Chapter 163: The Moment of Life and Death Has Arrived!
Ghani the Madfang sensed that his success was now within reach.
He could almost smell the scent coming from the core engine power room of the human ship.
If he destroyed it, victory would be his.
But soon, a new squad of soldiers appeared in front of them, blocking their advance.
Madfang felt a hint of confusion.
These new soldiers were different in attire compared to the previous humans they encountered.
They weren’t the Marines wielding laser guns or electromagnetic rifles; they weren't as strong.
Nor were they the armed sailors; they were slightly stronger than them.
But Madfang quickly brushed off the concern.
After all, they were just humans; killing them would be enough.
The hundred or so humans had set up bombs along the path, but it was pointless.
With him were psionic youngsters and craftsman lads who had ways of detecting the bombs in advance, detonating them safely ahead of time.
Occasionally, one would slip by, but it wasn't much of a problem.
Explosions like these were not lethal enough to kill off regular Greenskin Boyz if they were even slightly distanced, let alone harm armored units.
Once the bombs proved ineffective, the fight became a bloody struggle—or rather, a one-sided slaughter.
This company’s strongest firepower was limited to a few bombs and a handful of rocket launchers.
The previous waves with mechanized soldiers and armored vehicles had been effortlessly wiped out, let alone these humans.
Within three to five minutes, the entire company was nearly wiped out.
The extent of their loss wasn't due to a lack of willingness to retreat but because there wasn’t enough time, or even if they tried, they’d be swiftly shot down with their backs to the enemy.
However, their sacrifice was not in vain.
At the very least, they had managed to delay the Ork assault squad by a few minutes.
And it was within these few minutes that Gu Hang and his elite team finished setting up their defensive perimeter around the core engine power room.
In fact, there wasn’t much to set up.
Even if they wanted to establish some firepower points or build cover, it was difficult.
On a starship, unlike on a planet's surface, you couldn't dig trenches or makeshift foxholes.
In urban ruins, debris and building materials could be used to create cover, but on a starship, there were only various rooms and narrow or wide corridors.
Unless the structure itself provided some shielding, the only option was to face off in brutal, bloody engagements or turn the corner only to engage in deadly close-quarters combat.
In this environment, the advantage was clearly on the side of the Greenskin Orks.
Humans had bulletproof armor plates, but so did the Greenskins, who created armor from scrap metal, which made them equally resilient.
And when it came to sheer toughness, Madfang’s elite squad could each withstand hundreds of bullets, far more durable than any human.
Gu Hang's only advantage was more soldiers and stronger firepower.
He chose a crossroad as the battlefield.
Facing northward in the starship’s direction, the Ork assault squad was advancing from the south and would inevitably pass through a broad intersection.
Gu Hang placed a heavy defense at the northern end, leading to the power room.
The two battalions of the Dim Light Brigade were positioned here, but not overly concentrated, using combat vehicles as cover, barricades, and firepower points, with soldiers laying down layered obstacles in the eight-meter-wide corridor.
For the Orks to reach the power room, they would have to step over the bodies of Fury Owl soldiers at every meter.
Simultaneously, on the narrower eastern and western corridors, he stationed more troops.
The 2nd Infantry Division's 2nd Regiment had a battalion set up on each side.
The soldiers lay prone in rows, crouching behind each other, with the back row standing.
They aimed their guns at the intersection, with rocket launcher units ready a little farther back, waiting to unleash their full firepower on the Orks as they passed through.
Additionally, a reserve unit, comprising a battalion from the 22nd Regiment, waited at the edge of the battlefield, ready to flank the Ork assault squad from the south when the battle began.
Gu Hang had prepared a massive net for them.
But the key to this net lay with himself and the four Phoenix Marines.
Before boarding the starship, Gu Hang had leveled himself up.
The battle at the High Tower Ruins, which had provided him with a significant influx of Grace Points, had also maxed out his experience, allowing him to reach Level 5.
Rising to Level 5 required a hefty 500 Grace Points.
This level-up increased his physical constitution and psychic sensitivity by one point each.
In addition, he gained a new talent.
Upon boarding the starship, he had considered the likelihood of facing the Greenskin boarding forces.
Although he hadn’t expected the boarding assault to pose an immediate threat to the *Quintet*, he had prepared by investing in a layer of psychic abilities.
