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

Chapter 821 Facing the Orc Emperor
"The war is progressing faster than we imagined."

"Several victories on the southern front have brought us closer and closer to the heart of the Orc Empire."

"The great victory in the western theater directly shattered the Ork's offensive momentum. Their main force was wiped out on the western front, and now the entire Ghoul Stars are extremely vulnerable."

"The death knell for the Orcish Empire has tolled."

Loshi and Guilliman stood on the command bridge of the Emperor's Wrath, having received the victory report from the Caliban's Luther commander.

This battle report contains many remarkable details, but the most striking is the news about the war blacksmith Danteok.

“You are the one among us who knows Danteok best, Guilliman.”

“He stayed in Sosa to help you study the Pharos system. You should know what really happened to Danteok.”

However, Guilliman looked completely bewildered as he listened to Rosie's question.

“I also wish I could know about Danteok, but I know very little about him.”

“My sons stationed in Sosa told me that a severe earthquake had occurred in the Pharos Mountains, and the geological changes even caused serious problems for the Pharos system. The only fortunate thing was that Danteok was not in danger of losing his life.”

The two exchanged a glance and immediately guessed that the earthquake was likely directly related to the changes in Danteok.

“I know that a fragment of a star god is imprisoned at the bottom of Pharos, which is the infinite energy battery that those space necromancers use to power Pharos.”

"Is it possible that the Star God fragment escaped, took control of Danteok, and then granted him this power?"

"Or perhaps it reached some kind of agreement with Danteok?"

Loshi guessed with a hint of suspicion, while Guilliman had already clenched his hand of control with unwavering resolve.

"It would be best if that weren't the case. Danteok is someone I have my eye on. Without him, we would have suffered even greater losses during the Shadow Crusade."

"No matter what, I want Danteok to be alright. If that damned fragment of the Star God really does something to control him, I will definitely throw it into the warp and grind it to dust!"

Loshi then read the battle report from the western front, during which Tarasin complained to him about how the World Engine controlled by General Crown had been severely damaged by the Ork warplanet.

This fellow showed no awareness whatsoever of being a member of the Nihilarchian dynasty. In his correspondence, he relentlessly mocked Claudius and warned Roche to be wary of the crowned general's schemes when he met him.

With Tarachin, a staunch ally among the space necromancers, Lothie felt much more confident, given the delicate relationship between humans and space necromancers.

The two races may still have a good relationship now, and could even form an alliance against the Ork.

However, relationships between races are unlikely to be very stable without a ballast of mutual dependence.

The Necromancers need the Spark in Roshi's hands to help their people restore their souls, but what do humans need from the Necromancers?
After thinking about it carefully, Rose realized that there was no answer to this question.

Advanced technologies such as Blackstone Technology and Dimensional Technology were already given to them by Taraxin, but the Space Necromancers would never share those more powerful technologies with humanity.

In other words, the space necromancers are already in a passive position when facing humans.

In order to break free from this passive position, the Necromancer will inevitably take action, which is what Roche is worried about.

Since humanity has no need for space necromancers, the space necromancers will use force to coerce and seize back dominance.

Although such a thing is outrageous, it is not impossible in Roche's calculations.

After all, in the era of ancient Terra, the country called the United States had established global military hegemony: it was already a favor that it did not initiate wars, so it naturally held a dominant position over all other countries.

Humanity, which possessed the source of fire, shared similarities with other nations of that era that possessed precious mineral resources.

Loshi doesn't want to fall out with the space undead, but he's not afraid to confront this ancient race either.

His only hope was that humanity would have more time, until they had built the space bridge and resolved the issues of the state religion and the emperor, before the outbreak.

Loshi's worries did not last long, because Luther had already led his fleet and the Astartes Legion to rendezvous with Guilliman's fleet.

Led by Luther himself, the team, including Astlan of the Dark Angels, Bjorn of the Space Wolves, Mel Irn of the Iron Hands, Cohen Marcel of the Ravenguard, and high-ranking commanders such as Danteok, traveled to the Emperor's Wrath to pay homage to the Primarch.

When Lothie met the Lion King's adoptive father, Luther perfectly displayed the demeanor and bearing of an old Caliban knight.

Luther did not wear Astartes power armor, but instead wore a set of ceremonial armor in the style of Caliban.

Black serves as the base color, while green and red outline the pattern of the Caliban behemoth on the background, and pale gold lines adorn and engrave the First Legion's insignia and symbols.

