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

Chapter 945 The Steel Hand Shatters the Inner Demon

After obtaining the relevant intelligence about the Chaos Army, Lemanrus immediately passed it on to all the high-ranking human commanders participating in the war.

Commander-in-Chief Ryan Johnson, the Iron Hand's Consul Mel Arn, and the rear-guard Rog Dorn and Peturabo all learned that the commander of the Chaos Army was the Ascended Primarch, Loka Aurelion.

The Lion of Caliban held such a person in utter contempt for his opponent. Even during the Great Crusade, Loka was considered a low-class Primarch in Ryan's eyes.

Whether in terms of ability or character, Luo Jia was never taken seriously by Ryan.

The Legion of Word Bearers is second only to the Ultramarines in size, yet their achievements in the Great Crusade are completely unworthy of their sheer number, placing them in the lower-middle tier among all legions.

The Seventeenth Legion stubbornly adhered to a strategy of conquest and missionary work, conducting religious propaganda on the population of each conquered world, forcing them to believe in the theory that the Emperor was God.

As a result, their progress was naturally extremely slow, completely wasting their resources and advantages.

In terms of character, Luo Jia once claimed to be an absolute believer of the Emperor, but after the Perfect City incident, his faith was essentially shattered, leading him to doubt and hate the Emperor.

In Ryan's view, this ridiculous "loyalty" was a complete desecration of the word "loyalty."

"Since Luo Jia is commanding this war, I can understand why those demon legions are fighting in such a barbaric and stupid way."

"If I were commanding those Chaos Demon Army, the combat power we would unleash would be at least twice what it is now."

"In my opinion, appointing Luo Jia as commander was the most foolish decision the gods made. Even Abaddon could have done a better job."

Ryan's voice rang in the ears of the high-ranking commanders. This Caliban Lion King trampled Luo Jia into the dust with an extremely disdainful attitude, which boosted the morale of the crowd.

“I’m not happy to admit it,” Ruth replied casually, “but I have to admit you’re right. If you were in command of those demons, this war would be much more difficult for us.”

"Luojia is completely incapable of fighting. His greatest skill is hiding in his temple chanting scriptures and praying to his god for help."

"However, even if he has no command ability, his existence can still make those demons belonging to different evil gods calm down temporarily, stop fighting among themselves and unite against the common enemy."

"I plan to lead my legion to launch a surprise attack on Luo Jia's base camp and directly destroy the brain that maintains the balance of the Chaos Demons."

Upon hearing Ruth's plan, not one of them chose to speak out against Ruth's decision.

Aside from the extremely high risk, this plan is indeed highly feasible. Once Luo Jia falls, the attacks of those Chaos Demon Army will definitely not be as orderly and coordinated as they are now.

It is far too difficult to defeat the Four Gods and Demons Army head-on; the best way is to incite internal strife within them.

“What help do you need? I’ll do anything I can to help you,” Ryan immediately asked.

“The Iron Hand obeys your orders completely, my lord. Please give your instructions,” Consul Mel said firmly.

“I need you to hold back those warp demons, especially the Iron Hand. You need to draw enemy fire to create an opportunity for us to break through the Chaos army’s blockade.”

"And after we leave the defensive line, the strategic gaps exposed will need to be filled with sufficient reinforcements to prevent the entire defensive line from collapsing."

"The Black Templar and the Steel of Nirvana will fill the defensive lines you leave behind. Go ahead and do it with confidence. We will keep the enemy out of Kadia."

Dorne and Perturabo also made their stance clear: in Ryan's original plan, they were supposed to be stationed at the last line of defense, serving as the final high wall.

However, plans can't keep up with changes, so they naturally need to make adjustments.

"Actually, I still can't completely trust you and your legion to carry out this mission on your own."

"The best course of action would be for you and the Emperor to launch a decapitation strike against Luojia."

"Russ, how confident are you in killing or capturing Luo Jia?"

The wolf king's mouth twitched, extremely displeased with Ryan's disdain.

"As long as I hold the Spear of Dionysus, among my many brothers, none of them can make me feel invincible, not even you, Ryan."

"The me with this divine weapon and the me without this divine weapon are completely different concepts."

