Chapter 65: Noise Marine
The leading Noise Marine wore an exaggerated expression.
He first lightly plucked a "string" (which looked like a pulsating blood vessel) on the side of the giant sonic weapon in his hand with his finger.
*Snap—*
A short, deep thud.
The sound wasn't loud, but the veteran swordsman standing on the front flank suddenly shuddered.
*Crack.*
A small piece of ceramite armor on his chest cracked without warning, then a small section of the plating shattered like a crisp biscuit and fell to the ground.
"Ahhhhhh…"
An expression of ecstasy appeared on the monster's face, the metal ring in his mouth clinking and clanging with his smile.
"Prelude over~~"
He suddenly opened his eyes wide, pupils dilating to reveal only the whites, and opened his mouth wide, letting out a shriek towards his comrades behind him.
"Now… the climax begins~~!!!"
*Boom!!!*
No explosion of ammunition.
Instead, a wall of sonic booms, almost visible to the naked eye.
Twelve Noise Marines simultaneously raised their sonic blasters. The guy carrying the huge organ backpack slammed his hands heavily onto the keys.
The air was instantly compressed and distorted, and then the wall of sonic booms swept towards them at incredible speed.
"Defend!!!"
Cole shouted a warning.
Without hesitation, the Commander's golden body instantly shielded Eileen. His halberd spun wildly, forming a golden shield of light.
*Boom—!!!*
The sonic wall slammed into Cole's halberd's force field.
The immense sonic boom caused the godlike warrior to slide back several centimeters. The high-grade marble floor beneath his feet shattered into the finest sand.
"What the hell was that sound?"
Eileen, hiding behind Cole's cloak, felt her heart resonate with that terrifying frequency. If she hadn't activated her psionic barrier immediately, she felt she would have coughed up blood.
"Damn it! My sensors!"
Beside him, Sicarius knelt on one knee, planting his power sword in the ground to barely steady himself.
His helmet's tactical display was filled with red gibberish; the audio receiver no longer emitted sound, but a sharp, shrill electrical whine.
"The resonant frequency of this sound is damaging the power armor's servo system!"
Sergeant Varo's situation was worse. To protect Lars, whom he was carrying, he had to turn his back to the source of the sound waves.
The pervasive vibration penetrated through the cooling grilles on his back.
"Warning! Power armor structural damage! Warning! Internal organs subjected to high-frequency vibrations!"
Varo gritted his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"These bastards… they're really loud!"
The twelve Noise Marines, divided into two groups, didn't stop for a moment. They continued their performance, yelling and screaming.
*Zzzzz—*
The high-frequency sound waves were like countless invisible saws, cutting through everything in the hall.
Precious oil paintings spontaneously combusted, crystal chandeliers shattered into dust, and even the not-quite-dead corpses of the mutated guards were blasted into clouds of blood mist by the sound waves.
And besides the physical damage from the sound waves themselves…
The sound was interspersed with hallucinatory Warp whispers.
It was a bizarre torture that inflicted extreme pain on the soul while simultaneously producing intense pleasure on the body.
"Ugh…"
Although the two veterans were protected by the relic and Eileen's shield, which offered some resistance to Warp corrosion, the physical impact of the sonic waves still caused their ears and noses to bleed.
They wanted to charge, to kill their way through and silence these noise-makers.
But they couldn't move.
The burly man carrying a long, organ-like weapon was playing an extremely low-frequency vibrato. This infrasound locked down the surrounding spatial structure, forming an invisible wall of air that blocked all assault routes.
As soon as they left the range of Eileen's shield or behind Cole, the terrifying sonic waves would slam them against the wall like a hydraulic press.
"Commander Cole! We have to break through!" Sicarius roared, trying to drown out the noise.
"No!"
Cole's voice remained cold and hard, but the muscles in his arm gripping the halberd bulged.
"The sound wave's range is too wide. Once I leave my position, the Saint Bearer will be directly exposed to the shockwave. Her mortal body can't withstand even a second of tremor."
The Commander stood like a pillar of strength, firmly rooted to the spot, bearing the brunt of the most violent impact head-on.
"Ms. Eileen!"
Sicarius turned to look at the girl protected in the center.
"Can you use your power to suppress them? Like before?"
Eileen was currently covering her ears with her hands, the golden light membrane around her flickering, looking precarious.
"No!"
Eileen cried out amidst the deafening noise, her face pale.
"Old Huang said I'm low on power!"
[There's nothing I can do; your physical strength and mental power have been pushed to their limits recently.]
Old Huang's voice complained in Eileen's mind.
[You helped heal your brother Robert and maintain his psionic body, then you created a physical body for him—a psionic bioengineering project second only to the Primarch! Plus, you purified so many planets… your energy reserves are practically depleted!]
[Now, these pink-clad perverts' attacks are nothing but mental pollution from those perverts. The remaining energy has to be used to maintain this mental filter and psionic shield!]
[Otherwise, if this shield disappears, these canned goods might hold out, but your little brain will go crazy on the spot!]
