Seeing this, Sith hastily retreated, but after only two steps, Bayer firmly braced him from behind.
Then, amidst the rapidly approaching roar of explosions and the gasps of the crowd, a Hammer Scepter surged with dense divine power and slammed down under Vashtorr's fury!
With a Prince in front and a demigod behind, Sith could only grit his teeth and draw his red sword to block, channeling all the divine power in his body to withstand another blow. However, Vashtorr's attack did not land on him.
On a battlefield where the number of factions involved was already unknown, the appearance of this Daemon Prince brought forth a coalition of Chaos Astartes and Daemons from the darkness, who began attacking all sides indiscriminately.
Simultaneously, Vashtorr's hammer was intercepted mid-air by a massive daemon sword.
A Greater Daemon had personally intervened to save him?!
Sith was stunned, but as he watched the Daemon Prince slowly enter the hall—one he didn't recognize—Bayer's expression froze.
After a brief moment of confusion, Vashtorr displayed even more intense rage.
"Belakor, you're interfering with me killing a Mortal?!"
The Daemon Prince named Belakor didn't even look at Sith. Instead, he stared at Vashtorr with a sinister grin and licked his lips excitedly.
"I just love making you miserable!"
At this moment, the hall, and even the entire Rock Monastery and the nearby void beyond it, was in chaos.
The situation had become so chaotic that none of the combatants could tell what was happening.
During this lull, Sith looked toward the exit again and saw that many Chaos Traitors had even started fighting among themselves.
Even in the open space outside the gates, the Dark Angels, facing off against Vashtorr's Industrial Daemons and Belakor's Warp Daemons, seemed lost as to who they should be fighting.
Sith withdrew his gaze, feeling only a sense of helplessness toward this messed-up galaxy.
"What the hell..."
"This is too much of a mess!"
Sith muttered to himself, but was immediately yanked hard by those beside him.
A large number of his subordinates were dragging him out of the hall through the crisscrossing barrage, firing blindly into their surroundings.
Even as Sith made his exit, more Dark Angels, Chaos Traitors, Necron units, and Industrial Daemons joined the fray.
Boarding craft on The Rock Monastery and Necron green teleportation screens never ceased for a moment across the land.
Only when Vashtorr was tied down by the intentionally provocative Belakor did Sith gain a moment's respite. Standing on high ground, he watched the various factions below, all completely consumed by bloodlust.
In the void, barrages of multicolored light intersected as warships exploded and disintegrated one after another.
Even the qualitatively superior Necron warships were being taught a lesson by Imperial macro-cannons at point-blank range.
That Tomb Ship, having lost its frigates in the chaos, began to retreat under the combined pressure of Imperial macro-cannons and Boarding parties.
Then, before Sith's eyes, a massive number of troops who had lost their ships began recklessly jumping onto The Rock Monastery, moving the battlefield from the void to the surface.
Sith even saw a Dark Angel blow apart a Necron, only for two more to teleport down immediately after.
Vashtorr's Industrial Daemons and Belakor's daemons opened teleportation rifts directly in front of each other, charging out in waves to hack at one another in plain sight.
If anyone on the entire battlefield was truly bewildered and desperate, it was the Imperial pursuit forces who could no longer distinguish friend from foe.
Sith even saw many Imperial remnants, completely dazed by the fighting, choosing to rally toward his own position.
Many defensive lines were being garrisoned by Van Roth using large numbers of the pursuing Astra Militarum.
There was no other way; as soon as they paused to survey the battlefield, the Mortals realized that their best hope was, surprisingly, the position of their fellow Mortal, Sith.
And compared to the various other monsters and demons, only Sith's side appeared somewhat normal.
Yes, even with a large number of Greenskins, Sith's position was still the most normal in this place where everyone was losing their minds!
Have you ever seen Dark Angels on The Rock killing even the Dark Angels from the pursuit forces?!
As Sith looked out over the battlefield, another roar echoed from behind him.
Turning around, he saw Vashtorr and Belakor, the two most powerful individuals present, actually fighting from the surface up into the air.
Every time Vashtorr tried to get close to Sith, Belakor would hold him back, even occasionally gesturing for Sith to come up and help him take down Vashtorr!
