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

Chapter 801 The Salamander's Carnage (Chapter Summary)
After reaching a consensus on the issue of the Dark Lord, everyone began to act separately as planned.

Qile will become a banner openly opposing the extreme state religion of Terra, uniting those equally dissatisfied forces and organizations around it.

The Tribunal, the Assassin's Court, and parts of the Astartes Legion... will form an alliance against the extremist state religion.

Differentiation of the national religion was also an important task for Qi Le.

The Living Saint directly and openly contacted numerous religious worlds in the Limitless Starfield and gained the support and endorsement of those cardinals.

Compared to a reasonable pope, these cardinals who had been rooted in the Extreme Starfield for a long time were extremely disgusted with Elfreda, whom they had heard about in the intelligence.

"Euphrates Cheryl is the Pope of our recognized state religion, and any shameful betrayal will be punished!"

"The truth cannot be concealed by the annals of history, and justice resides in the hearts of the people!"

After meeting with Qile, a highly respected cardinal publicly expressed his unequivocal support for her.

With Qile's presence, those believers who were extremely dissatisfied with the state religion of Terra found someone to support.

More and more believers of the state religion began to gather around the Pope, preparing to join the war against the extreme state religion of Terra.

These people only opposed the state religion controlled by Alfreda, but they had no ill intentions towards the state religion as the vehicle for the emperor's faith.

In the eyes of most people, all of this is simply to set things right.

Terra was already powerless to reach the Extreme Starfield, and even if they learned through their intelligence network that Qile was gathering forces in the Far East, what could they do?
The threatened commander-in-chief of the Astral Army and the Imperial Navy admiral, while agreeing to cooperate with the Terran State Church's war against the rebellion as much as possible, constantly delayed the operation with completely plausible excuses.

Terra's bureaucrats are extremely adept at deflecting blame; it's an instinct ingrained in their very being.

Alfreda could only hasten the formation of the Holy Crusade, a branch of the state religion, to attack the Ork and suppress those who questioned her.

From the moment they failed to find and intercept Qile, this war of faith was destined to break out.

It can be concluded that if the war between wild animals ends and external pressure disappears, humanity may immediately erupt into a war of faith.

After dealing with various matters, Guilliman and Rossi also set off from Nostrama, leading the war fleet to catch up with Vulcan.

The main theme is the war against the green-skinned orcs, while the crises of the state religion and the Dark Lord are troubles that can be postponed.

……

At this moment, in the ghoul constellation, the expeditionary fleet personally led by Vulcan has approached an orc star system that is not marked on the Imperial star map.

The Empire's knowledge of the Ghoul Stars was extremely limited to begin with, and the few pieces of information it possessed were mainly from records gleaned from the former Ash Claw database.

The Greenskins' radical modifications to the Ghoul Stars have made everything utterly unfamiliar.

Based on what Vulcan had seen and heard along the way, these green-skinned orcs had become technologically advanced enough to alter planetary orbits in order to more efficiently obtain stellar radiation.

Even in the professional reports of those mechanical priests, humans discovered that the Orcs were able to modify and control some stars that were too active, making them release energy more gently.

Humans can also do the former; it's just a matter of shifting the spatial position of a planet, which isn't too complicated.

But the latter is completely different.

Humans have many ways to accelerate the reaction of a normally stable star and transform it into a supernova that releases energy violently in a short period of time, but they don't have many ways to reverse an overly volatile star into a stable state.

This means that the Orcs have developed their own unique technology in the field of astrophysics.

This terrifying speed of progress sent chills down Vulcan's spine.

"We can't let the Orcs get any bigger. Who knows what incredible technologies and knowledge they'll unearth from their own genes?"

The usually benevolent Lord of Fire Dragons, when faced with these aliens that seriously threatened humanity's dominance in the galaxy, felt only a cold desire for destruction.

All he could think about now was killing as many Greenskins as possible to clear some obstacles for Guilliman behind him.

The more he kills, the fewer Guillimans he can kill; Vulcan's thinking is that simple and direct.

The massive silhouette of the Undying Ember was surrounded by other warships in the center.

