Chapter 77

Alvin, hidden in the shadows, nearly choked to death.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if unable to believe what he saw, frantically rubbing them.

“Fake! Must be an illusion!”

“Emperor above, I must’ve misseen it!”

But unfortunately… things went contrary to his wishes.

Even as Alvin nearly rubbed his eyeballs to dust, the massive mechanical creature resembling a scorpion did not vanish—instead, it grew clearer.

At that moment, Alvin’s face turned ashen.

If one word could describe his mood right now, it would be… fucked!

“Ah, no wonder… I get it now. I understand everything!”

The weight hanging over his heart finally died.

Good news: the cult didn’t perform a sacrifice.

Bad news: the cult was building a Daemon Engine.

Worse news: building a Daemon Engine required a powerful psyker and a Black Oil Tech!

“What the hell is this place that the cult brought a Daemon Engine here?!” Alvin, furious, cursed inwardly with the vilest language.

A Daemon Engine, in essence, forcibly drags a demon from the Warp and seals it inside a mechanical chassis as a core—similar to a tank’s “driver,” except the demon can never leave the vehicle!

The demons sealed inside are almost never willing participants.

Imagine you’re a demon, enjoying hot pot and singing in the Warp, when suddenly you’re yanked out, shoved into a metal shell without warning—would you be in a good mood?

That’s exactly how demons feel.

Thus, the process of creating a Daemon Engine is fraught with unpredictable risks—even with a psyker and a Black Oil Tech, success rates remain low.

But once successful, the bound demon, filled with malice and rage, sinks into a mad bloodlust, becoming a terrifying presence on the battlefield, capable of leveling cities and shattering fortresses with ease!

Moreover, operating a Daemon Engine requires vast quantities of tortured souls of the innocent, so the demon within the core cannot escape its iron shell.

Even at every stage of its creation, countless innocent souls must be sacrificed to ensure the dark chaos sorcery can force the demon “into” the iron shell, forged from the bones and flesh of the guilty!

In some ways, the Daemon Engine is very similar to a Dreadnought—both are forcibly stuffed inside.

“So those people they captured weren’t for sacrifice—they were to be forged into the Daemon Engine!”

Thinking of the iron cages hanging above the “boiler” and the people just thrown in, Alvin gritted his teeth in rage.

Though it looks bulky, the Daemon Engine codenamed “Brass Scorpion” is an extremely agile heavy destruction vehicle.

Its thick armor can sweep clean an entire hive city!

Whether its devastating close-combat prowess or terrifying ranged firepower, it can easily annihilate planetary defense forces!

Even… well-trained Star Guard are nearly as helpless against it as commoners.

A Daemon Engine isn’t PDD—you can’t just chop it to pieces with sheer numbers.

In short… invincible!

Strong!

Powerful!

Dominant!

Unless you bring a full regiment of Astartes, the probability of destroying a complete Daemon Engine with their current strength is not zero—but it approaches zero infinitely.

Or unless the Emperor himself rises from the dead to bless them.

But clearly, both options were fantasy for Alvin right now.

If he knew even one Astartes, he’d have already fled this hellhole long ago—who’d stay to die?!

“This is beyond absurd!!!”

Alvin was speechless. What kind of “feng shui paradise” was Lo Saier that attracted so many big shots?

Logically… even a Watch World wouldn’t have this much firepower!

“We absolutely cannot let the cult succeed!” Alvin glared at the monstrous, blasphemous creation, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead: “To hell with it—I’m going all in. If I don’t tear this thing apart, we all die!”

Though he must destroy it, rushing in blindly won’t dismantle such a massive iron monstrosity—it requires a meticulous plan.

Otherwise, even if you smash this iron lump,

as long as the factory’s system remains intact, the cult can simply rebuild another Daemon Engine later—just a matter of time and effort.

“Wait—the Inquisitor!”

Only then did Alvin suddenly remember the Inquisitor was still locked in the iron cage—what if he’d already been sacrificed? That’d be the end!

He hurried back.

BOOM!

Another massive iron cage plunged into molten steel; the screams of tortured souls echoed through the factory.

“Uh…”

Alvin fell silent for half a second, then gave the Eagle Salute: “Emperor protect—the Inquisitor… surely he won’t die so easily?”

Of the twelve hanging cages, two had already been dropped into the furnace—twelve percent chance… surely he wouldn’t be that unlucky?

Alvin called the system to scan the remaining ten cages.

“Beep-beep-beep! Target located!”

In tense anticipation, the armor finally found the target.

“Huh? Not in a cage?”

Looking at the target’s marked location on the display, Alvin was stunned, then looked down at the massive “boiler.”

In the magnified image, he saw the Inquisitor cautiously emerging from the lower levels, gripping a bolter, alert to his surroundings, slowly approaching the boiler.

Only then did Alvin finally relax—Emperor be praised, the Inquisitor was alive!

But looking at his armor, Alvin hesitated.

Would wearing this armor make the Inquisitor suspicious?

Yet removing it here would be suicide. After careful thought, Alvin decided to keep it on—his life came first; he’d explain later.

Winnie was preparing to infiltrate when someone suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her into a dark corner.

Shit—exposed?!

“Don’t panic—it’s me, Alvin.”

Hearing the voice, Winnie relaxed, but turned to see Alvin in his silver-black armor and frowned slightly.

Yet after a moment’s thought, she assumed it was the Tech-Priest’s special armor, given to Alvin for protection—though it looked luxurious, the material quality was… hard to describe.

After all, how could a low-hive scum possibly appear in the cult’s stronghold?

“I was just looking for you up top…” Alvin rubbed his nose. “Worried you’d been thrown in—turns out the God-Emperor watched over you.”

Winnie stared at him, smiling without warmth: “If I waited for you to save me, I’d have already melted in this furnace!”

Alvin had no reply.

Honestly, he couldn’t entirely blame himself—what with finding a Daemon Engine inside?

“Cough, listen to me.”

Alvin rubbed his nose, sounding guilty: “I found evidence inside—proof this planet has a cult. Come with me.”

“What evidence?”

Winnie frowned, pointing at the massive boiler, her voice grave: “That thing is a Chaos artifact. If that’s evidence, I could mobilize the Star Guard right now.”

“Uh…”

Alvin paused half a second: “The Star Guard… might, probably, perhaps… not be up to it.”

“The Star Guard… not up to it?”

Winnie already resented Alvin for shoving her into the vehicle and nearly burning her alive—now she was even angrier: “The Star Guard are the Emperor’s most loyal soldiers! They’re not just capable of purging cults—they’re a formidable force against Chaos and xenos alike! How dare you belittle them?”

“There’s a Daemon Engine inside.”

Alvin said calmly.

“Laughable—what’s a Daemon In… Daemon Engine?!”

Winnie’s eyes widened, her voice rising ten octaves, her sapphire eyes filled with horror and dread!

“Uh, Winnie…”

“Do I know you well enough to use your first name? Use your title!”

“Right—title… no, Inquisitor.”

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