Zeke saw a vast amount of metal wreckage floating in outer space. There was so much debris that it had converged to form a belt of scrap.
"The Cadian fleets sometimes hide behind these debris belts. It often allows them to catch the enemy off guard."
A Cadian soldier on the ship looked at the debris field, a trace of nostalgia in his eyes.
"Wolf Lord Bloodhowl," a voice came from the direction of the bridge, broadcasting over the comms. "Sensor data indicates a Chaos fleet is approaching us from the edge of the debris field."
"How many?"
"A small task force. Four rapid strike cruisers."
"No need to engage. Full engines, push the shields forward, and punch straight through."
"Yes, sir!"
Zeke felt a strong sensation of being pushed back into his seat as the background outside the window stretched into infinite lines.
The Firemane's Fang charged forward with indomitable momentum, heading straight for the Chaos vessels.
The Chaos strike cruisers were not in the same weight class as the Firemane's Fang and could only hurriedly dodge.
The Firemane's Fang tore through in a cloud of dust, leaving the Chaos ships far behind in its engine wake.
"At this speed, we can drop you off at Mariatus within half a day," Bloodhowl estimated.
"What about you guys? After dropping me off?"
"We'll find a relatively safe zone to land temporarily," Bloodhowl said crisply. "We rest for half a day, then continue with our main mission: heading to the Blackstone Fortress."
Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, Zeke found a corner, opened his inventory, took out a bed, and placed it on the floor.
It had been night back on Cadia when they left, so getting some extra sleep seemed like a good choice.
Zeke right-clicked on the bed. (TL/N: Again, No better way to explain other than this.)
He instantly teleported onto the bed. The light before his eyes dimmed, and his field of view was reduced to just the chat box interface.
–
"Wolf Lord Bloodhowl," the sensory officer reported. "Spectral sensors have detected a strange vessel."
In the corner of the screen, a segment of footage was extracted and slowed down dozens of times.
The ship's hull was constructed from an unknown metal; it was not of Chaos design.
Bloodhowl stared at the black, strange ship on the screen. He observed symbols resembling temples painted on its hull.
Bloodhowl remained silent for a few seconds before making a judgment. "It's Xenos. But it doesn't look like the Aeldari... it looks more like the Undead Legions."
Bloodhowl watched as the strange ship vanished into the vastness of the universe.
–
Zeke lay in the bed, his sense of time becoming blurred. It felt like only a second or two had passed before he felt someone vigorously shaking him.
A soldier looked down at Zeke and informed him that they had reached their destination.
"I actually envy that you can still sleep at a time like this." The soldier forced an ugly smile at Zeke.
Outside the porthole, the scenery had changed drastically. A dusty, gray planet appeared before them.
Glowing red dots could be seen on the planet's surface; Zeke deduced that they were magma.
"Everyone look alive! This planet has already been occupied by Chaos."
As the order was issued, the Firemane's Fang adjusted its attitude and dove toward the surface of Mariatus.
The Chaos forces on the ground also noticed this uninvited guest falling from the sky.
Sporadic anti-air fire began to rise from several strongholds, shooting toward the Firemane's Fang, though most attacks were intercepted by the void shields.
The ship's hull rubbed against the atmosphere, glowing with heat and carving a conspicuous streak of fire across the sky.
–
Beneath a concealed manhole cover, two men wearing miner's uniforms were hiding.
"Look at that streak of fire in the sky!" One of the men pointed upward. "My gut tells me that it is definitely Chaos."
"Nonsense!" his coworker beside him replied. "Didn't you see that scum down there firing at it?"
"We have to get over there." The man grabbed his coworker's arm. "This is our only chance. If we keep hiding here, we'll either starve to death or be killed by those monsters."
"No... you go. The whole way there is crawling with Chaos. You'll be killed before you even get close."
The coworker shook off his hand, shrinking back and wedging himself into the corner.
"Fine, you take care then." The man didn't try to persuade him further. "If I find them, I'll definitely come back to save you."
He looked at his coworker, gritted his teeth, lifted the manhole cover, and ran toward the direction of the Firemane's Fang.
–
As the altitude continued to drop, Zeke could gradually make out details on the ground.
Bottomless open-pit mines, refineries belching thick black smoke... The Firemane's Fang continued to fly forward, searching for a safe landing spot.
At Zeke's strong request, the Firemane's Fang finally chose to land on a hill next to a lava pool.
The crew immediately disembarked, spreading out with the warship as the center to set up a perimeter and clear the surroundings.
Zeke also deployed the three Iron Golems he was carrying to stand guard near the Firemane's Fang.
Then, he ran nonstop toward the lava pool in front of him.
Approaching the edge of the lava pool, the pungent smell of sulfur mixed with a heatwave hit him in the face.
Lava usually emitted toxic gases, but Zeke didn't seem to have any reaction.
He switched to an empty bucket, scooped up a bucket of lava, dug a hole nearby, and carefully poured the lava into the pit.
Then, he took out a water bucket and poured the water onto it.
Hiss—a burst of steam rose up.
A block of obsidian appeared in the pit. Zeke took out his Diamond Pickaxe and mined it.
He repeated the process—digging a hole, pouring lava, watering it, and cycling through.
The only issue was that mining obsidian was incredibly slow but Zeke collected dozens of blocks of obsidian.
Zeke had experienced several occasions where, upon just entering the Nether, a Ghast would seize the opportunity to blast the portal apart with a single shot.
It was better to mine a little extra obsidian, just in case.
After mining enough obsidian, Zeke used ordinary stone to fill in the four corners, building a classic rectangular frame, 4 blocks wide and 5 blocks high.
He took the flint and iron ingot he had swiped from a resident's home in Cadia to craft a Flint and Steel, then ignited the obsidian frame.
Swirling dark purple patterns spread across the door frame. The Nether Portal was successfully activated.
It won't lead to the Warp or something like that, will it? Zeke hesitated for a step, but ultimately stepped into the portal.
Everything in his vision began to distort continuously, making him dizzy.
Then, Zeke saw a line of text:
[Loading Terrain]