The Creators: From Night City

Page 499

Finally, there were three strange guards who called themselves "Raven," "Father," and "Henry." The stench of blood emanating from these three men was so strong that it broke through the seal of their fully enclosed armor, as if they had been engaged in a relentless battle in the devastating wastelands of Khorne for hundreds of years.

Similarly, they didn't look human at all, but rather like warriors of the Chaos. What was even more puzzling was that, as guards, their combat strength, according to Titus's initial assessment, was not particularly strong.

Titus was unaware that these three were seasoned 'old hunters' specializing in the mental realm. The characteristics of the warp were similar to those of the dream world of Yharnam. These three might be slightly weaker in the material world, but they were definitely experts among experts in combating the mental 'corruption' of chaos.

They are the 'subspace' security personnel for this voyage.

Finally, with the addition of himself, an Astartes guide with Ultramarines background, the entire team was strangely composed, making everyone scratch their heads.

But the mission still needs to be carried out.

The massive mechanical ark sped into the depths of space, quickly reaching a subspace point called 'Mandeville Point' at the edge of the solar system, where it awaited its leap into the subspace channel.

While subspace travel is fast and convenient, it remains an extremely dangerous activity in nature.

According to incomplete statistics from the Human Empire, the safety rate of warp travel is as high as 78%, which can be described as very safe.

Such a 'high' security rate is not only due to the possibility of physical intrusion in the subspace at any time, but also due to other diverse danger factors.

For example, the gravity of massive celestial bodies (such as stars and planets) in the real universe can interfere with subspace, forming a "gravitational shadow". If a spaceship is forcibly entered or exited from subspace within the range of the "gravitational shadow", it may be torn apart or banished to some end of spacetime by the disturbed subspace.

Therefore, a spacecraft that wants to make a subspace jump must travel to interstellar space far away from planets and stars, and reach a "quiet" region with sufficiently weak gravitational interference in order to safely jump in and out.

This area is known as 'Mandeville Point'.

Similarly, if Mandeville Point is a "port", then the warp channel is a "route" or a fixed "current" in the turbulent ocean of emotions that is the warp.

The shipping lanes controlled by the human empire are not roads paved with some kind of technology like the Web, but rather a 'fixed path' forged through thousands of years of fleet exploration, countless human sacrifices, and countless psykers risking being swallowed by the warp to use their senses to forge their way out.

Sailing along these routes will allow you to reach your destination faster and more safely.

Of course, there is no concept of space in the subspace, and the location of these 'courses' is determined entirely by using 'star torches' as reference anchors.

Kaul's mechanical ark is about to embark on a stable route from the Solar Starfield to the Altrama sector in the southeastern corner of the Hazy Starfield.

The Mechanical Arks are the largest and most valuable ships owned by the Cult of Mechanism. They are not only warships, but also mobile forging worlds, laboratories, databases, and relic collections. Each Mechanical Ark is unique.

The Starforger, the vessel of the Great Sage Cauldron, is an ancient relic from the Dark Ages, dating back over ten thousand years. It is enormous, comparable in size to a small moon.

As Kaul's headquarters and base of operations, it is equipped with a devastating array of weapons and a powerful void shield. Inside the ship, there are also complete production lines, genetic laboratories, weapons testing grounds, and a huge hangar, making it practically a moving planet.

The fact that Caul was able to pull out this mechanical ark for this mission means he's revealed all his secrets.

However, for every person who wants to save, there is someone who wants to destroy; for every person who wants to build, there is someone who wants to ruin.

The Starforger's journey through the warp was destined to be anything but smooth.

The Emperor, Jiang Bing, and even the wise man Kaul were all well aware of this.

Sure enough, not long after the massive 'Starforger' ark entered the dark warp, 'waves' suddenly arose in the channel it was in.

It's important to know that the Empire has strict criteria for evaluating warp 'trajectories'.

