Chapter 201: Emperor?

The swarm above the sky was so vast, like a torrent cascading from the heavens.

Anti-air fire still roared, countless projectiles exploding in midair, plasma streams and lasers flashing blinding light, illuminating Angel's Keep as bright as day.

Tens of thousands of insects turned to charred corpses midair, plummeting straight into the moat; the survivors plunged into the thirsty waters as if committing suicide.

On the ground, Tyranid behemoths, armored in thick chitinous shells, charged through the laser torrents of the defenses.

They crashed into the moat, splashing silver-white water, then sank beneath the surface.

The Thirsting Water, once used by the Assassinorum to kill Horus, crackled incessantly, siphoning moisture from the insects' bodies, leaving behind shriveled corpses, constantly replicating itself.

But the swarm seemed utterly indifferent to death.

The insects converged, piled atop one another, like a relentless wave, charging fearlessly toward the moat.

In an instant, both the Blood Angels and the mortals felt they were not fighting an alien foe, but an icy, merciless natural disaster.

The swarm advanced coldly and cruelly, deliberately compressing the moisture within the behemoths, reinforcing their bodies with harder chitin, leaving larger carcasses behind in the Thirsting Water.

The rate at which these carcasses piled up even surpassed the Thirsting Water's replication speed; lowly Tyranid organisms roared, guarding the behemoths as they fell into the water, a bony dam rising from the corpses, piercing the surface of the Thirsting Water.

"Attack the dam!!!!"

A furious roar erupted from the Blood Angels' chaplains:

"For the Emperor! He relies on you for victory! On your will and strength! Do not let him down!"

Laser torrents and bombardments converged on the bony dam; explosions shattered the bridge of insect carcasses several times, but more insects swiftly filled the gaps, using their newly grown, low-moisture bodies as new bridges.

These insects would die soon, but their heavily chitinous corpses were immune to absorption by the Thirsting Water.

The dam drew ever closer to the Imperial lines; the swarm advanced along a road built of death, while the mortals and Astartes behind the line roared in defiance.

The whistle of plasma suddenly rose—but not from the human lines.

Tyranid behemoths bearing bio-cannons appeared on the far bank of the moat, firing blinding azure plasma orbs from their weapons.

"Ion Cannon Beasts!!!!" Luo Ge screamed.

Any survivor from Asford would never forget these beasts—they had breached layer after layer of defenses across the city of Fudia.

"Take cover!!!!"

Scorching plasma detonated along the line, azure light spilling like newborn stars, illuminating every sector.

Just a few steps back, You Ji saw the spot he had just occupied explode violently; crackling plasma melted the steel defenses into molten iron, spilling hot across the ground.

Artillery behind the line surged upward, countless shells obliterating the ion cannon beasts on the far bank.

But gaps had opened; shrieking Blade Bugs roared across the Thirsting Water's waves, driving their claws into the banks and clawing their way onto the line.

You Ji frantically raised his laser rifle and fired—but he was too close, and these killing-born creatures were too fast; mortals could not aim at them.

Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!

Three sharp bolter rounds exploded midair; an Astartes chaplain stood beside You Ji, bolter raised high.

"You have fulfilled your duty! This line is lost!"

The chaplain stood before You Ji like a black wall, shielding him from the swarm:

"Now, warrior, take your weapon and retreat!"

At the very moment the angels gave the order, the mortals on the line began retreating.

They sprinted across the sand, fleeing through the ranks of Space Marines toward the rear, into the Void Shields.

"May Saint Dora the Dream protect you!" You Ji thought he heard Luo Ge shouting to the Astartes chaplains: "May your bolters' machine-spirits find eternal joy."

The chaplain nodded, then took the mortals' place, bolter in hand.

You Ji gripped his weapon in terror, dragging his foolish son toward the rear Void Shield.

But his steps were slow; You Ji lived on Bar II, a moon with lower mass and weaker gravity—the gravity of Bar Prime was too heavy for him and his son.

They trudged slowly, weaving between tanks, Space Marines, and war machines, breathing air thick with the acrid stench of Tyranid bio-matter, racing desperately toward the Void Shield.

