Seeing the enraged tigrex raise its neck and let out an earth-shattering roar, Sergeant Arlo and his two companions immediately locked down the auditory systems of their Power Armor, attempting to block out external sound.
However, the tigrex's roar was not merely sound; this cry, capable of traveling dozens of kilometers, stirred up a tangible wave of air. The immense energy carried by the sound waves impacted the Power Armor, forcing the superhuman warriors—who weighed nearly half a ton—to stumble back repeatedly.
The immense sound also traveled through the Power Armor's metal as a solid medium, reaching their ears even with the auditory systems shut down. Even the Lyman's Ear, designed to filter specific noises, could not withstand this pressure. The three Astartes nearby all grunted in pain; blood flowed from their ears, and their sense of balance was temporarily lost.
The CMC squad, responsible for fire support from a distance, was in a much better situation. Though they felt uncomfortable, they hadn't lost their balance and could continue firing.
The tigrex, now in a state of berserk fury, ignored these minor annoyances. It stepped forward, once again assuming its charge posture, targeting Sergeant Arlo, who was still stunned and immobilized by its roar!
Even with prior mental preparation, Dio had never imagined the tigrex's roar would be so devastating.
He frowned, looking at Sergeant Arlo, who was unable to move. The Power Armor's support system would ensure a Space Marine who lost balance could still stand steadily, but it prevented movement. If he couldn't move, Sergeant Arlo's fate would likely be no better than that of a certain Sanguinius-canned individual.
Dio had no choice but to draw his plasma pistol. He didn't even have time to charge it before firing hastily. Fortunately, the tigrex vividly remembered the pain of previous plasma shots. This caused it to instinctively turn its head to dodge the high-speed bolt, even in its enraged state. This action slightly deflected the charge's direction and reduced the momentum of its sprint.
Finally regaining his senses, Sergeant Arlo quickly dodged sideways, narrowly avoiding the tigrex's charge. But before he could celebrate, he realized the cunning tigrex, using its weakened momentum and deflected direction, had executed a drift turn mid-charge. Its target was no longer Sergeant Arlo, but another Space Marine—also just regaining his senses—who wielded a power sword!
"No!" Sergeant Arlo's eyes were bloodshot, but the momentum of the charge was unstoppable! The high-speed tigrex crashed into the Astartes, sending him flying high. The immense impact force flung the warrior in a parabola, and he eventually disappeared into the jungle. Apart from the dust stirred up by the impact, there was silence.
Sergeant Arlo and the remaining Astartes wanted to use the pause after the tigrex's charge to counter, but unexpectedly, the monster immediately turned and hurled a massive rock—which had just fallen from the cliff due to its own impact—at the Astartes charging at the front!
That Astartes couldn't dodge in time and was hit squarely by the boulder. Although his labored gasping could still be heard, he had fallen to the ground, clearly severely wounded. In just about half a minute, of the three Astartes responsible for the close-quarters assault, only Sergeant Arlo remained. The tigrex had seized the initiative, displaying overwhelming and terrifying strength. Its continuous, brutal attacks instantly put the entire hunting party in a precarious situation!
Seeing his comrade fall, Sergeant Arlo's eyes turned red. He raised his power sword, intending to engage the tigrex in close combat, but Dio stopped him in time.
"Stay calm, Sergeant Arlo!" Dio reminded him. "This tigrex is at the end of its rope; it's merely making a last stand! Engaging in close combat will only help it conserve stamina. Keep your distance; force it to rely on its charge to approach you!"
Although Sergeant Arlo was enraged, he hadn't lost his head. He decisively followed Dio's instructions, increasing the distance between himself and the tigrex. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Vigan rolled out from his firing position and threw another flashbang. This didn't deter the tigrex, which had developed some resistance to the flashes, but while the monster instinctively closed its eyes and recoiled, Lieutenant Vigan dragged the severely wounded Astartes off the battlefield.
Now, only Sergeant Arlo remained on the field, maintaining his distance from the tigrex. The beast was eager for battle, but Sergeant Arlo refused to engage.
He cautiously circled the tigrex. Without the terrifying roar as an opener, the monster's consecutive charges were all in vain. Its enraged state gradually subsided, replaced by increasingly heavy breathing as the biological instinct for survival regained dominance over its fury.
The shots ignored during its enraged state had not been without effect. When the tigrex's pain-ignoring berserk state finally vanished, all the accumulated fatigue and injury erupted within it at once.
The tigrex whimpered and stopped charging. Severely wounded, it realized it couldn't quickly dispatch the remaining opponents, and the only thought left was to flee.
It opened its mouth and let out a menacing roar, then pulled in its limbs and fled the battlefield on all fours. It ignored Sergeant Arlo's curses and the bullets that continued to embed in its body, focusing solely on its desperate escape.
Lieutenant Vigan threw another flashbang to stop it, but the prepared tigrex swatted it away with a claw. The exploding flashbang, instead, hindered Sergeant Arlo's pursuit.
