The shotgun in Datch's hands may have only been of green quality, but it was the same model as the Doom Slayer's.
When it came to dealing with demons, it was truly the right tool for the job.
Two shots—just two—were all it took to dispatch the daemon and gravely wound Lotara, the possessed warrior.
With the daemon's death, Lotara's horns and claws faded away, all the mutations vanishing from his body.
The hideous, daemon-possessed warrior reverted to his original form.
"My power…!!"
Lotara's voice was full of despair, his gaze at Datch a mix of shock and rage.
He couldn't comprehend how this enemy's weapon could actually kill a daemon.
Daemons were supposed to be nearly impossible to destroy—even the Grey Knights, specialized daemon-hunters, could only banish them back to the Warp.
Yet this guy's ancient-looking shotgun had outright obliterated his possessing daemon.
This isn't the Warp at all!!
Gods above, someone's cheating—isn't anyone going to do something?!
"Die, traitor."
Datch charged, chainsword in hand, bounding toward Lotara.
Bang! Bang!
Other Chaos Space Marines fired at Datch, their bolters roaring and spitting fire.
A hail of explosive rounds tried to drive Datch back.
But as a player, trading injury for victory was just par for the course.
Relying on the terrifying defense of his Pattern Terminator Armor, Datch tanked several bolter rounds and closed in on Lotara.
However, as a seasoned veteran—one who had forged a pact with a daemon through sheer force of will—Lotara was no pushover.
"In the name of the gods!"
Clenching his pain down, Lotara retaliated with his staff.
Though he'd lost the daemon's boost and felt awkward in his reverted body, his combat skill and experience still far surpassed Datch's.
He blocked Datch's swing and immediately countered with a downward elbow strike.
The move was smooth and practiced—but unfortunately, Datch's Terminator Armor rendered Lotara's martial prowess laughable.
Throughout history, Abaddon the Despoiler had been driven to the brink of defeat time and again in duels,
but always managed to turn the tides thanks to his Terminator Armor, clinching victory in the end.
This alone proved how terrifyingly effective Terminator Armor was in close combat.
Seeing the duel, other Chaos Marines wanted to dogpile Datch and overwhelm him by numbers.
"Enemies of the Emperor, perish!"
In the nick of time, Galien, the Emperor's Champion of the Black Templars, charged in from the far end of the corridor with two battle-brothers, firing bolters as they ran.
After felling two Chaos Marines, Galien closed in, tossed aside his bolter, and drew the Emperor-blessed Black Sword, plunging into the fray to keep the Chaos Marines from interfering with Datch and Lotara's battle.
"Monsters are way too fast in this game!!"
Datch grumbled to himself as he defended against Lotara's attacks.
Your "Easy Mode" is harder than other games' Hell Modes.
That's just setting up newbies for failure!
This needs to be reported—seriously!
Lotara's movements were blindingly fast and he was skilled in both martial arts and psychic powers.
If not for the Terminator Armor, Datch would have been dead within ten rounds.
But the situation was still dire. After a fierce exchange, Datch's armor was scored with several deep, alarming gashes.
At this rate, even in Terminator Armor, he'd be cut down before long.
"Stomp!"
Datch stomped the ground, sending out a shockwave that forced Lotara back.
He immediately drew his shotgun, waited for Lotara to lunge again, and fired.
It was like getting rammed by a gunboat at full speed—Lotara was blasted backwards, crashing to the floor.
"A gun is fast at seven paces, and at closer range, it's both fast and accurate."
The ancients never lied. If you have a gun and don't use it, what kind of master are you?
Lotara glared at Datch, eyes burning with rage.
This was supposed to be a duel, and this guy just pulls out a gun! These lapdogs of the Corpse Emperor have no sense of honor!
Fortunately, Datch couldn't read minds, or he'd have replied without guilt:
I'm a player. What honor? My heart's as black as my armor, and face? I don't even know what that is!
To make sure Lotara stayed dead, Datch walked over and fired again, blowing his head to pieces.
He holstered his shotgun and chainsword, drew his Ruyi Jingu Bang, and leapt into the melee.
Datch swung the magical staff at a Word Bearer bedecked with spikes and Chaos symbols.
"Is that all you've got?"
