Chapter 433: Ascend to Godhood?

"This Retribution-class battleship was constructed in the 221st year of humanity's 38th millennium, and has long served the Solar Fleet."

"Its keel is in good condition, its machine spirit is emotionally stable, its armor has been fully replaced, and its ram has been maintained."

"Its void shield array consists of four triple void shield projectors, its sublight engine is Mars's unique multi-tube plasma engine, and its cruising speed rivals that of a standard cruiser."

"Its firepower mainly comes from the macro-cannon array on the broadsides and a series of torpedo tubes hidden beneath the thick armor of the prow; a single broadside can reduce a cruiser to rubble."

"Of course, we have still installed a lance array along the dorsal spine; these lances have been specially tuned, primarily for precisely finishing off those vessels crippled by the macro-cannons."

A female Tech-Priest half a head taller than Xiang Xiang Leina, her lower body replaced with treads, explained the situation of this Retribution-class battleship to Xiang Xiang Leina in a voice laced with mechanical tones.

This Tech-Priest was clearly a little nervous; sweat kept streaming down the human flesh she still kept on her face,

Before the Fabricator-General departed for Terra, the instructions they had received were merely to repaint this battleship — as long as it looked passable, that was enough.

But after the Fabricator-General arrived at Terra, the communiqués urgently transmitted back demanded that they immediately and swiftly carry out a comprehensive, meticulous refit of this Retribution-class battleship — from armor, void shields, to weapon arrays, all replaced with the finest models, without any delay.

But time was short; the few dozen days were only barely enough for the Tech-Priests to complete the task. Although the new armor, void shields, and weapon arrays had all been installed, the paintwork in many places was not yet finished, and cables were crudely exposed, looking rather ugly,

This female Tech-Priest watched nervously the Xiang Xiang Leina in charge of accepting this ship, terrified that this person would be dissatisfied with this Retribution-class battleship and file a report to the Fabricator-General, accusing them of poor work.

But Xiang Xiang Leina paid no heed to those exposed steel plates and cables, merely extending a hand to gently stroke the wall a few times,

The machine spirit within this Retribution-class battleship seemed to catch the aura belonging to a believer of Saint Doraemon emanating from Xiang Xiang Leina, and proactively revealed its own existence, letting its will filled with joy flow through the warship,

Xiang Xiang Leina's powerful psychic force sensed that machine spirit, feeling its strength and its docility.

Xiang Xiang Leina could not help but extend a tiny bit of psychic force, stroking the machine spirit,

Mm, just a tiny bit, just a tiny bit.

BOOM!!!!

The entire Retribution-class battleship rocked as if it were a kitten that had been struck,

That female Tech-Priest's face immediately showed a panicked expression,

Although this Retribution-class battleship had been refitted in a rush, functionally there shouldn't be any problems — it shouldn't be rocking this violently!

Xiang Xiang Leina awkwardly withdrew her hand,

The machine spirit of this Retribution-class battleship curled up, trembling pitifully, its gaze toward Xiang Xiang Leina like that of a kitten that didn't know what it had done wrong,

But the machine spirit quickly controlled itself, stopping the Retribution-class battleship from rocking any further.

Looking again at the female Tech-Priest's terrified expression, Xiang Xiang Leina grew even more embarrassed.

"A fine ship!" Xiang Xiang Leina hesitated a moment before speaking, trying to break the awkward atmosphere: "Truly a fine ship!"

The female Tech-Priest let out a sudden sigh of relief.

Although it was to break the awkward atmosphere, Xiang Xiang Leina genuinely felt this was a fine ship,

The machine spirit was docile yet full of strength, which showed this battleship was extremely powerful; Xiang Xiang Leina liked this kind of power.

She still remembered as a child, her mother, who worked at a star-trade company in Asford, would occasionally take her along to work,

When luck was good, Xiang Xiang Leina could see massive cargo ships taking off from the starport,

The flames spewing from those plasma engines were so dazzling, the mechanical roar so deafening, as if making the entire world bellow,

Xiang Xiang Leina was deeply captivated by this kind of power from a very young age,

Her devout mother would at that moment pick up Xiang Xiang Leina, softly telling her that this was the great power of the Hua Di Huang, also known as the Omnissiah in the words of the Mechanicus.

No, Mother, not just the great power of the Hua Di Huang, but also that of Saint Doraemon

Xiang Xiang Leina strolled through this castle woven of steel, adamantium, and cables alongside that female member of the Xie Sect, her mood suddenly lifting,

Who would have thought that a rogue psyker born in a hive would one day stroll through such a starship?

Xiang Xiang Leina had witnessed too many figures and sights from myth along her journey; sometimes she truly wondered if all of this were just a grand dream,

And when she woke, she would still be in the Asford hive, in the Ark Gang's hideout, worrying about the Tyranid invasion.

Hm?

