With the arrival of the Trailblaze expeditionary fleet, all planets in the Underworld System received reinforcements. This time, thanks to Zhou Ye's withering strikes, the Tyranid swarm had no opportunity to recover even a shred of biomass.
Completely bewildered by the beating Zhou Ye had delivered, they subsequently withdrew entirely, pulling back beyond the Underworld System's ice crystal belt. Now, with that massive belt once again serving as a demarcation line, humanity and the Tyranids have entered a new standoff.
Both sides were now in a state where they were temporarily unable to press the attack. Zhou Ye had already rushed here as fast as he could. Against the Tyranids, having too few numbers was pure suicide. This expeditionary army had been churned out by seizing every available moment.
To this end, he had even used his Authority of Time to accelerate the two forge worlds. He had also further squeezed the resources of his own domain and the five hundred worlds of Ultramar, all while ensuring the people's standard of living did not decline significantly…
After all, this was the shit-tier world of Warhammer. In Zhou Ye's eyes, besides being fed, the people had no other forms of entertainment. It was already a rationing system; he was taking almost all of the industrial output, equally exploiting everyone.
But Zhou Ye would never stoop to cutting their food rations. As for the situation in Ultramar, he found it even more absurd. Their standard of living had actually improved dramatically due to the arrival of the Star Rails, even though Zhou Ye was taking a huge portion of their output as well.
To ensure the two forge worlds could continuously accelerate, he had even burned through a large batch of insane psykers, clearing out the entire supply from both Ultramar and the Trailblaze Sector.
But it wasn't a big problem. Psykers were like weeds; they would always grow back no matter how many you harvested, especially in his Trailblaze Sector, where the insane ones were a majority.
So, as soon as the army was ready, Zhou Ye had come here at the first opportunity. This was a combined arms force, not one designed to be simply thrown away as cannon fodder.
---o---
"My Lord, that is how it was. If we had the support of the Imperial Navy and the ground-based defense platforms, the situation would never have deteriorated to this extent. I was powerless to stop them."
Aslot recounted the events, his face a mask of grief and fury. He had watched, helpless, as the Imperial Navy successfully sent themselves to their doom.
"What is the situation elsewhere?"
Zhou Ye took a deep breath and looked to Ashira at his side. She was wearing the Achilles-pattern Terminator armor he had fabricated for her. To be honest, this armor, much like the Centurion suits, was something Zhou Ye knew existed but couldn't obtain. So, he had simply added a great deal of his own thinking to the design. These Achilles suits were basically hand-crafted by him, as the Golden Corn-on-the-Cob still locked in his stasis field only wore standard Custodian power armor.
Of course, they only looked similar on the outside; the internal differences were vast. But as for where those specific differences were, even Zhou Ye himself didn't know.
"The Tyranid fleet has temporarily withdrawn beyond the ice crystal belt. We have recaptured all planets in the Underworld System and the defensive network in the belt. However, the situation is not optimistic. The defenders in the ice crystal belt were wiped out to the last man. The other planets have suffered varying losses. Even on Ashford, which originally had a population of thirty billion, less than ten billion remain. The situation on the other worlds is even worse."
"Sigh…"
Hearing this, Zhou Ye did not fly into a rage. Instead, he let out a deep sigh. The bodies of the crowd of mortals kneeling before him trembled. These were the nobles and rulers from the various planets of the Underworld System.
Zhou Ye had never claimed to be a Primarch or anything else. But after seeing his legion-scale army, they had all wisely surrendered everything to him.
"Look at the fine mess you've made."
Zhou Ye's gaze fell upon a group of men at the very front as he spoke calmly.
Their identity…
Imperial Navy.
Among them was even a Lord Admiral. Since they were on the flagship, they hadn't joined the suicidal charge and were subsequently captured by Zhou Ye. He hadn't troubled the ordinary Imperial ratings.
But every single member of the naval command echelon had been dragged before him. Now, he didn't even have the energy to curse them. These people weren't worth his breath.
