"The first squad will be under my command. Squads two and three will enter from the east and west sides and conduct a dispersed search."
After Duanmu Huai issued the order, the other two Night Raven Blackstars quickly flew off to either side, while he piloted the final one and landed directly above the base.
In many sci-fi horror movies, this kind of split-up routine was basically a death sentence, but Duanmu Huai was not afraid in the slightest. After all, the red text under his command—ahem, the Night Watchers—were already dead to begin with, and it wasn't possible for them to die a second time. Even if they were attacked, their souls would simply return to his Annihilation Domain.
So spreading out not only avoided the risk of total annihilation, it actually increased the chances of discovering the enemy. After all, only by knowing what kind of thing was here could Duanmu Huai decide on his next course of action, right?
He just hoped his ride wouldn't get blown up again this time.
Duanmu Huai silently applied a buff to himself, then opened the hatch.
"Whaaaaaa—!!!"
Torrential rain slammed straight into him, pounding against his helmet. Duanmu Huai looked down, then leapt without hesitation, jumping directly from the hovering Night Raven Blackstar in midair. His entire body crashed down into the completely sealed base below like a falling meteor!
Since the augur had already confirmed that the life signs were underground, why bother looking for an entrance? Just smash straight down and be done with it.
Anyway, it wasn't his property he was wrecking. No reason to feel bad about it.
Thus, Duanmu Huai transformed into a living meteor, smashing straight through the ceiling of the colonial base. He continued downward, with the steel corridors along the way utterly incapable of slowing him down. He plunged all the way to the very bottom layer of the colony base, slamming into the bedrock foundation!
"BOOM!!!"
Duanmu Huai landed on both feet, then straightened up and looked around. Then...…he couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
Standing before him were several strange beings locked in confrontation with one another.
One side had jet-black bodies, long, smooth, arched heads and tails, with no eyes. On the other side were humanoid creatures—tall in stature, wearing armor and masks. Their hair was styled into dreadlock-like braids. No matter how one looked at it, neither side was human!
And judging by the situation, they seemed to be fighting each other!
Duanmu Huai's sudden appearance caused both sides to freeze as well. When the black creatures saw him, they opened their mouths and let out a hissing roar. The aliens on the other side tightened their grip on their guns and spears, staring straight at Duanmu Huai.
Duanmu Huai didn't care in the slightest.
Since neither side was human, then they were xenos.
And since they were xenos, then of course they all had to be dealt with together!
"Die, you lowly xenos scum!"
Duanmu Huai roared and directly pulled out the warhammer from behind his back, smashing it down toward the ground with all his strength!
"BOOOOOOM!!!!!"
With that strike, a violent shockwave exploded outward. Both the aliens and the monsters were caught off guard and sent flying, smashing into the walls. The black creatures seemed to sense the killing intent radiating from Duanmu Huai; one of them opened its mouth and let out a piercing shriek, then leapt away, disappearing into the pitch-black tunnels at high speed together with its companions.
The aliens on the other side, however, weren't nearly as cowardly. Three alien warriors flipped to their feet and charged straight at Duanmu Huai!
"ROAR—!"
The leading warrior was the fastest. In just a few steps it rushed in front of Duanmu Huai, gripping its spear tightly and thrusting it straight toward him. Duanmu Huai couldn't be bothered with it. He casually swung his warhammer backhanded, and the howling hammer flew up from the ground and smashed heavily into the warrior's body, spinning it half a circle before slamming it into the wall. With a loud bang, the alien warrior was casually smashed into a pile of bloody pulp.
But before Duanmu Huai could even lower his arm, the second alien warrior rushed in as well. It raised its right hand, and a razor-sharp claw-like short blade sprang out, stabbing straight toward Duanmu Huai's neck.
With skills like that, you dare show off?
Duanmu Huai didn't even spare the alien a second glance. He reached out with one hand and grabbed the alien by the head, slamming it hard into the nearby wall. In the next instant, the alien's head was crushed outright. Duanmu Huai flung the headless corpse aside and turned his gaze to the last remaining warrior.