This granted him an upgraded talent: **[Advanced Telekinesis]**
**[Advanced Telekinesis: This talent replaces basic Telekinesis. You can now exert stronger psionic power to control physical objects. Psychic attribute +2]**
While there were no additional new talents, the upgraded Telekinesis was quite reliable.
Telekinesis was a versatile and potent psionic ability, with remarkable effects.
Moreover, the replacement with Advanced Telekinesis boosted his psychic attribute by an additional point.
At this point, Gu Hang’s total psychic attribute reached 20.
His attributes were now as follows:
**[Hero: Gu Hang (Faction Leader), LV5, insufficient experience for next upgrade]**
**[Constitution: 10, Psychic: 20]**
**[Traits: Psionic Caster, Governor of Fury Owl Planet, Enemy of the Storm]**
**[Talents: Protective Aura, Advanced Telekinesis, Mind Manipulation]**
This upgrade had significantly increased Gu Hang’s personal strength.
With the added two points in his psychic attribute, his psionic strength and the power of his abilities had more than doubled.
As a Level 5 psionic user who had invested entirely in psychic abilities, Gu Hang was already formidable.
For example, before his upgrade, he could only barely stand toe-to-toe with a regular Star Warrior in one-on-one combat.
But now, he could easily take down a seasoned veteran and consistently surpass a battalion champion, even competing against someone of Martins’ caliber.
This enhancement in his strength would be instrumental in his upcoming confrontation with the Ork Fleet Warlord.
If they managed to kill the Ork Warlord, his surrounding net would ensure the Orks were completely annihilated, ending the boarding assault threat.
Some Greenskins might survive, scattered throughout the ship, but they would no longer pose a major threat.
If they failed…
There would be nothing left to say; they would either die here or go down with the ship in the void of space.
This was the brutal reality of space warfare; once the ship was destroyed, there would be no escape.
All preparations were complete, and the battle erupted swiftly.
Madfang arrived faster than anticipated.
His assault squad appeared at the southern end of the crossroad.
After forcefully breaking down a large door, a group of Greenskin Boyz rushed in.
The combat vehicles and soldiers’ firepower swiftly filled the corridor.
Even though the five Greenskin Boyz were elite and skilled fighters, they couldn't withstand the overwhelming fire in this narrow space.
Their scrap iron armor was shredded, their tough, resilient bodies managed to push forward several steps, but they ultimately fell under the concentrated fire.
However, the things that followed were much harder to deal with.
Two massive Kill Kans rolled in side by side.
The combat vehicles' autocannons could inflict effective damage on them, but not enough to destroy them quickly.
Likewise, the autocannons on these Kill Kans could also penetrate the Walkers’ armor.
They advanced while firing, and under their cover, the Ork Boyz pushed forward.
The two sides exchanged fierce fire, and human casualties began to mount.
One combat vehicle was destroyed, taking several soldiers with it, but multiple rocket launchers fired simultaneously, toppling one Kill Kan that was riddled with holes from the autocannon fire.
However, during this time, the Ork forces had advanced some distance.
After that Kill Kan was destroyed, the Greenskins weren't about to play it safe.
Madfang, for one, didn’t have the patience.
He shoved aside the Boyz who had moved faster than him and pushed away a Dreadnought that was advancing, charging into the frontline himself.
His shoulder-mounted thermal cannon roared to life, shooting through half the corridor.
The scorching red thermal beam pierced three combat vehicles, and the areas it struck continued to melt outward.
The three vehicles instantly fell silent, and none of the infantry caught in the line survived.
He also emptied his left arm's missile pod, unleashing a barrage of explosions onto the human soldiers’ position.
The corridor, once filled with gunfire, momentarily fell silent.
The Greenskin horde seized this opportunity to charge forward.
Though the human firepower soon resumed, it didn’t slow the Orks’ advance significantly.
The Fleet Warlord in the front, with his towering, sturdy frame, absorbed most of the gunfire.
The autocannons from the combat vehicles pelted him, creating a literal “metal storm,” but it only managed to slow his steps.
In contrast, when his shoulder cannon finished charging or his missile pod reloaded, a single volley would obliterate a segment of the human defense.
The guns would only fire again once the next wave of soldiers arrived.
Moreover, Madfang wasn’t the only Greenskin packing serious firepower.
The weapons on the Dreadnoughts and Kill Kans were equally
devastating.
The Orks continued their relentless advance.
During this, Greenskin casualties mounted, and even more Kill Kans were destroyed, but the humans paid an even steeper price.
As the frontline commander, Pobov felt his heart ache.