Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Black Heart of War. Enjoy the 1000-word chapter. I don't own Warhammer; Games Worship and a few others do.
The Black Legion could move like lightning and strike twice as hard. The Followers of Damnation were no exception as Raines and his brothers trekked through the snow.
The snow would have felt cold on the marine's face if he paused to savor it. Raines knew for a fact that every second allowed the expedition to reinforce their position.
"Do we even have a plan?" Raines heard one of his brothers questioned as Raines sighed.
"I will explain it when we reach the base, brother." Raines put in and cracked his knuckles. "We cannot give them a chance to reinforce their base. I will not allow them to do that." Raines added and continued to march.
The snow made the obsidian colored marines stick out like a sore thumb. Raines sighed and continued to charge forward. Raines hummed and cracked his neck while blinking.
Raines marched through the snow and looked up. He was glad that not a single Imperium vessel had arrived. They would put his ship in jeopardy and that was one of the few trump cards he maintained.
Still? Raines questioned the idea of the Imperium being here to begin with. Raines hummed as he cracked his neck. Perhaps he would question one of his 'brothers' when he caught them.
Raines sighed and cracked his neck before continuing through the snow. Something felt off. Raines felt like they would have done anything.
That was before bursts of lasgun came in as Raines hummed. A group of guardsmen emerged from the top of the canyon.
Raines and his brothers instinctively rushed for cover. Raines blinked as he grabbed his bolter from his hip.
Raines and his men started to open fire. While they were fighting regular guardsmen? They didn't have the advantage of height which allowed the guardsmen to rain down fire. It made Raines interested if the leader of these forces had sent backup.
He was answered as a Thunderhawk flew overhead. Its heavy bolters opened fire on the Chaos Marines. Raines looked at the Thunderhawk as it roared above them.
Raines sighed. There was little he could do against a gunship on foot. Plus, its weapon emplacements meant that it could cause massive damage to the Chao Marines.
"I will not be denied by a simple gunship." Raines put in as he cracked his neck. Raines focused on downing the gunship. The sooner that fell?
The sooner the gunship was downed from the sky? The sooner their advance on the base commenced.
"Someone clean that ship from the sky!" Raines growled to his brothers and opened fire on the Guardsmen.
Raines was surprised that none of his former brothers launched an attack. They had stalled the advance of the Chao forces.
"I'll kill them, my lord!" Raines heard from one of the Techmarines piloting the Thunderhawk.
Raines huffed but said nothing. He couldn't fault his men for wanting blood. They lived for the very sport of battle.
One of the Thunderhawks which had delivered them to the ground started up its engines. Raines watched the craft fly towards the battle.
Raines saw the craft open fire on the enemy gunship. Raines watched one of the sources of light vanished. A pair of guardsmen collapsed to the snow, missing parts of their skulls.
The Thunderhawk was pulled off attacking the Chao Marines. Raines fired at the guardsmen around them. Their weapons couldn't pierce their armor even if they didn't worship Chaos. When they did now? They were almost unstoppable.
Raines fired a burst at one of the guardsmen. He watched other guardsmen fall to the snow. He was about to order his brothers up before something cut them off.
Bolter rounds flew at Raines and his men. Raines welcomed the emergence of his former brothers. He chuckled and drew his axe.
Raines knew for a fact that not all of the Imperium's men were here. They wouldn't stake all of their advance on one attack. Their commander was intelligent enough to recognize that his tactics weren't invulnerable.
Still? Raines planned on barreling through the Imperial forces and retrieving his prize.
"Brothers!" Raines yelled to his men. "Charge them! Trample them under your feet!" Raines screamed to his soldiers.
Raines watched as several of the space marines charged at their Chaos counterparts. Raines rolled out of cover along with 3 of his brothers. They met their Imperium brothers in combat.
Raines chuckled as he smiled and rolled under one of his brother's chainswords. He turned and grabbed the marine before twisting him around.
He cut him down with one strike before one of his brothers was knocked into the snow. One of the enemy marines turned his bolter pistol on him.
Raines elbowed the man backwards and was knocked to the ground by the handle of an enemy chainaxe.
"Hmm…" Raines hummed and cracked his neck. Raines watched as the battle raged.
Raines chuckled with amusement and started to swing his axe back and forth. Raines watched another body hit the snow. Raines didn't know who it was.
He cracked his neck and tossed one of the enemy astartes to the ground. He could hear the sounds of battle around him.
Raines chuckled and knocked one of the enemy marines to the ground as he hummed. Raines blinked as he rolled his eyes under his helmet.
Raines watched as one of the Thunderhawks collapsed to the ground in a burning heap. Its crash sang through the canyon.
The battle had begun.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter done! I want to point out that Raines and his men will be planning something soon. Next chapter will be in 2-10 weeks and will show more of the siege on the planet. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Next chapter will be 1200 words or so. Hopefully next chapter will be 1500 words or so soon.