The Bizarre Adventures of Cloud Hammer

【Image: Steel】

[Image: Stubborn Stone (Imperial Fist Contemptor)]

(Don’t keep complaining in the comments, I just updated a little late＿(ˊ口ˋ」∠)＿)

Chapter 71 Intermission

Most of the Empire's camps in the Lower Nest were built temporarily and had little structural strength. They were destroyed by a single attack. The remaining Imperial Guards were left without shelter and communications were interrupted. The only fate waiting for them was to be wiped out by the traitors.

Xianyu has searched many areas but has not found a single survivor. It seems that the only place in the entire lower nest where there are people is the defensive position.

After looking at another place, Xianyu gave up searching. He looked in the direction of the defensive position. More than half of the area of the lower nest had been dyed blood red due to the appearance of the Khorne Demon Army, and the scope was still expanding.

Feeling a little bored, Xianyu asked in the channel:

"Ah Wei, how are things going over there? Do you need me to come back and help? I'm so bored here."

"Not needed for now. I just called up a few Fearless machines, but you can come if you want. Remember to read the script and don't let yourself be caught." Awei said happily, as if he had just stopped laughing.

Xianyu was just about to ask Awei to find a route for him so that he could take Elio back, when two friendly signals appeared on his minimap, and their locations were not far from him.

"Hey, I didn't expect there were actually people alive, that's exaggerated~"

After hanging up the communication, Xianyu went to the location of the friendly signal. He moved away a pile of building debris and found a narrow tunnel buried underneath. Two people were squeezed tightly in the tunnel.

Xianyu looked carefully and found that these were the two big heads he met at the bottom nest.

"Why are you two again?"

"Is this voice... Lord Astarte?"

Bayar recognized the voice. He turned around and said to Xianyu:

"Could you help me, sir? We are stuck."

The two big heads were stuck inside. When the impact happened, Bayar was quick-witted and jumped into the tunnel with Lanny in his arms. The ruins of the building buried the two of them and allowed them to escape the attack of the traitors.

Xianyu pulled the two men out. After they stood firmly behind each other, Lanny, not knowing whether out of disgust or something, immediately distanced herself from Bayar. Before the two men could say anything, they saw a large area in the distance that was dyed red and the blood-red mist that had spread to the nearby area. "Emperor, what's going on over there?" Lanny asked.

"The traitors have summoned an evil army from the Warp, and the Imperial Guard is under attack from them." Xianyu said it lightly, but to the two elite Astra Militarum soldiers, the appearance of the demon army meant that the situation had become so serious that it was almost irreversible.

Bayar and Lanny had anticipated this. With three Astartes regiments here, it would be a shame if nothing happened to the planet. Fortunately, no Titan Legion came, otherwise both of them could have prepared their suicide notes.

"What should we do now, my lord?" Bayar asked Xianyu for his opinion. He and Lanny, two elite big men, would be helpless against the demons, and their chances of survival would be higher if they stayed with Astarte.

This is not to say that Bayar is afraid of death. Anyone who can become a stormtrooper is a super strong man among mortals. Bayar is a Cadian who was born looking directly into the Eye of Terror. How could he be afraid of demons? He just doesn't want to die because it is worthless. No matter what, he has to kill one or two demons before his soul returns to the Golden Throne.

"The empire's soldiers are still holding on in the lower nest. We have to return to our defensive positions first." Xianyu explained the current situation and let the two big heads know that there were no other living people around except the two of them.

"But we have to pick someone up before we leave."

"Who?"

"The Chapter Master of the Celestial Lions."

Xianyu calculated that Elio should have recovered his ability to move by now. It was not a good idea to let a sick person stay outside. If they encountered some tricky enemies, he could not guarantee that he could protect everyone.

Xianyu was just about to take the two big heads back to find Elio, but the three of them didn't notice that the red mist had spread to where they were. Soon, a rapid, continuous, and inhuman footsteps approached the three of them.

A sense of crisis rose in the hearts of the three people at the same time. Xianyu, as an Astartes, naturally had a reaction that was not comparable to that of Datou. He pulled out the power axe from his waist and chopped the flesh hound that was flying towards him from behind into two halves through its mouth.

