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- Kor Phaeron - Master of the Faith

CHAPTER NINE

The night was lit up with hundreds of lancing beams of lascannons and super-heated streams of plasma. Flames coughed from the barrels of autocannons, and fast burning missiles hissed across the sky, leaving spirals of smoke in their wake.

Storm clouds rumbled overhead, the sound all but drowned out by the din of battle. Rain began to fall over the mountains in driving sheets.

Massive, eight-legged daemon engines strained at the chained restraints locking them in place, each infernal machine overseen by a dozen attendants. They roared into the night sky, metallic tendons bulging, and blazing comets of deep red fire burst from the daemonic hell-cannons built into their carapaces, screaming up towards the Imperial aircraft as they strafed in once more.

Lascannons speared up through the darkness. Flames burst over one of the low-flying Imperial fighters as a wing was shorn off, and it spiralled down into a ravine where it exploded deafeningly. The cockpit of another was ripped apart as lascannons punched through it, and the fighter exploded in mid air, debris and flames raining down along the ridge top. The cover of night did nothing to hamper the warrior-brothers of the Legion, nor the daemons that infused their deadly war machines. The darkness was pierced equally well, whether it was due to genetic modification and acute auto-senses or daemonic witch sight.

A nearby ridge erupted in a series of rising explosions as a stream of bombs struck, and Marduk swore. The enemy had brought in far more air support than even Kol Badar had expected. The fool had not predicted this.

Arcing beams of spitting multi-lasers strafed along the ridge, accompanied by the resonant, barking thud of rapid-firing heavy bolters. Rock and dust were kicked up, and one of the daemon engines was obliterated in a screaming inferno. The fiery explosion rose high into the air, but was sucked back down sharply as the daemon essence of the machine was returned to the warp.

Marduk growled as bullets ripped up the earth less than a metre from where he stood, rocks ricocheting off his ancient, deep-red armour, but he continued to stare angrily down towards the broken ground below his vantage point. While the enemy occupied Marduk's forces, holding the high ground with strafing runs and bombing attacks, other aircraft had hovered briefly beyond the range of the Word Bearer's fire and disgorged their human cargoes. With his targeters at full zoom, Marduk had seen the Guardsmen rappel from these hovering aircraft, disembarking onto the rough ground. He had lost sight of them as they traversed the massive cracks and faults, but he knew that they were climbing slowly towards him in a vain attempt to take the commanding location. Doubtless, hundreds of similar aircraft had dropped their cargoes of Guardsmen all along the rough ground behind the ridges occupied by his warriors, and were even now climbing up. Fools, he thought. No matter how many of them there were, did they really think that mere mortals could dislodge Astartes? Their arrogance was astounding.

'We have engaged the enemy, First Acolyte Marduk,' came the vox transmission from the Warmonger.

'Acknowledged,' returned Marduk as yet another strafing run of aircraft screamed overhead, peppering the Legion with gunfire. 'Take them down, havoc teams,' he snarled into his local vicinity vox.

'Movement,' said Burias, his witch sight keener than the eyesight of the other Chaos Space Marines.

'Where?' barked Marduk, squinting his eyes where the Icon Bearer pointed.

'There, lord. Looks like around… eight Imperial platoons, plus heavy weapon platoons.'

'Bah, the wretches won't get anywhere.'

Burias lowered his head deferentially, rainwater running down his pale face. 'With respect, lord, their mortars could prove… vexing. If they make the rocks there,' he said, indicating a crop of sharp boulders, 'they could lob their shells over the lip of the ridge, and it would be… irritating for us to remove them from the position. And they bear lascannons as well, First Acolyte.'

'You fear their guns, Burias?' asked Marduk.

'No, First Acolyte, I am merely making an observation.'

'It sounded weak to my ears,' growled Marduk, but he saw the sense in what his Icon Bearer had said. 'Choose a small team from one of the coteries. Get around behind those mortars and clear them out of the rocks, if they make it that far.'

Burias's face split into a feral grin. 'I will take members of my brethren, if it pleases you, First Acolyte.'

'Fine. Go.'

'Thank you, First Acolyte,' said Burias, handing his icon to Marduk. Its bulk would merely hamper his mission.

'Take out the guns, and then move to the rear of these weaklings. If there are any of them left,' remarked Marduk.

Burias dropped to one knee swiftly, before stalking off through the gunfire to gather his warriors.

'Good hunting, Burias-Drak'shal,' the First Acolyte said.