Warhammer: Filial Piety Makes Power

Chapter 286 All Members Ascend to Demonhood, Atlas Undergoes a Mutation.

Thanks to advance planning, although war still raged, Holy Terra did not suffer a devastating blow.

With two civil engineering mavericks, Iron Warrior and Imperial Fist, in charge, Holy Terra has become a complete steel hedgehog.

The gist of the story is that Dorne built a wall in Holy Terra, and then, as shown in the picture, Labo immediately built another wall behind that wall.

Perturaber angrily denounced Dorne as a piece of trash, while Dorne criticized the walls Perturaber had built as shoddy workmanship, saying they would crumble at the slightest blow from the Fist of the Empire.

You unscrupulous contractors who live off shady dealings can only fool those who are naive and inexperienced. Hurry up and get back to the back to fill in the gaps. This fortress still belongs to the fist of our empire.

As the saying goes, rivals are enemies. For two Primarchs with a 93% genetic similarity, the other side is just a little devil, while we are the Empire's number one architectural masters.

In a battle of wills, the two legions began an endless civil engineering contest, and Holy Terra, which had previously had only one defensive line, eventually had twelve more lines added.

The emperor didn't say much about the civil engineering competition between the two. Rather than letting them go out and cause trouble due to mental strain, building bunkers could be considered making the best use of their talents.

Based on the principle that bigger is beautiful and more is good, the emperor tacitly approved of the two people's behavior.

The good news is that Holy Terra did not suffer a suicidal charge of 3000 Soul of Vengeance ships. Although countless rebels still emerged, the Civil and Wood duo's defenses perfectly withstood the enemy's offensive.

Even when the pressure of the cyber war increased sharply, there was still spare capacity to send troops to support the cyber war, and the entire Iron Warriors were poured into the cyber war to resist the pressure.

With the stubborn empire on the outside and the Iron Lord on the inside, these two ultimate pressure-resistant kings coming together, even the golden giant couldn't imagine how he would lose.

The only minor mishap was that the Emperor hadn't anticipated that Khorne and Nurgle would suddenly intervene and slip through the gap in the net.

This put the Emperor in a passive position, forcing him to step down from the Golden Throne, leave Magnus to guard the house, and then enter the Net Path to fight the evil god with swords drawn.

There was nothing that could be done about it. After all, while Peturabo's stubbornness had been alleviated, he had turned into a little brat who wanted to criticize everyone.

Upon seeing the Chaos God for the first time, Perturabo didn't think of a strategic retreat. Instead, he channeled Guilliman and charged at the Chaos God himself, nearly scaring the Emperor half to death.

Unless they are named canned boys, most Space Marines wouldn't last more than two rounds against the Primarch.

Similarly, if the Primarch were to face a Chaos God, unless he were to use a cheat code on the spot, he would only get slapped a few more times.

To prevent Peturabo from going up and delivering the message, the Emperor had no choice but to go down himself, and then he was kicked and beaten like a dog.

Because the timeline of Holy Terra was already broken, while the Emperor's Son and the Iron Hand were trapped in Istvan for three years, the Second Empire waged a six-year guerrilla war, and Tranquility began a 169-day deadly tug-of-war.

Just when the Emperor was about to be beaten into a pulp, the situation on the battlefield reversed 180 degrees with the arrival of the Burning Legion's reinforcements and the sudden departure of the Chaos God. The human empire finally had a chance to counterattack.

This made the weasel, who had been suffering all along, extremely happy. It went all in again and made a huge profit on fries.

The 13-year-long cyber war consumed countless elite troops of the empire, and the Lizardman Beastmen Corps undoubtedly suffered the most casualties.

The lizard people, who once filled the mountains and plains and the entire human network, have been reduced to less than one-tenth, and are even on the verge of extinction.

But it's all worth it.

By sheer numbers, the lizardman army withstood the most ferocious waves of demonic tides and held out until the Emperor's demise. Most importantly, they preserved their most exceptional scientific talents.

Even if the net is broken, it's broken. As long as it's not blown to bits and there are still people around, it can be rebuilt.

