Chapter 170

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

Luna hadn't guessed wrong.

Her fleet being ambushed in the asteroid belt did indeed have an intricate, inextricable connection to Lin En.

If it were someone else bidding against Lin En, or even Karadong coming.

Lin En wouldn't do this.

That old geezer, though stubborn, at least still upheld the bottom line of being human, still knew what rules meant.

But Luna?

A Tzeentch Wizard who exploited her clan and rose to power through Chaos.

Against this kind of person, Lin En had absolutely no psychological burden.

Thus, on the day Luna began the first test flight of the Precept Ruler.

A bizarre ship quietly departed Dead World-B, heading toward Kal II.

It was a flesh-and-blood ship covered in tentacles.

Its hull wasn't metal, but chitin, glowing with a sickly purple light under the starlight.

Its power source was a biomass conversion furnace; every pulse was like a giant heart beating.

Unlike ordinary ships, it had almost no long-range attack methods, only deployment hatches.

Inside were packed countless spore sacs ready to launch at any moment, densely attached to the hull surface, like strings of wild fruit about to ripen.

Purple Crystal Hao.

That old ship modified when escaping from Necromunda, the Lena Swarm's mobile nest, the first foundation stone of the swarm in this star system.

It hovered in the darkness of the distant outer areas of Kal II, like a hunter lurking in the shadows.

"Begin." A clear, cold female voice rang out on the bridge.

Her main body wasn't on the ship; that giant beast over eight meters tall still slumbered in the spawning pool deep within Double Peak Mountain.

But this ship held one of her enhanced warrior worm avatars, a consciousness node sufficient to control things here.

The Purple Crystal Hao's abdomen slowly opened, revealing the writhing chambers within.

Subsequently, the first wave of spore sacs began to pour out.

They drifted toward Kal II like dandelion seeds, tens of thousands, dense and countless.

Each spore sac wrapped dozens of tearing worms or several knife worms.

Their overall combat power wasn't strong, but they had a mission.

Harass, enrage, deny those green skins any peace.

The first batch of spore sacs landed on a floating debris station, where a group of Mozu Clan green skin kids were crowded around a big pot fighting over stew.

It was a big pot five meters in diameter, boiling a sticky yellow-green paste, bubbling and gurgling.

Emitting an aroma that would make humans retch, but could drive green skins mad.

Dozens of kids squeezed around the pot, scooping out with various containers, shoving each other, cursing and swearing.

The first batch of spore sacs smashed onto the debris pile, burst open, and a swarm of worms only half a meter long crawled out.

The worms scrambled everywhere, chopped to death by their machetes, or stuffed into mouths as snacks.

These Mozu Clan kids dared eat anything, and their digestive ability was strangely powerful.

Some worms also crawled along the station inward, disappearing into ventilation pipes and debris crevices.

"What's this thing?" A green skin kid chewing a worm in his mouth frowned.

"Taste's pretty strong, and a bit sour."

The companion beside him shrugged and kept fighting for the stew.

No one took it seriously.

But the second and third batches of spore sacs arrived quickly.

The Purple Crystal Hao deployed spore sacs near-continuously, twenty-four hours a day.

Each subsequent drop wasn't large in number, just dozens or hundreds.

And it changed position after every batch, never lingering, giving the green skins no chance to track it.

The green skins were initially curious about this.

They fought with knife worms and gun worms, caught some tearing worms, studied them, played with them, ate them.

Some kids even started competitions to see who could eat the most worms.

But soon, curiosity turned to annoyance.

Because there were too many of those worms.

Every day there were some, popping out from all over the place.

You're just sleeping, a worm crawls onto your face, bites your nose.

Or while you're fighting, a swarm of worms lands nearby, disrupting your battle rhythm.

Even more hateful: when stewing their favorite stew, a worm falls into the pot, ruining a whole pot of good ingredients.

Most annoying: you want to find the source, can't find it.

That damn meat ship changes location every time it appears, shoots and scoots, simply can't be caught.

You had just gathered men to surround and suppress it, and it disappeared.

Once you let your guard down, it popped out again, continuing to launch those annoying insects.

The entire Kal II was like a beast constantly harassed.

It was roused from sleep, enraged, driven frantic and uneasy by countless tiny stabbing pains.

Now it had awakened, opened its blood-red eyes, and sworn to make every invading enemy pay.

The War Boss in charge of defending Kal II was a Green Skin Big Tech named Iron Pliers Chandler.

It was a huge Beastman, over four meters tall, its right arm not flesh and blood but a pair of hydraulic power pliers.

It was said to be modified using parts from a Warhound-class Titan, able to tear open the frontal armor of a Leman Russ Tank with one claw.

Hence the name Iron Pliers.

Chandler stood in Kal II's main control cabin, looking at those annoying reports, his expression grim.

This hall had been remodeled by it into "Orc Beastman Style" using scrap.

Exposed pipelines, flashing indicator lights, and mechanical devices of unknown purpose were everywhere.

Several Tech Boss kids were crouched in the corner, hammering away at a humming machine.

"Are those insects still coming?" Chandler's voice was mixed with mechanical sounds, his body heavily modified.

"Still coming, Big Boss." The underling beside him shrank his neck, answering carefully.

"Every day, can't catch them all, the kids are almost going crazy."

Chandler's iron pliers slammed hard onto the control console, smashing out a deep dent.

The hydraulic system emitted a piercing screeching sound, scaring those Tech Boss kids nearly into jumping.

"Investigate for me!" it roared.

"Find out which bastard is causing trouble! I want to tear it into fragments and stuff it into the Scrap Pot to boil!"

The Green Skin Big Bosses who received the command began setting traps around Kal II one after another.

The Tech Boss kids fitted engines onto meteorites, turning those originally harmless stones into "Bao Dan" capable of high-speed movement.

They hid the Ramming Boats deep in the Asteroid Belt, camouflaging them with scrap.

"I reckon this way the enemy won't see the Ramming Boats!"

They scattered the Scrap Fleet in ambush along various possible routes, waiting only for one command to rush out and tear into the enemy.

"Let those insects keep coming." Chandler grinned ferociously, his hydraulically driven metal chin creaking.

"Once they come, they won't leave!"

But strangely, starting from two days ago, those insects suddenly disappeared.

The Spore Sacs that had been launched without interruption for 24 hours never appeared again.

The Purple Crystal Hao seemed to have completed its mission, silently retreating into deep space.

The Green Skins patiently waited two days, waiting for nothing.

"Did we busy ourselves for nothing?" a kid muttered.

Chandler was also puzzled.

But it did not revoke the command, it reckoned that dealing with prey required a certain patience.

Thus, on the third day, they waited for the Luna Fleet.

Deep in the Asteroid Belt, a Green Skin ambush troop was hiding in the Shadow.

Their leader was a Tech Boss named Kaqi.

This guy was not big, but his brain worked much better than an ordinary Green Skin.

It was not a War Boss, not even a Big Guy, but its ambition was greater than any War Boss.

It had always wanted to replace Chandler's position!

Among the Green Skins of Kal II, Kaqi's status was neither high nor low, stuck in the most awkward position.

It had ability, capability, and a group of underlings willing to follow it.

But Chandler was too strong; with that Power Claw planted there, no one dared make a sound.

Kaqi had been waiting for an opportunity.

Waiting for an opportunity to prove itself stronger than Chandler.

When the Luna Fleet appeared within detection range, Kaqi's pair of one large and one small eyes lit up.