Under Viziole's grey light, Nareth led his Honor Guard and the First Chapter onto the planet's surface.
This time, he would again use a stasis device with an altar, but not for containment, for amplification.
He intended to deal with the main Hrud force on Viziole in one stroke.
But before executing the plan, he had to secure the Hrud's accumulated wealth: the mycelium books that recorded their history. They were also the main ingredient for the "Artisan" potion.
After ordering Arsena and the others to construct the ritual altar, he extended his consciousness.
The Primarch's consciousness swept over the ruined hive ruins, the warm underground caves.
Hrud, wrapped in their distorted fields, were exposed to his sense.
As his consciousness delved deeper, his range narrowed, but he could still clearly discern the network of tunnels.
He saw moldy rooms, shelves lined with sheets of solidified mycelium, and mycelium books scattered on the floor and in leaf-shaped containers.
The "Mentor of Disorder" then locked onto a Hrud. White specks appeared in his mind. Like grains of sand, they were sent into the target's brain.
As spiritual energy drained, the sand-grain-sized egg grew rapidly, forming an intangible gate like a string of beads.
The "Mentor of Disorder's" body became ethereal, instantly vanishing. His physical form became pure spirit, then re-materialized over a thousand kilometers underground.
CRACK!
With a crack, several white bees appeared around him.
The Hrud's large, black, lightless eyes flickered with a faint light.
With a thought, the white Psychneuein obeyed his command, buzzing.
Invisible spiritual mist spread, burrowing into the Hrud's minds.
Following an invisible sense, he reached into the Hrud's body.
White, rice-grain-sized eggs formed in the Hrud's brains.
He extended his spiritual energy. The white grains grew rapidly.
Amidst a series of cracks, slimy skin burst. Foul robe fragments flew.
Over twenty white Psychneuein appeared, flying towards him, circling him.
A flicker of light in his eyes. Through the experiment, he had confirmed he could not only control the Psychneuein born from "Psychic Eggs," but also their progeny.
'This is the effect of using the Queen.'
'With enough psychic energy, I can be an army of one!'
'Though less versatile than the Death Pathway's "Spirit Guide" and "Gatekeeper," I can find my army more easily.'
Light and shadow flickered in the Primarch's eyes. Racks and mycelium books flew towards him, vanishing.
He walked. His majestic black form was surrounded by a swarm of white bees.
He faced the surging tide-like Hrud, their viscous warmth rolling towards him. His gaze pierced the layered distorted fields, seeing their twitching mouths.
The "Mentor of Disorder" advanced. His spiritual energy spread. The white swarm grew rapidly.
As his spiritual energy drained, the Bloody Chain on his right pinky glowed, restoring it.
The white Psychneuein grew from dozens to hundreds, to thousands.
When he emerged from the cave, a cloud of ten thousand Psychneuein, buzzing, hung above him.
'If I faced psykers like the Thousand Sons, this swarm alone would terrify them.'
He recalled the battles on Prospero and the memory of Kaelus, Magister Templi of the Corvidae Cult, fighting the Psychneuein.
'Even a Magister Templi, surrounded by ten thousand Psychneuein, could only flee.'
'Combined with telekinesis, even escape would be impossible.'
'Against Magnus, the Psychneuein could cause some disruption, but not pose a real threat.'
Recalling Magnus fighting the Psychneuein, he thought of Jaghatai seeking the truth on Prospero during the Heresy.
'Of the living Psychneuein, only the Queen poses a threat to a Primarch. A single one is not much of a threat.'
'But Psychneuein specters are different. They are more terrifying in death than in life. Jaghatai was hard-pressed when surrounded.'
'Prospero, even in ruin, is a treasure trove. Without the underworld entrance in that river, it is more valuable than Sondheim VIII.'
As he thought, the Psychneuein flew towards him, then vanished, appearing in the second layer of the Kingdom of Disorder.
His golden wings beat, carrying him to the altar.
Under the dim grey light, the seasoned "Sheriff" Yassin stood before a cave. He felt his newly established "jurisdiction" under assault by chaotic, distorted forces.
He looked up at the grey sky. Faint light remained.
"Prepare for battle. The Hrud are attacking early."
The caves rapidly grew hot. The Hrud, having lost their historical treasure trove, poured out, attacking in fury.
Light blazed in the "Judge's" eyes. He raised his hand and shouted in Dunnic: "This place 'Forbids' the distortion of entropy fields!"
Golden light blazed. Dense runes covered the cave entrance.
A vortex of light swept the dark cave, colliding with the mist-like entropy waves. The distorted effect was dispelled.
As their biological fields shattered, the Hrud were revealed.
He stepped back steadily, raising his left arm. His archaeotech pistol fired at the cave ceiling.
The blue beam, drawn from the Serpent's Cradle's star, ignited the melta charges the seasoned "Interrogator" had placed. A chain reaction followed.
BOOM!
The ground shook. Blazing flames erupted. Tunnels, dozens of kilometers long and kilometers deep, became a sea of fire.
Within the tunnels, the distorted entropy fields rippled. The flames rapidly dissipated.
The Hrud continued forward. But as they entered the first kilometer of the caves, their entropy fields failed. The distorted effects vanished.
Wave after wave of Hrud, rushing forward, were rapidly incinerated.
Thousands of Hrud surged, but their numbers were limited by the tunnel.
The environment created by "Prohibition" held the advantage over the entropy fields. The Hrud screamed in frustration, burning in agony.
The rippling distorted fields were like droplets of water on a sea of fire, extinguishing a few sparks.
After three minutes of blazing fire, the Hrud realized their biological fields could not overcome the strange flames.
They spread rapidly. Their limbs extended. Their fingers moved swiftly, digging tunnels.
BOOM!
A series of charges planted by the "Interrogators" detonated, collapsing kilometers of tunnels.
The scattered Hrud were swallowed by the flames, screaming in despair.
.....
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