It was the third day since the Tyranid arrived on Ashford Star.
The battle of just three days felt incredibly long. General Drost stood wearily behind a defensive line constructed from collapsed statues, his eyes fixed on the street before him.
As planned, the Cadia forces were well-preserved.
A large number of armored units were deployed on the streets. Baneblades, Leman Russ, Hellhounds, and various other types of tanks, like mechanical behemoths, were entrenched on the damaged streets.
This gave General Drost a slight sense of relief. The Astra Militarum's steel tide was their first line of defense against the enemies of humanity.
However, the horror of the Tyranid soon made this meager comfort vanish.
In just three days, the entire Ashford Star seemed to have undergone a drastic transformation.
Excluding the areas occupied by the Astra Militarum, the surface of Ashford was already covered by various Tyranid. Ripper were transporting and devouring all matter that could be utilized by the Tyranid, from soil to seawater, from plants to animals, and even the metals and minerals within; everything was consumed.
The surrounding air became thick and muggy, which meant that the microorganisms symbiotic with the Tyranid had already begun to invade Ashford's environment, attempting to directly transform the planet into a form suitable only for the Tyranid.
The recovered matter was digested, decomposed, and concentrated into viscous, putrid biomass liquid. This nutrient-rich liquid gathered into a sea, collected by Tyranid Capillary Towers that had fallen from the stars and pierced into the earth.
Many areas in Verdian city had been completely leveled by the Tyranid, revealing a sky with two scarlet suns hanging above.
This was to allow the Tyranid starships to more efficiently and effectively collect biomass from the city.
Many districts in the Upper hive, still under Astra Militarum control, also collapsed as a result.
Whether it was the Upper hive or the Top hive, most areas relied on the support of the Lower Nest.
If the Tyranid completely breached the Lower Nest and entered the Upper hive, then the Astra Militarum could only pray that their reinforcements would arrive before the entire Verdian city collapsed into the biomass pools.
The scarlet sky was searing and dazzling, making General Drost's skin ache.
He took an anti-radiation pill from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
This medicine was extracted from a type of algae, and it was because of its existence that humans were able to explore the Scarlet Scar region without too many mutants being born under the strange radiation.
The scarlet sun made General Drost's throat dry.
He pulled out a patterned flask from his Pregnant and poured a bit of strong Aksai horse liquor into his mouth.
The high concentration of alcohol quickly nourished his throat and soothed his nerves.
The intense stinging sensation in his throat gave General Drost a comfortable feeling, as if his body was being disinfected.
This flask was originally stolen by Lyttin, and later won by Alexander from the Lyttin.
But yesterday, Alexander inexplicably returned the flask to him.
He also said something about how if the Emperor and Leman Russ had been drinking the liquor from this flask in their drinking contest, neither of them would have been able to take a second sip.
General Drost expressed his displeasure at this; this person had no taste.
The sensation of disinfection and pain brought by the strong alcohol stimulating the oral mucous membranes, how reassuring it was!
General Drost looked at the scarlet sky, his thoughts somewhat adrift. He was indeed a bit tired.
It was said that the Scarlet Scar region, including Baal and the Netherworld Star System, was a scar carved into the physical universe by the Blood God in the Empyrean.
Drost thought to himself, inexplicably.
This was forbidden content, only to be thought of as a rumor in people's minds... Perhaps even thinking about it was a blasphemy—
"This sky is truly red."
A voice suddenly sounded beside Drost. The voice said with emotion:
"I heard this is a wound carved out by the Blood God in the real universe. How powerful!"
"Pfft!!!!" General Drost couldn't hold it in and spewed out the strong liquor from his mouth.
"See? I told you this liquor is deadly bad, you even spat it out yourself," Alexander said, grinning at General Drost.
Did I spit it out because the liquor was bad? Drost's expression twisted slightly as he looked at Alexander.
"Were you just praising the Blood God?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Was I?" Alexander said with a confused look.
He didn't say "Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the Skull Throne."
To be safe, Alexander still silently recited the Rogal Dorn's Heart-Cleansing Mantra several times in his mind, to prevent himself from truly being targeted by the Blood God.
"I am Rogal Dorn, I am Rogal Dorn, I am Rogal Dorn."
Watching Alexander muttering something under his breath, General Drost's expression became even more distorted.
He quickly observed Alexander, but based on his experience as a Cadia, Alexander showed no signs of Chaos corruption.
Moreover, when this guy fought, he used every trick in the book: sneak attacks, psychic powers, cunning, and assassination.
