Daniel paid no mind to Ku'gath's goading. Instead, he got his breathing under control and braced himself for the fight.
The Great Unclean One loomed over seven meters high, a bloated, moving mountain of rotten flesh.
"That rotting corpse is a liar. He has nothing to offer you. After death, all that awaits you is total annihilation or endless suffering," Ku'gath droned.
"But if you join the Garden of Nurgle, your fate will be entirely different."
"The Father's garden is a paradise for all living things, where nothing truly dies. From the tiniest virus to the largest behemoth, everything can be resurrected from the filth. Without death, without pain, suffering will become a sweet and lasting joy."
Daniel leveled his sword at Ku'gath. "You're full of it, just like your master. It's sickening."
"You truly are a stubborn idiot," Ku'gath roared, enraged by Daniel's dismissal. It spun the greatsword over its head and brought it down hard.
Daniel dodged the attack. The giant sword hit the ground with a bang, leaving a massive crater and sending gravel flying everywhere.
"I'll capture you and drag you into the Garden, where you'll be stuck in the plagues until you finally see the light." As Ku'gath spoke, it swung a fat, pus-filled hand toward Daniel.
Daniel ducked out of the way again, leaving a deep gash on the daemon's arm. Ku'gath roared in pain but seized its opportunity. A burst of warp energy shot from its sticky palm, condensed into a shining spear, and pierced straight toward Daniel.
The passive skill Shield of Faith automatically flared to life. A golden light shield appeared, intercepting the warp energy spear. The collision of the two forces caused a massive explosion, forcing Daniel to retreat to shrug off the impact.
Ku'gath's body was fat and bloated, yet it moved with surprising agility. It pressed its advantage, launching a fierce, rapid attack intended to put Daniel down.
The giant sword in its hand swept across the air with a loud whistle. Daniel had to use the Holy Blade to parry the enormous weapon.
Clang!
The swords clashed, and the sound formed a terrible shock wave. The impact left Daniel's palm tingling and numb. Immediately afterward, Ku'gath landed another heavy blow, causing Daniel to stagger back.
He was clearly Nurgle's golden child; even a fraction of its power projection was enough to keep Daniel on the back foot.
"It seems you haven't received much blessing from the Corpse King, and you're not up to snuff," Ku'gath sneered. "You are destined for the kindness of the Father."
Daniel leaped back, avoiding the daemon's slash. "You really talk too much trash." During the fierce battle, Daniel spotted an opening and left a wound on Ku'gath's abdomen.
But Ku'gath seized the moment and smashed Daniel's helmet, leaving half his face exposed. The plague virus immediately rushed in through his mouth and nose. The vile power of the Warp caused his face to show immediate signs of decay.
However, his powerful immune system went into overdrive, quickly defending and eliminating every pathogen that had invaded his body. A golden light flared, expelling the evil warp energy and restoring his complexion to normal.
"Such a noble face, just like Mortarion's." Ku'gath said happily. "Once I bring you back to my loving Father's garden, you two will surely become very good friends. Give up resistance and embrace your loving Father."
Daniel said nothing, responding only by suddenly driving his sword forward. There was no way in hell he would surrender to a daemon.
"Madness!" Ku'gath's face twisted in anger, and it launched an even more ferocious attack.
On the other side of the battlefield, Yuji and the other players were scrambling to stop the daemon tide.
"I'm done for. This daemon density is insane!"
Several small hell missiles fired from the back of Rigby's exoskeleton, creating an explosion in the daemon tide that tore the enemies to shreds. But the enemies were endless. No matter how many were killed, they were immediately replaced.
"We're gonna be running on fumes soon." Mordecai gave up his now-powerless exoskeleton armor, jumped out of the cockpit, activated his power sword, and slashed at a Plaguebearer rushing toward him.
Yuji manipulated the chainsaw sword equipped on his exoskeleton, tearing a Plaguebearer in half. "This isn't the play. We have to destroy the anchor point between the warp and the real world."
"Turtle, go contact Fred. Have him activate the Auspex and scan the entire Stone hive. There must be other altars inside. Nurgle's sacred numbers are three or seven, and the summoning ritual must follow those numbers."
"Copy that." Turtle nodded, opened the comms, and contacted Fred, who was monitoring the battle from the Imperial Glory.
After a moment, Turtle looked back at Yuji. "You're dead right. The Auspex detected two more areas with off-the-charts warp energy readings. Fred sent me the map coordinates. What's the play?"
Yuji quickly opened the data panel and checked the areas. He marked one spot. "What else can we do? We have to find a way to destroy all the altars! Mordecai, take point and take your men to destroy the altar marked on the map."
