After the Astra Militarum of the Divine River Federation successfully occupied the space fortress, the planet Nostramo completely lost its space defense capabilities. Federal warships, like a group of silent behemoths, slowly but steadily surrounded the entire planet.
"Just a little more time, and our space warships would have been able to launch. But now, even if they're repaired, as soon as they launch, they'll be sitting ducks!"
A Tech-Priest angrily pounded his chest, his eyes filled with unwillingness and despair. His body trembled slightly, and his metallic electronic voice even carried a hint of a sob, all his efforts turning into smoke in an instant.
"Yes, who would have thought that the space planetary fortress, which our ancestors spent hundreds of years and countless resources building, would only last 5 hours before being easily taken by the enemy? What kind of Xenos are these enemies? What tactics did the enemies use? How could such a huge space fortress fall so quickly?"
Another Adeptus Mechanicus monk's face was filled with disbelief, his brows tightly furrowed, shaking his head continuously, trying to find a reasonable explanation from his chaotic thoughts.
"I heard it was, like, humans... and the Emperor's Angels of Death..." A high-ranking priest hesitated before speaking, his voice laced with uncertainty. He had communicated with some Adeptus Mechanicus members on the space fortress before it lost contact. But he felt that these communication contents were too incredible, likely just nonsense spoken by that Adeptus Mechanicus member in a panic.
However, at this moment, he had to reconsider this possibility, because only then could he explain why the enemy was able to penetrate the space fortress so quickly. After all, he knew that the warships cruising in space were not of the Eldar's wraithbone warship type. His heart began to waver; could it really be Imperial humans? But if they were Imperial humans, why would they directly attack them?
At the same time, Xuan Feng, clad in power armor still reeking of gunpowder, strode into the command room. His posture was tall and straight, and his eyes were firm as he said:
"Commander Modis, please allow our Divine River Space Marine First Chapter to conduct an orbital landing first, to clear the anti-air firepower on the surface."
Modis smiled as he looked at Xuan Feng, his eyes full of approval: "Chapter Master Xuan Feng, you've worked hard, I've seen your heroic combat with my own eyes." He paused for a moment, then continued:
"But there's no need to work so hard. We've already conducted orbital bombardments on some of the surface firepoints detected by our warships. This planet doesn't have large void shields installed; as long as they dare to retaliate and expose their firepoints, they won't last even a minute."
Modis frowned slightly, and after a moment of thought, he added: "However, due to the limited space in the orbital drop pods, it's difficult for our Space Marines to carry a large number of heavy firepower units. To help the orbital drop troops quickly open up the situation, we indeed need the help of you Space Marines."
"Alright, it's a small matter, leave it to us," Xuan Feng replied without hesitation, then quickly turned and left to arrange for the Space Marines to coordinate with the orbital drop troops for the landing.
Federal warships slowly approached the planet Nostramo like ghosts. High-precision radar, like the keen eyes of a falcon, began to meticulously detect and analyze the planet, clearly displaying the distribution of various personnel on the screen. On the screen, red dots representing barracks and defensive fortifications flickered continuously, like a death list, awaiting the Grim Reaper to wield his scythe and harvest.
Immediately after, a fierce orbital bombardment that shook the entire planet began. The weapon systems of the Federal warships operated at full capacity, and destructive beams poured down on the planet Nostramo like a torrential rain. In an instant, most of the planet's military forces suffered devastating blows under this furious firepower. The upper Hive City area bore the brunt, instantly turning into a sea of fire and ruins.
As the macro-cannons fell, an area of several kilometers was immediately engulfed by raging flames and powerful shockwaves. The scorching heatwave, like a enraged prehistoric beast, roared deafeningly, wildly ravaging everything around it. The immense power, like a merciless giant axe, chopped down buildings within a radius of dozens of kilometers. Skyscrapers collapsed like a deck of cards, raising dust that obscured the sky, and the entire upper Hive City seemed to be wantonly ravaged by an invisible giant hand, plunging into chaos and despair.
At the same time, a spectacular and shocking scene appeared in the sky: countless "meteors" streaked across the heavens, hurtling towards the ground. These were the elite Astra Militarum carried by Kunpeng transport ships, grouped in hundreds, riding in massive landing pods, pouring down like water from the Milky Way, transforming into dense raindrops. These landing pods, with a diameter of 6 meters and a height of 16.5 meters, were like steel fortresses descending from the sky.
The landing pods struck the ground with thunderous force, emitting deafening roars as if to crack the earth. Upon impact, a powerful shockwave instantly kicked up a large cloud of obscuring dust and scattered debris.
Subsequently, the landing pod, like a sturdy small bunker firepoint, rapidly deployed its top-mounted autocannon for fire support, and powerful plasma cannons continuously spewed flames. Beams of plasma shot out like lightning, instantly tearing everything around them to shreds, clearing a relatively safe landing zone for the Astra Militarum soldiers inside the landing pod.
