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

Chapter 913 Cloned Angels Are Also Angels
Guilliman was well aware that different factions existed among the Primarchs due to the influence of the Primarch.

Like clones like Angron, Forgrim, or Mortalian, they had a better relationship with clone Horus and were more willing to obey his commands.

Meanwhile, clones like Lemanrus and Chagatai Khan were completely at odds with their original brothers who had betrayed them.

Therefore, Guilliman decisively ordered them to split up, at least to prevent them from fighting each other on the battlefield.

Although the cult's hive ship was comparable in size to a human hive city, only the Imperial Fist's Mountain Array could surpass its size in the Great Crusade era.

But in the end, this was still a ship seizure operation.

Such an operation could be easily entrusted to one of his chapter commanders, at most an Astartes of the level of the Four Heroes, by Guilliman.

Now, a full eighteen Primarchs, including Guilliman, have joined forces to defect, a feat even the former Vengeance Spirits had never accomplished.

By dispersing the Primarchs and allowing them to fight according to their own habits, combat efficiency can be improved while minimizing the possibility of conflict between them.

"When the time actually came to war, I really felt that it was like using an anti-aircraft gun to kill a mosquito, a complete waste of our manpower."

"From the moment their proud precognitive system was crippled by our anti-prophecy interference and they chose to land on this planet, the outcome of this war was already predetermined."

Beside Guilliman, besides his Ever-Victorious Guard, was the Grey Knight squad personally led by Gavial Locken.

These Grey Knights, who have undergone countless rigorous training sessions and possess unparalleled resistance to warp contamination, are a formidable weapon against psionic magic, and in terms of their effectiveness, they are in no way inferior to the Silent Sisters.

Since most of the Silent Sisters were unable to effectively control their soulless energy fields, and given the large number of psionicists on the human side participating in the battle, Guilliman simply did not bring them along.

Loken's most important task was to stay by Guilliman's side and protect the Imperial Regent from the potential threats posed by the cult's psionic methods.

"Any alien that is hostile to humanity should be dealt with in the most brutal way."

"Lord Saint Gilles has already done it."

Loken slightly raised his head, and the auxiliary system on his tactical helmet immediately locked onto a figure moving at high speed in the sky.

That figure was none other than Saint Gilles, who had been ordered by Guilliman to intercept the first warship to break free from the cult's nest ship.

Loken understood that the Saint Gilles before him was not the radiant archangel he remembered, who had risked his life to stop Horus for the sake of humanity.

However, he still respected the clone Saint Gilles, simply because this angel also possessed some of the noble qualities of the original archangel.

Sanguis soared through the sky, followed closely by a squadron of Proto-Forged Space Marines equipped with cruise jetpacks or X-genes with flight capabilities via their internal Infinite Engine organs.

They come from the Deathwatch Chapter, but most of their predecessors were Blood Angels who were ordered to serve in this mixed chapter after the war with the Orc Empire ended.

Being able to follow behind the cloned archangel, these Astartes were burning with fighting spirit and passion to the extreme, wishing they could rush into the horde of aliens right now and chop these enemies of humanity into mincemeat.

The warship, forcibly torn apart from the main body of the cult's nest ship, had a bizarre shape. At first glance, it looked like a giant sea urchin covered with metal spikes and wriggling tubes.

Its tail thrusters spewed out streams of eerie blue plasma as it desperately tried to break free of the gravitational well of Casa Octavius ​​III and plunge into the cold void.

The high-ranking member of the cult who controls it—a mechanical life form sage—is now using all his computational power to control the warship and plan an escape route.

Its mechanical body is connected to the warship's central computer, and its surging computing power fills its entire body, yet it cannot bring much sense of security.

Due to its unique structure, its control over information is unparalleled, even within esoteric Buddhism.

Therefore, while Omega and Sage Yumi were discussing countermeasures, this mechanical life form Sage, who was not present at the scene, obtained firsthand information through his own hidden means such as listening devices and sensors.

It immediately decided to preserve its own portion as much as possible before others could split the nest ship.

As for the rest, that's up to fate. It's better to die for one's fellow Daoists than to die for oneself than to be buried with everyone.

