The one holding the Force Gun was naturally one of the so-called "high-ranking members" mentioned by the Unitologists.
But despite being called high-ranking, this guy was merely a Deacon within the Unified Church, at most a mid-level official, and one who was quite marginalized within the church at that.
Otherwise, how could he have been left in such a godforsaken place like Aegis VII?
Seeing that the charged attack of the Force Gun had only polished the surface of the strange black metal machine before him, the Deacon gave a bitter smile and tossed his weapon aside in a gesture of surrender.
Compared to those Unitologists who screamed "monster" the moment they saw Trazyn and the Necron Constructs, this Deacon appeared relatively calm.
However, rather than being calm, it was more like a resigned, "nothing left to lose" attitude.
Before the unknown metal monster in front of him, he had no power to resist.
"What on earth are you?"
Leaning against the wall and half-sitting on the floor, the Deacon couldn't help but ask.
"CEC? Or a war machine created by the EGCA?"
The former is a corporate giant that often creates high-tech products, while the latter is a government power that also possesses quite a few secret weapons.
Trazyn, holding his Empathic Obliterator, stepped out from behind the Canoptek Spiders.
"To be regarded as a creation of you humans truly makes me feel that my dignity has been insulted."
Although Trazyn's tone was flat, the Unified Church Deacon felt a sense of overwhelming superiority.
"Aliens?"
The Deacon looked at Trazyn and the Technician, two metal skeletons that clearly possessed humanoid forms and high intelligence, and felt somewhat surprised.
The world of "Dead Space" is not as crowded as the "Warhammer" world, where all kinds of bizarre races are gathered in a tiny Milky Way, fighting each other for pitiful territory and resources.
Although humans here have entered the interstellar age and possess faster-than-light travel technology, they have yet to discover any other living, highly intelligent alien civilizations.
They have, however, discovered quite a few ancient alien ruins.
Trazyn didn't respond; he simply released a Mind-Trap Scarab, turning the Deacon into his puppet.
Now, everyone within the entire base had their minds controlled by Trazyn.
In exchange, the Mind-Trap Scarabs that Trazyn hadn't brought many of to begin with were nearly half depleted.
This was actually somewhat wasteful; Trazyn didn't originally need to control so many people.
But given the special circumstances, he couldn't worry about such minor waste.
Bypassing the Deacon, Trazyn extended a metal finger and connected to the base's network.
A torrent of data surged into Trazyn's metallic head; the Mind Matrix rapidly digested it, and the Memory Core arranged it neatly for easy reference.
Trazyn learned a great deal about the history of human civilization in Dead Space.
There was also some public information regarding the Concordance Extraction Corporation (CEC), the Earth Government Colonial Alliance (EGCA), and the Unified Church.
And most importantly, data related to the god seal.
If Trazyn had some doubts before and wasn't entirely certain he was in a brand-new universe...
Then now, after personally browsing so much authentic data, Trazyn was absolutely certain of it.
In that moment, Trazyn thought about many, many things.
About his own future, the future of the Necrons, and so on and so forth—
Ultimately, Trazyn withdrew his finger without saying much more.
Beside him, the Technician also wanted to collect data, but restricted by the Mind-Trap Scarab, he could only look toward Trazyn.
The latter had no intention of stopping him, so the Technician also learned everything.
Unlike Trazyn's relative calmness, the Technician appeared incredibly excited.
What is the most important thing for a race?
It is nothing more than more territory—living space.
The development of a civilization requires resources; more territory means more resources, which in turn leads to faster development.
Even for a dead race like the Necrons, territory was equally important.
The Technician was certainly not someone who cared about the Necrons as a whole; he was thinking that if he could control this new universe without higher species, wouldn't he become its ruler, or even a god!?
However, the Mind-Trap Scarab on his chest reminded the Technician that he was currently nothing more than Trazyn's prisoner.
"Now, tell me more about the god seal."
Trazyn looked at the Deacon he controlled.
The base's data did not contain more detailed information about the god seal, so Trazyn had to use more inefficient methods to learn more.
The Technician nearby naturally prepared to listen in, but Trazyn immediately threw him into the tesseract labyrinth.
Although Trazyn usually seemed somewhat eccentric, he was, after all, one of the Overlords who had been awake the longest; he saw through the Technician's little schemes perfectly clearly.
If not for the special circumstances and his current lack of manpower, Trazyn would have frozen this guy in a Stasis Field long ago.
The mind-controlled Deacon just stared blankly at Trazyn's actions until the latter gestured again, at which point he slowly began to speak.
He recounted all the information he knew about the god seal.
While Trazyn was busy absorbing data about the Dead Space world in the base,
In the orbit above Aegis VII, a small spaceship suddenly appeared following a flash of white light.
Inside sat the five people assigned to this mission: Isaac, Hammond, Daniels, Ada Wong, and Leon.
Along with Marcus, who was responsible for bringing everyone and the ship here.
"Given Trazyn's personality, there is a high probability he will not directly interfere with the development of humanity in this world."
Before leaving, Marcus instructed:
"After I leave, you will have to rely on yourselves to remain hidden in this world. Remember, your lives are more important than the mission itself."
—
With that, the white light flashed again, and Marcus's figure vanished.
Daniels skillfully took the pilot's seat and looked at the mission leader, Isaac.
"What do we do now?"
"First, we go to Titan Station."
Isaac looked at a star map projected from the rig terminal on his wrist.
Although he had been away from this world for nearly ten years, Isaac knew this star map would definitely still be useful.
He looked down at Aegis VII.
"Aegis VII, we will be back."
Daniels activated the ship's Shockpoint Engine. As the scenery around the ship began to distort, the small vessel entered faster-than-light travel, heading straight for the distant Titan Station.
"It will take at least two days to reach the station."
Daniels glanced at the navigation chart and said.
"I wonder if Isaac and the others can complete the mission."
Marcus muttered softly after returning to Avarax.
"Forget it, they'll have to rely on themselves anyway."
Thinking this, Marcus temporarily stopped worrying about the future development of the "Dead Space" world.
He had more important matters at hand.
Specifically, the Tomb World he had recently conquered, Nelvokov.
Back in his office, he opened his rig terminal and contacted Dr. Kyne, who was far away on Nelvokov conducting research.
This fellow was from the Ishimura, a former Unitologist, and could be considered a veteran of the Universal Union.
He was originally in charge of research on the Cadou Mold, but later handed over the research tasks entirely to Miranda and went off to tinker with other things.
Now, Dr. Kyne was responsible for studying the blackstone materials on Nelvokov, trying to find a way to use blackstone to suppress the Warp.
"A pity. The Necrons are the experts in this field, but none of those metal skeletons think anything of humanity, let alone take the initiative to leak such technology."
Shaking his head, Marcus looked at the screen. Once the connection was established, Dr. Kyne's face appeared.
"I received a report. You have something to report to me personally?"
Marcus spoke first.
Dr. Kyne on the screen nodded.
"Yes. Although it's still an unconfirmed speculation, I believe you need to know."
As he spoke, Dr. Kyne displayed an image.
It was a star map of the system where Nelvokov was located.
"There are three planets in this system. Besides Nelvokov, one is an ocean planet and the other is a barren planet."
The screen displayed information on the three planets, including Nelvokov.
Looking at the screen, Marcus gave an "mm-hm," signaling the other to continue.
"Originally, the Expedition Fleet focused its attention on Nelvokov and ignored the other two planets."
"But recently, our exploration teams discovered that beneath the surfaces of these two planets, a large amount of blackstone minerals are also buried."
