"You are as arrogant as the Emperor, so arrogant it's shocking, so arrogant no one can compare."
Erebus stared at the God Chosen in front of him.
"Don't praise us like that, it's quite embarrassing," Desert said with a shy smile.
Erebus and the Enchanted Warriors were so frustrated they almost spat blood!
You guys can't even tell good words from bad, can you??
Are these words meant to praise you?
Are arrogance and haughtiness good words?
"One day, you will regret it. No one can overcome the will of the Gods? Even you, who come from a higher dimension, are no exception. The Gods are the true masters of this universe."
Erebus's voice was very low.
He made one last attempt, trying to use his rhetoric to pull these people into the Gods' camp.
However, his efforts were destined to be futile.
Desert showed a mocking expression and said word by word,
"No existence can resist the Fourth Scourge, not even a God."
"The ultimate masters of this universe are us, and only us."
"Go, deal with those Enchanted Warriors, at all costs. Oh, and Erebus must be taken alive, absolutely do not let him die."
"Kill, for the Emperor, for the Blood God!" A World Eaters Player raised his crimson axe, letting out an excited roar.
Subsequently, Erebus felt Khorne's blessing fall upon the opponent's battle axe.
Not only Khorne, but the power of the Chaos Gods like the Lord of Change, Prince of Pleasure, and Plague God also appeared on the weapons of other God Chosen.
As long as these God Chosen shouted the corresponding Chaos God's name, their weapons would receive blessings.
What the hell is this??
Have the Chaos Gods defected??
For a moment, Erebus even wondered if he had been abandoned by the Gods??
It must be known that even for Chaos traitors, obtaining the Gods' blessings is very difficult, requiring many trials.
These God Chosen only needed to shout the Gods' names to easily receive blessings.
You should know, they are all loyal to the Emperor!!
This behavior by the Chaos Gods is equivalent to aiding the enemy!!
We are about to fight to the death, why has Your Majesty surrendered first??
Clang ~ Clang ~
The clash of cold weapons and close-quarters combat resounded incessantly, clanging loudly. "Master, we cannot stop them."
Korl Badar, an Enchanted Warrior, shouted.
Every Enchanted Warrior is the most vicious, most loyal, and most dangerous warrior.
They wear Terminator armor, radiating terrifying red light, and their combat power is unimaginable to ordinary people.
The first Enchanted Warriors were already born before Horus's betrayal.
The most famous Enchanted Warrior among them was Angar Ty.
It was he who led a team into the Eye of Terror for pilgrimage, bringing the will of the Gods to Lorgar.
This legendary warrior was the earliest being to come into contact with Chaos, and also the earliest to be possessed by a demon.
But he used his powerful willpower to control the demon, Raum, who was soul-bound to him.
Angar Ty could freely switch between human and demon forms and maintain absolute control over his body.
In Lorgar's eyes, Angar Ty was the best manifestation of humanity coexisting with Chaos.
In the later stages, Angar Ty even became Lorgar's most beloved son.
According to prophecy, this legendary Word Bearer would sacrifice himself at the hands of Sanguinius during the The Battle of Terra.
But Erebus used his actions to tell everyone that prophecy, with enough effort, can be changed.
To achieve the future one desires, one must strive for it oneself, rather than passively waiting.
During Angron's daemon ascension ritual, which was the destruction and massacre of this poor World Eaters Primarch's homeworld, Nuceria,
Erebus seized the opportunity and killed Angar Ty, which enraged Lorgar and later caused Khârn, upon learning of the matter, to harbor murderous intent towards Erebus and challenge him to a duel.
But Erebus was dishonorable; during the duel, when he was losing, he opened a Warp gate and fled, becoming a laughingstock.
Enchanted Warriors are a manifestation of absolute loyalty to Chaos.
Those fanatical warriors make agreements with Warp entities by offering their flesh.
For mortal hosts, they gain greater power. For demons, the host's flesh and blood body allows them to remain physically present outside the Warp.
The two form a mutually beneficial whole.
Over the past ten thousand years, Enchanted Warriors, with their unique abilities, have become the Empire's nightmare.
But with the rise of Primaris Space Marines, Enchanted Warriors no longer have the same advantage as before.
