Chapter 70: Conquering the Crystal Illusion (End)

Inside the mountain belly, a statue rose up, piercing through the entire upper half of the Crystal Mountain, its head towering above the peak.

Beneath its feet lay a smaller scarlet Altar, with six massive circular ritual altars distributed evenly around it.

Each ritual altar was built from Psionic Crystal, and the runes were drawn with the heart blood of captives from other tribes.

Six Heart Eater priests, clad in purple robes and holding crystal ritual daggers, chanted loudly.

"The six hundred and sixty-sixth sacrifice has drawn the gaze of our Lord!"

They raised their crystal daggers in unison and stabbed downward violently.

Not one of the Heart Eater believers kneeling on the ground dodged; they all bared their chests, wearing smiles as they welcomed the glorious moment.

Around the base of his feet lay six hundred and sixty-five hearts.

The corpses were dragged away by other believers to feed the kin of the Heart Eaters, the creatures that lived among them.

At the central Altar, the final ritual began.

The leader of the cannibals plunged a crystal ritual dagger into the sacrifice's chest, then reached in to gouge out the bloody, still-beating heart.

"The first sacrifice, offering food to our Lord."

"……"

"The sixth sacrifice, may our Lord grant us blessing!"

At this moment, Ninglu was one kilometer away from the exit of the mountain belly when he suddenly heard an inhuman roar from ahead, containing both agony and pleasure.

Simultaneously, his "Warp Insight" sensed that the Veil separating the Warp from the material world had been briefly torn, and a force from the Sea of Souls had momentarily seeped into reality.

Ninglu looked ahead and immediately saw a twisted Monster; its body was bloated and blood-red, with six tentacle-like arms swaying behind its back.

Six heads grew from its neck, with snake-like tendrils hanging from their lips.

"Ailin!"

Arsena exclaimed as he looked at the head that had originally been the only one appearing normal.

【How could he have turned into this?】

He thought in confusion, beginning to believe that some kind of supernatural existence truly existed, and perhaps the Heart Eaters were real.

"Die!"

The bloated Ailin let out a shrill cry, and the other six priests shouted "Die" in response.

The six pairs of tentacles brandished crystal daggers, scimitars, ornate longswords, and other weapons to attack Ninglu.

Ninglu had already identified that the leader of the Heart Eaters had likely been fused together with the other six by the master they worshipped—the Heart Piercer.

They could not withstand the blessing and were transforming into Chaos Spawn.

A remnant of consciousness drove them to charge at him.

He swung his Heavy Halberd, carving an arc with the 6th strike of "Osberh-Waya".

All twelve tentacles were severed by his single slash; they fell to the ground, emitting shrill hisses that only faded after a moment.

With a cry of both pain and pleasure, the Slaanesh Chaos Spawn's body underwent further change; amidst creaking sounds, the six heads twisted in different directions, stretching the body into a prism-like Monster with a head at each apex.

The Primarch, with a perspective transcending the mortal world, perceived the weakness of the Slaanesh Chaos Spawn.

Carrying the power of the ritual was Ailin's head, which had sunken into the neck.

Ninglu tensed his legs and leaped slightly, swinging his Heavy Halberd to strike at the head sunken into the neck using the 23rd strike of "Osberh-Waya".

With a loud bang, the head of the Slaanesh Chaos Spawn was shattered.

Accompanied by terrified wails, the body of the Slaanesh Chaos Spawn melted like a candle, plopping onto the ground like a pile of sludge.

"Purify him!"

Arsena had been stunned for a moment as the terrifying Monster was instantly killed by Ninglu, and he only snapped back to reality when the giant spoke.

He flicked his right hand, and flames engulfed the sludge-like filth, burning it to ashes in an instant.

Arsena now fully believed that Ninglu could truly annihilate the evil Heart Eater tribe.

"Attack!"

Ninglu strode forward, charging into the mountain belly first, with "Warrior" Juerjuer leading the Eighth Regiment behind him.

Upon entering, he was met with a blinding light.

Ninglu felt a surge of joy; he noticed that the crystals along the way were of high purity and free of impurities, making them suitable as data carriers for crafting Data Crystals.

Now, seeing the vast expanse of Psionic Crystals within the mountain belly, his "Warp Insight" showed most of them to be relatively pure, capable of serving as psionic materials for crafting staves and other psionic items.

【An unexpected harvest; the only obstacle is the fallen heretical cultists.】

He looked toward the Slaanesh Cultists surging madly toward him and met them head-on.

Arsena watched in Shock as Ninglu cut through them like a knife through vegetables; whether it was the agile Heart Eaters or the bizarre creatures, there was no difference before him.

He also noticed the officer leading the Warriors.

He raised his left hand, and the beam he fired struck a swift Heart Eater over ten meters away with precision.

He nimbly dodged the suckers of a water-type mutant monster that lunged at him, and with a rotating, roaring sword, he slashed fiercely at the monster, killing it in a single blow.

Arsena also noticed that those soldiers held weapons he had never seen before; the rod-like objects in their hands could fire Laser beams.

The wide terrain inside the mountain belly allowed for greater firepower advantage than the narrow tunnels, and their dense beams harvested the Heart Eaters in swathes.

Their rain of volley fire blanketed the swift monsters.

Although the power was not as great as his own firepower, there were over two thousand of them, and every one possessed such a weapon.

He did not doubt that even if he raised a telekinetic shield, he would not last long against such an attack.

Arsena could not help but think to himself: 【God-like combat power, powerful generals, well-equipped soldiers—is this the strength of King Ninglu?

Other tribes have no ability to resist him.】

As more regiments joined, the Heart Eaters discovered they were surrounded by the enemy.

The battle was declared over in one stellar day.

Afterward, Ninglu came before the statue to observe the statue suspected to be a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh.

He immediately discovered that this carving was not yet complete, or rather, the Heart Eaters lacked a suitable Psionic Artisan, and the progress of the carving made it impossible to even discern whether it was a Heartslayer.

【This was carved on the foundation of a massive, naturally formed Psionic Crystal; it is truly astonishing. No wonder communications were being interfered with.

Although a small amount of supernatural power has seeped in, it has not solidified and can still be used.

As long as no one continues to perform sacrifices here, the power will gradually fade, and it should be usable in about a few decades.】

Ninglu was delighted by yet another unexpected gain; this massive crystal did not count as a top-tier psionic material, but it was huge!

Ninglu turned around and walked in front of the silver-haired psion.

"Arsena, are you willing to serve me?"

Arsena knew that he did not have the ability to refuse, and joining such a powerful monarch was also a good opportunity.

【Moreover, he also eliminated the sinful Heart Eaters and is the benefactor of all the tribes.】

Thinking of this, he made his decision.

"My King, I am willing to pledge my loyalty to you."

Four stellar months later, Ninglu conquered all the tribes of the Crystal Illusion.

Under the guidance of the Vostonia mechanics, sixteen mining bases began construction.

Considering the possibility of pirate raids, Ninglu left behind the Frigate Piszczek and the Destroyer Termalika, with the ground controlled by ten regiments.

Afterward, he ordered the fleet to set sail and return to Vostonia.

(End of this chapter)