However, it wasn't that the Iron Warriors hadn't detected this Valkyrie, but that although they had discovered it through Optical Targeting, they had determined one thing after initial interception attempts and calculations:

Continuing to intercept this thing was too low-yield and not worth continuing to waste Anti-Air Fire on.

If it were just this one fighter, that would be one thing, but behind it was a large number of signal sources and a massive signal so large that one would suspect equipment malfunction.

Reloading the interceptor missiles and Artillery Shells that could hit things in orbit wasn't an easy task. Wasting them all on one aircraft? Were they supposed to rely on ordinary Anti-Air Guns to intercept the Drop Pods that had already reached the final stage of their descent?

This led to the current scene.

As the Valkyrie flew erratically, only a few Anti-Air Tracer Rounds occasionally swept across the sky, but with that density, the goal seemed more like harassment than interception or defense.

In other words, as long as it didn't try to approach those core targets, the Chaos forces decided to let it do whatever it wanted. After all, it was just one aircraft, and what could a Valkyrie with its limited ordnance do? It wouldn't be able to kill many Chaos Cultists no matter how much it fired.

To put it bluntly, the heads of a few Chaos Cultists might not even be worth a single Rocket Projectile.

And as if to confirm their suspicions, the Valkyrie quickly flew away from the formation after expending several rounds of Anti-Air Fire.

Of course, it wasn't flying outwards, but towards the remnant Imperial forces they had surrounded.

Its airframe streaked across the battlefield filled with Laser Beams, the sounds of its engines and nozzles washing over those below like waves, dodging the occasional ground fire that managed to hit it by chance.

At the same time, to cover the aircraft's unbridled actions, the Reaver Titan also switched targets, raising its guns to a higher angle and transitioning to indirect fire.

The Artillery Shells accelerated from the Gatling Blaster traced elegant and precise arcs, falling onto the enemy's artillery positions that had previously been shelling the formation, forcefully preventing the enemy's Barrage on its own and creating the conditions for the Valkyrie to land.

The Valkyrie naturally didn't stand on ceremony and designated the landing point as directly behind the Reaver Titan.

Considering the presence of the Void Shield, there was no more solid cover in this torn-up formation than the Titan.

Thus, as Zhang Ge exited the aircraft, he saw an amazing sight.

On one side was a teetering Titan that had not yet fallen, countless Artillery Shells and energy beams smashing into its Void Shield. It was clear that many were trying to hit him directly... or rather, the Valkyrie that was currently parked, but without exception, they were swallowed up by the ripples of the shield.

On the other side, an Yellow-armored Space Marine rushed over like a ravenous tiger, kicking up dust along the way.

Wait, weren't they supposed to be surrounded? Weren't they supposed to be under siege?

Yes, strictly speaking, they were under siege, but being surrounded by a Titan's Void Shield the moment he landed was a little different from what he imagined airdropping into a siege would be like.

Because the situation was so different from what he had imagined, Zhang Ge was speechless for a moment. After confirming that the environment was temporarily safe, he focused his attention on the Space Marine.

Shifting his gaze, Zhang Ge found that the other party's movements were extremely agile, so much so that he was momentarily unable to process that the Space Marine was wearing a suit of Terminator Armor.

A closer look.

The Aquila on the chest, the bas-relief encased by the right shoulder pad, the Chapter Champion marking on the left shoulder pad, and the Laurel Wreath above the helmet on the golden armor all undoubtedly revealed his role.

This was a Chapter Champion of the Imperial Fists and was likely the commander here.

After Zhang Ge and his guards had left the aircraft, amidst the sounds of Boltguns firing in retaliation and the engines of the Valkyrie taking off again, he charged into the Void Shield and came before everyone.

After he stopped, his massive body cast an even larger shadow, enveloping Zhang Ge in it. Then, a steady voice mixed with various background noises, carrying a faint electronic tone, came from the helmet:

"Do you have any other support coming?"

"Yes."

Or rather, theoretically.

Looking at the Valkyrie all alone around him, Zhang Ge wasn't sure if it was flying too fast or if all the other units had been shot down.

If it was the latter, it would be extremely difficult for the second wave of airborne troops to reach the ground.

Hearing Zhang Ge's brief reply, the other party nodded, without any extra words or actions, and said:

"Then, we will retreat to..."

Before he could finish his words, more bright spots appeared in the thick clouds covering the sky.

It wasn't Drop Pods, but the Orbital Bombardment being carried out by the Escort Ships.

According to the plan, these Artillery Shells were launched after the first wave of landing troops. Although the Artillery Shells' speed was extremely high, the time difference between the two launches would allow them to fall to the ground only slightly ahead of the landing troops, thereby ensuring that the enemy's time to reorganize their defenses would be shortened as much as possible.

And these Artillery Shells falling from orbit did not disappoint this planned objective, falling with extreme speed and slamming onto the ground from above the clouds in the blink of an eye.

Countless shockwaves wrapped in rolling, exploding fire swept outwards, the towering waves of sand mixed within each other colliding, causing the metal fragments of the vehicles mixed within to collide with each other and create terrifying shrieks.

Everything was just right.

The Valkyrie had just dropped Zhang Ge and the others off on the ground, and the Artillery Shells, which were slightly behind, immediately fell.

Although the guns on the Escort Ships were at the level of Anti-Air Guns for regular warships, they were still measured in hundreds of millimeters, and this round of Barrage was enough to shatter the enemy's attack and eliminate the threat they posed.

Clearly, this aircraft wasn't as reckless as it looked.

It even exploited the Defensive Gap created by this Barrage. The nimble airframe, now able to maneuver without restraint after dropping off its passengers, accelerated and plunged headfirst into the lingering waves of the explosion, piercing towards an unknown location.

In front of Zhang Ge.

Realizing that the number of reinforcements might be greater than expected, this Imperial Fists Chapter Champion swallowed the words he had just spoken halfway through and immediately changed his orders:

"We will launch a Counteroffensive to cover the arrival of the reinforcements. Tell me, what is your objective and scale?"

"The objective is to get you out of here. The scale is nearly two hundred thousand."

This number startled the Chapter Champion.

The Imperial Fists were traditionally conservative in the allocation of resources... or rather, subject to self-imposed and external restrictions.

Setting aside the fact that its total number as the founding Chapter was only one thousand men as prescribed by the Codex-compliant guidelines, it had even faced obstacles when it wanted to recruit a few thousand ordinary auxiliary soldiers to assist the Seventh Company in guarding the Phalanx, which had ultimately been resolved by Roboute Guilliman stepping in.

Nearly two hundred thousand troops for a single rescue operation? The last time they were this valued was before their Primarch went missing, wasn't it?

Thinking of this, the Champion, feeling that he and his Chapter had not been abandoned by the Imperium, became even more determined to serve the Imperium in the future.

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