The golden warship left the homeworld, speeding toward the star.
Seeing this, the Cabal elder in red armor showed unease on his face. He turned to the pig-faced brute in white armor beside him.
"Respected Lord, is this wise? Using the Colossus Dreadnought as bait… isn't it too risky?"
Of course, this Cabal soldier knew his master's plan. Just as Duanmu Huai had guessed, the Dreadnought was nothing more than bait to lure the serpent from its hole. If that massive human warship remained guarding the Last City, the Cabal could never succeed. So the Lord chose to use the Dreadnought as bait to force the battleship away, while he himself would invade the Last City and seize the Traveler's power.
But… using a Dreadnought as bait—wasn't that too much of a waste?
"I know what you want to say."
The white-armored brute fixed his gaze on his subordinate.
"But this is a worthy sacrifice. A Dreadnought can be rebuilt. The Traveler is unique."
That was the confidence of a star-faring civilization. The Colossus Dreadnought was powerful, yes, and costly, but once they possessed the Light, they could build as many as they wished. The Traveler, however, could not be replaced. In terms of what mattered most, the Lord knew his priorities.
His orders were for the Dreadnought to hold off the human warship as long as possible, while he seized the Light.
Once he gained the Light… everything else would cease to matter.
With that thought, the white-armored brute turned forward and gave the order.
"Move out!!!"
The Cabal fleet emerged from the asteroid belt, surging once more toward the planet.
"…The blazing fury has departed."
Hitomi raised her head, her bandaged eyes seemingly gazing into the distance, toward the heavens.
"Hmph, a bunch of idiots."
Duanmu Huai sneered coldly. He knew perfectly well what their plan was, and had taken the bait deliberately. But his perspective was utterly different.
The white brute believed Duanmu Huai would do everything in his power to stop the Dreadnought in order to save the star system. But Duanmu Huai didn't consider it a threat at all. Yes, destroying a star system was a great danger—but the gap between the Inquisition and the Cabal was absolute.
No matter how loudly a dog howled, it was still a dog. Even if it claimed it could burn down a forest, a tiger could crush it with a single swipe.
The Cabal were underestimating him, but he couldn't blame them. After all, he had only one warship, not an entire fleet.
If he had brought a fleet, the enemy would have already fled to who knew where.
But now…
"Target in range, Master~~~"
Miya's languid, singsong voice echoed as usual. Duanmu Huai refocused, staring at the massive warship before them, and gave the order.
"Attack!!!"
The guns roared.
The Dreadnought's defenses were indeed formidable—certainly sturdier than the paper-thin Cabal warships they had smashed before. But against the firepower of an Imperial battleship, its resistance was futile. Its shields collapsed quickly, and then—torpedoes streaked out, tearing through the hull and burrowing deep inside.
"BOOOOOOM!!!"
Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer and stared ahead. The boarding torpedoes struck, their impact shuddering through the vessel. The hatches blew open, heavy bolters within spitting fire, annihilating the Cabal soldiers rushing to investigate.
The restraints unlatched. Duanmu Huai inhaled deeply, hefted his hammer, and strode forth from the torpedo. Behind him, the [Night Watch] stormed out, clad in [power armor] and ready for slaughter.
"GRAAAAH!!!"
A squad of Cabal soldiers charged down the corridor, weapons raised in fury. Seeing Duanmu Huai and his warriors, they faltered for an instant—then raised their rifles and opened fire.
Ratatatatatatat!
Bullets screamed, filling the passage in a storm of lead. Sparks burst from Duanmu Huai's armor, but the rounds failed even to scratch its shell.
Grinning savagely, he triggered his jump pack. With a roar, he soared high, warhammer raised, and crashed down into the Cabal ranks.
BOOOOM!!!
The hammer smashed a soldier's skull into pulp, flinging its bloated body away. Duanmu Huai swung in a wide arc, cratering armor and flesh alike. Soldiers toppled like bowling pins under his strike.
