What Khorne?
Get lost, I'm not believing it anymore!
In an instant, the World-Eater Haarken, who had come to a realization, suddenly felt the world broaden, as if even the air had become much fresher.
That's right, he came to seize Vigilus, to prove his strength to Warmaster Barton, not to be tested by anyone. What does it matter to him who 'Khorne' favors?
Triple blessings... The World-Eater Haarken watched Merlin, who was enveloped in bloodlust so thick it seemed to drip blood, and sneered inwardly: "You want to take my life to make him your pawn? Dream on!"
Although they are Chaos Marines, to put it plainly, to some extent, they are more like a cooperative relationship, far less fanatical than the Imperium!
What faith or no faith, since you reneged first, don't blame him.
Whose life isn't a life?
Besides, Haarken didn't think that if he was killed here, he could be resurrected later.
That's a privilege only top-tier Greater Daemons enjoy. He, a mere Chaos Lord, shouldn't even dream of it!
"Stop fighting!"
The World-Eater Haarken suddenly retreated a few steps, panting heavily, and looked at Merlin: "Your current state still has room for recovery... I have a suggestion, why don't you listen first?"
Merlin, who was about to raise his blade, was suddenly stopped by these words and froze in place: "What do you mean?"
He was desperately suppressing his rage, trying to avoid completely falling into Chaos and becoming a puppet controlled by the desire for slaughter, but as Haarken said, this was already his limit!
If he continued, he couldn't guarantee whether the 'trump card' he had specifically reserved would allow him to regain his clarity at the last moment!
"What exactly do you want?" Haarken saw that he was willing to listen, and his tense mood immediately relaxed considerably. He slowly said, "I'll tell you straight, anyway, no one else will hear it here!"
Merlin suppressed the rising rage, his pupils bloody red, and said in a hoarse voice: "If you talk any more nonsense, I'll chop off your head, believe it or not?"
It already took a great deal of mental effort for him to suppress his rage and listen to Haarken.
"Okay, I'll try to be brief." Haarken's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the guy's current state was like a string that could snap at any moment, so he hurriedly said, "I can give you what you want, in exchange... you spare my life, how about it?!"
"How can I be sure you won't go back on your word once you're out?!" Merlin sneered.
If he let him go, and then he went back on his word, facing thousands of Chaos Space Marines, even if he didn't want to fall into Chaos... he probably wouldn't get his wish!
"I can swear!"
Haarken was clearly really anxious, desperate for a solution.
"Do you think I can trust you?" Merlin's mouth twitched, he gripped his saber tightly, and a hint of impatience appeared on his face: "I think it's better to just kill you. That's safer!"
"Don't!"
Haarken immediately shouted, fine cold sweat seeping from his bald head: "You swear, you swear to let me go, and I'll immediately have everyone withdraw. You want Siluria, right? I can go somewhere else!"
Vigilus is so big, who said it had to be Siluria?
If worst comes to worst, he could pick on the weak!
"Are you serious?" Merlin frowned deeply, his eyes still burning with rage. After a very difficult moment of thought, he nodded and said, "Alright, I swear in the name of the Emperor, as long as you leave Siluria, I will spare you!"
Fighting until now, it was indeed as Haarken said, he was already at the limit of his will, there was no need to drag it out any further!
"Good!"
Haarken no longer hesitated and gave the retreat signal.
Mainly, he didn't believe that anyone would dare to swear in the name of the Emperor and then break their oath!
Soon, Merlin, through the bloody curtain, saw the Chaos Raptor warband outside retreating at an extremely fast speed, with only a dozen personal guards remaining.
"This should be enough, right?" Haarken asked, and as if to prove it, he added, "I've already ordered the entire army to withdraw. This should be fine, right?"
"Wait" Merlin looked towards the hive city, waiting for the Chaos warriors inside to withdraw.
Only when he saw the Hell Drakes and Chaos Raptors warbands all withdrawing from the hive city and boarding their fighter jets, did he nod: "Good, you are indeed a trustworthy person!"
"Now it's your turn!"
Haarken watched him nervously, despite having the 'Emperor' as a guarantee, he was still a little worried.
"But how do I know that after your men withdraw, they won't come back?" Merlin's eyes were dark, gripping his saber, he looked at him with an undeniable threat.
"Then how can you trust me?" Haarken was truly at his wit's end. If he didn't have a bald head, he would have torn out handfuls of hair by now!
"Have your Chaos Raptor warband throw down all their equipment and weapons!" Merlin looked at him coldly, making an outrageous demand: "Disarm, and then I can believe you pose no threat of returning!"
However, for Haarken, even though this demand was almost an insult, if he wanted to live... he had no other choice!
"Good!"
