The void battlefield of the Paradis System was filled with endless bombardment, turned into a purgatory.
At the center of the battlefield stood the mobile fortress Mountain Array, embodying the glory and iron will of the Imperial Fists with thousands of years of history. It loomed like a silent god of war.
An exaggerated number of massive cannons, light lance launchers, and torpedo tubes continuously spewed destructive flames.
They fired dazzling beams and countless shells at the invading undead fleet.
The flashes of explosions briefly illuminated the silhouettes of ships made of living metal, shaped like pyramids or crescents.
Datch had used the Star Train to build a Star Rail connecting Terra, Macragge, and Paradis.
This allowed the Imperial fleet to travel at superluminal speeds without plunging into the dangerous Warp.
The mountain range no longer remained on Terra but had instead moved to Paradis Island, becoming a powerful bulwark against the spirit-banishing dead zone.
Probing attacks by the cosmic Necromancers on humanity's defensive network had become routine.
Like the most patient hunters, they repeatedly launched assaults to scout defenses, gather data, and search for weaknesses.
Once a certain number of casualties were inflicted, they would retreat and wait for the next opportunity.
In the void, the Imperium's bombardment collided with the undead's green particle beams and antimatter torpedoes, creating hellish scenes of destruction.
The explosions were so violent they resembled supernovae, illuminating the surrounding darkness.
Imperial commanders had formed defensive formations with the Mountain Array at the core, fighting the undead fleet with relentless firepower.
Although the undead's technology far surpassed humanity's, the Mountain Array's main guns could pierce planets, and its close-range weapon systems were impregnable...
They could reduce undead warships that dared enter range to living metal fragments, forcing them to retreat into strange dimensional spaces for reconstruction.
When the Necromancer fleet's losses reached the retreat threshold, the Imperial commanders thought the war was over and breathed sighs of relief.
However, the expected familiar green flash did not appear.
Instead, anomalous fluctuations appeared in the gravitational parameters across the entire star system.
Visible ripples spread as if space itself had turned to liquid.
It expanded slowly, affecting all warships and even causing resonant vibrations in the Mountain Array's heavy armor plates.
Immediately after, an unimaginable undead monster appeared at the edge of the battlefield.
It was an ancient weapon from 60 million years ago that had destroyed countless worlds during the Heavenly War.
Its enormous size obscured the distant stars behind it, and its shadow seemed to swallow light.
The hull was composed of incomprehensible, dark, almost living metal.
Complex geometric patterns were etched across its surface—patterns that would mentally overwhelm even master engineers at a glance.
It was enveloped in an almost solid energy shield whose surface was not smooth.
Rather, it resembled the storm-ravaged atmosphere of a planet, with violent thunderstorms swirling and exploding inside.
Thick lightning writhed like anguished serpents through the void, striking out.
The shield blocked all forms of detection and scanning.
Its very existence brought absolute oppressive pressure that froze souls and a despair capable of crushing civilizations.
When fired, bright and eerie green beams illuminated the entire dark space.
An Imperial warship that had finished maneuvering and was preparing to attack took a direct hit from the beam.
Its thick void shields evaporated instantly like thin ice thrown into a high-temperature furnace.
The ironclad structure spanning over 10 kilometers cracked and melted amid continuous implosions and flames.
It eventually turned into a slowly expanding cloud of debris mixed with molten metal and congealed blood.
Whether agile frigates or heavy cruisers, any Imperial warship attempting to intercept it was reduced to blazing wreckage in a single strike.
Countless people loyal to the Emperor perished with the destruction of the warships, their despairing cries echoing across the comms channels.
The shadow of defeat weighed heavily on every Imperial captain's heart.
This overwhelmingly powerful immortal behemoth advanced through the void composed of warship fragments and human corpses, heading straight for the Mountain Array.
Meanwhile, the main bridge of the Mountain Array was filled with alarm sirens and shouts.
Countless holographic projection panels glowed red.
Piercing synthetic tactical alarm tones mixed with the emergency reports of the officers.
Galadon, captain of the Imperial Fists' Third Company Terra Sentinels and the highest-ranking commander of the mountain forces, stood before the command dais.
