Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 769 Bombing Nostramo (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"This is the typical stench left behind by a warp demon."

"There is no smell of copper rust and blood, no stench of decay, no lewd musk, so the answer is obvious."

"These are traces left by the retinue of the Lord of All Changes."

The unusual situation, which even the Midnight Lord was unsure about, naturally required Rosie to handle personally.

When he arrived at the ruins of the hive, the traces of pollution had already been burned away by the Midnight Lord using a promethium flamethrower.

As long as chaotic pollution exists, it will exert a continuous influence on the outside world for every second it remains.

Therefore, even if it destroys trace evidence, they cannot allow these subspace contaminants to remain on the surface of their home planet.

Rosie attempted to use psychic powers to rewind time and see what had happened in the past.

However, when he tried to peer into the past, he could only see an incredibly chaotic flow of time that completely distorted and covered the past, making it impossible to turn back time.

This also means that the Tzeentch demon that once appeared here may have been exceptionally powerful.

"I knew these warp demons would never change their ways. We're setting up a defensive line here to fight the greenskin orcs, and they're definitely going to cause trouble in our rear."

"Is there any more specific information? There must be something special about this place, otherwise Tzeentch would not be able to appear in the real universe so easily without a summoning ritual."

Faced with Rosie's question, Talos, the soul hunter sent by Macarion to assist him, immediately began to report his investigation results.

"According to records, this area was originally a private estate owned by the Duke family."

"It's just that the Duke family was wiped out in the Great Purge, and none of these guys were able to pass the think tank's review."

"Furthermore, after investigating the access records of the orbital space station, we learned that a guy named Erin Duke returned to Hive City with a construction worker named Damian."

"Both of them are currently missing, and our people are searching for them. It will take some time."

"However, we can make the judgment that the Duke family is the hidden Bishop of the Ever-Changing Sect."

Talos's analysis was logical and well-supported by evidence, and Rosie nodded in agreement, finding nothing wrong with it.

"A rather clichéd noble revenge story: the great purge we launched in Nostrama destroyed his proud family."

And this Erin somehow managed to bypass the screening and even got into the Tenes orbital space station.

"But what I'm curious about isn't Erin Duke. That guy is just a surviving survivor who wasn't completely wiped out; he can't cause any trouble."

Rosie's tone was somewhat evasive, as if she were confirming some kind of guess.

"What I find strange is that he clearly summoned a Tzeentch Archdeacon using some unknown means, but why didn't that archdeacon continue causing trouble?"

“I’m pretty sure that the Tzeentch Archdeacon’s activity was limited to this area, and it left no trace in other places.”

"It wasn't easy for these greedy warp creatures to come to our universe. There are souls they want everywhere here, so they certainly wouldn't come for nothing."

But apart from this area, I haven't smelled that disgusting stench anywhere else.

As Rosie walked through the ruins, she pondered, trying to discover any small details she had overlooked.

"Furthermore, judging from the remaining information, it seems that the Great Demon Tzeentch had a battle with some kind of being. There aren't many people who can hold their own against a Great Demon."

Even a think tank like Talos couldn't be certain that they could defeat a demon lord capable of ever-changing forms.

After all, the difference between two Myriad Transformation Demon Lords is greater than that between a Great Demon and a Transformation Spirit.

An ordinary Archduke might be banished by an Astartes of the rank of company commander, while a powerful Archduke could even rival the Primarch.

If we really speculate in this direction, then there is a creature hidden in Nostramore that is comparable to, or even more powerful than, the Great Demon, which is quite terrifying to think about.

Lothie would rather have a powerful demon lurking here than some unknown entity hiding in Nostramore.

“I will increase patrols and vigilance to try and find those rats hiding in the gutter. It seems that the pressure we are putting on is not enough,” Talos said in a chilling tone.

He was the one among the high-ranking members of the Midnight Lords whose personality was most similar to the original Koz, and whose methods were also the most brutal.

Under their scrutiny and selection, the scum of Nostramo were left on the planet's surface, while those who could still be saved were taken into orbit.

