Chapter 276: Psyker
Dorio and Pilar were like tigers among a flock of sheep.
Every punch and kick from Dorio carried lethal force and the attached Volkite deflagration effect. The cultists she hit were either killed instantly or crippled, often left covered in flames that were difficult to extinguish.
Pilar moved flexibly on the edge of the battlefield, using his upgraded flamer to clear piles of enemies or using his long arms for precise strikes and grappling, snapping enemy necks.
The Enforcers' boltguns also outputted stable firepower, filling the gaps in the fire net.
The battle was almost a one-sided slaughter.
Although the cultists were fanatical, their resistance appeared pale and powerless before absolute firepower and technological superiority.
The crude weapons in their hands posed no effective threat to Maine's squad. Their flesh and blood were like paper before bolters, plasma, and Promethium flames.
Within a minute or two, more than half of the cultists in the hall had fallen, leaving only a scattered few resisting stubbornly or trying to hide.
"Looks like it's almost over." Proctor Atkins swapped in a fresh magazine, his tone relaxing slightly. "Smoother than expected."
Maine nodded slightly as well. It seemed the core part of this mission was about to be completed.
However, just as he was preparing to order the final sweep, a sudden mutation occurred!
At the edge of the charred crater left after the altar was vaporized by the plasma cannon, a figure that had been curled up in the shadows and ignored by everyone suddenly let out a shrill scream that sounded nothing like a human!
It was a Hive boy who looked very young, dressed in rags and skinny as a skeleton.
But at this moment, his body was undergoing a terrifying change.
His eyes were completely filled with turbid energy emitting a faint red glow. It looked as if countless worms were crawling under his skin; his blood vessels bulged, presenting an ominous purple-black color.
A visible wave of energy that twisted the air erupted from him as the center, spreading violently in all directions!
"Psyker!!" Proctor Atkins exclaimed, his voice full of horror. "Careful! It's an Unsanctioned Psyker!"
But the warning came too late.
The invisible psychic shockwave smashed into the Enforcers at the very front like a heavy hammer!
"Argh!"
Two Enforcers were thrown backward as if hit by an invisible siege ram. Their heavy armor slammed into the metal pipes behind them, emitting the sickening sound of cracking bones, and they fell unconscious on the spot.
Although the other two Enforcers managed to stand firm, they covered their heads in pain, blood streaming from their noses, clearly suffering from severe mental shock.
This sudden attack instantly disrupted the Enforcer squad's formation.
And that psyker boy, after releasing this blow, seemed to be in even more pain and became even more berserk.
He raised both hands. Turbid red energy gathered in his palms, forming two unstable, crackling energy spheres. He was about to hurl them at the chaotic Enforcer squad!
At this distance and energy intensity, once hit, the remaining Enforcers would likely be doomed.
At this critical juncture!
Valerie's neural reaction transcended conscious thought. Facing the suddenly erupting psychic crisis ahead and the imminent destruction of the Enforcer squad, an intense response command burst directly from her thinking core like biological instinct, instantly triggering the Sandevistan neural acceleration cyberware deeply implanted in her spine and motor cortex.
Hummm—!
A strange hum originated not from the outside, but from the ultra-high-speed electrical signals surging within Valerie's own nervous system, instantly synchronizing to the Iron Guard prototype's reaction core via the deep neural link.
In Valerie's view, time seemed to suddenly stagnate—or more accurately, the movements of that dark red Iron Guard prototype accelerated to an inconceivable degree!
The Iron Guard, originally in a semi-crouched firing stance, moved its massive body with a blur. With an agility completely inconsistent with its heavy mass, it lunged two huge steps sideways. Its heavy metal feet stomped the ground, making a dull thud, positioning itself exactly between the injured Enforcers and the psyker!
All this happened in the spark of a flint, so fast that even the berserk psyker couldn't fully react to the fact that a thick wall of steel had suddenly appeared in front of his locked targets!
Bang! Bang!
Two unstable psychic energy spheres smashed ruthlessly onto the Iron Guard's frontal armor, erupting in blinding red flashes and violent energy turbulence.
The Ceramite and composite layers on the armor plates emitted ear-piercing groans under the energy impact but ultimately successfully withstood the attack, leaving only two scorched marks and some fine cracks.
"What?!" Proctor Atkins and the surviving Enforcers stared at the scene before them, dumbfounded.
The speed that power armor just displayed completely exceeded their cognition of such heavy equipment!
Almost at the same time the Iron Guard blocked the attack, Maine reacted as well.
He didn't hesitate in the slightest. The Volkite Charger on his left arm wasn't even fully raised; relying purely on the powerful fire control system and neural link, he completed aiming and firing while on the move!
Chooom—!
That low-pitched thermal ray shot out again, accurately hitting the psyker boy who was in a brief state of stiffness after just releasing his attack.
There was no scream, not even much struggle.
The moment the boy's body was hit, it ignited from the inside. The turbid red psychic light was covered by hotter, purer destructive energy.
He was like a lit human candle. In less than a second, he burned violently, expanded, and then turned into a small pile of flying ash carrying sparks, completely dissipating into the air.
Only a small scorch mark left on the ground and the mixed smell of ozone and burnt flesh remaining in the air proved that he had ever existed.
The hall fell into a brief, dead silence.
Only the crackling sound of burning Promethium and the painful groans of the injured Enforcers remained.
After the brief silence, the team immediately resumed action.
"Check casualties! Secure the perimeter!" Maine's voice broke the silence.
Dorio and Pilar stepped forward quickly to check the condition of the Enforcers blown away by the psychic shock.
One had fractured ribs and possible internal organ damage; the other had a cracked skull and was in critical condition, but still alive.
The other two Enforcers who suffered mental shock were dizzy but could still barely move.
Proctor Atkins looked extremely grim, partly because of his subordinates' casualties, and partly due to lingering fear.
If not for that Iron Guard's incredible rapid reaction and Maine's precise follow-up shot, his squad might have been wiped out here today.
"Call for medical support immediately! Prioritize evacuating the wounded!" He shouted into the communicator, then turned to Maine, his tone complex. "...Thank you for your timely assistance. If it weren't for you..."
He didn't continue, but the gratitude and a trace of unconcealable shock in his eyes revealed everything.
He looked at the Iron Guard that had just burst out with amazing speed, then looked at the Volkite weapon on Maine that easily turned the psyker into ash. He had a brand new, deeper understanding of this team under the "Explorator Magos."
This was definitely not just a well-equipped mercenary group. Their combat effectiveness and reaction speed had exceeded the scope of conventional military units.
(End of Chapter)