Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 562 Enter
Warren's Adam's apple bobbed violently beneath his gold-plated collarbone. The humiliation nearly suffocated him, but he forced back the roar that threatened to escape his lips, managing to squeeze out a hoarse word through gritted teeth: "...Execute."

The captain of the battle nuns beside him immediately understood. Despite the resentment and suspicion of heresy burning in her eyes, she still gave the order in the same high-pitched yet suppressed tone: "Battle nuns! In the name of the Emperor, deploy the defensive formation on the left flank! Prepare the purifying fire! Cover... the flank of our friendly forces!"

She spoke the word "friendly forces" with unusual difficulty.

Two hostile teams, like two icy torrents forcibly twisted together, began to advance towards the distorted entrance.

The Deathwatch's silver-gray power armor cleared a path ahead in precise tactical formation, their heavy footsteps striking the frozen ground with a dull rhythm. On the Inquisition's side, black armor gleamed ominously in the dim light, and the battle nuns gripped their weapons tightly, their explosive gun muzzles warily pointing towards the flanks and rear where shadows might appear. The remaining Stormtroopers followed in disarray, carrying the lingering fear of surviving a catastrophe.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of engine oil, ozone, blood, burning holy oil, and exhaust fumes from power backpacks. The chilling hostility was almost tangible. Every step forward was accompanied by vigilant mutual surveillance between the soldiers on both sides, and the safety mechanisms of their weapons were never truly switched off.

Upon entering the area enveloped by the non-Euclidean geometry of the ruins' entrance, the sense of gravity instantly became disordered.

The passage was not straight; the walls alternated between dizzying curves and sharp angles, as if the light was being swallowed up, with only the lights from the power armor and weapons barely able to dispel a small patch of deep darkness ahead.

The cold, metallic floor was covered with a slippery layer of unknown organic residue, and the air was filled with dust, ozone, and an indescribable, ancient odor, like metal rust mixed with a rotten, sweet smell.

"High-dimensional energy distortion detected! Thirty meters to the left front, four meters in height!" Aurejana's warning shone sharply in the encrypted channel, and the sensor at the end of one of her servo arms spun rapidly, emitting a rapid buzzing sound.

Before the words were even finished, the twisted wall on the left side of the passage began to writhe as if it were alive!
A region instantly "melted," from which several tentacles made of pure purplish-black energy emerged, their edges constantly flashing and tearing through the void!

These tentacles disregarded the laws of physics, instantly traversing space with a piercing shriek and energy fluctuations powerful enough to tear apart adamantite, lashing out at the left flank of the advancing team—the very area the battle nun was responsible for!

"For the Emperor! Fire!" The battle nun captain roared furiously!

The roar of the bomb gun instantly tore through the deathly silence of the passage, and a dense barrage of bullets intertwined to form a fire net.

However, just before the physical bomb hit, some areas of the energy tentacles mysteriously blurred, making the deadly metal storm seem to pass through a phantom!

Only a few holy bullets imbued with special blessings struck when the tentacles materialized, exploding into small clusters of golden sparks, but they failed to stop its offensive!
Tsk-!
The edge of a tentacle swept across the shoulder armor of a battle nun, slicing a deep gash in the adamantium like butter under a hot blade, instantly charring and carbonizing the flesh below!
The nun let out a suppressed groan of pain, staggered backward, and was quickly dragged back to the center of the formation by her companions.

“Phase-shifting entity! Ineffective against physical attacks! Requires energy weapons or psionic interference!” Allegana’s mechanical voice quickly analyzed.

"Maria! Mark the coordinates!" Feralus's command was swift and decisive.

"Received! Locked on!" The Maria Knight mech's molten cannon once again blazed with a blinding white light, and the buzzing of energy gathering was deafening in the narrow passage.

Despite the turbulent gravity, her massive body remained remarkably stable, with the cannons precisely aimed at the energy distortion core marked by Aurejana.

"Think Tank! Suppress!" Guterres roared, while directing his squad to use precise crossfire, bombs and plasma shots to attract and disrupt the other attacking tentacles, buying the Knight Mech that crucial moment.

The Carleone Think Tank was already on high alert at the edge of the Liz Force Field. His eyes were tightly closed, and the veins on his forehead bulged like gnarled tree roots. His powerful psionic energy was no longer a gentle barrier, but had transformed into an invisible mental hammer, carrying a cold will of order, and slammed down hard on that twisted energy core!
"By the Emperor's will, imprison!" His deep voice echoed in the psionic channel, as if carrying the vibration of metal.

Om-!
The energy distortion core, struck by the mental hammer, suddenly froze, its flickering frequency becoming slightly disordered, and its illusory tentacles also showed a momentary tendency to freeze and materialize!

It's now!

boom--! ! !
The Knight Mech's molten cannon roars!

A pure, incandescent torrent of destruction tore through the air and poured precisely into the briefly stagnant, distorted energy core!

The extreme heat, enough to melt through the armor of a warship, combined with Carleon's psionic suppression, created a devastating synergistic effect!

A piercing shriek, as if space itself were being torn apart, erupted!

The purplish-black energy core, like an ice block thrown into a furnace, instantly expanded and twisted violently, and then vanished in a blinding white light!
The extended tentacles, like severed snake bodies, convulsed violently, turning into scattered purplish-black specks of light that dissipated into the darkness of the passage.

The attack was thwarted, but the smell of ozone and the acrid smell of energy overload permeated the tunnel even more intensely.

The walls struck by the aftershocks of the molten metal cannon appeared as if they had melted and then rapidly cooled, emitting wisps of white steam.

The wounded battle nun prayed softly as her companions provided emergency care, and her wounds were temporarily sealed with a burning holy seal.

Judge Warren witnessed the entire process, and his expression grew even more grim.

His prized battle nuns proved inadequate against this intangible attack, while the cold, efficient, and almost ruthless tactical coordination between the Death Watch, the Mechanicus, and the psionicists felt like a resounding slap in the face.

His knuckles were white from gripping the scepter so tightly that the skin beneath the cot had lost its color from excessive force.

"Continue," Felus's voice rang out again, completely calm, as if the thrilling scene just now was merely a routine procedure.

Her silver-gray eyes swept across the depths of the passage, where the non-Euclidean geometry cast even more distorted and grotesque shadows under the dim light, and the buzzing sound emanating from the depths of the ruins seemed clearer, and even more... malicious.

“Energy readings continue to climb. Core defense mechanisms are fully activated. Our window of opportunity is closing.” Her statement coldly proclaimed the impending, greater crisis.

After a brief respite, the two teams tensed up again, stepping on the uneven ground after the molten metal cooled, and continued their perilous march into the unknown, ominous dark core deep within the ruins.

In the distorted shadows on both sides of the passage, it seemed as if countless invisible eyes were watching the intruders, waiting for the next deadly attack.

(End of this chapter)