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

Chapter 881 Ouroboros Takes Position

Everyone knows that the Tuchucha engine is still lying.

Despite the fact that the Tuchucha engine seems to have completely submitted and even declared itself to be the Emperor's master, it has never actually yielded.

Superficial submission is merely a sugar coating that conceals the true nature of the threat.

The Tuchucha engine is convinced that humans cannot resist the allure of the tunnel boring machine, and even knowing that it has its own agenda, it must bring them back together.

The Tuchucha Engine in its fragmented state has the ability to lead a fleet through warp storms at will and directly reach another star system in a very short time. If it were to be fully restored, how powerful it would be.

If this thing, after fully recovering, were to slip through the gap between the subspace and the real universe and disappear without a trace, who could catch it?

This is a dilemma in itself—no matter which choice you make, there will be unacceptable consequences.

“Neos, what’s your opinion?” Rosie asked.

"The tunnel boring machine must be restored to its original state; this is humanity's bottom line," the Emperor declared resolutely, without wavering.

The opportunity for the Netway Project to truly succeed was right in front of him, and he would never give it up no matter what.

If he had to choose one outcome, he would rather let the tunnel boring machine recover and then try to prevent it from doing anything dangerous or having any unusual thoughts.

Human beings can never look back and hesitate, nor can they refrain from making new attempts and breakthroughs because they are afraid of failure.

"Humanity needs your help, Darkwatchers."

"In order to deal with the great enemy of Chaos, we must get the help of the Network Shield Tunneling Machine; otherwise, all our efforts will only be a matter of prolonging our lives and delaying our demise."

"We need your help to minimize the risk of the tunnel boring machine mutiny, and..."

The Emperor stared intently at the robed figures before him. Since these creatures were created by the Ancient Saints to restrain the [Key], they must still have trump cards up their sleeves that they hadn't yet revealed.

If the three artifacts were truly united, the Dark Watcher would certainly have a way to counterbalance them, or even shatter them again.

"As expected, you still made this decision."

The little man in the black robe spoke in a mature and sophisticated manner, seemingly unsurprised by this.

“There is no victory without a price. Gains and risks always go hand in hand, don’t they?” Rose replied.

“I have personally spoken with one of your creators and witnessed how he led the allied forces to fight against attacks from the space undead and the Star Gods time and time again.”

"If you still choose to stop us, and our universe is ultimately destroyed by the erosion of the subspace, what's the point of the tunnel boring machine even if it still exists?"

The little man in the robe shook the miniature scepter in his hand and sighed again.

"Actually, once you've made up your mind, there's nothing we can do to stop you. If we had that kind of power, we wouldn't have cooperated with the Dark Angels and the humans on Caliban."

“But what we want is not to force you, but cooperation, a win-win cooperation,” Losi said with a smile.

"If you only want to act as jailers for the tunnel boring machine, then the best outcome is that the Dark Watchers will continue to watch forever, until the end of the universe."

"But if you cooperate with us more deeply now, it may be possible to completely solve the problem of tunnel boring machines."

"Don't you want to break free from your destiny, complete the task given to you by the ancient sages, take off your black robes, and witness this era with your true faces?"

Loshi was unusually sincere; deep down, he still greatly admired the Dark Watchers.

God knows how long the Darkwatch has existed. If the Darkwatch is immortal, then that "human boy" comment might not have been entirely unfounded.

Upon hearing Rosie's words, "Take off the black robe," the Dark Watcher fell into an unusual silence.

They are indeed immortal beings created by the ancient saints; each Dark Watcher can easily traverse thousands, or even tens of thousands of years.

However, they are not immortal. Since the ancient saints created them more than 60 million years ago, these Dark Watchers have been passed down from generation to generation to this day.

The longer a species has a long lifespan, the more it can feel the vastness and grandeur of the universe.

Even if it can survive for tens of thousands of years, it is still just as insignificant compared to the universe, which is tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of years old.

The Dark Watcher is like an observer, silently watching the evolution of the universe.

They watched as the ancient spirit race established the Spirit Empire, unifying the entire galaxy, and then watched as the Spirit Empire collapsed, with the Prince of Joy awakening amidst the wailing of the spirit race.

