Shipping goods from the game to the World of Warhammer

The cold spear tip pressed against his throat, and Rhodes could even feel the sharp spiritual bone piercing his skin. He didn't even dare to swallow, fearing that the slightest movement would cause him to be beheaded.

This turn of events happened too quickly, but Rhodes's men were by no means slow in their reaction.

"Put down your weapons!"

With the roar of the power armor's servo motors, a dozen C-14 Gauss rifles instantly rose, their muzzles aimed at the Eldar war shaman. The Marines' fingers were already on the triggers; if the Eldar dared to make another move, a barrage of spiked rounds would tear him to shreds.

"Hiss—!!"

Even more intense than the Marines' reaction was Leonora's. The Queen of Insects raised the bone blades behind her massive body, and psionic energy waves carrying her words directly into the Eldar's mind.

"Release your master! Or I will tear your bones out and chew your flesh to pieces!"

Her compound eyes burned with eerie green psionic flames, and the jumping insects and cockroaches around her became even more restless, constantly scratching at the ground with their sharp claws.

Faced with this overwhelming encirclement, the Spirit Race War Witch appeared unusually calm, or rather, extremely arrogant.

"Ha, a bunch of lowly insects, and a bunch of monkeys blindly serving heretics."

The Eldar war shaman seemed completely unconcerned about the threats posed by the marines and Leonora. Even through his helmet, Rhode could imagine the shaman's arrogant expression. The Spear of Chant remained motionless in his hand, while his other hand slowly rose, dangerous psionic lightning crackling at his fingertips, clearly prepared to perish together with the enemy.

"Your numbers are meaningless in the face of my speed. At this distance, I can decapitate your leader in an instant, leaving his soul to wail eternally in the warp."

"Then you won't live either! We'll avenge our commander!"

A Marine responded fiercely.

"Shut up! Don't try to prove your loyalty now!"

Rhodes wasn't sure if these Marines genuinely wanted to save him or were cursing him. He could only forcefully suppress his panic and speak in as calm a tone as possible:

"Drop your weapons! That's an order! Leonora, order the swarm to retreat!"

"But the Ruler..."

"Back off!"

Before Rhodes could issue the command directly through the psionic link, Leonora growled unwillingly and commanded the swarm to retreat half a step, but the killing intent in her eyes for this Eldar did not diminish in the slightest.

Seeing that the situation had eased slightly, Rhodes turned his attention to the Eldar who was holding him hostage. Even with his neck pressed against his, he appeared very calm.

"So what do you see me as? A gene stealer? Or a human who has joined the Tyranids?"

Rhodes' words startled the Eldar war shaman, who clearly hadn't expected this human to ask such a question at a critical moment.

"Isn't that right?"

The Eldar war shaman sneered, pressing his spear down further. "You can command these chitinous monsters, your mind is connected to them, and I can smell that nauseating stench in your very soul."

"Smell it again carefully?" Rod's lips curled into a mocking smile, though the action made the cut on his neck sting even more.

"The Tyranids came to devour all living matter; they are hungry, insane, leaving only a desolate planet in their wake. But look at my swarm; are they really the same as the Tyranids?"

The Eldar war shaman fell silent.

Indeed, as a member of the Eldar who walked the path of prophecy, he understood the habits of the Tyranids. Once the tentacles of the Great Devourer descended, they would plunder all the resources on the planet, turning the entire world into a lifeless stone.

But these insects before me... though their appearance was ferocious, they were unusually quiet. They lay dormant all around, and even when they entered battle mode, they were only filled with the instinct to kill, without that frenzied desire to devour everything.

"Furthermore, have you ever seen any other Tyranid node creature with such independent self-awareness as her?"

Rod then gestured for the other person to look at Leonora.

The queen was staring intently at the Eldar war shaman, her psionic energy radiating anger, worry, and urgency. These emotions were intense and distinct, a stark contrast to the cold, unified hive mentality of the Tyranid hive's will.

"The nodal creatures of the Tyranids are merely mouthpieces of the Hive's will, echoes among countless billions of voices. But Leonora, she is an individual; she has her own soul, her own joys and sorrows. As an Eldar warlock, your perception of souls should be far more acute than mine."

The Eldar war shaman's helmet tilted slightly, as if he were pondering Rhodes' words.

In his psionic perception, the enormous creature did indeed radiate a unique brilliance. Unlike the abyssal darkness and nothingness of the Tyranids, this creature's soul, though twisted and bizarre, was truly independent, even possessing its own thoughts and emotions.

"A bug that has broken free from the hive's will? How could that be?"

The Eldar war shaman muttered to himself, his grip on the Spear of Chant loosening slightly, but he still had no intention of letting Rhodes go.

"But that doesn't prove your innocence, you savage monkey. You are still wielding forbidden power."

"Power itself is neither good nor evil; the key lies in whose hands it is and where it is used."

Feeling the pressure on his neck ease, Rod pressed his advantage. He knew the other party hadn't completely let his guard down, but his mind was beginning to waver.

"Killing me is pointless. Even if my soldiers can't riddle you with bullets, my swarm will lose control and go completely berserk. This mountain range will then become a true meat grinder. And that won't help your true goal—to stop the Dark Prince's minions that are wreaking havoc on this planet."

Upon hearing the words "Dark Prince," the Eldar war shaman visibly stiffened.

For the Eldar, Slaanesh—the evil god they call "the Great Enemy" or "the Dark Prince"—is their eternal nightmare and mortal enemy. Anything related to Slaanesh can instantly trigger their most sensitive nerves.

"What...do you know?" The Eldar war shaman's voice deepened, and he gripped his spear tightly again, but this time not for killing, but for interrogation.

I know more than you think.

Rhodes stared directly into the gleaming visors on the other man's helmet, his tone resolute.

"You people from the Ark of Aegis didn't come here for tourism, nor to kill a few heretics like me. You came to stop your great enemy, the Dark Prince, from expanding his power, right?"

The Spirit Race War Witch was completely stunned.

He didn't take off his helmet, but Rhodes could feel the shock in the other man's heart at that moment.

He does indeed belong to the Aegis Ark world, but even the Imperial Navy in this nearby star system is unaware of their existence. How did this human find out?

"Who exactly are you?" The Eldar war shaman finally withdrew the spear from Rhodes' neck, but remained on guard.

"An ordinary human being cannot distinguish the differences between our various Ark worlds."

"I am the master of this planet and the guardian of this land. Whether I use insects or guns, my goal is the same as yours: to drive those damned demons back to the warp."

Rod touched the bloodstain on his neck and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since we share the same goal, instead of killing each other here and letting those demons get their hands on the souls of this planet, why not cooperate?"

Rod extended a hand, making an inviting gesture.

"So, Your Excellency, what do you say? Will you choose to continue your meaningless arrogance, or will you temporarily endure the discomfort of fighting alongside the 'Wild Monkeys' for a greater purpose?"

The Eldar war shaman remained silent for a long time, his gaze sweeping over Rhodes, Leonora, and the fully armed marines. Finally, he snorted coldly, twirled the Spear of Chant in his hand a few times, and then slung it back over his shoulder.

"Don't misunderstand, you wild monkey, this isn't cooperation; killing you would just make things more troublesome."

His tone was still not polite, but it was no longer hostile.

"If you dare to play tricks behind my back, or become corrupted and degenerate, my spear will pierce your heart in an instant."