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

Chapter 848 Moses Parted the Sea
If Christine were classified according to the Empire's classification of psionicists, she could be classified as an Alpha-level psionicist, and when the Black King's blessing came, she was already very close to the Alpha+ level.

For the Emperor or the Black King, the Living Saint is not only an extension of his will, but also a vessel of power.

For this reason, the impact of her death was particularly enormous, enough to trigger an extremely rare, massive subspace storm.

The Black King behind Christine was also extremely angry about the failure of his living saint. He fueled the flames from the shadows and amplified the impact of the warp storm.

"A subspace storm is coming. All warships should take refuge in Demanmar orbit."

"Including the warships of the Terran State Church, as long as they are willing to stop the war, we will also stop attacking and let them come over."

Qi Le immediately gave the order, sensing that great danger was about to befall her.

Although warp storms primarily affect the Sea of ​​Souls, they do have an impact on the real universe.

When the tides of the Sea of ​​Souls become too fierce, the veil separating the two worlds is also impacted, resulting in some strange and inexplicable phenomena in the real universe.

The entire Dimanmar galaxy appears to be located at the center of a giant vortex, with the stars at the galaxy's center exhibiting restlessness due to the influence of psionic tides.

Solar activity peaked within minutes, with massive sunspots spreading across the star's surface like cancer, causing the star's light to gradually dim.

Subspace energy erratically tore open the curtain and then poured out from the highest heavens.

Wisps of pinkish-purple energy spread like clouds, creating a mesmerizing aurora that defies description.

Although these auroras looked incredibly beautiful, when they touched the spaceships, the metal behemoths, which had not activated the Geller Field, immediately began to twist and corrupt as if they had directly come into contact with the warp.

Flesh and blood began to sprout from the warship's metal deck. Under the influence of this force, the machine spirits went berserk. The various machines and servants inside the ship were like those infected by a virus, and began to attack all the humans around them indiscriminately.

The expeditionary force, belonging to the State of Terra, seemed to see the true face of their God-Emperor revealed in the light of the Warp.

"God Emperor, have you come to receive us?"

Are we qualified to enter Your divine kingdom and enjoy eternal peace?

"We...we...never imagined that happiness would come so quickly!"

The Crusaders of the Holy War saw the God-Emperor becoming more and more tangible. He had the same appearance as the Emperor, but he was not as radiant as in the propaganda.

When the gold becomes extremely rich, it seems to transform into a kind of dark gold.

The God-Emperor did not speak, but the mortals touched by His gaze instantly collapsed to the ground, as if their souls had been drained, without making a sound.

Many more people, however, wept with joy. They knelt down devoutly and were then guided away from this terrible world by the God-Emperor.

The warships, illuminated by the aurora emitted from the subspace storm, fell into a deathly silence.

All the humans inside the ship had lost their lives, but their faces remained serene and relieved.

Other captains who still had some sense, upon witnessing this scene, desperately urged their warships to approach Demanmar.

Many of them were enemies who had just been fighting each other, but now they had all become refugees.

"Cease the shelling immediately and put all the power into the engines!"

"Run away!"

Massive celestial bodies such as planets naturally reinforce the surrounding physical environment, and subspace storms are slightly weakened within the gravitational pull of a planet.

Hundreds of warships, like sardines chased by a storm, rushed toward Dimanmar's near-Earth orbit.

Although Dimanmar's situation is somewhat better than that of unobstructed space, the planet is gradually being swallowed by darkness due to abnormal solar fluctuations and subspace storms blocking solar radiation.

On the planet's surface, the mortals looked up at the sky and saw the sun that had shone on Dimanmar for countless years gradually dimming.

The sun has disappeared!
Humans have a primal fear of darkness, and this fear is amplified at this moment.

People want to gather together to dispel their fear and regain their courage.

But when everyone looked around, they found that the others seemed to be running in a farther direction, and no matter how hard they tried, they could not reach the others.

Even so, the crowd continued to run recklessly, as if some monster lurked in the darkness behind them, ready to devour anyone who might bite them.

"This is the Lord of Darkness exerting his influence."

"He merely demonstrated a tiny fraction of his power through the warp storm triggered by Christine's death, yet it plunged the entire Dimanmar system into a dark abyss."

