"Savior bless us!"
After hearing the Salamanders master artificer's words, everyone felt a surge of hope.
The Lord of the Salamanders was the Imperium's greatest craftsman, a being of peerless skill.
If he could come and repair the blackstone core, he would surely be able to resolve the crisis before them and save the Blackstone Fortress barrier from destruction.
The Salamanders master artificer had only just finished speaking when Vulkan's grav-vehicle arrived.
As soon as he approached the core sector, he had sent word of his arrival to his gene-sons.
"What is that?"
The moment Vulkan stepped down from the vehicle, he was hit by a spray of sacred oil. He nearly pulled out his hammer and hurled it.
Once he realized what had splashed onto him, he relaxed slightly. It was only the machine oil used by the Tech-Priests in their prayers.
The Adeptus Mechanicus loved playing around with these religious rituals.
The Lord of the Salamanders still held no small amount of prejudice toward the Adeptus Mechanicus, especially after the Emperor had become trapped upon the Golden Throne.
With their restraints gone, the Adeptus Mechanicus had quickly violated the Imperial Truth the Emperor had hoped humanity would pursue—
Reason. Science. Opposition to religion. Humanity was supposed to cast off blind faith and move toward unity and progress.
Instead, they had grown even worse. Not only had they thrown themselves into religious worship, they had further sealed away the Imperium's knowledge and technology.
The Imperium's ten thousand years of darkness and decline had much to do with the ignorance and dogmatism of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Vulkan looked at the gearheads who were still spraying sacred oil and praying with hissing bursts, and he could not help frowning.
Those gearheads were covered in gaudy, multicolored patterns. Some even had pink servo-skulls plastered with badges.
It was a complete mess.
Vulkan had heard before that the Savior had reformed the Adeptus Mechanicus, so he had thought these Tech-Priests had changed.
He had not expected them to remain this ignorant, and if anything, they looked even more extreme than before.
How tragic.
Still, no matter how much Vulkan disliked the Adeptus Mechanicus, he had no desire to waste words arguing with them, especially in a crisis like this.
The main problem was that these mechanical minds were stubborn. There was no need to bother with them unless he was willing to start a large-scale war.
"Hmph. Even at a time like this, they still cling to religious superstition. How could anyone repair the blackstone core properly while working alongside such ignorant beings?"
Vulkan shook his head and sighed softly.
But in the next instant, he froze.
"Wait. Those things seem to be working…"
The Lord of the Salamanders discovered that, under the influence of the sacred oil, the blackstone core had stabilized considerably.
The sacred oil caused the core's temperature to drop sharply. It also formed a thin film over the metal surface, preventing it from being further corroded by the chaotic energy.
It could not solve the problem, but it could delay the crisis for a while. For the repair personnel, that counted as a major help.
"Sweet?"
Vulkan instinctively wiped a bit of sacred oil from the corner of his mouth. To his surprise, the stuff was edible.
Based on his extensive experience, this substance would also be an excellent medium for quenching materials during forging.
The Lord of the Salamanders' head buzzed. He found it increasingly hard to understand the so-called sacred oil. Its composition was far too complicated.
He helplessly realized that he seemed to understand the Imperium less and less, like a feudal lord who had only just arrived on Terra from some backward world.
In truth, the sacred oil being complicated was exactly as it should be.
It was the authentic Fuel Drink Supreme Sacred Oil Edition produced by the New Imperium's Black-Tech Archmagos and Fabricator-General of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Sali Cawl.
That stuff had been brewed deep in the Warp. Not only did it use many precious materials, it had also been exposed for a long time to the energies of the Sacred Sun and the Hope Sun.
It was not only delicious, but also had many uses: cooling, molecular stabilization, impurity removal, soothing machine-spirits, quenching thirst, lubrication, and so on.
It was practically an essential household treasure for gearheads. Whatever they were doing, they could add a little of it.
Its only flaws were that it was expensive, limited in quantity, and often out of stock. Getting even a single bottle was difficult.
Only those gearheads rich enough to be dripping with oil could afford to use it.
And that was with Cawl selling it at cost, or even at a loss, in order to suppress knockoff Fuel Drink.
"Wuwuwu, my funding… I don't even know if I can get this reimbursed…"
The bald gearhead had used up his entire sacred-oil reserve in one go, the equivalent of more than a dozen suits of high-grade power armor.
But he did not regret the decision. After all, if the blackstone core was ruined, he would be finished too.
"I understand the situation. Begin," Vulkan said.
His impression of the gearheads had improved somewhat.
He did not waste time. While the blackstone core remained stable, he took command.
After that, Vulkan assigned corresponding tasks to every person present, directing them to conduct deep inspections of specific areas.
His precision was exceptional.
He quickly mastered the blueprints, gaining a thorough understanding of a region whose structure was more complex than an entire battleship.
Without judgment as accurate as his, blindly searching would never find the damaged node. It would be no different from searching through an entire small city.
There was simply no time.
