Wait, wait—Emrys had a flash of inspiration, suddenly remembering the item he saw at the shadow Dome Council when Lloyd first brought him here!
"The Covenant of Flesh—"
He still remembered that the effect of that 'Chaos Artifact' was to absorb the user's blood and customize seven different diseases and plagues!
Could it be that the diseases and plagues spreading here came from that 'Chaos Artifact'?!
"I probably know the origin of this thing now—" Emrys looked back at this moment and found that, except for him and Ilia, everyone else in the team had been infected with the 'virus'.
Even the bodies of the Space Marines, after nineteen inhumane modification surgeries, had long completed the threshold from human to demigod, but in the face of the 'Father of Plagues Nurgle's' virus, they were still no different from mortals!
At most—they could resist for a little longer!
Realizing they were infected with the virus, the Captain of the First Company immediately had all the Dark Angels move away from Emrys and Ilia, creating a gap.
Up until now, they still hadn't figured out how the virus was transmitted!
Air?
No, it was definitely not air, every Space Marine wore a helmet with a built-in filter, so air transmission was ruled out.
And the later infected Dark Angel also proved that the virus was not transmitted through contact, blood, or other means.
Then the only remaining possibility was that the virus' transmission method might be beyond human imagination, and even broke through the rules of the material universe!
"Lord Emrys!" The Captain made a judgment in an instant, his gaze firm as he looked at Emrys.
"Next, I will lead them to get you out before the virus completely corrupts us!"
This was the best solution based on the current situation!
No matter what, they couldn't let Emrys venture deeper; the virus here was too strange, otherwise, if anything went wrong, their "Fallen Angels" would never find salvation!
"No."
Unexpectedly, Emrys immediately rejected his proposal, his gaze calm and steady, as he looked towards the temple deep in the thick fog and said.
"Keep going forward, I probably already know the source of this virus."
"No, Lord Emrys!" The Captain let out a heavy cough and spoke again.
"Now your safety is the top priority, we absolutely cannot let you take risks!"
After all, if Emrys died, they would truly be finished!
Emrys was about to speak, but felt an itch in his throat and couldn't help but cough.
"Cough cough—"
"It's over—" The Captain's pupils contracted sharply; even Emrys was infected. He couldn't imagine how the Chapter master would view them after knowing this!
To the Dark Angels, this was simply a disgrace!
"Heh—" However, Emrys, infected with the virus, was not so flustered, letting out a light chuckle.
"It seems there's no need to argue now. We only have one path left, and that is to find the source of the virus and deal with it."
But there was still a question worth pondering.
Initially, Aldrich was infected, followed by the Dark Angel who had contact with him.
Then, despite their vigilance, all the Dark Angels were suddenly infected with the virus, with only him and Ilia remaining unharmed.
And after that, it was him.
Ilia could still be explained; after all, she was a 'Soulless One', extremely resistant to the Warp, and even biological viruses, with that ancient armor, should find it very difficult to infect a Silent sister.
So the question arose, virus infection should not distinguish between sequence, if according to normal circumstances,
he should have been infected at the same time as the Dark Angels!
But the symptoms had a sequence, which meant there was still some detail he hadn't noticed!
What detail could it be?
Emrys pondered hard, what was the difference between him and the infected Dark Angels.
As he pondered, his gaze subconsciously drifted towards Ilia, and a guess immediately formed in his mind.
"That's right, it's you!" Emrys' eyes lit up, and he turned to look at Ilia.
The only difference between him and the Dark Angels was that he was always by Ilia's side, and the Soulless One's domain was the bane of Warp Chaos Magic!
But because the Soulless One's domain would naturally repel normal people and make psykers instinctively keep their distance, this led to Emrys also being infected by the virus.
However, he was also fortunate that with Ilia, the Silent sister, by his side, the onset of the virus in his body was greatly delayed!
Thinking of this, Emrys immediately said.
"Ilia, from now on, regardless of our wishes,
expand your domain as much as possible!"
If his guess was correct, then as long as Ilia was there, she could curb the onset of the virus in their bodies!
"Understood!"
Ilia held her breath and concentrated, extending her Soulless One domain as far as possible!
Nausea, dizziness, and a feeling of the world spinning immediately enveloped him; the scenery before his eyes seemed to blur!
Furthermore, a sense of powerlessness from the depths of his soul made Emrys' legs weak, as if he had been 'drained', finding it difficult even to stand.
The foul odor, mixed with an intrinsic revulsion, almost broke through Emrys' psychological defense, making his face contort as he strongly endured the psychological discomfort.
"From now on, try not to stray too far from—her."
The Soulless One's domain affected him far more than Emrys had imagined!
His soul even showed signs of being devoured, as if falling into an abyss, and at this moment, Ilia, in his eyes, was like a high-powered vacuum cleaner, repelling all surrounding psychic and Warp power, forming an area akin to a 'vacuum'!
Even the battle-hardened Dark Angels, when enveloped by Ilia's domain, inevitably showed expressions of disdain and disgust.
But fortunately, there was no Librarian in this team, otherwise, there would probably be sharp screeches by now.
The Captain took a deep breath.
"Lord Emrys, we will carve a path for you before we are completely infected and fall into Chaos!"
Although Ilia had tried her best to make the Soulless One's domain cover as many people as possible, her individual strength was ultimately limited, and a portion of the Dark Angels were still not covered by the domain.
"Fifth Squad, you are responsible for clearing the path ahead." The Captain decisively issued the order, having the warriors with lighter symptoms stand inside, and those with heavier symptoms voluntarily leave the domain to clear the way ahead.
This was a necessary choice!
Those 'abandoned' warriors stepped out of the domain without hesitation, silently clearing the path ahead amidst the terrifying and painful sight of their flesh melting little by little and repulsive rotten flesh oozing from the gaps in their armor.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Every few minutes, Reinhardt and the Dark Angels on the periphery would use their bolt guns to execute their comrades outside the domain who had already been corrupted by the virus.
