bookbashuk Page 504
Page 504
The man covered his mouth, lowered his head in defeat, and braced himself on the table with one hand.
“Kreptman, you should have been stripped of your title as judge.”
“Yes, I am,” Kriptman replied easily, “but the people from Terra who arrested me haven’t arrived yet, so I’m still the judge.”
“Damn it,” an opponent muttered, “what kind of mess has happened on Terra this time?”
“Their efficiency is very low, and I think you and I both know that,” Kriptman said.
“I could have stopped you,” the man looked up at Creptman, “stopped you from building this damn bullshit defense. At least before that, the Empire could have fought Leviathan.”
“You’re a bit confused,” Kriptman nodded.
"Even on their own homeworld, the Ultramarines nearly fell. Do you think any force in the Empire can withstand Leviathan?"
The man was panting, hot breath coming out of his mouth. He hesitated for a moment, then uttered a single word.
"Death Guardian".
“Death Guard?” Kriptman almost smiled as he opened his arms. “Who among us here has the authority to mobilize this legion—or does he have connections with them?”
The Death Guard in the Storm Starfield is known for its stubbornness and ruthlessness. Perhaps before Creptman, the Death Guard was the group most famous for its extermination orders.
They rarely leave the Stormfield, and since the era of Booz's Regency, it has become more difficult for the Imperium to mobilize the Death Guard.
For the judges, the Death Guard represents extreme difficulty, mission failure, unexplained disappearance, and death.
"You might just be thinking about finding a large enough army to clash with Leviathan, without considering reality at all."
Kriptman said, "The reality is that the High Lords of Terra don't care about this star system at all. Unless the Tyranids land on their table, they won't pay much attention to this place."
"The good news is that Terra is indeed providing us with reinforcements—but that's all."
The opponent took a deep breath. "You think your plan is realistic, Kriptman?"
He looked up and calmly stared at Creptman.
“You are only leading us step by step toward a dead end. We could have paid a heavy price and then destroyed this tentacle, but now—if your defenses collapse, then we will be completely defeated. There will be no more breathing room after a painful victory, because the Empire simply cannot win against us.”
“You never thought about what would happen if the Orks and the Tyranids attacked the Empire together, and you never thought that one of them would become stronger and then counterattack the Empire.”
The opponent reached out, shattering the projected map. A sharp tentacle landed on the long table, and he heard gasps of shock.
A variant of the Leviathan swarm stood menacingly on the long table.
"They've become stronger!"
The man roared,
"Even the Death Guard can't solve this problem now—do you see those insect hive shadows that have absorbed Ork biomass and now cover almost several star systems?!"
"This is no longer a tragic sacrifice that a few extermination orders can solve! This is a continuous battlefield. Conservatively speaking, we need at least tens of thousands of troops, two legions, countless knights, Titans—and fleets! Battleships!"
Kriptman's hands, hanging behind his back, clenched tightly, then slowly loosened, then clenched again, his knuckles turning white.
“Your understanding of other races is far too shallow,” Kriptman said. “I’ve conducted countless experiments on the Orks. The Ork orcs were able to hold off Leviathan. Haven’t you noticed that Leviathan’s outward offensives have recently weakened?”
In the heart of the Euclius Sector, beyond the reach of the human Empire, the battle between the Tyranids and the Orcs seemed to have intensified once again, and the Tyranids who had been on the offensive front began to retreat.
"They are supporting the abdominal battlefield."
"And then cultivate a powerful orc force?!"
“We will appear when they are both exhausted,” Kriptman said. “No matter who wins in the end, the winner will only be the Empire.”
Kripman forced a smile.
"Besides, we have no other choice now, do we?... We can only do our best to maintain the line of defense, but we are determined to defend it to the death."
The man was about to speak when he was interrupted again by the door suddenly opening.
The nun, who looked like she had just come from the battlefield, looked breathlessly at the astonished high-ranking officials in the hall.
"Report! The Semisis Sector has fallen—the attack is from the Orks—an outside Ork force is tearing at our defenses from the outside!"
Kripman looked sharply at the long table. The projection froze for a moment before refreshing again.
