Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

When Bayar followed in the footsteps of his primarch and set foot on this dark gray land for the first time, he felt a strange touch that he had never experienced before.

In the future, this dead world with pale clouds will be called [Hell Star] in the most secret files of the human empire, and its land: if these strange things can still be called land , will be the first strange things experienced by the Dawnbreakers.

But it won't be the last batch.

Along with a shrill scream, the exquisite fear claws were like iron rain shooting from the sky to the ground, landing on the dusty hilly areas of the pale planet. More than three hundred carefully selected Dawnbreaker Terra The veterans followed their primarch and became the first Imperials to set foot on this land.

Bayar was the leader of this temporary task force. After receiving the order from the original body, he personally selected each person. All the soldiers who participated in this operation gave him a deep impression on the backbone of the legion. , all of them have a glorious resume of serving in the Unification War. On some specific occasions, they are even more trustworthy and expected than the entire well-equipped Astartes team.

But despite this, the champion swordsmen of the Second Legion are still very clear that today will not be the time for them to display their combat effectiveness: in this operation, their first duty is to use their lives to delay the original bodies when necessary. They have no time to spare, and their secondary task is to ensure that they can return alive from this doomed crazy land.

This is not simple.

Feeling the indescribable strange feeling under the steel boots, and looking at the statues of ferocious birds, green faces and fangs, the champion swordsman let out an extremely rare low sigh, and he stepped forward He slowed down his pace and endured the shaking feeling caused by the unstable ground.

On the side, the preacher of the second company, Orlando, followed and whispered Bayar's inner thoughts.

"This is not like the ground: I don't think this is even earth, steel, or corpses. They feel sticky but not wet when stepped on, just like the fresh Groat meat sold in the mortal market. "

"Be careful, Orlando."

The Perfect Knight spoke, but his voice became serious. Bayar tapped the number of people who came off the Dreadclaw with his eyes. Also, pay attention to the Primarchs standing not far away, who are exchanging something, as well as the unknown Lord Alpha.

"Remember, our first priority is to protect the safety of the Primarchs with our prudence and our lives: apart from that, everything is not worth paying attention to. Spend your attention on observing the surroundings. This The place feels wrong to me.”

The company commander's eyes were fixed on the statue closest to him. He could swear that the statue was not a creature that would appear in the real universe: the statue was humanoid, but its head was similar to that of a squid. Except for the countless tentacles, no facial organs can be seen. The few fleshy tentacles that can be barely identified as arms are tightly wrapped with weapons similar to whips and scepters. Its back There are rows of extremely weird-looking small wings on it, and the entire lower body is tightly wrapped in a layer of luxurious silk robes, making this monster look nondescript between savage and noble.

Bayar stared at this thing for a few seconds, and then he felt a sense of oppression that made him extremely disgusted, which made him have to divert his gaze: and the moment his eyes left, the perfect The knight had a very real delusion.

This statue in front of me.

Seems to be staring at him.

"..."

It's not like it's an illusion.

The Perfect Knight suppressed the urge to smash the statue into pieces with his sword: in this completely unknown world, any move, even the act of killing an enemy, is likely to lead to unexpected dangers.

What he should really do is to keep everyone as far away from these things as possible: but doing so is far more difficult than Bayar imagined.

The moment the captain of the second company raised his head and looked into the distance, he realized this.

Because at the end of his field of vision, swept by strong winds and covered by thick dust and fog, the mountain range looked like a dead beast. It was their final destination: and a winding and worn stone road. It leads to the top of the mountain. On both sides of this road, there are statues like this, with no end in sight.

They are overwhelming and have different shapes. Each one maintains different movements and expressions. Each one is like a ferocious beast frozen alive here. Most of them are the ones Bayar saw just now, with long hair. The monster that touches the head, and the remaining small part is either vicious, blasphemous, filthy, or has bird feathers and eagle beaks.

But no matter what they are, they have the same characteristic: when the queue of Dawnbreakers passes through them, everyone can clearly feel that there is a feeling similar to gaze emanating from each statue. Splashed on them.

They were watching them, all these demons were watching them.

They are alive.

Like a tomb.

It's like an army.

——————

"..."

For the first time in his life, Bayar hoped that he was just having a ridiculous hallucination.

——————

"Are you sure you won't leave any troops behind to guard our retreat?"

While waiting for the Dawnbreaker company to assemble, the three Primarchs stood on a boulder in the distance, looking at them and discussing the planet beneath their feet.

【No need. 】

Morgan did not look back, all her attention was focused on these strange statues on the roadside. When she stretched out her hand and approached these strange Yi Zun, the Spider Queen could clearly feel from them that something came from subspace. chaos and disorder.

Morgan frowned.

Just as she guessed: these statues are all demons, without exception, they were either lured here or captured here: judging from the facial expressions of these statues, it seems that the former is more likely.

