Chapter 71: The Sea of Widow Mines
Lucan's soldiers also checked their weapons. Then, the soldiers began planting explosives in the location designated by the High Priest.
Lucan closed his eyes and released his psychic senses. Sure enough, not far beneath the metal plates at their feet, he could sense a large number of life signs.
"Everyone, do not get bogged down in fighting! Our objective on this mission is singular: to kill that Genestealer Patriarch! For the God-Emperor, for the Mongorte Dynasty! Final weapons check!" Lucan reminded everyone.
The soldiers began to place the explosives at the location specified by the High Priest.
"3, 2, 1… Detonate!"
Melta bombs released terrifying thermal energy, instantly melting dozens of large holes in the metal plates beneath their feet, big enough for several people to pass through. And looking down through the holes, they saw a group of stunned Genestealer cultists. They hadn't expected this place to be one of the Genestealers' weapon depots!
Many Genestealers who hadn't yet received their weapons were gathered here, waiting for them to be distributed.
The Genestealer cultists stared at the dark holes in the ceiling, not knowing what had happened. But in the next second, countless Death Cult assassins clad in black leaped down. They silently began to slaughter the unarmed Genestealers before them.
Every slash was fatal. Lucan marveled at the speed of this group of Death Cultists. By the time he led his own soldiers to jump down, he saw only a floor covered in corpses. The spilled blood had formed a veritable pool on the ground, and those Death Cult assassins were already bathed in it.
Smiles of enjoying death appeared on their faces. Following the corridors, they continued their slaughter.
And these Death Cult assassins, now charging off in various directions, had become sacrificial pawns. Their purpose was to attract the other Genestealers, and they readily accepted their own deaths.
The High Priest, meanwhile, waited for Lucan with his most elite group of Death Cult assassins.
"We must move quickly! Those xenos will soon discover us!"
Watching the High Priest already leading the way, Lucan also immediately followed. Before leaving, Lucan had his men blow up this weapons depot.
However, though Lucan and his soldiers left, along the route they took, one Widow Mine after another began to move down the corridors in various directions, then burrowed into the ground and buried themselves.
And such a large commotion immediately attracted the attention of the Genestealers.
More and more Genestealer cultists began to swarm towards the breach point. The Genestealer Magus, Vienna, also received the news at the first opportunity.
"What?! Enemies have breached the warehouse? How is that possible?! We've clearly blocked those heretics outside! How did those people get in?"
When she heard that the intruders were those Death Cult assassins, an unspeakable rage ignited in her heart. Just as the High Priest had said, the struggle between these Death Cult assassins and the Genestealers had been going on for a century.
For the Genestealer Cult, countless excellent followers and pawns placed within the Dynasty had been killed by these madmen. They would sometimes use methods unknown to the Genestealers to enter the hive bottom, and they even dared to assassinate their great Patriarch!
Unforgivable! Having fought with the Death Cult assassins for so many years, the Genestealers also had some understanding of them – namely, that their numbers were very small!
Vienna knew that the Death Cult's small population could not shake the foundation of her cult, and their only possible target was their Patriarch!
Vienna no longer bothered with directing the believers on the front lines, but pulled back a large number of Genestealers who were supposed to be deployed there.
The existence of the Genestealer Patriarch was the very foundation of the entire Genestealer Cult. Once they lost the Patriarch, they would also lose the chance to light the psychic beacon and summon the Tyranid tendril.
Countless Genestealer cultists revealed their most frenzied side and all swarmed towards Lucan and his men.
As the High Priest led the group deeper, the enemies before them also became stronger.
The human-looking Neophyte Genestealers disappeared, replaced by those hybrids possessing several arms.
From the darkness high above, "killer-strain" snipers would even fire high-powered, modified las-guns at them from time to time.
However, the infrared detection in the combat suits could accurately identify the hiding killer-strains. Once discovered, they would be met with the concentrated fire of dozens of C-14s, which would destroy them along with their hiding place.
