Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 851, 08.850: "Crisis Resolved, Temporarily"

Ping! —

With a piercing metallic clang, Xavier's powerful baton was cleverly deflected at a tricky angle by the poisoned scimitar. The baton grazed the sharp blade, sending out a burst of dazzling arcs of electricity.

Although the immense power contained within it remained undiminished, the slight, almost imperceptible lag in speed was keenly detected by the opponent.

The Dukali leader seized this fleeting opening, a smug cruel glint in his eyes.

With a flick of his wrist, the deadly blade traced an elegant yet deadly silver arc in the air. He then reversed his grip and, like a viper spitting its tongue, thrust it straight at the Grand Justice's unsuspecting chest.

"Prepare for your heaviest and final mission, the one you'll be betrayed, you savage monkey." His voice was like poisoned threads, vicious and infuriating, like a treacherous villain who had been eyeing you for a long time, whispering your death.

The deadly attack was so fast it took your breath away.

Javert immediately twisted his body, trying to block with his shield, but the blood-soaked dagger was already unstoppable, aimed straight at his chest.

brake!--

The Grand Justice's heavy armor was sliced ​​through as easily as paper by that strange, sharp blade.

The knife tip pierced flesh, making a dull, teeth-grinding sound.

"Heh heh, savor this pain, you savage monkey. Because soon, you'll be going to see your withered, decaying master."

The tip of the blade had already pierced his chest, but the Dukali leader soon discovered that no matter how hard he tried, the blade could not go any further, as if it were stuck by some invisible thing.

A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes, then he cruelly twisted the blade, attempting to slice open Xavier's flesh and shred his internal organs.

However, as the flesh rolled over, what he saw was not a beating heart, but a golden skeleton shining with divine light.

“Alien criminals.” Xavier’s voice was low and hoarse, yet filled with an iron will. “You will never understand the weight of a human’s resolve.”

"?"

The next second, before the alien could understand the meaning of those words, Xavier's shield slammed into the alien's face, which was contorted with shock, with the force of a thunderbolt.

The crisp sound of bones cracking could be clearly heard amidst the flying flesh and blood in the scabbard.

"Ah!!!" The alien let out a scream so shrill it was inhuman.

His once handsome and eerie face was now a bloody mess. His straight nose was completely broken, deeply sunken, and purple blood mixed with brain matter gushed out from his seven orifices.

"Criminal! For violating Article 341 of the Imperial Penal Code by armed intrusion and attack on Imperial property, you are hereby sentenced to death! Execution immediately!"

call! ——

The whistling sound of the wind cutting through the air was like the scythe of death, sweeping across his hand.

puff!
A shriveled head, stripped of most of its flesh, shot upwards from the alien's neck.

His upper skull, along with his scalp and braid, was ripped off by an unparalleled force, leaving only his bloodied jaw hanging on his neatly severed neck, opening and closing silently.

"Ugh!" With one successful strike, the Chief Justice could no longer hold on and collapsed heavily to one knee.

On his chest, a gruesome wound was gushing blood, and beneath the exposed flesh, a ribcage made of pure refined gold shone proudly in the dim light.

Three years ago, during the Battle of the Church of the Celestial Maidens, he was beaten by the heretics Astartes, breaking more than half of his bones. He could only lean helplessly against the statue of Saint Gillespie and use his last shotgun to fire in vain at the fearless enemy.

After the war, he volunteered to undergo the most painful human modification surgery, enduring the excruciating pain of having his heart and soul torn apart, replacing all his fragile calcium ribs with this indestructible adamantite skeleton.

So that I may better serve the Lord of Mankind and enforce the laws of the Empire in every dark corner.

This was the answer to the question he had just posed to the alien regarding the price.

As the adrenaline surge subsided, an overwhelming, almost overwhelming weakness washed over him like a cold tide, nearly causing him to faint.

His mind went blank; he had lost all energy to think, and his brain was almost shut down.

"Sir, the Third Brigade of the Gothic Legal Department has completed the execution." Beside him, another bailiff, equally covered in blood and utterly exhausted, helped him up. The terrifying red light flashing on that bailiff's helmet, like the eye of judgment, swept across the surrounding mountains of corpses and seas of blood, finally confirming that all the criminals who dared to defy the law had been executed.

