The Creators: From Night City

Page 488

Its figure is extremely handsome, like the most perfect sculpture, with skin as smooth as cream, and its posture is full of indescribable elegance.

His perfect face lacked conventional features; all his senses were replaced by a bizarre tentacle.

These tentacles were so beautiful, like a magnificent crown, crowned atop the head of this great demon by the dark prince.

It is Sha'rashi the Scourge, one of Slaanesh's favorite Archdads, the eternal hunter and killer.

Slaanesh was given a crown-like sensory organ that gave it powerful insight, allowing its 'vision' to even pierce through the 'veil' between the two worlds, searching for the traces of its prey through the ethereal void and the information particles flying in the air.

The 'hound's' leak triggered its senses, and a chilling killing intent descended from nothingness.

"You have angered eternal calamity, you ignorant one!"

Crimson psionic energy enveloped the pink-tipped spear, and a vicious attack came from the distant other side.

Unfortunately, these attacks were ultimately like a dream, vanishing without a trace with a wave of the hand of the four-armed divine figure.

Michaela simply watched the great demon with interest, golden flames blazing around him, successfully saving the poor twin demon from the backlash of vicious witchcraft.

It is an important piece of evidence.

The malevolent gazes finally focused on the towering deity, who was radiating pure golden light.

Michaela's perfect face and temperament aroused the great demon's possessiveness and insane jealousy.

"Pleasure above, I have discovered something, such a beautiful face."

A golden halo, clear as glass, appeared, and the magic ring, reforged by the 'craftsman,' once again manifested on Michaela's divine body, cleanly severing her spiritual energy and subsequent lewd words.

This minor deity, temporarily brought in to fill in, displayed His sublime power.

"I will find you, tear you apart, and possess you~" With the failure of the attack, the opponent could only quickly withdraw his power. Of course, before leaving, he still did not forget to throw out a few harsh words.

Only when the temple-like hall returned to silence did the former Imperial Guards, who stood like statues in the corner, step forward.

He received the message he wanted.

Even though the Imperial Guard had been through a thousand years of battles and their nerves were hardened to the point of steel, they still dared not look directly at the perfect face of this living deity for long.

That face, so beautiful it's almost divine, can easily captivate the heart with just a glance, making one involuntarily mesmerized.

"The guide arranged by the lord has shown his tracks. It's time to change course. Please recall Lord Sabur."

Michaela did not respond verbally, but nodded slightly and simply walked back to the ornate bench prepared for Him, continuing to fulfill His duty of guarding the spaceship.

However, a call soon reached the distant other side of the plane.

Jiang Bing returned three hours after the 'Crow' landed on a branch of the 'Netway'.

As a sacred creation of the ancient sages, the internal space of the 'Netway' is not static.

It is not a pipe of uniform diameter in the conventional sense; it is interconnected, with significant differences in size between the main trunk and branches.

Some of the major transportation arteries are planetary in width, or even wider, enough to accommodate entire large fleets sailing side by side.

The most magnificent core thoroughfares and major nodes have almost unlimited spatial capacity.

Branch and secondary passages are much narrower, perhaps only a few kilometers wide, and only large enough to allow a single or a small number of ships to pass in column.

But they are more hidden, interconnected, and intertwined.

The 'Netway' is a magnificent project spanning the Milky Way, with countless passages and a complex network of paths resembling the most challenging mazes.

Since the fall of the Eldar Empire, the Webpaths have fallen into disrepair and collapsed on a large scale. Many passages have become extremely unstable, filled with warp storms and cracks in reality. The “width” of these places may vary, or they may even suddenly close, or be blocked by terrifying creatures derived from the Webpaths, such as 'Mandragora', making passage impossible and increasing the chances of getting lost.

In fact, the 'Jack Raven' encountered many dangers during its voyage of several dozen days, and it was only thanks to the protection of Jiang Bing and Michaela that it was able to escape danger.

Even if the 'Jack Raven' could continue sailing safely through the 'Netway', without the right direction and guidance, it would probably be impossible to find the right way in this vast dimensional labyrinth and sail to Holy Terra even after traveling for thousands of years.

Therefore, a reliable 'guide' is indispensable.

"Therefore, the Emperor authorizes you to summon the Fenris Wolf to guide us on our path."

Jiang Bing, with his feet on the net-like ground made of spirit bone, continued to ask Valerius, the imperial messenger, "I remember he's been missing for thousands of years, hasn't he?"

Chapter 990 Ritual and Waiting

The Emperor used his unparalleled genetic technology (as publicly claimed) and twenty portions of 'power' from the warp to create twenty Primarchs.

One of them is Lehman Ruth, the Primarch of the Space Wolf.

Each Primarch, ostensibly the pinnacle of Imperial genetic technology, is in reality a material manifestation of Warp Gods.

Each Primarch corresponds to certain warp essences, and if you really look into these Primarchs, they are no different from warp demons.

