---o---
In the void of space, all anyone could see was the dazzling, golden-red sun releasing countless streams of light. These streams instantly surpassed the speed of light, piercing through all obstacles in the blink of an eye. The most heavily defended bio-ships hidden within the Tyranid swarm were immediately enveloped in that golden brilliance and vanished in an instant.
This single strike from Zhou Ye contained a multitude of complex authorities. It wasn't just a matter of overwhelming brute force; it was also imbued with an immense amount of conceptual damage.
Therefore…
"This strike comes from Finality!!!"
The moment Zhou Ye's words fell, almost instantaneously…
BOOM!!!
An explosion that seemed to transcend the very laws of the universe reverberated through the void. The dozens of bio-ships struck by Zhou Ye were utterly annihilated, leaving nothing behind. The attacks then continued their trajectory, tearing several gaping wounds through the seemingly endless Tyranid fleet.
For a moment, despite the horrific war raging on, the entire battlefield paused. Whether it was the Tyranids, Dante, Gabriel Seth, or even Mephiston, everyone was stunned. It wasn't just them; even aboard the Hyperion, aside from a smug Ai-yi who sat with her legs crossed and a mysterious smile gracing her lips, everyone else had the same reaction.
Even Ashira and Ahriman were taken aback. They had never witnessed Zhou Ye unleash an attack of such magnitude.
Meanwhile, in the Warp, the Great Devourer—the gestalt consciousness of the Hive Mind—also froze. As Zhou Ye vaporized a massive number of its node-beasts, it instantly lost control over its frontline forces.
A fleet of this colossal scale required a vast number of synaptic creatures to command. Only then could it coordinate its attacks effectively. But now, they were all gone. It had completely lost its grip on the front lines. The next moment, the Tyranid fleet, which had been charging in an orderly fashion, descended into utter chaos.
Faced with the overwhelming assault, the swarm was left with only its biological instincts. They reflexively tried to dodge the deluge of firepower, but like a cavalry charge, once you've committed, there is no turning back.
Chaos erupted in the blink of an eye, and the swarm's combat effectiveness plummeted, as if an elite fighting force had been instantly demoted to a disorganized rabble.
The Great Devourer immediately slammed on the brakes, halting the advance of the few remaining fleets it could still control. Without a moment's hesitation, it ordered a full retreat, pulling away from the Underworld System.
From its perspective, a golden sun had risen in realspace, and with its appearance, the connection to its hive fleet was severed.
---o---
"What was that just now? Could you do that?"
"That strike surpassed the speed of light. I cannot perform such an attack."
Mephiston shook his head. While his destructive power was immense, it was meaningless in the face of an attack that moved faster than light. Zhou Ye's single blow had wiped out a huge swathe of the Tyranid fleet.
This was something Mephiston was incapable of, especially since he hadn't yet undergone the Primaris surgery and merged his power with the Black Rage. But even if he had, it wouldn't have been enough. At his peak, he would be approaching the level of the Primarch Sanguinius. But that was merely approaching. This mysterious Imperial Primarch before them was clearly far beyond Sanguinius.
It wasn't just them; Ahriman's face was a mask of utter astonishment.
He remembered Zhou Ye claiming to be a "psychic Muggle," which was why he needed Ahriman to brave the shadow of the Great Devourer in the Warp to pinpoint the node-beasts.
But what the hell was this? Ahriman seriously doubted if his own gene-father, Magnus, even after his ascension, could pull off a feat like this. An attack of that scale, if it landed on a planet, would have shattered it to its core.
Have you ever seen a psychic Muggle like this? Go ask Guilliman if he could do something like that.
Ahriman was filled with resentment. He knew Zhou Ye's power was incredibly versatile, perhaps even rivaling the Emperor in some aspects, or even surpassing him. But he had no idea Zhou Ye's sheer power output was this terrifying, primarily because he couldn't perceive a single trace of him through the Warp.
"Psychic Muggle… Heh heh heh…"
A诡异的 smile appeared on Ahriman's face. He felt that Zhou Ye was simply too Tzeentchian. If he hadn't confirmed multiple times that the man was human and not a daemon, he would have suspected him of being the Lord of Change himself. To draw power from the Warp and project it into realspace without any ritual, and then unleash it with such devastating force…
Ahriman felt that Zhou Ye was, to some extent, insulting his intelligence. But since things had come to this, there was nothing more to say.
---o---
"Is this the power of our Lord? Could the Emperor do this? …It seems he truly isn't a Primarch…"
The few Custodes were murmuring amongst themselves on their private channel. Zhou Ye had repeatedly denied being a Primarch. They had studied the histories of every known Primarch, especially after gaining access to the libraries of Macragge.
Among the records were accounts of the Imperium Secundus, though they paid little mind to that. They were more focused on the ancient records of the eighteen Primarchs. They came to the rather dumbfounding conclusion that not even Magnus, the most psychically gifted of them all, could have replicated such an attack. The only one who might have surpassed it was the Emperor himself during his time.
Now, they were starting to believe it. Zhou Ye was probably not a Primarch. Or at least, not an ordinary one. But then again, their master was ancient, older than humanity's Golden Age. Possessing such power seemed logical… probably.
While the warriors in space were stunned, the mortals below were far more direct. They were all kneeling on the ground, tears of joy streaming down their faces.
"It is a miracle of the Emperor! It is humanity's salvation! It is our pride! The light of the Emperor shines upon us once more! This is our ultimate deliverance! Praise the God-Emperor!"
A group of Word Bearers was delivering a sermon on the ground. As natural orators, they were far better suited to boosting morale than charging into battle. Moreover, as Astartes, their presence commanded far more authority than any common priest.