Due to its massive mass, the Undying Ember naturally generates a huge gravitational effect, attracting surrounding matter to approach it like a celestial body.

The sons of Vulcan forged the ferocious design of the behemoth known as the "fire lizard" from Nocturne onto the armor of the warship.

When these creatures appear in the deep, dark expanse of space, they seem as if a colossal beast, over a hundred kilometers long, is roaming and hunting.

The beast's claws and teeth were constantly sharpened, ready to strike and hunt at any moment.

The Salamanders poured all their ingenuity and creativity into this Thundercloud-class planetary warship, giving it far greater firepower than its sister ships.

A deep blue energy vortex brewed on the array of light spears, and when they were launched, they became a annihilating judgment capable of tearing apart any orc warship.

The dense array of macro cannons, calibrated by the main control AI, precisely targeted and destroyed the orc warships that were trying to dodge the attacks by maneuvering.

When the thousands of tons of macro cannon shells struck the orc warship at near-light speed, the waaagh energy shield attached to its surface was immediately subjected to extreme stress.

In an extremely short time, the Waaagh energy shield shattered, and the entire warship was reduced to dust by the sub-light-speed projectiles.

Vulcan stood firmly on the bridge command deck of the Undying Ember. This silent Primarch, simply by standing there, was like a stabilizing pillar, calming the morale of the expeditionary fleet.

Whether they were salamander warriors or ordinary human support troops, mechanical priests, or stone technicians on the warships, they would all feel boundless admiration and fervent fighting spirit from the bottom of their hearts.

This is the creation the Emperor is most proud of; every Primarch is a born leader and commander.

Their role extends far beyond simply leading troops into battle; that is merely a minor advantage.

The Primarchs' strength lies in their ability to unite people, inspire morale, and make optimal decisions based on the current situation.

Although these green-skinned orc warships were no match for the human expeditionary fleet, they still displayed a fearless spirit.

One after another, warships billowing thick smoke launched suicidal charges at the human fleet, attempting to take down a human enemy with the most savage and direct impact.

They also have their own firm belief: to fight for the rise of the great green-skinned orc empire.

Both sides in the battle were fearless, resolute, and determined.

But Vulcan didn't care about the enemy's counterattack at all.

He simply brandished his Dawnbringer warhammer, signaling the ship to crush the enemy's counterattack with pure violence.

As the core and vanguard of the fleet, the Undying Ember, like a cosmic behemoth, bared its fangs and fiercely bit into the orc warship.

The void shield on the surface of the warship rippled like water, and the damage caused by this ultra-high-speed impact instantly activated the void shield's reaction mechanism.

The green-skinned warship seemed to be chewed and crushed by invisible teeth. The metal, rocks, and flesh that made up the warship were all burned and swallowed into the warp after being violently rubbed against the void shield.

Faced with these enemy ships that could not break through the void shield, the primitive ramming was much more powerful than expected, and this simple and brutal killing method constantly boosted the morale of the expeditionary force.

Green-skinned orcs are savage? Then humans are even more savage!
Green-skinned orcs are ferocious? Then humans are even more ferocious!
All the humans on duty aboard the warship, operating long-range weapons, and working silently in the engine room and the hull, felt the slight vibrations brought about by each collision.

Their eyes were bloodshot, and their faces wore expressions of glee and excitement as they celebrated yet another victory for humanity.

"Let's march all the way to the greenskins' homeland and hang their orc leader!"

"These damned things are making our lives miserable, so we'll make them miserable first!"

The crew members laughed heartily, wiping the sweat pouring down their foreheads. Despite the harsh conditions, they were filled with boundless energy.

Although they are small, as members of humanity as a whole, they still bravely shouldered their responsibilities and felt their glory.

The sterns of the battleships and cruisers spewed blinding white light, sweeping away and destroying any orc warships in their path like cosmic sweepers.

Perhaps, like Chagatai Khan, when facing an oncoming fleet of green-skinned orcs, he would flexibly disperse his formation, circle around to the enemy's rear, and then use the "spinning" tactic to break through the enemy.

But Vulcan wasn't very good at using those sophisticated tactics.

