"Great Son of God, I have fought these great enemies of the Imperium on this Battle Moon for too long. My brothers have all returned to the Golden Throne, while I fell into the Warp by accident."
"I have struggled here for countless years; time has lost all meaning. I destroyed this Battle Moon's force field, preventing it from ever threatening the domains of the Imperium."
"With my father's help, the souls of my brothers have returned to the Golden Throne. I beg of you, please grant me the same honor. I am so tired now. My body is mutating, and I have become a loathsome and profane existence."
"..."
Zhou Ye stared blankly at the Super Raven Guard praying to him. He had more or less figured out the situation.
In a way, this being was a special kind of daemon, one that belonged to the Raven King, Corvus Corax. The technology the Emperor had given Corax was inherently flawed; it was, to some extent, a form of daemonic ascension. Even without the Alpha Legion's meddling, they would have gradually mutated. The process just wouldn't have been so fast.
More importantly, this rapid mutation also served another purpose: it granted them exceptionally potent strength and superhuman regenerative abilities. It was enough to temporarily replace the heavy losses the XIXth Legion had suffered in that landing assault. The price, of course, was that Corax was forced to execute nearly all the surviving Raven Guard.
This warrior was corrupted, yet he wasn't. They were kin to Corax, but it was clear the circumstances of the time had forced the Primarch's hand.
But this sight, of a warrior kneeling before him begging for the release of death, felt strangely familiar to Zhou Ye.
"Holy crap, isn't this just Dante?"
Zhou Ye quickly made the connection, a strange smile touching his lips.
"First, I am not a Primarch. Second, I am just an ordinary human."
"..."
The entire battlefield fell silent after he said that.
The group of Astartes holding back the Orks, and even Rylanor, couldn't help but glance over at him. Their expressions all screamed, Do you hear yourself right now?
And there was also a sense of... Right, right, whatever you say.
At that moment, Zhou Ye felt that his statement might have been a tad inauspicious... but he decided not to dwell on it.
Putting the thought aside, Zhou Ye placed his hand on the Raven Guard's head as the warrior gazed up at him with anticipation, silently pleading for a quick end.
After all, dying was not so easy in his condition. Back then, Corax had led them on countless suicide charges, yet they could not die. In the end, it forced the Raven King to slay his own sons with his own hands. Killing them was not a simple matter, especially this one, who had been adrift in the Warp for who knows how long, continuously warring with Greenskins.
And so...
In an instant, Imaginary Authority surged forth.
Zhou Ye directly used his power to temporarily corrupt the being. To the others, a flash of golden light erupted, and in the next moment, the Super Raven Guard had returned to his human form.
The Emperor is supreme!
This was the thought in many hearts. Of course, Zhou Ye's power had no intrinsic color; he just layered on a golden sheen to pin the credit on the Golden Fiend. It wasn't its actual color.
"Half successful. It's only a temporary suppression. I'll take him back and work on him slowly later. If all else fails, I'll stick him in a Dreadnought. A bit of a waste, though."
Looking at the Raven Guard, now restored to his human appearance, Zhou Ye mused internally. The very source of this warrior's being had been altered. Although he could temporarily corrupt and overwrite it, this power would slowly recede over time. The warrior would eventually revert to his demonic form.
However, Zhou Ye, with his brilliant mind, had already devised a solution.
He could forcibly infuse the warrior with his power, but that would most likely turn him into a drooling simpleton like Horus. So, Zhou Ye planned a full course of treatment. If it came to it, he could chop him up a bit and toss him into a Dreadnought. He would construct the Dreadnought's sarcophagus with the Wither Authority of the Herrscher of Death, which would completely inhibit the mutation. After his modifications, it wouldn't place any burden on the user. After all, constantly pumping him with energy was too wasteful.
Zhou Ye was quite confident in his own peerless wisdom; he could always find a solution.
Of course, with this thing's recovery speed, a Dreadnought sarcophagus wouldn't be able to hold him. He could break out on his own if he wanted to, but the protection would fail.
As for why he was doing this now, he needed a guide familiar with the Battle Moon. This thing was the size of a planet. Finding the enemy Warboss required someone who knew their way around.
"???"
The Super Raven Guard stared at his body in a daze. How had he recovered?
"Son of Corax, your mission is not yet over. Rise, and lead us to the heart of the Battle Moon."
Though Zhou Ye was tempted to just blow the whole thing up, it didn't seem cost-effective. It would be a huge waste of energy. Besides, if he just detonated it and the Space Hulk shattered into several pieces, that would be even more trouble—like tossing a grenade into a latrine pit. The resulting mess, splattered everywhere, would be a nightmare to clean up.
Therefore, Zhou Ye planned to destroy the Battle Moon's core, kill the Ork leader, and then deal with Fulgrim. Finally, he would expend some energy to toss the entire Space Hulk into his Thousand-Person Theater. Once he sent these people on their way, he could slowly process the hulk. Those Chaos-tainted ships would make for excellent fuel. What could be converted into energy would be converted, and what materials could be separated would be separated.
It would be a massive windfall for him. So, whether for his own wicked sense of humor or for practical reasons, Zhou Ye could not grant the Raven Guard his wish.
Get up. It's time for overtime.
As expected, upon seeing his restored body, a look of unspeakable disappointment and pain crossed the Raven Guard's face. He could sense that the mutation within him was only temporarily suppressed, not completely resolved. This meant that once time was up, he would corrupt and mutate all over again.
This realization filled the Super Raven Guard with profound sorrow. But for now, he still needed to destroy this Ork Battle Moon. His duty was not yet over; he could not fall here.
Emperor, just let me complete this final mission in human form.
