Hundreds of meters up in the air, chaotic air currents buffeted the paratroopers' visors.
The leader of the paratrooper squad stared intently through his tactical eyepiece at two red dots—the main force was still slaughtering on the spot, while the lone red dot that had broken away was moving through the ruins at an astonishing speed.
After a brief thought, the captain issued orders in the comms channel:
"Ignore the four bunched up together, we're going after the lone one.
That guy is too fast. If he slips out of our sight, a high-mobility assassination unit like that lying in ambush will be a nightmare. We have to pin him down before he disappears."
"Roger that!"
The squad shifted their nozzles, thrusters spitting dim blue flames as they dived toward the detached Dark Eldar.
At this moment, the Dark Eldar had already dashed into a crowd of evacuating civilians. To him, this wasn't a battle at all, but a harvest. The sharp blade in his hand swung casually, every flash bringing a storm of blood.
The screams of the civilians seemed to be the most beautiful melody in his ears.
Looking at the tragic scene below, a player couldn't help but shout in the channel: "Captain, that guy is alone right now, and there's no other cover around. Let's give it a shot? We can't let him keep killing like this!"
Looking at the civilians constantly falling below, a fierce gleam flashed in the captain's eyes, and he responded briefly and powerfully:
"Alright! Do it!"
Before his voice could fade, five Forlorn Hope paratroopers pulled their triggers simultaneously.
Several scorching laser beams fell from the sky, weaving into a net of death that blanketed the brutal figure.
However, a scene that shocked the players occurred—the Dark Eldar seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. The moment the lasers were about to hit, his body twisted and spun in a stance that defied human mechanics.
It didn't look like evading an attack, but more like performing an elegant dance of death. The laser beams grazed the edge of his armor and shot into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, yet failed to harm even a single hair on him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
With a few dull thuds, the Forlorn Hope paratroopers used the last bit of thrust from their jetpacks to slam heavily onto the street, surrounding the target in a fan formation.
The surrounding surviving Planetary Defence Force soldiers were already scared out of their wits, their hands holding their guns trembling.
The captain immediately roared at those PDFs: "What are you still standing around for! Hurry up and cover the civilians' retreat! Leave this place to us!"
This roar was a massive relief to the panicked Planetary Defence Force. They didn't even spare a second glance at these "reinforcements" who had dropped from the sky; throwing away their gear, they grabbed a few civilians and began running frantically toward the rear. The chaotic and disorderly scene made the Forlorn Hope players frown.
"This discipline—" a player couldn't help but complain, "is completely incomparable to the Death Korps of Krieg or the Ultramar Auxilia. It's not even as good as that Tyrant Legion Huron put together."
"Enough, don't count on them," the captain interrupted. "It's a bit unfair to make them compare with those three legions. The top priority right now is to deal with this black bean sprout in front of us."
The Dark Eldar at the center of the encirclement was in no hurry to attack. It even stopped its steps, tilting its head, sizing up these few "mon-keigh" who had surrounded it with great interest.
Beneath the mask, the corners of its mouth curled into a cruel smile.
These annoying flies had actually flown down.
To it, this was an excellent opportunity. If, without the interference of those obstructive teammates, it could deliver an elegant, perfect slaughter filled with pain, then upon its return, its status in the Archon's eyes would definitely surpass that squad leader who ordered it around all day.
Even—if it could make enough noise here to draw in and eliminate the "Space Marines" among those mon-keigh, its situation and the squad leader's would be completely reversed.
Thinking of this, the desire for greed and slaughter swelled in its heart.
Contemplating, the Dark Eldar suddenly made the first move without any warning. It didn't rush toward the nearest enemy, but raised its hand and fired a shot—aiming straight at the captain who looked like the commander.
"Scatter!"
The captain reacted extremely fast. The moment the opponent raised its hand, he slammed up the power of his gravity shute, surging into the air.
However, the Dark Eldar's splinter weapon was no ordinary item. The fired shard traced a bizarre arc in the air, spinning with a completely unpredictable trajectory, as if it had eyes, chasing down the ascending captain.
"Puff!"
With a soft sound, the splinter precisely drilled into the captain's abdomen.
"Warning: High-intensity neurotoxin detected. Life support system engaged."
Looking at the system panel in his vision, the area representing his abdomen instantly turned dead black, and that blackness was spreading outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.
System prompts showed that the combat drugs in his body were fighting a fierce battle against the splinter's toxin, using his body as the battlefield.
He glanced at the countdown. No matter which side won this biochemical war, this body probably only had about ten minutes left to live.
"Damn, that's potent."
The captain cursed under his breath. Since he was going to die anyway, he wouldn't waste this last bit of energy.
He didn't choose to land and receive treatment, but did the exact opposite. Controlling the gravity shute, he cranked the thrust to maximum, turning himself into an out-of-control missile, launching a suicide charge from mid-air toward the Dark Eldar on the ground!
"For the Emperor! BANZAIIII!"
Facing this resolute charge, the eyes beneath the Dark Eldar's mask widened slightly.
"Oh? You seem to be over a dozen times stronger than those ordinary mon-keigh, both in reaction and will."
It commented softly, its tone carrying a trace of surprise, but mostly still filled with contempt.
Just as the captain was about to crash into it, the Dark Eldar's figure blurred once more. A cold gleam flashed in the air, too fast for the retina to capture.
The charge stopped abruptly.
It took only half a second.
The captain's head flew high into the air. The headless torso surged forward a few more meters under inertia before crashing heavily to the ground, the spraying blood staining the ruins red.
The Dark Eldar elegantly flicked the blood droplets off its blade, originally expecting to enjoy the nectar of despair and agony that burst forth at the moment the soul left the body.
However, in the next second, it frowned.
Nothing.
There was nothing at all.
No sweet soul-shriek as expected, no feedback of fear at the brink of death. It felt absolutely no "pain" from the prey. This slash felt exactly like decapitating a soulless puppet.
Empty, bland.
"What... is this thing?" Looking at the corpse that was unmistakably human in appearance, doubt rose in its heart for the very first time.
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I have reuploaded chapter 365 as some people said the text didn't show up, don't go saying I'm not a benevolent god now - Ainz