Chapter 179: Combined Acupoints Fifty-Four Times! Vitality Index 4140, Shocking

Chapter 179: Fifty-Four Orifice Unions! Life Force Index 4140, Shocking Maiken! Exhausted and Out of Options!

When the clear and efficient blueprint for cultivation took shape in his mind, Qin Feng hesitated no longer.

He immediately poured the thirty thousand points of battle group prestige he had just earned from the mission, without any stinginess, entirely into preparations for a new round of seclusion.

The same formula as last time—twenty vials of "Enhanced Type II Psychic Potion," paired with a deep-repair medicinal bath and psychic recovery potions.

These resources, enough to make even ordinary fifth-rank warriors wince, he exchanged in one go.

Then, the door to the cultivation chamber slowly closed again, sealing off all external distractions.

Another stretch of monotonous, painful, yet immensely fulfilling extreme training.

Sustained by the vast medicinal power, Qin Feng once more plunged his body and mind into the endless cycle of assaulting the "Orifice Union."

Time, under such intense focus, slipped away unnoticed.

Four months later, when the last trace of medicinal energy was fully absorbed by his body, the cultivation chamber door opened once more.

Qin Feng’s figure emerged slowly from within.

His gaze, compared to four months prior, held an extra layer of depth and refinement.

The "Great Sun Star Chart" within his body had undergone subtle changes yet again.

Another successful seclusion allowed him to complete two more Orifice Unions.

His Life Force Index steadily rose from 3620 points to 3640 points.

The advancement in strength brought greater confidence.

Upon emerging from seclusion, Qin Feng wasted no time and immediately threw himself back into the frenzy of the "Battle Group Ranking Tournament."

This time, he no longer needed to start with the simplest tasks to familiarize himself with the process, as he had initially.

He directly set his sights on "Warrior-Level" missions.

He began frequenting the exclusive teleportation zone of the Fearless Battle Group, forming temporary teams with various elite members of the group, all of whom had also cultivated the "Supreme Orifice-Opening Method," to venture to every corner of the universe and execute all sorts of high-difficulty missions.

His footsteps trod upon death worlds shrouded in toxic acid rain, merely to retrieve a crashed black box from the depths of alien nests.

He infiltrated heavily guarded interstellar pirate fortresses, amidst a hail of bullets precisely assassinating the villainous pirate leaders.

He also engaged in desperate battles within asteroid belts against grotesque cosmic creatures that fed on metal.

Every mission was a test of life and death.

But every successful mission brought him immensely generous rewards.

A torrent of contribution points and triple-boosted battle group prestige poured into his account like a rolling flood.

And Qin Feng, with an almost lavish approach, rapidly converted these hard-won resources into his most tangible combat power.

He used contribution points to purchase a large number of powerful, specialized equipment.

A "Psychic Burst Rifle" capable of instantly overloading and unleashing power comparable to a small nuclear explosion; a "Kinetic Deflection Shield" that could generate a repulsion field to effectively defend against physical impacts; and even disposable "Holy Silver Grenades" inscribed with the purification runes of the Imperial Tribunal...

Anything that aided combat, anything within his authority to buy, he spared no expense.

After all, with the triple prestige boost, the speed of earning resources far exceeded the past; no matter how he spent, it was all pure profit!

Time flew by in this perfect cycle of "battle—consumption—seclusion—battle."

On average, Qin Feng completed one "Warrior-Level" mission roughly every month.

After deducting the costs of equipment and ammunition, and sharing with teammates, he netted about thirty thousand points of battle group prestige per mission.

And whenever he accumulated enough prestige, he would immediately stop taking missions, return to his cultivation chamber, and undergo a deep seclusion lasting about four months.

Day after day, year after year.

The name "Qin Feng" gradually spread among the most elite circles of the Fearless Battle Group.

All teammates who had worked with him were deeply impressed by his terrifying strength and calm combat wisdom.

He slowly evolved from a rising newcomer king into a powerful and trusted teammate in the "Warrior-Level" mission zone.

Thus, spring passed and autumn came; cold and heat alternated.

Ten years slipped by in the blink of an eye.

...

Inside the cultivation chamber, Qin Feng slowly opened his eyes, ending yet another four-month seclusion.

He felt the power within him, now more than a level stronger than ten years ago, and silently calculated his current gains.

