Mathias, A Warhammer 40k Story

part 3

A dazzling light emits from the Astropath, signaling their exit from the Warp and into real space. "Carry over the coordinates to landing station, clear orbital systems and prepare Infection for launch." The Bridge Captain commands his nearly mindless machines with ease, having been under the leadership of Mathais for countless centuries now. Captain Tygos has long since lost the need for his former eyesight. Having been blinded upon first sight of Mathias, Tygos now knows his duty is to only command the servitors that drive the ship. His Dark Lord's ever onward marching orders, in his never ending campaign of rage and the abolition of the verisimilitude of religion. At the end of the day, the bridge captain and his underlings have one job, relay the lord to his rally point. Today, they rally on Odrodzenie...

   This once beautiful city is now scarred with the ruins of dilapidated buildings and orbital bombardment craters. Quickly becoming a shell of its former self. All reallocated tech appropriated by the survivors of Mathias' bloody horde, or what survives each drop, litters the ground quickly and efficiently. His singular pod slams into the surface with tremendous force, splattering several mindless marines under its malefic talons. The shambling infected scatter themselves like dust to the wind as the sounds of bolter rounds and screaming can be heard echoing off of the mountain range-like surrounding of the landscape.
   A thunderous clambering and grinding can be heard by the ground forces swinging in from the right flank to meet the remaining forces of the enemy’s main battalion. A Land Raider bristles past Mathias, belching black carbonated smoke and spewing acidic green ichor from its exhaust tubes. Mathias grabs a hold of one of the numerous skulls impaled upon the spikes of the Land Raider and hoists his powerful figure to the top hatch. Drop pods filled with the endless hoard of infected abhumans, along with rage crazed berzerkers slam into the ground continuously in a rapid fire staccato. After the flip of a switch Mathias’ voice begins to boom out across the battlefield.
“This is all they give? This is the match mortality chooses to throw against my hoard!” Mathias coughs laughter into his microbead as he spreads his arms wide. “My horde! My dominating hand of the Gods Undivided is here to bring you all the truth! No more shall you witness the manipulation and strangulation of your senses! No more shall you fear and worship false idols! We are here, to set you free!”
     Upon finishing his words the Warp Smiths inside the devilish machines storming the battlefield begin to spew forth a litany of blasphemous words and chanting to appease the chaotic machine spirits trapped within the front line armor. Land Raiders, Defilers, Rag-Na-Rok pattern Tanks, and Rhinos all charge out in their iron columns towards the front line. The massive blunted feet of Defilers smash among rock, friend, and foe alike. Their small, horned heads screaming in demonic prayers as gouts of flame rain down from the mounted Heavy Flamers. Their massive artillery cannon firing off in the distance, causing showers of rocks further back in the enemy's ranks. The battle eager tanks and Rhinos join in firing everything available into the distant city.
   The rim of the crater stretches for miles over the horizon. Orbital scans have showed this Hive as being the most technologically advanced, and therefore first in the order of conquering. With this Hive under his control, spreading to and compliance with the remaining hives will be all the more expressed.
Mathias' cloak billows in the wind caused by the forward movement of the machine. Apart from the alterations to the atmospherics caused by the Land Raider’s movement, everything else about this planet seems… still - already dead. Some resistance had been met whilst the 10th horde stormed the drop point. No more resistance than was usual for a Hivecity this far out in the galaxy.
      Mathias' sweeping hand obliterated everything standing ground-side before his departure off of the Grim Talon. The Land Raider upon which Mathias rides is suddenly and violently jerked far upwards at the fore section. The massive bulldozer blade attached to the tank peels off in the outcry of metal and sparks as a titanic scaled creature screeches and begins clawing its way to the surface. Mathias bends his knees and uses the force of impact to shoot off the top of the rolling armor. Reaching out with a hand for balance his other already brandishing the gifted ax. Mathias stands at a low crouch and eyes this new challenge to his authority. The Land Raider had been completely destroyed upon impact of this creature's subterranean charge. Mathias ignores the whirring and screeching of the demonic possessed servitors trapped inside.
        Seeing the new prey, this man-thing prepare itself for combat - the biological titan rears back its massive head and begins grinding serrated, layered teeth together in a furious sawing motion. It's six massive talon-like bone protrusions reached up to two meters long at the tip, all like hypodermic needles of death waiting for their next victim.