Zhou Ye slowly stood up. At this, everyone bowed their heads even lower, wishing they could press their faces into the floor.
"Sentence: White Phosphorus Execution!!!"
No mercy, no pity. Zhou Ye directly handed down one of the Imperium's most severe death sentences. This was the first time he had ever ordered it. In his own domain, even those sentenced to death usually just got a bullet.
He had revoked the right for others to use the White Phosphorus Execution, and he himself had never used it. But things were different now.
"..."
As expected, upon hearing the sentence, the faces of the naval commanders turned deathly pale. To be executed by Zhou Ye himself would have been an honor for them. To be killed by the hand of an Imperial Primarch was a fate not just anyone was worthy of.
But the White Phosphorus Execution was different. It was nothing but humiliation and agony.
This sentence wasn't a simple burning with white phosphorus. The incineration started from the legs and moved up, bit by bit. Throughout the process, a Magos Biologis would ensure the condemned remained fully conscious, even injecting them with stimulants to prevent them from passing out. The ordeal would last for days, forcing the person to watch themselves being burned to ash, experiencing the torment both physically and psychologically.
It was similar to how some Chaos Space Marines would put a bolt through their own head the moment they knew they were destined for a Helbrute.
That was why Zhou Ye had forbidden its use. But this time, their incompetence had truly angered him to the point of laughter.
"No, don't…"
"Just give us a bullet, a single bullet…"
"I am a noble of Terra! My family once produced a High Lord…"
As expected, hearing Zhou Ye's order, the naval commanders completely broke down. Some even tried to smash their heads against the floor, but their speed was no match for a Space Marine's. Moreover, the ones restraining them were his Honor Guard. Hearing the sentence, not even the Lamenters said a word.
If you fought and lost, Zhou Ye wouldn't have said anything. But to die like this was just pathetic.
As for the High Lord, Zhou Ye didn't care if the old Emperor himself came to plead for them. He would still burn them. No one's plea would work. If the Emperor came, he'd give him a few good slaps.
No matter how powerful their backgrounds were, could they be more powerful than the Golden Fiend? He didn't even give the Golden Fiend face; he still had a Custodian locked up.
"Carry it out, here and now."
"You can't do this!!!"
"At least, at least let it be the Custodes! Or the Astartes!!!"
With Zhou Ye's command, a group of maimed and scarred Cadian soldiers stepped forward. Seeing this, the naval commanders despaired even further. Their executioners were the very Astra Militarum they looked down upon.
"Hmph."
Zhou Ye let out a cold sneer. Did they really think he couldn't think like someone from the Warhammer world?
Frankly, if he didn't think it was unsuitable for civilians, he would have let the underhive scavengers burn them. But looking at these Cadians—of the millions present when he arrived, less than one million remained alive, a casualty rate of over ninety percent—giving them the honor was fitting.
You want a glorious death? Glory, my ass. If Zhou Ye weren't so fundamentally opposed to Chaos, he would have sacrificed these men to the Ruinous Powers—specifically to Nurgle or Slaanesh.
After all, standing right beside him was his chief advisor, Tzeentch's Chosen, Ahriman. He really didn't feel comfortable leaving him back on Trailblaze. It was just a shame Curze wasn't here.
He had left that guy back on Trailblaze to guard the home front. He wouldn't be taking him on this grand expedition; the man's influence wasn't exactly positive.
When Curze heard that news while seeing off the Knights of the Night who were accompanying Zhou Ye, the expression on his face was truly a sight to behold.
Zhou Ye couldn't be bothered to say anything about it. He dared to bully the Golden Fiend himself; what was a mere Primarch?
If Curze were here, he would have subjected them to the Night Lords' old traditions. It was just a pity that this new generation of Knights of the Night hadn't learned a single one of them. In the world of Warhammer, a little necessary deterrence was sometimes required.
