Aboard the Slaugth's obsidian disc-ship.
Thierry Viera stared into the depths of the dim passage. Five Cerabvores flanked a figure wrapped in a grey shroud.
Beneath the hood, clusters of worms writhed madly.
The Slaugth Overseer raised his necrotic scepter. A sickening light flared, and then an arc of electricity, accompanied by a dim light, lanced towards Thierry.
The "Weapon Master" had already activated his swift charge.
The necrotic ray scorched the obsidian deck. Guard members following their Knight Lord saw a large hole left in its wake.
The weapon, blurring the line between machine and organic matter, crackled with frothy slime, like the surge of sickening bodily fluids.
The Shadows of Orders swiftly flanked either side. The putrid slime disgusted them.
Then came fury.
The War Mask transformed that fury into power. Their speed abruptly increased, shattering the numbness caused by neurotoxins. In an instant, they clashed with the Slaugth's servants.
A "Pugilist" raised his blade horizontally, meeting a descending crystal greatsword.
With a crack, he was driven back two steps.
A Cerabvore's tentacle sent another Honor Guard member flying. The "Pugilist" tumbled through the air before crashing down.
An invisible force surged from the "Pugilist's" exceptionally robust body. The telekinetic force that had enveloped him rapidly dissipated.
After tumbling twice, the "Pugilist" regained control of his body. He pushed off with his legs, forcefully dropping.
With a thud, the "Pugilist" crushed the telekinetic cage that had bound him and landed composedly.
Simultaneously, another true "Pugilist" closed on a Cerabvore, swinging his sword from right to left.
As energy sparks flew, he clenched his fist. His power gauntlet slammed into the Cerabvore's abdomen.
As the Cerabvore staggered backward, a black figure leaped into the air.
The "Pugilist" swung his psychic sword with all his might, from left to right, cleaving downwards at an angle.
With a flash of psychic light, the blade split the Cerabvore's entire torso diagonally in two.
The Honor Guard worked in seamless coordination. Those with the greatest strength and best defensive skills met the enemy head-on. The strongest delivered fierce attacks to cripple the Cerabvores. Finally, the most perceptive swordsmen seized the opportunity to finish them.
The "Pugilists'" bodies withstood psychic attacks.
The unwavering will granted by the War Mask allowed them to resist the neurotoxins.
In moments, the five Cerabvores were slain by the combined efforts of the Honor Guard.
They formed a solid wall around their Lord.
Within that wall, amidst the writhing worms, a glowing parasitic eye perceived everything in the dim passage.
The passage, the Shadows of Orders, everything became distorted electromagnetic waves and light.
The Overseer's electromagnetic spectral vision allowed him to see, from another perspective, the energy waves blazing on the power swords, the undulations blazing on the psychic swords...
He abruptly raised his arm. An invisible shockwave swept the area.
The personal energy shields of the Shadows of Orders crackled. They were struck as if by lightning, trembling violently.
The hands gripping the psychic swords felt as if they were clutching red-hot branding irons.
Thierry sheathed his psychic sword and ordered on the helmet's internal comm channel.
"Deactivate personal energy shields. Sheathe psychic swords."
The blazing light of the psychic swords rapidly dissipated. The Shadows of Orders, gripping their power swords, stood ready.
Thierry gripped his power sword, wreathed in blue light. This blade, forged by Vulkan, was broader and thicker; its blade one and a half times longer than a standard sword.
Other Shadows of Orders who received similar blades would wield them two-handed.
But the "Weapon Master" wielded it single-handedly, with effortless grace.
The "Weapon Master" swung his sword, charging swiftly at the Slaugth.
Clusters of worms writhed. The necrotic scepter swung up.
On the scepter's curved, claw-like branches, evil runes emanated a strange, coldaura.
SCREE SCREE SCREE!
The evil, eerie force field clashed with the disassembly field, emitting a strange grating sound.
Simultaneously, the Slaugth's left arm stretched instantly, lunging at Thierry's waist like a giant python.
Thierry was prepared. He rolled left, dodging the tentacle, and simultaneously punched the Slaugth's head.
With a sound like a bursting balloon, a large mass of worms scattered.
The parasitic eye tumbled through the air, a flicker of surprise in its glow.
The worms tumbled through the air, coalescing into a mass, then sprang up suddenly, enveloping the parasitic eye and merging into the right arm.
The necrotic scepter elongated and suddenly swung at Thierry.
The "Weapon Master" hit the ground and immediately sprang up, evading the scepter's strike.
He rolled, swinging his sword, slashing at the Slaugth.
With a tearing sound, the disassembly field tore the burial shroud and swept across a cluster of worms.
The worms scattered like startled things, then condensed again.
The "Weapon Master" wielded his blade with his swordsmanship, leaving gash after gash on the Slaugth in moments.
