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

Page 288

The Nightbringers... sadistic megalomaniacs, absolute scumbags, the first Star God to begin hunting and devouring his own kind.

Hades let out a maniacal laugh, but it wasn't his emotion.

The last trace of schadenfreude came from the Void Dragon's knowledge that the Nightbringer had been torn to pieces by his self-proclaimed servants and trampled by the undead he called slaves because of his arrogance.

Hades stared at the Nightbringer fragment, and he knew what He was plotting. But Hades' real troubles lay elsewhere.

The green lightning was reflected in Hades' eyes.

"See, and you will learn," were the words Makado once told Hades.

No—no—Hades realized he couldn't learn it; he could only futilely know what would happen next.

At the behest of the Nightbringers, Hades' knights tore through the space necromancers' defenses. Hades looked at the necromancer structures that had been "accidentally" damaged by the spatial distortion and gave a bitter smile.

The Nightbringer looked up, and Hades felt power surging through his body. He raised his hand in vain—beside the last few knights, metal began to twist and green lightning flashed as he tried to protect the last charging knights.

His actions attracted the attention of the Night Embracers, who hovered in mid-air, looking at each other with slight aversion.

Amidst the blizzard, a faint light appeared in the sky above them.

However, the next moment, Hades felt the weightlessness of the knight beneath him suddenly falling forward uncontrollably, and the scream of metal tearing through the air rang out. It was the death stare of the Night Bearer - in theory, no life can survive the gaze of the Night Bearer.

He heard a woman's desperate scream, he heard panicked roars coming from the channel, Grei's mechs swarmed in at the last moment—and then everything was lit up.

The spears of light from the World Eater fleet burned silently, melting metal and incinerating blood and soil, as if the light, capable of scorching everything, was quietly shining.

A sound like the air being violently torn apart rang out.

However, a dark figure still floated silently in the very center of the spear of light, the darkness reluctantly enveloping the undead and the cage beneath it, the scythe still waiting for the true moment to reap the harvest.

The dazzling light gradually faded, and painful gasps rose from beneath the metal ruins.

The semi-softened metal, scorched by the high temperature, began to flow. Hades breathed heavily, enveloped in green lightning. He gripped the Blade of Nemesis, a sword originally belonging to one of the Four Gods, which now shimmered with golden light, faintly resonating with the finger bones that had risen from Hades' neck.

The Night Bearer slowly and gracefully raised his scythe, but something suddenly interrupted His preparation for the meal. A heavy thud sounded, and He waved His hand impatiently.

The barrage of bombs and artillery fire raining down from all directions abruptly halted in mid-air, only to be followed by the fearless charge of the colossal divine machines as they charged towards the Nightbringers to engage in battle—

Hades trembled as he raised his head, and the magnificent figure of the Titan appeared before him, the banner of the world forged by Zalem fluttering in the cold wind.

"For the Emperor! For Angron! For Ohm Messiah!"

The war cries and the sound of the Titans exploding rang out together, but the Nightbringers' actions were delayed for a moment.

A second Titan charged in.

Hades stared incredulously, trembling, at the figures of the sages reflected in his pupils.

Even though they didn't know Hades, Zalem did what he was told in the face of the request from the World Eater Legion, who had once saved his life.

Hades gripped his sword tightly, and golden light burst forth. Even though they weren't calling out to Hades, the sages' call to the Void Dragon still echoed in the vortex—perhaps Hades was destined not to be able to utilize this power of faith, but someone else would.

The emperor's finger bones were gleaming.

Don't worry, it won't just end with the protagonist grabbing a sword and chopping everything down; there's more fun to come.

No more today.

Chapter 348 Only the Emperor Will Get Hurt

The Great Vortex is a star field where the physical world and subspace are intertwined, attracting the attention of the gods, who all vie for its dominion.

The shattered physical god roared, and the Nightbringer sensed the extremely unstable psionic fluctuations in this area. The tattered cloth beneath his black robes fluttered as he tried to dispel the spreading psionic laws.

But this is a great vortex, and the veil separating the two sides is already dilapidated here.

Since Khorne could unleash his power through an authority symbolizing blood and violence, this meant—

Even an emperor can do it!

Even though the current emperor is far from the god-emperor of terrifying tales, even though distant lands still interfere with his power, even though there are no sacred candles or scriptures here to summon gods...

However, amidst the biting cold wind, countless sages and world devourers charged towards the enemy army, shouting the names of Ohm Messiah and the Emperor. The light that humanity radiated at this moment was the best medium to resonate with the pulse of the Lord of Humanity.

Amidst the stagnant blood and qi, a golden light suddenly burst forth!