His greatest skill was smashing the enemy's bones with simple, brutal methods, like wielding a hammer and striking an anvil.

Approximately fourteen Terra hours later, the Salamander expeditionary fleet destroyed the orc fleet of around eight hundred ships.

Without the protection of the fleet, the Orc star system naturally became a piece of meat that humans could easily manipulate.

Vulcan did not directly order his fleet to approach the planets of the green-skinned orcs for orbital bombardment.

He found a simpler, more efficient, and faster solution.

"Loxi has given us a powerful new technology."

"The star harvester technology used in conjunction with the space bridge technology can be used for more than just energy acquisition."

"The anvil used for forging can not only create tools, but also weapons of killing."

"Full power on the Star Harvester! I'm going to make those abominable greens lose their sun!"

As the Primarch gave the order, the Mechanicus followers aboard the Undying Ember began the ritual to awaken the Stellar Harvester.

The sacred bells were struck one after another, their deep and resonant chimes echoing endlessly throughout the cabins of the Undying Ember.

All the mechanical priests, technical sergeants, mortal technicians, and stone technicians stopped what they were doing.

Even the mindless modified machine servants lowered their heads and silently recited prayers of praise.

"Ring the bell once! Push the lever to start the piston and pump."

"Ring the bell twice! Press the button, start the engine, ignite the turbine, and inject life."

"Ring the great bell three times! Sing in unison, praising the God of All Things!"

High Gothic and binary languages ​​were woven into hymns, and even the Primarchs were infected by this sacred and solemn atmosphere.

The hum produced when the Star Harvester awoke was like the final chapter of an ancient church organ playing the end of the world.

Vulcan lowered his warhammer and gently tapped the deck, echoing the sacred and majestic hum.

The Lord of Fire Dragons possesses extraordinary skill in the field of forging; the items he crafts with his hammer can truly be called divine artifacts.

Even the Dawnbringer in his hand was originally crafted as a gift for Horus.

Unfortunately, before the gift could be delivered, Vulcan sensed Horus's inner darkness, and soon after, a civil war broke out among mankind.

He could sense that the consciousness of the Star Harvester was awakening, displaying its world-destroying power.

An immense amount of energy was surging through the pipes, and the overflowing radiation even caused slight disturbances in the flagship's energy system.

The Star Harvester makes extensive use of Cybertron's unique deformable metal, so once the control protocol is activated, the spire composed of energy siphons begins to extend its limbs, and twelve anti-gravity rings light up one after another.

A deep blue beam of energy shot from the top of the spire, suddenly turning at a distance of 500,000 kilometers from the star's surface, weaving into a void net resembling a Dyson sphere.

The pierced corona erupted with supernova-like flames, but these torrents of energy were immediately absorbed by the base of the spire.

A large number of high-density energy blocks were collected; these were the condensation of the star's blood, the embodiment of the sun's life.

The star's mass is being rapidly drained away, and we can even see large, giant dark spots spreading rapidly—because the lost material is creating a low-temperature zone on the sun's surface.

The sun is losing mass at a rate billions of times faster than normal, and the originally stable fusion reaction inside the star is also starting to go out of control under the disruption of this external force.

In Vulcan's eyes, this yellow dwarf star, which could have burned for another four billion years, was convulsing violently.

Solar prominences writhe and thrash like the limbs of an epileptic, ejecting streams of high-energy particles that even break free from the gravitational pull of stars and enter the frigid space.

This was also the first time Vulcan had seen the Star Harvesters operating at full power. If it were just to obtain energy to maintain the Space Bridge, they wouldn't have gone so far as to instantly kill a star.

The star began to collapse, like a rose decaying in the void.

"What a magnificent sight!" Vulcan exclaimed sincerely, feeling a spark of inspiration ignite in his mind.

After the war ends, perhaps he can use this as inspiration to create another divine weapon.

Before the star completely collapsed, Vulcan ordered the star harvester to be shut down.

Immediately, the Salamander fleet, loaded with energy blocks, quickly regrouped and retreated towards the outside of the star system.

This galaxy is finished. The dying star will unleash the most brilliant burst of its long life in the instant it loses its balance.

