Chapter 77

Alvin, hiding in the shadows, was almost choked to death.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he couldn't believe the reality he was seeing, and he rubbed them vigorously.

"Fake, it must be a hallucination!"

"The Emperor on high, I must have seen it wrong!"

But unfortunately... things went against his wishes.

Even though Alvin had rubbed his eyes until they were almost sore, the massive machine, which looked like a scorpion, not only didn't disappear but became even clearer.

At this moment, Alvin's face turned ashen.

If one had to use a word to describe his current mood, it would surely be... screwed!!!

"Heh, no wonder... I understand, I understand everything now!"

The heart that had been hanging in suspense finally died.

Good news: the cult isn't performing a sacrifice.

Bad news: the cult is building a Daemon Engine.

Worse news: building a Daemon Engine requires a powerful psyker and a Dark Mechanicum tech-priest!

"What the hell is in this dump? Enough to make the cult bring a Daemon Engine here?!" A frantic Alvin cursed wildly in his heart using the most vicious language.

A Daemon Engine, in essence, is the act of forcibly extracting a daemon from the Warp and stuffing it into a mechanical construct as a core, similar to a 'driver' inside a tank, but the difference is... it can never leave the 'vehicle'!

The daemon stuffed into the 'vehicle' is usually not there voluntarily.

Ask yourself, if you were a daemon, eating hotpot and singing songs in the Warp, only to be suddenly dragged out and shoved into an iron shell, would you be in a good mood?

Daemons are exactly the same.

Therefore, the process of manufacturing a Daemon Engine is full of unpredictable risks; even with a psyker and a Dark Mechanicum tech-priest present, the success rate is not high.

But once successful, the daemon bound within the killing machine will be filled with malice and rage, indulging in insane bloodlust and slaughter, becoming a terrifying existence on the battlefield that strikes fear into the hearts of all, easily crushing cities and strongholds!

Moreover, driving a Daemon Engine inevitably requires the souls of countless innocent people suffering in torment, so that the daemon at the engine's core cannot escape this iron shell.

Even every step of the manufacturing process requires the sacrifice of countless innocent souls, ensuring that the evil Chaos sorcery can 'press' the daemon into the 'iron shell' prepared in advance, which is forged from the spines and flesh of sinners!

To some extent, a Daemon Engine is extremely similar to a Dreadnought, as both are forcibly stuffed inside.

"So, those people who were captured aren't for sacrifice, but to be used to forge the Daemon Engine!"

Thinking of the iron cages imprisoned above the 'boiler' and the people who had just been thrown in, Alvin gritted his teeth in anger.

Don't let its clumsy appearance fool you; in fact, the Daemon Engine codenamed 'Brass Scorpion' is a very agile heavy destruction vehicle.

Its thick armor is enough to sweep through the entire Hive City!

Whether it's powerful melee capability or terrifying long-range firepower, it can easily wipe out the Planetary Defense Force!

Even... even a well-trained Astra Militarum regiment is no different from mortals when facing this thing.

A Daemon Engine isn't a PDD; you can't just hack it to death with numbers.

In short... invincible!

Strong!

Powerful!

Domineering!

Unless an Astartes chapter is brought in, with their current strength, destroying a complete Daemon Engine is, statistically speaking, not impossible, but it is infinitely close to zero.

Or, the Emperor himself could rise from the dead to grant a blessing.

But clearly, both paths are undoubtedly a fantasy for Alvin right now.

If he knew even one Astartes, he would have already turned tail and run from this hellhole; who would want to stay behind and wait for death!

"This is absolutely absurd!!!"

Alvin was speechless; what kind of 'blessed land' is Luo Sai Er, to attract so many big shots?

Honestly... even the Vigilant Star wouldn't have such a massive formation!

"I absolutely cannot let the cult succeed!" Alvin stared viciously at the huge, blasphemous, twisted construct, his eyes bloodshot and veins throbbing on his forehead: "Screw your mother, I'll risk it all; if we don't dismantle this thing, everyone is going to die!"

Although he had to dismantle it, it didn't mean he could just recklessly rush up and take down such a massive hunk of iron; a meticulous plan was required.