They watched as the arrogant Star God was betrayed by his own slaves, one by one shattered from the gods of the real universe into batteries with endless energy.

As the world changes, only the Dark Watchers remain unchanged. They have always adhered to their mission and diligently played their role as jailers.

In fact, Caliban holds not only Ouroboros, but the Dark Watchers are both jailers and prisoners.

Now, as the Darkwatchers hear Lothie's description of the future, the thought of "ending their mission" crosses their minds for the first time.

The ingrained thought patterns formed over a long period of time made the Dark Watcher instinctively reject the idea, but it would be a lie to say that he was not tempted at all.

“Alright,” the black-robed figure at the head agreed.

“We will do everything we can to help you, but if the tunnel boring machine shows signs of going out of control, we will immediately use our safety measures to break the key into pieces again.”

"But let me make this clear: our methods will not be as gentle as those of the Creator. The tunnel boring machines that we split may suffer irreversible damage and be completely shattered into countless fragments."

Rosie nodded; he understood what the other person meant.

If the Ancient Ones dismantled the tunnel boring machine by taking apart its power engine, transmission system, and protective shell one by one, then the Darkwatchers could probably just blow it to smithereens with a single blast.

When the Darkwatcher mentioned his insurance measures, the Tuchucha engine, which had been running smoothly and appeared extremely calm, suddenly started to malfunction.

The boy servant it controlled trembled violently, as if it were furious, expressing its anger towards the Dark Watcher.

The Tuchucha engine loathed these persistent Dark Watchers; these stubborn creatures had been relentlessly harassing them.

Ouroboros is the most unfortunate, having been sealed to Caliban for a long time, while Tuchucha Engine and Heart of Plague are slightly freer.

Tuchucha Engine knew perfectly well that the reason the Darkwatchers hadn't swarmed out to hunt it and the Heart of Plague was simply because their numbers were far too small.

Sending too many Darkwatchers away from Caliban would undoubtedly lead to a lapse in Caliban's defenses, giving the Ouroboros an opportunity to exploit the situation.

Furthermore, if one of the three sacred artifacts is killed, the remaining two, no matter how unwilling they are, will never be able to become whole again. And for it to become whole again, it must come to Caliban and fuse with the Ouroboros.

In this way, the Darkwatch can simply camp in their own lair and wait for the Tulkucha Engine or the Heart of Plague.

The Tuchucha engine desperately wanted to completely destroy these black-robed figures, but it now understood that the Emperor had decided not to allow the Dark Watchers to be harmed until he had complete control over them.

It can only gamble now, gambling that humans will make it whole and that it will be able to find and open the Ancient Treasury before humans find a way to control the tunnel boring machine.

With the Darkwatcher's intervention, both sides are now in a state of open confrontation.

Both sides knew each other's intentions, but neither could stop the other.

As for who will ultimately emerge victorious, that will depend on a more complex game of strategy and confrontation.

……

The seventy-two hours allotted to the Dark Angels for evacuation soon came to an end.

For the relocation of a Legion's homeworld, let alone three Terra days, even three Terra months or three Terra years wouldn't be enough.

Luther squeezed almost every last drop of potential from his administrative system, and with each order he issued, the Caliban's work efficiency was pushed to unprecedented limits.

The massive transport ships blotted out the sky, their engines roaring and tearing apart the last vestiges of tranquility in Caliban's skies, like a flock of migrating metal birds, ceaselessly shuttling between the tracks and the ground day and night.

All civilians in Caliban have been evacuated, and the Dark Angels can guarantee with their honor that not a single human being will be left behind in the vast expanse of Caliban.

The artifacts and buildings that record the long history of the Kaliban were all moved directly by the Mechanicus, and as long as they were placed and pieced together in a new place, they would look the same as before.

Caliban, a planet once covered by endless ancient forests and later reshaped by steel and faith, now presents an eerie silence.

For countless years, this planet has never been so quiet, free from the roars of giant beasts and the noise of human production and life.

The once bustling port is deserted, the massive factories lie like silent steel behemoths on the desolate land, and the last remaining primeval forest sways in the cold wind, as if waiting for the end of the world.

Only the magnificent Legion Monastery, heavily protected by force field shields, stood alone in the center of the designated safe zone, like the last reef in a storm.