Hades held the broken sword, and the blinding golden light flashing on the blade made him feel an indescribable pressure. The Emperor's finger bones were raised, and together with the necklace, they were pulling hard on Hades' neck. In an instant, Hades felt that the Emperor was going to strangle him.

In order not to affect the Emperor's psychic power and to prevent the finger bones from continuing to constrict him, Hades withdrew his dark domain as much as possible.

Using his finger bones as a medium, specks of golden light shone on Hades's black armor, then moved along Hades's hand holding the broken sword to the massive blade of his nemesis.

Obeying the finger bones that were about to strangle him, Hades raised the sword in his hand. The slow, heavy boom of the Titan rang out in front of him, and the explosion illuminated Hades' face.

In a daze, Hades' gaze passed through the side of the broken sword and saw a knight riding a mule. His black hair fluttered in the wind, leaving Hades with only a handsome back view.

The colossal monsters surged and roared before him, but the emperor, riding a broken mule, steadily raised his sword.

The emperor seemed to be saying, "Watch closely, I'll only perform this trick once."

Golden ripples spread across the nemesis's blade—

The next instant, a massive golden sword light slashed straight at the Nightbringer!

The Night Bearer raised his hand, and the space in front of him suddenly distorted, but the golden light still shot straight toward him!

At the same moment, on Hades' neck, where he was being guided to swing his sword, the finger bone gleamed with a look of utter frustration. Hades, suppressed by the Emperor's immense psychic power, could barely breathe; he hated psychic power.

And around Hades, the sages who had witnessed the miracle grew increasingly fervent in their cries—

"Praise be to the God of Splits! Praise be to Om Messiah!!!"

After that sword strike, the finger bones that had begun to dim suddenly glowed again.

Hades' pupils dilated suddenly. He suddenly "heard"—for the first time, the deaf man heard the noisy, chaotic world. He sensed someone praying to him—no, not to Hades.

Hades sensed that part of him that was not originally his.

In an instant, he fell into the silent ocean again, but that was enough. Hades once again grasped the ethereal lightning. He ignored the discomfort caused by the Emperor's psionic energy. The metal fragments beneath Hades' feet began to float slowly, crackling with green light.

The sword swung by the dragon-slaying warrior successfully wounded the Nightbringer, but it wasn't enough to shatter him. The Nightbringer straightened up, and as his attention refocused on the dessert...

He saw, within the frenzied Titan machine array, a figure surrounded by metal, with violent green lightning flashing between the divine machines and that figure.

Psychic power and the rules simultaneously began to contend with the Nightbringers' domain.

The sacred binary language murmured, the cannonballs were loaded, the overheated ion channels cooled instantly, and the War Machine roared as it once again unleashed a barrage of fire upon Him. But this time, the ammunition was no longer as weak as before; the Titans, empowered by the Void Dragons, were now at their peak of excitement.

The god of all machines favors them!

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Angron angrily pounded on the cockpit, while the Stormbirds continued to weave through the storm. They had not yet reached the battlefield, and Angron felt the nails on his head buzzing.

He watched with annoyance as reinforcements continued to descend from the sky; even they would arrive at the battlefield before the Primarch.

From a certain moment on, the Zalem who came to aid the World Eaters began to forge worlds as if they had gone mad. The sages were sending armies down at all costs, and Angron had even seen a spaceship crash straight into the central battlefield.

Listening to the roar of the engines, Angron squinted and peered through the layers of snow and wind. He saw the giant war machines attacking relentlessly, some of them seemingly twisted by some invisible force. But the next moment, the twisted metal seemed to come alive and began to cover the damaged parts of the Titans again.

He saw all the machines on the battlefield flashing with emerald green lightning, and metal spreading and climbing up the damaged parts.

【grass! 】

What the hell is that?

Angron cursed. This felt a lot like the metal skeletons they had just fought, but the Primarch believed that at least the Mechanicus who were helping them didn't possess this ability...

Could Hades be a wizard?

Angron paced restlessly in the cabin. He disliked fighting alongside think tanks and psionicists, as it only made the nails sink deeper, and he hated that feeling.

But his fragmented thoughts returned to the fact that there was no need to dwell on these things. Angron had only one thing to do: he would fight alongside his reinforcements leader! Until victory! Or death!

The Stormbird's engines roared, the ship's altitude dropped abruptly, and the hatch opened in front of the Primarch, unleashing a torrent of icy blood and battle intent!

Angron jumped down, and the Lord of the Red Sands aimed at the black tattered cloth floating in mid-air and threw the Blood Axe in his hand.

【war!!!】

The Primarch let out a deafening roar, the rage brought on by the nails replacing everything else.