"So far, I have successfully performed fifty-four Orifice Unions."

"My Life Force Index has finally broken through the four-thousand mark, steadily reaching 4140 points."

This rate of growth, if known outside, would make any fifth-rank warrior feel ashamed.

Similarly, this had already reached Qin Feng’s limit speed.

To go faster, he would need a breakthrough in the Tenfold Perfect Hand.

"The ten second-level killing techniques I exchanged from the battle group, after ten years and hundreds of high-intensity real battles, have all been cultivated to the 'Perfection' realm, just one step away from entering 'Mastery.'"

He was well aware that his current strength was worlds apart from ten years ago.

"Next, it’s time to purchase third-level killing techniques."

His eyes sparkled with anticipation.

In the empire’s martial system, first-, second-, and third-level killing techniques all fell under the category of "Mortal Martial Arts."

They did not involve the use of psychic power; they relied purely on control of the physical body, manipulation of energy, and exquisite techniques of force application to achieve offensive effects.

Third-level killing techniques were the pinnacle within this category.

Any third-level killing technique was far more complex and difficult to cultivate than any second-level one.

But likewise, once a martial artist cultivated a third-level killing technique to the "Mastery Realm," their understanding of "force" and "technique" would reach an entirely new height, enabling them to draw inferences and achieve mastery through one method.

At that point, they would be honored with the title—"Martial Arts Grandmaster."

After sorting out his strength, Qin Feng’s mind subconsciously conjured up that disgusting figure again.

"Shi Dang... how have you become in these ten years?"

He deftly called up the subspace network and clicked on the blood-red assassination mission he checked regularly.

The mission page still flickered continuously.

At the bottom, the [Failure Count] representing death remained the glaring, blood-red "2."

In these ten years, it seemed no more strong warriors had fallen to Shi Dang’s hand.

But that did not mean Shi Dang had grown weaker.

Quite the opposite.

When Qin Feng’s gaze fell on the updated mission intelligence, his brow involuntarily furrowed slightly.

According to combat data from those who had fought Shi Dang, his Life Force Index had reached an astonishing height—5400 points!

Not only that, the intelligence clearly noted that he had mastered multiple bizarre and powerful fourth-level killing techniques granted by Chaos blessings.

Currently, he was still roaming the border star domains of the Empire, seemingly trying every possible means to cross that defensive line forged by countless interstellar fortresses, to flee completely into that even more chaotic and vast battlefield of myriad races.

"The border is heavily guarded, impregnable as iron—do you think you can just escape as you wish?"

Qin Feng looked at this message, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

He knew that the Empire would never allow such a potential-filled follower of "Khorne" to leave unscathed.

On the border line, a net with sky and earth as meshes must have already been laid, waiting for him to walk right into the trap.

But this cunning wolf seemed to have sensed the danger as well, hiding perfectly for the past ten years.

Qin Feng shook his head and closed Shi Dang's mission page.

The enemy's strength only became the driving force for his progress.

He entered the Imperial Trading House, and after careful selection and comparison among the dazzling array of third-level killing techniques, he finally chose a spear technique.

[Name: "Heaven and Earth Spear"]

[Level: Third-level Killing Technique]

[Description: This spear technique takes the meaning of 'Qian is Heaven, Kun is Earth.' Every move and stance is grand and expansive, combining hardness and softness, possessing both the might of Mount Tai pressing down and the cleverness of deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces.]

"Purchase."

With the deduction of contribution points, an extremely complex and vast data stream transformed into a beam of light, directly surging into his subspace, stored beneath his personal attribute panel.

Qin Feng did not rush to accept a mission immediately but entered seclusion again.

However, this time, it was not for "merging apertures" but to comprehend this new third-level killing technique.

Yet even just "entry-level" made him feel an unprecedented difficulty.

One month later.

Qin Feng finally became proficient in the incredibly intricate moves and power techniques of "Heaven and Earth Spear," and in the training ground, he performed it completely from start to finish, meeting the system's "entry-level" standard.

"Third-level killing techniques are indeed difficult."

Standing in the center of the training ground, holding the "Koi Transforming into Dragon," he could not help but sigh inwardly.