Finally, after a moment of thought, Haarken agreed to this seemingly impossible condition: "Everyone, throw all weapons and equipment onto the ground!"
My goodness, he actually agreed?!
Merlin originally intended to cause trouble, with the idea of asking for an exorbitant price and then settling for less, which was why he proposed a seemingly impossible demand to Haarken!
But who knew, this guy actually agreed to it just to stay alive!
Watching the equipment being thrown from the Chaos fighter jets like raindrops, a thought suddenly popped into Merlin's mind.
It seemed he was about to get rich!
This was the equipment of an entire Space Marine warband, armed to the teeth!
"Now, can you let me go?" Haarken bit his teeth, his heart aching, but he had no choice. Anyway, if the equipment was gone, he could always plunder more, but if his life was gone... it would be gone forever!
"Good!"
Merlin immediately nodded, throwing the blood-flame burning saber directly into his personal space.
Deprived of his source of power, he suddenly felt his whole body in excruciating pain, and the blood-colored curtain shrouding the sky gradually faded away!
But, whether it was an illusion or not, as the bloody curtain faded, he seemed to hear an angry roar!
After the curtain dispersed, the World-Eater Haarken watched Merlin with a grim expression, and said coldly: "This time, I've suffered a loss, but the next time we meet... I promise, I'll chop off your head!"
Before leaving, he still didn't forget to utter threats.
But Merlin was too lazy to argue with him. He mustered his last ounce of strength, looked at the direction the World-Eater Haarken fled, and sneered: "I'm sorry... I never intended to keep my promise from the very beginning!"
What about believing or not believing in the Emperor? He was the 'Chosen' personally certified by the Yellow-skin. Surely, the Emperor wouldn't mind this small matter of breaking a promise, right?
The next moment, he summoned the 'Singing Spear', injected the last of his psychic energy into it, and hurled it out: "Go! This is my farewell gift to you!"
Whoosh—!!!
Singing Spear streaked across the sky like a meteor, trailing a dazzling path, carving a blazing arc, its target clear: to pierce the unsuspecting Haarken!
"???"
Haarken never expected this guy to be so 'shameless'!
He swore in the Emperor's name right in front of him, only to turn around and launch a sneak attack from behind. He was even more shameless than their Chaos!
Treating an oath like a fart, so despicable!
"Ah ah ah ah"
Nailed to the ground by a spear, the heavily wounded Haarken glared at Emrys with furious eyes, as if to engrave that face into his heart!
"Emrys—!!!"
His entire face seemed twisted, muscles contorted in a grimace, his resentful, enraged gaze as if he wanted to devour Emrys alive: "I've remembered your face... you despicable bastard, next time we meet, I will chop off your head!!!"
"Ha, haha"
Emrys, struggling for breath, pulled at the corners of his mouth, revealing a wanton smile: "I'll return the same words to you, next time we meet... I'll chop you to death!"
He hadn't forgotten being nailed to a wall by a spear; now, at most, he had just returned the favor!
The only pity was that he couldn't wring out any more strength, otherwise, he would have aimed for Haarken's head and blasted him directly!
As for the oath?
What oath? Did anyone hear it?
If no one heard it, then it was just a fart. Anyway, the Emperor, he figured, wouldn't mind!
In the end, Haarken still fled. He didn't have the courage to fight again, as he knew very well that if he truly fought to the death, he would be the one to die a hundred percent!
The reason, too, was simple!
With the referee clearly biased, what was the point of him fighting?
Perhaps if he lingered a bit longer, this kid would 'ascend to daemonhood' on the spot!
Filled with resentment, Haarken was carried onto a Chaos transport by his personal guard, effectively announcing their withdrawal from Siluria.
Finally, he left... Emrys watched the departing transport, the taut string in him suddenly relaxing.
His situation, however, was considerably worse. Having exhausted his last bit of psychic energy to throw the 'Spear of Canticles,' he stumbled and half-knelt.
The 'Daemon Weapon' could indeed grant him immense power, even allowing him to practically grind Haarken, a veteran of a hundred battles, into the ground. But in return, the side effects were also extreme!
Firstly, his mind was plunged into a state of extreme emptiness and weakness. Secondly, his physical injuries—there wasn't a single spot that didn't ache!
The intense pain, which had been temporarily suppressed by his frenzied, enraged mental state, finally surged back, accompanied by the return of his sanity, accumulated fatigue, and everything else!
'Living to die' could indeed allow Emrys to unleash unimaginable power in a near-death state, but it wasn't without a price!
His injuries hadn't been healed; they were merely suppressed temporarily. But once that state ended, they all erupted at once!
"Pfft!"
Emrys spat out a pool of blood mixed with shattered internal organs. His vision seemed veiled in crimson, and even speaking became extremely difficult.
