Chapter 567: Perturabo: Laine, I Still Support You as Warlord

A glossy, streamlined porcelain shell, a dark green missile slid from the circular hand extending from the door and crashed with a thud into the center of the Crimson Angel conference room.

A stunned silence spread among the Crimson Angel company commanders and battalion leaders; none of them had yet processed what had happened.

All that could be heard was the sweet, cheerful voice of a sales clerk emanating from the missile, about half a person's height, after it hit the ground:

"Thank you for purchasing the Earth Destruction Bomb manufactured by Future Department Store. Your satisfaction is our motivation to provide excellent service."

This item is designed for thorough, clean, and traceless rodent extermination, having received over twenty thousand positive reviews in the 22nd century and resolving rodent problems for countless households.

"Current discount promotion: five credits refunded for each positive review."

Rodent extermination? Refund five credits?

What even is this?

The Crimson Angels were utterly baffled.

"The rodent extermination program will activate upon counting to five. Please take cover immediately in a safe location to avoid accidental injury from this bomb."

Colonel Moe, the Crimson Red Angel, his crimson pupils sharply contracted; though he didn't understand what was happening,

he clearly recognized the missile as some kind of dangerous weapon and must stop it from detonating.

"Five."

Moe's body, blessed by the Crimson Angels, moved far faster than ordinary Astartes; before the other company commanders could react, Moe had already rushed to the Earth Destruction Bomb and reached out his hand toward its porcelain shell.

At that moment, the bomb's countdown had just reached five,

but————

"Rodent extermination demands catching rodents off-guard. If you are accidentally injured, please purchase the Doctor's Portable Kit from Future Department Store."

Huh?

Moe's outstretched hand froze. He stared as the bomb's porcelain shell instantly turned a blazing red, sensing within it an immense, boundless power.

His face twisted in sudden terror, and he spun to flee.

Yet at that very instant, one second before the Earth Destruction Bomb would explode, a crackling burst of electrical sparks suddenly rang through the air.

The Creator Vashthor unfolded wings composed of hundreds of metallic blades, emerging from the sparks, while all things around them seemed to lose color, time grinding to a halt like a jammed gear.

Behind Vashthor, the Tuchucha Engine—one of the Three Sacred Relics of the Ancient Ones—materialized.

The continuity of spacetime shattered in an instant; Vashthor dragged the Earth Destruction Bomb and vanished from the Crimson Angel conference room.

Zhou Yun had already used the Earth Destruction Bomb once before, against Erebus.

Vashthor knew the terrifying power of this creation and had prepared in advance.

Across the entire Korenal, invisible electrical sparks filled the air—each one an extension of Vashthor's mind. The moment the Earth Destruction Bomb appeared, he could instantly appear beside it and use the Tuchucha Engine's power to tear through spacetime continuity and hurl it beyond Korenal.

Battalion Commander Moe of the Crimson Angels stared blankly as the Earth Destruction Bomb had suddenly appeared, then vanished—completely unaware of what had occurred, only feeling he had narrowly escaped death.

This must surely be the power of Saint Guilliman————Huh?

Moe was startled to find the world around him spinning, his viewpoint rising.

He saw, emerging from the reddish-pink wooden door, a figure nearly as tall as Saint Guilliman.

The figure wore dark green armor, a deep green hood pulled low, one hand gripping a sword, the other a shield, his entire form wreathed in forest shadows, like a beast just stepping from the woods.

The instant the hooded figure appeared, every Crimson Angel company commander's neck sprayed blood, their heads spinning into the air.

It was as if, in that fleeting moment, the hooded figure had used his sword—glinting with lethal sharpness—to sever the heads of every Crimson Angel company commander.

Moe's head thudded to the ground, yet he smiled in relief.

How could this be possible?

To infiltrate the Crimson Angel conference room alone and effortlessly sever the heads of them all? This was too fantastical, too unbelievable.

Surely this was another trick of the Lord of Change, a despicable conspiracy, a————

The hooded figure had somehow appeared beside Moe's head. He kicked Moe's skull, turning his face upward, then stomped on it.

Moe, in terror, saw the face beneath the hood: eyes hidden beneath a thick, lion-like mane of beard. Though the beard obscured his facial contours, it could not conceal his piercing, fang-like gaze.

Merely being stared at by those lion eyes, Moe felt everything about him exposed, every illusion swirling before him torn apart by that gaze.

He realized in horror: there were no Crimson Angels at all—only a swarm of decapitated, grotesquely distorted humanoid bats.

So they had truly fallen long ago. Moe faintly heard shrill, cackling laughter in his ears, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes.

"I repent————"

Before Moe could finish his words, the dark green steel boot crushed his skull, leaving only a splatter of brain matter on the floor.