When the Covenant fleet arrived in the star system where Soul's Rest Star was located, brimming with hostility, Duanmu Huai and the others had already slipped silently into the interior of the planet.
As one of the Forerunners' Shield Worlds, Soul's Rest Star was encased in a sturdy outer shell that only authorized individuals could enter—but of course, that wasn't a problem for Duanmu Huai. Just as the Aeldari could teleport through the Webway, Duanmu Huai didn't need a door at all. He could simply use the Webway to transport his people directly into Soul's Rest Star.
Another advantage of doing this was that—while the Covenant fleet outside was urgently searching for a way to open the planet—Duanmu Huai could enjoy a carefree, spontaneous trip inside Soul's Rest Star with the girls.
Meanwhile, he told them about the grudges and entanglements between the Forerunners and the Imperium.
"To be honest, I can't even imagine how a race could construct a barrier large enough to hold an entire world inside it..."
Guleya lifted her head and looked up at the sky before her. If she hadn't seen the sealed exterior of the planet beforehand, she would have thought this place was no different from an ordinary world.
After traveling with Duanmu Huai for so long, the girls had gained some understanding of planetary structures, and because of that, Guleya felt even more shocked.
"Only gods could accomplish something like this."
"That depends on how you classify gods."
Duanmu Huai shook his head.
"Every civilization has a different definition of divinity. If you went to some more primitive worlds, they might worship you and Anne as goddesses."
"Eh? Really? Then Guleya and I could become goddesses?"
With a bright grin, Anne ran over and hugged Guleya, then looked curiously at Duanmu Huai. He nodded.
"Of course. Becoming a god isn't as hard as you imagine—especially being considered one. Look at you: you can use magic and summon powerful knights. Guleya can control fire and burn everything around her. If you appeared in front of a primitive civilization and displayed those abilities, they might immediately kneel and proclaim you the goddesses of light and flame."
In fact, players had done similar things in the game. There was once a player who arrived on a primitive planet, and the alien natives treated him as a god. He enjoyed it greatly—observing their ecology whenever he was bored, issuing divine commands, and watching them do absurd things because they believed they were following a god's will.
Hmm...… in the end, that species awakened and tried to rebel. The player got tired of the game and wiped them out with a single extermination order.
The documentary caused a huge stir online. Some watched for amusement. Some thought it was cruel. Some saw it as an example of religious fanaticism. Others pointed out that humanity wasn't much different from those aliens—if we didn't work hard, maybe one day we too would be wiped out without understanding why...…
In short, that player became very popular.
Infamy was still fame.
But the truth was that what many civilizations viewed as gods were often not gods at all. Yet to those civilizations, they were divine. To the Covenant, the Forerunners were gods—but in Duanmu Huai's eyes, they weren't even qualified to polish his boots.
From a player's perspective, in Star Sea Online, there were three types of gods.
One was the Main Gods, such as the Chaos Gods—entities whose influence spread across the entire universe.
Another was Regional Sub-gods, such as the Lady of the Lake or the Horned Rat—gods whose influence extended only to a planet or a region of one.
The last type was Civilization Gods—powerful interstellar civilizations like the Old Ones or the Forerunners, who were regarded as gods.
Of course, the differences between the three weren't that large. Gods could create objects from nothing or resurrect the dead, but advanced civilizations could achieve similar effects with 3D virtual printing or full cybernetic reconstruction. To a backward civilization, the difference was nearly impossible to distinguish.
You could say gods manipulated souls—but among higher interstellar species, many races could do the same. The Mek race, who once allied with demons, was one example.
Generally speaking, star-faring civilizations could suppress local gods to some degree. Local gods might rely on home-field advantage to fight back. But none could oppose Main Gods who spanned star systems. Otherwise, the Old Ones wouldn't have fled at the sight of the Chaos invasion.
"This is interesting. I've never experienced being treated as a god."
"Being worshipped as a god is not a pleasant thing."
As a former demigod, Ranni held a different opinion. She lifted her head and looked forward.
"And… to be honest, in the presence of such grand constructs, we are utterly insignificant...…"
What she was looking at was an irregular metal structure hundreds of meters tall, floating in the air. It hovered above the ground, rising straight upward like a colossal metal tower reaching the heavens. Even the Golden Race likely couldn't build something like this.
"Does the Greater Will possess such power too?"
"No. That thing is far more troublesome...… Forget it. Let's not talk about it."
Duanmu Huai shut down the topic immediately. To him, the Greater Will was far more taboo than the Chaos Gods. Honestly, he could tell Ranni everything about the Chaos Gods, but he would never tell her the true identity of the Greater Will— cough cough, don't think about it, don't think about it.
As always, Olgis sat on Duanmu Huai's shoulder, examining the metallic structures around them. Banbi lay on his other shoulder, curiously looking around.
"Master, you came here to fight that Forerunner sealed inside, right? Is he really strong? Will you be okay? They even used an entire planet to imprison him."
