Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 992

Chapter 983, The Siege of Terra (Part 2)

The wall beneath Zhao Zian’s feet trembled, the muffled sound of Khorne cultists pounding the alloy gates with their hammers. Each impact struck a chord on his taut heartstrings.

As the commander of the Third Gate Regiment, part of the “Anvil” sector, the outer perimeter of the Terran Imperial Palace, he had never witnessed such a frenzied surge of people—no, it wasn’t just a surge, it was a crimson storm of steel and flesh!

The enemy outnumbered them twenty to one, mingled with traitors clad in the supposedly golden uniforms of the Solar Legion, now stained with blood. Like a tidal wave, they surged towards this narrow defensive junction.

“Artillery! Cover the assault line! Shotgun! Hit those climbing demonic cubs!”

his voice, hoarse, roared through the helmet’s built-in communicator.

He was answered by a volcanic fireball rising from behind the city wall. Heavy mortar shells whistled sharply as they slammed into the charging tide, shredding bodies and sending them flying along with a cloud of crimson dust. Twin storm bolter machine guns mounted behind the battlements unleashed a deadly cascade of metal, mowing down the berserkers attempting to scale the crude, makeshift siege ladders. Broken limbs and scorching metal shards rained down on the base of the wall. The hum of the charging plasma cannon arrays was particularly clear in the melee. The next second, several piercing blue-white beams plowed through the ground, leaving behind scorched furrows and vaporized bodies.

The defensive firepower of the defenders on the city wall was abundant.

Especially compared to his mere three thousand men, the fact that he was able to unleash such formidable firepower was inextricably linked to the abundant defensive emplacements on the walls of Terra.

This was merely the outermost section of the Terra Imperial Palace’s long wall, stretching over ten thousand kilometers, formed into a network of fortresses, large and small. The location they were guarding was a relatively inconspicuous part of this vast outer defense line.

The terrain here was inherently easy to defend and difficult to attack, with only a small entrance, fashioned like a metal gate. The terrain outside was rugged, not a major thoroughfare, merely a narrow path through the mountains.

Yet, even here, a significant number of enemies launched a fierce attack.

Originally, only a single company under Zhao Zian’s command was stationed there—not permanently, but solely within their patrol area.

Upon receiving intelligence of the enemy’s onslaught, Zhao Zian led his troops to reinforce the area.

Initially, there were only two companies, but as the enemy’s numbers grew, Zhao Zian was forced to send more troops. By now, he had mobilized all his available troops.

Although this area was considered unimportant from the perspective of Holy Terra’s outer defenses, the enemy’s sheer numbers allowed them to lavish manpower, allowing them to unleash such a massive force on a seemingly unimportant location.

But our forces were no less powerful.

Even in such an insignificant area, the palace walls and alloy gates were immensely thick and tall. At intervals, powerful turrets were placed along the walls, and behind them lay a dedicated armory stocked with ammunition.

Furthermore, the terrain, which was easily defended but difficult to attack, meant the enemy, despite their superior numbers, struggled to deploy along the narrow mountain passes. Deploying too many troops would easily lead to their being completely wiped out by overwhelming fire.

Overall, the defenders had the advantage across the board.

Leveraging the terrain and the formidable firepower of the city’s defenses, Zhao Zian’s company fervently slaughtered the attacking enemy.

Limbs and debris littered the battlefield, giving it the appearance of a one-sided massacre—at least in the initial stages of the battle.

But as time passed, the situation began to change.

The torrent of Khorne’s followers remained relentless. For every one that fell, more were swiftly followed, more frantically filling the void.

Their crimson eyes gleamed inhumanly in the smoke, as they roared meaningless war cries or blasphemous praises to the Blood God, completely oblivious to the mortal wounds.

The deafening crackle of bolter fire, the whine of energy weapons, the roar of exploding shells, the screams of the dying, and the blasphemous war cries of the enemy blended into a continuous, eardrum-rending commotion.

Zhao Zian felt his teeth ache from the intense vibrations.

A Chaos Warrior, under suppressive fire, dauntlessly made his way to a point not far from the city wall. Though he was quickly discovered and shattered by heavy fire, he, before dying, hurled a corrosive anti-armor grenade high above the wall, where it exploded in mid-air. A

powerful shockwave and toxic grenade fragments swept across.

