40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 505 23. The Statue is Broken, and the Dead Resurrected (VIII)

The Night Soul is suffering from an unprecedented huge destruction. For a warship that has been in service for 10,000 years, this statement is almost quite shocking.

The Milky Way has been dark for 10,000 years. The flames of war and the Star Torch are the only two things that can be called glorious in this dark universe. The latter is rare and almost only appears around the solar star field, but the former is not the case.

The intensity and intensity of the war have already developed to a terrifying level in the past 10,000 years. The Night Soul has not avoided any battle that requires it. Therefore, she has experienced nine huge damages such as keel injuries.

This time is different. This time, the attack did not come from the outside, but broke out from the inside. The people on the bridge did not even know what happened. They could only hear the continuous warnings from the instruments and stared blankly at the void shield that could still support for a long time.

The hull was not hit, and the huge warship that appeared from the back of Litatra did not even fire at them anymore, but the vibration of the deck never stopped.

A vague panic began to spread among many people. Although most people still maintained their rationality, sometimes, some things only need the slightest chance.

Those things grasped the fear in front of them without hesitation, and immediately broke into the bridge through the chaotic power overflowing the entire ship on the Night Soul. The originally calm main bridge instantly turned into a tragic battlefield.

The crew members whose bodies were stolen screamed and rushed towards their former companions, and then were pierced through their flesh and blood by explosive bombs, plasma or insignificant laser guns. The ghosts and monsters laughed cruelly, jumped out of their bloody bodies, and began to fight with the guards and shadow knights.

But they were destined to lose. The bridge of the Night Soul had extremely tight defenses and five complete emergency measures.

Captain Seraph sounded the alarm as soon as the attack began. When the battle on the bridge officially started, the bridge door had been firmly locked. Waves of mist gathered from nowhere and drifted in, bringing many silent tall black shadows.

There was no need to worry about the battle on the bridge, but Seraph smelled another unique dangerous smell.

He has been the captain of the Night Soul for almost a century. Perhaps looking at the entire empire, this age is nothing for an officer who can serve as a captain. However, among the many captains of the Night Soul, his service period is already very long.

This is inseparable from his keen sense of smell.

In the chaos, the captain held his plasma tightly and strode towards an operating table rising from under the floor. The defense line formed by the Shadow Knights and the crew has gained a foothold and is strangling the remaining demons.

Seraph doesn't think they can still make any waves, and this is the real doubt.

Why did the instigator send a group of useless demons to the bridge?

They can hardly cause too many casualties, and may even arouse morale and anger in people's hearts in advance. Seraph did not believe that the instigator behind the scenes was only at this level, so the moment he stepped onto the operating table, he immediately began to check the specific situation of the engine.

A powerful battleship like the Retribution class requires a lot of energy. Its entire stern is a complex machine composed of drive tubes, engines and plasma reactors, which together even occupy about one-third of the length of the entire hull.

However, half a minute later, Seraph was surprised to find that the engine room was not damaged at all, and all the reactors and engines had no problems. Only the old-fashioned overheating of the drive tube was still emitting a dazzling red light in the self-check list.

The real problem that caused the instrument to alarm was actually in the center of the hull, where a large area was completely surrounded by red.

What happened?

Seraph had no way of knowing the answer. He could only force himself to calm down and start trying to rebuild the ship's communication so that he could report the news to the commander, Kaiul Sahora.

He didn't know the truth, at least not at this moment, and this was actually a great thing for him.

"Still protecting this ship of weak mortals and your incompetent descendants?!"

Samus roared and pressed Shen to the ground, his eyes glowing red.

"Avoid the engine, avoid the reactor, deliberately lead me to the middle section, limit your own power. What are you thinking, Shen?!"

Shen didn't answer, or rather, the monster born from Shen's body didn't answer this. The flames of anger flashed and it stood up. A blazing sword appeared out of thin air and was held in its hand.

It raised the sword indifferently, and with just one sword, it forced Samus back, and left a terrible scar on the demon's chest that was deep enough to see the bone. Samus didn't care about it. A smile slowly appeared on the face of the beast that looked like neither beast nor human.

"Do you remember what I said to you six hundred years ago?" It said with a grin, swung its claws and stabbed them deeply into the wall.