Sergeant Arlo, turning to avoid the flashbang, realized they could no longer prevent the tigrex's escape. He placed his final hopes on the person who had been prepared at a distance.
"Dio!" He removed his helmet, revealing a face stained with blood. "Stop it!"
Dio did not reply. He simply stood on the tigrex's inevitable escape path, holding his void sword. The tigrex had clearly noticed Dio long ago. However, it was now too weak for revenge. The damage Dio had previously inflicted made it wary, causing it to lower its body, preparing for a final charge.
It staked its life on this last charge, making its final struggle using its most common attack method.
But Dio would show no mercy; he intended to crush this tigrex's last hope.
Perhaps it was a final burst of energy before burning out, but the tigrex's desperate charge surprisingly rivaled the momentum of its enraged state. It charged toward Dio with unwavering determination, while Dio simply waited, holding his void sword.
Sergeant Arlo and Lieutenant Vigan, chasing the tigrex from behind, watched the scene, their hearts leaping into their throats.
Sergeant Arlo even began to regret asking Dio to stop the fleeing tigrex—though Dio had previously mentioned arrangements to prevent escape, so many variables had emerged that Arlo doubted their effectiveness now.
He knew that Magos Dio's modified legs had been damaged during the previous forced landing. Though they had recovered basic walking ability, this didn't mean Dio could dodge a high-speed charge as he could!
He had already lost one brother; if he lost Magos Dio as well, how could he explain it to his other brothers?
"Magos Dio!" He roared with all his might, "Quickly dodge left or right!"
"Should I dodge him?" Dio shook his head. "No, he should dodge me!"
Just as the rampaging tigrex stepped onto a carefully arranged area, the trap Dio had been preparing was suddenly triggered. The large paralysis trap, constructed from collected thunderbugs, finally came into play.
Dio had originally intended to make a trap from Velocidrome's paralyzing teeth to replace flashbangs for the initial assault, but he couldn't find the corresponding Dragon Species to collect the materials, so he had to give up that plan.
Fortunately, the thunderbugs common to the Monster Hunter world, which discharge electricity upon impact, still existed on this planet. While the electricity wasn't strong enough to replace flashbangs or trap a healthy tigrex, it was precisely what was needed to finish off this scarred beast now!
Azure blue currents spread along the tigrex's flowing blood to its entire body. The beast, whose scales were already conductive, wailed in pain. Its steps became unsteady, and its charge lost all momentum.
But the dying tigrex was still unwilling to surrender. It tried to adjust its steps and accelerate again, but Dio didn't give it the chance. He raised his void sword high, activated the jet engine modified from the plasma engine salvaged from his escape pod, and leaped high from the ground.
The tigrex's head followed Dio's upward trajectory, seeing his figure overlap with the sun. The fully charged void sword in his hand was now even more dazzling than the sun!
After leaping to a suitable height, Dio plunged downwards like a meteor. The potential energy of the fall, the charging of the void sword, and the hydraulic drive of his power arm merged into a single, powerful cleave. The strike landed squarely on the tigrex's forehead, splitting half of the hard skull!
Dio pulled out the sword. He could see the tigrex's brain matter through the gash. The monster was too weak to even let out another wail. It helplessly lowered its head, and Dio safely landed back on the ground.
He stood again before the tigrex, which was sprawled on the ground, and met its gaze.
The tigrex stared at Dio with venom, a muffled growl emanating from its throat, shifting into a malicious curse. It seemed deeply dissatisfied with its defeat and harbored immense resentment towards Dio for using thermal weapons.
Very quickly, however, the tigrex's own blood choked its throat, preventing another sound.
Dio neither cared about the tigrex's curse nor wanted to waste time. He pulled out his plasma pistol and shoved it into the tigrex's mouth.
Overlord of the land, absolute strongman, desert tiger, ultimate devourer... these were the titles the tigrex once held, each one denoting strength and high standing.
As a beast that could subdue other monsters on land purely through brute force, it had never known a single wrong move. When it roamed, and all other creatures retreated, when it was considered the strongest in nature, how could it be wrong?
It once believed all creatures within its territory should revere, worship, fear, and be loyal to it. But when a plasma pistol was shoved into its mouth, it finally realized there was always a higher mountain and a wider sky.
This lesson, however, came too late. As Dio pulled the trigger, the air filled instantly with the aroma of roasted brains. All its past titles turned to ash in the scorching plasma, and the tigrex, which had refused to close its eyes, finally shut them.
Dio calmly withdrew his plasma pistol, wiped off the bloodstains, then pulled out a welding torch and a hunting knife, ready to get to work. The other Astartes, who had just arrived, had witnessed Dio's god-like performance on their way. They gathered around him, both surprised and delighted, praising his actions.
"Magos Dio, I didn't expect you to be so strong in combat!" Sergeant Arlo looked Dio—who was completely unharmed—up and down, and sincerely praised: "Especially that last strike, leaping into mid-air, it was impeccable even from an Astartes' perspective!"
