Chapter 72: The Pit

Hadrian leads the charge into a pit filled with helium fog and floodlight glare as Schiavona vents gas. The entoptics shift to infrared, revealing Cielcin emerging through the cold while nahute drones peel off the hull to attack the sortie. Initial volleys of plasma drop drones, but masked Cielcin close for brutal melee, largely unfazed by the gas.

Fighting surges around the ramp as legionnaires split fire between drones and Cielcin. Hadrian cuts through attackers, reflects on the scale of real battle, and witnesses a towering Cielcin captain carve through soldiers before concentrated lances ash it. Knocked down and nearly strangled, Hadrian loses his sword and is isolated under heavy pressure.

Retreating and firing his phase disruptor to little effect, Hadrian stumbles blindly until he recovers his fallen sword and kills a charging Cielcin. As the fog thins, casualties mount and the nahute tip the fight; bodies pile before the ramp, and defenders begin to fall back. A drone latches onto Hadrian’s helmet, blinding him and drilling toward his skull.

Valka arrives, disables the nahute en masse by exploiting their radio control, and tears off Hadrian’s ruined helmet, saving his life. With the drones neutralized, morale shifts. Moments later the Red Company arrives; plasma fire from the corridor forces the Cielcin to break and flee rather than be trapped between Schiavona’s defenders and the relief force.

As lines advance and the enemy withdraws, Hadrian and Valka link up with Bassander Lin, Pallino, and other Red Company leaders in the hall. Reporting the helium gambit and the chaos, Hadrian confirms Aranata is unaccounted for. Bassander orders a pursuit to find the prince. Arguing his value with Kharn’s children, Hadrian is permitted to join the hunt as the battle rolls onward.