Those remaining scumbags, realizing their impending doom, are now hiding like rats in the intricate ancient passages of Nostramona, making them extremely difficult to find.

Every day, thousands of midnight lords engage in a real-life cat-and-mouse game with the most vicious and cunning villains in the dark sewers of Nostramore.

However, the Night Lords' gains were not as smooth as they had imagined.

Even after learning about the situation, Rosie couldn't help but marvel at how Nostramo was truly a place of outstanding people and resources.

Those were the Night Lords! These Astartes, masters of asymmetric warfare and fear tactics in broken and complex environments, were unable to completely extinguish the flames of resistance from those mortal criminals.

Occasionally, reports of the Midnight Lords going missing would even be submitted.

It's obvious to anyone with their toes that those Midnight Lords must have fallen victim to the traps and ambushes set up by the criminals of Nostramamor.

Over the past few months, the Midnight Lords have begun preliminary Primal Forging modifications.

The first batch of Midnight Lords who completed the original forging upgrade have demonstrated even more terrifying combat power and survivability.

"Alright, since we can't find anything concrete to report for now, let's put this matter aside for the time being and see if there are any further breakthroughs."

"It doesn't matter if there's no progress, because it will soon become unimportant."

After confirming that there were no signs of warp contamination here, Loshi decided to hand it over to Talos.

After he arrived in the Nostramo system, other Imperial armies gradually arrived at the front lines, and he also had to coordinate the armies of those different command systems.

Little Nostradamus is now beginning to rise to prominence.

Imperial forces, warp forces, mysterious forces lurking in the shadows, and the yet-to-arrive greenskin orcs.

Although all the conflicts have not yet erupted, Rosie has already sensed a tense and oppressive feeling, as if a storm is brewing.

If war really breaks out, the entire sector will probably be thrown into chaos. At that time, various hidden forces will likely be unable to restrain themselves and will come out to stir up trouble.

"But unfortunately, I'm not going to waste time with you guys who are hiding and running around like a normal character," Rosie thought to herself with a smile.

"Now that most of the humans on the surface of Nostramore have migrated, the remaining stubborn elements still resisting are not a big problem."

"The reason we haven't been able to take it down yet is simply because we're hesitant to act rashly."

"But what if I simply choose to flip the table and raze the entire Nostramore to the ground? What then?"

Talos, who was standing nearby, listened to Loxi's whisper and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

His psychic abilities are highly sensitive, allowing him to detect even the most subtle emotional fluctuations; otherwise, Koz wouldn't have bestowed upon him the title of "Soul Hunter."

"Talos, inform the Midnight Lord's forces and mortal auxiliary troops to retreat to your fortress monastery."

"At the same time, we need to find a way to move all the valuable things on Nostramo to the Midnight Court, or to put them into orbit."

"Our reinforcements are arriving one after another, and as the host, Nostramo should naturally clean the house before inviting guests."

……

Since the incident at the Duke family manor, all the thugs and criminals hiding in the shadows of Nostramore, playing hide-and-seek with the Lord of the Night, have made a surprising and welcome discovery—

Those deadly hunters of the night suddenly vanished.

As if they had vanished into thin air, all the pursuit and hunting ceased overnight.

The remnants of the nobility, who had prepared numerous traps and even unleashed forbidden weapons from the dark ages, ready to fight to the death, were utterly astonished and bewildered.

"Why didn't those bastards continue the pursuit?"

"Does dressing up like a bat really make you a hunter and judge of the night?"

"Were they driven back by our resistance, or are they plotting an even more despicable scheme?"

Deep beneath Nostramo lies a secret meeting room located inside an ancient tunnel, extremely difficult for the outside world to discover.

The rusty steam pipes hummed overhead, and a strange smell, which had been brewing and fermenting in the sewers for decades, could be faintly heard.

Twelve chairs made of fine gold were arranged around an obsidian round table, each seated to a noble representative.

The room was filled with fluorescent lights, and the layers of light dispelled any shadows in the room.