"Back then, when I first learned a first-level killing technique, in one month, not to mention entry-level, I probably reached the 'minor accomplishment' stage. And now, my insight, experience, and martial arts foundation are thousands of times stronger than before, yet I still took a month to barely reach entry-level."

And this was only a third-level killing technique.

This gave Qin Feng a more intuitive understanding of how difficult the higher-level fourth-level killing techniques, which required the use of mental power, truly were.

"Forget it, take it slow."

Qin Feng put away the long spear.

On the path of martial arts, there is simply no shortcut.

After successfully achieving entry-level in "Heaven and Earth Spear," he knew it was time to go out and "stretch his muscles" again.

"Hammer, help me accept a 'Warrior-level' team mission."

"Yes, master. Screening for you..."

Soon, a brand new mission appeared before him.

[Mission Name: Green Tide Purification]

[Mission Objective: Go to planet Y-34, thoroughly eliminate all green-skinned lifeforms in area A-7 occupied by the "Bone Crush" tribe.]

[Danger Level: Warrior-level]

[Mission Reward: 24,000 contribution points, 72,000 war group reputation]

[Team Requirement: 4 people]

"Green-skins?"

Qin Feng was not unfamiliar with this race; in fact, he was extremely familiar with it.

The mission reward was very generous, indicating that this was the topmost difficult type among Warrior-level missions.

But Qin Feng did not care; he directly submitted a team application.

Almost instantly, the application was approved.

It seemed that the reputation he had built up over the past ten years in the "Warrior-level" mission area was still quite useful.

[Application approved. Please assemble at the "Fearless" War Group A-9 teleportation zone within ten minutes.]

Qin Feng did not delay; with a flicker of his form, he disappeared from the dormitory.

"Fearless" War Group, A-9 teleportation zone.

From time to time, fully armed elite squads with formidable auras assembled or departed amid the flickering of teleportation rings; every face bore the calm and indifference of seasoned battle.

Qin Feng's figure appeared out of thin air at the designated meeting point.

He swept his gaze and immediately saw three figures already waiting there.

Two of them were quite familiar to him.

One was his teammate from ten years ago—that dark-skinned, bald-headed, towering and burly mixed-blood hunk—Macken.

He was still wearing that iconic gray-green heavy assault armor, but the scratches and battle damage on the armor had increased compared to ten years ago, adding a touch of ferocity.

The other made Qin Feng slightly surprised.

It was a young man with a square face and a steady demeanor.

Although Qin Feng had never teamed up with him, he had a deep impression of him.

This man was none other than the top expert who had been suppressed by Zhou Run year after year in the fourth-level martial artist division, forever stuck in the "eternal second place"—Zheng Dong.

And standing between the two was a female martial artist.

She wore a form-fitting, sleek silver-white powered inner armor, without external heavy armor.

Tall and slender, with a neat short haircut, a cold expression, and eyes like an unfathomable cold pool, making it impossible to see through her depth.

Her aura was perfectly restrained, like a polished and honed top-grade raw jade, revealing no sharpness, yet instinctively making one feel the terrifying power contained within.

This was clearly the captain of this mission.

"Qin Feng, long time no see!"

Macken spotted him first, a hearty smile spreading across his dark face as he waved proactively.

Ten years apart, he had been constantly executing missions; his vitality index had not increased much, but his aura had grown even more profound.

"Junior Qin Feng, ten years no see, how many apertures have you merged?"

"Fifty-four."

Qin Feng smiled, not hiding anything.

"Oh?!"

Macken's eyes widened, and he asked, "You guy, haven't you been doing missions? No, that's not right—your reputation has spread throughout the Fearless War Group as a trustworthy teammate. You've been doing missions and cultivating at the same time? And then merged fifty-four apertures in ten years?"

"Yeah."

Qin Feng smiled and said, "Carrying a blood grudge, I have no choice but to work hard."

"Impressive."

Macken praised sincerely: "Your vitality index is almost catching up to mine. It seems the rumors about you are true—an outright monster. At this rate, opening your apertures in forty years, merging them in sixty, and covering in a century what takes others three hundred—that's truly exaggerated."

"You flatter me."

Qin Feng replied: "Burdened by blood vengeance, I have no choice but to push myself relentlessly."

"Keep it up."

Macken naturally knew about Shi Dang's matter. He patted Qin Feng on the shoulder, his eyes showing encouragement.