"OOOH!!"
One Cabal lunged from behind, smashing its rifle butt into the back of his head. Duanmu Huai's hand shot back, clamping onto its skull. With a brutal wrench, he tore its head clean off its body. Blood spurted from the neck as the corpse collapsed. He hurled the severed head to the floor and stamped it into gore.
Crimson splashed across his black armor, painting him in grisly war paint.
He raised his head. Ahead, more Cabal soldiers lifted their weapons, trembling. Helmets hid their faces, but he could feel their terror and dread—feeding him, fueling his strength.
That fear was tinder, kindling the blaze of his power higher and higher.
I didn't really want this kind of build… but I guess I have no choice now.
He knew exactly what was happening. Since his [Aura of Terror] had evolved, it spread indiscriminately, helmet or not. And his skill set was synergizing too well: [Outnumbered] gave +60% melee damage when surrounded, [Bully the Weak] gave +50% bonus damage against debuffed foes, and [Relentless Pursuit] added +5% critical chance and +15% crit damage against those same foes.
Combined with the [Aura of Terror], which forced at least one round of Shaken debuff even on a successful save, it had all come together into a full [Fear Attack Build].
Charging into a crowd, he could maintain +60% melee damage, +50% damage strength, +5% crit chance, and +15% crit damage constantly. Add [Raging Fury], which boosted crits and attacks with every kill, and his [Doom Slayer] talent that let him absorb stats from every victim…
Yeah… even he felt like a chosen champion of Khorne now.
Goddammit.
Forget it. I'll deal with it later.
Raising his hammer, he pointed forward.
"KILL————!!!"
Meanwhile, in the Dreadnought's command room, chaos reigned.
"Damn it! Why so fast?!"
The commander slammed the console in fury, staring at the alarms flooding the screen. He had no idea his superiors considered the ship expendable. He believed instead that being entrusted with the Dreadnought meant his rise in rank. In his pig-headed logic, the human warship was about the same size—so their power should be comparable. The Cabal fleet had failed only because of insufficient firepower. With his Dreadnought, surely he could crush the humans and earn his Lord's favor!
Dreams were sweet. Reality was cruel.
"Report! Reactors One, Three, and Five have gone offline!"
"Weapon control has been seized!"
"Impossible! IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
The commander clenched his fists, face pale.
Their vaunted energy shields had collapsed under the enemy's first salvo, shredded like paper by green lances of energy. He thought the humans would then finish them off… but instead, they had used torpedo-like boarding pods to storm the ship!
Now the Dreadnought was paralyzed. That was the strength of Astartes boarding tactics. Normally, boarding was risky, vulnerable to desperate defense. But with these torpedoes inserting warriors across the vessel, and the superhuman might of the Astartes—or their counterparts, the [Night Watch]—they cut the ship apart from within, scattering defenders, overwhelming them piecemeal, and taking control section by section.
The Night Watch might not equal true Astartes, but they were far stronger than these pig-faced brutes.
"My Lord, we can't hold! Shall we self-destruct?"
"This…"
The commander froze. By rights, yes, the Dreadnought must not fall into enemy hands. With the ship crippled, capture was only a matter of time. His duty was clear: destroy it.
But… such responsibility…
He hesitated, staring at the key in his hand. That hesitation cost him.
BOOOOM!!!
The sealed command door exploded inward. A towering black-armored figure strode through, charging like a beast, hurling Cabal defenders aside in bloody ruin.
As mangled corpses crashed at his feet, the commander jolted into action, fumbling with the keycard, trying to trigger self-destruct.
But when his eyes met that black giant, a chill of terror seized him. His body locked up, his hand slackened, and the card slipped to the floor.
Before he could grab it, a heavy boot stamped down in front of him.
The next instant, his world spun.
The last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him was his own body, cleaved clean in half at the waist.
(End of Chapter)