Chapter 940, Nightmare Executioner

Chapter 940, Nightmare Executioner
Like Ji Hao, there are several other groups of people carrying out similar missions.

Among the various crises facing the Alliance, the Dark Eldar are certainly not a major adversary. Although they frequently attack human planets and fleets, their scale is relatively small, and their losses are modest—at least compared to other Xenomorph and Chaos enemies.

They're like annoying mosquitoes; they bite and suck blood, causing big welts and such, which can be quite bothersome. But honestly, they're not the most dangerous creatures; they're not on the same level of threat as jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards.

However, even mosquitoes can be annoying when there are too many, especially in the heart of the alliance.

The allied forces specifically targeted this area.

Many of the Dark Eldar strongholds were discovered and destroyed by the Alliance.

However, some were kept, because, according to Gu Hang, they were still useful.

As a result, it was used in this place.

Before the battle even began, the Alliance forces had already taken control of the Veiled Spirit Gates. Furthermore, the Alliance's fighting force far outnumbered the Dark Eldar guarding those gates.

It's not just about quantity, but also about quality.

The Dawnbringer battle group led by Ji Hao, for example, used the 'Honor Seed' from the Saint Legion and had all undergone training by the Blessed Sons, making them extremely powerful.

Such a fully-equipped battle group would be incredibly effective in its attack.

Before the guards of the veiled spirit gate could react, they were all wiped out.

And this time, it wasn't just these elite troops that were mobilized.

There is also the Central Army.

The alliance now has five army groups conducting expeditions.

Four armies were involved in the Dark Side Expedition. The Northern Front Army was primarily responsible for defense, holding the line of defense along the entire Scarlet Scar and preventing the Chaos armies emerging from the Scar from threatening the Alliance's heartland. The Southern Front, Eastern Front, and Angelic Front Army, on the other hand, advanced southwards in three directions, essentially recapturing the entire eastern border of the Empire. The next step was to advance towards the southern border of the Empire.

The Western Front, after conquering two cosmic domains of the Imperial Central Territory located in the Dark Side of the Empire, crossed the Crimson Scar via the Seven Star Corridor and headed towards the Holy Frontier of the Empire, towards Holy Terra. Their actions were no longer in the Dark Side of the Empire, and therefore not part of the Dark Side Expedition, but rather part of the Terra Expedition.

The last army group is the Central Army Group of the Alliance.

This unit may not seem to be involved in external wars, but their responsibilities are by no means light. Their main task is to guard the heartland of the Alliance, as well as a large number of occupied and developing areas.

Although these places are now Alliance territory, the recapture has been completed, and the main battles are over, the influence of chaos and the corruption of the Xenomorphs still linger in the dark universe, despite the light of the Thunder Torch Towers.

Before the cataclysm, disasters had never ceased in various places, let alone after the cataclysm.

The Central Army was responsible for this aspect of the work.

The Alliance's occupation is never the end of the story. Since the Alliance is pursuing long-term stability, in addition to political stability, economic development, and the planet's military defense, it naturally needs a powerful military force to suppress everything.

If you really think about it, the Central Front Army is almost the most powerful of the five front armies!

Of course, this doesn't mean the Alliance is leaving its strongest military force stationed at home. In fact, as the territory conquered by the Dark Side expands, the Central Army naturally has more and more to defend, putting it under considerable pressure. Furthermore, the Alliance is implementing a rotation system. Exhausted units at the front lines are rotated back for rest and reorganization.

Before they were sent back to the front lines, they were naturally assigned to the Central Army.

Meanwhile, the organized units of the Central Army would be rotated to other army groups during this period as a supplement to the newly formed forces.

Overall, the Central Front Army has always maintained the largest and most powerful force among all the front armies.

To put it bluntly, the Alliance does indeed need a sufficiently powerful legion to hold the central command. If they all end up in the expeditionary force, what if something goes wrong? They definitely need a large enough army to keep things under control.

When necessary, they can also carry out large-scale military missions.