But no matter what, there is no doubt that these demons are trapped here, physical prisoners of empty sentience.

But what are these demons with tentacled heads that she has never seen before: If they are just undivided demons that do not belong to the four gods, then are their looks too uniform?

or……

Morgan shuddered because of her speculation, but no one noticed her brief fear, because behind her, Midnight Ghost was introducing the logic of the Spider Queen's actions to her brother.

"You need to know, Alpha."

Conrad put an arm on Alpharius's shoulder quite naturally: Although Midnight Ghost is not tall among the original bodies, Alpharius is the last in height among the original bodies. In fact On the list, if it weren't for Morgan, he would be last.

So, after skillfully suppressing his brother, the Nostramo smiled and pointed at the Dawnbreakers who were approaching in formation not far away.

"With Morgan's character, it is impossible for her to leave a team of Dawnbreakers here alone on this planet full of strange dangers. In other words, no responsible original body would do this. This is what makes her They commit suicide.”

"As for the way out: Our dear blood relatives have already placed countless teleportation coordinates on her Queen of Glory. If an emergency happens, let all the hundreds of us teleport back to the Dawn Goddess and treat her It's easy to say: sometimes, psychic powers can make people jealous, don't they?"

Conrad grinned, and Alpharius glanced at him.

"Don't you also have psychic powers?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm even more jealous."

The Midnight Ghost's expression remained normal, and during the short time they were talking, the Dawnbreakers had already arrived by their side. So, this team of more than 300 people set off, heading towards the distant mountains shrouded in mist. As for those The expensive Terror Claw was abandoned on the spot: the wealthy Spider Queen wouldn't care about this loss anyway.

A team of more than 300 people lined up on this road that was a bit too wide, but it seemed a little thin. Morgan and Alpha naturally walked at the front, while Bayar tried his best to follow Gene. Mother's side, behind them. The veterans of Terra did not form a very strict queue, but each called on the old guys who had fought side by side for hundreds of years to form one small battle group after another that echoed each other: Conrad fell into the whole team. At the end, he needs to always be wary of the fog they just walked through.

In this way, they advanced for more than three hours: about three hours, because no one could determine the specific passage of time. All the clocks had already declared damage as early as the moment they came to the ground, and the one above their head The sun had not moved at all, just like the fog around them: every time they opened up a little bit in the fog, the fog behind them would swallow up the same amount. Only through the thinness of the air and the coldness of the temperature could they be sure They were still walking on the correct mountain road, close to the mountain in their memory.

Morgan and Alpharius walked side by side at the front of the team. Their pace was the speed of the entire army. In most cases, they tried to maintain a reassuring rhythm, but occasionally, Morgan had to stop. Come down and take a look at the strange new statues that have appeared along the road.

At this time, the scene in the thick fog would have some unpleasant changes: sometimes, they would find that the surrounding mountains were no longer desolate. Instead, it was a ruined city that was once extremely prosperous. This city should be entrenched on the plains hundreds of kilometers away, but now it was right in front of them, exuding an unknown brilliance derived from an alien civilization, which originated from The crazy ideas of architecture and solid geometry beyond imagination are fascinating.

At other times, these cities will disappear, and the dense fog will become thicker, turning from wisps of white smoke into stone-like gray walls. In this gray wall, there seems to be a whisper that continues. The ground is chanting, sometimes it is the voice of one person, sometimes it is the voices of countless people, and it is also accompanied by some other noises. For example, the sound of steel boots on the ground, the friction of armor against armor, and the quiet singing from the mouths of soldiers.

It was as if there was another Astartes team in the thick fog, a team that was no different from them, walking side by side with them: but there was nothing in the thick fog.

These voices seemed to have their own malice. Whenever the team stopped, they would rush out of the fog wall, trying to find their next target, but the caution of the Dawnbreakers disappointed them. The people in this operation, without exception, are all veterans of Terra. They have been able to fight all the way in this bloody galaxy until today, and naturally they have their own abilities and self-awareness.

No one was confused by these voices. They either squinted their eyes and chanted the name of the original body over and over again, or simply let go of their thoughts and focused all their attention on the perception of the weapons in their hands and the danger. : Everyone knows that in this unknown world, thinking means danger.

And when those meaningless thinking tentacles take root in the mind, or when some warriors who have not had time to rotate have stood on the periphery of the fog for too long, some people will still stagger, as if they are about to fall into hell. Among them: Every time at this time, the comrades beside him would grab his arm in time and pull him back, or the midnight ghost would float to his side from the end of the team and scream with a sharp metal claw. Break through that devouring nightmare.

Conrad went about this task diligently and he did a great job. Until the fourth hour of this march, there was no attrition in the team: and Alpharius, who had been silently observing all this, finally understood something. Why would Morgan be so confident and bold as to hand over his team to a Nostramo man?

