Horatio took the lead, sending the exact coordinates of the stasis pod, and another Hellspawns strike team was on its way.
He raised his hand and clenched his fist, signaling everyone to stop.
"+There are too many zombies+" Louise frowned.
The high platform where the Sisters were located was like a solitary island in a sea of corpses; beneath their feet, thousands of zombies were swarming and attacking the Sisters' hastily constructed defenses, their withered arms forming a disgusting tide, constantly reaching out hungrily towards the holy women's silver armor.
Three Battle Sisterss and one Medical Sister remained.
They were more or less wounded, their armor contaminated, with a thin green film covering the silver, but they still stood in a line, firmly holding their ground, continuously unleashing firepower upon the God Emperor's enemies, their Purity Seals bouncing and dancing with each shot.
The Medical Sister, clad in white robes, fought while using golden, faith-imbued power to heal her teammates' wounds and cleanse them of the plague's attachment.
This golden light appeared to be psychic power, but not in the traditional sense; it was the psychic radiance emanating from the Emperor.
In the eyes of the plague zombies, her Soulfire was also flickering with an even brighter golden light, attracting countless zombies, who pursued Soulfire, to gather below, drawn by the light.
Bolter rounds struck the zombies, blasting them to pieces. The zombies behind them trampled over the fallen fragments, constantly approaching the high platform, at one point nearly closing in, and it wouldn't be long before they would break through the Sisters' fragile defensive line.
"+They won't last long+"
Horatio rapidly analyzed the terrain using his Arcane Shield: "+There should be cleansing gas nearby; we can release this nerve gas to quickly kill these zombies+"
"Ah!"
A Battle Sisters, who had ventured too far forward, was grabbed by the ankle by a zombie; she was pulled down, falling to the ground, and was about to be dragged away and torn apart by the zombies.
"Sister Maureen!"
The Medical Sister stepped forward and grabbed her, swinging the distinctive short saw on her arm, cutting at the zombies' hands and arms.
The pulling from both sides made the fallen Battle Sisters let out a piercing scream.
In an instant, a laser beam quickly killed the zombie pulling at the Sister's leg armor, and the Medical Sister seized the opportunity to pull her Sister up.
Horatio's gun barrel smoked, and he continued firing with the others, sending a channel link request to the Sister.
The Sisters looked in the direction from which the laser came and saw deep red, round eyes.
"+We are the Imperial Navy Hellspawns unit, ordered to rescue you all and purify the stasis pod+" Horatio's voice came through the comms device.
The intensely oppressive and terrifying deep red, round eyes now seemed so kind in the eyes of these Daughters of the Emperor.
"+God Emperor, thank you for your support!+" The voice of the helmeted Medical Sister sounded familiar.
[Psyker Harmonization allows me to become a psyker or an Untouchable, like a chameleon, matching the target I borrow from, amplifying or reducing corruption. But what about artificial 'Untouchables' like Louise?]
An experimental thought surfaced in Horatio's mind; he wanted to try to exploit a bug.
'Activate: Psyker Harmonization'
'Energy: 3/7'
'Psyker: 5/7'
'Corruption: 2/7'
'Soulfire: 34/40'
[Corruption didn't increase; did it work?]
He wanted to try.
"+Horatio, what are you doing?+" Louise turned to look at Horatio, her face filled with shock.
He was actually extending his hand towards the zombies as if fishing.
[Hmm, it seems to have worked; the zombies aren't reacting to me.] Horatio waved his hand at the zombies.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab him from behind, pulling him up.
"+Leader, I was just doing an experiment. I don't know if it's because the vaccine I took has a higher concentration, but I found that these zombies don't react to me either+"
"+That's good, I thought you were infected+" Louise gasped, releasing Horatio from her embrace.
"+The others will support the Sisters here, while Leader Louise and I go to activate the gas+"
"+Can the two of you handle it?+" Henry Harvey asked, clearly wanting to go as well, or rather, not wanting Horatio to go alone.
"+The zombies can't detect me or Louise, and more people would only increase the risk of exposure+"
"+Just as Horatio said, you all support the Sisters here, and the two of us will go release the gas+" Louise checked her weapon.
Harvey, though reluctant, had no choice but to agree for now.
"+Let's go, Horatio+" Louise raised her gun.
The two jumped down from a height of three meters, landing in the tide of corpses.
"Ugh uh." Pustule-ridden, horrifyingly twisted zombies pressed shoulder to shoulder.
Louise bit her lip, holding her gun high, as she flowed through the zombies' 'flesh current'.
Walking alone through the tide of corpses reminded her of the past, her childhood nightmare she wished never to recall.
Her breathing became heavy, numbness and coldness swept through her body, as if she were trapped in a frozen lake, her body trembling slightly.
This was a traumatic stress response, a necessary path for her to overcome her psychological shadow, but fortunately, it would not affect her excellent tactical abilities.
"+Don't be afraid+"
Horatio noticed Louise's state; he turned around, took her hand, and guided the way.
"+You are not alone+" His voice was firm and steady, making her feel safe.
Horatio's words dispelled the nightmare lingering in her mind, and a delicate but warm current surged from her stiff, numb heart, dispelling the cold from her body and soul.
She took a deep breath and said, "+You're right, I'm not alone+"
Horatio pulled her through the foul-smelling tide of corpses. He leaped up, climbed onto the platform, and pulled Louise up by her hand.
"+The gas tank should be just ahead+" Horatio used his reconnaissance augur to scan.
No one was inside the room.
He used the synapse on his bionic arm to insert into the door access, and the door obediently opened quickly.
Inside the room, many pipes coiled along the walls, and a rotating valve was in the center.
"+Everyone check your breathing apparatus; we are about to release the gas+" Horatio called out on the action channel.
Then he nodded, and he and Louise placed their hands on the valve wheel.
The rusted valve slowly began to turn, and Horatio could hear the sound of gas surging through the pipes.
Suddenly, an eye grew from a pustule in the center of the valve, staring blankly at the two Hellspawns.
The zombies began to surge towards the room where the two were located.
"+Damn it!+" Horatio smashed the eye with a punch.
"+I'll hold them off+" Louise grabbed her gun and shouted on the main comms channel: "+Support our direction!+"
The intense gunfire could not stop the zombies from surging forward; although they couldn't see the two, they could crush them alive by overwhelming them in this manner.
Louise continuously retreated until she bumped into Horatio's back.
She glanced at the young man behind her, intending to make a final stand here.
Hot steam gradually filled the room.
Sssshhh—
After accumulating immense power, the valve was suddenly twisted.
Yellow-green toxic gas instantly poured out of the pipes, rapidly filling the deck.
The zombies slowly fell, their bodies melting like ice under high heat.
"+Clear+"
The valve was tightened again, and the toxic mist quickly dissipated.
"+I didn't expect us to meet again here. God Emperor bless you+"
Seeing Horatio slowly approach, the Medical Sister said to him.
Her familiar voice reminded the Sister of her previous encounter with him.
Horatio nodded.
"+Sister Arabella, what happened?+"
"+We lost contact with another squad; only our squad successfully reached the stasis pod, but a fallen Space Marine guards it. He killed two of our Sisters, and our bolter rounds couldn't cause him effective damage+"
"+A fallen Space Marine?+" Louise asked.
"+A Death Guard Plague Marine+"
At these words, the Hellspawns exchanged glances.
"+God Emperor, how are we supposed to fight a fallen Space Marine? And such a stinky Plague Marine!+" David Beatty asked incredulously.
"+I can use the Holy Light of Faith to temporarily blind him, interfering and delaying him for a period+" Sister Arabella said.
"+I think I have a plan+" Horatio said.
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