At this point, Dr. Kyne displayed many more pictures.
Beneath the deep ocean trenches of the ocean planet and the yellow sands of the barren planet, massive blackstone deposits were arranged in a specific array, slumbering for a full sixty million years.
"The strange thing is, our exploration forces didn't find any Necrons on these two planets. Even with the most sophisticated instruments, we didn't scan any Tomb World Ruins hidden in a Pocket Dimension."
"So, I suspect that the purpose of these two planets is to work with Nelvokov to form a giant Blackstone Array within the system. It's just that I'm not yet sure what the purpose of this Blackstone Array is."
After finishing his speculation, Dr. Kyne looked at Marcus, wanting to see if the latter had any special insights.
"What else could it be? Suppressing the Warp, of course."
Marcus, who understood the Necrons, blurted out.
During the War in Heaven, the Necrons and the C'tan arranged many Blackstone Arrays throughout the galaxy to suppress the Warp powers of the Old Ones and their allies, until reality completely overwhelmed the tides of the Warp.
And when the War in Heaven ended, not every planet with a Blackstone Array would become a Tomb World where Necrons slumbered.
He just didn't know exactly how large an area of Warp power the giant Blackstone Array in Nelvokov's system suppressed.
After a moment of thought, Marcus asked.
"After all this time, have we excavated enough blackstone material for research?"
"Yes. To be safe, we've excavated one hundred and twenty percent of the pre-estimated amount."
"Then stop the excavation for now, to avoid excessively damaging the stability of the Blackstone Array."
Marcus made the decision.
"I will send more manpower to garrison that system. Try to see if you can research its specific function without damaging the integrity of the Blackstone Array."
"Yes, sir!"
After Dr. Kyne cut the communication, Marcus rubbed his head.
For some reason, he linked Trazyn and Nelvokov together.
"Hmm, maybe that guy didn't necessarily come to the Sabbath Star Cluster solely for the Universal Union?"
He thought to himself, but in the end, due to a severe lack of intelligence, Marcus still couldn't find the connection between the two.
"Lately, things have been piling up one after another."
Looking at the sky outside, Marcus couldn't help but say.
"That's normal."
Alexia, who had just walked in, picked up the conversation.
"As our controlled territory continues to expand, we will always come into contact with more races and factions of this world."
She piled a thick stack of documents on the desk.
"What, do you want to be a hands-off boss again?"
"I'd like to, but I don't have the chance."
Even for the Universal Union, which now had its own self-sustaining operational system, Marcus's presence was still very important, serving as a safety net.
Difficult uninvited guests like Trazyn could only be dealt with by Marcus, and it even cost them a world.
Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the thick stack of documents in front of him.
"What are these?"
"It's a summary of the recent situation in the world codenamed 'Alien vs. Predator',"
Alexia said.
"This is already the streamlined version after my review."
"Thanks for the hard work."
Saying so, Marcus opened the first document.
The content was about the research progress on controlling Xenomorphs.
According to the report, Wesker and those Tech-Priests had already found a way to control Xenomorphs. Marcus didn't really care about the technical details; he only needed to know that the Universal Union now had another troop type specializing in stealth and assassination.
After mentally crediting Wesker for the achievement, Marcus opened the next document.
It was about the recruitment work for the Charcarodon Chapter.
The previous battle-royale-style recruitment had been conducted ten more times, with people standing out each time. The Space Sharks had also recruited about a hundred new recruits, who were slowly undergoing Space Marine transformation surgeries and superhuman organ implantations.
"I wonder how long it will take to fully restore the Charcarodon Chapter's strength."
77
Shaking his head, he put down the document.
Although the Space Sharks had been allowed to rest and reorganize in the Vegast System for a long time and were no longer engaged in high-intensity warfare, the training of Space Marine recruits could not be achieved overnight.
For the Charcarodon Chapter to return to its thousand-man strength, it would take at least another twenty or thirty years.
At their peak, the Space Sharks were an existence capable of changing the course of a Space Marine civil war.
The third and final document.
It was about the Predators.
"Well, it seems it's also time for these Predators to understand the situation and become a part of the Universal Union."
The Predator Civilization is divided into many Tribes.
Each Tribe is extremely independent, similar to the concept of a "nation."
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Nominally, there is no hierarchy of status between Tribes, but the disparity in military strength and overall power among them is an objective reality.
Not long ago, the lone Tribe, which was completely defeated by the Universal Union, was a relatively powerful Tribe.
While its strength wasn't top-tier, it wasn't weak either.
At the very least, other Predator Tribes wouldn't have been able to reduce the lone Tribe to its current state.
It was precisely for this reason that when the other Tribes first saw the Elder of the lone Tribe, who had been deliberately allowed to escape by the Universal Union, they found it unbelievable.
Predators have dominated this universe for too long, and it has been tens of thousands of years since an opponent capable of nearly annihilating an entire Tribe appeared.
This was a serious, Tribe-extinction-level crisis. Soon, this news spread and reached the leaders of every Tribe.
The relationships between the various Predator Tribes are complex. Some Tribes are irreconcilable enemies, some are staunch allies, but most are mere acquaintances.
Although the lone Tribe was a group that interacted relatively little with other Tribes, its considerable size meant that this news still garnered the attention of all Tribe leaders.
On the distant Predator homeworld, a meeting of unprecedented scale was organized.
After lengthy discussions and heated debates, most Tribes were divided into two factions.
One faction, friendly with the lone Tribe, believed that all Tribes should unite their strength to continue fighting the new force called the "Alliance." This would be both an act of revenge and a way to secure the Predator's Overlord status.
Other Tribes advocated for peaceful negotiations. After all, even based on existing information, the Universal Union's strength was not to be underestimated, and rashly starting a war would only result in mutual destruction and unnecessary casualties.
Furthermore, not all Tribes cared about the fate of the lone Tribe, let alone genuinely committing to revenge.
The remaining small number of Tribes maintained a neutral stance.
"We must prepare for war! Those guys are definitely not a peaceful race!"
At the meeting, the surviving Elder of the lone Tribe said bitterly.
Recalling the scene of those Gray-Armored Giants boarding the warships, rampaging, and slaughtering Predators, even this battle-hardened Elder felt fear.
"You, who fled in disarray, are not qualified to command us."
Some Tribe leaders who didn't have a good relationship with the lone Tribe sneered.
Although large-scale wars rarely broke out between the various Predator Tribes, minor skirmishes did occasionally occur.
These frictions mostly concerned the ownership of "Hunting Planets."
Clearly, prime hunting grounds like Earth were seized by the lone Tribe from other Tribes using various means.
"You!"
The Elder, who had been singled out and ridiculed, stood up, about to erupt in anger, but remembering that his own Tribe had been annihilated, he lost the confidence to retort and could only sit back down.
At this moment, the leader of the Jungle Hunter Tribe stepped forward.
"Enough! This is no time for internal disputes! Don't forget how those arrogant bugs were overthrown by us!"
The other Tribe leaders and Elders fell silent. The Predators, who were once a slave race, managed to rise up by seizing the opportunity when their masters engaged in internal strife.
The Jungle Tribe's size and strength surpassed that of the lone Tribe, making it among the most formidable of all Tribes.
And this leader was a neutral party.
The leader of the Jungle Tribe looked at the Tribes advocating for peace talks.
"Since you wish to speak with the other party, then prepare quickly and depart immediately. During this time, no Tribe will hinder you."
Then, he looked at the Tribes advocating for war.