The demon's blood splattered on Xianyu's power armor, and a red energy rose from the flesh hound's dissipated body, circling as if looking for something.

"Where did the dog come from?"

Xianyu frowned. Wasn't the Khorne army attacking Awei's position? Why did the Flesh Hounds come here?

More howls were heard near the three people, as the flesh hounds smelled the blood of their own kind.

"I'm done. You two go find the Tianshi regiment commander and I'll give you the coordinates." Xianyu gave Elio's location to the two big heads and asked them to leave quickly.

"How about you, my lord?"

"Don't worry about me. Didn't I tell you that I'm quite strong?"

Xianyu took the initiative to approach the direction where the flesh hounds were coming from, allowing himself to attract the attention of these demonic creatures.

Bayar and Lanny ran away without looking back. Lord Astarte had said this already. If they stayed here, they would just cause more trouble. Could two mortals fight against a pack of flesh hounds?

It’s very difficult!

As Datou and the other two ran away, seven flesh hounds appeared in front of Xianyu. Including the one he had just killed, there were exactly eight of them.

The flesh hounds barked at the salted fish. If this was a game world created by a kid with a colorful childhood, the salted fish would definitely run faster than anyone else. Although both sides were rotten worlds, the dogs in 40K were not as scary as the other side.

"You like barking? Hajiwang, you need some love, right?"

The flesh hounds rushed over, and Xianyu took a step forward. With an upward strike, he sent the nearest hound flying. He chopped it into several pieces with a few axes in mid-air. Several hounds were besieging him at the same time, but Xianyu solved them all with a big whirlwind. The rest were soon beheaded.

These seven hounds were just like the first one. Red energy rose from their corpses. Eight balls of energy gathered together and then exploded. The blood mist generated out of thin air instantly spread to every corner of the area. If Xianyu hadn't dodged in time, his power armor would have almost changed color.

"broken!"

Seeing this situation, Xianyu knew that the brass toilet man had started again. He wanted to leave the area, but the spreading blood mist had turned into a barrier, and he couldn't get out for a while.

On the front battlefield, the appearance of four Contemptor Dreadnoughts suddenly reduced the pressure on the defensive positions. The Khorne army could no longer advance a step further. When the time was right, the Imperial Guard could even launch a counterattack.

The sudden appearance of the Contemptor Dreadnoughts gave the Dark Apostle a complete 'surprise'. He had considered that the Loyal Astartes would awaken the Dreadnoughts to defend, but he did not expect it to be the Contemptors, and four of them at that!

The warriors who were teleported into the defensive positions by the Word Bearers wizards did not achieve the expected effect, or were completely ineffective.

"It can't be delayed any longer."

The Dark Apostles realized that things were starting to go wrong. They were being dragged into a war of attrition by the Imperial Guard. The losses of the Khorne army were increasing. If nothing was done immediately, the situation would remain deadlocked until it was reversed.

"Why haven't you dealt with the false emperor's warships yet?"

The Dark Apostle contacted the Chaos Fleet in space. According to his prediction, the Imperial Fleet would lose more than half of its troops after the attack. At this time, the Chaos Fleet would jump to Isil in the warp to launch an assault. The Imperial Fleet would surely be defeated in a short time. However, no matter how much time has passed, the Dark Apostle still hasn't heard any news from the fleet.

"Our situation is not good, sir." The fleet commander's voice was not as calm as the Dark Apostle had imagined, but rather full of panic.

"One of our warships has already been destroyed by the Imperial scum, and they've even boarded our flagship!"

The Dark Apostle, who had not heard any good news from the fleet commander, flew into a rage:

"What's going on?! We clearly have the upper hand, yet you're telling us we're about to lose?"

"Sir, they have a strange warship. No matter how much firepower we fire, we can't destroy it...Ah! Sir, the enemy is about to attack the bridge. I..."

The communication was forcibly interrupted. The Dark Apostle could not believe this. The plan was so perfect, why did the situation turn out like this!?

Having lost the reinforcements in space, the Dark Apostle had to find another way to break the situation. He had to use his trump card.

"I need your warriors to go into the battlefield immediately. I will hold a dark ritual to make the demon army and your warriors stronger!" said the Dark Apostle to the Chaos Lord with the Scarlet Blood Blade.