Meanwhile, Zheng Dong, upon seeing Qin Feng, revealed a rather amused smile and took the initiative to speak: "So you're Junior Qin Feng? I've heard a lot about you. Speaking of which, I really ought to thank you properly."

"Oh?"

Qin Feng was slightly taken aback.

Zheng Dong laughed heartily, his tone carrying a hint of self-mockery and relief: "Back when I was in the fourth-level division, I also thought about milking the Newcomer Cup for all it was worth. But every time, that 'old deadbeat' Zhou Run kept me firmly in second place. It was infuriating. Later, I just advanced. Then I heard you burst onto the scene, took that guy down, and snagged the championship—it really vented my frustration! Hahaha!"

His laughter was filled with genuine delight, clearly having long let go of the past.

"Haha, Senior Zheng, I've heard a great deal about you too." Qin Feng smiled and clasped his fists in greeting.

At that moment, Macken, who had been standing silently like an iceberg, finally spoke up to introduce: "Qin Feng, this is Senior Wan Shuang, the team leader for this mission."

"Hello, Senior Wan Shuang."

Qin Feng nodded to the female martial artist, whose aura was deep and profound.

Wan Shuang merely gave him a faint glance, her gaze sharp as a blade, as if trying to pierce through his very soul.

After a moment, she gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Her voice, like her demeanor, was cold and concise.

"Everyone's here. I'll keep it brief."

Without any unnecessary words, she directly pulled up a detailed mission briefing.

"The target planet, Y-34, was once known in the Imperial star charts as 'Hope Five.' Eight hundred years ago, it was a thriving 'education planet' with a population of over three billion, dedicated to cultivating foundational talent for the Empire."

"But seven hundred and sixty-three years ago, a sudden 'Green Tide' utterly destroyed everything there. The Imperial Star Army has been fighting intermittently against the greenskins entrenched on this planet for nearly four hundred years."

She pointed to the planet marked as a war zone on the map.

"Strangely enough, due to some high-level strategic considerations, this planet has neither been completely abandoned by the military nor designated as a 'trial planet' open to students. Over these eight centuries, the Empire has replaced more than a dozen planetary governors, with the sole order being to reclaim the planet at all costs."

"Our mission area is the A-7 war zone on the eastern continent. That area was once the largest urban cluster, but now it has become the biggest nest of the greenskin 'Bonecrush' tribe. Our task is to clear out all the greenskins there."

Her gaze swept across the three of them, her tone turning extremely serious.

"The greenskins on this planet, after nearly eight hundred years of war and reproduction, far surpass in number and ferocity the scattered rabble we usually encounter in ordinary missions. Therefore, this mission is likely to be a protracted positional war of attrition. I estimate it will last at least three months."

"So,"

she concluded, "bring enough recovery potions and 'power potions' specifically for replenishing power armor energy. As for whether to bring spare 'supplementary psionic cores,' that's up to you."

"Once you're all set, we leave immediately."

"I'm ready."

Macken was the first to respond, patting his chest plate.

"Ready anytime."

Zheng Dong nodded as well.

Qin Feng had no objections either.

With a thought, the "Minglong I" power armor, which had been upgraded several times, once again covered his entire body.

In the past ten years, he was no longer the rookie who only wielded a single spear.

His subspace storage unit was packed with various types of "recovery potions," enough to sustain him in high-intensity combat for about a year without rest.

The "Minglong I" power armor had also undergone over a dozen upgrades, with thicker plating and a more powerful energy core output.

As for the "psychic barrier module" he had purchased specifically to counter mental attacks, it had been damaged over a dozen times in the past decade due to energy overload from blocking countless fatal psychic shocks during various missions.

This time, he did not carry the "Koi Transforming into Dragon" in his hands.

Instead, he wielded a heavy bolter with a ferocious design, a massive barrel, and a brutal aesthetic—a true weapon of violence!

This, too, was a devastating tool he had acquired over the past decade using contribution points.

Why use such a seemingly cumbersome psionic weapon?

Because psionic weapons greatly amplify a martial artist's combat power.

As long as the weapon's output is strong enough, theoretically, the high temperature and energy released by a psionic attack can reach an infinitely large value, capable of delivering devastating area-of-effect damage to biological units without psychic defenses. It is the best choice for quickly turning the tide on the battlefield.