On the map, a green arrow brutally pierced through the outside of the impenetrable defenses, causing the Semisis sector to fall and turn green.
A few seconds later, the orc faction's banner was refreshed, and the symbol of the Bonecrushers appeared on the map, seemingly expanding along the Unbreakable Line.
The atmosphere in the hall was almost completely frozen. Apart from the battle nun's panting, no one could breathe. They could hardly understand or believe what they were seeing.
The crisp sound of the skeleton rang out, coming from Kripman's clenched fist; the Inquisitor's mouth was deathly pale.
Why are the orcs of Amegadoton here?
“Send troops,” Kriptman said, emphasizing each word. “We must hold the line—at all costs.”
He gripped the gun at his waist. "I will go to Semisis myself. Now, prepare the ship."
Kripman hurried to the door, Death Watcher following him. The Battle Sisters bowed to them, while the people in the hall seemed frozen in place.
As if struck by a thought, Kriptman smiled wryly, turned, and bowed to the decision-makers at the long table.
"Ladies and gentlemen, there is no room for attacking or arguing with each other now. I need you to bring out your entire army, abandon any attempt to save the refugee boats, abandon the interests of your relatives inside the lines—now, everything, everything must be thrown into defending the lines."
The sound of boots clicking away faded into the distance, and silence remained in the conference hall.
Clang! A sound of something falling. Kripple's opponent collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"It's over," he laughed, "It's all over! Everything's over!"
Laughter shattered the silence.
"We betrayed our conscience, we personally pushed billions of people into the mouths of insects! It's all over! Hahahaha, one death or all of them dying makes no difference! Hahahahaha! Serves them right! He deserves it—we deserve it too!"
"Hahahahaha!"
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[A certain city]
"Ah ah ah ah ah!"
The towering spire of the nest collapsed, slowly crashing into the middle nest, tumbling as it fell.
Thick clouds of dust billowed from the breach in the city, obscuring half the sky, as Tyrannosaurus's tentacles greedily reached into the earth, piercing into flesh and blood.
A frail woman, holding her child, followed the crowd, her screams and curses deafening.
She was knocked down and trampled by the fleeing people behind her. Blood gushed from her mouth as she tried to push her child forward, but to no avail. Her forearm, which was protecting her child, was broken by the trampling.
The surging crowd quickly left them behind. The crowd began to thin out, sporadic gunshots rang out, and the ground was littered with corpses trampled to death.
The woman was barely recognizable as human, yet she stubbornly pushed her child forward, emitting mournful howls.
The child, who was not yet knee-high, cried out. He was well protected, but instead of running in the direction the crowd was fleeing as his mother wished, he tried to rush towards his mother.
The woman sobbed urgently, gesturing for the child to run, but her hand gradually lost its strength. Just then, the child opened his mother's hand and rushed towards the woman. The woman barely managed to lift her face, looking at him through her tear-streaked eyes—
Click! !
Blood splattered.
The woman's eyes lost their light; she futilely lowered her head. A thick leg sank into her emaciated back, piercing her chest and killing her completely.
The child babbled and looked up, seeing the broad backs of the Astronauts.
"Little guy, hurry...run!"
The soldier, knife pressed against the worm's mouth, struggled against it while standing atop the woman's corpse. Blood spilled from his mouth as the worm's appendage pierced his abdomen, dripping crimson from its black tip.
The child saw two more knife-like insects rushing towards him, their heads bursting open, and then their sharp mouths stabbing at him.
In the distance, people running towards the port were thrown into the air by the air currents from the noble ships as they started, crashing to the ground, groaning with broken bones.
The people who fled to the low nest screamed as the collapsing building crashed down, burying them in the ruins.
Amidst the chaos, the nobles' ships took to the air, the Void Shield emitted a blue light, and gargoyles resembling dark clouds crashed into the ships. The massive shuttles wailed and gradually veered off course—and plummeted.
Above the sky, countless ships attempted to take off, their plumes of smoke resembling meteorites. Yet, some lucky ones managed to ascend. Looking into the distance, a person with a large, round forehead was smiling as they gazed at this fallen world from the ship's window.