A stable-level waterway means a relatively reliable route that has been repeatedly verified, tested over hundreds of years, and determined by thousands of voyages; each one can be considered the lifeline of the empire.

But this time, the vast, waveless subspace seemed to have gained its own consciousness, and this chaotic ocean 'coincidentally' stirred up 'waves' on this 'channel'.

The first to notice the anomaly was the navigator on the ark; his spirit was the first to be struck by some unknown impact and suffered severe damage instantly.

Before he screamed and was reduced to ashes by the navigation throne beneath him, he roared out his dying words.

"The starlight has been obscured!"

Chapter 1014 Lost in the Subspace

Immediately following this was a frantic alarm that Geller's position was being severely challenged.

By the time everyone had gathered on the bridge, Sage Caul had already ascertained the specific circumstances.

A strange storm temporarily obscured the starlight, and without guidance and direction, everyone was essentially trapped in the warp, waiting to die.

Of course, Kaul's mechanical ark has a complete self-sustaining supply system that can sustain the entire crew for thousands of years.

However, although the pressure on supplies is not great, as the time spent trapped in the subspace increases, the danger will get closer and closer, accumulating until it finally explodes.

Of course, the interior of the mechanical ark remains safe until the power of the Geller force field weakens to a certain extent.

The Geller Position, humanity's only protective device in the warp, works by creating a 'bubble of the real universe' around the spaceship, thereby repelling the unreal characteristics of the warp.

Simply put, its existence constantly proclaims to the subspace at the level of rules: "My interior is still part of the material universe, and the laws of physics still apply here."

Subspace entities are pure chaotic energy and spiritual beings. Under normal circumstances, they cannot break through the veil and the restrictions of the laws to enter the 'reality bubble' supported by Geller's position, nor can they survive in it.

However, it is not an absolutely invincible entity.

First, its defensive strength has an upper limit. A particularly powerful warp storm, some sufficiently powerful demons, and warp entities can instantly destroy the field. Even if they cannot directly destroy the field, they will consume its energy at a high intensity, increase the load on the field generator, and greatly increase the risk of failure.

Geller's 'energy core' is not a traditional plasma reactor or fusion engine, but a 'pseudo-energy cell' with Warhammer's own unique characteristics—an unfortunate psyker.

His psychic energy and even his soul would be ruthlessly extracted to become the energy source for maintaining the 'reality bubble'. Of course, under such circumstances, the lifespan of a 'psychic battery' would not be long.

The massive 'Starforger' naturally consumes even more 'phantom batteries'.

Secondly, the Geller Field can only block external warp attacks, but it cannot defend against attacks from behind.

If a ship navigating the warp harbors Chaos worshippers, they might try every means to deliberately shut down or destroy the Geller Field Generator, thus offering the entire ship to their worshipped Chaos master. Ironically, most ships have Chaos worshippers mixed in, like a virus that seems impossible to eradicate from the human population. A Chaos-tainted relic, a heretical tome, or a possessed heretical statue that a ship might carry could also be 'activated' upon entering the warp, corrupting reality from within. Furthermore, any untrained (or previously unaware of their psionic talents) or power-uncontrollable psionicist would act as a bright beacon in the warp, attracting the attention of warp entities. Their souls might be corrupted and tempted in their sleep or unconsciously, falling into depravity and becoming the backdoor through which warp forces invade the ship's interior.

The most interesting point is that other 'creations' that can exist normally in the real universe can easily penetrate the protection of the Geller force field, such as the Chaos Astartes.

Therefore, boarding maneuvers by subspace ships are a tried-and-true home-field tactic of "high-ground attack".

They will break through the Geller field, enter the target's interior, and focus their attack on the Geller field generator chamber.

Once the protection of the Geller Field is lost, even for a second, it would be enough for the warp entities to flood into the entire interior of the ship, causing irreparable consequences.

As the Starforger remained trapped in the warp for longer and longer, a series of strange events began to occur on the ark.

