Blood flowed down the ornate power armor of those Chaos Space Marines, staining their magnificent exteriors.

  They did not exhibit any mutations from their armor; under the sunlight piercing through the clouds, their massive forms reflected a golden glow, resembling demigods descending to the mortal realm. If they weren't currently slaughtering their own forces in a frenzy, it would be hard to distinguish them from loyalist Space Marines.

  Without employing any skills or strategies, they brutally tore apart PDF soldiers or Astra Militarum troops with chainsword, fists, and shoulder charges, reducing them to mere corpses.

  It wasn't until two squads of Astra Militarum managed to gather themselves and attempted to use a volley to block one of the Chaos Space Marines that they noticed a friendly plasma gun had been thrown over a hundred meters away, landing right above them.

  In those desperate eyes, a precise explosive round struck the plasma gun, and the violent explosion instantly engulfed nearly twenty men.

  They couldn't even slow down for a moment; the explosive was fired from a one-handed launcher while the other hand was busy slaughtering nearby PDF soldiers.

  Despair spread through the trenches, yet waves of PDF and Astra Militarum continued to gather in batches, charging through the communication trenches toward the area under siege.

  Yes, these Chaos Space Marines were still powerful, but they had a fatal weakness: they were not as rational as normal Space Marines.

  Amidst the slaughter, pain, wails, and the ecstasy granted by the dark gods, three Chaos Space Marines gradually spread out to increase their killing efficiency. As a large number of troops began to react and filled the line with flesh and blood, their speed was gradually hindered.

  When one Chaos Space Marine burst into a key trench with communication trenches, a violent explosion suddenly erupted from beneath the ground.

  Like the first trench, the commander had also buried a large amount of explosives in the other trenches. If these Chaos Space Marines had remained clear-headed, their extensive combat experience would have easily recognized this common tactic.

  However, driven by their rising desires, they had become powerful "demons" acting almost entirely on instinct, which was precisely the meaning behind such sacrifices.

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  Flames, shockwaves, and the clouds of dust and debris kicked up by the explosion, along with the blood mist formed by countless friendly troops still being torn apart in the trenches, erupted alongside the rapidly expanding sound of the explosion.

  At the same time, the entire trench began to explode.

  Although they had not been led into the concentrated explosive zone, it was evident that the conditions could no longer be as favorable.

  ...However, things often do not go as planned.

  As the Astra Militarum soldiers crouched in the communication trench, raising their monomolecular bayonets and charging toward the front lines shrouded in smoke just as the explosion erupted, they saw the Chaos Space Marine still standing.

  His once magnificent power armor was smeared with flesh and blood, the explosion had torn it apart in several places, and the intense heat was melting his muscles.

  Yet he was still alive.

  From the gaping hole in his power armor, a pink appendage and tendrils slowly emerged, and the skin rapidly regenerating under the influence of subspace warp energy revealed the blasphemous sight hidden beneath his ornate exterior—this was the true face of a Chaos Space Marine.

  Lost, lost, lost.

  None of the squads that charged into the smoke had any survivors to report back, until that mangled Chaos Space Marine emerged, holding the severed head of the forward officer.

  The second, the third.

  The injured Chaos Space Marines seemed to mock the futile resistance of these mortals.

  Finally, the commander of the position realized why their previous calls for help had fallen on deaf ears; they were the only bulwark still holding out along the entire front line, and now it was their turn.

  At this moment, the best tactic was not to continue fighting, but to retreat immediately. The front line had already collapsed, and losing the position was inevitable. He had to preserve as much combat strength as possible and leave survivors to convey the existence of the Chaos Space Marines back to the rear lines.

  Thus, after the commander personally appeared to attract the attention of the Chaos Space Marines and led his personal guard into the ammunition depot, the commander's adjutant issued orders for a scattered retreat to all units.

  This naturally included Zhang Ge, who had not yet crossed the crowded trenches to reach the front line because he had gone to the rear armory to collect equipment, and had not made it back before the retreat order was given.

  “Damn bugs!”

  Zhang Ge cursed, even though he didn’t know that the commander himself hadn’t fled but had entered the ammunition depot to buy time and trade one for one.

  Even if he had known, he wouldn’t have changed his words; his personal emotions had somewhat taken hold.

  After all, this was the closest Zhang Ge had come to a normal death. Encountering Chaos Space Marines? Most of the Star Realm Army would never have that opportunity in their lifetime.

  “Letting these people stay here is just a waste.”

  Sister Amelia said, glancing at Zhang Ge, who immediately understood her look.

  “...Fine, you go ahead.”

  As soon as Zhang Ge finished speaking, Sister Amelia sheathed her sword with her right hand.

  She extended her palm, just like when they were in the underground cave, grabbing the collar of Zhang Ge's armored shell and yanking him along, swiftly darting towards the location of the vehicle they had reached earlier, allowing Zhang Ge to experience a simplified version of being a flying man once again.