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

Page 287

Hades wanted to smile wryly, but he didn't. Apart from Hades, none of the warriors around him knew what was happening or what they were about to face.

Hades, expressionless, began to order the World Eaters to defend, while urging the technical sergeants to make contact with the fleet in orbit.

They're likely going to be wiped out here. Should Hades try to force the Stormbirds to make an emergency landing and bring Angron back? But Hades isn't sure about the fleet's current situation. What if Khorne's forces descend upon the fleet?

Hades gasped for breath, feeling the weight of Angron on his back. He thought of the Death Guard, and of the Emperor who had told him not to die before he left... No, they had to escape.

Perhaps sensing something, Angron spoke first as Hades prepared to set him down at the knight's feet. Angron weakly patted Hades' shoulder armor.

[Am I just imagining things? Hades, you seem different than before.]

Angron coughed up blood and muttered something.

【You are a good gladiator, Hades. I have the judgment. The battle is over, and war will favor good gladiators.】

Hades responded with silence and a sudden intensification of the dark aura, and Angron fell into a coma once again.

That's it. I need to figure out how to fight the Star Gods. I haven't found any direct descriptions of the Star God war yet, and I'm still hesitating between the one everyone knows or the one exclusive to Norwalk (but there's too little information about him, damn it).

Are there any Necromancer players, or players who have fought Necromancer, who could offer some strategies for defeating the Celestial God...?

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As an aside, the Norwalker dynasty of undead was once brutally defeated by Morthari (after his ascension). Morthari planted a warp disease that corroded metal on this unfortunate undead dynasty.

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Book recommendation!!

Warhammer: Imperial Navy Promotion Manual

Chapter 346 Running, running!!

What do you do when you face an enemy you know you can't beat at all?

Hades' answer was to run as fast as he could, and that's how he survived in Barbarossa.

But the problem is that Hades is not alone now, and the enemy seems to be moving extremely fast—

What's worse is that Hades himself is the one who draws aggro and is the one who gets taunted, and his taunt ability is passive and cannot be turned off.

He carried an aura that would interest both the undead and the star gods.

Very evil star god, very evil necromancer, very evil emperor who fed him the Void Dragon, hatred comes from Hades.

Hades sighed deeply in his heart. Well then, let those who can run run as fast as possible.

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A blizzard howled across the plains. Hades quickly divided his army into two parts. The majority of the army would escort Angron to the retreat point on the plains immediately, hoping to get Angron there as soon as they could make contact with the fleet.

At the same time, they were also tasked with calling in the fleet to conduct orbital bombardment of the ground as soon as possible, in order to give the other Hades retreaters some breathing room.

The key to the whole thing is that they were able to contact the fleet that was anchored in orbit.

Hades also had to pray that the World Eater's fleet wasn't attacked—otherwise, the troops trapped on the ground would likely be wiped out.

Hades' small force was tasked with drawing enemy fire. The good news was that these undead seemed to have no interest in the World Eaters; their target was Hades, who was connected to the Star God Fragment.

But is this really good news for Hades?

Hades boarded the Ghost Knight and began planning his escape route. Most of Hades' followers were knights, some of the World Eaters' elite, and Hades' own mechs.

Since there was a high probability that Hades would not encounter a large undead force on Angron's side, he unceremoniously arranged most of his knights around him. These big guys should be able to share some of Hades' firepower—heavy mechanical vehicles have a certain attraction for the Star God.

Hades listened to the engine warm-up sound of the Soul Knights beneath him. The only order the Lord of the Silent Order gave to these mixed knights was to protect Hades and draw enemy fire as much as possible, at all costs.

Among the knights escorting Hades were the invaluable wandering knights of the Order of the Silent, which was a waste, but at this juncture, it was no longer a problem.

The primary objective is to escort Angron and Hades back to the fleet, to a safer place, or at least get one of them to run back.

The army escorting Angron was clearly prepared to break out; they would head towards the northwest corner, while Hades would lead his knights in a retreat to the east.

A sound came through the channel, but it wasn't the fleet news Hades was hoping for.

It was Charon's voice. Hades had assigned the Black Mage to the Angron faction, and Charon was going with him.

"My lord, the primary target of protection is your life, not Angron's. I urge you to reconsider."

Hades felt the sound of his teeth grinding together, like the cold wind, containing a hint of anger and an inhuman coldness.