First, many crew members began reporting that they occasionally saw moving shadows and heard sounds that should not be there, such as whispers, screams, and laughter.

Of course, these individuals were quickly placed under close surveillance and brought under 'effective' control.

Secondly, the morale of everyone on the ship gradually became 'high'. According to the phase data report obtained by Sage Caul, the frequency of arguments and fights began to soar, and people's hearts began to become restless.

Subsequently, the 'Geller Field' that enveloped the entire mechanical ark was impacted and gradually struggled, and was constantly weakened by inexplicable attacks.

But none of these are the most important issues.

Most importantly, as expected, an accident occurred inside the Ark.

A chilling malice swept over Titus's senses, waking him from his daily meditation.

Then, what flooded his senses was the piercing sound of sirens.

The frequency of three short and three long notes indicates that the ship has been attacked by an unknown force.

"It's most likely a demon invasion, and less likely a gene-stealer riot," Titus immediately judged.

Fortunately, during his time trapped in the subspace, he always kept his armor and gun with him at all times.

Outside the lounge, chaos reigned as machine servants and mortal guards, led by the technical priest, rushed about busily.

Titus quickly arrived at the bridge; his priority, more important than anything else, was ensuring the safety of the Ark's brain.

"The enemy's target is the Geller field generator inside the Ark," the old Imperial Guard deduced, looking at the ship's internal topography map in front of him.

As expected, the great sage remained completely calm.

"I have already sent troops to suppress the attack," the Great Sage said, using his consciousness to open a video that showed the enemy attack.

These are a group of deformed and grotesque demons, but the outlines of the humans they possessed can still be vaguely discerned.

"The witchcraft summoning of heretics?" the old Imperial Guard revealed the origin of the enemy.

"That's not important; their power is insufficient to shake the defenses of the force generator."

“This is a trap, Great Sage,” Titus’s voice preceded his arrival.

"These demons are just bait thrown out to attract attention; their main force and targets are elsewhere. This is a typical demon deception tactic."

"The bridge, or the engine room?" Valerius's extensive combat experience immediately led him to various conclusions.

"I think the enemy's target might be here."

Titus pointed to the right rear of the ark, where the resource self-circulation system was located.

"The bridge or engine room are the most concentrated areas of defense. With the strength of these heretics, going there would only be walking into a trap. So I think they might choose this place as their breakthrough point."

"Cut off our supply lines and then wear us down?" the old Imperial Guard concluded.

Chapter 1015 The Nurgle Army, Firefight in the Dense Fog

“Brilliant arguments, but with the power they currently demonstrate, they are still insufficient to completely destroy the self-sustaining system there.”

The Great Sage of Caul was naturally familiar with the data on his own ships. Those massive self-circulating systems could not be completely destroyed by simply using explosives to destroy some machinery. Moreover, the damage to the machinery was a minor issue for a mechanical ark, and the foundry could produce new replacements in no time.

But the sudden warning buzzer pierced everyone's eardrums, interrupting their argument.

A strange-looking ship suddenly emerged from the void of warp space and charged toward the 'Starforger'.

By the time the detection arrays spotted each other in the cold, empty subspace, the distance between them had become dangerously close.

The top-tier tech enthusiasts naturally used the most advanced detection arrays, and the 'Starforger' immediately detected a large amount of data about the other party.

It was a rotting behemoth. The basic outline of the warship still retained the shadow of the Imperial Great Expedition, but its overall appearance had long been unrecognizable. The entire hull was like a rotting piece of flesh or a festering wound. The metal armor plates were rusty, and the surface was covered with pustules and cracks. Huge tumors, tentacles, and intestinal-like organic tubes wrapped around the hull, and they were pulsating on their own from time to time.

"They are the lackeys of the Lord of Plague!"

Titus immediately recognized the other party's identity; the various distinct characteristics unsurprisingly indicated that the other party was a member of the Chaos Astartes warband who had sided with Nurgle.

