Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 863, page 08.862: 'Subspace Biological Invasion!'

"Our main guns are fully engaged!" The operations officer's voice rang out on the bridge, trembling slightly from the surge of adrenaline.

"Open fire! Turn them to dust!" Louise's command was as crisp and decisive as a whip, instantly igniting the fury of the entire warship.

The light cruiser HMS Swift Eagle, which was sailing parallel to the enemy ship, was suddenly illuminated by the flames spewing from countless cannons.

The raging barrage of fire was like a man-made supernova explosion, instantly dispelling the darkness around the ship. The scorching flames even briefly illuminated the ghostly outlines of the enemy ships that were still hiding under the protection of the shadow force field.

All sixteen light heavy guns on the port and starboard sides and the ridge of the ship simultaneously roared like thunder at the targets on both sides.

At this moment, the light cruiser was like a mad hound that had been completely enraged and charged into a pack of wolves, baring its most deadly fangs at enemies from all directions.

"Turn around and get behind their stern!"

Horatio's voice was calm and decisive, clearly carrying through the noisy bridge to every corner: "We still have a chance to launch torpedoes and severely damage it! It won't get a second chance to use the same trick!"

However, just as the various departments inside the warship began to operate at high speed to execute this complex maneuvering order, twisted shadows appeared out of nowhere in the narrow outer compartments without warning.

The crew members, who had just laid down their weapons and were busy at their posts, were horrified to discover, upon smelling the scent of some kind of beast, that a smooth and ugly monster, emitting a nauseating growl, had silently appeared beside them.

"What...what is this thing..." The crew members were terrified by the twisted and blasphemous appearance. Their eyes trembled violently with extreme fear, and they could not understand how these ugly creatures had appeared out of thin air.

They stared in shock at the hound-like creature, its body a sickly pink, its muscles bulging, yet its skin so smooth it looked as if it had been skinned alive. Their bodies felt as if gripped by a giant hand of fear, all their strength drained away.

It only roughly retains the outline of a canine, and every detail of its morphological features is filled with evil and malice from the subspace, completely different from the sacred and majestic mechanical mastiffs of the Ministry of Justice.

At the ends of its forelimbs are razor-sharp bony claws curled together; on its broad back, on each side are fleshy pincers that seem to have their own consciousness, constantly opening and closing, emitting a terrifying "crack, crack" sound as they snap.

The bald head, seemingly made of pale bones, was covered with dozens of spider-like black compound eyes, each hollow eye seemingly reflecting a soul being devoured.

Chitinous carapace spikes protrude from its mouth, which drips disgusting mucus, like the forked tongue of a venomous snake, while at the end of its tail, which is raised high like a scorpion's tail, hangs a deadly stinger that gleams with an eerie light.

Everyone who witnessed them was convinced deep in their souls that such creatures could not possibly come from the physical universe they knew.

(The bizarre and terrifying-looking Etherhound)

Those hideous monsters, with silent steps, approached the crowd that stood frozen in fear, their throats emitting harsh and disgusting growls, like the rubbing of wet flesh.

Finally, one of the crew members broke free from the shackles of fear. He roared and drew his laser pistol from his waist, aiming it at the naked, malevolent creatures.

Jiong!
The crisp crack of the laser firing rang out almost simultaneously with the monster's piercing growl.

However, in that sudden attack that was too fast for the human eye to detect, the crew member's hand, which was tightly gripping the laser pistol, along with his forearm, was bitten off in an instant!

His laser beam, fired out of control in excruciating pain, merely left a charred, smoking hole in the monster's white skeletal armor, but failed to destroy its brain.

The next second, the hounds, vying to pounce on the crew, unleashed a one-sided, bloody massacre in the cramped and confined cabin.

The sounds of lasers firing, the screams of dying humans, and the gleeful roars of monsters after devouring flesh reverberated together, composing a symphony of hell in the cold metal corridor.

A crew member, covered in blood and with his lower leg bitten off at the root, used his last bit of strength to struggle to climb up the wall and use his bloodied hand to activate the red emergency alarm device.

"The ship has been compromised! Repeat! The ship has been compromised! But our sensors have not detected any boarding gaps!" the operations officer reported, voicing his doubts.

"What?! Our Void Shield is still holding on. If they didn't board the ship, how did they get on? It couldn't possibly be a lightning strike! This doesn't conform to the laws of the physical universe!" Henry Harvey stared incredulously at the battle footage coming from the closed-circuit television.

