A pair of sister ships escorted Zeke and his party through the Tyranid fleet, arriving at the main planet, Baal.
The ship bumped as it flew into the atmosphere of Baal. Zeke's assessment was that it wasn't even as stable as a tractor as he started feeling motion sickness.
"Don't be nervous, just normal turbulence!" the young pilot shouted.
"Haven't had time to introduce myself. I'm Italo, a reserve pilot for the Crimson Blades."
"Strictly speaking, I'm official now, because my predecessor was carried off by a Hormagaunt three days ago, hahaha."
You're telling us something this important now? To relieve his motion sickness, Zeke looked out the porthole. Baal was slowly unfolding in his vision.
The homeworld of Sanguinius looked like an inflamed abscess right now.
On the crimson surface, black scars crisscrossed. The sky was filled with millions of Tyranids, dense black dots surging like dark clouds.
Sicarius whispered, "This is the Hive Fleet."
Seth's fingers tapped on the armrest. Zeke could feel the boiling rage inside the Flesh Tearers Chapter Master.
The ship descended, passing through layer after layer of the swarm. Italo's piloting skills were indeed superb.
Combined with the support from the anti-air positions on the ground, Zeke avoided the fate of a certain old friend in black.
"See that fortress?" Italo pointed to a massive black peak near the distant horizon.
"The Arx Angelicum, home of the Blood Angels."
Flying closer to the Arx Angelicum, the firepower from the ground anti-air positions became fierce, and the number of Tyranids gradually decreased.
Looking up from the sky, Zeke clearly saw the three defensive lines of the Angel's Fortress from the outside in.
The outermost line was the Thirst Water moat Seth had mentioned.
As long as any Gaunt wanted to charge forward, they would fall into the concrete canal.
Instantly melted into white bones, with not even meat scraps remaining.
Unfortunately, there were too many Tyranids. The Thirst Water didn't digest bones, and the wreckage of the Tyranids gradually clogged the moat.
Once the dam of corpses was high enough to cross the moat, the Thirst Water would be defeated without attack.
The middle line was a super-large Void Shield, capable of resisting various ranged Tyranid fire and aerial bio-forms.
The innermost line was the Arx Angelicum fortress itself.
The Blood Angels summoned to defend their homeworld were stationed in the fortress, observing the battle, issuing orders, and ready to dedicate their lives at any moment.
The ship landed on a temporary landing pad inside the Void Shield. Zeke stepped onto the soil of Baal; the sand beneath his feet was scorching hot.
"Seth, you've returned." A tired voice came from behind.
Zeke turned around and saw a group of warriors in golden armor walking toward them.
The leader wore the Death Mask of Sanguinius, the gilded face eternally frozen in a shout of anger.
Commander Dante. This legendary Chapter Master, who had lived for 1,500 years, usually wore a mask to remind him of the heavy burden on his shoulders.
"Seth." Dante's gaze fell on Zeke. "This is the one you mentioned in the comms..."
Zeke watched the two Chapter Masters talk, embrace, and weep with joy.
Same old routine. Dante personally tasted the Milk, verified the authenticity of the substance, and expressed full gratitude to Zeke.
If Warhammer were a dating sim, just this one glass of milk would be enough for Zeke to max out the affection of all characters.
Sicarius also stepped forward and gave a standard military salute:
"Commander Dante, I also have news for you. The Ultramarines Chapter has received your request for aid. The Imperial Regent, or perhaps you know him better by his other name, Lord Guilliman, has sent support."
"The Primarch?" Disbelief colored Dante's voice. "He is alive?"
"Yes, he has awakened." Sicarius smiled faintly.
Dante didn't speak for a long time. Both pieces of news were powerful enough to split the dark clouds of despair shrouding Baal.
Since it was wartime, Dante regretted that there weren't sufficient conditions to welcome these guests properly.
He took a little time to lead Zeke and Sicarius around, introducing the historic Arx Angelicum to them.
This was the least he could do to fulfill his duties as a host.
Zeke listened to the introductions of various unnamed artistic paintings in the castle, recalling that Minecraft seemed to have paintings like this too.
Surround a block of wool with sticks, and you can make it.
"Chapter Master Dante, do you have time to critique a painting of mine?"
Dante readily agreed. Zeke crafted a painting and hung it on the wall.
Paintings in Minecraft generate content based on the space they are placed in. Zeke rolled a random animal painting.
While looking at the painting Zeke thought of his dog "Er Dan", and his mood became downcast.
"What is the name of this painting?"
"Eternal Friend," Zeke replied.
Dante admired the pixel art. Sincere—that was his evaluation of the painting.
"Can we keep it in our castle? I will reserve a prominent spot for it," Dante asked.
Zeke thought about it and nodded.
The tour of the castle continued, but for the second half, Zeke was absent-minded.
Zeke felt those complicated artworks weren't as good looking as the battle situation on Baal displayed on the minimap.
Why is there a red dot here?
Zeke looked at his minimap and zoomed in a bit more to ensure he wasn't seeing things.
Yes, underground to the southeast of the Angel's Fortress, there was a faint red dot.
It was moving forward at an extremely slow speed. Above it were countless green dots, representing the Blood Angels.
Seeing this familiar scene, Zeke's expression became interesting.
Tunneling. This method, which had never failed him, was actually thought of and put into action by a Tyranid.
However, the Tyranid didn't have Zeke's god-tier digging ability. Zeke zoomed in a bit more; it seemed this Tyranid had found a semi-abandoned passage.
Projecting a line from the Tyranid's direction of travel, Zeke found it intersected with the flank of the Angel's Fortress.
That was exactly where the Void Shield reactor unit was located.
How did Zeke know?
He had accidentally overheard Sicarius and Dante discussing defensive measures earlier.
"The right flank of the Arx Angelicum houses a set of Void Shield reactor units."
"That is the area requiring the most focused defense. If the Void Shields fall, we may have to prepare for the worst."
These were Dante's exact words. The Void Shield was the last defense before the Angel's Fortress.
This little bug is smart. It definitely came prepared; it even figured out the location of the Void Shield unit.
If not for Zeke, it probably would have succeeded.
It was a pity it decided to show off its amateur skills before the Grandmaster of Tunneling. It had hit a hard bone.
It just so happened that Zeke's ears were falling asleep listening to Dante's introduction. Zeke pulled out his Netherite Pickaxe with Efficiency IV and started digging downward.
Just like that, he smashed the floor with one pickaxe strike and jumped into the perfectly square hole that appeared.
Everyone around was stunned.
"How did he do that?" It was Sicarius's first time seeing this ability of Zeke's, staring at the perfect cubic pit.
--
Goal = 1000 Powerstones (Still not complete)