On the surface of the war-moon, Luther, wearing Saturnine-Pattern Terminator Armor for the first time in combat, opened his helmet's internal comm and said to his followers:
"Knights of Caliban, today is the day of the Great Order's rebirth."
"Win glory! Declare our rebirth!"
"For Caliban!"
The followers were unconsciously drawn to Luther. His voice held a certain power.
The knights would follow Luther to the very depths of hell.
"For Luther! For the Great Order! For Caliban!"
Clad in powerful experimental equipment not yet issued to other Legions besides the Salamanders and Shadows of Order, Luther charged forward.
Slaves aimed lasguns at him. Dense beams lanced against his conversion field, crackling loudly.
Seeing the numb human slaves rushing at him, Luther knew engaging them was pointless. The "Barbarian" suddenly accelerated.
His powerful physique granted him savage strength, allowing him to simply shove the surrounding slaves aside.
Luther felt his psychic energy grow more lively. Power constantly surged within him.
He ran a little faster, as if back in the forests of Caliban.
He ran faster and faster, outpacing even his power-armored followers, crashing through the enemy lines.
Luther saw a xenos resembling an upright tiger roar at him in fury.
Their unified roar shook the ground slightly.
The "Barbarian" stomped his right foot heavily, unleashing a deafening "Savage Howl."
A hundred xenos immediately ceased their roaring, shaking their heads, trying to clear themselves from the dizziness.
Luther raised his left arm. The flame cannon spat beams of thermal energy.
His left arm swept across thirty degrees. Dozens of enemies were incinerated to ash by the molten stream.
Luther raised the power sword in his right hand. Unlike most Saturnine-pattern Terminator prototypes, as a Calibanite knight skilled in swordsmanship, his right arm was equipped with a melee weapon.
Chosen from Lord Nareth's private armory, the heavy power sword forged by Lord Vulkan blazed with dazzling blue light, illuminating the entire battlefield like a beacon.
The knights, having broken through the slave army, saw their leader's radiant light and let out resounding war cries.
The xenos enslaving humanity merged with the forest beasts that had plagued Caliban for generations.
The knights marched forward in neat formation, ignoring the human slaves surging from behind and beside them, unleashing dense barrages at the xenos.
Amid the roar of bolts, xenos after xenos was torn apart.
Before the human slaves could slow them down, the Calibanite knights drew their swords.
The sword was their traditional weapon. One hundred thirty-five of his trusted followers drew power swords, leading the other three thousand knights wielding chainswords in a charge.
The roar of motors filled the battlefield. A knight swung his blade, driving it up through a xenos' lower jaw, straight into the center of its skull.
As his arm trembled, blood and flesh spattered against his black armor.
An Overlord, at least a head taller than the other xenos, swung its blade-like claws down.
The helmet was crushed and torn. With a dull thud, the Dark Angel's head burst.
He withdrew his arm. The Knight Commander's blue-white blade was already upon it.
Amid the crackle of its personal energy shield, the tiger-like Overlord swung both claws in a sweeping arc.
The Knight Commander continuously sidestepped, following a spiraling path practiced countless times since his days as a squire, appearing behind the Overlord.
The blue-wreathed blade slammed heavily into the Overlord's back.
The knights followed, chainswords roaring as they chopped at the Overlord's arms, chest, abdomen, and legs.
The Overlord swung its claws repeatedly, charging at the knights.
The knights calmly retreated, parrying with their chainswords, luring the Overlord forward.
The Knight Commander spiraled to the Overlord's right. His blade thrust forward.
With a series of short, firecracker-like cracks, the personal energy shield overloaded.
The Knight Commander didn't linger. He sidestepped again.
The Overlord retreated, swinging its claws wide to force the knights back.
The Knight Commander was just right before the Overlord. His blade swept horizontally.
The disassembly field tore through flesh. The Overlord felt a chill in its abdomen. It looked down, just as its neck and chest slid apart.
Luther, with his followers, fought their way forward.
He rediscovered the feeling of leading the knights, the feeling he'd had before the Lion appeared.
He was back at the center. He was the leader.
He was a hero!
Luther was in high spirits. The gloom was completely cast behind, along with the spattering blood and flesh.
