Horatio shielded Louise behind him, his iron hand, like a silver blade, swung and decapitated a charging zombie with a single blow, as neatly as if it had been severed by a machete.
Fidio, holding a hot-line volley gun, quickly suppressed the zombies charging from the front. This weapon, exclusive to Childer of Loyalty troops, could function as a suppression machine gun or be adjusted for high-penetration rays.
"+Flamer!+" Horatio shouted.
He seized a gap in the safe distance, took a flamer from a teammate, pulled the trigger, and unleashed a blazing torrent of promethium flames into the cabin.
This combustion-specialized promethium, sprayed on the deck, could burn the room for at least half an hour, turning any entering zombies into carbon by the high temperature.
However, this also meant that flamers could not be used on paths for advancement or retreat, only for sealing off cabins.
"[These zombies seem to only be attacking her Hellgun, but they aren't attacking her personally… Could it be that these zombies can't see Louise?]" Horatio noticed a clue.
As a Transmigrator, he knew the underlying logic of Nurgle's zombies.
These dead, animated by Nurgle's psychic power, had no vision but could keenly sense the Soulfire of living beings and attack where the Soulfire was located.
"[No wonder she could survive on a plague ship. Besides being anti-toxin and anti-infection, this potion might also be able to disguise and obscure a person's Soulfire.]"
If his guess was true, this was an incredible invention.
In any case, this was good news; at least these zombies would not pose a threat to her.
"+Damn it, a disgusting eye suddenly grew on the lamp next to me!+" David Beatty's cry interrupted Horatio's thoughts.
"+These eyes are monitoring our movements. Shoot them down when you see them. Even a noble lady isn't as jumpy as you are.+"
Horatio said, looking at the eye that had grown from the wall lamp, then shot down the disgusting, waxy-yellow cyclops.
"+We need to speed up. The ship plague has already begun to corrode this ship's machine soul. Before long, our current location will become a living labyrinth,+" Louise said.
"+How could it be so fast?+" Fidio asked.
"+Because this area is close to the life support module. The plague will start to corrupt from the ship's core, and the speed will be dozens of times faster than on other decks,+" Sergeant Major Valina answered Fidio's question indifferently.
"+The life support module should be about four decks above us. It will probably take some time to get there.+" Louise said.
The battleship was like a flying Hive City, with complex and winding internal passages, making it easy to get lost.
The squad cautiously moved through the corridors, eliminating zombies along the way.
As they approached the life support module, more and more large, wildly growing eyes appeared. They were the Father of Plagues' envoys, and their terrifying gaze made the Hellspawns very uncomfortable.
"+Breaching tools, the deck isolation fire door is locked.+"
"+Excuse me.+" Horatio stepped forward and, with a charged strike of his iron hand, smashed the rotating bolt lock, sending the dial directly to the ground.
"+It's ready.+"
The others in the team looked at the heavy dial that had been manually torn off on the ground, exchanging glances.
Horatio was the first to enter the deck above, stepping on something round.
He lifted his foot to examine it: an empty bolter shell casing.
"+I think the Sisters might have already passed this way,+" Horatio said, looking ahead. The deck was littered with bloody, shattered remains.
Analysis of the damage showed both.66 bolter rounds and Chainsword marks.
"+I hope they're alright. What's up ahead?+" Louise asked.
"+The internal mag-rail train. Theoretically, it can take us directly below the life support module.+"
The team quickly eliminated the wandering zombies nearby and boarded a mag-rail train. Since the doors were locked, no zombies had flooded into the car.
Clang!
As Horatio punched open the middle car door, the Hellspawns quickly boarded.
"+Lydos, you drive. Everyone else, stay alert.+"
The train's first power-on test was successful, and the mag-rail train slowly moved forward.
As the train advanced, they witnessed many horrific tragedies.
The tracks were strewn with crushed crew members' bodies. These people hadn't turned into zombies; accurately, their bodies were so mangled they couldn't even become zombies.
"+God Emperor, may these souls be saved.+" Horatio could hear David Beatty's teeth chattering.