It seems that Conrad's information will be updated in real time.

Hydra thought so.

But before his thoughts could come to fruition, Morgan's call reached his ears.

[You should come and take a look, Alpharius: there is something incredible here. 】

"..."

After hearing this, Hydra rushed over without any hesitation. Following Morgan's guidance, he saw that incredible thing, and then, his brows wrinkled together with the Spider Queen's.

In the mist, it was also a statue, but this statue was different from any kind of demon that had appeared before: this statue that appeared for the first time was more like a jellyfish with a vicious head, more than two meters high, It has tough leathery skin and light-colored tentacles.

"Slavers..."

Alpharius looked serious and whispered the name.

"what is that?"

Konrad still stayed at the end of the team, but his voice could flash between the two Primarchs through the specially modified communicator: This time, it was Alpharius's turn to explain.

"Slavers, a kind of creature that lives in subspace, possess the ability to control thoughts that is incomprehensible. Unless the prey they target runs far enough, they are destined to become puppets without self-thought: Let me tell you this, even warp demons are afraid of the existence of such creatures, because they are also threatened by the mind control of the enslavers."

"In other words, no living thing in the current galaxy is immune to this threat."

"Sounds just like Mrs. Clara."

Conrad laughed.

"But those aliens have also been wiped out by Zhuang Sen, haven't they? And their lair hidden in the darkness outside the territory has also been burned down by the Emperor himself."

"The enslavers are different from them, Conrad. These guys are extremely pure subspace creatures, not aliens like the Kraphians who live in the real universe. For us now, the existence of these things It’s a problem with no solution.”

"...How did he get these things here? Is this a coincidence?"

Alpharius looked at Morgan, and for the first time in his questioning, he was a little serious.

But the Spider Queen disappointed him.

[I’m afraid it’s not a coincidence. 】

Morgan answered slowly, then pointed toward the thick fog ahead of them.

[I think it's just the opposite: something like this should be one of the purposes of our brother staying here. 】

"..."

Hydra did not speak, because when he followed Morgan's guidance and saw the fog in front of him, he temporarily lost the power to speak: he saw that in front of him, in the looming fog, there was no longer any How many statues of demons have been replaced by an astonishing number of enslavers.

Maybe there are thousands, or even tens of thousands: and considering that this is just the tip of the iceberg in their field of vision, the real number is enough to make people feel frightened.

And this is not the worst, because there are not only enslavers in the thick fog, but also countless people who are familiar to them: whether it is the Lady Krala just mentioned, or the Osiris mind-controlling species, worm people, and psychic wizards , and even the Randan aliens that should have been extinct long ago, filled the road ahead. They took the place of the demons, and their numbers were even greater.

"..."

【……】

The two Primarchs fell into silence at the same time. In this strange white mist, they could only hear their own heavy breathing, and the sound of metal collision as Konrad woke up the warriors over and over again behind them.

【keep going? 】

Morgan asked.

"……certainly!"

Alpharius gritted his teeth.

——————

After making the decision to move on, the exploration team discovered that they were actually not that far from the end: less than one Terran standard passed, and they had already reached the end of the fog.

Morgan knew very well that this was the end: because there were a bunch of things similar to the coordinates of the end point, replacing these alien statues and appearing in their field of vision. These new statues were few in number, but their bodies were so huge. So much so that the Primarch had to raise his head and look down at them.

"Something looks familiar..."

Bayar, who was guarding Morgan, murmured to himself. He stared closely at the wild and huge statue. The ferocious giant ax and tattered wings were constantly reminding him of memories, but that was The head and half of the upper body were cut off by brute force, making it impossible for him to confirm the true identity of the statue in front of him.

Not only this one, but the other three huge statues also have the same treatment: they are either standing or half-kneeling, but they are all in painful postures of being restrained, and the sharp knife points have scratched their heads and The chest shows four kinds of eternal death.

"Big Demon..."

Alpharius shook his head and could only sigh.

"It is also a great demon with four powerful powers."

"What did that guy do to seduce these things?"

[I'm not sure, but I know that when these things emerged from the subspace, our brother must have terminated his plan at the time and changed to a backup plan: the sudden end of the fog is the best evidence. 】

[His initial actions attracted these fogs and things in the fog, and he should have seen something in the fog, and changed his plan because of this. 】

There was no confusion in Morgan's voice. She took the lead and walked out of the too long wall of fog, while the original body and the Dawnbreakers followed her closely.

Conrad was the last person to walk out of the fog. After ensuring that all the Dawnbreakers who came to the ground walked out one by one, the Midnight Ghost turned around and took one last look at the long way back.

Just like what he felt along the way: tens of millions or more vicious gazes were rushing towards him at this time. Those gazes that were once evenly distributed on the entire team were now concentrated on the Primarch. Although the endless violence, pain, hatred and madness in human beings are solidified by subspace, they can still be truly felt by Conrad.

