The heavens opened up as the transports of the Shriven, carrying the infamously cunning Fabius Argento Coran and their avid followers, made their daring descent onto the planet’s surface. Under the protective psychic shield of the Tata and Fabius, they charged fearlessly towards the looming threat of the Death Guard Typhus units. These formidable opponents retaliated with a hail of Bolter salvos and the deafening roar of heavy artillery, bringing swift and merciless death to the swarming masses of altered warriors. The Shriven’s transports, unable to withstand the onslaught, crashed into the Soden Meire, forcing their Black Legion crews to advance on foot towards the enemy lines.
As the two sides clashed in melee, the battlefield was filled with a maddening symphony of slaughter. The roar of bolters and chain blades merged into a brutal cacophony, a testament to the chaos and carnage of war. From a safe distance, Fabius B observed his puppet, Coran, manipulating him like a chess piece on this bloody board. Wave after wave of the Tata was sent out, their numbers dwindling with each skirmish.
Floating above the battlefield in his transport, the Enlightener was surrounded by a psychic corona of rage. Energy streamed from his eyes like vapors, illuminating the scene with an eerie, otherworldly glow.
Meanwhile, the Plague Marines, under the relentless onslaught, were forced to change their positions multiple times. Their leprous cultists hurled themselves en masse at the attackers, providing their masters with a chance to regroup and retreat to the wreckage of the ships’ island, which they used as a barricade.
Suddenly, dark clouds of demonic flies burst forth from the burning barge. Typhus and his Terminators had returned to the battlefield. Gathering an armored fist of demon engines around him, Typhus launched a counter-offensive against the mutated warriors of B.
Communication from the fleet informed Typhus that they had seized the initiative. Instead of finishing off the Shriven Fleet, Typhus commanded them to support the most damaged B charges. The commanders accepted the order and a few ships attacked the surface of Liaias.
As the fortified outposts of the Shriven blazed in the distance, Fabius and his followers found themselves trapped between the kill zone of the Plague Fleet and the advancing units of Typhus. The situation worsened when they learned that Death Guard reinforcements had landed to the north, southwest, and southeast. Hordes of plague zombies spilled from the shuttles, surrounding the beleaguered soldiers of the Black Legion.
In a desperate move, Coran sent a psychic signal north, summoning three Storm Hawks to attack the advancing tank column of the Death Guard. Fabius and Coran, along with a handful of surviving Tata, carved a path through the mud and swarms of moaning plague zombies, making their way towards the evacuation point.
Their desperate escape was marked by high casualties, but eventually, they reached the evacuation zone. As their shuttles ascended into the gray sky, flames from the thrusters incinerated the advancing dead and the unfortunate Black Legionnaires who failed to escape in time.
Watching from the ground, Typhus seethed with rage. He had fallen into the trap of the cunning Fabius and his forces had suffered significant damage. Contacting a sorcerer slave, he ordered the escapees to be destroyed from orbit. However, he learned that another ship of the Shriven had entered the battle, annihilating the crippled frigate and moving to rendezvous with the evacuation transports.
The thought of his forces unable to withstand the combined might of the Shriven filled Typhus with a rising rage. But he commanded a retreat, harrying the enemy with attacks and allowing them to leave. The Herald of Nurgle understood that only by preserving and multiplying the remaining forces could he successfully complete his hunt. The triumphant return of Fabius was merely a temporary setback in a much larger game of war.
Leave a Reply