"As for you, you can also prepare for war in advance. If negotiations fail, then you will be the first to engage, and the other Tribes must join the war afterward."
This rather compromising plan also received approval from several other major Tribes.
The remaining small and medium-sized Tribes had no complaints.
Soon, a small fleet sailed towards the Sol System.
It carried the Predators willing to engage in peace talks with the Universal Union.
These spacecraft were equipped with the Predators' most advanced signal transmission devices. If the signal transmitted back to the homeworld was incorrect, the Predators would deem the peace talks to have failed and immediately organize a large army for war.
At the edge of the Sol System, the Universal Union had already established more surveillance outposts.
Each surveillance outpost could monitor a large spherical area centered on itself in real-time, and any disturbance would immediately trigger an alert.
As soon as the Predator peace talk fleet exited hyperspace and entered the Sol System, it was instantly detected and locked onto.
This news was naturally immediately transmitted back to Earth.
In orbit, within the Alliance Fleet.
Commander Dugaer gazed at the star map before him.
His deputy reported beside him.
"The fleet we observed is very small and has not launched any attacks on our surveillance outposts. It is merely approaching Earth at a steady speed.
It seems our plan has worked."
Either the Predators in this fleet are all insane, intending to launch a suicide attack, but that probability is very low.
More likely, this fleet has come to negotiate.
"Regardless, put the fleet on standby for battle."
Dugaer ordered.
He was a soldier, not a diplomat at the negotiation table. He only needed to consider one thing: how to ensure that if a fight broke out, their side's losses would be minimized as much as possible.
"Yes, sir!"
Under the watchful eyes of the Alliance Fleet, this small fleet, consisting of seven or eight Predator warships, began to decelerate between Mars and Jupiter, then slowly docked in Mars orbit.
Even though there had been no formal communication yet, both sides knew that negotiations could not take place in Earth's orbit.
After all, the Universal Union couldn't be sure whether these Predator warships carried any instantaneous, large-scale ground-killing weapons.
This was also a way for the Predators to show their sincerity, indicating that they had no malicious intent.
Although it was their first formal interaction, it was clear that neither the Universal Union nor the Predators cared for the elaborate formalities and rituals.
After briefly confirming the meeting location via communication—on an Alliance space carrier—
The two sides soon met formally.
Strictly speaking, if the Warhammer world were excluded, Predators would be the third alien civilization the Universal Union had encountered.
The first two were the Navi from the Avatar world and the Precursors from the Pacific Rim world.
As soon as they boarded the space carrier prepared by the Universal Union, the Predators felt something was strange.
Because they saw a large number of humans here.
In the eyes of the Predators, humans on Earth were merely weak, low-level creatures.
Although their development speed had been rapid in recent centuries, due to their division into many nations and constant internal strife, they might not even be able to leave their own home planet.
Before this, the Predators of the Lone Clan had only encountered the Space Sharks who boarded their ship, and hadn't connected the Gray-Armored Giants, who could easily crush them, with humans.
"Please follow me."
Alliance diplomats stepped forward to lead the Predator delegation.
In fact, Predators could understand human language with the aid of translation devices, and some skilled Predators could even speak it.
The one leading the delegation this time was a Predator Elder quite familiar with humans, hailing from a large Tribe that advocated for peaceful negotiations with the Universal Union.
Sitting down in the pre-prepared room, the formal negotiations between the two sides began.
Predators only appeared savage; their actual level of intelligence was not low.
This peace negotiation wasn't particularly difficult for the Universal Union.
There was no fundamental conflict between the Universal Union and the Predators.
Moreover, the Universal Union could leverage the diverse array of enemy species from the Warhammer World to perfectly cater to the Predators' innate love for hunting.
As for the Predators, Earth had previously been the hunting ground of the Lone Clan anyway. Now that the Lone Clan had been exterminated, other Tribes naturally wouldn't care about a small planet like Earth.
Often, as long as both sides spoke plainly, avoided convoluted talk, and listed their conditions one by one, reaching a cooperative agreement wasn't a difficult matter.
The universe was vast enough for two interstellar civilizations to develop side by side.
Not to mention, the Universal Union had plenty of worlds awaiting development.
"The negotiations are proceeding very smoothly. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll soon have a new alien ally."
Alex, in charge of this negotiation, reported to Marcus, who had just arrived in this world.
"But we still speculate that within the Predators, there are not only peace factions; the proportion of war factions must also be significant."
"It doesn't matter. The vast majority of Predator Tribes won't erupt into civil war over this, except for those Tribes composed of 'Bad Blood'."
Predators who made mistakes, violated tribal laws—such as actively harming their own kind—would be exiled by their Tribe and labeled 'Bad Blood'.
Some 'Bad Blood' would actively gather to form Bad Blood Tribes, unrecognized by other Tribes, dedicated to hunting other Predators.
Only such fanatics would actively sabotage this peace talk beneficial to both sides.
"Then we————?"
"Strengthen the defensive forces in the Sol System. Also, if necessary, we can take these Predators to other worlds, let them witness the Universal Union's depth and foundation."
At this point, Marcus paused slightly.
"To show sincerity, we can gift them some special species captured in the Warhammer World, such as Ork Boyz and Tyranid Warriors."
Nothing attracted Predators more than powerful prey.
And Orks and Tyranids would definitely not disappoint the Predators.
"Elder, are we conceding too much?"
During a break in the negotiations, a Predator couldn't help but ask the leading Elder on the secret communication channel.
The latter's insect-like head showed no expression as he calmly replied.
"Because of the Lone Clan's defeat, we currently lack the capital to bargain."
One very straightforward point was that the various Predator Tribes still knew very little about the Universal Union.
the Universal Union, however, could glean considerable information about the Predators from the salvaged Predator warships, such as the spheres of influence of other Tribes, even the location of their homeworld.
This was also one of the reasons this Elder and his Tribe chose to negotiate for peace.
In wars between interstellar civilizations, the side that understood more about the other held the initiative, thereby gaining a significant advantage.
"Moreover, look at that giant portal outside. An Alliance possessing such technology... their strength is undoubtedly superior to ours."
During the earlier negotiations, this Elder had felt that he was being manipulated by the Universal Union, constrained at every turn.
"But this only makes us appear too weak."
The Predators were a proud species; they would never bow and scrape to an enemy.
the Universal Union, of course, knew this. Therefore, during the negotiations, they didn't relentlessly push the other side to the extreme, maintaining a balance of tension and relaxation.
Furthermore, following Marcus's orders, several cages constructed from ultra-high-strength alloy were soon wheeled into the room.
Inside the cages were two Ork Boyz, a Tyranid Warrior wielding a bone sword, a Tyranid Warrior wielding a symbiotic whip, and a pureblood Genestealer.
The Ork's brawny physique was constantly slamming against the cage, producing violent sounds.
The other few Tyranid Warriors were more peculiar. Having arrived in another world, these low-level node organisms had severed their connection to the Hive Mind, regaining complete freedom. Consequently, they were now less bloodthirsty and frenzied.
"These are some specialties our Alliance has brought, presented here to our future allies."
Alex stepped forward and lifted the curtain.
Alliance personnel, of course, were accustomed to Orks and Tyranids, but the Predators in the room widened their eyes slightly.
Even with their vast hunting experience, they had never seen these two types of creatures.
Just by appearance alone, these creatures were extremely lethal, perfect, high-quality prey.
Even aliens couldn't compare.
For Predators, high-quality prey could quickly capture their full attention, with few exceptions.