This one, however, didn't charge as Duanmu Huai expected. It stared at him, stepped back a few paces, and then its body suddenly turned transparent before vanishing completely from view!
Oh? Cloaking? Interesting—but does it actually help?
Seeing the alien disappear before his eyes, Duanmu Huai was momentarily surprised. Then a cold sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. He clenched his fists and let out a thunderous roar!
"Die!!!"
As Duanmu Huai roared, a terrifying psychic radiance filled with death and annihilation burst outward in an instant. Before his shout had even finished echoing, a dull thump sounded in the distance. A figure abruptly appeared out of thin air, crashing heavily to the ground. After struggling for a few moments, it went completely still.
"Hmph."
Duanmu Huai snorted coldly. He walked over and stopped beside the alien warrior's corpse, then reached out and ripped off its helmet.
Beneath it was a savage, cruel face—no nose, and a mouth shaped like an insect's mandibles.
Yeah. Definitely not human.
To be safe, Duanmu Huai also scanned its skull...…alright, definitely not human.
Then it was xenos.
And since it was xenos, there was no need for mercy. Killing them all was enough.
From what he could tell so far, those black xeno monsters seemed to be nothing more than biological aliens. At the very least, Duanmu Huai hadn't seen anything resembling Tyranid-like abilities from them. As for these armored xenos, the fact that they possessed mass-produced weapons suggested that they were likely an interstellar civilization. Which meant...…the ones who destroyed Dardaniel's ship earlier were probably them?
If that was the case, then they weren't native to this planet, but an alien civilization.
Still...…this alien civilization felt way too low-tech.
Duanmu Huai looked over the equipment on these alien xenos. Most of it was melee weapons. Only that shoulder-mounted, laser-cannon-like device counted as somewhat advanced. Judging by this, the civilization probably wasn't all that developed—though it was still better than those useless Tau wimps.
No matter what, kill them all first!
Duanmu Huai decisively issued orders to the others. The races and names of these two xeno species were still unknown, but that didn't matter. They weren't human or demi-human. Any other xenos just needed to be exterminated, at most leaving behind a code designation.
They could just be called Xenos No. 1 and Xenos No. 2.
Thinking this, Duanmu Huai took out the augur again. Sure enough, the life signals on it were now moving. Clearly, whether monsters or xenos, they had all noticed the presence of a third party. As for how they planned to respond, Duanmu Huai didn't care. After all, for the Inquisition, there was only one thing left to do.
Find the cause, and purge it completely!
With that thought, Duanmu Huai tightened his grip on the warhammer and strode boldly into the depths.
The corridor wasn't particularly narrow, but perhaps because of the oppressive darkness, the surroundings felt stifling. Holding the warhammer, Duanmu Huai marched forward, his heavy footsteps echoing with dull thuds. At the same time, he glanced around, and as he did, dazzling beams of light shone out from the sides of his helmet, illuminating the previously dark passageway.
"—————"
Just as Duanmu Huai rounded a corner, a black shadow silently crawled out from a ventilation duct behind him. The shadow clung to the ceiling like a gecko, creeping along until it was directly behind Duanmu Huai. It fixed its gaze on the massive figure ahead, then leapt—!
At the instant the shadow jumped down, Duanmu Huai spun around and swung his hammer in a wide arc, smashing it straight into the shadow's head and slamming it to the ground. Thick green blood splattered everywhere, spraying across the steel walls and floor. Wherever the blood touched, the metal immediately began to melt, and in just moments, large sections of steel had been corroded away.
"Oh ho, so it even has this kind of ability."
Seeing this, Duanmu Huai frowned slightly, but didn't take it too seriously. Although the xeno's blood seemed to possess an acid-like ability capable of dissolving steel, it wasn't much of a threat to an Inquisitor's power armor—well, wearing a helmet helped too.
After all, if it sprayed all over his face, that would basically mean disfigurement.
This was one of the reasons Duanmu Huai always wore his helmet no matter where he went. At the very least, it helped prevent a lot of unnecessary injuries during combat.
