bookbashuk Page 233
Page 233
These wizards probably never imagined that one day they would become the vessels holding their divine power.
Affected by the sudden surge in subspace concentration, the mutation has begun, and dirty blue feathers, stained with scarlet blood, emerge from beneath her skin.
She began to beg for mercy, calling out to her master, tearing at her feathers with her bound hands, but the feathers continued to grow wildly and uncontrollably, everywhere, even squeezing out of her eye sockets.
Hades remained silent, continuing to scatter ashes like a medieval villager gathering firewood for a wizard.
Finally, as if realizing her life was nearing its end, the witch abandoned calling upon her master in a language Hades couldn't understand, and instead attacked Hades in a hoarse, low Gothic voice.
"What did we do wrong?! You invaded us!!! Tearing at our flesh and blood! Destroying our faith! And we did nothing, we simply lived according to the ways of our ancestors!!!"
She cursed Hades loudly.
"A self-proclaimed righteous aggressor! Trash! Scumbag! Tyrant!"
However, all she received in response was silence. She suddenly realized that since she met Hades and was arrested by him, Hades had never said a word to her.
She let out a bloodcurdling laugh.
"You despise us! You're even unwilling or afraid to speak to me?! Cowards!"
Her response was Hades retreating, accompanied by the hissing sound of a grenade in his hand.
A blinding white light burst forth instantly—
In a daze, she heard it.
"I'll find a better universe in my next life."
"Hiss!!!"
Guilliman whirled around, and in the southern sky, a gigantic blue phantom appeared out of nowhere, emitting a sharp curse.
Killieman's pupils constricted.
"Varied--"
The next moment, as if realizing something, Guilliman suddenly raised his hand to try to block, but Mortarian was a step faster—
Mortarian yanked Guilliman backward with a loud clang. Guilliman turned around again, and the giant scythe stopped less than an inch from his nose, its blades studded with sharp blue feathers.
Opposite the giant scythe was a writhing humanoid figure, its blue dress seemingly blending into its skin, with sharp feathers peeking out from beneath.
That's the Queen! That's the Queen?!
Guilliman gasped, immediately drew his Akagi short sword, and began directing the Ultramarines.
When the Primarch turned his attention to the warriors outside, he discovered that the Death Guard had begun to act a second before the incident occurred. They raised their flamethrowers, changed formation, and pushed the Ultramarines from the outside back to the inside.
Chaos reigned on the field, with the Abustuans screaming and growing feathers, and blood splattered everywhere.
The historians were horrified by the hellish scene and screamed as they tried to squeeze into the ranks of the Ultramarines.
A deafening roar echoed from the sky as the Death Guard's Stormbirds began circling low. A warning blared through the general communication channel: [Breaking News! The enemy has betrayed the Empire.]
All of this happened in less than ten seconds.
Guilliman was completely confused. He couldn't understand why, in countless simulations, there wasn't a single backup plan that addressed this behavior. The other side's actions didn't align with any of their interests, and this wasn't part of the plan.
Even so, after a mere second of observation, Killieman made the most correct decision.
My offspring! Prepare for battle! Coordinate with the Death Guard!
Compared to the Ultramarines, who still lack most of their information, the Death Guards are clearly more confident of victory.
Mortarian's voice rang out.
“I’m glad you said that, my brother.”
Mortarian raised his gun, its stored energy blazing, and fired another shot at the Queen, knocking off her crown.
“I am also glad that you have finally shown the way you should be, Ms. Circe.”
Intense psionic fluctuations enveloped the Queen, preventing Mortarion from getting close.
"How dare you?! How dare you?! You laughable monsters! Do you really think you can defeat us after you've awakened Abustu?!"
The queen cried out in a blood-red lament.
"You are nothing but scum, brutal primitives!"
As if in response to the Queen's scream, the blue figure on the horizon also erupted in a sharp shriek, the enormous sound almost visible to the naked eye.
