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

Chapter 912 The Moment of Closing the Net
After seizing the initiative from the high command of the cult, Omega did not act like an outsider at all, and began to stroll around the hive ship with the Lerna Terminator.

Yu Hai, Slau Da, and the others, though extremely anxious, could only keep up with Hydra's pace and wait for him to continue sharing information.

They're not stupid; they won't believe everything Omega says.

Because they knew Hydra so well, they knew never to believe Omega's lies.

However, they cannot turn against humanity before they know everything, as that would only benefit them.

“I came here only to annoy my brothers. A human empire that is too powerful and whose internal threats have been largely eliminated is not in my interest.”

“I need the existence of the cult. You can share the Empire’s attention, thereby relieving the pressure on my side.”

"Your strength may not be much, but you are disgusting enough, like rats crawling in the dark corners of a room. Humans will not rest until you are dragged out."

Omega's reasoning was jarring, yet remarkably true and logical.

The unease among the high-ranking members of the Tantric sect present lessened somewhat.

They maintain close attention to all the major powers in the galaxy, with the legions that betrayed the human empire and joined the Chaos faction being their primary focus.

Although the cult could not fully understand the movements of the Chaos Rebels, they did realize that Abaddon, Angeltai, Fabius, and other leaders of the Chaos Rebels seemed to be plotting something.

These traitors to humanity have been keeping a low profile lately, and even their necessary plundering activities have plummeted.

It is important to understand that what is most lacking in the Eyes of Fear are those ordinary resources that seem insignificant in the real universe—pure water, non-toxic food, materials that can be used for repair and construction, and so on.

These all require plundering the human world to obtain, and their reduction in plundering must be for some purpose.

Omega may know something, but without sufficient terms in exchange, should we expect him to reveal everything?

Esoteric Buddhism believes in the principle of equivalent exchange, and they never believe in so-called "friendship".

Hydra paused, then continued, "I can show you a true path to survival, but not to save all of you, nor to save this cumbersome hive ship."

With a wave of his hand, his psionic energy instantly sketched a star map of the Casa Octavius ​​system, as well as a rough structural diagram of the hive ship.

"The Nest Ship is doomed to destruction. It is inevitable. Guilliman will not allow it to escape, but you individuals may still have a chance to escape."

"You have two choices. First, you can take the necessary experimental data with you and come directly into the subspace with me. I will take you to a safe place."

"Secondly, you can disperse your hive ships and escape in different directions. This way, you won't need to accumulate enough energy to propel the entire hive ship, making you more flexible and maneuverable."

Omega knew the details of the cult's nest ship. Although it looked like a complete giant ship, it was actually the product of several high-level factions. If needed, it could be split apart like an orange.

However, his suggested options have once again put the higher-ups in a dilemma.

The first point was rejected by them almost instantly.

The warp has never been the territory of the cult. The chaotic High Heaven is filled with all sorts of indescribable warp creatures, as well as those vicious Chaos rebels, or monsters under the command of various evil gods.

The high-ranking members of the cult are all psionicists. Their presence in the warp is like lighting the way for those greedy warp demons, attracting them to come and prey on them.

Moreover, they could not trust Omega, this suddenly appearing traitorous Primarch, who was perhaps no more reliable than the Imperial Primarch who was hunting them down.

If you foolishly follow him into the subspace, you'll be completely at his mercy and lose all initiative.

As for the second point, Yu Hai, Slau Da, and others had also considered it.

As long as they escape in different directions, it will be impossible for the human expeditionary force to surround and trap them all, given their numbers.

However, the option of splitting up the nest ships and escaping separately is enough to make the hearts of every high-ranking sage bleed.

This nest ship is not merely a means of transportation, but also a mobile treasure trove, laboratory, and archive accumulated by esoteric Buddhism over dozens of millennia.

Countless precious experimental data, ancient technological relics, unique genetic samples, and research findings on various races are all deeply embedded in the structure of the nest ship.

The process of fragmentation is inevitably accompanied by massive destruction and data loss, like forcibly tearing pages from a thick book. Only scattered fragments can be taken away, while the vast majority of knowledge and wealth will be abandoned and ultimately destroyed by human warfare.

