Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 859 Your Opponent is Us
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"I'm starting to wonder if we've gotten involved in some rare kobold-man's successful plan against the soft-bodied monster."

"Walking through the ruins that resemble the former streets and city of Tizka," Ramizan said.

"why?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

He raised his finger and pointed ahead at the crimson demon king they had been following, wielding a greatsword and with wings on his back.

—Just now, they were still pondering how to break the deadlock of Mephisto, which is composed of one-third anger and blood, and then they witnessed what it means to have "the most powerful think tank in the entire galaxy, and Dante has to be paired with him to manage the dark side."

The crimson behemoth gripped the upper and lower jaws of the human-faced stone tablet with brute force, then tore a large enough passage through the face. The shattering of the stone tablet caused the collapse of the surrounding intricate crystal network, and the sorcerers and mutant wizards scattered in panic to avoid being swept into the bottomless abyss below.

Okay, if you have enough strength, you can definitely break through all defenses with sheer force. No doubt about it, you can fight, you really can fight, especially in close combat. You live up to your blood-red skin and fierce appearance.

Taking advantage of the chaos, they followed the increasingly tall and powerful winged crimson behemoth along the road. The tall, dilapidated white mirror pyramid had been rebuilt into an octagon, and more unrestrained magical engines and twisted silver spikes were built on its mountain-like top. TC City, like an out-of-control crystal and magical jungle, grew and built weightlessly in all directions. Pedestrians hurried to and fro in the city.

However, at a glance, they all share common characteristics. Regardless of whether they possess human form or even maintain a physical body, they all exhibit distinct features of the Tzeentch cult.

But what's even stranger, as Ramizan points out, is that an Angrath-like crimson demon swaggers through the streets of the wizarding planet Tizka's ruins, armed with weapons. No one panics, no army comes out to stop him, no one questions him, and no one even glances at him. This is clearly not normal.

With just a touch of embellishment, you could tell people you witnessed the Great Demon of the Khorne family infiltrating the Wizarding Planet Tizka as if it were nothing.

“So, rather than saying this is a Tizka moved from Prospero, it’s more likely that this is a Tizka built in a fantasy, a kind of illusion. None of this is real, after all, what we’re chasing is just a fragment of a soul.” Mephisto pointed to the strange mutant creatures by the roadside.

“Or,” Ramizan pondered, “as far as I know, the surface and weather of Wizard Star can change according to the will of the demon Magnus. If he constructed this city with his memories and impressions of Tizka and named it Tizka, and the tourists in it are not in the same dimension as us, that would make sense.”

“That’s possible,” Mephisto agreed. “But he was originally sent by me to hunt down Zaedgir, and now that you’ve killed Zaedgir, what is his purpose in heading deeper into the City of Light?”

This problem has been troubling them since the beginning of their investigation.

Mephisto tried to reconnect with the soul fragment and devour it, but as they ventured deeper into the warp, the fragment's influence on Mephisto became increasingly apparent.

On their last attempt, Mephisto himself immediately severed the link—his appearance clearly displayed the characteristics of the Crimson Archmage the instant contact was made.

“Actually, on this point,” Ramizan said, “considering that the angel was one of the people who first advocated for the think tank position, it is quite intriguing that he would appear beside the Emperor and not support Magnus.”

“You speak of the Great Emperor with no respect, and you call Magnus by his name without the prefix ‘traitorous demon,’” Mephisto turned his head. “Is this how casually you discuss things within your chapter that would silence entire groups of people in some places?”

"Maybe it's because I've been spending all my time in the warband commander's office or the divination hall, and after hearing so much sensational stuff, I'm not bothered by it anymore?" The other person smiled at him and patted the boy's chest. "If I encounter any trouble, I usually don't speak up. We have more professional personnel to deal with the military affairs department, the court, and the state religion. Uh. Well, although some of them are currently not on duty."

“Perhaps Altera’s control over you isn’t as strict or powerful as outsiders think,” Morpheus said thoughtfully.

The strange group continued along the road. Ramizan barely discerned the shape of the Secret Eye Plaza, the location of the destroyed Academy pyramids, and the towering ruins of the Pyramid of Light from the shadows of the many bizarre later buildings, and pointed them out to the other two one by one.

“The remains of the Titan King of the Wolf Clan are still there.” He said thoughtfully, “It seems that this place has truly been preserved as it was on the day of the ‘Burning of Prospero’.”

This person always used a tense that seemed familiar when he spoke. Strange, Morpheus thought to himself. And for some reason, in the past he would have already delved into the other person's mind and dug out all the secrets, but now he couldn't muster the thought at all, not even the thought of wondering why.

