Title: The Brutal Chronicles of Koran: A Tale of Survival and Bloodshed
In the midst of the Great Crusade, as the Emperor’s armada voyaged beyond the Segmentum Solar into the unfathomable wilderness of space, they stumbled upon landscapes so brutal they could unmake the sanity of ordinary men. Of these blood-curdling domains, known as Zones Mortalis to the Divisio Militaris, none struck more terror into the hearts of mortals than the world we know today as Koran.
Koran was a world that devoured its visitors. The first expeditions vanished without a trace, taking with them four regiments of the Imperial armies’ Verad and Regular. This left a gaping wound in the flank of the Crusade’s galactic advance, a vulnerability that beckoned the Emperor’s intervention. His response was as terrifying as the threat: the Ninth Legion’s Aartis, three companies of his most fearsome warriors, were dispatched to this irradiated wasteland to fortify the Veridan Regulars.
Koran was a barren desert, home to degenerate mutant tribes ruled by the technobarbarian warlord, Eloia. These tribes constantly waged war, using each other as nourishment in a grotesque economy of ritual bloodshed and cannibalism. The beleaguered Imperial Army troops met these mutants on the battlefield, their ranks decimated by hordes of barely-human savages wielding primitive weapons. The fallen were dragged back to flickering fire pits, serving as the night’s gruesome feast.
For three solar months, the Imperial Army held the line, repelling the mindless onslaught until the Ninth Legion’s storm-grey drop pods rained from the sky. Like deathly specters, they broke through the mutant throng, relieving the embattled Veridan troopers. Utilizing their superior arms and armor, the Ninth Legion seized control of the northern mountain range, eradicating the indigenous mutants with ruthless efficiency.
The Ninth Legion’s initial campaign on Koran met with little organized resistance. They freely conquered territory, ravaging the land for several solar months until word reached Warlord Eloia, who swore an oath to eliminate the invaders. Eloia commanded a vast army of mutant chattel, whose numbers were incalculable. His terrifying power was such that they would willingly plunge to their deaths rather than face the horrors conjured by his enslaved sorcerers.
As the Ninth Legion ventured into Eloia’s territories, resistance heightened until it erupted into a full-scale war. Despite their valiant efforts, the Legion was gradually forced to retreat due to the overwhelming number of enemies. Attempting to regroup, they formed a spearhead, aiming to break through the mutants and reach the warlord’s banner poles. However, as they neared Eloia’s camp, the true horrors of Koran were unleashed.
Reality distorted and split as Eloia’s enslaved sorcerers summoned unspeakable horrors causing massive casualties among both the Aartis and the mutant horde. Faced with annihilation, the Ninth Legion chose survival over honor. With whatever weapons remained, they carved a bloody path through the throng, losing nearly two companies in the process.
The survivors, numbering a mere 380 legionaries, were left questioning their endurance without reinforcement or resupply. The apothecarium was reformed and expanded into a combat support formation, ensuring the propagation of genan seed and the survival of the remaining warriors. Far from the path of the Great Crusade, the orphaned companies of the Ninth Legion resumed their campaign, conducting squad-based shock assaults on enemy positions before swiftly withdrawing.
Thus began a grueling war of attrition, a pattern of thrust and counterthrust, a fight on the back foot against overwhelming odds. This conflict, later known as the Banquet of Koran, raged on for 12 standard years, largely forgotten by the wider universe. This is but part of the tale of the Great Crusade, a chilling reminder of the horrors that lurk beyond the known cosmos.
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