Although its decision was decisive, things did not turn out as it had predicted or calculated.

The fact that the human fleet arrived ahead of Hydra's predicted timeline was like a bucket of ice water extinguishing its last shred of hope.

But it had no way out at this moment and could only push the engine power to the limit far beyond the safety threshold, trying to break through with speed and suddenness.

However, the Imperial Navy's blockade was far more sophisticated and efficient than it had imagined.

Just as the alien warship was about to break through the top of the atmosphere, the massive array of light spears on the side of an Imperial cruiser that had been waiting for a long time in near-Earth orbit slightly adjusted its angle.

Om-! ! !
A pure and deadly beam of energy instantly ripped through the void and struck the alien warship's shield with pinpoint accuracy.

It did not fire at maximum power, which would have been enough to vaporize the entire warship.

The beam of light, like the sharpest scalpel, precisely sliced ​​through the energy shield that the alien warship had just raised.

The shield couldn't even last a second, shattering silently like a soap bubble.

The energy feedback caused the entire warship to tremble violently, and the external sensors and close-in weapon systems were instantly overloaded, bursting out a series of small explosions.

Almost at the same moment the light spear hit the shield, the clone Saint Gilles, who had been circling in the best attack position like a predator, moved!

With a sudden flap of his enormous white wings, his powerful psionic energy propelled him to a speed far exceeding that of conventional flying vehicles, propelling him straight toward the out-of-control, trembling warship with its shattered shields.

"Charge with me!"

Saint Gilles' voice, amplified by psionic energy, reached clearly into the ears of every Deathwatch warrior who followed him on the assault.

The alien warship's automatic close-in weapon system struggled to activate at the last moment, and countless twisted turrets firing electromagnetic energy beams or solid projectiles rose from the ship's surface, attempting to weave a web of death to block Saint Gilles' entry.

But Saint Gilles also possessed powerful psychic prophetic abilities; his flight path was unpredictable, twisting and turning in a rhythmic and incredibly beautiful arc.

Every slight turn and dive perfectly avoided the barrage of crossfire, and every wing tilt allowed the dense barrage to glide just past the edges.

His psychic precognitive abilities were brought to their fullest potential. In his eyes, the deadly fire trails seemed to transform into slow, clear dotted lines, and he gracefully moved through them, as if performing a dance of death.

The Death Watch warriors who followed closely behind were also inspired by the Archangel's heroic figure.

A group of warriors, their cruise jetpacks blazing with blue flames, followed Saint Gilles in tight formation, using the relatively safe passage opened by the archangel to advance at high speed.

Their tactical helmets constantly flashed data streams, and automated systems helped them calculate the best following routes and avoid residual fire.

Other warriors were even more bizarre; their figures would sometimes blur and then instantly flash forward a distance.

This ability to teleport short distances using an implanted X gene allows them to ignore conventional bullet trajectories and move through a hail of bullets like ghosts.

A few soldiers, just before being engulfed by fire, found their bodies becoming semi-transparent or even completely ethereal. Energy beams and physical projectiles passed through their phantoms without causing any damage.

Saint Gilles was the first to reach the surface of the warship. Without even slowing down, the holy sword in his hand, burning with psionic flames, drew a perfect arc, easily tearing through the warship's thick metal hull like a hot knife through butter, creating a huge entrance that was still flowing with molten metal.

After returning to the Empire, Vulcan generously distributed many of the artifacts stored in his treasury to his clone brothers.

Compared to when, in the Eye of Fear, they could only rely on cloning Vulcan and using their forging skills and a lot of scrap to create barely usable equipment, things are now completely different.

"For Saint Gillespie!"

"Live up to the blood of Sanguinius!"

Without hesitation, the Death Watchers rushed into the passageway filled with the metallic smell, ionized ozone, and strange fuel odor.

In normal combat against aliens, these tactical experts would never be so reckless and impulsive.

but now?

Saint Gilles charged ahead, their blood resonating wildly, their unwavering courage surging forth from their very genes.

All they could think about was charging! Charging! Slaughtering all the enemies!
Inside the warship, alarms wailed mournfully, and red emergency lights flashed incessantly, like the tolling of a death knell.

