From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 729 A sudden change occurs
Boom! Boom!

As the tremors intensified, the enormous tumor that had emerged from the collapsed breach finally revealed its nauseating true form.

This is not a simple sarcoma, but a "core" formed by the interweaving of flesh and bone.

Its surface was covered with churning fleshy tentacles and ruptured pustules, and viscous liquid rolled onto the ground like "magma," corroding the soil and steel debris.

With each twist of its tentacles, surviving corpses and living creatures are drawn in, then instantly drained, bones turn to "ashes," and flesh quickly fuse with its body.

The Imperial Guards immediately realized that this was the "leader" of this incident.

It is not a purely "living entity," but a terrifying being formed by the aggregation of countless dead and heterogeneous energy.

"Suppressive fire, fire freely!"

The squad leader gave the order.

Six Imperial Warriors leaped out of the jungle, their optical camouflage on their titanium armor dissipating, and six bolt-action muskets and auxiliary weapons mounted on their shoulder armor opened fire simultaneously.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The explosive projectiles, trailing red-orange flames in the air, slammed heavily into the fleshy walls of the leader.

The exploding fragments tore flesh and blood apart, spraying out a foul-smelling liquid.

However, the leader did not show any signs of pain.

It was just vibrating, as if these attacks were merely adding a little spice to its "hatching" process.

The next moment——

Hiss—hissing—!

A deep, eerie mental fluctuation spread out, almost instantly enveloping the entire peninsula.

The innocent people on the island, who were fleeing in terror, seemed to lose their will at this moment. Their eyes rolled back, their movements became stiff, and they were drawn towards the leader by that force.

The families of researchers, civilians stationed there, and even some grassroots members of the EDF who had not yet withdrawn were all taken away.

The Imperial Guards felt a sudden tightness in their chests as they witnessed this scene.

They could stand by and watch EDF soldiers, or even fanatical followers of the Unification Church, because that was an inevitable "normal cost" of war.
But they could never stand idly by and do nothing for innocent ordinary people, their fellow human beings.

"Use overwhelming firepower to interrupt its absorption!"

The squad leader roared again.

Instantly, the six bolt-action guns opened fire like thunder, accompanied by a salvo of micro-missiles fired from the shoulder armor, creating a series of explosions around the core of the leader.

The suction force that was devouring the creature was forced to stop, and the flying bits of flesh and blood in the air turned into blazing fireballs.

However, the "price" came immediately.

The leader's mental state suddenly shifted, as if an invisible pair of eyes were fixed on the six Imperial Warriors.

boom--!
An invisible torrent of emotions, carrying nightmares and despair, suddenly crashed into their hearts.

The helmet screens of the Imperial Warriors flickered, and their ears were filled with distorted whispers and screams.

Those voices seemed to tear their beliefs apart, crush their fighting spirit, and force them to kneel and become sacrifices.

The Imperial Soldiers' breathing became slightly disordered, their muscles spasmed, and some even began to see hallucinations of their fallen comrades.

That was the leader using psychological intrusion to strip them of their will to fight.

but.
The Imperial Warriors are not ordinary humans.

The blood flowing through their veins is that of emperors, blood that has been genetically enhanced and tempered by the will of the empire.

"For the Emperor!"

"For humanity!"

Shouts erupted in the communication channel, as if tearing apart mental shackles.

Golden light burst forth from their silhouettes, like a shield embodying their will and faith, resisting the spiritual erosion.

? ? ! !
The leader was immediately stunned.

It clearly did not expect that these extremely excellent "biomass" would have such a strong spiritual barrier.

For it, the flesh and blood of Astartes are the perfect "materials," enough to enable it to complete the first stage of qualitative change in a short period of time.

However, that inviolable radiance caused its spiritual tendrils to crumble inch by inch.

Its body trembled, and then it inserted countless tentacles into the ground to draw energy from the earth's veins in an attempt to forcibly stabilize itself.

At the same time, the Imperial Warrior fleet in near-Earth orbit has also locked onto its target.

The energy focusing for the orbital strike was rapidly being completed, and the officials on the bridge coldly announced the "countdown."

Clearly, the leader immediately realized this as well.

It knew that if it were locked in place by an orbital weapon, its body, which had not yet completed its "sublimation," would be completely destroyed.

Then, it suddenly unleashed an unprecedented power—

Bang——! ! !
The massive tumor-like body suddenly contracted, and then, as if freed from its shackles, it was thrown directly from the ground, kicking up countless dust and debris, transforming into a colossal beast that soared into the sky.