The thick armor plates made of mixed metals that could withstand artillery fire began to break layer by layer under its brute force and claws from the warp, as fragile as white paper.

The monster still didn't answer this. It dispersed the sword and stretched out its equally sharp claws like a ghost seeking death, and pounced on Samus.

The jet-black flames spread out from behind it, turning into chains covered with ferocious spikes, piercing deeply into the demon's body.

Samus roared and chopped them off one by one with his claws. The spirit of chaos was responding to it with an unprecedented attitude, making this body of the living inanimate extremely powerful.

In just a few seconds, it fought against 'Shen' thousands of times. Claws and claws intertwined, the body was stained with blood, the monster and the demon collided together like two unconscious beasts, biting and attacking each other.

What exactly is ‘Shen’ thinking? I’m afraid no one can get a glimpse of it from its ferocious bone face. But Samus was different. His strange face, which looked like a beast but not a beast, but not a human, was actually full of regret.

"If this is what you look like in the end," it muttered, and the flesh on its face began to twitch in the thick hair on its temples.

The voice and words soon turned into a roar containing such great anger that it opened its mouth fiercely and bit the monster's neck.

It received a brutal claw blow, severing the teeth and half of its tongue, and the flames instantly reduced them to cinders. More angry flames poured into Samus's body along the place where the flesh and blood disappeared, forcing it to cry out loudly while experiencing the pain it had experienced many times.

"You should have had a more outstanding form, Shen! You should have killed me here, or been killed by me, and then put an end to this thousand-year feud! I swore that I would give you a heroic death. , but look at what you look like now? You can't be called a hero at all!"

The monster stood there indifferently, slowly raised its claws, and leaned down, as if it were a four-legged beast that was about to charge soon.

Its performance made Samus laugh angrily, forcing it to raise its claws wide open - at this moment, the monster moved.

The speed it displayed at this moment was unbearable even in time and space, and a loud sound as loud as an engine starting up was accompanied by a terrifying shock wave.

Before Samus even had time to realize what was happening, he was pushed by a huge force and crashed through three solid steel walls. The fragments scattered, and high-temperature steam erupted from the broken pipe, which was wrapped in flames and began to burn its flesh.

Their summoner activated this power without restraint, causing the rage to fill Samus's entire body in a short time. The chaotic essence surging in its body was still for a moment, and was quickly swallowed.

They will come back again, and soon. However, at this moment, the power in Samus' body no longer responded to its call.

The rage has even begun to destroy the very foundation of Samus' existence.

The monster finally sneered, and this sound alone was enough to explain all the previous tolerance and silence. Samus had a mixture of emotions on his face, but finally settled into a smile from the bottom of his heart.

The demon laughed wildly: "Well done, Shen! Perfect tactic!"

"There is no sinking here anymore," the monster said clearly. "And it's not perfect either."

Then, it waved its clenched right fist.

Claws are a symbol of beasts, but fists are another concept. In the process of evolution, humans gave up natural weapons that could hurt prey or enemies, and lost their thick fur and strong muscles, but in exchange for fingers that were indispensable in the long process of evolution.

Five fingers that can be used to grip and use tools. It could be used to hold a spear or to carve a marble statue. Of course, it can also be clenched into a fist and then waved like it is now.

A loud noise came again, the air shook and shattered, and Samus spun and flew out. The entire upper body had been completely shattered, but the monster did not let it go. Instead, it pounced on it, strangled its neck, and led it out of the Night Soul's deck.

The steel shattered, and the coldness of the vacuum hit them instantly. The huge traction force caused them to fly a considerable distance in the icy space.

At this moment, even Samus felt a sense of doubt - what on earth is Shen going to do?

Its question was answered after a pair of black burning wings appeared.

Samus's eyes widened, but the monster just clenched its claws, grasped its bones and flesh, used it as a shield, and flew decisively towards the burning Litatra.

——

Erebus waved his finger, activating the power of Chaos and placing an illusion in front of a beast.

Its shape was tall and twisted. One hand could still look like a human hand, holding a long and narrow blade, but the other hand had become a ferocious and sharp giant claw. Its entire body was burning with raging flames, and its face showed no trace of being a human being.

