Chapter 1043: How Exactly Did You Know

Vulkan looked at Shanyue quietly, remained in Silence for a few seconds, and nodded.

"I accept your challenge, Alien Chapter Master.

For the courage displayed by you and your subordinates, I will personally grant you the honorable end a warrior deserves. After this battle, if you are defeated, I hope your subordinates can lay down their weapons and accept reality."

Vulkan agreed to the duel not to show off his martial prowess, but to end this predetermined battle with the minimum cost, grant the enemy leader a decent end, and preserve the lives of more ordinary soldiers.

Chapter Master Shanyue turned his head, glanced at the direction of the command post behind him, and then swept his gaze over the surrounding battle-scarred Guardian brothers.

"Good! If I am defeated, I, in the name of the Guardian Chapter Master, order all my subordinates to cease resistance!"

Shanyue held his halberd horizontally in front of him, assuming a combat stance.

"Come, Xiuluosheng powerhouse! Let me witness your strength!"

Vulkan took a calm step forward, raised his left hand, spread his five fingers, and pressed down into the air toward Chapter Master Shanyue.

In an instant, Chapter Master Shanyue felt an invisible, immense force pressing down!

The ground beneath his feet instantly cracked and sank; the Servo System in the joints of his Power Armor tried to resist, but still forced Shanyue to bend over involuntarily.

Chapter Master Shanyue let out a roar, the muscles of his entire body and the power of his Power Armor erupting to the limit, yet the halberd in his hands could not be raised even a fraction, and he could only watch helplessly as Vulkan's hand pushed forward.

Vulkan flipped his right wrist, and the massive Warhammer was lifted by him with one hand, the hammer head aimed at the ground in front of Chapter Master Shanyue.

He tapped the hammer head onto the ground.

"Thud!!!"

With a dull, thunderous sound, a shockwave spread outward in a ring, centered on the point where the hammer head landed!

The ground heaved and arched violently, then exploded with a boom!

Countless fragments of stone and dust were thrown into the air, forming a wave of earth tens of meters high that surged toward Chapter Master Shanyue!

Chapter Master Shanyue wanted to dodge, but the invisible Energy Force Field around him still held him firmly in place!

Shanyue could only drive his halberd deep into the ground, pushing his full strength and Energy Shield to the limit to withstand this devastating impact!

"Boom!"

The wave of earth slammed into Chapter Master Shanyue and the ground around him.

Just at this moment, Vulkan swung the massive Warhammer in his hand.

The Warhammer tore through the air, bringing with it a low hum.

The Energy Force Field contained on the hammer head caused the surrounding scene to distort.

Chapter Master Shanyue watched the hammer head, which was constantly enlarging in his field of vision; he wanted to block, he wanted to dodge, but it was too slow.

Before the absolute strength and speed of a Primarch, all his efforts seemed so futile.

The Warhammer collided with the shaft of the halberd Chapter Master Shanyue was using to block.

That custom-made halberd of Chapter Master Shanyue snapped in the middle at the sound of the impact!

It was not just the halberd that broke.

That devastating force passed through the broken halberd shaft and transmitted to Chapter Master Shanyue's chest plate.

The ornate armor on Shanyue's chest instantly caved in and shattered, and the bones and organs inside were pulverized in that moment.

From the moment Shanyue issued the challenge to his death, the entire process took no more than 2 seconds.

A Guardian Chapter Master, before a Primarch, could not even make his opponent take him seriously before he was defeated and killed.

The entire scene was deathly silent.

All eyes were focused on that green giant standing tall, and the massive, lifeless corpse at his feet.

The remaining Guardians, following the Chapter Master's dying order to lay down their weapons, ultimately chose to comply.

The surviving Guardians threw down their weapons one after another and were taken into custody by the Salamanders Space Marines.

Inside the temporary command post, the last few Fengqi Military officers who were putting up a desperate resistance were also disarmed by the Salamanders Space Marines and escorted out.

General Gelan sat alone on the already tilted command chair.

Two Salamanders Space Marines walked up, lifted Gelan from the chair, and removed his sidearm and personal weapons.