"+When the plague first broke out, this place must have been packed with people. Many were fighting for space, even blocking the mag-rail train's movement,+" Louise said, looking at the bodies crushed into pulp beneath the train.
They also saw a bulkhead that was holding back countless zombies; innumerable gnarled, blistered hands stretched out from the bulkhead. These crew members, trapped outside the bulkhead, had been mercilessly abandoned, left to be corrupted by the plague.
"+These damned bastards!+" In the comms, Valina cursed: "+They shot the Ship Commissar!+"
Horatio looked in her direction and saw a red cap lying on the platform. Following the bloodstains, he found a bloody corpse hanging on the station sign, with its eyes gouged out and tongue removed.
The deceased Commissar was only half a body, having been reduced to that state by shotgun blasts. Nearby were the corpses of armed Sailor troops who had also been killed. Their purity seals had been torn off, and the tattered parchment inscribed with prayers was carelessly tossed and trampled in the filthy, sticky blood.
Horatio could imagine the tragedy here:
The plague spread from the lower decks. Thousands of indentured serfs turned into zombies and attacked the crew members who had once lorded over them.
Because it happened too suddenly and quickly, the Captain's emergency lockdown orders couldn't be implemented on the middle and lower decks. It was pure chaos. The Commissar, leading armed forces, personally rushed to the transport hub, attempting to stop the crew from fleeing. He pulled down the bulkhead, demanding the crew fight to the death to hold back the zombies, while also trying to restore order at the station.
But soon, he and his subordinates were killed by the desperate and enraged crew members. The crew frantically climbed over each other, even blocking the train, and were then crushed into bloody pulp.
"+Team Leader, look there.+"
Horatio patted Louise's shoulder, pointing to a large Nurgle symbol on the wall: "+Zombies don't draw these blasphemous symbols. The crew members who couldn't evacuate in time might have defected.+"
"+The situation might be more severe now than when we set out.+"
The train entered a black tunnel. She switched to the general comms channel and said: "+Everyone stay alert. Our enemies might include Fallen Sailors.+"
The situation had changed, and Horatio was very uneasy.
' +Activate: Precognition Shard+'
' +Energy: 5/7+'
' +Psychic Power: 6/7+'
' +Corruption: 1/7+'
' +Soulfire: 34/40+'
He saw an ambush: a large number of contained zombies, and… a mag-rail train rushing towards them on the same track in the opposite direction.
"+We must abandon the train immediately! Now!+" Horatio raised his gun and shattered a row of carriage windows.
"+What?+" Louise was somewhat confused by Horatio's sudden reaction.
The maglev train also braked at that moment.
"+Lydos, what's happening?+" Louise asked.
"+There's a train blocking our way ahead… Damn it! There's a train coming to crash into us!+"
"+Everyone, jump off immediately!+" Sergeant Major Valina immediately shattered more glass, and the Hellspawns, stepping on the seats, leaped out towards the mag-rail tracks.
Horatio grunted. His sturdy armor prevented him from being injured.
Thanks to his early warning, everyone had jumped out of the carriage through the shattered windows before the trains collided.
Bang!
A tremendous crash echoed throughout the entire track, followed by the grating noise of collapsing metal supports.
Debris fell onto Horatio, making clinking sounds.
"+Stay alert, there's an ambush.+" Horatio got up from the ground and immediately used his auspex to scan the surroundings.
With the recent warning, although Louise didn't know how Horatio had foreknown it, she trusted his judgment.
Everything seemed too much like an ambush.
"+Is anyone injured?+" Sergeant Major Valina asked.
"+Someone is pinned under the collapsed carriage frame!+" David Beatty shouted.
Horatio immediately rushed over.
Harvey's lower leg was pinned by the collapsed train frame. His Sergeant Major insignia indicated his rank.
"+Horatio, come.+" Sergeant Major Valina walked to the edge of the wreckage and called to Horatio. Of the whole team, they were probably the two strongest.
The two of them each stabilized a leverage point, while the others immediately began to scan the surroundings.
"+Contact!+" Louise yelled.
A rain of shotgun pellets whizzed over Horatio's head.