When Duanmu Huai finished speaking, the outcome of the battle was already decided.
The Everchosen was dead—there was no longer any reason for the war to continue. The Chaos army, now leaderless, began retreating in a frenzy. The Allied Army, of course, would never let such an opportunity slip away. They surged forward, mercilessly striking down the fleeing enemy.
Though the Chaos forces tried to hold their lines, the Allied counterattack was overwhelming. Duanmu Huai, meanwhile, did not rest. He hunted down and personally executed the four Chaos Lords commanding the army. With their leaders slain, the Chaos army collapsed entirely. Their warships were destroyed, most of the daemons and northern tribesmen were slaughtered by the Allied Army, and the rest were driven into the freezing sea—where they became food for the fish.
And so, the Chaos invasion was completely crushed. Humanity could once again return to peaceful, happy lives…
But for Duanmu Huai, it wasn't over yet.
He sat now in the command chair aboard the flagship's tactical control room, gazing at the blue planet on the display before him while idly toying with the Webway Beacon in his hand.
Lines of system notifications appeared on the holographic screen.
[Special Quest: "Wrath of Judgment" Completed]
[Evaluation: Legendary]
[You have slain Archaon, the Everchosen, and his army. The power of Chaos has once again been diminished. Your name has spread across the world. All life will remember who crushed the evil bringer of apocalypse and brought forth a new dawn for existence.]
[Reward: 1x Random Golden Chest]
A golden chest, huh…
Duanmu Huai was pleased. A golden chest was a pretty damn good reward. Inside could be all sorts of things—weapons, armor, vehicles, starships, and more. And anything tagged with the word Legendary was guaranteed to be valuable.
Considering the quest's difficulty, the item level probably wouldn't be too high, but it was still a solid reward in his book.
Right now, though, another quest caught his attention—and gave him pause.
[Main Quest: "Apocalypse" – Final Stage]
[You have defeated the Everchosen and saved this world. Yet the power of Chaos still lingers. Your decision will determine the future fate of this planet.]
[A: End the quest and claim your reward.]
[B: Destroy the Chaos forces at both poles, end the quest, and claim your reward.]
[C: Consume the "Webway Beacon" to permanently seal the collapsed Warp Gates at the poles, completely severing the grip of Chaos. (Special Option)]
Which one should I choose…
Duanmu Huai frowned. It was obvious from the quest structure that there were originally only two choices—A and B. The sudden appearance of Option C could only mean that the system had detected he was carrying the Webway Beacon and generated a special choice accordingly.
Logically, a special choice meant a special reward. But… the Webway Beacon itself was an incredible item!
The Webway was the Old Ones' technology—the only safe method of traversing the Warp. Even the Old Ones hadn't installed nodes everywhere across the galaxy. If Duanmu Huai ever found a suitable planet with no active node, he could use the Beacon to establish a new Webway gate and connect it to the network.
In game terms, this was the kind of treasure that top guilds would kill each other for. Who wouldn't want a safe Webway gate right next to their home base? No more worrying about being ripped apart by the Warp during travel!
If he could sell this on the trading platform, Duanmu Huai would be financially free in minutes.
Unfortunately, he was the only player here… so there was no one to sell it to.
He'd even thought about bringing it to the Inquisition Library for analysis, but the scanners there couldn't decode it—too little data.
From the planet's perspective, though, sealing the damaged Warp Gates and cutting off Chaos's influence entirely was obviously the best choice. Duanmu Huai might have saved them once, but he couldn't be here forever. If Chaos invaded again, he might not be around to stop it. Losing a single playground wouldn't bother the Dark Gods anyway.
The only ones to suffer would be the local Chaos cultists—but that wasn't his problem.
In fact, he'd be quite happy if every last one of those bastards died.
Alright, let's take the gamble.
In the end, Duanmu Huai made his decision. He figured his luck was decent lately, and if you give up something good, you might get something better. The special option might yield an even greater reward. The Webway Beacon was a consumable item anyway—one use only. If he could trade it for powerful traits or rare equipment, it'd be worth it.
And if it happened to be a Primarch gene-seed from the Blood Angels, that'd be even better…
"Option C," he said aloud after taking a deep breath.
