Siege of Vraks - Day Four, and Onwards...: The slight gains and prospective breakthroughs of the first three days could not be given up. It seemed the 88th Siege Army was intent on battering itself to destruction on the second defence lines. The whole of the 88th Siege Army was now committed, its only reserves were those reconstituted companies that had been formed from the survivors and stragglers left by day one. At the new front the battle continued unabated. As company commanders fought to capture and secure local objectives, the initial momentum of the offensive began to substantially subside. Stockpiles of ammunition, especially heavy artillery ammunition, were dwindling. Companies had been reduced to the size of platoons, platoons to the size of squads.The offensive had raged for seven days, and still no breakthrough had come, until at 122822.M41 the 468th regiment, a new uni in its first battle launched an attack in sector 57-50. Colonel Attas, commanding officer of the 468th, devised a plan to mount a night attack against the enemy trench line now facing him. Finally, in all the confusion of battle, he managed to galvanise his sub-commanders into making a new concerted thrust, rather than the clumsy and uncoordinated thrashings of the past days that had resulted in very little extra ground captured, for the loss of a lot of men and equipment. Korps command at first denied permission for the attack, believing the coordination and difficulty of moving large bodies of men at night, and then stranding them in no-man's land should they become detect, was too risky. But Colonel Attas responded that if supporting artillery concentration was strong enough then the enemy guns could be suppressed, even in the event of failure, and the troops had to be withdrawn, failure would not necessarily be so costly. His superiors were eventually convinced and Attas was granted permission to attempt his plan.At 124822.M41, on a dark night, Attas' assault companies set off, slithering through no-man's land on their bellies, their Colonel at the fore. As they crawled, every gun in the regiment, plus those independent companies that Attas had secured for the attack, opened fire in a thunderous barrage. At the designated time, the fire concentrated on the front line. Then the barrage lifted, and rolled forwards. The lines of infantry rose as one and began to run. Caught completely unawares, the enemy had little time to react to the surprise infantry assault. Leading his men forwards, Colonel Attas vaulted across a trench, waving his men to follow and give pursuit, only to be suddenly face to face with a huge beast that stood ten feet tall and built of raw muscle. An enraged Ogryn emerged from its trench and dealt a smashing blow with its massive sledge hammer, killing the Colonel instantly. Despite Colonel Attas' death, at dawn the second wave advanced, passing through the successful attackers. The second defence line had been breached.New of the 468th regiment's success reached high command quickly, and the reinforcements needed to widen the breach were soon on their way. First to arrive was a battery of Quad Launchers, towed forwards by Centaurs, and these were set up and soon in action, firing off rapid salvoes of shells to smash the enemy's last desperate attempts to counter-attack. Soon more troops followed; tanks, Gorgons, heavier guns, squadrons of Death Riders galloping through then wheeling eastwards and westwards to attack the enemy further down the line from behind. As with the first breakthrough almost eight years earlier, the following days would see the second defence line fold like a house of cards. The dam had finally broken, and the guardsmen of Krieg flowed through in an unstoppable tide. Leaving suicidal rearguards to stall the enemy advance, the defenders pulled back. One by one the siege regiments advanced, in some place unopposed. Any enemy who had not escaped the encirclement were overwhelmed and destroyed.The 88th Siege Army was too badly damaged to rush headlong into the inner defence zone. It needed time to rebuild and prepare for its next move. The cost of the breakthrough had been too great. It had taken nine years of attrition to reach this position. Years of blood and slaughter equal to the worst warzones anywhere in the Imperium. Over four million guardsmen had already been sacrificed on Vraks, but it seemed that now the ultimate victory was within grasp. The enemy was now bottled up and the front lines had once again been reduced in length, meaning that for future attacks the concentration of guns and men could be even greater. Now the Citadel of Vraks was within range of the Earthshaker Cannons. For the first time the ultimate objective was within striking distance.As the rebel leaders stood on the precipice of defeat, Cardinal Xaphan seemed not to care. The foretold apocalypse was finally here, the slaughter must continue; he cared not for victory or defeat, only for death and destruction. By now Arks had become Xaphan's closest and most valued advisor, and he counselled the renegade Cardinal that all was not yet lost. The false Emperor's armies might be tightening the noose, but there were powers in the universe far greater than that wielded by mere soldiers with guns. The Chaos Gods would favour Xaphan if he stayed resolute and fought on. Arkos told Xaphan that many allies were ready and willing to aid him, if he only knew how to ask for their aid. The Dark Gods would still bring him victory. Arkos summoned his sorcerous advisors to him. In secret the cabal of Chaos Sorcerers set about a bloody sacrificial ceremony that would summon the Chaos Gods' aid directly to Vraks.Krieg's sentries soon reported unusual sightings. Strange storm clouds were gathering on the horizon, which was lit red by lights in the sky that seemed to be painting the sky in blood. As the days passed, the storm grew in intensity. The crackling lightning no longer seemed to be natural weather of the world. A huge storm dark storm was gathering directly above the citadel. It was a red and black mass of clouds, flicking with lightning that steadily grew into a whirling maelstrom in the upper atmosphere. After nine years the men of Krieg might be winning their war, but the warp-spawned storm presaged worse horrors still to come.