Luther is slightly shorter than the other Dark Angels, but in terms of presence, he is an absolute giant. Even when meeting Guilliman, he still maintained a humble yet dignified demeanor.

Guilliman also had his servants tidy up his appearance. He put on the olive wreath again, and his armor, with its cobalt blue and gold main colors, was carefully polished and repainted by his mortal servants.

Vulcan stood silently to the side, his face also carefully groomed to make the Lord of Fire Dragons appear even more imposing.

"Lord Guilliman, Lord Vulcan," Luther greeted them one by one, and when his gaze fell on Losi, he nodded slightly. "Lord Losi, Commander Luther has come to report for duty."

"We and our Necromancer allies have achieved great success on the Western Front: we have defeated the Beast-class warlords and destroyed battle planets. Now we are finally able to reunite, and I am now handing over command to the Primarch."

Guilliman accepted Luther's handover ceremony, and then returned the sword, a symbol of power, to Luther.

“You did a great job, Luther. We all see your contributions, and no one can deny them.”

"These legions will continue to be under your direct command, while the general operational strategy will be discussed and decided by the four of us."

Guilliman's encouraging words brought a slight blush to the old knight's face; even his composure could not suppress his joy.

Guilliman's attitude made Luther feel honored and respected, which pleased him greatly.

These are the kinds of details that Luther pays special attention to.

"We now have the Ultramarines, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, White Scars, Space Wolves, Salamanders, Iron Hands, Midnight Lords, and some Imperial Fists and Raven Guards under our command."

"The combined forces of these troops have easily exceeded 1.5 million."

Listening to Guilliman's impassioned account of the current strength of the human expeditionary force, even the most composed Astartes was swept up in a state of frenzy.

These 1.5 million Astartes are only a portion drawn from each legion; each legion's fiefdom also has many Space Marines stationed there to protect its own territory and guard against other enemies.

Compared to the Great Expedition era, the number of Astartes is now far greater than in the past.

In the universe, who can stop this force?
The orc empire led by the Kork orcs won't work, the declining Eldarin won't work, and neither will the space undead who haven't fully awakened after breaking the slumber agreement.

Countless points of light appeared on the bridge command platform, intertwining with each other to outline the star map of the expeditionary force's location.

Everyone could clearly see that the expeditionary force was getting very close to the planet where the orc empire first rose to power—the Greenskins.

Furthermore, according to intelligence, the Orc Emperor Cork Leonardo da Vinci himself resides on the Greenskin planet.

Those beast warlords who ride across battle planets to expand everywhere are nothing more than generals sent out by the Kork orcs.

Guilliman believed this was a poor imitation of the Emperor by the Kork orcs: he likened himself to the human lord who reigned over Terra, while the beasts were the Primarchs leading their legions to expand the Empire's territory.

"After we defeated those beasts that were expanding outwards, apart from the ones that were killed, the others adopted a contractionary defense."

"They retreated to the vicinity of their homeworld with their orcish legions, intending to fight alongside their emperor against us."

Luther spoke eloquently, while Guilliman listened patiently to the commander's thoughts and insights.

"Actually, there's nothing to hesitate about anymore. The Ork are at their wits' end, and they can only put up a last-ditch resistance in the Greenskin Space."

"We have over 1.5 million Astartes, a significant portion of whom are new-generation warriors who have completed their original forging, as well as tens of thousands of Imperial Navy warships at our disposal."

"Launch an attack directly, kill that Kork orc on Greenskin, and end this farce."

Guilliman made the final decision, and Luther and Vulcan also expressed their agreement.

The situation is no longer what it was at the beginning of the war. They have no idea about the orcs in the Ghoul Cluster, so they are taking a cautious approach to probe the situation.

The situation is now clear: the defeated Orks have rallied together, and if we eliminate them, the Orc Empire will also be destroyed.

All schemes and tricks are meaningless now; only a head-on confrontation of strength will determine the victor.

Just as everyone was discussing how to attack Greenskin Star and kill the Kork orcs, Lothie quietly walked up to Danteok's side.

The war blacksmith had always stayed by Luther's side, but remained silent.

As soon as Lothie approached Danteok, she immediately released a psionic barrier that could isolate external perception, creating space for the two to talk.

He had a premonition that the changes that had occurred in Danteok were definitely extraordinary; otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have issued a special warning and ordered them to find Danteok.