The atmosphere on the bridge of the new Caliban was heavy. No one, including the Emperor, made a sound, not even a whisper.

The enormous observation window, like a picture frame, brought the planet, which was about to meet its end, into view.

The emperor stood by the window, his golden figure seemingly blending into the cold starry sky.

Ryan Johnson stood by, the Lion King's face as if carved from stone, only the tightly gripped hilt of the Lion Sword revealing the turmoil in his heart.

Even with Ryan's composure, he couldn't remain completely calm when faced with the impending destruction of his home planet.

Luther, Astram, and other high-ranking officers of the First Legion stood solemnly behind them, their eyes fixed on their home planet, filled with the sorrow of parting and their final hopes.

Loshi, Chagatai Khan, and Lemanrus were also present to witness this historic moment.

"Time is up."

The Emperor's voice was calm, yet it carried the absolute power to decide Caliban's fate.

He slowly raised his hands, without any complicated rituals or earth-shattering signs of energy gathering.

With just a simple gesture of raising his hand, a vast and boundless wave of spiritual energy, seemingly originating from the very source of the universe, silently swept outwards from the Emperor.

All unsecured objects inside the bridge instantly floated to the surface, and the light seemed to be distorted. The cold current brought by the subspace energy condensed into a thick layer of ice on the deck of the New Caliban.

The emperor's eyes turned into pure golden light sources, and what burned around him was no longer flames, but a substantial spiritual energy flowing like liquid gold.

The Lord of Mankind personally intervened and completely shattered Caliban's cage of the Ouroboros. Such treatment is probably rare even in the entire galaxy.

Beyond the orbit of the planet Caliban, the veil between the real universe and the warp was forcibly torn open by the Emperor's will.

If the curtain is breached, energy from the subspace will theoretically spill out, causing a terrible disaster.

Then, after tearing open the rift, the emperor simply blocked it with himself.

The cold sun in the subspace poured its boundless power directly into the Emperor of the real universe through this rift.

Those entities that were originally lingering in the subspace only glanced in this direction, and their bodies were immediately engulfed in golden flames, and they were burned to ashes in a short time.

The faith and souls of humankind are constantly strengthening the God-Emperor, making the icy sun ever more powerful. If this continues, sooner or later the God-Emperor will be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the other chaotic gods.

A spear, indescribable in color and formed from pure annihilation power, appeared in the Emperor's hand, and he hurled it at Caliban.

No sound can travel in a vacuum, but this devastating blow seemed to resound deep within the souls of all who witnessed it.

The golden torrent precisely avoided the safe zone where the Legion Monastery was located, and as if it had a life of its own, it slammed into the core crust of Caliban.

The point of contact instantly turned into an intense white light that was hard to look at. Then, an indescribable golden halo spread out from the point of impact at the speed of light across the entire surface of the planet.

Hard rocks melted as easily as butter under a hot knife, and the long mountain range collapsed and shattered in a silent roar.

The massive, visible rift valleys spread wildly like scars on the planet's surface, spewing forth torrents of molten lava from deep within the Earth's core.

Those massive foundries, airport platforms, and military bases that were unable to be moved melted and collapsed silently, like ice sculptures under the scorching sun, the moment the golden halo swept by.

The last remaining primeval forest in Caliban, the ancient trees that witnessed the birth of the Knights and the roar of the giant beasts, turned into towering pillars of ashes the moment they came into contact with the halo. Even the burning process was skipped in an instant, and they returned directly to nothingness.

However, this is far from enough. Caliban's celestial structure is being completely disintegrated at the molecular level, evaporating into elementary particles.

This kind of destruction is more thorough than orbital bombardment or other forms of extermination, making the weapon more complete.

This was a precise and brutal planetary-level surgical procedure performed by the Lord of Humanity himself.

Just as Caliban's material structure was violently torn apart and annihilated by the Emperor's power, an ancient chaotic consciousness that had been dormant for a long time was being forcibly awakened by this extreme destruction and pain.

A sharp pain shot through Rosie's ear, as if an invisible file was scraping across her eardrum.

It was a sharp, piercing scream that rang out directly between reality and the subspace, filled with endless pain, anger, and bewildered chaos.