Inside the passage, a large number of mechanical life forms of various shapes and sizes were surging in: some resembled multi-legged spiders, others were floating spheres, and still others were humanoid mechanical constructs. Their weapons flashed with dangerous arcs of electricity, and their destructive power was not to be underestimated.

Saint Gilles' eyes remained unmoved. Although he was not the original body, he was not someone these cannon fodder could easily mess with.

With a wave of his hand, several high-energy electromagnetic pulse bombs, specially provided by the Advanced Technology Community for this operation, were accurately launched. These bombs automatically attached themselves to key nodes in the passageway and the areas with the highest enemy density.

hum-

A powerful electromagnetic pulse erupted instantly, like a silent thunderclap inside the warship.

In an instant, all the surging mechanical lifeforms seemed to be frozen in place. The light in their eyes flickered rapidly and then went out, their movements instantly stiffened, and tiny sparks of electricity crackled from their joints and sensors.

Some of the weaker units collapsed to the ground, turning into piles of scrap metal and starting to smoke, while the stronger units also fell into severe dysfunction and shutdown, completely losing their previous aggressive appearance.

However, the three-pronged attack of the boarding maneuver was not over yet. Saint Gilles used his powerful psionic energy to lock onto the data stream nodes inside the warship.

He controlled his power armor with one hand, and the next moment a missile carrying the scrap code virus hit the data node, causing the virus to spread wildly along the warship's data network and energy lines.

Instead of destroying the system, the virus created a barrage of logical errors and junk information, plunging the mechanical lifeforms that had barely recovered from the EMP impact into even greater chaos.

After all, their initial goal in this operation was to help Guilliman seize the cult's artificial immortality technology, and no one dared to recklessly use the data virus to damage the cult's system.

If the technology for creating artificial immortals were accidentally destroyed, no one could explain it to Guilliman.

The processing core of the mechanical lifeform alien began to overheat and even started firing indiscriminately at its surroundings.

"Death Watch, follow me. Objective: Control the bridge and power core, prioritizing the integrity of the data core."

Saint Gilles calmly gave the order, and the next moment, Death Watch warriors, like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, poured in through the breach.

Their teamwork was so seamless that they seemed like a single entity.

The teleporting warriors instantly appeared behind the chaotic mechanical enemies, their power swords or chainsaws precisely piercing the core processing units, completely killing the aliens.

Warriors capable of ethereal transformation can pass directly through walls or obstacles, appearing on the flanks or rear of enemy defensive lines to launch deadly surprise attacks with molten lava guns or plasma weapons.

The advancing soldiers formed a solid assault line, their bullet guns spitting deadly flames, and their armor-piercing rounds, specifically designed for mechanical targets, easily tore through the enemy's armor.

The molten bombs they threw could easily turn hordes of enemies and sturdy gates into molten metal slag.

This is Deathwatch, a special unit created specifically to combat aliens.

They are able to adapt to most alien enemies and precisely choose the most suitable way to strike in battle.

This was not just a battle, but a meticulously planned, efficient, and perfect massacre.

Each soldier perfectly utilized their unique abilities, providing cover for each other and advancing in coordination. They avoided using heavy weapons that could cause irreversible damage to the warship's structure, instead using precise shooting and close-quarters combat to eliminate the enemy.

Saint Gilles himself led the charge, like a storm of death, cutting any mechanical enemy that could still move into pieces with the "Redeemer" given to him by Vulcan, or crushing them into dust with the psionic shocks he casually released.

"Why, why are you here!"

"Saint-Gilles!"

The mechanical lifeform cult sage roared in resentment, for when it saw Saint Gilles appear on its ship, it knew it was all over.

According to the esoteric tradition, Saint Gilles had disappeared over a century ago, and there had been no news of him since the end of the Siege of Terra.

This Primarch's formidable fighting prowess is enough to silence any doubters and lead them to make the decision that resonates most with them.

"Whatever you need, we can cooperate."

“We have no direct conflict of interest. It is not our faction that is conducting experiments and modifications on you humans.”

"My people and I just want to survive. Is that such an unacceptable request? We..."