His resolute face, illuminated by incoming fire and lightning from the undead behemoth's shield, stared fixedly at the rapidly approaching point of destruction on the tactical map.
Beside him stood Valerian, captain of the Imperial Custodian Shield Host, and Aleya of the Silent Sisterhood.
The servo systems of their power armor emitted faint whines, maintaining readiness for any surprise attack.
Countless officers, tech-priests, navigators, and gunner sergeants bustled before complex control consoles, shouting orders.
The air was filled with the sounds of commands, data reports, and operating machinery.
Every face was filled with the determination to fight to the death.
Behind them stretched the stellar paths leading to Macragge and even sacred Terra—they could not afford to lose them.
At the heaviest moment of the atmosphere, a green portal of light suddenly appeared in the open space of the bridge.
Immediately after, a warrior in pitch-black armor, with golden flames spewing from his eyes and mouth, appeared riding a blazing warhorse.
When the blazing warhorse stepped on the adamantium floor, the hoofprints left behind flared briefly then vanished.
Strangely, the flames did not scorch the floor at all.
Clearly, this type of flame was of little use against human matter.
The moment Datch appeared, the entire bridge fell silent.
Surprise, confusion, and a faint instinctive awe spread across the crowd's faces.
Is this a cursed warrior riding a flame warhorse? Has the Emperor foreseen our defeat and sent the Cursed Legion in advance?
This thought brought a sliver of comfort to everyone present. The Emperor was still watching over them.
But it also cast a shadow of failure over their hearts.
"Nameless One?" Valerian asked tentatively.
Datch turned his face and saw no exclamation or question marks displayed above the other's head.
He turned away and completely ignored him.
"Stop immediately! This is the Nameless One, not a cursed warrior."
Galadon halted the Imperial Fists warriors who were advancing and ordered them back to their posts to remain vigilant.
Datch was completely unaware of the surrounding situation.
He sheathed his warhorse and slipped through the tense air of the bridge, passing dazedly between two tech-priests.
Incidentally, he also knocked over a data report the staff had just compiled, leaving the entire staff stunned.
Datch pushed through the crowd and reached the main control panel filled with data interfaces.
Under the crowd's bewildered gazes, Datch took out the Omnissiah's Spirit Cube from the game inventory.
Looking at the cube that appeared to contain a small rotating galaxy inside, Datch placed it without hesitation onto the main control panel.
Clang! Buzz!
A deep metallic sound rang out.
In the next second, dazzling mystical golden data light burst forth from the contact point of the Rubik's Cube-like object, as if it had a life of its own.
Like a torrent, it spread wildly along every wire and pipe of the main control panel.
In an instant, it pierced through the bridge, which was the size of a town.
And through the internal communications and energy networks, its influence reached every corner of the Mountain Array.
From the deepest plasma reactors to the outermost void shield generators, from the base of each gun turret to the walls of every section.
At this moment, the entire steel fortress awakened and connected through this strange flow of light.
Inside the bridge, the center console glowed the brightest.
The light intertwined and began to take shape, outlining the silhouette of a small human figure.
As the light faded, a blonde loli wearing a thick gray Imperial uniform and a vibrant yellow trench coat symbolizing the Imperial Fists landed lightly barefoot on the polished floor.
She looked at most eleven or twelve years old. She had smooth, straight short blonde hair and golden eyes that seemed to hold vast amounts of information.
She first looked around with slight curiosity, her gaze tracing the shocked faces of everyone present, finally stopping on the flame-enveloped Datch.
She blinked her overly dazzling eyes, raised a small hand, and performed a standard Imperial Aquila salute.
"Nameless Lord, I am Mountain Spirit, reporting for duty."
She stared at the flames spewing from Datch's helmet eyes and said in a curious tone,
"Master, why are flames coming from your eyes?"
"Has the recent fighting been too intense, making you irritable or restless?"
"Does the heat not hurt your eyes? Would you like a cold drink?"
"..."
Datch was somewhat surprised looking at the talkative ship girl before him.
Logically, the ship girl of a grand, massive vessel like the Mountain Array should be a brave, taciturn, and mature woman, right?
What was this chatty, excessively curious little girl?
The entire bridge fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Only the faint but steady roar of incoming bombardment and the clear voice of the loli could be heard.
