smacked

When the timber-fog cleared, he found himself staring at the brown hide of a gargantuan beast. It was impossibly large, bigger even than the Thunderhawk that had delivered them from orbit. Its chest and underbelly were armoured with slabs of bone.
-
'Sanguinius feast on your heart!' Melechk had just enough time to spit a curse before the beast's tail whipped round and slammed into him. The blow shattered the heavy bolter, smashed Melechk's breastplate and hurled him thirty metres backwards through a tree.

'Fall back!' Asmodel unhooked a clutch of grenades and tossed them at the beast. The explosives detonated in front of its face, drawing a roar as its skin blistered. 'Go, now!'

The blast had disorientated the beast but Cassiel knew the flesh wounds would do little to slow it. Breaking into a run, he tried to raise the wounded Scout on the vox.

'Melechk?'

'There's blood in me yet, neophyte,' Melechk rasped, clearly injured. 'But I might need some help getting out of here.'

'I have you,' Hamied's voice cut in over the vox.

'The gorge to the south-east... The beast won't find footing,' said Melechk as Hamied hauled him up.

Flesh of Cretecia