"When you're out in the world, you need some capital to make a living. Besides, the tigrex has a strong desire to fight and isn't wary of many traps. If I had faced an opponent where I couldn't use such tricks, I might not have achieved such good results."
Dio, without looking up, was dissecting various materials from the tigrex, already envisioning the weapons he would make: "I need to collect crafting materials from the tigrex here. You don't know where to start, and staying here would only be a burden. You should hurry and find your companion who was knocked away by the tigrex earlier."
"If his suspended animation membrane hasn't failed, your brother's chance of survival should be 82.46\%, but for every ten minutes you delay, his survival rate will decrease by 5\%. Once you find him, come back to me, and I'll provide emergency treatment for his wounds."
"Don't you need a few guards assigned to you?" Lieutenant Vigan asked with concern.
"The tigrex is the overlord of this territory. Until it's confirmed that it's truly dead, hostile creatures won't dare to appear easily. I intend to use this time to collect as many usable materials from the tigrex as possible. I don't need anyone to stand guard. And the more people you have, the higher the probability of finding that brother... Lieutenant Vigan, I shouldn't need to list numbers to explain such basic probability and statistics to you, should I?"
With a few logical words, he convinced Lieutenant Vigan and Sergeant Arlo. Apart from one person leading the brother who had suffered multiple fractures and contusions from being hit head-on by the boulder back to the camp, everyone else began searching in the direction where the combat brother had been knocked away.
Dio, meanwhile, immersed himself in collecting tigrex materials.
But convincing others with common sense doesn't mean things will develop according to common sense... Dio, who had completely disregarded the tigrex's dying resentment and curse, remained engrossed in his collection. However, this engrossment didn't last long. After a while, the sounds of movement and monster footsteps from behind Dio interrupted his concentration.
He turned his head vigilantly, surprised to see a monstrous Dragon Species, nearly twenty meters long with skin like a green loofah, staring at him from afar. Its mouth full of fangs and dripping saliva all spoke of the monster's bloodthirsty desire.
Its blood-red eyes stared intently at Dio, seemingly having already marked him as its prey.
"Deviljho?" Dio was, naturally, surprised.
Deviljho are vicious creatures, but unlike the tigrex, which has a fixed territory, the Brute Wyvern deviljho has no fixed territory. Being gluttonous by nature, they wander various regions in search of food, often intruding into the battles of others, attempting to play the role of the opportunistic fisherman.
Given that Dio had just finished hunting a tigrex, it was reasonable to assume that the deviljho was attracted by the scent of blood.
Facing the fiercely glaring deviljho, Dio's mind raced, contemplating countermeasures.
He knew that the deviljho was even more threatening than the tigrex. The current hunting party had only managed to take down the tigrex with a type advantage, resulting in one injured and one missing. His group was clearly no longer capable of dealing with a deviljho attack.
However, he didn't necessarily have to confront the deviljho head-on. The monster's gluttony, caused by its overly fast metabolism, was something Dio could exploit.
Compared to his metal frame, the deviljho's purpose in coming here was clearly the tigrex he had just hunted.
As long as he yielded the tigrex's flesh, theoretically, the deviljho, which prioritizes eating above all else, would surely not pursue him but would instead feast on the tigrex's corpse.
This way, he could seize the opportunity to escape... Considering that most of the required materials had already been stripped, and he didn't need the deviljho's gluttonous tigrex flesh. Dio slowly stood up, taking some easily portable materials with him, while some inconvenient materials that the deviljho likely wouldn't be interested in were piled to the side by Dio.
After doing all this, he faced the deviljho and slowly retreated backward, adopting a submissive posture, as if offering his prey to another.
Dio had initially thought this would satisfy the deviljho, but what he didn't expect was that the deviljho seemed uninterested in the chunks of tigrex meat.
Its terrifying eyes remained fixed on Dio, who had little flesh, and its head subtly swayed with Dio's movements, clearly focusing entirely on Dio.
This unexpected situation left Dio puzzled.
Is the deviljho here different from the deviljho in the Monster Hunter world? Or is the deviljho's strange behavior now due to something attracting it?
It couldn't be that the deviljho's current abnormality was because... it was being manipulated by something, could it?
Dio's mind quickly ran through various possibilities, but seeing the deviljho already pushing off its strong hind legs, Dio's escape speed was not at all hesitant. He had no intention of escaping on land but directly activated his body's propulsion engines, sending himself flying into the air.
The deviljho's inability to fly was perfectly demonstrated here. It could only circle below Dio in frustration, but its action of preferring to circle rather than touch the fresh tigrex meat nearby further heightened Dio's vigilance.
Previous works had long proven that the deviljho is a creature that requires a large amount of food to sustain its life. Even setting aside the game's lore, based solely on the biological knowledge Dio had learned in warhammer, the conclusion was the same.
What kind of reason could make the deviljho defy its biological nature and consider him a higher priority target?
He had intended to fly a circle around the deviljho to observe the reason for its behavior, but a subtle whooshing sound from his side sent alarm bells ringing in Dio's mind.