Each gunshot represented the loss of a close comrade with whom they had once fought side by side!
Finally, in the vast mist, they found a decaying temple, where the scene inside was like a blooming garden.
However, while flowers bloomed in a garden, what bloomed in this decaying temple were—rotting, nauseating patches of flesh, and spores symbolizing viruses and plagues!
Rather than a "Temple," this place was more like a dilapidated, decaying manor!
Setting aside the disgusting "filter," one could vaguely discern that this was once a manor belonging to an imperial noble.
At a glance, it was roughly divided into a main hall, courtyard, and greenhouse, but now, due to the influence of 'Nurgle,' it had transformed into a disgusting "garden"!
Green pus oozed from the decaying vegetation visible everywhere, and strange, twisted trees were laden with abundant fruit.
The skin of the fruit was bumpy and covered in ugly warts; some, overripe, even exuded a golden-yellow, honey-like viscous liquid, emitting an alluring fragrance!
"Be careful—" Iliana looked at the corrupt main hall, overgrown with vines, deep within the garden, and said in a deep voice, "I can feel a very strong Chaotic psychic energy in there!"
"You go first." Emrys also sensed the terrifying tremor emanating from the corrupt main hall. Clearly, the mastermind and true culprit were hiding within that decayed main hall!
Iliana drew her Executioner's Greatsword and cautiously scouted ahead for everyone. As a sister of Silence, she could never be corrupted by Chaos; this was her sole advantage.
Waaah—!
The moment she stepped on the rotting garden soil, the ground beneath her feet seemed to come alive, emitting a sharp, piercing shriek, like a crying infant!
Yellow-green pus seeped from the decaying soil under the pressure of her foot. Numerous spore-encased, infant-like creatures, visible to the naked eye, shrieked and frantically moved away from Iliana.
Swish, swish, swish!
Iliana's sword rose and fell, swiftly and cleanly dispatching the scattered spores.
These were likely 'Nurglings' that had not fully formed yet—small daemons in Nurgle's legions.
They resembled rotting infants, moved in groups, would gnaw on enemy flesh, and simultaneously spread plague and disease.
The Dark Angels behind her also assisted Iliana in clearing away the disgusting 'Nurglings'.
Once the initial clearing was done, Emrys stepped into the garden. The soft, decaying sensation under his feet was like stepping into mud, coupled with the seeping yellow-green pus and piercing screams, which greatly annoyed him.
"Are you alright, Lord Emrys?"
The Captain, seeing his reaction, quickly inquired.
"I'm fine, let's keep going." Emrys held his breath and followed the others.
After passing through the garden filled with decaying vegetation, the next sight that greeted them was the lake in the center of the garden.
The original statue in the center of the lake had long been destroyed, replaced by Nurgle's three-ringed symbol.
The once clear lake water had also turned into a viscous green broth, even boiling and bubbling, with countless swollen corpses floating within!
Those bodies wore luxurious attire; they must have been nobles in life.
However, these nobles, steeped in the viscous broth, had bodies that were already bloated and distended, like numerous "giant cadavers," a shocking sight!
But what was even more distressing was that these bloated, "giant-like" corpses were covered in white maggots.
Especially the sight of these plump, densely packed maggots continuously crawling out of the corpses' eye sockets and decaying flesh, was like a lightning bolt striking Emrys' mind!
Damn, that's truly disgusting!
Emrys watched, his stomach churning, almost to the point of vomiting.
He secretly vowed that if he ever encountered Nurgle again, he would absolutely turn and run without a moment's hesitation!
"It really is Nurgle…" It had all been speculation before, but upon seeing the mark in the center of the lake, Emrys finally confirmed it.
This was Nurgle's 'domain'!
What a Lloyd; he truly mastered the art of feigning one thing while doing another!
On the surface, he worshipped 'Vashtorr the Arkifane,' peddling soul-bound daemonforged armor. But in reality, he secretly pledged allegiance to 'Nurgle, the Plague Father,' behind everyone's back. He truly lived up to his reputation as a cunning old fox!
"Keep going, ignore that thing." Emrys stopped Iliana from trying to destroy the mark. "Our target isn't it, but the person in the main hall."
He said this also considering that destroying the mark might attract unnecessary trouble.
Seeing him say so, Iliana could only agree.
From the lake, they ventured deeper into a flower path that led directly to the dilapidated main hall overgrown with vines.
But the deeper they went, the stronger the peculiar odor permeating the air became.
Even Iliana, a sister of Silence, with her null-zone, couldn't block the sweet yet disgusting smell, a mix of decay and honey, from assaulting their nostrils. This was a dual test of both physiology and psychology!
"Are you alright?" Noticing Iliana's heavier breathing, Emrys asked with concern.
After all, everyone's lives now depended on Iliana.
If it weren't for Iliana's null-zone shielding them from Nurgle's plague in this garden and delaying everyone's symptoms, they would probably have been wiped out by now, let alone ventured deeper into the garden!
"It's alright, I… I can still hold on!"
Iliana gripped her Executioner's Greatsword tightly, her gaze resolute. "I am a warrior of the God-Emperor, a sister of Silence… I will never fall here!"
"Good, speed up!" Emrys urged everyone to quicken their pace. He knew that maintaining such a large-scale null-zone for an extended period was a tremendous burden on Iliana!
They passed through the flower path and reached the dilapidated main hall, enveloped in vines.
The brass doors of the main hall were also branded with Nurgle's three-ringed symbol, and the doorknob was a shriveled mummified hand. Hollowed-out human skulls were embedded in the massive door, with petals resembling fly compound eyes blooming in their eye sockets.
Emrys couldn't help but exclaim again, "That's truly disgusting!"
Being "Stared at" by hundreds, even thousands, of skulls with petals like fly compound eyes in their sockets would make anyone feel utterly uncomfortable.
