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

Chapter 916 The Demise of Esoteric Buddhism
With the unexpected minor hiccup resolved, the transaction continued.

The sealed box containing the technology for artificial immortals was carefully handed over, and Loken immediately led the Grey Knights forward to conduct a preliminary on-site scan and confirmation.

The accompanying technical sergeant connected to the main control AI of the warship in orbit via a personal thinker and began directly checking the integrity of the data inside the sealed container.

“No problem.” The technical sergeant nodded to Guilliman.

The Imperial Regent stared with burning desire at the boxes containing the technology. After expending so much manpower and resources, his wish had finally come true.

He then waved his hand, signaling for Yu Hai and Slau Da to leave.

"Disappear from my sight before I change my mind."

The two esoteric sages were astonished to see that Guilliman actually intended to let them leave.

In fact, they were prepared for Guilliman to turn his back on them, and they also left sabotage and interference mechanisms on the boxes containing the stored technology.

It's a special encryption method passed down within the esoteric religion. Once they activate this method, Guilliman's technology and data will be locked in a black box, making it almost impossible to open them again.

After doing all this, Yu Hai and Slau Da will immediately escape into the subspace using backup methods.

Although escaping into the warp was extremely risky for them, given that Guilliman had already turned against them, a near-death experience was better than a hopeless one.

However, now that Guilliman has kept his promise and has really let them leave, all their plans to keep them here have been rendered useless, and the two of them are somewhat dazed for a moment.

A small cult transport ship was allowed to detach from the Nest Ship and land near the negotiation site.

Yu Hai Xian and Slao Da took one last look at the massive hive ship that was being gradually taken over by the Imperial army, their eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.

They have come to realize that Tantric Buddhism, an ancient group that has struggled against chaos for a time longer than humankind itself, is facing its end today.

In this contest with humanity, Tantric Buddhism suffered a crushing defeat.

The secret religion has survived to this day because of its secrecy. They rarely come into the sight of those dominant races, always moving in the shadows and hiding their tracks.

But once they expose themselves, utter destruction will follow, just like this time.

Even if their predictive sensitivity system is indeed excellent and can protect Tantric Buddhism at the level of prophecy, they simply don't have much room for error.

Guillimans might fail a thousand times, but esoteric Buddhism only requires one failure before giving them no chance to start over.

But in the end, the relief of surviving the ordeal overshadowed their negative emotions, and they boarded the spaceship with heavy steps, choosing to leave.

However, as long as they survive, they will always find a way out. They will rebuild Tantric Buddhism and continue their great cause.

They will learn from their failures and strive not to make the same mistakes next time.

They still believe their overall strategy is sound, and that to resist the erosion of the real universe by chaos, psionic races like humans must perish.

Only by replacing the current psionic races in the galaxy with a race that has better warp insulation can the warp's "vampiric" ability be weakened at its root.

After all, a single real universe and the sea of ​​warp space have never been equal counterparts.

The universe is like a floating bubble, and the subspace ocean is the endless ocean that envelops the bubble.

However, due to the existence of this "bubble membrane" of the curtain, the possibility of seawater directly eroding the universe is blocked. Subspace must corrode the "bubble membrane" in order to penetrate into it.

The emotional energy continuously generated by intelligent life within the universe is essentially nourishing the subspace, indirectly increasing the power of chaos to erode the "bubble membrane".

The spaceship's engines started, and it slowly rose into the air, cautiously flying towards a tiny gap deliberately left by the human fleet.

Guilliman watched the small spaceship disappear into the horizon.

"Are we really going to let these two cult leaders escape?" Uslan asked from the side, his tone tinged with reluctance.

He has been investigating Tantric Buddhism for a long time, relying on his own strength to fight against Tantric Buddhism with wit and courage, and only now has he made a breakthrough.

Although the other high-ranking members of the cult, along with their nest ships, were captured and controlled by humans, the cult's roots were not completely severed as long as those two were not eliminated.

The consequence of not eradicating the weeds at their root is that they will naturally grow back in the spring.

“I understand.” Guilliman looked at Uslan.

"But the mission is the highest priority right now. We need to clean up those cult remnants first, take full control of the nest ship, ensure the technology is foolproof, and then deal with those two cult remnants."

