In the dense jungle, sunlight pierced through layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows. The atmosphere in the forest was serene, with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers interweaving into a harmonious scene, like a paradise untouched by the world.
Deep within the harmonious forest, two tall figures walked across vibrant moss.
"You know, this world is quite beautiful," Harlan pushed up his holographic glasses, his adamantium spear held diagonally, his lightweight power armour reflecting fragmented light.
He scanned the dazzling jungle, but his tone was full of disdain: "But it's still not as good as Argent Nur."
When a Champion Swordsman arrived in any world, his first impression was always "not as good as Argent Nur"—even if it was a cosmic treasure akin to a paradise world.
"This world has a thriving ecosystem," Obelisk held his crossbow tightly, his Lyman's Ear capturing subtle movements around them.
His gaze pierced through the gaps in the branches and leaves, and he explained in a low voice: "There are many species of flora and fauna, coexisting harmoniously under the management of the world soul."
"Currently, it's the early stage of the hunt, and the world soul is still observing. The jungle is still relatively friendly to outsiders—"
Before he finished speaking, a giant flower turned with the wind, swaying to aim at the two of them.
Harlan suddenly struck, grabbing the flower stem. The flower core erupted in a non-plantlike shriek, and a fanged maw was torn from its corolla by him, its long, blade-like tongue twisting and licking in the air.
"You call this dog-thing friendly?" He slammed the man-eating flower to the ground, his scarred face full of indignation. "Any mortal would be dead by now."
Obelisk was silent for a moment, then crushed the still-twitching plant with a foot, shrugging: "It didn't bite me, anyway."
Before his words faded, their bodies tensed slightly, as a giant feline appeared in their perception, approaching from the left, using the shadows.
Seeing that the attacking target wasn't himself, Harlan grinned at Obelisk, then deliberately exposed his back: "Enjoy this friendliness, my dear Obelisk."
The moment the opening appeared, the jungle hunter struck suddenly, pouncing towards its prey.
Its body was beautifully streamlined, with tough black and yellow striped skin, and it stirred up a gust of dark wind as it pounced.
Obelisk glared at Harlan, raised his left hand, and in the big cat's incredulous gaze, firmly gripped its throat.
Bang!!!
In a microsecond, the five-meter-long predator crashed to the ground, Obelisk pinning it down with one hand.
Terror filled the beast's eyes, its limbs desperately clawing at the ground, emitting low growls, trying to escape the immense grip on its throat.
Obelisk's eyes were icy, and he suddenly exerted force with his arm, easily crushing the beast's throat.
For an ordinary Legion Warrior, dealing with an alien apex predator would require two moves, but he was Obelisk.
He had followed the Primarch into the Warp, hunted the Daemon Prince—Be'lakor, and slaughtered hordes of Shadow Demons, his strength growing to a terrifying degree.
"This thing is pretty good," Harlan said, seeing the attacker subdued. He quickly crouched down and snapped off two sharp canine teeth: "One for each of us."
Obelisk took the teeth and put them into a pouch at his waist, collecting them as rare trophies.
"Let's get out of here quickly." He pointed at the predator's corpse, his face looking very displeased: "The presence of a large predator in the jungle means there are no Xeno settlements nearby."
Harlan nodded without refuting; staying away from predators was common sense. The Na'vi, as native creatures, naturally followed the jungle's laws of survival.
He put away the teeth, activated his power armour's optical camouflage, and followed Obelisk's steps, searching for Xeno settlements. The two quickly advanced, transforming into experienced hunters, following water sources, and finally made a discovery.
"This is getting interesting."
They stood on a ridge, gazing at a magnificent spectacle.
The gravity was chaotic where the superconductor veins were located, with many islands suspended in the air. Clouds and mist swirled between the islands, ethereal like the abodes of immortals in myths.
Their gaze extended further, and in the distance beyond the dense jungle, a colossal, gravity-defying tree grew, its canopy covering hundreds of square kilometers.
The scenery was breathtaking. Harlan pointed to the ground of the floating islands, discovering traces of the Na'vi.
They held various crude weapons, destroying the buildings, equipment, and machinery left by humans, attempting to prevent outsiders from damaging the environment.
"Follow them."
Obelisk leaped from the ridge, advancing along the stream, his tall body displaying agility comparable to a wild ape leaping through the mountains.
Harlan, meanwhile, climbed a large tree, using team communication to guide him, preventing the loss of their target, and waiting for his teammate to engage before moving.
With their combined efforts, they soon tracked the Na'vi to their settlement, where the Xenos hid in the hollow of the colossal tree.