Iliana swung her sword, severing the doorknob, and Reinhardt followed suit, blasting the door open with a cannon.
The empty, dilapidated main hall was revealed before them. A creature, four to five meters tall, like a giant, sat in the center of the main hall.
Upon closer inspection, Emrys was startled, barely recognizing that it was 'Count Lloyd'!
However, he had now transformed into a different appearance, his entire body bloated and decayed like a swollen corpse.
His face had only one murky eye and a grotesque smile that split to his ears, dressed in a decaying crimson velvet robe, like a master greeting distant guests, holding aloft a golden chalice filled with pus.
"You have finally arrived."
Lloyd moved his massive and bloated body, his murky single eye casting a gaze. "I have been waiting for you for a long time, Mister Charles."
"Oh, isn't this Lloyd?" The gaze from that single eye contained a nauseating aura, making Emrys frown and sneer. "How come after a few days, you've turned into this neither human nor ghost-like appearance?"
"Wrong, now you should address me as… Count Rottenroot!"
Lloyd watched Emrys with a gloomy gaze, returning a sneer. "I have received Eternity from the great Father, and very soon… this Eternal Garden will cover the entire Wandering Port. My people, my family, will all become part of Eternity!"
Inside the dilapidated main hall, the pillars in the four corners were covered with vines, hanging with tumor-like flower buds, from which honey-golden pus flowed.
Count Rottenroot, or rather, Lloyd, had almost lost his human form, and even his soul had completely fallen into chaos, becoming a minion of the Warp God, Nurgle, the Father of Plagues!
"Is this your plan?" Emrys subtly gestured for everyone not to act rashly.
Given Lloyd's cunning personality, he would never appear in their sight without any precautions.
In other words, there must be some other conspiracy in this dilapidated main hall located in 'Nurgle's Garden'.
His gaze roamed back and forth in the main hall, trying to find something hidden in the dark, while provoking it with words.
"What good does it do you to turn Wandering Port into a disgusting 'cesspit'?"
"Hmph, what do you know?" Lloyd — no, it should be called 'Count Rottenroot' now.
Facing Emrys' mockery, he just sneered.
"Everything has a day to decay, even the Emperor you believe in, hasn't he also become a piece of rotten flesh under the erosion of tens of thousands of years? "
His bloated and fat, pus-filled, giant mountain of flesh-like, disgusting body, trembled with his sneer, his pale rotten flesh on his abdomen quivering, looking extremely nauseating.
"You mock my ugly appearance, but how can you understand the joy of 'Eternity' bestowed upon me by the Benevolent Father?!" Count Rottenroot's tone was full of pride, as he shook the holy grail in his hand, filled with green thick soup, from which a foul smell emanated, attracting a swarm of flies, buzzing.
To some extent, Count Rottenroot had indeed achieved 'immortality'.
Only — it was coexisting with viruses and bacteria!
"If I'm not mistaken, in order to become like this, the entire Fernando family must have become your stepping stone." Emrys sneered.
"I'm very curious, didn't you always talk about family and honor? Can a family with only one person still be considered a family?"
Seeking blessings from the Chaos God, the more powerful the blessing, the greater the price!
Although the 'Benevolent Father' has always had a good reputation in the Warp, and can certainly be called responsive to all requests, to be like Lloyd, almost completely 'corrupted', his body almost indistinguishable from a 'daemon', and still able to create such a large 'Nurgle's Garden', the price paid must have been considerable!
And it was only then that he realized.
Along the way, not a single living person was seen in the entire Fernando family, and in the garden lake, the swollen bodies of noble households were probably all the living people of Fernando, who had become his sacrifices!
This sentence seemed to hit Count Rottenroot's sore spot, and the atmosphere in the main hall immediately dropped to freezing point, and the swarm of flies surrounding his bloated body also made sounds of unease and fear!
Ilia quietly tightened her greatsword of execution, her gaze firmly fixed on Count Rottenroot, her muscles tense, and her nerves stretched taut.
Once the opponent made any move, her greatsword would definitely be swung out at the first moment!
However, Count Rottenroot just let out a loud laugh, his rotten flesh trembling, which suddenly eased the stiff atmosphere.
"Hahahaha — you're right, a family with only one person cannot be considered a 'family'."
"But —" Count Rottenroot leaned forward, his bloated fat piled up, squeezing out foul rotten liquid from the sores.
"As long as I to live, the Fernando family is still here, and when I spread the 'Garden' throughout Wandering Port,
I will achieve true eternal life, and by then — family? Hahaha, with a little time, I can rebuild the Fernando family!"
"Stop being shameless, Lloyd." Emrys' words shattered his fantasy.
"It was you, you yourself destroyed the Fernando family with your own hands. What eternal life, what rebuilding, are all just excuses you made for yourself, hypocritical!"
"Heh, you're right."
Count Rottenroot stared at him sinisterly.
"But isn't this all thanks to you, Lord Merlin Emrys, the heir of Merlin?!"
"Oh?"
Emrys raised an eyebrow, but felt no surprise in his heart, just looked at him.
"You exposed yourself so quickly, I'm very curious, how did you know my identity?"
Count Rottenroot sat up straight again and sneered.
"That's thanks to my good granddaughter — if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have known that the foolish offspring of the foolish Aquius family was actually the heir of Merlin!"
It seems that she is probably in dire straits.
Everyone in the Fernando family was sacrificed to 'Nurgle' by the insane Lloyd, and there was no shortage of a traitor who betrayed the family.
"What a pity"
Emrys did not feel sad for her sacrifice, just a little regret.
Such an excellent talent, with resilient and enduring character, if well cultivated, would have been a rare asset in the future, but she died just like that.
"Heh, you don't need to pity her."
Count Rottenroot opened his mouth and took a sip of the green thick soup in the golden holy grail. His body seemed to rot more severely, and carrion insects crawled out of the holes in his face, looking hideous and terrifying.