But on the other side of the battlefield, a cry of alarm was torn apart by the wind and snow.

"Angron?!"

Within the Titan array, Hades watched in shock as Angron slashed straight down at the Nightbringers. The Primarch's sudden appearance interrupted Hades' plans and dealt a solid blow to Hades' already fragile sanity.

Hades immediately clenched his fist, halting the next round of firepower, and then ordered all the Titans, who were slowly retreating, to attack at full speed.

But it was too late. The distance between Angron and the Nightbringers was rapidly decreasing—and the Nightbringers weren't even paying attention to Angron.

The Primarch had no idea what the Nightshade Fragmenters of the Star Gods were. Hades felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat as he watched Angron fall.

No—No!!!

Lightning suddenly erupted around Hades, and the metal beneath his feet exerted force as the Lord of the Silent Order leaped into the air. This was Hades' first attempt at a one-on-one frontal attack on the Nightbringer. His goal was not to injure the Star God, but to divert the Nightbringer's offensive intent towards Hades—rather than Angron.

Why is Angron here?! Hades should have just knocked him out with one blow!

Hades caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that the Primarch was blasted away before even making contact with the Nightbringers; Angron was sent flying. But in the instant before the impact erupted, Hades clearly saw a surge of violent blood energy shield Angron—

Khorne, you bastard, you were still here?!

But Hades' inner roar was interrupted by the Nightbringers' attack. The green lightning surging around Hades obscured the Nightbringers' death stare, while the suspended black stone creaked in the shattered space.

Hades coughed up blood, but two Titans burst out of the array to save him. The Divine Machine charged towards the Nightbringer without hesitation, interrupting His continued attack.

The instant Hades landed, he began directing his army toward Angron. Damn it, Khorne was still trying to bewitch Angron at this point?!

Hades gasped for breath. The Void Dragon's abilities had blocked some of the Nightbringers' attacks, but he had still taken real damage.

He felt the suffocating effect of the Emperor's psychic power; the finger bones still constricted him. Hades shouted.

"Angron!!!"

He saw the Primarch's figure sway as he got up, but what Hades found unsettling was that Angron seemed to be slowly losing his self-awareness. Hades was horrified to see blood gathering at the Primarch's feet.

Hades felt the last thread of his reason snap.

Behind Hades, the Nightbringers' gazes refocused on the Lord of the Silent Order, and Hades could feel the immense pressure of space beginning to press down again.

In that instant, Hades thought of many things.

Time seemed to stand still, and he began to experience a revolving lantern display.

He recalled the dreary life on Barbarossa, the first time he learned how to dig through the hardened ground with a hoe, and the first time he ate corn, he almost vomited from the bitterness.

He recalled the grueling overtime work on Death Guard, and the deep resentment in Gara's eyes—and her dark circles.

He thought of Macurag, which he hadn't visited yet... and his appointment with Guilliman was probably going to fall through.

Hades thought of Mortarion again, hoping to take his ashes back—perhaps Mortarion would use a great many of Hades' ashes to grow a flowerpot.

Finally, Hades remembered the two human traffickers, the Emperor and Makado. If it weren't for them, Hades would most likely still be happily working overtime on his warm Death Guard.

Even at the very last moment, the Emperor's finger bone wouldn't let Hades go, even though it guided Hades to sense the power of the Void Dragon, but all of this was ultimately in vain—

Hades' thoughts suddenly paused. He remembered his nemesis's blade, which was far more likely to attract the golden light than his armor, the oppressive feeling that had been present since the golden light appeared, and the feeling that the finger bone seemed to be constantly bound by a rope.

No, that wasn't the Emperor trying to strangle Hades... it was just... just a simple clash between psionic energy and the Dark Realm!

The Nemesis Blade, with its excellent psychic conductivity, can instead unleash the Emperor's psychic power.

Hades felt unwell because the Emperor's psychic energy was suppressing his Dark Domain!

Hades opened his mouth, as if he knew what to do. "Your Majesty, I'm sorry."

He raised his hand and tore off the finger bone in his neck.

At the last moment, Hades's desperate shout pierced through the carefully orchestrated snowstorm of Khorne, striking directly into Angron's ears.

"Angron—open your mouth!!!"

With his mind blank, filled only with burning fighting spirit and savagery, Angron subconsciously turned his head to look at the source of the familiar voice. He may not have understood what Hades was shouting, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that the Lord of the Red Sands' mouth was wide open, panting.

The Emperor's little finger bone flew precisely into Angron's mouth.

The next moment, a dazzling golden light shone in Hades' eyes.

Caught completely off guard, he was attacked from behind and knocked away once again by the Nightbringers.

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"My lord, what has happened?!"