"Therefore… this is the revised Imperial Truth, personally written by the Emperor himself! Let us study this book together and comprehend…"
"Praise the Emperor!"
"Praise the great Imperial Primarch!!!"
"This is myth made real! The age of legends has returned! Someone, bring out the most sacred pages from our cathedral! You, get lost! Let me do it! I will write this down with the blood of a saint!!!"
The local Ecclesiarch of Asphodel let out a piercing shriek. He sent another bishop, who was about to start writing, flying with a kick. Then, he sliced open his own vein, ready to document the scene before him with his own faith-filled blood.
---o---
In space, Zhou Ye's decisive strike had instantly clarified the battlefield. The leaderless Tyranid swarm descended into absolute chaos. This wasn't some cunning ploy; it was simple, unadulterated anarchy.
Some of the Tyranid bio-ships even began attacking their own kind in their desperate attempts to flee.
"Whew, that took a lot out of me."
Zhou Ye returned to the Hyperion's bridge and, under the adoring gazes of his crew, sank into his throne. A pained expression flickered across his face. While the power output was far from his limit, it was undoubtedly the single most draining attack he had ever unleashed. Worse, he couldn't even recycle the energy from the Tyranids, making it a net loss for him.
Of course, the results were exceptionally good. He leaned forward and spoke into the communication system:
"All units, prepare to initiate the second phase of the plan!!!"
As his order was issued, the fortress-worlds positioned around the ice crystal ring pivoted their cannons. A brilliant golden light once again flared around them, marking a Star Rail node he had deliberately placed there.
In the next instant, one of his fleets, led by an Emperor-class battleship, executed a jump and appeared right at the node. Supported by the firepower of the defensive belt, they completed the encirclement of the disorganized Tyranid bio-ships.
The colossal space battle reignited, but this time, the utterly chaotic and leaderless Tyranid fleet was incapable of mounting any effective resistance.
Zhou Ye comfortably sipped the tea Ai-yi had prepared for him, his eyes fixed on the even larger Tyranid fleet lurking beyond the ring.
He had only committed half of his available forces. According to his plan, the Tyranids would now desperately try to support and recover the biomass of their trapped fleet. To further entice them into another charge, Zhou Ye had even forbidden his forces from using the Withering Cannons. The trapped fleet would serve as the perfect bait.
He would dangle them in front of the Great Devourer, forcing it to repeatedly charge into the massive disadvantage of the ice crystal ring. Meanwhile, his fleets, hidden behind several planets, could jump in at any moment and give them the biggest surprise of their lives.
It was a classic stratagem of their ancestors: encircle a point to ambush the reinforcements.
He even had a backup plan ready for when the Tyranids inevitably went all-in. It involved the Grand Prizm System, a Necron creation. Others couldn't figure it out, but Zhou Ye could use it better than the Necrons themselves.
He had spent considerable resources modifying it. If the swarm launched a do-or-die assault, he could activate the Grand Prizm and fire it into the core of the gas giant, Aeros.
But unlike a normal explosion, he could activate a one-time focusing device to channel that immense energy directly at the swarm. The only unfortunate drawback was its limited range; he would have to let them get much closer to use it. Firing it at the swarm outside the ice crystal ring, even with the focusing device, would have a limited effect, and constructing the device was extremely energy-intensive.
Zhou Ye didn't want to use it casually. It was another ace up his sleeve. And it wasn't his only one.
"It seems my plan is a success. The rest depends on the Great Devourer's performance."
Zhou Ye watched the distant battlefield with great interest. At this point, it was less a war and more a hunt. The fleet that had rushed into the ice crystal ring was in a state of complete disarray.
He was now waiting to see how the Great Devourer would react. Based on his own observations and Ahriman's calculations, this trapped fleet accounted for at least a third, if not more, of the entire hive fleet.
Thanks to the ice crystal ring and the defensive network the Imperium had built over countless years, supplemented by his own army, the Underworld System had become a literal iron fortress. This was why Zhou Ye still couldn't figure out if the Imperial Navy commanders had been brain-dead.
With proper coordination, even without his power, the situation should never have deteriorated to such an extent by the time he arrived.
Therefore, Zhou Ye's plan was simple: he would bleed the Tyranid swarm dry right here in the Underworld System.
In his plan, there was no "Defense of Baal." The war would end here.
"For the Imperium!!!"
As the battle raged on, the conflict in space entered a white-hot phase. The cornered Tyranid fleets began to attack erratically, frantically deploying ground forces onto any nearby planet.
Unfortunately for them, it was completely useless. Zhou Ye had already stationed a large number of his own troops on these planets, ready to repel them. Any Tyranid organism that made landfall would be unable to inflict any real damage.
---o---
"Primarch…"
The Great Devourer finally realized what it was facing. To cause such destruction without drawing on the power of the Warp… it could only be one of the legendary Primarchs. Its knowledge of them came from the memories of the humans it had consumed. In their minds, Primarchs were divine, powerful, invincible, and infallible strategists.
Now, the Great Devourer was experiencing the power of a Primarch firsthand. Yet, this only made it crave their flesh even more. If it could only obtain their biomass, it was certain it could analyze it and evolve even more powerful biological units.
As for the Underworld System, it was no longer important in the Great Devourer's eyes. The ice crystal ring was simply too disgusting an obstacle. In the original timeline, it had become useless with the annihilation of the Imperial Navy. But now, rebuilt by Zhou Ye's Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors, it had become an insurmountable barrier.
It knew that if it continued to fight Zhou Ye here, it would smash its head against a wall until it died. And so, it watched as its biomass was relentlessly destroyed. Though its hunger was ravenous, it suppressed its instincts with cold, hard reason.
---o---