"Stand aside and regain your noble composure." Blazkowicz waved for Gela to stand, not pressing further: "Be ready to answer questions at any time."
Gela felt a release in his heart, knowing this hurdle was passed, and dared not offer further thanks, lest he annoy others.
He quietly shuffled on his knees to the side of the command console, kneeling there with dignity, awaiting orders and inquiries at any moment.
His behavior was noted by Blazkowicz, who nodded inwardly.
Although this noble youth was quite dishonest, his desire for revenge was genuine, and his eagerness to reclaim his homeland made the information he provided highly credible.
As for the secrets he revealed, they were likely just the tip of the iceberg.
Blazkowicz also didn't want to waste time; rather than urgently pursuing and interrogating, it was better to relax and slowly uncover the hidden secrets.
He rose from the high throne, and this black-armored giant walked to the command console, beginning to plan how to launch the attack.
This was a transparent yet dangerous battle.
The 'transparency' referred to Gela having confessed everything he knew: including the shield frequency of his homeworld, the land-based anti-ship fire identification key, and many critical fortresses and nodes.
It could be said that the Gela family's territory held no secrets for the Nur Stars.
The hidden danger lay in Krafen herself, who remained unknown.
Based on the limited information provided by Gela, Blazkowicz knew that Krafen was a psychic species.
Their void fleet was not strong; in some respects, it was even somewhat weak, but their bizarre abilities made them impossible to guard against.
Krafen seemed like a phantom, disregarding distance limitations, appearing from within human bodies to attack the interior of warships. When the aliens appeared, everyone would fall into deep fear, let alone resist; mortals, under the interference of fear, found it difficult to concentrate.
Blazkowicz, of course, knew why.
Krafen utilized her racial talent to invade human souls in the Warp, using humans as flesh portals to achieve physical distance jumps.
Therefore, he had not brought any mortal troops, nor even the Sentinels, precisely to prevent mental collapse and becoming a springboard for alien invasion.
Without the presence of fragile minds, it undoubtedly crippled the aliens.
With the existence of super-heavy battleships, fleet combat posed no danger; the only point of concern was the unknown ground combat.
"Captain Aang," Blazkowicz tapped the holographic interface, confirming the short-range jump destination, "initiate short-range in-system jump."
"Understood." The Iron Men captain, named after a star, responded, controlling the battleship to lower its viewports and decks, and began executing the jump procedure.
The commander's series of actions signaled that war was about to begin.
Blazkowicz stood by the viewport, having listened to the entire process, and knew the specific deployment Blazkowicz had made.
Silence and prosperity reflected in his eyes; his eldest son's steady and sure tactics, though not stunning or surprising, revealed the highest philosophy of war—steadfastness.
The ultimate goal of war is to achieve victory.
There are myriad ways to victory. Some are swift as wind, some fierce as fire, but 'steadfastness' is the ultimate form of war.
Tapping his left arm armor, he called up the Sophia terminal, and Blazkowicz and Harlan vanished in a shimmering light curtain.
He made no statements or inquiries, leaving the battleship bridge.
After all, he would not participate in commanding this battle, nor would he offer any opinions, leaving it entirely to his scions to perform freely.
Seeing the Father of Genes depart, Blazkowicz secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The presence of that esteemed individual, though he had not spoken a word throughout, still exerted an invisible pressure, pressing on everyone's nerves.
Gela subtly withdrew his gaze, his expression still deferential, but a flicker of thought brightened his eyes.
Although he didn't know who that extremely imposing person was, he vaguely sensed that his identity and status must be quite high.
After a twelve-hour jump, the fleet finally arrived in the domain named after the Gela family—the Gela star system.
Against the backdrop of a dark star system, a massive star in its prime radiated dazzling light, making the entire star system exceptionally bright.
Within the system were nine planets and one gas giant, and the Gela family's main planet was a moon orbiting the gas giant in the sixth orbit.
"Lost warship detected, no life signs, no threat." Aang's sensing speed was extremely fast, reporting the augur's discovery.
An image popped up on the command console, showing a silent warship floating in the void, powerless and without energy supply, drifting helplessly.
The warship's exterior showed no damage, yet it exuded a bizarre, chilling aura, like a legendary haunted castle, silently awaiting victims.
"It—it—they did it!" Gela's teeth chattered, unable to form complete sentences, his pupils constricted with fear, his body trembling like a sieve.
He pointed at the lost fleet adrift in the void, unable to suppress the terror in his heart.
"Drip ~ Drip ~"
Blazkowicz had just lifted his foot, preparing to physically correct the fear, when the super-chip in his armor gave an urgent response: "Psychic fluctuations detected."
As the announcement sounded, psychic reactions began to appear.
The bridge temperature began to drop, water molecules in the air froze, visible frost crept onto Gela's cheeks, and spread from his kneeling knees outwards!
It was obvious!
Krafen's attack had already begun!
"It's watching me!" Gela's throat gurgled with terror, his eyes flickering with purple light, as he fell to the ground, rolling and muttering incessantly: "It's here—it's here—"
His expression became inhumanly contorted and twisted, entering an unconscious delirium, his hands stiffly clenching in spasms, his legs scraping against the floor, wanting to escape quickly but unable to.
"My—my Lord—save—me—"
Gela exhaled his last breath, white foam spilling from the corners of his mouth, his eyeballs rolled back, and purple psychic patterns began to seep through his skin.
A nearby Doom Slayer moved to intervene but was stopped by Blazkowicz.
He had never expected that merely approaching the inner ring of the star system, Krafen would so keenly sense the presence of humans, and even begin to inversely invade the battleship due to Gela's fragile mind.
Such long-range psychic sensing demonstrated Krafen's power.
These terrifying psychic aliens could invade the fragile minds of mortals from several astronomical units away.
The frost continued to spread, and tiny, visible purple lightning seeped from Gela's body, licking the battleship floor like snakes; it wouldn't be long before he became a new psychic beacon.
"Danger! Danger!" Aang was sounding the alarm, his cold mechanical voice urgent, his body's angles opening, extending black muzzles aimed at Gela, preparing to eliminate the unstable factor.
"Hmph!" Blazkowicz had intended to observe longer, but sensing Gela couldn't hold on, he reached out and grabbed his shoulder, lifting him from the ground.
The moment they touched, the Doom Slayer's absolute suppressive force over psychic energy immediately severed Krafen's psychic connection, causing Gela to gasp for air, much like a fish out of water for a long time.
In a corner of Gela's world, in a dark room, a purple light erupted, accompanied by a sharp shriek.
The psychic connection was forcibly cut, and Krafen suffered a backlash, enduring the pain brought by the psychic feedback.
Gela looked withered, steam rising from his body, his chest heaving violently, instinctively gulping in air.
"Thank you, my Lord." He used all his strength, slurring his words of thanks.
In just a few seconds, he had experienced the brink of life and death.
That dark, greedy, terrifying will had extended a cold, long tongue, licking his soul bit by bit, savoring the fear of its struggling prey.
Blazkowicz placed him on the ground, and the latter immediately collapsed like mud, even lying on the floor gasping for breath, fearfully stroking his chest with his hand.
"Watch him carefully." Blazkowicz instructed his brother, raising his guard against Krafen's strangeness by several notches again.
Not bringing mortal troops was the correct decision!
If a large number of mortals had arrived, they would not only be of no help but would become a burden to the Legion.