Mortarian raised an eyebrow, but continued firing.
Guilliman swallowed hard. The Imperial army did indeed have the upper hand, but—that phantom in the sky?! Why did Mortarion seem to ignore it?!
Even Guilliman recognized that it was the monster that would decide the fate of the battlefield!
“You are foolish and arrogant, relying on the power of the warp, yet mistakenly believing it to be your own strength.”
"When you kneel before the warp, we will be the victors."
The Lord of Death spoke his words softly, watching as the Queen struggled angrily, her previously small body now larger than both Primarchs.
Inside the tank, a red light emanated from the black stone jar, the lid automatically closed, and a massive amount of black stone powder began to pour out, accompanied by a girl's angry roar.
Hearing Mortarion's provocation, the Queen let out a piercing shriek, the blue monster on the horizon let out a mournful scream, the Absdu people wailed, and the historians screamed—
"how dare you--"
An indescribable, pitch-black giant rose from the horizon, with raging green lightning swirling in the dark clouds, and death arrived in an instant.
[Pluto] gazes upon this corrupted land; the previous blue colossal shadow was but a fleeting moment in a dream.
My soul is trembling.
Everyone stared in disbelief into the distance; some had already collapsed, trembling.
Apart from Mortarion and his Death Guards, Mortarion smiled and walked forward, carrying his scythe.
Now, everyone is silent. There are no screams, nothing at all.
The Lord of Death was very pleased with this.
And so, the green flames began to burn quietly.
Haha, I was so busy coding I missed yesterday... but consider this yesterday's amount, there's still some left today.
Some people reacted slowly, so the pace was sped up, which may have resulted in some foreshadowing being done rather hastily.
Chapter 279 Beware of the cunning one; He enjoys having fun.
A dazzling blue figure rose from the ground, her illusory feathers swirling and falling, the dense feathers resembling scales, shimmering with ever-changing light.
The entire space began to distort, and the distant slums resembled burning, filthy flames. Screams, laughter, and cries—a myriad of sounds emanated from the shattered bodies of the Abustu people.
The subspace concentration here had soared to its limit, and psionic waves surged from the other side. The entire altar was like a lone boat in the sea, swaying precariously under the impact of the psionic energy. Some of the people on the boat were directly knocked down by the massive psionic shock.
Hades remained expressionless, his scythe drawing sparks on the ground as he stood firm, activating his Dark Domain to signal the Soulless to approach his shelter.
The Fortress Star-type mechs stood around Hades, their powerful physical defenses allowing Hades to focus solely on psionic attacks from the warp.
As Hades expected, the current subspace concentration was not enough for him to suppress, and he needed to rely on external forces.
Hades counted down silently in his mind.
ten, nine, eight
The sound of metal twisting and turning echoed in every tank, red lights flashing, growing increasingly urgent—
Hades stared at the still-forming phantom, constantly on guard against any attacks, but unexpectedly, aside from useless psionic shocks, the demon that was still crawling out of the warp did not launch any other attacks.
Hades blinked; it seemed the demon he had been forcibly summoned didn't want to fight him.
III.2
A faint light appeared at the opening of the detonator.
The last part of the phantom began to solidify into a real image, with the two-headed bird staring intently at the seemingly tiny Hades beneath it.
Hades raised an eyebrow. He knew that the part about Carlos the Weaver of Fates was about to begin, and he roughly knew that the tough talk was about to start.
一
Sure enough, the bird simultaneously emitted a deafening, sinister laugh from both beaks.
But at the same time, its hand also reached for its own strangely long and thin neck.
+A fool who manipulates fate—+
+Struggling on the predetermined path—+
Out of the corner of his eye, Carlos the Weaver of Fate saw Hades's smile as he loaded the Soulless Bomb.