"Call for backup."
Harlan's eyes gleamed golden, his tongue licked his lips, and he unhesitatingly told Obelisk to call for friendly forces, preparing to encircle the Xenos.
Obelisk nodded silently, beginning to call his teammates through their psychic link to come to a feast.
Around the tree hollow beneath the giant tree, there were many traces of life in the environment. Na'vi moved back and forth, with about ten thousand people gathered there.
Night quietly fell, but the jungle was not silent. Various glowing plants dotted the forest, adding a touch of fantasy.
As night enveloped the land, hunters emerged from the darkness, reaching out to their slumbering prey, harvesting trophies through slaughter.
"Prepare to move," Obelisk whispered in the darkness. Luminous dandelions floated down from the sky, landing on his broad shoulders: "The World Spirit has noticed us."
In the world of Pandora, white glowing plants are extensions of the World Spirit's will, monitoring the entire world.
"Understood!"
Small crossbow bolts flew silently. External outposts were taken out simultaneously, without arousing any alarm, and the settlement remained completely unaware.
In the darkness, two figures raised their hands, their palms' shadows covering the settlement, chanting ancient incantations: "Barrier!"
The Words of Creation were squeezed from their throats, and two transparent barriers silently descended, enclosing the tree hollow.
One was a psychic barrier, blocking the World Spirit's protection of the Na'vi, and the other isolated physical space, preventing the Xenos from scattering and fleeing.
A hoarse chuckle echoed in the darkness. The Champion Swordsman, carrying his spear, walked into the barrier, his eyes filled with the joy of the harvest.
One after another, eight more tall figures walked into the barrier, launching a merciless hunt against the Xenos.
After entering the barrier, everyone's roles were clearly defined, and they began the slaughter before the Na'vi could react.
They activated their optical camouflage and entered wooden huts or tents. The darkness was silent, and the sounds of killing were imperceptible.
The Doom Slayer's swordsmanship was superb, his movements incredibly fast. A blade piercing the brow instantly killed, and a room was cleared in milliseconds.
The Na'vi were three meters tall, and their houses were built very high, which did not affect the Doom Slayer's physical movements at all.
In addition to clearing out Xenos in their sleep, two Legion Warriors penetrated deep into the settlement, beginning to remove overt and covert sentries, fully preparing for the subsequent assassination.
The smell of blood in the settlement grew stronger, but outside the barrier, it was as bright as day, with countless dandelions falling, yet blocked by an invisible wall.
If the material realm was like this, the psychic realm was even busier.
The World Spirit's tendrils of will extended, hovering outside the psychic barrier, attempting to shake the Doom Slayer's psychic barrier.
Unfortunately, every warrior who had passed through trials had an unbreakable will, and their minds could not be shaken.
Let alone the World Spirit, even Warp demigods or gods themselves would find it difficult to sway the Doom Slayer's resolve.
As the silent slaughter accelerated, warm blood stained the ground, and the stench in the air lingered, awakening many sleeping Na'vi.
They emerged from their rooms, sniffing the pervasive blood in the air, and immediately shouted loudly: "Ene—"
Before the sound could fully escape, a rapier pierced through its lower jaw and skull, causing it to collapse limply, unable to make any sound.
Obelisk, stationed outside the barrier, keenly sensed a change in the environment—the ground began to vibrate slightly.
He crouched down and placed his hand on the ground, discovering that the vibration had a rhythmic quality, entirely unlike an earthquake or geological shift.
Stampede of beasts!
Obelisk suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze piercing into the dark forest, as if seeing the surging shadows of countless beasts.
He immediately realized that the World Spirit was driving the beasts, intending to rescue the trapped Na'vi within the barrier.
"Fire."
The Words of Creation were uttered hoarsely, and flames appeared out of thin air in front of Obelisk, spreading outwards in a fan shape from him as the center, an unquenchable psychic flame.
Arson!
One by one, the warriors guarding outside collectively set fires, using psychic flames to create a cordon, preventing the beast horde from ambushing.
For this encirclement hunt, half of the hunting squad had gathered here to prevent the World Spirit from interfering.
"Ah!!!!"
Screams of agony erupted within the barrier. With the ground tremors and the firelight, the Na'vi were finally awakened, their wails echoing through the night sky.
Obelisk was expressionless. The Gene-Father had warned them that the difficulty of the hunt would increase, and the Legion had made corresponding preparations.
He just hadn't expected the world's retaliation to be so swift.
Of course he couldn't have known that over the boundless ocean, two Primarchs were fighting so fiercely that the seawater turned red, infuriating the world soul.