Before the battle even began, the fleet would have disintegrated due to internal strife, and large numbers of souls would become Krafen's sustenance, constantly strengthening the alien's power.
Only the will of the Doom Slayers and Custodes, and the cold logic of the Iron Men, could resist Krafen!
"Order the fleet to advance at full speed, target directly at Gela main planet!"
The ship's tail flames erupted fiercely, like accumulated wrath.
The fleet set off towards the moon of the gas giant, eager for the absolute judgment against the aliens!
On the lower deck of the Old Glory, the Destroyer Legion was fully assembled, and the Iron Men combat bodies were self-checking, ready to engage in battle at any moment.
Blazkowicz and Harlan, meanwhile, waited in the landing craft, preparing to descend to the surface.
Gela main planet. A vibrant jungle world, with a low, thin mist ethereal over its undulating mountain jungles.
In the towering forests where sunlight could not penetrate, the human Hive City was not tall, stretching out in a continuous expanse, nestled beneath the gloomy mist.
At this moment, the Hive City was eerily silent, with terrifying, spiky spires towering above.
The presence of Krafen had imbued the forest mist with a terrifying aura, spreading throughout the entire world, enveloping all humans.
While Blazkowicz observed the world below his feet, in the Ultima Orientis Segmentum, at the other end of the Imperium, the Ultramarines Legion similarly encountered Krafen.
Ever since Roboute Guilliman took over the Legion, most Ultramarines remained in Great Ultramar, integrating the Legion's culture with that of the Primarch's homeworld.
However, the Legion had to embark on a Great Crusade, so the former Legion Commander, now First Company Captain, led four thousand Legion Warriors to continue the mission of the Great Crusade.
The First Company, on the outskirts of Great Ultramar, encountered an alien fleet attacking a Human colony and immediately launched an assault.
Then... something terrifying happened.
Among the Ultramarines' expeditionary fleet, the Mortal Auxiliary Army and fleet thralls collectively went mad; alien specters roamed within the ships, wantonly slaughtering Space Marines.
The Astartes, who had swept across the galaxy, were slaughtered like lambs!
The Legion Warriors found it impossible to concentrate their will, struggling to aim at the alien entities, which seemed like phantoms, constantly shifting.
Facing the weapons wielded by the aliens, the Warriors could not discern the trajectory of attacks, and in an instant, flesh and blood flew, torn to shreds in their shock.
Even more horrifying, the Legion's instruments and visual systems were unable to capture the alien forms, leaving them completely ignorant of their physiological structure.
The deranged mortals, in terror and madness, became mental slaves of the aliens, turning against the Space Marines and initiating destruction from within.
Ultimately, besieged by both aliens and mortals, the Ultramarines were caught between a rock and a hard place; before reinforcements could arrive, four thousand glorious Warriors perished among the stars.
News reached Ultramar, and upon learning of the annihilation of the expeditionary force, Guilliman was horrified and immediately led the Legion to the scene.
When he arrived, the void was utterly silent; no living thing had survived.
The expeditionary fleet drifted in the void, all mortals dead, their bodies a grayish-blue, without any external wounds.
Through examination by the Legion's Librarium, it was determined that all crew members of the expeditionary fleet had their souls cruelly taken by the aliens, resulting in true death.
Guilliman boarded the expeditionary flagship and found the cold corpse of the First Company Captain, with a nearby servo-skull repeating a terrifying name — Krafen.
The Warrior King of the Ultramarines was enraged, vowing to scour the galaxy and avenge his tragically deceased Gene-sons.
At the same time, as a rational commander, Guilliman sent an Astropathic Choir Message across the entire galaxy, warning other expeditionary fleets to be wary of Krafen in the darkness.
In low orbit around the planet, the fleet dispersed key codes, successfully bypassing the ground-based defense system, and fully deployed its attack formation.
Blazkowicz was about to order an aerial assault, but an Astropath urgently requested an audience, interrupting the issuance of the drop command.
The Astropath hastily summarized the Astropathic Choir Message warning; the tragedy that occurred in the Ultima Orientis Segmentum made Blazkowicz place even greater emphasis on the aerial assault.
The Blazkowicz lowered his gaze, staring at the holographic star map; the gloomy planet displayed there now resembled a man-eating beast!
The fate of the cousin Legion was heartbreaking; they had paid a heavy price for intelligence.
He pondered for a long time, finally consulting his Father of Genes, whose only reply was: "It is all for you to decide."
Blazkowicz felt a weight on his shoulders; the fate of the fleet rested on his single thought.
This was undoubtedly immense trust, and also a grave test.
"Readjust the troop composition," he took a deep breath, deciding to proceed with the aerial strike, but with changes to the troop arrangements.
Different branches of service would no longer operate in separate squads but would be forcibly combined into mixed-composition teams.
One Doom Slayer, one Emperor's Praetorians, and one Iron Men machine would form a three-person squad, combining psychic suppression, super-heavy fire support, and the reinforcement of the Emperor's personal guard.
Inside the landing craft on the ready deck, Blazkowicz said nothing, looking out through the stern hatch as the landing troops rapidly changed, forming new attack groups.
He thought for a moment and understood Blazkowicz's intention.
The mixed composition was extremely rational, combining different advantages; Iron Men and Legion Warriors plus the Emperor's Praetorians—Blazkowicz couldn't imagine any entity that could withstand them.
"Our enemy is unprecedented!"
Blazkowicz's clear voice came through the communication channel; such a severe warning made many transcendent Warriors look on intently.
Currently, due to his transcendent status, Blazkowicz had been promoted by the Primarch to "Governor" of the Legion, his authority second only to the Primarch.
His solemn warning naturally deserved the Warriors' attention.
It wasn't just a verbal warning; new data arrived on the data network, and after careful reading, the Warriors learned of the tragedy in the Ultima Orientis Segmentum.
"A worthy death!" the Doom Slayer roared, his battle cry echoing through the deck.
The Father of Genes' philosophy of sacrifice became the Legion's battle cry; Warriors roared the cry, striding into the drop pods.
"Glory to the Emperor forever!" The Custodian Guard, not to be outdone, praised the glory of the Emperor, following the Doom Slayer's footsteps into the drop pod to await orders.
"For Argent Nur!" The Iron Men's sound array system rumbled coldly, yet it was filled with a fierce determination to destroy everything, its passion and resolve no less than a Human's.
The truly fully-equipped combat Iron Men extended its six mechanical legs, its tall body entering its dedicated drop pod, ready to strike the enemies of Humanity with mechanical fury.
Blazkowicz ordered the hatch closed; he would descend to the surface with the troops, to slay the enemy alongside Harlan.
In the command center, Blazkowicz nodded slightly; in the void beyond the viewport, the thirty-kilometer-long super-heavy battleship was already in attack posture, awaiting only the commander's order.
"Attack begins!"
A dull, low roar initiated the assault on Krafen!
As a pure bombardment battleship, its gunports opened simultaneously; the lance array accumulated blue light, the azure glow of plasma lances, transcending the Age of Strife, once again displayed the might of Humanity with scorching light.
Screech~~~
The azure plasma lances descended, their power several times that of laser lances, illuminating the universe with extreme heat, distorting space wherever they passed!
Gela main planet glowed with an eerie light; ancient multi-composite shields lit up, resisting the terrifying orbital bombardment.
Even creatures as vile as the aliens knew that Human orbital bombardment could never be withstood by posturing or powerful physiques.
