Chapter 14: Storming the Upper Hive
Bukayo had been gone for more than two stellar hours. As a "Child of the Night," once he fully merged with the darkness, he immediately sensed an all-around enhancement of his physical abilities, thinking, and spirituality.
He keenly found a secluded and deep passage, relying on his youthful physique to squeeze into a space that wouldn't accommodate a normal adult.
Bukayo carefully removed the power room's grating, agilely leaped onto the shoulder of the enemy below, and steadily plunged his sharp dagger into his eye.
The scream attracted the enemy's attention, and footsteps sounded.
Bukayo's eyes gleamed. He leaped up and pulled the power switch.
The deeper the night, the stronger he became.
This was his hunting ground, the ritual site of his offering after receiving the gift.
When Nimrod was still several kilometers away from the Arbitrator's small building, he already smelled the strong scent of blood emanating from it.
When he was one kilometer away from the gate, he strode forward.
Having the previous experience of digesting the "Lawyer" potion, he confirmed that his digestion of the "Savage" potion had already reached one-third after just drinking it.
Nimrod's core understanding of the "Savage" was to forcibly break the rules, not being limited to a barbaric image. This coincided with his plan to unify Voss-Toria by relying on the Primarch's martial power after his gene-memory awakened.
Of course, if he broke the rules in a barbaric way while leaving the same impression, the digestion effect should be even better.
Thus, Nimrod, like a human-shaped tank, directly crashed into the entire squad of guards who had temporarily reinforced the gate.
The distance of one kilometer was too short for him, not even allowing him to accelerate to his maximum speed before crashing into the crowd.
Eight people had just raised their guns, not even having time to aim, before their arms, bent like noodles, were flung out, their chests caved in, and they rolled several times in the air.
A loud explosion briefly cleared their blurred consciousness. Their last glimpse was of the entire wall of the Arbitrator's office on the third floor collapsing.
The gang members saw it more clearly. Their master took a running start, leaped up, smashed through the wall, and lifted the once high and mighty Arbitrator.
Dimitrov's head smashed through the roof, his vision blurring.
"You are..." The Arbitrator's pupils suddenly constricted. He recognized the giant's identity from the deep pupils and somewhat familiar face. "Nimrod, you... how did you... become like this?"
Seeing that Nimrod didn't answer, his consciousness became increasingly blurred. He struggled to speak.
"You killed me... Lord Estupinian... won't let you get away with this."
"Thank you for the information."
Nimrod said, twisting Dimitrov's neck.
He picked up the Arbitrator's broadcast device with his fingers, turned on the dome's broadcast channel, and turned to look at his subordinates.
"People say that underhivers entering the upper hive is like ascension, and even underhivers themselves believe this, without any hope."
"Is it really impossible?"
"Now we are going to break all this, without relying on the favor of the upper hive lords."
The Primarch's thunderous voice shook the entire dome.
"I! Nimrod! Will lead you into the upper hive!"
Bukayo, covered in blood, pulled a short knife from the guard's lower back, his eyes shining.
Just one work cycle ago, he thought he would never have the chance to return to the upper hive.
Now he would return to the upper hive with a new identity, as a "Sleepless" and Nimrod's "Child of the Night."
The workers of the Hantexi Dome picked up weapons and tools, walked out of the factories, and joined the surging crowd.
The captain of the cargo elevator guards leading to the upper hive shouted, "Close the door!"
Amidst the dull sound of the gate being pulled shut, he quickly ran towards the control room, the only place from which he could transmit news of the underhive rebellion to the other side of the vertical elevator.
He had only taken two steps when a gunshot rang out behind him.
Rolfslev shot and killed the guard pushing the gate shut with one shot, leading a hundred elites into the cargo area. Nimrod had entrusted him with the important task of seizing the elevators leading to the upper hive, and he would definitely not let the Lord down.
He still didn't know if Nimrod was the deity that others referred to, but he would no longer call him Boss.
Since Nimrod denied being a deity, he decided to call him Lord for now. Following the Lord for this period, he had also seen that the Lord cared more about loyalty and the ability to complete tasks flawlessly.
Nimrod boarded a cargo elevator alone. In the other seven elevators, each carried a ten-man elite squad.
The people tightly gripping their weapons felt their bodies rise rapidly. They saw the surrounding elevators rising and falling, the spiderweb-like pipes, and the dazzling lights flickering in the smoke.
They couldn't help but exclaim.
"So this is what the hive city is like. I'm only finding out today."
"Looking down now, the dome is like an ant."
Upper Hive, Cargo Area E-1989.
The stationmaster saw the lights in Zone F-17 turn on and frowned, saying with some dissatisfaction,
"The people of the Hantexi Dome are becoming more and more unruly. This is the third time in five cycles that they haven't given advance notice. Even if production has increased significantly, they shouldn't always come without a word."
"Stationmaster, I heard that Dimitrov is about to be promoted to the upper hive because of his outstanding performance and constantly increasing product delivery, and..."
The statistician beside him lowered his voice, "And, I heard he's gotten in with a collateral branch of the royal family."
"He's lucky. A Nimrod appeared in his dome. I heard he defeated the gold-medal lawyer Golovin. Putting him in charge of a dome's industrial conglomerate is a waste of talent."
The stationmaster said enviously. He couldn't understand Nimrod's choice even more. He had heard that he had refused the invitations of the Fend and other major families and returned to that rotten place in the underhive.
He shook his head, picked up the communicator, and switched to the Fend family's communication channel.
"The people from the Hantexi Dome are here. Send someone to pick up the goods."
"Sorry for the trouble, I'll be right there."
The stationmaster hung up, thinking of the money he would receive for the trouble in a moment. His mood improved a lot. He leaned back and looked at the monitoring screen.
In the next moment, his smile suddenly disappeared. He widened his eyes and exclaimed in surprise,
"What is that?"
The statistician leaned closer. "Is that an Ogryn?"
The stationmaster shook his head, watching the giant grab a guard, swing him around, and knock down a whole group.
He hurriedly picked up the communicator, just about to switch communication channels.
With a loud bang, followed by the sound of shattering glass,
The stationmaster was horrified to find that the giant had thrown the guard over.
What was even more terrifying was that after flying dozens of meters in the air, the guard actually smashed through the blast-proof glass.
He and the statistician didn't have time to dodge and were knocked down by the flying guard, losing consciousness.
Nimrod, having previously traveled to and from the upper hive as a specially hired lawyer for the Fend family, had done so via passenger trains. This was his first time setting foot in the cargo station.
But the moment he rushed out of the elevator, he grasped the surrounding environment and locked onto the location of the control room.
Nimrod issued an order to Rolfslev, "Receive the others up here."
Then, he looked up at the cluster of hive spires piercing the clouds, where the true power echelon of the hive city resided—the major noble families.
Nimrod had been to one hive spire, the Fend family's. Now he was looking for the Bolesław family's hive spire.
Soon, he locked onto two equally tall hive spires. Clearly, the other one belonged to the servants of the Omnissiah.
(End of this chapter)