"We can't let the Black King receive any more sacrifices. As more and more humans die, His power is constantly increasing."

Qi Le shone with dazzling golden light as she fluttered her wings and soared through the sky.

The sun in the sky seemed to reappear, its light, though smaller, stubbornly pierced through the darkness and shone before the eyes of every mortal.

"Praise be to the Lord of mankind! Praise be to the Emperor!"

"We are never afraid of death, because we walk alongside him!"

"We are human beings, and human beings are emperors. We are one, and our souls are closely connected!"

"We must unite, or we will be swallowed up in endless darkness!"

Qile's loud shouts echoed across Dimanmar, resounding in the ears of every mortal believer.

Wherever Qi Le went, light and hope began to dispel the darkness. Countless people stopped their escape and began to recite the chapters of the Emperor's Sacred Words with tears in their eyes.

They followed the direction Qi Le flew in and gathered together again.

Missionary Sol walked at the very front of everyone, radiating a similar glow to that of Qile, echoing Qile soaring in the sky.

Subspace storms are indeed terrifying, like devastating natural disasters, but fear can never truly stop humanity.

On the contrary, fear is more like a touchstone. Humans who have been tempered and refined by fear will develop a more devout faith, a more tenacious hope, and a more steadfast courage.

Millions of believers journeyed on the planet Dimanmar. Initially, they were guided by Qile and Thor, but later, tiny particles of light appeared on their bodies, eventually coalescing into an ocean of light.

Loken and the other Grey Knights walked alongside the believers. Their tall figures stood out in the crowd, yet they were also surprisingly harmonious and congenial.

Loken felt an extraordinary peace within him. The rage and extreme emotions that had arisen in his heart when facing the Black King and the Living Saint had vanished without a trace, leaving only warmth and tranquility.

"This is the power of the emperor; even though he sits high on the golden throne, he still protects us."

"Humanity will never fear the darkness, hope will never drown in despair, and emperors will never yield to the Black King!"

More than twenty gray knights radiated brilliant golden light. Their faith was purer and brighter than that of other mortal believers, but there was no essential difference between them. They merged into the faith without any rejection.

The entire planet Dimanmar, now shrouded in darkness, seemed to be the only starlight amidst the warp storm, appearing small yet incredibly tenacious as it watched over the dawn.

At this moment in the High Heavens, the relentless warp storms had torn countless unfortunate warp entities to shreds; they didn't even have time to escape before turning to ash.

Those lucky ones who were outside the range of the subspace storm and were not affected clearly realized that all of this was caused by that cold, black sun.

That was a terrifying god who had not yet awakened in the subspace. When the cold sun fully awakened, the game of the Great Game would have an additional heavyweight player, and the four Chaos Gods would be rewritten into five.

However, only a few powerful subspace entities are qualified to know the true state of the icy sun.

A split has occurred within it, with one will symbolizing end and death, darkness and destruction, fighting against the other half.

If the former wins, then one of the vacant thrones of the Chaos Octagon will welcome its true master.

If the latter wins, the infamous Cursed One will return once more, leading his army to continue fighting against the warp.

No one knows when the Cold Sun will be able to unify its will again, but at this moment, the powerful beings in the Warp have noticed the will of the Cursed within the Cold Sun and seem to have temporarily gained the upper hand.

A dazzling golden light erupted from the surface of the sun, and holy flames began to burn away the subspace storm near the Dimanmar system, stripping away and dissipating the foundation that sustained the storm.

"This is not the change I wanted to happen."

"But I cannot refuse changes that were not expected."

In a hidden place somewhere in the subspace, a voice suddenly rang out.

It cannot be defined, cannot be observed, cannot be locked, because change is its very essence.

Sometimes it transforms into a blue snake crawling in place, sometimes into a colorful mist, and sometimes into an ancient deity with blue skin, each pore bearing a different face, and each mouth speaking in a different tone.

It has many names and titles, but the title most known to the world is Lord of Change.

Tzeentch hid in the crevices of the warp, using his divine power to observe the changes in the cold sun.

It once formed a rare cooperative agreement with its three siblings, solely to prevent the Cursed from taking humanity out of the Warp's control and causing them to lose control of the Warhammer universe.

They did succeed. Through a series of clever schemes, the Cursed One's foolish son sabotaged the Web, and the child most attached to his father severely injured the Cursed One, forcing him to sit on the Golden Throne and fall into a deep sleep.

