How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 417: Meaningless (VI)
Nitocris, this is a name that Akurdona has also heard of.

Of course, the Sixth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt was too far away from his time, and he also knew this name through Fujimaru Ritsuka. At that time, the Stormbound had just crashed into the Astronomican on the warp level, and Fujimaru Ritsuka barely recovered from the damage she suffered in the previous round of battle, and then immediately tried to persuade Ferrus, who had picked up her (the ship), to turn back with her to attack the Crystal Palace of Tzeentch.

This naturally didn't work out in the end. After all, the Great Game of the Four Chaos Gods had been going on for millions of years. During this long period of time, a delicate dynamic balance had been formed among the gods. It was not something that one of the gods could do intentionally to destroy one of the chess players. But during this period of time, the name Nitocris, along with the names of some other characters in Fujimaru Ritsuka's story, did uncontrollably enter the ears of those who had heard her story of the cause and effect.

Ozymandias, who built a fortress barrier that could be called a "country within a country" in the realm of Tzeentch to resist the invasion of the evil god; Nitocris, who took advantage of the geographical location of the Grand Temple of Glory to enslave countless dead and undead as filling-in troops; Circe, the God-age witch, who used exquisite magic skills that were also directly inherited from the gods to deal with the almost endless and bizarre spells of the Tzeentch camp; Paracelsus, a modern magician, who used the ether element simulated by human intelligence after the gods withdrew to fight back from an angle that even the Lord of Spells had never known; Arash, who guarded Fujimaru Ritsuka with hawk-like eyesight, extraordinary bravery and superb archery; and Chiyome Mochizuki, who served as a scout to explore the road ahead and was loyal until the last moment.

Although according to Fujimaru Ritsuka, she was able to escape from the Crystal Palace mainly because of luck, the sacrifice of her companions, the fact that Tzeentch, the god of change, left her a way out during the siege, and the last move of the God-killing Spear that was not calculated, which really scared the architect of fate. However, most of the Cursed Astartes who have heard these bizarre adventures have other opinions and interpretations.

Let's talk about the team that supported Fujimaru Ritsuka all the way to escape from the Crystal Palace. Undoubtedly, most of the heroes who can be summoned as heroes in the Fate Summoning System are warriors who can defeat thousands of enemies alone, but in Fujimaru Ritsuka's team, in Akuldona's opinion, the opponents that really need to be completely eliminated by an entire army are the two pharaohs Ozymandias and Nitocris.

It is true that Akuldona does not know magic, but he has heard many stories about the battles between the Think Tanks and the Great Demons in the Star Torch. In his impression, the Think Tanks who are equally proficient in psychic powers should be able to fight against each other in parallel. Arash and Chiyome Mochizuki were confirmed dead by Fujimaru Ritsuka, and the remaining two pharaohs - Akuldona does not know magic, but he knows very well what a general with his own army can do.

To Akuldona, fighting Ozymandias in the Great Temple was like fighting a street battle with an elusive armored unit in a fortress complex full of traps. As for Nitocris, the undead and mummies were indeed nothing in terms of individual strength, but the terrifying thing was that they were "constant" - no matter what, even a swordsman like him who could claim to be unparalleled in the world would need time to kill his way through the sea of ​​people. But Nitocris himself was also a priest and a wizard, which was very scary.

Therefore, when Fujimaru Ritsuka proposed to turn around and run away, he did not hesitate, and he thought Nasir probably thought so too. However, for Pegasus, who was not aware of this previous situation, he did not see the necessity of this strategic change:
"Can't we just charge at them?" He asked with the absolute confidence in his own military power that only a Primarch could have. "Although it was only a glimpse, I saw that the movements of those undead and mummies were quite slow."

"If we had even a hundred Astra Militarum infantrymen with laser rifles and enough magazines, I would agree with your idea," Fujimaru Ritsuka replied, "but right now, we don't. You may be able to easily deal with any low-quality enemies she sends, but in this environment where the surrounding space and roads can change at any time, we simply can't advance steadily and find the enemy commander's hiding place."

Pegasus thought this made sense, but he still refused to give up: "Can't we kill all of these things?"

"How do you plan to kill something that's already dead?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked back, "As long as there are ether resources, Nitocris's undead soldiers can be resurrected infinitely. In the environment of the Great Temple, do you think she will lack ether?"

"So what do we do next?" Pegasus' voice was slightly irritated. "Are we just going to run around in this maze where we can't tell the way?"

"Well, since Amit can't tell the direction to the Dendera Light for the time being, I admit that we are now in a 'chronic crisis'." Fujimaru Ritsuka admitted it quite frankly and accepted it well. "The situation is quite passive. Anyway, let's find a way to survive first."