Even though they were at the negotiation table, many Predators began rubbing their hands and clenching their fists, their insect-like mandibles trembling—a sign of preparing for battle.
"Thud!"
The leading Elder struck a metal staff against the floor, producing a dull sound that jolted the Predators who had lost sight of their current situation.
"On behalf of my Tribe, I accept this gift."
The Elder, unprecedentedly, shook the hand Alex had extended in advance.
"The plan succeeded."
Witnessing this scene, Alex thought to herself about how to proceed further.
While pondering, Alex also began giving the Predators a brief introduction to the Orks and Tyranids.
Their various, utterly outrageous characteristics made the Predators feel somewhat incredulous.
This only made them itch to hunt even more.
Alex seized the opportunity and made a suggestion.
"How about we hold a hunting ritual right here?"
Predators generally have three methods of hunting.
The most common is flying a spaceship across the universe to find rare and ferocious beasts.
The second is selecting a planet like Earth to occasionally hunt the humans on it, or using humans as hosts to hatch Aliens for the hunt.
The rarest and most solemn method is to directly terraform an entire planet's environment to make it suitable for various species, then drop a large number of prey inside, creating an artificial hunting planet.
The Predators then throw themselves into the hunting planet, much like a battle royale, to perform the hunting ritual.
Predators who survive and kill enough prey can directly become Elite Hunters or reach even higher ranks.
Hearing Alex's suggestion, the Predator Elder's already small eyes narrowed slightly.
It seemed these people from the Universal Union understood Predator society very well.
After thinking for a moment, the Elder agreed to the proposal.
This could also be considered a way to buy time; if an accident occurred and the peace talks failed, those warmongering Predator Tribes could mobilize more troops.
Even the faction advocating for peace wouldn't place all their hopes on the negotiation table; this was a necessary backup plan.
Additionally, the Elder wanted to use this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the Universal Union.
"As you wish."
Alex reached out her hand again and shook hands with the Predator Elder.
The venue for the hunting ritual was not set on Earth.
Instead, Mars was chosen.
Several months had passed since the Universal Union arrived in the "Alien vs. Predator" world, which was enough time for the Universal Union to build an Eco-dome on the surface of Mars.
The supporting residential facilities weren't fully completed yet, but this actually made it more convenient for holding the hunting ritual.
This Eco-dome covered an area of over a hundred thousand square kilometers, including forests, lakes, grasslands, and some partially built cities.
While it couldn't compare to a proper hunting planet created by the Predators, it was sufficient for the ritual.
On a newly constructed orbital platform above Mars.
Small and medium-sized transport planes took off continuously, their cargo bays filled with dangerous creatures captured by the Universal Union in the Warhammer World.
Besides Orks and Tyranids, there were also Hrud, who could manipulate the time of objects, causing people to age rapidly or regress to infancy.
These Hrud were a small cluster found by the Universal Union in an asteroid belt within the Sabbath Star Cluster. Their numbers weren't large, only a few dozen, and seven or eight of them were deployed into the Eco-dome by the Universal Union.
Although the Hrud possessed intelligence, their thinking and behavior patterns differed greatly from conventional sapient species.
When they were first captured, Alliance researchers tried to communicate with them, but it ultimately ended in failure.
Later, the Universal Union used the Hrud as research material to see if they could develop Entropic Weapons, though there had been no progress so far.
In addition, the Eco-dome contained some Primal Zerg, along with biochemical monsters bred using biotechnology, such as Lickers, Aliens, and T103 Tyrants.
It could be said that it was "teeming with talent."
Nearby, the Predators watched as prey they had never seen before were sent to the surface, the hunting desire etched deep in their genes already burning fiercely.
Summoned by the Elder, many Predators in the fleet responded, hoping to join this hunting ritual to demonstrate their strength to the Universal Union.
Alex naturally had no objection, as the Eco-dome was large enough.
Furthermore, more Predators joining the ritual meant the Universal Union could collect more combat data.
Of course, the Elder did not allow all Predators to participate in the ritual.
After all, someone still had to guard and operate their own ships, so in the end, the Elder hand-picked only thirty Predators.
For these thirty chosen Predators, this was a great honor.
A small Predator ship docked at the orbital platform's port, delivering a series of weapons and equipment needed for the hunt.
From basic retractable, corrosion-resistant alloy boomerangs to spears and blades used in close-quarters combat, or whips.
As well as higher-tech Plasma shoulder cannons and net guns that could fire self-retracting nets to slice prey into pieces—
The Predator equipment looked quite primitive, which was due to several factors.
For one, the Predators hadn't had a war with another race of equal strength for a very long time, so their technological equipment had naturally stagnated.
Secondly, due to the deeply rooted hunting culture and influence of their race, the Predators preferred close-quarters melee combat.
Rather than turning an enemy to ash with a single shot from a Plasma shoulder cannon, Predators preferred to enjoy the feeling of the kill in intense close combat.
"It will still take some time to finish setting up the venue."
Alex said to the Elder.
"During this time, you can sightsee and browse most areas of the orbital platform."
Now it was the Elder's turn to be a bit surprised.
He hadn't expected the Universal Union to give "outsiders" like them such free movement privileges.
Weren't they afraid he would take the opportunity to steal critical information?
The Elder naturally didn't know that within the database of this orbital platform was a sub-program of MOSS, the artificial intelligence from the "Wandering Earth" world; the Predators, who were not skilled in data intrusion, could never get any critical information from it.
Moreover, looking at the current situation, the Predators would soon become members of the Universal Union, so there was no longer a need to keep many things secret.
The Elder nodded and, without being polite, led a group of Predators into the orbital platform.
After a period of preparation, the hunting ritual site in the Eco-dome was ready.
The thirty Predators selected by the Elder boarded single-person orbital drop pods and began their descent toward the Eco-dome.
Before this, the Elder had specifically stated that the life and death of all Predators participating in the hunting ritual depended entirely on themselves; even if they died at the hands of the prey, they would not blame the Universal Union.
Each Predator needed to hunt at least ten prey and obtain their complete skulls.
The more prey hunted, the stronger the Predator was considered; the best performer would also receive direct recognition and rewards from the Elder.
Withdrawing his gaze from the images displayed on his rig terminal, Marcus received a message from an important person.
It was from the Chief Librarian of the Charcarodon Chapter, the Pale Nomad, Te Kahurangi.
"The research has made progress."
This short sentence immediately caught Marcus's attention.
Kahurangi, the Chief Librarian of the Space Sharks, had been tinkering with Psyker-related research in the "Alien vs. Predator" world for several months.
Now, it seemed, some results had finally emerged.
After quickly rushing to Earth in a small spacecraft, Marcus soon met the Chief Librarian in the laboratory.
Though they hadn't seen each other for a long time, Kahurangi's appearance hadn't changed at all; he still had a burly physique, pale skin, and was covered in Exile Markings.
"My Lord."
Kahurangi looked down at Marcus.
The latter said,
"Tell me about your research progress in detail."
Kahurangi nodded and then led Marcus further into the laboratory.
This laboratory was located hundreds of meters deep underground, heavily guarded, and covered a vast area.
It was designed to accommodate live research subjects, namely humans—
This wasn't unusual; in the various worlds within the Universal Union's sphere of influence, there was never a shortage of all kinds of scum and dregs, so the Universal Union never lacked research subjects.
"In this world, although my Psyker powers are greatly weakened and suppressed, they can still be used slightly."
Kahurangi said as he led the way.
