Iron-Gray City was built on a magnificent active volcano, with hot, glowing magma flowing out on the side closest to the ocean.
Compared to the two largest Hive City on Syntilla, Iron-Gray City was young, but it was still a grand industrial metropolis.
Many believed that Iron-Gray City had great potential and would become Syntilla's most magnificent city in the future.
Soaring spires stood at the volcano's summit, while its lowest points delved deep into Syntilla's crust.
The entire city was filled with various large foundries, powered by geothermal energy from the volcano's center.
Because of this, the air quality throughout the city was poor, often shrouded in thick smoke.
In this city, the most valuable commodity was fresh air.
For those living here, various air filtration devices were necessities.
The most extravagant display of wealth was to have air imported directly from Garden Worlds piped into one's opulent home.
After the Sibellus Campaign, the Imperial Army dispersed across the globe, clearing out rebels in various regions, and Iron-Gray City was no exception.
Four hundred thousand heavily armed Atoma soldiers, along with two companies of Astartes, were currently engaged in clearing operations within the city.
The traitors occasionally organized counterattacks, but each time they were swiftly crushed by the Imperial Army with overwhelming force.
...
With Alex's permission, Kaiting quickly organized personnel to investigate the Dark Horn Brotherhood.
It didn't take long to uncover the Dark Horn Brotherhood's hidden presence and development in Iron-Gray City.
After torturing several rebel leaders, they confessed to having sheltered the Cultists organization and provided its exact coordinates.
Several Valkyries quickly took off from the temporary airfield, flying through the battle-torn warzone.
Many buildings were still burning, black as pitch.
Ragged banners hung everywhere, and walls were defaced with symbols of corruption.
Many people were still alive in the city, hiding within these buildings.
The Valkyrie swept over the chaotic city and finally reached a grand foundry.
"We are approaching the target," the pilot said over the comms.
"Good, let's have a big fight," Zigman said, looking at his companions. "Whether we can get MVP depends on this one."
"For MVP, we must let them know that Demon Hunters are the best."
"Yes, we must let them know that the Demon Hunter profession is second to none."
"..."
Bai Lang of the Demon Hunter Battle Group, Don't Eat Beef, and other Players all nodded.
"Foundry data package sent, please receive."
Zigman shared the holographic map of the foundry from his database with the Battle Group members.
The Demon Hunter Battle Group did not have many members.
Because Zigman only recruited Soullesss, and the number of Soullesss was inherently scarce, this led to the Demon Hunter Battle Group's size never increasing.
However, the overall calculation for the war rankings did not solely depend on the total score but also on the average score.
If they could expel a Great Demon, their score would be very high, leaving other Battle Groups far behind.
The Valkyrie slowly descended, its engine's roar gradually softening.
The hatch opened, and Zigman and the other Players jumped out to scout the surrounding environment.
To ensure the mission's success, Inquisitor Kaiting also dispatched several squads to assist.
They wore exoskeleton armor and carried Gauss Rifles.
When the Valkyrie landed in an open area, they ran out in formation.
They quickly occupied advantageous terrain and cover, preparing for battle.
Kaiting and Ukso were behind the armed squad, also fully armed.
Inquisitor were never synonymous with weakness; they possessed the best enhancements and equipment.
Those Inquisitor who fought on the front lines for years were even stronger than Astartes.
"The Warp is churning," Kaiting, who possessed psychic talent, said with a solemn tone. "We need to speed up."
Zigman and the other Players, as Soullesss, felt nothing.
The team began to enter the factory.
This place was like a giant mausoleum, with a tall, empty roof disappearing into the gloom.
Many mechanical pieces of equipment bore residual traces, and faint bullet holes were visible, clearly indicating that a conflict had erupted here.
A massive eight-pointed star cluster was smeared on the walls with blood by the slaughterers, utterly blasphemous.
Human bodies were suspended by chains from the high ceiling or bound to profane eight-pointed star frames.
They had their Scalp or skin peeled off, their eyes gouged out, and sharp nails pierced through various parts of their bodies.
Crimson blood dripped from their wounds, splattering onto the ground.
Most of these tortured individuals were dead; the few remaining were barely clinging to life, awaiting the arrival of death.
"What a bunch of beasts."
The officer in charge of commanding the armed squad cursed under his breath.