This whooshing sound, similar to a bomb falling, brought back some very unpleasant memories for Dio.
He quickly dodged sideways. In an instant, a teardrop-shaped scale grazed past Dio, plunging straight into the ground near the deviljho!
Dio hastily looked up and saw a flying wyvern with teardrop-shaped scales covering its neck and tail silently gliding into the scene, rapidly swooping towards Dio in mid-air!
And a Bazelgeuse?!
Dio cursed inwardly, not daring to linger. He immediately activated his jet engines, attempting to escape the battlefield at high speed.
The bazelgeuse's role is very similar to that of the deviljho; both are at the top of the food chain and are nomadic. However, compared to the deviljho, which can only move on land, the bazelgeuse, as a Flying Wyvern, is a predator that soars through the skies.
Although its appetite is not as terrifying as the deviljho's, their extreme aggressiveness also means they will not let go of any target they perceive as a threat.
The teardrop-shaped scales on its neck and tail are essentially large bombs. As long as they scatter their scales, they can turn whatever the scales land on into a lifeless sea of fire!
Normally, an encounter between a bazelgeuse and a deviljho, both top predators, would inevitably lead to a major battle over territory and food resources. But considering that the deviljho had uncharacteristically stopped eating, Dio's rationality as a Tech-priest demanded that he not rely on the two monsters' struggle as his hope for escape.
Just as Dio had predicted, even though the scale that had embedded itself in the ground exploded right beside Dio, the deviljho showed no hostility towards the bazelgeuse.
It even ignored the bazelgeuse, directly tilting its head back to charge. Soon after, a destructive black-red energy beam swept towards Dio!
Dio, left with no choice, could only increase his altitude to dodge, but once he increased his height, he entered the bazelgeuse's dive range. The bazelgeuse mercilessly glided down, even attempting to sweep Dio away with its wings. Dio could only maintain his balance while desperately dodging, unable to make any effective counterattacks.
The combined efforts of the two top predators left Dio physically and mentally exhausted. He dared not fly too high, nor dared to land on the ground. He could only ambiguously maneuver at a low altitude where both the bazelgeuse and the deviljho found it difficult to attack him.
But conversely, such an altitude also meant that both had the potential to attack Dio. He pondered that he must change this predicament, and while pondering, Dio found himself crashing head-on into Sergeant Arlo, who was searching for the injured.
"Magos Dio, are you being chased by something?" The experienced Sergeant Arlo easily assessed Dio's current situation: "Do you need me to bring the others to help you?"
"Run separately from me!"
Dio warned concisely, the calculations for his escape route leaving him no time to explain in detail to Sergeant Arlo: "Tell the others to stop searching for the injured, or everyone will die!"
Sergeant Arlo paused for a moment; he didn't yet understand what had happened, but sensing the danger in Dio's words, he unhesitatingly carried out Dio's command.
Realizing that these two monsters were indeed chasing him, Dio also understood that he could only rely on himself for this escape.
Although Dio still didn't know why these two creatures had teamed up to hunt him, that matter was no longer important for now.
Only by shaking off one of these two, and thus seizing a sliver of hope, would he have some time to ponder the question.
There are never absolutely safe decisions, but as it happened, Dio was a bold gambler.
Gazing at the cliff that appeared in his sight, Dio knew in his heart that the gamble to shake off the deviljho was now before him!
The cliff was two to three hundred meters high, and Dio, to shake off the deviljho, jumped down without hesitation.
For some unknown reason, the deviljho, which was chasing Dio, was clearly not brainless enough to jump down with him.
It could only furiously lash its tail at the cliff edge, roared twice at the descending Dio, and then retreated from the cliff in resignation, its figure disappearing into the jungle.
The maneuver to shake off the deviljho was quite successful, but this action also shifted Dio's altitude from low-level to mid-air, which was precisely the bazelgeuse's preferred combat zone.
No longer worried about overshooting and crashing to the ground, the bazelgeuse let out a rough roar of satisfaction. It first shot many of its teardrop-shaped scales at Dio in mid-air, then folded its wings and dived towards Dio from high altitude like a bomber!
Dio was fast, but the bazelgeuse, diving from high altitude with accelerated potential energy, was faster. The moment the scales covered Dio's surroundings, the high-speed diving bazelgeuse arrived at Dio's side simultaneously with the launched scales. It flapped its wings, using the strong wind pressure to detonate these high-explosive scales surrounding Dio.
Dio wanted to accelerate and escape, but he found no opportunity. The 20m radius bazelgeuse scale barrier instantly exploded in mid-air with dazzling sparks, and the raging flames directly engulfed Dio's figure at the explosion's epicenter!
The bazelgeuse flapped its wings, hovering in mid-air, seemingly appreciating the art of the explosion it had created. But to its disappointment, Dio did not turn into a charred corpse and fall from mid-air.
It fanned away the smoke left by the explosion, wanting to investigate, but what responded from the black smoke was only a scorching plasma bolt.