"And I'm sure they've made preparations to prevent us from turning against them, and there's a very high probability they'll manipulate these data."

“I cannot risk this failure, Prophet Uslan.”

The Eldar prophet nodded slightly in agreement upon hearing Guilliman's sincere explanation.

Guilliman was right; he was too impatient and too eager to eradicate Tantric Buddhism in one fell swoop.

"Once I have fully extracted all this data and technology and made sure there are no problems, we will continue our pursuit of Yu Hai and Slau Da."

"They have lost their hive ship and the power of the cult. Unless they are willing to risk escaping into the warp and disappearing without a trace, they are only delaying their own demise."

Guilliman only promised to let them go this time; he did not say he would never hunt them down again.

"By the way, have you two found any trace of the real Omega?"

Guilliman turned to the side and questioned the clones Alphareth and Omega, who were disguised as Grey Knights behind him.

“I suspect that Omega is most likely still in the cult’s hive ship. It’s unlikely that we can capture him so easily. After all, if he wanted to, he could easily escape back to the warp, and we can’t stop him.”

However, after hearing Guilliman's speculation, Alpharex and Omega exchanged a knowing glance and then shook their heads.

"That's probably not the case."

“The real Omega may have been right in front of us just now, but we didn’t recognize it.”

"If Hydra really wants to hide itself, it's extremely difficult to detect, and you know that very well."

"This is not just his special skill, but a spiritual power that originates from his very essence."

Guilliman frowned immediately, recalling the figures of Yu Hai and Slau Da, and the Tau warriors following behind them.

Could it be that the Hydra, disguised as a Tau, was right under his nose?

"How did you find it?" Guilliman's heart stirred slightly, but he resisted the urge to give the order to shoot down the cult warship.

His concern for Ms. Euton suppressed all his violent impulses, and he was calmer than ever before.

"Found?" Alpharis shook his head.

"We didn't find it because there was simply no need for it."

"Then how did you determine that he was among that group?" Guilliman asked, slightly puzzled.

The cloned twins continued in their reply:

"Because we are AlphaRes/Omega, if we were him, we would make the same choice."

“We originally thought we could see through his disguise, but in reality we couldn’t. His ability to disguise himself likely stems from the power of the subspace essence, while we clones do not have the subspace essence, so we are naturally inferior to him.”

Guilliman suddenly realized that he had asked a stupid question.

They are clones of Hydra, so they naturally know what Hydra is most likely thinking, as their ways of thinking have a lot in common.

"The reason we didn't warn you is because we share the same concerns as you. If we expose Hydra, it could cause unexpected setbacks in this negotiation and deal."

"Secondly..."

A strange smile suddenly appeared on Alpharis's face.

"Although you were forced by their threats to temporarily release the two culprits, Yu Hai and Slau Da, this was only a temporary measure. Given the opportunity, you will definitely take the heads of those two aliens."

"But finding those two bedbugs again isn't actually that easy."

"Instead of going through all this trouble, let Hydra do it for us. After all, if it were me, I certainly wouldn't do nothing when these two remnants of the cult are at their weakest and most vulnerable."

"From the moment we learned that he was on the cult's hive ship, we realized that this guy's intentions were never to cause us trouble... well, at least not his main purpose."

"He came to take advantage of the chaos. While we were fighting with the Tantric sect, he quietly appeared behind them and ruthlessly tore off a piece of flesh from these aliens."

Hearing the twins' answer, Guilliman suddenly looked at the vanished cult warship with a strange expression.

If that's really the case, then wouldn't this be considered a tacit cooperation between him and Omega without them even realizing it?
So this is also called indirect loyalty?

If that's really the case, then he should really thank this brother who went astray.

……

"I am Omega."

“I am one of the heads of Hydra. After Alpharis destroyed the Hydra, I inherited everything he had left. From that moment on, I am Hydra.”

"But Hydra, if you cut off one head, it will grow two more."

"In the eyes of the Empire, I am a traitor without a doubt—I led the Alpha Legion to be at odds with humanity at every turn, I allied with Chaos and the Xenomorphs, and I wove traps with conspiracies and lies, harming humanity's interests time and time again."