Intense gunfire erupted.
Artillery and machine guns targeting the Word Bearers fired continuously, leaving these traitors with no chance to retaliate.
Under the absolute superiority of firepower suppression, Enchanted Warriors in their normal state had no power to fight back.
To turn the tide of battle, they all activated their daemon-possessed state.
In the daemon-possessed state, the demon's will would take control.
With strange screams, red light surged forth.
The bodies of the Enchanted Warriors grew strong, sharp claws that could easily pierce ceramite and steel.
Their bodies became grotesquely twisted, with limbs, tentacles, wings, extra mouths, and eyes.
Their speed and strength were greatly enhanced, allowing them to easily lift heavy vehicles and mechanical equipment and throw them at the Players.
But the Players were not to be trifled with either.
Extensive combat experience transformed them into elite veterans.
Powerful technology gave them strength and speed far exceeding mortals.
Buffing skills and the Emperor's blessings gave them combat power not inferior to that of Enchanted Warriors.
The Players and the Enchanted Warriors engaged in an extremely brutal battle.
The combat power of both sides was evenly matched, and both possessed various strange and wonderful skills.
"Today, all of you will die," Desert shouted.
He was ganging up with two other Players on an Enchanted Warrior with ox horns.
The opponent's body was extremely burly and strong, with two blood-red eyes that glowed with evil light.
But under the siege of the three Players, this Enchanted Warrior was beaten back repeatedly, utterly routed, and finally pinned to the ground.
"You will all be cursed by the Gods."
"I'll be waiting for you in hell."
The Enchanted Warrior roared furiously, staring at Desert and the other Players with angry eyes.
"Hell? The place we're in is hell, you fool."
Desert swung his sword, lopping off the Enchanted Warrior's head, ending his evil life.
The demon was banished back to the Warp, while the body of the Word Bearer warrior died from losing its head.
The Enchanted Warriors defeated some Players, but more Players swarmed them.
They were defeated by sheer numbers.
As time passed, one Enchanted Warrior after another fell.
The demons fled back to the Warp with the shame of defeat, and along the way, they ate the souls of the dead Word Bearers as a little snack. "You will definitely regret it," Erebus shouted angrily again, watching his subordinates fall one after another.
"Perhaps, but you won't live to see that day. Because you will spend every day from now on in despair, and even your Gods cannot save you."
"Because the Fourth Scourge is invincible, because the Fourth Scourge is destined to rule this universe. Whether it's Gods or anything else, they will kneel at our feet."
Desert, full of swagger, shouted and swung his sword, striding towards Erebus.
To be honest, this feeling was very enjoyable.
Especially when facing such a special NPC, there was a feeling of trampling everything they valued underfoot.
That kind of joy was like making an incompetent husband watch his beautiful wife being taken away, only able to rage impotently, yet unable to do anything.
However, Erebus's cunning exceeded expectations.
He pulled out a dagger, and with a casual slash, opened a rift radiating eerie light.
He fled into the rift with a few guards.
By the time Desert rushed over, the rift had disappeared, leaving only an empty deck.
The remaining Enchanted Warriors were also quickly defeated and killed, or captured.
"Erebus must have fled back to his battleship! Immediately activate the Warp jump, don't let him escape!"
Desert shouted, giving the order.
The Players, without bothering to clear the corpses on the ground, hurried to the teleportation hall, preparing to board and capture Erebus alive.
The fleet also fired at the Word Bearers' battleship, attempting to disable their defensive shields and Warp fields.
"Brothers, live stream the capture of Erebus!"
As they headed to the teleportation hall, a Player started a live stream in the global chat channel.
At first, the other Players thought Desert and the others were joking.
Even if Erebus was stupid, he wouldn't walk right into a trap.
However, as videos and photos were uploaded, they had to admit it was true.
Warmaster: "Is Erebus an idiot?"
Little Alpaca: "Why did he deliver himself to Desert? Couldn't he have come to me?"
Tenjiro: "So angry, I'm shivering!!"
Dragon Lobster: "I'm also in the Koronus Expanse."
Desert: "Brothers, wait for my good news. When I capture Erebus alive and bring him back to Terra, I'll definitely set up a few tables to celebrate."
