Warhammer, I'm a nanny, not your father!

Page 220

There is no cover around it, and darkness is its best cover.

It circled slowly around the four warriors, looking for a breakthrough in their defense circle.

It is very patient, a quality essential for a predator on the ice sheet.

If nothing unexpected happened, it would have had a good meal.

When the sudden flare tore through the darkness, the faint blue light completely exposed it on the empty ice field, and the beast even showed a look of human-like surprise on its face.

This completely disrupted the beast's hunting rhythm.

"There it is!"

"Kill it!"

There was a brief moment of surprise on the soldiers' faces, but they almost instinctively raised their gun barrels and spewed deadly flames at the beasts.

"Bang bang bang!"

The sharp sound of gunfire tore through the darkness, but the six-legged beast was incredibly agile, its six appendages swiftly spinning and leaping on the snow to avoid being aimed, and most of the bullets were fired in vain into the darkness.

But one of them still tore through its thick fur, splashing dark red blood on the snow.

The beast visibly staggered and roared in pain.

In the darkness it is a hunter.

But in the light, whoever has a gun is the hunter.

If wild beasts give up hunting, they may not have enough intelligence to develop language and culture.

But the instinct to seek profit and avoid harm is engraved in its genes.

As long as the flares were still there, it lost the cover of darkness.

It has been injured and is at a disadvantage in all aspects, so it must temporarily retreat into the darkness to avoid the attack.

Seeing the beast about to disappear in the darkness, the soldiers all showed an unwilling look.

The beast thought it was about to escape, but just as its front legs stepped into the darkness.

An invisible giant hand suddenly grabbed its throat and lifted its huge body into the air.

The beast roared miserably, its six appendages scratching at the air in vain.

"boom!"

The beast was thrown back like a stone bullet thrown by a catapult, and it hit the snow in front of the soldiers' feet with a dull thud.

The flying ice chips even hit the soldiers' faces, and they were so frightened that they took a step back.

But the beast was still pinned to the ground by the invisible hand, and could only bare its teeth and let out a threatening growl.

The soldiers immediately realized that its threat was just a facade, and they unanimously drew their knives and accurately stabbed the beast's throat. Blood immediately gushed out like a fountain, spreading across the snow.

The beast's struggle gradually weakened, and finally it stopped completely with a whimper.

But the soldiers remained on high alert. What had just happened was too bizarre and strange, completely beyond their understanding of the ice field.

In addition to the beast, there are more dangerous enemies lurking in the darkness, and the blue flare is still frozen in the air.

When Wop took the initiative to walk out of the darkness, the soldiers still watched him vigilantly.

Although Wop was a human being and helped them complete the hunt, he should not be an enemy, otherwise they would have been pinned to the ground like the beast.

But in Invert, the people of other clans are often more terrifying than beasts.

Conflicts often break out between different clans over competition for resources. They are all fighting for survival and no one will give in.

The old warrior in the lead looked at Wop cautiously. His thin clothes looked out of place in the icy and snowy weather of Invert, and he was holding a naked baby in his arms.

He hesitated for a moment, and finally lowered his gun first, and the other soldiers followed suit.

The old soldier made a gesture, and the three of them tacitly protected the girl behind them, blocking her from Wop's sight.

Wop stopped five meters away from the warriors, "Which clan are you from?"

The warriors exchanged glances, and the old warrior answered in a rough voice, "We are from Clan Dorne. I am the patriarch of Clan Dorne. You can call me Dorne. These are my sons, Probus, Dean, and my granddaughter, Saphir. What about you, stranger?"

"I'm from Terra, you can call me Wop."

Dorn asked, "Why are you here alone?"

Wop gently weighed the baby in his arms. "For this child, what about you? Going out hunting?"

Dorn was silent for a moment before speaking, "We are exploring the path for the clan, but I have never heard of a clan named Terra."

"Terra is a world, as vast as Invert."

Dorn asked perceptively, "So, you haven't joined any clan yet?"

Wop: "Perhaps I could join Clan Dorne."

Dorn's expression suddenly relaxed. He put away his gun and held out his hand to Wop. "Perhaps we can talk about this in detail somewhere else."

……

"boom!"

Only a small part of the ice nest is exposed on the ice field shrouded in eternal night. The gate is always kept closed, and several armored warriors guard it from the inside.

Amidst the roar of machinery, the heavy alloy gate slowly opened.

Dorn leaned aside and gestured for invitation, and Wop walked towards the elevator with the baby in his arms.

The interior of the elevator is spacious, and the surrounding elevator shaft walls are made of bright silver metal plates with lumen lights embedded in them.

Probus, Dean stood at the back of the elevator, glancing at Wop's neck from time to time with his peripheral vision.

Safire stood beside the old man, looking at the baby in Wop's arms with curiosity, as if it was innocent.

As the old soldier pulled the operating lever, the metal baffle of the elevator slowly rose upward with a dull friction sound.

The baffle is only half a person's height and is completely open on top, forming a semi-enclosed space.

With the click of gears, the elevator began to descend smoothly.

On the way here, Wop had gained a deeper understanding of Invit.

The Invites all live in huge underground ice nests. These downward-extending nests are the foundation of the Invites' survival.

The Invid are divided into clans and castes. Many clans live in each ice nest, but there is usually only one ice caste clan.

Other clan castes are responsible for production and maintenance. The Ice Caste is similar to the Kshatriyas of a powerful country in ancient Terra, and all members of the tribe are warriors.