As a Nostramo, one should be accustomed to darkness.

But after being relentlessly pursued by the Midnight Lord, the members of these ancient families, though they didn't say it aloud, all began to fear the darkness in their hearts.

Their families were almost entirely wiped out in the purge by the Eighth Legion, and now only a few lucky survivors remain.

"But in any case, it's good for us to have some breathing room. We must continue to reinforce our underground shelters to gain more advantages."

"Fortify the shelter? Did you get kicked in the head by a Grooketh?"

The midnight lords failed to capture us because they were outnumbered and unable to locate us, not because they couldn't open our shells.

A gang leader who modified his throat's vocal organs into a mechanically structured lower voice.

“Then where else can we hide? We have nowhere to go except to dig a hole into the earth’s crust,” Veronica Casares, the smuggling queen, said sarcastically.

Her smuggling business was once very successful, and even the planetary governor needed to maintain a good relationship with her, but all of that has now vanished.

"By the way, our excavators are worn out from digging holes in the earth's crust, which is full of refined gold, and they could break down at any time."

"If this won't work and that won't work, then we might as well surrender. The reason they launched the Great Purge is simply for resources and interests."

We surrender and withdraw from the game, letting them choose whether it's a fight to the death or a win-win situation.

Another family representative spoke up, and he was even more irritable, looking like he was about to overturn the table.

A heated argument broke out, and several representatives even started fighting. The scene was chaotic and showed no signs of discussion or deliberation.

"Enough!" A dignified old man who had been sitting upright in his seat without saying a word spoke up to stop the farce.

Although he was old, he gave the impression of a sleeping lion, which greatly intimidated these gangs and nobles.

“We have no room to surrender. This time they are not here for resources.”

The old man's voice was hoarse, revealing an undeniable authority.

"They want to wipe out all of us 'evil people,' just like that midnight ghost did more than a hundred years ago."

Even the most volatile gang leader showed fear upon hearing the name Midnight Ghost.

They are not the lowly people who exhaust all their strength just to survive. They have strict education and traditions to ensure that their descendants can grow into qualified successors who can continue to rule Nostramamo.

The Tattooed Earl was once their spokesperson, their tentacles used to corrupt and infiltrate the Eighth Legion.

However, since the death of the Tattooed Earl, their situation has deteriorated rapidly, and they are no longer able to extend their reach into the Eighth Legion.

“Any cowardice, surrender, or escape is futile and will only hasten your death.”

"This new controller of the Eighth Legion is even more ruthless and vicious than the former Midnight Ghost."

A hint of helplessness crept into the old man's voice: "No matter how strong the Midnight Ghost is, there's only one person."

Even if he killed continuously, the hundreds of billions of people in Nostramore could not keep up with the rate at which evil people were created.

Simply killing cannot solve the problem.

But the person who orchestrated all of this has not only relocated ordinary people who are not deeply guilty from this planet, but has also provided them with a means of making a living in space orbit.

Most people, as long as they can survive and are subject to legal restrictions and supervision, will not dare to commit crimes again.

This two-pronged approach completely cut off the breeding ground for darkness to spread and multiply on Nostramo.

But this also shook the foundation of their alliance of interests at the top of Nostramore. Without that foundation, even the most magnificent castle in the air could collapse at any moment.

"Elder, what should we do?" Everyone turned their gaze to the lion-like old man, their eyes filled with eager anticipation.

"The only way to survive now is to evacuate. We can only survive if we leave Nostradamo."

The elder spoke slowly, standing up with his cane in hand, and looking around at his allies.

"I possess a treasure left over from the dark age of technology, which can teleport a group of people away from this planet."

Upon hearing this, everyone involuntarily swallowed.

"Elder, why didn't you say so earlier if you had this ability?"

"Yes, yes, if you had said so earlier we wouldn't be arguing here anymore."

The elder tapped the floor with his cane and then added, "But this treasure of mine can only be used five times, and each time it can only pass through no more than ten people. Now I only have one last chance to use it."