For the lizardmen, death is not frightening; what is frightening is their inability to complete the Creator's grand plan and becoming a useless lizard.

After the Chaos army was driven back, the Emperor returned to the Golden Throne, clutching his back, intending to drain the energy within his body that was about to explode, and also to take over Magnus's job to stabilize the Shattered Web.

Before departing, the Emperor finally put on a human act, giving the group of giant lizards who had suffered heavy casualties an empty promise: once the aftermath of chaos was cleared away, he would appoint them as official demi-humans of the Empire, to cultivate alongside the nation!
As for now, you should just hang in there a little longer and work with me to stabilize the network before we talk about anything else.

The surviving lizardmen were very excited about the arrangements made by the Creator Father, also known as the Holy Father.

To the simple-minded lizardmen, their strange, green cousins ​​were utterly foolish, always fighting or on their way to fight. But they, the lizardmen, were different; they had lofty ambitions that those mindless beasts could never match.

Looking at these simple-minded lizards, whose tails would wag at the slightest compliment, Perturabo seemed to see a reflection of his former self.

They do the hardest work, endure the most humiliation, and are easily pleased by any sunshine. The only difference is that they never suffer from mental exhaustion; they are as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

Compared to them, the Atlas, who never charged forward in battle but only sniped from behind, and who all crawled out to loot the spoils after the battle, were as slippery as a group of eels.

But Peturabo had to admit that without Atlas, who resembled the Night Lords, commanding the lizardman legions, the Empire's losses could have increased by an order of magnitude.

With some free time, Perturabo couldn't help but start to overthink. She knew that due to the extremely low compatibility of the gene seed, Atlas had been forced to adopt a dual-core drive mode.

In other words, this group of Atlas, who closely resemble the Lords of the Night, can be said to be the offspring of Mordred and Coz, according to their genetic sequence.

Are there any of my offspring within Atlas?
The answer is yes, and not only that, Peturabo also knows that Atlas's special engineering company, Atlas Fourth Company, uses his own genetic seed.

Perhaps because they had previously devoured Mordred's arm, each Primarch inevitably contracted the Silly Virus. Once they started having wild thoughts, they simply couldn't stop and were prone to making extremely abstract decisions.

The most typical phenomenon is getting distracted.

While not as impulsive as Mordred, whose mind was constantly racing with countless thoughts that gave rise to countless brilliant ideas, it was still inevitably tainted by corruption.

Take, for example, Peturabo, who is currently guarding the gates of the Webpath and directing the Legion to assist the Lizardmen in repairing the Webpath.

She failed to notice that the lizardmen who left the web were rapidly shrinking, and that Atlas, who had also trembled and begun to undergo bizarre mutations after leaving the web.

They also failed to notice that Atlas, who was huddled in the corner stealing supplies, pulled out his plasma pistol at the last moment before his sanity faded and severed the mental network link.

Joseph, the sixth company commander of the Atlas Titans, is currently fighting alongside the World Eaters and following behind Angron.

In the Taran Desert, Gao Wen, the fourth company commander, transforms into a demon and digs holes like crazy, while following the Golden Word Messenger Luo Jia to beat up the steel snake demon.

There's also the Second Company Commander Goff, who commands the Atlas ships and works with Riviel to clear away the projections of the Vengeful Spirits.

Even those Bean Lords who underwent advanced modifications and absorbed Mored's gene samples, including the former Black Bean Sprout Pirate Kiaran, were included.

Apart from the seven who remained inside the human network scavenging for trash, every Atlas, no matter where they were, stood there dumbfounded.

The insatiable hunger stemming from the genetic seed overwhelmed everyone's reason, causing Atlas, whose emotions were already exceptionally abundant, to lose himself in insatiable greed.

"bang bang bang"

The continuous gunfire jolted Peturabo awake, and he saw three Atlas officers firing plasma pistols, killing the remaining Spartan warriors.

Without any hesitation, the Primarch's terrifying speed was on full display at this moment. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Perturabo rushed to the side of the highest-ranking Atlas officer and knocked the plasma pistol out of his hand.

"Soldier, you..."

