Chapter 1364: Three Join Forces to Close the Rift (2)

Under the impact of red, gold, and black psionic energy, the purple rift energy began to curl, fold, and collapse inward like a torn rag.

The bio-energy infused by the Zerg was completely cut off; the edges of the rift lost their support, twitched a few times, and then slammed shut.

In just an instant, that purple wound that had once devoured countless lives vanished.

Above the equator of experimental planet X-7-009-3, only the atmosphere covered in Zerg biomass and a slowly healing spatial rift remained.

Magnus fell from the sky and was caught by the psionics of the Thousand Sons.

The psionic patterns on his power armor had faded, his eyes were tightly shut, and his face was pale.

Sanguinius landed beside Magnus, his wings folding in.

"Magnus, are you still alive?"

Magnus opened his eyes, his voice weak.

"Alive, which is more painful than being dead."

Corax's voice came through the communication device.

"The rift is closed. Those in the Thousand Sons who can still move, take Magnus back to the ship. Sanguinius, look at the ground."

Sanguinius looked down.

The Zerg units on the planet's surface lost their unified command the moment the rift closed.

The synaptic connection of the Hive Mind was severed, and all Zerg creatures fell into madness at the same moment.

All low-level Zerg were frantically attacking every living thing in their sight, simply because they were no longer part of the same will.

They were cut off from their connection to the Insect Hive, and all remaining instincts drove them to devour all organic matter, even if that organic matter belonged to their own kind.

"Salafan."

Sanguinius pressed his communication device.

"Notify the Iron Warriors and Luna Wolves in orbit; the Zerg have lost their unified command. Do not cease fire; continue attacking the Zerg bio-ships. The swarm cannot organize an effective counterattack now; this is the best window for harvest."

Salafan's voice came from the communication device.

"Understood."

Octavius's voice rang out on the ground communication channel.

"All Ultramarines units, the Zerg command system has been paralyzed. They no longer have unified command, no longer have coordinated operations, and no longer have reinforcements. Now is the time for harvest."

The Ultramarines' line shifted from defense to advance.

The cannons of the Predator tanks plowed paths of blood through the swarm.

Rhino transports ferried Space Marines to the rear of the Zerg positions to establish new fire points.

Thunderhawk gunships strafed at low altitude, clearing out the remaining elite Zerg units.

Titans and Knight Mechs pushed forward, turning every Zerg that blocked their path into ashes.

The warriors of the Blood Angels advanced rapidly on the ground, their chainswords and bolters harvesting the crumbling swarm.

Sanguinius stood on the hill below the location where the rift had vanished, looking at the area that had once been shrouded in purple light.

Corax walked to his side.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sanguinius said.

"Before the rift closed, there was an anomaly in the energy turbulence on the other side. Magnus felt it too; something on the other side of the rift was attacking the Zerg's energy nodes."

Corax nodded.

"My psionics hit something inside, but it shattered too quickly. Before I could even attack with full force, it was already collapsing on its own."

Sanguinius looked at him.

"So, it wasn't your psionics that destroyed that device?"

Corax said.

"Not entirely. My psionics only interfered with its energy output; its collapse was due more to an external force attacking the Zerg defensive line from the other side of the rift. There was another power attacking them."

Magnus was sent to the Thousand Sons' medical ship.

His psionic overdraft had stabilized, but his consciousness remained immersed in a chaotic psionic echo.

It was a fragment of a scene his psionic perception had captured at the moment the rift closed—not the Zerg's energy nodes, not the fury of the Hive Mind, but another breach.

It was just a more terrifying hunter that happened to share a common enemy with the humans.

Magnus tried to see the face of that figure clearly, but his consciousness was ejected from the psionic echo.

He opened his eyes abruptly, and the psionic patterns on his power armor pulsed once more.

"Lord Magnus, you are awake."

The medical officer's voice carried surprise.

Magnus sat up.

"Where is Sanguinius?"

"On the ground, currently mopping up the remaining Zerg enemies."

Magnus pressed the communication device by his bed.

"Sanguinius, I saw a part of the scene on the other side of the rift in the psionic echo."

Sanguinius was silent for a few seconds.

"Are you talking about a Demon?"

Magnus shook his head.

"It seemed to have a somewhat familiar aura, but its power came from rage and blood; I am not sure what it is composed of.

The reason our psionic suppression was able to succeed is that it attacked the Zerg on the other side of the rift. If it hadn't opened the way over there, we might have had to pay a much higher price to close the rift."

Corax's voice cut in.

"Regardless of what it is, it is not on our side right now."

Magnus said.

"When the rift closed, I saw that breach before my psionic perception was ejected. It is still there; it did not disappear along with the mirror rift."

Sanguinius was in Silence for a long time.

"Magnus, organize that segment of footage from the Psionic Echo; I will report it to Father."

Corax said.

"If that breach is a passage to another world, the Aliens might one day be treated as prey by whatever is in that breach. We have just won a war, but the defense line of the Bode Star System may be even longer than we imagined."

Sanguinius looked at the Tianqiong.

"Finish dealing with the Zerg here first; we will discuss the matter of that breach after the mopping-up is completely finished."

Sanguinius pressed the Communication Device.

"Octavius, how is the progress of the mopping-up of the remaining ground Zerg?"

The voice of Octavius came from the Communication Device.

"Lord Sanguinius, the Ultramarines have already advanced to the perimeter of the Zerg underground Nest. The Zerg are still resisting, but their offensive is very scattered, and various instances of cannibalism have appeared."

Without unified command, they are just a group of crazed beasts. It is estimated that the surface mopping-up can be completed within twenty-four hours; the underground Nest will require more time."

Sanguinius said.

"Continue the mopping-up; do not let a single Zerg escape. This planet cannot be destroyed; the rift has just closed, and high-energy destruction cannot be conducted around it."

"Understood."