The furious Abaddon once again slew Daqi with the daemon sword—Drach’nyen.
This daemon sword symbolized the end of empire and the echo of the first murder, the embodiment of an ancient daemon and pure malice.
Even monsters born of the Warp would be killed by this wicked blade.
In ages past, even the Emperor had once been wounded by this sword.
But this time, the daemon sword Drach’nyen missed its mark.
A few seconds later, Daqi revived again.
Abaddon was beside himself with rage and lunged at Daqi with even greater savagery.
He wanted to see whether this fellow truly could not be killed.
“Horus said Loken was his most beloved son, and that he really regretted making you First Captain.”
Before being killed once more, Daqi uttered a line that shattered Abaddon’s composure even further.
It enraged the other man so much that he roared again and again, swearing that no matter what method he used, he would completely kill Daqi,
or else make him spend the rest of his life in torment worse than death.
“Making me fight the final boss right at the start? The devs are absolute dogs.”
“Forget it. Can’t beat him. Run, run.”
Revived once again, Daqi cursed the game company madly in his heart.
What decent person put the big boss in the newbie stage? They really weren’t human—more beastly than even a Soulslike game.
He sincerely wished every dog planner would be conscripted on Terra, sent to the Golden Throne, and burned as psychic kindling.
Of course, being strapped to a Penitent Engine would also do.
“Trample.”
Daqi released a skill, and the powerful shockwave it formed forcibly drove Abaddon back.
Immediately afterward, he turned, picked up Lier and Dalake, who had green question marks above their heads, activated the bamboo-copter, and ran.
“Coward! Fight me!”
Abaddon watched Daqi rise into the air, waving the Talon of Horus and the daemon sword Drach’nyen as he shouted in fury.
The Despoiler’s subordinates raised their guns and fired one after another. Most of the bolts were dodged by Daqi, and the few that struck him failed to break through the Terminator armor’s defenses.
“After him! We must tear that bastard apart!” Abaddon roared.
Right now, the Despoiler had only one thought: to make that man die.
Daqi flew very quickly. Before long, he saw the evacuation column struggling across the ice plain.
His appearance also put the evacuation force on alert.
The knight suits of House Taranis locked onto him one after another, their enormous gun muzzles gathering energy, ready to fire at any moment.
The Adeptus Mechanicus, Black Templars, and other Imperial forces also raised their guns and aimed.
Living Saint Celestine stepped forward in time and cleared up the misunderstanding.
“He is the nameless angel who helped us. Do not open fire.”
Archmagos Cawl, who was protecting the transport vehicle, saw Daqi flying through the air in heavy Tartaros-pattern Terminator armor and felt as if his cogitation core was about to overload and burn out.
The data from the scans said that the little propeller on the other party’s head was providing sufficient lift.
The problem was that the thing was only the size of a palm. How could it make several tons of Terminator armor fly?
“How exactly did this fellow do it?”
Amalrich, Galain, Greyfax, and the others were also utterly shocked.
Aside from the Emperor’s mighty power, they truly could not think of any other answer that could explain something so unreasonable.
At that moment, the Chaos army led by Abaddon also caught up.
“Open fire.” Celestine pointed the longsword in her hand toward the Chaos army.
Dense cannon fire instantly poured into the Chaos army, setting off one terrifying explosion after another across the ice plain.
The battle between the two sides instantly reached a fever pitch.
The battle-brothers of the Black Templars collided with the enemies rushing toward them and began a brutal slaughter.
Daqi placed the rescued Lier and Dalake atop the transport vehicle.
At that moment, a prompt appeared on the screen of light.
[You have retrieved two loyal pieces of currency for the Emperor. Gained 20 experience points and 20 points.]
“Not bad, not bad.”
Seeing the reward, Daqi nodded in satisfaction, then turned and charged into the Chaos army to continue fighting.
“All of this must be the Emperor’s blessing.”
Lier and Dalake looked at Daqi’s departing back, and their faith in the Emperor grew even more devout.
“Damned bastard! Come down if you have the guts!”
Abaddon shouted at Daqi, who was flying in the sky.
“Come up if you have the guts,” Daqi provoked him.
“Shoot him down!” Abaddon flew into a humiliated rage.
The bodyguards around him opened fire at Daqi in the air one after another.
Relying on his outstanding maneuverability and the defenses of the Terminator armor, Daqi dodged left and right in midair.
At times, he intervened in the battle, helping Imperial warriors in crisis out of danger.
At times, he used the mithril pickaxe to dig trenches and build ice walls, providing cover for the Imperial forces.
Thanks to his efforts, the Imperial forces were able to deal with the attacking Chaos troops with comparative ease.
In the end, they retreated to a ridge with ancient structures upon it.
“Hold this place,” Celestine ordered.
Clearly, this place was the salvation spoken of in her prophecy.
The others’ hearts were filled with confusion. As far as the eye could see, there was only bone-piercing ice and snow. Where was salvation??
But they had already come this far, and the escape routes around them had been cut off by the Chaos army. Breaking out had become a delusion.
Aside from choosing to believe, there was nothing else they could do.
Bang!!
The bamboo-copter on Daqi’s helmet was struck by a bolt round and instantly shattered, causing him to plummet toward the ground.
“This time, I will definitely butcher you.”
Seeing that the other party had finally landed, Abaddon was overjoyed and immediately led his bodyguards toward Daqi’s position.
He looked even happier than when he had destroyed Cadia.
Living Saint Celestine, High Marshal Amalrich, and the Emperor’s Champion Galain launched attacks on Abaddon in succession, attempting to stop the Despoiler’s advance.
But Abaddon’s target was clear. No matter who blocked him, his goal remained locked firmly on Daqi.
This situation could not help but make everyone wonder just what Daqi had done
to make the Warmaster of Chaos harbor such immense hatred.
And at that moment, the blizzard that had subsided struck once more.
The Helldrakes and tank formations on the Chaos side were disrupted and unable to provide support.
The machines of House Taranis atop the ridge, however, were unaffected. Their heavy cannons continued firing, blasting the enemies surging up the ridge apart with unstoppable force.
Seeing such grievous casualties, Abaddon felt helpless and planned to retreat temporarily, waiting until he had gathered enough strength before launching a new and deadly offensive.
As the order to retreat was given, the Chaos army slowly disengaged from the battlefield.
The Imperial forces had no strength to pursue and could only watch helplessly as they withdrew, waiting for the enemy to gather enough power to destroy them.
“I will absolutely not let you off.”
Abaddon looked at Daqi and left those words viciously behind, intending to withdraw with his bodyguards.
“The Sons of Horus who were buried alive beneath the Saturnine Wall of the Imperial Palace on Terra asked me to bring you a message: Abaddon, when are you coming to bring us back??” Daqi shouted.
The moment his words fell, the rational Abaddon instantly went mad, his eyes turning blood-red like those of an evil ghost.
He turned and sprinted wildly in Daqi’s direction. No matter how his subordinates shouted after him, it was useless.
“I’ll kill you! I will definitely kill you!”
The current Abaddon had only one thought in his mind.
That was to make that foul-mouthed bastard die, to throw his soul into the most terrifying hell of the Warp and leave him unable to find release for all eternity.
While Abaddon ignored the casualties and prepared to completely annihilate Daqi at any cost,
an Aeldari force known as the Ynnari had also quietly arrived on the icebound world.