General Gelan was brought out of the command post, which was filled with the smell of scorched earth and blood, and taken to the battlefield outside, which was already controlled by the Xiuluosheng warriors.

Vulkan looked at General Gelan, who had been brought before him.

General Gelan raised his head, his three hollow eyes meeting Vulkan's lava-like gaze.

"Why...? Why are you here? Shishan Star... should have been defenseless! Ximao Star attracted all your attention! This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible!

Is it a coincidence? Or... did you know all along? Did you know we would come?"

This was the point Gelan found most unacceptable.

This meticulously planned counterattack had stepped into a trap carefully laid by the enemy from the very beginning.

Vulkan listened quietly to General Gelan's roar, his expression unchanged.

It was not until General Gelan was gasping for breath that Vulkan spoke slowly.

"Alien, the outcome of a war depends on many factors. Intelligence, timing, strength... and an accurate judgment of the enemy's intentions."

"No! You know what I'm asking!"

General Gelan was practically screaming.

"Tell me! How on earth did you know?! This cannot be some damn 'accurate judgment'! This must be..."

He wanted to say "conspiracy," he wanted to say "betrayal," but in the end, he did not say it.

"Regarding the source of intelligence, I have nothing to say.

You only need to know that playing with the flames of destruction will eventually lead to being burned by them. The disaster on Ximao Star is the evil fruit planted by your ambition. And the failure on Shishan Star is the inevitable extension of this evil fruit."

"Nothing to say... nothing to say..."

General Gelan muttered the phrase repeatedly.

Regardless of the truth, he, and the soldiers under his command who died here, might only ever be a pawn ruthlessly sacrificed in a larger game of chess until their deaths.

Gelan stopped struggling and stopped asking questions, simply lowering his head in dejection as his three eyes completely lost their luster.

Vulkan stopped looking at him and gave orders to the Salamanders Space Marine beside him.

"Take him away and keep him under guard separately from the other high-ranking officers. Treat the wounded, count the prisoners of war, and tally the spoils of war. Restore order to this area as soon as possible."

"Yes, Father!"

Low Earth orbit of Shishan Star, Bridge of the "Angel".

Sanguinius's wings were folded behind him, and there was no joy over defeating a powerful enemy on his handsome face.

His pale blue eyes gazed at the main tactical screen, where the signals of the Fengqi Fleet were few and far between; the few remaining ships were also fleeing in a sorry state under the pursuit of the Xiuluosheng Fleet, only to be detonated one by one by Light Lances.

"Enemy ship clearance rate in the target area is 98.7 percent. The remaining scattered ships no longer pose a threat and are being mopped up by the patrol fleet."

Sanguinius nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over another screen, which displayed a real-time summary of the battle situation on the surface of Shishan Star.

Upon seeing that Vulkan had successfully suppressed and forced the enemy's main force to land, and had captured the opposing Commander, Sanguinius connected to the dedicated encrypted communication channel with Vulkan on the surface.

"Brother, is the ground situation under control?"

"Yes, Sanguinius. The main resistance has been crushed, the enemy Commander Gelan has been captured, and their Super Soldier legion, the 'Guardian', has been essentially wiped out. We are currently processing prisoners of war and securing the occupied zone."

"The efficiency is acceptable; complete the clearance and defensive reorganization as soon as possible. The Fengqi Star Alliance has suffered heavy losses this time, but they may not be willing to accept defeat. We must guard against their subsequent retaliatory actions or desperate, cornered-dog moves."

"Understood. Additionally, judging from the reaction of the captured enemy Commander, they were extremely confused by our ambush here, as if they had not anticipated it at all."

"As expected. Those who rely on conspiracy and the power of the Alien are often arrogant and blind, unable to see where true strength and wisdom lie. Their confusion is the very footnote to their failure."

Sanguinius did not explain the source of their intelligence and continued.

"Next, your legion will be primarily responsible for the defensive consolidation of Shishan Star and the surrounding planets. I will lead the main force of the fleet to Ximao Star to assess the losses and reconstruction needs of Ximao Star."

"Understood, rest assured."

"Very well. Keep communications open, and contact me at any time if there are any unusual movements."

After Sanguinius finished speaking, he cut off the communication decisively, without the slightest hesitation.