"Boy of the Emrys family,
You should be glad that if it weren't for that damned inquisitor messing up my plans, you and the entire Wandering Port would have unknowingly become fertilizer for the 'Eternal Garden'!"
"You deliberately waited for us here, you shouldn't be trying to tell us these things, right?" Emrys looked at him. Since he had learned almost everything he wanted to know, there was no need to pretend anymore.
He knew very well that the other party was stalling for time.
But, wasn't he also?
"Of course not." Count Rottenroot stared at Emrys greedily, his fat, thick tongue licking the maggots crawling on his face.
"I'm waiting for you, Merlin Emrys, the one who promised – as long as you are sacrificed to him, I can be promoted to a 'daemon'!"
"It seems there's nothing more to talk about—"
Emrys tilted his head, looking at Count Rottenroot, who was still immersed in his beautiful fantasy, and suddenly waved his hand down.
"Don't worry, you won't wait for that moment. I'll burn you to ashes and send you back to the Warp, to stay in that cesspit forever."
"You ignorant fool!"
Count Rottenroot's face suddenly darkened, his gaze deep and cold, and a hint of abomination and twisting appeared on his maggot-infested face, like rotten flesh.
"Originally, I wanted to let you to live a few more minutes, to witness the success of my great plan. Since you insist on seeking death – I will send you first, to see the rotten flesh on the Golden Throne!"
With that, he slowly poured the green thick soup from the golden holy grail onto the ground.
The originally decayed ground and the vines covering the main hall seemed to be awakened. The soil rolled and surged, and one after another, servants covered in maggots, with pale skin and festering flesh, crawled out of the rolling soil, wailing!
And the surrounding noble armor, with sores and rotten flesh growing inside, rotten liquid flowing from the gaps, moved stiffly, surrounding them!
Amidst cries like those of infants, rotten infants with wings flew down, their faces hideous!
Even more terrifying, where the thick soup from the golden cup touched, huge and lush tree daemons grew,
Waving their thick branches, they freely and wantonly sprayed highly poisonous thick fog and corrosive liquid!
And Count Rottenroot, sitting on a chair made of human bones and rusty iron, wrapped in rotten flesh, holding the golden cup bestowed upon him by the 'Benevolent Father', watched Emrys, who was surrounded, with a sinister gaze.
"You all just perform a desperate show for me, and offer blessings for my impending eternal life!"
"Wow — so many people!"
Emrys took half a step back in feigned terror, then wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Phew~ good thing my people aren't weak either!"
The next moment, the entire garden was on fire!
Wailing and distorted screams echoed in the garden outside the main hall, and golden flames, containing the wrath from the God-Emperor, ignited his 'Eternal Garden'!
Immediately after, the main hall's door was shattered by a sword, and a silhouette wrapped in golden light, stepping on the wailing and burning rotten earth, threw a fat, rotten head inside!
It was the head of a 'Rotten Lord', which rolled in with a gurgling sound and stopped at Count Rottenroot's feet.
In his shocked and stunned gaze, the person burning with golden light, with his blade resting diagonally on the ground, his gaze cold.
"What, have you forgotten so quickly how the garden was burned last time?"
Rottenroot looked at the burning garden, feeling as if his soul was shattering.
This was a 'blessing' he had painstakingly obtained from 'Father' by sacrificing his entire clan, tens of thousands of people! He had been counting on the viruses and plagues of the 'Eternity Garden' to spread across the entire Wanderer's Port, becoming the fertile ground for his own eternal life!
But now?
The fertile ground for eternal life hadn't even had a chance to spread before someone set it on fire!
It's easy to imagine how terrible Rottenroot's mood was right now. One could tell from his gradually reddening eyes and trembling body.
"It's gone—my Eternity Garden, it's gone——"
Rottenroot's lips trembled, his mind completely shut down. He didn't understand why. This was a 'Garden' bestowed by Father, how could it be burned so easily?
This wasn't an ordinary 'Garden' that could be lit with a single fire. This was a Garden imbued with Father's power, a breeding ground for plague and virus. What exactly was that golden flame?!
Just as Rottenroot was in a daze, Emrys, facing the beautiful figure enveloped in golden light, enthusiastically waved.
"Hi~ Winnie!"
Emrys walked over with a warm expression, opening his arms to embrace her.
"I knew you'd come, hahahaha—"
However, what awaited him was a powerful iron fist from an enraged Winnie, striking directly into his abdomen!
That punch almost made Emrys see stars; he even vaguely seemed to see a big golden guy!
Emrys, seeing stars, clutched his stomach and painfully knelt on the ground, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
The surrounding Dark Angels had originally intended to intervene, as Emrys was, after all, their Commander.
But after Winnie glared at them, they immediately and tactfully took a half-step back.
It wasn't out of fear, but rather because they felt the extremely familiar aura on Winnie that they had felt years ago.
The Dark Angels were scared and broke out in cold sweat.
As for Ilia, clutching her execution greatsword, she immediately retreated to a nearby corner, let alone trying to save him.
"I told you not to take risks, but you insisted on taking risks. Do you even take my words to heart?!" Winnie strode up, grabbed his collar, and there was truly fire burning in her golden pupils.
It was clear she was genuinely angry!
"I—I was just trying to help the Imperium."
Meeting Winnie's angry gaze, Emrys inexplicably felt a shiver of fear and stammered.
"Besides, I'm eradicating heretics for the God-Emperor. Even if I don't get credit, I should at least get some recognition for my hard work!"
"Do you know, you almost died!" This was what made Winnie most furious. She tightened her grip on Emrys' collar, and deep within her furious eyes, a hint of worry was concealed.
"This is the Plague Garden. Even a Primarch would easily be infected here, let alone you?!"
"I—I wasn't completely unprepared." Emrys awkwardly twitched his lips, pulled open his clothes, revealing dense golden magic script underneath.