Human warships can easily evacuate before destruction, as long as they leave the star system and avoid the high-energy rays released by the supernova explosion.

However, the Ork, whose spaceship had already been destroyed, clearly had no way to escape.

Countless greens remaining on the planet watched in horror as the sun in the sky grew brighter and brighter at a visible speed.

He accidentally looked at the green skin of the sun and his eyes were burned and destroyed.

An eerie black light is violently penetrating the atmosphere, showering the planet's surface with devastating radiation.

Radiation intensity is soaring at a terrifying rate, and all the planets in the entire galaxy are plunged into a radiation inferno in a very short time. Extremely high temperatures follow one after another, and the massless star continues to expand its volume, with countless giant cavitation bubbles gushing out from the star's core, like a drowning person taking their last breath.

The atmosphere could no longer protect the green-skinned orcs on the planet; everything before their eyes was boiling and burning.

First, some fuel and fungal spores were ignited, followed by the green-skinned orcs with flesh and blood, and then the rocks and metal.

Countless green-skinned creatures were roasted to death in excruciating pain, their instinct being to burrow deeper underground to escape the extreme heat.

But when their hands, covered in scalded blisters, are corroded and assimilated in the molten, viscous rock, they will find that it was all in vain.

Hundreds of billions of green-skinned orcs are dying, and even the few that hide deep underground are barely clinging to life.

There is a fundamental difference between the fury of stars and the orbital bombardment of human fleets.

The two sides are several levels apart in terms of energy level.

Once the crustal rock layers are all melted by the high temperature, the magma will flow back into the underground bunkers dug by the green-skinned orcs under the influence of gravity, turning them into quick fossils.

Furthermore, the gravitational pull exerted on planets by stars that have lost a significant amount of mass has changed dramatically.

Due to inertia, these planets began to deviate from their original orbits, and violent crustal movements followed.

Giant mushroom clouds occasionally rise from the planet's surface; these are either ancient monstrous objects from green-skinned orcs or the result of dangerous, lethal weapons going out of control.

“Praise be to Om Messiah.”

"His light illuminates our path."

The electronic eyes of the mechanical sages flashed with excited red light.

They are recording every detail of a star's final moments, which will become valuable material for their astrophysical research and provide reference for more efficient use of star harvesters in the future.

Vulcan silently gazed at the still-spreading silver wreckage in the starry sky—floating there were carbonized remains of the orc fleet, drifting towards the outer edge of the galaxy under the raging solar winds.

The conflict between humans and green-skinned orcs is a life-or-death war between two hostile races.

Both sides need enough living space to grow their races. Only by acquiring enough territory can the green-skinned orcs reproduce more orcs and activate the genetic code imprinted in their genes.

If humans don't destroy the Greenskins' sun today, tomorrow these Greenskins will be driving their battle moons and smashing them right into the humans' faces through the Waaagh gate.

Vulcan remained unmoved. He disliked war and killing, but his responsibilities as the Primarch compelled him to do so.

There is no right or wrong, only perspectives.

The Salamander Expeditionary Fleet stayed in this nameless orc star system for a day, only leaving after confirming that the expanding, out-of-control star had swallowed everything whole.

After destroying a star system controlled by the Orks, Vulgan clearly sensed that the Orks were surging toward him.

Their hatred is rising.

The frequency of fleet encounters has soared to four times that of when we first entered the Ghoul Cluster, and this upward trend shows no signs of stopping.

Vulcan had a feeling that he was about to engage in battle with the truly powerful war force of the green-skinned orcs.

As it turned out, Vulcan's premonition was correct.

Three days later, the Salamander Expeditionary Fleet finally encountered the Greenskinned Orcs' true trump card.

"Battle Moon spotted!"

Two!

On the command bridge of the Undying Ember, the crew member in charge of operating the scanning array immediately shouted loudly.

On the holographic projection, two unfamiliar celestial bodies were approaching the fleet. Although their speed was not very fast, their intentions were very clear.

Vulcan was also startled, and his hand holding the Dawnbringer tightened unconsciously.

"Is it finally here..."

"Then come on!"