Seeing that his guards had all been turned into scrap metal, the mechanical life form of the esoteric sage wisely laid down his weapon.

Saint Gilles didn't waste words with this guy. He simply signaled the Death Watch technical sergeants behind him to take control of the situation, capture the mechanical life form alien, and copy the warship's database for backup.

"I've finished resolving this here, and data retrieval is in progress."

Saint Gilles spoke softly into the communicator in his ear, and Guilliman's response rang out at the opportune moment.

"Good job!"

“I know I can always trust you, Saint Gilles.”

The cloned archangel smiled modestly, then focused his gaze on the land.

They were currently situated between the ocean and the land, and Saint Gilles's vision allowed him to clearly see the thick smoke rising above a human village on the edge of the land.

That wasn't the commotion caused by a human army's surprise landing; it was more like a distress signal from the native inhabitants of this planet.

Saint Gilles hesitated for a moment, torn between checking if any native humans needed help or continuing the attack on the cult's nest ship at the bottom of the sea with his brothers.

His communication channel with Guilliers was not turned off, and Guilliers immediately sensed a hint of hesitation hidden in Saint Gilles.

"Go ahead and do what you want to do, without being timid."

"Looking back and forth is not the angel I know."

Upon hearing Guilliman's words, the lingering hesitation that had been clinging to Saint Gilles instantly vanished.

"understood."

He abandoned the warriors of Death Watch and plunged directly from the sky.

Saint Gilles, like a dazzling meteor, plummeted from the subdued cult warship high in the sky, swooping precisely towards the wisp of smoke signaling for help on land.

His pure white wings whistled sharply through the thin air, and the radiance of psychic energy flowed around him, controlling the speed of his descent so that he landed steadily on the edge of the dilapidated village, as if a god had descended, only stirring up a circle of dust.

The sudden arrival of Saint Gillespie froze John and Damon, who were struggling to start a fire and create thick smoke on the edge of the village.

The two former cult agents nearly had their hearts stop; they recognized the iconic white wings and imposing figure at a glance.

That was Saint Gilles, without a doubt.

For these agents who had long infiltrated human society to serve the aliens of the cult, the Primarch itself was the highest-level subject of investigation.

Moreover, they had participated in the assassination attempt against another Primarch, Vulcan, the Lord of the Dragons.

It could be said that if John hadn't suddenly realized his mistake at the last moment, Vulcan's physical body might have truly died, and his soul would have had to go to Feralas to report.

Suddenly facing another Primarch, their pent-up fear and guilt instantly overwhelmed them.

John instinctively gripped the Star Dart pistol he had brought from the cult, while Damon instinctively stepped in front of John, even though he knew it was pointless against an opponent of this caliber.

Their faces were deathly pale, their breathing almost stopped, as they awaited judgment.

Saint Gilles's eyes swept over the two men, their fear, tension, despair, and a faint, hidden determination to defy fate, all revealed to him like open pages of a book through his powerful psychic perception.

He made no move, nor did he raise the Redeemer's Sword; he simply watched them silently.

He saw John's confusion and obedience over the long years, and he saw the relief and determination in the moment he passed on the power of immortality to Vulcan.

He saw the struggle beneath Damon's habitual indifference, the mutual support between the two as the floodwaters engulfed the nest ship, and their determination to escape using the ritual dagger.

These fleeting glimpses of fate were enough for Saint Gilles to understand the state and choices of the two people before him.

These aren't two good people, but they're not so bad that they're beyond redemption either.

The suffocating pressure emanating from him subtly subsided, and the expression on his face carried a hint of all-knowing insight, yet also contained a compassionate forgiveness.

"Put down those useless weapons," Saint Gilles' voice rang out.

"It can neither protect you nor harm me, and more importantly, it is no longer worthy of the choices you have made at this moment."

John's fingers trembled, and the Star Dart pistol clattered to the cold rock. Damon slowly relaxed his tense body.

Saint Gilles stepped forward and continued.

“I have seen your past, those years shrouded in shadow, those choices made out of necessity.”

But what I see even more is that you have chosen to turn your backs on the darkness and run towards the light, even if the road ahead is still filled with war and the unknown.

