For the girls around Duanmu Huai, this could almost be considered their first time truly entering another world.
Although Anne had previously traveled with Duanmu Huai to the Empire, strictly speaking, the Empire's level of civilization was not far from that of Manaria, and in fact was quite similar. So for Anne, it felt less like traveling to another world and more like visiting another country.
But this place was completely different.
Completely different architecture, completely different civilization—everything was so fresh and fascinating to the girls. At the very least, they had never seen anything like it before.
"Sir Knight, what is this black board?"
"That's a television. You can use it to watch programs."
"And what are programs??"
"Simply put, it's a projection screen. You can sit at home and see what's happening in other places."
"They don't even have magic, and yet they can do something like this?!"
"Sir Knight, why does this carriage have no horses? And why is the front pointed? Would people actually want this kind of carriage?"
"That's a sports car… simply put, it's a carriage that can run by itself without horses."
"No horses at all? Does this world really have no magic?!"
Each person's curiosity was directed at something different.
For example, Olgis was staring at the Barbie dolls in a toy store, tilting her head in curiosity. Clearly, she did not understand what meaning these palm-sized dolls could possibly have.
"Master, what use do these dolls have?"
"They're purely toys for children. For example, changing their clothes, or pretending to play house with them…"
"So you mean, the hobby of this world's people is to change clothes for dolls?"
"Uh…"
Faced with Olgis's inquisitive gaze, Duanmu Huai was momentarily at a loss for words.
Though strictly speaking, she wasn't wrong.
Anne, on the other hand, asked endless questions—why they could produce light without magic, why they could fly in the sky without magic… To that, Duanmu Huai had little to say other than handing her an encyclopedia and telling her to read One Hundred Thousand Whys.
Lorena's angle, however, was far more unusual. When she saw the statues of gods in this world, she curiously asked why the gods here did not save their people. Upon being told that this planet had no divine protection at all, Lorena's eyes widened in shock. She looked at Duanmu Huai with utter disbelief.
"No gods exist, and they have neither protection nor guidance. Then why do they pray to gods? And what purpose does their church serve?"
Well… that's a truly soul-piercing question…
In fact, Duanmu Huai had encountered similar cases more than once in the game. Conflicts between technological civilizations without divine protection and faith civilizations with divine patronage. To those with gods, the practice of inventing a deity to worship when none existed was utterly incomprehensible.
Perhaps to worlds without gods, the revelation that gods truly existed would be proof of their faith and devotion, and they would rejoice in ecstasy.
But to faith civilizations with real gods, such behavior was laughable. At best, they found it incomprehensible or treated it as a joke. At worst, they launched holy wars to exterminate such fools.
Duanmu Huai had once accepted a quest to destroy a religion in a godless world. The client's reasoning was simple: You clearly have no gods, yet you insist on fabricating one and proclaiming it omniscient and almighty. That is heretical nonsense.
Of course, it was partly their own fault. When these religious zealots learned that true gods existed, they were overjoyed and immediately proclaimed that their god was the same as this real one—just under a different name. This was common in worlds without gods.
But when the faith civilization with the true god heard this, they were enraged. To them, it was like a mud-legged peasant slapping gold on his own face—no different from some vagrant barging into the palace claiming to be the emperor's illegitimate child. Not exterminating their whole family would be strange!
So the faith civilization simply hired Duanmu Huai and other players to wipe out this foolish cult. They couldn't be bothered to dirty their own hands. After all, for a prince to brawl with a beggar was beneath them.
When the players stormed the cult headquarters, the cultists were deeply aggrieved. We are devout! We worship the same god! Why treat us this way…
There were also cases of impostors posing as prophets. Some factions used religion as a façade to brainwash believers while pillaging. Duanmu Huai and the players had once been caught in such a war. At the time, a faith civilization had been invaded by another dressed in priestly garb, loudly shouting they were destroying false gods in the name of the true one. For a while, players thought two gods were actually about to war. The invaded faith civilization even sent envoys, hoping to ally with the attackers to resist a common enemy.