That was the wrath of a civilization; unless it was an immortal cosmic deity, any other creature could only bow its head before such divine might, cowering and trembling under the protection of the shields.
Plasma beams came in wave after wave, their powerful output causing the shields to fluctuate violently, even making the planet itself tremble.
Under the lance bombardment, the shields' light surged, like a supernova exploding in the lonely star sea, its bright light illuminating the extragalactic abyss.
Blazkowicz raised an eyebrow, involuntarily shifting his gaze to Gela, a hint of surprise on his face; the shield strength far exceeded conventional defense systems.
Unimaginable energy rained down, resisting the shields, the generated force pushing the entire world, causing the planet's orbit to shift several times, yet the shields showed no signs of weakening.
"Multi-composite shield system," Gela quickly replied, "ancient relic technology, void shield and energy shield interlocked, dispersing concentrated energy from points to surfaces. Under the same energy demand, shield efficiency increases by fifty percent."
His brow furrowed with obsequiousness, and like presenting a treasure, he pointed to the world below: "The STC template for producing these shields is precisely the gift presented to King Nowick."
Blazkowicz ignored Gela's offering, his gaze sweeping over it before returning his attention to the command console.
"Shield frequency locked; orbital drop can commence."
Aang reported promptly, projecting images from its angled crevices, its precise timing calculations extending to picoseconds.
The intense orbital bombardment continued, forcing the planetary shields to struggle with fixed frequencies; orbital drop conditions were met, allowing low-speed drops to pass through!
Blazkowicz decisively swung his arm down, confirming the attack operation had begun!
At the commander's order, the fleet's landing operation immediately began, proceeding according to the Blazkowicz's war philosophy for the assault on Gela main planet.
Fleet data exchange instantly peaked; ten AI-controlled supercarriers, under the control of their intelligent cores, were the first to display their mechanical prowess.
Below the carriers' bellies, pyramid-shaped terminals detached from the motherships, their speed and angle precisely controlled, evading the shield interception frequency, streaking through the atmosphere with high-temperature exhaust trails.
Hundreds of pyramids successfully passed the defense key identification, descending in a distributed formation, activating their anti-gravity systems to hover above the jungle.
Krafen had no interest in machinery, as there was no soul present, but due to security needs, she still launched a counterattack.
The tips of the twisted, grotesque spires flashed with purple light; psychic lightning was about to strike, to bring down Humanity's soulless machines.
"Begin releasing the swarm." The supercarrier's AI control core responded coldly, initiating the mechanical attack.
The hundred pyramids surrounding the vast Hive City all opened their stepped hatches; red halos glowed within, and a dense buzzing sound continuously emanated.
Krafen immediately felt a premonition of ill fortune; lightning erupted from the spires, streaking through the dark mist, and Warp energy slammed into the pyramids, splashing off azure dimensional shields.
And in the next second, from all directions of each pyramid, millions of black metallic spheres, the size of human heads, flew out, floating like an ominous black cloud.
"Sir, there's a communication request incoming." Before Aang finished speaking, the option to accept or decline the communication appeared before Blazkowicz.
With almost no hesitation, Blazkowicz tapped "Agree" on the virtual button; he wanted to hear the powerless words of those on the verge of death.
The holographic projection lit up, and unexpectedly, Krafen did not appear.
The screen showed a dazed Human noble, whose appearance bore a three-tenths resemblance to Gela, but he was older.
Seeing the noble who looked like a corpse, Gela's pupils suddenly constricted, and he subconsciously cried out, "Father!"
The Human projection displayed on the screen was none other than the head of the Gela family, the Planetary Governor of the planet.
"Humans…" the Planetary Governor spoke sluggishly, without any vitality, like a marionette tightly controlled by its operator.
Blazkowicz remained expressionless, a flicker of pity in his eyes.
With his eyesight, it was easy to see that the Planetary Governor's mind was extremely depleted, like a soulless body, only able to follow simple commands.
Blazkowicz's pity was not for the Planetary Governor alone, but for all the souls manipulated by Krafen; their path to salvation had been cut off.
Even if they survived the melee, those who lived would ultimately have their frontal lobes removed and serve as slave laborers for the rest of their lives.
"Speak quickly." Blazkowicz showed no anger or sorrow, his face devoid of emotion, his gaze as calm as water.
"How about… we… negotiate?" The Planetary Governor's face was blank, and his speech was somewhat disjointed, clearly indicating that the alien behind him was unaccustomed to Human language: "Like your ancestors, sign a non-aggression pact."
"This war will ultimately be a lose-lose situation for both sides."
"Rather than paying a heavy price for victory, it's better to shake hands and go our separate ways in the vast universe."
Apparently, the power displayed by Argent Nur's fleet had made Krafen wary.
The negotiating representative fell silent, awaiting the Humans' response through the servant's perspective.
For its race, this impending battle was too hasty and disadvantageous.
Soulless intelligent machines were inherently a counter to their race; the compatibility between the two was extremely poor, making retreat a wise move.
As Krafen said, the universe is vast, and the Human population, as food, is inexhaustible, with an enormous disparity in strength.
The weak are like fish on a chopping block, while the strong make it retreat; why fight to the death?
A step back opens up a wider world; letting go of Humans also means letting go of itself.
"Hmph!" After hearing the alien's proposal, Blazkowicz sneered, raising his hand to cut off communication and deliver words of death: "Filthy creatures! You harm Human souls; you shall pay with blood!"
"A race of aliens devoid of dignity and honor, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, yet you dare to negotiate with me?"
"All you can do now is use your remaining time to ponder how to tremble under the might of Humanity, to shiver and await death."
With that, Blazkowicz pressed the disconnect button. Before the holographic image completely extinguished, Krafen's furious will blew the Planetary Governor into pieces.
"Inform the mothership's intelligent core: eliminate all who dare to resist. The Humans of this world are already dead!"
Blazkowicz ignored Gela, who was slumped on the ground, and used a command to raise the killing authority, allowing the aircraft carrier to freely eliminate all resisting organisms.
In Blazkowicz's heart, there might have been slight reservations about the Emperor, but Blazkowicz agreed with the principle of Human supremacy; all aliens should die!
From the Ultramarines' warning, it was clear that Krafen was spread throughout the galaxy, poisoning hundreds of billions of Humans.
If they were allowed to leave safely, Krafen would retaliate with increased ferocity on other Humans for Argent Nur's humiliating retreat.
A dead alien is a good alien!
Krafen's intentions were impure; after an uncontrolled attack, it then attempted dialogue, indicating that it had also intended to eliminate Argent Nur's fleet.
It was only the difficulty of infiltrating the fleet, coupled with the threat of intelligent machines, that led it to consider peace talks and departure.
If they had the ability, they would absolutely not spare a single person, just like the Ultramarines expeditionary fleet, feasting on souls.
From the moment Gela provided intelligence to Argent Nur, the two sides were locked in a fight to the death.
With the high-level command issued, the aircraft carrier's intelligent machines began to move. In an instant, billions of instructions were sent from the quantum core and transmitted through the zero-latency quantum network.
Buzz~~~
Ten million anti-gravity spherical drones flew out from around their respective sub-control hives, slicing through the mist, sweeping over the tops of towering trees.
The drones were perfectly spherical, and on top of each sphere was a bowl-sized lens used to unleash lethal lasers.
From the front, they looked like steel eyeballs, flying at subsonic speeds, swooping low over the Hive City.