Inside the barrier, outside the barrier. An invisible wall split the world into two distinct battlefields.
Inside the barrier, the Na'vi awoke to their homes filled with a bloody mist, the nauseating smell of blood filling their nostrils. Too many of their kin had died in their sleep.
The surviving Na'vi screamed out alarms, and figures instantly appeared in tents and wooden houses. Tribal warriors grabbed their weapons and rushed out, seeking revenge on the attackers with longbows and sharp blades.
Drawing and shooting arrows, their movements were fluid and seamless. They were the most experienced jungle hunters, able to kill prey by instinct alone.
But the Na'vi overestimated themselves and underestimated the attackers from the darkness.
As the Na'vi began to organize a counterattack, the Legion Warriors set fire to the alien camp, both causing panic and effectively dispersing their defensive forces.
The camp echoed with the rustling sound of arrows cutting through the air, flying towards the attackers moving through the firelight.
To mortals, the alien arrows were powerful, comparable to thrown spears.
But the Legion Warriors' reaction speed reached nanoseconds, and their perception of danger was akin to prophecy. The battlefield to them was slow and transparent.
They easily dodged arrows, shooting remotely with hunting crossbows to precisely target and kill Commanders; with melee weapons, they charged into the wolf pack, their cold gleam slicing across throats.
The Na'vi gradually discovered a terrifying truth: their kin were falling too quickly, making it difficult for them to organize an effective counterattack, and the scene became increasingly chaotic.
The settlement and the surrounding jungle were engulfed in flames. They suffered immense sacrifices, yet they couldn't even clearly see who the attackers were, or what they were fighting against.
They only knew that the attackers were tall and moved as fast as lightning; even the best hunters couldn't discern their movements.
It was too cruel!
The smell of blood mixed with the stifling heat, and cries filled the camp; women, men, and children trembled in the towering flames, waiting in despair for the dark shadows to strike, like lambs to the slaughter.
Outside the barrier, thousands of beasts stampeded, their overwhelming might irresistible to mortals, even Astartes!
After igniting the jungle, Obelisk immediately had his brothers climb the giant trees to observe the movement of the beast tide from above.
"Conceal." Whispering the Words of Creation, his aura completely vanished, removing him from the world spirit's sight.
Pandora's creatures thrived, and various wild beasts united, charging into the Psionic Fire Wall under the command of the world spirit.
The psionic fire ignited upon contact, spreading like a plague and setting the entire beast pack ablaze.
In an instant, thousands of fire beasts stampeded!
Driven by the world spirit, the beasts feared no flame burns, rushing into the fire cordon without hesitation, allowing the beasts behind to trample over their corpses and continue forward.
"Lower the barrier."
Seeing the tragic scene, Obelisk remained expressionless, precisely issuing the command to remove the barrier that obscured the two domains.
He was thinking and probing, confirming his conjectures about the world spirit.
The warriors maintaining the barrier cut off their mental connection, and the invisible wall immediately disappeared, allowing the blocked dandelions to fall, scattering over the ravaged settlement.
Harlan was killing with delight, rampaging through the alien horde, slaughtering men, women, and children wherever he went.
He caught a glimpse of dandelions falling from the corner of his eye, casually flicked away an alien warrior, and left the tree root without looking back, disappearing into the jungle with a few leaps and bounds.
Whoosh~~~
A gust of wind swept through the entire forest, making the leaves rustle, and the entire jungle almost came alive, trembling to express an emotion called "anger."
Thousands of beasts rushed into the settlement, but did not harm the Na'vi; the beast tide deliberately avoided them.
White dandelions covered the ground, and the entire tribe was filled with wails of grief. Out of tens of thousands of people, less than a thousand remained in a few minutes.
The Na'vi wailed across the land, survivors searched for family members among the piles of corpses, sorrow permeated the tribe, and their native tongue condemned the attackers.
"How is it?"
From the crown of a giant tree, the retreating Harlan looked at the settlement, his eyes filled with a desire for spoils: "Are those corpses to be recovered?"
The hunting rules clearly stated that only alien corpses counted for points; without the corpses, the seemingly successful action would be in vain.
"Wait." Obelisk uttered a single word in a low voice, adjusting his holographic glasses, observing the tragic settlement at the base of the giant tree.
The Legion Warriors withdrew, the beast tide diverged at the giant tree, and the ground tremors gradually receded into the distance.
The surviving Na'vi also began to move.
They started transporting the bodies of their kin, piling them in several places, seemingly preparing for a unified cremation.