Zhao Zi’an witnessed grenade fragments rain down like hail on several soldiers stationed there. Their power armor regeneratively clanged and even ripped through, a crimson mist visible to the n*ked eye.

This epitomized the situation he faced.

The enemy wasn’t ready for slaughter. Even though they were being eliminated at a rapid pace, their ferocious fighting style kept the defenders under constant pressure.

This was a war, and some soldiers would inevitably die due to unexpected circumstances. The enemy’s overhead firepower at the foot of the mountain was a significant disadvantage in the attack and defense, but their sheer numbers, coupled with the constant replenishment of incoming firepower, ensured they could maintain their firepower density and consistently land one or two hits. Hitting

the walls of the Terra Palace was a minor issue; the walls were certainly built to withstand the test. However, if the shells hit the parapets, the soldiers’ cover wouldn’t necessarily protect them.

Not to mention, some fixed firing points would be knocked out.

The only good news was that the arsenal’s ammunition and equipment seemed endless—and even if it did, resupply would be easily obtained from the rear.

The defenders of the Terra Palace siege were currently lacking men. They had ample weapons and equipment, but no one was delivering them. If they wanted them, they had to send back the logistics company or the motorized vehicles to retrieve them.

But these couldn’t compensate for the losses at the fixed firing points.

If the installed turrets were destroyed, repairing them would be a difficult task in wartime.

Every time a fixed firing point was lost, every time a few soldiers died, Zhao Zian’s heart sank.

It meant his hand had been weakened.

And today, it felt like they were at their wit’s end.

The enemy seemed to have realized this, launching an unprecedentedly fierce attack on the city walls and gates.

Zhao Zian’s communication channel was filled with the urgent calls of various units.

The devastating news of casualties and lost positions continued to pour in.

“Captain! The C7 gun position was destroyed by the Chaos Space Marines climbing up! We had no choice but to detonate the explosives of the gun guards, and those Chaos traitors were buried inside, but our 9th Company, 3rd Platoon are all inside…”

“The wall of section D4 is cracking! They’re ramming it with the demon engine!”

“The alloy gate is in danger! The siege demons are coming up! What are the artillery doing?!”

Trouble abounded, and more support was needed everywhere.

But Zhao Zian, alas, was out of men.

Below the city wall, heavy felling rifles set up by the Solar Legion traitors began to fire at the guards behind the battlements. A barrage of armor-piercing rounds sent sparks flying through the alloy walls. The defenders were forced to hunker down behind cover, unable to emerge. The artillery battalion behind, manning the wall’s defenses and the regiment’s heavy firepower, was busy supporting other areas and had no time to spare.

Zhao Zian took a deep breath and went on his own. He aimed his bolter at a small traitor leader below, who was setting up a rapid-fire cannon. His explosives tore holes through the man’s tattered armor.

He finally dispatched him, only to see another enemy, taking cover, scale the wall!

“Lord save me!” a young guard shouted, swinging his chainsword with all his might, severing the axe-wielding arm of a Khorne berserker who had scaled the battlement under a hail of bullets. But the next second, an enemy leaped up from the other direction, pressed a bolter against his helmet, and pulled the trigger. White skull fragments and red and white objects instantly sprayed the charred alloy wall.

Zhao Zian swung his gun and blew his head apart.

Then, he continued to fire downwards until he had emptied his bolter ammunition.

He retreated into cover, took a deep breath, and once again activated the communication to the headquarters.

After finally getting through, he screamed with almost all his strength: “Anvil Emergency! Repeat, the Third Gate Regiment’s sector, the core of the Anvil’s defenses, is under heavy attack from an enemy force twenty times its size, supported by Space Marines! Over half of our artillery positions have been destroyed! Casualties have reached 50%! Reinforcements needed! Repeat, we urgently need reinforcements! Otherwise, the defense will collapse!”

After a brief crackle of electricity, a tired but calm voice came from the command liaison officer: “Captain Zhao, received. Several core nodes of the Imperial Palace are under heavy attack. The Diamond Barrier, the Corridor of Sighs, and the outer ring of the Emperor’s Crown are also in dire straits. Nurgle Plague Engines have been found infiltrating multiple locations. Division headquarters cannot mobilize full reserves. Division Commander’s order: Hold on at all costs! Buy time for reinforcements to arrive! Your sacrifice will be remembered by the Emperor!”