But it turned out the invaders, despite their lofty slogans and ruthless massacres, were pathetically weak. The players cut through them like chopping vegetables, only to discover that the so-called true god they worshipped was nothing more than a four-eyed mutant warped by the warp's psychic taint. In Hive City underworlds, such things were sold by the ton!
In short, civilizations of faith in this universe fell into three categories.
First, those truly blessed by real gods, who worshipped them sincerely—like the Yakin with their elemental spirits, the Holy City devoted to Heaven, or the Empire faithful to Sigmar. These were relatively easy to deal with, since as long as their gods reached agreements, peace followed.
Second, materialist civilizations that rejected gods entirely. They rarely clashed with faith civilizations. In their view, gods were simply higher-dimensional entities—powerful, yes, but not almighty creators of all things.
Third, civilizations with no gods that nonetheless fabricated deities to worship and acted in their name. Such civilizations were often seen as insane—or got crushed like impostors by those with real gods.
Fortunately, most faith civilizations capable of leaving their gravity wells and entering the stars followed gods of Order. Under the overarching banner of resisting Chaos, these gods generally did not fight each other.
But civilizations that once followed false gods often became easy prey for the whispers of Chaos. If they were merely foolish, that was one thing—but if they began worshipping some avatar of a Chaos God, then they were doomed…
This human civilization before him was the perfect example.
If not for UAC being deceived by demons, this planet would never have fallen to the brink of annihilation.
Of course, it was fortunate the invaders were merely Primordial Demons. If they had been agents of Nurgle, or Slaanesh… then Duanmu Huai would already have signed an Exterminatus order by Inquisitorial authority.
As for Filene, her focus was equally unusual.
Perhaps from spending so long cooped up in the Ice Tower, the dragon girl now sat quietly in a chair, studying what looked like a travel brochure. Her face remained expressionless as ever, but her tail swayed gently behind her, and her absorbed expression made it clear she found it quite interesting.
"You like that?"
Duanmu Huai curiously glanced at the brochure in Filene's hands. Strictly speaking, she shouldn't be able to read this world's language. But travel brochures were often pictures of scenery and food, which explained her interest.
"…"
Hearing his question, Filene looked up at him. After a moment of silence, she gave a small nod.
"Many different places. Interesting."
"Then, once this is over, would you like to travel? Going from place to place, seeing the sights—it can be a good way to relax."
"…"
Filene thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Don't want… to go outside."
"…"
Great. She's already reached peak shut-in.
"Milord."
At that moment, a Dark Night Sentinel appeared silently at Duanmu Huai's side.
"We have located the three Hell Priests—and the Meck Queen is with them!"
"Oh?"
Duanmu Huai's eyes lit up.
"Excellent!"
With that, he strode out of the store and bellowed loudly.
"Olgis! Anne! Guleya! Lorena! Filene! Prepare to move out! Time to settle accounts with the true culprits!!"
Meanwhile, at the UAC frontline base, a heavy atmosphere spread.
The once-human base had been utterly transformed into flesh and gore. Vein-like tendrils crawled across the walls. What had once been steel and concrete structures were now overrun with blood and blasphemous symbols.
At the center stood three men, their faces etched with bitterness and dread.
They were none other than the former Yakin priests—now traitors who had abandoned their people and civilization to serve the Meck and the demons.
"How could this happen?!"
One Hell Priest, clutching his staff, muttered in shock. They had only realized something was wrong when the spectral army of Dark Night Sentinels appeared on the battlefield. By all rights, the Sentinels should have been consumed in Hell as fuel for Yakin energy. So where had they come from?
Unnerved, the Hell Priests contacted Hell—only to learn that the Yakin energy plant in Hell had already been destroyed?!
Who had done this? What was going on?