No, that wasn't a battle; it was pure hunting and slaughter.

The crew members, who were at their posts operating the warships, were caught completely off guard and suffered a devastating surprise attack from behind.

The red numbers of casualties surged wildly on the tactical screen. Some key crews had been completely wiped out, leaving only the sluggish, half-bodied servants fixed to the control consoles, mechanically repeating the operational instructions for the crew in their emotionless electronic voices.

"Etherhounds," Inquisitor They said, staring at the closed-circuit television screen, in a cold, emotionless tone, "these malevolent creations are the handiwork of the Dark Eldar. They are the manifestation of the deepest fears of highly intelligent beings suffering extreme torment in the Warp."

The Dark Eldar forged this twisted power, second only to the four High Gods, through tormenting their own kind's losers and countless slaves, and used it to create these perfect hunters.

They are so contradictory; on the one hand, they fear the power of the High Heavens and do everything in their power to escape the gaze of the Slaanesh; on the other hand, they constantly covet these twisted and powerful 'specialties' brought by the Warp.

"They can pass directly through the Void Shield?" Horatio, as a transmigrator, was not unaware of the Aether Hounds, but he needed to use the words of the Inquisitor They to explain to the crew.

"Yes, Captain. For reasons we don't yet understand, these 'warp beings' can ignore the physical laws of the real universe and also disregard some warp properties, using their ability to pass directly through the void shield and Geller field to reach their destination in a kind of 'blind spot'."

They used the term "subspace creature" precisely to indicate its despairing nature.

As its name suggests, this means that it is neither a demon nor a regular creature, but a kind of 'creature' that exists between the physical universe and demons.

"Send reinforcements immediately..."

"Captain! Enemy boarding boats are approaching at high speed!"

Before Horatio could issue further orders, the lookout post delivered another round of bad news.

The enemy has already unleashed a series of attacks. They first disrupted the Empire's formation and created internal chaos by sending these Aether Hounds, which cannot be defended against by conventional means.

If Horatio were to redeploy defensive forces to eliminate these monsters at this point, they would be unable to respond in time to the boarding boats that were rapidly approaching and carrying a truly deadly threat.

"Let the Department of Justice's law enforcement officers and their 'partners' deal with the threat of these warp creatures. We must all do our part!" Horatio decided decisively.

"Armed conscription. The 5th and 7th Suppression and Enforcement Battalions of the Gothic Branch of the Imperial Ministry of Justice are to proceed to Sector JM-3143. Repeat—"

Under the blood-red emergency lights, squads of Ministry of Justice bailiffs, clad in heavy black armor and marked with striking red and white identification on their shoulder armor and helmets, poured out of their barracks as a reserve mobile reinforcement force.

This time, they brought all their most loyal companions with them.

Kaka!

The sound of shotguns being cocked in unison, like the rhythm of death, echoed through the ship's corridors, instantly silencing the nauseating chewing sounds emanating from the malevolent creatures as they devoured the flesh of the dead.

Dozens of robust, bio-engineered mastiffs closely followed their owner.

They stared at the hideous warp creatures from afar, their electronic eyes, flashing red light, radiating pure, programmed hatred.

The Etherhounds watched silently as their original inhabitants nested in the dens. Their grotesque, curled claws were twitching and pulsating, producing a sickening, subtle scraping sound of wet flesh.

Wang!
A bark like a cannon shot completely broke the tense standoff.

Dozens of mechanical mastiffs, under the cover of a hail of bullets raining down from above, surged towards the ether hounds like a black torrent of steel.

Two equally deadly "hounds" collided violently in the narrow corridor, tearing at each other and venting their hatred for one another in the most primal way.

Following closely behind, the enforcers, wielding sturdy shields and electric batons, also charged forward with heavy steps, engaging in fierce combat with these unclean creatures from hell.

However, the command bridge had no time to attend to this battle, as a greater threat loomed ahead—enemy battleship-class voidships were boarding the Imperial Navy light cruiser.

A survival battle of overwhelming power has officially begun.

Horatio's greatest survival challenge since coming into this world has arrived.

This was destined to be a direct, armed duel between David and Goliath, without slings or any other tricks, relying solely on human courage and unwavering resolve.

(End of this chapter)