The Bizarre Adventure of the Warhammer Guard

The Lord of Fire Dragons looked around and gazed at the temple built atop the ruins, but made no move.

"My lord," Kurland approached the Primarch, "is there a problem here?"

"More than 1,500 years ago, the Emperor's Great Expedition reached this world." A hint of reminiscence flashed in Vulcan's eyes. "Horus personally defeated the orc overlord who ruled this land, and was then crowned Warmaster."

The Primarch pointed to the temple in front of him, his meaning clear: the temple before them was where Horus was crowned Warmaster.

"It was here that humans proved their dominance," Vulcan said, looking at Kurland, "and the orcs have taken over this place."

"But what's the reason for doing this? Why would the orcs do this?"

"Orcs only respect strength. To defeat orcs, you must respond with even greater strength," the Primarch sighed helplessly. "If a beast wants to become the leader of the orcs, he must prove himself and demonstrate his dominance by suppressing his enemies."

"So, the victory celebration," Bohemond, still fervent, asked, "does the victory parade end here?"

“That’s right,” Elpis confirmed. “The Emperor once stood here, his sons once stood here, and he also appointed Horus as the warmaster here.”

"The place will bear the mark of these events, and the world will be deeply etched with the footprints left by these beings."

Kurland pondered this question, trying to imagine the orc's thought process. To prove oneself the strongest, one must defeat the strongest enemy and become the most important being on this planet.

The Primarch ended his recollection and led the group into the temple. To everyone's surprise, the temple doors opened easily, as if the master of the place was welcoming them.

Continuing further in, the interior of the orc temple perfectly reflects their barbaric culture, with thick stone pillars inlaid with large pieces of scrap iron and rivets, and abstract totems painted on the walls with unidentified dyes.

The walls are also inlaid with some shiny crystals, whose sole purpose is to illuminate the entire temple.

After passing through a tall stone gate, the group arrived at an enormous hall. The most striking feature was the five enormous thrones arranged in a semi-circle at the very back of the hall.

These chairs are crudely pieced together from rough rocks and heavy metal plates, and their size is far beyond what is reasonable. Even the smallest one is large enough to accommodate a Dreadnought.

Among them, the two slightly smaller thrones are located on the outside, and the two larger ones are located inwards, while the one in the very center is almost twice the size of the smallest one.

The throne in the center is inlaid with a hideous orc skull, and is decorated with captured human spoils. There are even traces of undried orc blood on the armrests of the throne, which are clearly where the beasts were.

The warriors' gazes quickly swept over the throne, then were drawn to a scene on one side of the hall, where the ground had collapsed, forming a huge, bottomless pit.

At the bottom of the crater, an extremely large energy core was humming. It consisted of thick pipes, a planetary void shield generator stolen by the orcs, and some unknown crystals.

Visible green energy boiled within, forming a beam that spread along pipes in the walls and eventually converged into a radar-like device on the temple dome.

Without a doubt, this is a manifestation of orc technology. This device continuously draws in and amplifies the Waaagh energy of the entire orc army, providing an almost inexhaustible amount of energy for the force field that envelops the entire palace complex.

Just as the squad members quickly dispersed to try and find traces of the beast, a figure slowly emerged from the shadow of the largest throne.

A familiar figure appeared, holding a huge pipe. It was the orc ambassador, still dressed as he was in the Terra Council Hall.

"We meet again, Golden Can." The ambassador grinned, revealing jagged fangs, smoke billowing from between his teeth.

"Where is your leader?" Elpis spun the Spear of the Moon, pointing the tip at the ambassador. "He didn't run away, did he?"

"He'll be here soon." The ambassador grinned, his gaze sweeping over the Space Marines who were on high alert. "You haven't disappointed me. You've truly brought us the great Waaagh."

Vulcan stepped forward, his massive body radiating a powerful sense of oppression. He lowered the Doomsday Tremor into a defensive stance, saying nothing, but his eyes were fixed on the ambassador.

"Don't be nervous, big guy." The ambassador looked at the Primarch, opened his arms, and said, "I'm a wise man. See this temple? It's my idea."

Just as the ambassador was about to say something more, the entire temple trembled, and a tremendous roar came from the depths of the towering throne.

"Ah, he's here." The ambassador turned his head to look at the room behind the throne. "He thinks you're quite good and wants to fight you one-on-one in this sacred and great place."

"However, I won't keep you company any longer. Have a good time." With that, the ambassador lowered his hat brim, bowed again, and disappeared into the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, the wall behind the throne cracked, and the one who roared stepped into the area illuminated by the light.

The term "beast" found its most fitting embodiment at this moment; he was more than twice the height of Vulcan, his muscles bulging, brimming with wild power.

He wore heavy breastplates and leg armor forged from alloy plates and animal bones, exposing his arms and feet. On these armors was painted a portrait in some kind of red pigment, resembling a giant orc roaring to the sky.

The beast was equipped with a huge power claw in its left hand and a massive battle axe in its right. Its blood-red eyes were fixed on the Fire Dragon Lord in front of it.

Without any warning, the beast took a step forward and began its charge, heading straight for the Primarch Vulcan Volkan, who was worthy of its battle.

The beast moved with incredible speed; the surrounding Space Marines didn't even have time to react before it reached the Primarch. Vulcan barely kept up with the beast's speed, desperately swinging the Doomsday Tremor in his hand.

"clang!"

The battle axe and warhammer collided, producing a sharp explosion that sent shockwaves blasting outwards, instantly knocking over several nearby fire lizard warriors.

Vulcan, the Primarch known for his strength and powerful physique, was actually thrown off the ground by the physical impact of the beast.

His massive body flew backward halfway through the hall, crashing heavily onto a thick stone pillar. With a deafening roar, the pillar's surface was covered in cracks, and dust billowed everywhere.

The beast was not unscathed either; the reaction force transmitted from the battle axe caused its massive body to take a half-step back.

It seemed somewhat surprised, letting out a low growl and gently moving its right wrist, which was holding the battle axe.

In that instant, the loyal Space Marines, disregarding the vast difference in strength, pounced on the beast.

In the distance, slug guns roared incessantly, unleashing their fury upon the beasts.