Anti-aircraft fire rose from the Hive City towers, with manipulated mortals climbing onto the gun emplacements.
All anti-aircraft identification showed friendly forces. Krafen manipulated the mortals, using manual aiming to counter the swarm of drones in the sky.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Various sizes of anti-aircraft weapons fired in unison, launching shrapnel shells or dense lasers, using large-area damage to counter the incoming drone swarm.
The anti-aircraft effectiveness was indeed good. The drone armor could only withstand individual weapons, and they were shot down in droves, disintegrating in the air and falling to the ground.
But soon, the intelligent control core reacted. The swarm buzzed and dispersed, avoiding the kill zone of the shattered fragments.
In just a few seconds, the drones scattered like a flock of birds, dispersing the anti-aircraft fire, and the interception effectiveness immediately dropped by ninety percent.
The dazed mortals found it difficult to understand; they merely fired according to orders. Their limited intelligence couldn't coordinate or organize an effective firepower network.
Drones, however, were different. Precisely operated by the intelligent core, their flight paths, under powerful computing, could even predict the future. Their formation combinations were incredibly precise, and their formations and movement trajectories far exceeded the limits of Human comprehension.
Finally, amidst the hum of anti-gravity, the drones reached firing range and began to demonstrate the precision and ruthlessness of the intelligent machines.
The spheres rotated rapidly, and laser lenses spun to target the mortals, firing orange-red light bullets.
On all sides of the Hive City, it was as if a laser rain was falling, like an orange-red curtain slowly drawing towards the center of the Hive City.
The drones were so efficient and precise. They were born for slaughter, sweeping low at subsonic speeds. No one survived where they passed; mortals only had charred holes in their foreheads or chests.
In just ten seconds of entering firing range, a million mortals were eliminated.
As more drones entered the fray, the magnitude of this number rapidly increased. mortals fell in droves, their faces showing relief.
On the streets, in rooms, in sewers—wherever they could pass, the intelligent core left no stone unturned.
They swept through the Hive City like a precise storm, leaving no trace of life.
This was mechanical thinking!
Using cold numbers and calculations to weigh every inch of gain and loss, using the mechanical steel bodies to crush fragile flesh and blood.
The intelligent core had no moral constraints. In the eyes of the intelligent machines, there were only cleared zones and uncleared zones; what was cleared was irrelevant to them.
On the Old Day's Glory landing craft, Harlan leaned against the belly deck, watching the numbers representing living people in the holographic image drop rapidly, constantly shaking his head in amazement.
"I quite like young brother Li's character, but I have reservations about his war philosophy."
Champion Swordsman let out a sigh, a deep sense of powerlessness in his voice: "Every time I see his way of war, I feel like I'm about to be obsolete."
"All that's left is powerlessness and sighs, no honor at all. The hot blood of war is crushed by cold machinery."
"Of course, I'm not despising or alienating him; I'm just idly complaining, feeling a bit superfluous."
For the Sentinels, who championed the warrior's path and took pride in personally slaying enemies, Blazkowicz was too unconventional, violating the warrior spirit.
"It's only like this now." Blazkowicz, however, had a different view; from the slight curve of his lips, it was clear he was satisfied with this form of warfare.
"In the Golden Age, our ancestors were also like this. With just a command or a button, enemies would be defeated by Iron Men troops."
Blazkowicz's eyes flickered, revealing a relieved smile, and he said with emotion: "Blazkowicz doesn't value honor because he sees through the essence of war."
"Exchanging lives is a last resort, a desperate measure. He cherishes everyone's life, so he developed a suitable war style."
"In the vast galaxy, there are countless resources. Replacing the precious lives of warriors with war machines produced on an assembly line is an incredibly cost-effective transaction."
Harlan didn't respond. Because he also knew that Blazkowicz's war philosophy was more advanced, seeing further than many others.
"That's why I have reservations." He shrugged, resting on the dark light, continuing to stare at the holographic projection.
While the two were talking, over a hundred million people were eliminated. Any creature that picked up a weapon was eradicated by the swarm of machines.
The intelligent core adhered to the principle of efficiency, completing the predetermined mission objectives with absolute precise calculations, establishing a safe zone for subsequent forces.
The unobservable Krafen finally couldn't sit still. The eerie spires towering in the Hive City began to shimmer with psychic light.
Seeing the main character appear, Harlan excitedly said, "It's almost our turn to enter the stage!"
Inside the Hive City, human servants erected ceremonial spires. Krafen was entrenched within the towers, extracting human essence to amplify her own psychic power.
The black stone spires were twisted and hideous, standing tall in the gloomy mist, obscuring light and shadow, appearing terrifyingly sinister; the first impression was one of pure evil.
Facing the sudden attack of the soulless machines, the tips of the spires glowed with a faint purple light, and a hideous, distorted silhouette was projected onto the tower's porthole.
If a mortal had glimpsed it, they would surely have been terrified, losing their minds and descending into madness amid screams.
Even the bird-down instruments of the space battleship struggled to precisely locate her concrete existence; the holographic projections were a chaotic mess of code, the image aggregating and shattering, just like Gela's memories.
The mist hanging over the jungle subsided, water vapor rapidly condensed into ice, and the large-scale psychic fluctuations caused drastic changes in the surrounding environment.
"Psychic fluctuations detected!"
Captain Aang issued the warning; alarms blared suddenly inside the silent bridge, and the mechanical buzzing and data feedback were incessant.
Blazkowicz's expression was calm; the psychic counterattack from Krafen was anticipated, and everything remained under control.
Not only was he completely unperturbed, but a cold smile even touched his lips.
The battle between the two sides had only just begun, and deploying only a few unmanned machines had already forced Krafen to act personally, proving the xeno's insufficient capability.
However, Blazkowicz did not underestimate her; the engagement with Krafen so far felt easy only because they possessed the advantage of timing, terrain, and unity.
The entire fleet was composed of A.I. brothers, leaving Krafen no loopholes to exploit.
The Doom Slayer and the Custodian Guard possessed extremely resilient minds, their thoughts virtually unshakable, effectively countering the xeno's mental attacks.
If this were an ordinary Legion, the fleet would have already fallen into chaos, let alone launching an offensive.
The four thousand Ultramarines served as a painful lesson learned.
Facing the psychic sorcery unleashed by Krafen, Blazkowicz did not attempt to restrain it, allowing the attacks to proceed so the fleet could gather further intelligence.
There were countless terrifying species in the cosmos, and Krafen was only one of them.
However, the Imperium of Man's intelligence regarding her lacked detailed descriptions, containing only warnings constructed from terrifying rhetoric.
Blazkowicz took a slightly longer view; given their overwhelming advantage, he allowed Krafen to exert herself, analyzing and recording the xeno species' characteristics.
After all, xeno species might be spread throughout the galaxy, and humanity could encounter them at any time; the data collected now could save many warriors later.
Above the Gela main planet, psychic radiance pulsed between the spires, and as hushed whispers were uttered, millions of lightning bolts shot forth!
*Crackle, crash, crackle~*
The muffled thunder sounded like the cries of a thousand birds; the jagged spires connected with each other, and the psychic lightning danced into a sea of thunder, instantly covering the entire Hive City, spanning thousands of square kilometers, under a purple lightning ocean.
Tens of millions of anti-gravity drones surged and fell in the thunderous expanse; lightning bolts pierced their weak armor, overloaded internal components, and detonated them into balls of fire.