In response, Midnight Ghost just grinned and showed a smile.

He walked backwards out of the fog, and the last thing left in the fog wall was a raised middle finger.

"Goodbye, bastards."

Conrad's voice dissipated in the wind.

——————

After walking out of the fog, a new mountain range appeared in front of everyone: it is somewhat inaccurate to say that it is a mountain range, because it is more like cutting off the head of the original mountain range, and then placing a smaller peak on top of the original mountain range. The position of that mountain peak is another man-made power.

On that smaller mountain peak, a magnificent iron gate was set on top without any obstruction, as if welcoming the Primarchs to break in. In front of the iron gate was a tiny open-air square, except for Except for a few pools of blood that couldn't be washed away, it was white and flawless.

And when Morgan stepped onto this square, she suddenly felt the turbulence coming from the subspace: the strange aura that enveloped the entire galaxy and froze all the corresponding subspaces seemed to no longer exist here. Existence, the Supreme Sky resumed its flow and even became a little more active.

When Morgan stood in the square and tentatively stretched out a ray of psychic energy, she found that her light showed an unprecedented bright color in the subspace. This color was enough to attract any greedy demon, as well as countless subspace creatures: they are attracted by the sweet taste of the original body, and they seem to be unable to see the dangerous power of the original body, so they are shielded and wander around.

Seeing this, Morgan and Alpharius next to her looked at each other.

【Did you guess it too? 】

"Roughly the same."

Hydra nodded.

"Obviously, our brother created this strange scene: this square may be a trap he laid in the subspace, and the bait is the bright light of his own soul in the subspace."

"After attracting a steady stream of demons and subspace creatures, he used methods to trap them in the mist beneath our feet, and used them to conduct some unknown experiments...or research and development?"

Morgan nodded.

[The Mist contains every alien or subspace creature we know of that can perform mind control: What do you think he will use these things to develop? 】

"...You'll know if you go in and take a look."

With that said, Alpharius took the lead to take the step, followed by Morgan. The moment they officially stepped onto the square, they all felt an unprecedented sense of heaviness, and this sense of heaviness was felt by Bayar who followed closely behind. The performance was particularly obvious: the invincible legion champion just stepped on the edge of the square and could no longer move his steps, and each of his comrades also showed the same state.

Obviously, the Dawnbreakers need to stay here: the place inside is not something they can explore. Morgan took a few seconds to suppress the protests of the heirs, and then called the Midnight Ghost to him.

[I plan to let you stay outside and watch them. I'm not worried about them being alone outside. 】

Spider Queen's voice was low, while Midnight Ghost nodded seriously before showing that playful smile.

"Do you need me to hold hands with them? After all, unlike me, they don't have a teleportation teleportation watch from you."

[No need, they are my bloodline, I can teleport them at any time. 】

"..."

Conrad blinked: this seemed to be knowledge he had never known before.

【Anyway, please. 】

"……Do not worry."

"Can I ask them to conduct a limited search around the surroundings: I see that there seem to be entrances to some small laboratories in other places on this mountain, and there may be something to gain inside."

【Keep in touch with them at any time. 】

"clear."

Conrad nodded and watched Morgan and Alpharius walk into the iron gate of the mountain range. Then, he turned around and patted Bayar, who looked a little disappointed next to him.

"No need to despair, my dear nephew."

"We still have our own important tasks to perform."

"Send your people to explore those other laboratories. Be careful. There can't be nothing in them: we have to bring everything together to determine what the hell that guy is doing."

"..."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Bayar nodded.

——————

"Sir, this is a message from the Dark Angel Legion."

On the Dawn Goddess, Rana, who was concentrating on fleet affairs, was attracted by the voices of his subordinates.

The face of the chief guard now looks a little gloomy: after all, his genetic mother chose Bayar to accompany him instead of him. This result made Rana somewhat disappointed: but it was just a loss.

After all, at the same moment when this order was issued, Morgan unified all the Dawnbreaker battleships in the galaxy under the command of Rana. The trust of the original body came with her gently patting Rana on the shoulder.

[Rana, my son, my Praetorian Guard, the Dawnbringer Legion and the entire fleet are left to you: they are my most precious treasures, and you are the only one I can find worthy of my trust. people. 】

【I leave everything to you. 】

"..."

The head guard blinked. These words from the original body were enough to wipe out the little disappointment in his heart. He tried hard to cheer himself up, and then took the electronic board from his subordinates' hands.

"From the First Legion?"

"Yes."

"What happened to them..."

The battle-hardened head guard couldn't help but mutter to himself, and then glanced at the contents on the electronic board.

next moment.

Rana, who was originally standing, sat down in his seat in despair.

"...Is this information from the First Legion?!"

"...Yes, yes..."

"..."

"That's really the end of it."