The mechanical screams were incessant. The last Sicaran Infiltrator was sliced clean in half by a razor-sharp chitinous scythe, spraying blood against an invisible wall.
"Itachi" remained composed, his form immaculate and unstained. The Tyranid behemoth slowly retracted its forelimbs, and its five-meter-tall frame vanished from sight once more. Only Raynor could clearly see her perfect features.
Her armor shimmered with a luster like ice crystals, every chitinous plate smooth and elegant. The reinforced brain-like organs on her head emitted a faint blue glow. Her cold eyes swept across the battlefield; wherever her gaze landed, both the charging Skitarii and the brawling Greenskin Boyz instinctively froze, a primal chill seizing their bodies. Her sheer presence was in no way inferior to that of Siss the Great-Foot.
Raynor stood within the shadow cast by the giant beast, lightly stroking his chin as a satisfied glint flickered in his eyes.
Half a month ago, as he watched Siss's psychic powers grow stronger by the day and considered Chandler, who was about to unlock the Mecha Secret Vault, he had come to a realization. In the mad universe of Warhammer, top-tier combat power was the ultimate deciding factor. This was a "pseudo-fantasy" world where individual might could be elevated to unimaginable heights. No matter how many cannon fodder troops one possessed or how ingenious a plan was, they were mere ants to be crushed at will by a true powerhouse.
Furthermore, with the Tyranids as his trump card, cannon fodder was the one thing he didn't lack. Given enough biomass, he could hatch billions of Termagants overnight. However, top-tier combat units capable of crushing opponents of the same rank were rare and hard to come by. Even if he summoned Sarah's main body—the "Frost Dragon"—from Brevis right now, she might not gain much ground against opponents of Siss or Chandler's caliber.
He no longer hesitated and pulled up the pale pink system panel in his mind. On the panel, Sarah's favorability was stuck at 75 points, and two shimmering skill points hovered in the upper right corner. With a flick of his finger, Raynor dumped both points into the Individual Evolution line without a second thought.
[Ding! Individual Augmentation Branch has broken through to Level 5!] [Unlocked Passive Skill: Crown of the Swarm] [System Reward: Three Targeted Evolutions]
The moment the system notification faded, a majestic, otherworldly force surged into Sarah's body.
The first passive skill, "Crown of the Swarm," had a simple and brutal effect: the base attributes of Sarah's primary host body would scale in direct proportion to the total size of the entire Swarm. This buff acted as an independent multiplier with no growth ceiling.
For the sake of statistical convenience, Raynor had long ago established a base unit of measurement for the Swarm called a "Hive." A standard Hive, given sufficient biomass, could hatch and control up to one million low-level Tyranid units. Currently, Sarah's Swarm had completed its full expansion on Dead World-B. Combined with the Swarm in other locations, the total scale had surpassed ten thousand Hives. Theoretically, the maximum troop limit had reached a staggering ten billion low-level Tyranid units.
This power, converging the collective will of ten billion Tyranids, granted Sarah an immediate 200% increase in all attributes. It might not seem overly exaggerated at first glance, but the terror of this skill lay in its independent multiplier and infinite growth. It meant that any of Sarah's future evolutions or augmentations would multiply with the Crown of the Swarm's buff rather than simply adding to it. When the Swarm eventually expanded to a hundred thousand or a million Hives, the boost would reach an inconceivable level. It was essentially a permanent insurance policy for Sarah's future strength.
Unfortunately, this Individual Line enhancement could only be applied to a single vessel carrying Sarah's primary consciousness at one time. Raynor gave this role a localized name: the "Tyranid Chosen."
The blue-and-white behemoth before him was the current Tyranid Chosen. Her name was "Sarah: Major Cold." As the last of the twenty-four solar terms, the name symbolized the arrival of the deepest winter, when all things go into hibernation. Every enemy standing before them would meet their demise.
The second reward was three precious opportunities for Targeted Evolution. This time, Raynor didn't chase after flashy gimmicks or strange modifications. He went straight for the most perfect, top-tier combat unit template of the Tyranid race.
The Norn Emissary!
It possessed ultimate survivability. With a size similar to a Hive Tyrant, its entire body was covered in ultra-dense chitinous armor capable of withstanding direct hits from macro-cannons. Its rate of cell division was tens of thousands of times faster than a normal Tyranid unit; even if half its body were blown away, it could complete regeneration within seconds. It also possessed immense psychic resistance and was shielded from all sensations of pain. It was effectively a high-damage-reduction, super-regenerating tank with permanent "Super Armor" status.