The system of enemies and allies sharing the same origin pervades all the heavens and myriad realms.

Leman Russ had long since disappeared from the Empire's territory. The only clear record in the Empire's history is that he quietly departed at the banquet for the Emperor's Ascension Day, 197 years after the Emperor entered the Golden Throne.

No one knows where he went, nor why he left.

All that everyone knew was that he suddenly stood up from the long table at the banquet, put down the horn that held the wine, and summoned his favorite wolf guards. Among them, only Bjorn, the youngest wolf guard with the missing hand, was left behind when Russ left. The others who were guarding their wolf king disappeared without a trace.

Jiang Bing hadn't expected that the other party would actually go into the 'Net Path'. Perhaps it was at the Emperor's behest, since the entrance to the Net Path was right under the Emperor's hook.

"He was given a sacred mission by the Emperor." The former guard seemed to know a lot of secrets and was probably a prominent figure in the Terra Palace.

“We need to call upon him, Mr. Sabur, so that he can guide us on the way forward.”

Jiang Bingren had already boarded the emperor's pirate ship, so naturally he readily agreed to his suggestions.

Valerius then began his psychic ritual.

Each Primarch has its own essential projection within the subspace, so they can naturally be summoned by certain targeted psionic rituals.

Valerius was not a psionic master, but his extraordinary intellect still endowed him with powerful learning abilities.

Setting up a psionic ritual by following the clues was not difficult for him.

A sculpture about the size of a palm, made of some kind of unknown dark wood.

The sculpture is depicted as a simplified and abstract giant wolf head. The carving style is very rough, yet very lifelike, with two Fenris sapphires that look like ice cracks serving as the wolf's eyes.

Based on his current knowledge, Jiang Bing could only recognize several intertwined mysterious symbols as 'runes' unique to the culture of Fenris.

An Imperial Guard served as the presiding officer.

The two Space Wolves gene seeds, inherited from the Space Wolves' founding battle group, contain the 'genetic information' of Riemann Ruth.

It is also the most important thing in this ritual, which is essentially a way to 'broadcast' a search for people by using the genetic resonance between Ruth and his offspring that transcends physical distance.

Two somewhat grotesque gene seeds were offered before the sculpture, guided by the blood of the Imperial Guards and flinted with their will, igniting the ceremony.

"In the blood of the Emperor, in the name of the Holy Terra!" Valerius cried out as he ascended, "Hear the call of this bloodline, Lord of the Wolves! Your hunting grounds are here!"

The tiny sapphire wolf eyes emitted a sharp, cold light. Faintly, it seemed as if an ancient wolf howl pierced through the veil of reality, resounding in everyone's ears and spreading in all directions along the extensive network of channels.

"The ritual has been successful." Despite the fact that this emperor-optimized, foolish ritual was utterly devoid of any skill, Valerius, who performed it alone, still felt exhausted.

"All we can do and need to do is wait, sir."

"I think we should also add 'defend' to that," Jiang Bing said irritably.

It is true that the ritual performed by this former Imperial Guard was to invoke the Wolf King Leman Russ, but the method was not a 'dedicated telephone line,' but rather a wide-area broadcast directly on the 'Network.'

Not only Riemann Russ could receive it, but probably all beings in the entire network could receive this mysterious signal. Although most people did not understand its meaning, some curious little devils might come to join in the fun.

For example, those beings that the Eldar call 'Mandela Grass'.

'Mandragora' is not a real grass, but a term used by the Adaling people to describe the energy entities that form within the 'Netway'.

Their origins are unknown; they may be fragments of Eldar souls lost or dead in the Web, undead cursed by the Great Fall, materialized negative emotions from the warp that escaped into the Web, or simply parasites born within the Web.

Since they are products of the Web Path itself, they can freely merge into and pass through the Web Path's bone walls, and then suddenly appear from anywhere to launch an attack.

Their numbers are quite large, and they are distributed throughout the various areas of the 'Netway,' especially in the branches, paths, and dark, broken, and forgotten areas.

Several hours after the ceremony, the Jackdaw was attacked by two waves of Mandrakes.

The Shadow Stalker is adept at ambush and stealth, with an elusive and unpredictable form, and immune to physical weapons; the Screaming Witch is capable of emitting a high-frequency psionic shriek powerful enough to shatter souls and paralyze or drive enemies mad; and the Fortress Colossus possesses terrifying power capable of destroying lightly armored vehicles head-on, and is shaped like a rock or crystal.

Their attacks are unpredictable, and all of them affect both the spiritual and physical realms, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, they fear psionic energy and also 'etheric fire'. Weapons that can generate enormous energy and heat, such as plasma and flamethrowers, can also purify them.

Besides them, there are also some long and bizarre subspace entities.

Most of them enter the network through various fissures from subspace, wandering within it all day, before being drawn in by the ritual.

Although these entities' attack methods and forms of existence are very strange, with Jiang Bing in charge, they can't cause any trouble. On the contrary, they can expand the 'craftsman's' knowledge base.