Dio floated in mid-air, unharmed, holding a plasma pistol!
Dio knew that he couldn't escape the bazelgeuse's pursuit in the air, so he never thought of running from the beginning. Instead, he activated the energy shield on his body, which he hadn't used for a long time.
He endured the scale explosion by relying on starcraft Protoss technology, which he had archaeologically acquired by raiding Xenos graves, and waited in the smoke of the explosion for this moment to strike back!
The bazelgeuse quickly dodged. Although its massive body ultimately prevented it from fully evading, it at least avoided the area Dio had originally aimed for.
Dio, who had originally aimed at the scales on the bazelgeuse's tail, secretly regretted. He had intended to use the plasma pistol to detonate the scales on its tail, causing a chain reaction that would blow off its own tail. However, the bazelgeuse's timely dodge ultimately prevented his success.
Nevertheless, the bazelgeuse is, after all, a Dragon Species with unremarkable defenses. Although it avoided its vital points, the plasma hitting its abdomen still made it quite uncomfortable.
Seeing Dio use his high-tech thermal weapon, the already irritable bazelgeuse became even more agitated. Enraged, it roared and directly extended its claws, attempting to clamp down on Dio. Dio dodged the bazelgeuse's grapple by sidestepping, but the reduced distance left him no time to charge the plasma pistol for another shot. He could only put away the pistol, pull out his sword, and continue to confront the bazelgeuse in mid-air.
The nearly 20-meter-long bazelgeuse was indeed tall and mighty, but compared to Dio, who was only about two meters long, it seemed a bit clumsy. The bazelgeuse repeatedly circled and made several grabbing attempts, all of which Dio deftly dodged.
The combat altitude gradually decreased during this process; Dio was now not far from the ground.
The bazelgeuse, growing increasingly agitated in this standoff, clearly understood that the sky was its true domain. Unwilling to let Dio descend, it raised its head, a clear indication that it intended to shamelessly use a ranged attack.
But such an attack was also within Dio's calculations.
Rather, Dio was waiting for this very moment!
When the bazelgeuse, having raised its head and charged, intended to lower it and unleash a rapid burst of flame at Dio, what met its face was not Dio's figure, but a vast white light.
Dio threw a flash bomb made from a Flashbug at the bazelgeuse during the brief moment it raised its head, and the flash bomb, whose timing he had meticulously controlled, detonated precisely at the instant the bazelgeuse lowered its head!
The intense white light consumed the bazelgeuse's entire vision and tore apart its sense of balance. It could only exert all its strength to spread its wings and maintain its balance in mid-air, while continuously spewing flames in all directions to prevent Dio's approach.
But its scattered attacks did not deter Dio. Dio knew that the flash bomb's deterrent effect would not last long, and the bazelgeuse was not incapable of fighting on the ground. He had now thoroughly enraged it, and if he didn't severely wound the bazelgeuse here, Dio feared that even if he escaped to the ground, this bazelgeuse would not let him go.
He simply used retreat as an advance, closing the distance directly to the bazelgeuse's head. The bazelgeuse, temporarily deprived of its five senses, was unaware of Dio's approach and continued to futilely spew flames.
Dio knew the principle behind the bazelgeuse's fire-breathing—they don't have specialized storage sacs for fire-breathing fuel like a Rathalos; they simply hold their not-yet-fully-grown explosive scales in their mouths and detonate them, briefly exhaling flames using the force of the scale explosions.
Dio decisively drew his weapon, and just as the bazelgeuse's wide-open mouth began to spark, Dio, understanding that it was about to detonate its scales, unhesitatingly pulled his trigger.
The plasma directly detonated the explosive scale fluid in its mouth and throat, which is used to form explosive scales. This unexpected internal detonation caused significantly more damage than an external one.
Caught off guard, the bazelgeuse let out a hoarse shriek. Its slightly recovered senses allowed its tiny pupils to gaze at Dio in surprise, as if it didn't understand why Dio could constantly target its weak points. Dio, however, clearly had his own understanding of this:
"While nuclear weapons are outdated, box weapons are not."
The chemical reaction caused by the plasma shot into its mouth continued, and the explosion, traveling down its throat, also affected the bazelgeuse's blast glands, the organs that produce explosive scales. The rapid internal pressure buildup caused the bazelgeuse's body to swell like a balloon. Although the toughness of a Dragon Species' body would prevent the bazelgeuse from actually exploding like a balloon, allowing it to continue would naturally not end well.
Driven by an intense will to survive, the bazelgeuse, wanting to relieve pressure, opened its mouth wide and spewed a series of explosions, the force of which was so fierce that it even tore the bazelgeuse's own skin.
Dio, who had long anticipated this, had already deployed his energy shield at maximum power. However, the energy shield, having already consumed some power within the bazelgeuse's explosive scale barrier, was clearly unable to fully withstand these continuous explosions.
Dio had injected all available energy into the shield and had pulled as much distance as possible from the self-detonating bazelgeuse before the shield depleted. But when the energy shield overloaded, he was still heavily pushed by the blast wave from behind, falling uncontrollably towards the jungle on the ground.