Tantric Buddhism does not believe there is a safe place in the galaxy where they can hide their knowledge and treasures, so they choose to stay with their knowledge and treasures at all times.

This choice is especially cruel for Sage Yu Hai.

The Titanium species he cultivated, in large numbers, lived and worked within the bio-life support zone of the Nest Ship; they themselves were valuable living specimens and the cornerstone of future plans.

Once split, only the part carrying the core power and navigation modules is capable of escaping via a subspace jump.

As for the other parts, including the massive life support areas, laboratories, and storage warehouses, they could only remain on Casa Octavius ​​III like abandoned garbage, awaiting destruction.

This means that much of his hard work will be in vain, leaving only a few elite Tau people to follow him.

"Is there... no other choice?" The electromagnetic waves emitted by the energy lifeform sage were filled with waves of despair. "A forced jump? Regardless of the cost?"

"Regardless of the cost?" Omega seemed amused by this naive idea.

"The price is that there is a 99.9% chance that you will crash directly into the etheric turbulence of the warp, or be torn to pieces by the hordes of demons waiting on the edge of reality."

Believe me, that would be far more painful and protracted than being blasted to smithereens by a human fleet; at least humans only want to wipe you out.

The high-ranking members of the esoteric sect fell into a deathly silence, with only the ticking of the clock proving that time was passing rapidly.

Omega carefully observed the complex expressions on the aliens' faces, and a feeling of amusement quietly rose within him.

These self-proclaimed chess masters, who attempt to manipulate the galaxy from the shadows, are utterly ridiculous.

They actually naively believed that they could stir up trouble through conspiracy so that they could reap the benefits.

Omega has already partnered with Abaddon, Loka, and others. They will collect any special technologies, ancient relics, and psionic artifacts that can be taken with them, and then evacuate together through the inter-universe portal.

They wanted to escape this universe where there was no chance, to escape the human empire that was now unstoppable, and to continue pursuing their great cause.

And Tantric Buddhism, naturally, is the "mobile asset" that Omega has its eye on.

This alien cult integrates dozens of different technological systems. While they may not be particularly sophisticated, they are certainly complex enough, and many of them are highly practical technologies.

Omega knew very well that if he rashly took action against the cult without external pressure, these rats, who were used to walking in the shadows, would immediately unite and rebel against him.

Even if he mobilized the remaining Alpha Legion, it would not be an easy task to obtain the legacy of the esoteric sect intact.

Now that Guilliman is taking action against Tantric Buddhism, the external pressure that Omega has been waiting for has naturally emerged.

The information he revealed to the senior members of the esoteric sect was entirely truthful.

He did come to save them, but he also came to cause trouble for Guilliman.

What he didn't say was that after saving the cult, ownership of most of its assets would also fall into the hands of the Alpha Legion.

His two opinions seemed like possible alternatives, but in reality, they were just bait released by Omega to further divide the cult.

Just like predators in nature hunting herbivores, they always disperse the prey group that was originally grouped together, and then choose the weakest and oldest one to hunt.

Omega waited patiently for the internal divisions within the cult to escalate before making his move.

Hydra seemed to be leading everyone on a leisurely stroll through the hive ship. His gaze lingered for a moment on a bulkhead, then a peculiar smile appeared in his eyes.

"Interesting, there are actually people secretly eavesdropping."

“I remember you, John Granmaticas.”

"In that case, let's plunge the entire Tantric sect into even more complete chaos."

Omega thought to himself, then raised his voice slightly so that the person on the other side of the bulkhead could hear him more clearly.

Unaware that the distraught high-ranking members of the cult were listening intently to the indistinct arguing coming through the maintenance corridor just a wall away from their location, two figures dressed as cult agents were listening intently.

They were John Gramatikas and Damon Pritanis, two artificial immortals who served Tantric Buddhism for many years.

"Split...escape...the human fleet..."

John's face grew paler and paler as he spoke haltingly. He looked at Damon beside him, his eyes filled with resolve.