His voice was loud and clear, echoing in the vox channel.
The knights were infected. They had thought they would never win glory again.
Now, they threw off the reins that bound them and galloped across the battlefield.
Like a dam breaking, the knights' unleashed power mercilessly crushed the xenos.
The galloping knights only stopped when five four-meter-tall, silvery-white figures appeared.
They suddenly felt their heads go numb. A rusty taste filled their throats. Their bodies felt bound by countless threads.
The "Barbarian's" thoughts only stalled briefly before clearing.
He let out a deafening roar. The Cerabvores' silvery-white, bulbous heads wobbled. Fluid oozed from the red line running through their brains.
Luther charged forward. With a thought, the psychic shock unit responded.
The laser cannons on his head and shoulders aimed at one Cerabvore. Blinding beams crackled, tearing through its personal energy shield.
The flame cannon spat a dragon of fire, incinerating the Cerabvore to ash.
Luther reached a Cerabvore whose head had just stopped shaking. He swung the heavy power sword forged by Vulkan, striking it.
With a crack, the blade stopped before the Cerabvore.
The "Barbarian's" arm bulged. His strength suddenly surged. The blade shot forward, plunging into the Cerabvore's body.
In an instant, Luther had killed two Cerabvores. He charged towards a third, then saw a bizarre construct emerge from a kilometer-tall silvery-white building.
It was roughly ovoid, covered in pale, fungus-like flesh, with purple veins and a metallic grid across its body.
It moved on three spider-like legs. The upper body, extending from the tripod, was a thick, short tube.
Around its tooth-filled maw on top, a cluster of tentacles were symmetrically arranged.
Then a second, a third...
Five constructs crawled from the silvery-white building. They raised their tentacles. Built-in devices fired beams of necrotic energy.
The beams struck power armor. The pus melted the black ceramite along with the Dark Angel inside.
Luther immediately recalled the constructs created by the Slaugth mentioned in Lord Nareth's briefing materials.
After a moment's thought, he decided not to pay the heavy price of his knights' lives to win glory. He opened the comm channel.
"My Lord, we have encountered the Slaugth's servant constructs."
Ending the communication, Luther immediately felt relieved by his decision.
Squad after squad of constructs, in groups of three to five, emerged from the silvery-white building.
Cerabvores, leading squads of xenos, charged from all sides.
Luther immediately ordered the knights to form a circular defense against the xenos.
Three thousand knights formed two circles, creating a horizontal spiral.
Following the familiar trajectory, the knights spiraled backwards. Wave after wave of xenos fell against their defensive line.
Luther stood at the spiral's center, expanding to the edges of the two circles.
He single-handedly held off ten Cerabvores.
He raised his arm, blasting a molten stream to his left, while charging to his right, thrusting his sword at a Cerabvore heading for the line.
The Cerabvore turned and charged Luther.
Luther didn't parry or counter. He immediately turned and charged another Cerabvore.
Even with his all-out defense, a knight still fell before his eyes.
The gathered Cerabvores filled the battlefield with spreading neurotoxins.
The "Barbarian's" tenacious will was unaffected, but other Dark Angels, one by one, suddenly fell unconscious in the midst of battle.
Their bodies festered. Pus oozed from their black armor as they crashed heavily to the ground.
Nearby knights immediately filled the gaps. The spiral line contracted.
Luther donned his War Mask. His heart pumped powerfully. Adrenaline surged.
Each fallen follower granted him greater power.
The Saturnine-pattern Terminator prototype on his body felt lighter and lighter. His movements grew faster and faster. The glowing blue blade traced arc after arc through the air.
The "Barbarian" angrily slammed into one Cerabvore, simultaneously swinging his blade, shredding another's head.
The knights saw their leader as if multiplied into countless forms.
Alone, he besieged the Cerabvores, launching fierce attacks.
His dazzling swordsmanship was breathtaking.
The blue light, like a storm, swept over the Cerabvores.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Three Cerabvores crashed to the ground in succession.
Luther's outbreak immediately drew the constructs' attention.
Green rays lanced towards him from all directions.
Amidst a series of cracks, a warning rune for conversion field failure lit up.
The next instant, a shadow blocked his vision
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu