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War broke out.
This should have been an unannounced ambush, a smooth slaughter, an undisputed crushing victory.
If the defenders weren't the Dark Angels.
Speaking of the history and wars between the Rangdan and the Imperium, that is a truly lengthy matter.
As early as when the Prince of Pleasure's first cry drained the essence and life of the Aeldari Empire, and temporarily blew away the millennia-long storms of the Age of Strife, the human Imperium began to stride towards the stars under the Emperor's mighty ambition, eager to once again establish a great achievement spanning the galaxy.
This was the Great Crusade, the embodiment of all past glory and courage.
But the Imperium's crusade was not a static endeavor. As humanity's ambition burned anew, in countless corners of the galaxy, new nations and races were also extending their probes and tendrils. They continuously grew stronger, devouring flesh and blood, desiring to become the new masters of the boundless galaxy.
And the Rangdan Empire was the most dangerous, most powerful, and most unified among these forces. They set out from their homeworld on the northwestern fringes of the galaxy and, in the blink of an eye, brought vast star sectors and worlds in the northern galaxy into their possession.
It wasn't until about thirty years into the Human Imperium's Great Crusade that the Rangdan armies conquered a star system named Mors, defeated and enslaved thousands of human inhabitants there, and forced them to build colossal war moons, preparing for a further push southward.
In the eyes of the Rangdan Empire, this was merely another small step in their advance towards the galactic core.
But this time, the situation was different. The humans enslaved by the Rangdan were not the isolated, orphaned remnants they had previously encountered and massacred.
They were the Emperor's subjects; they had the most powerful protector in the entire galaxy.
Terra's indignation and fury soon burned here, and accompanying this will of destruction was the First Legion, more terrifying than destruction itself.
Although the Lion had not yet returned at that time, the First Legion was still the strongest force among all the Astartes. They assembled a terrifying army capable of making stars tremble: roughly fifty thousand Astartes warriors, and a punitive fleet including one hundred capital ships, and three glorious Gloriana-class battleships.
The brutal assault and slaughter continued for several Terran standard months. The First Legion paid a heavy price, including ten thousand Astartes warriors, over fifty capital ships, and the Gloriana-class battleship [Abhorrent Exemplar], annihilating all the Rangdan Empire's fleets and legions that were originally intended for the southern invasion. Even the Rangdan Legion's ace: that massive war moon, crumbled under the self-sacrificing blow of the [Abhorrent Exemplar].
For two empires rising at the dawn of their power, these were unprecedented losses.
The edge of the Rangdan was thus hidden in the dust of the northern galaxy, while the Imperium turned southward, expanding its dominion towards the southeastern galaxy.
But nothing was over. The brutal defeat at Mors was a major blow that the Rangdan Empire had never suffered before, enough to instill in them eternal hatred and awe for the Human Imperium.
Over the next thirty years, countless hidden shipyards in the northern galaxy worked overtime, building ships. The Rangdan Empire squandered the lives of billions of slaves, using endless sweat, blood, and blasphemous technology to construct thousands of twisted warships. Even celestial-grade war moons began to vaguely appear among their main fleets. This young conquering race expanded its legions at all costs, selecting elite warriors, pouring its heart and soul into a truly massive war of revenge.
At the same time, the Rangdan Empire also tried its best to observe this terrifying opponent. Their vanguards, hidden in the desolate cosmic dust, collected everything about the Human Imperium and the Emperor.
The more they collected, the more they feared, the more they were astonished, and the more resolute they became.
The Emperor's might, the Astartes' martial prowess, and the Human Imperium's rapid expansion caused the Rangdan rulers to be practically sleepless. They personally witnessed how the Imperium, in just thirty years, expanded from a mere corner of Terra to the galactic core, brutally interrupting the Rangdan's expansion.
And in the thirty years that the Rangdan were dedicated to revenge, the Human Imperium had already established galactic-spanning hegemony. From Holy Terra to Ultramar, all were subjects of the Emperor. This revivalist regime, solely belonging to humanity, might be inferior to the Rangdan in some aspects, but its sheer size was enough to make any opponent despair: losses that would fundamentally shake any other species were merely numbers that made the rulers of Terra slightly frown.
Imperceptibly, a massive shadow named [Imperium] had already loomed over the Rangdan Empire, like the whisper of death, urging the entire Rangdan Empire to struggle.
A consensus was finally reached among the Rangdan rulers: as long as this revenge was completed, as long as the Emperor's ambition and realm were drowned in blood, the crown of the endless galaxy and the dominion over myriad universes were destined to forever belong to their great race.
For this, they would stop at nothing.
Meanwhile, the Rangdan vanguards also tried their best to search for all information regarding the First Legion, but this powerful opponent seemed to have vanished. Their campaigns and achievements were hidden in endless shadows.
Ultimately, the Rangdan officers only obtained information about the more flamboyant legions: the Lunar Wolves, the Ultramarines, or the Imperial Fists. Based on this, they formulated their tactical concepts, and a sinister plan was quickly proposed: using unique technology, Rangdan warships could perfectly imitate the signal messages sent by human warships, achieving a deceptive result. By skillfully using this to gain the first move in battle, and even disrupting trust between the human Imperium's various fleets, it would be an effortless task.