With just one attack, the sky-covering swarm dispatched by Argent Nur was effortlessly destroyed by Krafen.
The sea of thunder slowly subsided, and the skies above the Hive City returned to calm, the drone swarm falling from the air as fireballs.
Within the silent Hive City, the mortals, with their hollow expressions, wore eerie smiles; they looked up at the sky, seemingly mocking humanity's powerlessness.
On the bridge of the *Glory of Bygone Days*, the Iron Men Captain Aang faithfully recorded: "Krafen, a psychic species, whose psychic characteristics are mutually compatible, allowing for the joint execution of large-scale psychic spells."
Blazkowicz was expressionless, issuing no instructions; he was waiting for the aircraft carrier's command core to counterattack.
The power of the ancient A.I. surpassed modern humanity's imagination.
If they only won by sheer numbers, how did the rebellious A.I. end the Golden Age of humanity? It was a question that still haunted modern humans.
Just as Krafen was feeling smug, the pyramid hovering outside the Hive City projected blue light from its apex, scattering onto the ground and scanning toward the depths of the Hive City.
The beam caused no immediate damage; it swept over the destroyed and burning drone wreckage, leaving Krafen bewildered and unable to understand what trick humanity was playing.
Having lost the drones, the pyramid hive, which carried no weapons, was no longer a threat extemdash it was merely a defenseless target.
Immediately afterward, a bizarre scene unfolded.
Wherever the beam swept, the crashed drones on the ground subtly trembled; their spherical remnants began to roll, reversing along the trajectory they had taken before stopping!
This sight was extremely alarming: the machines that had lost power had strangely come back to life.
mortals, under instruction, launched attacks, attempting to stop this process, but it was ultimately futile.
Reconstruction Beam!
This was the top-secret technology that allowed the Iron Men to rise countless times from the battlefield and advance relentlessly.
The Reconstruction Beam was a fusion of temporal and causal technology, so mysterious and incredible that it redefined the boundaries of science.
This technology was like magic, breaking physical laws, involving complex quantum mechanics and causality, and granting the machines a chance to "redo" events.
Under the influence of the Reconstruction power, machines that had signed the repair protocol reversed the "result" of being destroyed, traveling through time back to before the "cause."
Krafen shrieked in terror; they did not understand the underlying principles and were shocked by this technological magic that transcended comprehension.
Everything returned to normal; the eyeball-like anti-gravity drones returned to the void, firing energy bolts from their lenses, continuing their unfinished mission.
The dense "pew~ pew~" sounds of the energy bolts were grating on Krafen's nerves.
The cold physical laws of the Real Universe mocked the futility of psychic power; the power of technology was no less potent than the dark sorcery of the Warp.
Inside the tower attic, strange, inexplicable sounds were emitted, making it impossible to discern clearly.
The psychic species' emotions changed rapidly, the intense feelings triggering turbulence; the structure of Real Space began to collapse, and psychic might was raised several notches.
Krafen was no longer cooperating; they were roaring, and their psychic power, driven by absolute will, transformed into the sharpest attacks.
On the battlefield, various psychic phenomena appeared: time reversal, black holes of will, absolute zero freezing, fire, frost, and lightning.
Spells far exceeding human imagination were wielded effortlessly by Krafen; the Hive City collapsed under the tremors, and drone swarms were annihilated in large numbers.
Then the Reconstruction Beam lit up again, the machines reversing causality to return, continuing their advance.
This was a mythological battlefield; even those whose minds had been stolen, the mortals, instinctively felt terror, hiding and trembling among the architectural ruins.
Physical technology and the power of the Warp clashed, the Hive City was ravaged, and life was like grass caught in a storm, with survival beyond their control.
As the battlefield boundaries expanded, the excessive misuse of psychic power caused the Real Universe to overlap with the Warp, and the Hive City gradually became Warp-infused.
Physical laws began to lose ground, the restart rate of the Reconstruction Beam dropped, and many drones could no longer be revived, falling into permanent silence.
Krafen was not faring well either; although their psychic spells were significantly enhanced as reality became Warp-infused, continuously casting spells rapidly depleted their mental energy, and certain terrifying entities in the Warp had also noticed this location.
They were forced to lower their attack frequency to relieve their exhausted minds, balance the Warp and the Real Universe, and evade the gaze of the great powers of the Warp.
Aboard the voidship in planetary orbit, Blazkowicz noticed the xeno's exhaustion, seized the critical opportunity, and shouted: "Release the drop pods!"
He deployed the mixed forces: five companies of Doom Slayer, paired with Iron Men and Custodian Guard, began clearing out Krafen.
The drop pods entered planetary orbit at high speed, aiming directly for the Hive City.
Blazkowicz employed a precision strike tactic, with clear and defined drop zones targeting the planetary shield generators and plasma reactors.
The drop pods fell like raindrops into the sea, creating ripples, piercing the planetary shield, and, with a roar and imposing pressure, smashing through the thick fog enveloping the planet.
After entering the atmosphere, the tops of the drop pods ignited again; their speed did not decrease but increased, reaching a terrifying thirty Mach!
Humanity's elite strike force, carrying fire and thunder, slammed violently into the Hive City.
The drones rapidly adjusted their formation to form a defensive network, clearing the drop pod landing sites to ensure immediate safety.
As large numbers of Doom Slayer descended, like nails pinning down the Real Universe, the power of the Warp began to recede.
Krafen, hiding inside the spires, felt a sense of suffocation; their minds were no longer clear, and their connection to the Warp was weakened.
The most baffling point for them was that the terrifying entities of the Warp seemed to have immediately averted their gaze.
It was as if they had spotted a distant natural predator and swiftly departed.
Drop pods arrived in wave after wave, their descent speed comparable to meteors, smashing impact craters into the Hive City and kicking up clouds of dust.
Krafen secretly rejoiced. In their view, humanity abandoning the advantage of orbital firepower and choosing ground engagement was tantamount to walking straight into a trap.
Limited by distance, they could not harm the resilient souls, but at such close range, this was their perfect home ground.
Krafen was extremely pleased, extending her psychic tentacles which transformed into sharp spikes, plunging into the mental worlds of the humans.
They were supremely confident; no matter how advanced human technology or how strong their physical bodies, the mental world was always the most vulnerable.
However, the alien's smugness came to an abrupt halt. When the psychic tendrils invaded the silent world, they encountered an extreme coldness.
The Custodes' will made Krafen tremble. They seemed to have collided with an eternally steadfast mountain, one that would remain unchanged even if the universe suffered heat death.
"Filthy alien!" Scorn echoed in her consciousness, shocking Krafen greatly: "You shall not shake the servants of the Emperor!"
Those cold wills transformed into a massive hand that turned back, launching a counterattack in the psychic realm, catching the alien completely off guard.
Krafen, accustomed to invading other races, had never expected to be put on the defensive in a contest of will, suffering reverse psychic corrosion from the humans.
Certain entities within the spire let out a muffled groan, taking a hidden loss.
Another group of Krafen found their psychic spikes obstructed, unable even to pierce the instinctive defenses before being detected by the human warriors and cast out of the mental realm.
"Get lost!" Following a deafening roar, the drop pod opened. A Black-Armored Warrior burst out, raised his hand to point furiously at the spire, and issued the attack command.