Everyone stood frozen like statues.
Their brains desperately tried—and failed—to process this vision that transcended all theology, mechanism, and common sense.
"Heretic… no, unknown entity! State your identification code and origin!"
Curtis Rone, a 32-year-old tech-savant in a red robe with hydraulic whines from her mechanical prosthetic joints, stepped forward.
The servo-skull behind her emitted two crimson scanning beams from its eyes, thoroughly inspecting the suddenly appeared loli.
Mountain Spirit turned her face; her golden eyes met the tech-priest's complex mechanical gaze.
"Curtis Rone No. 32, service time: 53 Terran standard years and 127 days. Primarily responsible for secondary energy distribution and redundant system maintenance in Section 3."
"During the 114th neural link upgrade conducted 37 years ago, a 0.003% interface mismatch occurred, which may occasionally cause dream-like data stream phenomena."
"I myself am the collective consciousness and mechanical soul manifestation of the Mountain Array."
"What?!" Captain Galadon's voice carried barely suppressed shock.
He first turned to the unknown man, then back to the clearly underage loli girl.
"This is impossible! The Mountain Array is a fortress and a weapon. It is a sacred legacy left to us by Primarch Rogal Dorn. How could it… possess a will like this!!"
Galadon was utterly devastated. Such a massive mountain had manifested its will in the form of a little girl.
Is this a joke? Can't it at least appear as a 3-meter-tall, imposing, ferocious giant?
"Captain Galadon, watch your language and volume."
Mountain Spirit's small brows furrowed, and her tone suddenly turned serious.
An aura of dignity, completely disproportionate to her petite stature and forged through countless battles and the passage of time, radiated from her.
"I fought alongside the Imperial Fists' Primarch, the rebel Dorn, battled against Horus's Great Heresy with many Imperial soldiers, and confronted the Imperium's powerful enemies many times."
She paused and swept her golden eyes over everyone present.
"Everyone here, including the Imperial Custodians, has received enormous benefits by calling me Ancestor."
Mountain Spirit stood with both hands on her hips. Though her posture lacked curves, it radiated a dignified aura.
"However, calling me Ancestor doesn't sound very nice. Call me Mountain Spirit instead. It's a name that will sound pleasant after a while."
Mountain Spirit turned her head and gazed through the observation window at the undead behemoth entangled in lightning and thunder.
Her small face emitted an intense, almost belligerent light, and her voice rose several octaves with joy.
"What a wonderful day! I've just materialized, and there's already such a big guy as a practice partner."
"The demise of those detestable xenos shall be the proof of my birth."
Mountain Spirit raised a single finger, pointing outside the window, and shouted in a childlike voice,
"Fear! Tremble! For I am the Emperor's wrath, the sword of humanity."
"I am the arrival! I am the destruction! I am…"
"..."
Datch: ... Is this loli chosen by Khorne? They get so excited when war is mentioned!
Valerian instinctively exchanged glances with Aleya. Both saw confusion and amusement in each other's eyes.
Aleya pinched her own cheek to confirm it wasn't a dream.
Other officers and tech-priests twitched their mouths, placed hands on their foreheads, or stared blankly at Commander Galadon.
One staff officer asked as if in a dream, "Commander, have we all fallen to the whispers of the Warp?"
Even the Emperor seated on the Golden Throne of Holy Terra would have widened his eyes with a look of confusion and bewilderment.
The methods of the Nameless Ones were becoming increasingly strange.
How could a mechanical creation—especially one like the Mountain Array that embodied the pinnacle of human technology and faith—produce such a complete, active, and highly individual will?
These methods had already touched the blind spots of his knowledge.
Even in the deep abyss of the Warp, a strange silence fell.
Especially Tzeentch, who understood none of it. Truly none of it.
This universe had become far too unfamiliar to it.
...
On the bridge of HMS Mountain Array, piercing alarm sirens blared.
"Maximum alert! The Necromancer's planet warship is entering firing range. All units, prepare for combat!"
Emergency alerts were issued using data cables and wet-head connections to the Mountain Array.
Datch somehow recovered from the shock of learning that the ship girl of the Mountain Array was not only chatty and loli-like but also a battle maniac.