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“We are willing to cooperate with you—we can provide you with all our resources, and if you would like, I can even get you access passes to other star sectors…”
The man, who resembled a planetary governor, crawled on the ground, behaving humbly and sweating profusely.
Ahead of him, the Bonebreaker, seated on his throne, smacked his lips.
"It's pointless, kill them."
"No—Sir! Ahhh!"
His head fell to the ground with a thud, staring wide-eyed at the man whose bones had been shattered.
"A spineless little shrimp," the Bonebreaker muttered, "not as tough as a veteran."
Outside the room, screams and waaagh sounds filled the air. The fart spirits and scoundrels danced and nibbled on the human remains, while the enormous green-skinned creatures happily chased after the little shrimp, watching them fall into the pool of supernatural energy in a panic, making gurgling noises.
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"kill!!!!!"
Hades roared, his eyes blazing as he pointed his finger, and the black flag fluttered wildly in the wind.
With a deafening roar, the convoy charged into the swarm of Bladebugs, their shattered limbs flying everywhere as the greenskins roared and fired at Tyrannosaurus.
In the distance, a dazzling light gathered on the back of a giant ion cannon bug, hissing as it charged up. On the other side, the wizard boys raised their scepters, green flames rose, and the particle cannon bug fell with a mournful cry.
The tyrannical beasts began their slow advance, while the green-skinned bone-crushing fortresses, their spiked gears humming in front of them, stood in stark contrast.
The gargoyles and shamans descended, blotting out the sky, while the massive bombardment aircraft crashed straight into the swarm of insects, brazenly shredding the Terran's array.
Billions of cannons soared into the air behind Hades, fire dragons roared, and fireballs that several people could barely encircle crashed heavily to the ground.
Above the stars, the Deathmonger ship rammed into a moving insectoid vessel, and the remaining insectoid ships swarmed in to attack. The green-skinned ship, resembling the Squiggs, spewed black smoke and shook violently—
BANG!!
A dazzling display of fireworks erupted, engulfing several Terran ships in the explosion, with massive sprays of blood blooming in the void.
Hades' mechanical brain emitted radio waves, commanding the army of the land and air stars. He felt a tremor beneath his feet. The Tyranids, who were used to fighting the greenskins, were proficient in decapitation tactics.
Unfortunately, they chose the wrong target!
Boom! ! !
The earth collapsed, and Hades' green-skinned guards roared in terror. Hades, however, leaped into the air first, hovering high above.
He saw a burrowing python, large enough to swallow him whole, rise from its burrow, its sharp, scythe-like feet piercing Hades' defensive gaps!
At the same time, a commotion broke out at the front line not far away. A shadow streaked across the horizon, revealing a winged tyrant whose size was no less than that of the serpent in front of Hades!
Hades burst into laughter.
"It's only been seven days since we started fighting! And you're that afraid of me?!"
"Alright! Let's fight!!!"
Yay, it's gone!
Chapter 577 Quality! Quantity!
(The unit used in the previous section was incorrect and has been corrected.)
Flames tore through the sky, and continuous artillery fire exploded in the sky above the endless swarms of insects. The scorching fireballs roared, and countless insect limbs fell to the ground.
Hades raised his hand, and the two axes, forged from metal, melted again. Liquid floated, dripping silvery-white, and the hideous scythe curved into a crescent moon.
When facing large enemies, weapons with longer blades are more convenient.
The scythe is shaped like a crescent moon, and its blade is even longer than Hades'!
Beneath him, an even larger serpent than its original form hovered in the air, its mouth wide open, baring its fangs, and its long, sharp forelegs clasped together, charging straight at Hades, who was defenseless in mid-air!
Sizzle,
A faint crackling sound rang out, and in a corner unnoticed, the cold glint of liquid metal flashed beneath the helmet boots.
As if there were footholds in the air, Hades pushed off into the void, used the force to turn around, barely grazed the forelegs of the serpent, and slashed down with his sickle!
The long scythe transformed into a phantom in the air. The serpent had already extended most of its body out of the cave and had no time to dodge. The scythe pierced straight through the gap where the chitinous armor on its head and back met!
"Hiss hiss hiss hiss—Sizzle!!!"