At the same time.
Just as these Warband Lords were being bombarded by naval artillery, those on the Chaos warship suddenly saw an orange current appear out of nowhere before them, surging in the void!
Soon, the orange current circled once, drawing a perfect circle, making a crackling sound.
"What is this thing?"
This strange phenomenon immediately made the surrounding Chaos Space Marines cast wary glances.
Out of caution, a Chaos Space Marine, holding a bolter, cautiously approached the glowing portal where the orange current surged.
He tried to reach out and touch the portal.
But just as his fingers were about to touch the portal, a dull, terrifying whoosh, like a cannonball leaving a barrel, suddenly exploded!
Boom—!!!
Their vision seemed to blur, barely able to catch a fleeting afterimage, followed by the sight of that Chaos Space Marine, completely smashed into a pile of rotten meat.
The culprit behind this scene was a pitch-black great hammer, over two meters in diameter, with an extremely cumbersome overall structure and an ancient, rustic design.
The entire hammerhead was enveloped in a dazzling current, emitting a chilling crackle with each pulsation.
The aftershock of this blow caused the entire warship corridor, including the ceiling and walls, to be covered in dense cracks by this terrifying force,
like a giant spiderweb spreading across the entire corridor!
Before they could react, they saw the great hammer, vibrating with electricity, being lifted by a strong, powerful arm, slowly yet with immense pressure.
The flesh and armor of the Chaos Space Marine who had been tragically hammered to death were shattered and stuck to the surface of the great hammer,
even stretching out horrifying sinews.
This visually impactful scene made these Chaos Space Marines forget their duties, standing dumbfounded in place.
Then, they saw it.
A towering figure, dragging that great hammer, slowly stepped out from the orange portal.
His height was almost level with the warship corridor, and just standing there, the terrifying killing intent and aura emanating from him,
were like endless raging waves and tsunamis, instantly engulfing all life!
His deep green armor, intricately carved with ancient and mysterious runes, each detail signifying status, the emblem of crossed wings and a sword on his chest, and that face, white-haired but still majestic and solemn, radiating an astonishing aura.
In his deep eyes, it seemed as if ten thousand years of suppressed fury were contained, making the Chaos Space Marines completely dare not meet his gaze.
Indifferent, cold, emotionless—at this moment, they felt themselves transform from 'demigods' who were high above and feared by humans, into prey, pathetic and weak gazelles, targeted by a lion, crawling in the dirt!
Then, that person moved.
Rumble.
As the ground violently shook, a terrifying storm, dragging afterimages that even the dynamic vision of a Space Marine could barely catch, swept through.
"Form up!!!"
Luke's brain nerves wildly warned him; he immediately gave the order, and everyone pulled their triggers, unleashing a barrage of bullets at the afterimage.
But what happened next was beyond their predictions.
The bolter rounds, on their way to the opponent, were effortlessly intercepted by him, wielding the great hammer, and the exploding bullets lit up the entire corridor like fireworks.
In an instant, that person, like a lion, directly pounced on his first target, the closest enemy.
Bang!!!
Simple, efficient, brutal!
It was a single hammer blow, smashing the Chaos Space Marine who tried to block this fatal strike with a chainsword into a pulp.
Immediately after, he spun around, using the momentum to swing the great hammer horizontally, drawing an explosive arc, and accompanied by rolling sonic waves, several more people were brutally smashed in half at the waist, their breath completely gone!
"Shoot! Shoot!"
Luke screamed in terror.
The already not-too-wide corridor was immediately covered in dense bullets, like a metal torrent, completely engulfing the figure.
Resolved?
Luke nervously looked into the smoke-filled depths of the corridor, but then his heart completely sank.
He was still there!
"Shoot quickly!!!"
These Chaos Space Marines took advantageous positions and then frantically poured bullets into the figure in the smoke, trying to bring him down.
But suddenly, the smoke in the corridor was dispersed by a strong wind!
It was that figure; he wielded the great hammer, forming an afterimage around him, like an indestructible barrier, emitting a deafening sonic boom!
Luke's eyes widened.
Were they seeing things?
The great hammer, swung into an afterimage by that person, seemed to be a seismic hammer, specifically used for siege, destroying heavy structures, and heavy tanks, mounted on large Dreadnought-class mechs, wasn't it?!
A seismic hammer weighed dozens of tons; even when equipped on a typical Dreadnought mech, it would slow down their movements and even require a specialized anti-gravity system to operate and use normally.
The destructive power of a single blow from this thing, no exaggeration, could scrap a Leman Russ tank, and if at full power, it could even carve a five-meter-diameter hole in the sturdy outer wall of a fortress!
Even Terminator armor, known for its defense, if struck by this thing, the best-case scenario would be immediate destruction, the worst-case scenario... it would probably be smashed into an iron pancake!
But now!
Someone!
Could wield a seismic hammer weighing dozens of tons!
And swing this thing... into an afterimage!
Impenetrable, even bullets would bounce off; was this guy even human?!
Luke tightly closed his eyes, frantically praying to the Chaos Gods in his heart that what he saw was an illusion, a sorcery cast by a psyker!
But unfortunately, there was another dull thud.
He opened his eyes; his good brother, Martinez, hailed as second only to the Champion in the warband, was sent flying by a hammer blow, like a cruel ornament, 'hung' on the corridor wall.
In just a few minutes.
All members of the First Company Warband had been hammered into pulp by that person; the few who still had a breath were almost unrecognizable.
On the less than hundred-meter warship corridor, a thick, pungent smell of blood permeated!
Everywhere he looked, there were indentations made by the seismic hammer, and in each indentation, there was sticky flesh and fragments of armor.
That person walked step by step.
The great hammer scraped against the floor of the warship corridor, like the God of Death sharpening his scythe for harvesting souls, and a terrifying chill filled every corner!
"No, don't come closer."
Luke's mind was severely impacted.
Even with the strongest psychological fortitude, when a completely incomprehensible scene unfolds before one's eyes, even a Space Marine cannot accept it.
"You, who exactly are you?!" Luke couldn't understand; who was this guy?
How could he, alone, wipe out his entire company in this small corridor, and remain completely unharmed?
"Go back to the Warp and tell your Sir, those disgusting scum!"
The Lion's eyelids lowered, his gaze descending from the clouds, seemingly mixed with endless fury, each word, like a heavy hammer,
struck Luke's heart, which was already enveloped by fear.
"The scars, betrayal, and shame you have brought upon the Imperium, I, the Sir of the First Legion, Father of the Dark Angels, Primarch, Lion El'Jonson, will personally reclaim from you."
"This is the beginning, but it is certainly not the end!"
"I will water this shame and pain with your bones and blood, in the name of the Emperor, in the name of the Lion, in the name of the Sons of the Forest!"
Bang!!!
The Lion's wrathful blow completely 'sent' the terrified, utterly fearful Luke to the Warp, on a physical level.