Banbi looked at him anxiously. Lorena and the others nodded as well. Duanmu Huai had already explained to them the mess between the Imperium and the Forerunners. They knew this planet was created to imprison someone called the Preacher. That alone shocked them, since in their worldview, only someone with apocalyptic power would be contained like this. In magical civilizations, this assumption wasn't strange.
After all, magical civilizations relied heavily on individual strength. Whether it was Anne or Guleya, either one could drastically alter a war's outcome alone. So naturally, they assumed whoever was imprisoned here must be incredibly powerful… which wasn't wrong?
"The Preacher does have some power, but he's not that strong. The main reason he was locked up here is his status."
If a coward like Godrick could call himself the lord of Stormveil Castle, then when had strength ever determined rank?
"I see...…"
The girls understood instantly.
"But it still feels like such a waste… Such a beautiful planet is about to be destroyed by war...…"
Looking at the scenery and the majestic structures, Lorena sighed. Duanmu Huai merely snorted.
"The Imperium's hives were far grander than this, and the Forerunners destroyed them too. An eye for an eye. I'm here to return the favor. Too bad most of the Forerunners are dead already. Otherwise, I'd love to kill them again...… And besides… they weren't innocent. You'll see soon."
He led the girls into one of the Forerunner buildings. They took an elevator downwards until they reached a massive underground chamber. Strange steel pillars stood everywhere, and only a single bridge extended from the door toward a central control console.
"Uuuh… Banbi doesn't like this place. It's dark, creepy, and… weird."
Hiding behind Duanmu Huai, Banbi scanned the area nervously. Lorena nodded.
"Yes, I can also feel… an unpleasant power. The scent of death, the screams of souls… Sir Knight, is this a tomb?"
"This is far less peaceful than a tomb."
Duanmu Huai walked across the bridge toward the console. He reached out and activated the control device.
"———————!!"
Suddenly, the rectangular pillars around them began to rise. The girls tensed instantly.
"What's happening? What's going on?"
Anne looked around in surprise. Guleya moved in front of her.
"I feel souls… Something is very wrong here."
Ranni turned around, one hand gripping her blade while her other two arms lifted, ready to cast spells.
Then something astonishing happened.
At the tops of the rising pillars, giant humanoid soldiers materialized from thin air. Their bodies looked as though forged from metal, glowing with eerie blue light. They held guns and weapons, glaring at Duanmu Huai's group with murderous intent as furious roars burst from their throats—they were impossible to understand, but clearly hostile.
"Sir Knight, what are those...?"
"Heh."
To Lorena's question, Duanmu Huai only chuckled, tightening his grip on his warhammer.
"I'll tell you after we beat them! Go!!"
The battle began immediately.
Even though Duanmu Huai had warned them beforehand, the girls were still shocked at how tough the massive metal soldiers were in real combat.
Aside from their powerful weapons, these sentinels could also teleport short distances. They condensed into light spheres that vanished, then reappeared elsewhere instantly.
In addition to the humanoid soldiers, the girls encountered another type of metal creature—shaped like hounds, also formed from solid metal. These metal hounds could run up smooth vertical walls like spiders without slipping.
They could also fire light projectiles from their heads.
Fortunately, after traveling with Duanmu Huai for so long, the girls were experienced in dealing with modern warfare.
Banbi waved her little hand, summoning a swarm of bats that spread like a dark cloud, blocking the sentinels' ranged attacks. Anne and Guleya followed up with magic missiles and fire, blasting the soldiers apart. Olgis sat on Duanmu Huai's shoulder, weaving puppet threads that spread like a spiderweb. Murder Dolls materialized under her control, silently attacking the metal sentinels from behind.
As for Duanmu Huai—naturally, he needed no explanation. Warhammer in hand, he charged forward. Anyone who blocked him died. The metal soldiers' attacks felt like scratches on his armor.
"Gaaaah—————!!"
A metal hound suddenly climbed up from the side of the bridge and pounced at Anne, who was casting a spell. Lorena lunged forward to shield her. She raised her holy book and slammed it onto the hound's head—its skull burst like a watermelon, golden light spraying out before it dissolved.
On the other side, Ranni proved that four arms were indeed superior to two. As the hounds leapt at her, she rolled backward to evade. One staff-holding hand waved lightly, summoning several lightsabers that streaked forward, skewering the metal hounds to the ground.
At the same time, another hand drew her sword to block a teleporting sentinel's strike. Before it could react, Ranni's staff transformed into a massive lightsaber. She swung downward, an icy aura sweeping through the soldiers and shredding them.
Not only that—the remaining two hands summoned a massive bow. Light arrows shot out, striking distant metal soldiers and blasting them into pieces.
Hmm...… four arms really were useful.
Although they were flustered at first, once the girls adapted to the attack patterns, they cleaned up the enemies—though it took effort.
"Whew..."
Watching the last metal soldier fall, Anne wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"These things were so tough...… What are they?"
"Good question."
Duanmu Huai retrieved his warhammer and returned to the girls.
"They're humans—at least, they used to be."
"...…Eh?!!!"
(End of Chapter)