Chapter 70: The Hunt Begins
The troops began to assemble in secret. Apart from the participants and a few genetically-screened individuals who were in the know, almost no one knew that Lucan had assembled such a force.
Lucan wasn't sure if there were still any Genestealer moles in his Dynasty; he couldn't risk any information leaking out.
The 50 most elite warriors were all equipped with adamantium combat suits, while the rest all wore ceramite.
Lucan knew the Genestealer Patriarch's psychic power was certainly immense, and its individual strength likely surpassed that of a typical Astartes.
Lucan discovered that besides himself, he couldn't find a single individual powerhouse to anchor the team… Norris's physical wounds had healed, but the psychic corrosion had not yet fully subsided; he was temporarily unavailable for deployment.
And Lucan himself was an extreme counter to psykers, with his physical stats being even more absurd. Despite the objections of everyone around him, Lucan still chose to join the decapitation strike force.
At this moment, outside the sewage district, the Death Cult's High Priest and his followers were awaiting Lucan's arrival.
The High Priest hadn't expected that Lucan, this Rogue Trader, would personally join this decapitation strike.
"Are you also going to the hive bottom?"
"I'm a Living Saint! Don't underestimate me!"
And Lucan also noticed that the High Priest, who had previously been confined to a wheelchair, was now standing.
Bionic limbs had replaced his missing ones.
"And you," Lucan countered, "at your age, and with your body crippled, are you sure you can still fight?"
"I have never neglected my skills. Even as I am now, I can still offer up death to the Undying Emperor. The death that has not yet been delivered will be bestowed upon that xenos this time!"
In total, over 2,000 soldiers from both sides would use the secret passages provided by the High Priest to strike directly at the heart of the Genestealers. The Death Cult had brought out almost all of their combat-capable followers.
And accompanying the force were over a thousand Widow Mines. Lucan had a premonition that these Widow Mines might have a greater effect than all the soldiers combined.
"Follow me. The passage is within the sewage district!"
And as this force entered, Verre, who was coordinating the frontal assault, also issued the order to attack.
They didn't need to penetrate deep into the hive bottom; they only needed to create a large enough commotion to make the Genestealers believe the main attack was coming from the front, thereby drawing off enemy forces and relieving pressure on the strike team.
The assault on the hive bottom began.
As squad after squad of Dynasty soldiers entered through the passage openings, they were immediately met with a counter-attack from the Genestealers before they could advance very far.
The resistance from millions of Genestealers, all with a death-wish resolve, startled Verre.
The weapons they had secretly stockpiled over a hundred years meant the firepower of these Genestealers far exceeded expectations.
Coupled with their familiarity with the environment, they were able to launch attacks from the most unexpected places.
Verre was somewhat relieved that Lucan had not opted for a full-frontal assault.
Otherwise, they truly would have been swallowed by the vast ocean of a people's war.
"Magus! Those who defile the Four-Armed Emperor have begun their attack!"
The Genestealer Magus, Vienna, calmly directed countless Genestealer cultists in the counter-attack.
All the stockpiled weapons were distributed.
And she, surrounded by a host of preachers, proclaimed her faith in the Four-Armed Emperor.
She used her psychic powers to project mental suggestions to the surrounding Genestealer cultists.
Under the influence of this psychic power, the Dynasty soldiers attacking the hive bottom in their eyes transformed into blasphemous mutants attempting to destroy the God-Emperor.
And those Purestrain Genestealers became the great Angels of Death of the Four-Armed Emperor.
Everything they saw was an illusion.
Watching batch after batch of fanatical cultists taking up arms to halt the Dynasty's offensive, Vienna's heart was not as calm as her face suggested.
From the moment the Chaos rebellion began, the situation had already started to spiral out of her control.
The appearance of Chaos had caused the cult to lose a large number of followers, which directly led to a slowdown in the progress of lighting the psychic beacon.
Delaying the arrival of the Day of Ascension – this was the most unacceptable outcome.
But just when the cult thought they could develop in peace after Chaos was dealt with, large numbers of their fifth-generation Genestealers in the underhive and uphive had all lost contact. The intelligence and supplies that should have been passed down had all vanished.
That Rogue Trader seemed to understand their cult very well, even launching an offensive against the hive bottom without any rest or regrouping.
When she ordered some Genestealer cultists to try and circle around through other secret passages to attack the Dynasty's rear, she discovered that those unknown passages were also guarded by soldiers. Once they left the hive bottom and reached the underhive, it would be Lucan's home turf.
The various colored combat suits and Siege Tanks in siege mode would let these Genestealers know that under absolute firepower, all are equal.
Any Genestealer emerging from the hive bottom would suffer a devastating blow.
And this also made Vienna truly appreciate the advantage brought by equipment. Clearly, the opponent's numbers were small, yet her own vast numbers of followers could only turtle up and fight within the hive bottom. Any attempt at a counter-offensive would be instantly cut short the moment they left the sump.
And just as the Genestealer cultists were locked in a stalemate with Lucan's soldiers, the decapitation strike force had already entered the dark, subterranean city of the hive bottom through the secret passages.
The High Priest walked at the very front of the column. His blind eyes seemed to be able to see in the darkness, guiding the force forward.
He was sensing the Mark of Death left on the Genestealer Patriarch.
Through countless forks and corners, the High Priest made his choices each time without hesitation.
Suddenly, the High Priest stopped. He touched the metal plate beneath his feet and turned back to Lucan.
"This is the deepest we can reach. There are no passable tunnels around that xenos. To reach the lair where it hides, we can only fight our way through."
Saying this, the High Priest drew a dagger and a long knife, gripping them tightly, and knelt on both knees to pray.
The surrounding Death Cultists, with the same equipment and attire, also performed the same action.
A simple cloth robe and the blades in their hands were their only equipment. Lucan had told the High Priest he could provide them with combat suits, but they had refused.
Though combat suits were very practical, they were contrary to their fighting style. And if they could die in battle, for this group that worshipped death, it was also a kind of blessing.
"We watch from the shadows, we shall awaken in blood!
We are the blades of the Undying Emperor; flesh is our shackles, only death is sacrifice.
May the Undying Emperor grant us the strength of slaughter, to make our enemies lose heart.
Oh, Undying Emperor, please accept the wails of these blasphemers as your hymn.
Today, we shall write Your holy name with the blood of heretics.
We have already dedicated ourselves to death, until the end of the world!"
Their unified prayer even echoed in the enclosed space.
After the prayer was complete, this group of Death Cult assassins sliced open their own palms with their daggers.
Blood flowed down their hands. Lucan felt pain just watching, yet this group of Death Cultists seemed completely unfazed.
"The hunt begins!"
(End of Chapter)