But that's not enough; the human race is not irreplaceable to Tzeentch.

In the infinite multiverse, there are too many universes waiting for it to explore, but what it cares about more is being able to awaken another brother or sister.

That was a corner of the chaotic eight-pointed star, symbolizing the existence of erosion and destruction.

Everything was originally part of Tzeentch's plan.

The Dark Lord was awakened during that war between father and son. Even if the Emperor sat on the Golden Throne and continued to prolong his life to buy time for his race, it would only slow down the coming of destruction.

Time has little value to the warp. Tzeentch can wait until the Golden Throne can no longer bear that terrifying power, and the Emperor is forced to embark on the path to godhood.

But now, even the most powerful and unpredictable ruler can no longer clearly foresee future developments.

The cunning cursed one never willingly admits defeat; he prepares layer upon layer of backup plans, just in case.

Tzeentch would not overlook any important piece; he knew that the disappearances of Macardo and Waldo must be related to the Emperor's plan.

Unless it chooses to take matters into its own hands and captures either Macado or Waldo, the Lord of Change will not be able to see the Emperor's trump card.

Tzeentch was both furious at the Emperor’s resistance and unable to resist this completely unexpected change.

This is its nature; even the gods of chaos cannot say no to the throne beneath them.

"My siblings seem to be in trouble."

"Being not yet fully awakened, He doesn't actually have much of an advantage in the battle against the cursed."

Tzeentch's whispers transformed into waves of warp storms, which then blended into the aetheric tides, perfectly concealing their presence.

“I cannot directly intervene in this human civil war on Dimanmar. If I or any other Chaos God were to intervene, the Cursed and the Dark Lord would immediately unite to drive out the enemy before continuing the fight.”

"Therefore, my chance is yet to come. If this foolish state religion cannot continue to function, then I must push other forces to continue to invest in the great cause of awakening the Black King."

Tzeentch waved his hand, and cards materialized before his eyes.

These cards display moving phantoms, seemingly observing these special individuals from a higher-dimensional perspective.

One of the cards features a book engraved with burning flames on its back, with the figure of Loka Aurelion the Great speaking out appearing on a planet in the warp.

The Primarch suffered a severe defeat in the previous ambush of Vulcan and is now recuperating. Loka's stronghold is protected by numerous magical arrays designed to prevent others from spying, prophesying, or divining, but these are no different from mere decorations before the Lord of Change.

Luo Jia, who was meditating, suddenly opened her eyes and looked around with a slightly puzzled expression.

Before he could detect the unusual observation, Tzeentch averted his gaze.

The second card depicts a giant serpent with nine heads, Alphareth or Omega, wandering in the warp.

Tzeentch was very fond of the twins, even more so than he was of Magnus.

The essence of the Lord of Change is change, and the Alpha Legion, which excels at deception and disguise, is clearly more to its liking than the Thousand Sons Legion, which excels at psionic magic.

Magnus was never a wise man; cleverness and wisdom are two different concepts. Clearly, the Crimson King only possessed petty cleverness.

"Alpha/Omega realized early on that a human civil war was inevitable, and they also knew that half of the Astartes Legion would choose to betray them."

"This is an inevitability of fate, an unavoidable anchor point for this universe, so they chose to intervene."

"Split the Alpha Legion in two, with one half choosing to betray, thus preventing another legion that should have remained loyal from betraying under some unseen influence."

Tzeentch spoke highly of Alpha/Omega, but even the Lord of Change couldn't be sure what the two Primarchs' stance was.

Alpha/Omega is searching for Lojia's whereabouts. Although Tzeentch doesn't want to intervene directly, it still thoughtfully clears away some troubles that the Primarch might have encountered along the way.

It was eager to see how Alpha's plan would unfold, much like a viewer watching a suspense drama, waiting for the next development.

In just nine seconds, Tzeentch examined all the cards in his hand before turning his attention back to Demanmar.

The violent subspace storm triggered by the death of Christine, the living saint of the Church of England, is rapidly spreading from the Demanmar system to other surrounding galaxies.

Even though Qi Le's Light Alliance did not suffer a devastating blow in the warp storm, they were still trapped in the Dimanmar system and could not go anywhere due to the raging warp storm.