The tail section of the drop pod immediately sprang open, and the top armor plates retracted. A weapon platform extended from within, launching a full salvo of missiles aimed directly at the spire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fierce explosions erupted, the shockwaves visibly blasting outwards. The scorching heat evaporated the ice crystals on the ground, as the missiles destroyed the spire's foundation, toppling the tower.
The entire Hive City shook violently. As the drop pod continuously poured heavy firepower onto the target, Krafen, who once looked down upon all beings, fell into the dust.
A six-legged Combat Iron Men emerged from the crater, deploying its full array of weapons, and stood alongside the Custodes and the Doom Slayer.
The Combat Iron Men stood about five meters tall. Its six powerful mechanical legs had embedded treads on the inner side, allowing it to adapt to complex terrain and move quickly.
Above the base was a set of Adamantium-covered humanoid upper limbs, equipped with multiple mechanical arms carrying phosphorescent bomb launchers, combat claws, neural disruptors, atomic pulse cannons, gravity generators, vortex cannons, and high-power shields.
The five-meter-tall Iron Men immediately moved next to its squadmates, forming a three-person team. They provided mutual support with two other three-person teams, establishing a three-by-three formation.
"Quantum communication established." Data flashed across the multiple parallel monitors on the Iron Men's body, its mechanical voice deep and heavy: "All Iron Men units are sharing information. I will transmit key data; ensure nothing is missed."
The Custodes said nothing, nodding silently. The Guardian Spear in his hand emanated a cold light, and his gaze, directed toward the collapsed buildings, was full of vigilance and defense.
The squad was designated "1." The Captain was Atum, the First Company Captain of the Legion, partnered with the female Custodes Dora, and the Iron Men HM-6657.
"Find the alien." Atum ordered. Several mechanical hounds rushed out of the drop pod, plunged into the darkness, and sped toward the collapsed spire.
"Drone access acquired," HM said as the drones surrounding it flew forward. "They will eliminate the unintelligent mortals and clear the path for us."
Having spoken, it lowered its body, straightening its front and rear mechanical legs, and switched to a forward posture with its treads gripping the ground.
Atum and Dora positioned themselves on either side of the Iron Men, establishing a pivot point centered on the machine. After contacting the other squads, they followed the path cleared by the drones, searching for traces of Krafen.
The mechanical hounds were agile machines, more nimble than flesh-and-blood dogs amidst the collapsed buildings. Their mechanical bodies twisted and turned, and their multiple mounted sensors performed precise scans, searching for signs of the alien.
"Drip ~ Drip ~"
The sensors reported back: in the dark ruins, a shadowy mass was crawling, clearly the target of the mission.
The data was quickly transmitted. A projection appeared inside Atum's helmet; he had accessed the mechanical hound's senses.
At the site of the collapsed spire, something moved rapidly within the dark shadow. The hound's olfactory sensors detected the smell of rust, and its movement produced a crackling sound, like the terrifying sensation of a hammer crushing bone.
However, its form remained unknown.
Krafen possessed psychic interference; even the most sensitive instruments struggled to discern its shape, and its exact appearance remained a mystery.
But the hound lunged forward. Its appearance drew the alien's attention, and the indescribable darkness rushed over, attempting to destroy the human construct.
This was the result of the mechanical hound's calculation. It crouched slightly, its mechanical legs steadying its frame, and launched a set of projectiles from its shoulder toward the alien.
The projectiles were not fast—in fact, they were slow—and the monster in the shadow dodged them effortlessly.
Bang!!!
The canister, opening mid-air, released white smoke that instantly filled the street. Krafen let out a sharp cry, realizing it had been tricked.
The mechanical hound rolled a few times, hiding in the gaps between buildings, aiming its sensors at the smoke to begin analyzing its changes.
Soon, multiple hounds arrived, releasing more smoke canisters. Hiding on rooftops or street corners, their sensors were set to maximum sensitivity, analyzing the smoke from multiple angles.
Facing Krafen's cognitive interference, Blazkowicz employed the clumsiest yet most effective method.
By using the disturbance caused by the physical entity on the smoke, they established a data model. Through multiple splicing processes, they reconstructed the form of Krafen.
The battlefield advanced quickly. Large numbers of hounds operated throughout the Hive City, projecting smoke canisters extensively. Based on the data returned from the front line, the fleet's intelligence computing center rapidly created a silhouette.
Blazkowicz looked at the reconstructed alien model, and enlightenment dawned upon him.
Krafen stood nearly four meters tall, with little variation in individual size. It possessed brutal joints, was covered in sharp exoskeleton structures, had slender limbs on its torso, and carried a type of firearm.
Its upper limbs had flexible fingers, useful for casting psychic spells, while its lower limbs were curved, sharp claws, much like an ancient kangaroo, capable of easily disemboweling a person.
The most striking feature was its head, which flopped backward like an octopus and bore a soft proboscis, strongly resembling the mythical Mind Flayer.
The data was quickly distributed to the strike teams. On the helmet projections, Krafen was no longer a mosaic composed of shadows; the model overlaid and corrected the interference zone.
Atum's squad was the first to encounter Krafen. The alien did not flee; instead, it launched an attack against them.
"Watch out!" The data was faster than any shouted warning. The instant the Iron Men issued its alert, a streak of purple spectral light sliced through the air and struck its body, resulting in a fierce explosion!
The purple energy mist exploded. The dimensional shield flickered violently, blue and purple halos interwoven, and the brightness sharply increased!
"Warning! Warning!" HM-6657 activated a full-spectrum alert. That single shot had drained one-third of the shield energy!
Cold sparks flashed in the Iron Men's thought circuits. The power of the alien weapon exceeded pre-battle expectations.
It must be known that the principle behind Argent Nur's dimensional shield was not simple negation, but a more advanced form of banishment, similar to a Void Shield.
"The alien is using a psychic weapon. There is a strong Warp fluctuation; the power is immense!"
HM ripped a wall section from a building and held it in front of itself and its allies. Phosphorescent bombs were launched in a parabola, thrown toward the alien's hiding spot.
Alerting, defending, covering, and attacking—all were executed seamlessly.
Boom—!
Chemical flames instantly burst forth, the unique yellow-green of the phosphorescent fire erupting from the room. Krafen, enveloped in a psychic shield, rushed out of the firestorm that was hot enough to melt Adamantium.
The helmet projection simulated the action based on the alert: its proboscis inserted itself into the gun in its hand, re-energizing the psychic firearm.
"It's fast!" The Custodes Dora pulled the trigger beside the cover. The bolt rounds from her Guardian Spear fired, suppressing the alien's attempt to reload.
She realized that Krafen's movements were extremely fast, even faster than her own! It was consciously dodging the bullets.
Atum leaped out, abandoning the cover. His dimensional spear continuously shot blue beams of light, disrupting the alien's intent to attack.
"Shriek~~~~!"
Krafen roared in fury, its body displaying incredible agility, adjusting its posture to evade based on Atum's firing angle.
It could sense that those azure rays could penetrate its shield and directly harm its noble body.
The four-meter-tall creature lunged toward the Black-Armored Warrior before it. It intended to eliminate this high-threat target immediately, as the aura emanating from this human had extreme suppressive power against psychic abilities.
Krafen moved like a gymnast, its body spinning mid-air, landing lightly and gracefully. Its psychic-enhanced body performed movements that defied the laws of physics.
The instant it closed in on Atum, it raised its arm!
Atum glared fiercely, a cold sense of crisis washing over him. The source was the alien's raised arm.