Because of this, Zhou Ye felt Curze was definitely holding back in his training. So, he had specifically left him behind this time, making him the commander of the general reserve to ensure the security of the Trailblaze and Ultramar sectors. It wasn't bullying at all.
---o---
"Can you lock onto the positions of the node-beasts? To deal with the swarm, I plan to snipe their command creatures directly."
Watching the naval commanders being led to the pyres, Zhou Ye turned to Ahriman. He had brought him along for another, more important reason: to use his psychic and Warp-based powers.
Frankly, even Guilliman had an Eldar Farseer by his side. It wasn't too much of a stretch for him, another psychic dullard like Guilliman, to bring along Tzeentch's Chosen, even if Zhou Ye found the whole situation a bit abstract.
But it was a necessary evil. The Great Devourer was, in essence, another Chaos God of the Warp. Whether it had reached the level of the main five was unknown, but as a Warp god, it shared many common traits.
To command its forces, it needed a point of connection in the Warp. This was especially true for the Tyranids, where only a tiny fraction possessed intelligence, or what could be called a soul or consciousness. This meant their connection to the Great Devourer in the Warp was extremely stable.
If that was the case, as long as he could find that connection point and reverse-trace it, he could determine its location in realspace.
So, Zhou Ye planned to use superluminal targeting. He was usually reluctant to expend the energy, but he knew that against the Tyranids, a swift and decisive battle was necessary. If he didn't make the expenditure now, he might have to pay a much higher price later.
Money that needs to be spent shouldn't be saved, because it might cost even more later.
In a way, he and the Tyranids had a mutual loathing. He could turn their war into a real war—one with only frenzied investment and no return. The Tyranids were much the same for him. So far, the only thing he'd seen that was "edible" was that Hive Tyrant, but that creature was now a rare specimen that might be very useful in the future.
Looking at the massive Tyranid fleet, he knew their node-beasts were definitely numerous.
"I need time…"
Ahriman's face turned a shade of green, assuming he had a face to begin with. An ordinary psyker would be lucky not to go insane just by looking into the Shadow in the Warp. In some areas where the Shadow was particularly strong, it could even sever a being's connection to both the Warp and realspace, effectively banishing them.
This kind of banishment would infuriate a Warp daemon. Sometimes, even after their connection to their physical body in realspace was severed, that body would continue fighting the Tyranids.
So, an ordinary psyker couldn't possibly do this. Not even Mephiston, one of the three great psykers among the Space Marines, could necessarily pull it off. Of course, even if he could locate them, it would be useless. You expect Dante to lead a boarding action against one of those things?
Better not. Forget Dante, even Guilliman would be unlikely to lead a boarding party against a node-beast. Zhou Ye, of course, would dare to do it. But they had all pulled back beyond the ice crystal barrier and were now too far away.
So, Zhou Ye planned to just snipe them based on their coordinates. But as a psychic dullard, he couldn't find them himself. He had to rely on Ahriman. While Zhou Ye didn't think this would be enough to completely defeat the Tyranids, it was a potent tool.
"Why do I feel like the number of Tyranids in this fleet is a bit high? Was it always this large, or did my actions cause the Great Rift to open earlier, allowing more of them to arrive…"
Zhou Ye looked up at the sky. Outside the main planets of the Underworld System, space was teeming with a dense mass of Tyranid bio-ships.
Honestly, Zhou Ye was starting to have his doubts. The number was simply too large. Although he had wiped out their vanguard, the remaining force was still a bit exaggerated.
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
At that moment, a heart-wrenching scream erupted. The White Phosphorus Execution had begun.
"All of you, listen well. From this moment on, I am taking over all affairs in the Underworld System. You will cooperate with me. If I find any of you slacking or trying to be clever, what is happening to them will be the fate of your entire family. Remember, your entire family."
Zhou Ye looked at the large group of nobles and spoke calmly. Among them were Planetary Governors, and even a Sector Governor. But what did that matter? He still needed to warn and intimidate them.
Although, he felt he probably didn't need to.
---o---