"Did you hear that, Damon? Those high-ranking members of the cult are planning to abandon most of their hive ships and escape!"

They never valued us, nor the lives that served them. They gave us a little something when they needed us, and then discarded us like trash when they didn't!

"You're going to be loyal to these damned guys until you die?"

John angrily cursed, hoping his old friend beside him could come to his senses.

During the Great Rebellion, John was ordered to use a lightning-struck stone spear to kill Vulcan, thus escalating the human civil war to its end.

But at the last moment, John decided to stand on the side of his race. He used the power of the lightning-struck stone to cure Vulcan's madness, although the price was that John was completely transformed from an immortal into a mortal who could die.

After his failed assassination mission, John wandered off to Terra and even got involved in the final battle of the Vengeance Soul.

During this experience, he was persuaded by Uslan and decided from the bottom of his heart to break free from the control of those aliens. However, since Damon still stubbornly obeyed the Cult aliens, the two returned to the Cult's hive ship.

As secret agents who had made many contributions, these two repeatedly failed, though not killed, were naturally not going to be reused. So they have been serving on this nest ship ever since.

John had been trying to persuade Damon to return to the human world with him, but Damon was unable to let go of his obsession and the mental habits he had developed from serving in the cult.

Damon's expression was equally grim, but he tried to remain calm.

“John, calm down! Even so, what can we do? You are no longer immortal. Your power has been given to Vulcan. You only have one life now! Impulsiveness will only lead you to your death!”

“They didn’t abandon everyone. We’re still useful. We can leave with them.” Damon’s eyes were vacant, as if he were trying to convince John, or perhaps himself.

“A life?” John gave a bitter smile, but his eyes burned with an unprecedented clarity.

"Precisely because I only have one life left, I cannot afford to waste it on continuing to work for these aliens!"

“Damon, we’ve been wrong for far too long. We’ve helped these damned aliens harm their own race and participated in countless conspiracies against humanity…”

I can't go on like this anymore. Even if I only have one life left, I want to die as a human being!

A glint seemed to flash in Damon's indifferent eyes, yet a hint of hesitation still lingered.

He has served the cult for far too long. Damon was chosen and taken away by the cult after the Battle of Iwo Jima and transformed into an artificial immortal. For nearly 30,000 years, he has mostly obeyed the orders of the cult.

The long life had worn away many emotions, leaving only habitual obedience and the instinct for survival. He was like a car that moved forward by inertia; once it was about to deviate from its original track, it would immediately become so terrified that it wouldn't know how to proceed.

"Use your rusty brain to think this through. They're going to be wiped out by the human fleet this time. If you and I retreat with them, what will they do to vent their anger?"

"Even if you have served the Tantric religion for tens of thousands of years, they can still execute you!"

"For no other reason than that you are a damned human being."

John cursed, then suddenly pulled a ritual dagger from his pocket that looked like a fragment of obsidian and emitted a faint subspace fluctuation.

This ritual dagger was a blasphemous artifact forged from the fragments that were created after Eribas shattered the Corrupted Warmaster's [Nemesis Blade].

It possesses the terrifying power to completely kill subspace life and corrupt and degenerate life in the real universe, but at the same time, it can also tear open the space in front of it and directly open a passage.

"Remember this? It can briefly tear open an extremely unstable subspace rift for short-distance teleportation, allowing us to leave this ship and escape to the planet's surface."

"Once those humans land on the planet's surface, we can make contact with them and tell them about the situation inside the cult and the aliens' plans."

Damon stared at the dangerous dagger, then at John's resolute gaze, his heart churning with inner turmoil.

“John, even if we help humans, they will still settle scores with us. We have too much human blood on our hands…” Damon was still struggling with this thought.

“Then I would be happy to accept the trial,” John said with a sincere smile, without the slightest hint of hypocrisy.

"Our deaths will warn those fools what the price of betraying humanity is, and what a ridiculous end they will get in the end."

"If future generations can remember us because of this, I would be quite happy to accept it. At least it would be a literal way of leaving our mark on history."