"Even if Luo Jia has obtained some power from his Chaos Evil God master, I am confident that I can defeat him. At the very least, I will not be left there, and he will pay an extremely heavy price."

“I also want to fight alongside Quanfu, but he is currently on Kadia, helping Loxi fight against the counterattack of the warp, and cannot leave for the time being. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having such a difficult time.”

Looking at the current situation, Rus couldn't help but compare it to the siege of Terra in the past.

The original emperor had to sit on the golden throne to suppress the warp demons in the Web of the Paths and prevent them from destroying Terra, thus preventing him from appearing on the battlefield at his full strength.

The current Emperor must join forces with Lothie to fight against the warp storm unleashed by the four gods and counteract the erosion of the rules of the real universe by the warp. He has no energy to personally eliminate the demons.

How similar it all is: the enemies all created conditions that prevented the emperor, who held absolute superiority, from personally participating in the battle, thereby amplifying their advantages in other areas.

"But this time, even without our father's full participation, we can still achieve final victory!"

Rus gripped the Dionysian Spear tightly in his hand. The divine weapon seemed to sense the wolf king's intentions, and it trembled and became hot.

Seeing Ruth's dissatisfaction, Ryan suddenly flashed a fleeting smile.

"Remember what you said, brother, I'll wait for you to come back."

Ruth then realized that Ryan didn't actually want to question his abilities.

He was simply giving the wolf king a warning, telling Russ not to let his guard down and to be on high alert to prevent any possibility of him being caught off guard.

After a brief strategic meeting on the communications channel, Riemann Ruth, without further hesitation, issued a hunting order to all the space wolves under his command.

"All ships, engines at maximum power! Follow the flagship and break through the enemy's offensive lines!"

"For the Father! For Fenris! For this great hunt—forward!"

Wolf-like battle howls echoed in the communication channels of every Wild Wolf warship. The massive fleet began to turn, and the engine nozzles emitted scorching light far exceeding safety thresholds.

Hundreds of large warships, like arrows released from a bow, broke away from the relatively stable defensive lines and charged headlong into the boundless depths of the chaotic demon army represented by scarlet light.

Almost at the same moment the Space Wolves began their assault, the left flank of the Dark Angels defense line, the defensive line constructed of steel hands, erupted with unprecedented and ferocious firepower.

The fleet of the Steel Hand Legion has a style quite different from that of the Dark Angels or Space Wolves.

Their warships are angular and heavily armored, like mobile steel fortresses, with every inch of their design serving to maximize firepower and survivability.

At this moment, under the emotionless command of Governor Mel Ian, the steel fleet seemed to transform into a fully awakened mechanical behemoth, removing all its limiters.

"This is the glorious moment for the Steel Hand! All weapons arrays, unrestricted volley fire, targets: all identified hostile demons and space wrecks in front and on the flanks!"

"Attract their attention and open a passage for the wolf brothers!"

Mel's voice was transmitted via data stream to the command core of every Iron Hand warship.

There were no rousing speeches, only cold logic and absolute execution, which was enough for the Iron Ten Legion.

In an instant, the entire starry sky was illuminated by the destructive torrent spewed out by the Iron Hand fleet, and even the pinkish-purple aurora emanating from the warp storm in the void was dimmed.

Instead of precise point firing, the array of light spears swept continuously in a fan shape at maximum power. The blazing white beams, like the scythe of death, vaporized the warp demons flying in its path.

The salvo from the cannons transformed into a relentless storm of destruction. Millions of heavy projectiles rained down like bullets, covering vast areas of the airspace. The explosions merged into a continuous wall of destruction that advanced relentlessly.

Nova Cannon, Cyclone Torpedo, Plasma Burst Cannon... all the weapons that could be fired were unleashing ammunition at an extreme rate.

The alarms for energy core overload blared on every Iron Hand warship, but not a single ship reduced its firepower.

Like silent reefs, they withstood the Chaos Demon Army's frenzied counterattacks while retaliating with even more ferocious firepower.

But the cost is equally enormous.

Enraged by this sudden, almost suicidal, and fierce attack, the Chaos army turned around and swarmed toward the Iron Hand's defenses like a swarm of bees.

Filthy psionic lightning, corrosive pus cannonballs, reality-distorting psionic illusions... all sorts of blasphemous attacks rained down on the steel-handed warship.

