I'm in Warhammer, I just want to grow mushrooms

Chapter 336 Strangling the Hope of the Human Empire

Granit 5.

Demons and Chaos Orcs wreaked havoc in human settlements, causing devastation to industrial, residential, and mining areas.

A small group of devils acted differently.

Instead of torturing and killing for pleasure like their kind, they gathered together and, led by a demon leader, opened the gates of the Royal Court District's underground fortress, venturing deep inside to search for useful equipment and recover technological data.

As he passed the governor's chief of staff's office, the demon leader dismissed his men, used a password to open the door, and went inside alone.

It skillfully rummaged through boxes and cabinets, opening combination locks, safes, and secret rooms, and taking out items such as power armor, heavy explosive guns, and emergency communication devices.

Once everything was ready, it dragged out a metal box, preparing to put the items inside and move them to another location.

At that moment, the emergency communicator crackled to life, receiving a broadcast addressed to all Imperial agents.

The demon leader thought for a moment, then cautiously extended his sharp claws and pressed the answer button on the communicator.

"Terra Telegram: The state funeral for Imperial Chancellor Macado will be held in three days. The culprit who killed Macado was the Beast Brain of the Palu Orcs. Effective immediately, the Palu Empire is added to the Empire's list of enemies."

Macardo is dead?!

The demon leader was startled.

Due to the delay in interstellar communication, this coded message should have been sent five Terra days ago.

In other words, at this point, Prime Minister Macardo's state funeral has concluded.

"Drip drip."

The emergency communicator received another broadcast.

"Terra Secret Telegram: Dark Angels, Holy Blood Angels, Raven Guards, and Space Wolf Legion, by order of the Emperor, are to attack the Paru Empire."

The demon leader nodded slightly, not surprised by the content of the broadcast.

The leader of the Palu Orcs killed the Imperial Chancellor, Makado, an act that would inevitably invite retaliation from the human empire.

The demon leader clenched his fists, pondering whether to mobilize his demon forces to intervene in the conflict and test the demons' fighting power.

After a period of exploration, the demon leader has mastered several characteristics of demons.

Its primary characteristic is "devouring souls".

By destroying the physical body, the soul of the deceased loses the protection of the physical body, and then devours the soul of the deceased to strengthen itself.

The subspace energy contained within the soul is incredibly pure and filled with negative emotions, making it an irresistible delicacy for demons.

Therefore, each demon would kill while feasting.

The second characteristic of demons is "warp travel".

Consuming subspace energy within the body, it completes a traversal that ignores distance and physical barriers.

The more subspace energy consumed, the farther the travel distance.

The third characteristic of demons is negative: "cognitive confusion".

Even if a demon somehow learns how to operate a spaceship, fighter jet, or vehicle, it will be unable to control these vehicles due to the distorted view in its field of vision when faced with their control panels.

The same applies when dealing with complex scientific equipment.

For example, the emergency communication device in front of you.

To the average person, it looks like a square metal box with an antenna and a few mechanical buttons.

To the demon leader, it was a deformed black tumor, its surface covered with short hairs and tiny tentacles, and the mechanical buttons were several bloody eyeballs.

If the demon leader had personally placed it in a safe, he might not have recognized it.

Given this situation, seizing a Chaos Orc ship and leaving Granite 5 with one's own human body is pure fantasy.

The demon leader must find another way out.

For example, using subspace travel, one could travel directly to another planet with human civilization.

In the small star system where Granite 5 is located, there are exactly three planets that meet the criteria: a mining world, an agricultural world, and a hive world.

After Granit 5 fell, these three Imperial worlds did not follow in Granit 5's footsteps and remained under the protection of the Imperial Army.

“A sacrificial ritual is currently underway on Granit 5, using souls to obtain a large amount of warp energy, and then using space travel to take my human body to another planet. This should allow me to escape danger. As for how to explain to His Majesty that I was teleported to another planet by demons, I think I should be able to find a suitable explanation.”

The demon leader uttered muttering sounds like a murmur.

It is now somewhat worried that His Majesty will discover the abnormality in its human body, especially the heart that allows it to possess a demon.

Such powerful heretical and evil forces will never be tolerated by His Majesty.

"Perhaps, after I escape, I should have a heart removal surgery to remove that evil heart and hand it over to His Majesty."