Therefore, an ice nest often cannot accommodate two ice caste clans, and any ice caste will spontaneously maintain its dominant position.

Clan Dorne is the Ice Caste. For centuries, Clan Dorne has held a firm grip on this underground kingdom and is the undisputed ruler.

However, in recent years, the shadow of war has quietly loomed over the Ice Nest, where the Dorne clan has lived for generations.

Dorne: "The Lann Clan suddenly launched an attack on us. We were caught off guard and our frontline outposts fell one after another. They attacked our defenses like crazy. We had to prepare a retreat route in advance just in case."

Wop asked, "Why not go through the underground ice cave?"

There are hundreds of ice nests of various sizes in Invert, which are connected to each other through ice caves dug in ancient times, forming a complex underground transportation network.

Due to the extremely harsh living environment on the surface, the Invites rarely venture out of the ice nest, and only roam and migrate between underground ice caves and ice nests.

Dorn: "Each ice hive has its own ruling clan, and they will not accept us. If we lose the war, we will not have the energy to fight for the ice hives of other clans."

"We must find a new home for our clan. According to the ice nest distribution map left by our ancestors, we found a collapsed ice cave leading to a forgotten ice nest."

Wop: "It seems that you are not optimistic about the prospects of this war."

A trace of worry flashed in Dorn's eyes. "If it were just the Lann clan, we might still be able to fight to the death. But the other clans are also watching from the dark, and they are all eyeing us covetously."

"More importantly, I'm afraid the Lann clan won't let us go. They're coming with such force, this war won't end easily."

In Invert, the wars between clans are far more deadly than the environment.

Before the children of Clan Dorne learn to endure the unforgiving cold of Invert, they must first learn how to fight as warriors against their enemies.

During the long wars and conflicts, the Dorne clan and other ice castes had already formed an irreconcilable hatred.

It's not about whether the Dornish clans are warlike or not; they're all just trying to survive.

Only by eliminating the hostile clan can you ensure that your own clan has enough living space.

In Invit, there is an irreconcilable hatred between any ice caste, and they can never coexist peacefully.

Therefore, defeat in war often means the destruction of a clan.

When the Dorne clan became powerful, other clans began to fall into decline.

But the Dorne clan is not strong enough. They can defeat other clans, but they cannot form an overwhelming advantage.

If you forcibly attack the ice nest of other clans, you will inevitably pay a heavy price. Even if you win, you will still face the threat of other clans taking advantage of the situation to rob you.

The huge casualties are enough to deter any clan, and it is this delicate balance that maintains the fragile peace of Invert.

But the Lann clan broke this balance. They completely disregarded the cost in casualties and were determined to perish together with the Dorne clan.

The other clans are still dormant for the time being, but as soon as any side shows signs of decline, they will take advantage of the situation.

Dorne is the patriarch, and he must prioritize ensuring the continuation of the clan.

Wop: "Why not blow up the ice cave?"

Dorn smiled bitterly, "I now believe that you are indeed not an Invit."

"Although the Lann clan's attack is fierce, our situation is still dangerous. At least we can hold our ground."

"But the ice caves are the lifeline of all the ice nests in Inverit. The collapse of any ice cave will lead to catastrophic consequences, or even the destruction of the ice nest. Any clan that dares to do so will become the public enemy of all clans."

"Not to mention, our ice nest is located at the hub of the ice cave network, connecting to dozens of ice caves in all directions. We don't have enough explosives to blow up all the ice caves, and the other clans won't sit idly by."

The Lann clan is not afraid of wearing shoes even if they are barefoot, and they want to die together with the Dorne clan.

The other clans were probably also silently supporting the Lann Clan behind the scenes, otherwise where would the Lann Clan get so many weapons to launch the attack?

The more reckless the Lann clan is, the more the Dorne clan will be constrained by concerns and the more hesitant their decisions will be.

They didn't dare to blow up the ice cave, and were afraid of losing the war, so they had to find a retreat in advance.

But there is no way out underground, so we can only go above ground.

Although the surface is full of dangers, as long as they carefully avoid the blizzard and reach the forgotten ice nest, they can start over.

It was difficult for other clans to track them from the surface, as the blizzard would obscure any traces.

Chapter 192 Rogal Dorn and Perturabo (5K)

"Do you have any other instructions?"

Wop gently tucked the baby in and turned to look at the young girl standing at the door.

Saphir stood respectfully, his long silver-gray hair gleaming with a cool sheen under the lumen light.

Dorne left after a brief explanation. As the patriarch of the Dorne clan, it was impossible for him to always entertain a foreigner like him, so he arranged his granddaughter Sapphire to be with Wop.

It is both service and monitoring.

"Sapphire, how old are you?"

Safire: "I'm eleven years old."

Inverter does not have a day and night cycle, but they still use the standard year to measure time.

As long as it is a human colony, the local standard year is almost always the Terra year.

"What a coincidence! Culliphany is also eleven years old."

"Who is Culliphany?"

"Caliphony is Perturabo's sister, and like you, the Primarch's sister."

Saphir frowned in confusion. "But I don't know Perturabo."

Wop pointed at the sleeping baby, "There is more than one Primarch. He is also a Primarch."

Saphir stood on tiptoe and leaned forward curiously. "Is this child Perturabo?"

"He is Rogal Dorn."