Before Peturabo could finish speaking, he saw Atlas suddenly draw his sword, and his target was none other than Peturabo himself.

Peturabo thought the man was crazy, so he grabbed him and broke his wrist, ready to get to the bottom of things.

But in that moment of delay, accompanied by two gunshots and two heavy thuds, Peturabo witnessed a scene she could not comprehend.

The two Atlas soldiers who had been shooting at their own troops just moments before suddenly turned their guns on their own chins and committed suicide right in front of Peturabo.

Even more bizarre things happened next. After slaughtering his allies and then committing suicide, the only remaining Atlas officer trembled all over, and pitch-black viscous liquid gushed out from the gaps in his armor, turning his power armor into a puddle of soft mud.

Even though he was no longer human, in the last moments of this Atlas's life, he still thought about suicide. A demon covered in black slime stretched out an arm from the lump of mud. Perturabo could see that the black slime was also corroding the demon, but even though it would be completely dissolved in the next moment, the demon still detonated the grenade on the Atlas officer's body.

However, it was too late. The grenade with the pin ripped off did not explode; instead, it was completely dissolved by the black slime.

All of this happened too suddenly. It seemed to take a long time, but not even a second had passed. Six Spartan warriors were shot dead by friendly forces, two Atlas committed suicide, and one Atlas officer turned into mud.

Perturabo soon discovered that this was not the case; the lizardmen who had left the net tunnel to transport supplies were also gone, with only the empty equipment on the ground as proof that they had once existed.

But this is not the end, but the beginning.

Just as Perturabo was pondering, the slime that Atlas officer had transformed into exploded, and a monster with four arms and a long tail, wrapped in layers of boiling flesh and blood, burst out.

Emerald green lightning flashed, and claws carrying a bio-decomposing force field shot out, grabbing Peturabo's chest hard.

The Iron Aura activated instantly, blocking the sudden attack, but even so, the claws pierced through the energy shield like butter, tearing a crack in Perturabo's chest armor.

Not only Perturabo, but the Iron Warriors who came to the rescue were also attacked by a sudden attack, and the attacker was none other than Oglin, who was slacking off in a corner.

Perhaps sensing that its prey was not to be trifled with, or perhaps because its remaining rationality had not yet vanished, the monster struggled and shouted at Peturabo:
"kill me!"

This time, Peturabo did not hesitate and fired his heavy cannon. But as he shouted the request, the sergeant's last shred of reason vanished, and he lunged at the group of mortal auxiliary soldiers who had not yet reacted.

Before the monster's claws could slice through the soldier, a heavy bomb shot out and struck him, shattering half of his body.

However, this injury, which would be fatal to any creature, did not stop the monster. Instead, it used the force to fly towards the equally mutated Oglin.

In an instant, countless fleshy tentacles shot out, and the two monsters merged into one, resembling a growing, pitch-black sea urchin.

The temperature plummeted, and an invisible, intangible psionic barrier blocked the explosive projectiles fired by the Iron Warriors, which then transformed into filthy, malevolent emerald flames that shot out in the next instant.

"Weak and powerless, grovel before this unparalleled power, Waaaagh!!"

The Iron Warriors didn't charge forward recklessly; instead, they adopted a defensive stance and continued to suppress the enemy with firepower. But someone was faster than them.

This time, Perturabo did not hold back. Countless arrays of light spears emerged from behind him, using their own power armor as physical anchors, and instantly burned the monster to a crisp in the violent explosion.

However, even after being burned to a crisp, the monster was not dead; instead, it continued to struggle forward.

But just as Peturabo was about to burn the monster to ashes, a round little thing rolled out from the supply crates that had been damaged by the explosion.

Without any hesitation, the moment it saw the coin, even knowing it would be burned to ashes the next second, the monster leaped forward, leaving only a strange cry echoing in the flames:
"I found this!"

.........

The anomalies continued, and Tom was the first to react. He discovered that his adjutant, who had just left the network to collect supplies and was chatting and boasting with him, suddenly went silent, and then the light spots in the mental network rapidly dissipated.

His doubts quickly turned into unease, for he discovered that none of his combat brothers who had left the Web had returned—not the Space Marines, the Spartans, or even the Lizardmen.