"What?" Pegasus was a little unbelievable. "Acoldonako said that from your magnificent experience, you are a legendary commander!"

"Haha, you're too kind. I'm just a mortal, how can I have so many magical skills and plans? I just rely on the kindness of my companions who share the adventure with me." In this situation where it's either death now or death later, Fujimaru Ritsuka is still in the mood to joke, "As for my personal advantage, it's mainly because I have a strong life - in short, try to stay alive first, as long as you're alive, there will always be a turning point."

To be frank, this attitude is not inappropriate for serious tactical theory, but whether it is Pegasus or Fulgrim, their aesthetic dictionary does not include the category of "see-saw battle". This made the clone quite dissatisfied with this decision, and he wanted to leave the team alone. However, considering Fulgrim's previous experience of pursuing perfection in everything, he deliberately suppressed this idea and continued to follow the team reluctantly, listening to Fujimaru Ritsuka's final call:

"Hey, you from the Iron Warriors, follow me closely. Don't die before I'm in the mood to ask you your name."
-
The atmosphere in the main hall of the Grand Temple of Glory was very depressing. The Warp creature, barely a humanoid figure, sitting on the throne looked down at Tolamino coldly, and his cold and angry voice resounded from all directions in the vast space:

"I should have told you that there was no need to do anything extra with the ship, right?"

The substantial anger in this sentence, under the influence of the warp, directly struck Tolamino's heart and soul. Under the suppression of Ozymandias's spirit, which had no form but did exist, Tolamino, who was only a mortal body, could not defy the instincts of his body and surrender to the overwhelming power of the Grand Temple. But as a creation that inherited the memory of the previous war blacksmith, the current Tolamino also had some experience in how to appease the angry superior.

"Your Excellency, I just want to confirm that these people are indeed qualified to come before the Emperor." He lowered his head and skillfully argued, "If the boat and the troops on it will be destroyed by our artillery fire, then they are not worth your effort."

"Really? That's good of you." Unfortunately, the cold tone coming from the throne did not improve despite these sweet words. "But my previous order should have been very clear: you don't need to do anything extra. You didn't follow that."

Even if he was a skinless creature born from the devil's womb, as a "space warrior" in a broad sense, Tolamino should not feel fear so easily - but at this moment, he did feel his scalp tingling because of Ozymandias' words: "But -" "-No need to say more. The Pharaoh's rule should be absolute, and I don't need a wisecracking subordinate like you." Ozymandias' voice was unwavering, and the anger in it did not diminish at all, "Besides, even if it's just a fragment or a replica, the 'qualifications' of my allies do not need to be judged by a lightless person like you!"

Tolamino knew exactly what the "no need" in the previous sentence meant. At the same time, he was also keenly aware that the latter reason was obviously the more infuriating part for the Warp creature on the throne. Due to the lack of prior intelligence, Tolamino did not succeed in grasping this point, but now the matter is done, he cannot take back his previous gaffe, and can only swallow the bitter fruit of his own making in the inexplicable and sudden turn of events, begging bitterly: "I am very sorry, my lord, I was indeed too clever for my own good. But please look at my Primarch, Lord Perturabo--"

"Foolish." Ozymandias commented coldly, "In the past, I would have laughed out loud at your ridiculous stupidity - I am the king of kings, Ozymandias. Even the Almighty God would despair and bow down after witnessing my great deeds. Since when did I have to consider other people's thoughts and face when doing things? It's so ignorant that it makes me sad!"

Tolamino could not help but be dumbfounded by these words - half of him could not help but be inexplicably surprised by the arrogance that was overflowing in these words; the other half naturally deduced his own very pessimistic prospects from this, and was extremely anxious because of this. But it was obviously very unwise to refute this. In the whole room that was angry with Ozymandias's anger, Tolamino tried hard to stay sane, desperately trying to organize words that could keep his current position, regardless of whether they could create room for his miserable prospects or only add fuel to the fire, and he poured them out in a panic:
"Perhaps you are a great king (Tolamino said this quite against his will), but my Primarch Perturabo is the master who rules the planets! Many worlds provide soldiers and resources for his conquests in the starry sea, and in his factories that never stop working, countless war machines are sent to his army like water! If you kill me here - of course you have the power to do so, but my Primarch will regard this as an insult and betrayal, and his fleets and armies will turn their guns towards your temple! Even for these works of your hard work, please think twice!"

