Until three days ago the streets of Blank Point had been full of people going about their business. Rumours of war had filtered through but most assumed that war would stay away, as it had now for more than a decade. It was almost 12 years to the day that the World Eaters had made planetfall. After a brief parlay most of the planet had laid down their weapons and joined the Imperium. The few hold outs were quickly reduced.
However the resistance bought the planet a garrison of World Eaters. It was now the only thing that stood between them and eternal darkness.
Angron hadn't even bothered to summon his troops on the planet to surrender. As a part of the 16th great company they had little indoctrination into the ways of the World Eaters and most of the rest of the company had died on Istvaan III.
As was his way, he just attacked. When the fleet showed up in system Chaplain Skharne knew what was coming and got the word out. He had a pretty good idea of what they wanted as a small group from the Adeptus Mechanicus had arrived to warn him about the artifact that had been discovered in the ruins of Blank Point.
Now a minor city on the planet, two hundred years ago Blank Point had been the center of the rebirth of civilization. Rapidly had steps been made there when the people had discovered the books under ruins of the pre-apocalypse civilization that had been there.
A city had sprung up around the ruins quickly and just as quickly the knowledge had been disseminated to the rest of the planet and Blank Point was eclipsed by other, more geologically sensible sites for industry and commerce.
Still it held significance. No more so than when an ancient artifact from the dark days was uncovered shortly after the planet rejoined the Imperium.
Its function and origin were unknown but details of it were sent out to Mars. From Mars they were communicated to Horus and from Horus to Erebus and Erebus realized what it was and what it could do.
Angron was dispatched as soon as circumstances would allow to retrieve it or activate it.
He made planetfall two days ago.
Sharne had brought as much air defense artillery as possible to Blank Point so Angron's initial drop assault on the city was blunted when his aircraft came under heavy fire.
He had been pushing from the North towards the city on the ground since.
In one relentless assault he pushed his forces through the suburbs and into the city proper. His forces had been peeled away, much like sharpening a spear, until only the most deadly part remained.
Skharne hoped that his tech adapt would be able to destroy the thing before the Dark Mechanicum got to it.
There was nothing subtle about the attack. It started out as a large wedge and narrowed, with Angron at its head, it was driving straight for the object.
Skharn regrouped his forces for one final defense around the object. He sent some of his forces to occupy the store directly along Angron's path. They would smash through the front and open fire on their Primarch just as he got within point blank range. Hopefully that would stop him.
The engines of the enemies tanks got closer and Skharn heard heavy bolter fire open up from the top floors of the ruins around him. Then he saw the flash of brass armour in the distance, it was moving towards him at an incredible pace.
It was uncomforable being in the presence of Angron in many ways. He was not an inspiring Primarch like Dorn or Fulgrim, his presence unnerved even his own men, at least the ones who were not just interested in killing for killing's sake.
Seeing him fight was horrible, being the subject of his attack was terrifying.
Just then his advance troops did as they were expected. A wall of white appeared between the ruins and the Red Angel and bolter, plasma and melta shots scoured the air. Flame gushed out from two underslung flamers. The insane, screaming warriors running along with Angron were all caught in the ambush and died screaming their war cries, not even realizing what had happened to them.
Angron was not so easily destroyed.
He was upon his ambushers in a heartbeat. Dual axes cut through bone, flesh and armour as easily as the air. Those caught by less direct hits were tossed aside. Limbs flew free from bodies and torsos and legs were swept apart.
The white wall was quickly stained red.
The men stuck it for a few seconds and turned to flee. Angron was distracted severing a head from a body and they managed to escape him.
The roar of a bike engine whipped past Skharn on the right as the huge land raider rumbled towards his position. The melta blast just missed it as the bike hit a piece of debris in the road, the driver slewing to the left to avoid flipping the bike, and then skidding it around to avoid the oncoming tank.
He spun back around and they fired again but the shot went wide, the veterans were advancing behind the tank and bike roared forward to engage them.
The land raider smashed through the ancient wall, the ramp dropping and out of the darkness of the inside of the tank emerged five raving, armoured brutes who were slashing their way through the heavy weapon armed loyalists in their path.
Skharn jumped in their path, but their assault was too ferocious and he fell back, scrambling over the ruins to get out of the reach of the slashing claws. Ancient Harkon came up behind the murderous assault and the frothing madmen turned on him, their claws slashing at his almost impervious armoured body.
The heavy bolter armed troops regrouped with Skharn and he ordered them to guard the tech adept as he tried to destroy the artifact.
It was luckily done. Most of the anti-aircraft fire had been disabled by Angron's assault and a drop pod now came screaming down. Everyone momentarily dove for cover as it crashed down next to the ruins, the wall of the structure blocking one of its doors.
Skharn looked up to see three Dark Mechanicum adepts emerging from the pod and firing at the tech adept trying to disarm the device. They quickly moved into the cover of the ruins, keeping the artifact between themselves and the Astates.
Ordering the men to deal with the airborne invaders, Skharn leapt in to aid Ancient Hakron with the Red Butchers.
He could just see Angron finishing off the Praetor and then smashing into one of the squads of loyalists, scattering and killing them as he leapt the wall, smashing his Crozius Arcanum down on the heavy plate of the terminator.
With Angron suddenly appearing in front of them, the heavy weapon armed Astartes fired on their primarch, the explosions ripped through Angrons armour catching him in mid run. The Primarch was hurled sideways, his momentum pitching him into the building across the street.
The Dark Mechanicum adepts used the distraction to fire on their former comrade, just as he was ready to destroy the artifact. Their shooting hit home and a bolter round blew the machine-man's head from its metal shoulders.
Seeing their only chance of destroying this hellish weapon gone the loyalists cried out in frustration and fired on the enginseers. Their heavy bolter rounds were even more effective here than they had been against the Red Angel and power claws, mechandrites and even small bits of whatever flesh remained were caught in a hellish storm of fire.
Skharn was eviscerated by one of the Red Butchers before a combination of fire from the heavy bolters and the fists of the dreadnought put them down.
The remaining traitors retreated under the heavy fire of their dreadnought.
Skharn remained managed to live through his injury and was only momentarily unconscious. He ordered the area to be searched for Angron's body but the primarch was gone.
With diminished forces, and no way to destroy the artifact now, it was only a matter of time before the traitors were back in numbers to finish the job.
More pictures:
imgur.com/a/8Ri1K
imgur.com/a/GORYY
imgur.com/a/vNpwb
imgur.com/a/h4YOB
finishes his initial Rust Devils force.
