Serita - Dark Onslaught: The Word Bearers converged upon the Talledan capital world of Benediction with the full fury of their blasphemous hosts, unleashing hordes of ravening daemons and frenzied cultists upon the unprepared Shrine World. Yet Benediction was not without formidable champions of its own.The fury of the Word Bearers' assault brought terror to the surface of Benediction. Dreadclaws punched through the stained armaglass ceilings of mausoleums and devotional halls, and access hatches slammed down to reveal warriors in blood-red, antique Power Armour. Scraps of parchment scrawled with profane runes dangled from their battle-plate and their eyes blazed with conviction.These killers marched beneath the banners of the Dark Gods, bellowing catechisms of hate as their Bolters unleashed a hail of devastation upon the world's overwhelmed Astra Militarum garrison. The Ghreddask Illuminators 37th Armoured and 101st Infantry Regiments -- whose impressive battle record had granted them the honour of maintaining a permanent guard over the Honorificum -- were taken entirely by surprise at the speed and  brutality of the assault.Worse still, hidden Chaos Cults emerged to throw themselves upon the defenders, spilling from the planet's underwarrens in their millions to join their masters in sacred battle. In little more than half a solar day, the grounds surrounding the Honorificum complex were in Chaos hands. Amidst the shattered skeletons of cathedrums and shrines, rituals of mass sacrifice and slaughter were being performed on an industrial scale as the Word Bearers sought to draw forth daemonic reinforcements.Kor Phaeron himself oversaw these occult ceremonies, even as batteries of corrupted artillery hurled a ceaseless barrage of Warp-laden shells into the psy-tech force field that surrounded the Honorificum.Captain Mir'san's demi-company of Salamanders was greatly outnumbered by the Word Bearers host. The sons of Vulkan nonetheless went about their craft with stoic efficiency, clearing a beachhead amidst the mausoleum complexes of the Honorificum's outer grounds with flame-spewing Aggressors and Devastator Centurions.Captain Mir'san desired to dictate and confine the flow of battle by harrying the main concentration of the enemy, attempting to draw them into diverting their strength to engage the Salamanders. In this way further civilian casualties could be lessened, and the Space Marines could bear the brunt of the assault.However, attempts to reinforce the eastern flank of the Loyalist defenders were driven back by kill-packs of Possessed Heretic Astartes warriors and a fresh surge of cultist forces. Kor Phaeron would not take Captain Mir'san's proffered bait; the Grand Honorificum remained his focus, for with its fall the Dark Cardinal would deal a mortal blow to the Imperial faith.Although they were sorely pressed, the warriors of the Order of Our Martyred Lady defended the four great bridges leading to the heart of the Honorificum with stubborn resolve. Warriors clad in obsidian Power Armour sang hymnals to the saints of Benediction and to their beloved God-Emperor as they fired back against the blasphemous horde.Exorcist tanks sang, unleashing spiralling volleys of sacred rockets that pulverised entire formations of Heretic invaders. The roar of Heavy Flamers and the thunderous bark of Godwyn-D'eaz Pattern Bolters formed a deafening percussion to accompany the psalms of the faithful.It was a brave and spirited defence, but it could not last. The blood of thousands of flayed Ecclesiarchy priests spilled into the crystal waters of the River Carmine as Kor Phaeron's rituals came to a gruesome crescendo. As the river turned crimson, it began to bubble and boil with motion.Hideous shapes crawled from the corrupted waters, wielding brazen blades and howling in savage delight. The River Carmine itself broke its banks and surged forward towards the psy-shield of the Grand Honorificum. A tidal wave of superheated gore swallowed hundreds of Battle-Sisters and guardsmen, and turned battle tanks and artillery emplacements alike into iron slurry.The moment it struck the shimmering shield of the Honorificum, the defences of the great cathedrum fizzled and died. The way to the heart of Benediction was open and Kor Phaeron led his warriors forth with bellowing praises to the Dark Gods, they themselves taken aback by the sheer potency of their Warpcraft. Breaches in reality torn open by ritual and incantation continued to grow, drawing forth not just hordes of minor daemonic entities, but the leathery, batwinged shapes of Greater Daemons.Bolts of summoned Warp energy erupted into coruscating fireballs, and in the heat of battle several Word Bearers fell, convulsing as hungering mouths and other strange mutations burst through their skin and ceramite. Entire districts of Benediction were overrun, and daemons spilled into the halls of the Grand Honorificum itself, where the Sisters of Battle staged a desperate, room-by-room stand.