"As everyone knows, Psyker powers originate from the Warp. The fact that I can still use this power indicates that this world still has a connection to the Warp, or possesses its own Warp."
During this time, besides conducting research, Kahurangi had also gained a deeper understanding of the Universal Union and recognized the existence of countless other worlds.
"That's not good news."
Marcus said, looking at the sides of the corridor.
The glass cells on both sides held subjects with expressions ranging from frenzied to dull; it was unknown what kind of experiments Kahurangi had performed on them.
"Indeed."
Kahurangi nodded gravely, but at the same time, he wasn't overly pessimistic.
"But at least so far, I have still found no signs of the Chaos Enemy's presence in this world."
As a battle-hardened Librarian, Kahurangi was very sensitive to Chaos.
After spending half a month in a spacecraft detailedly checking every corner of this Earth, especially areas with various horror legends and supernatural phenomena, he had found nothing.
"The power of Chaos originates simultaneously from the Warp and the various intense emotions of sentient beings in the physical universe."
Marcus said thoughtfully.
"Perhaps it's because this world isn't as 'lively' as that one, so the waves of the Warp aren't too violent, thus failing to give birth to Warp entities and subsequently preventing the emergence of Chaos."
This guess wasn't entirely baseless.
Although the Warhammer World was now a complete cesspool,
sixty million years ago, before the War in Heaven broke out, the physical universe was still peaceful, and the Warp was very stable under the management of the Old Ones.
The turbulent waves of the Warp and the rapid growth of Chaos were largely due to the countless intense emotional fluctuations caused by the War in Heaven.
The slaughter and blood caused by war, the desperate desire for life from countless beings, and the intricate schemes and plots—
"But these are all just guesses, and they're based on the premise that a Warp exists in this world. We can't be sure if your ability to use Psyker powers is due to some residue."
""
Marcus shook his head.
Kahurangi stopped walking.
"This is one of my research results."
Pushing open a heavy metal door nearby, the two entered a room.
A man stood blankly in the center of the room, his eyes lifeless, like a hollow puppet.
The name tag pinned to his clothes proved that this guy was a death row inmate from a Hive City in the Warhammer World.
"Although it was difficult, I successfully used the little remaining Psyker energy to extract this guy's soul."
Hearing this, Marcus stepped forward and carefully observed the man whose soul had been extracted.
A lower-level researcher who had been following them spoke up to supplement.
"Subject 047. Three days ago, Librarian Kahurangi used Psyker powers to perform a soul extraction."
As he spoke, a video recording began playing on the room's television.
In the footage, Subject 047 was tied tightly to a chair, looking terrified, while Kahurangi reached out and pressed his hand against the man's head.
There were no flashes, anomalies, or anything else.
After just a few seconds, the man who had been trembling and struggling all over sat motionless in the chair, as if his entire spirit had been sucked out.
"All of 047's physiological functions are operating normally. He can stand, eat, digest, and excrete normally, and he retains some basic external reflexes.
Furthermore, we can still monitor normal signs of brain waves."
From a normal physiological perspective, the man in front of them was a completely normal person.
But because he had lost his soul, he had become something like a person in a vegetative state.
"So? Where did this guy's soul go?"
Marcus asked the question he cared about most.
"Our existing facilities are still unable to directly observe souls. You'll have to ask Librarian Kahurangi that."
Kahurangi, standing nearby, took over the conversation.
"Because my Psyker power is so scarce, I couldn't preserve the soul after extracting it; I could only barely maintain observation nearby.
And I saw that the faint spark of the soul slowly dissolved into this space."
"Dissolved?"
"Exactly, dissolved."
Kahurangi repeated the word.
"Generally speaking, in, uh—"
"Warhammer World. You need to get used to this codename."
Marcus reminded him.
"Alright. In the Warhammer World, after a life dies, assuming its soul isn't imprisoned by special means, there's a high probability it will first be sucked into the Warp by the nearest Warp storms, then shattered and crushed by the waves, and finally dissipate without a trace."
Total annihilation of body and soul—this was the final end for the vast majority of humans, and even sentient beings, in the Warhammer World.
As for the so-called'souls returning to the Golden Throne,' that was nothing more than a well-intentioned lie.
Even the Emperor could not protect every single person among the quadrillions of the Imperium of Man's population.
Many veteran Space Marine Librarians, or powerful mortal Psykers, knew this point.
"There's another possibility: after a soul enters the Warp, it might be captured by some powerful entities within.
The unfortunate ones would fall into the hands of the Chaos Gods, being used as power sources for those Daemon Engines or for other purposes.
But in any case, both of these outcomes have a prerequisite: the soul must first enter the Warp."
"I speculate that this world might not have a distinct region known as the 'Warp'."
Kahurangi finally voiced a bold conjecture of his own.
"Here, the material universe is the Warp, and the Warp is the material universe; the two are one."
"A bold guess."
Marcus nodded.
"But in the end, it's just a guess without evidence, isn't it?"
"Therefore, I hope to return for a while to replenish the psychic power within my body and proceed to other worlds to continue the soul extraction experiments, to see if this'soul integration' phenomenon exists in other worlds as well."
Kahurangi stated his request.
During this time, Kahurangi, the Chief Librarian, had never returned to the Charcarodon Chapter, nor had he participated in the battles against the Predators and Necrons.
"Approved."
Marcus naturally had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, from another perspective, the Charcarodon Chapter's unique neophyte indoctrination process also required Kahurangi's presence.
Upon receiving the affirmative answer, Kahurangi lowered his head, his expression unsurprised.
Shortly after, he left the laboratory to begin preparations for his return to the Warhammer World.
Meanwhile, Marcus remained standing beside the man whose soul had been extracted, lost in thought.
"What exactly is the Warp?"
This was the question Marcus was currently pondering.
Some arrogant Inquisitors believed the Warp was merely an appendage of the material universe.
Some pessimistic Researchers believed the material universe was but a small bubble surrounded by the infinite Warp.
As for the most moderate theory, it was that the material universe and the Warp existed in a parallel relationship, with the latter being a space composed purely of energy and consciousness.
Even Chaos was merely a part of the Warp, not the whole.
A nearby Researcher watched the deep-thinking Marcus and tried to hand over a research application.
"This is one of our research directions regarding the weaponization of soul extraction technology—"
Taking the application, Marcus glanced at it casually.
Soul extraction using psychic power could ignore all physical barriers; no matter how heavy the opponent's armor, they would be killed instantly. It was indeed very suitable for weaponization.
But with almost no hesitation, Marcus bluntly rejected the proposal and explicitly forbade this research direction.
"Why? If this research succeeds, we could gain a massive advantage in future wars against more worlds and races,"
The Researcher asked in confusion.
Marcus explained with a hint of patience.
"First, none of the research in this application has even laid a foundation. How long would it take to weaponize soul extraction and deploy it on a large scale? Ten years? Twenty? A hundred? Furthermore, researching such technology inevitably requires Psykers as research subjects. Where is the current Alliance going to find so many rare Psykers?"
These were only the objective factors hindering research progress; what truly made Marcus reject this direction was his concern.
"Most importantly, until now, we still don't know what consequences the large-scale use of psychic power in other worlds might trigger."
A large part of the reason for the turbulent tides of the Warp in the Warhammer World was the Old Ones' excessive use of psychic power in the past.
If the Universal Union did the same in other worlds and accidentally birthed a Chaos God, things would go horribly wrong.
"Remember, from the beginning, the reason I let you conduct research in this area was not to turn psychic power into a conventional weapon, but to use it as a specific weapon against the Chaos of the Warhammer World."