"You can choose who to let go."

After speaking, the elder closed his eyes and waited for the others to make their choice.

"Ten people? We have dozens of people here, how are we supposed to choose, who should go and who should stay?"

Although everyone here is an ally, at best it is a loser's alliance forced by the Midnight Lord's Great Purge, which has no choice but to stick together for warmth.

Before this, they had fought tooth and nail over various disputes over interests, but now, tempted by survival, they have started fighting again.

These villains who survived the Great Purge all possessed their own hidden skills.

At this moment, the room was filled with various high-energy rays, plasma beams, and even Eldar poison crystal weapons flying everywhere.

They had to kill their opponent in order to leave with the elder.

Fifteen minutes later, the number of survivors in the room had finally dropped to less than ten, while the ground was littered with severed limbs and mutilated bodies, and the stench of blood filled the air.

The elder opened his eyes again, and there were still traces of blood on his cane. These were the marks left by a desperate thug who tried to take him hostage and threaten him.

"Elder, we can go now."

Smuggling queen Casares smiled seductively; her beautiful face, stained with blood, now exuded an even more captivating charm.

"Walk?"

The elder opened his eyes, and his cane, as if it had a life of its own, frantically absorbed the blood in the room.

Even the souls of those who had just died were sucked into the cane amidst their piercing screams and devoured completely.

"You don't really think there's such a thing, do you? If it could lead us away from Nostramore, I would have left long ago."

"You useless trash, staying here will only give me a weakness. The Midnight Lords will find me through you. You might as well just die!"

The elder's scepter, having absorbed enough soul energy and intense negative emotions, immediately released strange beams of spiritual light that pierced through the foreheads of everyone else present.

Casares's stunningly beautiful face rapidly withered and faded after death, turning into the appearance of a wrinkled old woman.

"You slut, do you think I don't know you killed those young women and took their life force? You still dare to flirt with me!"

"What kind of stuff haven't I dealt with, you?"

The elder disdainfully poked the corpse with his cane, but the next moment, the corpse on the ground exploded, and countless deadly venoms from the Dark Spirit Clan splattered everywhere.

A light blue energy barrier suddenly appeared around the elder, and a string of prayer beads-like ornaments immediately dimmed.

"Damn, they're all so cunning. Luckily, I haven't used up all my cards yet."

After a fierce battle, the elder emerged from the room alone. He had to find a way to sneak into space orbit and escape this damned place.

However, before he could return to the surface, a terrifying impact resounded through the underground secret passage.

"This is……"

The elder stood frozen in place, his sense of danger rapidly triggering alarms.

A terrifying sound, like a volcanic eruption, came from all directions. The shockwave instantly shattered the elder's eardrums, and blood flowed from the corners of his eyes, nostrils, and mouth.

The gods continued to unleash their powerful punches upon Nostramo.

Hundreds of spaceships unleashed deadly firepower, bombarding every part of the planet except for the Midnight Court.

"madman!"

"madman!"

"They are bombing their own army's homeworld!"

The rosary beads on the elder's body could no longer hold on. The shockwave from the orbital bombardment would tear even a Titan machine to shreds instantly, let alone a mere mortal.

Nostrama's crust contains exceptionally rich adamantite resources, so even orbital bombardment could not transmit the destructive force to the core.

The nest cities on the surface that survived from the dark age of technology began to collapse and disintegrate under the tearing force of the explosive shockwave and ultra-high temperature energy generated by the orbital bombardment.

The structure of the upper nest collapsed under the orbital impact, and these enormous man-made structures continued to crack, leaving horrifying giant scars on the planet's surface.

The obsidian spires that are widely distributed in Nostradamona turned into a rain of glass in the shock wave, with millions of prism-like fragments carrying human tissue scattered all over the sky.

The rioters hiding deep within the ruins and pipes were squeezed out of the cracks by the high temperature and pressure of the air, like soldier ants whose nests had been destroyed. Before they even hit the ground, they vaporized into pink mist in the intense heat.