Danteok seemed to be waiting for Rosie to appear as well; his originally cold and taciturn face suddenly blossomed into a sincere smile.

"It's been a long time, Lord Rosie."

"It's wonderful to see that you still look as radiant as ever."

Danteok's face looked much younger, and even his voice was completely different from his previous hoarse and aged appearance.

Danteok is now in his prime, both outwardly and inwardly.

"Rather than saying I'm still as charming as ever, it's more accurate to say you're getting younger with age," Luo Xi teased.

“I sense a strange familiarity from you… If I’m not mistaken, you’ve made contact with the Star God imprisoned in the Pharos Hypercube Labyrinth.”

Lothie was initially worried that Danteok was possessed by a fragment of the Star God, or even that his will had been completely enslaved.

However, after meeting him, Rosie confirmed that the person in front of her was definitely the original Danteok.

Danteok, who betrayed the Primarch, remained loyal to the Emperor, and devoted himself to the cause of humanity.

“Your senses are still so sharp. I have indeed made contact with the fragments of the Ruler Zahurash.” Danteok suddenly laughed, as if he had finally found someone to share his thoughts with.

“Zahurash wanted me to release him, to free him from the endless imprisonment of the space necromancers, but I did not grant his wish.”

“I imprinted my will and memories into Zahurash’s consciousness in reverse, thus replacing him as the controller of the Star God Fragment.”

“I did release him, but not in the way he wanted.”

Danteok replied calmly, without excitement or pride, simply stating his position.

On the other hand, Rosie was not calm.

Humans possessing a Star God... This incredible feat is even more outrageous than the Emperor's imprisonment and enslavement of the Void Dragon fragments.

The Emperor merely imprisoned the Void Dragon and intercepted the faith power that was originally flowing to him.

"How did you do that? Is it really possible?" Rose exclaimed in amazement.

"In my view now, it was an accident that was almost impossible to replicate." Danteok maintained his usual humility. "Even if I did it again, I probably couldn't do it."

"Wait a minute, let me call someone for you." Luo Xi gestured for the other person to pause.

Then, Lothie added Tarachin, who had come with Luther, to the chat group.

The Endless One was clearly unaware of Danteok's situation and looked at Lothie with some curiosity, not understanding what he was up to.

"You, the necromancer overlord of the Nihilak dynasty, come and see the ultimate powerhouse who can possess a fragment of a star god."

Loshi briefly recounted the events, and then Tarasin, as if he had seen a ghost, suddenly jumped up from where he stood and distanced himself from Danteokla.

"This, this, how is this possible?"

"With the will of a mortal, he overcame the will of the Katans, and thus replaced them to gain authority and power."

Tarasin had thought he was no longer surprised by anything; he had become the first Necromancer to gain a soul, and the most complete of all Necromancers. But compared to Danteok's incredible feat, his achievement seemed utterly insignificant.

"You'd better not be found by Xerath the Enlightened One or Orikan the Astrologer, or your fate will be far worse than that of those damned black bean sprout slaves in Comoros."

Tarasin looked at Danteok with a complicated expression. As a former fear of the dead, he harbored extreme hatred for all the Star Gods.

However, Danteok is both a Star God and not a Star God. His existence even proves the weakness of those Star Gods in terms of will, and also proves the infinite potential of soul life.

He possessed the body of a star god with the body of a mortal, which was precisely the greatest humiliation to those arrogant star gods.

For a moment, Tarasin even considered telling Danteok's deeds to the few Star God fragments he managed, so that these vengeful creatures could see the fate of their kind.

Of course, he dismissed this suicidal idea, as it would have completely ruined Danteok, and even Loshi.

“Our Crowned General of the Nihilak Dynasty suffered a great loss this time. I don’t know if he will go mad and seek revenge on those green-skinned orcs.” Talassin didn’t want to talk about this anymore.

"However, I will make sure he doesn't take his anger out on you humans, but rather on that damned Kork orc."

When Taracin mentioned Kolk, he was still filled with regret. Sometimes he would blame himself for why he had to collect Kolk, so that he wouldn't have had all these messy troubles.

"I understand your idea."

“We will soon be facing the Orc Emperor, and at that time, even I may have to take action,” Loxi said in a deep voice.

Tarasin immediately understood what Losi was worried about.

The Kork orcs were never a solitary individual.