The Dark Apostle shook his head regretfully, sighed, and began to add strength, turning the illusion into a terrifying nightmare that could kill all living creatures.

It didn't work on the beast, but it was enough to keep it quiet for a while. He didn't want to waste any more time with it, he had a lot of other troubles to deal with.

Such as this.

A mutated power sword appeared quietly from the darkness and slashed towards his neck. At such a critical moment, a solemn chant suddenly sounded from the shadow of Erebus.

The chorus that sung the praises of the gods and the Eightfold Way only uttered one syllable before the sword stopped in place.

Erebus stopped, looked carefully at the Astartes who attacked him, and actually chuckled.

"Your willpower is really terrifying." He praised without hesitation. "I haven't seen many people who can suppress this kind of call from instinct. Your name is, Iharal? Ah, what a good name."

Smiling, he stretched out his right hand from his wide sleeve robe, and a dagger as thin as a cicada's wing gleamed, piercing Iharal's chest. Blood gushed out, but the face of the skull remained expressionless, as if the injury of being pierced through the heart was not worth mentioning to him.

But Erebus withdrew the dagger at this moment, walked away from him casually, without any fear of being attacked a second time - and this was not arrogance, because his shadow had left him and completely enveloped him. It's Iharal.

Illusions that looked like real ones were thrown out one after another, and the huge amount of chaos power easily overturned Iharal's mind. He is still persevering, and his willpower is so strong that it is incomprehensible, but how can he get rid of those layers of illusions?

At this moment, even if he wanted to turn into a monster, he might not be able to succeed again.

The demon Dolore looked at Erebas strolling around with a little surprise. He did not expect that he could deal with the two enemies that were very difficult for him so easily.

But what about the next one?

Dolore's worry seemed to be heard by Erebus. The dark apostle stopped again and narrowly avoided a power sword that was deforming in the angry flames.

The thing holding it can no longer be called a human being. Its streamlined body is covered with luxurious golden threads. The dark blue cloak completely covers the creature's body. There are ferocious twisted horns on the top of its head, but its eyes are empty. Like a rotting corpse.

Erebus frowned slightly, showing a little bit of irritation for the first time, but the thing didn't give him a chance to continue casting spells. The blade cuts down like water, and every blow is enough to destroy most things in the world.

If Zell were here, he would definitely be able to identify who this elegant swordsmanship belongs to.

Or rather, who it once belonged to.

"Tricky." Erebus commented with a frown.

He gave this evaluation after dodging dozens of slashes in a row. Dolor heard his words, but still remained undecided - not that it wanted to see the same thing as the Lord of Changes' group of fraudsters. Have fun, it just doesn't know whether to help or not.

The Dark Apostle only asked it to spread the plague and promised it all the hotbeds with good quality. He never said anything like asking it to help fight.

While the Great Unclean One was still worrying about this matter, a loud noise interrupted its thoughts. The sound came from the golden light blooming in Erebas' hand. It was not big in size, but as dazzling as the sun.

The flaming sword was unable to move as a result, and was firmly bound in the light - stopping with it was the demon holding the sword himself.

Erebus shook his head towards it and said, "If you come prepared,"

He didn't finish his words, and it ended here. He pushed a dagger lightly into the devil's heart.

The special properties of the ritual dagger immediately began to interfere with the foundation of the devil's existence in the material world - its former body was dying, and the power of the ritual dagger was something it could not resist for the time being.

Chaos roared loudly, and holy chants came from Erebus's shadow again. In the golden light, the devil was banished back to where it belonged.

Full of hate.

The Dark Apostle smiled, then clasped his hands together and pushed the golden light out.

"Stop!" he shouted in completely indescribable language.

These words seemed to have magic power, causing a dark monster carrying a giant sword to stop in place, but could not stop it for long.

Its body was too huge, with horns on its head, and it looked extremely savage. The huge sword on its shoulders was even more ferocious. Dolor, who was behind, couldn't help but shrink his neck, which was completely submerged in fat, and buried himself in his diseased fat, not daring to look any further.

It is completely unable to understand why these similar people living as humans can store such huge hatred and malice in their hearts. There are even enough of them to interfere with the form of the ascended demon queen.

