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"The Steel Hand!"
Aqua may indeed be a good warrior, her swordsmanship is unparalleled in the Astartes Legion, but she is still too inexperienced in front of Primarch Filus.
The chasm between the Primarch and Astartes cannot be bridged by swordsmanship alone.
As long as she can ride the Stormbird, land on the flagship before Aqua, and seize control of the command center, victory in this battle will still be in her hands.
[Sir, all the Stormbirds in our vicinity have been taken!]
[Company Commander, it was Company Commander Santo who moved these equipment to the front lines!]
"what?!"
The sudden change of events directly disrupted Philus's planned route.
As the backbone of the Iron Hand, she usually commands the combat resources of each war zone from a macro perspective during battles—whether it's ammunition, manpower, firepower configuration, or even morale, all can be precisely controlled and coordinated through her brain, thus ultimately achieving victory in the battle.
This is both the strength and the weakness of the Iron Hand—while the Primarch can maximize the effectiveness of the war by commanding the entire operation alone, allowing the Legion to crush any enemy who dares to resist like an indestructible steel torrent.
However, this also weakened the combat capabilities of these junior officers and soldiers, putting them in a state of complacency where they could win battles simply by following the Primarch's orders. As a result, once the Primarch himself lost his guidance, the entire legion, lacking individual combat capabilities, would be like a disorganized mess.
Normally, without the Primarch's order, it is impossible to move Stormbird to another location.
Only the First Company, the Primarch's elite personal guard, which is the Avignon clan to which Gabriel Santo belongs... could barely manage to do so.
"Damn it! I've never given such an order before!"
"Hurry! Have Gabriel recall the Stormbirds, and notify the nearest Second War Zone to immediately send ten Stormbirds to the First War Zone! Now!"
"No need, Lady Phyllis, I can handle this myself."
Amidst the cacophony of shouts and sounds of fighting on the communication channel, Aqua spoke.
......
Aqua did not explain the specific reason.
But the movement of the signal seems to have already proven her point—
Everything seemed to be a replica of the last battle of Gadinar. In Philus's eyes, her signal was now firmly advancing towards the energy core area!
Just like last time, Aqua never expected to come back alive.
"Stop! Aqua! We don't need to resort to such extreme measures!"
"You stop approaching their energy compartment! I'll board the ship with you, and we'll take down their command center together, okay?"
Phyllis's tone was also filled with urgency.
Doing so would not only grant the Emperor's son ultimate victory, but would also cost her Aqua, her close friend and longtime right-hand woman.
While the Iron Hand Legion possesses strong heavy firepower, its ability to break through single points is very weak.
Many of the enemies with formidable defensive capabilities, whose Iron Hands could not break through after a long period of attack, only secured their victory by having Aqua and her Imperial Sons launch a double assault and decapitate the enemy commander.
"No. I refuse."
Aqua paused for a moment, as if she was thinking, or perhaps she was dealing with the enemy in front of her and didn't have time to answer.
“Philus, if you insist on forcibly boarding the ship, then the only option between us is to perish together.”
"you!"
This was the most blatant threat to the Primarch of the Steel Hand, and also her farewell to herself.
Without hesitation, the point of light where Aqua was located, as detected by the instrument, headed straight for the energy compartment of the Azure Crystal Alliance flagship.
There is no turning back.
......
Inside the flagship of the Azure Crystal Alliance.
This interstellar empire, formed by humans and aliens, is not as weak as it is said. Their physics engine technology is far superior to the most advanced human empire flagships, which is commendable.
Although the subspace storm caused them to forget their former subspace engine technology and long-range warp capabilities, limiting their activity to a few nearby star systems, this did not mean that their technology had stopped advancing.
In this world where the older the better, the more powerful they become. The Azure Crystal Alliance, which has survived part of the ancient human dark technology era, is a testament to their formidable strength, having managed to withstand the Iron Hand Legion until now.
But before Aqua, with the heavy artillery fire protecting their flagship gone, leaving only swords and blades locked in combat within a confined space of just a few meters...
All resistance was futile against the eternal swordswoman, Aqua, the Imperial Princess.
Amidst the flashing blades, anything that dared to block her path on her way to the energy chamber, whether human, alien, or android, was sliced to pieces by her dazzling dual-blade swordsmanship.
No one could stop her from moving forward.
Until that final energy chamber, Aqua felt her swordsmanship with both hands continuously sublimating in her final moments.
A mysterious realm seemed to be unfolding from her.
She has already honed her swordsmanship to its peak; now, the only thing that can limit her is her lack of physical strength.
Without a doubt, if Aqua possessed Primarch-level power, she would truly be an invincible being in the galaxy, defeating all her opponents.
Unfortunately, she couldn't wait until then.
She easily broke through that last door, exposing the fragile core of the Azure Crystal Alliance, which was charging up, to her.
......
Not only did Philus find this moment familiar, but Aqua, who had experienced it twice, naturally thought of the Battle of Gadinar.
Unfortunately, this time, there was no one like Casgar, the commander of the Sons of the Emperor's Legion, to descend from the sky and save her just as the reactor was about to explode.
No one could stop Aqua, but just as no one could save her again.
But she still went ahead without hesitation.
"We absolutely...we must rescue Casca!"
Looking at the reactor with its various colored lights flashing on the dashboard, Aqua moved.
She strained to draw back the longsword in her right hand, using the last and strongest force of her life to plunge it towards the spaceship's reactor—
"For Vorgrim, for the phoenix rising from the ashes!!!"
.......
The dazzling light first covered her eyes, and before the actual explosion could reach her ears, the terrifying impact seemed to be right next to her.