Worms on the Slaugth's entire body writhed madly. Never since his elevation to Overseer had he been so disarray.
He had assumed that unleashing that attack and scattering the Shadows of Order fleet would allow him to drive his ship away composedly.
He never expected the enemy to board his ship and be so troublesome to deal with.
If he delayed further, allowing other ships to surround him, escape would become difficult. He would lose massive assets.
The Slaugth Overseer's mass of worms writhed madly. The vox-synthesizer embedded within his body extended.
The lumpy metal orb translated the Slaugth's viscous scraping sounds into the Rangdan language.
"Murder-minds, I command you to kill the Shadows of Orders immediately!"
The xenos surging from the ship's depths immediately launched a mad attack on the Shadows of Orders.
Unlike their usual composed demeanor, standing aloof behind the front lines, the Overlords now shrieked and charged.
Over a dozen xenos raised their crab-like claws. Grey-green psychic flames, like flamethrowers, spat searing molten streams.
The "Pugilists" met them head-on. They would never allow xenos to disturb their Lord.
The molten streams slammed into the gossamer-like net shields. Most of the molten streams were deflected, spraying against the obsidian walls on either side, crackling and charring them black.
The "Pugilists" didn't slow. Flecks of flame licked at their black power armor.
They closed on the xenos, swinging their swords, chopping at the crab claws.
Wave after wave of xenos attacks crashed against the "Pugilists'" rock-solid defenses, only to be shattered time and again.
Though he had the Slaugth suppressed, Thierry frowned. He hadn't inflicted any significant damage. His only achievement was destroying a large piece of the burial shroud.
He recalled the Black Emperor's words: his only chance of victory was to throw a grenade inside the Slaugth.
The "Weapon Master" pulled a grenade from his belt, staring at the Slaugth, seeking an opportunity.
His blade spun. Amidst a series of clashes, his eyes suddenly coagulated.
The burial shroud on the Slaugth's legs contracted into a single strip. His upper body swelled dramatically. A mass of worms slammed against the obsidian ceiling.
The parasitic eye coldly fixed on the black-armored warrior below. It pounced like a python striking.
The "Weapon Master" sidestepped while swinging his power sword. The blade, like a rein, missed the necrotic scepter and applied force from the opposite direction.
The maneuver sent the Slaugth lunging forward by inertia. Before it could react, the blade slashed open its body.
The disassembly field shrieked as it cut open its abdomen. Worms scattered.
Seizing the moment, Thierry pulled the pin and shoved the krak grenade into the Slaugth's body.
Worms churned and tumbled. Then, with a muffled explosion, worms scattered.
Thierry retreated. He saw clearly: the grenade had not detonated inside the Slaugth's body.
A cluster of worms on its chest had trapped, wrapping around the grenade. It had avoided the strike at the cost of partial damage.
'The Slaugth's vitality is too tenacious. Nearly unkilable.'
'As my Lord said, destroying it with a grenade requires my utmost effort, and even then, it's only a possibility.'
As Thierry pondered, a familiar, commanding voice suddenly sounded behind him.
The voice spoke in Dunnic. It came from Howard Fender.
"Extending or expanding is "prohibited" here!"
The "Judge" raised his hand, thrusting forward, and spoke authoritatively.
The Slaugth Overseer's synthesizer emitted a snort of derision. His evil will spread.
The next instant, his body shook violently.
The Overseer let out a startled cry. He discovered, in horror, that his attempt to counter with psychic power had absolutely no effect.
'How is this possible?'
'Hmm?'
The Overseer suddenly found his body, which he could freely stretch and shape at will, completely unresponsive.
The worms were constrained within an invisible range. The shape united by each cluster of worms remained exactly the same as before.
He struggled desperately to break free of the invisible bonds, but the worms moved slower and slower.
'Damn! I expended too much power earlier!'
He looked in horror at the Shadows of Order who had raised his arm, aiming at him.
The Slaugth Overseer heard the other speak authoritatively in a completely incomprehensible language. Viscous, almost solid, transparent liquid tightly enveloped his body.
Layer after layer of walls tightly wrapped around each worm.
The Slaugth Overseer's body solidified. He thought, horrified and bewildered.
'I've been imprisoned.'
'I've actually been imprisoned.'
Thierry stared at the Slaugth, now encased in a enormous amber-like prison. He said to Howard, who had arrived beside him,
"As my Lord said, dealing with him is far easier for you than for me."
"No," Howard shook his head. "Without your earlier attrition of his power, I couldn't have 'imprisoned' him so easily."
From the fact that the worms could still move within a limited range earlier, he judged that his "Prohibition" could only partially suppress an Overseer at full strength, not completely restrict it.
He needed to wear down its power first to finish it.
......
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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