"Can't you be serious for a little longer, you fucking bastard?" Damon, who had been indifferent the whole time, suddenly burst out cursing as if he was laughing in anger.

"You old lecher, when you were trying to win over Alpharis, you even took the time to have sex with that female support soldier. Do you think I didn't know?"

John, however, showed no sign of embarrassment. On the contrary, he raised his head, seemingly exceptionally proud.

"You old codger, you're long gone, unlike me, I'm still as strong as an eighteen-year-old lad."

Damon punched John directly in the chest, causing John, who had lost his immortality, to wince in pain.

Although his face was still twitching, John knew very well that Damon's reaction meant he had implicitly agreed to his suggestion.

"If we could tell them about the situation inside the hive ship in advance, we might be able to save some of the mortals on this planet and reduce the casualties of some Imperial soldiers. This is the only thing we can do."

Finally, Damon sighed heavily, nodded, and made up his mind.

"...Alright, old friend, I'll go crazy with you this once. Anyway, staying here is probably a dead end."

Just as the two made up their minds and prepared to activate the ritual runes on the dagger.

Woo——! ! !
An unprecedented, extremely sharp, and almost ear-piercing red alert suddenly rang out throughout the entire naval vessel.

Immediately afterwards, the entire nest ship began to shake violently.

That wasn't the vibration caused by external artillery fire, but rather the tearing of metal and the collapse of biological tissue resulting from the separation and disintegration of the internal structure.

"What's going on?!" John and Damon nearly fell over. They grabbed the wall for support, feeling the unusual vibrations beneath their feet and hearing the sound of rushing water.

"Structural integrity alert for the 'Nest Ship'! Significant water ingress reported in multiple areas!"

Panic-stricken shouts came from the intercom system in the passageway; it was unclear who had started them.

"It's sector B-7! Damn it, someone forcibly separated sector B-7, and the sealing door is broken!"

"It's seawater! Seawater is flooding into tunnels C-2 and D-1!"

"Power system short circuit! Backup power activated!"

John and Damon exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and a hint of understanding in each other's eyes.

“They’ve started,” John said hoarsely. “Those high-ranking officers, they couldn’t wait any longer. Some of them acted first, tearing apart the nest ship without hesitation just to survive, completely disregarding the lives of countless crew members and affiliated races in other areas.”

The icy seawater, mixed with organic liquid, surged into their passageway like an enraged beast from the broken pipes and torn hull cracks.

Floating in the water were various debris, corpses, and many terrified figures with blue skin, dressed in simple uniforms—these were low-ranking Tau service personnel kept in the hive ship.

Since leaving their home planet, they were forcibly transformed from a primitive society into an industrial society. All members abandoned hunting and became the foundational building blocks of the hive ship.

"Go quickly!" Damon grabbed John and activated the ritual dagger in his hand.

The dagger suddenly lit up, emitting an ominous, dark purple light, and an unstable, minute subspace rift was forcibly torn open in front of them.

Without hesitation, the two leaped into the rift. Just as the rift closed, the raging seawater completely submerged the spot where they had just been, sweeping away the struggling Tau people and all the debris into the cold darkness.

After a brief, excruciating spin, as if their souls were being torn apart, John and Damon crashed heavily onto the hard, cold ground.

The biting cold wind immediately penetrated their soaked cult uniforms, causing them to shiver instinctively.

They looked around and found themselves on the edge of a dilapidated, seemingly long-abandoned human village.

The low stone houses were mostly covered with thick frost, and there were few traces of human activity.

The dim sun of Casa Octavius ​​III overhead offered little warmth, instead casting an even more desolate glow upon this icy land.

However, what chilled them even more than the bitter cold on the ground was the view from the sky.

The once gloomy sky is now being ripped apart by countless fiery streaks of meteors.

Those were the human fleet's orbital drop pods, Thunderhawk gunships, and even larger Overlord-class armed gunships.

Like raindrops of death, they pierced through the thin atmosphere and plummeted toward the planet's surface at high speed.

The roar of the engine was like a continuous thunderclap, shaking the entire earth.

