Reyna stood by the crossroads, staring blankly at the scene before her.
After dealing with the Saint Arbiters sniper, she had used psyker-enhanced physical abilities to rush here in a hurry.
And then she saw...
Reyna stared blankly at One-Eye and the one-armed Saint Arbiters standing in front of the tavern.
Then she looked with disbelief at the three-meter-tall, muscular figure beneath the Sanguinius statue.
It was a towering deity standing beneath the statue, its sheer size creating a significant disparity with mortals.
Beneath a bald head, its face was perfectly flawless, like the Emperor's greatest creation, exuding impeccable divinity and gentleness.
Just one glance, and Reyna felt the urge to kneel.
Especially after noticing that this face was identical to the statue behind it.
Sanguinius! The three-meter-tall man looked exactly like Sanguinius!
A resident of the Netherworld Star System might not know the appearance of the other eight Primarchs,
But it was absolutely impossible not to know the divine face of the Archangel Sanguinius.
The man, compared to Sanguinius, only lacked wings and that golden hair!
Reyna was completely frozen in place.
The Archangel has manifested!
The Archangel is bald!
"I, Hoggilius. Lupaerbal!"
Alexander, in the bald Sanguinius guise, spread his muscular arms and shared his newly invented name with the Saint Arbiters before him.
A name concocted from Horus Lupercal and Sanguinius.
Sanguinius cursed at Alexander, as if to say that even if it didn't live, it would send Alexander to a white phosphorus pyre.
The Saint Arbiters' expression went from bewildered, then astonished, then gloomy.
"Hoggilius. Lupaerbal?"
"Or should I call you Neoth or Leman Russ? I didn't expect you to crawl out of the sewers so quickly."
"Not as fast as some six-legged bug," Alexander retorted mockingly.
His gaze swept around, and sure enough, he didn't find the genestealer patriarch's shadow.
That guy must be hiding in some corner, remotely controlling the Saint Arbiters with psykers.
Truly cautious.
"Caution is a virtue we should all possess."
The Saint Arbiters seemed not to feel Alexander was mocking it, but instead chuckled and said:
"Aren't you also hiding your true face?"
"Who said so? This handsome face of mine was born this way."
Alexander touched his divinely gentle and flawless face and said:
"All-natural, not a hint of genetic modification."
"Hehehe, although I don't know who you are, I already know that Lardben and the Ark Gang's leader are both involved with you."
"Rest assured, I will entertain you with endless assassinations—"
"Idle talk is for listening."
Splat!!!
Before the Saint Arbiters could finish speaking, a laser shot towards its glabella.
The Saint Arbiters seemed to dodge, as if unwilling to give up,
But as if by coincidence, it happened to run right into the laser, its head exploding into a cloud of ash and dissipating.
"My marksmanship is getting better and better."
Alexander, holding the lasgun, couldn't help but exclaim.
Inside One-Eye's Spear Tavern,
Earlier, One-Eye had fired his gun inside his tavern, burning several large holes in the outer wall.
He was now using tables to temporarily block the holes in the wall,
While also leaving the space in front of the counter for Reyna and Alexander.
Reyna looked at the three-meter-tall Alexander, with Sanguinius' face and a bald head, feeling somewhat restless.
"Do you have to make it so blasphemous?" Reyna said, almost in tears.
"Sanguinius doesn't have an opinion, why do you?" Alexander asked in return.
"I have an opinion! I have a very strong opinion!" Sanguinius said loudly.
Alexander chose to ignore its opinion.
Reyna didn't know how to continue such a blasphemous topic for a moment, so she quickly steered the conversation back on track:
"What exactly did you do in the Lower Nest?"
"Why did the genestealer patriarch suddenly send Saint Arbiters to assassinate One-Eye and me?"
"Oh, it's nothing major," Alexander smiled: "I killed the genestealer bishop of the genestealer Cult."
...Ah?
Reyna was slightly startled but quickly recovered:
"No wonder, it's no wonder..."
"To actually kill the genestealer bishop of the genestealer Cult... that's really something."
According to the 'genestealer Illustrated Guide for Dummies' that Alexander sold her, the genestealer bishop was almost the second-in-command of the entire species, and also the chief psyker, a key figure in the Genestealer expansion among humans.
Alexander killing her, no wonder it attracted retaliation.
"The genestealer patriarch set up a biomass pool in the Bottom Nest, cultivating Tyranid Behemoths with genetic data transmitted from a Warp Engine."
Alexander saw Reyna's expression relax a bit, and continued with a smile:
"Two mutants and I corrupted the behemoth it cultivated, blinded one of its eyes, and drove it out of its own home."
...Ah?
Reyna blinked, as if unable to comprehend.
She understood every word Alexander said, but when put together, it sounded strange.
Biomass pool, Warp Engine, Tyranid Behemoth, mutants, corruption, bullying the genestealer patriarch...
Every word was incredibly loaded with information.
"You... you really did something big," Reyna couldn't help but say with a wry smile.
"But those two mutant brothers and I had a falling out."
Seeing Reyna catch her breath, Alexander continued:
"The older brother among them used a divine artifact to corrupt the Warp Engine, opening a rift to the plague God's domain within the Empyrean."
"Countless daemons gathered behind the rift, attempting to invade Ashford and drag the entire planet into the Warp to corrupt it."
Reyna's expression first turned blank, then became terrified.
"But! It's okay!"
Alexander's tone shifted as he said:
"The Emperor, that old man, possessed Joan and manifested."
...What? Reyna's mouth hung open, her eyes blank as she stared at Alexander.
Alexander even wondered if what he said had triggered Joan's mental defense mechanism.
"Don't worry, it wouldn't have mattered even if the old man hadn't manifested."
Alexander waved his hand and said:
"Because before the Emperor could truly act, I moved the Warp Engine, along with the Warp rift, all together."
Alexander's lips curved into a rather brilliant smile,
Which sent a chill down Reyna's spine.
Recalling Alexander's ability to move large objects,
A guess immediately popped into her head.
"You, you, you couldn't be..."
Alexander couldn't help but applaud Reyna.
"That's right, you guessed it."
"That Warp Engine you've been longing for, that engine corrupted by the plague God."
"I brought it back for you!"
"Ah!!!" Reyna let out a sharp shriek.