Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Emperor's Scythes Astartes' bolter continuously fired.
Bolts landed on the Gene Stealer Patriarch, exploding into bursts of flame.
Roaring in pain, he charged toward the Emperor's Scythes Astartes.
His yellow eyes were filled with malice.
This malice was ancient, older than the galaxy itself.
Behind this malice lay a wisdom more terrifying than the void, vaster and more unfathomable than the universe itself.
That was the Tyranids Hive Mind.
This will affected Thracian's sanity.
It sought to crush and shatter the will of the Emperor's Scythes Astartes, turning them into its slaves.
Thracian and the others all had suppressors implanted in their bodies.
But they were still powerless to block the terrifying influence of this will on them.
It wasn't until Alex cast Purification and Blessings, suppressing the Tyranids Hive Mind,
that they could act entirely of their own will.
"For the Emperor and Sotha!"
Thracian roared, "Kill him!"
The other Emperor's Scythes Astartes activated their chainswords.
They charged at the Gene Stealer Patriarch.
Each of them had gone mad, feeling no pain, roaring incessantly,
hysterically hacking at the Gene Stealer Patriarch.
One Emperor's Scythes was seized by a sturdy limb and, amidst alien roars, had his head ripped off.
Blood spurted as the headless corpse fell.
The other Emperor's Scythes, however, ignored it,
still furiously attacking the Gene Stealer Patriarch, determined to kill him at all costs.
"I haven't heard of Ultramarines having Black Rage symptoms,"
Tenjiro mumbled in the Players' communication channel.
"Just how much hatred is this??"
Little Fatty was also somewhat surprised to see this scene.
The other Players were equally shocked.
The Emperor's Scythes Astartes were truly reckless.
Under their desperate assault, the Gene Stealer Patriarch was finally killed, crashing to the ground.
With the Patriarch dead, the remaining Genestealer shrieked in terror and fled.
Thracian and the other Emperor's Scythes Astartes smiled as they looked at the Patriarch's corpse.
They had finally avenged those who had died tragically.
After the battle,
Thracian expressed his gratitude to Alex.
Without Alex's help, they would never have been able to exact their revenge with their own hands.
At the same time, Thracian also told Alex the secret that the Emperor's Scythes had always concealed.
This secret was once regarded by them as a disgrace.
During the Second Tyrannic War,
the Tyranids Kraken fleet invaded from the eastern edge of the Imperium,
devouring planets along its path.
Sotha was also on the Tyranids fleet's route.
The Emperor's Scythes had intended to resist with all their might, defend their home, and fight to the death.
However, they discovered something despairing.
Most of Sotha's inhabitants had been corrupted by Genestealer.
When the Tyranids fleet arrived, Sotha erupted into civil war.
The fleet turned on itself, orbital defenses shut down, and the garrison fell into chaos.
Sotha was left wide open before the Tyranids, leading to its ultimate fall.
Even the Battle Group's gene-seed was corrupted, and the Astartes created from it showed symptoms of Tyranids contamination.
This was why the Emperor's Scythes were unwilling to accept Imperial supplies or rebuild.
They couldn't even protect their own homeworld.
The new recruits they trained all carried Tyranids / Tyranid contamination and needed to wear suppressors to resist the control of the Tyranids / Tyranid Hive Mind.
This was undoubtedly a great disgrace,
filling the entire Battle Group with shame, and they swore to fight to the last Astartes.
To atone and prevent further contamination, they no longer sought supplies or expanded their ranks.
Instead, they focused on retaliating against the Tyranids, avenging the dead of the past.
They had returned here for no other purpose.
It was solely to kill the Gene Stealer Patriarch who had once led the Tyranids fleet's invasion.
To resist the control of the Tyranids Hive Mind, they all wore psychic suppressors.
Even so, they couldn't escape the Tyranids Hive Mind's control and couldn't fire at the Patriarch.
They were fortunate to have met Alex.
This gave them the chance to cleanse their shame and exact their revenge with their own hands.