In theory, psionic weapons can even kill extraterrestrial star-level lifeforms lacking psychic defenses, vaporizing them at the genetic level—a terrifying feat.

But the drawbacks of such weapons are equally obvious.

Once the target possesses psychic power and can influence reality with their will, pure psionic attacks are greatly weakened, distorted, or even dissipated by the target's psychic field, rendering them completely ineffective.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Captain Wan Shuang nodded. She equipped a set of silver-white power armor that perfectly matched her icy demeanor.

Without a word, she activated the mission teleportation.

When the four reappeared, the ground beneath their feet had changed from cold metal to cracked concrete stained with dark bloodstains and green moss. A gust of wind, mixed with the smells of gunpowder, rotting blood, and some strange fungal odor, swept over them, accompanied by deafening shouts of battle.

They were now on planet Y-34, at the edge of the former city—Area A-7—which had been occupied by greenskins for nearly eight hundred years.

On the distant horizon, flashes of artillery fire flickered like unending lightning, casting the yellow-green sky in alternating light and shadow.

Massive, crudely built greenskin war machines clashed with the steel tide of the Imperial Star Army on a vast plain, engaging in the most primal and bloody collision.

Wan Shuang's silver-white power armor helmet turned slightly, rapidly scanning the battlefield while receiving data streams analyzed by her subspace AI assistant.

After a moment, her cold, decisive voice rang out in the team's communication channel.

"The situation matches the intel. The main greenskin force, including their war boss, is pinned down by the main Imperial Star Army on the front lines. Right now, this nest's defenses are at their weakest."

Her tactical visor locked onto the distant silhouette of a city—a chaotic heap of twisted scrap metal and building debris, like a giant garbage mountain.

"Our mission is not to join the front-line chaos. Instead, we must seize this opportunity to strike like the sharpest scalpel straight into the heart of this nest. Eliminate all remaining greenskins and destroy all their war production facilities. Remember, do not let a single greenskin 'Mek,' especially those called 'Big Meks,' escape. Those things are the root of the greenskins' endless war machine."

She gave no superfluous pep talk, only the simplest command.

"Let's begin."

At her command, the four figures shot forward like arrows from a bow, turning into streaks of different colors as they charged toward the massive greenskin nest at high speed.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Qin Feng led the charge. The ferocious heavy bolter in his hands let out a deep, rhythmic roar.

Each high-energy psionic round fired from the gun, like a miniature guided missile, traced precise arcs across several kilometers, accurately landing on the greenskin artillery positions hidden among the ruins—positions that were about to suppress them with crude rocket launchers and heavy machine guns.

Boom! Boom—!

Violent explosions erupted one after another.

The raging psionic energy and high temperature instantly engulfed and shredded the crude scrap-metal gun platforms and their greenskin gunners, turning them into towering fireballs mixed with green flesh and metal fragments.

His shooting was fast, accurate, and ruthless! Almost single-handedly, he neutralized all enemy long-range fire points that could threaten them, wiping them out in the first moment!

The pinpoint accuracy and efficiency of the long-range strike instantly tore open a flawless entry point for the entire squad.

"Beautifully done!"

Maiken roared over the comms, he and Zheng Dong standing like twin guardian deities flanking Wan Shuang and Qin Feng, their roaring chainswords and whistling power axes hacking every frontally charging, death-defying Ork Boy into crimson confetti.

Meanwhile, Captain Wan Shuang moved through the fractures of the battlefield like a phantom.

With every flicker of her twin daggers, another stray foe was invariably stripped of life.

Her strikes were silent, shadowless, and utterly lethal.

The coordination of the four had long since evolved beyond words, attaining a synchronicity that bordered on pure instinct.

They operated like a masterfully calibrated engine of war forged over millennia, every individual movement and every tactical shift perfectly timed.

The exact millisecond Qin Feng’s boltgun demanded a fresh magazine, Zheng Dong’s power axe would sweep outward in a massive crescent wave of concussive force, driving back the surging Orks and buying Qin Feng the precious moments needed to reload.

When Maiken left himself momentarily exposed following a thunderous, heavy overhead cleave, Wan Shuang’s silhouette would materialize at his side like a ghost, her blade slitting the throat of some diminutive Gretchin trying to launch a cowardly ambush.

