Chapter 275: Sanguinius: Yes! Strike there! Kill him!

Inard's oracle suddenly rang in Efraini's ears,

Do not let the Death of Mankind kill Guilliman!

Do not let the Death of Mankind kill Guilliman!

Do not let the Death of Mankind kill Guilliman!

Three low, icy cries echoed in Efraini's ears,

For the first time, the Death's emissary heard urgency in her god's voice,

Efraini instantly understood the meaning behind Inard's words,

The Death of Mankind possesses power similar to Inard's; killing Guilliman could achieve the same effect as Efraini's own,

Efraini had originally cared not who struck the blow,

but now that Inard's oracle had been spoken,

Efraini made her judgment instantly,

Three things were needed to resurrect Robert Guilliman:

the Death of Mankind or the Eldar Death, the Armor of Fate, and the Archmagos Belisarius Cawl to activate the Armor of Fate,

now that the Death of Mankind had vanished, all Efraini could do was,

without hesitation, charge toward the transport behind Belisarius Cawl,

if she seized the Armor of Fate, then if the Death of Mankind killed Guilliman again, he would die for real—

clearly not his goal; thus, by controlling the Armor of Fate, she could turn the tables on Him.

Efraini's form blurred into afterimages as she lunged at the transport behind Belisarius Cawl,

Belisarius Cawl noticed her movement; his metallic body twisted, and the Omnissiah's Axe instantly slashed toward Efraini,

but Efraini moved like a nimble Eldar dancer, her foot tapping lightly, her body supple as a shadowcat, slipping past the axe's blade.

Seeing Efraini evade his axe, Belisarius Cawl's body swelled violently, revealing mechanical weapons hidden beneath his crimson robe,

this was precisely why Efraini had not chosen to capture Belisarius Cawl directly,

she knew that over ten thousand years he had layered his body with countless technological artifacts—essentially a steel beast disguised as a man beneath a crimson robe,

it was easier to seize the Armor of Fate than to capture Belisarius Cawl,

especially since the Death of Mankind's location was unknown and he could strike at any moment,

this placed psychological pressure on Efraini—a shadowy, invisible enemy was far too dangerous.

In an instant, Efraini closed the distance to the transport,

the weapons on Belisarius Cawl's body locked onto her,

and at that moment, a crimson flash swept past—a red-armored warrior, a thousand faces like a ghost, blocked Belisarius Cawl's path,

in his hand glowed the deep blue radiance of Asuval, one of the Five Old Women's Swords—the Sword of Silent Screams,

the power of the Eldar Death clung to the blade, turning the thousand-faced warrior into a roaring vortex of death,

in contrast, Belisarius Cawl's metallic beast-body was the Omnissiah's will made manifest in the material universe—every piston, gear, wire, and chip pulsed with the power of the Machine God,

Belisarius Cawl's Omnissiah's Axe clashed with Asuval, and a deep, resonant hum rang out,

the two were nearly evenly matched—but for the thousand-faced warrior, that was enough.

Efraini let out a triumphant growl; though puzzled why the Death of Mankind had not intervened to stop her, the Armor of Fate lay right before her—

Efraini's Sword of Sorrow, Kevir, slashed open Belisarius Cawl's transport—but inside,

the interior was empty, no trace of the auto-relic box,

only Hylandri the Veil-Walker, wearing a mirror-faced mask, crouched within,

she turned her head toward Efraini as the transport split open and spoke in a bitter tone:

"Good afternoon, Lady Efraini."

"Zhou Yun told me to hide here and tell you he's tricking you."

Then Hylandri the Veil-Walker, clearly under the control of the Lockheart Stalker Beetle, raised her arm,

"Get out of the way!" Hylandri the Veil-Walker shouted.

but Hylandri knew Zhou Yun had enhanced her speed with that strange clockwork device, while Efraini, stunned by this moment, moved slower—

she couldn't dodge.

a monomolecular thread coated in Dark Eldar anesthetic toxin pierced Efraini's shoulder, freezing her body rigid as she crashed to the ground,

the troop transport was empty—it was a trap.

she gritted her teeth, unable to understand why the Death of Mankind had anticipated her move—did He control fate so utterly? Or did He possess some powerful prophetic ability?

but since the Armor of Fate had failed,

Efraini tried to summon Inard's avatar, Incani,

the Death walking among mortals, stronger than a Khaen fragment,

but Inard refused her call; Efraini felt Inard's fear,

if she summoned Incani here, even the avatar or the Death himself would be in danger—this was the Eldar Death's innate sensitivity to death,

Efraini was stunned—she had never imagined Inard would refuse to manifest his avatar,

she could only urgently turn her gaze to the thousand-faced warrior, hoping he could defeat Belisarius Cawl,

yet Belisarius Cawl emitted a low, mocking chuckle,

as if ridiculing Efraini and the others for having never escaped Zhou Yun's design,

he swung his axe violently, forcing the thousand-faced warrior back for a moment,

then pulled from beneath his robe a comical hat with mechanical fingers and placed it atop his head,