Although some players claimed that a real man should go to battle without a helmet, those people usually died the fastest.
"Hiss—————!"
At that moment, several more black xenos poured in from all directions, completely surrounding Duanmu Huai. Even though they were shrouded by his terror aura, they still radiated the savage ferocity unique to wild beasts.
Hmm...…in that sense, they're not that different from the Tyranids.
Feeling the killing intent surging in from all sides, Duanmu Huai sneered and tightened his grip on the warhammer. It reminded him of the wars against the Tyranids in the game—back then, they also charged at him in massive waves, hell-bent on tearing him apart no matter the cost...…now that I look closely, these things do resemble Genestealers a bit.
"Hiss—————"
As Duanmu Huai was thinking, the enemy seemed to sense the brief moment of distraction. With a low growl, several black xenos leapt simultaneously, charging toward Duanmu Huai from all directions!
"RAAAAAAH!!!"
Facing the black xenos pouncing at him, Duanmu Huai had no intention of holding back. He roared, clenched his warhammer, and swung it in a full arc, transforming himself into a whirling storm that surged forward!
"BANG BANG BANG!!!"
The spinning massive hammer roared through the air, smashing all the black xenos that lunged at him and sending them flying. Before Duanmu Huai's thunder hammer, these black xenos were as fragile as matchboxes. One after another, they screamed as they were flung into the walls, their bodies bursting apart like insects, organs and dark green blood spraying everywhere. The acidic blood corroded the floor, leaving smoking holes one after another.
"Hiss—————!"
Yet this still didn't stop the black xenos. One of them quietly slipped past Duanmu Huai's notice. With a low snarl, its tail suddenly shot out like a spear, stabbing straight toward Duanmu Huai's chest!
"Clang!"
However, the moment that weapon-like tail struck Duanmu Huai's chest, it only produced a crisp metallic sound, sliding harmlessly across the surface. Realizing things were going badly, the black xeno turned to flee, but Duanmu Huai—now with a free hand—reached out and grabbed its tail. With a violent swing, he smashed it into the nearby wall. The black xeno flailed desperately, trying to escape, but in the next instant it was crushed into pulp by a thunder-crackling hammer.
"Hmph...…"
As the last black xeno was killed, Duanmu Huai withdrew his warhammer and turned to look to the side. Under his gaze, an armored, helmeted alien warrior slowly approached. Both hands gripped its spear tightly, its footsteps heavy and steady—clearly a battle-hardened veteran.
Oh? You still dare to come up and seek death?
Duanmu Huai clenched his fists and turned to face the alien xeno. The alien warrior's speed increased rapidly. Finally, it roared and hurled its spear straight at Duanmu Huai with all its strength!
"Whoosh!"
The steel spear was incredibly fast, but Duanmu Huai was no easy target. He merely raised his arm and flicked it aside, knocking the spear away. At the same time, the alien warrior seized the chance to close the distance. The claw-shaped blades in its hands snapped out, one high and one low, stabbing toward Duanmu Huai's chest and neck!
"Useless!"
Before the alien could succeed, Duanmu Huai's iron fist was already right in front of it!
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!"
A storm of iron fists crashed forward, completely engulfing the alien warrior. Under Duanmu Huai's relentless blows, the alien's armor and helmet shattered piece by piece, and its entire body was beaten into massive crater-like dents, as if struck by meteor impacts.
"ORA—————!!"
With the final blow, the alien warrior was sent flying and crashed to the ground.
"Hmph, that's all you've got."
Duanmu Huai dusted off his hands and cast a cold glance at the alien's corpse, then looked away...…wait, what was that?
Only then did Duanmu Huai notice that on the alien warrior's wrist was a long bracer-like device. At that moment, it was emitting a beep… beep… sound, and the bright red characters displayed on it were slowly disappearing.
"Wait...…holy shit?!"
At the same instant Duanmu Huai shouted, a blinding white light erupted, swallowing everything around him.
(End of chapter)