But is that really the case?

Behind Sage Yu Hai and Slao Da, a Tau Fire Clan warrior, completely shrouded in protective combat gear, asked and answered himself in his mind.

His gaze, through the goggles of his protective combat suit, was firmly locked onto the figures of the two aliens.

"I believe that means serve the ends. My means may be dirty, despicable, and contemptible, but my ends are never in question."

"Only the Dark Lord can save humanity. Only He, who symbolizes the end and death, can completely kill the four Chaos Gods. This is the only solution."

"The Emperor's Trinity system may be perfect, and the network that humanity has mastered is indeed very powerful, but it cannot end the source of everything. In the end, it will all be for nothing."

"Humanity's future will be plunged into an extremely long state of war, and the targets of this war will be the evil gods in the warp and enemies from other universes."

"My cooperation with the Xenomorphs does not mean that I have given up my hatred for them; it is merely a necessary means."

"And when this method is no longer of any use, it is time to settle accounts."

“Guilliman, I’m not doing this to help you, but for the overall good of humanity. It would be better to get rid of these two men who are full of malice towards humanity.”

Omega's inner monologue remains unknown; since Alphareth's death, he has become utterly alone.

However, he had just discovered the clone twins next to Guilliman. The two little guys were too inexperienced and hadn't noticed his presence at all.

Yu Hai Xian and Slao Da were slumped in their seats in the cockpit of the warship, the exhaustion of surviving the ordeal intertwined with the immense loss of everything, leaving them speechless for a long time.

In the end, it was Slau Da who broke the silence first. The Eldar warmaster's voice trembled slightly, yet he forced out a ruthless determination to plan for the future.

"...We haven't lost completely yet. We still have backup bases that are always on standby and ready to be activated, in the Ghoul Cluster, on the edge of the Eye of Terror, and even in the 'Drifting Graveyard' outside the Milky Way."

Those facilities contain copies of core technologies, spare experimental samples, and loyal cult hibernators… If we can reach any one of them, we can rise again!

The crystal on the forehead of the Sage Yu Hai flickered faintly, as if a glimmer of hope had been ignited by Slau Da's words.

The Tau people he had painstakingly cultivated are now reduced to a small number of Fire Clan guards on this ship.

Even if he were to mass-produce titanium groups again through gene cloning in the future, the loss of genetic diversity would still be difficult to make up for.

The entire Tau tribe is not just the Fire Clan, but also the Earth Clan who are skilled in creation, the Air Clan who are skilled in driving, and the Water Clan who are skilled in communication and diplomacy. All of these have been lost!

Yu Hai's goal is to eliminate all psionic races in the galaxy and then make low-psionic-sensitive races like the Tau become the rulers of the galaxy.

Now, the entire Tau race is practically wiped out. A few remaining survivors are no match for building a great race. The thought of this made Yu Hai's body convulse with pain; he could only try to alleviate it by constantly consoling himself.

“That’s right…you’re right. Humans think that destroying our hive ship means destroying everything.”

But they didn't know that the existence of Tantric Buddhism was like that of the Hydra; once one head was severed, a new one would grow.

We need time, we need resources. Next time, we must be more covert, more…

"More what?"

A calm, even slightly languid voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

The voice did not come from any of them, nor from the two silent Tau pilots in the cockpit.

It seemed to flow directly from the air between their seats, as naturally as the extension of their thoughts.

Yu Hai and Slau Da's bodies stiffened instantly, as if their blood had frozen.

They looked up abruptly, following the sound—

A figure who had been standing silently by the bulkhead, like the other Tau guards, had quietly taken up a seat opposite them.

He was still wearing his standard Fire Clan protective suit, but his posture was relaxed and comfortable. A completely different aura from that of the Tau warriors emanated from his uniform, as if he had everything under control.

His helmet visor reflected the dim light inside the cabin, obscuring his face, but the eyes peering through the goggles... were terrifyingly deep.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Slau Da shouted sharply, his powerful spiritual energy almost instinctively gathering around him to block any threat from getting close.