Of course, that was also because this damage was extremely special and complex, equivalent to some kind of loophole or defect.
Otherwise, they would have repaired the damaged area according to the manual long ago.
Roughly ten standard Terran minutes later, the bald gearhead's delighted voice rang out.
"By the Machine Goddess, I found the damaged node!"
After receiving the Tech-Priest's report, Vulkan finally let out a breath of relief. His judgment had not been wrong.
He immediately brought the Salamanders master artificer, the Tech-Priests, and senior engineering personnel with him to the damaged node region.
Yet the moment the Lord of the Salamanders arrived, his expression changed sharply.
After a new tremor, the damaged node region had been submerged by even more viscous Chaos energy. It was impossible to see what was happening inside.
Entering it for repairs would be even harder.
Fortunately, the Adeptus Mechanicus had already found a countermeasure. The bald gearhead threw down an ancient relic, using the stasis field device mounted on it to block the waves of energy around the node.
But from the flickering sparks, it was clear that even an ancient relic would not hold for long.
"Wait for my signal!"
Vulkan did not hesitate. He immediately jumped into the Chaos energy and began scanning and analyzing the structure of the damaged area.
He had no sealed armor, so he could only allow the energy to burn his skin, leaving one mottled scar after another across his body.
Fortunately, the Lord of the Salamanders' body was tough enough to withstand the impact of the Chaos energy and continue working.
He was so careful because this concerned the lives of hundreds of billions of humans, perhaps even more.
Zzzzt—
What made Vulkan and everyone else's hearts tighten was that he had barely begun scanning when a breach appeared in the barrier of the ancient relic.
Electric arcs surged violently.
Chaos energy poured in again, disrupting the analysis and leaving him unable to continue.
The incoming Chaos energy made the node sway on the verge of collapse. The atmosphere grew heavy, almost despairing.
"Born in battle's fire! Forged upon the anvil!"
The Salamanders master artificer roared and, without the slightest hesitation, jumped into the surging energy, using his body to block the breach in the ancient relic's barrier.
This was what the Salamanders stood for.
Not pouring wrath upon enemies, nor manufacturing storms of thunder, but responsibility, craftsmanship, and protection.
In their eyes, a sword could kill, but it could also save. The difference lay only in the hand that wielded it.
And as guardians, they were willing to give everything for humanity, even their own lives.
The Salamanders master artificer's shield wavered.
The intense energy impact caused mottled scars to appear across his armor, and chaotic sparks burst from it.
His power armor would not last much longer. Once he lost its protection, his body would most likely be torn apart by that abhorrent energy.
"Machine Goddess, bless us!"
Under everyone's gaze, the bald gearhead also leapt down without hesitation, plunging into the thick torrent of energy.
He stood behind the Salamanders master artificer, using the force fields of both himself and his pink servo-skull to share part of the pressure.
In an instant, the Tech-Priest's waving mechadendrites were ripped away by the Chaos energy and torn apart.
Firelight burst out.
Even the pink servo-skull turned black, and the anime stickers plastered over it were scorched and melted.
After that, several more Tech-Priests jumped down, joining together to block the breach in the ancient relic's force-field barrier.
Even under the threat of being torn apart and killed, these high-ranking beings of the New Imperium did not stand aside.
Instead, they united to face this dark disaster together.
Splash.
It was not only those high-ranking beings. Some mortal engineers gritted their teeth and jumped down as well.
They stood behind the Salamanders and Tech-Priests, doing everything they could to block the remaining Chaos energy and prevent it from interfering with the Primarch's scan of the node.
These engineers were all equipped with fully enclosed special work armor and could hold out for some time.
Even so, some were still unfortunately swept away, then utterly torn apart by the terrible currents.
"It's going to be fine. I'm definitely going home. The Hope Sun will bless us…"
Olk stood on the edge of the platform, muttering nonstop.
He looked at the coworkers who had been swept away and torn apart. His legs would not stop trembling, and his hand pressed tightly over his chest.
Beneath the exoskeleton armor was the group photo he had always treasured.
Without the support of the exoskeleton, Olk might already have collapsed to the ground in terror.
Although he did not want to admit it, he knew that if he jumped down, he might never be able to climb back out.
This technical worker from Ohms Star saw the faces of his wife and children surface in his mind. He remembered how reluctant they had been to part with him before he left.
Not long ago, his wife, Marianne, had sent him a letter saying that their child waited every day for Dad to come home, and telling Dad not to forget to bring something tasty back.
Tears blurred Olk's eyes. He turned to look at the coworker beside him, his voice trembling.
"You know, I promised them. As soon as this rescue operation is over, I'll get leave and go home."
"I'm single!"
The engineer beside him spat those words through clenched teeth, then jumped down.
He did not hesitate at all. Only a muffled thud came back.
Olk stared at the empty platform beside him, momentarily stunned.
In his mind flashed the farewell of the people on Ohms Star, the oath at the transit node, the smiling faces of the children, and the terrifying dark abyss.
"I… I'm coming!"