"They're going to cremate the bodies?" Harlan's expression was grim; the imminent harvest was about to turn into charcoal.
Seeing Obelisk remain silent, he observed more closely, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes: "But it doesn't look like cremation either."
While transporting the bodies, they didn't prepare any firewood; the bodies couldn't be completely burned with just a fire without the aid of accelerants.
Soon, the Champion Swordsman's doubts were answered.
While moving the bodies, several survivors gathered together and re-elected a tribal elder.
The Na'vi gathered around the piles of corpses, sitting cross-legged in a circle, clasping hands with each other, swaying and chanting mysterious rhythms.
"A ritual!" Harlan's tone was low, the casualness gone from his face, his eyes terrifyingly sharp, and his breathing a little heavier.
The tragedy of the City of Truth was still vivid in his memory!
"Look." Obelisk pointed at the piles of corpses, tiny white lights flying out from the alien bodies. He saw it more clearly: "Their souls are being taken."
Tiny specks of light, representing souls, flew out from the Na'vi corpses, drifting away under the guidance of some unknown force, scattering into the vast forest.
"First, surround them, and try not to use force."
Obelisk gave the order, then jumped down from the big tree with Harlan, making no attempt to hide their figures, walking directly towards the alien tribe.
The Legion Warriors emerged from their concealed state, appearing from all directions, surrounding the remaining alien survivors.
Before they could even stand up to resist, Harlan transformed into a black phantom, his long spear resting on the tribal leader's neck, and he raised a hand to signal them not to act rashly.
Facing the slaughterers, the Na'vi found it difficult to resist, stubbornly returning gazes of hatred; this was the only thing they could do now.
It was only then that the Na'vi realized, with a shock, that the attackers were actually those humans?
Obelisk walked to the pile of corpses, cleared his throat with a light cough, and spoke the language he had acquired at a cost: "Do not act rashly!"
A strange language echoed in their minds, its pronunciation unrelated to their own, yet the Na'vi understood.
They widened their eyes, not understanding what was happening, and looked at their kin left and right, their agitation somewhat lessened.
A bright star appeared in the sky, and under the terrified gaze of the Na'vi, an anti-gravity spacecraft quickly arrived, firing a tractor beam to collect the pile of corpses into its cabin.
The Na'vi wanted to resist, to reclaim the bodies of their kin and loved ones, but they were held at bay by the crossbows in the hands of the Legion Warriors.
The tribal leader uttered a few words, calming his people, allowing the humans to take the bodies.
"Their souls have returned; their bodies rightfully belong to us."
Obelisk spoke again. After the transport ship finished loading the bodies, he signaled Harlan to release the leader and gestured for his Legion brothers to leave.
Several small teams slowly retreated, leaving under the hateful gaze of the Na'vi, disappearing into the dense jungle.
"Any findings?" When they retreated to a clear spring, Harlan sat cross-legged with his long spear, asking about their specific discoveries.
"Many findings." Obelisk drank a few sips of spring water, sat on a large rock, and recited the Words of Creation: "Shield."
A transparent barrier immediately appeared, completely enveloping the two of them.
He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then began to explain to the Champion Swordsman: "All creatures on Pandora are children of the world spirit; after death, their souls return to the world."
"But as the 'matriarch' of the ecosystem, it must resist invaders and ensure the survival of its creatures."
"The Primarchs and the two Legion guard detachments have caused too much destruction, already stirring its anger, and now it is about to declare war on us."
"Nonsense." Harlan rolled his eyes, scoffing at him: "I thought you had some brilliant insight, but you're just stating the obvious."
"Let me explain slowly." Obelisk drank the spring water, moistening his hoarse throat, and revealed a mysterious smile: "Our target was wrong."
Harlan raised a hand in a 'please' gesture, indicating for him to speak freely and stop wasting time.
"The world spirit is protecting the large tribes, and it also needs to mobilize local species to deal with the two Primarchs and the Blood Angels."
Obelisk broke off a branch and drew a suggested diagram on the ground: "But the world spirit has limited energy, as can be seen from the beast tide that went and never returned. It can barely relieve the situation, but it can't do more."
"So we bypass the large tribes and attack the small and medium tribes. It will then weigh the pros and cons, considering whether to divert energy to attack us for the sake of a few thousand people."
He told Harlan his plan: "We don't need to engage in indiscriminate slaughter. We just need to control the tribal leaders, disarm the Na'vi, and keep them under concentrated supervision."
"Without excessive killing, the world spirit won't bother with us. Once the concentration camps are built, the impact of the beast tide will pose no threat to us."