The offensive on the ground at Mordecai Secundus should have been entering a new phase following the victory over the chaos fleet, but the power of Astralis was finally beginning to have its effect. Due to the daemon world's proximity, while large armies could not be delivered to Mordecai Secundus without the support of a powerful space fleet, smaller units could. By daemonic ritual and then teleportation, since late 020M42 significant reinforcements had been joining the war on the ground, as roving warbands sought to prove themselves against the hated enemy.The latest of these smaller military formations was a force of World Eater traitor marines. Enthusiastic to shed the blood of their enemies for their bloodthirsty patron deity, the World Eaters smashed into Kutuzov's lines on 1401.021M42, forcing the imperial army back and requiring the intervention of the Hammers of the Emperor as a rapid reaction force. The imperial counter attack did not go well however. The loyalist astartes were able to take back the centre ground in the salient the World Eaters had created, using their terminators to hold the position for some hours.
On the flanks however, raptors and beserkers ran amok, brutally tearing apart any enemy they could find, and penetrating deep into the rear areas of the front line, disrupting supply lines and making the ground held by the Hammers' untenable. The loyalist space marines withdrew, and Kutuzov pulled back his line to a more defensible set of positions, while the World Eaters caused carnage amongst any formations that could not retreat in time. Just days later the chaos warband had melted away, no doubt into the wilderness of the lava coated wilderness, and the Imperium was able to regain its ground. The damage to equipment and supplies however was extensive, and it would be many weeks before a decisive push could be resumed.
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