Warhammer: Saving Humanity Begins with the Resurrection of Horus

Page 73

Despair began to spread within him, until the adjutant's calls grew increasingly urgent. Only then did he raise his head, staring blankly at the deep void before him.

"Commander! We must immediately organize a counter-insurgency operation!"

"........"

"I don't know the commander!"

"........."

"I don't know!"

He stood up, looked at the disconnected communication, and gave his final order.

"Run for your life."

He said so.

"Run for your life."

He repeated himself, and then, to the incredulous look of his adjutant, he took out the ceremonial longsword and left his command post on the bridge, heading toward the nearest boarding point.

Chapter 96 The Holy Scriptures Are Humiliated Again

Lin Qi put down the head of the Titan, his hands already stained with the blood of the alien race. After all, in the battle just now, although he was a mortal, he had also contributed.

He used his psionic powers to forcefully suppress the self-destruct devices on the combat suits worn by these Tau warriors, leaving them helpless as they were torn apart from the steel and alloy by the onslaught of Astartes.

They were then sent to the execution platform and tortured by those with pointed ears who were just as terrified as they were.

Lynch picked at his ear; he had no liking for aliens. Not to mention this Tau fleet, which he had identified as being in its fourth expansion after probing its memories with his psychic powers.

During the Fourth Expansion, the Tau people who participated became xenophobic due to their experiences in the warp. They slaughtered the alien races around them, even those who were actually their auxiliary forces.

Lin Qi took a breath. Now that things had come to this, all he needed to do was wait for the boarding party to send back good news.

He didn't think they would fail. Putting aside their sheer numbers, just considering how much resistance the Tau people would have left on their ships after his elite troops had already been wiped out in the boarding operation.

Lynch believed there weren't many left. At least, if they were to face the Glory Guard, which included the Hades Terminator, elite veterans from the First and Second Companies, and a commander of the Astartes Chapter, their remaining combat strength would be completely insufficient.

“But Horus,” Lynch thought to himself. “Are we really not going to continue commanding now? Many of our ships are facing enemies many times their size.”

“No need,” Horus replied. “There’s no need to worry. The minefield I designed is fine. Those alien fleets can barely move an inch in it. As long as those captains aren’t stupid, there won’t be any major problems.”

Horus's words reassured Lynch, and he strode away from the room where the brutal Dark Eldar play was taking place. He returned to the war room, sat down in his seat, let out a long breath, and watched the images on the projector, quietly awaiting the final outcome.

One Terra hour later, the battle ended, and the boarding party returned with good news—they had successfully completed their mission, disabling the enemy ship's shields and sending a message to other ships that the mothership had fallen.

The only downside was that a few of the captured alien technicians were accidentally killed, leaving only three alive who can be brought back to the Holy Monarch.

That would be nice.

Lin Qi ordered the boarding party to return to port, while simultaneously commanding the ships to charge up their firepower. Once the boarding party had completely left, they were to open fire and sink them into the void.

The hatch to the operations room opened, and three members of the Mechanicus entered one after another. Behind them was Tech Sergeant Owen, or rather, Owen, the master of the Star Claw Forge.

Lin Qi promoted the other party on the spot, which can be regarded as a reward for the other party's continuous efforts in keeping the weapons and equipment of the battle group operational.

The small operations room now appeared somewhat crowded. Lynch snapped his fingers, and the steel door closed automatically, while the surrounding servo skulls and monitors fell silent.

The three members of the Mechanicus all keenly sensed that something was amiss. Owen, standing beside them, however, appeared perfectly normal, clearly already aware of the situation.

"Welcome, Father Tar, Sage Salo, and Sage Evelyn. The three of you have done an excellent job in maintaining and calming the ship's weapons and machine spirits, and you have been of great help to us in the battle just now."

The three exchanged glances, and finally Evelyn, who held the highest position, stood up and spoke as their representative.

"It is our duty... Lord Lynch, the situation of the battle has only just become clear, and you have already come to us in such a hurry. Is there something you want to tell us?"

