99: Chapter 99 Bloodbath in the Passage

Unexpectedly, this massive explosion did not blast a hole in the corridor; instead, it made the corridor look as if it had bulged out from the outside.

The reason was that the forces of Chaos had done something truly practical: they had reinforced the bulkhead of the Spaceport corridor.

The explosion forced the Khorne army of Chaos and Xia Xingchen's troops into a temporary ceasefire.

There was no point in continuing the fight; Xia Xingchen's troops had already achieved complete control over the hangar interior, and some of the lifting platforms had also been secured.

Looking at the casualty report, Xia Xingchen really wanted to smoke a pack of cigarettes and have a drink.

"What do you mean we lost nearly a hundred soldiers, plus twenty attack aircraft, five transport planes, and three Sentinel mechs just after landing?"

Xia Xingchen regretted it a little at this moment; had he known, he should have requested a larger order from the Triplex Phall Forge World.

However, Xia Xingchen quickly gathered his composure and sent a message to Inquisitor Kolo.

"The hangar of the Spaceport has been taken. We expect to capture the entire Spaceport area within five days."

Xia Xingchen steadied his mood and continued to issue commands on the control panel.

Large numbers of soldiers were once again deployed to the front line.

After a night of transport, nearly ten thousand people had entered the Spaceport.

Inside the Spaceport, the landing platforms were filled with the roar of mechs, the landing sounds of transport planes, and the hum of engines.

But this was not what the soldiers needed to focus on most; what they had to face were the roars of officers, the angry rebukes of Political Commissars, and the constant barrage of orders.

At a main entrance, over a hundred soldiers stood in neat formation.

At the very front, specially thickened shields were set up, and the soldiers behind them carried laser guns on their shoulders, waiting in battle readiness.

Everyone knew that the rebels would definitely have set up heavy defenses and traps inside the corridor entrance; whoever opened the door first would be shot into a sieve.

But Xia Xingchen's troops had no choice; they were the attacking force.

A Tech-Priest operated the control panel of the gate and then signaled the captain of the First Battalion, First Regiment that the gate was ready.

Xia Xingchen's army had an iron rule: officers must share weal and woe with the soldiers and serve on the front line together.

Not a single officer questioned this order because their supreme commander, Archon Xia Xingchen, was always the one leading from the front.

Every battle promoted by the Propaganda Department featured images of the Archon charging at the forefront.

"Everyone get ready! If the soldiers in front fall, those behind must immediately step up! Men can fall, but the guns must not stop!"

The Captain of the First Company stood at the side of the gate.

"Even if I fall, you are absolutely not allowed to retreat a single step!"

Having said that, the Captain immediately raised his hand to signal the Tech-Priest to open the corridor gate. The Tech-Priest nodded and quickly operated the controls.

The next second, the gate opened instantly. It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Everyone swallowed hard, and as the Captain took the first step, everyone charged forward in unison.

The soldiers had only walked halfway when the entire corridor suddenly lit up. Appearing before them was a twin-barreled pulse cannon.

The Khorne troops operating it immediately revealed a cruel grin, a bloodthirsty smile that seemed to stretch to their ears. He had waited far too long for this moment.

"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Throne!"

The moment the lights came on, the Captain also saw the enemy in front, as well as countless pitch-black gun muzzles.

The Captain felt no panic, no fear; he simply raised his Plasma Pistol high and shouted, "For the Emperor! For the Archon! Fire!"

In the narrow corridor, at a distance of only a dozen meters, firearms didn't need any precision; as long as the trigger was pulled, it could cause damage.

No fear, no sorrow, no dread. In the face of lasers that could penetrate the brain in mere seconds, these superfluous emotions were simply laughable.

The triggers were pulled. Flesh and blood flew.

The soldiers at the very front were like they had run into two high-explosive grenades; blood splattered instantly, and the first row of soldiers was torn to pieces in an instant, as if swept away by a Gale.

The Long-pattern laser guns seemed possessed by the Machine Spirit, firing off their entire energy magazines the moment the soldiers fell.

The overwhelming firepower poured out like a rainstorm, and the opposing Khorne army fell in swathes like wheat. In the blink of an eye, the twin-barreled pulse cannon was also destroyed.

Everyone, whether on the side of the Empire or Chaos, did only one thing: at the moment their lives ended, they poured out all their remaining firepower.

"Captain!" A soldier immediately rushed to support the falling Captain.

At this moment, the First Battalion's Captain had one leg severed by the fierce firepower; he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay conscious on sheer willpower.

"Captain, we'll take you to the medical station in the back right now!" But the Captain shook off the soldier's hand. "No need," he refused directly.

Seeing this, the surrounding soldiers shouted, "Captain!" The squad leader pulled that soldier back and whispered,

"There is no meaning in me returning alive, but if I die here, everyone will know that a Captain once fought here, that a Captain once bled his last drop of blood here, paving the way for victory."

After the Captain finished speaking, he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Kid, I'm afraid my journey ends here."

The Captain looked at the young soldier, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "Keep going, and go further than I did."

The young soldier looked at the Captain, fighting back the tears in his eyes, gave the Captain a standard Aquila Salute, then turned and plunged back into the bloody, cruel battlefield.

When the hundred or so men reached the Khorne army, only twenty-some remained. In an instant, both sides began a brutal, bayonet-to-bayonet melee.

And this was exactly the scene Khorne loved most; compared to ranged shooting, they were more obsessed with close-quarters slaughter.

If it weren't for Xue Shatian's strict requirement that the Khorne army must be equipped with ranged weapons, this battle would have been much easier, because these Khorne followers would only rely on their flesh and blood to keep charging recklessly.

The close-quarters slaughter intensified, and both sides began to continuously send reinforcements from the rear.

This intersection was like a meat grinder, mercilessly grinding away the soldiers' lives in this space of only a few square meters.

The Second Company and Third Company arrived one after another, and as the heavy fire points were set up, the fierce firepower began to dominate the entire battlefield.

Seeing this, the Khorne rebels fought madly, dying one after another, until they were all finally wiped out. The first battle ended with the victory of Xia Xingchen's army, and the next target was the entire Spaceport.