He not only has countless Orc followers, but more importantly, he must have the Orc gods, Gouge and Maoge, standing behind him.

Although the two brothers, Gao Mao and Erge, are quite unfamiliar to humans, Luo Xi knows how powerful they are.

Even the benevolent father Nurgle once tried to lay a hand on the Ork, but was caught and severely beaten by the evil god, thus thwarting the god's ambition.

How could Lothie, the orc god who could resist and even defeat Nurgle in the warp, dare to underestimate them?

Although the specific details are unknown, Loxi believes that even if they are not a match for the four Chaos Gods, they are at least capable of protecting themselves and resisting.

If Kolk is defeated, will Mao Erge (Mao's second brother) be unable to play along and flip the table?

No one knows the answer to this question; even Rose cannot give a definite answer.

From Rosie's perspective, it's highly likely that Mao Erge will get involved. If it really comes to that, then he'll be the only one who can withstand the pressure.

Even if it were Vulcan or Guilliman, Lothie didn't think they could defeat Emperor Kork, who was blessed by the orc gods.

Just like Horus, who was blessed by the Four Gods on the Vengeance Soul, no one but the Emperor could defeat him.

"As long as you give the order, even if the orc god really descends into the real universe in his avatar, I will take action immediately and fight to the death."

Danteok was incredibly sincere; to this day, he still didn't know where the limits of his abilities lay.

He even harbored a strong urge to personally challenge Emperor Kirk.

Orcs of beast-like caliber have proven to be no match for Danteok; perhaps only the Orc Emperor can push him to his limits.

……

While the human side was riding high on momentum, eager to immediately point their swords at Emperor Kork, the Ork side was shrouded in gloom.

The heart of the ghoul orc empire, the sacred Greenskin Star Palace.

With a heavy heart, Bloodhowl Zach walked step by step toward the throne room where his most revered leader was located.

Beside him were several other beastly warlords who also looked listless and dejected.

They were all beasts personally promoted and trained by Kork, representing the strongest evolutionary state that the Ork race could achieve so far.

But even these beasts, born specifically for war, have repeatedly suffered defeats in the face of humans.

Bloodhowl Zak felt this keenly; all his unfortunate warp allies were coming up with terrible ideas. They might sound like they had some merit, but in reality, they were completely useless.

Instead, things got worse!
The plans to kick Guilliman out of Terra's decision-making structure, or to lure Vulcan into a trap and then have the Primarchs surround and kill him, all failed!

Zach was even regretting his own stupidity in believing the sway of those idiots.

But things have come to this point; their great orc empire is collapsing. If they cannot defend Greenskin, they will be completely wiped out by humans.

Zak, along with other beasts, had to return to his home planet to seek guidance and enlightenment from the Kork orcs.

The Emperor must have a way; he is the backbone of all the Ork Orcs, Zak thought to himself.

One after another, beasts over ten meters tall respectfully entered the throne room, while their supreme emperor, Cork Leonardo da Vinci from ancient times, sat firmly on the throne.

He seemed completely unsurprised by the arrival of Zack and the other beasts, standing solemnly like a statue.

"Your Majesty Emperor Kirk, we have failed."

Zach spoke on behalf of the other beasts; it was a responsibility he had to bear because of his special status.

"Humans defeated us. These seemingly weak races are actually capable of unleashing power far greater than ours."

Zack felt a shiver run down his spine as he recalled Guilliman wielding his psionic lightsaber.

If he hadn't escaped in such a sorry state that time, he probably would have been killed on the spot by Guilliman.

“I already know,” Kirk replied.

“I had already foreseen this outcome.” The enormous ancient orc seemed even larger than when he first arrived on Greenskin, and even when he sat there, he was taller than Zack and the others.

“I saw your arrogance from the very beginning. You don’t know how to respect every seemingly weak opponent.”

"Born in hardship, die in comfort. You have forgotten what it felt like to struggle for survival among the ghoul stars, and arrogantly believe that once you begin to conquer, the entire galaxy will be yours for the taking."

"And now, you have finally come to your senses."

Kirk's voice gradually rose in pitch, and Zak even felt a ringing in his ears, as if some grand divine being was proclaiming something.

Boss Kirk... he seems to have changed and is no longer the person he used to be.

Zach's heart skipped a beat as an extremely absurd thought crossed his mind.

The ancient orcs seem to have become a channel for Mao Erge to voice his opinions and a spokesperson for the orc god to vent his dissatisfaction.