"Charon, putting aside the space undead's will to fight me, just tell me, if the World Eater's air force discovers that their primary target is me, and their Primarch is abandoned—"

"Do you think they'll follow my orders, or go crazy trying to save the Primarch? Don't you see what kind of legion the World Eaters are? Don't make me teach you anymore, Charon. This is not the time to distract me."

Charon remained silent. The Imperial Guard was prepared for Hades to ramble on about some foolish acts of personal heroism, and then he would, as a dutiful soldier, admonish his commander.

But… Charon realized that Hades had already considered those more brutal and dishonorable tactics.

Finally, the tall, golden-armored warrior had no choice but to say...

"Received. Charon is willing to fight to the death for you."

Hades ignored the Imperial Guard and gave one last thought to how to improve his chances of survival. He could bring some more World Eaters, but most of his warriors would fall behind during the high-speed advance, and they didn't seem to be able to attract the slightest attention from the Star God.

Hades then brought over a few more Knights, and now the escorting force for Angron only has two Knights left—that's enough. As long as the Necromancers don't deploy heavy firepower units against Angron, their warriors are enough to buy Angron enough time.

The crimson wind crackled restlessly. There was no time to hesitate. Hades raised his broken sword, Nemesis's Blade, signaling the breakout to begin.

Hades should thank himself for taking up the Blade of the Nemesis ahead of time—Tarachin plated Hades' scythe with a monomolecular astral metal, meaning his scythe was ineffective against the astral gods!

Tara-sin, he Hades thanks you!

In the distance, where the wind howls, darkness and a scythe descend simultaneously. The imprisoned fragments yearn for power and wholeness; they crave freedom.

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On the crimson, muddy ground, swarms of undead, as dense as ants, rushed frantically toward their enemies, but most of them could not catch up with their thirsty foe before tripping over the blood-soaked ground.

For warlike races, nothing is more perplexing than the enemy's lack of fighting spirit.

But they are nothing more than the humblest footnotes in the grand battlefield.

The shattered god stepped onto the battlefield.

The storm howled furiously, but even the gale bowed its head before the absolute laws. Darkness spread like a tangible domain, hunger and greed, resentment and brutality. The Night Bearer silently watched the necromancer who pointed out its target to it. Lightning began to gather, but the superdimensional gravity that displeased it restrained its might.

He raised his eyes, sensing a distant target; he felt a familiar presence. The Night Bearer raised his hand—

Hades, who was marching desperately, suddenly sensed something was wrong, and his roar immediately tore through the howling wind.

"All troops, to the right! Immediately to the right! Damn it!!"

The next moment, a loud bang erupted, and space distorted.

Hades jerked his head, his eyes reflecting the metal wreckage of three vehicles that hadn't had time to turn towards the knights. They looked as if a giant hand had brutally twisted them into scrap metal, with crackling electricity around the vehicles whose frames were still visible. The ion shields protecting the pilots were ridiculously glowing with a faint light.

The Lord of the Silent Order heard the cries of the surviving knight pilots and the curses of the World Eaters who were still trying to keep up with the Swiftrunners, but at this moment Hades' mind was devoid of any emotion, and there was no time to leave any room for emotion.

The cold wind lashed Hades' face; his mind was filled with the information he had just received.

One possibility is that spatial distance cannot prevent the Nightbringers' attack, or that they are not far enough away.

Secondly, he was able to faintly resonate with the Night Embracers in the distance, which at least gave him a slight chance of survival.

Hades strained to sense his opponent; faint green lightning flickered around him, but it was merely a useless decoration. Hades opened his mouth and roared...

"All knights, march immediately to the north! The rest of the troops, pursue the other force!"

Due north is where the Nightbringers and the Necromancers reside.

Knights were nothing more than the simplest infantry on this scale of battlefield, and Hades realized that he didn't need the World Eater warriors at all; they were superfluous, and it would be better to send them to the battlefield where they could contribute.

This time Charon didn't ask any more foolish questions. Hades watched the infantry that had followed him earlier disappear into the distance, listening to Reibo's cries beneath him, the overheated engine hissing in agony.

So they started running towards the center of the whirlpool.

Chapter 347 Unexpected Reinforcements

Angron was awakened by the violent jolts. Perhaps because the inaccessible domain of the soulless was not as strong as Hades', the Lord of the Red Sands vomited a mouthful of blood, and the cold blood wind instantly brought him back to his senses.

