I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 181 The Emperor's Gold Yuan: Death or Playing with It
After the first wave of attacks was mercilessly crushed by the Suicide Swarm, the Tyranids opted for a cautious retreat. Not only their combat units, but even the biomass pools that were constantly converting the planet's matter in the distance began to writhe and shrink. Enormous, tubular organs extended from the bottom of the pools, like giant pythons, sucking up the viscous biomass slurry and transporting it beyond the horizon to more distant places, to prevent further attacks by the devastating promethium flames.

The battlefield fell into a deathly silence.

Only the sea of ​​promethium fire surrounding the fortress continued to burn fiercely, crackling and popping as it turned the charred insect carcasses to ashes. This silence was more agonizing than the deafening artillery fire; the air before a storm was always so oppressive, unbearable.

After thirty agonizing minutes of this suffocating wait, Bonnie, the most impatient of them all, finally lost his patience. Looking at the unmoved enemy reaction on the tactical projection, he suggested, "Why don't we just send in our air force and bomb those new pools with tactical nuclear bombs? Proactively increase Tyrannosaurus's hatred towards us. Otherwise, the current combat intensity is too low; many of our prepared backup plans are useless, and we can't see which one is most effective against Tyrannosaurus."

“Don’t rush, Bonnie,” Pingjie raised his hand to stop him, his eyes still calm as still water. “Thirty minutes have passed, and the promethium flames on the outer perimeter haven’t even gone out yet. It’s not time to drop a tactical nuclear bomb to draw aggro yet. Let’s wait and see.”

Time ticked by, and after waiting for another ten minutes or so, the Terran Zerg made their move.

The first thing to show an anomaly was the sky.

At first, everyone thought it was just a strange black mist, perhaps some kind of spore cloud attack released by the Zerg. But when the "mist" got closer, under the extreme magnification of the optical lens, everyone could see its true form.

That wasn't some mist; it was a living canopy made up of endless flying aliens! Gargoyles with bat wings and exposed bones gathered into a black tide that blotted out the sun, swooping down on the fortress.

"Air units are attacking! Anti-aircraft fire network, maximize output!" JK's voice rang out in the communication channel.

All close-in weapon systems immediately turned their muzzles to the sky, spewing forth deathly flames in an attempt to halt the descending Tyranid hordes. Dense tracer rounds crisscrossed the air, forming a massive fire net that tore swathes of gargoyles to pieces, flesh and carapace raining down.

Just when all the close-in weapon systems were too busy to deal with anything else, the swarm of insects on the ground crossed the still-burning wall of promethium fire.

Compared to before, this swarm of sword-wielding insects showed a significant change. Their bodies were covered in a thick, shimmering, oily mucus, which even caused them to reflect slightly in the firelight. This mucus of unknown composition clearly provided sufficient insulation; they roared as they charged into the flames, the flames licking their bodies but failing to ignite them immediately. They braved the scorching heat, relentlessly charging through the defensive line.

"Evolution speed is that fast?" Bonnie's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief. "They can ignore promethium flames in such a short time?!"

“No, it’s not ignoring it.” Pingjie’s voice remained calm. He pointed to the enlarged image on the tactical projection and said in a deep voice, “Look closely, those Tyrannosaurus that are charging at us still have obvious burn marks on their lower bodies and the parts that came into contact with the flames. This layer of slime can only prevent the direct damage of the promethium flames for a short time. If the incendiary bomb hits their bodies directly, they still won’t be able to withstand it.”

He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "...But this time was enough for them to break through the wall of fire, and enough for the other insects following behind to drag back and collect the corpses of the insects that were killed."

Leonid frowned as he looked at the swarm of insects made of flesh and claws on the tactical projection: "Without close-in weapon system support, it will be difficult to suppress a Tyrannosaurus charge of this size with just the laser guns, heavy logging guns and heavy explosive shells on the position."

Pingjie understood Leonid's unspoken meaning—whether or not to use backup measures now. But he still calmly said, "No need to rush. We can take this opportunity to collect data on the kill efficiency of various individual weapons against different Terran units."

Upon hearing this, JK, who had been silent all along, immediately understood Pingjie's intention. He waved to the side, and a commander immediately handed him a communicator. "Position No. 3, this is the command post, can you hear me? Over." JK's voice was calm and clear.

The communicator quickly responded with a cacophony of gunfire and the alien's shrieks: "This is position number three. Command post, please speak. Over."

"Reduce your firepower density and send some Bladebugs over," JK clearly gave the order. "We need to test the effectiveness of various melee methods against Tyrannosaurus Rex. Also, capture a few alive while you're at it. Over."

"Position No. 3 received. Over."

The communication ended, and the holographic projection in the command center was immediately switched to a live view of Position Three. Upon receiving the order, the soldiers on this position, ready to die, acted almost without hesitation, and several gaps instantly appeared in the previously dense line of fire. Several of the foremost blade insects were thus left unscathed, crossing the final line of fire and charging towards the position with roars.

This blunt order, which was practically tantamount to ordering the soldiers on the front lines to commit suicide immediately, was actually executed without hesitation? Wick felt a chill of disbelief.

As the scythe worms charged closer, the soldiers in the trenches, ready to die, drew their entrenching tools, bayonets, and combat knives to meet the monsters wielding their scythe-like claws. What followed was an eye-opening experience for Wick. These soldiers possessed astonishingly formidable close-combat skills; their movements were precise, deadly, and they possessed superhuman strength and speed. After paying the price with several lives, they managed to kill the scythe worms that had stormed their position with melee weapons, at a near one-to-one exchange ratio.

However, capturing the last remaining worm resulted in far more casualties than before. In an attempt to subdue it without killing it, at least a dozen of those who had gone to their deaths were disemboweled by its sharp, massive claws. After finally overwhelming it with sheer numbers, the worm's mouthparts suddenly snapped open, spewing out an even smaller, scorpion-like insect!
The tiny insect moved with lightning speed, pouncing directly on the face of a soldier facing death and beginning to tear at him with its sharp claws. The soldier's gas mask was ripped off in an instant, followed by a horrific scene of flying blood and flesh.

The surrounding survivors immediately drew their daggers, ready to kill the ferocious little creature. Just then, Bonnie in the command center's eyes lit up, and he shouted excitedly, "The little one must live too!"

JK immediately relayed the order. Upon hearing the order, the soldiers on position number three who were going to their deaths actually lowered their raised daggers. Even the soldier whose face was splattered with insects and whose cheek was torn apart lowered his right hand, which was raised and holding a dagger.

Finally, the smaller one was caught. But at the cost, the one who had come to die had his brain pierced through his eyeball by its mandibles and died a violent death. The other men who tried to catch it with their bare hands also had several fingers severed by its sharp appendages, and many even lost their entire hands.

Seeing all this, Wick seemed to understand why the guards of these three mechanical priests were not the Skitali Guards.

In this situation, even if ordinary Astragalus soldiers didn't disobey on the spot, they would certainly feel extremely dissatisfied with the officer who issued such a ridiculous order, and the soldiers' emotions would inevitably reach a dangerous tipping point. But these men who were going to their deaths still carried out every word without hesitation.

While the Apostolic Guard could also achieve this level of absolute obedience, which priest would dare to expend so much resources? The mechanical modifications and data implantation of each Apostolic Guard member are extremely expensive! Treating them as disposable commodities is tantamount to using a gold brick to crack a walnut.

These suicide bombers before him… they were too cheap; all they needed was a standard suit of armor and a laser gun. Wick couldn't even recall ever seeing them eat! Were these Astronauts truly human?

(End of this chapter)