Chapter 143: Blackstone Fortress
The Abyss Roar sailed through the warp, its hull enveloped by a distorted Geller field. The scene of subspace surged like quicksand outside the bridge window, sometimes flashing with bizarre, nightmarish shapes, sometimes uttering whispers.
On the ship's observation deck, Francis sat leisurely on a makeshift folding chair, holding a long fishing rod that had sprung up haphazardly in his hand. A strange-looking metal wire was attached to the end of the pole, with the other end extending out of the porthole and disappearing into the eerie flow of light in the subspace. He looked relaxed and even hummed an old nautical tune.
"What are you doing?" Cawl asked quietly as he came up behind Francis, somewhat puzzled.
"Fishing for the daemon," Francis said casually, without even turning around. He skillfully shook the fishing rod, as if he were really engaged in a normal fishing activity.
Cawl stared at him in confusion.
Seeing that Cawl didn't understand, Francis kindly explained. "These daemons are like fish. Some things have a fatal attraction for them, and you have no idea how wonderful it is to be pulled when a daemon takes the bait! Would you like to give it a try?"
Before he finished speaking, the fishing rod suddenly sank. The metal line vibrated violently, and a faint roar could even be heard from outside the porthole. A flicker of excitement crossed Francis's eyes. He gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands, leaned back, and pulled hard.
"They've taken the bait!" Francis shouted, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement.
Outside the porthole, the light in the subspace began to distort violently, and a huge black shadow began to emerge. Suddenly, a claw with long tentacles and twisted keratin pierced the barrier and gripped the metal wire tightly. Then, a huge purple daemon was pulled out, its hideous face pressed against the porthole, its sharp teeth clenching as it let out a piercing roar.
"Damn humans, I will—" Before it could finish roaring, it saw a gun pointed at it, and a shot rang out.
Cawl didn't quite understand the point of what the other person was making. At least in his view, it was not only meaningless but hazardous.
"I am testing the effectiveness of the daemon trap," Francis said. "If it works well, it will change the battlefield landscape, and humanity will gain the upper hand."
As he spoke, he suddenly pulled hard on the fishing rod. The metal line trembled, and a hazy shadow was dragged out of the subspace. Its shape was blurry and indistinct, seemingly shrouded in a strange mosaic.
"These are toys privately kept by the Aeldari nobles, and they hold a deadly allure for certain daemons!"
In Cawl's knowledge base, this thing is not meant to be used like this. Cawl felt that the other party's logic and execution methods seemed rather inhuman.
"Cawl, are you working on a new Astartes?" Just as Cawl was pondering how to offer an elegant defense, Francis suddenly changed the subject.
"Huh? Ah!" Francis shouldn't know about the Primaris Space Marine Project. It seemed necessary to create a mechanical person specifically to interact with Francis.
Just as Cawl was pondering, the warship emitted a tremendous vibration.
The Abyss Roar tore through the membrane in the dark blue rift of the warp and plunged into the real universe.
In the pitch-black night sky, the stars of the Fraliss system cast a faint glow, while a massive, ancient structure floated silently in orbit. From a distance, it looked like a giant eight-pointed star.
Francis looked out the porthole at the massive ruins, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Uh, it can't be such a coincidence!"
Cawl stood to the side, the scanner of his mechanical eye emitting a low hum. "This structure didn't drift here naturally. I've never seen anything like it before. We need to investigate why it's here." He spoke coldly.
The Abyss Roar's probes quickly deployed, scanning everything around the fortress. Just then, a small ship's silhouette appeared on the radar screen.
The ship was unremarkable, more like a tin can compared to the Abyss Roar. The hull was mottled, and the outer shell bore repair marks, clearly indicating it was an old, scrapped ship. It showed no hostility, but its behavior was strange. The small boat moved slowly along the edge of the Blackstone Fortress's outer shell.
"Don't rush. What are these small boats doing?" Francis asked.
"It looks like an Imperial garbage collection ship. It shouldn't be here." Francis rubbed his chin. 'As expected of me, A good hunter is never in a hurry.'
Francis soon saw a dark figure silently slide out of the hatch of the small warship. It was an Imperial robot. Its ancient casting style and rigid movements revealed that it belonged to the Castellax battle-automata series.
