"Edge optical sensors detected a biological response; a human unit has entered the shield."
The artificial intelligence responded swiftly. After processing and calculating the minor anomaly, it uploaded the data directly to the central command hall.
The Sorrowsome Master's tentacles floated rapidly across the tactical map, shifting forces and deploying a frontal defense line.
The Salamanders' assault had come with terrifying speed, sweeping like a wildfire across the entire front in an all-out offensive intended to end the war on Planet VIII.
"Dispatch a sweep team."
Fixing its gaze tightly on the map, the Master issued the disposal order in a heavy voice.
Across the entire theater, alarms were sounding. In the face of the soaring morale of the Space Marine Legions and human forces, the Rangdan defenders were falling back at every turn.
The deaths of the three Masters had triggered a chain reaction; even before the human assault began, the defenders' morale had been hovering near collapse.
The defensive lines tumbled backward like a row of falling dominoes. The collapse was inevitable; the momentum had slipped away completely.
All the Sorrowsome Master could do now was delay the pace of the Rangdan Empire's defeat.
And nothing more.
Receiving its orders, the AI drew garrison warriors from the reserve forces, directing them to purge the human who had slipped in from the fortress perimeter.
Along the outer perimeter of the Rangdan fortress shield, Selene was in no rush to blink forward.
Moving neither too fast nor too slow, the hide-clad Primarch moved through the enemy fortress like a hunting beast.
Plumes of dense smoke billowed from the outer industrial zone, the ring of forged steel echoing from factories while underground trains hurtled past.
A tightly integrated system of production and transport was funneling war materiel directly to the front.
Selene's figure flickered. The xenos thralls and patrol units could not capture his movements, sensing only a sudden gust of wind passing by.
Using his extraordinary perception, he was actively analyzing the operational logic of this fortress war machine.
The secrets of cosmic conflict laid themselves bare before his eyes.
Flicking a casual fireball to incinerate a group of hunters sent to converge on him, Selene picked up another lesson: covert surveillance was everywhere.
A dozen minutes passed, and the AI sensors failed to capture a single trace of the intruder.
A formidable lifeform had vanished entirely from the network's monitoring grid!
Having effortlessly slipped past the hunting team's encirclement, Selene let out a soft chuckle, stepping into the shadows of a building.
Inside the Rangdan combat command hall, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
The human unit that had breached the fortress had slipped past the AI's sight, its current location completely unknown.
Every commander understood a simple truth: anyone capable of evading AI surveillance possessed the ability to silently reach the command room itself!
"It is a human Primarch," the Sorrowsome Master stated after a moment's thought, seeing through the intruder's identity. "And one for whom we have no records."
Showing no trace of surprise, it kept its head bowed, monitoring the shifting front lines on the grand map as its distorted voice issued new deployments: "Do not send any more hunting teams; the sacrifice of Rangdan warriors is meaningless here. Direct the AI to locate his position and track him continuously. Let the Aeldari slaves and Shadow Spectres handle him."
"Understood!"
With the high-level command issued, the base moved into high gear.
Aeldari warriors and Shadow Spectres surged forth, converging on the area where the human Primarch had been spotted.
Selene remained concealed within the shadows of a foundry hall, chewing on the sickening, dark-green brain of a Rangdan Overlord under the scorching glare of the steel plant.
He was harvesting information while continuing his game of cat and mouse.
There was still plenty of time; a brief window remained before the optimal moment to deploy the beacon, leaving him ample room to move freely.
Suddenly, his ears twitched slightly as he picked up an unusual vibration.
Air tainted with industrial pollution was being torn apart at high speed, accompanied by nimble footsteps tapping out an agile rhythm.
Aeldari. Shadow Spectres.
Information surfaced in Selene's mind, provided directly by the memories of the Rangdan Overlord.
"Things are getting interesting," he murmured to himself, casually stepping out of his hiding place before vanishing in a blur.
Sprinting at high speed along massive conduits, Selene's extraordinary brain mapped out counter-measures, calculating how to execute the enemy.
The Shadow Spectres and Aeldari warriors posed a slight threat—enough to warrant his serious attention.
Before long, Selene maneuvered near a refinery, deliberately allowing the AI to capture his location.
Interlocking steel conduits crisscrossed this area, transporting high-energy fuel that severely restricted the high-speed mobility of both enemy types.
The vibrations echoed in his ears once more, and he looked up.
Peering through the gaps between the steel pipes, he caught sight of the Shadow Spectres forming an attack pattern at the edge of his sensory range, sweeping toward him at full tilt.
The light footsteps drew closer as the Aeldari warriors traversed the steel structures toward his position.
Come on! Come!