"Every Cultists deserves to die; there should be no mercy for these people."
Zigman nodded, expressing his strong agreement with the statement.
The enemy's voices came from the dark depths of the factory.
"Prepare for battle," Zigman switched his armor to combat mode.
The others also raised their weapons.
Several Cultists with eight-pointed star patterns carved on their foreheads emerged from the darkness.
They were completely unaware that punishment was about to befall them, the traitors.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several Gauss Rifle bullets sliced through the air, instantly hitting their targets, and the bodies turned to dust.
Human Gauss Rifle weapons were somewhat different from Necron Gauss Rifle weapons.
Necron Gauss Rifle weapons fired beams of light.
Human Gauss Rifle weapons, however, fired bullets covered by a force field.
The reason for this difference was the dissimilar material science between humans and Necrons.
As for their power, both were equally formidable.
Their killing effect was the same.
Once hit, it would dissociate the target's atomic bonds, turning them into a pile of dust.
"Accelerate the advance; we need to break through before they can react."
The team began to run, advancing at maximum speed.
Cultists along the way were shot dead.
During this time, several Chaos Sorcerers attempted to use psychic powers to block the Imperial forces.
However, they were restrained by the Soulless Players, becoming duds, and were ultimately shot by Gauss Rifle fire, turning into dust.
The team finally burst into what was once the assembly hall, where over a thousand enemies were present.
The heavy weapons carried by the soldiers began to unleash their power, and a dense barrage instantly filled the entire hall, with screams and wails rising and falling.
Zigman and the others charged at the forefront; the laser fire from the enemy's counterattack landed on them, deflected by the shield force fields projected by their armor.
The slaughter was swift; after about ten minutes, the hall was filled with the smell of scorched flesh and blood.
The dead lay fallen on the ground, while the living screamed in agony.
On the altar, a man in a black robe watched his massacred Cultists, yet showed no panic or fear, but rather a chilling smile.
"You are too late."
Kaiting aimed his gun at him and shouted, "Immediately, hands on your head and kneel!"
"Feel the fear brought by my Lord..." The black-robed man's words were cut short.
With a bang, a bullet pierced the black-robed man's chest, making him stumble backward, eventually collapsing to the ground, dying.
Kaiting stepped onto the altar and found a strong man lying on the altar platform, surrounded by numerous blasphemous runes and symbols.
"It's here, it's here!" The fallen black-robed man yelled deliriously, spitting blood, "Feel the fear!"
The air temperature suddenly dropped, and free-floating moisture condensed into frost.
Space was instantly stretched, extending to an infinite distance.
A burning hell appeared before Kaiting and the others.
Eerie laughter echoed from the depths of hell.
Balfor Maller, one of the seven Great Demons of the Calixis Sector, had descended.
Zigman and the other Soulless Players did not see the burning black hell; they only saw space distort, and then a Demon burning with black flames appeared, entering the body of the mortal on the altar.
Demons could not remain in the Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) universe for long; this was an undeniable rule.
Through years of exploration, the Cultists of the Dark Horn Brotherhood had devised a method: finding a vessel for the Demon, allowing Balfor Maller to move freely.
The man, serving as a sacrifice, quickly became demonized; black flame patterns appeared on his body, demonic horns grew from his forehead, and his eyes became hollow, burning with black flames.
"My Lord."
The remaining Cultists, still clinging to life, showed expressions of ecstatic joy.
They had succeeded in summoning the great Balfor Maller into the Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) universe.
Now, it was time for these foolish Emperor servants to pay the price.
The foundry began to shake, cracks appeared in the steel, and eerie whispers echoed in people's ears, devouring their sanity and emotions.
Kaiting's face turned pale, his psychic power almost spiraling out of control in the presence of the Demon, making him want to scream in agony.
Meanwhile, the Players behind him wore expressions of excitement.
"Charge, brothers!" Zigman cheered, raising his arms. "The MVP goddess is calling us, legs spread wide."
Bai Lang and Don't Eat Beef, along with other Soullesss, charged forward.
The Demon's sorcery was useless against them; only blades and flesh could inflict damage.
Balfor Maller, having gained a physical body, was immersed in excitement; it had been too long since he had entered the Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) universe.
He was completely unaware of Zigman and the others' presence until the Soullesss attacked him.
"Children of Calamity."