"Back in Prospero, the top of the Pyramid of Light was Magnus's private residence. Perhaps your fragment wants to go there?"

They glanced at the crimson demon that was one-third of Mephisto, then at the pyramid whose surface now shimmered with ever-changing rainbow light in every piece of glass and crystal, and strode away.

"...That's strange. Where are you going? Are you going to the Obsidian Tower on Wizarding Planet? But—I remember when you were in your prime, you didn't know how to navigate the map of Wizarding Planet, did you?"

“I don’t know it.” Mephisto shook his head. “From the perspective of the warp, Wizarding Planet is mostly made of more primitive energy, full of traps and labyrinths. I simply didn’t have time to study the maps there.”

The trackers were filled with doubt, but Mephisto's soul fragment seemed to grow more and more confident and stride with each step. He wielded a greatsword dripping with blood and relied on some kind of instinct only warp creatures possessed to traverse back and forth in a specific gait within what appeared to be normal but was actually folded space. His claws trampled over the ancient ruins of Tizka, turning them into even more fragmented and finer pebbles.

“We have to stick close to him.” Morpheus quickly noticed the pattern and warned, “He’s navigating a maze. If we lose him, we’ll be thrown into some folded space that’s no longer his territory, and it’ll be very difficult to find him again.”

Finally, the great demon formed from the fragments of the soul let out a triumphant roar of victory and walked toward a mirror fragment no longer than a finger joint. Compared to the great demon, the fragment was like a grain of wheat compared to a bull, yet it miraculously allowed Mephisto's fragment to pass through it.

Then, its pursuers found themselves standing at the foot of a towering, black, sword-like structure that pierced the colorful sky.

The tower rises from the planet's surface in a way that defies gravity and geography, exceeding the height of any known mountain. Rings of rubble and platforms encircle its top, and bright blue flames surge within its body, radiating light in all directions.

"...What is this? Mephisto. Are you ready?"

Ramizane had an expression that said, "Things have come to this point, it's worth it to see two powerful figures fight."

"what to prepare?"

"Get ready, and you'll soon see the demon Magnus and his royal intrigue..."

With the last syllable, a burst of sound, sound, thunder, and psionic storm erupted, accompanied by a burst of light and energy.

They discovered that the Crimson Demon and they were already surrounded by a group of Thousand Sons Supreme Wizards dressed in blue and gold robes. The figure sitting on the throne at the end of the crystal steps, whose blurry form had been flickering, finally stabilized and revealed himself to be a cyclops king with red skin, red hair, and wings of millions of colors.

"Look at this foolish assassin sent by whom?" the Demon Lord scoffed. "Even if they've used the power of that false emperor who tries to keep us perpetually mired in ignorance to get here, what can a mere blood demon like Khorne do? Can it possibly compete with me—with the true Wizard King—in psychic energy and magic?" "Oh," Ramizane interjected at the opportune moment, "I think that's hard to say."

“You’ve told the funniest joke I’ve heard in a thousand years, Space Marine. So I promise you, when I kill you later, your torment won’t last as long as that of the Son of Sanguiles beside you.”

The Cyclops opened his palm, toying with the stars of the Prospero system.

"But this fine lamp oil in your arms, I will light it in the tallest lamp in a moment, so that it may illuminate the kingdom I will rebuild on Wizard Star!"

Good lamp oil? Me? Zan looked up and saw that the burning objects under the dome above the throne and the wizards, emitting beautiful hymns, were actually living things inside spheres. Some had already burned away their fat and flesh, while only the fleshless skeletons were still being scorched by bluish-white flames.

It seems that Zaedikir's practice of using living people as an energy source is exactly the same as this.

Unable to contain himself any longer, the crimson Mephisto roared to the sky, his anger surging through his body. With an additional three-tenths of his strength, he leaped into the air, sword in hand, and charged toward Magnus's throne.

The wizards of the Imperial Conspiracy Clan roared, their spells flashing and crackling. The sound of claws slamming into the floor tiles was deafening. Mephisto seized the opportunity, as his alter ego swung its decapitation sword, cleaving through the psionic barrier. Crimson psionic energy erupted with Vitalus, crushing the surrounding shields into dust. The wizards' screams were drowned out by the sound of metal tearing apart. Each swing of the greatsword and power sword sent limbs and fragments of blue-gold armor flying. The formation crumbled instantly, and only a triumphant roar echoed through the dissipating magical light.

