Chapter 260: The God of War Sleeps
"?"
When its name was called, the four beings who had surrounded it were all a little stunned. A strange silence filled the air.
Ramesses, feeling that he had wasted his relaxed posture, even turned his head to see if Trazyn was still standing next to him. After confirming that the two weakest were standing together, Ramesses, still maintaining his defensive spell, pointed at the Burning One in disbelief and asked Trazyn, "Was it locked up for so long it went stupid?"
Ramesses's voice was filled with a clear confusion. Although he really wanted to complain about why the Burning One had changed his species with its first words, considering the various stereotypes in this universe, they couldn't be considered human in the judgment of other creatures. To keep insisting would just make others think he was being stubborn, so he had held his tongue.
But now he really wanted to ask the Burning One a question: Brother, are you blind? How are you so good at picking? You're going for the highest difficulty right off the bat?
"Ah? Ah—"
Trazyn, who had been stunned by the Burning One's words, seemed to have fallen into some strange thought loop. He only came back to his senses after hearing Ramesses's question. "The shards all have some intellectual problems. It's understandable..." he explained, his voice also tinged with a hint of doubt. What in the galaxy are these four things?
"I am human," Karna's voice was as cold as ice. He was very unhappy that the Burning One had stripped him of his humanity with its first words. Dangerous flames danced in his blue eyes, which were now tinged with a fiery hue. And... the air around him began to distort. The faith of countless believers materialized into a tangible flame that wrapped around his body, making the surrounding metal ground sizzle.
Burning, rage... He didn't know where the Burning One got its confidence. What, do I look weak?
'I'll go first.' Just like when he had fought the World-Maker, he would use the ritual to constantly take damage and gauge the opponent's upper limit, and then, depending on the situation, conduct a concentrated naval bombardment or suppress it with individual strength. After reaching a consensus with Arthur in the comms, Karna took the first step.
"Oh? You dare to approach me? To approach a being more noble than you?" The Burning One's voice was wrapped in a churning flame. A searing heat wave rolled around it. But its senses were keenly scanning its surroundings, looking for a weak point in the encirclement, and it was satisfied with the effect of its taunt. It knew that these warp-entities, which were made of emotion, could not stand to be provoked. Especially those related to fire. They were violent, quick to anger, and had no concept of caution. A few scornful words were enough to make them lose their minds and reveal a fatal flaw.
'Come, you arrogant thing.' A cold smile flashed in the Burning One's mind. The first step of its escape plan had been achieved. The weakest had run into the strongest. Now, it would tear open the enemy's encirclement from this weakest point!
The power in the shard was squeezed out, flowing like a trickle into the molten earth. Under its precise control, a searing solar prominence erupted from the ground, consuming everything around it. Then, all the high-temperature energy was condensed into one point, turning into a destructive torrent, and rushed straight at Karna.
The Burning One could feel the strength of the other's power, but this was the material universe! A mere entity of the Sea of Souls, who had not even ascended to a throne... who gave you the confidence to challenge a C'tan in reality? Watch me strip off that arrogant skin of yours.
CRASH!!!
A shower of living metal fragments flew like a torrential rain. The Burning One felt as if it had been slapped hard by an invisible giant palm. Its entire body was sent flying uncontrollably. The infinite labyrinth seal in its vision rapidly receded. The air was distorted and blurred by the extreme impact. It had no time to think. Its living metal arm slammed into the ground. The viscous lava churned under the high temperature, and it forcibly stopped its retreat.
Its body carved a scorching scar on the ground. After its body had stopped, the area for several kilometers around had turned into a molten liquid, a lake of lava. What happened?!
The Burning One half-knelt in the center of the lava, its metal shell glowing a dark red from the high temperature. It stared at the area it was in, its mind beginning to race. The flame had made contact, and then the other party had entered some un-targetable state. It knew this little trick of the Sea of Souls. It was just an ability to use souls to maintain oneself from certain types of damage. It was not enough to resist the might of a C'tan.
It shouldn't be like this.
The emotions of these warp-entities in the material universe would be rapidly consumed in a clash with a C'tan. The Burning One, who had devoured countless souls, was very clear about the strength of this warp-entity. In the classification of warp-entities, it was a lesser god who had mastered a concept. It had many believers, but it had not been born for more than fifteen years. Although its material body was quite good on a genetic level, it was not enough to support it in a fight against a true powerhouse of the material universe.
The Burning One's mind flashed with its precise judgment. Even though it had been weakened, the energy output it had calculated with precision should have been enough to break the spell that was protecting it from harm and to destroy its physical body. In this way, it could weaken the opponent to the greatest extent, and then take the opportunity to use the remaining energy to break through the encirclement and go to outer space.
But it had been knocked back. The spear-tip had pierced its body, and the other party was unharmed.