The Word Bearer smirked coldly, stepping back to dodge.
The next moment, the staff suddenly extended—both longer and thicker—
With a bang, it crashed down on the marine's helmet, shattering his skull and drenching the ground with brains.
Even with the gods' blessing, the blow was fatal.
As his soul was dragged to the Warp to be devoured by hungry daemons, disbelief filled his eyes.
Gods! What the hell is this weapon?
Why can it change length and size at will?
This has to be a cheat! Gods, the humans are cheating—aren't you going to do something?!
The Ruyi Jingu Bang was truly a divine weapon in close combat.
Enemies had no idea how far it could reach or how hard it could hit.
With Datch and Galien working together, the three Black Templars quickly purged the enemies from the B-7 boarding deck.
To prevent further boarding, Datch exchanged for a Mithril Pickaxe (1 day use),
and started chiseling metallic blocks from the corridor walls, stacking them to block off the passage.
Galien and his brothers were dumbfounded—they'd never seen anyone do something like that,
pounding metal into blocks and building a barricade on the fly.
After sealing the passage, Datch bounced off toward the next red spot on his minimap, with Galien and the others following close behind.
"Your swordplay is poor. If we survive this crisis, I'll teach you a few forms," Galien offered along the way.
As an expert swordsman, Galien could immediately tell Datch lacked real combat experience, relying solely on special weapons and Terminator Armor.
"Did I just gain favor with an NPC?"
Datch was delighted; it looked like he'd be able to learn swordsmanship skills from Galien soon.
…
Meanwhile, Archmagos Cawl retrieved the Armour of Fate from the stasis vault and loaded it into a customized transport.
They were preparing to journey to the surface of the ice world, seeking the path Saint Celestine had spoken of.
As everything was ready, Black Templar Marshal Amalrich declared,
"The Black Templars will remain and fight to the end aboard the Ark, buying you enough time to escape."
"That is foolish. Life is the Emperor's currency; you have no right to waste it," Inquisitor Greyfax objected.
Defending a doomed Mechanicus Ark was meaningless—the Black Templars had more important places to make their sacrifice.
Now, with Cawl ensnared by Celestine's sorcery,
without the Black Templars' support, Greyfax would be powerless even if she uncovered the Living Saint's true nature.
The Black Templars' absolute loyalty to the Emperor could prove decisive.
"This is our choice," Amalrich insisted.
After the loss of Cadia and long, desperate retreats, Amalrich was physically and mentally exhausted,
even doubting whether he was a coward for always choosing to run.
"By authority of the Inquisition, you must come with us," Greyfax demanded, showing her Inquisitorial Seal.
Reluctantly, Amalrich obeyed, unable to allow any blemish on his loyalty.
He ordered his battle-brothers to fall back and regroup.
Galien, too, received the message. He turned to Datch, who was still sealing up the passage.
"Nameless warrior, come with us," he called.
Datch just glanced at them, ignored the request, finished blocking the passage, and hopped toward the next red spot.
Galien watched his retreating back, sighed, and silently wished him luck, then led his men to join Amalrich.
Once everyone was gathered, Cawl gave the order to retreat.
Moments after, the massive Mechanicus Ark—the Iron Revenant—began to explode, losing power and plunging toward the surface.
When Abaddon learned that Cawl had escaped in the storm, he was enraged and immediately sent pursuers, ignoring the ark's crash.
…
As the Ark fell, Datch rushed to the reactor and disabled it,
causing the Iron Revenant to break apart on impact without exploding—
saving many Mechanicus members and Imperial soldiers who would otherwise have died.
[Mission Complete: Cawl's evacuation from the Ark]
[Rewards: 800 EXP, 800 Points, Reputation +40, Bamboo-copter x1]
Datch put the new Bamboo-copter in his equipment slot.
A spinning bamboo copter appeared on his helmet, and with a single jump, he soared into the air.
"Three main quests left. Time to find the others."
Datch used his bamboo copter to fly into the blizzard, chasing after Cawl and the others.
Survivors saluted him with the Aquila,
believing it must have been the Emperor's will for this mysterious warrior to save them.
But how they would survive in this frozen wasteland and reach Imperial rescue was now up to them.
…