"This is the rest chamber reserved for the Astartes, and is also one of the refit points for serving as a combat vessel." The female Tech-Priest continued her introduction beside Xiang Xiang Leina,

But Xiang Xiang Leina herself suddenly stopped in her tracks; she raised a hand to signal the female Tech-Priest to be quiet, slowly turning her head to look behind her,

Due to the tight schedule, only temporary lighting had been installed inside the ship, and many sections were still shrouded in shadow.

Those shadows were deep, murky, drifting like fog, like living things, like... like a blurred boundary.

"Who's there?!" Xiang Xiang Leina growled, her psychic force erupting forth like lightning,

Her psychic radiance illuminated the surroundings, but no matter what could not illuminate that deep shadow.

Faintly, Xiang Xiang Leina heard the roar of a lion.

Ascend to godhood?

Become the true Omnissiah?

Zhou Yun listened to the words of this brown-haired youth beside him, and goosebumps immediately broke out across his skin,

What was this naturally evil brown-skinned little brat trying to do?

He actually wanted to ascend to godhood himself?

Zhou Yun lifted the ground and put a little distance between himself and the brown-haired youth,

He roughly understood the Hua Di Huang's meaning,

The Hua Di Huang meant that Zhou Yun could use the Fourth-Dimensional Pocket to sell off the Dragon of Mars,

Judging from the matter of devouring Inard back then, Zhou Yun using the Fourth-Dimensional Pocket to sell off a certain existence was equivalent, on the level of the Warp, to Zhou Yun devouring it,

The Dragon of Mars, or rather everything of the Omnissiah within the Warp, would all be received by Zhou Yun,

And Zhou Yun was different from the Dragon of Mars; Zhou Yun himself did not reject or isolate the Warp. The faith of those of the Mechanicus, those emotions directed toward the Omnissiah, would all converge upon Zhou Yun.

"Can this occupy the position of the Malevolent Art?" Zhou Yun asked, frowning.

"No. Without sufficient sacrifice, without intense emotion, devouring the Dragon of Mars is not enough to let you ascend directly."

"But it will bring you incomparably close to that position. You will be inexorably set upon the path of ascension, truly beginning to compete for the great seat of the Malevolent Art."

The brown-haired youth spoke slowly:

"By then, I believe the Warp will clearly split into two factions: one part of the entities will support your ascension, aiding you as you draw ever closer to apotheosis."

"The other part will support your rival, the Creator Vashthor, attempting to block your ascension and cultivate Vashthor to occupy the Great Seat of the Malefic Arts."

"Vashthor represents a future that is more chaotic, more variable, and filled with more war and slaughter; Khorne and Tzeentch will support Him."

"Nurgle and Slaanesh will lean toward you, for the future you represent is more stable, more gentle, more capable of satisfying human desires, and able to bring a better life to the galaxy."

"Of course, I will also support you, so your chances of victory are actually quite high."

Just as the Emperor said, indeed, the odds are high.

Even if the Emperor's current state is heavily restricted, even if He has not yet truly ascended as the Dark King, a three-versus-two battle still favors Zhou Yun.

Not to mention, excluding the Gods, Zhou Yun holds two Primarchs, Sanguinius and Guilliman; counting the Emperor, Nurgle, and the Father of Mercy, the numbers are even greater.

As for the Daemon aspect, Zhou Yun possesses Fat Tiger Daemon and Yebi Emperor, achieving a complete victory.

Against the current Zhou Yun, Vashthor's chances of victory are slim.

But the real question is: why would Zhou Yun ascend to godhood? Is he bored?

"You will not truly ascend to godhood. As I said before, sacrifice, you do not have enough sacrifice."

"You require a high-level, soul-bearing, prosperous race as a sacrifice before you can complete your ascension."

The brown-haired youth continued to explain:

"Even if you have a sacrifice, you will not become a god, for I have not yet become a god."

"There is no time in the Warp; those Great Seats have existed from the very beginning. They will inevitably be born in sequence. Everything in the material universe merely triggers their arrival; it cannot prevent their birth or disrupt the order of their coming."

"The Dark King is the fifth. As long as I refuse to be born as the Dark King in the Warp, there will never be a sixth, a seventh, or an eighth."

"Therefore, even with a sacrifice, you will only become an entity similar to me, stuck at the final moment before ascension, born yet unborn, infinitely close to completeness yet incomplete no matter what."

"But you will be freer than I. I will bear the pressure of ascension, while you may freely unleash your authority, contend with the Gods, and protect humanity."

The brown-haired youth stared tightly at Zhou Yun, seemingly waiting for Zhou Yun to make a choice.

Zhou Yun could not help but frown.

What the Emperor said was good, but would becoming an entity infinitely close to a god truly come without any cost?

Just look at the Emperor's current form to know.

"I will not say there is no cost."

The Emperor seemed to see through Zhou Yun's thoughts:

"The faith and emotions of all living beings will affect you; those souls that return to you will affect you."

"But you are freer than I. You may freely shape the form of your faith, minimizing this influence as much as possible."

"This is indeed a method that can be realized immediately, allowing us to quickly gain the advantage and make the entire galaxy somewhat better."

"I have gifted you the Dragon of Mars. You make the judgment yourself."

(End of this chapter)