Chapter 113: Using Toys to Fight Xenos, and a Prophetic Accident
"Omega, what is this?" Louis asked, looking at the brawling mechanical hounds behind Omega.
"A restored ancient machine."
"Restored from the relics excavated on Korsa?"
"Yes."
Hearing this, Louis showed no surprise, only a curiosity for the creations of humanity's Golden Age. He wanted to get a closer look, but was nimbly dodged by the mechanical hounds, who ran a short distance away and watched him warily. "Their Machine Spirits are creations of the Golden Age, which makes their behavior no different from that of a real animal. Tsk, tsk."
At Omega's call, the two hounds quickly ran to him, circling, fawning, and acting cute. Louis, seeing such a lifelike Machine Spirit for the first time, showed an expression of disbelief. If it weren't for the hounds' metal bodies, even he, a biology expert, would not be able to distinguish them from living creatures by their movements. "This is the technology of humanity's Golden Age! Unbelievable! Was it created in imitation of the dogs of ancient Terra?"
The two hounds, sensing Louis's approach, immediately stood in front of Omega, their forelimbs lowered in a crouch, their hind legs bent, and they let out a low growl, warning the strange cog-head not to approach their master.
"Big One, Little Two, stop. He's my friend."
Hearing Omega's voice, the hounds looked back at him, then relaxed their aggressive posture. When Louis walked over to Omega, they even sniffed at him.
"They're remembering your scent. The next time you approach, they won't run away like before. You can pet their heads."
Louis, petting a dog for the first time in his life, was having a great time, a grin unconsciously spreading across his face. Seeing this, a thought popped into Omega's head: Is the joy of petting a dog engraved in the human genome?
"Did you come to me for something?" Louis asked, still petting.
"Hmm. In a bit, help me find them an opponent. I want to test their combat effectiveness."
"Alright, come with me."
Under Louis's arrangement, an opponent for Big One and Little Two was quickly arranged. First, it was 1v1. Big One, with his sturdy metal body and the strength and weight it provided, used only one move, "Vicious Dog Pounce," to send the Greenskin flying, spitting blood and rolling on the ground. Then, it was another 1v1. This time, Omega had the Greenskin use a melee weapon to fight Little Two. Little Two, seeing the weapon in the Greenskin's hand, did not use the same tactic as Big One. It began to run circles around the Greenskin. Although the Greenskin tried to chase, he was far too slow and was run in circles by Little Two, who finally defeated him with a surprise attack from behind.
In the 1v2, one of Big One's forelimbs was broken by the Greenskins' weapons, but the two Greenskins were torn to shreds by him. In the 2v2, the repaired Big One and Little Two won a complete victory. One feinted in the front, while the other ambushed from behind, easily taking down the Greenskins.
Omega, satisfied with the mechanical hounds' combat effectiveness, did not continue. His designation for the mechanical hounds was as a one-time suicide weapon and a tool to compete with the Tyranids for biomass in a hail of gunfire. This level of combat effectiveness was already sufficient.
"What a magical Machine Spirit. They actually know how to cooperate, and without anyone commanding them."
"The dog was the first animal domesticated by humans. They evolved from the wolves of ancient Terra. Pack hunting is their instinct. When the people of the Golden Age created the Machine Spirit of the mechanical dog, to make it more like a real dog, they also imitated their innate nature," Omega explained.
"Tsk, tsk. What an enviable era. Are you planning to put the mechanical dogs into the war against Gorgon?"
"Hmm. Although the Machine Spirit of the mechanical dog is magical, its body structure is not complex, and the requirements for parts precision and materials are not high. It has the conditions for mass production. It can be used to complete dangerous tasks in place of humans, and it can also be used to compete with the Tyranids for biomass. At the same time, it is also a spiritual comfort dog for the soldiers. The ancients created it as a pet to soothe the spirit."
"Err—you mean, it's just a toy from the Golden Age?!"
"Of course. What else would you use them for? To fight xenos?"
The mines on Korsa once again began to operate at full capacity. The metal refineries were expanded, and one automated factory after another sprang up not far from the Cogboy's camp. In just over a month, the first batch of a thousand mechanical hounds rolled off the production line. From then on, a thousand would be produced every day. As the other production lines were gradually adjusted, the output would further increase, until it could consume the entire capacity of the metal refineries.
The Tech-Priests who followed Omega became the first to have pets. They also contributed a lot of memorable scenes, such as kowtowing to the mechanical hounds. Before they were satisfied, the cog-heads would absolutely not allow a single mechanical hound to be released. This made the visiting accompanying priests' eyes burn with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Many cog-heads, after experiencing the joy of having a pet, were no longer satisfied with just one dog. Seeing their own dog go up to someone else's dumb dog and "wag its tail and beg," this made the cog-head, as the master, very angry. But they couldn't bring themselves to hit or scold the "golden legacy" that was showing such a pitiful posture. So they decided to find a companion for their dog, which satisfied both the dog and themselves.
As time went on, some Tech-Priests would be followed by two or three mechanical hounds. A few of the more outrageous ones even had the air of wanting to be the "dog king." After noticing this situation, Omega urgently issued a prohibition: one person could "adopt" at most two hounds. The result was a strong backlash from the "dog lovers." Omega did not compromise. He just said to these people, "I, your Magos, only raise two. Do you dare to have more than me?" Only then did the mechanical hounds begin to flow to the various human fortresses and camps.