A cold despair mixed with boiling anger surged in Zhao Zian’s throat.

No reinforcements, only “hold on” and “sacrifice.”

“Emperor’s blessing!” He roared, cutting off the useless communication and connecting to the internal channel of the entire regiment.

His eyes swept over the wreckage that continued to pile up under the city wall and was constantly covered by new crazy bodies. His voice became unusually calm, but it was filled with heavy power.

“Command has made it clear that no reinforcements will arrive. The city gate under our feet is the first and strongest barrier to the inner ring. The enemy wants to step through here and show off their blasphemous deeds to the Imperial Guards!”

“They are wrong!” He suddenly raised the volume, almost shaking the noise reduction system inside the feedback power armor helmet. “They are facing the Emperor’s palace walls! They are facing the guards of the Terra Palace! Use their blood to tell these fools who don’t know how to live or die that anyone who covets the palace must die! Even if we all die in battle here, we must let these scum of Khorne understand that every life taken away from us must be filled with ten times or a hundred times their lives! Shed the last drop of blood for the Emperor, right now! Anvil! Indestructible!”

The remaining guards burst into a thunderous roar, and despair turned into a desperate force: “Indestructible! For the Emperor!”

Although they were almost in a desperate situation, their morale was still high.

The Palace Guards, a mortal unit directly under the Custodians, received the best training and equipment. Regenerative Power Armor was prevalent, and they were well-equipped with a wide variety of weapons, making them a truly top-tier unit within the Astra Militarum.

Furthermore, they possessed the courage to face death head-on in desperate situations.

The heavy weapons outside were precisely eliminated by the guards’ artillery, yet the guards, despite heavy casualties, held their ground atop the city walls.

Even as the enemy surged forward,

a squadron of Khorne’s strongest Berserkers, clad in thick, flesh-stained armor, braved the hail of bullets raining down from the walls.

Close combat ensued.

Chainswords roared, power axes slashed, and bolters roared at close range. Every clash of weapons sent blazing sparks and fragments flying.

Blood splattered on the cold alloy ground, then crushed into a slurry by countless boots.

The guards, determined to die, even if an arm or a leg were severed, would use their teeth, the grenades held in their free hands, to throw themselves upon the enemy and tumble down the wall.

Their resolve was unwavering, but the breach in the wall’s defenses was undeniable.

More enemies surged forward.

Those Chaos enemies, having sacrificed so many lives to finally see the dawn of victory, naturally refused to give up easily.

But Zhao Zian wasn’t there.

He was on a more crucial battlefield.

Zhao Zian personally led his guards down the wall to the creaking inner alloy gate.

Each impact of the demonic engine-powered battering ram caused the massive bolt to emit a harsh metallic groan. The thick door was already covered in terrifying dents, and a trace of burning air seeped through the cracks.

The alloy gate, repeatedly pierced through, collapsed inward with a final, terrifying crash, accompanied by a resounding ripping of metal. As the heavy structure sent plumes of dust and dust soaring into the air, Zhao Zian and his guards charged forward without hesitation, like a lump of iron tossed into a furnace.

The clatter of explosive shells at close range was as dense as a rainstorm. Chainswords clashed with heavier axes, twisted with blasphemous runes, each collision unleashing a blinding flash of light and shreds of metal.

Zhao Zian’s combat skills were exceptional, as he slew three Chaos Cultists of Khorne in quick succession. His Regenerative Power Armor was riddled with horrifying dents and gouges, and a passing axe had ripped off a corner of his shoulder armor.

He saw a young soldier being hit hard by a Khorne believer, his chest split open by a chainsaw axe, his internal organs instantly crushed and splattered; he saw another veteran detonate all the hot melt bombs hanging on his body, turning into a dazzling small sun in the area where the enemy was most concentrated, instantly clearing a large area in front, but that area was immediately filled with more crazy enemies in the back.

The remaining guards surrounded the captain, forming a desperate but determined circle.

Every second, someone fell. Every swing of the sword could be the end.

————

The last chapter was posted by mistake… I asked the editor to block it.

I will write another chapter tonight and replace the content of that chapter.

(End of this chapter)