With this thought, the Super Raven Guard led the group, and they began to move swiftly through the vessel.
---o---
This time, with Zhou Ye present, everyone felt a sense of fluid momentum.
The various Greenskins, whose classifications even Zhou Ye couldn't quite grasp, were no match for him.
Now in a region with complex terrain, Zhou Ye used the gleaming gold he had refined to fashion a rather large, jury-rigged boarding shield. While others' force fields only protected their front, when Zhou Ye's shield activated, it formed a solid shield wall. The Greenskins' ranged weapons couldn't penetrate it, but his forces could fire through.
Though it required him to constantly replenish its energy, the consumption was far less than what would be lost by advancing directly through a hail of gunfire.
Eventually, it forced a horde of Greenskins to charge forward for melee combat. At that moment, his four Contemptor Dreadnoughts led a group of Cans, hacking and slashing their way through the tide, crushing and scattering them all.
"So this is the glory of fighting alongside a Primarch!"
The Black Templar Marshal, Giovanni, felt himself swelling with glory. To fight alongside a mysterious Primarch—what an honor! As for doubt... their own ten-thousand-year-old Ancient was right here. What was there to doubt?
His thoughts turned to their first High Marshal, Sigismund. To be able to fight alongside one's own gene-father... what a glorious age that must have been. Against a Greenskin tide of this magnitude, he would have had to throw in his entire crusade fleet and still likely fail to break through to this point. Earlier, if not for that ancient Raven Guard veteran holding the line, their boarding party of Black Beast-men might have been wiped out.
"They're here..." Zhou Ye said slowly, lowering the shield to his side.
At a certain point, all the attacks had stopped. The Greenskins were no longer attacking. Zhou Ye knew the Ork leader was finally about to make his appearance. After all, playing these games with him in the cramped and complex environment of a Battle Moon was simply handing his men glory on a platter.
The leader knew that if this continued, his boyz would start to doubt him, which was not a good thing. So, to display his strength, the Ork leader had come to the scene personally.
At the same time, Zhou Ye and his several hundred Cans arrived at a spacious platform. Several massive Orks, wielding huge, crudely shaped choppas, blocked their path. Though the weapons looked rough, as if they would shatter on impact, anything in the hands of these Ork Warbosses was undoubtedly deadly.
That's right, several enormous Warbosses were now blocking their way. Any one of these behemoths would be enough to lead all the Greenskins on another planet. And just then...
BANG!
With a tremendous crash, a colossal figure slowly strode out.
"So big..."
"This one's strength might be close to those from the War of the Beast... or perhaps, it's more fitting to call him a Beast."
Seeing the giant Greenskin, Giovanni couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. No one would question the Black Templars' knowledge in this area; they were, without a doubt, the most experienced Chapter in the entire Imperium. They had never missed a single major campaign. No one understood the great enemies of the Imperium better than they did.
"Isn't that..."
Hearing this, even Asmodai, who was in a very strange state of mind, sobered up. To remain fanatical now would be suicidal. That thing was comparable to a Primarch. It had taken Vulkan a monumental effort to kill just one. And on this Ork Battle Moon, there was a creature that was very likely a Beast.
"Everyone, fall back. And this thing isn't that strong."
Looking at the Greenskin, which stood over five meters tall and was even larger than his current form, Zhou Ye spoke calmly. He could now roughly judge the strength of an Ork. It wasn't that complicated; you just had to look at the intensity of its Waaagh! field. This Ork was formidable, but it definitely didn't reach that level.
Of course, if he weren't here, the Imperium would probably have to sacrifice several elite Astartes Chapters just for a chance to kill this Greenskin. As for stories from the War of the Beast, like the Beast leader who suppressed Vulkan being killed by the Deathwatch, you could just take that with a grain of salt. It wasn't a complete joke, of course. Perhaps that Deathwatch team had a few Primarchs hiding in its ranks.
"Oi, ya big lunk! Shields are fer sissies! I thinks that airtight armor of yers is hidin' a sissy in there!"
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Zhou Ye's brow twitched. Was this thing mocking him?
"Hahaha..." At that moment, the group of Greenskins burst into raucous laughter.
"Blasphemy!"
Before Zhou Ye could say anything, the Black Beast-men beside him were already enraged. One raised his weapon to charge, but was stopped by the Imperial Fists Dreadnought.
"Calm down..." the Imperial Fist Dreadnought said coolly, looking at the bewildered Black Beast-men.
Hearing this, Asmodai couldn't help but shrink back. He remembered all too well how Zhou Ye had berated him when he had them strung up for a beating. Though he hadn't said much, every word had struck a nerve.
"Is yer boss a Grot in disguise? Can't even chop up a shrimp! Gork and Mork would cry seein' this!"
"?" Zhou Ye's words left the Greenskins stunned. Thinking back on how not a single Astartes had been killed since Zhou Ye joined the fray, it seemed they really hadn't chopped up any shrimps.
"Are you lot fresh-hatched from a Grot nest?! How come ya can't even lift a rusty choppa?!"
"Even a Grot knows to run from me, but you lot are dumber than Grots—just standin' there waitin' for a krumpin'!"
As Zhou Ye's verbal assault continued, a wave of heat washed over the Greenskins. Their skin even began to turn red. Who said Greenskins were only green? Sometimes, they could turn red.
"Heard when Gork and Mork made Orks, they slipped up and swapped yer brains with Grots! No wonder you all just squeal like 'em!"
"WAAAGH!!!"
As Zhou Ye's last word fell, the Greenskin leader let out a furious roar. He shoved a four-meter-tall Ork beside him out of the way and charged at Zhou Ye like a battle tank.