Otherwise, not to mention whether he could smash that hunk of iron.

As long as the factory system wasn't destroyed, even if he smashed this hunk of iron, the cult would still have the ability to re-forge a Daemon Engine later; it would just take a bit more effort.

"Right, the Inquisitor!"

At this moment, Alvin suddenly remembered that the Inquisitor was still thrown in an iron cage; if she were 'sacrificed', wouldn't that be the end of it?!

He hurriedly turned back.

Boom!

Another huge iron cage fell into the molten steel, and the wails of souls echoed through the factory.

"Uh..."

Alvin was silent for half a second, then performed the Aquila sign: "May the Emperor protect her, the Inquisitor... shouldn't die that easily, right?"

Of the twelve hanging iron cages, two had already been thrown into the furnace; a one-in-twelve chance... she shouldn't be that unlucky, right?

Alvin called the system to scan the remaining ten iron cages.

"Beep, beep, beep, target person detected!"

In the tense wait, the armor finally found the target.

"Huh? Not in the iron cage?"

Looking at the marked location of the target information, Alvin was somewhat stunned and looked down at the huge 'boiler'.

In the magnified image, he could see the Inquisitor cautiously crawling out from the lower level, holding a bolter, alert to her surroundings, and slowly approaching the boiler.

At this moment, Alvin's heart finally settled; may the Emperor protect her, the Inquisitor is alive!

But looking at the armor on his body, Alvin hesitated.

If he wore it to meet the Inquisitor, would he be suspected?

But if he took off the armor in this dump, it would be no different from seeking death; after thinking it over, Alvin decided to keep it on. His life was the most important thing, and everything else could be explained slowly later.

Winnie was preparing to sneak in when she was suddenly covered by a hand and dragged directly into a dark corner.

Damn, exposed?!

"Don't be excited, it's me, Alvin."

Hearing the voice, Winnie finally relaxed, but when she turned around and saw Alvin in silver-black armor, her brows furrowed slightly.

But after thinking for a moment, she assumed it was the Tech-Priest who had specially given Alvin the armor to save his life; although it looked quite luxurious, the material was... hard to describe.

Otherwise, why would a lower-hive dweller be able to come to the cult's lair?

"I was just looking for you upstairs..." Alvin rubbed his nose and said: "I was worried you had been thrown in; I really didn't expect it, may the God-Emperor protect us."

Winnie stared at him and said with a fake smile: "If I had waited for you to save me, I would have been thrown into this furnace and melted long ago!"

Alvin was speechless.

Actually, this couldn't be blamed entirely on him; who told him to find a Daemon Engine inside?

"Ahem, let me explain."

Alvin rubbed his nose and said with a guilty conscience: "I found evidence inside that absolutely proves there is a cult on this planet; follow me."

"What evidence?"

Winnie frowned, pointed at the huge boiler, and said in a low voice: "This thing is a Chaos construct; if it's evidence, this alone is enough for me to mobilize the Astra Militarum."

"Uh..."

Alvin was silent for half a second: "The Astra Militarum, maybe, probably, should, perhaps... might not be enough."

"The Astra Militarum, not enough?"

Winnie already held a great grudge against Alvin for stuffing her into the carriage, and then she was almost thrown into the furnace to be burned; at this moment, she was even more annoyed: "The Astra Militarum is the most loyal army of His Majesty the God-Emperor; let alone wiping out a cult, even on the battlefield against Chaos and xenos, they are a force not to be underestimated. Why do you look down on them?"

"There's a Daemon Engine inside."

Alvin said with a calm face.

"Ridiculous, what Daemon Engi... Daemon Engine?!"

Winnie's eyes widened, her voice suddenly rose by a dozen octaves, and her sea-blue eyes were filled with shock and terror!

"That, Winnie..."

"Are we that familiar? Use my title!"

"It's the title... ah, no, Lord Inquisitor."

Thank you all for the monthly tickets, and thank you to the two lords 'World Daoist' and 'Book Friend 20230410180228858' for the tips, I am deeply grateful!