Evelyn questioned him cautiously, probably worried that direct questioning might cause trouble, so she asked in a very tactful way and in a very gentle tone.

"It's probably just to prepare you mentally... But Sage Salo and Sage Evelyn, I wonder what your plans are after this is over? Are you planning to return to Anglostum?"

Upon arriving at this point, Evelyn instantly understood Lynch's meaning, which made her expression turn strange. However, she quickly pulled up the Sage Salo sitting to the side and led him to swear an oath to Lynch.

"We are loyal to Omnesia, and naturally we will follow in Omnesia's footsteps and glory. The α13 mining station will probably be abandoned by Angorostum afterward, and we also believe that it is a better choice to be an auxiliary priest accompanying the army."

For some reason, Lin Qi had a sense of déjà vu looking at the two of them.

Being the head of a mining station is certainly not bad, but following behind the Chosen One of Omnisaiah offers even more freedom and possibilities, doesn't it?

Lin Qi quickly banished the strange thought from his mind. His objective had been achieved, and although he wasn't sure if he could completely trust him, he hadn't intended to completely hide anything anyway.

After all, using alien technology is not a big deal in the Empire, and as long as it's not weighed, it's naturally not as heavy as a piece of rations made from corpse starch.

"Well then, everyone, I have a task for you."

Lin Qi sat in his seat, looking at the four people in front of him with a serious expression.

"I hope you can help me crack the technology of the aliens we just defeated. I believe you have seen it yourself; the aliens' technology is very powerful, and our soldiers have successfully captured their technicians. I believe that if we can properly modify and apply this alien technology, it will greatly enhance our combat capabilities."

Owen remained calm, having been subtly questioned by Lynch from the very beginning. Initially, he was naturally shocked by his elders' idea, as the use of alien technology was strictly prohibited in the Holy Scriptures.

But he was quickly convinced. There was no other way; after all, the only point he could refute seemed to be "violating the sacred texts."

"According to the holy book, we should all be burned at the stake."

Lynch used this phrase to end the argument, which caused Irving's brain to shut down after a fierce internal struggle, leading him to decide to simply treat the thing he was going to study next as a strange, long STC that had just been discovered.

However, the three members of the Mechanicus who were not prepared beforehand reacted much more strongly.

Evelyn maintained a relatively calm demeanor; she simply stared blankly at Lin Qi, her expression suggesting that she doubted his statement.

Tal and Salo stood up on the spot. They seemed to want to say something, but their mouths were slightly open. After a long time, they couldn't squeeze out a word.

"My lady," Evelyn finally spoke. "May I ask you a question?"

"Ask away." Lin Qi quietly looked at the sage before him, pondering what questions she might ask. "As long as it doesn't involve principles, I can answer. Also, this plan isn't mandatory. If you don't want to, just remember to find me to erase your memories when you leave."

“You don’t need to worry.” Evelyn’s voice was incredibly calm. Then, she asked her question. “I just want to ask you, is this order from Omnisiah?”

No, I simply want titanium technology. On one hand, it's to give them a taste of their own medicine; on the other hand, after discussing with Horus, I believe that if combat suits could be mass-produced by mortals, they would definitely enhance unimaginable combat power.

However, everything requires a just cause. Lin Qi was aware of his current identity as the Chosen of Omnisaiah, so he did not hesitate and nodded seriously to Evelyn.

“I know your confusion,” Lynch said. “But I can tell you that I’m not letting you conduct this research against its will. It’s true that the Xenomorph’s technology is unclean and cannot be tolerated by our forges. But since I can tell you that this is its will, it naturally means that it has already granted its permission.”

"What do you mean?!"

Tal stood up, a complex emotion flickering across his steely, mechanical face. Clearly, he had successfully filled in the blanks in his mind, managing to glean something from Lynch's cryptic words.

Lin Qi nodded slightly to him, directly acknowledging his idea.

Tal clenched his fists and slammed them heavily on the table in front of him. The force of the movement startled Lynch, but he quickly understood what the other man had imagined to cause such agitation.