But—there was nothing there?
In the span of a nanosecond, the scene seemed to freeze. Krafen raised its arm, poised to strike, yet was still some distance away from him.
The sense of danger could not be false. Between the alien's arm and himself, there must be some sort of invisible weapon, impossible to observe!
His thoughts raced like lightning. Atum had no time for other maneuvers. His "Restraint" technique burst forth, instantly halting his forward momentum, and he slightly shifted his left shoulder aside.
Then came the sensation of coldness slicing across his skin, the feeling of muscle and sinew being cut open bit by bit.
The ferocious claws suddenly dropped, with an invisible blade subtly hidden within.
Atum stopped in time, his attention highly focused. He clearly felt an invisible object slice through, effortlessly cutting open his golden armor.
A bone-chilling cold spread across his skin, the crisp sound of muscle fibers tearing pierced his eardrums, and the connection of his bones snapped. The icy sensation continued downwards, directly piercing his second heart!
The situation was extremely critical! It was too late for his spear to block, and his left arm was unresponsive, unable to counterattack.
Atum immediately let go of his spear, and the dimensional claws on his right arm guard sprang out, sweeping upwards from below.
Seeing the azure light blade again, Krafen felt a sense of dread. Her body froze mid-air, then she let out a shriek and retreated rapidly.
Several bolter rounds struck, blocked by a shimmering psychic shield. Custodian Guards charged out from cover, wielding their Guardian Spears, rushing forward like a storm.
And someone was even faster!
The other two teams of the three-man squad attacked from both sides of Krafen. The first person to reach her had a wax seal strip affixed to his golden armor.
Zul, who had slaughtered Shadow Daemons and entered the Warp with a Primarch, possessed immense power.
He wielded his spear, and the three-meter-long light blade left a crescent moon afterimage in the visual field, slicing across Krafen's lower abdomen.
"Screech!!!!!"
A psychic shriek swept out, sharp and painful. The dimensional light blade penetrated the shield, severing multiple limbs.
The will of the Doom Slayer could not be swayed by psychic power. The light blade's momentum was undiminished, curving upwards, poised to cut the alien in half!
Pfft!!!
The air vibrated, and everyone heard a strange sound—the soft, delicate, elastic sound of something instantly springing open. As her body was severed, Krafen's body flew straight up, narrowly dodging the attack that would have cut her in half, thus saving her life.
The HM-6657's barrel locked on, and a bowl-sized supercharged laser fired, blasting against the psychic shield, making it difficult for Krafen to pursue further.
In a flash, both sides disengaged.
Custodian Guard Dora thrust her spear with one hand, forcing the alien back, then grabbed Atum's neck armor, dragging him away from the danger zone.
Zul and another brother raised their spears, blocking in front of Atum, their gazes fixed on Krafen through their visors.
Gunfire kicked up dust, and a vortex of air swirled around Krafen. Her torso hung in the air, and purple, psychic-infused blood dripped from her severed limbs.
Atum, now at a safe distance, finally had time to check his injuries.
The strange, invisible object had not triggered the shield's reaction, smoothly cutting through his golden armor, severing his left shoulder blade and sternoclavicular joint, causing his left chest to collapse.
Injectors inside the power armor administered medication, beginning to stabilize his injuries, maintain his current combat state, and ensure normal bodily functions.
In less than a second, both sides had sustained losses and gained an understanding of each other.
Krafen was exceptionally powerful; not only was her psychic sensing outstanding and she was adept at using mental power to fight, but her physical strength was also formidable, surpassing many Custodian Guards.
Beep~
As the two sides briefly confronted each other, the information in his helmet updated. Krafen's model was refreshed, completely unveiling her mysterious veil.
Krafen had a pair of bat wings on her back, shimmering with psychic eerie light, suspending her body in the air, coldly watching the people below.
Her black skin was like old, withered bark, yet it glittered. Her face had two pairs of eyes, their crimson pupils glowing with enchanting psychic light.
One right limb held an ancient, carved flintlock, but her left limb was empty; visually, there was no weapon present.
In successive encounters, many squads had encountered Krafen, providing intelligence at the first opportunity, lifting the veil of the unknown.
"Smoke grenades." Atum's mind was swift, and he issued an order to his hounds in thought, instructing them to continue throwing smoke grenades.
As First Company Captain, his injury did not affect him. After a simple treatment, he issued the command.
The mechanical hounds moving around immediately threw smoke grenades, filling the street indiscriminately, obscuring visual sight.
Visual sight was obscured, but the sensing devices were unaffected, still clearly detecting Krafen.
The environment was unfavorable to her. Krafen flapped her bat wings, intending to disengage from the battle, flapping her wings as if to escape.
The sky hummed, and thousands of anti-gravity drones converged. Laser lenses emitted light bullets, and orange-red lasers instantly engulfed the alien.
"Soulless things!"
Krafen's neck slid, rumbling with a roar, her rhomboid vertical mouth spewing saliva as she irritably cursed the machines.
Yet, she was not flustered in the slightest. Psychic light shimmered around her body. She raised her hand towards the drone swarm, spread her sharp fingers, and then abruptly clenched them!
The drone swarm immediately became chaotic, as if gripped by an invisible hand, tightening from outside in, colliding with each other.
Amidst the squeezing and collisions, the drone armor creaked, emitting painful wails, and electrical sparks seeped from the gaps like blood.
Krafen's destructive urge erupted, her desire to crush more satisfied than ever, letting out a terrifying laugh, as if she had crushed hateful humans.
Just as she was triumphant, her owl-like terrifying laughter abruptly ceased. Her body, flying in the air, rapidly plummeted downwards, emitting a series of sonic booms, falling uncontrollably into the smoke.
Boom!
Slabs shattered and steel twisted. A large crater was smashed into the street, the violent impact sound more intense than the surrounding gunfire.
Taking advantage of Krafen's distraction, an Iron Men pulled her down with a gravity lasso. Krafen fell like lead, crashing into the deep pit with a roar!
Krafen lay on the ground, her psychic shield flickering precariously. She sensed a cold killing intent approaching from within the smoke!
She had no time to fly again. Her raised arm remained up, controlling the drone iron balls to smash towards the hateful humans in the smoke.
Cold sparks exploded in the smoke, and Krafen suddenly felt her hand lighten; the iron balls in the air had lost their mass.
Only the decomposition weapons equipped on human machines could achieve this, completely eliminating the material mass and neutralizing her own means of attack.
"Damn soulless machines!" Knowing she was in a dangerous situation, she cursed again, once more invigorating her psychic power with hatred.
A race adept at targeting souls hated soulless beings, which had no emotions in their logical thinking and were naturally immune to soul attacks.
Before she could finish preparing, a dark shadow, with swift steps, charged out of the smoke, a spear wreathed in a decomposition field, thrusting directly at her face to take her life.
Krafen's spirit concentrated, her four blood-red eyes' pupils rapidly dilated, and an invisible psychic force exploded, forcing back the golden-armored human warrior.
Sweat Pearl appeared on her black skin. Facing the human's attack, her heart pounded, and he had almost succeeded.
Krafen felt constrained everywhere. The black-armored humans made her feel disgusted, making it difficult to concentrate, and greatly reducing her psychic power.
The armor they wore further weakened psychic power, reducing her magical strength to less than one-tenth.
Before she could catch her breath, the humans in the smoke charged again.