Belisarius Cawl's form vanished in a flash, reappearing instantly before Robert Guilliman's throne,

and at that moment, a door of pink-tinged red wood suddenly appeared beside Belisarius Cawl—Zhou Yun stepped through it,

the two suddenly appeared before the throne, startling everyone,

nearby Space Marines of the First Company and Terminators immediately unleashed volleys of bullets at Belisarius Cawl and Zhou Yun,

but the psychic hat on Belisarius Cawl's head twitched, its mechanical fingers pointing forward—a powerful psychic barrier instantly formed, shielding him,

simultaneously, from Zhou Yun's fourth-dimensional pocket emerged over a dozen Astartes clad in crimson power armor, each wearing the same comical psychic hat,

the Blood Angels formed a line, their overlapping psychic barriers blocking all incoming fire,

the Grey Knights tried to shatter the barrier with their Banishing Word, but the psychic hat's shield had no connection to the Warp,

neither Grey Knights nor Black Legion sorcerers could interfere with it.

Zhou Yun held the black sword in one hand and withdrew from his fourth-dimensional pocket the auto-relic box containing the Armor of Fate,

he had long foreseen Inard's possible betrayal and Efraini's actions,

after all, Zhou Yun's pocket held one of the galaxy's top two seers—a far more reliable seer than the Eldar's riddles,

moreover, his Prophecy-Checker device also helped him determine possible future events,

neither Zhou Yun nor Sanguinius understood Inard's true nature, but both could guess: Inard belonged to the Warp's realm of corruption and destruction, and thus, to some degree, competed with Zhou Yun,

competition in the Warp is a zero-sum game—when one entity's domain expands, it inevitably squeezes out another's,

if Zhou Yun killed Guilliman, corrupted him, and absorbed his essence into his own domain, his domain would expand, displacing Inard's position,

clearly something Inard would not tolerate—hence his betrayal became possible,

thus, relying on the Prophecy-Checker and Sanguinius's visions, Zhou Yun successfully avoided Inard's sudden attack.

Under Belisarius Cawl's control, the auto-relic box emitted a low hum and slowly unfolded atop the throne; its internal machinery released scorching air, gradually enveloping Robert Guilliman's body,

one by one, each detail, each component, each element—look!

Zhou Yun also slightly raised his black sword, waiting for the perfect moment.

the opening of the auto-relic box disturbed the entire battlefield,

instantly, both the Black Legion and the Ultramarines turned their gaze to the throne,

Karlaag, eyes wide with fear and fury, saw a black sword aimed at his gene-father's chest.

"No!!!!" Karlaag roared in rage, his fist blocking Captain Calain's next strike,

perhaps rage gave him strength, or perhaps Captain Calain had reached his limit—his fist slammed into Calain's chest, hurling him back violently,

then without hesitation, he sprinted toward his gene-father, now being encased in mechanical structures,

and he glanced at the duel between Grand Master Voldus and Digris,

yet Digris was nearly overpowering Voldus.

"Stop them! Brother Digris!!!" Karlaag pleaded: "For the Emperor, for our gene-father!"

Digris only shook his head,

"I am doing it for them," he whispered.

Karlaag was consumed by despair and rage,

"What are you doing?!"

"The Mechanicum! The Blood Angels! The Inquisition!"

Karlaag's gaze swept over those standing with the Expeditionary Force, angrily demanding answers,

his eyes fixed on the black sword in Zhou Yun's hand,

"And the Ecclesiarchy and the Black Templars!"

"I will seek revenge! I will kill you all!!!"

Karlaag seemed to transform into a beast, tearing through every force that tried to stop him, swinging his Ultramarine fists until he reached the line of over a dozen Blood Angels,

not just Karlaag—other Ultramarines of the First Company and Black Legion warriors also charged toward the throne,

The psychic barrier released by the psionic hat

Yet at that moment, Zhou Yun's fourth-dimensional pocket suddenly swelled.

Karlga saw only a slender, tear-drop-shaped spearhead sweep across his chest,

then his power armor shattered, and Karlga crashed heavily down the steps; the Space Marines beside him were forced back, while the Black Legion was slain outright.

"Drive it straight into his chest. Push hard."

A clear voice rang out from the figure draped in a linen robe:

"Focus your mind. Pour your will into the Black Sword. Use your warp essence to corrupt him!"

These words filled Karlga with dread,

while Zhou Yun merely nodded slightly, attempting to infiltrate his consciousness into the Black Sword, trying to channel the power he had gained from the Domain of Corruption and Destruction into it.

In an instant, everyone present glimpsed a vision:

a towering, rotund, blue figure stood before the throne and soul of Roboute Guilliman,

raising a Black Sword wreathed in death, its blade seemingly forged from endless bones, its razor edge poised to cleave through Macragge and all five hundred worlds of Ultramar,

then the Black Sword wreathed in death came crashing down,

blood poured from the Primarch's chest; after ten thousand years of endless time, Roboute Guilliman met his death.

(End of Chapter)