When the hatch opened, the surviving Nostramo Defense Force soldiers in the distance saw not alien tentacles, but human warriors in exoskeleton armor. Their armor gleamed with unfamiliar insignia, and in their hands, they held plasma assault rifles optimized by the Federal Government's Academy of Sciences, capable of automatically cycling overheated energy, which were rapidly charging.
"For the Divine River Federation!" the Astra Militarum commander roared through the loudspeaker, "Liberate Nostramo!"
Dense plasma beams instantly vaporized half the street. The laser rifles of the Defense Force soldiers were like children's toys before the high-temperature plasma clusters, their screams torn to shreds in the plasma storm. A young corporal attempted to throw a grenade but was riddled with bolter rounds mid-action, his body turning into a bloody mist in the explosion.
The Astra Militarum soldiers, like a well-trained pack of wolves, swiftly and orderly surged out of the landing pods. They quickly assembled at the landing zone, initiating their actions according to predetermined tactics, and charged towards the surrounding enemies.
The Divine River Space Marines, as the sharp blade of this campaign, were already standing by, ready to provide war support at any moment. They closely monitored every corner of the battlefield through the high-precision radar of their specialized cruisers. As soon as tracer rounds from anti-air firepower were spotted flashing in the atmosphere, the "Dawnbreaker" would immediately activate its calculation program, precisely determining the spatial location of the firepoint.
Immediately after, using convenient and rapid wormhole transportation technology, a small squad of over 10 Space Marines was directly teleported into the anti-air firepoint.
As soon as these Space Marines entered the firepoint, they were like tigers charging into a flock of sheep, instantly plunging the enemy into panic and chaos. With their ghostly speed, they weaved through a hail of bullets, dazzling onlookers. The indestructible power armor they wore provided powerful defensive capabilities; enemy attacks struck it like an ant trying to shake a tree, unable to cause any substantial damage. The weapons in the Space Marines' hands spewed the flames of death, each strike precise and fatal, like the Grim Reaper's scythe harvesting lives. Under their fierce assault, each firepoint was like a candle in the wind, surviving for less than two minutes before being systematically eliminated.
Another portion of Divine River Space Marines worked closely with the elite Astra Militarum, jointly launching an assault on the Underhive. The remaining Nostramo planetary defense force soldiers, driven and coerced by nobles and some commanding officers, constructed seemingly impregnable defensive fortifications in the lower levels, attempting a final resistance. However, in front of the Divine River Space Marines, these defensive fortifications were nothing more than paper toys.
Deep in the Underhive, a Space Marine assault team suddenly appeared in the center of an anti-air missile array via a wormhole. The void shields on their power armor glowed with a faint blue light, and each step they took made the ground tremble. A Tech-Priest, in despair, attempted to activate a self-destruct device but was cut in half by a Space Marine's power sword, and even in death, his remaining mechanical prosthetics continued to frantically tap the control panel.
"This is Thunder Squad, target cleared," the captain requested mission instructions via comms, "request next mission objective."
The Federal Space Marines moved like lightning, darting through a hail of bullets like black streaks of electricity. Their weapons gleamed with cold light, spewing the flames of death, each attack precisely hitting the enemy. The defensive fortifications gradually disintegrated and collapsed under their powerful firepower and elusive attacks. Despite desperate resistance from the planetary defense force soldiers, their resistance grew weaker and weaker in the face of the Space Marines' overwhelming strength.
As the battle continued, the Federal forces' advantage became increasingly apparent. The Astra Militarum and Divine River Space Marines worked closely together, like two sharp scalpels, slowly cutting away the enemy's resistance. Nostramo's planetary defense system gradually crumbled under the Federal forces' fierce assault, and the tide of victory began to turn in favor of the Divine River Federation.
When the Governor's body fell into a pool of blood, the Federal flag was slowly descending from the dome of the Hive City. Modis stood on the bridge, looking at the red dots gradually extinguishing on the holographic projection, suddenly feeling a sense of unreality. Such a large planet, in less than 3 days, all organized resistance had been quelled.
"Lord of the Divine River, Nostramo has been liberated," Modis reported respectfully,
"All resistance has been cleared."
Modis communicated with Lin Yu, the Lord of the Divine River, who was in Tyri, via a secure communication device.
"Yes, yes, alright, I obey your instructions!"
As Lin Yu hung up the communication, Modis gazed at the gradually calming planetary surface, then suddenly smiled: "Notify ground forces to establish a provisional government." His voice was firm and confident, "Tell them that from today, Nostramo, this planet with over 30 billion people, will have the honor of becoming the Federation's first colony."