Chapter 5: A Titan Rivaling a Warlord—The Value of the Great Beast

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To tear apart eight Tyranid bio-titans with such ease—this level of combat power is utterly terrifying! Even imperial Warlord-class Titans do not possess such strength, and Warlord-class Titans rank just below Emperor-class Titans as the largest creations. Typically, the Titans deployed on battlefields are of the Fenris Wolf, Hound, Reaver, Avenger, or Warlord classes. Warlord-class Titans are seldom committed to battle lightly.

Fenris Wolf and Hound-class Titans stand around 17 meters tall and are considered small Titans. The Hound-class serves as a reconnaissance Titan, notable for its agility and speed, and each is equipped with a heavy autocannon on both flanks and the forehead. The Fenris Wolf-class boasts stronger armor and greater firepower than its Hound counterpart but lacks some agility.

Reaver-class Titans are medium Imperial Titans, standing 24 meters tall, known for their mobility and shock assault capabilities. Avenger-class Titans, larger at 30 meters, specialize as dedicated Titan hunters, armed with a massive seismic cannon capable of easily annihilating any foe—a divine engine forged during the Great Crusade to counter alien Titan-level entities.

Warlord-class Titans, towering up to a formidable 36 meters, are large Titans deployed by the Titan Legions to the Imperial frontlines. Produced in the highest-quality Forge Worlds, they possess potent machine spirits and require a crew of a hundred to operate. Existing Warlord-class Titans trace back to the Great Crusade and even the Dark Age of Technology, usually operating in pairs with capabilities against both ground and air targets.

The War God-class Titan—also known as the Warlord-class before the term was retired—is the heaviest type of super Titan, armed with overwhelming firepower and standing approximately 41 meters tall. Each War God-class Titan is among the Empire’s most precious treasures. The mightiest are the Emperor-class Titans, which are no longer produced; these stand around 60 meters tall, with the rarest reaching a staggering 100 meters. These living fortresses typically bear the sacred duty of defending Terra itself and never appear on ordinary battlefields.

This monstrous creature’s height surpasses the largest War God-class Titans, nearly approaching Emperor-class size, and it has violently shredded eight Tyranid bio-saints. Its combat prowess is unimaginably fearsome.

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“There’s no doubt this is a Titan-class monster. I would prefer it to be a wild creature. If it were a bio-Titan engineered by some faction, the consequences would be unthinkable,” the Space Marine captain said.

But that possibility is slim, for the manner of its arrival is not that of a wild being. Moreover, its terrifying combat power and savage bloodlust are not the traits of a naturally evolved organism.

At this moment, Red King had risen from the ground. Although wounded in many places, it continued to rampage violently, attacking the surrounding Tyranids.

“Captain, I’ve thought of something dreadful. Whether this behemoth is wild or engineered, it represents an unimaginable prize for the Tyranid hive. Imagine if they recovered its corpse and extracted its genetic material—they could create Warlord-class bio-Titans. That would spell disaster for the Imperium.”

“It’s not that simple. The stronger the lifeform, the harder it is to extract usable genetic material. Take us Space Marines, for example—countless have fallen to the Tyranid swarms. Even the genes of Ork warbosses and warlords have never been successfully repurposed,” the captain replied.

If the Tyranids truly possessed such advanced genetic manipulation technology—able to capture a single specimen for mass replication or targeted assault—the Imperium could never have won the first or second Tyranid wars. The heretical gene-thieves would have long since destroyed the Empire. The Tyranids are masters of genetics, but not absolute controllers.

To fully replicate such an immensely powerful creature’s genome, the Tyranids would need to capture a double-digit number of live specimens, perform extensive gene cultivation and experiments, and spend a great deal of time developing the organism. Partial gene extraction achieves little.

Still, his subordinate was correct—such a formidable bio-Titan is undoubtedly a prize the Tyranids crave. Deploying eight bio-saints to capture it is proof enough; the Tyranid Hive Queen wants to test this behemoth’s combat power.

And the results must be very satisfactory.

Only three Tyranid motherships remain in orbit. This is not a main Tyranid fleet but the remnants of the destroyed Kraken fleet. Since the Kraken fleet’s defeat in the Second Tyranid War, numerous Norn heavy pilots have roamed the galaxy in their warships, striking at isolated worlds. This planet is one of their targets.

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“Astartes, we must report this matter to the Imperium, so that they know a truly terrifying monster has appeared here. Moreover, we must not allow the Tyranids to obtain an intact specimen of this behemoth,” a Battle Sister declared.

“We lack Psyker Star Speakers here. There is no way to send a message,” the Space Marine captain shook his head.

This planet is a semi-agricultural, semi-forge world—one of the logistical bases for their Chapter, normally responsible for tithes and providing recruits to the Space Marine Chapter. He had brought his company to replenish troops and collect taxes but had unexpectedly encountered a Tyranid invasion.

The Tyranid fleet released a subspace shadow that rapidly blocked all psychic signals on the planet. The Psyker Star Speakers were the first to be slain by the Tyranids. Then the Tyranid space hive fleet struck his warship, severing all contact with the Chapter. No reinforcements could be called, and within days the Tyranid forces swiftly overran the planet.

“The next wave of Tyranid assault will arrive soon. They will send more specialized troops to capture the behemoth. It won’t hold out much longer,” a Space Marine said, watching Red King wreak havoc.

“Gather all the thermite bombs we have. If the behemoth falls to the Tyranids, our final task is to rig its corpse with thermite charges. We must destroy the body at all costs—under no circumstances can the hive obtain this specimen,” the captain ordered after a moment’s thought.