Lord Pestulus has been wreaking a lot of havoc lately, and the Imperium decided it was time to take out this thorn in its side. To that end, it send the fast-moving Raven Guard, with a force consisting of Shrike's Wing, three Land Speeders, three Scout squads, a pair of Assault squads, and a Dreadnought to drop pod in. Pestulus had his usual force of three Death Guard squads, a Defiler, and a Land Raider, with the obvious daemon support lingering in the Warp.
The Raven Guard deployed in a semi-circle around the Death Guard, hoping to close in and take them out quickly. But Pestulus seized the initiative. His forces surged forward, opening up with their weapons. The Land Raider immobilized the Predator, and the Defiler launched a shell in a high arc taking out a half-dozen scouts. Two squads supporting Pestulus fired on Shrike's Wing, killing Shrike's command squad. Pestulus himself led the charge on Shrike, wounding him mortally and then continuing forward toward the rest of the Raven Guard force.
The Raven Guard opened fire with all that they had. Several weapons opened up on Pestulus, wounding him. Others killed a Death Guard in another squad. But it wasn't enough to slow them down. One Assault squad managed to make contact, but they only managed to fell one Death Guard while losing three of their own members.
Pestulus moved into cover and smiled. Nurgle saw his champion in danger and sent aid. A small pack of Plaguebearers appeared near the unit in combat, and quickly moved up to join the fray. A large pack of Plaguebearers was summoned directly beside the Scouts, and spread out to leap into combat. The Daemonvessel Champion shouted a quick praise to Nurgle, then shifted form into a Great Unclean One. He led a squad forward, ready to engage the Raven Guard. The Land Raider fired on the Predator again, this time only grazing it and shaking up the crew inside. The Defiler, alerted to a reserve Assault squad attempting to sneak into the battle, fired its battlecannon over the main battle, hitting the squad and killing four of its members. The two squads with the greater daemon fired on a scout squad, killing a couple of their members. One plasma gun overheated, killing its gunner. Then the daemon and his supporters charged in, as did the Plaguebearers.
Bloody combat ensued! The Greater Daemon and squad slaughtered the scouts, who could do nothing to stop them. The large pack of Plaguebearers engaged both scout sniper squads, killing four of them while only losing one of their own. The small pack of Plaguebearers was enough to help overwhelm the Assault squad, wiping them out almost to a man. That last man survived, holding them in place.
The Raven Guard didn't like their current situation. Their drop pod was still not coming, and their squads were falling apart in short order. The Land Speeders swept across the battlefield, firing on any targets they could find, but could only take out a pair of Death Guard. The Raven Guard were overwhelmed in combat, falling to the blades of the Plaguebearers.
The Death Guard started their relentless advanced again. The Land Raider blew apart the Predator with a well-placed shot. The rest of the Raven Guard could take no more upon seeing this. They made a quick thrust forward to retrieve Shrike's body. Pestulus had his troops form in around himself and let them grab their fallen leader. He was injured; they could take their commander. He had died a noble death in combat.
The day belonged to the Death Guard. The Emperor's vengeance would have to wait.
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