"Understood." After dealing with a few enemies, Mordecai grabbed the compressed explosive packs and left the battlefield with a few veteran players, rushing to the target area.
"Blood Dove, can you hear me?" Yuji called the flight team on the communication channel.
"Loud and clear," Blood Dove responded.
"Go destroy the other altar at the coordinates. It's way too far for the ground troops and you'll have to fly right through enemy territory. We're relying on you."
"Consider it done." After the flying squadron commanded by Blood Dove dropped their remaining ordnance on the main position, they flew toward the second altar.
"Hold the line!" Yuji yelled to the remaining players. "If we fold, we lose the whole enchilada!"
If this battle failed, Atomal would be corrupted and become part of the Garden. Everything the players had worked hard for would be reduced to ashes.
"Fight!"
"The time has come to prove our loyalty to the Emperor!"
"Fred, lock onto our position and send a few more rounds of orbital bombardment to suppress the daemon tide. Don't sweat our location—just blow it up!"
Faraday was genuinely blown away by the players' selfless dedication. He rallied his soldiers and personally took charge of the front lines. "For the Emperor! Hold the line! Perhaps we can't return alive, but the glory of the God-Emperor will be with us!"
Colonel Griffin commanded the artillery unit to provide fire support for the players. "Calibrate parameters. Use a slow-moving barrage. Fire with a boundary of twenty meters in front of Saint."
The 'loyal' schmucks also fought with a death wish. As the daemons rushed forward, they screamed the Emperor's name and perished along with their enemies.
The Genestealer Patriarch, deep in its lair within Tyrian Hive, observed the war and the Saint through the eyes of these same schmucks, contemplating its next move.
On the battlefield, the fighting became increasingly intense and brutal.
Mordecai and several veteran players formed a task force. They abandoned everything and ran flat out, just to get to the altar as quickly as possible.
There weren't many daemons along the way, but there were plenty of rebel soldiers and cultists. They fearlessly charged toward the players, intent on stopping the task force from destroying the altar.
After a fierce clash, the exoskeleton armors worn by Mordecai and the others flashed red warnings: battery critical. But they had successfully broken through to the vicinity of the altar.
"The gods always dream of bringing us to our knees, but humans will never surrender."
"In the name of the Emperor, let those daemons see the art of self-destruction!"
With the writing on the wall, Mordecai gave the order to detonate the explosive pack.
"For the Emperor!"
"For Demacia!"
"Globalize the enchilada!"
"Eat plasma, chumps!"
The players detonated the explosive packs they carried, amidst cheers. A deafening explosion sounded. Raging flames erupted, shattering the ritual altar.
With the loss of one altar, the Warp Storm was instantly weakened. Daemons like Ku'gath also became noticeably weaker. Daniel seized the opportunity, leaped up, and slashed at the Great Unclean One with the Holy Judgment Blade.
The swords clashed, and the sheer force made Ku'gath stumble backward. Missiles streaked in from a distance and slammed into Ku'gath. Along with the explosion, rotten flesh and blood splattered. Shocking wounds opened up on Ku'gath's obese body, revealing its rotting internal organs.
"We can't drag this out!" Ku'gath could feel its strength fading.
When Daniel attacked again, Ku'gath gave up its defense, letting the opponent's sword pierce its body. Then, a terrifying bolt of warp energy was released from its hand. The Shield of Faith automatically appeared. The two energies produced a terrifying explosion. Daniel was blown backward and fell heavily into the ruins.
"Originally, you didn't have to suffer through all this." Ku'gath dragged its giant sword toward Daniel, who was struggling to get up.
At that moment, a Leman Russ tank rammed the throttle and rushed over with a rumble.
"For the Emperor! For the Guide!" Frenzied shouts blared from the loudspeakers.
The tank's muzzle flashed. Shells slammed into Ku'gath's body and exploded, one after another. But Ku'gath didn't even flinch; the shells were just tickling him. Faced with this, the Leman Russ tank did not retreat. It stayed at full speed, rushing straight toward Ku'gath.
"Nasty guy," Ku'gath muttered, swinging its greatsword and cleaving the Leman Russ tank in two.
"For the Emperor!" A non-commissioned officer crawled out of the shattered tank.
"Poor fellow," Ku'gath said, leaning over the mortal. "You're giving everything for the Corpse King. What's the payoff?"
"Loyalty needs no reward! Daemon!"
The sergeant used his last bit of strength to rip the fuse from the cluster bomb on his waist.