After leaving the mansion of that blasphemous banquet, Leon and Mike continued to advance toward the core along the shadowed alleys of the noble district.
The closer they got to the pyramid, the more bizarre and eerie the environment became.
Large statues began to appear on both sides of the street. They were not traditional pharaohs or gods, but twisted stone carvings that eternally froze the agonized postures of humans.
Some statues depicted scenes of humans being disemboweled by mythological creatures, some displayed grand scenes of collective sacrifices, and more were purely abstract totem poles formed by the twisted intertwining of countless human limbs.
The surfaces of these statues were covered with a layer of slick, slimy biomass secretions, emitting a faint green glow under the dim night sky.
A peculiar smell also began to permeate the air.
It was not simply rot or blood, but something more complex, like a mixture of incense, ozone, and rust.
Moreover, the filtration systems of the nano combat suits emitted slight alarms, indicating the detection of unknown residues and high-concentration pollutant particles.
"The danger factor is rising." Mike said in a low voice. The readings on his helmet display had turned a glaring red, "Recommend shortening exposure time."
"Understood."
Leon gave a soft reply and quickened his pace.
Not long after, they arrived at the edge of the pyramid area.
The scene here had already exceeded the scope of a city, looking more like some massive, living religious architectural complex.
With the pyramid as the core, twelve broad divine paths radiated outward. On both sides of each divine path stood twenty-meter-tall obelisks, covered with flowing runes.
The intersection of the divine paths was a circular square, and in the center of the square was a giant altar. Although it was empty at the moment, the large patches of black stains remaining on the altar's surface and the uncleared fragments of bones silently told of the tragedy that had occurred not long ago.
And the pyramid itself...
Observed up close, it was even more shocking and even more nauseating.
It had completely lost its solemnity and mystery as an ancient tomb.
The black alloy plates covering its surface were not static metal, but a slowly writhing material that seemed to possess life.
The etched patterns on the plates pulsed like blood vessels, and each pulsation was accompanied by a low resonance that sounded like the agonized howling of tens of millions of people at the same time.
Through the giant archways on the four sides of the pyramid, clerics in gorgeous clothes and sub-god species continuously went in and out. Deep inside the doors, flickering firelight and swaying shadows could be faintly seen.
The most bizarre thing was the decorations on the surface of the pyramid.
They were not carvings or inlays, but... humans sealed alive within the alloy plates.
Tens of thousands of humans, including men, women, and children, were embedded into the outer walls of the pyramid in twisted postures.
Their bodies merged with the alloy plates, exposing only their upper bodies or heads. Their eyes were wide open and their mouths agape, their expressions frozen in eternal fear and agony.
Some newer encapsulated bodies were even still twitching slightly, their lips opening and closing silently, as if begging for death.
And the faint fluctuations emitted by the pyramid were drawing something from these human bodies, making the glow of those patterns even brighter.
"Are these... living batteries?" Mike's voice was full of suppressed anger and disgust. "They are using the suffering and life force of humans to power this blasphemous thing."
"Record, upload." Leon's voice was as cold as iron.
His helmet screen scanned every detail on the surface of the pyramid, completely recording this systematic blasphemous act that went beyond simple slaughter.
Subsequently, they chose to infiltrate through a relatively concealed entrance on the north side of the pyramid.
It seemed to be a passage for clerics to transport supplies, and the guards were relatively lax.
Using optical camouflage, the two silently followed behind two human servants pushing a cart loaded with food and wine as they entered, sneaking into the interior of the pyramid.
And the scene inside was even more insane than the outside.
The passage was wide enough to accommodate four main battle tanks driving side by side. The walls were no longer stone blocks, but some kind of translucent, crystal-like material emitting a faint blue light.
Through these walls, the complex internal structure could be seen.
The pyramid was no longer a tomb, and it contained numerous massive, spherical chambers inside.
Dozens of naked humans were suspended inside each chamber. They were bound in mid-air by invisible force fields, their bodies pierced with slender crystal conduits. The other ends of the conduits connected to the walls, continuously extracting some kind of milky white liquid.
"Are they extracting... cerebrospinal fluid? Lymphatic fluid? Or the soul itself?"
Mike's voice carried a desire to investigate, but more so disgust.
There were also many small niches on both sides of the passage, and each niche enshrined a holy relic.
Some were scrolls made of meticulously flayed human skin, with blasphemous scriptures written in blood on them;
Some were statues pieced together from human bones;
Some were infant heads soaked in preservative fluid, maintaining a terrified expression.
They headed downward along the passage; the internal structure of the pyramid seemed to extend downward.
The further down they went, the more luxurious and blasphemous the environment became.