Marcus emphasized this point heavily.
Psychic power was indeed very useful, but the Universal Union was not locked into the Warhammer World. With FTL travel technology that didn't rely on the Warp or Navigators, and FTL communication speeds achieved through Wormholes, psychic power was merely 'useful' to the Universal Union, not a necessity.
A power that could not be systematically taught or learned and came with side effects was destined not to be used on a large scale.
"Understood, we will terminate this research direction immediately."
Although the research was explicitly forbidden, the Researcher felt no resentment.
With so many worlds and so many scientific technologies, there was indeed no need to focus solely on psychic power.
Many people in the Warhammer World were prone to tunnel vision, which ultimately led to countless tragedies.
Leaving the laboratory, Marcus returned to the Orbital Platform.
"The Hunting Ritual will continue for a while, but there has been progress in the negotiations."
Alex reported.
"Those neutral Tribes have proposed a condition: as long as we can help them clear out the roaming Bad Blood Tribes, they are willing to change their stance."
"Then agree to it,"
Marcus said indifferently.
"Anyway, even if we don't act, those Bad Bloods would never join us; instead, they would attack us sooner or later."
Unlike the normal Predator Tribes who still possessed reason and at least understood how to negotiate,
those Bad Blood Tribes, composed of outcasts, enjoyed hunting all living creatures in the universe and relished the pleasure of tearing enemies apart rather than the honor of the hunt.
Alex nodded and immediately left to find the Elder who was still wandering around the Orbital Platform.
She conveyed the willingness to assist them in clearing out those Bad Blood Tribes.
The Elder was not surprised by this; he himself was part of the peace faction and was merely acting as a messenger, helping to convey the intentions of the neutral parties.
Regardless, the Bad Blood Tribes had always been a major headache for the normal Tribes. Having the powerful Alliance help clear them out was certainly a good thing.
"I will convey the Universal Union's intention to those tribal elders and leaders."
The Elder stopped walking; he had seen enough of the Orbital Platform.
Predators naturally had their own FTL communication methods. Soon, the news that the Universal Union had agreed to help clear the Bad Blood Tribes reached the Predator Homeworld.
The neutral Tribes were naturally overjoyed. So-called neutrality, in the face of sufficient benefits, would eventually shift.
Clearly, rather than continuing to fight the powerful Alliance, it was better to join them and clear out a long-standing nuisance. Why not?
As a result, among the various Tribes, the number of those willing to join the Universal Union clearly gained the upper hand, while the warmongers now became the minority.
After some discussion, the peace faction and the former neutral parties would send a fleet to clear out the Bad Blood Tribes alongside the Universal Union.
Meanwhile, the fleets being assembled by the warmongers remained stationary, held in reserve just in case.
Some time ago, outside the Sol System, a small Predator spaceship was shutting down its engines and entering silent mode to avoid detection by the Monitoring Stations.
Normally, Predator spaceships would be marked with the unique insignia of their respective Tribes.
However, this ship was entirely pitch-black, devoid of any identifying features.
There was only one possibility: this ship belonged to the notorious Bad Blood Tribe.
"This is the limit. If we go any further, we'll attract the attention of those Monitoring Stations."
Piloting the ship was a Predator wearing a scarred mask. He was draped in the skulls of many different species, giving him quite a Khorne-like appearance.
"Our cloaking technology can't bypass their detection?"
Another Predator, wearing a mask shaped like a lion's face, spoke as his mandibles clicked open and shut.
The Predator named Scarface responded.
"I haven't tried, so I can't say for sure. My suggestion is to hide inside a natural meteorite and try to smuggle ourselves in."
Before Lion Face could decide, a Predator beside him—the most massive of the group, wearing an Elephant-Face mask with two long tusks protruding from his lower jaw—growled in a low voice.
"Just charge in and kill those guys along with the humans!"
"Idiot. With just our one ship, you want to charge in and throw your life away?"
The final Predator in the cockpit, wearing an Eagle Face mask and known as Eagle Face, sneered.
Scarface, Lion Face, Elephant-Face, and Eagle Face.
These four Predators came from a large Bad Blood Tribe.
They were all former outcasts, criminals exiled from various Tribes who had been absorbed by the Bad Blood Tribe when they had nowhere else to go.
"What did you say?!"
Elephant-Face panted heavily, clearly enraged by Eagle Face's mockery, looking as if he was ready to start a fight.
"Enough! Quiet!"
Lion Face's voice drowned out the two who were about to argue. He was the captain of this ship and also the strongest among them.
"We'll do as Scarface suggested. Sneak into the Sol System and kill that old geezer."
Indeed, the mission of these four Bad Bloods was to assassinate the elder who had come to negotiate peace with the Universal Union, thereby inciting conflict between the Universal Union and other Tribes.
Scarface left the pilot's seat and began preparing to capture drifting asteroids in the vicinity for their infiltration mission.
Meanwhile, Eagle Face went to the ship's armory to prepare the weapons and equipment needed for the mission.
As for Elephant-Face, he was the most brutal and bloodthirsty. He had once killed his own kin within his Tribe and was supposed to be executed according to tribal law, but he managed to escape when his Tribe happened to be invaded by Bad Bloods at that time.
Yet even Elephant-Face chose to obey Lion Face's orders, for he had personally witnessed the latter in combat.
Approaching the porthole, Lion Face saw that Scarface had already extended the ship's mechanical arms to begin capturing meteorites.
Soon, a small meteorite was seized. The mechanical arms began drilling into its interior, expanding the space inside until it was large enough to accommodate the four of them along with some weapons and ammunition.
Of course, this primitive concealment plan wouldn't necessarily fool the Monitoring Stations the Universal Union had deployed at the edge of the Sol System.
Thus, Scarface filled the interior of the meteorite with various stealth materials and did his best to make the meteorite's mass and density appear more natural.
He also installed a simple buffering system within the meteorite to prevent the members inside from dying in the explosion upon impact during the landing.
Several hours later, Scarface finished his work. Finally, a perfect meteorite for hiding was complete.
"Set the autopilot to hide the ship in the asteroid belt. We're heading into the meteorite."
Lion Face issued orders through a specially tuned, hidden communication line.
The four Bad Bloods entered the cramped hollow space inside the meteorite. Finally, propelled by the force of the ship's mechanical arms, the meteorite hurtled toward Mars at high speed.
The reason they dared to do this, without fear of the meteorite being blown up by Alliance Monitoring Stations or warships, was the result of their observations during this period.
According to their long-range covert observations, only meteorites heading toward Earth would be intercepted; other normal meteorites were left undisturbed.
Furthermore, since the peace negotiation fleet between the Universal Union and the Predators happened to be orbiting Mars, crashing the meteorite onto Mars and then finding a ship to sneak into Martian orbit was a solid plan.
Although the space inside the meteorite was extremely cramped to ensure maximum stealth—barely enough to hold the four Bad Bloods and some weapons, equipment, and ammunition.
Scarface had still installed a scanning system within the meteorite to covertly monitor their surroundings.
The meteorite crossed the edge of the Sol System and entered the range of the Monitoring Stations established by the Universal Union.
Inside the meteorite, the four Bad Bloods kept as quiet as possible and shut down almost all operating equipment.
Once discovered, what awaited them would be the destructive fire of the Monitoring Stations.
Fortunately for the four Bad Bloods, after a series of scans, the Monitoring Station failed to detect them hidden within the meteorite.
