Chapter 178

"We are going to be enemies with a god, to engage in battle with a god."

Under the radiance of the holographic star map in the Red Grand Council Chamber, Dante raised his head and declared to his blood kin brothers and cousins.

"Then should we engage it in the spiritual realm?"

A moment after Dante's voice fell, Daman, Captain of the 7th Company of the Red Brothers Chapter, asked with confusion:

"Perhaps if we destroy their mind, their body will collapse along with it."

"It is 'it', not 'them'." Chief Librarian Skaban of the Flesh Tearers Chapter corrected.

Except for Mephiston, who was not here, he was almost the most powerful psyker on Baal. Now, this Flesh Tearers Chief Librarian attended the meeting on behalf of Chapter Master Seth.

"I, like Mephiston, have looked directly at the Hive Mind."

Skaban emphasized:

"I barely survived, and through this, I understood that terrifying existence. That is not an opponent we can defeat in the Warp..."

"Except for the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang Himself, I cannot think of any other existence in the material world that can defeat the Hive Mind in the Warp."

Skaban's words plunged those present into silence again.

"We must destroy it in the material world. Regardless, its mind was born in the flesh of Leviathan. As long as we destroy enough creatures, the Hive Mind will be weakened."

Dante spoke, breaking the silence:

"This battle must still be decided in the material realm, right here on Baal."

"Everyone, there is no place left in the Red Scar besides Baal for the swarm to replenish its biomass. I have already taken the lives of those worlds not yet devoured by the Tyranids; besides Baal, the only thing I left them was ash."

There was an imperceptible pain in Dante's voice.

The Hua Hua Hua Di Huang molded them as protectors of humanity, but he had ordered the destruction of more than forty inhabited worlds.

And the swarm's obsession with Baal also led them into a dangerous situation.

In order to take Baal directly, the swarm even abandoned those wealthier regions and wasted a large amount of biomass in its forced march.

"Besides Baal, the swarm can no longer find anything to support its existence."

Dante emphasized again:

"If we can defeat the swarm on Baal, they will be trapped in the Red Scar, forced to endure hunger and deprivation."

"As long as we resist them on Baal, in the Fortress of Angels... they will be destroyed."

"We are like humans in the primitive era, holding high a torch called hope. As long as the torch is not extinguished, the beast must endure hunger in the darkness until it dies."

Dante's gaze swept over all the warriors present.

Everyone here was a representative of an entire chapter, an incarnation of a Blood Angels successor chapter. Dante had to bind them together.

Not by relying on absolute power, but by relying on his own prestige, honor, and the trust between brothers.

"Today, the most powerful force in ten thousand years has gathered on Baal. This force is enough to protect the torch of hope and scorch the body of the swarm."

"But the scale of this army also brings its own problems. Everyone present today is the master of a successor chapter, bearing the same responsibilities."

"More than twenty chapters, more than twenty thousand battle-brothers, countless warships, and three planets. Except for the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang and the Angel, no one has the right to command such a huge force."

Dante's words caused silence in the hall again.

"You have the blood of Sanguinius on your head, and you wear the mask of Sanguinius on your face."

Blood Knight Chapter Master Yuer opened his mouth in a gloomy voice:

"Stop with these political disguises. The Blood Knights will take orders from you."

Although Yuer's words were sharp, they resonated with those present, and almost all the warriors were nodding in agreement.

"We heard that at Armageddon, the Imperial commanders went through a series of debates before appointing you as Commander-in-Chief."

The Chapter Master of the Crimson Blades stood up. This veteran, who once thought he was a son of Guilliman, declared:

"But here... I think we don't need that. You are our kin, you are the representative of Sanguinius, and I am willing to regard you as my lord."

When he sat down, there was nothing but jubilation in the room.

However, Dante understood that many people were like Yuer.

They were loyal to Baal, loyal to the blood of Sanguinius, and loyal to the mask on Dante's face, but not necessarily willing to accept Dante's own command.

Dante understood that true power does not come from the dead or tradition, but from the recognition of the ruled.

If he did not truly obtain this power, Dante would not be able to unite them.

Dante had to hold the power of rule in his own hands... This, of course, violated the Astartes Codex, which stipulated that no Astartes commander should command more than one thousand Astartes warriors.

However, everyone present was a descendant of the Archangel, and there should not be many who cared about the Codex.

A slight smile appeared on the face under Dante's mask. For the sake of reality, he would have to temporarily wrong Lord Roboute Guilliman.