"See~ I was prepared. Even if I got infected, I could use these diseases as a 'trade' and sacrifice them to a certain daemon God."
The first priority in learning magic is to remember the law of transaction. Coincidentally, no matter how powerful Nurgle's plague virus was, he could still trade it to a dimensional daemon God.
Seeing those magic texts, the anger on Winnie's face lessened somewhat.
"That punch of yours was too heavy——" Emrys clutched his abdomen, wincing in pain.
"Heh." Winnie sneered, the fire in her eyes undiminished.
"That punch just now, the God-Emperor told me to hit you for him!"
Damn it, the golden-skinned guy is unreasonable—— Emrys' eye twitched, and he was speechless for a long time, as if he had been struck dumb.
"Ah ah ah!!!"
At this moment, Rottenroot, finally awakening from his broken state, glared at the two who were still 'flirting' in his garden.
"Kill them for me! I will bury their bodies in the soil to become fertilizer for my Garden!"
Hearing the sound, Winnie dropped Emrys and finally turned her gaze to Rottenroot in the main hall.
"Didn't you learn your lesson last time I burned your garden?"
This time, it was Rottenroot's turn to be stunned. Wasn't this garden only burned once?
Emrys, however, knew what Winnie meant by 'last time,' so he leaned over and asked in a low voice.
"The Plague War—you weren't there too, were you?"
However, Winnie did not directly answer his question. She merely held the burning golden longsword, and the rich golden light radiating from her body gradually formed sacred wings behind her!
"This power… no wonder you dared to trespass into my garden alone!" Rottenroot, illuminated by the golden light, let out a painful shriek, a hint of venom on his face.
"This is my domain! What good is it even if you have the power of that rotting flesh?!"
Even if Winnie was a Living Saint, she was ultimately alone. Facing Rottenroot, who had almost ascended to daemonhood, and within his domain, she would definitely not gain much of an advantage.
"The power of one person is ultimately limited, but my plague army is endless!"
From the garden, which was ignited by the flames, countless rotting corpses and swarms of flies suddenly emerged, covering the sky and earth, instantly engulfing them in a heavy encirclement!
Rottenroot sprinkled the thick soup from the holy grail—it was the source of viruses brewed from 'Father's' giant cauldron!
"So what if you're a Living Saint?!" At this moment, Rottenroot had completely fallen into madness.
"This is you walking into a trap. Let me let you taste—this grand gift I've prepared!"
The entire main hall trembled violently, revealing, amidst the shaking, a massive sacrificial ritual hidden beneath the vines covering the floor.
The power of the Warp surged out from within like a torrent, and hideous plague daemon legions, as well as Chaos-aligned Space Marines, poured out endlessly from the gap!
Damn it—— Emrys' pupils contracted sharply. With the sisters of Silence present, the opponent could still tear open the Warp. Nurgle must have invested heavily!
"Sorry—I can't suppress it!" Ilia's mouth was bleeding, and her eyes were bloodshot.
Clearly, she had done her best, but the power of the Warp was too immense, a magnitude that a single sister of Silence simply could not suppress.
"Who said—I was alone?"
Winnie's eyes were cold. Then she raised her burning sword high, and her wings glowed, dispelling the sweeping poisonous mist.
Suddenly, numerous figures emerged from the golden light. They wore black power armor, each exuding a suffocating aura.
Fanatical roars and battle cries, as wild as a beast, the Space Marines in black power armor cast their bloodthirsty and frenzied gazes upon the daemon army opposite.
"For Sanguinius!!!"
Oh, Father, where did this madman come from?!
The Chaos warband, summoned by 'Count Rottenroot', was clearly not the direct 'Death Guard'. From the degree of decay, they were probably 'blessed' not long ago.
The leader of this Chaos warband, originally harboring the thought of gaining some merit shortly after joining Chaos to receive more blessings, responded to 'Count Rottenroot's' summons.
According to their past experience of being summoned for battle, the enemies were usually the local defense forces of hive cities, which were just some PDF, at most with a few Astra Militarum regiments participating, nothing significant.
But this time, they were clearly mistaken.
When they were summoned from the Warp by 'Count Rottenroot' to the material universe, seeing the golden, Angel-like dazzling woman in front of them, and feeling the scorching flame that seemed to burn souls, they all froze in place, their minds blank.
What is this situation? How could even a 'Living Saint', such an over-spec existence, participate in the battle?!
But before they could recover from the shock brought by that 'Living Saint', they saw her point her sword, and dazzling golden light surged like a tide, revealing dozens of Space Marines in pure black livery, wearing white masks, with a single drop of black blood insignia on their foreheads.
What Legion is this?!
Even Fabul, the Commander of the Chaos warband, had never seen such an extremely strange warband. There were no honor marks on their shoulder pads, nor any insignia symbolizing the warband. The only thing that could be considered a decoration was probably that drop of black blood on the forehead of the white mask.
What made them even more uneasy was that those Space Marines in pure black armor did not carry any heavy ranged weapons; their only ranged weapons were the standard bolters.
Moreover, a chain was wrapped around everyone's right arm, and their weapons were uniformly extended double-bladed chainswords, or Thunder Hammers, Power Axes, Power Claws, and other melee-specialized killing weapons!
A chilling atmosphere permeated the main hall!
Until it was broken by the woman enveloped in golden light; she pointed her sword, and the black Legion, which had been silent, seemed to instantly awaken from slumber!
Garrael, the Chalice Bearer, raised the Sanguine Chalice.
"Only death can atone! By the blood of Sanguinius, in the name of Sanguinius, let them pay in blood!!!"
Pay in blood?
Hearing this, Fabul, the Commander of the Chaos warband, was still pondering what blood debt they had, when he saw the black Legion rush towards them like madmen, shouting incomprehensible words!
"For Sanguinius!!!"
"Ah ah ah—Traitor, Horus!!!"
Wait, traitor? Horus?