His son screamed in terror, legs moving but body trembling; You Ji pulled him along, gasping for breath.

Screech!!

Suddenly, You Ji's son shoved his father hard; You Ji tumbled two meters, crashing onto the sand.

Before You Ji could turn and scold his child, he heard the sound of claws slicing through air.

A Blade Bug—a Tyranid Blade Bug—had slipped through the Astartes line and lunged inward.

Had his son not reacted in time, those claws would have slit You Ji's throat.

The Blade Bug reared its grotesque triangular head on the sand, fixing its gaze on You Ji's son.

Clearly, the boy's body was more robust, richer in biomass—drawing the bug's attention.

"No!!" You Ji's trembling hand gripped the laser rifle; the moment he held it, a firm resolve seemed to flow into his heart.

As a mortal, he could never match the Blade Bug's speed, never hope to kill such a dangerous creature.

But You Ji felt as if the rifle guided him—he fired a sharp laser bolt at the bug.

The laser pierced the bug's skull in an instant, the explosive beam consuming its head.

You Ji gasped, staring in disbelief at his laser rifle.

He—he thought he heard the rifle humming excitedly, thrilled by something.

Not just his rifle—the nearby Void Shield brightened; the bolter fire across the battlefield grew louder, tanks and war machines moved faster.

As if ten thousand machines were screaming in unison; You Ji even heard a crackling sound rising from the moat.

The Thirsting Water—countless streams—boiled forth from the riverbed, swirling into the air, evaporating into silver-gray particles.

"The Grey Storm," You Ji murmured, recalling his mother-in-law's prophecy.

Zhou Yun felt his consciousness scattered, stretched vast and immense—so vast his vision encompassed all three Bars.

He saw the Blood Knights and Flesh Tearers holding firm on Bar I, bathed in blood, Yor roaring through the chain-sword in Yor's hands.

He saw the Crimson Blade Chapter holding fast beyond Bar II's Astropathic Station, through the new power sword in Chapter Master Goren's grip.

He saw Water Seller You Ji sprawled in the sand, gripping his laser rifle, gasping for breath—seen through the countless machines of the battlefield.

Zhou Yun felt the spirits within these machines roaring, sensed their simple consciousness, felt these steel constructs as extensions of his own soul.

Slowly, Zhou Yun extended his round hand, gently caressing the billions of machines across the three planets.

He touched the Void Shields, every laser rifle and bolter, every microscopic nanomachine at the riverbed. Hmm? Nanomachines?

Zhou Yun paused, faintly sensing the nanomachines at the riverbed thrumming with excitement, sensing their intelligence awakening, hearing a cascade of complex mechanical tones.

But before Zhou Yun could examine these nanomachines further, he felt something alien inside his body.

As if some uncouth person had shoved a lump of corpse flesh into him.

Uncomfortable, Zhou Yun tore his gaze from reality and looked inward.

Warm sand dusted his face; the sun blazed in a cloudless sky; the Sakaia River flowed gently, shimmering with silver light.

"Nephew."

An ancient tongue, one Zhou Yun had never heard, echoed along the riverbank—but he understood it without effort.

"What kind of man do you wish to become when you grow up?"

A dark-robed adult man with a deep voice asked.

". ind."

A clear, pure, childish voice rose from the bank—a boy's voice, untainted by any impurity.

". ood. A good man."

As if stubbornly insisting, the child spoke again.

The dark-robed man chuckled lowly, as if hearing something deeply amusing, then walked away slowly.

As he departed, Zhou Yun finally saw the boy by the river.

The boy wore simple clothes, had long brown hair, and washed a beast's bone in the water.

He slowly lifted his head, gazing at the bone dripping with water.

Zhou Yun saw his face clearly: Central Asian features, light-brown skin, brown eyes, a wreath of laurel branches on his head.

"The Emperor?" Zhou Yun whispered.

"." The boy said nothing, head bowed, as if deep in thought.

"Yellow Fur?"

The boy still gave no reply.

Zhou Yun rubbed his chin, considering whether to kick him in the face.

(End of Chapter)