If he were to be favored by the Blood God, Drost would twist off his own head and use it to brew wine.
"..The Ringworld has fallen completely silent," Drost said in a low voice.
This meant that the Cadia warriors within had likely met their demise. The second wave of Tyranid was about to arrive.
And according to what Alexander had told Drost earlier...
"Do you think the next wave of attack will involve powerful Tyranid psychic units?" General Drost asked.
Alexander's lips twitched slightly. According to his memory, the Tyranid would certainly do so.
And this was also the most likely strategy for the Tyranid.
The Tyranid swarm met disciplined Cadia warriors, the monstrous beasts met the Astra Militarum's powerful armored forces, and the surprise attacks by the genestealer had no effect.
The Tyranid's best option next was to hatch powerful Tyranid psychic units and directly crush the armies of the material universe with the power of the soul sea.
"Can Augustus' psyker units withstand them?" General Drost still tried to struggle.
"It's useless. They do have some ability, but..." Alexander shook his head.
The psychic units the Tyranid would send next were a squad of Brains, led by an Illithid of Alpha-level psychic power.
In addition, a Neurothrope was also deployed to Ashford by the Tyranid.
Later, this Neurothrope, along with this squad of Brains, actually managed to confuse Chief Librarian Mephiston of the Blood Angels before they died.
That was Mephiston, one of the top psyker in the entire Imperium, a psyker among psyker.
If Alexander had to choose the number one person in the 40K Imperium below the Primarch, Alexander would first consider Mephiston.
This lunatic's later deeds included, but were not limited to, casually stopping time, splitting a starship with a single psychic spear, injecting consciousness into every cell, manifesting three forms and traveling through time, and banishing the Seed of Destruction, etc.
Although Mephiston at this point in time was not as heaven-defying as he would be later, he was certainly not comparable to the group of wild psyker adopted by the governor.
"Look on the bright side, haven't I already started thinking of countermeasures?" Alexander said, patting General Drost's shoulder with a serious expression.
General Drost's lips twitched slightly. He turned to look behind him at the "countermeasure" Alexander had come up with.
The recently built church in the Ninth District had been dismantled by Alexander.
The bricks, which contained the scarlet soil of Baal and the ashes of Battle Sister martyrs, were transported to the Lower Nest.
A portion of them was used to construct a crude hut in front of the towering statue of Sanguinius.
The other bricks, due to limited time, were arranged by the people Alexander assigned, standing upright and inserted around the crude hut.
General Drost looked at it and felt it resembled a crude latrine from a feudal world built in a graveyard.
"Your plan isn't just... praying to Sanguinius, is it?" General Drost asked, unable to suppress the absurdity in his heart.
"..How did you know?" Alexander asked with a surprised expression.
How did I know... General Drost's expression became even more twisted.
Around that latrine... oh no, crude chapel, candles were lit.
Each candle represented the fervent prayer of an Astra Militarum or hive city resident.
And in the flickering candlelight, thirteen Battle Sister and one hundred sixty-nine devout Cadia warriors knelt in prayer.
Alexander specifically requested that these warriors must all be pure warriors without mutations and possess devout faith.
Furthermore, on the bricks taken from the church and on the warriors themselves, Alexander had meticulously drawn certain symbols with blood.
If General Drost had not previously cooperated with the Blood Angels and known that these symbols came from the Blood Angels' secret runes, he would have truly mistaken this for some kind of cult sacrifice ritual.
However, General Drost was also unclear where Alexander had learned these symbols.
One hundred sixty-nine Cadia warriors were divided into thirteen groups, each reciting sacred scriptures about Sanguinius.
From the angel's descent on Baal, to the Emperor's recovery of the angel, to the angel's great sacrifice on the Vengeful Spirit, thirteen sets of scriptures praised Sanguinius' life.
"This... can this deal with Tyranid psychic units?" General Drost said with some hesitation.
"An ancient psyker sage of Terra once said: Fight magic with magic!" Alexander said earnestly.
But in truth, he was also a little nervous inside...
"Are you sure this will really work?" General Drost hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask again.
"Probably... yes?" Alexander's gaze drifted towards Sanguinius.
".."
Sanguinius' eyes also drifted, seemingly unsure:
"My offspring are very close, plus these prayers, rituals, and bricks mixed with the hot soil of Baal and the ashes of martyrs..."
"Plus, with you as an anchor point, the barrier between me and the real universe has become relatively thin..."
"So, it should, be useful, right?"