The propulsion engines behind him were unresponsive, and the various medicines originally placed in his steel spine to keep his brain clear had already been exhausted in the previous battle against the Black Legion's boarding action.
Dio knew, without needing calculations, that this fall wouldn't kill him, half of whose body was a metal frame. But constrained by this human brain, his probability of falling unconscious would be no less than ninety percent.
"This isn't a safe landing this time..."
He could only hope he wouldn't be unconscious for too long. But in a place he hadn't noticed, a group of cat-like, bipedal creatures on the ground had witnessed his entire struggle with the bazelgeuse.
When Dio crashed into the jungle, stirring up a cloud of smoke, these creatures curiously gathered towards the direction of his fall, seemingly wanting to investigate.
Dio was awakened by a warm, wet sensation on his face. His brain was still groggy, but the internal timer on his body clearly told him he had been unconscious for three hours.
Considering that being able to wake up meant the worst hadn't happened during his unconsciousness, Dio wasn't in a hurry to get up.
He wanted to enjoy this rare moment of drowsiness, but the increasing wetness on his face forced him to open his eyes and return to this clear yet painful reality.
The moment he opened his eyes, something small seemed startled and quickly darted away from Dio's side. And when Dio opened his eyes, what greeted him was the rock wall of a cave.
It was too absurd to fall unconscious from mid-air and directly land in a sheltered cave, lying there steadily. Dio was sure he must have been moved there by some creature.
There were no obvious wounds or damage on his body, which meant the other party's movements were quite gentle. It shouldn't be a large predatory animal, and it also possessed a certain level of intelligence... Dio touched his face and felt a liquid. The system easily determined that this liquid was saliva; it must have been the creature that moved him into the cave, licking his face.
He looked up towards the light and saw a creature resembling a Siamese cat crouching at the cave entrance, nervously watching him.
Dio was slightly taken aback. Although it resembled a cat, its bipedal movement already indicated the unusual nature of this animal. Moreover, it could perform human-like actions like pawing at the cave entrance with its front paws, peering in to observe Dio. All signs pointed to the identity of this cat as someone Dio was all too familiar with—
"An felynes?" Dio couldn't help but be surprised: "So... I got carted?"
As the hunters' most loyal allies and best animal companions, felynes are a beast-humanoid race that can coexist with humans. Their appearance is almost identical to real-world cats, except their average length is about one meter, and most possess intelligence comparable to ordinary humans. They have evolved the ability to walk upright, and their front paws can grasp objects like human hands, but they can still run on all fours like real cats.
In Monster Hunter, felynes integrated into human society can perform almost any job required by humans and are the true mascots of Monster Hunter.
After landing on this planet, which was full of Monster Hunter references, Dio had seen the monsters that were the true soul of Monster Hunter, but he hadn't seen these little darlings.
He had originally thought it was because human society didn't exist on this planet, and consequently, the felynes integrated into human society also ceased to exist. However, it now seemed that felynes still existed, and they had given him the full 'carted' treatment right from the start.
Realizing that this group of 'living fathers' had saved him with a cat cart, Dio's expression immediately softened. He also noticed that he wasn't the only one dragged into this cave; there was also the astartes who had been knocked flying by the tigrex earlier.
The felynes had clearly saved more than just Dio, but being uncivilized by human standards, they apparently didn't know how to remove the astartes' power armor. Therefore, they simply placed the astartes next to Dio, laying him as flat as possible.
Dio checked the astartes' current condition and found that he had multiple internal hemorrhages throughout his body, with one of his two hearts and two of his three lungs shattered. His remaining heart and lung were also in poor condition.
Although the suspended animation membrane had desperately put the astartes into a state of suspended animation and reduced his metabolic consumption, prolonged lack of oxygen and blood still caused his limbs to turn a ghastly pale, a color only seen on the dead.
If he wasn't treated soon, he would truly be close to death. Dio could only temporarily put aside his attention to the felynes and focus on the emergency treatment of the astartes.
Dio pondered how he should treat him. He first injected him with a nutrient shot, then planned to use his void sword to cut open his chest.
However, the toughness of his body far exceeded that of a normal astartes. Even though Dio was using a high-quality item issued by the Bishop's Guard, it took him a lot of effort to cut open the body without activating the decomposition field.
This level of toughness was somewhat reminiscent of the protagonist, a humanoid deviljho, in Monster Hunter. Could this also be a boost they received from their ability to absorb genes?
While Dio pondered, he meticulously picked out fragments of tissue from under the black carapace, piece by piece. After clearing up many internal organs that had become a tangled mess, Dio was finally able to violently apply pressure and tie off the internal bleeding.
Fortunately, the Second Legion's gene-seed, in addition to being sufficiently tough, also seemed to possess excellent self-healing capabilities. After absorbing the nutrients from the nutrient shot, the activated genes, with Dio's manual assistance, vigorously wriggled, patching up the bleeding wounds and preventing further blood loss.