"You are very impatient. It seems your plan is not perfect after all." The lord taunted, "But are my warriors the only ones?"

"I will also deploy all my troops and all the forces I can."

"Okay, I'm a little bored."

Except for the small group of warriors who were teleported into the defensive position, the Chaos Lords and warriors of the Scarlet Blood Blade had waited long enough, and it was time to go to the battlefield and fight.

Just as the Chaos Lord was about to give an order, he and the Scarlet Blood Blade warriors suddenly looked in one direction. It was on the other side of the lower nest, where the power of the Blood God was calling its believers.

Not only the Crimson Blade Astartes, but even the Khorne Demon Army stopped.

"What's going on?" The Dark Apostle felt a power belonging to the Blood God rising in an area behind them.

"Sorry, I changed my mind. The Blood God is calling, and the warriors chosen by God are waiting for us." said the Chaos Lord. He ordered the Scarlet Blood Blade to turn around and head to the location where the Blood God's power appeared.

"You can't, you can't do this!"

The Dark Apostle stopped the lord. If the Scarlet Blood Blade ran away at this time, the force invested in the front would be reduced by half.

"Didn't your men tell you what I said? Once the ceremony is complete, we will act according to our own ideas. Whether we help you or not is entirely up to us. You have no right to order us around."

The Crimson Blades only cooperated with the Word Bearers for more exciting battles; they had no interest in the plan to rebuild Colchis.

The Chaos Lord glanced at the Khorne warriors waiting outside, as if not all of them were qualified to challenge the warrior. He then said to the Dark Apostle:

"So, I will only select eighty-seven qualified warriors to take away. The rest will be left to you. You have no room for bargaining, Word Bearer."

The teeth of the chainsaw axe in the Chaos Lord's hand began to spin. If the Dark Apostle wanted to turn against him here, he would not mind offering the head of the Word Bearer to the Blood God. Moreover, once the Word Bearer and the Crimson Blade were engaged, the Imperial Guard would take the opportunity to counterattack.

"...Okay!" The Dark Apostle said gritting his teeth. He knew that the Chaos Lord would definitely select the best eighty-seven warriors, and the Scarlet Blood Blade had nearly four companies of warriors, and a lot of them had been lost in the previous operations. If another eighty-seven were taken away this time, the Dark Apostle would only have a little more than one company left. But this was better than being taken away by the Chaos Lord.

The Chaos Lord quickly pointed out eighty-seven warriors. He was very familiar with his own gang and knew clearly who was strong and who was weak. As for the remaining people, he would wait and see if they could survive the front battlefield.

The departure of the elite Scarlet Blood Blades caused a stir in the Khorne army. Some of them also wanted to respond to the call of the Blood God and have a hearty battle with the warriors chosen by the God.

"Huh, you want to leave!?"

The Dark Apostle unfolded a large barrier, and the Khorne army was wrapped inside it, as if time was stopped.

If I can’t cure the Scarlet Blood Blade, can I also cure you lesser demons?

In order to avoid this situation from happening when summoning the Khorne demon army, the Dark Apostle added ingredients to the ritual, allowing him to bypass the Khorne demons' psychic resistance and control this demon army.

After halting the Khorne army, the Dark Apostle and his Word Bearers wizards began to prepare for the Chaos Ritual. During this ritual, the strength of the Khorne demons would be enhanced to a certain extent, but the price was that the demons' physical bodies would collapse in a short period of time. The Dark Apostle did this in order to have a decisive battle with the Imperial Guard.

"Let you enjoy your last moments of comfort."

The Chaos Ritual will take some time to perform. During this period, the Dark Apostles will not make any moves, and the Imperial Guards will not have the energy to attack immediately after fighting hard with the Khorne army. This becomes the halftime break for both sides.

The Imperial Guard also discovered that the demonic attacks stopped after the barrier appeared, but the Cadian Assault Force and the Astartes did not dare to let their guard down, in case the traitors' plan came to light, the traitors would immediately launch an attack once they relaxed.

"What are the Word Bearers up to?"

When Awei saw that the attack of the Khorne Demon Army had stopped, he immediately ordered the Imperial Guards to start repairing the fortifications. No matter what the other side wanted to do, it would be a good idea to repair the defenses first.