The meteorite thus passed through the detection range and continued toward Mars.
Of course, bypassing the Monitoring Stations was only the first hurdle.
Although the massive fleet originally assembled to counter the "Lone Clan" had already disbanded and returned to their respective worlds.
At this moment, the Universal Union still had several fleets constantly patrolling the Sol System.
After evading layer upon layer of scans, the meteorite finally approached Mars.
Only then did Scarface activate the scanning system mounted on the meteorite.
He discovered a large Ecological Dome on the surface of Mars.
"That should be the Universal Union's base on this planet. We can find a ship there."
Scarface said, looking at Lion Face.
The latter also accepted the proposal.
The meteorite was also equipped with a set of micro-engines, allowing for minor adjustments to its orientation and thereby controlling the impact site.
The meteorite crashed directly onto the Martian surface, landing several hundred kilometers away from the Ecological Dome.
To avoid attracting the attention of the fleets in orbit as much as possible, the force of the meteorite's impact was not significantly dampened by the propulsion devices.
Despite the internal buffering, the four Bad Bloods inside the meteorite were still left dazed and disoriented by the shock, with their internal organs suffering some damage.
However, the Predators' innate and superior self-healing abilities allowed them to recover quickly.
"Move out immediately. We need to find a ship to get to orbit before the guys here discover us."
Lion Face picked up a modified metal spear designed to tear through flesh even more violently and was the first to step out of the meteorite.
With the help of their masks, the Martian atmosphere was merely harsh for the Predators, yet they could still move freely.
The other three Bad Bloods also exited the meteorite and began a forced march toward the Ecological Dome hundreds of kilometers away.
Activating their optical cloaking devices, the four Bad Blood, now invisible, sprinted across the red wasteland of Mars at speeds no slower than conventional vehicles.
As Bad Blood, their physical attributes were even more powerful than those of ordinary Predators.
This was the result of countless trials and life-and-death battles.
Perhaps it was a trait buried deep within the Predator genome by the insectoid species that had once enslaved them.
Once a Predator's bloodlust rose to a certain level, their combat power would increase accordingly, but in exchange, their sanity would gradually erode.
While normal Predators hunted frequently, they constantly exercised restraint over their bloodlust, refusing to let themselves sink into it.
However, some Predators chose to embrace this trait, becoming Bad Blood.
In short, looking at combat power alone...
Each of these four Bad Blood—Scarface, Lion Face, Elephant-Face, and Eagle Face—possessed combat power that rivaled or even surpassed an elite Predator like Lone Wolf, approaching the level of the elite Elder Guards.
This was the reason the Bad Blood Tribe had sent them to carry out this assassination mission.
"We're almost there."
Scarface served as a semi-technical specialist, equipped with a small scanning device that could map the surrounding terrain in real-time while helping the other three evade the numerous small and medium-sized aircraft flying overhead.
After continuing for a few more minutes, they crossed a rift over a dozen meters wide and scaled a reddish-brown slope hundreds of meters high.
A magnificent ecological dome appeared at the end of the horizon.
the Universal Union's ecological dome technology had complex origins, blending the Adeptus Mechanicus technology from the Warhammer World with the Universal Union's own tech, plus the rapid plant-growth capabilities of "Eywa" from the Avatar World.
Its form was very simple and crude: it involved cordoning off a large area and using physical means to isolate it from the external environment.
By installing atmospheric terraforming devices produced by the Mechanicus at the center, combined with a World Tree carrying part of "Eywa's" consciousness, they could rapidly terraform the environment inside the dome to make it suitable for humans or other biological life.
In fact, Predators also possessed such means; they could even terraform a planet's environment to allow many creatures that shouldn't coexist to live together simultaneously.
For example, dinosaurs and humans—
"Where on earth did this Alliance come from?"
Eagle Face couldn't help but ask as they continued forward.
A power capable of defeating a medium-to-large Predator Tribe couldn't possibly have remained obscure in the universe without being discovered by the Predators.
One had to realize that the Predators' footprints had long since covered the entire galaxy, and they had even begun exploring the nearby Magellanic Clouds and the Andromeda Galaxy.
The other three Bad Blood naturally couldn't answer the question, but they neither cared nor concerned themselves with such trivial matters.
Regardless, their mission remained singular: to assassinate the Elder.
Arriving before the towering metal barrier, Lion Face looked toward Scarface.
The latter had already pulled out a signal jammer and a high-power laser cutter.
"Guard the perimeter; this is going to take some time."
Scarface said, and after turning on the signal jammer, he raised the laser cutter and began cutting through the alloy barrier.
The other three Bad Blood took the final moments to perform their equipment checks.
Based on their previous observations, small and medium-sized aircraft occasionally ascended and descended within the dome ahead; combat was inevitable later on.
About half an hour later, Scarface tossed aside the cutter and slammed his body into the tottering metal barrier.
After several impacts, a narrow passage was formed.
Actually, several of the Bad Blood carried Plasma shoulder cannons, and at maximum power, a single shot would have been enough to pierce the barrier.
But doing so would only alert the Universal Union prematurely, leading to the failure of the assassination mission.
The four Bad Blood passed through the passage and entered the interior of the ecological dome.
Scarface, walking last, installed a few more signal jammers and actively blocked the entrance again with the metal debris he had knocked aside.
The environment the Bad Blood now found themselves in was a tropical rainforest, a stark contrast to the Martian wasteland outside.
Because the barrier had been briefly breached, quite a bit of dust had rushed in, damaging a small section of the surrounding environment.
Looking up through the dappled canopy, they could vaguely see several aircraft flying toward the center of the dome.
Those aircraft were the Bad Blood' targets.
"Move fast, we don't have much time."
Lion Face took the lead.
Although they had minimized the risk of detection as much as possible, the Bad Blood knew they would eventually be found; it was only a matter of time.
The other three Bad Blood followed suit.
The rainforest contained not only plants but also many animals transported by the Universal Union from various worlds, recreating a realistic rainforest ecosystem as much as possible.
Under the catalysis and modification of "Eywa," this single patch of rainforest could purify the exhaust gases of the entire ecological dome.
They hadn't gone far when, after casually crushing a raccoon clinging to a nearby tree trunk, Lion Face was the first to keenly catch a massive disturbance coming from ahead.
It was accompanied by faint roars.
Immediately after, the other three Bad Blood also raised their guard.
"Bypass it."
Lion Face said.
"We're too far from the central area; we can't afford a conflict here."
The four Bad Blood began to detour.
What they didn't know was that the source of the noise was a Predator and two Tyranid Warriors.
This ecological dome had already turned into a killing field, and a massive surprise awaited the four Bad Blood.
Sure enough, after traveling just a few kilometers and before even leaving the rainforest area, the four Bad Blood witnessed several Lickers locked in combat with familiar Xenomorphs.
The Bad Blood realized something was wrong.
How dangerous were Xenomorphs? How could anyone allow them to roam freely here?
Before the Bad Blood could make a move...
From the canopy of a tall tree behind them, a Xenomorph that had been lying in wait for a long time suddenly pounced down, attacking the Bad Blood.
Xenomorphs and Predators were old enemies; the former were capable of seeing through a Predator's optical cloaking.
Eagle Face instinctively threw a Metal Serrated Boomerang, cleanly slicing the mid-air Xenomorph in half.
Acidic blood splashed onto the ground, letting out a series of corrosive hisses.
But except for the simple-minded Elephant-Face, the other three Bad Blood looked grim.