Vulcan already knew from intelligence that the greenskin orcs possessed war units such as battle moons and even battle planets.

The intelligence report mentions that there are many Battle Moons, and the Greenskin Orcs have mastered the ability to mass-produce them.

Fortunately, the Ork cannot create too many battle planets, which seems to be related to their limited productivity.

The technological sophistication and production capacity required for a battle planet are far superior to those of a battle moon.

It is unknown whether these cunning aliens intend to conceal their strength and ambush humanity at a crucial moment. Even during the Battle of Skullshatterer, they did not reveal these massive celestial-level units.

Now that he was finally able to fight these green-skinned orcs on the Battle Moon, Vulcan's blood boiled instantly.

He wanted to see just how strong these transformed green-skinned orcs really were.

"Disperse the fleet and form a diversionary formation. Don't give them the opportunity to inflict widespread damage," Vulcan ordered.

Previously, when facing those small warships of green-skinned orcs, he was able to directly order his fleet to activate the void shields and ram them head-on.

But even the most insane person wouldn't have such a foolish idea when faced with these celestial-level orc moons.

The salamander fleet immediately scattered like dandelions in the wind.

However, this dispersion was not a chaotic one, but rather like a giant net that surrounded the green-skinned orcs' battle moon and escorting warships.

"According to intelligence, these combat moons possess large-scale gravity weapons. Only by spreading out can the area damage of these gravity weapons be minimized."

Vulcan thought to himself that he couldn't think of any better way to stop the gravity weapon; these greens' technology was indeed quite unique.

The green-skinned orcs also noticed the humans' movements, and they roared excitedly beside the dense array of weapon cannons on the Battle Moon.

These damned humans destroyed the Orks' home!
They already knew of the fate of the Great Steel Tooth Galaxy; the entire galaxy had been destroyed by the radiation of supernova stars, and all the green-skinned beings had been completely annihilated.

Mao's second brother lost their good boy, and this debt is not over yet!
The green-skinned orcs' hatred for humans continued to deepen.

After all, before this, most of the greenskins just wanted to join the waaagh, but now the forces driving them are now filled with deep-seated hatred.

They want humanity to pay for its blood debts!
The Orc commander ignored the human warships that had scattered.

The two combat moons, one on the left and one on the right, kept their eyes locked on the Thundercloud-class planetary warship, which appeared to be the largest and strongest, from beginning to end.

In their view, the leader of the shrimp must be riding in the biggest warship. As long as the leader of the other side is eliminated, the outcome of the war will be decided.

However, this standard orcish way of thinking was naturally within Vulcan's calculations.

The Undying Ember began its retreat in the opposite direction, leaving the two battle moons of the green-skinned orcs hanging far behind.

The other human warships began to maneuver around the orcs, trying to find their weaknesses and blind spots.

The green-skinned orc's battle moon is indeed ridiculously large:
The two battle moons differ slightly in size; the smaller one is about twice the diameter of the solar system moon, while the larger one is 2.5 times larger.

Although it's called the Battle Moon, the larger one is actually quite close in size to the human-sized Holy Terra.

Even the Undying Ember, with its hundreds of kilometers of hull, was as insignificant as a pebble in the face of the Battle Moon.

Human warships have now formed an encirclement, trapping them in the middle, looking like a group of ants trying to surround two giant beetles.

"Launch a probing attack and concentrate firepower to assault the larger battle moon."

Vulcan gave the order.

The next moment, the Salamander fleet immediately unleashed its full power with light spears, macro cannons, and void torpedoes. The target of the Battle Moon was so large that it was impossible to miss.

It's a pity that the Star Harvester's main targets don't include solid planets; otherwise, this devastating weapon capable of destroying stars would have given the Greenskinned Orcs a huge surprise.

Even so, the Star Destroyer Cannon on the bow of the Undying Ember began to charge up.

The terrifying, dark blue energy, aligned with its target, slammed head-on into the ferocious orc clan totem on the battle moon.

These battle moons, in general, belong to the entire Greenskin Orc Empire.

However, if you look closely at the most prominent and exaggerated totems on their surfaces, you will find that they have more detailed clan divisions.