In an instant, the enraged black Legion became like fierce beasts, enveloped in terrifying killing intent and madness, like an indestructible sharp blade, chilling to the bone!
"Counterattack! Counterattack! Counterattack!"
Although it was a hasty and close-range frontal engagement, this Chaos warband was not flustered.
They had ample confidence that even though they had betrayed the Imperium, they were once elites, and the opponents were also Space Marines; why should they be afraid?
Avoid his edge? Take out the knife!
Isn't it just a head-on clash? Who's afraid of whom!
But soon, Fabul was shocked by the scene before him!
Facing their bolter fire, heavy weapons, and even positions enveloped in deadly toxic fog, those enraged black-armored Space Marines showed no fear whatsoever!
He even saw with his own eyes a black-armored Space Marine, half his body melted by a plasma cannon, writhing like an abomination, still roaring, and in his last moments, he thrust his chainsword into the enemy's chest, forcefully tearing apart the enemy's life!
And such madmen... were countless on the other side!
Even if hit by powerful plasma, as long as they didn't die immediately, what awaited them next was a berserker completely out of control!
Initially, the ranged suppression could barely contain them, but as more and more Death Company warriors charged into the enemy lines, their formation quickly collapsed!
Completely disorganized!
The Sanguinary Angels of the Death Company, one could almost say, had no combat plan whatsoever; pure madness and slaughter brutally suppressed the Nurgle daemon forces!
They didn't care about viruses or plagues at all. Before these things could kill them, they had only one thought in their minds: kill the enemy in front of them first!
The Sanguinary Angels of the Death Company fully displayed the utmost madness in their slaughter!
And soon, Fabul was targeted by Captain Ector of the Death Company. He wielded a Thunder Hammer inscribed with sacred wings, his steps shaking the ground, like a mad bull, knocking away enemies who tried to block his path, charging in ferociously!
"Traitor, damn you!!!"
The massive Thunder Hammer glowed with dazzling brilliance, smashing down with immense force!
Fabul reacted quickly, dodging aside while several bolter rounds slammed into the opponent, even the tough ceramite armor was dented, causing Captain Ector of the Death Company to sway.
But, he only swayed for a moment. As Ector turned, using the rotational force of the Thunder Hammer, he struck Fabul with a fierce and swift blow, and the violently erupting thunderous power directly sent him flying!
"What a heavy hammer." Fabul grimaced in pain, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the thunderous power explode above his head, scaring him into scrambling away, rolling to the side.
Boom!!!
The ground exploded, a deep pit blasted into it!
Failing to hammer the traitor twice in a row made Ector even more furious, as if Horus' abomination-like face appeared in his mind.
"Ah ah ah… Horus, traitor!" he roared furiously. Several Chaos Space Marines nearby tried to ambush him, but he punched them one by one, directly blowing their heads apart!
Is this even human?!
Seeing this scene, Fabul's eyelids twitched wildly.
That was a ceramite helmet, even a bolter could only scratch it, but this guy blew it apart with one punch?!
His last bit of fighting spirit was extinguished by Ector's punch.
Is this a loyalist?!
Fabul stared at these black-armored Space Marines, who, after falling into a frenzy, behaved like madmen, even more Khorne-like than if they had actually pledged to Khorne. He suddenly felt incredibly wronged!
They had pledged to Chaos, but from their performance, these guys clearly looked more like 'Chaos' than they did!
What exactly is the Inquisition doing?!
Fabul cursed inwardly, but he was helpless against these madmen.
Watching his warband brothers being brutally slaughtered by the Death Company one after another, his heart ached, and he finally made a decision that went against 'Father'.
"Retreat!!!"
Yes, Fabul was retreating.
What kind of 'Father' was this? If they continued fighting with these madmen, the entire warband would be wiped out. He joined Nurgle to find a way out for the warband, not to destroy its roots!
Furthermore, the meager blessings given by 'Father' made it difficult for them to fight to the death!
You get what you pay for. Thinking of this, Fabul decisively called his remaining warband brothers, dove into a Warp rift, and fled without looking back.
Whoever wants to come, let them come; they certainly wouldn't!
The Sanguinary Angel's offspring were simply a bunch of madmen. He would secretly go and report them to the Inquisition later!
"F-fled?!"
Emrys had seen Chaos warbands fight to the death, but a fleeing Chaos warband was a first for him.
It showed how terrifying the Sanguinary Angels, consumed by Black Rage and Red Thirst, truly were. Even a Chaos warband, also composed of Space Marines, was scared away by these madmen.
It was just tough for 'Count Rottenroot', who went from being full of confidence to being dumbfounded.
No, there are even deserters from the battle?!
Fabul fled, but Count Rottenroot was in a terrible state; the daemon army he had painstakingly sacrificed to summon was utterly routed in a single exchange of pain, losing their armor and fleeing in disarray.
The remaining Nurgle's Rot, Rot Lords, and others were no match for the already bloodthirsty Angel; in just a few minutes, the army he had painstakingly built, dreaming of ruling Roaming Port, crumbled and turned to dust.
Fast, it was simply too fast!
Even the Dark Angel couldn't help but praise the Angel's killing efficiency.
However, everything has two sides.
Behind the Angel's highly efficient slaughter, the cost was a staggering 40% casualty rate in just one battle, and a significant portion of those would need to be executed by the Blood Priests themselves after the war ended!
The reason was simple: they were deeply afflicted by the Blood Thirst, beyond salvation, and had to be granted the gift of death!
Emrys watched, his heart aching.
These were all veterans, each having served at least two hundred years, with ample combat experience.
They were an invaluable treasure.
To save them, a way had to be found to address the flaws in the Angel's genes, the Blood Thirst and Black Rage that plagued him.
But now was not the time to worry; he could only temporarily hide this thought in his heart and find a solution after this matter was completely resolved.
After most of the enemies were dealt with by the Angel, Emrys' gaze turned to Count Rottenroot, who was seated on a chair made of human bones and rusted iron, and he said lightly, "You've lost."
