Warhammer: I don't want to become a stinky can!

Page 629

What appeared there?

It's Hades.

"Fuck."

John said.

Good yeah, no more

Chapter 674 Death

"An internal gossip column of the Underworld Cult is conducting an interview: What were your feelings when you first saw Hades?"

"I don't know, I was... completely confused at the time."

John said he blinked, stretched out his hands as if trying to gesture something, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He seemed to be briefly plunged back into a state of shock.

The woman beside the bishop's sickbed adjusted her glasses.

“Bishop, given that you are the first one who has not faced him beforehand—and that you did not see him in a friendly state on the first meeting—I suggest you answer carefully. Your answer will be used as a reference for the others who are waiting to meet Hades—so that they will not lose their composure when they meet him.”

John stared in astonishment, his mouth agape.

"Wait, does he know you're doing this?"

"Perhaps he knew, or perhaps the matter wasn't serious enough for him to take it seriously—but whatever you think, Bishop."

John swallowed hard, his hands clenching involuntarily. He felt as if he were back on that day, trying to grasp the emotions he felt at that moment.

Finally, he bit his chapped lips and said...

“Well… I can’t describe it all… but… you know, he exists, he responds to us, he’s right there—you have to see it for yourself.”

The black wind seemed to whistle across his face.

........................

There he is.

It's him, no, I absolutely can't be wrong.

Even the wind fell silent.

The Hades statues in the Cult of the Underworld do not have faces, as does the Om Messiah venerated within the Cult of Mechanics. Hades is typically depicted as a burly humanoid figure draped in a cloak, with a three-headed hound at his knee.

That's why John once joked that the three-headed hound beneath the Hades statue might be more iconic than the statue of Hades himself.

He now retracts his earlier jest.

John trembled all over, as if his soul were exposed before an abyss, with the dark eyes of the gods watching him.

The sun still shone brightly in the sky, but John felt it was dark, too dark—in a daze, he thought he was in hell, falling into the earth.

It was as if some ancient behemoth had strolled over his head, and the gods did not notice him, but the shadow it cast obscured the sun.

But John could see it, clearly saw the appearance of Hades.

Space refracted strangely beneath Hades' feet. John realized that it might be shattered space. Above him, darkness wove a cloak that hung down from him.

He... Hades... wasn't looking at John now; on the contrary, he had his back to the cardinal. John couldn't see his face, but he knew clearly that he was expressionless at this moment.

Pluto is looking towards the eastern direction.

Then, John suddenly realized that everything was too quiet, except for his and the boy's breathing beside him. He suppressed his gaze from the deity and tried his best to shift his eyes—

Time seemed to slow down dramatically as he saw the enemy planes just beginning to descend.

The swarms of blade-shaped fighters looked strange in John's view; they had lost their usual elegance and accuracy, their noses shifting downwards at an unsightly, almost imperceptible angle.

He saw that the Slaanesh horse on the street seemed to have lost its footing, and fine muscle lines appeared around its mouth, but it was no longer a display of fervor; instead, there was a kind of indescribable fear mixed in.

But—most importantly, the Seneca horse was dead; its pupils had lost their luster, and it could never look at its master again.

This made John realize one thing: it was all over, and before this moment, the demons were dead forever.

After he realized he was dead, time resumed its normal flow.

Hey!

The first Eldar corpse fell to the ground.

Then, the rain curtain, played as the body fell, began: da da da da da da!

The corpses comically released their grip on swords and fell asleep in the embrace of gravity, amidst flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder—the colossal beasts crashed to the earth with deafening roars.

The world was as silent as it had been just moments before, and now it was bustling with noise. For the first time, John realized that death had a voice; it was noisy and chattering, using flesh and bones as drumsticks to strike the earth, welcoming the arrival of the gods.

One explosion after another rang out, sending countless clods of earth and stones flying, splattering onto the soldiers who stood there, mouths agape.

But compared to the corpses whose faces showed a hint of terror before they even realized what had happened, his true followers were more complacent. Their souls trembled among the corpses, still unaware, not understanding, and not believing what had happened.

They could hardly believe that this three-week-long catastrophe, which had ravaged the land, had ended so abruptly, so absurdly, so decisively—

Even as the enemy's corpses lay motionless at their feet, they could hardly comprehend it all.

The god paid no attention to these things; he looked at the warrior who had called him.

On the eastern front, where defeat had occurred an hour and a half earlier, on the blood-soaked earth, the warriors who called upon Hades were there.

The Silent Warrior, covered in stab wounds, knelt before the Great Demon she had beheaded, kneeling on the soil soaked with the blood of her comrades. Her hands were placed on her chest, her heart, and a waterfall of dried blood appeared between her palms. In her palms was a black stone particle that Hades had once covered with the Dark Domain.

The deaths of twenty-one soulless beings, and a single pebble, led Hades to locate this place.

...He is already dead.

Hades thought of it, and a faint sadness welled up inside him, but he quickly calmed it down.