If Kirk's will is replaced by Goma's, is he still the same Kirk?
Emperor Kirk's voice still echoed in the vast throne room.

"In this cruel universe, even we orcs have no right to be arrogant or complacent."

“We pose too many threats. They may be quiet for now, but no one can let their guard down until they are completely dead.”

"We must not repeat the mistakes of the past and continue to fight among ourselves. Instead, we should unite against external threats."

Hearing these words, even Zack couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

He did indeed become somewhat arrogant and began to indulge in pleasure. He was no longer the orc warlord of the Greenskin Star of yesteryear, but had become more complex and contradictory.

“But it’s not too late now,” Korke continued.

“I am still here, you are still here, our orc legion is still here, Brother Gaomao is still supporting us, and they will provide help at crucial moments.”

"Those humans are already on their way. They have assembled an unprecedented army, ready to annihilate us completely."

"The Greenskins will be the final battleground. Either we kill those Primarchs, or our Empire will be destroyed on our homeworld."

Kirk da Vinci slowly rose to his feet. Bloodhowl Zak, who had once thought he was catching up with the leader in physique, couldn't help but raise his head, all thoughts of challenging the emperor vanishing without a trace.

He was so tall that even wild beasts only reached his belly.

Kolk seemed to be the reincarnation of the second brother of the Orcs, becoming the embodiment of the concept of Orcs.

The bewilderment of the repeatedly defeated warlords like Zach vanished instantly, and their confidence returned.

They did not believe that any human being could defeat Kirk.

Perhaps the human ruler sitting on the golden throne has that ability, but he can't even leave the throne and walk freely in the world, so what is there to be afraid of?

"For the Empire!"

"For the revival of the race!"

"Must win!"

Kork raised his gravity hammer and unleashed a tremendous roar like a landslide or tsunami.

"WAAAGH!!"

The beasts roared incessantly, and the Waaagh energy, inspired by the Emperor, surged wildly at an incredible speed.

This influence quickly spread to the Ork outside the throne room, and the Ork across the entire planet, the entire galaxy, and the entire universe were engulfed in fanaticism.

……

The human expeditionary force completed its rendezvous, and tens of thousands of space warships formed a formation in the void, heading in an orderly fashion towards Greenskin Star.

At this moment, humanity has the right to say that its fleet blots out the sky, regardless of how many suns are in the sky.

The various legions' Thundercloud-class planetary warships were surrounded by a large number of cruisers and battleships, and at the rear of the fleet, closely followed a behemoth whose size was comparable to that of Holy Terra.

That was the battle white dwarf created by Loxi himself, a powerful product that combined forbidden technology from the gods with technology analyzed from the Ork people's battle moon and battle planet.

The combat white dwarf has no warships escorting it, so it doesn't need any protection at all. In fact, its excessively strong gravity could even accidentally injure its allies.

Looking at the scene before him, Luo Xi suddenly recalled his past in the Five Hundred Worlds.

At that time, he faced the trials of the Luojia rebels alongside Guilliman.

However, at that time he did not have a good impression of the human empire and was ready to leave the empire at any time to continue human civilization in the unknown starry sea.

Now, he has become a complete part of this human empire, devoting himself to the continuation of humanity at all costs.

Whether it's orcs, chaotic evil gods, or some other strange and monstrous creatures that have appeared out of nowhere, as long as they harbor hostility towards humanity, they are his irreconcilable enemies.

Time has changed a lot, but it seems that much has never changed.

Loxi's gaze seemed to pierce through the darkness of the ghoul stars and reach that star radiating endless waaagh energy.

He saw the orc emperor's sharp and aggressive gaze. Their wills rubbed and collided in the invisible universe, eventually disappearing into nothingness.

"What a formidable enemy," Rosie murmured to herself.

He thought of Nyos, of Makado, of the Chief, and of many friends who had perished in the Horus Rebellion.

Thinking about all this, Luo Xi's previously turbulent heart suddenly calmed down.

Let alone the orc emperor, even if the orc god himself descended, he would no longer be surprised or afraid.

He looked back and saw tens of thousands of warships forming a giant net that could sweep across the starry sea. The traces of plasma tail flames stretched very long, like rainbows connecting the two worlds inside and outside the Star Torch.

This is also a message to the Orc Empire: Humans... have arrived!
(End of this chapter)