Chapter 398: What Is This Thing? Nurgle Greater Daemon: Block It!
13th Day, 10th Month, 817.M41
Long before 'Chronos Key' stirred the warp tides, information from augur arrays in various military observation posts made it intuitively felt that the Dawnstar Sector, previously stagnated by the plague, suddenly began to operate at high speed.
Mobile military forces capable of activity in various star systems surged towards these areas. From time to time, hundreds of starships emerged from the warp, enveloping 'Chronos Key' in a staggered manner with thirteen fortress worlds as nodes, strictly following the plan.
Stationed among them were the elite Astra Militarum untouched by the plague, the Cadian Sworn Firstborn Legion.
Grateful for the great victory bestowed upon them by the Dawnbreakers, since the victory parade thirty years ago, Cadians had sent their firstborn sons, who had passed layers of screening, to the Dawnstar Sector. With the motto "Dedication to humanity is the highest honor," they shed their blood for the Dawnbreakers' cause.
There was also the magnificent Imperial Navy built by multiple Forge Worlds including the Dawnstar System over the past thirty years.
Among them, the Queen of Glory, a Gloriana-class battleship rebuilt on the basis of the Iron Blood, served as the flagship. The control of this warship was handed over to those veterans from the loyalist factions of the Traitor Legions, directly incorporated into the Dawnbreakers' command system.
They once wanted to build an ideal world belonging to all mankind. They were followers and companions of this great ideal. They struggled for a golden dream. The road was obstructed and long, with countless bumps, and in the end, it really was a dream.
Now they were ready again and would set off again.
Accepting troop input from the Dawnbreakers, then passing on their past and experience to these flowers nurtured in the 'greenhouse'.
Everything returned to its original appearance.
A large amount of military power began to concentrate, beginning to pay attention to the result of an unprecedented event.
This determined whether they would raise their blades to bring hope to their galactic compatriots again, or completely destroy the enemies erupting from this attempt with massive military force, and then start the next round of attempts.
In the entire Dawnstar Sector, all eyes were closely watching that planet sitting on the rift, existing simultaneously in reality, the warp, and Avalon.
In an instant, all collectives fell silent.
Uneasy silence filled the halls and fortifications of 'Chronos Key'.
The scene before them began to change rapidly. No words could describe the series of bizarre scenes that appeared in this process. If their minds hadn't been protected, and if they weren't warriors born through endless harsh screening, they would have lost order long ago.
The only sound was the creaking from nowhere as physical laws were twisted, and the endless buzzing of flies.
Titus scanned the surroundings. As a special member screened from various Chapters, he followed the main force into it, adapting to the battlefield, and passing the experience they gained back to his Chapter in a possible future.
The real world was torn open.
The sky cracked and separated like a fragile projection screen.
Outside the rift, now under their feet, the real world remained the same. But inside the yellowing and stinking rift surrounded by thirteen towers, a huge garden was bustling with decay. Endless deep yellow fog began to invade everyone's vision, and creatures with damp and rotten skin chased each other happily in it.
From time to time, small rotten lives merged with larger things, or fell from huge creations, becoming a member of this seemingly endless garden.
The main feature of this area was layers of eye-holes, enough to plunge any trypophobe into endless pain. Those eye-holes were constantly growing and proliferating under Titus's gaze.
The smell of rot began to flow out. Swarms of flies flew up from sickly plants, dragging fat bodies through weeping eye-holes, then the fly swarms left, crossing the swamp in a buzzing sound.
'Chronos Key' plunged into this domain, and the master here had not yet discovered them.
Silence pressed on the heartstrings, making people unable to help but erupt with claustrophobia.
Belonging to the real universe, they suddenly became alone, as if abandoned here. What they saw and heard were those daemons emerging from the projections. The fear engraved in the human soul began to brew and ferment in their consciousness.
During routine patrols, Titus began to feel the growing unease in the crowd.
"Every time we step into this world again, we can clearly feel this differential treatment."
Someone whispered, his soul urging him to kneel, but his will still supported him to grip his weapon tightly:
"You constantly remind us of our insignificance, our incompetence, and our easy death."
He stared hatefully at those cheerful daemons, dispelling the emotions constantly rising in his mind, recalling his combat mission.
These brave men participating in this almost one-way test had held their posts for several hours. This act of going deep into the domain of a warp god was too dangerous. Just looking at the echoes of those evil creations was corroding their spirits.
Now, silence prolonged their wait, eroding their remaining courage.
Until the appearance of the most dazzling person.
"I think this has never been a luxury only daemons can enjoy."
That voice was like a clear spring, washing away the shadow lingering in the heart.
Spear of the Crimson Dawn in hand, Karna was the first to pass through the passage, stepping into the turbid lake ahead.