Belakor's gesturing look left everyone below stunned; even Sith couldn't help but be slightly speechless.
Then, a group of people stared blankly at the two demigods whose battle was tearing the world apart—one knockback alone had collapsed a whole section of Anti-aircraft guns—and then looked back at the perfectly normal-looking Sith, all lowering their heads and frowning.
Wait, what?!
What does that look mean?
Are you implying that Sith and you two things...
...are of the same damn kind?!
The crowd's eyes widened. Meanwhile, on the slope below, Van Roth came running up, panting heavily while withstanding attacks from several Dark Angels.
Somewhat confused by the crowd staring at Sith with their mouths agape, Van Roth quickly found the exasperated Sith.
"My Lord, it's insane! Everything is damn well insane!"
"The entire battlefield has turned into a complete mess!"
Van Roth was out of breath, his Artificer Power Armor covered in numerous scars.
Sith looked at the Recruits below who, in order to escort Van Roth, were holding their own against the Dark Angels despite being outnumbered twenty to one.
Sith glanced at the self-doubt on the Dark Angels' faces and didn't even have the desire to ask how chaotic things had become.
He just watched Belakor, who was starting to lose ground and kept gesturing for him to come up and fight Vashtorr, then turned his gaze toward Bayer in the crowd.
The surrounding battlefield was in chaos, with artillery fire and Light Lances forming a brilliant backdrop in the distant sky.
Sith looked at Bayer. This time his tone was extremely calm, but just sensing that Sith was about to speak, Bayer's face took on an expression of great seriousness.
"Now, can I awaken my psychic powers?"
Everyone turned to look at Bayer upon hearing this. At this moment, the only way to end this battle—the only path forward for everyone on Sith's side—was for Sith to awaken his psychic powers as soon as possible!
Facing the eyes of the crowd and the expressionless Sith, Bayer gripped two Ancient relics in his hands. He suddenly struck his chest toward Sith, performing an Imperial salute from who knows how many years ago.
"I swear in the name of the God-Emperor, I only need one day. In one day, I will have this Awakening device assembled!"
In the vastness of the galaxy, a day is truly but a fleeting moment.
But to those listening now, a day felt incredibly long.
Especially as they watched the battlefield where people had gone so mad they were ramming warships directly into The Rock, and faced the reality that their own side didn't have a single ship, this day felt like an impassable abyss.
Only Sith gave Bayer a serious look. Confirming that the other was truly swearing by the God-Emperor, he withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, and frowned, pondering what to do.
Just then, The Rock Monastery, which had been traveling for who knows how long, suddenly lurched as it decelerated.
The various warring factions paused briefly, eyes searching around, until a large number of people suddenly pointed overhead.
Sith also looked up. At some point, a 'living' planet composed entirely of steel and gears had appeared above all the combatants, shrouded in overwhelming factory smoke. From its infinite gear-factories, amidst the sparks of giant hammers clashing, Industrial Daemons were being continuously birthed.
Upon seeing this sudden arrival, the Dark Angels seemed to recognize the world, and they began to attack even more frenziedly any creature that took notice of the planet.
Vashtorr's already formidable power received an unprecedented boost.
Even Abaddon, who had been hiding in the rear commanding the battle, found the courage to teleport to the surface of The Rock and look at Sith from behind Vashtorr!
Without a doubt, this planet was Vashtorr's masterpiece!
Gazing at this massive planet, Sith lowered his head as everyone else simultaneously realized a terrifying potential way out.
Looking at Bayer again, Sith asked seriously:
"Are you sure? One day?"
Bayer's face immediately flushed as he prepared to strike his chest again, but Sith raised a hand to stop him.
Then, facing the pale-faced crowd staring at the terrifying living gear-world above, Sith took a deep breath and spoke one word at a time:
"Head to that planet."
"We only need to hold out for twenty-four..."
Sith paused there. Seeing the despair on the faces of the crowd at the mention of twenty-four, he hesitated and then looked down at his watch.
Then, watching the ticking second hand, he spoke again:
"We only need to hold out for twenty-three hours."
"Fifty-nine minutes."
"And fifty-nine seconds!"
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