Warhammer 40 Spring: Loyalty of the Multiverse

Chapter 216 Illusion
Commander Derigao the Judge walked up and looked at the power armor shells at his feet, which looked like scrap metal, with a flash of disdain and disgust in his eyes.

He had heard of the so-called Legion of a Thousand Sons. He had even seen many historical accounts of the Emperor's past travels among humans, saving humanity, in the secret library of Terra's Inquisition and the Imperial Archives within the palace.

Although many details about the Great Crusade were sealed away, to the point that even an Astartes of his caliber couldn't see them, he still knew the general outline of that Great Crusade and the Horus Rebellion.

He especially disdained Magnus, the so-called Primarch of the Thousand Sons. A man of great wisdom, he made a moment of folly. This folly directly destroyed him and thwarted the empire's revival.

"Tear these traitors apart!" Commander Derigao, the Inquisitor, swung his finely crafted power sword forward with a fierce roar. The rage he felt towards these betrayers, fueled by a fleeting recollection of history, had nearly driven him mad.

Fortunately, his brothers quickly surrounded him the moment he charged forward.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang——

Less than five seconds into the charge, a massive barrage of explosive projectiles swept in. The Grey Knight at the forefront, wielding the Oath Shield, single-handedly withstood the onslaught of these chaotic projectiles.

At the forefront, a Thousand-Child Psionic Mage was directing the charge of the red-letter warriors whose helmets were shrouded in nothingness, while a Psionic Scepter, obtained by the alien after falling into chaos, was wielding the weapon.

The blue double-headed eagle above it is so similar in shape to the Empire's double-headed eagle, but upon closer inspection, it is filled with a sense of blasphemy and chaos.

It was one of the few survivors in the Thousand Sons Legion after falling into chaos, thanks to the incantation of the Red Scripture.

Even though he survived and retained his physical body, it was still filled with blasphemy. His skin was crimson red all over, and although his face still had its original features, they had been twisted and mutated.

In particular, its eye area has transformed into a single eye resembling Magnus's. And the psionic scepter it holds in its third arm beneath its power armor.

Everything about him revealed his identity: a wizard in the Thousand Sons Legion!
At this moment, he stood among the red-letter warriors who were charging madly, grinning as he watched the gray knights who were constantly retaliating.

Then, looking at Derigo, who was charging back under the cover of his teammates, he snorted coldly. Then, he slammed the psionic staff he was holding with his third arm into the ground. An invisible psionic wave began to flicker along the mysterious patterns and runes on his power armor, slowly flowing to the ground, like a broken spider web, extending in all directions.

Commander Derigao, the Judge, who was at the forefront, fired a bomb that struck the ethereal headgear of a Red Letter Warrior, shattering the entire power armor into pieces that fell to the ground with a clanging sound.

But suddenly, a thousand-sword slashed down from his side, aiming for his head. This was a demonic weapon unique to the Thousand Sons Legion after they fell into chaos.

It can ignore physical armor and attack the victim's soul directly.

The incredibly fast movement caught Derigao completely off guard. He tried to react, but the blade had already pierced through him. The Terminator armor only caused him excruciating pain.

Immediately afterward, a high-explosive bomb blasted straight at the attacking red-letter warrior from behind, reducing him to ashes. The power armor crashed to the ground with a thud. Then, slowly, it began to collapse and disappear like quicksand.

Even when the heavy feet of the Grey Knights stepped on it, they only felt a slight resistance before crushing it into a pile of ashes and sand.

The grey knight holding the Oath Shield at the rear directly confronted the charging red-letter warriors and quickly arrived in front of Derigao.

Another grey knight swiftly approached him, his face filled with anger and sorrow as he looked at Derigao, whose face was rapidly turning pale and who was on the verge of death, returning to the Golden Throne. "For the Emperor!"

Upon hearing this, the gray knight's sorrowful face flashed with pain before he solemnly nodded.

Immediately afterwards, he stood up, drew his power sword, and roared as he charged toward the red-letter warriors who were already blocking the entire passage.

Derigao, who was lying on the ground preparing to receive his soul back to the Golden Throne, changed his expression drastically upon seeing this scene.

Then, his spiritual energy erupted, and he bit his tongue hard, even tearing off a piece of flesh in the process.

Blood, like a small snake, trickled from the corner of his mouth. The intense pain and the realistic sensation made him feel as if everything around him was distorted, yet upon closer inspection, everything seemed normal.

"By the Emperor! Forgive my foolishness!" He then activated the spiritual energy within him once more. A massive, invisible ripple erupted from his body. The pure mark he wore began to glow with a golden light around its edges, as if scorched by flames, its faint glow appearing like a crawling snake in the dimly lit cabin corridor.

The next moment, everything around him shattered like glass, and Derigal, who had been in an endless slumber, suddenly opened his eyes as if waking from a dream.

The Chaos Wizard at the forefront of the boundary had already reached him, his Thousand-Child Scimitar thrusting straight towards his chest.

Derigao was horrified when he saw this. He swung his power sword upwards and knocked the Thousand-Child Scimitar away.

Then, with a sudden, powerful frontal kick, he struck the Thousand Sons Wizard squarely in the chest and abdomen. The immense force sent the Wizard flying backward, crashing into several charging Red Letter Warriors.

The Grey Knights behind Derigao quickly caught up and shielded him. They all knew what state Derigao was in after what had just happened.

Clearly, Derigao had been pulled into an illusion by the Thousand Sons Wizard on the other side. Faced with this kind of attack, one can either kill the Thousand Sons Wizard or use a huge amount of spiritual power to forcibly interrupt it, but this will also cause some degree of mental damage to the target trapped in the illusion.

They originally intended to use their spiritual power to forcibly break the illusion and to use ranged firepower to attack the Emperor Wizard.

But who could have imagined that the Thousand Sons Wizard was exceptionally cunning, frantically commanding these red-letter warriors to charge forward recklessly?

Although the number of Astartes in the Thousand Sons Legion is not large, they can exchange a dozen or so Red Letter Warriors for a Grey Knight commander, the Judge.

Being an elite member of the Grey Knights is clearly an incredibly worthwhile deal.

After all, the other party was wearing Terminator armor.

……

(End of this chapter)