The Webway Beacon in his hand suddenly flared with light, splitting into two beams that shot out of the ship and streaked toward the planet's poles before vanishing.
Moments later, the dark clouds over the north and south began to disperse. The planet itself didn't change visibly, but it looked cleaner—brighter, as though some grey filter had been lifted from the world.
[Main Quest: "Apocalypse" Completed]
[Evaluation: Model of Loyalty!]
[You have saved this planet and freed it from the taint of Chaos. Your deeds have proven your devotion as an Inquisitor. What you have done will set this world upon a new path of destiny.]
[Random Reward: Primarch Gene Acquired – "Raven Guard"]
[You have obtained traits: "Silent Operation," "Night Assassination," and "Blessing of Shadows."]
[Silent Operation: Your steps make no sound. Your shadow merges with the dark. None shall see, none shall know. (+30% stealth effectiveness in darkness)]
[Night Assassination: The blade in the dark kills in one strike. None will ever know the source of death. (+200% critical damage on ambush; small chance of instant kill)]
[Blessing of Shadows: Your movements are ghostlike, your speed unmatched. (Gain +2 Agility for every 1 Agility point.)]
"Uh… not the Blood Angels, huh…"
Duanmu Huai sighed. The Raven Guard gene-seed was powerful—one of the top-tier Primarch lineages—but it was best suited for assassins. Duanmu Huai, a brawler through and through, wasn't exactly the stealthy type.
Still, Blessing of Shadows would at least patch up his mediocre agility. That was something.
As he grumbled to himself, another system notification appeared—one that made his eyes go wide.
[You have obtained Blueprint: Mega-Structure – Star Gate]
[Star Gate: An ancient interstellar network used for fast travel across the galaxy. It allows safe passage through the Warp to distant regions.]
"Holy shit!"
Duanmu Huai slammed his hand on the table and practically jumped out of his chair.
This was incredible. The system had exceeded his expectations again! He'd given up a single Webway Beacon—and in return, he'd gotten the technology to build an entire Webway network!
That was insane! Even in the game, no faction except the Old Ones themselves ever had access to such tech!
He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Trading one consumable for a priceless blueprint and technology—how could he possibly complain?
He might not need it right away, but having the ability to construct Star Gates meant that wherever he went in the future, he'd never be stranded.
Now that was a real prize!
Flushed with excitement, Duanmu Huai rubbed his hands together and opened the system menu. He decided that his next move would be to upload the blueprint to the Library, so the knowledge would be permanently his.
But since his luck was clearly on fire today… why not open the golden chest too?
Grinning, he accessed his inventory and tapped the Golden Chest icon.
The chest materialized before him, gleaming with radiance—then burst open.
[Player has obtained Special Trait: "Heart of the Blood Ravens."]
[Heart of the Blood Ravens: We walk among the stars, gathering the relics and wisdom of the ages. Knowledge is power. (Grants the ability to sense nearby special items or locations; may temporarily "borrow" items unnoticed; upgradable.)]
"Uh…"
Duanmu Huai stared blankly at the notification.
Seriously?
The Blood Ravens—a chapter shrouded in mystery. No one knew their true Primarch, nor where they came from. They had a notorious habit of collecting artifacts and knowledge wherever they went.
To players, their defining trait was simple: Blood Ravens never leave empty-handed.
Whenever they visited another chapter's fortress, the hosts would smile politely on the surface—but secretly, they'd lock up their reliquaries and vaults. Because once the Blood Ravens left, something was always missing.
There was even a running joke among players: before every battle, the Blood Ravens would sneak into the enemy's camp and quietly "borrow" all their ammunition and weapons—then use them against them. Exaggerated or not, their reputation as cosmic kleptomaniacs was legendary.
And now, that "joke" had become reality.
Still, this trait was undeniably useful. Duanmu Huai didn't usually steal—ahem, borrow—other people's belongings, but the ability to sense rare items and hidden locations was priceless. As a Soulwalker, he constantly explored ruins and searched for fragmented worlds. The Heart of the Blood Ravens ability was perfect for him—it would make locating relics infinitely easier.
Going over his spoils, Duanmu Huai couldn't help but laugh and pat his stomach in satisfaction.
"This haul was pure profit—absolutely worth it!"
(End of Chapter)