The disintegrating and melting fragments of the planet Caliban—molten rock, boiling metal, and dissipating energy dust—seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, frantically converging towards a certain point on the planetary remnant, defying the laws of physics.

Countless fragments collided and squeezed each other during the convergence process, slowly merging together.

The lava cooled into dark scales, the metal flow solidified into sharp bone spikes, and the energy dust condensed into shimmering runes.

An unimaginably large life form is coalescing and taking shape amidst countless planetary debris.

That was a... snake.

A giant serpent made of fragmented planetary matter, straddling the line between reality and illusion.

Its body is not entirely solid; part of its torso is like flowing stardust and spacetime rifts, shimmering with a ghostly blue and silvery light, while other parts of its torso are made of cooled lava and metal, covered with thick, ferocious scales and bone spikes.

Its head is enormous, composed of the oldest and hardest fragments of the Earth's core from Caliban, with naturally formed patterns outlining a giant face filled with pain and bewilderment.

The giant serpent had no eyes, only two bottomless holes that seemed to lead to nothingness.

The snake opened its mouth, roaring silently, spewing out breath composed of fragments of chaotic spacetime and annihilation energy.

Its enormous, newly formed body instinctively coiled up, its head chasing its tail, forming a Möbius strip that symbolizes an infinite cycle.

Loxi sensed a bewildering fear emanating from the ouroboros; it seemed that the creature had been sealed and asleep for too long, and had lost a sufficiently clear sense of self.

Its consciousness was confused and unclear, with only instinct controlling the actions of its massive body.

"Is it afraid of the Emperor, or is it afraid of the Dark Watcher who has imprisoned it?" Rosie wondered to herself.

But before he could figure it out, the freed ouroboros immediately began to act strangely.

"hiss--!"

The ouroboros let out a sharp hiss, and its massive body thrashed violently, shattering the space around it like fragile glass.

It wants to tear open the veil of reality, completely escape into the depths of the subspace, and flee from all of this.

It sensed the presence of the Dark Watchers, those damned jailers who had imprisoned it for countless years.

"Trying to escape from me?" The Emperor's slightly amused voice rang out, and he immediately took action to stop the precious network tunnel boring machine puzzle piece from escaping.

Just as the ouroboros was about to enter the spatial rift, a giant hand made entirely of golden psionic energy unexpectedly blocked its path.

The giant hand, with its five fingers slightly spread, immediately gripped the body of the ouroboros, preventing it from moving forward.

Under the Emperor's psionic giant hand, the ouroboros struggled and twisted violently, just like an ordinary snake whose vital point was being squeezed.

The planetary fragments that make up its body cracked under the terrifying pressure, and its powerful breath struck the golden palm, only creating ripples before disappearing without a trace.

The ouroboros let out a painful and desperate roar, its dazed consciousness filled with fear of this absolute power.

It writhed frantically, trying to lash out with its tail and entwine itself, but all in vain—the Emperor's psionic giant hand, like the most solid cage, held it firmly in place.

Countless chains, composed of pure psionic runes and flowing with the radiance of a divine emperor, emerged from the warp rift behind the emperor and coiled around the massive body of the ouroboros as if they were alive.

These chains disregard its semi-real, semi-illusory form, deeply imprinting themselves into its very essence, sealing and binding it in every way from the physical, energy, spacetime, and even conceptual levels.

The Ouroboros's struggles grew weaker and weaker; it was indeed very powerful, enough to roam freely even in the warp.

Unfortunately, it encountered the most powerful entity in the real universe as soon as it awoke, an entity backed by a cold sun.

Finally, with a mournful cry filled with resentment and weakness, the ancient and powerful ouroboros was enveloped by the Emperor's psionic chains and transformed into a statue made of dark rock and molten metal.

As the Dark Watchers watched the Ouroboros being sealed away once more, their unease gradually subsided.

However, the overwhelming power displayed by the human emperor still instilled fear in these ancient beings who had survived since the War of Heaven.

Even ancient sages couldn't achieve this level of skill.

Beside the ouroboros, the fragment of the planet protected by the Emperor's power, which contained the Dark Angel Monastery and parts of the celestial body, floated alone like a tombstone.