After enduring dozens of heavy blows, the Void Shield of a Steel Hand battleship overloaded and collapsed. The next second, its thick armor was melted through by several psionic rays guided by the Tzeentch Archmage.

A violent chain of explosions occurred inside the warship, eventually turning it into a brief nuclear fireball, instantly annihilating tens of thousands of soldiers on board.

The other cruiser was shrouded in a dark green, corrosive energy cloud released by the Nurgle demon.

The thick armor rusted and peeled off at a visible rate, but even so, its massive cannons continued to roar until the ship's structure completely collapsed.

……

The battleship "Medusa's Forge" of the Steel Hand Legion traversed the void battlefield amidst the flying cannons, forming a dense network of fire along with hundreds of other warships to block the demon legion emerging from the depths of the Eye of Terror.

However, as the war continued, the Medusa Forge descended into a deeper frenzy amidst the constant carnage, to the point that it quietly broke away from the Legion's defensive lines.

The consequence of breaking away from the defensive line was that the crossfire support was compromised, and a group of Chaos Demons who had escaped the bombardment quietly approached the warship and forcibly tore through the protection of the Geller Field.

They clung to the underlying armor, and with a sickening metallic tearing sound, several enormous claws covered in smooth carapace forcibly ripped open a gap.

A sweet, cloying pinkish-purple mist immediately flooded into the warship, accompanied by blasphemous sounds of screams and moans, like those of an orgasm. A legion of demons belonging to Slaanesh swarmed in like flies finding carrion.

The Medusa Furnace's machine spirit was exceptionally sensitive, sending an alarm signal to the captain almost immediately after the intrusion.

This highly mechanized warship was equipped with numerous automated defense systems, which systematically blocked the spread of the Abomination army, buying time for the Steel Hands to provide support.

Iron Father Stunus led a squad of Space Marines to the battlefield immediately.

Their power armor gleamed with a cold, hard metallic sheen under the bright emergency lights, and their modified bodies moved with heavy, uniform steps, racing through the ship's cabin at speeds comparable to motorized vehicles.

[A warp energy leak has occurred from deck F41 to deck H66. Feedback data indicates that some Slaanesh demons have entered the Medusa Forge.]

They are attempting to destroy our automated defense systems, targeting the warship's engine reactors and ammunition depots.

The awakening ceremony for the Dauntless Mechs is underway and is expected to be completed within 3 minutes and 25 seconds. The ancient warriors will then be deployed to the battlefield.

Stunus's mind echoed with a series of messages, some real-time intelligence from his combat comrades at the rear, and others feedback from the machine spirit of the Medusa Furnace.

As the Steel Father, Stunus can easily do things that are conventionally considered to be only possible for priests of the Mechanicus.

Communicating with the machine spirit is just a minor aspect of it.

Iron Father possessed an extremely calm and rational way of thinking. Even before he had seen those warp demons with his own eyes, he had already prepared countermeasures in his mind based solely on the intelligence and data continuously sent from all sides. He was also constantly simulating and deducing, striving to eliminate those invaders at the lowest possible cost.

This is also one of the defining characteristics of the Sons of Feralus: they have an almost obsessive pursuit of mechanical efficiency and precision, and will not fire a second shot if they can kill their opponent with one shot.

However, upon Stunus's arrival on the battlefield, his two hearts, composed of living metal cells, began to throb uncontrollably. Iron Father instinctively focused all his attention, using all the sensors and scanning devices on his body to pinpoint the source of this throbbing.

It was a tall, slender, and lifeless being, with a twisted yet elegant posture. It did not look like a mad demon, but rather like a dancer indulging in her own performance.

Its body is covered with a shell as smooth as polished sapphire, reflecting an eerie light, and is adorned with shimmering pearls and twisted gold ornaments.

In its hand it held a slender, curved blade, as if forged from pain itself, a ritualistic weapon.

A unique, overwhelming fragrance, a mixture of putrid floral scents and pheromones, permeated the air, attempting to directly stir the deepest, most primal desires and impulses of any creature with a soul.

But none of this is enough to explain the strange feelings in Iron Father's heart. The emotion revealed in the demon's eyes was not a simple desire for destruction, but a kind of hunger: a hunger for their steel hands.