Legions such as the Lunar Wolves and Ultramarines had already proven to be less vigilant towards their own allies. This was a result of trust combined with the superhuman status of the Astartes. Rangdan officers were confident that, when faced with a pre-emptive strike saturated with imitation technology, these powerful legions would suffer a bitter defeat in the void.
As for the Dark Angels, although they had not obtained information on these opponents, since they were also members of the so-called Astartes warriors, their difference would probably not be particularly large.
Those Dark Angels probably wouldn't be too wary of allies either.
With this understanding, all plans were finally finalized, and all documents were finally approved.
After thirty years of preparation, in the sixtieth year of the Human Imperium's Great Crusade, the Rangdan Empire's legions and fleets surged out from their northern galactic borders. Tens of thousands of warships, like rolling torrents of steel between stars, crushed countless human worlds and homes, creating unprecedented bloodshed and slaughter. Countless Human Imperial fleets were annihilated in an instant, delivering the Rangdan Empire's declaration:
War has begun.
This time, it will end everything.
[Reporting losses.]
The Manipulator's voice was extremely hoarse, accompanied by a sharp, soul-piercing shriek that no living creature could endure. But even so, no creature within the fleet dared to show the slightest discomfort.
The vanguard commander's reports, filled with awe, came in one after another. The Warmaster listened quietly. It wasn't angry, for anger was useless in its art of war.
[...A bunch of fools.]
After learning what had happened, it couldn't help but curse those influential figures in the rear. The so-called Dark Angels were not at all as they claimed to be. These damned opponents showed not the slightest hesitation or question when facing friendly forces.
To reach this conclusion, it had lost a capital ship, several warships, and the elite vanguard aboard them. The loss of warships was nothing; there was still a massive fleet beyond Mandeville Point. But the loss of warriors was unforgivable. Compared to the Human Imperium, the Rangdan warriors were already scarce, and even fewer were under its command.
Its [Overlords] numbered only a few thousand. The number of ordinary Rangdan warriors only reached six digits. The remaining vacancies were entirely filled by various slaves. Even on the war moon beneath its feet, there were no more Rangdan warriors.
[Don't mind them. Continue forward. Open the passage to the target world. I need my warriors to capture it in the shortest time. This star system is not our final destination. Now, execute!]
No one dared to defy the Warmaster. The Rangdan vanguard ships pierced through the wreckage of their allies, charging madly into the deeper reaches of the star system. The Dark Angels' warships offered no further resistance. Relying on their superior speed, they fought and retreated, and behind them was a twisted legion so vast that it could terrify anyone.
One Rangdan warship after another began to appear from within Mandeville Point. These fear-inducing vessels, laden with spikes and flails, were driven by tens of thousands of slaves, unleashing devastating radiating electromagnetic bombardments, leaving behind vast, ominous black shadows in the void.
An Imperial frigate was quickly hit. It didn't even explode but rather plunged into the black shadow in a strange twist and disintegration, without a sound. A Marine captain, over twenty thousand sailors, and more than ten Dark Angels died without a single last word.
But all of this did not disrupt the Dark Angels' rhythm. They continued their battle. The sacrifice of their battle brothers brought neither panic nor sorrow, as if everything had been anticipated. Blood was merely clear water flowing in cold laboratory instruments.
They resisted, with stubborn and flexible resistance, but such resistance was so pale: the Rangdan fleet had already opened its massive maw. Dozens of ruthless machines, comparable to Imperial battleships, successively appeared. They were surrounded by ten to a hundred times more smaller warships, forming the vanguard of a vast fleet capable of eclipsing worlds.
And behind them was the true core strength of the Rangdan fleet: a walking, celestial body born for slaughter, destruction, and tears of blood; a massive satellite thrown into war and death. It was a thorough product of modification, consisting of a small satellite and countless blasphemous technologies. When it passed through the colossal Mandeville Point, this hurried war would meet its undisputed end.
But even so, the battle had not ended. Whether it was the Dark Angels' resistance or the Rangdan fleet's influx, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. After a truly long slaughter, when the last Rangdan capital ship plunged into the Sabis star system, the Dark Angels' resistance finally crumbled.
The remaining warships seemed to flee, even dragging along those warships stationed in low orbit, escaping into the shadows at the edge of the star system: previously, while the resistance continued, they were continuously deploying drop pods onto the ground, seemingly intending to continue their resistance on the surface.
But in the Manipulator's eyes, all of it was meaningless.
[Carmen.]
It called out to its adoptive son, the strongest Overlord among its legions.
[Take our vanguard and attrition forces, land, defeat, capture. Don't waste time.]
[Find that place, open it, activate that ancient stargate. This is your responsibility and mission, my most reliable child. Go fulfill it.]
[You know, this killing planet under my feet, though incredibly powerful, is also incredibly slow. I may need some time to arrive. Before then, I need you to secure victory on the front lines.]
It paused, then, after receiving the latest information from the front line, continued to speak.
[Those human warships have abandoned guarding that planet. Only abandoned garrisons remain there. The vanguard tells me that there are only some pathetic cowards and eight hundred so-called Dark Angels.]
[This is not a difficult mission.]
[Eight hundred Dark Angels... Heh, what can they do?]
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