Inside the Mechanicum Sanctum, Jackal looked at his good comrade, full of anticipation: "How is it? How long until reinforcements arrive?"
Galahad remained silent, as if burdened by a thousand tons, and slowly sat down in a chair.
"Why aren't you saying anything?!"
Jackal, anxious, spun around and pointed towards the direction of the booming cannons outside, shouting: "Listen! The planetary defense cannons are already very close, which means those good-for-nothings can't stop the cultists at all. If reinforcements don't come soon, we'll all die!"
However... Galahad remained silent.
He didn't even move, making Jackal suspect for a moment that the guy might have crashed.
Or perhaps, he forgot to apply lubricant.
As if hearing Jackal's blasphemous words, Galahad said in a low tone: "Now, there's bad news, and even worse news. Which do you want to hear first?"
"???"
Jackal was stunned for a full three seconds before he reacted, looking at Galahad with an expression as if he were looking at an Ogryn: "Did your brain forget to apply lubricant? Is there any difference between the two?"
To his shock.
This time, Galahad did not get angry, but explained very seriously: "One is bad news, and one is even worse news."
"Then tell me the bad news first."
Jackal impatiently urged him to speak quickly and stop playing coy.
"The bad news is that due to the influence of the Warp, their jump point was off, and it will take at least ten days or so to reach Roselle," Galahad said.
"I highly doubt those good-for-nothings in the upper hive can hold out for half a month." Jackal covered his face, looking utterly dejected, and sighed: "I'm very curious, what news could be worse than this?"
"The worse news is..."
As a Tech-Priest, his mechanical modifications were not extensive, so Jackal could easily see a deep sense of powerlessness and despair on Galahad's face.
"If Merlin Emrys... something happened to him, then I guess there's a 98% chance that the entire Roselle Hive and even the world will be completely annihilated."
In Galahad's despairing tone, he uttered terrifying words that made Jackal gasp.
"Are you kidding me?"
Jackal's eyelids twitched, his face full of disbelief.
"I'm not kidding you, this is a fact."
Galahad regretted it so much he wanted to beat his chest. Was his mind influenced by Tzeentch back then? Otherwise, why would he let that kid go to the Lower Hive, knowing it was dangerous?
"What were you thinking?"
Jackal was really angry now. Did Galahad's brain forget to apply lubricant? Otherwise, knowing Emrys was so important, why would he let him go to the Lower Hive?
"I..."
Galahad was also very frustrated.
He thought there was no risk in going to the Lower Hive. At most, he would be discovered by those Lower Hive dwellers. With a deflection field defense device and a plasma gun, who could stop Emrys?
Besides, the Inquisitor had gone. Even if there were any risks, Winnie Winslet's background should at least prevent her from dying, right?
But who would have thought that neither of them came back!
As a result, things got out of hand!
"You just said... there's a 98% chance. What's the remaining 2%?" Jackal frowned and suddenly asked.
"Either the Emperor performs a miracle, or... the rumored Primarch, who has awakened from his ten-thousand-year slumber, personally orders a stop to it." Galahad sneered and said.
"Then we're definitely dead?!"
Jackal was completely desperate.
Leaving aside the Emperor performing a miracle, which is basically 100% impossible, the remaining matter of the Primarch awakening... who knows if it's true?
"Not entirely... provided we can find Emrys. I always feel that kid... isn't that easy to kill."
Galahad looked at Jackal sincerely and patted his shoulder earnestly: "This matter is entrusted to you. I believe the Catachan Jungle Fighters will surely be able to penetrate the Lower Hive, find Emrys' whereabouts, and bring him back!"
"Did you throw your head in the recycling bin?"
Jackal's mouth twitched, utterly speechless, and he retorted: "I'm a Catachan Jungle Fighter, not the Emperor's Angel! And certainly not Sly Marbo!"
"I wish you were Sly Marbo..." Galahad grumbled, looking Jackal up and down with a disappointed expression: "You're both from the Catachan Jungle, how can there be such a big difference?"
Sly Marbo... a legend whose resume would make anyone meeting him for the first time think it was a fabrication.
To describe Sly Marbo in the simplest terms...
It's probably that... he alone could wipe out all the cultists on Roselle, including that Daemon Engine, and it's highly likely that wouldn't even be enough for his warm-up.
"Bullshit! Then why the hell aren't you a Fabricator-General?"
