Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 128 Come on! Face me!

The lines in the holographic image were automatically drawn, and several abnormal points were quickly marked.

Across the planet, fourteen mountains slumber, exhibiting signs of life, and their activity levels are steadily rising.

At the same time, the footnotes explain why they were not detected in the first scan.

A day earlier, the giant sand lizard had extremely low vital signs and was filtered out as jungle noise by the bird divination instrument, hiding right under the fleet's nose.

Doom's mind raced as he looked at the various reports.

The fleet's scan of the location was accurate, matching the sand lizard priest's memories, and the location where the giant lizard slept was not missed.

The giant sand lizards, referred to as "guardian deities" by the sand lizard priests, are estimated to be 400 meters long in some individuals and 200 meters in others.

They are living fossils, dormant before the sand lizards left their home planet, when the sand lizard population was small.

In today's interstellar age, the sand lizard population has exploded. How big can they grow to during a crisis of extinction?
The giant lizards are slowly awakening, while a fleet of space wolves is wreaking havoc in the universe. The souls of the sand lizards are returning to their home planet, and they are rapidly growing by consuming psionic energy.

"Fleet, prepare yourselves. Aim your cannons and light spears, and await my command to destroy them."

Doom summoned a fleet from space and marked the location of the sleeping giant lizard on the map, intending to nip the danger in the bud.

The planned combat strategies are not keeping up with the changes.

Although Doom was surprised, he didn't feel much surprise or resentment.

War is a contest of wits, resources, and cultural foundations; it is a dynamic and ever-changing process.

The psychic sand lizards are indeed powerful. The planet coexists with them, and creatures formed by the convergence of the souls of the psychic race are naturally powerful.

We must strike while they are fast asleep, their spiritual energy is not yet abundant enough to support their spiritual energy shield.

Giant sand lizards mostly slumber in the wild; they can withstand orbital bombardment, but no creature can withstand light spears and macro cannons.

To ensure the giant lizard was killed, Doom recalled the entire fleet.

Battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and frigates—the shadows cast by the fleet were so vast they blotted out the sun.

They entered planetary orbit, adjusted their attitude at a specific target point, and aimed all their firepower at the location marked by the Primarch.

In the Sand Lizard Capital, the High Priest peers through the dome as the human fleet assembles in near-Earth orbit.

It is channeling a psionic shield to withstand the relentless bombardment of light spears.

The power within him grew stronger and stronger, but the priest felt no joy. It proved that his people in the colonized world had been massacred, and their tragic souls had returned to their home planet.

A sense of unease welled up within the High Priest, and he raised his hand, unleashing a wisp of spiritual energy into the crystal ball.

The crystal sphere flowed with mottled psionic colors, gradually projecting images of the future: humanity's fleet unleashed its fury, bombarding the surface of the star.

The priest's vertical pupils suddenly widened as it saw a vision of the future: the place where humans were bombing was the slumbering land of the ancestral guardian deity.

"This is impossible!"

The priest's screams hissed, how could humans possibly know the place where the guardian deity slumbered?
This is the deepest secret of the tribe, a secret known only to the priesthood.

To prevent leaks, priests would even choose to self-destruct with psionic energy to smash their heads before being captured by the enemy.

Why was the information leaked?
The high priest naturally wanted to self-destruct, but the Doom Soldier was too fast and stunned it before it could react.

The Mechanic Sage acted even faster, precisely removing the priest's thought organs while he was unconscious.

The Sand Lizard High Priest could no longer contain his grief, tears welling in his eyes; he could not stop it all.

Human fleets are too powerful; their sturdy ships and powerful cannons give them a clear advantage.

Now, the only trump card to turn the tide has been discovered: humanity is eliminating destabilizing factors and completely taking control of the battle.

The priest pondered in sorrow: Humans know of the existence of guardian deities, but do they also know of the changes on the planet?

Once the guardians are successfully awakened, they will be unmatched, and the planet will provide them with assistance.

Under the resonance of psychic energy, the guardian spirit let out a long howl to summon a storm, stomped its hands and feet to cause an earthquake, spewed flames and frost, and shot annihilating lightning from its eyes.

They are the embodiment of nature, the fierce counterattack when a species is wiped out, the roar of the planet protecting its native species.

The more humanity destroys, the fiercer the counterattack will be.

The planet's resistance will not cease unless they unleash their full firepower and blast it to pieces.

The priest watched silently as the human fleet assembled in orbit, preparing to kill the guardian deity.

"Kill him! Kill him!"

A maniacal smile appeared on its face: "The last of our people are dead, and the world will avenge us! Humanity can never colonize this land."

Doom knew, of course, that this psionic world was awakening.

He urgently summoned the top leadership and issued the next operational order—to evacuate this world.

