Chapter 323: So Evil! Blue Raccoon Cat! It Must Be Tzeentch's Doing!

Zhou Yun naturally knew what the purpose of the Tear Plague was.

The Tear Plague, as a disease temporarily cultivated by the Father of Nurgle, served to delay Ji Li Man's progress.

When Ji Li Man appeared, it reluctantly withdrew its blessing; after he left, it returned with a more ferocious demeanor, forcing Ji Li Man to run ragged across the entire Ultramar sector while simultaneously facing a choice: Ultramar or the entire Human Imperium.

Was it to protect his people and fulfill his duty as Lord of Ultramar, or to travel to Terra and fulfill his duty as the Emperor's Son?

Ten thousand years ago, Ji Li Man chose Ultramar and ultimately failed to reach Terra to fulfill his duty.

Now, certain malicious gazes within the Warp are eager for Ji Li Man to make this painful choice once again.

But this plan will ultimately fail.

Zhou Yun had followed Ji Li Man through every land ravaged by the Tear Plague and had long confirmed that those few locations harbored the highest concentration of Tear Plague bacteria.

The reason he had held back until now was to wait to sweep up all these Tear Plague bacteria in one net, inflicting maximum trauma on the Tear Plague itself and on the Nurgle Demon born from the Tear Plague—its true form.

Zhou Yun, clad in the appearance of Doraemon, quickly wound the spring on his back several times, then swallowed the High-Efficiency Pill in one gulp.

Amidst the legendary gazes of the Ultramar Auxiliaries, Zhou Yun became a blur, flashing throughout the entire camp as if appearing simultaneously in every corner.

The lantern in his hand flickered with a faint pale light.

That light instantly swept over every patient infected by the Tear Plague, piercing their skin, stabbing through the inflamed and swollen skin and glands tormented by bacteria, and striking the Tear Plague bacteria within their bodies.

"The Lamp That Eliminates Useless Bacteria," a free gift with the purchase of the "Mindless Bacteria Manufacturing Machine," with the effect of eliminating any kind of bacteria.

In the instant the light swept over them, pale smoke rose from the patients' five senses; the rotting stench turned into a burning smell, edema and inflammation rapidly receded, and those blind eyes began to accept light once more.

The patients opened their eyelids in surprise; seeing a blue figure standing before them, they thought the Primarch had returned again to heal them.

But as their vision gradually cleared, they saw clearly that standing before them was a round, blue, red-nosed raccoon cat.

The warriors of the Ultramar Auxiliaries stood frozen as if struck by lightning.

They had heard the name of the one before them, but the Ultramar Auxiliaries always had Ecclesiarchy chaplains accompanying them; internally, they worshipped Hua Di Huang and Ji Li Man himself more, and they always harbored some doubts toward new things like the Saint Doraemon Cult.

Even in private, some Ultramar Auxiliaries spoke of it with suspicion.

But, but when they were truly saved, the Ultramar Auxiliaries felt as if struck by lightning.

For a moment, they were at a loss.

"Aaaaaah!!!!"

A piercing scream suddenly rose from the void; the veil of reality trembled, and intense sobbing sounds rang out incessantly.

It was as if some blasphemous thing had been burned, writhing in agony.

Nurgle Demons born from specific diseases are often intimately connected to the plagues themselves in reality.

The more the plague spreads, and the more the patients suffer from the disease, the stronger their power becomes.

Conversely, when the disease is cured and the bacteria are killed, the demons born in the Warp from this disease also weaken.

So many Tear Plague bacteria were killed in an instant; the pain this generated caused the Tear Plague Demon in the Warp to weep and wail.

The warriors of the Ultramar Auxiliaries were startled by this terrifying, piercing scream.

"It is a demon!"

Xiang Xiang Leina's voice carried both anger and piety:

"It is the blasphemous demon of the God of Plagues spreading the plague; it hides beneath the veil of reality, harming your bodies."

"But Doraemon has healed you and burned that blasphemous demon; do you not yet praise His name?!"

"Hallowed be!!! Doraemon!!!" The first prayer of the Ultramar Auxiliary warriors rose up.

A warrior healed by Zhou Yun removed his helmet and knelt devoutly on the ground.

Soon, more and more Auxiliary warriors followed suit, kneeling to bow and pray before that round, blue figure.

"Praise You, Saint Doraemon, the Trinity of the Reaper, the Prime Mover, and the Eternal Dragon!"

"We thank You, Doraemon; we thank You for Your salvation."

"We beg You to save our souls!"

But Zhou Yun paid little heed to these prayers; he simply nodded hurriedly to Xiang Xiang Leina, then quickly darted into the Anywhere Door.

Besides Talassar, there were many other places where he needed to clear these plagues.

Zhou Yun must kill the majority of the Tear Plague bacteria before the Tear Plague Demon could scatter them, inflicting severe trauma upon it in one go.