Without any verbal communication, Tie's father understood everything with just a glance.

At the same time, he also learned the name of the demon...

The King of Sapphires.

Just the thought of that name made Tiefu feel a surge of inexplicable anger and hatred slowly rise within him.

"Ah...the lovely steel hand..."

The King of Sapphires' voice was like the friction of silk, possessing a captivating allure that could seduce the mind.

"Children of Ferrus Marus, beneath your strong iron shells lie repressed souls filled with regret and self-blame."

Especially you, Iron Father, your suffering is so rich, so enticing to me.

Stunus remained silent. Despite his unwavering resolve, he still felt a dull ache in his heart when he heard the whispers of the Sapphire King.

Stunus was familiar with this pain; it was the unhealable wound left in the hearts of all the Steel Hands when Primarch Feralus Manus was beheaded by Vograim on Istvan V.

To numb the excruciating pain and self-blame, they chose to embrace steel more thoroughly, discard flesh and blood, and replace their original, flawed thinking with completely logical and cold logic.

Stunus almost instinctively realized that this demon called the Sapphire King was definitely related to Felus's death, and might even be a blasphemous being born from the Fall of the Primarch.

It's said that enemies are destined to meet; this warp monster, which has countless connections with the Iron Hand, actually ran into them here.

For once, the Iron Father let his rage overwhelm his reason; he had to destroy this blasphemous existence to maintain the purity of the Primarch.

Seemingly sensing the change in Iron Father's emotions, the Sapphire King moved, so fast that only a blue phantom remained.

The sharp blade in its hand drew a graceful arc, pointing straight at Tie Fu's throat.

"How dare you, how dare you appear before us?!"

Stunus roared, a deafening roar erupting from his throat.

He swung his massive power gauntlets, meeting the demon's blade head-on without flinching.

"clang!"

A deafening clang of metal accompanied by a shower of sparks sent Stunus staggered back a step by the force of the impact, leaving a deep burn mark on his gauntlet. A strange, pinkish-purple energy was attempting to seep inward along the crack.

"Look! How fragile the steel you worship is before the power of true perfection!"

The Sapphire King sneered gleefully, and the claw in his other hand lashed out, aiming straight for Stunus's helmet.

Stunus managed to turn to the side, his claws tearing a gash in his shoulder armor, and hallucinations began to assault his brain.

The demon continued to whisper, seemingly eager to uncover the hidden pain and rage within Iron Father.

"You're resentful, aren't you? You're filled with regret."

“Because of your incompetence, Felus fell on the battlefield. What did you protect? You protected nothing.”

"Your flesh and blood are so weak; only through more mechanization can this weakness be removed from your bodies."

"You need to follow Feralas's Iron Way more devoutly and obey his will of survival of the fittest."

The demonic whispers swayed Ironfather, whose body easily withstood the plasma, bombs, and molten beams that shot toward it, as if it were completely unharmed by physical attacks.

However, what the Sapphire King failed to notice was that his long and rambling speech did not seem to truly touch upon Iron Father's deepest pain points.

At the site of Stunus's wound, the living metal cells closely connected to his consciousness began to react violently: they not only rapidly evolved an inert alloy to fill the wound, but also analyzed the residual Slaanesh energy characteristics at a microscopic level.

In a very short time, the living metal cells split into a special crystal structure that is close to that of diamond.

These crystalline structures began to spread rapidly at the wound site, and soon Ironfather's arm, which was covered by heavy power armor, had transformed into these diamond crystals.

"This is... the White Queen's ability to turn her body into diamond."

Stunus was unaware that in other universes there was a mutant named the White Queen; he had only seen information about the X-gene in a database.

Unlike the original Space Marines who changed their mutant abilities by switching the X-gene implanted in their Infinity Engines, the Iron Hands, who were implanted with living metal cells, could use the cells' ability to evolve to partially simulate the abilities of the corresponding X-gene.

While this ability may not be as good as the original, it excels in its superior breadth.

Theoretically, as long as the Steel Hands have the corresponding mutant ability data in their minds, they can use their living metal cells to simulate this ability.

Now, with parts of his body diamondized, Stunus possesses a strong resistance to telepathy, which in turn strengthens his resistance to demonic power.

