However, before Dante could recover from the immense whiplash, he was horrified to see the figure opposite raise his head, his eyes gazing upon Dante as if he were a messiah.
Right now, Zhou Ye wanted nothing more than to slap himself. He had seized control of the Underworld System, and what came next…?
He got a taste of standard Imperial procedure. He now had to sift through decades of accumulated documents to find crucial information and the locations of various resource stockpiles. It was a colossal undertaking. The two guards standing outside his door were young Custodes; the other four were already acting as his secretarial staff, helping him process this chaotic mess of paperwork.
Both he and the swarm were racing against time. The Tyranids outside were currently undergoing a special evolution. The Great Devourer could go toe-to-toe with Nurgle's plagues because Nurgle's plagues were, in essence, a psychic phenomenon.
A normal, real-world plague would be a mere drizzle to the inhabitants of this universe. But Zhou Ye's withering power was not psychic at all. Therefore, for the Great Devourer, a psychic lifeform from the Warp, simple evolution was useless.
Or rather, evolution based on psychic energy was useless. As for using Imaginary energy, unfortunately for them, only Zhou Ye had access to that in this universe. Not even the Chaos Gods had noticed the root of the problem.
So, the Hive Mind had opted for consumptive evolution, forcefully creating a batch of psychic units to fight Zhou Ye.
The reason Zhou Ye wasn't rushing to attack was that he needed Ahriman to mark more node-beasts. He wanted to catch the Hive Mind completely off guard, which would cause the entire Tyranid swarm to fall apart. As for charging out through the ice crystal belt, it was better to forget it; the potential losses were too great.
He wasn't about to throw away the forces he had worked so hard to build in a single great battle.
In any case, both sides were full of malicious intent, quietly waiting for their opportunity.
Of course, when the battle did begin, the entire Underworld System would become an interstellar warzone. They were laying the groundwork now.
Naturally, when Zhou Ye saw Dante walk in, it was like seeing his savior.
"Great..."
Just as Dante opened his mouth to speak, Zhou Ye flickered, closing the distance between them with a speed he couldn't even perceive. In another flash, Dante found himself standing where Zhou Ye had just been.
In that one instant, as a veteran of countless wars, a cold sweat broke out across Dante's entire body.
That was too fast. He hadn't been able to react at all. The other party clearly had no malicious intent, but on a battlefield… just the thought of the possibilities made Dante break out in another cold sweat.
Is this the power of a Primarch? Even as one of the most elite Space Marines, he was no match for a Primarch.
These thoughts caused him to hesitate for a fraction of a second. But in that brief moment of distraction, Zhou Ye had already pushed him down onto the desk.
"Here is the detailed situation of the Underworld System and various forms. I am an outsider and not familiar with this place. As a local, these are matters you need to handle. From now on, I will focus my attention on military affairs. You don't need to worry about that; just focus on processing these documents."
After speaking, Zhou Ye even placed a yellow Cherub-Automata on Dante's shoulder. The Chapter Master of the Blood Angels wore a slightly dazed expression.
He felt that there was nothing wrong with what Zhou Ye had said, yet there was something profoundly not right about it that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
---o---
Meanwhile, outside…
K-chunk, k-chunk, k-chunk.
The sound of mechanical transmissions echoed as something approached.
"Well, well, if it isn't the old angel. Long time no see."
Zhou Ye instantly recognized the voice that drew nearer. Although the Dreadnought's mechanical tone distorted it slightly, it was definitely that fellow, Lemont Icefang.
Just as Zhou Ye could never understand how a venerable Contemptor Dreadnought could perform an action like hugging his leg and weeping, the group of Space Wolves who had witnessed that scene had their jaws drop. Since the Dreadnought had gone that far, Zhou Ye had no choice but to let him rejoin the unit.
Zhou Ye didn't even want to comment on it. Can't you just be a little more dignified? Not so abstract.
But before Zhou Ye could say anything, the voice outside continued.
"Old Wolf, didn't you go back?"
"That's not important! See this? Look! This is Macragge. This is Guilliman. This is the fallen Primarch Fulgrim. This is the fallen Primarch Angron. Not long ago, we had a fantastic battle on Macragge. We revived the Imperial Primarch Guilliman and banished two Daemon Primarchs. So, take a guess who didn't get an invitation."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
In an instant, a strange quiet fell both inside and outside the room. Dante was shocked by Zhou Ye's battle record. Without his knowledge, two Daemon Primarchs had been banished.
As for Zhou Ye, a dark cloud formed over his head. He remembered that when he banished Fulgrim on the space hulk, Aslot had specifically sent a battle report to Fenris. He hadn't read the details, but he could guess its contents with his feet.
So…
"Sigh…"
Zhou Ye could only let out a helpless sigh. He was considering whether he should implement some mental fortitude training for his legions, so everyone could be a bit more stable.
"?"
Seeing Zhou Ye sigh helplessly, Dante was a little bewildered. What was wrong with him? But before he could say anything, he heard…
"NOOO!!!"
A mournful scream echoed from outside. The voice belonged to the Blood Angels' Dreadnought, Aslot.
"Venerable Ancient!!!"
A series of gasps, followed by the sound of something large rolling around on the ground, came from outside.
"..."
Dante's face was numb. Although he couldn't see what was happening, hearing Seth's exclamation and the sound of mechanical movements matching that of a Dreadnought, Dante knew exactly what was going on. He felt something inside him shatter.
"You don't need to worry about external matters. Leave the Tyranids to me. By the way, I have a beacon here. Send someone to take it back to Baal; I have a great use for it."
