Chapter 67: Followers of the Heart-Slayer

Nearly a hundred people collapsed in a large swath, especially a dozen or so whose ears, larger and longer than those of ordinary people, bled from their noses and ears.

The Jokaero swayed for a moment, then continued to flee forward.

Ninglu was not surprised; he knew the Jokaero had no known language or cultural forms, and no motivation other than survival.

With a boom, the Primarch smashed into the crowd, killing four people instantly, while a dozen more were sent flying by the shockwave.

Ninglu's consciousness spread, forcibly knocking open the doors to the minds of the twelve people nearby.

The brain holds a person's thoughts, but the mind is the truest reflection.

Countless chaotic mental images, like a rain of flowers scattered across the sky, flashed through his mind.

【Hmm?】

Ninglu was immediately drawn to the images appearing simultaneously in the minds of the twelve people: they were holding burning hearts, kneeling in a jungle of crystals shimmering with colorful light, and worshipping a crystal statue several dozen meters tall.

The most striking feature of the statue was its serpentine tail, which was as long as half its body, and its four palms, each holding something.

The twelve people worshipped the statue devoutly, and from their minds, Ninglu understood the meaning of the local Low Gothic directly.

"Great Heart-Slayer, we offer you our sacrifice!"

"Please protect us! Grant us your blessing!"

"..."

【Heart-Slayer? Seems a bit familiar.

Heart, snake tail, four arms.

Keeper of Secrets, Heart-Slayer?】

Ninglu looked at the people around him and discovered that they all had slight mutations to varying degrees; some had forked snake tongues, and others had eyes that shone like crystals...

【The degree of mutation is not high, but the proportion of people is very high.】

He frowned slightly; he did not feel the Veil weakening or Warp energy surging.

【Perhaps it is only concentrated within a small range.】

From their minds, Ninglu also obtained information about the Jokaero.

【Suspected to be Slaanesh Cultists, they discovered that the Jokaero used stones and other materials to create exotic artworks—light sculptures.

So they captured them, but the Jokaero escaped.】

Ninglu was not surprised, because the Jokaero would escape whenever they had the chance, and they could always create things to help them escape.

He withdrew his consciousness, returned to his physical body, and immediately saw a person holding a gorgeous sword, with blood-yellow eyes like snake pupils, shouting loudly.

"Stop chasing! Catch this guy who fell from the sky; he is the most perfect sculpture!"

Through the mind-reading just now, Ninglu had mastered parts of the local language of the Crystal Illusion and could understand what they were saying.

Twenty-five Slaanesh Cultists lunged at Ninglu with agility far exceeding that of ordinary people.

A cold glint flashed in Ninglu's black eyes, and he swung his Heavy Halberd.

With a spinning sweep, many enemies were cut in half at the waist; their bodies continued to move forward by inertia, then collided and fell to the ground.

Ninglu had already turned to chase the Jokaero; to him, this tribe was more valuable than this world.

While running, he took out a Data Slate and marked the standards on it according to the memories he had just read.

While sending a message to Bukayo, he opened his communicator and issued an order.

"Bukayo, lead your squad to the marked location immediately."

Ninglu recalled that in the previous scan by the Auger Matrix, there were no life signals at the gathering place of the Slaanesh Cultists, so he added a warning.

"Do not advance rashly!"

"Understood, my King!"

Relying on his keen perception, Ninglu caught up with the Jokaero tribe after a moment.

He strode forward rapidly, then blocked the path of the Jokaero, barring them with his halberd.

Sensing danger, the Jokaero stopped immediately and turned to run to the left.

The next moment, Ninglu appeared in front of them again.

After a dozen times, the Jokaero instinctively gave up running and stared at Ninglu with wide eyes.

They did not say a word, as if they were statues standing still.

Ninglu opened his communicator and sent a message to Juerjuer.

"Bring a platoon down."

Ninglu narrowed his eyes, looking at the Jokaero who could not communicate through language, and frowned slightly.

The Jokaero's creations were random; if a Laser gun were placed in front of them, they might modify it to be more powerful, or they might just weave decorations and place them on it.

Only their creators, the Old Ones, knew how to harness their instincts.

【Future Inquisitorial retinues include Jokaero, and the Ordo Malleus of the Kalixisi Shanqu even uses their Ape Field technology to resist demons.

The former might rely on luck, but the latter would certainly not entrust life and death to the Jokaero's instinct for creation.

Therefore, there must be a way to force them to act according to orders.】

Ninglu's mind spun rapidly, thinking about how to tame the Jokaero.

【Instinct, survival instinct... Hmm, assuming I don't view the Jokaero as biological machines, but as a species—just one that doesn't communicate in ways known to humans—as the basic logic.

Then, by injecting implants into their bodies with embedded "programs" as drivers, I could force them to execute them.

There is another possible method: the Spy Fly they create requires psychic energy to drive, which is why Inquisitor Jieke Delagu suspects they might possess psychic abilities. Perhaps I can use telepathy to drive them to act according to my will.】

Just as Ninglu thought of these two methods, a roaring sound echoed overhead.

The Jokaero were driven onto the barge, and he walked in as well, simultaneously sending a message to Woyiqiehe.

"Prepare a sealed deck and clear everything out of it."

Even if it is useless trash, once the Jokaero handle it, you never know what it will become.

In an instant, they can use scraps of trash to create rare Ring Weapons, and what they craft most often are tools for escape.

"Additionally, order your men to gather the waste materials from production and prepare them for use."

While Ninglu returned to the Wosituoniya zhi Ao, Bukayo led his regiment to land near the target point.

He immediately saw a Crystal Mountain that towered into the clouds, its summit invisible; its facets, as if cut, refracted colorful light under the illumination of the sun.

Having grown to the height of an average adult, Bukayo cautiously did not lead his team to climb the mountain immediately; he boarded the aircraft, sat in the co-pilot's seat, fastened his seatbelt, and ordered takeoff.

His eyes widened, wanting to observe the situation on the mountain.

However, all that met his eyes was blinding, colorful light.

"Fly sideways, tilt thirty degrees!"

The pilot immediately followed Bukayo's order and changed direction.

What Bukayo saw in his eyes was still blinding, colorful light; it remained the same after changing dozens of angles in succession.

His brows furrowed tightly, and he helplessly issued a new order.

"Circle the mountain!"

Bukayo kept staring at the mountain; he could not see the scene on the mountain clearly until a staircase reaching to the sky appeared in his line of sight.

He then discovered that this mountain was a polyhedron, and only at the transitions of the facets were there paths.

After one circle, the aircraft landed.

Bukayo opened his communicator and tried to contact the ship, but only heard a patch of static.

"Retreat."

Only after moving several hundred meters away from the foot of the mountain did the noise in the communication channel fade, so he sent a message to Ninglu.

"My Lord, I have arrived at the target point and discovered a Crystal Mountain; it is a hexahedron."

"I am about to ascend the mountain."

After waiting for nearly a minute, he had still not received a reply.

【Perhaps my Lord is busy with other matters and did not hear.】

Bukayo then ordered them to land, led his men to choose the nearest path, and climbed upward.

(End of chapter)