Chapter 119: The Ambush!

Aaahhh—

Screams of humans echoed through the vast, dim sewer chamber.

Crunch, crunch.

The four-armed Genestealer Patriarch, towering nearly five meters tall with a grotesquely protruding cranium, chewed on a cultist it had just picked up, blood dripping from its maw.

On the ground, several Genestealer cultists gazed fanatically at the monstrous being they worshipped.

The Patriarch required vast quantities of fresh blood daily to sustain its body, and the cultists were the ideal sustenance.

The High Priests, under the guise of serving the "great entity," regularly selected the most devout cultists to be offered as sacrifices.

The cultists even competed for this so-called honor.

Once chosen, they would fast for several days, cleanse themselves, and present themselves to the Patriarch.

After a few bites, the Patriarch spat out the half-eaten remains.

"Disgusting humans… absolutely vile!"

Its cold gaze swept over the groveling humans, filled with disdain.

These pitiful creatures were far from satisfying.

Suddenly, an idea crossed the Patriarch's twisted mind, and it broke into a sinister grin.

It released the cultists from its psychic control and induced overwhelming terror instead.

Freed from their mental illusions, the cultists now saw the Patriarch in its true, horrifying form.

They screamed and trembled, attempting to flee, but their legs buckled beneath them.

"This is what makes them delicious~"

The Patriarch grabbed another cultist and swallowed them whole, savoring the renewed taste of fear.

One cultist managed to crawl away, stumbling toward the exit.

But the Patriarch's spiked tail impaled him through the chest, lifting him into the air.

"How dare you flee in the presence of the great one?"

With a crushing grip, it turned the cultist into a gory pulp, disdainfully tossing the remains to the others.

It then flicked its tongue, snatching a blade from a nearby Genestealer guard and throwing it at the cultists' feet.

"I'll give you a chance to live.

Attack me or kill your comrades. Achieve either, and you may survive."

The Patriarch slouched back onto its rusted iron throne, lazily extending its tail toward the cultists, inviting their attack.

One cultist hesitated before picking up the blade. Summoning his courage, he raised it toward the tail.

But under the Patriarch's cold gaze, his resolve faltered, and he turned the blade on his fellow cultists instead.

The others scrambled to grab weapons, attacking each other in desperation.

The Patriarch watched its orchestrated bloodbath with amusement, reveling in the spectacle.

After a gruesome fight, only one burly cultist remained standing.

He trembled as he asked cautiously:

"Can… can I leave now?"

The Patriarch gestured dismissively, indicating he could go.

Relieved, the cultist dropped the blade and began to walk away.

But as soon as he turned, the Patriarch's barbed tongue pierced through his back, yanking him into its gaping maw.

Chewing loudly, it muttered through a mouthful of flesh:

"Foolish humans… I lied."

It delighted in its cruel joke.

Such cowardly and ignorant beings were only fit to be food.

After swallowing the remains, the Patriarch lounged back on its throne.

Suddenly, it snapped upright, its eyes gleaming with excitement.

"The Great Hive Mind has received the signal—they are coming!"

The arrival of the holy devourers signified the Day of Ascension.

It envisioned itself and all life on the planet— even the vile Chaos spawn—achieving divine unity.

Just as the Patriarch basked in its imagined glory—

Boom!

A massive explosion rocked the chamber, shaking the very foundations of the sewer.

Gunfire and artillery blasts erupted all around.

"Those damn humans… dare defy the holy union?"

The Patriarch roared with fury.

Using the Hive Mind, it issued a command to all nearby Genestealers:

"Kill every intruder!"

It also summoned reinforcements from distant sectors, determined to eliminate the threat and preserve the sanctity of the Day of Ascension.

The idea that the invaders could disrupt its plans? Laughable.

This planet was firmly under its control.

As its command spread through the Hive Mind, a purple tide surged through the underhive.

Millions of Genestealer warriors from surrounding districts converged on the chamber, while even larger forces prepared for war.

Above the sewer in the street district:

Fierce battles raged as Kaul, Arye, and Kaes led 2,000 warriors through the pipes to establish a defensive line.

Their task was to hold off the Genestealer forces converging on the surface.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several advancing Genestealer warriors fell under a hail of bullets.

"Fools! You'll never breach the mighty defenses I've constructed!"

Kaul, draped in his crimson robes, hovered above the battlefield on an anti-gravity platform.

His many mechanical arms, each equipped with different weapons, unleashed relentless firepower on the Genestealers below.

Suddenly, one of his mechanical limbs fired a cannon behind him, demolishing half a building and burying the Genestealer gunners inside.

Kaul's trusted servo-skull, heavily modified with advanced weaponry, led a swarm of lesser servo-skulls, raining laser fire down on wave after wave of Genestealers.

Kaul alone held the line on one front.

On the ground, Arye hefted a massive machine gun, unleashing a torrent of bullets on the enemy.

Kaes manned a small energy cannon, picking off the Genestealers' heavy artillery.

Though the surface district wasn't heavily populated by Genestealers initially, reinforcements began to pour in, increasing the pressure on Kaul's forces.

Some defenders started to fall.

"Hold the line!"

Arye roared, rallying his troops to fight even harder.

Governor Eden's orders were clear: they needed to hold the line for at least 15 minutes—or longer if possible.

Within the sewer tunnels:

Brutal close-quarters combat unfolded as 3,000 void survivor warriors blocked key passageways.

Their mission was to hold back the stronger first- and second-generation Genestealers.

Clad in alloy armor and wielding shields and spears, the void survivors fought fearlessly against the demonic xenos.

"Tribesmen, defend the beautiful paradise with your lives!"

Duke, standing at the front with a massive shield and spear, confronted the charging Genestealers.

Though fear gripped him momentarily, he steeled himself. He had vowed to fight to the death for paradise.

When the Genestealers reached him, Duke shut his eyes and bashed forward with his shield, sending several flying.

Following up with his spear, he swiftly dispatched those still on the ground.

Duke paused, astonished. These demons seemed weaker than the Chaos beasts he had fought before.

And with his new alloy armor, he felt even stronger.

"For paradise!"

His fear dissipated as Duke roared, charging into the Genestealer horde with newfound confidence.

The other void survivor warriors soon realized their own strength, crashing into the enemy ranks with increasing ferocity.

In the depths of the sewer chamber:

On the rusted iron throne, the Patriarch's face darkened.

The ambush was sudden and unexpected.

It sensed its defending forces being blocked, while the true invaders drew ever closer to its lair.

The battle had begun.

(End of Chapter)

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