The demon's second attack came, but Stunus fearlessly parried it once again.

This time, the burn marks on the gauntlets were much lighter, and the pinkish-purple corrosive energy seemed to have hit some kind of barrier, quickly dissipating!

"How can it be?!"

A crack suddenly appeared on the Sapphire King's perfect smile.

It suddenly realized that it could no longer perceive Tie Fu's inner thoughts and emotional fluctuations.

"Your tricks have failed, you devil."

Stunus’s cold voice came from under his helmet, seemingly mocking his powerlessness and lack of skill.

“We were indeed lost in pain and wallowed in self-blame. We tried to replace fragile flesh with steel, thinking that this would isolate us from the pain.”

The Sapphire King's attacks became somewhat impatient, and he wildly swung his blade at Stunus, but Iron Father easily blocked them with his power gauntlets.

The living metal cells even quickly formed a temporary energy deflection shield on Stunus's arm armor, deflecting several psionic shocks released by the demon.

"If you had come to me sooner, perhaps your vicious methods could have really come in handy."

"But now... it's too late!"

"Lord Ferrus personally guided us onto the right path, and Lord Loshi made that path a reality!"

Lord Ferrus's words about survival of the fittest are meant to keep us motivated and not stagnant.

Flesh and blood may be fragile, but machines are not necessarily immortal. These are merely means; our goal is to become stronger, to protect, and to prevent tragedy from ever happening again!

The living metal cells within the Iron Father's body seemed to echo his beliefs, operating with unprecedented activity.

His metal limbs became more flexible, and his power output continued to increase, allowing him to forcefully pin the Sapphire King to the ground and beat him mercilessly.

"We have accepted the past, accepted our failures, and accepted the choices we made to overcome our weaknesses!"

Stunus's powerful punch finally broke through the Sapphire King's defenses, slamming heavily onto its magnificent jeweled breastplate.

"Crack!" A crack appeared in the exquisite carapace.

"No! This is impossible! Your pain and your regret should be my food!" the Sapphire King screamed, its form seemingly dimming.

It sensed that the power it was drawing from these steel hands was rapidly diminishing.

They no longer torment themselves over the past; they have found new meaning and a new source of strength, which means that the very foundation of its existence is being shaken.

"Times have changed, demons."

"But you're still clinging to the old ways."

Stunus pressed closer, while the Sapphire King began to flee in disarray.

"What you rely on is the shadow of yesterday; the steel hand has chosen to move towards the future!"

The Sapphire King was in complete panic; it had been born from the ebb and flow of the warp since the death of Feralus’s physical body.

Although time in the subspace does not flow linearly, from its perspective, time in the outside world should not pass so quickly either, and the Steel Hands should not, and could not, undergo such a drastic change.

It should have been the nemesis of these iron hands, but why was it completely helpless against this Iron Father when it was its turn to appear, and was even beaten down by him?

Its attacks became chaotic and disorganized, a desperate attempt to influence Stunus with more intense illusions and allure, but those tricks proved so pale and powerless in the face of Stunus's unwavering will.

Finally, Stunus seized the Sapphire King's true form, and the energy field on the power gauntlet roared to its peak.

With a determination to shatter everything, he punched through the Sapphire King's soft skin and exquisite jewels, smashing his head off.

The Sapphire King let out a final, piercing scream, a mixture of extreme pain and disbelief. Its jewel-like body shattered like broken glass, eventually transforming into a raging purple flame before vanishing completely into the air.

"You are no longer our inner demon."

"Never."

Stunus stood there, breathing slightly heavily.

He looked around and saw that his Iron Hands Astartes were also engaged in fierce battles with other Slaanesh demons. They were calm and efficient, using their modified advantages and unwavering will to eliminate the invading demons one by one.

The fall of the Sapphire King signifies that the Steel Hand has completely emerged from the shadows of the past. They are no longer mindless zombies wallowing in pain and regret, but tenacious fighters who fight for the Empire and humanity.

"Clear out the enemy and continue the blocking mission."

Stunus issued the command through the communication channel, his voice as calm as ever, but with a hint of relief and determination that seemed different from before.

Their sacrifice and struggle were not only to create opportunities for the wolves, but also to prove that they had been reborn.

(End of this chapter)