This may be a strong enough reason. Ozymandias once ordered that the Iron Warriors stationed in the Great Temple were not allowed to damage the architectural style, which proved that he still cherished these temples that had passed through his hands. Tolamino would not make a wrong judgment on such a simple issue, but he did not expect that after hearing these words, the creature on the throne that only had a human form but was completely inhuman actually laughed.

Its laughter was indeed quite hearty, and it reverberated loudly for a long time in the vast space of the throne room and the pupil symbol of the Lord of Change. Under the power of the warp, these sounds were almost physically harmful, shaking Tolamino's bones and internal organs heavily, making him feel quite uncomfortable, and even wanting to turn around and run - but he couldn't do that, because he knew clearly what the final result would be if he dared to turn his back on his displeased superior.

"People are so stupid that they seem a little cute." The voice on the throne said, "Do you think that you are a disgusting creature made up of filthy technology and the remnants of the soul, something that can't even be called a 'human', and you are worthy of your master's anger?"

Tolamino was completely frozen by this voice. A chill ran down his head like a blade, and poured into his whole body along his spine. He realized that the thing on the throne knew much more than he thought.

It had clearly never left its throne, so how did it know all this? The wizards of the Thousand Sons would not be so talkative, and most of the Iron Warriors were cautious in their words and deeds. Toramido himself was even more secretive about this - how did it know all this?

On the buildings surrounding the throne, distorted and abstract eye symbols rolled around like living things, and malicious whispers and ridicule could be faintly heard.

"What you want to hide will only become more obvious to Pharaoh." As if he could read Tolamino's panic and confusion, Ozymandias explained with a slightly dangerous smile, "Can't I see what you are planning with your deployment of troops? Don't I know that you are trying to destroy my temple in this battle? In the glory of the sun, all conspiracies will be exposed. Your clumsy tricks will disappear silently like shadows in the sun. I am too lazy to care."

"The Primarch will not let this happen!" Knowing that the outcome was certain, Tolamino fell into despair and became incoherent. "Your temple may have much stronger defenses than it looks under the blessing of the Warp, but no matter how strong a fortress is, it will eventually fall! After all, you are just the king of a tiny country in Ancient Terra. How dare you challenge the majesty of the Lord of Olympia's powerful ships and cannons and magnificent army?!"

"Your statement is very interesting." Ozymandias sneered, "So, where is your Primarch's 'Olympia'? What kind of construction did he make in his 'Medelengard'? Do his people love him, respect him, fear him, or all of them? What achievements did he create that are worthy of being recorded in human history?"

Tolamino's tongue was tied again. He could argue, but these were not issues that could be resolved in a few words. Moreover, before he could really open his mouth to make a sound, some kind of psychic force had already pressed down from above his head, forcing him to freeze in place. The faceless Sphinx, the terrifying father who reflected the true appearance of the universe, appeared out of thin air from behind the throne of Ozymandias, and walked with the graceful and deadly steps unique to cats, towards the skinless one who was created in the demon womb with the genetic material of the real Tolamino's flesh.

"The rest of us are just using each other." Such a voice came from the throne, but Tolamino, whose mind was completely attracted by the huge figure of the Cosmic Sphinx that almost filled the entire space, could no longer understand those words in the fear of the extinction of existence that must exist in the genes of any organism. "Whether it is the damaged soul called the 'Scarlet King' driven only by broken obsession, or the general called the 'Iron Lord' who doesn't even know what he is really chasing, they are all like this. How can they be compared with me?"

Has anyone seen the mouth of the Cosmic Sphinx? It seems that no one has seen it, but it seems that it does have this structure. The evidence is that after Tolamino's terrified cry for his own dying life was cut off, a creepy crunching sound was indeed heard from the direction of the Cosmic Sphinx. No one can see the specific process, but it is indeed possible to imagine it based on this specific sound: the ceramic steel armor deformed in the teeth-grinding metal friction sound, the Astartes' bones were shattered inch by inch in the crisp chiseling sound, and the skin and flesh were torn into a blur under the sharp teeth...

"Indeed, my temple may not be able to fight against the overly large army of these 'Primarchs'." Amidst such noisy noise, Ozymandias still calmly narrated in the direction of Tolamino who no longer existed, "I admit this, but I don't think I will be easily defeated if the war starts. For the Pharaoh, nothing is impossible on earth. Everything is under my control."

After some more creepy swallowing sounds, the Cosmic Sphinx finished its "meal" and turned around again, bowed its head before the throne, and presented the Pharaoh with the communication device that it had accurately stripped from Tolamino's armor.

"In this universe, the first and only thing that matters is a strong will."

Under the influence of either Tzeentch's magic or the Pharaoh's majesty, the signal light on the communicator flashed briefly and then the call was connected.

(End of this chapter)