Death is the most common presence; there are more deaths than grains of wheat harvested on Barbarossa among the Silent Ones.

He slowly reduced the concentration of the dark aura to allow those who had been suppressed to move around, while Hades stepped down from the sky and walked to the side of the Silent One who had summoned him.

Just as he began his actions, the surviving people finally realized what was happening.

The sages cheered so loudly they nearly shattered their own microphones. They frantically praised and shouted in Hades' direction, yet they couldn't control their urge to pounce on and snatch the Eldar's wondrous technological creations, creating a truly comical scene.

The warriors of the Twilight Rebels were calmer; they began to pray softly, silently reciting the Divine Emperor's prayer, their commander...

John turned his head and saw the civilians with tears in their eyes. Perhaps they didn't know who the newcomers were, but they had seen the enemy soldiers suddenly fall to the ground, heard the cheers of the Mechanicus, and the corruption within them was slowly receding.

Some people knelt down on the ground, pressing their heads to the earth.

"Don't!"

John suddenly shouted,

"Don't kneel! He doesn't want you to kneel!"

He waved his arms in vain, but no one listened to him—rule twenty-three states that in times of fervor, the followers should act as needed. So John abandoned his confused thoughts and frantically went to check on the boy—

John had never seen such a rapid recovery. He looked at the boy beside him and reached out with trembling hands to touch the horns on the boy's head.

Click.

John stared in shock at the detached corner. The boy seemed a little tired, but John suddenly cupped the boy's face and began to carefully examine the child's health—in the end, John concluded that this was a sign of the second level of soul fatigue.

The bishop could no longer contain himself; finally recovering from the immense shock, he collapsed backward to the ground, his mouth agape.

"Pluto—"

He shouted, and the emotions suppressed by the Dark Domain began to surge back. John cried and laughed, felt both joy and fear.

"By Hades! — Hades!!!"

he burst into tears.

……

Hades walked beside the Silent One, closed her eyes, and then used liquid metal to lift the remaining Silent One's corpse from the horrific battlefield. He turned around and saw the defenders, belatedly reacting, rushing towards him.

He saw the mechanical sages flying almost close to the ground, the space marines running at full speed, and the bishop being held in the arms of a space marine, his face streaked with tears and his eyes vacant.

"..."

Hades smiled wryly, but then, as if sensing something, he looked up.

In the Milky Way, amidst the magnificent river of light, Hades sensed a hint of malice; He was watching this place.

Hades calmly shielded his gaze with his dark domain, ignoring the angry shriek from the Dark Prince that followed.

He swore that the last death in this war would come from Slaanesh.

…………

【Endurance】

【…】

"He just left? Hahahaha!"

Typhon burst into laughter at Mortarian, who remained silent in the strategy room, making no attempt to conceal his joy.

"Hopefully next time he won't throw you straight into the galaxy after making that ridiculous offer to have you fly with him."

Motalian remained silent, but the gradually decreasing room temperature spoke volumes about his attitude.

If this helps you relax... then feel free to laugh, Callas.

Callas stopped laughing.

Mortarian felt somewhat relieved.

[Luthor is coming soon; he's already boarded the Endurance.]

"Luther, Luther of the First Legion?"

Karas raised his voice, "So?"

Do you believe the First Legion's Dark Angels will fully obey my orders during the war?

"will not."

Typhon stated decisively that the reputation of the First Legion's Dark Angels was well-known—they would often suddenly join a mission and then go off to do their own thing in the middle of it, completely disregarding the lives of both allies and enemies.

Sometimes, the Dark Angels won't even tell their allies who the commander of their First Legion is—they'll just have to guess.

I had intended to invite the Ultramarines or the World Eaters, but the First Legion was the first to respond.

The Primarch said calmly,

I inquired with the Lord of Mankind, and he agreed to allow the First Legion to join the expedition.

"How did the handover go?"

"Calas suddenly asked."

"Smoothly," the Primarch said, "smoothly enough for me to see they're putting on a show."

"..."

"So you called me over?"

Mortarian shrugged and said calmly,

I believe Luther will tell me part of the truth, but certainly not the whole thing. I think he'll think that what he's hiding won't affect the overall war—but I won't allow it.

The Death Army's betrayal last time already cost me dearly.

"So what do you think I can get out of Luther?"

Karas sneered. From the moment he uttered the high Gothic word "Luther," he knew why Mortarion had summoned him—in fact, Karas and Luther were on good terms.

I believe you can succeed.

Mortarian said, then looked toward the door, where the guards opened it for the visitors, and Luther was standing there.

Callas, however, was astonished that Luther was old enough, as were he, Ahriman, and Callas himself.

Karas believed that those who served as Primarchs' deputies aged and grew tired quickly, which was a problem with the Primarchs.

Karas grinned, rose, and gave a graceful knightly salute.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Karas said, watching Luther nod at him, then bow to the Primarch first, and only after the Primarch's tacit approval did he turn back to bow to Karas.

Good day, everyone.