Mushroom clouds rose over the filthy land of Nostradamo, as the thermal radiation, shock waves, and electromagnetic pulses generated by the thermonuclear reaction swept away the darkness that had never seen the sun.

Promethium flames surged through the underground pipe network, melting millennia-old criminal evidence, black market vaults, and various shelters into a boiling pot of asphalt.

The meticulously crafted shelter dome softened and collapsed like sugar coating, countless struggling metal skeletons floated from the lava, while the frail human bodies had long since died.

This was an extremely extreme and violent purge. Lothie wanted to create a clean frontline base for herself before the green-skinned orcs arrived.

The small earthquakes triggered by orbital bombardment continuously break down and reassemble the Earth's crust.

Once the partially melted adamantium cools down again, the planet will become even harder and more solid.

The atmosphere of Nostramamo trembled with death under the orbital bombardment.

The thick black cloud, composed of toxic gases, acid rain, and radioactive materials, was torn to pieces by the intense heat of the shockwave in a very short time.

Some of it was carried into space by the shockwave from the explosion, while the rest was completely burned up by the ultra-high temperature and thermal radiation.

The rampaging energy created one fiery hurricane after another, and the extremely violent atmospheric circulation struggled to release the excess energy.

Everything was burning, everything was exploding, and all conditions for life to survive were wiped out.

Even the most vicious and brutal criminals were reduced to ashes in this global trial.

Loxi was standing on the highest tower of the Midnight Court, while Macalion, Shen, and Talos stood behind him.

These midnight lords looked at their home planet, reduced to ashes, with complex expressions, unsure whether what they had done was right or wrong.

If Koz were to return and see how they treat their home planet, would he be furious?
"Don't grieve for what you've lost." The color of flame flickered in Rosie's eyes, along with the exhilarating relief of eradicating evil.

“I will build a completely new Nostramore and give it back to you. How can you create a new world without breaking down the old bottles and jars?”

The electric charge generated by the violent energy disturbance formed an electromagnetic storm, and crimson lightning bolts leaped and darted through the boiling sea of ​​clouds, as if the end of the world had arrived.

The orbital bombardment lasted for a full Nostramore stellar day, and by the time hundreds of warships left near-Earth orbit, the entire world had been engulfed in flames.

The magma on the surface formed new mountains, and the gradually cooling rocks shimmered like colorful glass.

These glass pieces contain unmelted gold particles, a type of rich mineral with extremely high content.

After doing all that, Roche dragged several asteroids composed of ice crystals from the Nostramo sector.

Pulled by psionic energy, these ice balls crashed onto the land one after another, melting rapidly in the high temperature and cooling the surrounding environment.

Pulled by the planet's gravity, the scalding water rushed towards the lower-lying areas, eventually forming a vast ocean.

Loshi used his psionic powers to accelerate the planet's evolutionary process, completing geological transformations and atmospheric circulation reshaping that would normally take decades in just one week.

Apart from the mountains where the Midnight Lord's fortress monastery is located, the planet has almost become a plain.

He tore up a piece of greasy scrap paper and replaced it with a brand new piece of white paper, providing ample space for his artwork.

While the land was still warm from the bombing, Losi once again deployed industrial Iron Men and large construction equipment to the surface.

With ample resources, STC formwork used in the construction industry is building entirely new cities and defensive structures at an unimaginable speed.

As the frontline position in Loshi's strategic positioning against the Greenskin Orcs, Nostramore will become a war planet armed to the extreme.

"I once created the battle planet Amatra and fought against the neutron war star of the gods. Today, let me build a battle planet that truly embodies the spirit of battle."

Loshi used psionic powers to create a special space within the core of Nostramore's planet.

Meanwhile, foundries in space began building dimensional engines that would power the giant planet.

Previously, the Amatra could only use planetary engines to move at sublight speeds, and for long-distance travel, it could only use subspace jumps.

This simple and crude method of movement is undoubtedly far inferior to the dimensional engine used by the neutron war star of the gods.