"Keep—"
Before Lion Face could finish his sentence, a Venomous Crystal streaked across the sky with a whistling sound, accurately slamming into Elephant-Face's side.
Boom!
The Venomous Crystal exploded. Elephant-Face, who was only wearing partial armor and possessed a body tough enough to withstand a Xenomorph's claw strike, had half of his torso blown apart.
A massive amount of fluorescent green blood, along with shattered internal organs, burst forth and splattered onto the other three Bad Blood.
His pupils suddenly constricted. With the extreme reflexes forged from hundreds of years of hunting experience, Lion Face lunged toward a nearby boulder the instant the toxic crystal burst.
Bang!
As the ghostly green crystal exploded, countless tiny but equally lethal shards sprayed out in all directions.
Every single one was enough to pierce through the simple armor worn by the Bad Bloods.
"What the hell is this!"
Eagle Face, who had also reacted in time and ducked behind cover, uttered a Predator curse.
A shattered crystal fragment had already embedded itself into one of his hands.
The Tyranids' meticulously concocted virulent toxin was rapidly invading Eagle Face's entire body, and terrifying green veins had already surfaced across half his arm.
His expression changing, Eagle Face quickly pulled out an Antitoxin and jabbed it into his arm, but it could only slightly slow the speed of the toxin's spread.
The front of his arm had already begun to necrose and lose sensation. Its toxicity was so potent that even these Bad Bloods, who had hunted countless creatures, had never seen anything like it.
While he was still hesitating, Scarface, who was beside him, made the decision for Eagle Face.
Metal claws swung down, completely severing the arm corroded by the toxin, physically cutting off the possibility of the toxin spreading further.
"Damn it, you!"
Eagle Face clutched the bleeding wound, the intense pain making him curse once more.
A Hemostatic Agent was tossed onto the ground. Scarface was already using his portable scanning equipment to observe the surroundings, attempting to find the fellow who had just launched the attack.
As a Bad Blood, Scarface hadn't saved Eagle Face's life out of the kindness of his heart; he only did so because they were currently in enemy territory and needed to complete the mission.
After all, Elephant-Face, who originally had decent combat strength, was already dead without a whole corpse left. If Eagle Face died too, the chances of completing the mission to assassinate the Elder relying only on himself and Lion Face would be extremely slim.
"Target location confirmed. Two hundred meters to the left rear. Two high-priority units, ten common units."
Looking at the intense life signatures displayed on the scanner, Scarface's expression became solemn.
Bang!
Another toxic crystal slammed into the boulder Lion Face was hiding behind, nearly shattering it.
"Kill that thing!"
Lion Face growled, crawling low to use the cover of the rainforest's complex terrain as he rushed toward the signal location.
Scarface and Eagle Face, who had just stopped his bleeding, also began to encircle from different directions.
During this time, toxic crystals continued to strike, smashing many obstacles that stood in the firing path.
Only by relying on their agile movements did the three Bad Bloods avoid being hit again.
As the distance closed and the bushes obscuring their vision were gone, the three Bad Bloods finally saw the creatures attacking them with their own eyes.
They were two Tyranid Warriors, even larger and more robust than themselves.
One held a Venom Cannon, while the other held two Bone Blades.
Surrounding the two Tyranid Warriors were ten Hormagaunts and Gun Worms.
Around the Tyranid Warbeasts, there were also many mangled corpse fragments.
Among them were those of Xenomorphs, Lickers, and even a Predator who had failed to hunt the Tyranids and was instead killed by them.
The Hormagaunts and Gun Worms were currently hunched over these corpses, feasting greedily.
Because they were in another world and had lost the unified coordination of the Hive Mind, these Tyranid Warbeasts acted more like ordinary wild beasts, knowing how to seek benefit, avoid harm, and feed.
The Tyranid Warriors' attack on the Bad Bloods just now was also out of a shallow instinct to defend their territory.
Charging on the right, Lion Face was the first to hurl two boomerangs, which flew toward the most threatening Tyranid Warrior holding the Venom Cannon.
Branches and shrubs along the way were all sliced open.
It wasn't until they neared the Tyranid Warrior that they were stopped forcefully by chitinous blades.
Sensing the incoming enemies, the Tyranid Warrior let out a roar. All ten Hormagaunts and Gun Worms stopped eating and entered a combat state.
Although the psychic link was gone, the Tyranid Warrior could still command the lower-level Hormagaunts and Gun Worms to a certain extent.
The Hormagaunts hissed as they rushed toward the three Bad Bloods, while the symbiotic weapons in the Gun Worms' hands fired brazenly.
With shifting movements and dodges, the distance between the Bad Bloods and the Tyranid Warbeasts constantly closed until they collided.
The weapons Lion Face used were a pair of sharp metal claws. Combined with his tempered body, they were enough to easily tear a Hormagaunt apart.
Scarface's weapon was a metal spear, which he swung with a whistling wind.
The last one, Eagle Face, was in the worst state. Since one arm had been severed, his combat power was greatly reduced, and he could only fire a Netgun from a distance to trap and slice his opponents.
Soon, the Hormagaunts were rapidly slaughtered by the three Bad Bloods.
But similarly, the Bad Bloods exposed to the Gun Worms' fire were all wounded.
It was also thanks to the resilient racial traits of the Predators that they could continue fighting.
Lion Face charged at the front, his dual claws forcefully ripping a Gun Worm that failed to dodge in half, bathing himself in that foul-smelling blood.
This stimulated the Bad Blood's killing desire, which was already more bloodthirsty than that of an average Predator.
Bang!
The fully charged Venom Cannon fired again. The toxic crystal grazed Lion Face by a hair's breadth, piercing through a towering tree behind him.
Throwing his boomerangs to harvest all the Gun Worms in their path, Lion Face charged toward the Tyranid Warrior.
However, the other Tyranid Warrior, a melee-specialized type holding Bone Blades, blocked Lion Face's charging path.
Two Bone Blades swung down fiercely, with the momentum of wanting to slice Lion Face in two.
The latter showed no fear, crossing his claws to meet the Bone Blades.
In terms of pure physical strength, Lion Face was not inferior to a Tyranid Warrior at all.
With a roar, he forced the Bone Blades back and thrust his claws out, stabbing into the body of the Tyranid Warrior as it stumbled back a few steps.
But immediately following that, two chitinous blades sliced toward him.
That's right, Tyranid Warriors have four arms—
Before Lion Face's claws could even twist, he had to pull them out again.
His heart pounded with a thumping sound; Lion Face's hunting desire had been successfully piqued by the Tyranid Warrior before him.
If it were any other time, he wouldn't mind continuing to tangle with the prey before him.
But now, Lion Face knew that the mission came first.
The Shoulder Cannon activated, its power automatically adjusting to the appropriate level.
Terrifying Plasma rapidly converged and was then blasted out, melting half of the Tyranid Warrior's body.
Finally, only the Tyranid Warrior holding the Venom Cannon remained alive, as the rest of the Hormagaunts and Gun Worms had been completely torn apart by Scarface and Eagle Face.
"Move!"
Eagle Face's voice, filled with rage, rang out as a net was fired, enveloping the Tyranid Warrior.
As the net slowly contracted, the Tyranid Warrior was eventually sliced into chunks of meat after letting out a few roars.
The Bad Bloods ultimately emerged victorious in this sudden battle.
But the Bad Bloods had also paid a heavy price for it. The original four-man team now had only three left, and all were wounded. Even with a Predator's constitution, it would take some time to fully recover.
Among them, Eagle Face's combat power was also greatly diminished.