A massacre begins in Rosskaya as Malachi's Uruborean cultists, along with his Psionic Legion, parachute into Clockmetal and other towns. Jailed Psions across the country are freed, and violence mounts as the Rosskayan army, fueled by a "holy fury", to quote propaganda broadcasts, turn Malachi's surprise attack into a horrific urban combat nightmare, full of the grinding treads of tanks and the screaming rain of artillery strikes.