For example, right now—a full-scale attack on Comoros!

The seven veiled spirit gates were not particularly large. Although each could accommodate a warship the size of a battleship, only one could enter at a time.

If it were just the Veiled Spirit Gate, then this battle would be lost. The Dark Eldar could simply block the gate from the other side; they wouldn't even need to destroy or close it. They could just block the gate, and as soon as a human fleet entered, they could destroy it one by one, and that would be the end of it.

The good thing is that, for the most part, Queen's Rose Harbor is still largely under human control. This allows the Alliance fleet to gradually build up its forces, while the Dark Eldar can only interfere at most.

After all, they haven't even been able to deal with the expeditionary fleet yet. That Glory Queen of the Infinite Chapter, just sitting here, is a pillar of strength!

And it's not over yet.

Once humanity has mastered the veiled spirit gate and the port, will they be satisfied with simply deploying troops through these seven 'small pipes'?

Certainly not.

Expanding the existing veiled spirit gate, or even constructing a new, larger-scale veiled spirit gate, is imperative.

The Dawnbringer battle group led by Ji Hao is responsible for this task.

A full complement of Dawn Messengers, thousands of blessed sons, were swiftly deployed to the ground battlefield under the cover of orbital fire, using hundreds of fighter jets and transport aircraft.

At this time, the Allied forces that had entered Comoros had already connected with the command system of the expeditionary force led by Robert. Gu Hang actually didn't mind handing over the Allied forces to Robert for command, but the two command systems were incompatible, and it was not advisable to rashly carry out tactical coordination without prior rehearsal, as that could easily lead to problems.

The alliance's army continued to carry out its mission according to its original plan.

At most, they would just need to inform the Terra Expeditionary Force of relevant information during operations.

The current dawn messengers are just like that.

Robert's brilliance lies in the fact that he can even take charge of commanding coordinated operations in this situation.

The Dawnbringer's current objective is to capture a warehouse that has already been identified through previous intelligence. The number of Dark Eldar troops stationed there is unknown, but it's unlikely to be large. The most difficult aspect of the mission is the possibility that the enemy might destroy the warehouse if they are unable to hold it.

This warehouse contains the materials for constructing the Veil Spirit Gate, essential for the subsequent expansion of the Veil Spirit Gate by the human forces. Humans cannot produce this themselves; they must seize it from the Black-skinned ones.

After learning of the Dawn Messengers' mission, Robert quickly cooperated.

His Pure Armored Division, formed from a religious world, launched a heroic charge under the fervent shouts and calls of the state church priests, opening a passage for the Dawnbringers ahead of time and drawing the attention of a wave of enemies.

Just as Ji Hao and his Dawn Messengers arrived at the warehouse, orbital fire support from an expeditionary cruiser quickly arrived.

The deafening explosion of railgun fire gave the ground troops a good start. Enemies in the area surrounding the warehouse coordinates were subjected to a round of bombardment.

To avoid affecting the warehouse, the level of firepower used was not high, but the effect was still quite good.

A Space Marine company from an Infinite Warrior sub-corps launched the initial attack as a reconnaissance mission to assess the strength of the enemy inside the warehouse. Nearly a hundred Space Marines constituted a considerable force. If the enemy inside wasn't strong, they might even be able to breach the warehouse directly, eliminating the need for the Dawnbringers.

Even if that's not possible, at least we can go a step further and clear out the enemies for the Dawn Messengers once more.

In summary, under Robert's command, after a series of coordinated actions, the Dawn Messengers hardly had to worry about anything; they could simply head to the target location, collect the items, and be done with it.

Ji Hao was quite moved by this.

Fighting under the command of the Son of God is indeed a comfortable experience.

However, he was somewhat unaccustomed to it, or rather, didn't like it very much.

The Dawnbringer Chapter was a relatively new organization, and its members had remained within the Alliance's central army, engaging in only minor skirmishes and yet to receive a rotation to other frontline armies. As Chapter Commander, he was extremely confident in his chapter's strength, believing most other chapters were no match for them. This confidence fueled his eagerness to lead his chapter to glorious victories, ensuring that the Dawnbringer Chapter would be remembered with pride, and leaving a lasting legacy for himself as the first Chapter Commander.