"Ugh!... Hiss!" The Grand Counsel used the last of his strength to take a deep breath and said intermittently, "Report our results to... the Supreme Lord Colonel. And... request medical support from the command bridge."
-
In the void, the massive "Snowstorm and Thunderclap" space-class transport ship was slowly towing the damaged "Akali's Sword" scimitar-class escort ship using several thick magnetic traction beams.
The flames that once burned fiercely on the unfortunate "Shepherd Dog" have been extinguished, and the surviving crew members are silently cleaning up the wreckage of their comrades on the chaotic deck.

The loss information from each department was gradually collected and sent to Acting Captain Archie's command terminal via data link.

In that brief but brutal attack, more than 6,000 officers and men were killed and more than 600 went missing.

This is a shocking number for an escort ship with a total crew of 27,000. Including reserve officers, 37 officers were killed in action.

The "brain" of the entire warship—the warship's command center—can almost be considered brain dead.

The original officer team, including the captain, suffered heavy losses, with very few survivors. Those who were lucky enough to survive the tragedy were mostly sent to the operating room, their fates unknown.

Another report from the engineering department raised Archie's concerns from a different perspective.

Of the 600 missing, many were burned to ashes on the spot in the chain fires caused by torpedoes, or were mercilessly blown into the cold void through the gaps in the ship's hull.

What troubled Archie the most was that, under the insidious schemes and vicious traps of the Dark Eldar aliens, many brave damage control team members, after rushing into the fire, had their hatches locked from behind by lurking Dukali infiltrators, and were ultimately burned alive in the sealed compartments.

This directly resulted in the loss of up to 60% of the ship's damage control team.

This almost certainly means that the Sword of Akali is no longer capable of withstanding a strike of the same magnitude.

The next attack would be fatal for her, rendering the warship utterly beyond saving.

But Archie did not lose his courage and confidence. At least, the warship could still sail and fight.

After an emergency meeting between the newly formed power department and the technical priest in charge of engine drive, the new helmsman began to test the engine's power and steering.

When Horatio's holographic image was seen flashing the dazzling blue light from the afterburner adjustment at the stern of the "Sword of Akali" engine, it was once again transmitted to the bridge of the battleship, which had experienced so many twists and turns.

"Captain Collingwood, I have received the Chief Justice's operational summary report. They have completed their enforcement operation and cleared the ship of any aliens. What is the current status of the 'Sword of Akali'? Is it capable of independent navigation?"

Horatio looked at the data sent by the Grand Justice's subordinates and saw that the Imperial Ministry of Justice had suffered a casualty exchange ratio of 1 (Alien): 4 (Law Enforcer).

Although the exchange ratio was even more brutal than that of the Hellsoldier, the law enforcement officers carried out aggressive and reckless breakthrough operations throughout.

Perhaps they could have kept their casualties even lower, but in order to eliminate the aliens as quickly as possible, they had to adopt a more aggressive tactical approach, unlike the Hell Vanguard who held advantageous high ground and maintained a defensive posture.

Therefore, the casualty ratio is certainly not good.

However, a 1:4 exchange ratio in close-quarters combat with a mortal body is far higher than the 1:67 reported by the Ministry of Military Affairs for Astragalus soldiers facing Ducali Xenomorphs in open terrain.

“Acting Captain Collingwood reports.” Archie straightened his back and answered in a confident and professional tone, “The warship’s engines are normal, and the void rudder is normal.”

The bridge rudder has been damaged in combat, resulting in a fixed yaw of three degrees. The warship is undergoing its second round of seaworthiness testing.

The ship's fire control system is functioning normally, and the main gun array and torpedo launcher compartments have not been compromised or damaged. The warship still possesses full combat capability.

Our ship was able to complete all commissioning tests within the stipulated time as scheduled.

Horatio nodded with satisfaction and continued, "Well done, Mr. Collingwood. My ship will provide follow-up assistance to your vessel to help you recover from the damage as soon as possible and restore your full combat capability."

"Thank you, Commander."

Horatio's image gradually faded. But it was clear to anyone with discerning eyes that he had received a new, highly encrypted communication and had to disconnect from his current communication to respond specifically.

“Miss They, how is the situation?” Horatio asked instinctively, glancing at the code representing the Inquisition’s external orders transmitted through the decoder.

"Commander, I (buzzing...) — +communication jamming + — have...new...important discoveries...that I must...report to you."

Amidst the indistinct, noisy electronic music, a voice, distorted by the electrical noise to the point where it was almost impossible to tell whether it was male or female, spoke intermittently.

(End of this chapter)