When it came to trash talk, Jackal had never feared anyone. He pointed at Galahad's nose and started cursing: "If you were a Fabricator-General, would we be in such a miserable state?"
Galahad got angry and started spouting binary language.
But unfortunately, Jackal didn't understand it at all and brought the conversation back to the main topic: "Seriously, I can try to get a PDF squad from Gray to see if we can force our way into the Lower Hive, but whether we can find him... I'm not sure."
"This is the only way..."
Galahad finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now, he could only hope that the kid was really alright.
Otherwise... an ancient Rogue Trader dynasty, even if it had declined for thousands of years, its wrath was definitely not something they, or even Roselle, could bear!
Beep! Beep!
Suddenly, the silent Astropathic array was activated again.
"Another Astropathic message?"
Jackal was a bit surprised, curious who it was this time.
However, upon seeing the sender of that Astropathic message, Galahad's entire body suddenly stiffened, feeling as if the sky had fallen, and for a moment he even had an illusion... that he was a harbinger of doom shining!
"To the esteemed Martian Cult Mechanicus, Tech-Priest Galahad, approximately fifteen days ago, we lost contact with Lady Winnie Winslet. According to our investigation, she had contacted you before her disappearance. Please provide us with the specific details — Inquisitorial Ordo Hereticus, Charles G."
The tone of the Astropathic message was gentle and polite.
But... Galahad knew that this was merely the Inquisitor's superficial disguise!
Charles... was Winnie Winslet's mentor, possessing extremely high prestige within the Inquisitorial Ordo Hereticus, a typical extremist Inquisitor.
As far as Galahad knew, this esteemed Inquisitor had issued hundreds of Exterminatus orders during his tenure, eliminating countless potential threats for the Imperium!
The number of beings who died directly or indirectly at Charles's hands could be measured in hundreds of billions, and there were even rumors that Charles was the greatest 'heretic' because he possessed many unknown heretical technologies!
But, what was more widely known was that.
Charles was a staunch Monodominant Inquisitor within the Inquisitorial Ordo Hereticus. His extreme and radical actions were considered too aggressive by even many fanatical Inquisitors in the leadership!
Looking at Galahad, who had once again fallen silent, Jackal suddenly felt an ominous premonition: "You're not going to tell me that something bad has happened again, are you?"
"Good news..."
Galahad forced a smile and slowly said to Jackal: "Now, another highly experienced and impressively credentialed Inquisitor mentor has taken notice of us."
The perspective shifts back to the battlefield.
The protagonist, Mr. Merlin Emrys, whom Galahad and Jackal wished they could dig three feet deep to find, was almost split in half by a person who appeared from nowhere, clad in blood-red blasphemous armor, wielding an axe!
The Emperor protects!
Winnie in heaven protects!
Void Shield… protects!
Gazing at the Hammer Skulls so close, Emrys seemed to smell the strong scent of blood clinging to its blade!
But what shocked him even more, even horrified him, was this:
From within that heavy, twisted, spike-covered, blasphemous armor, which seemed to meld with flesh and was blessed by Chaos sorcery, he actually heard a very familiar voice!
"Mer…lin Sir.…"
The slightly immature voice seemed to be mixed with pain, hatred, and distortion, converging into malice that surged towards Emrys like a vast, rushing torrent.
"You are… Gawain?!"
Emrys was startled, suddenly remembering why the voice was so familiar, because only 'Gawain' would address him that way!
However, the next moment…
The 'monster' blessed by Khorne raised its axe blade again, and amidst the horrifying aura of savagery and slaughter, mixed with the mocking laughter from the Brass Throne in the High Heavens, it struck again!
Boom!
A blood-red streak of light flashed, and countless souls wailed in agony!
The air shrieked, as if the entire space was about to be shattered by this axe blow, and the terrifying shockwave was almost solid, carrying a thousand times the force of gravity, directly pressing down on Emrys.
Looking at the Void Shield, which had already been hit by an axe and was covered in dense cracks, seemingly on the verge of collapsing, he immediately realized that the Void Shield could not withstand this blow!
Whether 'Gawain' was inside the blasphemous armor or not was immediately thrown to the back of his mind.
Relying on the excellent performance of the bio-armor, Emrys' pure physical attributes were enhanced many times over; in other Worlds, he would at least be considered a 'Superman'.
Emrys bent down, and the axe blade grazed past the back of his head!
A chill ran down the back of his neck, a coldness like countless ants gnawing, directly entering his central nervous system.