This design was once a primary weapon of the Empire, but its shell was covered with scratches and battle damage, indicating that it had been modified or reprogrammed.
The robot walked with heavy, silent steps straight toward Blackstone Fortress. An electric arc appeared on its mechanical arm as it skillfully pried open the outer wall of Blackstone Fortress and disappeared into the deep crevice.
"Looks like we're kindred spirits! Let's go!" Francis narrowed his eyes and said softly. "Send someone to take over the small boat and tow it back to our ship's cargo hold. Be careful...see if they've left any little gifts."
"Yes, Primarch!" The Soul Drinker swiftly relayed the order. A squad of warriors boarded a small boat and swooped down on the undefended small warship like hawks.
Soon, the Soul Drinker sent a report. "Primarch, no one is aboard. The equipment is dilapidated. But some encrypted data and some strange parts were found. It doesn't seem like the equipment of an ordinary scavenger."
Francis smiled upon hearing this. "Thank you for nature's bounty! I'll take it all!"
Cawl said nothing.
At the same time, Francis stood up and turned to Cawl. "Let's go! There's a lot of good stuff in here!"
"Even if you don't say, we were going there on our own!" Cawl glanced at him.
They piloted several Thunderhawks and quietly approached Blackstone Fortress. They boarded the fortress through the crevice, and Francis and his men cautiously entered the first room of Blackstone Fortress.
As soon as they stepped across the threshold, they felt a strong, strange aura, as if the entire space was filled with some unstable power. The ancient runes on the walls shimmered with a faint green light, while the floor seemed to vibrate subtly, as if some underlying mechanism was at work.
Suddenly, the walls of the room began to move slowly and irregularly, and a deep rumbling sound came from the ground, as if some huge mechanical device had started to turn. It looked like the room was constantly changing position.
"It's possible that the machine spirit has awakened! It's rejecting the foreign creature!" Cawl was radiating golden light. His body trembled slightly, and he kept chanting incantations.
"Ring the bell once! Push the lever, start the piston, and pump. Ring the bell twice! Press the button, start the engine, ignite the turbine, and inject life force. Ring the bell three times! Praise be to the great Omnissiah! Praise be to Omnissiah!"
The tech-priests standing beside him also knelt, clasped hands, and bowed their heads to recite prayers in silence.
Suddenly, the shaking in the room stopped for a moment, and the movement of the walls also stopped.
"Holy shit! It works!" Francis's eyes lit up instantly with surprise. He was already planning to make a move, but they actually succeeded.
"In the face of sacred doctrine, all obstacles will temporarily disappear. Praise be to Omnissiah!" Cawl's voice remained calm.
"Praise be to Omnissiah!" Other Magos Recited along.
"Let's hurry and get to the control center!" But this was just the beginning of the nightmare.
They felt were as if they had entered an endless maze, with enemies constantly emerging from all directions. Countless Orks, Drukhari, and others all came out, though they didn't know what was going on. But upon seeing humans, they rushed forward at once.
"I don't know why! Anyway, Waaaaaagh!"
"These mon-keigh did this!"
"Destroy the Imperium!"
Upon seeing this, Francis immediately drank the Ork's blood, and all the Soul Drinkers were transformed into Orks.
"Waaaaaaaagh!" Francis roared, his voice so powerful it seemed to tear the air. The sound echoed throughout Blackstone Fortress and the entire space.
The Ork boyz opposite him stared in utter bewilderment as Francis grew to over ten meters tall.
"Hozy crap! So the bozz was on other side!"
"Bozz, we're here! Waaaaaaagh!"
"Kill the pointy-ears, folloz the boss! Waaaaaagh!" The Orks turned abruptly and charged towards the Drukhari.
At the same time, the tech-priests did not back down because of the enemy's numbers. Whenever the enemy approached, they would activate ancient mechanical devices to sweep away and mercilessly sever the enemy's body precisely.
As the group advanced, the corridors of Blackstone Fortress seemed to become increasingly complex, with walls rotating and passageways twisting, as if the entire space was forcing them to lose their way.
Every time they slew a wave of enemies, new enemies emerged from all directions, as if the Blackstone Fortress had no end. However, Francis's army grew longer and longer, and more and more Orks joined his ranks.
[End of Chapter]
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