Inside the teleportation hall,
With the roar of mechanical equipment, a flash of light from the teleportation covered Desert and the Players.
The surrounding environment distorted, and when everything returned to normal,
They had already arrived inside the Word Bearers' battleship.
The interior of the battleship was gloomy and terrifying, with thick steam spewing from pipes.
The steam was mixed with strong incense, sweat, and the smell of decay.
"What a disgusting place."
"Makes me want to vomit."
"It smells worse than an Orks' den!!"
The Players grumbled as they advanced deeper into the ship.
Along the way, they encountered many monsters and Chaos cultists. These enemies were easily torn to shreds by the Players.
Only a few Word Bearer warriors could impede their progress, but the ultimate outcome was still a rout.
Soon, Desert and the other Players reached the core of the Word Bearers' battleship.
Here, Erebus was conducting a Chaos ritual with his Oracle.
A glowing vortex appeared above the altar, clearly a Chaos portal capable of instant Warp jump.
"No!! Damn it."
"Erebus, you coward, stay and duel me!"
Realizing that the opponent was about to escape, Desert immediately rushed towards Erebus's location, wanting to stop this villain.
However, it was still too late.
Erebus turned his head and looked at Desert, "We will meet again soon. At that time, you will regret what you have done today."
Then, he stepped into the vortex formed by the altar and disappeared.
The Players swung their swords, killing the Oracles and destroying the altar,
But Erebus ultimately escaped.
"No!!"
Desert knelt on the ground, shouting in grief. "Snowflakes fluttering, north wind whistling—"
A song began, fitting the scene.
The wailing Desert stopped, looking with a dark expression at his companion who was playing music, his gaze slightly hostile.
The others' gazes were similar.
The Player showed a hint of embarrassment, "I thought some music would set the mood."
Desert got up, "Where are you from?"
"Binjiang."
"When we go offline, a few of you go and drag him to the island, then throw him into the sea and make him swim back."
Desert said grumpily.
"No, boss! I've rendered service to the organization, I've shed blood for the organization, you can't do this to me!!"
After some playful banter, the previously upset group no longer dwelled on Erebus's escape.
As the number one villain in the entire Warhammer Universe, the main instigator of the Horus Heresy, and the man with the highest participation rate in the The Battle of Terra,
If he were that easy to catch, he would have been eliminated by those Imperial heroes long ago and wouldn't have been able to cause trouble until now.
Desert also shared this incident in the chat channel.
Warmaster and other Players immediately opened champagne to celebrate.
When they learned that Erebus had appeared before Desert and the other Players, they all beat their chests and stamped their feet, regretting that they hadn't gone to the Koronus Expanse.
After all, capturing Erebus alive would yield an absolutely exaggerated amount of war points.
If Desert and his group had gone through immense hardship to find Erebus, then it would have been understandable.
But Erebus had actively delivered himself to them,
It was hard not to suspect that Desert had kidnapped the operations of Warhammer 0L to create such a plot.
Now, upon learning that Desert and his group had failed and allowed Erebus to escape, they were naturally overjoyed.
This meant they had a chance.
In response, Desert also severely ridiculed these guys in the chat channel.
Erebus's matter was ultimately a minor interlude.
After clearing out the remaining Chaos battleships and arranging for the rescued slaves,
Desert led the fleet to Longtooth Star, preparing to annihilate the Orks in the Koronus Expanse.
The fleet navigated through the surging Immaterium, and several days later, arrived in the airspace of Longtooth Star.
At this time, the Orks had also assembled an exaggeratedly large force.
The only three remaining Ork warlords in the Koronus Expanse had also gathered at Longtooth Star.
Both sides would engage in a large-scale war here.
And on the edge of the battlefield, an Eldar battleship hovered in the dark void, far from the conflict.
Several seers from the Korol Craftworld were observing the assembled human army.
As the oldest race in the galaxy, it was impossible for them to be unaware of such a large-scale military deployment by humans.
"Erebus escaped, but he is still in the Koronus Expanse. It seems these foolish monkeys need some help," Aila Ashbell, the chief seer of the Craftworld, whispered to herself.
She intended to warn humanity and reveal Erebus's whereabouts.