Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Watch out, Lana."

"Atoll No. 119 sent another distress signal to headquarters."

"The powerful individual detected on this front is still active. The two teams we sent over have lost contact, including the Terran brothers. It seems that we have encountered a tough opponent."

"Got it: I'll take care of it."

Flying shrapnel and hot coral debris occasionally passed over the edge of the armor, and the crackling sound was annoying: Lana frowned because of this, but it was not these little things that really worried him.

"Another one..."

The chief guard bit his lip and muttered incoherent complaints. His silver-white armor was splattered with the dark yellow blood of the aliens. Not far behind him were piles of various remains of assassins and an entire permanent fortress engulfed in flames.

"As soon as I dealt with one, another tough guy popped up."

"Really? This alien creature actually hides in its home planet?"

"No matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem right..."

The chief guard scratched his head in distress. In fact, not only him, but also the Dawnbreakers and even the mortal veterans had more or less sensed something was wrong after participating in the battle: compared with their secluded position, the strength of the assassins was indeed a bit too strong.

And here at Lana, he could naturally get more intelligence: he knew very well that the sharp individual long-range weapons, underwater construction technology and anti-gravity technology were far more advanced than those mastered by the Second Legion, and the Primarch had ordered to focus on collecting them.

Oh, and the body modification technology: it doesn’t look like it was developed independently…

Rana glanced at the corpses. They were similar yet different: they all had round heads, four arms and snake-like lower bodies, but some had wings that could fly, some had armor on their backs that was enough to protect against bullets, and some simply had no eyes, but their other senses appeared abnormally large and developed.

After their victory, the pharmacists of Dawnbreaker also simply dissected the bodies of these monsters out of pure curiosity, but the results were extremely horrifying: all the ingenious changes in physical form and gene mutation chains were not the result of natural selection, but the biological modification of human civilization.

The sophisticated technology they inflict on their own flesh far exceeds that of the Astartes.

An indigenous civilization that has not even completely broken away from its mother's embrace has actually formed such a stable tradition of genetic improvement within their society: the ever-changing forms of the assassins are obviously specially shaped to adapt to various battlefields and social positions, which makes their individuals perfect.

"This level of chemical and genetic modification requires extraordinary technology. Even the great biological sages of each Forge World must have never reached this level. Mother was right not to ask the Forge Worlds to participate in this battle, otherwise they would have gone crazy."

Rana put down the only communicator in his hand that was still usable, and glanced at his comrade squatting beside him: this Terran pharmacist was rummaging through a pile of smelly alien corpses without any disgust, and he would utter a loud exclamation of praise from time to time.

This is not common.

In Lana's impression, this old fellow was quite knowledgeable. The number of alien species he had personally killed and performed subsequent dissections on was, if not four digits, at least three digits. But even so, he seemed to have never been as excited as he was today.

"Look at this, Lana!"

The pharmacist suddenly turned around and held something in front of Lana as if offering a treasure. The chief guard took a closer look and took a step back in disgust: he saw a piece of meat shaped like a human brain held in his bloody hands.

That’s gross…wait?

Rana realized something.

"This is……"

"Yes, the head of a thorn man: it looks no different from a human head."

The pharmacist had the frenetic look of a drunk who smelled something.

"Incredible, isn't it? Although these aliens are definitely not related to humans, this can also prove the wonders of convergent evolution. And look at these acquired physical tissues. These should be learning devices implanted to enable individual thorns to better adapt to their positions."

"This also proves why they can mobilize so many soldiers. A large number of civilians can become useful warriors with only the simplest physical transformation surgery. Combined with their already superb physical fitness, they can indeed cause trouble for us."

"It's just so-so."

Rana lowered his voice. Although he felt that what the pharmacist said made some sense, he would not give in to his enemy's power at this time.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Chief Guard felt something was not right: mainly because the look in the eyes of the pharmacist brother next to him reminded him of an acquaintance of his in the Third Legion.

"what's on your mind?"

He asked.