The Hell Priests were bewildered. But that was not the true problem. The problem was—now that the elemental spirits had escaped and the energy plant was destroyed, with no more Yakin energy, the Meck Queen would inevitably face the final fate of her race.
Death.
"Do not fear!!"
Seeing his companion's expression, another Hell Priest slammed his staff against the ground.
"Our assimilation of this planet is nearly complete. As long as we annihilate those damned interlopers, we can assimilate this world into Hell just as we did the Ring of Nur. Then we can resume production of Yakin energy! Those Sentinels are nothing—they are but remnant souls guarded by elemental spirits! As long as—"
But before he could finish, the metal doors behind him suddenly blasted open. The heavy slabs flew forward, slamming into the priest like a swatter crushing a fly. With a wet crunch, he splattered against the wall as a bloody smear.
The other two priests gasped in horror, gripping their staffs in panic. They tried to flee, but in that instant, a glowing magic circle appeared beneath them, binding them in place.
"You have no escape, hounds of Chaos."
Duanmu Huai stepped inside, gripping his warhammer. Behind him, Anne hummed lightly, raising her hand as a miniature binding array spun within it.
The two Hell Priests stared in terror at the towering figure in black armor. As former Yakin priests, they knew their history well—and the skulls and blood-red cross adorning this figure's armor were like a myth made flesh, a nightmare god come alive.
"You… you… you are…"
One Hell Priest shakily raised his hand to point at him—but before the words left his mouth, he suddenly clutched his chest, eyes rolling back as he collapsed dead.
"Waaah…!"
Anne's face turned pale. She rushed to Guleya and Lorena's side.
"See?! Sir Knight really scared him to death!!"
"Uh…"
"Ahahaha…"
The girls exchanged uneasy chuckles, but Duanmu Huai's face was ice cold. He forced himself to ignore them and strode toward the last priest.
The final Hell Priest stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Astartes… I thought it was only legend… If you had descended upon this world sooner, perhaps…"
"You chose to surrender."
Duanmu Huai loomed over him.
"In the end, you bowed to Chaos. No excuse can hide your cowardice and folly. There is no place for the weak-willed or indecisive. Only through unwavering action and faith can humanity endure. No sacrifice is too great, and no betrayal is too small."
"You…!"
The priest's words were cut off as Duanmu Huai raised his left fist and smashed it down.
With a crack, the priest's skull was driven into his torso. He collapsed silently, dead.
"Eek!"
Anne and Lorena both flinched, shrinking back in fright.
But then… a voice echoed.
"Your resistance is meaningless."
A flash of light burst from the teleporter ahead. Out stepped a towering woman nearly ten meters tall, her body like a machine-made giant. Golden eyes, utterly devoid of emotion, fixed upon Duanmu Huai.
"This is humanity's chance to repent and serve. You cannot resist my will—I am the Meck Queen."
"That remains to be seen."
Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer as he faced her. The Meck Queen raised her hands, glaring furiously.
"We have existed for millennia! Others must sacrifice for our prosperity—that is their salvation! And you, a mere mortal, dare challenge our tradition? Why do you not kneel and beg for life as others do? Do you think with such paltry mortals at your side you can defy the gods? Defy the emissary of the Heavenly Father—the emissary of the Creator of all things?!"
"An alien dares spew such blasphemy before me?"
Red light blazed from Duanmu Huai's helm as he glared at her.
"You defile the purity of mankind, luring them into the abyss of Chaos. Your sins can only be purged through annihilation! Compassion belongs only to the Emperor's servants. Aliens earn nothing but our contempt. Die!"
"Foolish mortal!!"
The Meck Queen roared. She spread her arms wide, and a pair of golden wings unfurled from her back.
"You will never kill me! I will grant you suffering and judgment beyond imagination!!"
"That is my line, alien filth!"
Duanmu Huai raised his warhammer high. Thunder and lightning crackled along its head.
"For humanity, I will show you the true wrath of the Emperor!"
(End of Chapter)