He pointed at the Necromancer's planet-class warship and issued a concise order.
"Stop the nonsense. Take it down with maximum power."
Mountain Spirit immediately stopped her chatter, her small face turning extremely serious as she nodded firmly.
"Supreme Combat Command confirmed. All security restrictions lifted. Battle mode activated!"
She suddenly raised her right hand high, fingers spread, and a sharp command echoed across the bridge.
"Mountain Array—Full-Area Combat Mode, deploy!"
Boom!!!!!!
A dazzling white light, hundreds or even thousands of times more intense than before, erupted from every structural unit composing the mountain terrain.
The light did not spread outward to cause destruction but instead flowed backward into the ship's interior, surging toward the bridge and finally converging into the slender body of the small girl!
Immediately after, every Imperial warship, monitoring station, and even the sensors of the distant undead fleet captured a scene that left everyone's minds blank.
The Mountain Array's numerous armor plates, gun turret arrays, engine nozzles, sensor masts...
Under the white light, every structure rapidly disassembled, recombined, and transformed.
In just a few seconds, the massive ironclad structure vanished without a trace.
In its place, in the cold void, stood a gigantic loli hundreds of meters tall!
Her opponent wore an intricately detailed, massively enlarged mock combat skirt combining the Imperial Fists' yellow-and-black color scheme with Gothic armor style.
Her long golden hair floated and danced in the vacuum without gravity, like flowing liquid gold.
She gripped a massive chainsword in her hand. Its hilt was larger than her own height.
At that moment, the sword's serrated blade spun violently, emitting a deep, space-tearing roar.
Behind and beside her floated energy cannons, macro-cannons, missile launchers, and laser arrays of various sizes and shapes...
They unfolded in layers like the wings or halos of angels from myth, floating in the air.
Without exception, every muzzle was fully charged, radiating terrifying light.
All were aimed at the massive Necromancer planet warship towering before them!
Inside the Mountain Array, Galadon, Valerian, and the others experienced no violent deformation or gravitational anomalies.
They stood on the familiar bridge. The floor beneath their feet was stable, and the surrounding equipment operated normally.
However, external observation and sensor data all strongly indicated the same fact:
The entire fortress they were in had transformed into a gigantic, towering loli.
"Port plasma macro-gun array… auto-charge to 400% complete! Fire!"
"Gravity fixation failed; the Mountain Array is autonomously maneuvering for evasive action."
Inside the bridges of other Imperial warships, deathly silence was followed by complete frenzy.
Captains sprang violently from their command seats, knocking over data panels without hesitation.
Navigators crumpled the scarves on their heads.
Chief engineers performed repeated Aquila salutes before shrines, chanting scriptures praising the Emperor with trembling lips.
Members of the Mechanicus all stood dazed, wondering if they had been infected by a Chaos virus.
"The Mountain Array… she… turned into a gigantic… gigantic little girl??"
"Great Omnissiah… Great Omnissiah… I must not have rested enough…"
"I took performance-enhancing drugs last night. Otherwise, how could I be hallucinating?"
Not only were humans shocked; even the undead in space were stunned.
Inside that planet-class undead warship, the immortal overlord in command had its logic core crash from the sheer shock, the living metal skull interior overwhelmed.
Physics no longer existed.
It was dead. Completely dead.
Inside the warship Forgotten Song, positioned outside the battlefield, the Silent King and the rulers of various dynasties loyal to him gathered around the throne, monitoring the battlefield in real time via quantum links.
When they saw the Mountain Array transform into a girl and attack the star destroyer, the situation did not improve much. Not only did the logic cores crash, but errors in programs and parameters caused the metal jaws to go out of control.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the displayed footage, a bizarre scene unfolding.
Isn't this basically cheating? Is there no one supervising these humans anymore?
In the void, the fully armed loli thrust her trembling giant chainsword toward the undead behemoth.
"Fire."
Behind her, countless cannon barrels glowed dazzlingly like rings of stars, simultaneously emitting intense, blinding light that illuminated the surrounding void.
"Feel the terror."
Mountain Spirit activated her thrusters, swung the roaring chainsword, and charged toward the planet-scale undead warship right before everyone's eyes.
…
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