Board Thread:Warhammer 40k Roleplay/@comment-14745711-20150116231447/@comment-14745711-20150119235410

OOC: Okay, here is the second post.

IC:

“For the Lion!” Avatus bellowed, his deep voice echoing off the walls of the nearby buildings, “the only reconciliation for the traitor is death!” The towering figure hurtled out from the drop pod at an incredible speed despite his size and decapitated a chaos marine. The five assault terminators charged after him, made somewhat slower by their terminator armour, but when they impacted they still did so with enough force to crack the power armour of the enemy. Their Thunderhammers swatted down the charging berserkers like flies, smashing them into the ground crushing various bones.

Zhufor howled in anger and hurled himself at Avatus. He smashed him into the ground and brought up his chain axe to cut off the chapter master’s head. Avatus braced a foot against the chaos lord’s chest, and with a mighty heave sent him flying back. Leaping quickly back to his feet he swung his sword at Zhufor’s chest, the weapon just glancing off of the power armour. Zhufor swung down wards, his weapon lined up perfectly to embed itself in Avatus’s skull. Avatus hurled himself aside just in time, his left pauldron suffering a glancing blow, chipping off part of the lion’s head. Avatus slashed again at his enemy’s waist, drawing blood.

Zhufor in anger hammered him with the end of his chain axe cracking part of Avatus’s helmet. He staggered back swiping at Zhufor’s hand cutting one finger off. Zhufor pressed the attack smashing a blow into Avatus’s chest, cutting a furrow into his flesh. The blow did little but rip his power armour apart, but blood was now pouring from the wound.

Avatus managed to find his feet, breathing raggedly. It felt like part of his chest carapace had cracked under that blow. Zhufor was a brute, but his strength was formidable enough to warrant caution. As the chaos lord came at him again he ducked under his initial swing and leapt forwards. He plunged Narsa Galdra through Zhufor’s stomach, penetrating out through his back. Pulling his sword back out from the wound Avatus kicked Zhufor hard in the open wound sending him staggering backwards choking up blood. Whipping crimson away from his mouth the warrior of Khorne grinned broadly. “Well dog of the corpse Emperor, I haven’t been privileged with a worthwhile fight for quite some time.”

“In that case, allow me to give you more than you wish for!”

The Angels of Reconciliation, numbering around thirteen devastators, each armed with a variety of heavy weaponry, and twenty tactical marines had taken the southern portion of the plaza. The Sayians numbering only ten had taken the northern half with the support of the PDTs. For the past five minutes the assault had been relentless, but suddenly it had stopped, without apparent reason. “Could they have gone after the civilians?” asked Jeremiah, still eyeing the spaces between the buildings from the centre of the plaza where he now stood. Both he and Katon were in the shadow cast by a twenty feet tall statue of some legendary warrior. Whether it was a primarch or an image of the Emperor himself one could not tell, the features had been so badly erased by the passage of time.

“I doubt it,” replied Katon, “the followers of Khorne vastly prefer open battle to such a slaughter. Not that that would stop them from committing such a blatant act of cowardice. No, something else is going on here; it could be reinforcements.”

“Or,” pointed out Jeremiah a little dryly, “it could be a trap.”

Suddenly the sound of bolter fire ripped through the air, and a sizable explosion sent out a shockwave that made the buildings rattle. “No, I’d say it was reinforcements wouldn’t you?” said Katon with a grin.

Umbra held his head in his hands. “Why? Why is there always some idiot who throws themselves into my plans and causes the situation to last ten times longer than it needs to? And why so often is it an astartes?” he exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air hopelessly. “Dam you brother for scattering your precious angels of death throughout the galaxy like this!”

“Yes, you’d have thought he was trying to forestall us or something.”

“I doubt he was trying to forestall you.”

“And what makes me of any less significance than you?”

“Hah! You do know who I am correct?” exclaimed Umbra towering over him.

“Yes, but after all, many of the most important humans in history weren’t even close to being on your level were they? Why do I need to be?”

“Watch your tongue whelp.”

“You’re a fine one to call me whelp. I do predate you by about 29,000 years you know.”

“You know, for one who serves the god of anarchy, you’re infuriatingly quite in your tones Feragway.”

“I believe in serving my lord is those matters in which he his often unable to represent himself,” said Feragway calmly, seemingly not remotely angered by the tone of Umbra’s voice when he mentioned the lord he had served so devoutly for all these years.

“What are you doing here anyway?” demanded Umbra, inadvertently frustrated by Feragway’s calmness; the creepy little bastard was always like this, and yet it still got on his nerves.

“My master wishes that his interests in this matter be preserved safely.”

“Were those the words he used at the time?” asked Umbra with veiled mockery.

“Not, exactly,” admitted Feragway, “my lord Malal prefers more expressive forms of communication than conventional speech.”

“What? Like screaming madly?”

“That is a preference of his, yes.”

“His interests are not much to me. But you can watch these events should wish it, though it is not my responsibility to ensure that your god gets what he wants, only that mine does.”

“And if your own interests can be served in that undertaking all the better?”

“One should take care against whom they make such accusations Feragway. You might pay for it later.”

The worshiper of Malice spun his staff idly in his hands. His empty sockets suddenly locked with Umbra’s eyes, and it sent an unsettling vibe in the black figure’s direction. “Of course, lord Umbra. I hope you will forgive my insolence, and I thank you for your permission.”

Avatus went flying backwards, spinning in mid air as he did so, ensuring that he managed to find some semblance of footing on impact. “Dam you Zhufor,” he muttered under his breath, whipping blood from the side of his mouth. His armour had been rent in many other places since the wound to his chest, though he had paid these wounds back in kind. He risked a quick glance over to the main battle.

The terminator honour guard had done their job excellently, which was just as well since the chapter only possessed three sets of terminator armour, each one altered for their specific role: tactical, devastator or assault. The deployment of assault class terminators had been a good call; the chaos space marines had of course charged them head-on initially, and been clubbed down by the massive Thunderhammers. The two other drop pods launched had held a tactical and devastator squad from the 3rd Company. They appeared to have taken up positions on a ridge and were providing suppressive and covering fire for the terminators who were even now wading deep into the city.

Suddenly Avatus heard the rev of a chain axe in his ears, and ducked just in time to avoid being beheaded. He countered Zhufor’s swing with a stab at the ribs, but the chaos lord saw it coming and knocked his blow aside. Avatus leapt back starring up at Zhufor, who was tall even for an astartes. If he had had time he would have called on the limited physic abilities his title had granted him to increase his strength and speed, but Zhufor hadn’t given him a chance to do so yet. Avatus could see that in the end he must lose this fight to the stronger fighter, since by damnation the traitor seemed not to have slowed, even with his wounds.

Zhufor attacked again, feinting high then swinging low. Avatus switched his guard down just time and sent the blow skidding away. His style was more elegant and efficient, but it couldn’t hold up against such constant brute force forever. Having guided Zhufor’s blow elsewhere, Avatus continued the motion towards his neck, hoping to take advantage of the open guard. His blade connected, but with Zhufor’s neck guard rather than flesh. He had been too hasty and hadn’t checked to see if that part was exposed. A slash at the face would have been far more efficient.

Taking advantage of this mistake Zhufor elbowed Avatus in the ribs and before the chapter master could dodge aside, the great chain axe had come crashing down.