Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 41 Doom
Endless! They can't be completely wiped out!

Li Tang felt himself starting to tire. His thin body grew stronger with each punch, and the time it took for him to be instantly killed by the demon became less and less, but the fatigue didn't come from his body, but from his heart.

"0000"

"0001"

"0002"

"0003"

Time here seems endless, forever a blood-red sky and blood-red desert. Li Tang uses a relatively precise, almost tick-twister-like approach to achieve a sense of realism.

Every rebirth, every death.

The demons' attacks come not only from the physical, but also from the pollution they emit and the evil whispers that erode people's hearts.

It is not fierce, not swift, not obvious. But it never stops, it is everywhere, and it wears away stone relentlessly.

The demonic entities were endless, wave after wave, relentlessly battering the defenses built by Li Tang's hands and mind.

Li Tang was extremely exhausted, covered in wounds, and blood flowed down his body, some of his own and some of the demon's.

His left hand was bitten off by a demon, revealing stark white bone, while his right hand gripped a demon horn as a weapon.

I'm constantly on edge, but there are always moments when I can relax.

In the barely perceptible gap, a demon as large as a mountain of flesh grinned and blasted him into dust with a single shot from the cannons embedded in its arms.

Returning in its entirety once more, the demons pounce again!

"What exactly do you want? What do you want to get? What do you want me to prove?" Li Tang's mind collapsed. In the whirlwind of death, his suppressed heart and taut nerves completely exploded.

He screamed hysterically, spitting everywhere.

No one answered him in the wasteland; the demons grinned, and the whispers in the darkness mocked him, urging him to put aside his weariness and rest properly.

"Fuck you!"

At this moment, Li Tang abandoned his brain, instinct replaced thought, and his fists began to curse the demon's entire family.

"Coward!!!!!" A deafening roar echoed across the blood-red wasteland, the primal howl devoid of any thought.

"Useless!!!!!" he roared furiously, spitting out curses, his left hand plunging into the demon's screaming mouth, tearing out its incessantly chattering tongue.

"Coward!!!!!" Another angry curse rang out, and he kicked the pink, dog-like demon off the mountain of corpses, breaking off its horns and inserting them into its eye sockets.

In the operating room of the real universe, a chilling, terrifying howl echoed, a hateful roar that sounded familiar to the Imperial Guard.

It's unclear how much time passed, but the roars and curses from the Crimson Wasteland finally subsided.

It's still the demon, still the same person.

People have fallen silent, silent to the point of numbness. Instinctively, they wield their fists and feet, each blow landing with a visceral force, relentlessly annihilating the surging demons.

From silence to numbness, Li Tang vented his violence; the constant killing made him strong, but also made him vulnerable.

Succumbing to eternal rage and bloodlust, becoming no different from the demon, until there is no cure.

Finally, anger ignited him, and his soul burst into flames, burning him to ashes.

Flames gradually rose from the body, and the aroma of grease burst forth in the operating room.

"He's finished!" The golden-armored guards shook their heads in regret, silently dragging over a water pipe to wash away the ashes on the operating table.

When he burns to ashes, the next test will be conducted on three hundred people, creating three hundred warriors at any cost.

"Kill! Kill! Kill to your heart's content! Kill them all!" The evil whispers kept urging in my ears.

The pain gradually intensified, and the soul began to dissipate, eventually fading into coldness and death.

"What do you really want? What do you really want to see?"

Li Tang, with only his remaining reason, questioned the blood-red wasteland, weeping bitterly and sobbing uncontrollably.

As always, there was nothing, and no one responded.

He gave up, collapsing wearily to his knees. He didn't want to die, but he didn't know how to survive in the blood-red wasteland.

Darkness descended upon him, carrying with it a bone-chilling cold.

As he lay dying, Li Tang shivered involuntarily, vivid images from his memory flashing before his eyes.

He seemed to see his former self, surrounded by the biting, icy winds of the Himalayas, as he marched forward through the desolate wilderness, braving the piercing cold.

Why move forward?
With a sudden shiver, the icy cold seemed to clear Li Tang's mind somewhat.

To survive!

To survive, he moved among the warlords of Terra; to survive, he fled the war; to survive, he went to the operating table.

Are you now succumbing to death?
"No! No! I'm just too tired!" Li Tang struggled in the water like a suffocating person, his consciousness hazy, asking and answering himself incoherently.

So you succumb to exhaustion?
This time, Li Tang did not answer. He just panted and slowly got up, staggering as he straightened his spine, which had been bent by exhaustion.

"Come on, demon!"

Panting heavily, drool dripping from his mouth. Reborn once again, only to find himself in endless slaughter.

This time, Li Tang had a clear goal: to kill in order to survive.

"Huh!" The surprised voice of his colleague attracted the attention of the Imperial Guards. The flames that were greedily licking the burning body seemed to have subsided.

The Imperial Guards' observation skills were never wrong; they realized that the young man seemed to still have hope.

"9998"

"9999," Li Tang began counting down again. He clearly remembered how many times each number had cycled.

As the countdown resumed, my consciousness gradually cleared, and the fatigue in my body gradually subsided.

Having escaped the brink of death, fought back against the demons with his fists, and ignored their exaggerated and noisy ramblings, he now has a sliver of understanding: at least there is hope as long as one is alive.