A crucial battle, a key performance—that's what he cares about a lot.

As a result, Robert paved the way for everything, which left Ji Hao somewhat frustrated.

Of course, this will not prevent him from adjusting his mindset and carrying out his mission well.

However, the opportunity to showcase one's abilities soon arrived.

That company suffered unexpected losses and had to request reinforcements.

According to them, there was a very powerful elite Dark Eldar force among the enemy, whose individual strength even surpassed that of the Space Marines, and they were unable to complete the planned task of clearing out the outer enemy lines.

Ji Hao expressed his concern about this.

It's certainly not good to be happy when your allies are badly beaten, but he still couldn't hide his excitement.

However, he remained rational. He did not act rashly. His main force continued to advance according to the original plan, but he sent out the second company to provide support and help the friendly regiment escape.

……

Nightmare Executioner—Bilson knew of this kind of enemy.

As a veteran captain of the Infinite Child Archon Chapter, he had encountered this kind of enemy before the Cataclysm broke out.

That was during the defense of the trade routes from the Alliance to the Infinite Starfield, when he and his company were fighting against various attacks by the Dark Eldar. It was during this time that they encountered an opponent that left a very deep impression on him.

These Eldar super-warriors, clad in heavy black armor and moving with the unpredictability of phantoms, are even more formidable than ordinary Space Marines. They are not equipped with ranged weapons, yet they manage to reach the Space Marines with incredible speed and unstoppable force.

They might even use a method similar to teleportation or blinking. Their jet-black bodies could truly transform into shadowy forms, disappearing from the spot and then reappearing at the target location.

Then, their decapitation scimitars, with their extremely strong armor-piercing capabilities, could pose a great threat to the Space Marines in close combat.

Bilson had many comrades-in-arms who died in the battles before the Cataclysm, at the hands of the Nightmare Executioner.

But in the past, the number of Nightmare Executioners was always small. He had never encountered a Nightmare squad of more than ten people.

This time, the Nightmare Squad he foresaw had as many as fifty people!

In just one teleportation attack, Bilson's company lost twenty Space Marines.

Their offensive came to an abrupt halt, and they were forced to retreat while fighting, immediately sending a plea for help to the Dawn Messenger.

The enemy's counterattack was fierce. The warriors of the Archon of the Holy Infant were not incapable of holding out, but they had to be wary of the Nightmare Executioners' surprise attacks. After their initial raid, the Nightmare squad withdrew under the cover of the other Dark-skinned units. They clearly did not want to engage the Space Marines in direct combat upon reappearing, but rather retreated to seek another opportunity for a strike.

Pilsen's company had to maintain an extremely tight formation, even though it made counterattacks nearly impossible and made them highly vulnerable to heavy casualties under artillery fire. Otherwise, if their formation broke, and the Nightmare Executioners launched another teleportation assault without a sound or movement, a single blow would likely behead dozens more of their comrades instantly.

Fortunately, the Dawn Messengers arrived to provide support.

However, when Bilson saw that there were only a hundred Dawn Messengers, his expression changed again.

"Why is there only one company?" Pilsen's voice was somewhat fearful.

In his view, adding another company wouldn't make much difference; the nightmares would still quickly teleport them over, behead them, and then retreat. After a few more such trips, the newly arrived Dawnbringers would end up in the same predicament.

It would require a large influx of Space Marines to arrive, capable of overwhelming the enemy in one fell swoop, preventing the Nightmares from being exposed under the cover of their own forces, and thus forcing both sides into direct combat.

Although the Dark Eldar Nightmares are also very strong in direct combat, they certainly cannot withstand an onslaught of Space Marines several times or even dozens of times their size.

However, what good is sending just one company?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Make up for yesterday

There will be one more chapter before dawn.

(End of this chapter)