Instead of continuing to entangle the six Imperial Warriors, it sped towards the South American continent.

There, there are densely populated areas with tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, of unprotected civilians; that is the richest "feast" from which it draws the nutrients it needs for evolution.

The imperial soldiers watched it depart, their hearts burning with rage.

They knew they couldn't stop such a colossal creature with just six men, but they had at least bought them a few breaths, interrupting its complete massacre of innocent civilians on the peninsula.

"It's going to the city..."

"We must report this immediately! The fleet must intercept them!"

The communication channel flashed again; the fleet's high command had received their intelligence.

During this brief respite, the six Imperial Warriors remained vigilant, gripping their weapons tightly as they stood in the center of the battlefield, littered with corpses, remains, and blood and gore, while the golden light emanating from their bodies slowly dissipated.

On the devastated land, the air was thick with the stench of burnt flesh and blood, and the remaining flames licked at the ground, as if silently telling the story of a catastrophe that had not yet fully erupted.

This confrontation was just the prelude; the real calamity was rapidly approaching from the direction of the South American continent.

The leader moved with astonishing speed after leaving the collapsed base.

Its enormous fleshy body trailed a long, black tail of flame through the atmosphere, like a burning meteorite traversing the sky.

Its fleshy wings are not real wings, but rather unfolded structures made up of countless tentacles and "muscles". With each twist, it generates strong airflow and sonic boom.

In just a few dozen seconds, it crossed the vast ocean and arrived at the South American continent.

When its shadow fell over the first coastal city, the entire city was thrown into chaos in an instant.

! ! ! !
People screamed in terror, the streets were teeming with out-of-control cars, and desperate cries echoed across the radio and the internet.

However, all this chaos lasted only a moment.

Hiss—Boom!
The leader suddenly opened its "mouth" in mid-air, which resembled a ruptured abdominal cavity.

That was no ordinary mouth, but a fleshy abyss that tore outwards, with a blood-red energy vortex churning inside, like a black hole that devours everything.

Instantly, a powerful suction force swept down.

The entire city's population, vehicles, animals, and even fragments of high-rise buildings were all pulled off the ground by this terrifying suction force, screaming as they shot into the sky, only to be swallowed directly into the leader's bottomless fleshy abyss.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the entire city was swallowed up. Not only living things, but also vegetation, soil, and water in the earth's crust were absorbed.

The leader's body was expanding rapidly, with layers of flesh and blood piling up, gradually forming a giant blood-red sphere with a diameter of tens of kilometers that was suspended in mid-air.

It emitted a chilling red light, like a newly born "blood moon," undergoing a transformation fueled by the human civilization of Dead Space.
Meanwhile, in low Earth orbit.

Inside the bridge of the Renwei Yonggu, the lights and holographic projections created a cold and austere atmosphere.

Outside the massive, curved observation deck, one can clearly see the intensely distorted firelight and shadows of the Southern Hemisphere.

The ship's crew members were operating at their respective posts, with reports and alarms constantly mingling.

"Report! The target has reached the South American continent. The engulfing area currently covers a radius of 30 kilometers and is expected to expand to 100 kilometers within 30 seconds!"

"The energy readings continue to climb, suggesting that some kind of large-scale qualitative change is underway!"

"Sir, the news is spreading explosively across civilian networks; all channels are being flooded with live footage!"

The communications officer, looking solemn, pushed another channel to the control center and continued to report: "Sir, the encrypted conversation between the Earth Federation and the Unification Church's high-ranking officials has been intercepted and is now being played back simultaneously."

The next moment, a noisy conversation immediately filled the speakers on the center console.

"What...what is this?! Can anyone tell me what's going on?!"

"Damn it, could it be something released by those lunatics from the Unification Church?!"

"Activate the EDF fleet immediately! Deploy all orbital firepower at once!"

"No, our fleet is paralyzed, internal chaos and out of control!"

"Damn it! We're doomed, we're all doomed!"

These voices were filled with a chilling panic, and even mixed with arguments and shirking of responsibility.

Meanwhile, civilian network footage was also transmitted to the bridge.

On the giant holographic screen, footage captured by countless people using handheld devices was playing—

The "blood moon" in the sky continued to expand, sucking up and swallowing up streets, buildings, and people on the ground.

The internet is filled with desperate cries for help and sobs, and panic is spreading at an unprecedented rate.

The bridge fell silent.