Sage Yu Hai also suddenly stood up and created distance. The crystal on his forehead burst out with a scarlet light, and his eyes shone brightly as he locked onto the strange "guardian".

They had realized that this guy was definitely not the same guard they knew.

The "guard" gently raised his hand, making a gesture of calm, his movements impeccably elegant.

He didn't even look at the two cult leaders who instantly went into battle mode; instead, he seemed to be admiring the craftsmanship of his gloves.

"who am I?"

He repeated the question softly, his tone sarcastic.

"Weren't we having a pleasant transaction on the hive ship just a few hours ago? How come you've already forgotten your allies?"

That voice...that tone...

Yu Hai and Slao Da's pupils suddenly contracted.

A thought they absolutely did not want to believe suddenly appeared in their minds.

“O…Omega?!!” Slau Da’s voice trembled with extreme shock. “Impossible! You should be on the hive ship! You should have been killed by Guilliman…”

"Being surrounded by Guilliman? Or are they playing hide-and-seek with other Primarch clones?"

Omega, or rather, Omega who had taken over the body of this Tau warrior, chuckled and finally raised his head.

Why can I only be in one place? Who says... there can only be one AlphaReis?

"I am both Omega and Alpharex, I am Hydra, I am everywhere."

He slowly stood up, and as he moved, the titanium protective suit seemed to come alive, twisting and deforming, its nanostructures recombining and quickly conforming to his already taller and more well-proportioned physique.

"You...you've been lurking among us all this time?!"

Sage Yu Hai felt a bone-chilling coldness travel from his tailbone straight to his skull.

He finally understood why Guilliman was so trustworthy; it wasn't out of mercy, but because the most venomous hydra had already burrowed into their hearts.

"You're in cahoots with Guilliman, you...you deserve to die!"

"I should have realized that this was all a trap you set!"

"You got it right, but there's no prize."

Omega's voice remained calm, but his eyes were icy and piercing, and a deadly sense of oppression began to spread, suffocating the members of the cult.

"Didn't you say that 'the existence of Tantric Buddhism is like the Hydra, where a head can be cut off only to have a new one grow back'? Now that I, the real Hydra, have truly arrived, why are you all silent?"

"Stop laughing! Why aren't you laughing anymore? Is it not funny?"

However, the more flippant Omega's tone became, the more cautious Yumi and Slaughter became.

They knew this guy was unpredictable; no one could tell whether what he said was true or false.

"If none of you want to laugh, then let's get down to business now."

Regarding what you just mentioned… the backup base, the hibernators, and those… legacies I accidentally missed.”

"Don't think about it!"

Slau Da screamed, unable to contain her fear and anger any longer.

His powerful psionic energy crashed down on Omega like a burst dam, instantly forming an ancient Eldar annihilation spell.

At the same time, Sage Yu Hai also chose to go all out, and the crystal on his forehead shot out a mental shock that was condensed to the extreme and capable of tearing apart the soul.

The two worked in perfect harmony, attempting to subdue or severely injure the terrifying hydra.

Faced with the combined, enraged attack of the two powerful psionicists, Omega simply stood there quietly, without even making any defensive stance.

However, just before the violent torrent of psionic energy and the mental shockwave reached his body, it seemed to have struck an invisible yet incredibly strange mirror, causing it to deflect in an incomprehensible manner.

"what!"

"Do not--!"

The two Tau pilots behind Omega, who had remained silent until then, suddenly screamed.

The torrent of psionic energy released by Slau Da inexplicably struck the pilot. The Tau warrior didn't even have time to utter a complete scream before his body exploded like a bursting balloon, leaving the cockpit covered in blood, flesh, and metal fragments.

The fatal mental impact from the Sage of the Sea pierced the co-pilot's brain.

The Tau warrior's eyes instantly went vacant, blood gushed from his seven orifices, and his body convulsed violently as he collapsed onto the control panel, triggering the ship's piercing out-of-control alarm.

Omega stood perfectly intact, without even the hem of his clothes swaying.

He tilted his head slightly, looking at the two sages whose faces were pale from the backlash and horror, his tone even carrying a hint of regret:
"See, that's why I don't like psionic powers... they always make it easy to accidentally hurt friendly forces."