“Damn aliens!” he exclaimed angrily. “How dare they steal the glory of Omnesia for their own blasphemous technology! Lord Lynch, rest assured, I will do everything in my power to save Omnesia’s brilliance from those blasphemous chains!”

Lin Qi's lips twitched slightly, but he could only manage a smile before looking at the other two.

Saroo and Evelyn exchanged a glance, then both lowered their heads without speaking, but they had already made their stance clear.

That'll be fine.

Lynch felt a sense of relief. Now that things had come to this point, all that remained was to wrap things up completely and head back.

He thought of the follow-up troops who hadn't arrived yet and shook his head slightly.

Send a message to the stars, telling them to hurry back to Badab. The next thing to do is to welcome the people from Terra who are coming.

However, Lin Qi was unaware that at this very moment, on the surface of α13, three figures appeared before a ruin. They looked at the broken stone door, and then one of them grabbed the last "person" by the neck and forcibly pulled him forward.

"The Prince of Pleasure".

The man whispered, and then slashed open the neck of the "person" with pointed ears.

"Give to desire, and I will be strong. Cross the stars, and proclaim my Lord."

The energy of the subspace converged, and the next moment, the person stood up and exhaled a long breath.

"revenge."

He spoke thus, his eyes gleaming with a dark purple light.

Chapter 97 Tiberius: Summon the True Chapter Master to Me

"The desert wind doesn't care whose bones are cleaned away."

-- Endyon Star Cluster proverb

======

Bell opened his eyes, emerging from his meditative state. He sat upright in his meditation room, not wearing power armor, only a garment to cover his lower body. His skin was in contact with the cold marble that made up the meditation room, which had been continuously absorbing his body heat for the past three Terra hours, keeping his body at a near-zero temperature.

This is a method of training one's mind, and it is especially effective for think tank apprentices who are just beginning to learn about psychic powers.

However, for a chief think tank, such behavior would be largely ineffective, or even completely useless.

After all, to become the chief think tank, one's psychic abilities must be far beyond what basic training can improve. However, for Bell, the purpose of this meditation was not to increase his power, but to train his mind, to become calmer, and to reflect on the things that had been troubling him recently.

He slowly stood up, raised his hand, and a soft white light immediately shimmered within the sealed stone chamber. With the help of the light, he walked to the door of the stone chamber, reached out, and slowly pushed it open.

Two servants from the warband had been waiting at the door for some time. They were holding a large white robe together, their heads bowed, their posture extremely respectful and humble.

"Thank you." Bell nodded slightly to them. "Thank you for your help."

They maintained a calm demeanor, but the two servants of the chapter showed little reaction to this matter—ever since Lynch mastered the Star Claw, his attitude towards ordinary people had indirectly influenced every warrior in the chapter.

Although they may not say it, the Astartes of the Claws of the Stars have become much more easygoing and egalitarian in their attitude towards mortals than they used to be.

The chapter's servants were initially terrified by this, but over time they got used to it, or rather...

They had no way to change the Death Angel's attitude towards them, so they could only accept it, which was a good thing, no matter who it was.

Is Lord Gao Wen still handling state affairs?

Bell asked the servants accompanying him in the warband, "Since Lynch led the troops to provide support, the various affairs of the warband and Badab have been taken over by the Imperial Guard. Although some people were dissatisfied, with Lynch's appointment and the Imperial Guard indeed managing everything in an orderly manner, those dissatisfied voices gradually quieted down."

However, recently, a problem has indeed arisen that has caused the Imperial Guard some headaches.

Inquisitor.

Bell sighed helplessly. The Inquisition had uncovered numerous clues about Huron's past actions, so the presence of an Inquisitor was understandable. However, the only problem was...

The judge arrived far too early, three days before Terra's forces. This inevitably led to much speculation and even unnecessary suspicion.

Fortunately, another team arrived, and according to the second fleet that returned earlier, Lord Lynch should be back around today.