Fragments of the runic armor burned in the psionic turbulence, and the Wizarding Lords were defeated in two rounds by Mephisto's combination of melee and psionic attacks.

The crimson demon, forged from the shadows of rage and hunger, trod upon the scattered staffs and mangled remains, its scarlet eyes once again fixed on Magnus on the throne.

The torrent of blazing psychic energy erupting from Magnus's fingertips struck the Great Demon's chest, but only tore apart its congealed body into pieces of dried, foul blood; the second bolt of lightning struck down from the turbulent ethereal currents, only to be shattered into countless points of light by its sword.

Until the Scarlet Monarch, enraged, spread his arms, warp energy coalescing in his palms into a bizarre, swirling pattern—in his fury, he drew power from the fragments of Tzeentch's true form and unleashed it—nine pillars of light, carrying the destructive force of chaos, crashed through his body—

The roar of the Crimson Demon had just ceased when it was slammed back onto the ground in front of Mephisto and Ramizan, creating deep, spiderweb-like craters in the floor tiles.

Visibly, the terrifying power emanating from Tzeentch's magical origins had corroded the crimson great demon beyond recognition, leaving it extremely weak and seemingly on the verge of dissipating at the slightest touch.

—And then it really did begin to turn into wisps of blue smoke on the tip of Ramizann's boots.

"Wow."

"Why aren't you fighting?! What are you doing?!" Morpheus roared at him, ignoring everything else. "Pick up your gun! Your weapon!"

"Uh." Ramizan was trying to say something to get by when someone suddenly spoke up.

"Lord Ramizann has done a great service by anchoring us here, and we are very grateful. Please leave the rest of the battle to us."

Accompanied by a burst of blue lightning spanning more than ten feet in diameter, ten neatly arranged silver heavy combat boots stepped out from it.

Azure eyepieces, psionic hoods, Titan-made silver power armor, and Nemesis psionic weapons—these were the ten paladins clad in Grey Knight Terminator armor.

They emerged from the teleportation portal and immediately harmonized with the psychic powers of their last brother, who had been waiting there. Together, they formed a silver spear imbued with surging power and launched an attack on the demon Magnus, who was caught off guard by the surprise attack in his own royal court!

Enraged and humiliated, the demon Magnus flapped its wings, and the violent flow of ether instantly turned all space into shattered streams of light. It stretched out a claw and clenched it tightly, instantly turning the leg armor of a paladin on the flank into a mixture of silver metal and blood, flesh, and bone. On the other side of the spearhead, another person had an arm blown off, but the two only groaned and made up for their physical loss with psychic energy. The psychic energy in the eleven-person formation was harmonious and surging, and the speed of the attack did not decrease in the slightest.

With the increased speed of their charge and the unleashing of the demon prince's even more furious power, in less than a second, the ground was covered with a bloody carpet of shattered flesh and silver armor. At this moment, the gray knight, who was at the tip of the spear and holding the scepter, was almost breathing in and out of contact with the demon Magnus.

"Lord Utherma Attra asked me to give you my best wishes for the night."

Zão Eifelnetti, now fully armored and transformed into his future paladin form, said that a surge of platinum light followed and the scepter fell.

"You—! You are—me…!!!"

A hint of disbelief flashed in the Crimson King's furious single eye, followed by a moment of realization. But just as he was about to say something, the psionic vortex erupted close to him, its light engulfing everything.

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"Unbelievable, is that you, Zan?"

After sealing the enraged Magnus inside the obsidian tower, the paladins methodically summoned reinforcements, swiftly treated the wounded, swept through the enemy strongholds, and rapidly constructed defenses around the area.

“It is I, sir.”

The little boy who had been hiding in front of his chest had become a silver-armored giant. He strode over, knelt on one knee to pay his respects, and removed his helmet.

Beneath the helmet, his face bore scars and the marks of time, yet he remained as handsome as a god, vaguely resembling Zão Eifelnetti in his youth.

"Please do not blame me for my youth, and please forgive us, Lord Mephisto, for venturing into this place under your guise," he said. "For I, as a young boy, did not know the full picture of the future. This was an adventurous plan we devised on the river of time, solely to allow the real Prospero and his father to return to the world ten thousand years later."

"So, Zao, I think you have a long and complicated story to tell me? Here? Or after we get back?"

The Grey Knight looked up in surprise at how easily it was set down, and saw Ramizane's warm and curious smile.

He then laughed, “Of course, either way is fine. My name, the Grey Knight, is no longer Zao, my lord. Please call me Hyperion.”

(End of this chapter)