That terrifying, eerie light blade could easily penetrate psychic shields, directly threatening her physical form.
The dimensional light blade cut through the smoke, and Zul's attack followed closely after the Custodian Guard. This was a strategy: use the Custodian Guard to draw a counterattack, then let the Doom Slayer deliver a killing blow.
The light blade descended with an unstoppable force. Krafen hastily blocked, crossing her two arms to parry Zul's powerful blow.
The moment she raised her arms, the smoke was disturbed by an invisible blade, revealing its length, width, and breadth, allowing Zul to see clearly.
When Krafen's four fingers were joined, a light shimmered at her fingertips, and a high-frequency resonance field extended, forming an invisible blade.
Screech~
The dimensional light blade effortlessly cut through the psychic shield, colliding with the high-frequency vibration, emitting a sound that set teeth on edge.
Zul remained silent, pressing down his dimensional spear with both arms, pushing Krafen backward. She couldn't resist with all her might.
Even more terrifying, the high-frequency vibration disrupted the field's constraint, and the dimensional light blade overflowed along the breach.
The situation was now critical. Krafen resisted the slash, her body being cut by the scattered light, her mind and body taking a beating, and her psychic shield completely shattered.
As the shield shattered, Krafen's black skin suddenly tightened, and she let out a terrified shriek.
Another Custodian Guard, hidden in Zul's blind spot, extended his Guardian Spear from the Doom Slayer's waist, its dark muzzle aimed at the alien's lower abdomen.
The sound of a bolter rang out. Krafen had not yet fallen, but one arm propped up a small shield, blocking the bolter rounds.
Then, Krafen's body shuddered, losing its support, and slowly fell in the large pit.
"Hateful soulless machines! Despicable human race!"
Her four blood-red eyes surged with hatred, cursing everything, but her aura grew weaker and weaker until she lay helplessly groaning on the ground.
The Iron Men's nerve pulverizer had completely shattered the alien's nerves, rendering Krafen completely paralyzed and unable to rise again.
Squad 33, confirming the death of Krafen, withdrew from the smoke-filled streets for a brief rest.
In the middle of the protective cordon, a Legion Apothecary arrived promptly to provide battlefield treatment for Atum.
Several mechanical arms extended from his backpack, operating on the First Company Captain's left shoulder, stitching fascia and muscle, resetting the dislocated bone, and pinning it together.
"The alien's high-frequency blade is very sharp, resulting in a clean wound, which is suitable for stitching and splicing."
The Apothecary stitched the skin, his tone full of satisfaction. After spraying the self-healing agent, the wound instantly looked as good as new: "The external injury is healed. With internal self-healing, you will be fine in a few minutes."
"You're the best," Atum nodded, moving his injured shoulder. Aside from some stinging, it would not affect his combat ability.
"Krafen is very strong; don't let your guard down," the Apothecary instructed, then began packing his tools, preparing to move to the next injured brother.
"Be careful," Atum cautioned, watching the Apothecary leave.
On the chaotic battlefield, the Apothecary brothers were lone travelers, moving through the chaos to save lives and treat injuries, a highly dangerous task.
Krafen was exceptionally powerful. The Governor sent a message warning all squads to be cautious.
According to his estimation, if not for the psychic and mental suppression, three to five Krafen could suppress Roboute Guilliman.
The Destroyer Legion had encountered a truly tough opponent!
A small number of battle-brothers and Emperor's Praetorians were injured in the sudden encounter, and several Iron Men were destroyed by Krafen while protecting their allies.
This was not an issue; the consciousness of the Iron Men brothers was not on the battlefield, and only their bodies, not their intelligent cores, were destroyed.
They only needed to switch to a new combat body to quickly return to the battlefield.
"Don't you know us?" The Apothecary waved his hand, his figure turning into a black lightning bolt and disappearing from sight.
Respect surged in Atum's heart.
Answering the call of Hippocrates, many top-ranking warriors gave up the honor of joining the Primarch's Guard, choosing instead to become Apothecaries to save lives and heal injuries.
Because the brothers felt that the job of protecting the Primarch was somewhat vague and unnecessary.
The Father of Genes did not need protection; the Primarch's Guard was a ceremonial symbol with little practical use.
Rather than wasting high-level talent, it was better to help their brothers.
"We should move on," Zul brought over the armor, helped his brother put it on, and motioned for him to look toward the sky.
Atum looked up. In the dusky yellow sky, just before nightfall, a landing craft descended, signifying that the Father of Genes had arrived at the battlefield.
"Confirm status."
The arrival of the Father of Genes meant that the battle was pushing into deeper phases, they would encounter more enemies, and the fighting would become increasingly fierce.
After confirming their status was correct, Atum reconfirmed their objective and began advancing toward a power plant to destroy one link in the shield function system.
After Krafen genome was uploaded, the fleet confirmed, via gene scan, that the number of Krafen was twelve thousand.
This might not sound like many, but Krafen were extraordinarily powerful, with individual combat strength far exceeding that of the Praetorians and most warriors of the Legion.
Without psychic level suppression, encountering over ten thousand Krafen rashly could result in them eliminating or severely crippling a Space Marine Legion.
The ferocious Krafen must not be allowed to draw them into a stalemate; a war of attrition was highly disadvantageous to the Legion.
Only by destroying the power nodes and lowering the planetary defense shield could they leverage the fleet's advantage and balance the battlefield through orbital bombardment.
"Status confirmed."
Receiving the squad's reply, Atum stood up, donned his helmet, and picked up his spear, connecting it to the combat system: "First Company Captain back online. Begin allocating attack targets."
The combat formation began to move, clustering closer than before. Krafen was a powerful enemy that could not be ignored.
Drop pods continuously descended from the sky. To cope with the battle situation, the Governor successively deployed reserve squads.
Large-scale war machines continued to land, super-heavy firepower came online, and the battlefield continued to expand, becoming increasingly intense.
Krafen, realizing that the human military force was insufficient, began forming defensive lines to protect the power facilities, intending to rely on the shield protection and exhaust the humans through a protracted defensive battle.
As long as the shield remained intact, they would be invincible.
Not only did they build defenses, but Krafen realized that mortals could not stop the superhuman warriors. After recalling a portion of the mortals, they abandoned the enslavement of the majority of mortals.
After losing control, most mortal slaves remained stunned in place, while a small number went completely mad and began indiscriminate attacks.
Blazkowicz deployed five more pyramid hives to eliminate the mortal threat, preventing Krafen from exploiting them.
A landing ship descended simultaneously with the war machines, carrying Blazkowicz and his retainer Harlan, as well as Obelisk.
Krafen currently attacking the humans suddenly felt a tightening in their hearts. A sense of dull suffocation surged up, and their psychic light flickered like a candle in the wind.
They raised their heads one after another, their psychic-enhanced vision searching for the source of the oppressive feeling.
The human landing craft was unremarkable, rotating in the air, its stern pointing toward the battlefield. Three tall figures emerged.
The fierce wind whipped their cloaks loudly. Blazkowicz stood at the stern, observing the battlefield with his naked eye.
The fighting was extremely fierce; every street was a battleground. Support missiles flew everywhere, scorching beams of light were dazzling, and psychic power surged wildly.
He sensed the gaze cast by the aliens and returned the look. The hearts of Krafen shattered, and they lowered their heads one after another.
"Go!" Blazkowicz roared, leaping down from the landing craft and diving toward the destination he had chosen.