"Ah, a powerful enemy." Erebus sighed, and finally Shi Shiran turned around. "Sir Dolor, I need your help."

"We'll be there soon!" The Great Unclean One replied honestly and honestly, and threw out the diseased corpse in his hand. Its original shape was almost unrecognizable. The armor was corroded, the body was diseased and swollen, and maggots kept falling out of the wide open chest and abdomen.

It was thrown by the Great Unclean One with sheer brute force at the feet of the demon, behind Erebus.

The devil's deep beast eyes inevitably glanced at the corpse, and the flames in his eyes suddenly rose, and the law that briefly imprisoned it was instantly broken free.

Erebus laughed helplessly as a giant sword pierced his chest. This should have been a sign of victory, but the devil didn't feel the slightest joy in getting his revenge.

It trembled and roared, and Gein's diseased corpse actually raised its head. The marks of the past are vaguely visible on its swollen and pale face, while germs and maggots manipulate its vocal cords to emit the sounds of the deceased.

"Slor, help me, I'm in so much pain."

At the same time, Erebus, whose chest was pierced by the giant sword, began to dissipate, flying around like fragments. The demon furiously threw away the corpse and began to rampage, looking for traces of Erebus everywhere and wanting to kill him with a thousand knives.

But it never saw the other party, so he focused on Dolor. The fat and white Great Unclean One suddenly became alert. He immediately raised his hands and started to retreat, even looking a little aggrieved.

"Don't look at me, big man, isn't he always hiding behind your back?"

The demon turned his head sharply and saw an obsidian dagger.

Erebus sighed heavily again. While moving away from the demon who was locked in place and fighting against the banishment spell and the unstable space, he twitched his fingers and called his shadow back like a dog.

The blood on the square flew up and spread towards the devil's feet, quickly forming an extremely complex banishment circle. Even if the demon judge of the Tribunal were here in person, it would be impossible to do better than him.

Amid the demon's roar, Erebas turned his head and said to Dolor, who was still in fear: "Your Excellency, what did you do before you came out of the garden of your loving father?"

"I'm a fly." Dolor said honestly. "What's wrong? Why do you ask that?"

"It's okay." Erebus said.

He raised his hands high and then swung them down. White light overflowed, and amidst the sound like breaking glass, the magic circle played its due role, banishing the demon back to where it belonged.

The Dark Apostle finally took a deep breath and waved his hand casually. A strong wind suddenly blew up, blowing the corpses in the square everywhere. Whether they were demons or civilians, they were all driven to other places in this same wind.

A pure white road, unstained by any blood, appeared at the feet of Erebas. He smiled comfortably, and there was unconcealable joy spreading in his smile.

Although a dagger was lost, the result was good.

He walked toward the interior of the church.

Dolor carefully stepped over Iharal who was still struggling, swaying his fat body and followed Erebas, while still not forgetting to ask: "Is your plan successful like this, Ereba?" "

"Absolutely," the Dark Apostle replied in a deep voice, and stopped in front of the church door, observing inside. Those bloody emperor statues made him raise his eyebrows, and he slowly withdrew his feet that he wanted to step into.

"What's the matter?" Dolor asked.

"It's nothing, it's just that I think you helped me a lot along the way. Therefore, this opportunity to win glory for my loving father should be given to you."

Erebus answered with a smile, but received only a confused expression. He kept smiling and said, "What I mean is, I want you to be the first to step into this church."

"Is there any difference?" The Great Unclean One, who had always behaved in a simple and honest manner, almost to the point of stupidity, asked at this time. "And I didn't contribute much?"

It looked at Erebus with a blank expression.

The smile on the Dark Apostle's face finally faded a little. He wanted to say something, but he still swallowed it when it reached his lips. At this moment, a fireball streaking across the sky caught his attention.

Erebus quickly turned around and walked back to the square. In the spreading darkness, many voices began to boil.

"The Chosen One!"

"One among ten thousand"

"It's coming to kill you, Erebus! Ha! It's coming to kill you!"

The Dark Apostle sighed and raised his right hand. Clouds and thunder began to gather in the sky. Then, he moved his finger and pointed at the fireball.

Lightning began to gather.