At that moment, a cruel smile appeared on Selene's face as a wave of excitement surged through him.
It had been a long, long time since he last slaughtered xenos.
The dormant, savage killing intent awakened within his body, and his combat instincts returned in full force. Rolling his shoulders, his joints popped like crackling beans.
He glanced down to check the time—three minutes remained until the optimal window for deploying the teleportation beacon.
Standing within the forest of steel, he waited for the xenos warriors to march to their deaths!
The Shadow Spectres moved with extreme speed, their two pairs of transparent wings offering immense maneuverability as they hovered above the conduits.
Yet, they hesitated.
As the war with humanity deepened, the formidable power of the Primarchs had become universally recognized as an insurmountable force.
Even these proud warriors had to admit that when facing a human Primarch, their own prowess and martial skill amounted to very little.
Detecting the xenos' hesitation, Selene's inner contempt deepened.
"Are you afraid?" He pointed his right-hand staff toward the sky, his crisp provocation cutting through the industrial din. "Afraid of a warrior's inevitable death?"
"I overreacted to you," he sneered, the large ram skull shaking as he shook his head. "Lowly, blood-drinking xenos... savagery is your true color, devoid of honor or courage."
"Even clad in high-tech power armor and advanced weaponry, you remain nothing more than a pack of beasts acting on instinct."
"You are doomed to fail!" His voice rose abruptly, his low growl echoing like a heavy war drum. "Because you vermin are vile and hideous."
A surge of aura erupted from Selene, so dense it almost manifested physically, kicking up a whirlwind around him.
"You dare insult us?" The leader of the Shadow Spectres clicked its mouthparts together, its strange voice brimming with rage. "This dishonor must be washed away in blood!"
"Even if you are a Primarch—even if you are powerful beyond our match!"
Transparent wings buzzed violently as over a hundred Shadow Spectres formed a battle array, surging toward Selene in a bid to butcher him.
Filled with fury, they sought to wipe away their humiliation with the blood of a human Primarch!
"Vermin deserve to be crushed!" Unfazed, Selene stood his ground, silver flames flickering in his eyes.
Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~
The hum of the Shadow Spectres' wings merged into a single drone as they brandished their weapons, their compound eyes filled with fatal resolve.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Selene let out a bright, boisterous laugh. Seizing a Shadow Spectre with one hand, he slammed it viciously into the ground, crushing it to death on the spot.
"Flames!" Crouching smoothly, he drove his left hand through the carapace and corpse, pressing his palm against the scorching ground.
BOOM—!!
In an instant, a vast sheet of silver flame erupted, spouting upward from the earth.
Silver dragons of fire danced wildly, exploding upon contacting living flesh and wrapping the Shadow Spectres in a roaring blaze.
Transparent wings withered and shriveled as the silver fire seeped through chitinous carapaces, igniting internal fats and fluids before spreading along nerves and bones.
Within the sea of silver fire, the Shadow Spectres could no longer hold their flight formations. Instinctively curling up and rolling across the ground, painful shrieks issued from their mouthparts.
Unable to endure the extreme heat, they found the fire clinging to them like an inescapable curse no matter how they rolled.
In ultimate agony, they struggled to pry open their carapaces with both arms, praying only for the flames to consume them faster so they might find swift release.
"Vermin deserve to be burned to ash!"
Exhilaration filled Selene's heart as he walked barefoot through the sea of silver fire, the extreme heat unable to harm him in the slightest.
"Flames shall purify all," he chanted, praising the grand power of fire as his left hand clamped onto an Aeldari warrior's head, lifting the xenos up before his face.
"You desecrate this form," Selene growled, a wave of disgust rising inside him as he stared at the long, pointed ears. "You should feel honored to share a torso similar to that of humanity."
His fingers tightened abruptly. As the bone-white mask creaked under the extreme pressure, the Howling Banshee struggled violently, her slender arms hammering against his muscular forearm.
CRACK~
The skull shattered; brain matter burst from the Banshee, and her body went limp.
Tossing the corpse carelessly into the flames, Selene swept his bone staff in a wide arc, smashing the heads of several more Aeldari surging through the fire.
"Flames... purify..."
The towering figure strode through the steel jungle and the sea of silver fire, the flames spreading outward from his feet.
The silver fire burned at an extraordinarily high temperature, easily incinerating the chitinous armor of the Shadow Spectres and proving far too intense for Aeldari power armor to withstand.
Steel melted into liquid streams while the ground rapidly vitrified. Selene moved like a walking natural disaster, rapidly eliminating and purifying the unholy xenos.
Incantations fell continuously from his lips like those of a fanatical zealot, giving full vent to his utter hatred for the unclean alien.