The "Tear Plague" Demon wept and wailed in the Warp; the mites composing its massive eyes died in swarms, leaving only seventy-seven hollow eye sockets dangling, from which flowed clean tears devoid of bacteria. So evil! That blue raccoon cat is so evil! That blue raccoon cat must have been sent by Tzeentch!

So evil, these blue fellows! So evil, Tzeentch! The Father of Nurgle must give Tzeentch a severe beating!

Although newly born and with a mind no more complex than a child's, the "Tear Plague" Demon already knew of the conflict between Nurgle and Tzeentch; seeing that the raccoon cat killing its bacteria was blue, it naturally attributed all of this to Tzeentch.

That blue raccoon cat, that Doraemon, sped through the various planets of Ultramar faster than the Black Death predecessor spread, faster than Brother Ebola killed; so fast that the Tear Plague had no time to scatter its bacteria to hide before he shone that terribly evil lamp upon them.

That lamp! That lamp is the worst!

With just one shine, all its bacteria died; even the marks inscribed by the Father of Nurgle could not resist.

This fundamentally violated the laws of the Material Universe! Nor did it conform to the laws of the Warp!

So many bacteria were killed at once, directly inflicting severe trauma on the body of the "Tear Plague" Demon.

Even more harmful was that so many patients were healed; these patients devoutly began to believe in Doraemon, and in their hearts started to think, "The Tear Plague isn't so scary; as long as Doraemon shines his light, everything will be fine!"

These healed ones thought of the same thing; their thoughts gathered together, causing the "Tear Plague" Demon to grow weaker and weaker.

Moreover, these healed ones who believed in Doraemon could no longer be reinfected by the Tear Plague; the "Tear Plague" Demon was further weakened.

To survive, it instinctively began to adjust the bacteria that had nurtured it.

To survive, it had to make the Tear Plague more hidden; it could no longer cause so many symptoms as before, nor could it possess the toxicity it once had.

Many Nurgle Demons born from specific diseases do the same thing.

Some, after killing too many hosts, see their population shrink and are forced to reduce their toxicity.

Some, because medicines have become powerful, are forced to adjust themselves and become more hidden.

Some, to prevent patients from seeking treatment, are forced to make symptoms milder so they can maintain their spread.

Nurgle's broad, gentle palm carefully cradled "Tear Plague." Facing the tear plague, now so weakened it was barely recognizable, He shook His head with helplessness and sorrow.

"Tear Plague" wailed, complaining to the Father of Compassion about that wicked raccoon cat, insisting that the wicked raccoon cat must have been instigated by Tzeentch, and begging the Father of Compassion to quickly punish that bad raccoon cat.

But the Father of Compassion hesitantly shook His head.

Boom!

Nurgle knew clearly that the blue raccoon cat had nothing to do with Tzeentch; on the contrary, it was a peer, possessing the talent for cultivating bacteria.

Those skilled at cultivation are often skilled at killing, just as the Father of Compassion once cultivated bacteriophages; thus, "Tear Plague" being cleared away so swiftly by that Doraemon was not unexpected.

Nurgle placed "Tear Plague" into the swamp of the Garden, letting it soak there to recover slowly, then revealed a small expression of melancholy.

It was not because "Tear Plague" had been crushed, nor because the task entrusted to Him by Mortarion had failed.

In truth, He did not really wish to stop Guilliman from seeing His own father; a child going to His father's side—what reason was there to stop such a thing?

It was only because of Mortarion's earnest plea that Nurgle created "Tear Plague" to bestow a blessing upon Ultramar.

Moreover, if He wished to continue delaying Guilliman, He could create even more, even more varieties of diseases.

From parasites to fungi, from viruses to bacteria, all-encompassing.

It was just that Nurgle hesitated slightly.

He felt this was now a contest between Himself and Doraemon, a contest on the level of bacteria; was it not improper for Him to deploy diseases beyond bacteria? Would it not anger Doraemon, worsening the already thin relationship between the two?

It was like two artists resolving to duel with painting, yet He had conjured up a poem? A piano piece?

Did He have to betray little Mortarion's trust?

Alas, if only He could speak face-to-face with that Doraemon.

If only He could invite Him to His Garden.

Nurgle believed that people could understand one another, harmonious like family.

It was just that He kept ignoring Him, which made one so sad.

The Father of Compassion stirred the crucible while cultivating more varieties of

"Why not ask His friend to make an introduction?" a clear voice sounded beside the Father of Compassion's ear.

That voice was so pure it seemed not to come from Nurgle's Garden at all.

Yes!

Nurgle rejoiced at Ynnead's suggestion.

Invitations from strangers always aroused caution, but if introduced by an acquaintance, that was another matter entirely.

"Go quickly and find Monger and Malchite!"

(End of this chapter)