If it were only durable, it wouldn't be the strongest Tyranid unit. Its razor-sharp chitinous blades could easily tear through the armor of a Baneblade tank or kill an Adeptus Custodes in an instant. Furthermore, it had awakened the complete Tyranid psychic system, capable of using almost every Tyranid psychic ability.
Crucially, the Norn Emissary was categorized as an assassin. Despite its five-meter-tall frame and heavy armor, it possessed speed and agility that were utterly disproportionate to its size. It could slip through narrow ventilation ducts like air and run across vertical walls as if they were level ground. It could even use psychic power to hover in the air for short periods, achieving a ghost-like presence.
Although the current "Sarah: Major Cold" was only a "budget version" of a Norn Emissary and hadn't yet reached the full potential of a true one, she was more than enough to handle the enemies on Karl-2.
From the moment "Sarah: Major Cold" appeared, Luna had noticed her presence. When her gaze fell upon the creature, a bone-deep chill instantly shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
As a sorceress of Tzeentch, her psychic perception far surpassed others. She could feel an extremely pure will of consumption swirling around the blue-and-white behemoth. It was the greed and coldness of the Tyranid race, an intent to claim all biomass in the galaxy as their own. Even though she sat within a fifteen-meter-tall Knight mecha and possessed the Chaos power bestowed by Tzeentch, she still felt a powerful sense of unease—a feeling that she could be torn apart and devoured at any moment.
What baffled her even more was that not a single Greenskin in the vicinity launched an attack on this suddenly appearing Tyranid monster. Not only did they refrain from attacking, but many Boyz from the Hokage and Evil Sunz clans immediately dropped their weapons upon seeing Sarah. They bowed respectfully toward her, pounding their fists against their chests before raising them over their heads, muttering prayers under their breath.
Several Evil Sunz Boyz who had been hit by stray bullets even lay twitching on the ground, murmuring toward Sarah's direction:
"Great Lady Major Cold, bless me... let me run a bit faster next time..."
This behavior completely defied Greenskin nature. Under normal circumstances, these battle-hungry lunatics would have charged at a Tyranid with feral roars the moment they saw one. How could they be acting so respectfully?
What Luna didn't know was that Raynor had been laying the groundwork for this moment for nearly a month. In the Warhammer world, utilizing religion is paramount. However, the Greenskins already possessed their own gods, Gork and Mork—deities who were notoriously dominant and vengeful.
How did Raynor handle this? His approach was ingenious: he positioned "Sarah: Major Cold" as an "Avatar" of the two gods.
Starting a month ago, Raynor began instilling a specific concept into the Boyz: Gork and Mork had recognized the potential of the Hokage Clan and witnessed their pursuit of speed and Waaagh! Therefore, they had sent a dedicated divine envoy, Major Cold, to bless them. By praying to her sincerely, they could gain stronger stealth abilities and run faster on the Waaagh! GP tracks to achieve better results.
Raynor solidified this lie step-by-step with numerous "miracles."
Before an assassination mission, a Hokage Ninja Boy prayed to a statue of Major Cold for three minutes. When he infiltrated a Deathskull camp, he went undetected by every sentry and completed his mission flawlessly. An Evil Sunz Boy secretly worshipped Lady Major Cold before a race; he ended up winning in an upset, becoming a rising star.
The most compelling proof, however, lay with Naruto and Sasuke. They weren't necessarily the most naturally gifted racers in the clan, but they were the most obedient and pious. Thus, Raynor tilted all resources toward them: the best genetically specialized Squigs, the most precise track data, and top-tier equipment. Consequently, Naruto became the inaugural champion of the Waaagh! GP, and Sasuke took the victory in the first Elf-Gauk Rally. Both became the most sought-after racing stars on Karl-2.
Because of this, the Boyz of the Hokage Clan believed in her without a shadow of a doubt. Even the Evil Sunz Clan began secretly praying to Major Cold, hoping for greater speed. The beauty of the scheme was that their ultimate faith was still directed at Gork and Mork; therefore, the twin gods did not descend with divine punishment. Instead, because the Greenskins' faith became more fanatical, the Waaagh! field of the Hokage Clan grew even denser.