Multiple severe muscle tears, damaged internal organs, all ribs broken, shattered arm bones, etc... In 'Tremendous Reverence's' diagnostic mode, almost his entire body was intact, looking like a tattered rag doll!
"Warning! Warning!"
"Emergency life support system activated, adrenaline injected. Please, user, seek immediate medical attention!"
The bio-core armor began injecting Emrys with painkillers, adrenaline, and other medications, and started repairing the wound on his chest, stemming the bleeding, and other tasks.
With the injection of the medication, Emrys finally caught his breath and barely regained some strength: "Traveler, trans...verse!"
Swish!
He suddenly vanished from his spot.
But then, within a minute, Emrys returned. Although it was only a brief minute, in other Worlds, it was a full fifty minutes!
These crucial fifty minutes allowed him to urgently treat his wounds and seize the opportunity to recover some stamina, finally escaping the most dangerous period!
Emrys swayed, barely steadying himself, then gripped the 'Spear of Canticles' and cast his gaze towards the Siluria hive city: "Wait for me a little longer, I'll be there... to save you all right away!"
The war continued!
Without the Chaos Raptor warband, only one enemy was reduced, but don't forget... there was also the even more powerful genestealer Cult!
...
Siluria hive city.
Large numbers of genestealers, emerging from pre-dug tunnels, successfully surged into the core urban area.
Their target was very clear: the 'Annihilation Torpedoes' located in the forge factory warehouse. And Drayne, as the highest Archmagos, was well aware of the importance of this weapon!
Once the genestealers seized the 'Annihilation Torpedoes,' they would use them to destroy the 'God-Machine' located within the forge factory!
That Warlord-class Titan, the 'Dominus Tyrant,' was a crucial 'asset' of Stygies VIII!
It was also the greatest weapon protecting the 'Vigilus,' and absolutely could not fall into the hands of Chaos or those lowly infected.
So, some might ask, if a Titan is so powerful, why isn't it deployed?
Drayne had actually wanted to do this for a long time, but the problem was there were no orders!
Given his position, although he could, in an emergency, disregard whether there was an order from the Forge Archmagos and forcibly send this 'Dominus Tyrant' into battle!
But he didn't dare!
One must know, Titans were not 'invincible,' nor was it possible that simply by deploying a Titan, all problems would be solved.
You have a Titan, does that mean the enemy has no counter-measures?
Don't be silly. With a rebellion of this scale, how could Drayne be sure that the enemy hadn't prepared in advance how to deal with a Titan?
Moreover, from Drayne' perspective, he already knew that the targets of both Chaos and the genestealers were this 'Dominus Tyrant.'
It's just that Chaos' goal was corruption, and the genestealers' goal was destruction. So, the question arises, do you dare to gamble?
If the Titan is deployed, what if it plays right into the enemy's hands?
Every Titan is the most precious God-Construct of the Imperium and even the Mechanicus, a miracle of the Omnissiah.
Although he was an Archmagos, he could not bear this responsibility.
Therefore, even if he had to defend until the last moment, as long as it wasn't completely overrun, he would continue to defend, even if, in the end, the 'Titan' was destroyed!
Those who understand politics will understand this point: whether there is an order is very important!
If you act on your own initiative, even if you win, you might not end up well. But if something goes wrong, at the very least, it will be dealt with severely!
Given the internal struggles within Stygies VIII, Drayne had no doubt that if he sent the 'Dominus Tyrant' into battle, regardless of whether they won in the end, he would be saddled with a black pot!
But, suddenly!
Drayne realized something was wrong. Why had all the Chaos forces withdrawn?
The Chaos Raptor warband, which had been besieging the forge factory, seemed to have received some order, retreating in an orderly fashion, boarding transports, and then abandoning a large amount of weapons and equipment.
Could it be... him?
Drayne seemed to sense something, casting his gaze towards the chaotic battlefield. The area that had just been shrouded in a blood-red curtain. His intuition told Drayne that Chaos' strange behavior must be related to that kid!
Aside from that kid, he really couldn't think of anyone else who could have done such a thing!
First the 'Iron Men Legion,' then the sudden appearance of a large number of legions, and then the blood-red curtain. A series of 'strange' events happening outside the Siluria hive city were all inextricably linked to that kid!
But from another perspective, this also significantly reduced the defensive pressure on Siluria!
Without the pressure of the Chaos Raptor warband, Drayne could now focus all his attention on dealing with the genestealers!
Thinking of this, Drayne' spirits immediately lifted considerably, like someone sitting up in bed, startled from a deathly illness: "Quick, quick, notify the 'Ecclesiarchy,' it's time to counterattack!"