Editing The 13th Black Crusade (section)

===Delaying An Irresistible Force===

The Hounds of Abaddon slammed into the prepared ranks of the Cadian 8th, but found the resistance much tougher compared to that of the 33rd. Chaos Raptors screamed into the air and dropped straight into Creed's command line, thinking to repeat their prior success, but the veterans of the 8th were ready for them, and while scores died to take down every Raptor, Creed still survived to lead the fight.

The fight at the muster field ground into a bloody stalemate, but for once things were in the defenders favor. Creed directed his soldiers as if they were his own weapons, and struck at revealed weaknesses while at the same time withdrawing when the odds were not in his favor. He spent hundreds, sometimes thousands, of lives, but never carelessly, and with the blood of his Shock Troopers he bought precious time. Creed had already abandoned any idea that aid would arrive, but he also knew that every moment he fought on was a prize without price, and a wound on the Despoiler's pride.

Cadia still stood, but only because Creed was there with it.

And it was not just the Cadian 8th that showed their defiance. The Dark Angels 4th Company under Korahael fought side by side with the Ironwolves, while the scattered remnants of other Astartes Chapters put aside rivalries to fight as one demi-company. The Sisters of the Martyred Lady marched with the conscripts of the 111st. But the greatest and most welcome surprise came when the Thunderhawk of the Cruxis Crusade, its sides bellowing smoke and fire, plowed into the muster field, and disgorged its warriors unto the heart of the heretics. The Sons of Dorn had a lot to make up for, but each foe laid low was a step in the right direction.