Between the shattered mountains, Krasus' cold mist was gradually weakening.
But this was not a good thing. Although the snowstorm was dangerous, it also obscured their figures, allowing them to evade the Great Raider Abaddon's claws.
Reyna's expression was not good.
The whispers in her ear became clearer, but the Warp power she could mobilize was decreasing.
Ms. Greyfax was right; her use of Psyker power was very crude and wasteful.
Things like conjuring such a vast blizzard to obscure the Expeditionary Force's figures, which required both precision and a large area, put a great mental strain on Reyna.
"Are you getting tired?" Inquisitor Greyfax, walking in front of Reyna, turned to ask.
Reyna shook her head dryly.
"I can probably maintain it for another half a day," Reyna said honestly.
Of course, after that, Reyna's Psyker power would be completely exhausted, and she would become as vulnerable as an ordinary person.
Inquisitor Greyfax frowned slightly, clearly hesitant.
On one hand, the storm Reyna conjured created an opportunity for the Expeditionary Force to advance more safely.
But on the other hand, Reyna was an extremely rare combat asset, and also the person Inquisitor Greyfax trusted most in this team.
If that witch, that individual who called herself Saint Celestine, truly committed an act of blasphemy, Inquisitor Greyfax would need Reyna.
Moreover, while the blizzard could provide temporary concealment, it couldn't hide them forever; Abaddon's hounds would eventually discover their tracks.
"The triple will of the Omnissiah blesses my logical systems."
Archmagos Belisarius Cawl suddenly spoke:
"After another half a Terra day, your probability of incapacitation is 79%, and your probability of losing control is 13%, making you a burden to the Expeditionary Force."
"My logical systems compute that preserving your Psyker power is more beneficial for the upcoming actions."
Archmagos Belisarius Cawl's remaining half-face under his hood looked down at Reyna. Binary runes flickered in his eyes, seemingly twisting and reorganizing the situation based on the data before him.
"Did your logical systems tell you to be wary of witches?" Inquisitor Greyfax retorted.
Her gaze fell upon Saint Celestine, who was leading the team.
The so-called Saint Celestine emanated a glow full of Warp evil power, guiding the team forward.
Bah, witch! Who knows which damned Chaos god she serves!
"Saint Celestine is undoubtedly an incarnation of the Omnissiah's triple will. My logical systems remind me that she clearly knows my mission, the burden I have carried for ten thousand years."
"Saint Celestine will guide me to fulfill the covenant, so that the will of the Omnissiah may be carried out, and allow me to protect His Empire."
Archmagos Belisarius Cawl said unhurriedly.
Inquisitor Greyfax's expression was very grim.
But Reyna only sighed softly.
"I will release my Psyker control over the blizzard," she said, looking at Archmagos Belisarius Cawl.
Archmagos Belisarius Cawl nodded slightly. He gripped his Omnissiah Axe, and his massive metal beast-like body lifted slightly, like a giant metal worm.
No one would doubt that this Archmagos was merely a scholar; his size was so immense, even larger than the Tyranids hive Tyrant Reyna had once seen, almost like a war machine crudely disguised as a human.
The Archmagos softly chanted a holy Omnissiah binary hymn, while Reyna slowly released her strained mind.
Then, the snowstorm gradually subsided.
The roars of Hell drakes sounded, and their malicious flames ignited the blizzard. The triangular wings of those daemon engines tore through the clouds, revealing their bodies, like ancient mythical dragons, to the Expeditionary Force's sight.
These blasphemous daemon engines were crafted by the hands of Dark Mechanicum artisans, forged from Warp-born steel and brass. They were both daemon and machine, both creature and fighter, piloted by humans fused with them.
They unleashed blasphemous shells from their Hades Autocannons from the sky, spewing scorching, malicious flames from their mouths, and their engines, burning with pain and fear, shrieked.
The patrolling Knights guarding the flanks of the team quickly raised their plasma shields, and the scorching plasma fire repelled the barrage unleashed by the Hell drakes.
These plasma shields operated with far greater efficiency than usual under Archmagos Belisarius Cawl's continuous binary incantations.
Similarly, the Void Shields equipped on the troop carriers also unfurled, their violet light enveloping the entire Expeditionary Force.
The Hell drakes circling in the sky quickly realized that their bombing was useless against the Expeditionary Force. They immediately swooped down towards the Expeditionary Force like diving eagles.
Void Shields can transfer kinetic energy and absorb lasers, but they are powerless against attacks that directly pass through them with physical bodies.
A scorching, sun-like glow rose from the ground. Archmagos Belisarius Cawl fired a scorching coronal laser, instantly piercing through the body of a Hell drake. The surrounding Knight mechs also unleashed their arm-mounted thermal autocannons, laser pulse cannons, and large meltaguns into the sky.
