Chapter 526 Although it is serious, some people will smile

"Can you tell me again what your research name is?"

"The Matrix of Nothingness." Sage Coran repeated. One of his limbs held up a gnarled chrome finger, "An ancient creation, older than when men first landed on Cadia. The last time our holy order had the opportunity to study this The influence of creation on Blackstone Fortress dates back to the Gothic War...The data available for speculation are too scarce..."

"I don't want to hear about history, sage. I just want to know if it can prevent the thing above us that is obviously charging and preparing to shoot." Oddly enough, many people think that "too rude" seems like a Creed, a "country bumpkin addicted to tobacco and alcohol", has a stronger friendship with this sage than his predecessor. In fact, the silent support of Sage Coran and the Mechanicus is also an important reason why Creed still has authority. one.

Countless exchanges took place between the mechanical sage's computing chip and the biomass brain cells. Then he realized that Creed's attitude was not because of rudeness, but because of anxiety. The sage's biological collector collected the information from the air. It was full of sweat filled with stress substances, burned human flesh, burning metal, and the smell of protein denaturation, but he had long since replaced all his five senses with beautiful machinery, so he didn't realize it at the first time.

They were now standing in a secret cave bunker, where only the two of them were allowed to enter.

Because if any loyal human soldier saw the scene here, there is a high probability that he would scream "Emperor bless you!" and then open fire on them.

Under their feet and around them were the bodies of fallen humans who had been burned by Coran's heavy-armed servitors with flamethrowers. They were densely packed, covering the ground like a thick blanket, but the deaths of these people were obvious. It wasn't entirely because of the flames the servitors were spraying.

Some of the remains' heads showed the shape of the remains of a split fleshy flower with countless fangs, while some of the corpses showed a strange sense of fracture, as if something was coming out of them from the inside out. When crawling out of the stomach, the cavity was also turned upside down. Some of the original owners were literally overloaded because they could not withstand too much psychic backlash, and "painted" themselves on the rock wall.

This was originally Coran's secret laboratory to study the stones called the Void Array. Now it happened to be requisitioned by Creed, because it has the power amplifier and other things he needs, and it can also be used to activate the Void Matrix at the same time. .

These dead people are substitutes of last resort. They came from different places, either forced or voluntary: a forcibly detained Inquisition ship, the prisons and death rows of Cadia, and of course most of the Cadian Astra Militarum who could be mobilized Certified psykers, or even people with a certain amount of psychic talent.

Their psychic powers were used to concentrate their energy to replace the Cadian Astrologer Choir who all died from the mind-exploding emotional shockwaves of the subspace when the dark expedition fleet leapt into real space. Yes, without the Astropathic Choir, they can't keep in touch with the outside world and can't send warnings.

These people burned out the last vestiges of their psychic potential in this secret laboratory. Rows of living people were like candles with accelerant, where psychic flames sprouted from the inside of their eyes, mouths and nostrils. , lit, burned, and then died, just to send a short message: Cadia is under siege, the great plunderer, urgent.

Fortunately, as the last psykers were being devoured by the psychic fire of the Warp and the emerging imps, this message should have been sent, although they had no idea who would receive it or who would receive it. How long will it take for someone to receive it, interpret it, and take action, but there is no doubt that this matter is completed.

"Then it depends on your void matrix, sage. There is no one else here. I sent Kyle away. To be honest. Is it possible? When I came down, I looked up at the damn thing. They are absolutely That ridiculously big main gun thing is about to be launched over our heads, maybe in the next second!”

"Although my main research content is the stone pillars here, our cult still doesn't know enough about the alien technology." Sage Kelan chose his words carefully, "I just said it, it is not only ancient, but there are no identical examples. Let's refer to the simulation...well, Om Messiah's wrench, if I fail, my laboratory will become my tomb, and I think I will be happy to continue to receive data for analysis before I die."

"So what percent is it?" Creed asked aggressively.

"My calculated odds are ninety-nine percent."

"Isn't this the same as success?! Damn it, start it!"

"It's the chance of startup failure." The sage said calmly, his mechanical bionic parts were rattling, and part of his own internal program was beginning to make his final hymn and confession in praise of the God of All Machines, "So you see , if I press this switch——"

The air in the secret room suddenly seemed to be stagnant.

Then Sage Kelan was surprised to find that his mechanical fingers were pressing firmly on the switch of the void matrix - but the switch had already been pressed.