Balfor Maller swung his arm, sending the first charging Soulless Player flying.
But the second Player, Don't Eat Beef, followed closely, tackling Balfor Maller and knocking him off the altar.
Balfor Maller furiously struck Don't Eat Beef's helmet, but the Player held him tightly, refusing to let go, preventing him from escaping.
Another Player rushed over and stabbed Don't Eat Beef with a sword, impaling both him and the Demon together.
"For MVP!" Don't Eat Beef, helmet shattered, smiled.
Balfor Maller: "..."
Damn it, are they that ruthless?
You're impaled, and you're still smiling?
The other Players were the same, rushing over and skewering Balfor Maller and Don't Eat Beef like a hedgehog.
But the Demon's vitality was astonishing; even under the influence of the Soullesss, it was recovering at a visible rate.
He violently flung off the now deceased Don't Eat Beef, attempting to stand up.
As soon as he stood, Zigman kicked him directly in the knee joint.
With a thud, he immediately fell to his knees.
The other Players swarmed him again, punching, kicking, stabbing with swords, and slashing with knives.
Seeing this, Kaiting shouted, "You guys control it; I'll use a ritual to bind the Demon within that mortal's body, to imprison it."
The Inquisition had always conducted research on the seven Great Demons.
As a Grand Inquisitor, Kaiting also possessed powerful psychic abilities and numerous techniques and methods to combat Warp Demons.
With Makso's help, Kaiting carved spells and prayer rituals onto the fallen Balfor Maller.
"By the pact of demonic subjugation, I shall forever bind you to this body."
Balfor Maller shrieked, but the power of the ritual was immense, firmly binding it and forcibly imprisoning it within the mortal's body.
It could not return to the Warp, nor could it escape, unless one day this prison was broken; otherwise, it would remain imprisoned indefinitely.
Kaiting cast multiple binding spells to suppress Balfor Maller's power.
Once everything settled, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"No!" The black-robed man looked on with despair at this scene.
They had planned for so many years, made so many preparations.
Yet this was the outcome.
"Humanity is invincible," Kaiting walked up to the black-robed man, aimed his gun at him, and said, "Go to hell, you beast."
A gunshot rang out.
The black-robed man's head exploded.
...
The several Battle Groups that were previously competing for rankings looked at the leaderboard, and their world instantly collapsed.
The Demon Hunter Battle Group had surged from its previous last place position to first, leading the second-place Eagle Soaring Nine Heavens by a cliff-like margin.
Blood Pigeon: "Is the leaderboard broken?"
Desert: "I told you not to charge so fiercely, see? You broke it."
Old Bird: "It's not broken. The Demon Hunter Battle Group is leading now. Zigman and his gang, I don't know how they did it, but they captured a Demon Host."
Warmaster: "A Demon Host?"
Tenjiro: "I'm so angry I'm shaking. Can this kind of task also be given to us?"
Zigman: "It's just MVP. If you like it, just work hard and take it."
Blood Pigeon: "Damn show-off, Bolter Execution, must be Bolter Execution."
"..."
...
The Demon Host was imprisoned by the Inquisition, and all factions related to the Dark Horn Brotherhood would be purged.
The Syntilla Campaign was drawing to a close, with the Demon Hunter Battle Group temporarily in the lead.
Alex took the opportunity to release version 2.1, addressing some previously encountered issues.
[Update Announcement:
Hello everyone, Cortana is back! Through our efforts, Warhammer OL has ushered in a brand new upgrade. Below are some of the updated areas.
1: Optimized the war score model to ensure greater fairness and impartiality.
2: Optimized the loot distribution mechanism. Loot is not yours just because you pick it up first. In the same battle, the player with the highest war score has priority in choosing loot. Internal Battle Group distribution and individual Player team distribution will not be adjusted for now.
3: After technical upgrades, the game time flow rate has been adjusted, temporarily set at 1:2, meaning one day in Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) is equivalent to two days in game time.
4: Mission system upgrade: Guide will issue Faith Value missions. In addition to killing enemies, Players will have more sources for Faith Value.
+++ Daily Thought: Life is a prison, death is liberation +++
]
The announcement was posted on the official website, along with videos of the Syntilla Campaign, the Demon Host, and other updates.
As soon as it was released, people shared it on other video websites and forums, causing a surge in forum users.