The technical worker from Ohms Star jumped down with a sob in his voice, throwing himself into the rolling torrent of energy.
His mind went blank. Red warnings flashed nonstop across his visor, as if his armor would be torn apart in the very next second.
But he still held on, gripping the hands of the others with all his strength as they resisted the incoming energy impact.
These high-ranking beings and mortals used their own bodies to build wall after wall, intercepting the surging torrent of energy.
They knew they could not retreat any farther.
For humanity, and for their homes.
"Father, I must succeed. I must make this right…"
Vulkan watched the scene and struggled to suppress his tears so his vision would not blur.
He did not dare imagine how much human blood would stain his hands if he failed.
Perhaps he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
More than that, he could not fail these people who had created this opportunity for him.
Vulkan had never wanted so badly to accomplish something.
He knew that every second he delayed meant more people would be swept away, more lives extinguished.
In his field of view, Olk and more mortals were carried off by the flood. Even the high-ranking beings were on the verge of collapse.
Vulkan's eyes nearly split with rage.
He clenched his teeth and issued command after command. Then, with everyone's cooperation, he worked desperately to repair the node.
Ah!
No one knew how long had passed. Every muscle in Vulkan's body tightened as he roared and closed a gear weighing dozens of tons.
They had successfully repaired the node.
Rumble—
At last, the node facility began operating again.
The blackstone core recovered. Amid the crackling arcs, wave after wave of energy ripples spread outward, suppressing the dark Warp energy.
After that, the viscous Chaos energy, which had been like a flood, gradually receded.
Those who had jumped down to resist the torrent, and had not been swept away, seized the chance to climb out.
They were fortunate.
They had survived.
After the survivors finished cheering, they looked at the fragments of armor left in the remaining current, and their eyes dimmed.
They knew those comrades would never return.
"That guy… he's not going home, is he?"
One single technical worker from Ohms Star had blurred eyes.
He had personally watched those coworkers get swept away, swallowed completely by the energy torrent, and vanish.
They had been unable to grab them.
They had been so powerless.
Vulkan did not climb back up. Instead, he jumped into the remaining energy torrent to search for possible survivors.
The other high-ranking beings also began searching one after another, even though they knew hope was slim.
A while later, Vulkan climbed out carrying several battered suits of armor.
He shouted to the others, "Call the Apothecaries! They're still alive!"
The Lord of the Salamanders tore open one badly corroded suit of armor and placed the mortal inside into the barrier field constructed by the Tech-Priests.
It was Olk.
He opened his eyes in a daze, the fear on his face not yet faded.
Then Olk seemed to remember something. His tone was full of disbelief.
"Throne… Lord Vulkan, I… I think I saw His Majesty the Savior just now. The Hope Sun blessed us.
"His… His Majesty even spoke to me personally!"
Before losing consciousness, the technical worker from Ohms Star had seen a warm and brilliant golden figure.
???
"What did he say to you?"
Vulkan was somewhat puzzled. The others also gathered around curiously.
Olk tried hard to remember, but he was also a little worried. He stammered as he spoke.
"I can't remember clearly. The Sa… Savior seemed a little unhappy. He said something like, 'Don't plant so many flags. It makes you hard to save…'"
His tone grew firmer.
"In any case, the Hope Sun blessed me. I… I haven't reached the time to return to the Throne yet!"
Of course, the Throne spoken of by this technical worker from Ohms Star was not the Golden Throne, but the Throne of Hope, the final Eden of human souls.
Vulkan was completely confused, so he did not look into it any further.
Perhaps it had only been a hallucination of mortals. Or perhaps the Savior had used some kind of sorcerous method to save them.
As long as people had survived, that was enough.
The Lord of the Salamanders looked at the mortals being rescued one after another, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
When Vulkan and the others emerged from the blackstone core region, wave after wave of cheers rolled toward them.
It was an even greater surprise.
According to the latest news, after Blackstone Fortress Three recovered, it connected with even more newly activated Blackstone Fortresses.
The barrier formed by several dozen fortresses had completely blocked the spread of the Black Tide and further suppressed it.
Vulkan raised his head and looked up. In the void, the dark rift was visibly receding.
That meant the battle in this star sector against the Black Tide had achieved victory.
And this meant even more.
Humanity could resist the Dark King.
The enemy was not invincible.
Perhaps it was not only here. Throughout the Imperium's territories, more events like this were happening, with darkness retreating under humanity's fearless resistance.
In his mind, Vulkan saw those human walls again.
"Savior above, I can go home!" Olk shouted excitedly with the crowd.
Everyone was thrilled. Their efforts over these days had finally produced results.
More than that, they had seen the first light of victory for humanity. They could all survive this disaster.
"Hope remains."
Vulkan murmured those words. Much of the heaviness in his heart fell away, and for the first time, he felt lighter than ever.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
At that moment, several dark-gold assault ships flew toward them.
Vulkan understood.
He could go to Terra now.
He could stand with his brothers against that fallen father.
He could face the final challenge.
(End of Chapter)
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