Eileen gritted her teeth, desperately maintaining the golden "eggshell."
She looked at the group of Noise Marines outside, shaking their heads, playing guitars, banging drums, and even banging their heads against the wall to keep time, and her teeth itched with rage.
"These lunatics! Aren't they tired?!"
The leader of the Noise Marines seemed to sense the Empire's predicament.
He stopped what he was doing and made an exaggerated bowing gesture.
The clamor subsided slightly.
"Ah… what a resilient audience."
His voice was greasy and shrill.
"You're resisting? Refusing this gift of art?"
He pointed at Cole.
"Especially you, golden statue. Your silence is an insult to art."
"*****! Raise the volume! Give them something more exciting! Shake their marrow out!"
*Roar!!!*
All the Noise Marines simultaneously unleashed their weapons at maximum power. The organist even injected rows of serum into his spine and began frantically pounding the keys.
*Buzz—!!!*
A new wave of sound, even more intense than before.
Cole took a half-step back, the floorboards creaking and cracking.
Just as Eileen thought she was going to be driven mad by this noise,
"It's fucking awful!!!"
A voice, trembling with tears yet brimming with energy, suddenly came from around their feet.
Sicarius paused, startled.
Sergeant Varo also lowered his head.
The young master Lars, whom he had just thrown to the ground, had woken up sometime earlier.
He was lying face down, his hands tightly covering his ears, his face contorted in a grimace.
"It's too loud! It's awful! What kind of lousy music is this?!"
Lars rolled on the ground, cursing loudly.
"This has no melody at all! It's just noise! Pure industrial noise! My ears are going to go deaf!"
"This thing deserves to be called a performance? It's like sawing wood! It's raping my eardrums!"
Everyone was stunned.
Amidst the Warp-like sonic noise that even the Astartes felt nauseous, dizzy, and even hallucinating,
this mortal… this seemingly most useless playboy…
He's actually alright?
Although Cole and the Astartes blocked most of the physical sound waves,
this young master didn't go insane from the sound waves?
He could even swear logically…
[This kid's got some interesting stuff.]
Old Huang's attention instantly focused on Lars.
[Eileen, look at his soul.]
Following Old Huang's guidance, Eileen also used her spiritual vision to take a look.
The location of Lars's soul was a gray, lifeless… chaos.
Not the chaos those lunatics believed in, but a pool of… stagnant water without a ripple.
Old Huang clicked his tongue in amazement.
[Although he hasn't reached the level of an 'Untouchable' with an anti-magic aura, this kid's soul is practically an insulator against Warp fluctuations.]
[Plus, his cowardly brain can't hold anything beyond limited entertainment and so-called normal aristocratic art.]
[Those 'extreme emotions' and 'overload of pleasure' are completely ineffective against him.]
[In his eyes, this wasn't Warp pollution at all, just… unpleasant to hear.]
Eileen blinked, looking at Lars, who was still rolling around on the ground throwing a tantrum.
"So… he's not afraid of these sounds?"
[He's afraid of physical damage. But he's immune to all the enchanted damage that drives you crazy.]
Old Huang suddenly laughed, his laughter revealing a newfound amusement.
[Eileen, let's try a different approach.]
[These Emperor's children are probably most narcissistic and care most about what others think of their 'art'.]
[Let the heroes investigate the heroes, let the art experts deal with these art experts.]
[Throw this kid out. Let him teach these perverts a lesson.]
Eileen's eyes lit up instantly.
Looking at Lars, it was like seeing a good brick to smash him with.
"Uncle Varo!"
Eileen called out.
"Get him up! Stop him rolling around!"
Varo, confused, did as she was told. He scooped Lars up, making sure he was steady (though his legs were still trembling).
Eileen peeked out from behind Cole's oversized red cloak.
She looked at Lars, her small mouth slowly widening into a smile, her pale gold eyes narrowing into crescent moons.
It was the expression of a little fox thinking of how to steal a chicken.
She reached into her trench coat pocket and pulled out the megaphone she'd swiped from the arena.
Then, she poked Lars in the back with her short sword.
"Hey, Governor's son."
Lars turned around with a long face: "Wh… what? Grandma, what… what do you need now?"
"Oh, I just wanted you to do me a little favor."
Eileen smiled and shoved the megaphone into Lars's hand.
"Didn't you keep bragging about your taste at the banquet? Didn't you call yourself some kind of 'explorer under the stars…'?"
Eileen pointed to the group of Noise Marines opposite her, engrossed in their self-congratulatory performance.
"Now, your chance has come."
"I want to hear your professional opinion."
Lars, clutching the megaphone, looked completely bewildered: "Huh? What opinion?"
"A critique!"
Eileen said matter-of-factly.
"Just like how you critiqued that painting at the banquet. Give me a proper, thorough critique, from beginning to end, with your most discerning eye…"
Eileen flashed that mischievous smile.
"Give me a proper 'critique' of these perverted… artistic skills."
"I'll also amplify your voice."