The pharmacist was stunned.

"Ah, I was just thinking about Fabius..."

really!

Lana snorted.

"Don't think about it!"

He interrupted everything rudely.

"Fabius was able to [invent] a series of disgusting [improved organs] by studying the corpses of various aliens, and even implant these organs into the bodies of the Emperor's children. This was done by Fulgrim and his cubs: the Primarch would never agree to you doing such a thing."

"Don't forget your mother's red line."

"Never allow any part of the Dawnbreaker Legion to escape her control."

The pharmacist put his brain aside and recited this hard qualification skillfully. He looked lost but relieved. He nodded, admitted his mistake to the chief guard, and then walked towards the wounded camp nearby.

"That's right."

Lana exclaimed loudly behind him.

"Don't think about these useless things: help our battle brothers more when you have time."

"These thorns are indeed a bit prickly."

Having said that, an inexplicable sadness struck the heart of the Chief Guard. He turned and looked in another direction, where several Dawnbreaker martyrs were temporarily placed: they were hit by the alien's green flames during the battle, and their armor and flesh were destroyed by the electrochemical energy and turned into a pool of pus.

In this situation, even the tenacity of life bestowed by the Primarch could not save them.

Rana then swept his eyes over the camp of seriously wounded soldiers nearby, and made a simple estimate of the mobile forces at his disposal: he grabbed the communicator given to him by his mother, and kept communicating with several main company commanders. After confirming their respective positions and responsibilities, he found that there were indeed no useful people at hand.

I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but several of the most capable company commanders seem to have been held back: the number of assassin warriors is endless, and although they can’t push back the Dawnbreakers’ front line, they have also brought the war into a stalemate.

The chief guard thought for a moment: If he didn't use these company commanders, then there would be no one under his command who could be trusted more than the two veteran squads he had sent before. If he sent more people, it would most likely only increase casualties.

What's more, that place is not far away.

Lana unconsciously stroked the sword Lucius gave him at his waist, listened to the false encouragement in his mind, and made up his mind.

He picked up the communicator and briefly assigned temporary command responsibilities. He then assembled an elite force, intending to personally capture the long-standing fortress: before the Primarch officially arrived at the battlefield, the entire landing front could be connected and opened up, which would be the best gift for the Mother of Genes.

This reason finally convinced him.

"Mark my words, brother."

“Don’t let yourself get sucked into it.”

"There's something wrong with this damn place."

After saying the last sentence to the pharmacist beside him, half an instruction and half an order, Lana no longer hesitated: a formation of Valkyries was roaring over, and they would carry him and his soldiers towards the lavender sky.

"Then can I give them to Fabius as a gift?"

the pharmacist called after him.

And Rana just waved his hand.

"Whatever: if they want to use it, that's their freedom, isn't it?"

But at the same time, the Chief Guard was muttering quietly in his heart.

How strange...

When did this guy become so enthusiastic?

Lana couldn't remember any connection this pharmacist had with the Emperor's Children Legion.

——————

"Report number, soldier."

Hans was leaning against a wet rock, smelling the foul air around him, closing his eyes to take a break, and counting the remaining bullets with his fingers. Suddenly, he heard a voice that sounded familiar to him.

He opened his eyes, then easily got up from the ground and performed the Sky Eagle Salute.

"Avalon Auxiliary Army, [Snowy Owl Knight] Guards Regiment, 130th Armored Grenadier Division, 1st Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Company, Sergeant Hans-Hein-Severo reports to you!"

"Snowy Owl Knight?"

The Dawnbreaker officer standing in front of him nodded with satisfaction, and then noticed the strangeness in Hans' pupils.

"Do you know me?"

"I had the honor of fighting alongside you during a landing operation three years ago, Lord Lana."

"I know: in Hellrock, right?"

Lana smiled. Although he had no impression of the mortal soldier in front of him, the Snow Owl Knights were a mortal legion that the Lord Commander of the Royal Guard had to pay attention to: they were as famous as the Hunting Goddess Rose, and were recognized as one of the top five elite forces in the Avalon Auxiliary Army.