The space bridge is far from covering the space region where Demanmar is located. If it relies solely on the sub-light speed engine to travel, it may take hundreds of years to reach Terra.

Without Qi Le's leadership, the other imperial worlds that responded to the call would undoubtedly lose their backbone and fall into disarray.

In this way, even if Christine, the living saint of the state religion, dies in Dimanmar, it is not an unacceptable outcome for the state religion of Terra.

Christine had already made two plans before leading the Holy Crusade of the State of Terra to its destination.

Either she captures or kills Qile, or she commits suicide after her defeat, trapping all these heretics in this galaxy.

Qi Le's radiant demeanor greatly inspired ordinary people who were fearful and lost in the darkness.

Whether it's the Alliance of Light or the followers of Christine in the Terra State Cult, they are not mindless fanatics.

Qi Le still holds considerable prestige in the hearts of these people, after all, she has served as a living saint and the pope of the state religion for over a hundred years.

However, after Elfreda staged a coup and seized supreme power from the state religion, she carried out a large-scale purge, persecution, and rebrainwashing, making many people more loyal to the state religion of Terra than to Qile.

But now that Christine is dead, Qile's holy angelic demeanor has undoubtedly caused a subtle change in the hearts of these people once again.

They began to doubt whether everything Christine and Alfreda had been telling them was true.

According to the state religion of Terra, the former Pope Kil'jaeden was not steadfast in his faith in the Emperor and even developed dangerous heretical ideas.

The current state religion of Terra is an extension of the God-Emperor's will; all those original ideas emphasizing objectivity and rationality were signs of wavering faith.

However, on the battlefield of Dimanmar, everyone could see clearly that what Qile was displaying was definitely the power of an emperor.

If the former Pope truly betrayed the Emperor, how could she possibly continue to use the Emperor's power?
On the contrary, the terrifying power that Christine displayed, full of destruction and oppression, planted seeds of doubt in the hearts of the believers.

"We absolutely cannot be trapped here and die."

"Have all the humans on Demanmar prepare to board the ship. I will open a safe warp channel and then leave with everyone."

Qile descended from the sky, landing directly beside Thor the Missionary and the Grey Knight.

"That would take a lot of time. There are at least a million people on Dimanmar. By the time we finish assembling, the warp storm will have completely blocked the route."

Judge Carter stood up and objected, saying that in her eyes, now was the time to make sacrifices.

"Our most important task right now is to get you out of this warp storm zone. You are our banner, the core of the Light Alliance, and your importance far surpasses that of anyone else."

Loken and Garo also agreed.

"I won't leave," Qi Le resolutely rejected the suggestion.

“I have said that all humanity is one, that humanity and the Emperor are connected by soul, and that we must unite to face this crisis. If I were to withdraw, where would those promises go?”

"Now, immediately, do as I say and evacuate all mortals from Dimanmar."

Seeing Qi Le's firm stance, Judge Loken and Judge Carter had no choice but to comply.

Meanwhile, the missionary Sol stood silently beside the living saint, his heart more inclined to support Qile's idea.

In such a time of crisis, true believers of the Emperor should step forward and lead other believers to fight against the danger.

“I am honored to follow you, Pope Kilchrist,” Saul said frankly.

Qile levitated in mid-air using her spiritual power. As she looked down at Thor, the Living Saint felt a sense of familiarity and closeness from the missionary.

Furthermore, considering the shared power Thor displayed during her confrontation with Christine, Qile was certain that this religious leader of Dimanmar was also a living saint of an emperor.

"I am also honored to meet a believer like you. We should work together to reshape the state religion. The state religion should not be what it is now. It should not be a tool to oppress believers, but a channel to connect all believers of the Emperor."

Qi Le said in a deep voice, even believing that Thor's demonstrated abilities made him more suitable for his current position than she was.

However, it is clearly too early and too abrupt to say such a thing now.

"I'm going to organize the evacuation of the people of Dimanmar, so I won't stay here with you." Missionary Sol took his leave and quickly disappeared from Qile's sight.

Dimanmar doesn't have a large population; the planet has only a few million inhabitants, and the vast majority of them are concentrated around the state church.

This greatly facilitated the evacuation of the population, and with Sebastian Saul's call to action, almost all mortals obediently left their homes and began transferring to the transport ships.

