Chapter 1100: He Is His Proudest Offspring

Sanguinius passed through the burning wreckage and continued his descent. Distance to the Energy Center core building: ten kilometers.

The ground cracked open, and six giant anti-aircraft mechs rose from underground.

"Killer"-class walking Fortress, over twenty-five meters tall, equipped with twin-linked Energy Cannons and disintegration field greatswords.

"Target has entered range!"

"All weapons, maximum power, fire!"

The six mechs fired simultaneously.

Sanguinius dodged rapidly to the side; the thick beams of energy grazed past him, blasting a crater a hundred meters in diameter into the ground.

The disintegration greatswords followed Sanguinius's trajectory, the air ionizing wherever they passed, emitting a blinding blue light.

But Sanguinius's speed exceeded the upper limit of the mechs' targeting systems.

Sanguinius traced irregular zigzag lines in the air, each change of direction accompanied by a sonic boom, rendering all predictive algorithms useless.

Sanguinius closed in on the first mech.

The mech attempted to Intercept with its Close-in Weapon System, but it was too slow.

Sanguinius passed through a gap in the cannon fire, his pale blue eyes radiating psychic light, the entire Power Spear enveloped in psychic energy; after the Power Spear stalemated against the mech's shield for 5 seconds, the shield became irregular, shattered, and the Power Spear pierced into the cockpit location on the mech's chest.

Energy erupted.

From inside the mech, golden light burst out from every seam.

Immediately after, the entire twenty-five-meter-tall war machine exploded from within, turning into a mass of burning scrap metal.

Sanguinius had already withdrawn his spear and departed, lunging toward the second mech.

The second mech retreated while firing all weapons at full capacity, conducting a barrage.

But Sanguinius quickly circled behind the mech, his Power Spear stabbing into the power core.

Another explosion.

The third and fourth mechs attempted to cover each other, forming a crossfire net.

Sanguinius dove, flying close to the ground, skimming beneath the two mechs.

In the instant he passed by, the Power Spear swung upward, severing their leg joints.

The two behemoths lost their balance and crashed to the ground with a boom.

Before they could stand up again, Sanguinius delivered a fatal blow to each.

Colliding head-on with the fifth mech, Sanguinius merely raised his hand.

An invisible force field locked the mech in mid-stride, unable to advance even a fraction despite how its engine roared.

Then he clenched his fist.

The mech was crushed by an invisible, immense force, its internal ammunition detonating, but the explosion was completely contained within the force field, causing no additional damage.

The sixth mech wanted to react, but it had already seen that golden figure flying toward it.

Sanguinius did not destroy this mech.

Landing on the mech's shoulder, he held the Power Spear against the cockpit cover, psychic energy surging.

"Open it."

The pilot trembled and obeyed.

The cockpit cover slid open, revealing the nervous Fengqi inside.

"Where is the main control room of the Energy Center?"

Sanguinius asked.

"It's... it's three hundred meters underground... in the central tower..."

The pilot answered stutteringly.

"Defensive forces?"

"There, there are two companies of Custodians... all elite Guardians... and the ultimate defense system... I don't know the specifics... my clearance isn't high enough..."

Sanguinius nodded.

"You may go."

As he spoke, the Power Spear stabbed out and was pulled back.

With a beat of his wings, he flew toward the central tower.

From breaking through the final defensive line to destroying the five "Killer" Fortresses, 23 seconds had passed.

Sanguinius hovered above the central tower.

This building was eight hundred meters tall and was the core of the entire Energy Center.

Sanguinius could sense the massive energy coming from deep underground; it was the source maintaining the entire planetary shield.

Below, the final two companies of Custodians had finished forming their ranks.

These were the most elite Guardian warriors of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance, clad in purple heavy Power Armor and holding Energy Weapons.

Sanguinius descended slowly, his feet touching the ground.

He said nothing, simply walking forward at a fast pace.

The Custodians opened fire.

Energy beams, live ammunition, and Plasma clusters—all available weapons poured out simultaneously.

A faint golden halo emerged around Sanguinius, and all attacks were annihilated the moment they touched the halo.

Sanguinius walked into the enemy formation.

Every swing of the Power Spear claimed several lives.

The armor of the Guardian warriors was like thin paper before the Primarch's weapon, and their attacks could not cause any substantial damage to Sanguinius.

38 seconds later, the last Custodian fell.

Sanguinius stepped into the central tower.

The interior was empty; all non-combatant personnel had evidently been evacuated.

Following the flow of energy he perceived, Sanguinius found the elevator leading underground.

The elevator required authorization verification.

Sanguinius directly inserted his Power Spear into the control panel, forcibly overloading the circuits.

The door opened.

Descending three hundred meters, he arrived in a massive underground space.

Dozens of control consoles surrounded a massive Energy Core; it was a spherical device over a hundred meters in diameter, with energy flowing across its surface and an inner radiance so blinding it was impossible to keep one's eyes open.

The light from the Energy Core dyed the entire underground space into a flowing golden ocean.

Those guarding it were not ordinary soldiers. Six Praetorian Guards clad in special ceremonial armor stood around the Energy Core.

And behind them, in front of a control console, stood the Commander of K-77, Tailakesi.

All three eyes of this Fengqi Commander were open, and his purple skin took on a nearly metallic texture under the reflection of the core's light.

"Sanguinius. I anticipated you would come, just not so quickly."

Sanguinius's gaze swept over the six Praetorian Guards, then looked toward Tailakesi.

"Shut down the shields. Avoid needless sacrifice."

"Needless sacrifice? From the moment I put on this uniform, I was prepared to sacrifice everything for the Feng Qi Xing Alliance. Including my life, including my honor, including... my sanity."

Tailakesi took two steps forward, his three eyes locking onto Sanguinius simultaneously.

"Please answer me one question: what exactly are you?

I have studied all your combat records. From your first appearance in the Southern Star Sector to your current full-scale invasion. Your technological leap speed is irrational, your organizational efficiency surpasses the development curve of any known civilization, and you... you 'Primarchs'..."

Tailakesi's Third Eye flickered violently, displaying emotional volatility.

"I saw the footage of your battle in the sky. Twenty-three seconds to destroy five 'Killer' Fortress units. Thirty-eight seconds to annihilate two companies of elite Praetorian Guards.

This is not a realm that a biological entity can reach; this is not an ability that any known technology can bestow.

You... you all... are nothing like what a Xiu Luo Saint Human should be."

Sanguinius looked at Tailakesi calmly.

"Father said that we are simply humans, his proudest offspring, and that is all. That is the entire answer."

"No! That doesn't explain it! Why were you able to develop from a Gladiator Arena planet into a force spanning the star sector in a mere three years? Why does each of you possess power bordering on that of a god? Why?"

Tailakesi's words were interrupted by Sanguinius's gesture of raising his hand.

"Shut up."