This collective belief also altered how the Greenskins perceived her. To their eyes, "Sarah: Major Cold" did not look like a Norn Emissary. She appeared as a massive, green lizard with sharp claws—something resembling a flightless wyvern.
Half an hour before Major Cold's debut, near the finish line of the second Elf-Gauk, the cheers of ten million Greenskins were deafening. Sasuke, riding his champion Squig "Chidori," was the first to burst through the archway of burning plasma fire, hoisting the second Elf-Gauk trophy high.
The entire arena erupted as countless Boyz screamed Sasuke's name. Just as the crowd was immersed in the euphoria of the event, Sasuke received word of Luna's fleet invading the core district. He announced the news to the audience during his acceptance speech, his voice heavy.
"Dem scrawny Humies actually dare to stomp into our turf." "Dey don't understand how strong we are. Now, it's time to teach 'em a lesson!" "Hmph. Humies... I'll make sure none of 'em leave alive!"
Mobilized by Sasuke, the Boyz who had been obsessed with the Elf-Gauk grew high-spirited and began their counter-march toward the core district.
"Damn you, damn you Raynor Corvana!"
Luna gnashed her teeth, cursing Raynor a thousand times in her heart. How did that bastard do it? Manipulating the Tyranids was one thing, but how could he even control brainless xenos like the Greenskins?
The battle no longer held any chance of victory. Siss's psychic offensive grew more violent as he cut loose; green psychic blades struck with increasing ferocity. The Gargant King of Tops continued its mad spinning; wherever the thirty-meter iron giant passed, everything was ground to dust.
Her lines were on the verge of collapse. Some of the low-morale St. Galus private soldiers had already thrown away their gear, fleeing in terror. Nearby, a terrifying Tyranid beast watched like a predator, ready to lunge at any moment to tear her out of her mecha. To stay and fight meant leaving her life here today.
Followers of Tzeentch knew nothing of loyalty or honor. To run when outmatched—to "preserve the green hills" for the future—was the true essence of the Lord of Change!
Luna seized an opening, pouring all her Chaos energy into the mecha's shields to tank a psychic fireball from Siss. Using the impact of the explosion, she piloted the Knight backward, simultaneously shouting into the comms:
"All units retreat! Now! Immediately!"
The commanders had already sensed the impending defeat, and preparation for the withdrawal was long underway. Following Luna's order, all Knight mechas and Chimera APCs launched a massive volley of smoke grenades forward. Gray smoke billowed out instantly, forming a wall between the Greenskins and the humans.
This smoke was laced with irritant chemicals specifically designed to affect Greenskins. As soon as the Orks entered the cloud, they began sneezing uncontrollably. Their eyes watered, and their noses ran, leaving them unable to see. They could only fire their weapons blindly into the smoke, cursing the Humies at the top of their lungs.
"NIGERUNDAYO! Hahaha~~~"
Luna's laughter echoed from the smoke, tinged with both humiliation and malice. She piloted her Knight, leading the remnants of her soldiers through the cover of the smoke toward the exit of the core district.
Seeing this, Siss roared and prepared to give chase. His psychic energy surged as he readied to blow away the smoke and permanently finish off the human commander who had dared to trespass on Karl-2.
But Raynor flickered into view, blocking him.
"No need to chase, Boss Siss." A playful smile curled at the corner of Raynor's mouth, his tone certain. "They can't run away. Someone will stop them for us."
Siss froze, looking at Raynor in confusion. Just as he was about to ask, a deafening Waaagh! roar erupted from the direction of the core district exit. The roars grew closer and louder, sounding like thousands of beasts howling simultaneously—no, it was the sound of a terrifying number of Squigs roaring.
Luna, leading her remaining troops out of the core district, hadn't even had time to breathe a sigh of relief before she was stunned by the sight before her.
The passageways ahead were packed with Greenskins. They crawled out from every corner, crack, and hidden tunnel. Their faces still held the fanaticism and excitement of watching the race, their eyes glowing with bloodthirsty red light as they bellowed "Waaagh!" and charged at Luna's forces. The air was thick with the scent of Waaagh! energy.
Leading the charge was Sasuke, the fresh double-champion of the second Elf-Gauk. He rode his champion Squig "Chidori," still wearing his racing suit emblazoned with colorful clouds. Behind him followed every racer who had participated in the Elf-Gauk and tens of millions of spectators who had just rushed from the tracks.
Looking at the dense, endless sea of green before her, Luna's face instantly turned as pale as paper.