Bound tightly together, they became a glowing, razor-sharp arrowhead, driving steadily and unyieldingly into the darkest depths of the greenskin hive.

As the lines blurred into close quarters and the effectiveness of the ranged boltgun waned, Qin Feng stowed his firearm, and the dark-red shaft of the Koi Turning into a Dragon reappeared in his grip.

He stepped fully into the bloody fray of melee combat.

The Cosmos Spear Play!

This rank-three killing technique, which he had only recently mastered to a basic degree, now became the most terrifying instrument of slaughter in his hands.

The spear in his grasp behaved at times like a wild dragon leaping from the sea, sweeping broad and unhindered; a single horizontal lash shattered the bones of several Ork Boys and sent them flying, along with the ridiculous choppas they fashioned from scrap iron.

At other times, it mimicked a fish darting through currents, infinitely nimble; the spear tip traced arcane trajectories within inches of space, effortlessly deflecting the heavy, brutal hacks of the greenskins before snapping forward to leave a bowl-sized cavity in the enemy's chest.

The territory they had carved their way into was once the most prosperous metropolitan zone of Planet Hope V.

Now, not a single trace of past civilization remained.

Every cloud-piercing skyscraper was choked black with soot, their walls gouged with countless massive, irregular holes to serve as tenements for the greenskin hordes.

The streets were choked with bizarre structures built of scrap iron, bones, and various unknown slimes, all heavily stamped with the unmistakable aesthetic of the WAAAGH! energy field.

Qin Feng thrust his spear straight through a wall haphazardly thrown together from rusted iron plates and old tires, revealing a few faded characters clinging to the surface behind it: Limitless Martial Arts Dojo.

Once upon a time, this place might have housed martial artists like Master Sun Chan, mentoring young souls filled with dreams.

Now, it held nothing but a mob of brutes waving crude choppas and screaming their monstrous war cries of "WAAAGH!"

They pushed forward, the scenery along their path a continuous display of this absurd and cruel juxtaposition.

Atop the ruins of a massive building that had half-collapsed, the faint remnants of a sign reading "XX Data Operations Center" could still be discerned.

Yet at this very moment, the interior of the tower had been converted into a sprawling, foul-smelling Gretchin breeding farm.

Before the gates of a titanic factory that had been retrofitted into a weapons workshop, a colossal signboard stubbornly retained a few words: "...Wastewater Treatment Plant."

The fighting here proved far more complex than they had anticipated.

The sheer diversity and crude ingenuity of the Ork race was pushed to its absolute limits under the crucible of war.

They encountered suicide squads of tiny Gretchin, steering ramshackle, wheelbarrow-like explosive vehicles in mad dashes toward them.

They engaged in brutal, agonizing close combat with massive Orks standing five meters tall, their muscles knotted like iron cables and their hides as tough as steel plates, wielding titanic hydraulic power claws.

They even brought down a lumbering Stompa—a gargantuan war machine pieced together by a Big Mek from the scrap metal of countless salvaged vehicles, shaped like a colossal metal spider and spewing superheated promethium melt!

The battle raged without end.

Blood stained the earth green.

The power armor of the four warriors had long been caked in thick, viscous green gore and assorted, unnamable filth.

Yet their eyes remained as steadfast as tempered steel.

Through this relentless, high-intensity meat grinder, their resolve was hammered and refined again and again, growing sharper and purer with every passing hour.

Within them, the faint, undeniable silhouette of an Astartes was beginning to take shape.

Time was utterly forgotten in the madness of the slaughter.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month slipped away.

They had pierced deep into the heart of this colossal hive city, demolishing a countless number of greenskin workshops and barracks, slaying tens of thousands of the beasts.

Yet, they seemed entirely inexhaustible.

...

Three months later.

Upon a massive urban plaza that had been converted into a crude weapons testing ground, the four finished a grueling, horrific engagement.

They stood back-to-back, chests heaving violently as they seized this rare, fleeting moment to replenish the power grids of their armor and inject high-energy nutrient paste directly into their veins.

Right then, a piercing red warning flashed simultaneously across the HUD interfaces of all four suits.

It was the highest-level alarm, triggered by their tactical cogitators analyzing the external sensor arrays positioned along the perimeter of the battlefield.

On their tactical maps, millions of red blips representing greenskin signatures were withdrawing from the distant frontline warzones, surging back toward this specific hive city like an impossible, rising tide of madness!