The warships and demons of the Nurgle Chaos faction, like their masters, are a terrifying combination of rotting abscesses and overgrown flesh, making them easily identifiable.

"No, these heretics on the ship want to contaminate the supplies on the Ark!" Valerius immediately realized.

After a brief moment of thought (calculation), Caul and Titus immediately agreed with Valerius's view.

Nurgle, one of the four evil gods, wields the power of plague and disease. If his minions were to completely corrupt the survival supplies inside the Starforger, it would be as easy as Trump making money in the stock market—a piece of cake.

With just a brief contact, the demons under Nurgle's command can unleash countless plagues and diseases to completely contaminate food, water, and other organic matter. These powerful plagues and viruses will also spread rapidly through the self-circulating system, infecting any connected storage space and completely destroying the Ark's internal supply system.

If the demonic forces summoned by these cultists were even stronger, they could even infect the metal with plague, completely 'plague-izing' a part of the mechanical ark and turning it into a forbidden zone for living beings.

"We must stop their atrocities!" Titus said, uttering a pointless statement.

However, the subspace 'naval warfare' has already begun, and the enemy is attempting to disrupt the decisions and actions of everyone on board through external interference.

Amidst the piercing alarm, the Starforger and its outer armor had been subjected to an unidentified attack.

You can't activate the Void Shield inside the warp; it's like stepping on your own foot. If you dare to do that, exploding on the spot is the best outcome.

Due to the disturbance of energy in subspace, all sensors and detectors will be severely interfered with, and navigators and star talkers will be rendered practically useless. In such an environment, ships are like fighting blindly in a thick fog.

Fortunately, the Starforger is large and robust enough, with a large number of Guardians of the Order and sufficient firepower.

Without wasting words, Kaul directly connected with the ship using his consciousness and began to direct the counterattack.

Countless beam cannons and macro cannons formed a barrage, directly covering the direction of the incoming enemy.

A fleeting light shone in the dark warp. A large number of cyst shells were intercepted and detonated midway, but a few still landed on the Geller field, exploding into large clouds of corrosive spores and plague pus. Using their own reality properties, they penetrated the Geller field and began to spread into the ship.

The ship's hull, stained with this unclean flesh and blood, instantly sprouted deformed flesh and foul-smelling pus. The hard deck was gradually corroded, and poisonous gas began to spread through any cracks. At the same time, green spores rapidly multiplied, turning the places they occupied into a rotting hell.

More cystic shells continued to come, and although most were intercepted, many still landed on the ship's hull.

Finally, the steel was permeated by twisted flesh.

In a single encounter, dozens of unprotected servants and slaves were infected by the plague that had spread into the cabin air, dying amidst horrific screams and wails, and then transformed into deformed and stinking rotting corpses.

The airtight doors of the compartment were quickly sealed, and the frigates equipped with biological and chemical protective gear began a rapid response.

They relentlessly attacked every living thing in front of them with fierce firepower, and then used promethium flamethrowers to 'purify' every inch of the contaminated bulkhead.

Although Caul devoted most of his energy to this dogfight, which was like blind men touching an elephant, his powerful heretical modifications still allowed him to keep an eye on the situation inside the ship.

"Communication lost in DH245 area. That's where organic supplies are stored. Looks like you guessed right, Imperial Guard." Caul didn't turn around, and the floating servo skull automatically flew in front of the two and broadcast the message.

“We must stop them, otherwise these infected supplies are very likely to become resources for the Plague Lord to grow stronger,” Titanus suggested.

“Agreed, Brother Titus. Based on your resume, you will be in charge of this mission,” Caul replied immediately.

“I will send two teams of bio-engineered specialized frigates to support you and open part of my armory to you. In addition, you can also seek help from the messengers of Om Messiah.”

Titus readily accepted the mission and, guided by his servant, headed to the 'Armory' for pre-battle preparations.

Ordinary kinetic weapons are not very effective against the Nurgle forces, so Titus needs to upgrade his equipment accordingly.