The sage's eyepiece immediately flashed, and the three lenses quickly telescoped and rotated, frantically trying to capture any sign of any living thing in the room except the two of them, "No - Om Messiah! I don't remember that I just - —”

A violent knock on the door suddenly sounded outside the armored door panel.

They looked at each other, Sage Coran opened the blast-proof door that was locked by many mechanisms, and Creed walked out.

"What's wrong?"

Kyle pulled him out excitedly. Creed's nose smelled sulfur, ozone, rotten blood, the special smell of sick people, and a smell of ammonia, but all of these were blown away by a burst of wind blowing across the continent. The wind weakened and weakened rapidly. He realized something, stepped out of the last hidden door, and looked up.

——The huge, ominous black symbol-like fortress still hangs in the sky of Cadia. But the filthy light clusters surging on the muzzle of the main gun that was originally evil and greedily accumulated the unclean energy of the subspace have disappeared. The sky above the Clough battlefield is clear and cloudless, with only large and small overlapping geometric shapes. It is gradually fading away, showing the impact that has just been endured around a certain shooting point. Around the impact point, he initially thought it was clouds, but then Creed realized that it was the smoke of the "neutralized" power of the Warp.

"YES!" He excitedly lit up the cigar, took a long puff, and then sucked all the smoke into his lungs and exhaled it from his nostrils. "I'm glad that I don't have to think about whether I want to thank you for your loyal service before being vaporized. And quickly said some last words that shouldn’t have been said, Kyle.”

His flag officer grinned, "Who wouldn't be, sir."

"Let's go! It's time to show them the determination of the Cadian people!" He climbed up to the heights, raised his arms and shouted to the soldiers gathered around him, "The Mechanicus' matrix protects us! They can't be killed from orbit. We are here! Soldiers! The battle has just begun!"

"Will not fall! Cardia will not fall!"

The slogan was so loud that it spread throughout the streets.

From one fortress to another, from one bunker to another, from one city wall to another, workers in the factory shouted slogans and began to fill ammunition boxes, and the officers in the headquarters threw away the data pads in their hands. , maps and other things, hugging each other and raising their hands, the sound was so loud that it formed a loud shout over the Clough battlefield.

"Cadia stands!"

Until the first traditional artillery shell was fired from the ground and landed on the position, ending their celebration.

For both the offense and defense, the battle began at the same time.

The siege of Cadia has officially begun.

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"You didn't tell me that they came down here with us."

Mercurius's tone was low, echoing under the fortress's liquid-filled ceiling made of strange flesh and blood, like the roar of a wild beast, even though the Word Bearers Chaos Interstellar, who also wore red armor, wrapped scriptures, and was assigned to fight under him, The soldiers also began to feel uneasy. "Perhaps the Warmaster temporarily decided to put the people who praised the dark gods in one place for a neater look."

War blacksmith Hongsuo said seriously, "Don't worry, my champion, our own team will set off from the Indomitable and meet us on the ground, and then you can cut down whoever you want. I like the head. Urkanthos was sent by Warmaster to jump on the orbital platform. He will start to log in later. Be patient, no one will come to snatch the skull from you."

He signaled that he, the "controlled" "Champion of Khorne" warrior whose high force value had recently become well-known among the Khorne and Slaanesh warriors of the Legion, was the first to step onto the largest airdrop pod, which was A Dreadclaw painted red with the current logo of the Word Bearers on it, the Chaos Space Marines were surprised to see the thing tremble the second the champion approached it, and then because of Mercurius He roared and punched it angrily, and it immediately became as orderly as a serious Legion drop pod, as if it were a dead thing.

"This Dreadclaw is ours alone!" he roared again.

The sharpness of the two-handed giant ax that opened up the stance and was easily swung with one hand stopped the leader of the Word Bearers from protesting - this ax was almost three-quarters of the size of a Space Marine. The sharp blade is now hovering just a hair in front of his loudspeaker grille.

The Khorne champion roared, "Don't follow me!"

"Oh, he was a little irritable, probably because he felt the competition between the champions."

The war blacksmith shrugged, tightened the cloak wrapped around him - the cloak was long and thick, covering his whole body, who told him to give his camouflage to the person next to him - and then he also got into the spacious room. Dreadclaw, "After a while, my angry champion may lose control of himself when he sees the enemy. I will be responsible for keeping an eye on Mercurius so that he doesn't get too out of control. You can go to other landing bays."

This reasonable statement gave the Word Bearers no reason to object, so when all the landing bays were ready, the hangar door opened towards the blue-green land of Cadia.

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The Martyr's Bastion, a mile outside the southern walls of Clough's fortress, now received an unusual stream of reinforcements.