Nostramana's natural adamantite crust saved Roshi a lot of time and effort in reinforcing the planet to prevent it from being torn to pieces by its own inertia during its movement.

After Loshi moved all the mortals to the orbital space station, it was naturally impossible for him to move them back.

Using his cutting-edge technology, he deployed over ten thousand solar prominence-class plasma macrocannons on the plains of the earth.

This ground-based defense weapon can spray plasma jets like solar prominences, vaporizing and annihilating any enemies within its attack range.

Especially against enemies like warships, these plasma macro cannons will have an exceptionally good armor-piercing effect, thus severely damaging the enemy ship's interior.

Thanks to Nostramo's unique natural conditions, Loshi also built some distinctive weapons.

The weapon array, composed of particle acceleration orbits that traverse the equator, can easily accelerate fragments of adamantite crust to near the speed of light.

Both are sub-light-speed weapons, and without changing the rules, the speed of the warhead is already firmly locked at the critical point of light speed.

If one continues to improve quality while maintaining speed, it will naturally lead to a significant increase in lethality.

These planetary-scale orbital cannons are vastly different in destructive power from the sub-light-speed weapons on warships.

Calculations show that even a planet would be easily blasted into fragments by a sub-light-speed projectile fired from Nostramo.

The planet-level void shield, along with the energy shield derived from the flagship of the God's Blade, the Final Judgment, grants this planet, which is itself made of adamantite, even stronger defensive capabilities.

Nostramo is not only a magnetic sphere embedded in the entrance to the Ghoul Cluster, but its space orbital system can also serve as a cradle for the repair and resupply of countless warships.

"Unbelievable, this is actually our home planet."

Macalion stood atop the fortress monastery's spire, watching countless iron men and massive engineering machines busily under construction.

The Void Ripper Titan Legion, belonging to the Midnight Lords, has now re-landed on the planet's surface.

These divine machines can move freely across the planet's surface, and the hard crust can easily support their weight.

Macalion could not imagine that this was the Nostrama that was always shrouded in gloom.

Planetary-scale purification centers are filtering harmful substances from the atmosphere, working in conjunction with newly established atmospheric circulation to create a new home.

"The long-standing problems that have plagued us—the appalling environment of Nostrama and the rampant crime—have all been resolved in such a short time."

"If we had known this would happen, perhaps we should have asked you for help sooner."

Macarion's tone became even more respectful; in his eyes, the abilities Rosie displayed were nothing short of a miracle.

After resolving the issue of Nostramoor, the Star of Sin, Loshi's mood improved considerably.

"If the orc empire of the Ghoul Stars had not risen, I most likely would not have come to Nostramore, nor would I have met you."

"According to our frontline reconnaissance intelligence, a few Greenskin Orc reconnaissance ships have already sailed beyond the borders of the Ghoul Cluster."

"These green-skinned orcs are more cautious than before. They have learned to test our strength and weakness instead of rushing in headfirst as they used to."

Macarion was also aware of the information Rosie had mentioned, and when he saw it, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Those beasts are indeed very different now. If they still cling to their old attitudes and methods, they will probably suffer a great loss.

"The original forging transformation is underway, and about a quarter of the Night Lords will be able to complete the transformation before the official start of the war."

"You have helped the Eighth Legion so much, so we will certainly not let you down."

Nostradamus will become the most impregnable bridgehead, keeping the greenskinned orcs at bay.

Macarion also opportunely pledged their loyalty; now that they had latched onto Losi, they were already on the verge of taking off.

Just as the two continued their conversation, Shen brought news that other reinforcements had arrived.

"Lord Loshi, we have received a Star Language communication from the Salamander Legion."

"The Eighteen Legions declared that they have three more solar days to travel before reaching the Nostramo system, and their Primarch, the Lord of Fire Dragons, will also be visiting."

Upon hearing this good news, Luo Xi's body trembled slightly, and an excited smile appeared on her lips.

Good, good! Now that Vulcan is here, we can launch a probing attack on the Ghoul Orc Empire.

(End of this chapter)