For example, of the two battle moons, the larger one is marked with the totem of the Goff clan, while the smaller one is marked with the totem of the Evil Moon clan.

Vulcan speculated that the battles of these different clans on the moon might also have slightly different focuses.

The Goff clan was more barbaric, while the Evil Moon clan was more cunning.

The light spears struck the surface of the battle moon first. Just as these ultra-high temperature energy beams collided with the weapon array on its surface, a bright green light shot into the sky.

Green-skinned orcs do not use void shields; they most often use the waaagh force field shield, which is based on the power of my thoughts.

Vulcan watched as the fleet's volley of light spears was all blocked by that damned green light, only creating a few ripples on the light screen.

"As expected, this waaagh energy is really troublesome."

This outcome was within Vulcan's expectations. After all, even a celestial warship of this size would be a slightly larger target without corresponding shields.

The macro cannon and torpedoes also arrived after the light spear.

Unlike sub-light-speed projectiles that can only move in a straight line, torpedoes immediately conceal their signal sources after leaving the mothership, wandering in the universe like ghosts in the void.

These sub-light-speed projectiles, weighing thousands of tons, carried terrifying kinetic energy. When they struck the shield of the Battle Moon, visible arcs of electricity and auroras shot into the sky.

"It seems that purely physical attacks are more effective than energy weapons."

"Continue to concentrate firepower and break through the enemy's defenses by targeting key points."

Under Vulcan's command, the torpedoes that were patrolling immediately found their targets and began to rush towards the same positions one after another.

The immense energy generated by the annihilation of matter spread outwards from the point of attack, eventually creating a breach in the waaagh energy shield.

The subsequent torpedoes plunged into the area, passing through the dense array of anti-aircraft guns of the green-skinned orcs, and crashed into the earth's crust.

The massive shockwave instantly killed the surrounding green-skinned orcs, and the subsequent annihilation explosion wiped out the metal armor plates and all weapon systems within the area.

Seeing that he could break through the enemy's shield, Vulcan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But after only a few breaths, countless twisted brass towers, each topped with a giant green lightning bolt, scattered across the surface of the battle moon, suddenly emitted green light, once again mending the damage caused by the torpedoes.

Upon seeing this, Vulcan suddenly felt a pain in his back molars.

This Battle Moon is indeed a standard beastman artifact, with thick skin and extremely durable.

He immediately realized that to defeat this enemy in the void sea battle, he had to use every possible means of interference to increase his chances of winning.

"Retreat to the U522-K2 system, lure them there, and use the terrain to your advantage."

Vulcan quickly located the nearest star system on the holographic star map and then ordered the Salamander fleet to fight and retreat.

The fleet actively controlled its movement speed, keeping the green-skinned orcs in a state where they seemed about to catch up, but were always just a hair's breadth away from it.

This greatly spurred the pursuing green-skinned orcs, and the other green-skinned warships around the battle moon immediately increased their speed.

Among these warships, several, painted in large amounts of red paint, were incredibly fast, reaching speeds more than twice that of the other green-skinned warships.

However, the thick black smoke spewed from these warships was also terrifying, with streams of overheated gas being discharged directly into the void, and the movement trails left by the warships could even be seen with the naked eye.

The retreating human fleet immediately changed course slightly and used its broadside cannons to turn the fast ships into space debris.

Thanks to Vulcan's luring tactics, the orcs quickly caught up and approached the U522 system together.

Upon entering the gravitational field of the galaxy, the Salamander's warships also began to slow down.

After all, traveling at sublight speed in a galaxy full of tiny obstacles is indeed a very dangerous thing.

They're not those speedboat masters with white scars.

If it were the descendants of Chagatai encountering this situation, they might increase the engine's output power to rush into the interior of the star system at an even faster speed.

Just as the Salamander fleet slowed down, the detection instruments beside Vulcan immediately emitted a sharp, explosive sound.

"Strong gravitational disturbance detected, identified as a gravitational weapon of the Green-skinned Orcs."

"Danger Level: Red Alert!"

"Repeat: Red Alert! All personnel and units, prepare for resistance!"

(End of this chapter)