They passed a hall where sub-god species were engaging in various twisted sexual acts with humans, and the long tables were filled with delicacies cooked from human limbs.
Subsequently, they passed a hall resembling a library. What was placed on the bookshelves were not paper scrolls, but ancient texts bound in human skin.
At every place, Leon and Mike strongly suppressed the urge to immediately open fire, merely recording and uploading.
The sedatives in their nano combat suits had been injected to the upper limit of the safe dosage, barely maintaining the coldness of their rationality.
But as they delved deeper into the core area of the pyramid, an increasingly strong sense of unease began to linger.
That was the sixth sense unique to battle-hardened veterans, an instinctive warning of danger.
Mike frequently checked the surrounding environment, his finger never leaving the trigger guard of his pulse rifle.
"Something is wrong."
After passing through a corridor lined with human skin curtains on both sides, Mike finally whispered, "It's too smooth. We've been in here for at least twenty minutes and haven't encountered any substantial security. Even with optical camouflage, this isn't normal."
Leon stopped in his tracks and brought up the sensor data built into his combat suit.
The quasi-psychic energy concentration of the environment here had reached a terrifying level. The air itself seemed to have become viscous, and the strangest thing was that those humans suspended in the chambers seemed to be...
Watching them.
Those humans who were having their fluids extracted and should have been unconscious or dead were currently rolling their eyes, their gazes following their movements.
Thousands of hollow eyes silently stared at the two invisible intruders.
"We've been discovered." Leon's conclusion was concise. "We were discovered from the very beginning. Everything here, this so-called laxness, these displays, they were all intentionally shown to us."
Before he finished speaking, the faint blue crystal walls of the entire corridor suddenly erupted with blinding golden light.
Hum——!
The low resonance turned into a deafening roar.
The human skin curtains on both sides fluttered without wind, and the runes written in blood on them began to writhe and deform, as if coming alive.
Those suspended humans let out silent screams. A piercing pain that acted directly on the soul level penetrated the soundproofing and protection of the nano combat suits.
"Warning! High-intensity mental attack detected!"
The combat suits' AI issued an alarm.
At the same time, the heavy stone doors in the passages ahead of and behind them crashed down, sealing off their retreat.
Dozens of hidden doors opened on the walls, and a large number of fully armed sub-god species guards surged out from them.
These guards were completely different from the ones patrolling the streets earlier.
They were much taller, generally over three meters. Their armor was superior, with complex energy patterns etched onto the black plates. What they held in their hands were no longer primitive cold weapons, but energy spears emitting a dangerous red light and menacingly designed explosive bows.
Their movements were uniform as they quickly formed a tight encirclement, trapping Leon and Mike in the center of the corridor.
And at the end of the corridor, from within the largest archway, an even more massive figure slowly walked out.
It was over five meters tall, looking incredibly oppressive even inside this towering pyramid.
Its upper body was a perfect human physique, with knotted muscles like carved granite covered in bronze skin. A faint shimmer flowed across the surface of the skin;
Its lower half was the massive torso and talons of an eagle, covered with hard, bronze-colored feathers.
Its head was that of an eagle, with a beak curved like a sickle and eyes like two burning fireballs.
The most striking feature was the crown worn on its head. It was not the traditional red and white double crown of Egypt, but a suspended,
complex geometric shape composed purely of light, constantly changing its form and emitting a suffocating coercion.
With every step it took, the collision between its metal talons and the stone floor produced heavy, muffled thuds that echoed in the suddenly dead silent corridor.
"Where did these little bugs come from..."
The eagle-headed creature spoke, its voice seeming to vibrate directly in the air and in their minds, "Sneaking around, snooping in my palace for so long."
Its eyes precisely locked onto Leon and Mike's position. The optical camouflage and the stealth mode of their nano combat suits were virtually useless before it.
"Very interesting toys." Its movements carried the elegance and cruelty of a predator. "Your clothes can hide from the eyes of those lower kin, but they cannot hide from the gaze of the Eye of Horus."
Horus.
The god of kingship, the sky god, and the god of light in Egyptian mythology. At least, in this twisted world, it proclaimed itself to be Horus.
Leon and Mike exchanged a glance and instantly made a decision.
Since stealth had failed, there was no need to hide anymore.
Almost at the exact moment Horus's voice faded, the two simultaneously deactivated their optical camouflage.
The nano combat suits switched from their environmental camouflage colors to all black, and the surfaces enhanced into armor mode.
They stood back-to-back, raising their pulse rifles, the muzzles pointing
toward the weakest direction of the encirclement, which was the left side of the corridor. The guards there were relatively few, and it was close to a ventilation duct they had marked earlier that might lead to the upper level.
"Break through by force, move toward the south exit!" Leon roared in the internal channel.