Without any hesitation, Doom's strategic objectives had already been achieved.

Whether a false signal is launched in orbit or on the ground, it makes no difference; the Sand Lizard Priest doesn't care about the location.

“This planet is about to undergo a major change. Its natural environment will help the sand lizards, and we must evacuate immediately.”

Before all the high command, Doom solemnly issued the evacuation order. The Legion and the mortal auxiliary forces obeyed unconditionally, trusting the Primarch's judgment.

"grown ups……"

The Ministry of the Interior officials were about to speak when the Genetic Primarch stopped them, his eyes filled with resentment.

When the Primarch landed on this beautiful world, the officials had already planned its future.

After the sand lizards die out, this place will be transformed into a central government to govern the surrounding world.

The Ministry of the Interior has even selected a planetary governor.

“Let’s get back on track.” Doom’s eyes swept over the Ministry of the Interior officials; he too knew that this world was of immense value.

"This place seems impregnable." The Primarch lightly stomped his foot, his boots tapping the ground. "Can it withstand continuous earthquakes?"

"What we are fighting is not the psionic sand lizards, but the planetary will that is about to awaken."

"You must leave. Don't leave me with any worries!"

The Primarch's words left no room for negotiation, forcefully ordering mortals to leave, and even Legion soldiers to depart.

"Get out of here quickly. Once the orbital bombardment begins, you won't be able to leave even if you want to."

Ultimately, under Doom's pressure, the mortals and Legion Space Marines began to evacuate, taking the rescued prisoners with them.

The orderly evacuation was quite rapid. Two hours later, all the resources that could be taken away on the ground were taken away, and most of the personnel had also been evacuated.

"It's a pity that the fortress wasn't fully completed."

Before boarding the landing ship, Fricks and Appius looked back at the fortress that the two legions had built together.

"We'll have more opportunities in the future!"

They smiled at each other, boarded the spaceship together, and returned to high orbit as required by the Primarch.

As he watched the landing ships ascend into the sky, Doom's eyes remained bright, seemingly calm, but his heart was far from at peace.

The universe is vast and full of wonders; a planet where species coexist is indeed rare.

The planet's characteristics dictate that humans cannot obtain it; it is a gift from the universe to the original inhabitants.

There was only one thing that puzzled Doom: Did the Emperor know about the situation in this world?
“You should go too,” Doom said to the genetic offspring. “I may not be able to look after you from now on.”

"We are willing to stay with you."

Osiris stepped forward, swearing to follow the Father of Genesis to the death, representing the will of all Doom Warriors.

“No.” Doom smiled back at them. “It’s not a matter of life and death. I just have to face the power of the stars.”

"This is a battle you cannot participate in."

"It's alright, it can't hurt me." Doom waved again, urging them to leave quickly, and said very casually, "Just watch my performance."

"You must return safely."

The Doomsday Warriors couldn't refuse, so they turned and left, boarding Stormhawks to return to high orbit.

Doom must stay and resolve the threats facing the Salz world.

Even if the will of the world is not completely destroyed and all the sand lizards are killed, a new psionic race will emerge.

He took out a shield from another dimension, raised his hand, and opened the communication area: "Bombardment begins!"

The Primarch's command was relayed, and the orbiting warships' radiant cannons were unleashed, blasting towards the sleeping giant lizard.

The light from the spears illuminated the sky, Doom's feet trembled, and the entire world shook under the spears and the macro cannons.

The arm armor popped out a projection, showing the results of the orbital bombardment, in which the sleeping giant lizard was completely annihilated.

"Wow~"

A mournful wail echoed through the air. The giant lizard, awakened before its psionic shield could fully deploy, was instantly annihilated by the powerful firepower.

Apart from the giant lizard beneath the alien capital, all the dead slumbering in the wild have returned their power to the planet and its last guardian.

As the monitor lizard died, the whole world was swept by howling winds, like a mother wailing for the death of her child.

Thunder roared, torrential rain suddenly descended, the earth trembled and shook, gathering the power of sorrow.

"What a waste of the masterpieces of two legions." He sighed, having completed one-third of the fortress's transformation, and strode out of the alien hive.

Doom stood outside the walls of the hive, raising his right hand to summon the Judgment Sword from the warp.

Left hand: circular saw shield; right hand: judgment sword.

He stood tall and straight, facing the storm and thunder, his cloak fluttering in the wind, his head slightly bowed as if looking down at the entire planet.

"Come on! You slut! Face me." His face was solemn, his eyes shining with fearless light as he confronted the planet's raging will.

"You dare to oppose me? Refuse to be ruled by humanity? Today is your death day!"

Doom knew what he was about to face, but the planetary will and the Sand Lizard High Priest did not know what their enemy was.

(End of this chapter)