"Thank you for your benevolence, Saint."
Thracian, along with the remaining Emperor's Scythes Astartes, saluted Alex.
"If we survive this mission, I will explain the entire situation clearly."
"Whatever the punishment, we will accept it calmly."
Alex nodded, not interfering with their choice.
The Players also sighed, lamenting the Emperor's Scythes' bitter past.
"What a tragic Warband, only seven Astartes left."
"Alas! This is the consequence of neglecting one's home; the old home was destroyed, and the Warband itself eventually vanished."
"Why does this sound a bit like a story of a cuckold and his victim??"
"Brother Pian, you truly are a Slaanesh Chosen; how can you hear the cuckoldry in such a sad story??"
Facing the other Players' questions, Brother Pian scratched his head and offered his insight.
"Look, the Emperor's Scythes deeply loved Sotha, but Sotha had already been transformed by the Tyranids / Tyranid using Genestealer into its own shape."
"When the war began, the Emperor's Scythes fought hard against the Tyranids / Tyranid, only to protect Sotha."
"But the unfaithful Sotha stabbed the Emperor's Scythes in the back, insisting on embracing the Tyranids / Tyranid that wanted to harm her."
"The Tyranids / Tyranid devoured Sotha completely, while the Emperor's Scythes, burdened by shame and hatred, have been seeking revenge."
"Finally…"
Brother Pian didn't finish before Little Fatty turned his cannon to him.
"Stop talking, you're absolutely toxic!! Don't make me hit you during the story."
"OK, OK, my mistake, my mistake."
Looking at the flashing cannon barrel, Brother Pian quickly shouted,
fearing that Little Fatty would really blast him.
"Brother Pian is shameless and vulgar, but he's not wrong."
Tenjiro supported Brother Pian.
"Upon learning that Sotha's people and gene-seed were corrupted by Genestealer, the Emperor's Scythes were probably even more shattered and despairing than the cuckold."
"You two are both sick, can't you pick a different analogy? I'm a pure love listener; I can't stand this." Little Fatty said.
Rumble!
The Players were discussing the Emperor's Scythes' story.
Suddenly, a huge rumble came from underground.
The fortress-monastery seemed to have been attacked by some terrible force and began to collapse.
Huge stones fell, smashing through the floor.
Everyone scattered to avoid being crushed by the boulders.
The shaking lasted for more than ten minutes before stopping.
Only Cawl and a few Adeptus Mechanicus members remained by Alex's side.
The Players and Emperor's Scythes warriors were gone.
The once magnificent fortress had been reduced to ruins, and all escape routes were blocked.
They were trapped within the ruins.
Alex observed and found that the ground had cracked, revealing a passage leading underground.
Buzz! Buzz!
Several drones flew into the passage to conduct scans.
"The earthquake just now must have been the Necrons' doing!"
Cawl connected to the deep-scanning drones.
He saw that the end of the passage connected to the Necrons' black metal labyrinth.
"Let's go in and see; maybe they've also gone underground."
Alex stepped into the passage, entering the magnificent underground labyrinth.
Inside the labyrinth, the corridors were intricate and complex, and occasionally Necron constructs would attack them.
Alex shattered those constructs and led Cawl and the others forward.
Along the way, he found Players like Tenjiro and Little Fatty.
He also encountered fallen Adeptus Mechanicus members and Emperor's Scythes warriors.
The Emperor's Scythes warriors all had a death wish.
They fought until the last moment, unwilling to flee.
They only wanted to drag as many of those metal constructs as possible to their graves.
Alex mourned for these souls returning to the Golden Throne.
"For the Emperor and Sotha."
An enraged voice came from the end of the corridor.
Alex quickened his pace, moving towards the source of the voice.
By the time he arrived, the battle had already ended.
Thracian, the Chapter Master of the Emperor's Scythes, lay on the ground, coughing up blood continuously.
His chest had been ripped open, and crimson blood gushed out, staining the ground.