"Copy that!"
Without any hesitation, the two opened fire at the same time.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
The sounds emitted by the suppressor-equipped pulse rifles were amplified into muffled detonations in the wide corridor.
Subsonic caseless pulse bullets shot toward the blocking guards at a speed indistinguishable to the naked eye.
These bullets were not traditional metal warheads, but special ammunition designed specifically by the Empire's Engineering Department to counter high-defense anomalous creatures.
Inside the warhead was a miniature fusion charge, while the outside was wrapped in a composite layer of ultra-hard ceramic and depleted uranium alloy.
The moment it hit the target, the fusion charge would trigger a miniature directional explosion, shattering the outer layer into thousands of extremely fine, barbed ceramic and metal fragments for secondary penetration and damage.
In the first burst, the bullets precisely hit the breastplates of three guards.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Muffled explosions rang out, and fire and smoke erupted on the guards' chests.
But what made Leon and Mike's hearts sink was that the defensive power of those seemingly ancient armors far exceeded their expectations.
After the explosion, the guards merely staggered back a few steps. Cracks and scorch marks appeared on the surface of their breastplates, but they were not penetrated.
The outer fragments blown away by the explosion left dense, fine wounds on their exposed skin, oozing thick dark golden blood. However, these injuries were clearly not enough to make them lose their combat capabilities.
Roar—!!
They let out low roars. Their blood-red eyes locked onto the two of them, and they began to accelerate their charge.
Their three-meter-tall bodies ran like heavy trucks, making the floor of the corridor tremble.
"Switch to armor-piercing mode, aim for the joints and eyes."
Leon ordered calmly, while roaring into the communication channel: "Frontline base, this is Kennedy. We are exposed inside the pyramid and have encountered main enemy units. Requesting immediate support! Repeat, requesting immediate support!"
"Copy that. Support authorized! White Scars First Company is intervening! Hold on!"
The base's response came almost instantly.
And Horus in the distance still did not make a move.
It merely watched with interest, as if enjoying an entertaining gladiatorial performance.
"Nice toy guns." Its voice carried sarcasm. "But toys are toys after all."
More guards surged out from the hidden doors.
They were no longer in a hurry to get close. Instead, they raised their explosive bows, drew the bowstrings to the full, and dangerous red light began to gather at the tips of the arrows.
"Dodge!"
The two dived to opposite sides at the same time.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!——
A large number of explosive arrows whistled over, hitting the position they had just been standing in.
There was no explosion, but the moment the arrows landed, the ground suddenly softened and collapsed, forming a quicksand trap five meters in diameter and three meters deep.
The edges of the trap were still expanding continuously.
"The ability to alter terrain?" Mike rolled to his feet and fired three consecutive shots at a guard drawing a bow.
This time he aimed at the joint of the opponent's bow-holding arm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The third bullet finally shattered the armor at the elbow, and the miniature explosion blew the forearm into a bloody mess.
Roar!
The guard let out a roar of pain, dropping the explosive bow.
But more arrows had already been fired.
This time they were actual explosive arrows, and balls of orange-red fire erupted at the impact points.
"We can't fight them head-on! Their defense is too strong, and there are too many of them!" Leon returned fire while moving toward the ventilation duct. "Break out! Get to an open area!"
The two fought as they retreated.
The strength enhancement of the nano combat suits allowed them to move at speeds surpassing human limits, and the reaction capabilities brought by genetic enhancements let them weave through the rain of arrows.
The pulse rifles continuously poured out caseless bullets, forcing back the guards attempting to approach.
But the encirclement was tightening.
At this moment, Horus finally moved. It raised an eagle talon and gave it a gentle wave.
Rumble——!
The ceiling of the corridor suddenly cracked open, and giant stone spikes rained down.
Leon and Mike scrambled to dodge, but their path forward was completely sealed off.
"Annoying little bugs." Horus's voice lost its playfulness and became cold. "The game is over."
It opened its eagle beak.
There was no sound, but a visible ripple spread outward with it at the center.
Wherever the ripple passed, space began to distort, and light was stretched and snapped.
"It's a domain-type ability, move!" Mike's expression drastically changed.
The two burst out with all their potential, crashing toward the nearest stone wall, where there was a hidden door disguised as a relief that they had marked earlier.
Crash!
Leon shattered the stone disguise with his shoulder, and the two rolled into a narrow upward staircase.
Behind them, the ripple swept across the position they had just stood in. The space there twisted and folded like crumpled paper, then silently annihilated into a patch of pure darkness.
"Damn it!"
Mike sprinted upwards while panting.
The stairs spiraled upwards, ending at a heavy bronze door.