He looked around and found that he did not see that familiar figure. The warriors surrounding him were unusually anxious and excited. Some strange enemies were attacking them on the edge of the army, but even Angron, who was in very poor condition, could see that the attack was completely chaotic.

【What's wrong? 】

Angron spoke, his voice hoarse and faint, but even the faintest voice of the Primarch could be heard by his loyal offspring.

Upon waking, Kahn immediately responded to the Primarch.

"We have received a signal from the fleet that they have not been attacked by the enemy and that reinforcements from the Forging World have arrived. The first batch of air troops to assist in the evacuation will arrive in a minute when the snowstorm subsides slightly."

Angron spat out a mouthful of blood. Lying there made him feel like a weakling, so he stood up unsteadily, while the Devourers looked at him with concern.

[Where is Hades, the other warrior?]

Kahn, standing before him, remained silent, only repeating once more his hope that Angron would rest and await news of the retreat.

The behemoth-like Angron narrowed his eyes, walked up to Kahn, bent down, and his massive shadow loomed over Kahn.

[I said, you wouldn't send reinforcements to their deaths and run away yourself, would you?]

As he spoke, blood splattered onto Kahn's helmet.

Kahn's voice was forced out through clenched teeth.

"This is Lord Hades' order, and a warrior's primary duty is to obey orders unconditionally."

Angron threw his head back and laughed a few times. He felt angry; the nails began to bite him.

Who is your true leader, Kahn?!

"It is you, my father."

Kahn answered without hesitation.

【Now I order everyone to return and support Hades! When did the Devourer of Worlds become a coward who only knows how to hide behind others?!】

Kahn stood there, motionless.

"As Lord Hades said, the victory of this mission is your successful return to the Empire."

This infuriated Angron, who scratched his face with his rough nails, drawing blood. He admired Kahn's defiance, but the Primarch also wanted Kahn to understand his meaning.

What's the point of me going back alone? Which of you can take this damn thing off?

[I, Angron, will die on the battlefield! Not as a coward dying on the operating table! Death is death! But I, Angron, will die on the battlefield!]

Beneath the gauntlets, Kahn nearly crushed the armor in his grip. People witnessed the power of the dark monster. He hoped Hades would live, but that seemed unrealistic.

But at least, he could have brought Angron back.

Kahn pondered, his soul trembling. If he said that Angron was useless in the past and would only be a hindrance to the Lord of the Order of Silence, would the Primal change his mind and quietly wait to retreat?

Kahn felt the ropes of triumph behind him begin to burn, coiling around his thoughts like boiling serpents, urging him to fight, urging Angron to fight, for retreat was dishonorable… whispered in his ear.

Before meeting Angron, Kahn was forever loyal to the Emperor; after meeting Angron, Kahn swore that he would forever be loyal to the Primarch's will.

So Kahn said nothing.

Angron began to pant, but anger gave him renewed strength. Angron knew this would be his last battle. The nails were almost tearing him apart, but he was now exceptionally clear-headed and exceptionally angry—Angron knew this was a sign of a final burst of energy before death.

The son of the mountains roared, his voice booming down.

[Everyone! Those who want to fight back with me, come with me! The rest of you stay put and retreat!]

His response was a chorus of battle cries echoing through the air.

Angron roared with satisfaction.

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This was a cruel, arrogant, and almost provocative game.

Amidst the wind and snow, Hades opened his eyes wide, his expression icy cold. He listened to the explosive sounds of the knights beside him, the metal twisting and shredding away in a shrill manner.

Like peeling a delicious orange, the Nightbringer slowly peeled Hades' army apart bit by bit, even though He might have been able to squeeze the orange to pieces with a little effort and then lick the juice off in a rather disheveled manner.

But He did not do that. He stood silently in place—within the area designated for Him by the Necromancer Lord, along the path the toys charged towards Him. The distorted space also affected a considerable number of the Necromancer army, but the Lord beside Him did not show the slightest unease at the sacrifice of these slaves.

The Night Bearers need them to come; He has been imprisoned for too long.

Hades was panting. He wasn't a qualified person to absorb the Star God fragments. Only when the physical distance was reduced could he sense more.

He "remembered" the old days of the galaxy, the memories of the Void Dragon.