"Captain! Something went wrong with the Imperial Guard! The main Ork army is falling back on us!"

Zheng Dong's voice cut through the comm channel first, thick with shock and disbelief.

Maiken cried out in tandem, "How is that possible?! Did the Imperial Guard break? Or..."

He stopped short of voicing the most terrifying suspicion.

"...Did the Planetary Governor sell us out?"

There was no time for anyone to ponder the underlying reasons.

The overwhelming canopy of red indicators on the map already signaled that they were about to be utterly surrounded and swallowed whole by millions of furious greenskins.

However, Captain Wan Shuang’s voice cut through the panic, terrifyingly cold.

"They didn't break."

Her tone carried a freezing, bone-chilling certainty. "The Planetary Governor has stabbed us in the back."

"Why?!"

Maiken, Zheng Dong, and even Qin Feng felt an incomprehensible shock.

Colluding with Chaos was something they could understand, for Chaos granted power and immortality, allowing a mediocre martial artist to leap into the ranks of the chosen elite.

Just look at Shi Dang; after pledging his faith to Chaos, his strength had multiplied at an impossible rate.

If he could satisfy Khorne with a sufficient offering of slaughter, the Blood God could directly bless him into a planetary-tier entity.

That was the return on investment for worshipping dark gods and consorting with Chaos.

But colluding with Orks?

What could a primitive race of savages, who possessed nothing but war and destruction, possibly offer an Imperial Governor?

The very next instant, the answer was forced upon them.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Warning! Ultra-high intensity WAAAGH! field detected! Field strength is spiking exponentially! Warning! The warp transit channels have been forcefully locked down! Teleportation unavailable!"

The sensors within the power armor let out a more piercing alarm than ever before.

An invisible force field, filled with a raging and chaotic will, like a colossal dome, instantly enveloped the entire sky and earth.

WAAAGH! Force Field!

This was a terrifying product formed by the collective battle will of all greenskins, a mixture of mental and psychic power.

Within a sufficiently powerful WAAAGH! Force Field, all conventional warp travel would be completely forbidden!

"The greenskin Warboss deliberately withdrew his forces. He knew we were here all along."

A cold, self-mocking smirk curled at the corner of Wan Shuang's mouth.

"That damned planetary governor sold us out. I reckon he had his eye on our power armor, and on the 'acupoints' we martial artists who cultivated the 'Ultimate Acupoint Opening Method' have condensed."

"He offered us as a blood token to the greenskin boss, in exchange for some ridiculous, temporary 'peace' with the greenskins."

In the history of the Imperium, such things were not uncommon.

Especially in these remote star sectors far from the Imperium's core, some lofty planetary governors always foolishly believed that greenskins were simple-minded savage creatures, easily tricked and exploited.

But they forgot that greenskins were cunning and cruel, cruel and cunning.

Anyone who tried to toy with greenskins would often end up being toyed with in return, in the most brutal and bloody way.

"We... can't retreat anymore."

Wan Shuang's voice was calm without a ripple, "Everyone, immediately send the highest-level distress coordinates and rescue missions to the Imperial mission board, as well as the school's private domain and tournament activities. From now on, our objective shifts to 'survival'."

She took a deep breath and issued the final order.

"From now on, change the combat mode. Abandon active offense, focus on hiding and maneuvering. Conserve stamina and ammunition to the maximum."

"What we need to do is stay alive. Live until... the moment rescue arrives."

A brief silence fell over the communication channel.

After a moment, Qin Feng's steady voice sounded.

"I've already sent out the distress coordinates."

"Ha, good."

Maken's signature hearty laughter rang out again, but this time it carried a hint of detachment that saw through life and death, "Life or death, let fate decide! Dying together with you lot isn't a bad deal!"

"This planetary governor deserves to die!"

Zheng Dong spat viciously, removed his helmet, revealing a face twisted with anger. He bared his teeth and growled, "Even as a ghost, I won't let that beast off!"

Faced with this sudden, almost certain death, not a trace of fear or panic stirred in the hearts of the four.

They were the most qualified warriors, who had come this far step by step through countless battles of blood and fire.

Even in the last second before death descended, all they possessed was an absolute calm, as hard as steel!

(Chapter End)