Leon didn't hesitate to pull out a melta bomb and press it against the door lock.
"Turn around!"
Boom!
Blinding white light and high temperatures swept through the narrow space.
A smooth-edged circular hole was melted through the bronze door. The two dashed out, returning to the divine path area outside the pyramid.
However, the divine path square was already filled with an army in full battle array.
Numerous sub-god guards formed a triple encirclement, and on the periphery were tens of thousands of fully armed human soldiers—those divine chosen warriors who had chosen to betray their compatriots and serve as lackeys.
Holding spears and shields with fanatical eyes, they completely blocked the exit.
Further away, in the direction of the noble district, countless torches were converging, and more troops were rushing over.
"We are completely surrounded." Mike smiled bitterly, quickly swapping the magazine of his pulse rifle. "Brother, looks like we messed up this time."
Leon did not answer.
He looked up at the sky. His helmet's enhanced visual mode penetrated the atmosphere and saw tiny points of light in low-Earth orbit, which were the strike cruisers of the White Scars.
"It's not over yet."
His voice remained calm.
As if to verify his words, right at the moment Horus slowly walked out from the main gate of the pyramid with a playful expression, the sky split open.
First, a massive number of slender, burning trails appeared high above the firmament.
They were like spears thrown down by heavenly gods, tearing through the night sky and plummeting vertically at speeds several times the speed of sound. These were clearly drop pods from the White Scars.
As the drop pods breached the atmosphere, their friction with the air generated blazing plasma flames. Trailing wakes behind them, they looked like falling meteors.
But hitting the ground even sooner than the drop pods was the greeting from orbit.
When the drop pods were about thirty kilometers above the ground, the numerous secondary battery muzzles of the strike cruisers in low-Earth orbit instantly lit up with the blazing white light of accumulating energy.
Hum!
Even on the ground, one could seemingly hear that low and terrifying roar coming from the universe.
The next second.
A massive number of pure white energy beams blasted straight down from the top of the firmament.
Boom! Boom! Rumble! First came the light, a pure white brilliance so blinding that even miles away and with helmet light filters, it temporarily blinded Leon and Mike.
Then came the shockwave, and then the sound—a roar as if the entire world were collapsing.
The targeted buildings, those structures symbolizing Horus's theocracy, instantly vaporized under the direct hits of the macro-cannons, leaving not even wreckage behind.
The mushroom clouds generated by the explosions shot into the sky, expanding into a giant totem of blood and fire in the night sky.
By the time the shockwave reached the square, it had weakened considerably, but it still felt like a passing hurricane.
The human soldiers on the periphery were blown away like straw, and the sub-god guards were forced to kneel on one knee, plunging their weapons into the ground to steady themselves.
Only Horus spread its giant eagle wings, releasing a glowing shield in front of itself to bear the impact directly.
However, its face showed astonishment for the first time, followed by violent rage.
"You dare to desecrate... my palace!!!"
And at this time, the drop pods landed one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
A massive number of drop pods smashed into the perimeter of the square, around the pyramid, and the streets of the noble district like meteorites.
The moment they landed, the shock-absorbing devices on the surface of the pods activated, channeling the impact force into the ground and blasting open shallow craters ten meters in diameter.
The pod doors deployed almost the moment they touched the ground, and what surged out from within was a white frenzy of steel.
The White Scars First Company warriors, clad in white Titan power armor, were the true incarnations of war stepping out from mythology. They charged out of the drop pods with heavy yet swift strides.
They made no battle cries or roars. There was only the hum of power armor servo systems and the mechanical sound of bolters chambering rounds.
Bang—Bang—Bang——!
Hundreds of bolters opened fire simultaneously.
These large-caliber weapons loaded with micro-rocket-propelled warheads were such that every shot was equivalent to a small missile, and the barrage swept toward the enemy forces on the square like a torrential rain of steel.
Unlike Leon and Mike's pulse rifles, the moment the bolt rounds hit a target, the warhead would penetrate inside and blow the target to pieces from within.
The effect was immediate.
Those sub-god guards that rendered the pulse rifles helpless were like paper maché before the bolt rounds.
In the first volley, over a hundred guards were blown to pieces, with dark golden blood and mangled limbs splattering into the night sky.
The human soldiers were even more vulnerable.
Bolt rounds hitting human bodies directly blew them into clouds of blood mist, leaving not even an intact corpse behind.
"For the Emperor! For the White Scars!"
Only then did Company Commander Li Mu's voice, filled with killing intent, ring out over the communication channel.
"First Company! Attack! Purify this land of blasphemy!"
The torrent of white steel began its rapid advance.
And in the center of the square, Leon and Mike stood back-to-back, watching all of this, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief...
______
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