However, some Hell drakes still broke through the dense firepower. A Knight Armiger was knocked to the ground by a Hell drake, and malicious flames erupted from the Hell drake's mouth, burning the pilot inside alive.
Another one charged into a Battle Sister's Seraphim squad, tearing apart a Battle Sister's body with its claws, then fiercely pounced on the troop carrier transporting the holy relic. Its claws had almost penetrated the troop carrier's armor.
Then, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl rushed to the side of that Hell drake with a speed that astonished everyone.
His Omnissiah Axe seemed to be imbued with the wrath of the Omnissiah, like a heavy hammer, it violently crushed the Hell drake's head, which was intertwined with steel and brass, exposing the mutated pilot curled up like a fetus inside.
The Archmagos' heavy mechanical arm violently gripped the pilot's body, tearing him out of the Hell drake's cockpit.
"1000110 1110101 1100011 1101011!" A string of complex binary language spewed from the Archmagos' mouth.
He crushed the pilot's body with one hand.
Inquisitor Greyfax mobilized her Psyker power, amplifying her mind through her Psyker goggles, and projected it into the Hell drake pilot's mind.
She instantly felt the pilot's pain, anger, and desire for slaughter.
Inquisitor Greyfax snorted, violently crushing the pilot's head. That Hell drake subsequently lost control.
"Use Psyker attacks of the mind-type to target the pilot—" Inquisitor Greyfax turned to Reyna and said,
Then she saw Psyker light bursting from Reyna's eyes. She suddenly reached out her hand towards a Hell drake in the air.
Then, in an instant, that Hell drake was like a turtledove choked by an invisible giant hand. Its brass wings curled up, and its body emitted mournful cries.
Then Reyna extended her other hand, choking another Hell drake not far away, and then fiercely slammed the two Hell drakes together.
Under Reyna's Psyker manipulation, the two daemon engines were quickly crushed into a sphere of intertwined flesh, brass, and steel, plummeting from mid-air.
"Ms. Greyfax, what did you just say?"
Reyna turned her head with some confusion:
"I was concentrating on mobilizing my Psyker power just now, I didn't hear clearly."
Inquisitor Greyfax was silent for a moment, then shook her head: "It's nothing, you continue to fight the enemies of humanity."
"Oh!" Reyna nodded, half-understanding, then continued to look up at the sky.
More Hell drake swarms were pouring in from the sky.
These daemon engines could use Void Ships as their lairs, nesting in the Chaos vessels orbiting Krasus. Who knows how many Hell drakes were harbored within them.
Besides the Hell drakes, Chaos Raptors equipped with jump packs also let out sharp and piercing screams, swooping down on the Expeditionary Force from the sky, bringing fear with them.
Inquisitor Greyfax's face changed slightly. It seemed many loyal warriors of the Imperium would fall here.
However, at this moment, the dense squads of Raptors in the sky let out sharp wails. Their voices echoed through the sky via their equipped loudspeakers.
To the bewildered expressions of the Expeditionary Force, those Chaos Raptors fell from high altitude like dumplings, one after another.
Coupled with their black paint, they looked exactly like flies sprayed with insecticide.
Inquisitor Greyfax was completely bewildered, not understanding what had happened.
But Archmagos Belisarius Cawl keenly noticed that the machine spirit's echoes came from the jump packs of those Chaos Raptors, and then their power was inexplicably cut off.
Just then, a magnificent beam of light swept across the entire sky. Several Hell drakes turned into ashes in the laser, and the laser did not stop, but shot straight into the void, piercing through the atmosphere.
Moments later, a Chaos Void Ship transformed into a meteor, streaking through the atmosphere.
Belisarius Cawl stared blankly at this scene.
That laser was clearly a defensive laser equipped on a fortress, immense in size, even capable of striking ships in orbit.
But how could there be a defensive laser of this caliber on this cold planet? And the beam density of this defensive laser was barely achievable even with Cawl's own designs.
Moreover, the style of this laser… how did it look? A bit like Primarch Perturabo's designs from the Great Crusade era? And a masterpiece among his designs at that.
Next, something even more unsettling for Cawl happened.
According to the knowledge he had accumulated over ten thousand years, such a laser should require a long period of cooling and recharging after a single shot before it could be used again.
But now, this laser fired a beam every few minutes, piercing the void, shooting down Chaos Void Ships while killing Hell drakes in the air.
And the firing position was different each time. This was too strange!
Could it be that the cold mountains nearby were actually a fortress built by Primarch Perturabo??
But that didn't make sense! Hadn't the Iron Lord already betrayed the Imperium?!
Most importantly, Cawl could feel that the nearby machine spirits were cheering enthusiastically after the inexplicable support appeared.
"Is this the hope and salvation you spoke of?" Cawl looked at Saint Celestine, who was flying in mid-air, with some hesitation.
Saint Celestine's gaze also held a hint of bewilderment.
This, this isn't right, is it?