"GOD, when will we finally shoot down all these damn Asuryani fighter jets?"
This was the inner thought of all the soldiers in the ground anti-air systems defending Kerigran.
The Eldar 'Kust's Hawk' fighters, swift as lightning, flew wildly in the gale, or weaved through the crumbling, ruined towers, seemingly within arm's reach.
These fighters were more terrifying than a locust plague, numbering in the thousands, covering the entire sky of the Kerigran planet.
Since the Eldar fleet's invasion, the anti-air cannons of the Shrine World of Kerigran, massive, building-sized heavy cannons, had been spewing deadly fire without cease. Shells soared into the sky, breaking through the clouds, and deafening explosions echoed throughout the entire area.
Kerigran, like the world where Kenmyo Isayama first carried out Exterminatus, was illuminated as if it were high noon across both hemispheres today, bathed in the ubiquitous and rampant artillery fire.
However, the Eldar 'Kust's Hawk' fighters, with their ultra-high maneuverability, excelled at dogfighting with other aircraft. They weaved through Kerigran's formidable and dense anti-air artillery lines, treating them as if they were air, and efficiently completed high-precision bombing missions.
Countless steel artillery defense lines melted like ice and snow in the high temperatures under the missiles dropped by the Eldar fighters. What was strange, however, was that these fighters attacked only the places where the Ecclesiarchy buried those who had made outstanding contributions and sacrificed themselves for the Ecclesiarchy, such as Archbishops, Battle Priests, and Battle Sisters, among others.
The Eldar fighters bombed the resting places of these Imperial heroes, which undoubtedly further enraged all members of the Imperial Cult.
But there was truly nothing that could be done; Kerigran's anti-air defenses could only hope to shoot down Eldar fighters through large-area saturation.
Thus, the high command of this Shrine World, Kerigran, could only cower miserably in underground bunkers hundreds of meters deep, leaving the soldiers on the surface to face the unending bombardments at the risk of their lives.
"Cardinal Bishop Mikkel, the Eldar fighters have retreated."
Inside the underground bunker, a large screen in the Ecclesiarchy command center displayed a projection of the entire Kerigran planet. It simulated the Eldar Ark Fleet docked in orbit above the planet, and Kerigran was marked with countless crosses, representing the military facilities and Imperial Cult cemeteries destroyed by the Eldar fighters.
"Is it support from Ecclesiarchy Headquarters?"
The communications officer reported all the received information to Cardinal Bishop Mikkel, who served concurrently as a Bishop of the Imperial Cult and Regent of Kerigran.
Cardinal Bishop Mikkel, appearing to be about fifty years old, looked like a portly old man, dressed in the black vestments of an Imperial Cult Bishop.
The Cardinal Bishop was extremely agitated upon hearing that the Eldar bombers had retreated.
"It is the Black Templars First Expeditionary Fleet; they have sent word that they have gained control of the entire Eldar Ark Fleet."
However, as soon as Cardinal Bishop Mikkel heard this news, he immediately lost interest.
"Those Black Orc simpletons? Never mind, it was expected."
Cardinal Bishop Mikkel thought of the Black Templars' characteristic: whenever something happened in an Imperial Cult world, this legion was the most proactive.
"It is all the Emperor's blessing anyway."
The only trouble was the Inquisition; those people were truly difficult to deal with.
Cardinal Bishop Mikkel sighed inwardly.
At this moment, inside the Eldar warship's main control room, dozens of Black Templars wielding black greatswords stood like mountains. Golden service studs gleamed on their foreheads, and the bloody aura made it difficult to breathe, creating an incredibly oppressive atmosphere.
These were all elite members of the Black Templars – the Sword Brethren. They had endured unimaginable slaughter to seize the command center; the Terminator power armor on their bodies was riddled with cracks of varying sizes, and their shrouds were stained with strange patterns from Eldar blood.
The once opulent and elegant ship's command area was now littered with blades and bullet casings, and underfoot lay the corpses of numerous elite Eldar troops, their shattered armor fragments and flesh mixed together, indicating just how brutal and intense the battle had been.
But despite some sacrifices, the Eldar Ark main ship had been completely occupied by the Black Templars.
Therefore, when other Eldar warship commanders sensed that the situation was amiss, they immediately recalled their small fighters to deal with it.
Even Kenmyo Isayama had practically rolled through piles of dead bodies to reach this point, such was the unimaginable density of the fighting.
He picked up a finely crafted sword from the ground; just holding it, it felt more like a work of art than a weapon.
The Asuryani's weapons were all like this; their aesthetics were quite good. It had a beautiful hilt engraved with intricate patterns, and a slender micro-crystalline blade that shimmered with a faint glow and subtle, beautiful markings.
Kenmyo Isayama held the blade up to himself, and it surprisingly acted like a mirror, reflecting his face clearly. This item was a "Mirror Sword," a pair of them, and both swords were identical in every detail, with exceptionally high sharpness, capable of easily splitting astartes armor in two.
It was the combat weapon of the Howling Banshees, a highly skilled Eldar melee troop. They were supreme weapon masters.
Howling Banshees were an all-female branch of warriors specializing in high-speed close-quarters combat. From their eerie helmet structures, they could emit disorienting psychic screams.
However, even this troop type did not escape the Sword Brethren's thorough arrangements; the entire squad was dead beyond dead.
Only the captain of this warship remained, the Asuryani wearing red with gold patterns.
"Click."
The sound of a bullet chambering. The Sword Brethren's Vice Captain pointed his loaded gun at him, as if to execute him on the spot.
Facing the gun, this Eldar Asuryani showed no fear, but rather gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"To be surrounded by monkeys, it seems this is my end."
However, a living Eldar commander was more valuable than a dead one, as they knew most of the Eldar's secrets and circumstances.
Kenmyo Isayama stepped forward and said to this four-hundred-year-old veteran,
"Your Excellency, hand this xenos over to me. I will pry open his mouth. Whether it's why he attacked Kerigran, or if there are Chaos forces behind it, I will obtain all the information."
"Inquisitor?"
The Eldar warship leader immediately identified Kenmyo Isayama's identity; such an Imperial office was unique throughout the universe.
He sneered.
"The prophets of our race made a prophecy at the cost of their lives: a corrupted emissary of Slaanesh lurks on that planet, and the entire planet is at risk of corruption."
"Under her manipulation, a new Chaos Daemon Prince is about to be born!"
"Humans, our interests are clearly the same, why do you stop us?!"