Some would even say that this mortal force, once commanded by the mortal god of war Alwyn, was originally named the Pale Riders. Later, due to their outstanding military exploits, they were given the snowy owl symbol by the Primarch himself, so they were renamed the Snowy Owl Knights. They are the most powerful minions under the Dawnbreaker.

Of course, most people, including Rana, still prefer the [Perfect Banner] trained by Morgan: an all-round ace team composed of candidates from the Dawnbreaker Legion who were unfortunately eliminated. Many of them even rejected the recruitment invitations from the Iron Warriors and Night Lords Legions.

"Well, Sergeant Hans."

Rana's expression returned to seriousness, and he glanced at the situation on the beach. Even he could not help but feel shocked: next to the more than one hundred exhausted mortal auxiliary soldiers, there were at least a thousand piercing corpses piled up, and the dark yellow blood even covered the original beach, raising the ground by nearly half a meter layer by layer.

At least one third of the mortal auxiliary soldiers present were killed, and all the drones and heavy equipment were destroyed, but this did not affect their combat effectiveness at all: judging by the extent of the corpses and wreckage, they had withstood the last few waves of attacks with only their bodies and firearms.

And the results they achieved are probably even more fruitful than those of most Dawnbreaker teams on the battlefield.

Although most of these corpses were not regular assassins, their number was enough to inspire awe, especially when Rana saw the power sword held tightly in the hand of Sergeant Hans: when the sea of ​​aliens broke through the firepower network they had laid out, this mortal, who was so weak in the eyes of the Dawnbreakers, killed at least two monsters twice his height in close combat.

Beside him, the body of a mortal heavy gunner and the elite warrior of the Assassin who died with him had just been separated: Rana originally thought that this was the tenacity that only the warriors of the Dawnbreaker Legion could show.

Whenever he saw a similar scene, he would always deeply understand why their genetic mother was willing to pour more supplies on these mortals, and he was more willing to believe Morgan's half-joking words back then.

"Without us, these mortals will surely mess up everything: but they will never die cowardly. The empire they rule may be hopeless, but it will also survive tenaciously."

Relying on these mortals?

Rana lowered his head and carefully observed the face in front of him for the first time. Although some voices in his heart seemed to strongly oppose this childish fantasy, the evidence was irrefutable and the Chief Guard had to admit: perhaps these mortals really would not let them down.

They are just weak, not cowards.

No……

As long as they are given enough attention: they are actually not weak at all.

The voice in his heart was still objecting, as if his dignity as an Astartes warrior was asking him to defend his position: damn it, he was a proud warrior and he should respect the warriors who were also willing to shed blood and sacrifice.

The idea was so passionate that even the voice in his heart was silenced.

No: it’s supporting it.

Such enthusiastic support: Rana was immediately convinced of his point of view.

How right: it should be so.

"Okay, brother."

Lana knelt on one knee and treated the hero with the courtesy he would give to a battle brother.

"Can you tell me what happened here?"

"The aliens attach far more importance to this place than we thought."

Hans coughed.

"They have been sending reinforcements: they have never stopped in the past few hours. We have been under pressure to fight on two fronts. After receiving reinforcements from two friendly forces, the situation has become better."

“I see…”

"And more, sir."

Hans pointed to the tower behind him: it was burning in the smoke of war, but the horrific howls of the aliens never dissipated.

"Our centurion led the main force of the company and launched an attack along with the two Dawnbreaker troops that came to support us. I will only keep the rest of the people here. They sent back intelligence twenty minutes ago, indicating that they encountered an extremely powerful assassin warrior."

"It had killed at least four Dawnbreakers before you arrived."

“That’s what we’re here for.”

Rana nodded: the anger in his heart was ignited so easily.

The sword trembled: it longed for the blood of the alien to appease its brother's sacrifice.

"Show me the way, mortal warrior."

"I'm going to take care of it myself."

"At your service, sir."