With the enemy fleet expelled from the star system and no longer posing a threat of orbital bombardment beyond the void shields, the Crusaders finally moved outside their protected zones, able to wage war on their own terms. Under the cover of Titans and Knights, the Crusader ground forces launched an offensive on the enemy lines, while Talon reinforcements emerged from the rear, encircling the foe.
Though some of the battlefields, where the enemy held a significant advantage, showed little change, Crusader forces reinforced their defenses as enemy troops struggled to divert resources against the sudden flanking assault. Yet, in the northern polar region of the Forge World, a different approach was underway.
The polar defenses were entrusted by the priests to the Talon forces, allowing the Crusaders to deploy their ranks to higher-intensity fronts. Regiment 44 assumed control of the polar offensive, with the First Company tasked with reclaiming the western territories held by the enemy. Alongside their combat duties, they would also test a new tactical strategy.
Rather than amassing their strength in singular assaults on fortifications, the company dispersed into a skirmish formation. Commanding Officer Grote, leading from his command Leman Russ tank, watched through the holoprojections as his troops spread out, no more than a few hundred in each region. Grote emerged from the tank, scanning his surroundings.
On either side of the tank, two Ogryn bodyguards clad in powered armor marched alongside the vehicle, while the company's five-hundred-strong command squad followed in loose clusters. The whole unit advanced in a seemingly relaxed formation across the battlefield.
Although this was the arctic region, it bore no ice or glaciers. The landscape was strewn with industrial complexes of various sizes, giving the impression of an industrial cityscape rather than the stark tundra Grote had envisioned during pre-battle preparations. Occasionally, fighter jets streaked across the sky, while flashes ignited on the distant horizon as Regiment 44's artillery bombarded the edges of the combat zone, their exact targets unknown.
"Commander, what are we doing here?" asked the tank's driver, glancing back.
"I wish I knew," Grote responded honestly, his words devoid of frustration.
He truly didn't know their precise role; all he'd been ordered to do was to advance, but actual combat had yet to materialize. For most of the infantry, it felt more like a countryside excursion than a battle.
Suddenly, a distant roar echoed across the landscape, prompting Grote and his men to turn in unison towards the source. The sound wasn't a skirmish from the neighboring divisions, but rather the mighty Titans of the Mechanicus.
Grote observed as several "mountains" shifted along the distant horizon—the Titans, advancing under priestly orders to a higher-intensity war zone. Upon spotting their Talon allies, the Titans greeted them in their own imposing fashion. Watching them go, Grote felt as if he shared their purpose, advancing ever forward.
As the tank continued forward, he shrank back into the cabin, his gaze returning to the holo-feed. Although it seemed as though the troops were on a leisurely march, the war was, indeed, being fought.
The holoprojection mapped out various detected strongholds and captured enemy fortifications, shrinking with each passing moment as they fell, despite little involvement from infantry thus far. The experimental tactic was yielding evident results: it enabled rapid advancement across the battlefield.
Grote's attention settled on a cluster of red markers scattered just ahead of his troops.
"We're approaching combat. Stay sharp," he announced over the comms to the entire company.
The command tank moved forward for another ten minutes before Grote sighted a collection of warehouses on the horizon. These structures bore the scars of earlier bombardments; the left side had collapsed, leaving a wasteland of debris and corpses within and around it.
Noting the tank's arrival, the enemy survivors within the warehouses poured out, armed with a chaotic mix of weaponry. Some clutched axes bare-chested, driven forward by rage alone, undeterred by the sight of armored soldiers and tanks.
The Crusader forces opened fire, and within seconds, the incoming wave of enemies was reduced by half. Yet, the survivors continued their relentless charge.
It was a battle without suspense.
If the defensive guns and artillery placements around the warehouses had remained intact, the warehouse might have posed a challenge. But there were no "ifs" on the battlefield.
As the combat intensified, the scanners integrated into each soldier's powered armor detected movement—a red marker appeared on the HUD, speeding towards them from the east.
Grote quickly directed some troops to brace for an eastern assault, swiveling the tank's weapons into position. Peering through the observation scope, he soon caught sight of an enemy Astartes charging toward them in crimson power armor, wielding twin axes. This figure darted skillfully from cover to cover, advancing rapidly.
Both the heavy bolters on the tank and the nearby infantry opened fire.
Undeterred, the enemy Astartes evaded their shots, closing in until he decapitated two infantry soldiers with one swing, raising their bodies as shields as he pressed closer.
"Lut!" Grote called to his Ogryn guard.
With a bellow, Lut charged forward, his immense frame propelled by the actuators in his powered armor. The Astartes swung his axe, the blade piercing the Ogryn armor just as Lut's massive arms came down.
The resounding impact shattered both the Astartes' head and helm, driving his mangled shoulders down to his waist—a grisly sight of flesh and metal twisted beyond recognition.
"I… I killed three big ones… I'm the best!" Lut shouted triumphantly, lifting his bloodied arms in victory.
Grote had intended to remind Lut that he'd only killed one, but as he was about to speak, he noticed that the blood on the battlefield was flowing together and then… disappearing.
"What's happening?"
"The blood… it's…"
The soldiers, having decimated the last of the enemy, observed this eerie phenomenon. The blood seemed to flow and evaporate, vanishing into thin air.
"We should report this," Grote murmured, capturing the strange scene on his visor and sending the footage to the Custodians.