Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 366 Nano Disaster
The Void Dragon views all life as playthings, is extremely cunning, and enjoys watching others suffer.

Doom believed this reasoning.

When it comes to good deeds, the Star God may be lacking; but when it comes to teasing intelligent beings, he is quite adept and even enjoys it immensely.

"The bloodline of the Grall family." Doom called out in a deep voice, his majestic voice like thunder, booming in Grall's ears.

The giant who had never spoken before spoke!

Grae felt her mind waver, her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground, her legs trembling, instinctively lying prone on the marble floor.

His relaxed heart was filled with shock. His body involuntarily knelt down just because he heard the words. Just how majestic was the speaker?

"Keep your head up."

The majestic voice rang out again, and Gra, like a puppet manipulated by psychic energy, involuntarily straightened his back and looked up at the armored giant.

Although he couldn't see her face, Gela could feel the gaze on him from inside the helmet.

“My lord,” he trembled slightly, a subtle pleasure of being watched mixed with the fear of a guilty conscience, making his teeth chatter and his throat hoarse, “Do you have any questions?”

Gera was drenched in cold sweat. He heard the sound of steel scraping against stone behind him. The white-armored warriors were behind him, perhaps already in a killing stance.

Harlan was indeed standing behind him, but he didn't make any move, just stood there quietly, creating an invisible pressure on him.

How sharp is the champion swordsman?

He sensed the imposing tone in his master's voice and immediately cooperated, interrogating the nobleman who had been plotting his own scheme from beginning to end.

Doom strolled to the marble wall and looked up at the paintings on it.

The painting depicts the progenitor of the Grae family—wearing a captain's uniform, riding a white horse and cracking his whip, full of vigor and ambition.

"You seem to be hiding something from me?" he asked calmly, as if he were only asking about something trivial.

Gela stared at the tall figure standing there, her nostrils flaring slightly, her breathing becoming labored, unsure how to respond.

"May I ask who you are?" He didn't rush to answer, but carefully inquired after considering his words.

The moment the question left her mouth, Gra felt a gust of wind behind her head, and the butt of the spear suddenly stopped, its blade pressed against her face. It wasn't until the icy breath rushed up her skin and into her brain that she realized she had almost been hit!
He still dared not move, his chest and abdomen heaving rapidly, his fists clenched to suppress the fear welling up inside him.

Doom stopped Harlan's warning attack without turning around, his deep, magnetic voice soft yet carrying immense weight: "Doom Norwick."

Rumbling--

Gra's mind exploded, his spirit was thrown into chaos, and he felt dizzy and his ears were ringing.

A legend has begun!

“I should have thought of that,” Grava recalled the past, the imposing figure on the bridge, the casual demeanor on the battlefield flashing before his eyes, and he unconsciously murmured to himself, “I should have thought of that…”

"Homage to the Lord of the Stars!" He prostrated himself, offering a humble bow to the departing figure in an elegant aristocratic tone, "The people of Nur offer their blessings to you."

At this moment, sweat poured out as if he were dehydrated, soaking his colorful prison uniform, as if his bones were trembling and groaning.

"A citizen of Nur?" The authoritative voice held a hint of doubt, yet remained calm and unwavering. "Are you a citizen of Nur?"

Lying motionless on the ground, Gela dared not answer, panting heavily, unsure how to respond.

Any statement made now is considered evidence in court; whether one's life or death depends entirely on the word of the ruler before them.

No! It's not that complicated.

Grala felt that he didn't need the Lord of the Stars to speak; a mere glance would be enough to separate him from his head.

Because the person behind him had a gun to his neck, the chilling sensation licking his skin and sending shivers down his spine.

When Doom heard that he had no intention of responding, and not wanting to offer any pleasantries, he cut to the chase and said, "You have two choices now."

"If you die, I'll go find what's hidden myself. Or you can hand it over voluntarily, and after I find it, I'll consider what to do with you."

Grae shuddered upon hearing this, realizing that the so-called "choice" was merely a stepping stone, and that he had never had any choice; cooperation was the only opportunity.

“Following the orders of the Lord of the Stars.” He sighed, his heart filled with anger and resentment, yet powerless to resist the tyranny. A tremendous force gripped the back of his neck, pulling Gela from the ground and dragging him to Doom’s side. He knew the secret chamber lay within the painting’s defensive line.