The pool water boiled rapidly. Dead fish and other dead aquatic creatures floated and sank on the water surface, with scavengers wriggling on them, then devoured by flames.
Nearby, everyone's gaze quickly focused on him.
"He needs to be more conspicuous."
When Ramesses met Arthur on the platform of the Tower of Dominion, he said bluntly.
"What do you mean?"
Ramesses asked in surprise.
"I mean Karna."
Arthur said: "Seeing him with one's own eyes can boost morale. He should show himself more. I don't have that visual impact."
"I think this shouldn't be a problem you should worry about."
Ramesses smiled, then explained his next move: "I've locked onto the Weeping Plague Greater Daemon. I'll take people to chase it. Make a bigger noise, so Old Nineteen can make his move."
"I know."
The Lord of Knights kept his hand on the sword hilt, watching the scene ahead.
"This is a requirement."
Suddenly, a gust of wind rolled up his cloak.
It's coming!
As if responding to his partner, the moment his voice fell—
The moment the barrier was breached, everyone saw ring-shaped air currents unfolding in the sky, and a 'meteor' burning with high temperature was rising.
Mortals dazed by silence, creatures still playing in Nurgle's Garden, they looked up almost at the same moment and saw this meteor of heavenly fire.
Nurgle daemons fell into horror, puzzled by this sudden attack, and began to run in panic in the jungle.
Human warriors held their weapons, ready and prepared, their eyes always fixed on the banner that seemed to be leading them. The orders engraved in their souls became clearer in their minds.
Whoosh~
Firelight began to shine.
Golden, bright...
Banners, already magnificent in the real universe, revealed their true appearance one by one. The flickering firelight echoed the rising scorching sun.
This was a gift prepared for them long ago. Things circulating among various Legions since decades ago could destroy spiritual entities to stabilize the warp while also carrying the power of faith.
Thanks to the Dawnbreakers' ability to filter out the subjective emotions attached to faith, humans themselves could utilize the power brought by massive worship and faith support without being twisted into monsters made of pure emotion like daemons.
Abundant weapons and equipment, tempered souls, warp power on par with daemons.
Finally—
The warriors looked at Karna.
The leader who could lead them forward.
The Dawnbreaker emblem shone brightly on them.
More than one.
Now, they lacked nothing.
"Attack!"
The attack order sounded in their ears.
They began to chase out.
"ATTACK!!!"
"Hmm?"
Splash~
Inside the Weeping Plague Swamp, the wooden ladle was pulled out of the cauldron, dripping liquid fought over by mosquitoes and flies. Typhon Plagueheart, still expanding his domain and planning to bring more disasters to reality, looked up in confusion.
"What happened?"
Typhon Plagueheart asked.
A fleeing Nurgling glared at Typhon in panic.
"Are you going to play, or stop for a picnic?"
He said.
"?"
"No, I mean—"
The Nurgling pointed forward, and Typhon Plagueheart looked along.
At the end of the garden, figures moved around burning vehicles.
He could hear the crashing and crackling sounds in the wind, like branches snapping. Infantry, ground troops, surrounded the convoy from the west, thousands strong, and many small black dots, some of which were turning.
"We still have time."
The Nurgling chattered: "We ran for half a day to get this far, they..."
Some black dots began to enlarge, revealing outlines, leaping over bushes and charging towards them. The speed was unbelievable to Typhon Plagueheart.
They were not Tzeentch's fire-wielding horrors, nor Khorne's war machines.
At first, he thought it was a huge fierce war dog, then he thought of Khornate daemons, then running Chaos Spawn.
But what was rushing towards them was definitely not those things.
They might, possibly, have once been—
Humans?
An absurd answer began to enter his mind. Typhon Plagueheart tilted his head in confusion.
Creations completely different from the warp made them slightly bloated. Torsos wrapped in iron armor, muscles cast in metal bulging on their bodies, guns and fire making up for their disadvantages on the evolutionary ladder.
Their faces... the flames on their bodies...
Typhon Plagueheart suddenly felt terrifying pressure.
This oppression made his heart filled with maggots and tears twitch uncontrollably, as if hundreds of mountains were pressing on him.
He hurriedly raised his head, lifting the wooden ladle used to stir the cauldron as a weapon, protecting the Nurglings scattering in fear behind him.
He looked at the meteor and hurriedly waved the wooden ladle.
The sky was wrapped in thick tears. Holes full of rotten wood and corrosion constantly flowed with viscous yellow liquid, forming a translucent shield. Then it collided with the fire meteor, and was quickly crushed, unable to even hinder its speed.
Typhon Plagueheart looked horrified.
"What is it?"
The Greater Daemon symbolizing the Weeping Plague asked in panic:
"What is it? What are they? They—"
No sound, not even the boom of air. As a living lung lobe wrapped in maggots and viscera in the rotten garden took its last breath—
The meteor crashed to the ground.
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