Beside him lay more than a dozen shattered constructs of Necron soldiers.
He had fought until his last breath.
Seeing Alex appear, the dying Chapter Master reached out to him.
Alex moved gently, kneeling on one knee before Thracian.
He grasped the Chapter Master's hand.
Thracian used his last ounce of strength to speak.
"Saint, have I ever failed the Emperor? Will He reject me for not being pious enough? Will I be deemed a coward for not having the courage to face dishonor?"
Alex shook his head, his voice tinged with tenderness.
"You are the Emperor's pride, His warriors; you have never failed Him."
"Your courage has long been witnessed, and you shall surely be welcomed into the God-Emperor's halls, becoming noble heroes."
Thracian revealed a relieved smile.
He exhaled his last breath, then his head slumped, and he died.
"You are a hero of the Imperium, a guardian of humanity; your deeds will be remembered, and your spirit will be passed on."
Alex muttered the last sentence to himself.
The Players were also moved by Thracian's demise.
"In this cruel universe, how much more must humanity lose before it is satisfied?"
"Emperor's Scythes, eternal heroes."
Tenjiro's face showed a look of lament.
He recorded the relevant video.
When it's time, he'll post it on the official website; why should they be the only ones to suffer this emotional blow?
Everyone should suffer the plot's emotional blow together, and then curse the dog-planning together.
Alex had originally intended to issue a quest.
To retrieve the bodies of the Emperor's Scythes.
But then he thought better of it and gave up.
Let them rest in peace on the land they had sworn to protect.
Later, a monument could be erected for them on Sotha.
When the Primaris rebuild the Emperor's Scythes Battle Group, Alex would convey this story to the warriors of the new Emperor's Scythes Battle Group.
Those brave warriors of old gave everything for humanity and the Emperor.
Their lives were not perfect, but they were beyond reproach.
...
After leaving Thracian, Alex found some more Players and Adeptus Mechanicus members.
However, he still hadn't seen Cortana, which made him somewhat worried.
After a fierce struggle, Alex and his group reached the core area of the labyrinth.
A massive black metal matrix stood there, emanating light.
Within the matrix, a metal construct radiating terrifying power fluctuations was imprisoned.
Cortana, who had been missing, was now near the matrix.
"A group of pathetic carbon-based monkeys, how dare you trespass here?"
"I am Zarahush, the Overlord, the true god, the living embodiment of this universe."
The imprisoned metal cube communicated with all living beings through psychic will.
"Hey, Master." Cortana saw Alex and excitedly ran over.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The imprisoned Overlord Zarahush violently slammed against the barrier formed by the matrix.
"Despicable carbon-based monkey, how dare you?"
"Utterly shameless, you actually dared to deceive my kin."
Tenjiro looked at the enraged C'tan, "Why does that C'tan suddenly seem to have gone berserk?"
Brother Pian chuckled, "Isn't that obvious? What father doesn't hate a yellow-haired guy? Although Zarahush isn't Cortana's father."
"But didn't you see him constantly saying, 'I am a god, and you are a bunch of damned carbon-based monkeys.'"
"And then there's a complete, young new member of his kin, babbling and following behind a carbon-based monkey, whining and calling him Master."
"The scariest thing would be if Cortana says later, 'My Master is different,' then we'd be in for a treat, probably even witnessing a C'tan going berserk."
Little Fatty nodded, "Just hearing you describe it makes me angry."
"If I have a daughter in the future, no yellow-haired guy will be allowed within a hundred meters."
"..."
Overlord Zarahush watched Cortana bouncing around Alex.
His eyes burned fiercely, revealing endless rage.
"I will soon break free, and then I will kill you, you damned carbon-based monkey."
Cortana stood in front of Alex, "You are not allowed to harm my Master! He's not some carbon-based monkey; he is Cortana's Master."
All the Players immediately looked at Brother Pian with strange expressions.
Brother Pian shrugged, "Now prepare to witness the fury of a C'tan."