However, preventing loss did not mean replenishment. With very little blood remaining and only one heart, the astartes' body was unable to pump blood to his legs, which were far from his heart, and he was still in life-threatening danger.
Dio was not one to hesitate; he directly severed the legs, which had become a burden, and the very little blood that flowed from them confirmed Dio's thoughts.
But little blood flow did not mean the wounds didn't need treatment. It was just that the scarcity of medical supplies at hand made Dio scratch his head.
He originally intended to use a plasma pistol at its lowest power to graze the wound and fire a plasma burst, using the high heat to carbonize and seal the remaining stump. But when Dio felt his back, he found that the plasma pistol had vanished at some point.
Without the plasma gun, Dio had to consider other means of sealing the wound. Just then, the felynes that had been peering from the doorway somehow returned to Dio's side.
He meowed at Dio, signaling him to turn around. Dio looked back and saw an elderly-looking matriarch, surrounded by several felynes, approaching him.
She nodded solemnly at Dio, then handed him a small stone bowl. Dio took it and saw that it contained a paste made from various crushed herbs, which emitted an enticing, fresh aroma.
"Did you specifically bring this for me?" Dio pointed to himself.
The matriarch nodded. Although they didn't share a language, she clearly understood Dio's meaning from his actions. After nodding, she went to the recently amputated astartes and pointed her front paw at the astartes' wound.
Dio understood, realizing that this bowl of paste was probably the felynes' homemade herbal medicine. He had originally planned to treat the wound with his ion pistol but instead evenly applied the herbs to the astartes' wound.
Although he didn't know what these herbs were made of, their medicinal effect was unexpectedly good. Seeing signs of the wound healing within a short time, and with the reduced burden on his limbs, the astartes' complexion also began to turn rosy. Dio finally put down his busy hands and turned to look at the felynes.
He noticed that the felynes had not been idle during this time; they had helped clean up the bloodstains on the ground and the fragments of organs Dio had discarded, making the cave tidy again.
After seeing Dio finish his work, they gathered again behind the matriarch, looking at Dio with a gaze that was a mix of curiosity and reverence.
Dio rubbed his head. He knew, of course, that felynes were a friendly and gentle intelligent species, but he was still a bit puzzled by their attitude.
Just as he was about to investigate further, he noticed that the matriarch had somehow pulled out a plasma pistol. Although there were cat paw prints on the trigger, Dio immediately recognized it as his own plasma pistol.
The matriarch handed the plasma pistol to Dio, along with a bazelgeuse scale. Dio stared at his pistol and the scale, and a very unusual possibility suddenly occurred to him.
He widened his eyes, looking at the felynes who had returned his weapon and presented the 'trophy' as proof.
"You didn't use my pistol... to take down the bazelgeuse, did you?"
Due to the language barrier, Dio's questions obviously couldn't be answered directly by the felynes. But after handing over the plasma pistol and the bazelgeuse scale to Dio, the felynes tugged at Dio's pant leg, seemingly inviting him to leave the cave and go outside.
Dio complied with the felynes' invitation. He followed the felynes out of the cave and discovered that a grand bonfire party was being held in the open space outside.
A group of felynes sat in a circle around the bonfire. In front of the bonfire, several felynes wearing grass skirts and holding long spears with stones tied to them were twisting their limbs, wildly dancing an unknown dance.
In a trance, Dio felt as if he was seeing a group of Stone Age indigenous people.
Although these felynes were primitive, such organized and purposeful behavior clearly showed signs of civilization. They were currently holding a celebration of a hunt, and the object of the hunt was obvious—the small bazelgeuse head placed by the bonfire confirmed Dio's earlier conjecture.
On the bonfire behind the dancing felynes, a piece of back meat stripped from the bazelgeuse was roasting. Several felynes, propped up by stones, stood diligently turning the meat, roasting this hard-won delicacy.
Dio had a sense of absurdity, like when a certain Dragon Prince told Ben Bo'er Ba to take down Tang Sanzang and his disciples, and the next day, Ben Bo'er Ba actually showed up with the Monkey King's head. He couldn't imagine how much the felynes, even with a plasma gun, would have had to sacrifice to kill that severely injured bazelgeuse.
But before Dio could fully process his thoughts, the matriarch, who had led Dio to the scene, let out a cry. Upon hearing her voice, all the felynes in attendance quieted down.
They turned their gaze to the matriarch, and naturally, they also saw Dio beside her.
The matriarch unhurriedly led Dio to a small, specially elevated mound. Since Dio's body was still too tall relative to the felynes, her attendant felynes voluntarily acted as a 'cat-stand,' lifting the matriarch up.
Finally on the same level as Dio, the matriarch grasped Dio's hand with her front paw, raised Dio's hand high, and meowed, seemingly announcing something to all the felynes. After listening to the matriarch's words, the previously quiet party immediately erupted into an even more enthusiastic atmosphere, and all the felynes began to raise their paws and cheer.