The emperor spread out his hands, and the tens of thousands of kilometers long ouroboros statue began to collapse rapidly, soon becoming something that could be pinched with a finger.

"Ouroboros, got it."

"The last piece of the puzzle is in place."

The boy servant, remotely controlled by the Tuchucha engine, almost pounced on the Ouroboros, but it was still intimidated by the Emperor's oppression and forcibly controlled its body.

An intense, frantic desire surged through the consciousness of the Tuchucha engine; it yearned to become whole, yearned to become...the only one!

"I want to study the ouroboros."

"The matter of Caliban is now in your hands, my friend."

Neos left with a single sentence and headed directly to the vault of the New Caliban with the shrunken Ouroboros.

The Heart of Plague is still stored in Comoros. To further reshape the tunnel boring machine, they need to return to Comoros to continue.

Luo Xi watched speechlessly as the Emperor's figure quickly disappeared before her eyes. This guy was still as good at shifting blame as ever.

Once he got his hands on the ouroboros, he acted like a child with a new toy, oblivious to everything else.

"Now that the Ouroboros has been removed, our next task is to settle the remaining Caliban."

Loxi's gaze fell on the fragment of Caliban that had been preserved by the Emperor. This fragment of the star was about 300 kilometers in diameter, which was indeed pitifully small compared to the original Caliban.

"What are your plans? Will you choose a new home planet and start development afresh? Or will you expand upon this fragment of the planet?"

As someone who cleans up the mess for the Emperor, Loxi naturally had to carefully consider the opinions of the Dark Angel Legion.

He had a close relationship with the First Legion, so he naturally had to be more cautious when dealing with such a major matter involving the Legion's home planet.

Ryan turned his gaze to Luther, and Luther's eyes met Ryan's.

The Lion King immediately turned his head. In his heart, he still felt that he had let down Caliban, Luther, and his own offspring.

Whatever his reasons, Caliban was destroyed by the Emperor with his tacit approval.

Luther, the legion's chief steward, had worked diligently and conscientiously to help him develop Caliban, only to see it disappear just as it began to grow.

Therefore, when Ryan met Luther's gaze, a wave of guilt welled up from the bottom of his heart.

Of course, as the leader of the First Legion, Ryan would never expose his inner turmoil to his offspring.

However, Ryan's little scheme could not possibly escape the notice of Luther in his current state.

Luther didn’t even need to look; he knew what his son was thinking.

"So what if our home planet is gone? It's not all gone. As long as we have a little bit of Caliban left, we can develop an even bigger Caliban."

“I’ve long complained that Caliban was too small and couldn’t allow me to fully unleash my potential. Now it’s good that I’ve smashed the original framework and can create more freely and spontaneously.”

Luther stood next to Ryan, patted him on the shoulder, and said...

He still remembered how primitive and savage the child looked when he first found Ryan.

Eating raw meat and drinking blood, revealing his wild nature, this is the real Ryan.

At that time, Ryan was not so tall, nor did he possess such imposing and unassailable presence.

But in Luther's heart, Lane will always be that child who follows him around, learning civilization and knowledge. And what's wrong with him doing everything he can to support Lane as his adoptive father?
Isn't the family fortune built by the father just squandered by his son? Otherwise, what's the point of the family fortune he built?
Since Ryan ultimately chose loyalty, Luther wouldn't give Ryan a difficult choice.

He wouldn't let Ryan struggle between loyalty and his own interests; he would uphold Ryan's loyalty.

"Alright, alright, you two stop with your fatherly love and filial piety." Lothie looked at Luther's loving expression, while Ryan pretended to be calm but was actually panicking inside, and said helplessly.

“Ahem,” Luther coughed twice with his right fist, then said, “Loshi, I saw the Empire’s ‘Battle White Dwarf’ during the siege of the Ghoul Orc Empire.”

"Since Caliban is starting from scratch, let's just transform Caliban into a new battle planet."

"Look at this..."

Luther immediately started rubbing his hands together. Although his tone was one of negotiation, the eagerness in his eyes was unmistakable.

What era are we living in? The Legion's homeworld is still being used as a base for massing troops in the rear.

A true legion's homeworld should, of course, be directly deployed to the front lines, where troops can be mass-produced right under the enemy's nose!

(End of this chapter)