What's truly troublesome are the raiding parties of the Dark Eldar. These alien races from the Comoros are themselves major users of the Webpath and consider themselves 'protagonists'. Their frequency of appearance and their sheer size far surpass those of a few swarms of 'Mandragora' and a few weak Warp Demons.

They are truly interstellar civilizations with powerful ships and cannons, whose firepower is sufficient to destroy cities and fortresses.

However, these Dark Spirits were used to lording it over the network, and they really didn't expect that such a colossal creature as Jiang Bing would be lurking in a small branch passage.

Driven by curiosity, the Dark Eldar who followed the signal arrived like moths to a flame. Apart from adding two new "ships in bottles" for Jiang Bingxin, they only left a few scratches on the "Raven" and failed to send out even a single echo.

Several days, or even dozens or hundreds of days passed in this way. The passage of time was dulled in the network. Jiang Bingdu had already built the second star ring structure in the world of Red Dead Redemption when Mikaela, who was on shift, finally brought news of the target's appearance.

Fenris's frost storm swept into this branch passage, and the Wolf King Leman Russ, having traversed countless distances, finally arrived here, drawn by the call of his bloodline.

Chapter 991 Leman Russ

Riemann Russ rode the wind and arrived beside the Emperor's messenger.

He was like the year-round cold wind of Fenris, with biting white frost accompanying him.

The long-lost wolf king had long, flowing golden hair, but his sharp canines and wide mouth and nose made him look like a 'reckless man'.

But if someone really thinks that way, then he is an utter fool, with a rough exterior and rude manners hiding a heart as sharp as a wild beast and a brilliant mind.

"What did my father send you, Imperial Guard? A malicious joke?" The wolf king, like a mythical king of heroes, leaped off the back of the mighty wolf beneath him and asked angrily.

Clearly, the Emperor did not consult with this Primarch when he assigned the 'mission' of escorting Jiang Bing.

However, Valerius was certain that the other party would complete it, as long as the task was truly in the Empire's best interest.

He only needs to use a little bit of his words to persuade the other party.

Thus, under the protection of the weary wolf guards, the former imperial guards were able to confront the wolf king directly and begin his persuasive efforts.

Although no one knew what the Imperial Guard had said, after a short while, the proud Wolf King still led his wolf guards to Jiang Bing with suspicion.

The wolf lord looked at Jiang Bing with a questioning gaze, his nostrils twitching like a wild wolf's.

"What exactly are you?" The rude question contained a subtle probing.

"Your dad's creditor," Jiang Bing replied even more irritably.

The Emperor is a despicable scoundrel who does nothing good and has no morals whatsoever. Jiang Bing hasn't even reached any substantial deal with him yet, but he's already being driven by him to "serve the human empire" through various "methods".

Leaving aside the previous online incident, now Jiang Bing has to personally take charge of the "guide" who should have been arranged by the Emperor.

He and Tzeentch truly lived up to their sworn brotherhood; they were the kind of guys who could squeeze a toad until it peed.

Jiang Bing was starting to think that this guy deserved to sit on the golden toilet.

Jiang Bingwang realized that Riemann Russ was in big trouble the moment he saw him.

In a higher dimension, a pink, eerie emblem was deeply attached to the wolf king's subspace essence.

That was a curse mark personally placed by Slaanesh, and it was probably the fundamental reason why that Sha'rashi the Demon Catastrophe kept chasing this wolf king.

Jiang Bing even thought this might be the reason why Leman Russ would appear in the Netway. After all, in his memory, the Wolf King should be in the subspace at this moment, searching for a way to cure the Emperor's 'high-level paraplegia', instead of recklessly speeding through the maze-like Netway like a certain Khan.

Unless he is using the complex network to avoid trouble, after all, this is one of the few places in the galaxy where even the four evil gods cannot easily project their power.

How much of the future did that cunning Emperor foresee, and how many conspiracies did he secretly plot?

"Creditors?" The Wolf King chewed on the word and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

“Interesting. An unknown pagan god. You’d better be careful. As far as I know, those who are his creditors have never had a good ending.”

"I don't need your nonsense, I know what I'm doing." Looking at the Wolf Lord who was in the middle of the game but seemed completely unaware, Jiang Bing's fists were almost hard. He wished he could rush to Holy Terra and give that old psionic geek a couple of punches right there and then.

"Also, I am not a god, I am a human being!" Jiang Bing emphasized.

These words startled Riemann Russ, who then looked at Jiang Bing with a mixture of surprise and unease.

"You're really interesting, stranger!" The wolf lord laughed heartily, emphasizing the word "human" heavily, clearly indicating that he had his own opinion on the matter.

"Sabul Lerek," Jiang Bing announced his name to the other party in an annoyed manner, and then bluntly asked, "Now, the great Wolf King Leman Russ, please answer me a question seriously: before you came here, how did you anger Slaanesh?"