Necron lunged at the wounded Astartes, and the weight of the attacker dragged him down. Their cold touch flooded his senses.