Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 365 The Ceremony Begins
At the gates of the Shangchao von Kleist family manor, Mai Mai's chainsaw sword emitted a piercing hum as its serrated blade slashed fiercely into the gilded gate.

With a piercing sound of metal tearing, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the ornate door panel.

With a roar, Mai Mai activated the servo system of the power armor at full power. With a sudden flick of the chainsaw sword, the three-meter-high gilded gate crashed down, slamming heavily onto the marble steps and raising a cloud of dust mixed with metal fragments.

Before the dust had settled, a series of synchronized laser gun cocking sounds came from inside the manor.

More than twenty private soldiers dressed in dark red bulletproof armor quickly emerged from behind the fountain and between the pillars, their family crests gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"For the glory of the von Kleist family!" The captain of the private soldiers roared, raising his chainsword. The soldiers behind him immediately split into three ranks: the first rank knelt with their guns raised, the second rank stood and aimed, and the third rank of chainsword warriors assumed a charging stance.

MaiMai reacted even faster.

He rolled to the side and hid behind the collapsed door, shouting into the communicator at the same time: "Scatter!"

Before the words were even finished, dozens of laser beams roared in, scorching black holes into the wreckage of the door panel.

Dusk led the rest of the killing squad to quickly disperse, using the sculptures and fountains in the front yard of the manor as cover. The roar of slug guns immediately echoed through the courtyard.

"Reinforcements from the Ministry of Justice have arrived!" came the team member's shout over the communicator.

Three black-painted armored law enforcement vehicles crashed through the exquisite cast-iron fence surrounding the manor, their heavy tracks grinding over the meticulously trimmed bushes.

The heavy explosive turret on top of the armored vehicle began to rotate, spewing deadly flames from its muzzle.

Fully armed law enforcement officers jumped from the back of the vehicle and quickly deployed into battle formation in the front yard of the manor.

Mai seized the opportunity and jumped out from behind the cover.

His chainsaw sword clashed violently with a private soldier's chainsaw axe, sparks flying as the teeth met.

Taking advantage of the power armor, Mai Mai forced her opponent back several steps with a burst of strength, and then swept her chainsaw sword across the private soldier's bulletproof chest armor, splattering blood onto the marble sculpture.

Dusk then led a group of men to flank the enemy from the side.

Each time his plasma pistol fired, it exploded into a blue fireball within the private army's formation, the scorching heat instantly turning the exquisite garden into charcoal.

The Ministry of Justice's law enforcement officers advanced steadily, and their heavy weapons quickly suppressed the private army's firepower.

However, just when the battle seemed to be going well, the oak door of the manor's main building, carved with the family crest, suddenly swung open with a muffled thud.

A squad of elite private soldiers surged out like a tide, their weapons gleaming with a dangerous cold light.

Even more unsettling was the presence of several unusually large warriors in the group—these monsters had bulging, twisted muscles that made their bulletproof armor creak, and their exposed skin was covered with eerie, blood-red patterns.

"Watch out for those big guys!" Mai Mai warned sharply into the communicator, dodging a powerful chainsaw axe blow.

His chainsaw clashed with the weapon of an elite private soldier, sparks flying.

Dusk led the law enforcement officers from the Ministry of Justice to form a crossfire network, and amidst the roar of explosive guns, they advanced step by step into the main building.

But all of this was part of Count Hermann's meticulous plan.

For three hundred years, the von Kleist family has run a bloody gladiatorial arena beneath their manor under the guise of hosting gladiatorial shows.

Those carefully selected gladiators were unaware that every life-or-death battle was a sacrificial ritual, and that the blood and soul of every fallen warrior were secretly offered to Khorne.

When MaiMai and the others rushed into the main building lobby, they found that the ground had suddenly begun to sink.

Accompanied by the roar of machinery, the floor of the entire hall slowly descended, revealing a huge underground space below.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and rust. The ancient stone walls all around were covered with layers of dried bloodstains, which appeared an eerie dark brown in the dim light.

The ground was covered with blasphemous chaotic runes, which glowed faintly red in the darkness and seemed to pulsate slowly as if they were alive.

"Welcome to the von Kleist family's arena," Count Hermann's voice came from above.

He stood on the ornately decorated viewing platform, a ceremonial dagger inlaid with rubies in his hand. With a gesture, the braziers around him suddenly burst into blood-red flames, illuminating the entire underground space.

These flames burned eerily still, emitting no heat whatsoever, which instead caused the temperature of the entire arena to plummet.

MaiMai could see her own breath condensing in front of her, while the bloodstains on the ground were slowly writhing under the eerie firelight, flowing towards the central altar like living things.

“You will become the most perfect sacrifice.” The count’s voice suddenly became unusually loud, and then he used the ritual dagger in his hand to cut open his palm and began to chant blasphemous incantations.

As his incantation grew faster, the surrounding shadows began to distort and deform.

Eight gladiators slowly emerged from the dark passage. They were nearly half again as tall as normal people, and their exposed skin was covered with writhing veins.

The most terrifying thing was their eyes—they had turned completely blood red, their pupils contracted into thin slits, staring intently at their prey like wild beasts.

Their weapons were no longer ordinary steel, but covered with a layer of dark red energy, leaving a blood-red trail in the air with each swing.

Suddenly, several cracks appeared in the ground, and eight vampires crawled out from the subspace rifts.

They let out piercing shrieks and charged towards the group, brandishing their decapitation swords, the stench of blood filling the air.

The battle instantly turned into a one-sided massacre.

The law enforcement officers of the Ministry of Justice, though well-trained, appeared so vulnerable in the face of these monsters.

Just as an officer blasted a gladiator's head off with a slingshot, he was sliced ​​in half at the waist by another gladiator's chainsword.

The vampires darted back and forth across the battlefield, their decapitation swords easily tearing through the enforcers' bulletproof armor, each attack sending up a shower of blood.

MaiMai noticed that with each fallen warrior, the runes on the central altar would light up by one point.

Just as the defenses were about to collapse, the arena gates were blown open.

Inquisitor Craig led twenty elite Inquisition officers clad in power armor as they stormed in.

Their weapons spewed deadly flames, temporarily halting the enemy's offensive.

"We've fallen for their trap!" Craig shouted to Mai Mai amidst the hail of bullets. "Look up!"

Mai Mai looked up and saw through the skylight that eight blood-red beams of light shot into the sky from different directions across the entire Upper Nest.

These beams of light intertwined in the air, forming a chaotic eight-pointed star that covered the entire sky.

Most terrifyingly, along with the appearance of the chaotic eight-pointed star, a shadow in the sky was devouring the sun, and the solar eclipse began.

"We must break through!" Dusk shouted as he fired.

But the defensive line formed by gladiators and vampires was like an impregnable fortress, forcing them to retreat with every charge, and casualties continued to mount.

Just as Mai Mai was about to call Chen Xi for backup, the entire arena suddenly began to shake violently.

The torches on the walls were all extinguished, and the light on the altar flickered.

The gladiators suddenly fell to their knees in agony, while the vampires roared in fury.

"Now! Let's go!" Craig seized the opportunity and led the remaining troops toward the exit.

As they finally burst out of the arena, the passage behind them collapsed with a loud crash.

But looking up, the eight-pointed star in the sky was still slowly rotating, and the eclipse was already more than halfway complete.

"We lost this battle," Mai Mai said hoarsely, wiping the blood from her face.

In the distance, the first wave of birds corrupted by chaotic energy had begun attacking the civilian area where the nests were located; the real disaster was only just beginning.

(End of this chapter)