The more dangerous it was, the calmer he needed to be!
Seemingly in crisis, Emrys' thoughts remained clear; he seized the moment when the 'monster' missed its attack and was in a state of rigidity, pulled out his trusty Plasma Gun, aimed the muzzle at the 'monster's' forehead, and fiercely pulled the trigger: "I don't believe this tattered armor can block a Plasma Gun!"
Boom!!!
The scorching white plasma projectile, at almost zero distance, directly slammed into the blasphemous helmet!
Instantly, high temperature mixed with an explosion erupted in the narrow street ruins; the dazzling, scorching white plasma light could be clearly seen even by Commissar Grey hundreds of meters away!
What does it feel like to be hit by a Plasma Gun at close range?
Emrys was fortunate enough to answer that question.
The power of this thing was too great; even with bio-armor and a psychic barrier, two layers of protection, he temporarily lost his hearing.
It was like the Imperial Church bells ringing thousands, tens of thousands of times in his mind, a constant buzzing noise!
And the exploding shockwave was like a giant hammer, directly hitting his chest, forcefully sending him flying more than ten meters, slamming him to the ground, causing headache and nausea.
It wasn't until he spat out the clotted blood that Emrys felt better; the ringing in his ears gradually disappeared, and his blurry vision returned to clarity.
However, when he clearly saw the blasphemous figure still standing steady as a mountain within the smoke, his face instantly changed, revealing an expression of utter horror: "No way… this didn't kill you?!"
This was a Plasma Gun!
As if in response to him, the hateful blasphemous monster stepped out of the smoke, its helmet half-shattered, but its face still unclear: "Al… Emrys! Coward!!!"
But this time, it didn't seem to be just one person's voice!
From that extremely blurry sound, besides 'Gawain's' voice, there seemed to be another person's voice!
But the situation did not allow Emrys to ponder.
Thud!
The ground suddenly shook, cracking inch by inch.
As the vast dust spread like a surging wave, that unfortunate thing, clearly blessed by 'Khorne', charged towards Emrys at an astonishing speed.
Rumble!
The ruins in front were directly shattered!
Along the way, neither the surrounding laser guns nor the cluster grenades could change the path of that 'Khorne Chosen'; it seemed to have only targeted Emrys, completely ignoring everyone else!
Whoosh!
A fierce storm, carrying a blood-red axe blade, slashed out!
life and death, in an instant!
In less than 0.1 seconds, Emrys made the most appropriate judgment from countless choices!
Psionic… burst!
All-out psionic power, like millions of tons of impact force, was concentrated into a single point, slamming hard into the 'monster's' body, forcefully creating a slight opening!
Taking advantage of the 'monster' losing its balance, and the giant axe slashing past him, Emrys executed a clumsy roll, directly escaping the attack range.
Rumble!!!
But, after the axe blade fell, it immediately pulverized the entire street, and even the ruins and cover behind it!
Heaven knows how much power was in that axe blow!
Emrys was forcefully pushed back several meters by the surging shockwave, and he looked up at the 'Khorne Chosen' with shocked eyes!
Oh my, what to do about this thing?
With Khorne's blessing, plus Chaos sorcery, this guy could completely sweep the entire battlefield by himself!
But unfortunately, he was targeted!
In a way, it also relieved at least ninety percent of the pressure on the Planetary Defense Force; otherwise, if it were thrown onto the front lines, it could punch through the entire defense line in minutes!
Emrys was in misery, chased with his head in his hands!
No matter if that thing was a Khorne Chosen, a Khorne Champion, or some other random Khorne thing, it was clearly not something he could withstand!
This thing's opponent should be an Astartes, an Angel of the Emperor, not a scavenger picking up trash in a hive city!
"Look at me—coward!"
The 'monster' dragged its huge Hammer Skulls, its body surrounded by a thick blood-red glow, as if countless souls were wailing and screaming: "In the name of the Blood God, witnessed by the exalted Brass Throne… I will chop off your head and offer it to lord!"
"…Why does that sound so familiar?"
Emrys' mouth twitched, and a terrible thought suddenly popped into his head: "Could it be… that it's retaliating against me for constantly calling Urien a coward when I killed him?"
In an instant, cold sweat poured down him!
No, Khorne holds grudges?!
The dignified Five… Four Chaos Gods of the Warp, the Blood God known for brutality, would he really bother with a mere human like him?
And even send a blessed champion? Isn't this pure bullying?
Emperor, save me—!