In her final moments, Aqua closed her eyes—
Just as the white light was about to engulf everything, a dark green crack appeared before her eyes, as if the reactor was about to explode.
Is it just my imagination?
Aqua was unaware that, at this moment, she had no room to consider the existence of such a question.
"It wouldn't be in line with my usual style for a legend to end so easily."
As time seemed to freeze at the moment of impending explosion, the space necromancer who had awakened prematurely—or rather, hadn't slept at all—was quite satisfied with the "spoils" he had amassed on this trip.
Although he failed to obtain the rarest Kaska this time, the thief never leaves empty-handed, and the Endless Tarasim never returns empty-handed.
As the eerie green light from the rift flickered again in the next second, Tarasin and Aqua, the Second Company Commander of the Emperor's Son, vanished at the other end of the rift the instant the reactor exploded.
Click.
The pause in time ended, and an endless explosion of energy engulfed everything.
......
Amidst the violent explosion of the reactor, powerful enough to instantly disintegrate the entire spaceship, and with Philus hearing the completely lost communication signals, Aqua and her Imperial Sons Second Company ultimately won the gamble.
But the price was devastating.
The once unparalleled swordsman, the undefeated Super Astartes War God who had never been defeated since his debut except for his Primarch, the invincible Second Company Commander Aqua Duna, the son of the Emperor, perished together with the Azure Crystal Alliance's flagship in the battle against them.
Although her body was not found after the battle, finding her body on a flagship that had already disintegrated in near-Earth orbit... was practically impossible.
Especially given the explosion at such close range, it's highly likely that... Aqua would have been completely obliterated.
On the second day after the war was completely over, the Fugrim fleet, with the Primarch's attempt, successfully used the Ska Punch, which imitated Horus's attack, and with the support of countless musicians and theatrical performances, to help the Navigator complete its repositioning after dispelling the warp and return to the real world.
But Fugrim never expected that, although she was indeed a step too late, the battle was already completely over.
Fortunately, thanks to Aqua's sacrifice, the Emperor's son, Niren, lived up to his mission, launching an attack on the Azure Crystal Alliance's flagship at the most critical moment, perishing together with it.
Ultimately, victory still belonged to their emperor's son, though no one had anticipated it.
......
Although Phyllis didn't want to admit it, the ultimate victor was still Fugrim, and she had to return Kasgar to him as agreed.
Although she wanted to use the Steel Hand Legion's strength to renege on her debt, she dared not attempt a two-on-one fight against Mortalian, who was equally enraged by Aqua's death.
"Why!"
"Why did you do something so foolish! The Azure Crystal Alliance's flagship was completely surrounded; all we had to do was break into the cockpit and take control!!!"
"You! You killed Aqua! You killed her!!!"
Mortalian, the Lord of Death, was overcome with grief.
He had never experienced such a strong mental fluctuation before.
But just as the battle was about to end, he formally requested the Second Company Commander, the son of the Emperor, to join the Death Guard Legion as a cook!
Although cooking is just a tiny side job compared to her sword saint abilities, it is an unparalleled trial for the Death Guard's overall resilience!
(That's why you shouldn't make promises you can't keep.)
Fortunately, he ultimately failed to invite her.
Otherwise, by the end, probably no human would be able to stand up in the entire Death Guard.
......
But Mortalian's resentment still lingered.
Before the funeral for Aqua Duna and other fallen soldiers, Mortalian had a heated argument with another Primarch, Filus.
In his view, Aqua's death was entirely Philus's responsibility.
If she hadn't engaged in that pointless contest with Fugrim, Aqua wouldn't have sacrificed herself at the last moment to achieve a so-called victory.
Although he didn't know the stakes were Kaska, it was clear that Mortalian had every reason to resent Philus, who had killed Aqua.
It's all because of her!
"Casualties in war are always inevitable. Mortalian, as the Lord of Death, you should understand the meaning of death better than anyone else. Stop making trouble for me. I don't have time to deal with children who have lost their toys."
"Child, toys? Ha, is this how you see us, how you see those Astartes under your command?"
"No, you're wrong, Phyllis, this is evidence of your guilt!"
"How many people have your steely head killed? How many soldiers have been forced to abandon their posts and face death because of your calculations? When have you ever considered this?"
“I sense no respect for humanity from you, Phyllos. You seem more like a pathetic abomination than a Primarch.”
"That's why the Emperor wouldn't choose someone like you to be a War Commander."
Mortalian's words were piercing to the heart.
The last sentence, in particular, ignited Philus's anger.
It's more effective than "call your real legion commander."
"Motalian!!!" Philus's fists were almost touching the Pale King's body.
"What? You want to fight me? I've already heard that you've set up an arena in your flagship, just waiting for us to show you just how incompetent you are!"
Mortalian was equally unwilling to be outdone, raising his power scythe high, ready to fight.
After Aqua's death, he really needed a fierce battle to vent his anger and also to get revenge on the fool who deliberately killed Aqua.
"Come!"
As Mortalian stepped forward, the silent Death Shroud Space Marines behind him also stepped forward, forming an arc around the Primarch to protect him.
Come on!!!
Seeing this, Iron Hand was equally unwilling to back down—Iron Hand and his elite Terminator warriors met the silent shroud of death head-on, and the two sides formed a stalemate.
After a long argument, the two sides not only failed to ease the situation, but the two legions were so tense that it was almost as if not only the Primarchs were about to fight, but their legions were also eager to fight.
Ultimately, it was Forgrim, as the Imperial Warmaster, who, by virtue of his command over the Primarchs, forcibly separated the two legions that were about to go to war.