"Everyone, I have indeed achieved many accomplishments, but I am essentially still a warrior, completely equal to you."

"Only the absent Hua Hua Hua Di Huang and the Archangel have the right to give me the title of commander, but if they both truly need me to take on this responsibility... then I must obtain your consent."

Dante looked around, his tone filled with majesty:

"If you truly desire for me to command you, then obey my first order."

"Vote, use your own power to grant me power, and let me become the leader of this war."

"Fine!" Blood Knight Yuer roared: "Then let's vote!"

"If everyone determines that you are a qualified ruler and do not need to rely on the authority of Sanguinius, then I swear I will lead my brothers to die for you."

"But if the result is unfavorable to you, then I will vent the anger from Sanguinius on the enemy in my own way."

Dante nodded solemnly: "I only accept the power granted to me by my brothers. No matter how you choose, I will accept it gladly." In an instant, the warriors began an intense exchange, discussing whether to be loyal to Dante himself. Passionate gestures and voices caused a breeze to rise in the room, stirring the swaying firelight.

Dante gazed at this scene, knowing he had taken the first step.

He was confident in winning this vote. The vote itself was just a symbol and ritual, making them loyal to Dante himself rather than the deceased Primarch.

Suddenly, Dante noticed a gaze staring at him.

Dante turned his head to look and saw Flesh Tearers Chief Librarian Skaban watching him.

"You yearn to be like the Primarch, Dante." A voice sounded out of thin air in Dante's mind; it was Skaban's voice.

Dante's expression was flat, as Mephiston had done this more than once.

"No, I dare not covet the power of the Primarch." He replied in his mind.

Dante had never for a moment coveted power; he only felt exhausted by it and longed to end it on the battlefield...

"I am not talking about power." Skaban watched Dante and shook his head gently: "You yearn to sacrifice yourself like the Primarch."

"And what could be more arrogant and conceited than that?"

Scarlet skylight spilled onto the gravel-filled land. The Lictor, walking with a crawling gait from the pod as if just born, raised its head.

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Beneath the purple-red carapace, which looked like a papal crown, the interwoven and expanding brain tissue was exposed, flashing with blue psychic light in the darkness, illuminating its pale pink flesh.

This Lictor's head turned toward Mephiston, and its claws, smaller than those of other Lictor subspecies, opened slightly.

The Neurolictor, also known as the Brain Lictor, is a Lictor subspecies specifically enhanced with psychic power to counter psykers.

Mephiston had once read about it in that "Tyranid Biology Encyclopedia Even an Ogryn Can Understand" and knew that the psychic fluctuations released by this Tyranid creature were enough to make Space Marines fall into fear...

That Lictor with powerful psychic strength clearly saw through the cognitive distortion on Mephiston after a few short seconds.

It let out a sharp roar, and a cold, hungry, and greedy psychic fluctuation surged toward Mephiston.

Mephiston could not dodge in time and was hit head-on by this psychic fluctuation. A sense of fear welled up deep in his soul, and his body stiffened slightly for less than half a second.

But it was this half-second that caused the cognitive distortion around him to fluctuate. The fourteen Elytrian Sanguinary Champions, the Genestealer Bishop, and the Patriarch let out angry roars and charged at Mephiston.

The sound of bullets burning the air rang out; Three-Gun Kalain's bullets shot toward Mephiston with unstoppable force.

Blood-like anger surged in Mephiston's eyes, and his gaze swept across Three-Gun Kalain's body and the bullets he fired.

The bullets instantly disintegrated into thousands of fragments in the air, and Three-Gun Kalain's body also seemed to have been cut by thousands of sharp blades in the blink of an eye, shattering into nail-sized blood clots.

Jiwei and the pureblood Genestealers reacted faster; one held a sharp blade, and the other extended claws capable of cutting through Terminator power armor.

However, before they could touch Mephiston, their bodies shattered into ash in the blink of an eye, dissipating with the night breeze.

The remaining few so-called Elytrian Sanguinary Champions did not even have time to react before they burst into thin air, turning into ash and dissipating in the air.

"Mephiston?!" The Genestealer Bishop let out a sharp, terrified scream.

Its colliding brain tissue writhed, and psychic power capable of instantly bursting the brains of dozens of ordinary people surged toward Mephiston.

But Mephiston just turned his head, his eyes filled with bright red anger staring directly at the Genestealer Bishop.

The Genestealer Bishop only felt its throat tighten, and then watched its body and head separate, as if cut by an invisible sharp blade.