During this period, four Contemptor Dreadnoughts stood at the front of the position like a high wall, giving the Imperial Guard an incomparable sense of security.

"Gloria, what are they doing over there?" Wei asked Gloria.

"Wait a moment, I'm still invading the Chaos warship... Okay, I took a moment to scan, and there is a large-scale time stasis spell in front of you. This spell has stopped all the Khorne demon army." Gloria replied.

"Why did they stop the Khorne Demon Army?" Awei didn't quite understand the enemy's actions. It would be okay to stop their own army, but isn't this giving the Imperial Guard some rest time?

"That's not entirely clear. After all, I'm not in orbit right now, so I can't scan accurately. Let's wait until we're done fighting."

"How long do you have?"

"Right now, there's already an enemy ship preparing to flee."

Chapter 72 Brothers~Brothers~

The enchanted warrior launched a charge and launched a series of crazy combos at Apu's team, and then nothing happened.

The Terminator in the front blocked most of the attacks with a storm shield, and when he caught the enemy attacking, Appu used the power fist of his left arm to directly hit an enchanted warrior with an uppercut!

You think the uppercut is outdated? Then take another one—a powerful punch!

But after just a few rounds, these enchanted warriors were scattered all over the ground, and it was impossible to get them back even if you fought hard.

"This is too watery."

Apu thought the enchanted warriors were so powerful, but it turns out these were all fakes.

Possessed Warriors, as the name suggests, are Chaos Space Marines possessed by Chaos Daemons. This technology was originally developed by the Word Bearers during the Great Crusade. Warriors possessed by demons can gain the power of demons to strengthen themselves, but the price is the demonization of their appearance and the risk of being taken over by the possessed demon at any time.

The first batch of enchanted warriors were called the Blessed Sons. These warriors had a perfect symbiosis with the possessed demons, and were far more powerful than the later enchanted warriors. They were strong enough to compete with the Custodes (meaning they would definitely not be able to win in a 1v1 match), and there was no risk of being possessed by demons. They could also switch between human and demon forms at any time. To put it bluntly, they were the Warhammer 40K version of 'Demon Men'. They were also considered by Lorgar to be the hope for the coexistence of humans and demons, and the perfect embodiment of the Legion's future vision.

It's a pity that the Sons of the Blessed are just a flash in the pan. They are the only special ones among the enchanted warriors, while the other enchanted warriors are basically the same as those killed by Apu. They have definitely become stronger, but compared with the Sons of the Blessed, they are pure duds.

But is it possible that it is not that these enchanted warriors are weak, but that Apu is too strong?

Apu: I don’t know. I’ve never thought about this question.

After getting rid of the enchanted warriors, Appu fought his way to the bridge and killed all the personnel on the bridge. Without command, the Retaliator-class cruiser fell into chaos. The Astartes squads on the middle and lower decks destroyed the battleship's engines and void shield launchers after suffering certain casualties, causing the entire ship to come to a standstill.

There was no possibility of purifying this long-corrupted warship. Next, the Astartes on the Retaliator-class cruiser would be picked up by vehicles sent by their respective chapters, or teleported back. After the soldiers were evacuated, the Imperial fleet would directly sink this Chaos warship.

Ap and the Nebula Hammer's Astartes were directly teleported back to the ship by Gloria. The Black Templars and Celestial Lions also acted quickly and soon they sent a communication saying that the personnel had been evacuated.

After discovering that the Retaliator-class cruiser was paralyzed, the remaining Hellfire-class heavy cruisers and strike cruisers of the Chaos fleet immediately dispersed and fled. The situation was already hopeless and there was no need to stay here and die.

The Imperial fleet did not pursue. Among the four warships, except for the Silver Sword, the other three had suffered considerable damage. Moreover, compared with the two Chaos warships, the situation on Isil was more important.

The four warships concentrated their firepower to destroy the Retaliator-class cruiser, then immediately turned back to Isil's orbit and began trying to restore contact with the forces on the ground.

Gloria sent a Thunderhawk to the top of the tower. Koslo was already dying. If he was not brought back for rescue, he might not even have the chance to "rise in a coffin and make a fortune."

"Apu, are you done fighting over there?"