The hounds that entered the human camps first played the role of soothing the spiritual trauma of these battlefield veterans. With a nudge of the hand, a pat on the head, a game of fetch, and a bit of silliness, they added a few laughs to the originally tense and murderous atmosphere. But with the good comes the bad. At the inspiration of a certain Commissar, the contraband that these grunts had been hiding suffered a devastating blow. No matter how well hidden, under the keen electronic noses of the mechanical hounds, it was all found by the Commissar. This made the grunts both love and hate the mechanical hounds. But they didn't dare to do anything to the hounds. The accompanying priests had long since spread the word, telling the grunts that these mechanical hounds were a technology from the Golden Age. Every one of them was incredibly sacred. To be disrespectful to them was to be disrespectful to the Omnissiah. Just wait until you're turned into a servitor!
Besides arranging the production of the mechanical hounds, Omega also arranged for the construction of a factory to produce explosives. After understanding the armaments of the Astra Militarum, he had found that although the high-explosives they had in stock were numerous, and they were already overstocked, they still could not achieve the effect of suppressing the Gorgon swarm with the suicide charge of the mechanical dogs that he had envisioned. That was why he had urgently started to produce more high-explosives.
While he was busy arranging various production tasks, the Inquisitor also sent a communication. She had already prepared for the divination ritual and could begin at any time. After replying, Omega put down his work and rushed to the Inquisitor's side. Looking at the mysterious and bizarre ritual, the little cog-head patted the back of his hand. He wanted to touch it, but he was afraid of breaking it.
"When do we start?" Omega asked Fenni, who was dressed as a witch with various feathers and dried small animals on her.
"We can start now. Don't get close to the circle I've drawn on the ground. If my body mutates, remember to kill me directly with the most powerful weapon you have. Don't try to save me, and don't communicate with me. Understood?" Fenni said solemnly.
...
"Omega, I know you have something that can suppress psychic powers, but don't try to save me!"
"I know. I was just thinking about what weapon to use. With the most powerful one, I'd be caught in the blast too," Omega said jokingly.
The Inquisitor just smiled. "As long as you understand."
After giving a few more instructions, Fenni walked alone to the center of the circle, lit an unknown incense, took out a few xenos-style artifacts from her robes and placed them around her, and then sat down and began to meditate.
Omega noticed that after Fenni had started to meditate, psychic frost appeared on the ground around her. He knew that the appearance of the frost meant that the Inquisitor was releasing her psychic powers. She was sending her consciousness into the warp, to feel the fluctuations of the warp with her soul.
He concentrated, observing the changes in the circle. Time passed without him noticing. Omega didn't know if it was because of his concentration, or if the laws of physics in this secret room had become unstable due to the Inquisitor's psychic powers. When he wanted to check the time, to see how long had passed, he suddenly found that nine hours had passed. "Has it been that long?!" he said, puzzled.
Just then, the Inquisitor, who had been sitting in meditation, suddenly stiffened. Her closed eyes shot open, and blood flowed from the corners of her torn eyes, leaving two red marks on her cheeks. The light of the warp shot out from her eyes, making it impossible to see her pupils. "Damn it! Something's wrong!"
If it had just been these things, it would not have been enough for Omega to be sure that something was wrong with the Inquisitor. But the blue feathers that grew on her exposed skin allowed him to immediately judge what kind of daemon had come. Omega's first reaction was to pull out the relic pistol on his body, but his hand had just touched the grip when he let it go. What am I afraid of? What did you run over here for?
He slapped his face, and Omega walked towards the Inquisitor in the circle. He carefully dodged the circle and the artifacts on the ground. The little cog-head stealthily touched the feathers on Fenni's body, and then quickly ran out of the circle. As he had thought, the daemon was just a dish on the table for him. The feathers on the Inquisitor's body had now disappeared, but the other strange phenomena were still there. After confirming that the Inquisitor was fine, Omega closed his eyes. He was going to meet a guest.
When the Inquisitor's consciousness returned to her body and to reality, a sense of emptiness and weakness washed over her, from an omnipotent god to a pathetic mortal. Compared to this feeling, the physical pain was insignificant. Fenni forced herself to concentrate, to use her will to suppress the urge to throw herself back into the warp. When she had once again overcome this curse of psychic power, she opened her eyes and said, "Gorgon will arrive in two years and four months!"
Is that all there is to psychic power? So fancy, yet so useless. I knew that already, and down to the second. Omega, smug in his heart, said, "That's great! Fenni, you're amazing! Are you alright? Should I call your servants in for you?"
The Inquisitor just shook her head slightly. She had just suppressed the urge in her heart and did not want to talk much. Seeing this, Omega said, "You get some rest," and slipped away, leaving the Inquisitor alone in the secret room.
After an unknown amount of time, when Fenni felt that she had returned to normal, she did not call for the servants who were waiting outside the door. Instead, she began to pack up the artifacts on the ground herself. These artifacts were dangerous and could not be touched by ordinary people.
The Inquisitor, who was bending over and picking up an artifact, suddenly stiffened. Her eyes were fixed on something that should not have been there: a faint footprint. If it weren't for the deviation of the light, she might not have noticed its existence. "He came in! What did he do? The disappearance of the daemon's voice and Omega are related?!"