The Genestealer Patriarch named Four-Claw Dante let out a roar. It moved at a speed far exceeding its massive body, arriving in front of Mephiston in the blink of an eye, and opened its four sickle-like sharp claws.

This Genestealer Patriarch, which had lived for hundreds of years and grown up on the red wasteland of Baal, seemed to carry the genetic sequence of the ancient blood clan, and its strength was enough to rival an average successor chapter master...

The sharp claws descended from the sky, stabbing at Mephiston from four directions.

Mephiston raised the soul sword Vitae in his hand to block. The silver steel that forged the sword seemed to feel its master's anger, and it burned fiercely with heat.

"Get out of here!!!!!" A roar filled with anger erupted from Mephiston's mouth.

In an instant, reality groaned in tremors, and the soul sword Vitae let out a scorching song.

The Genestealer Patriarch's four arms were severed in the scorching fire, and then turned into ash and dissipated with the wind.

"Roar..." The Genestealer Patriarch let out a low moan.

The body that had been growing and evolving for hundreds of years seemed insignificant in front of Mephiston.

The soul sword Vitae flashed with blue light and stabbed fiercely into the chest of the Genestealer Patriarch, which was covered by a deep purple chitinous carapace.

This sturdy carapace was insignificant in front of the silver steel longsword, cut open like butter by a hot knife.

Scorching psychic flames surged from the longsword, erupting from inside the Genestealer Patriarch, burning the giant beast into ash in the blink of an eye.

Fourteen Elytrian Sanguinary Champions, a Genestealer Bishop with alienated brain tissue, and a unique and powerful Genestealer Patriarch together only lasted seven or eight seconds in front of Mephiston.

Mephiston's gaze, surging with scorching anger, fell on the Neurolictor.

The Neurolictor was covered in layers of psychic power that hid its form, and its own carapace was also disappearing bit by bit, merging into the gaps of light and shadow.

This Tyranid psychic unit with powerful psychic power and concealment ability was almost about to disappear in front of Mephiston.

The Hive Mind had once fought Mephiston in the Underworld.

But Mephiston not only withstood the power of the Hive Mind but also killed the Zoanthrope whose psychic power exceeded Alpha-level in the gap.

Knowing this, the Neurolictor understood that Mephiston was by no means a match for it.

It had only barely gained a chance to escape by relying on the few seconds bought by the Genestealers.

"Don't even think about it!!!"

A beast-like roar came from Mephiston's mouth, and a chilling psychic fluctuation was released with him as the center. The gravel floating in the surrounding air began to burn in the blink of an eye, and the sand around Mephiston was instantly burned into shimmering black rough glass.

Blood-colored wings burning with flames almost grew behind his back. With a leap, he flew in front of the Neurolictor in the blink of an eye.

The soul sword Vitae was held high by Mephiston, and the raging psychic flames burning on it almost covered the scarlet rift in the firmament.

The Neurolictor let out a sharp moan, mobilizing all the psychic power in its body to turn into layers of heavy psychic barriers.

A scarlet rift burst between the two, reality shook, the surrounding desert began to burn and collapse, and the light of the stars became dim.

The Lictor finally blocked Mephiston's blade for a moment, even though this consumed most of its psychic power, but it still seized this short opportunity to completely hide its figure in the gap between light and shadow and the veil of reality, making itself disappear before Mephiston's eyes.

Mephiston's soul sword Vitae missed, and the blade mixed with powerful psychic power stabbed directly into the desert.

In an instant, a flash of lightning as scarlet as blood streaked across the night sky of the desert. With Mephiston's blade as the center, all the surrounding gravel was burned into charred, murky glass.

Mephiston let out an angry roar, cursing the damn beast and his own stupidity in a low voice.

He had never seen a Brain Lictor, nor had he heard of the existence of a Neurolictor outside of that "Tyranid Biology Encyclopedia Even an Ogryn Can Understand," instinctively ignoring the possibility that the Lictor could be this psychic subspecies.

Coupled with his overconfidence and pride in his own psychic power, he exposed his identity at the last moment and was escaped by that Lictor.

Mephiston instantly remembered the words Zhou Yun had once said: Many things in the galaxy go bad because of the three words: honor, pride, and brothers.

Just then, a breeze blew beside Mephiston, and a red-and-pink wooden door opened beside him.

"Neurolictor." Zhou Yun's voice sounded beside Mephiston, and then Mephiston heard the sound of a cane hitting the sand.

Four thousand five hundred words this chapter, making up for a bit of what was owed.

(End of chapter)