“Please let me go,” Gera’s voice was dejected, full of helplessness and pleading, “Let me save face before my ancestors.”

Doom waved for Harlan to release him, showing respect for the family lineage. After all, he wasn't a robber or bandit, and he always reasoned with people.

Gra smoothed out the wrinkles in his prison clothes, straightened his appearance, and strode confidently to the portrait, placing his hand on the white hoof of the horse in the portrait of his ancestor.

He pressed down on the horseshoe with a little force, and a delicate probe, only a few micrometers in size, extended from the center of the portrait frame, making it difficult for ordinary people to detect.

After a few steps, Gela used his hand to pry open his right eyelid and aligned his pupil with the probe.

Perhaps knowing what he was about to do, Harlan took a small step back, preparing to face the phantom pain that his body would instinctively feel.

Grala leaned forward gently, the probe piercing his pupil and reaching his eyeball, beginning to read specific genetic data and unlocking a hidden treasure trove.

The portrait of the white horse turned on the green light, the probe automatically pulled out the eye, and Grala gently massaged the eye while covering it, showing no signs of pain on her face.

Compared to the physical pain, his heart was already bleeding profusely, and the precious legacy left by his ancestors had been completely lost in a single day.

The scroll slowly unfurled, and the perfectly sealed marble wall quietly cracked open, revealing a separate, secret room containing only three exhibits.

Harlan reacted quickly, immediately grabbing Gera's shoulder to keep him under control and prevent him from activating any dangerous switches.

Doom strode inside and came to the first display case.

A head-sized STC template is suspended in a static force field. This template is different from the common ones. A fist-sized sphere is welded to the outer shell of the sphere, which looks very much like a miniature planet or satellite.

"STC Miniature Weapons: Before the ape left Grah, he used the production line of miniature items to ensure a continuous supply of miniature weapons for the family."

Upon hearing this explanation, Doom understood why the Gra family could always provide miniature weapons whenever they borrowed troops or supplies—it turned out they had a production line for them.

In their public statements, they only revealed that their miniature weapons were becoming increasingly scarce and were about to run out.

That's right. If someone were to reveal that they possess the STC template for a miniature weapon, it would be like a three-year-old child carrying a gold brick in the middle of the city; everyone would be a devil.

Doom simply nodded. Although miniature weapons were valuable, they were not worth much to him. Legion warfare emphasized hard power, and while they had their uses, they were not enough to carry a full load.

Seeing that King Norwick was not interested in the miniature weapon, a glint flashed in Gera's eyes. Did this mean that STC could be saved?

“Lord of the Stars, please look at this.” Ignoring the pressure on his shoulder, he quickly stepped forward and introduced the second item to Doom: “This is a precious relic.”

Following his directions, Doom focused his gaze on the center of the three display cases.

The display case is not a static force field, but a pale blue confinement cube used to imprison and prevent the contents from escaping.

"This is nanomechanical?" Doom's eyes lit up, and his heroic face finally showed some satisfaction.

A mass of lead-like polymer floats inside the confined cube, constantly changing shape and drifting erratically, seemingly harmless to humans and animals.

“Yes,” Grah nodded affirmatively, “nanomachines left over from ancient times, which our ancestors used to explore the void and deal with any powerful enemies they might encounter.”

"Nano plague. Released after targeting, it can reproduce exponentially and can devour a world in just a few days, or wipe out the original race to make room for human colonization."

"As long as the controller exists, it can be freely recycled or released."

"But the family has never released it. The lessons of the omnic rebellion are still fresh in our minds. Any nanobot that goes out of control will have devastating consequences."

As he spoke, under Harlan's pressure, he walked to the Nano Plague display case, carefully took out a cube controller, and presented it to Doom.

Gra fell to his knees and said humbly and gracefully, "This bizarre and unpredictable weapon of extermination is worthy of your great wisdom."

Doom raised his hand to the controller, scanning it continuously with the light beam. After confirming there was no danger, he put it in his hand.

Only now does he feel that the gains are worthy of this battle. Although war cannot be measured by value, the gains and losses need to be balanced.

The emergence of the nano-particle plague was unexpected. The tools used to wipe out alien species in the Golden Age are undoubtedly a deadly weapon in this lost era.

It's perfect for dealing with aliens like Randan or Lady Kra!

(End of this chapter)