At higher, near-Earth orbit, through gaps in the thin clouds, they could see the outlines of several enormous shadows.

Human warships had somehow arrived near Casa Octavius ​​III.

The array of light spears flashed with deadly light as it was fully charged, and the macro cannons were aimed at the cult nest ship hidden beneath the sea surface, like cold eyes staring at the earth.

They have completely sealed off this star system, and any object attempting to take off and escape will be met with relentless and devastating destruction.

The human fleet arrived faster and earlier than Hydra had predicted, and Guilliman made the most of the advantages of the network.

"Damn it..." Damon muttered to himself, overwhelmed by the grand and terrifying scene of war.

As special agents, they usually operate behind enemy lines and rarely have the opportunity to go directly to the front lines of the battlefield.

On such a battlefield, an individual's life or death is truly insignificant; they might die at any moment.

But he could be resurrected after death, while John was truly dead when he died.

John struggled to his feet, wiping the ice crystals from his face, but his gaze remained unusually firm.

He immediately began collecting all the flammable materials he could see, then piled them up and ignited them with his Star Dart pistol.

Thick smoke immediately rose up, standing out starkly against the pale white snow.

“We have to make them see us,” John shouted, his voice distorted by the roar of the engine.

"We must find a way to tell the human army what's going on inside, to tell them that the high command may have already been in turmoil and fled."

Damon kept his mouth shut, tacitly agreeing to John's plan.

Damon used his psionic powers to demolish some abandoned houses, then took out the building materials and threw them into the fire.

At this moment, they were no longer servants of the esoteric religion, but two lost souls yearning for redemption and a return to the human race.

Despite the uncertain future and the raging war, this time, they chose the right path.

Inside the hive ship, the sudden splitting of the hive ship and the flood invasion completely disrupted the mindset of the esoteric sect's high-ranking members.

The angry roar of the Ocean Sage echoed in the cabin as Eldar Warlord Slaw Da used his psionic power to forcibly stop the seawater from continuing its rampage.

"Who is it?!"

"Our nest ship is still at the bottom of the sea. Are they trying to kill us all so they can escape?"

"Humanity has already surrounded this planet. Do these damned fools really think they can survive by betraying us?"

But arguing was pointless; once the collapse of the nest ship began, it could not be stopped, and there was no time for them to continue hesitating.

After realizing the impending chaos, more parts of the Nest Ship were forcibly separated by their respective managers.

Many people died in confusion amidst the sudden disaster and infighting, without even knowing what was happening.

Those who were unwilling to die gripped their weapons and began firing back at everything around them, trying to seize safe positions or life-saving equipment.

Under the sudden attack of humans, the lure of Hydra, and the intensification of internal conflicts within the cult, the cult's nest ship, which was originally able to unite and hide from human pursuit, has now become a sinking wreck.

Even without human intervention, the internal strife alone would be enough to severely damage the cult's nest ship, and it's not impossible that it could even be destroyed on this obscure planet.

However, Guilliman, who was determined to obtain the technology of creating immortal beings through esoteric practices, could not possibly stand idly by.

At this moment, he had already led his many clone Primarch brothers, boarding the Overlord Armored Gunship and landing directly from the orbit.

"I thought this esoteric sect was incredibly powerful, but it turns out their final choice was to hide their nest ship at the bottom of the sea and pretend to be dead, and then an internal conflict broke out."

Fully armed, Guilliman laughed heartily, with the Ever Victorious Guard and the Grey Knight squad led by Loken closely following him, protecting his safety.

The other Primarch clones, on the other hand, acted alongside the Deathwatch Chapter.

"Horus, Ryan, you two each lead a team to flank the cult's nest ship from the opposite direction. We will attack from all directions together to prevent them from escaping."

“Saint-Gilles, you will lead our air force to intercept the cult’s attempt to escape. The technology we need is likely among them. Make sure the technology is safe, and also ensure your safety.”

"As for the rest of you, follow me and charge into the main body of the cult's nest ship. I'll let these damned aliens taste what human wrath is!"

(End of this chapter)