It also saw the crisp, bright sparks ignite from the intricate network of streets and alleys, and the ominous black mist rise into the sky, slowly erasing all senses—
Carlos acted decisively. Its words were still stuck in its throat, but its claws had already exerted force. The sharp claws pierced through the newly formed flesh and blood body, and the smooth feathers on its neck popped out messily between its claws. A short scream interrupted its words.
Pay the price!
zero.
Dense black stone mist suddenly rose up, clashing with the thick smoke emitted by the chaotic flames. The rich psionic environment suddenly trembled, the ashes of psionicists were suddenly shielded, and the concentration of black stone suddenly surged. The authority had been handed over, and Hades should take the reins.
—The—Underworld—Descends—
Everything quieted down.
Deep, ominous clouds shrouded the land, with streaks of emerald lightning occasionally flashing through them. Death was its raindrops, and beneath the clouds, people fell to the ground, trembling silently.
There was no noisy chorus of psionic screams and the sound of the warp waves, no manipulative prophecies; silence was the privilege of the dead, and also Hades's preference.
Raindrops fell, the tide began to recede, the floodwaters receded, leaving behind only desolation.
Hades looked regretfully at the last glimmer of blue fading away. He hadn't caught it. Carlos, who could see the future, banished himself back to the warp at the last moment.
Unfortunately, their Mr. Carlos did not finish his prophecy and rant before committing suicide and fleeing.
Hades lowered his eyes, sensing the souls that had suddenly extinguished within the Netherworld. Further away, in those areas where death was not possible, he also brought a nauseating dizziness to these psionicists.
The wind at high altitudes is always biting, and the rising black stone dust quickly dissipates. Hades can feel that after a brief welcome, the environment here has begun to turn hostile to him again.
The thick, dark cloud began to waver and soon dispersed with the wind.
The dark clouds dispersed, and the normal sunlight, conforming to the rules of atmospheric refraction, shone brightly on the earth once more.
But in the last second before the psychic energy disappeared, a look of surprise suddenly flashed in Hades' eyes—
[Gather! Approach the mechs!!!]
A piercing scream rang out in the Soulless Ones' channel, and the next moment, a deafening explosion came from the ground beneath their feet.
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Never anticipate danger; danger needs no help. There is no such thing as a destiny to challenge oneself, and a proactive desire for war never boosts morale.
【—Extreme Warrior's Notes 56.xxi】
They are known for their self-disciplined rationality, their observation, analysis, decision-making, and execution—this is the sharpest weapon of the Thirteenth Army.
This is also why Guilliman was able to lead the Thirteenth Army to achieve brilliant results in the Great Expedition.
Now, he could tell that Mortarian was not in a good mood.
Based on his analysis, Guilliman quickly concluded that Motalian had learned of a failed strategic operation, and one of the most important ones at that.
Mortarian, who had just tried to strike up a conversation with him, was now a war machine with a blank expression, directing the advance.
And what just happened? A huge explosion occurred in the slums, right after those two phantoms.
Guilliman looked up, pondering how to ask questions and learn more about the Death Guard's operational plans and the enemy's characteristics, so as to fight better.
But it's clear that the Death Guardians are currently engrossed in a breathtaking war of killing, consumed by a burning rage.
Led by Mortarion, the Deathguard's front is advancing at a steady yet astonishing pace.
Stormbirds roared through the sky, blasting large buildings and bunkers into riddled ruins, while simultaneously transmitting the latest aerial views to ground troops.
Large chunks of building stone were scattered along with mud, mixed with blood, flesh, and limbs, but could not be identified from the filthy soil.
Although the Death Guards were fast, they maintained the synchronization of their overall battle line. Guilliman observed the map and saw that no squad was so engrossed in the chase that they blindly pursued forward.
The Death Guards further back will use a mobile missile to clear small and medium-sized obstacles for the frontline soldiers, as well as to scatter larger groups of people, in order to provide a better combat environment for the Death Guards at the front.
The warriors in the central region were responsible for burning the dead or dying wizards with flames. To relieve the pressure, the front line would occasionally send a few enemies into the central region.