As Zhang Ge's vehicle exited the gate, he saw some low barricades constructed from sandbags or rapid-drying materials outside. Although they appeared to lack proper protective standards, Zhang Ge understood why the defensive line was built this way once he reached the side.
In those barricades, which could barely accommodate an average adult, there were several small children, seemingly no older than ten, huddled or lying down. They had no protective gear, holding only laser rifles in their arms.
From their unwavering expressions, it was easy to guess that these were orphans specifically raised by the Ecclesiarchy or abandoned children. They exhibited extreme loyalty to the Ecclesiarchy, their worldview molded to fit the desires of the bishops.
Although their physical condition was lacking, the lasers they fired could kill just as effectively as those in the hands of the Astra Militarum. More critically, these children were pure enough that even if they all died on the battlefield, their corpses could serve as a makeshift barrier to slow the spread of warp energy.
After crossing this outer defensive line, the convoy slowly entered the streets. Inside the once-boisterous and conspiratorial spires, only empty doors and windows remained. These structures had been largely abandoned, with no troops attempting to establish defenses within the buildings.
The reason was simple: with the enemy deploying numerous Chaos Space Marines, any attempts to use mortals in close quarters would be suicidal. Even unarmed Space Marines could easily slaughter everyone in a room before ordinary humans could mount an effective resistance.
As for traps, they were equally pointless. The Space Marines, before their transformation, were already among the best of the tens of billions of people on their planets. Any ambush imagined by common folk was merely child's play to them.
Thus, the defense had to set up in open areas where they could utilize their numerical superiority and heavy firepower—a single collapse necessitated a rapid retreat to the next position.
As time passed, the sounds of artillery from the forward positions grew ever closer. The noise was relentless, and the vehicles' thick armor and walls blocked much of the information that the occupants could gather.
However, there was no need for concern, as the onboard detection systems were typically far more efficient than the soldiers' own searches.
Yet today was an exception,one that fell outside the norm: a gun barrel emerged from the shadow of a nearby building.
This convoy hadn't set up scouts on the perimeter and had entrusted their safety completely to machines? It was utterly ridiculous.
How could mere machines compare to the seasoned bodies and skills of men?
As he awaited the perfect moment to strike, he thought to himself that it would have been nice if someone capable of mobilizing a Titan turned out to be a worthy opponent, someone whose flesh and soul could please the Dark Gods, but instead, it was just another lucky fool, simply pulling the trigger in boredom.
Yes, aside from blocking the Titan's path to the spire, there was another potential method to halt the Titan's movements—by sending someone to kill the one who could command it.
He carefully listened to the different sounds made by the vehicles rolling over the ground until he discerned that the target vehicle was about to pass his ambush window.
But what awaited him was not an unprepared lamb to slaughter, but a heavy bolter pointing directly at him.
Hmm, a skilled fighter?
This abnormality surprised him for a moment, forcing him to pull the trigger early. However, in that instant, the sound of his heavy bolter firing came a fraction of a second later than that of the bolter from below.
The bullet fired from his heavy bolter still accurately struck Zhang Ge's head, but due to the premature shot, the angle was off. The penetrating round pierced through most of the glass but lodged itself in the final layer of armored glass.
As the sound of the heavy bolter above erupted and the glass on the driver's side shattered, the three people inside the vehicle suddenly became aware of the attacker's presence.
Above.
Although the heavy bolter had automatically aimed at the attacker and roared as it fired precision rounds at the window, the assailant's movements were incredibly swift, even faster than the firing mechanism of the weapon.
Only the first round struck him firmly in the chest, embedding slightly into his heavy armor and leaving a charred crater after the explosion. However, by the time the second round came, he had already dropped the heavy bolter and used his arm armor to protect himself—a movement that occurred so quickly that to the ordinary eye, only an afterimage remained.
The heavy bolter had a rate of fire of several hundred rounds per minute, but it was still too slow. The interval between each round was nearly 0.1 seconds.
For normal people, the refresh rate of their vision is forty milliseconds. This means that if something moves faster than that refresh rate, it will cause a persistence of vision effect, resulting in an afterimage.
This also meant that the attacker moved even faster than the interval between gunshots.
As he drew his chainsword from his waist, he subtly adjusted his arm according to the steady interval between each gunshot, causing the circular curvature of his arm armor to deflect the heavy bolter rounds that should have threatened his power armor.
Sparks flew as the rounds struck his arm, with the deflected bolts either passing him by or scraping against his thick chest armor, futilely triggering explosions around him, sending light and smoke swirling in the shockwaves, yet never managing to injure him in the slightest.
This was a Chaos Space Marine.
His lack of further action was not due to a hindrance from the heavy bolter.
Rather, he was enjoying the moment.
He reveled in the sensation of dancing on the edge of the blade with death, in the exquisite artistry of his movements—so intoxicating that he was willing to stop briefly to let others, even his enemies, witness his performance.
However, duty soon reined him back, compelling him to conclude this fleeting enjoyment. In the next moment, with a surge of force, he lunged out of the window, moving so fast that only the remnants of his shape could be seen as he crashed into the vehicle.
At this moment, the three inside did not… no, two of them barely managed to aim their weapons at the direction of the Chaos Space Marine.
One person's arm had already opened the car door while the enemy was still at the window; as the Chaos Space Marine leaped into the air, he delivered a powerful kick to the door that had swung open to the maximum angle.
It was none other than Yixis, seated in the back seat.
The connection between the door and the vehicle, which should have been tightly sealed, became "coincidentally" loose at that moment. The entire door broke off its hinges and flew outward, howling through the wind as it slammed into the enemy.
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