This unease compelled Tom to take a step, wanting to leave the net and go out to see what was happening, but at the last moment before he stepped out the door, a giant steel hand descended from the sky, gripped his head tightly, and pushed him back.

"Your Highness?"

Looking at Perturabo, who was staring at him with a hostile expression and scrutinizing eyes, Tom paused for a moment at the claw mark on the Primarch's chest, which was stained with a high concentration of fel energy residue, and subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword.

Similarly, Peturabo was also observing Tom in front of him, and the group of Atlas who were also holding weapons and silently pointing their guns at him and the Iron Warrior.

After a silence lasting 0.1 seconds, Peturabo finally released his grip:
"Don't be impulsive. Your situation is very dangerous. Everyone stay in the net passage. No one is allowed to leave. I will take over Atlas now."

"what happened?"

Without questioning the Primarch's orders, what Tom wanted to know most now was what had happened and why his brothers were disappearing one by one.

“I don’t know either, but what I do know is that you cannot leave the Web. All Atlas who have left the Web, whether they are lizardmen, space marines, or Spartans, have undergone severe mutations and completely lost their minds.”

Perturabo paused for a moment after saying this, because he noticed that during the sudden chaos, the canines, who also belonged to Atlas, had not shown any abnormalities.

Not only the dog-men, but also the Eugens did not undergo any mutation.

No, Peturabo suddenly remembered that not all Oglins were problem-free; the Oglins that had problems were the very special individuals she had been paying special attention to before.

After all, it's extremely rare to find someone like Oglin who can use psionic powers. She even mocked Magnus, saying that this could very well be your long-lost offspring, only now faded.

Peturabo seemed to realize something; he suddenly remembered the secret force that the Emperor had Macado assemble before he ascended the Golden Throne.

"If I'm not mistaken, something should have happened to your father."

Or rather, it's quite possible that these 732 of you are all the existing Atlas..."

"Impossible. Our father is invincible. No one can kill him."

Tom interrupted Petrabo, but in the mental network he commanded all Atlas to lay down their weapons:
“We obey orders, but I want to know what has become of my men who left the Netway? Atlas is innocent, and even you cannot slander us.”

Perturabo showed remarkable patience in the face of this last group of Atlas:

"Your subordinates have all undergone severe mutations, roughly resembling the monster form your father transformed into, but with the addition of a pair of bat wings."

They even inherited some of Kurtz's prophetic abilities, allowing them to evade my attacks in advance. But for some reason, they all share a strange trait, which is why I suspect Moride might be in trouble.

Perturabo held a full-weight Dogecoin in his hand and placed it in front of Tom, then closed his eyes.

When Tom opened his eyes again, sure enough, the gold coin that had been in his palm was now in his hand, and even Atlas, who had been far away, suddenly surrounded him.

"..."

"..."

Their eyes met, and looking at Perturabo's "I knew this would happen" expression, even a seasoned veteran like Tom couldn't help but feel a little awkward.
"No, I... I thought you didn't want it anymore. This doesn't mean anything at all."

"What if that's the case?"

Seeing that Tom was still stubborn, Perturabo took out a handful of gold coins, each one weighing exactly what it was, made of 50% refined gold and 50% pure gold.

Regardless of the era, as a product of supernova explosions, gold has always been a high-quality material for electronic devices. As for adamantite, it goes without saying that it retains its value no matter where in the Empire it is.

When this large handful of gold coins was taken out, all the Atlas eyes widened, and their gazes followed wherever Perturabo's hand gestured.

As the gold coins clattered to the ground, the Iron Warriors witnessed a truly comical scene: their group of large cousins ​​were all bent over, frantically picking them up from the ground.

This further confirms Perturabo's guess that something must have happened to Mordred, otherwise Atlas wouldn't have turned into that kind of monster.

Meanwhile, just as Peturabo realized that Atlas was in trouble, Magnus looked at the golden throne, which was now engulfed in black flames, and instinctively shuddered.

"Father, are you alright?"

"..."

　Two-in-one

　　
　
(End of this chapter)