"Yes, I've lost."
To his slight surprise, Count Rottenroot showed no anger at all in the face of defeat, his tone very calm.
"You don't seem angry?"
Emrys frowned slightly, looking at the calm Count Rottenroot.
"Could it be that you had already anticipated that your plan would fail?"
"No, until a moment ago, I was still convinced I would succeed—" Count Rottenroot looked at him, a complex emotion in his eyes, and sighed deeply.
"It's just that I'm used to considering the worst-case scenario, because no matter how meticulous a plan is, when it's actually implemented, unexpected situations can arise due to a small accident."
"Like now?"
Emrys asked.
"Of course not. Although you stopped my plan, this is far from the worst-case scenario I envisioned." Count Rottenroot shook his head and smiled.
"The worst-case scenario would be if the Inquisition discovered my plan and the entire Roaming Port was annihilated; that would be the worst-case scenario."
Speaking of which, he seemed a little regretful.
"Unfortunately, I neither anticipated your appearance nor the actions of that Inquisitor. One wrong step led to a cascade of errors—resulting in the current situation."
Although they were on opposing sides, Lloyd's thoughtfulness made Emrys admire him.
"It's a pity. If you hadn't done these things, perhaps—"
Given Lloyd's steady nature, if Emrys hadn't interfered, his plan would likely have gone undiscovered until its success!
Just as he said, there were too many accidents!
"There's nothing to regret—" Count Rottenroot interrupted him, a hint of arrogance in his eyes.
"A loss is a loss, and I accept it wholeheartedly."
With that mindset, he was quite a character!
Emrys nodded.
"Alright, in that case, there's no need for further talk. Tell me the location of the item, and I'll give you a quick end."
Count Rottenroot's gaze dropped, and a strange smile appeared on his face.
"I can tell you the whereabouts of that thing—but you must come over; I can only tell you alone!"
"Be careful, he might have some other scheme." Ilia was extremely wary of Chaos, perhaps stemming from the Silent sisterhood's heritage.
"What—does the heir of the esteemed Emrys family lack even this much courage?"
Count Rottenroot, seated on his chair, sneered, as if mocking him.
"You're right, I am very cowardly."
Emrys was unmoved, completely disregarding his mockery, and said with a serious expression.
"I'm afraid you're hiding some trick, so to be safe, I will never approach you. I can still distinguish between recklessness and courage."
Count Rottenroot seemed to be choked by these words, falling silent for a long while before bursting into a self-mocking laugh.
"Hahahahaha—good, truly a descendant of the Emrys family. This inherent caution is indeed very much like him."
Emrys waved his hand and sneered.
"It doesn't matter. Even if you don't tell me, it will just take a bit of fire. At worst, I'll dig up Fernando three feet deep; I'll find it eventually."
Winnie understood his meaning, and her sword blade ignited with flames again, golden light containing the Emperor's power!
Looking at the gradually approaching Winnie, Count Rottenroot smiled.
"Forget it, I accept my loss—the thing you want is in the Fernando family's treasure vault. As for the exact location, go find Bourne; he will tell you how to open the vault door."
"You'll tell me the location of that thing so honestly?" Emrys was very skeptical of Count Rottenroot's words.
"Consider it a tribute to the victor." Count Rottenroot straightened his posture and looked at Emrys.
"That map… perhaps it's not as wonderful as you imagine. The direction it points to holds neither secret treasures nor lost civilizations, only death and ran."
"Sounds like you've been there?" Emrys raised an eyebrow, looking at him with suspicion.
"My Fernando family, after obtaining this star chart, dispatched hundreds of exploration teams."
Count Rottenroot fell into recollection and slowly said.
"But without exception, not a single ship ever returned. They all vanished there. The only message that ever came back was this: 'There is nothing there, only death and ran.'"
That dangerous?!
Although his words couldn't be fully trusted, hundreds of explorations with no one returning, to some extent, proved that the star chart wasn't that simple!
"Even if I tell you this, I suppose you won't believe it and will still go, won't you?" Count Rottenroot smiled and took a deep breath.
"Because this is your mission, the mission of the Emrys family—"
"Are you finished?"
Emrys looked up at him.
"One last thing."
Count Rottenroot smiled eerily.
"Emrys, I lost to you, but the Fernando family never loses. That is our motto!"
"Oh, really?"
Emrys naturally took his words as mere bravado in the face of death and gave Winnie a look.
"By the way—" Facing the approaching 'Living Saint,' Count Rottenroot smiled, showing no fear of death at all.
"In the Fernando family's treasure vault, there's also a gift from me to you—remember to cherish it, Merlin Emrys!"
Swish!
Winnie stepped forward, and the sword blade, burning with golden flames, slashed across the seated Count Rottenroot. The Emperor's power, which scorched souls, instantly ignited his body!
A generation's hero of the Fernando family thus ended his complex life!
A gift, another gift?!
Emrys frowned. The gift Dante gave him when he left Baal had already put him under immense pressure. What kind of trick was this now?
Despite the biggest problem being solved, Emrys looked back at the Blood Angels, still in a state of frenzy, shouting about wanting to kill Horus, and couldn't help but feel a headache.
"What should we do?!"
Emrys could only pin his hopes on Winnie. Surely the yellow weasel would have a solution, right?
"I'll settle accounts with you when we get back!" Winnie gave him a white eye, indicating that this matter was not so simple, and then walked towards the frenzied Blood Angels.
The Dark Angels were on alert nearby, looking at the frenzied and demonic Blood Angels one by one, and couldn't help but worry.
Logically speaking, although they were Fallen Angels, at least their gene-seed was still very pure, but these 'comrades' – that might not be the case.
According to Imperial law, gene-seeds like these must be executed, so it's no wonder the opposing Chaos warband thought these people were more like a Chaos warband than they were!
