Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

The Tricen System played a vital role in Nareth's long-term plans, it would become the industrial heart of his burgeoning empire.

Nareth entrusted the system to Sanchez, who, along with five "Hunters" from the 7th Chapter, was tasked with the extermination of the Exodites Aeldari still inhabiting the region.

Tricen was a cluster of Maiden Worlds, lush, green paradises once lifeless but later terraformed by the ancient Aeldari Empire, prior to the Fall, using advanced geoengineering technologies to meet their population needs.

But Nareth knew that in the future, the Imperium of Man would claim the Tricen System.

Its resource-rich primary planet would be developed by the Mechanicum into a Forge World, while Tricen II, IV, and V would be turned into Knight Worlds, defending the forge.

To do this, Nareth had to eradicate the Exodites and secure all five habitable planets before the Mechanicus arrived.

"My Lord, target spotted at Hunting Site A-004."

The speaker was Julian, a psyker, a 'Hunter', and captain of the Sanchez's Honor Guard. He handed a visual screen.

Through the screen, Sanchez observed activity at Site A-004.

A company from the 333rd Regiment of the Solar Auxilia had been deployed there, tasked with hunting local fauna, a strange creature with the body of a cheetah and a bear-like head.

But in reality, they were bait.

Through weeks of probes, skirmishes, and observations, the 'Hunters' had learned much about the Exodites of Tricen: they would not tolerate damage to the environment.

That was their weakness, and Sanchez had set his trap.

He handed the visual screen back to Julian.

"That area belongs to First Captain Szczesny. I trust in his abilities."

"Keep your eyes on Site A-007. That's where I threw the big bait, the Aeldari will strike there."

Sanchez had spent an entire local solar month preparing the trap. Every ambush point and every snare had been handcrafted by him.

He ordered all teams to use the bait site as a supply hub.

He knew the Exodites, despite their primitive lifestyle, were remnants of an ancient xeno empire. They would understand the strategic importance of attacking a supply base.

Just then, Julian's voice rang out with excitement.

"My Lord, they've taken the bait."

Sanchez snatched the data slate.

Thousands of dinosaur-riding warriors were charging the supply depot.

The Exodites' skin had darkened to a blue-gray hue. Their brow ridges and cheekbones were inlaid with dinosaur tooth-bone shards.

Their mounts were lean and springy, with long hind limbs and exaggerated lower legs.

The dinos had low, narrow skulls with upturned snouts, lined with dozens of serrated, curved fangs.

Their powerful hind legs ended in sickle-shaped claws, coated with keratin, sharp as surgical blades.

Their three-fingered front limbs bore hooked talons, built for gripping prey with crushing force.

"The hunt begins," Sanchez whispered, striding out of his black command tent toward his bike.

At Site A-007, the Exodites spurred their dinosaurs into a shrieking charge toward the human encampment.

One Exodite, wielding a white bone spear, charged ahead, just a hundred meters from the human position, when his mount suddenly collapsed.

Reacting instantly, he leapt off the saddle, using his feet to push off the beast's back, and launched into a mid-air somersault.

'[How could the Mon-keigh's trap be so well-hidden? I didn't sense it at all.'

Despite their primitive lifestyle, the Exodites had incredibly sharp senses, especially in the wilderness.

Before he could finish his thought, a loud blast rang out.

A high-velocity explosive round pierced his spine mid-air and detonated.

Another rider's dinosaur triggered a mine with its left hind claw, killing it instantly, and the fragments killed another unlucky rider nearby.

Dozens of Exodites were now dead, some not even knowing why.

The charging horde faltered, looking toward a warrior on a dinosaur two heads taller than the rest.

Their tribal leader took a few seconds, then raised his right arm and yelled in their dialect:

"These Mon-keigh's must die! This is our home, our world! Scatter, charge!"

The riders immediately split into multiple attack columns, charging the camp.

Each second triggered more hidden traps, landmines, spike pits, and shrapnel charges.

Still, they didn't retreat.

Inside the human camp, soldiers from the 333rd Regiment had taken up firing positions behind crates and cover. They opened fire on the Exodites.

The dinosaur riders returned fire with bows and arrows, but not primitive ones.

Though they lived like primitives, they retained advanced tech from their fallen empire, blending psychic energy and craftsmanship to forge weapons far superior to true savages.

Their "wooden" arrows easily pierced Solar Auxilia's armor. In one volley, more than a dozen soldiers fell.

Even at high speeds on rough terrain, the Aeldari riders fired with pinpoint accuracy, moving fluidly atop their galloping dinosaurs.

If anything disrupted their attack, it wasn't the return fire; it was the traps.

Using their heightened senses, some began detecting hidden devices.

They located tripwires, mine triggers, and improvised explosive charges, all hidden beneath dirt and debris.

But Sanchez had anticipated that.

The "Hunter" had created layered, multi-trigger traps.

As one cautious Aeldari dismounted to avoid a grenade trap, his dinosaur set off a hair-thin tripwire.

The grenade sprang into the air, hitting him directly.

Sanchez had laid a three-dimensional trap grid around the entire site, a masterpiece of overlapping kill zones.

By the time the first Exodite broke into the camp, hundreds of their kin had already fallen.

A dino-rider raised his spear in triumph, only to hear a thunderous explosion behind him.

A chain of Mark XIX thermite bombs had detonated.

A storm of heat and flame erupted, vaporizing riders and dinosaurs alike in seconds.

Sanchez, just arriving on-site, stood atop a ridge watching his trap spring perfectly, and felt a strange heat stir in his chest.

His eyes narrowed.

Among the retreating figures was the tribal chieftain, barely escaping with a few guards.

'A great prey,' Sanchez thought, locking on.

.....

If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.

[email protected]/DaoistJinzu