"Making mistakes is not terrible; human history is an epic of constantly making mistakes and correcting them."

What's truly terrifying is knowing you're on the wrong path, yet refusing to turn back due to fear, laziness, or stubbornness, until your soul is utterly plunged into the abyss, with no chance of redemption.

The archangel's words seemed to possess a purifying power, and John and Damon felt their heavy guilt and fear begin to melt away miraculously, replaced by an unprecedented bitterness and...hope.

“You have chosen to turn back,” Saint Gilles’ voice grew more solemn. “This requires more courage than blind obedience. The Empire may judge your past, but it will never deny a soul that yearns for redemption.”

"I, Saint Gilles, hereby acknowledge your choice at this moment. Welcome back to the human race, Warrior John, Warrior Damon."

“Warrior…” John murmured, repeating the word, his eyes instantly welling up with tears.

This title is something they haven't heard for far too long, and they can't even imagine it.

All along, he had been Agent John, a rat in the dark, guided by a secret cult.

Damon took a deep breath, straightened his spine, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

Without further hesitation, John immediately revealed everything they knew.

"Thank you for your forgiveness, but we have some matters that we must report immediately."

The cult's hive ship has completely split apart, with its high-ranking members fleeing in different directions, and... moreover, people claiming to be Hydra have appeared.

He made contact with Sage Yukai, Slau Da, and others; he instigated the schism within the cult and may have provided an escape route!

"Hydra?" Sanguires's eyebrows furrowed slightly; this news was clearly crucial and unexpected.

"He did indeed get involved, and explained everything in detail."

John and Damon recounted, in great detail, what they had overheard about Omega's appearance, his warnings, the arguments among the higher-ups, and how one of the higher-ups had broken away and escaped.

Saint Gilles listened intently, memorizing every detail.

When he heard that Omega might know about the human fleet's deployment and provide evasion routes, his eyes sharpened.

"The situation has changed. Attention all units! Attention all units!"

Saint Gilles immediately relayed the intelligence to all the clone Primarchs and Guilliman involved in the operation via a Primarch-level encrypted communication channel.

"It has been confirmed that Omega has intervened. He appeared in the core area of ​​the Cult's hive ship and contacted several high-ranking Cult members, seemingly providing escape routes and suggestions."

The split of the cult's nest ship was not simply due to panic; it may have been deliberately guided and manipulated by him!

"To reiterate, there may now be Alpha Legion members infiltrated into the Cult's hive ship. Their situation is unclear, but they are highly likely to be trying to create chaos and take advantage of the confusion to achieve their own goals."

All units must be on high alert, paying attention to potentially unconventional escape routes and methods. Any units encountered that appear to be Omega or its forces should be prioritized for capture or elimination, but extreme caution is required!

His warning quickly spread throughout the battlefield.

Ryan, Lemanrus, Chagatai, and the others, who were engaged in fierce combat aboard the underwater nest ship, paused slightly before launching an even more intense offensive in an attempt to lock onto their target as quickly as possible.

Vograf, Angron, and others who were pursuing other split ships also adjusted their strategies, focusing more on blockade and reconnaissance.

Omega is one of the few Primarchs who has not yet been judged and punished, and the clone Primarchs are determined to seize this rare opportunity to capture him.

Guilliman's voice soon came through the channel as well.

“Received, Saint Gilles. Your intelligence is crucial. Continue your operation and prioritize the safety of those two cult traitors; they may possess more details.”

Omega... Hmph, he always likes to plot his schemes in the shadows. This time, he won't succeed.

After the communication was completed, Saint Gilles turned his attention back to John and Damon.

"You have provided extremely valuable information, which will be the best start to your path of redemption. But for now, please follow me."

This war is far from over, and your experience will be invaluable to the Empire.

He stretched out his hand and pointed to the direction on the distant sea where explosions and flashes were constantly occurring; that was the battlefield where the cult's main nest ship was located.

"Let's end this war together, completely purify those aliens, and... meet my brother who loves to scare people."

Saint Gilles spread his wings, and psionic light once again enveloped John and Damon, carrying them into the air as they flew without hesitation toward the most chaotic and dangerous core battlefield.

(End of this chapter)