LRAB Chapter 20 Debate
Chapter 20 Debate
"You cannot stop it. The Lord of Storms has awakened, and Dawn Star will be destroyed. All people will become his sacrifices."
After saying that, he suddenly bit his tongue, spat out a mouthful of black blood, and fell to the ground dead.
Apophis stepped forward, his voice low:
"Chief, their minds are completely empty. There is no fear, no pain, only a fanaticism that has been forcibly instilled in them. Their souls have been completely emptied by some force."
After listening to the report, Li Wei frowned and remained silent. Instead, he squatted down and opened the old pastor's robe.
Inside was a black scripture with a distorted storm symbol on its cover.
"Son of Sitan," Li Wei murmured, reading the words on the book's cover, "a cult that worships the Lord of Storms."
He opened the scripture, and its contents sent chills down his spine.
The scriptures say that the Lord of Storms is sealed beneath Dawn Star, and can only be awakened by offering a life as a sacrifice.
When He returns to His position, the earth will crack, the sky will burn, and all believers will gain eternal life along with the Lord of Storms.
"Core decay didn't happen naturally at all." Li Wei suddenly stood up. "They caused it on purpose. They're awakening something underground."
Just then, a huge explosion was heard in the distance.
The ground was shaking violently, and the stone monument in the square collapsed with a crash.
Urgent reports came through Li Wei's psionic link from each squad:
"Chief! Large numbers of cultists have appeared in the lower hives, and they are destroying the Stormhawks parked at the landing site!"
"All the civilians in the eastern part of the city have committed suicide! They locked themselves in their houses and set fire to the chromium pipes!"
Li Wei suddenly looked up at the sky and said in a low voice:
"There's something underground! I can feel a huge surge of resentful energy rising up!"
The smoke and dust churned even more violently, and a strange red light shone from deep within the ground, shooting straight into the sky.
He finally understood why the whole planet felt strange.
This was a long-planned sacrifice.
The three million civilians on Dawn Star who had not yet been evacuated were all sacrifices offered to that underground being.
"Pass down the order." Li Wei's voice was cold and firm. "Half of each squad will detach to cover the evacuation of the civilians who have already been rescued. As for the rest, come with me underground."
"Chief, it's too dangerous!" Apophis exclaimed urgently. "We have no idea what's underground!"
"We have to go." Li Wei shook his head. "If we don't stop that thing, not only will these three million civilians die, but when the Iron Warriors arrive, they will also perish with them."
He gripped the black scripture in his hand and looked towards the area deep in the city that was glowing red.
"I'm going to see what this so-called Lord of Storms really is."
Half a day later.
Li Wei drew his Abyss Battle Axe, fully prepared for battle. A thousand Thousand Sons warriors had already formed ranks and were about to step into a mine entrance emanating the aura of subspace when the earth suddenly trembled violently.
A heavy troop carrier painted with a gray-white skull crashed through a nearby wall, its tracks making a piercing roar as they rolled over the rubble.
Before long, the hatch burst open, and a tall figure stepped out first, slamming a dented engineering hammer heavily onto the ground, creating a ring of cracks.
"Petulabo!"
Li Wei frowned and said in a deep voice.
Although he had never met Peturabo in person, Levi recognized the endless array of steel warriors behind him.
Clad in iron-gray power armor, they spread out in battle formation, each holding a bomb gun, the cold muzzle of which was intentionally or unintentionally aimed at the Thousand Sons warriors.
"Who gave you permission, Senko, to act without authorization?"
Peturabo's voice was like ice, as he looked around before finally landing on Li Wei of the Thousand Sons Chief Think Tank.
Li Wei sheathed his Abyss Battle Axe and performed the Eagle Salute:
"The Peturabo Primarch. There exists a subspace beneath the Earth that caused the core decay and all the anomalies. I'm preparing to take people down to deal with it."
"Warspace exists?" Peturabo scoffed, taking two steps forward, his enormous shadow completely enveloping Levi.
He pointed his sledgehammer at the mine entrance, his tone dripping with undisguised sarcasm:
"Magnus, that bookworm, only knows how to make up this kind of nonsense to steal credit? The decay of Dawn's core is a natural phenomenon officially confirmed by the Mechanicus, and it has absolutely nothing to do with your mystical hallucinations."
“I didn’t make this up.” Levi frowned and tossed the black scripture to him. “This is the teaching of the Sons of Shitan. The Lord of Storms they worship is sealed five kilometers underground. All the earthquakes and suicide attacks are meant to awaken him.”
Peturab casually took the scripture, threw it on the ground without even glancing at it, and crushed it to dust with his heavy power boots.
"A bunch of lunatics' nonsense is hardly worthy of being considered evidence? I think you're just afraid that Iron Warrior will steal the spotlight from your Thousand Sons, so you're deliberately making up a monster to buy time."
He suddenly raised his voice, his chiseled face filled with rage:
"Now, take your men and get to the landing point I've set up to cover the evacuation of the imperial people."
"My engineering teams will blast open the mine tunnels to reinforce the Earth's core, and my transport ships will evacuate all civilians. This is the Fourth Army's defense zone; it's none of your business to interfere."
"Primarch Perturabo, you can't do this!" Apophis couldn't help but speak up. "Our psionic senses can clearly feel the resentment beneath the earth..."
"Shut up!" Peturabo snapped. "I don't want to hear any more nonsense about psionics. If you dare say another word, I'll nail you to the landing ramp."
The surrounding Iron Warriors immediately raised their explosive guns and aimed them at the Thousand Sons Warriors.
Looking at Peturabo's stubborn face, Li Wei knew that further argument was pointless. He took a deep breath and nodded:
"Okay. We'll go guard the boarding point. But I'll remind you one last time, the things underground can't be dealt with by explosives. If you encounter anything you can't handle, call me."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to lead the Thousand Sons warriors away from the mine entrance.
Then, the next second, we heard Peturabo's voice, which was several notes lower.
"Wait, who told you to leave? Finish your work first and explore the depths of the cave with us."
"What?"
Li Wei was stunned, his mind filled with questions. Just a moment ago they were telling us to get lost, how come they changed their minds in the blink of an eye?
What kind of brain circuit is this?
He turned to look at Peturabo's calm, composed face, an expression that seemed genuine.
Only then did I realize that this was the usual demeanor of the Lord of Steel.
After all, as one of the galaxy's top strategists and engineers, he couldn't be so easily enraged.
He was furious because he had stolen the mission from someone else.
Now, in order to better complete the great expedition mission issued by the empire, he regained his rationality as an engineer, knowing the importance of specialization.
The most appropriate choice for resolving the subspace issue is to have a thousand children of average psionicists solve it.
But there's no need to make it so awkward. Just say what you mean directly. It's really baffling.
After a moment's hesitation, Li Wei nodded in agreement. Solving the underground threat was more important; as for the rest, there was no point in worrying about it.