Most of the state religious troops that originally belonged to Christine's command chose to join the Light Alliance under the influence of Qile and Thor.

They realized that this war, which had been deliberately instigated, could have been avoided, and that Qile had never betrayed the Emperor or the state religion.

As for those die-hards who refused to accept reality, they were swiftly and decisively executed to avoid affecting the smooth progress of the evacuation.

Even though everyone worked together to prepare for the evacuation, three Terra days had already passed by the time all the mortal believers on Dimanmar boarded the transport ships.

The subspace storm had already spread and caused a devastating catastrophe affecting an entire star sector.

Qi Le boarded her flagship, the Emperor's Light, once again, while all the other warships followed behind, waiting for Qi Le to lead them to break through the encirclement.

"Activate the warp engine and continue your journey to the Throne World, Terra."

"The Emperor protects us, and we will surely reach our destination!"

Qile's voice echoed directly in everyone's ears through psychic energy.

All believers who heard the words of the living saint felt courage rising in their hearts, and were fearless even in the face of warp storms.

Judge Carter gritted her teeth. She didn't know where Qile's confidence came from. With the current intensity of the warp storm, entering the warp would be a suicide mission.

But she was powerless to change Qile's mind. She could only hope that this living saint was indeed confident and that it was not a crazy idea made on a whim.

The warp storms continued to rage, tearing the veil apart from time to time, as torrents of ether swept through the Demanmar system.

The bridge of the Imperial Light has now become the only calm sanctuary in the eye of the storm.

Qi Le hovered beneath the bridge dome, her wings fully spread, each feather burning with pure golden flames. The light was so intense that the observation windows of the bridge seemed to melt into gold leaf.

She is no longer a mortal, or even merely a living saint; she is the beacon of the emperor's will, the embodiment of the emperor in this moment and place.

"In the name of the Lord of Mankind, in the name of the Holy Emperor!"

Qi Le's voice no longer merely echoed in their ears, but resounded directly in the depths of every follower's soul, like a great bell, washing away fear and confusion.

"Our path ahead will not be hindered by storms! Our return will surely be to the golden throne! Let us set out!"

"Let's go!"

On the bridge, Loken, Garo, Inquisitor Carter, and even the most ordinary mortal believers all let out roars from the depths of their souls.

A surging subspace storm tide, carrying chaotic energies of pinkish-purple, filthy green, and blood red, mixed with countless shrieks of distorted entities that mortals could neither understand nor look at directly, roared into the real universe like a cataclysmic flood bursting its banks, heading straight for the fleet.

Just as this destructive torrent was about to engulf the Emperor's Light, which was bearing the brunt of the attack...

The golden flames on Qi Le's body exploded.

It was not an explosion in the physical sense, but the ultimate release of faith and divine power.

A magnificent and splendid golden beam of light, beyond description, pierced through the hull of the Emperor's Light, with Qi Le at its core, and crashed into the chaotic subspace storm.

boom--

A silent explosion resounded in the sea of ​​souls.

The roar of will and faith stirred up a monstrous wave in the perception of all psionicists.

The tiny golden beam of light collided head-on with the infinitely massive warp storm.

Then, a miracle happened.

The subspace storm, powerful enough to tear stars apart and corrupt life, emitted a shrill, inhuman scream the moment it touched the pure imperial golden flames, like melting snow under the blazing sun.

The tainted energy was purified and decomposed; the distorted warp entities wailed and vanished into nothingness in the holy flames; the chaotic and disordered ethereal tides were cleaved in two by an infinitely sublime and powerful will!
Where the golden light shines, the storm is quelled!

The golden beam of light that pierced through the Emperor's Light carved out an escape route amidst the raging warp storm.

This is a passage forged from pure imperial divine power.

Inside the path, golden light flowed, as stable as the vacuum of the real universe.

Beyond the path lies a raging, roaring, and wildly colorful storm of destruction.

Countless hideous claws and twisted faces futilely scratched and rammed against the storm wall, but were firmly blocked by the invisible divine force field, emitting silent, venomous roars.

Divide the sea!

The scene before me surpasses the imagination of any ancient myth.

Euphrates Kira, the living saint who embodied the Emperor's will, like the legendary prophet Moses, parted the raging sea of ​​the warp with his supreme power.

(End of this chapter)