"You... what did you do? You transferred the damage?!" Sage Yu Hai's voice trembled, incredulous at what he was seeing.

"Just a small application of the essence of the warp." Omega smiled modestly, but that smile was more terrifying than a demon in the eyes of the other party.

"My form of existence may be closer to a metaphysical concept than you understand it to be."

The body? It's just a convenient vessel. If I don't have my own, then borrowing someone else's for the time being is perfectly acceptable.

He took a step forward, closing the distance.

Slau Da roared as he gathered his spiritual energy once more, attempting to construct a protective barrier. Sage Yu Hai also desperately activated the crystal, releasing a power that interfered with his mind.

But Omega simply raised his hand.

His movements didn't seem fast, yet they seemed to penetrate all the barriers of psychic energy, precisely touching Slau Da's forehead.

Slau Da let out an extremely shrill scream, feeling his soul being forcibly torn apart by an irresistible force.

His body trembled violently, as if countless snakes and insects were wriggling beneath his skin, and his eyes rolled upwards until only the whites of his eyes remained.

To the horror of the Sage of the Sea, behind Slau Da, a blurry, distorted phantom of the Eldar Warlord's soul was being forcibly torn from his body, and another serpentine head, howling in pain, was growing from the phantom's neck.

"Stop! We can cooperate! We can give you everything!"

Sage Yu Hai completely broke down. He knelt on the ground, pleading with tears streaming down his face, losing all his elegance.

"Spare us! Knowledge! Power! We offer you the entire legacy of Tantric Buddhism! We only ask..."

Omega's movements did not pause at all; his finger touched the crystal of the Sage of the Sea again.

"I don't need collaborators."

"Especially the aliens, I hate you, from the beginning to the end."

Omega's voice was as cold as ice.

"All I need is... nutrients and memories."

Click!

The crystal on the forehead of the Sage Yu Hai instantly became covered with cracks. All his pleas, fears, and resentment, along with his thousands of years of memories and knowledge, were greedily devoured and absorbed by Omegaon like a flood that had burst its banks.

Two twisted and tormented phantom souls were completely torn out and merged into Omega's back, vaguely transforming into two new, wailing snake-head phantoms on his vast warp essence projection, before disappearing again.

Omega closed his eyes and tilted his head back slightly, as if savoring the sumptuous dinner.

Countless pieces of information about the cult's backup base coordinates, security protocols, lists of hibernators, and hidden technologies surged, were archived, and organized in his consciousness.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, and there seemed to be a deeper and more weathered look in them.

He glanced at the mess and corpses inside the cabin, casually made a few operations on the control panel, stabilized the out-of-control spaceship, and set an automatic course at random, since the ship was no longer important anyway.

After doing all this, his body began to blur, like a holographic image with a poor signal.

"The inheritance here is all sorted out," he muttered to himself, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. "The other side... should be almost done by now as well."

Meanwhile, deep within the cult's nest ship, which was being fully taken over by the Imperial army, lay a secret vault not listed on the main structural diagrams.

Another Omega was looking with satisfaction at the storage shelves that had been looted.

Several loyal Lerna Terminators were pushing the last of the sealed boxes containing exotic technological creations and genetic samples into a violently fluctuating, ominous-looking subspace rift.

“It was very rewarding.”

Omega chuckled lightly, completely ignoring the footsteps of the Imperial army approaching from afar.

"It's time to go. Let Guilliman... clean up the mess."

"I've done more than enough by leaving some scraps for my brother."

The next moment, Omega calmly stepped into the warp rift, which quickly closed behind him without leaving any trace.

When a squad of Deathwatch warriors finally broke through the numerous obstacles and stormed into the vault, they found only devastation and emptiness, along with unsettling remnants of warp ripples.

Omega, the true Hydra, perfectly achieved his goals by taking advantage of this war between the Empire and the Cult.

He not only completely eradicated Tantric Buddhism, but also extracted the most lucrative flesh from it, and finally calmly disappeared into the shadows.

Guilliman obtained the most coveted technology for creating immortal beings, while Omega plundered most of the other technologies of the Cult.

Except for the destroyed Tantric sect, which lost everything, everyone else has a bright future.

(End of this chapter)