The main offensive force switched from the Death Cult to the Raiders, and their killing efficiency was even faster. The Raiders had a clear division of labor, with some responsible for fire support and others for holding the line in melee.
Especially the Dynasty's elite surrounding Lucan, those wearing adamantium combat suits. With a blast shield in one hand and a chainsword in the other, they stood at the very front. The Genestealers' weapons couldn't breach their defense, while even a shield bash from them was enough to kill an opponent.
Having undergone various enhancements, their combat effectiveness was more than doubled with the augmentation of the combat suits. They didn't even have to worry about injury or armor damage, as a full ten Medics were providing them with healing.
Together with Lucan, they formed the sharpest spearhead.
Boom!
Explosions continuously sounded from the rear of the column. After Lucan sent a Genestealer flying with a punch, he also heard the sound. He knew some unlucky individuals had started stepping on his Widow Mines.
The High Priest couldn't help but look back. He had thought they would be caught in a pincer attack from the front and rear, but they had already advanced a great distance, yet he saw no enemies behind them.
He also guessed that those mechanical constructs Lucan had brought were at work.
Vienna's face was a mask of fury. Those Death Cult assassins were still creating chaos.
And the Genestealer army pursuing Lucan and his men was blocked by countless Widow Mines.
Every few dozen meters, a Widow Mine awaited the Genestealers to charge into its attack range.
Their cloaked state meant the Genestealer cultists could only use their own lives to scout the path.
If a few Genestealers were blown up, it wouldn't matter, but the numerous explosions even caused tunnels to collapse, blocking the way.
And the external armor of these Widow Mines was very sturdy; they were not so easily destroyed.
Hundreds of Widow Mines had turned into a sea of mines, blocking all pursuers for Lucan, buying precious time and allowing the squad to advance without worrying about their rear.
And the remaining Widow Mines became scouts. For any Genestealers encountered along the way, the Widow Mine's attitude was, "So what if you see me? I'll burrow right in front of you. If you can't dismantle me in the first second, then just wait to be blown up!"
There were almost no enemies left ahead.
"High Priest! How much further!"
"I sense it! Just ahead!" the High Priest said excitedly. The death that should have come more than a decade ago was now right in front of him.
"With this death, I honor the Emperor, with this blood, I build His sacrament, I wield this blade, a blessing upon thee!"
However, just as Lucan's soldiers followed the Death Cult assassins out of the end of this tunnel and reached the Genestealer Patriarch's palace, pairs of crimson eyes were looking down at them from above.
Lucan also discovered this group of monsters. He found that his psychic senses hadn't detected these creatures at all; his perception had been negated by the enemy's psychic power?! And the one responsible for all this was precisely that Genestealer Patriarch. The psychic network formed by millions of Genestealer cultists had elevated this Genestealer Patriarch's psychic power to a terrifying level.
Dozens of Purestrain Genestealers were clinging to the pipes on the ceiling, waiting for their arrival.
The moment the Death Cult assassins entered this great hall, the Purestrain Genestealers leaped down.
Compared to the Death Cult and these xenos, these Purestrain Genestealers were the true born killers. Their chitinous talons could even sever the weapons in the hands of the Death Cult assassins.
The slaughter happened in an instant. One Death Cult assassin after another was pounced upon and then torn to shreds. And many more special Genestealer cultists had long been waiting for them here.
Powerful Acolyte Hybrids, Sancti, massive Aberrant Hypermorphs, and a large number of first and second-generation Genestealers, and the Genestealer Patriarch itself.
In its eyes, even if the cultists outside couldn't stop this squad, it itself had enough power to keep them all here. And the deaths of those Genestealers outside caused not the slightest emotional ripple in its heart.
"For the Day of Ascension! For the Great Devourer!! You think you can kill me with just this many people?!"
The Genestealer Patriarch roared, and all the Genestealers charged forward. And it itself also descended from its throne, its nearly five-meter height like that of a towering giant.
(End of Chapter)