Anyone who saw this scene would probably think that these frenzied Blood Angels had pledged themselves to Khorne, right?
Winnie came before the frenzied warriors and softly chanted something. Under the gentle golden light, they gradually regained their sanity.
Garrell immediately came up and injected them one by one with the blood from the Holy Grail, to control these madmen. Next, Emrys had the Dark Angels burn this virus-ridden garden and temporarily seal it, awaiting the Subsequent trial court personnel will handle the matter.
This type of Warp domain is difficult to completely clear with his current methods, so professional matters should be left to professionals.
Of course, there was another reason here.
Emrys was eager to see what this old man's 'gift' actually was.
When they saw Archmagos Byrne Cock, everyone was shocked by his wolf-like appearance.
It was hard to imagine that this was an Archmagos of the Mechanicus. His red robe was torn, his mechanical arm had been removed, and there were multiple marks of beating and abuse on his body.
"Did you do this?" Emrys looked at the 'Void Dragon' who looked most like the culprit.
"Did I do it?"
The Void Dragon sneered, grabbing Byrne by the neck, and asked fiercely.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Byrne screamed in terror.
"These were all my own falls, absolutely not done by the messenger of the great Omnissiah. It was me—it was all me, I am a sinner, I deserve to die ten thousand deaths!"
Emrys' mouth twitched, and he stared speechlessly at the Void Dragon.
"What exactly did you do to him?"
"Didn't he want to see the Omnissiah?" The Void Dragon shrugged, indifferently saying.
"I let him see, and by the way, entered his brain to find something. This guy was uncooperative, so I, on behalf of the Omnissiah, taught him a small lesson."
Are you sick? Who would want to see the Omnissiah? Emrys was too lazy to complain, so he said to Byrne, who was cowering in the corner with a terrified expression.
"Open the door."
Byrne scrambled up in a panic and came to the door of Fernando's treasury, entering the password sequentially.
Click!
The mechanical lock slowly turned, emitting a heavy sound of machinery.
Emrys retreated behind everyone, letting the Void Dragon stand in front, lest the old fox play any more tricks.
With a C'tan leading the way, a Living Saint on the left, a sister of Silence on the right, and a full tactical squad of Dark Angels, the sense of security was maximized!
With such a luxurious lineup, even if the old fox had hidden a 'Great Unclean One' inside, they would still kick it back to the Warp!
The treasury door opened, and it was pitch black inside. The Void Dragon walked fearlessly at the very front. He was a God of the material universe. How dare mere Warp 'rats' be presumptuous in front of him?
The Dark Angels advanced slowly in a tactical formation behind him, while Emrys entered the treasury under the protection of the 'Living Saint' and the sisters of Silence.
"Control!"
"Control!"
The Dark Angels occupied the best firing positions, forming cross-covering fire, confirming the safety of the entire treasury.
After the lights were turned on, the entire treasury also came into Emrys' sight. It had been almost completely emptied, and a glance revealed it to be bare.
"Old fox, are you kidding me?!" A cross-shaped vein bulged on his forehead. He knew this old man wasn't that kind. He was going to trick him one last time before he died!
"There's a life signature—" The Void Dragon suddenly stopped, pointing to a very hidden room that would be difficult to spot without careful observation.
"It's in there. It seems to be a human."
A human?
How could there be a human in the Fernando family's treasury?
Emrys frowned slightly, gesturing for him to open the door.
The Void Dragon turned and glared at Byrne. The poor Archmagos of the Mechanicus was so frightened that he peed his pants, hurrying to verify the password.
Beep!
After a sound, the secret room opened.
With a last shred of hope, Emrys cast his gaze into the secret room, and then froze in place.
This secret room was very small, only a dozen square meters. What was hidden inside was not some treasure, but—a person, bound to a torture rack with steel chains.
"Lillian?!"
After seeing who was tied up, Emrys couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise. Hadn't she been sacrificed by Lloyd?
"Al-Emrys Lord." Lillian struggled to lift her head, her lips white, as if extremely weak, and she said feebly.
"You... really succeeded. I knew—you would definitely—win."
Lillian was in the secret room of the Fernando family's treasury. This scene almost made Emrys crash.
"Get her down first."
Several Dark Angels went up, cut the chains, and took Lillian down from the torture rack, also checking her physical condition.
"No signs of Chaos infection." The priest nodded, and even after confirming her safety, he remained vigilant.
If he detected even the slightest move from this female that threatened Emrys, at this distance, he could crush her head instantly.
"What exactly is going on? How are you here?" Emrys' mind was full of questions now. The old fox had promised him a gift, but he put his granddaughter in a secret room. Is he serious?
After Byrne injected a dose of medicine into the weakened Lillian, her pale complexion gained some color and rosiness, and she regained the strength to speak.
"Emrys Lord, I—am the 'gift'."
Emrys crashed.
He seemed to feel a resentful and angry gaze drifting from the side, and couldn't help but shiver.
"Wait, you are the 'gift'—what does that mean?"
A premonition of ill omen swept over him.
"It's—the literal meaning." Lillian lowered her head, her earlobes seeming to blush, and she said softly.
"I am the 'gift' he spoke of, given to you, Emrys Lord."
"Hmph."
Hearing this, Winnie could no longer hold back, and let out a cold snort. The temperature in the room seemed to drop to freezing point.
God damn, the old man was still trying to trick him even after he died?
Emrys wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. If he had known this, he wouldn't have let Winnie come!
The surrounding Dark Angels all looked down, as if lost in thought.
Fortunately, Lillian, sensing the awkward atmosphere, quickly explained, which significantly lessened the coldness on Winnie's face.
"Because the 'Eternity Furnace'—only the certified heir of the former family head of the Fernando family has the qualification and authority to use it."
At this point, Lillian's expression was complex, and she said softly.
"And I am the last certified heir of the Fernando family before he executed his plan, and only I have the authority and qualification to use the 'Eternity Furnace'."