The demon leader thought to himself, stuffed the items into the metal box, picked up the box, and left.

Moments later, in a mine on Granit 5.

The demon leader summoned over a hundred demons to attack another group of demons.

It intends to use the souls of its own kind to obtain warp energy, rather than turning its blade against humanity.

But it underestimated the demon's competitiveness and thirst for battle.

Originally, this was just a small-scale battle between two groups of demons, each with no more than two hundred members.

But when the nearby demons and chaos orcs heard the fighting, the situation gradually spiraled out of control.

More and more demons and chaos orcs joined the fray, turning the thousands of square meters of mine into a meat grinder. Every minute and every second, demons and orcs fell to the ground amidst cheers, only to be trampled into mincemeat by countless feet.

The battlefield was like a snowball rolling downhill, growing larger and larger in scale and intensity.

The demon army fought on the chaotic battlefield for more than half a day before finally finding a chance to catch their breath.

It was astonished to find that the battlefield had expanded to the entire mining area, and its subordinates had grown from just over a hundred demons to tens of thousands.

This is the fourth characteristic of demons: "using war to fuel war."

As long as the winning streak continues, a large number of demons will naturally come to join the demon leader's army.

The demon leader sensed the warp energy within his body and calculated how many subordinates he would need to sacrifice to travel to another planet in one go.

It quickly concluded that by sacrificing one million insignificant demons in one go, it could reach the planet closest to Granite 5 with its own human body.

Kill, kill, kill! Keep killing until all the demons within a hundred kilometers submit to you.

Slash, slash, slash wildly! That damned heretical heart has granted me evil powers. If I don't use it to slaughter demons, how can I face the Emperor's interrogation?

The endless battles brought countless deaths, and a warp storm, neither large nor small, appeared in the warp.

This subspace storm was supposed to cover the subspace region corresponding to Granit 5, but for some reason, its location shifted significantly.

"Ms. Elena, a warp storm has appeared in our direction of travel. The storm is not large, and the energy reaction is not intense; it seems it will dissipate soon. Could this storm be the one foretold in the prophecy?"

Elena glanced at the images of subspace observations.

Thanks to their long-term interaction with the warp and spirit bones, the Eldar are more advanced than the human Empire in warp observation.

The navigators of the human empire are practically blind outside the range of the starlight; they can see almost nothing.

Eldar navigators can quickly scout the warp landscape within a radius of thousands of light-years and find a safe route without the aid of starlight.

The subspace storm currently appearing in subspace observation images, exhibiting a distinct red hue, indicates that it originated from a brutal sacrificial ritual. It is estimated that tens of thousands of life forms would have perished in a short period of time to create a storm of this scale.

Normally, fleets would avoid subspace storms at all costs.

But with prophecy as a prior endorsement, the warp storm inexplicably became benevolent.

"Enter the warp storm without hesitation. Also, notify our monkey allies and have them come in with us. We will not be responsible for anyone who falls behind."

"Yes, ma'am."

The communication was sent, and the Eldar's decision caused a huge uproar within the human fleet.

Please!

That's a warp storm!
Once inside, no one can guarantee where they'll end up!
The Eldar madmen regard prophecy as gospel, but we humans are not loyal to prophecies and prophets, but to the Emperor!

If thousands of warships were to be destroyed in a subspace storm, who could bear that responsibility?
Primarch?

Let the Primarch get out of the warp storm alive first.

"Lord Ruth, should we follow the Eldar fleet into the warp storm?" the helmsman asked.

Riemann Russ frowned, his expression deep and serious:

"If the Eldar's prophecy is true, we might be able to return to the Milky Way. Is there any better option?"

Lehman Russ's gaze swept over the officers on the bridge, and they either shook their heads or lowered their heads.

“It seems we have no other choice.” Leman Russ braced himself against the railing:
"Pass on my orders. The Space Wolves will accompany the Eldar into the Warp Storm. As for the other three Space Marine Legions, let their Primarchs decide."

"Yes, my lord."

Space Wolves were the first to follow the Eldar into the warp, heading straight for the warp storm.

The other three Space Marine legions hesitated for a moment before also initiating warp travel.

Of all the crew members, the human navigator must have suffered the most.

Their fear of subspace storms is innate.