The bastion itself is triangular in shape and is seven stories high. It is part of the defense system in the southern part of the theater. The artificial plain behind it is an important location for the defensive artillery system of Clough Fortress.

The original Cadian guards here looked with awe and intimidation at the four slaves of the war group who were passing by them as the leader of a procession, walking through every passage to the top of the city.

These four people were all slaves serving their masters and ascetics. They were covered with scars and wore hoods. Their bodies exuded the strong smell of asceticism and sweat, and they lined up in a cross formation. The person at the front held up a sacred shield devoutly. The golden ornate shield was inlaid with a set of skulls, spines and ribs that were much larger than ordinary people. The forehead of the skull was also inlaid with the chapter emblem with gold and obsidian; forming a cross. The two people on the left and right were holding gorgeous gold incense burners that didn't match their tattered clothes, and they exuded synthetic milk. The smell of burning incense and myrrh, they were swinging these incense burners, letting the scented smoke spread to every place they arrived; and the slave at the end held up an open and worn book that had been read countless times. The book of hymns, its size second only to the shield in front, now opens to "Thy Will Be Done Sacrifice."

These slaves were singing these hymns of divine death, of the great god on the throne of Terra, of the light that guided them forward, and to whom they would joyfully offer pain, fury, blood, and sacrifice. .

Behind this group of slaves who were "consecrating" the area where their masters would fight in accordance with the group's practice was a group of taller and eye-catching black-armored warriors. The plating of their power armor is completely black, with only the shoulder armor being white, with a black Templar Cross on it. Bone-white tabards are hung outside the armor, with chains, skulls and reliquaries hanging around their waists. They are particularly unique. One thing is that each of their weapons is chained to their own wrist armor. When they move around, they hit the ceramite armor and make an extra slight metal friction sound. This means that no matter what they do or where they go, Will not be separated from their weapons.

Walking at the front of this team full of holiness and pride is the leader of the Black Templar Crusade, Marshal Almarich. Next to him is his standard bearer Lord Mordred. The former presses the button. The sword hilt held its head high, the latter holding high the dragon's tail flag representing the Crusian Expeditionary Force.

Behind them was the command team of the expeditionary force, followed by the battle brothers. On the wings of this team were the new bloods of the Black Templars. Their armor was lighter than that of their predecessors. Rather than being humble, they are loudly promoting the great achievements and reputations of each battle monk in the team, and at the same time asking other mortals here to make way for them.

"This is Davarion, the man who single-handedly destroyed a Corrupted Squire with a melta bomb."

"Coming here is the doomsday of the orcs, the executioner of heretics, Jephris!"

"Behold, these are those who have sworn to save you, mortal warriors of Cadia, be glorious! Be proud! For you will see them personally demonstrate before you how the wrath of the High God-Emperor destroys the unholy. Enemy! ”

Xuanhe's team reached the highest point of the city wall, where they could turn around and see the southern wall of Clough Fortress a mile away.

"This is called the Fortress of the Martyrs," Marshal Amalrich's face was as cold as a rock, "So, why? Before the battle begins, we need to know what glorious sacraments happened here, which will inspire us."< br>

Lord Mordred looked around, and the Cadian soldiers he saw took a step back from a distance.

"So, you, yes, it's you," he raised his hand and pointed his black fingertips at a company commander from the crowd, "Why is this place called the Fortress of the Martyrs?"

"I, I..." The officer who was pointed out turned from the calmest moment in the crowd to panic, but he did calm down quickly and replied, "Dear monks, I was not originally a defender here. However, there is indeed a theory that St. Maloteca was martyred here. ”

Marshal Amarych was unmoved. Obviously, this was not what he wanted to hear.

The officer looked at him and added boldly, "However, after we were transferred, we thought that maybe this was the original meaning of the fortress. Martyr means martyr. You see, our duty is to delay and ensure that the people behind us Shoot the plains, but if we are surrounded, no one will come to rescue us, and our duty is to shoot the enemy in the back until we are all dead, which is what martyrdom means, I guess."

This time, Marshal Amarych's face showed an expression of approval for the first time.

"Yes." He said, looking up at the bolides that began to roar in the clouds in the sky, "Plant the flag!"

Mordred forcefully inserted the dragon's tail flag into the cracks in the fortress' bricks.

The flag is unfurled and fluttering.

"How long will we fulfill our duty and guard this place?!" Marshal Amalrich turned around and raised his sword.

"Til death do us part!"

More drop pods roared closer.

(End of chapter)