The terrible things continued. No matter how hard he tried to stay calm, the endless killings still filled him with despair.

ten years!

Li Tang recited the passage of time year by year, and he persisted for ten years. He felt no fatigue, and his mind remained clear.

He was accompanied by demons, wave after wave, group after group.

He refused to succumb to exhaustion, refused to succumb to death, and he did it. But where is the end?
Twenty years! Li Tang still remembers the passage of time. His body is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the devil.

The humanoid demon that once easily killed him is now troublesome but not much of a threat.

Thirty years! He wanted to give up countless times, to end the endless resistance, and to break free from the unchanging cycle of killing and being killed.

One hundred years!

"Hehehe! It doesn't matter anymore, I'm still alive! I can still laugh! I can still kill demons!"

A thousand years!

Li Tang fell silent again, day after day, year after year, slaying demons every moment. But he discovered something interesting: demons also experience fear!
His icy, emotionless voice swept across the blood-red desert, sending chills down the demon's spine: "Come! It's time to pay the price! I will drink deeply of your fear! I will trample your pathetic courage!"

Then Li Tang began to do something: torture and kill demons, making them fear him!
Three thousand years!
"Demons~ Demons~ Where are you? Hide well~ I'm coming for you!"

A cold, deep voice echoed across the blood-red wasteland as a tall man walked across the crimson sea, searching for the hidden demon.

When no demon could stop his power, his torment caused the demons pain and fear, causing them to gradually hide and dare not appear again.

Loneliness! Li Tang clearly felt it. The demons no longer played with him, and only loneliness accompanied him in the blood-red wasteland.

But this time, he did not succumb to loneliness. Instead, he began to find the few pleasures he had, started to think independently, and used demons to hone himself.

His martial arts skills gradually became stronger, and he gradually returned to simplicity, gaining insight into the weaknesses of life, and using absolute efficiency to help the demons find liberation.

"9999"

Another number cycle ended, and Li Tang awoke on a rock. Thousands of years ago, the demons dared not approach this place; they only dared to watch and worship from afar.

In fact, Li Tang quite enjoyed playing with demons, who both feared and worshipped the powerful.

Over ten thousand years, Li Tang grew accustomed to everything here. His consciousness went from normal to madness, and from madness back to normal, remaining unbreakable through countless cycles.

He even placed a demon's head next to him, and its incessant babbling helped him fall asleep.

He had already figured out the ultimate purpose of this boundless barrier trial.

It forges eternal resilience, but only an indomitable will is worthy of being refined into true gold!
Unyielding to slaughter, exhaustion, madness, death, and the cold, eternal solitude!
"I passed the test!"

"Boom!" The moment Li Tang uttered his name after ten thousand years of trials, the eternally unchanging blood-red wasteland began to collapse, eventually entering the rune mark on his chest.

Outside, the dying body trembled slightly, and life returned!
How long have I been lying here?

Li Tang opened his eyes and, upon confirming that he was back in the Terra Labs, asked in a completely emotionless voice.

He had expected to be excited, even to the point of tears of joy, but at this moment he was as calm as still water, his heart completely undisturbed.

The Golden Armored Imperial Guards paused for a moment, puzzled as to why the man who had been sizzling oil just moments before was now standing there unharmed, asking for the time.

“One week, three hours, seven minutes, and twenty-one seconds,” the guard named Plato said to the awakened Li Tang.

The trials of ten thousand years felt so real, filled with pain and despair, yet only a week had passed in reality.

Li Tang remained silent, sitting on the operating table, awaiting the arrival of the Imperial Guard's master.

Just as he expected, the golden figure returned amidst a golden glow.

“What an incredible miracle!”

The emperor's voice was filled with surprise. He saw through Li Tang's current state and clicked his tongue in amazement: "Your level of life has been changed!"

"It has surpassed the limits of biological genetic engineering." He circled Li Tang three times, his hand brushing against Li Tang's broad shoulders and strong arms, making even the Imperial Guards unable to hide their envy.

The Emperor still hadn't revealed the truth: he could no longer sense Li Tang's soul in the subspace, nor could he see through his memories and thoughts.

His soul is integrated with his body and is unaffected by the warp. The soul supports the body's strength, and the body protects the soul, forming a perfect closed loop.

"I'm going to plant the remaining gene seeds. I can't wait to see them!"

"Yes, my lord!"

"No!" Li Tang stated in a low, concise voice, "You will kill everyone!"

The moment Li Tang left the trial barrier, a strange connection arose in his mind. He sensed another 299 gene seeds, and a star across the endless void.

He knew perfectly well that even if he created his brothers regardless of the cost, Terra's existing population would not be enough.

"Then let's select them in an orderly manner."

The emperor yielded to the eyewitness, then looked at his tall and imposing figure: "Imperial Guards, give him a suit of armor to temporarily conceal his presence."

"By the way, inform my personal craftsmen that I will personally design armor for the Twenty-first Legion."

"The eldest son of the legion." The Emperor turned to Li Tang and said solemnly, "The Twenty-First Army has a name that comes with its own destiny! I hope you will not let it down."

"Doom!"

(Thanks for the donation! If you have any recommendation votes, please cast them; this humble author is begging for them. The Terra storyline is over; from now on, it'll be the main character's story. The Terra storyline is a must, but its collection and ratings are dismal.)
(End of this chapter)