The feeling of tearing at the soul, tormenting the spirit, and destroying the mind is enough to drive any navigator crazy.

This feeling reaches its peak when the ship approaches a subspace storm.

But when the ships actually entered the storm's range, the navigators suddenly discovered a familiar light piercing their subspace vision.

"It's Star Torch!"

"Hahaha! We're saved!"

"I saw the light of the star torch!"

"We're back in the Milky Way! Thanks to the Emperor! The Eldar's prophecy really worked!"

Ruth smiled slightly, and cheers erupted on the bridge.

The experience of being stranded outside the Milky Way was brief, yet unforgettable and exceptionally painful.

That feeling of boundless expanse is something no one wants to experience again in their lifetime.

"Activate communications and ask Elena if the Eldar have located Li Nuo."

"Yes, my lord."

A communication screen pops up.

Elena said:
“We’d better set off immediately for another small galaxy outside the Milky Way. I’ve received reliable information that Lino is holding his second ascension ceremony there.”

"Outside the Milky Way again?" Riemann Russ hesitated slightly.

Honestly, he'd rather be surrounded by greens than go anywhere without the light of the Star Torch.

Poor subspace travel conditions are one of the reasons.

Another reason is that they must rely on the Eldar.

Being controlled by others is not a long-term solution.

Elena emphasized:
“I know what you’re worried about. Trust me, we won’t be trapped outside the galaxy this time. The prophet of Luganat has volunteered to send the Ark into battle. This Ark will fight alongside us, guarding the Webgate and destroying the ancient holy fortresses in the space where the Webgate is located. The Palu Orcs won’t be able to cut off our retreat again.”

Lehman Russ nodded:
“Alright, let’s go then. I’ll pass your information on to Ryan and the others.”

Communication ends.

After a brief rest, without even resupplying, the fleet entered the network and headed straight for the ascension site.

The Palu fleet in the cosmic hall, constantly monitoring the Eldar's movements, discovered this group of "guests" immediately.

In no time at all, the news reached Li Nuo.

"Hiss—that's interesting. How did they get back to the Milky Way so quickly?"

Li Nuo looked at the information on the data panel, both surprised and curious.

However, now is not the time to delve into this; the immediate priority is to deal with the massive fleet that is about to arrive.

This is a small exogalaxy with three stars.

Around the star that was showing signs of a supernova explosion, there were more than twenty bombardment ships, each equipped with a massive bomb with the highest yield.

Li Nuo left five eco-ships as bait, two engineering ships, five shadow ships to maintain the subspace shadow, and arranged for three hundred green-skinned warships to act as guards.

All the remaining ships quickly moved to the third ascension point via the network before the enemy arrived.

About an hour later.

Four Space Marine legions of the Imperium of Man and the Eldar fleet poured out of the Webgate.

The Auger Matrix detected the explosion signal of the extinction weapon immediately. After seeing the scan results, the mechanical priests were so frightened that their logic circuits overloaded. Some even had smoke and sparks coming out of their foreheads and died on the spot.

"Sir! The greenskins have gone mad! They want to trigger a supernova explosion and take us all down with them!"

"No, no! Their main fleet isn't here! This is a trap!"

"Hurry! Hurry back to the internet!"

"Buzz buzz buzz—buzz buzz—beep—beep—beep—"

The alarm from the Auger Matrix drowned out the noise inside the bridge.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the red sun with a hint of blue brightened at a visible speed, its light rapidly transforming into a bluish-white.

At this moment, the fleet suddenly experienced a major power outage.

The mechanical priest, controlling the Auger Matrix, slammed onto the control panel with a thud, letting out a pitiful scream with the last of his strength:
"High-energy...particle...flow...destroyed...all pipes...Om Messiah above...the sacred spark is extinguished!!!"

There was no pain, no screams, no resistance, and no room to dodge.

In the first stage of a supernova explosion, an endless stream of high-energy particles spreads in all directions, relentlessly penetrating and destroying everything related to electromagnetic reactions.

This includes, but is not limited to, void shield generators, ship engines, logic circuits, and the human nervous system.

Only the Eldar fleet, which did not rely on electromagnetic reactions, and the Eldar wearing Eldar bone armor survived.

They returned as quickly as possible, slipped through the net portal before the supernova's radiation surge reached them, and slammed the portal shut.

(End of this chapter)