After saying this, Zhou Ye gave the somewhat shell-shocked Dante a supportive pat on the shoulder, then vanished in the blink of an eye with his four Custodian guards.
He was now off to find Ahriman to confirm the locations and markings of the node-beasts. Frankly, this method could only be used once. The Great Devourer would definitely be on guard afterwards, and a second attempt wouldn't be as effective.
Therefore, this first strike had to achieve the greatest possible results. As for what came next, he would plan as things progressed.
"..."
Staring at the spot where Zhou Ye had vanished, then at the literal mountain of paperwork, Dante fell silent. He seemed to have realized why he had felt that something was not right.
The prospect of retirement seemed to be drifting further and further away from him.
"Sigh…"
Dante could only let out a helpless sigh and instinctively began to process the documents. Zhou Ye had been right about one thing: although they adhered to the Codex Astartes and only controlled Baal, the Underworld System was one of the Blood Angels' most important front lines. He was very familiar with it.
His efficiency in handling these documents was dozens of times greater than Zhou Ye's.
---o---
"Ahahaha! So who was it that didn't get invited!!!"
Lemont Icefang's voice was filled with unrestrained joy. Aslot, meanwhile, was rolling on the ground in agony. These two weren't given their special identities by Zhou Ye; they were old rivals who had served together on the Vengeful Spirit. Their current dynamic wasn't entirely fabricated by Zhou Ye's meddling.
All the Blood Angels and the group of wolf cubs behind them watched this scene, dumbfounded.
"Hahaha…"
Lemont Icefang was laughing heartily. Let that guy torment him before! Now he could get his revenge. It felt great.
"Ahem…"
It was clear the two were old friends, and both were ancient beings. So, after the initial shock, everyone pretended not to see anything. It was best for the juniors not to get involved in the little games of the elders.
At this point, Malakim tried to change the subject. And there was a good topic at hand, or so he thought.
"Brother Seth, do you remember those potions?"
"Brother Malakim, I am deeply sorry. Weren't you punished by the great Primarch?"
Seth's face flushed with shame. He had made off with such a fine medicine. As a Codex-compliant chapter, the Lamenters only had a thousand marines. Zhou Ye had given them one hundred thousand doses, which meant they were supposed to be consumed slowly.
But he had taken it all in one go. Such a precious potion must have angered Lord Phanes greatly. Seth's knees began to feel weak. He was ready to slide-kneel in apology at a moment's notice. He couldn't help it; the potion was just too important to the Blood Angels.
"Lord Phanes is very benevolent and did not blame us…"
Malakim looked a little embarrassed as he said this. Zhou Ye had been so generous that it filled him with guilt. That was why the Lamenters always tried their best to complete the tasks Zhou Ye gave them, which was to pave more roads.
"Phew…"
Seth breathed a sigh of relief. That was great.
But…
"I told him about the side effects you all experienced after taking the potion. Then, his Lordship very benevolently helped us upgrade the potion and successfully solved the nausea problem. This is the new formula."
Malakim enthusiastically held out the supply pouch at his waist. He opened it, and a vial shimmering with a sacred, golden light appeared before everyone.
"..."
The air fell silent once more, even more so than before. It was a terrifying silence.
"Ah, isn't this a fine potion? You should all be happy. Lord Phanes didn't mind that our stock was cleared out and generously gave us another hundred thousand doses."
Malakim looked at his battle-brothers, confused. He couldn't understand why it had suddenly gone so quiet.
But in the next instant, Seth charged into the room.
"Dante! Dante! Dante!!!"
"SETH!!!"
Several other enraged Chapter Masters charged in after him, instantly pinning Seth to the ground.
"What's going on?"
Dante put down the document in his hand and asked wearily. That Lord was now off to plan how to deal with the Tyranids, leaving him in charge of the rear.
After all, Lord Phanes only needed to lead the charge. He, in the rear, had much to consider.
"You said it was a great service for me to bring back the potion!"
"Yes…" Dante nodded, but before he could finish, several Chapter Masters walked in with狰狞smiles, holding the very vial Malakim had just shown them. Malakim himself was trembling, peeking from behind the doorframe. He wasn't an idiot; he knew what had happened.
He had thought the potion was only for those afflicted by the Red Thirst and Black Rage. The result was clear: all of them had drunk it.
"The new potion! This time, it uses brand-new ingredients. It's full of a sacred flavor. And it's all because of this guy…"
"I have shed blood for Baal! I brought back the fragments of a fallen Primarch's weapon! I…"
Seth immediately cut the man off, looking at Dante with an expression of hopeful expectation.
"You have indeed done a great service for the Blood Angels. But… some matters are separate…"
Watching Seth's eyes fill with despair as he spoke, Dante continued slowly. But just as he finished, he remembered something and added:
"The war is about to begin. Don't let him be unable to fight. That Lord has brought a massive army this time, with one hundred thousand Astartes alone. Even if we cannot be the main force, we cannot disgrace our gene-father's name."
"Yes, my Lord. We guarantee it will not affect his combat effectiveness."
The other successor Chapter Masters and the First Captain of the Blood Angels dragged Seth away with sinister grins. Malakim hid behind them, not daring to say a word.
"What are they doing?"
Aslot, having calmed down, looked on with confusion. He had missed what had just transpired.
"Venerable Ancient, they drank all of the potion."
"..."
In that one instant, Aslot's expression became one of utter speechlessness.
Do these people have holes in their heads? Why would you take medicine if you're not sick?
---o---
Of course, this scene did not last long. With Dante's arrival, on just the second day, the Tyranid swarm hiding outside the belt began to make its move. Several massive hive ships once again began to advance towards the Underworld System.
---o---