Everyone is waiting for Sui Meng's verdict.

The Primarch's expression was cold and stern as he stared at the gradually forming blood moon, his eyes showing no hesitation, only a hard judgment.

"Ignore the EDF fleet."

Sui Meng's voice was deep, yet it carried an undeniable power.

"Immediately lock onto the target and destroy that leader with all your might."

"At the same time, dispatch ground troops to take full control of the Earth. From this moment on, all EDF orders are null and void, and the Imperial Army will take over everything."

"The shipboard intelligent AI will fully deploy the public opinion matrix and broadcast to people around the world—"

The leader is a calamity unleashed by Unification Church followers, and the EDF is powerless to stop it. Our actions are to save human civilization and are a legitimate and lawful takeover.

"As ordered!"

The entire crew responded in unison.

Boom——

The next moment, the Renwei Yonggu and the accompanying Imperial Warrior fleet began to turn their guns around, and a large number of electromagnetic main guns and plasma secondary guns simultaneously completed charging.

"Fire all cannons at once!"

Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!
Countless beams of blazing energy tore through the void and poured onto the nascent blood moon.

Boom——

The entire sky burst into a dazzling white light, like a second sun.

The Blood Moon's fleshy body churned violently under the bombardment, its outer shell shattering layer by layer, and blood and bits of flesh rained down on the earth.

Another volley.

The electromagnetic main gun pierced through its core, while the plasma secondary gun completely shattered the energy vortex inside.

Hiss—Boom!

With a final roar, the leader's massive body was finally torn apart, exploding into countless burning blood clots that crashed onto the South American continent.

A brief moment of relaxation swept through the bridge, but Sui Meng's expression remained stern.

"Airdrop bins are ready for deployment, and auxiliary military transport boats are lined up."

The moment the order was given, the lower hatches of the fleet opened wide.

Thousands of Imperial Warriors from the Astartes detached from their motherships and streaked across the sky like meteors, trailing flames. At the same time, tens of thousands of transport ships carrying mechanized auxiliary troops, armored convoys, and combat mechs, along with intelligent AI-controlled biological and mechanical weapons, rushed into the atmosphere.

This is a comprehensive surface takeover operation.

As for the EDF fleet?

Throughout the entire process, they did not launch a single attack.

The fleet was in chaos and disorder, with no clear instructions or unified fire control deployment. They were completely "ignored" by the Imperial Fleet, like a group of mindless bystanders who could only watch helplessly as the Imperial Warriors took over everything.

However, at this moment——

boom! ! !
A more terrifying energy fluctuation than before suddenly appeared.

Outside the observation deck above the bridge, space suddenly began to distort on a massive scale.

"An abnormal gravitational source has been detected! The value has exceeded the threshold!"

"The coordinates of space are experiencing violent fluctuations—"

"Is this... some kind of spatial tear?"

The next moment, an unprecedented spatial "distortion" suddenly erupted in the vast space surrounding Earth's orbit.

Countless dark "cracks" silently opened, like countless bottomless black maws, tearing apart the tranquil void in the most brutal way.

The edges of these cracks flickered with ominous arcs of energy, as if the universe itself were groaning in pain.

Immediately afterwards, something strange happened.

One after another, enormous and terrifying projections of "blood moons" appeared suddenly and without warning, as if they had been teleported instantly by some kind of technology that transcended the laws of physics.

Their sizes vary greatly, with the smallest having "only" a few hundred kilometers in diameter, like a hideous meteorite suspended in the sea of ​​stars;

The largest of these have diameters reaching thousands of kilometers, their massive outlines comparable to those of a real Earth-like planet, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

What's even more terrifying is their sheer number—

These crimson "celestial bodies" emerged in dense numbers, their sheer number forming an incredibly thick barrier in an instant, enough to completely obscure the entire starry sky beyond Earth's cosmic domain.

The once brilliant starlight and the distant band of light from the Milky Way were now completely swallowed up by that boundless, ominous crimson.

Inside the magnificent bridge of the Renwei Yonggu, a deathly silence had fallen. Only the tiny indicator lights on the control panel continued to flash "stubbornly," illuminating many pale faces.

Most of the support crew members, who were ordinary people, instinctively held their breath, their pupils contracting sharply at the horrifying sight before them, which was far beyond their imagination, as if the fear stemming from their very survival instinct had choked them.

But the original Sui Meng's mountain-like body stood in front of the center console, his resolute face covered with a layer of frost.
(End of this chapter)