"I was not mistaken. You are strong, dregs of the Sea of Souls," the Burning One stood up, its voice tinged with a hint of gravity. In the previous clash, it had used its full strength. The plan to defeat the opponent in one move and then use the remaining energy to tear through the stratum and go directly to outer space had not been achieved. At the very beginning of the action, this plan had been completely destroyed.
Some soul-energy that had not entered the warp was replenishing the opponent. His gaze immediately fell on that slave. A familiar taste. The consciousness was re-matching the soul.
"I see. A slave is a slave. You will always need a master," the Burning One's voice was filled with a malicious sneer. The sacrifice in the material universe could indeed sustain the other's actions for a longer time. But in its memory, the Old Ones would never allow themselves or their creations to use such a cruel method. Those pathetic creatures would rather be devoured by the Enslavers than destroy their creations to save themselves. As a creator, to be unable to squander one's own property... how pathetic.
—As expected of the Necrontyr.
"?" Trazyn, who had been caught in the crossfire for no reason, was confused.
Without paying any more attention to the slave, the Burning One continued to focus on the battlefield. The previous clash had only lasted a moment. The Old One had not even cast a spell. The World-Maker had also been watching. The mind of a C'tan far surpassed that of any mortal. Even the best A.I. could not compare.
'First energy comparison results are in. Output limit is approximately one-twentieth of the World-Maker's shard,' Arthur's calm voice came over the comms. The data-stream was running at high speed in Romulus's computational matrix, and a precise conclusion was reached in an instant. 'Karna's output efficiency completely suppresses the target. The battle can be ended in a short time.'
'Remember to activate all my pre-set rituals, otherwise it will be difficult to break its defense,' Ramesses reminded. The strength of the warp was that it could, through specific rituals, cause high damage with a low output. And the Dawnbreakers could directly take delivery of the souls in their hands without going through the warp, and could ignore the sacrifice stage.
'Then let's do it this way.' Karna's azure eyes lowered. After confirming his companions' analysis, countless crimson patterns suddenly lit up on his body. All the rituals that had been pre-inscribed on his armour were activated, and his soul-reserves began to be consumed at an astonishing rate. A quick battle!
A warp-entity was indeed very strong. With a sacrifice, even the Burning One was not sure how long the other's ritual could be maintained. But that did not mean it was helpless! It admitted that it had lost the first round, but it was not without other options. The shattered outer shell had already been repaired. It straightened its waist. Seeing the burning Angel had already charged up, the power within it ready to be unleashed, the long spear in his hand emitting a dazzling red light.
Needless to say, what would follow would be a storm of attacks. After the first charge had failed, the enemy already had its number and would not be fooled by its taunts.
"Let's see how much you have left!"
An unusually terrifying flame erupted from its body, causing the surrounding lava lake to boil with huge bubbles. The Burning One didn't believe the other could maintain a high output while ignoring its damage. It had seen these warp-tricks before. If not for the lack of time to determine the conditions for the other's damage immunity, it was even confident it could kill this warp-entity here. But now, it had a premonition that it would not be able to get out unscathed. But to sacrifice a part to escape was also an option. The living metal gave it an unprecedented defensive ability. To take the other's damage—and then run!
"HORUS!"
Every joint seemed to stiffen. His whole body became as heavy as a lump of iron. Listening to the sound of the crackling flames, the Burning One felt the world slow down. It watched as the crimson long spear came straight at it.
The first spear was like a hot knife through butter, directly piercing the Burning One's hastily raised metal arms. It had originally planned to take the opportunity to split its body and escape, but it was cut off by Karna's burning body. The entire mass of living metal was wrapped around the spear's shaft by the raging power, and was slammed heavily into the ground.
You—
Before the Burning One's consciousness could express its astonishment, the second spear came.
CRASH!
One step down, and the lava lake surged. The earth trembled slightly. The thrusting Crimson Spear spewed flames, as if landing on the living metal body, and a radial cavity immediately appeared, as if a balloon had been pierced.
BOOM!
The flame spewed by the Burning One flew, and embers flew, too brilliant to describe. And the impact on the Angel's body only made him flicker in his illusory form. This... The Burning One raised its head and looked at Karna, dumbfounded.
The emotionally unstable Burning One only saw talent and effort, but all the sweat was on its own head. "You win, warp-entity. I will continue to be an eternal torch, to supply your ambition with energy, and then to watch your destruction," it said stubbornly, not wanting to admit its defeat.
Heh heh, it's a pity to just use you as fuel. We seek to break the shackles of consciousness that bind this material universe. We will let the subjective consciousness no longer have a place in this rule, and use it wisely.
Karna ignored him. With a turn of his spear, he directly threw the mangled living metal body towards Arthur.
CLANG!
The knight drew his sword and precisely cleaved the Burning One, which had been served up on a platter, from head to toe.
The battle was over.
"..."
Trazyn found it difficult to describe this battle in words. He had only seen the Burning One charge, then get knocked back to the ground, and then be spun around like a top by Karna. And the way it died...
Trazyn looked again at the free-form living metal. Hmm, very peaceful.
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