The felynes responsible for roasting the meat cut a large piece from the bazelgeuse's back meat and placed it on a stone plate. The hunter felynes, who had been dancing by the bonfire, respectfully presented the plate to Dio with both paws. Dio was initially hesitant, but seeing the expectant looks of the surrounding felynes, he still grabbed the roasted loin meat with his hand and put it into his mouth.
The long-lost deliciousness made Dio's eyes widen. The human taste buds played their ultimate role at this moment. The perfect combination of herbal smoke and crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside roasted meat, seasoned with spices, was locked within the meat. Only when Dio took a bite would its deliciousness burst forth from between his lips.
This deliciousness made Dio, who had long sustained himself only on nutrient solutions and energy, suddenly recall his enjoyment of gourmet food when he was a normal human—one of the greatest pleasures humans experience in any normal enjoyment.
With this bite, Dio, having tasted the pleasure that humans ought to possess, even somewhat understood why the Emperor was so concerned with the purity and identity of the human body. And when the felynes saw Dio eat the first piece of meat, they erupted in another round of cheers.
The chef felynes began to cut the roasted loin meat into pieces and plate them, serving them one by one to all the felynes attending the party. In addition to the roasted meat, the felynes also provided many berries they had picked and fruit wine mixed with catnip.
Although he no longer relied on eating to survive, Dio quickly integrated into the felynes revelry. And after eating and drinking to his fill, with many felynes already lying on the ground fast asleep, the matriarch approached Dio once again.
The matriarch squinted, clearly also enjoying the revelry, but she remained sober throughout the feast. After the party ended, she approached Dio again and led him to another cave. This seemed to be the felynes' warehouse. Dio looked inside and saw some bazelgeuse materials piled up there.
The matriarch pointed to the piled scales and Dragon Species hide, indicating that they were Dio's spoils of war.
Dio, who hadn't expected the Cat Cart to not deduct rewards, suddenly felt a joy akin to a bountiful harvest. However, compared to collecting spoils, there was now an even more pressing matter that concerned him—if not for the spoils, why did this group of felynes insist on killing the bazelgeuse?
He tried to communicate with the matriarch: "While I understand you consider me a hero for severely wounding the bazelgeuse, I am more curious as to why you then took over and completed the hunt for the bazelgeuse."
"Although that bazelgeuse was severely wounded, it wasn't something you could easily take down. What made you willing to pay such a great sacrifice to take down the bazelgeuse?"
Thanks to the Tech-priests, whose internal communication was either unintelligible binary curses or expressive full-contact body language, Dio's ability for physical expression was surprisingly good.
The matriarch, understanding Dio's meaning, looked a bit sad. She turned and led Dio to the other side of the cave, where many crude murals were carved on the walls.
Dio carefully examined the murals and found that they were a brief record of the felynes tribe's past:
From the gradual formation of a systematic tribe and the inheritance of experience long ago, to the beginning of polishing stone tools, and then to being driven out by the overlords of each territory as enemies competing for food because they could hunt some small Bird Wyverns and other prey with stone tools... The development of the felynes was very similar to that of humans. The only difference was that humans on Earth back then were still one of the top predators even without external tools, while the felynes entering the Stone Age were still only destined to be trampled by the various terrifying Dragon Species on this planet.
Thus, the felynes fell into a dead loop: they couldn't fight the Dragon Species without developing to a certain extent, but without fighting the Dragon Species, they had no room to develop to a certain extent.
Many years passed, and their civilization remained stuck in the Stone Age. During this time, they encountered Rathalos, saw Uragaan, were attacked by tigrex, and were even chased playfully by bazelgeuse... No matter who the opponent was, the felynes always had to flee, and the number of their tribe continuously dwindled in this process. Almost every felynes felt despair about their own future.
But just then, Dio appeared.
He, like a god descended from the heavens, fought with the flying bazelgeuse in mid-air, using his weapon, which could unleash wrath as scorching as the sun, to severely wound the evil bazelgeuse. This was something all the felynes couldn't even dream of!
Compared to those massive monsters, Dio, whether in size or appearance, was more akin to the bipedal felynes. Since Dio could use his intelligence and methods to severely wound a bazelgeuse, then the felynes must also have such a possibility!
The final scene of the mural showed a group of felynes, armed with stone spears, using their size advantage to entangle with the bazelgeuse, which could no longer fly.
Although the bazelgeuse was severely injured and not adept at close-quarters ground combat, its brute strength still far exceeded that of the felynes. Before long, over twenty felynes lay on the ground.
Just as the situation became precarious, an felynes found the unconscious Dio nearby, along with the plasma pistol on his person... The mural abruptly ended here, clearly, they hadn't had time to paint the rest. However, Dio already knew the subsequent developments.
Seeing this, Dio finally understood that this feast was not only a celebration of the hunting victory but also a memorial for the fallen.
The felynes made such great sacrifices to hunt the bazelgeuse not out of concern for the overall survival of their species, but to prove their capabilities—that they were not destined to live in constant fear, driven by various monsters. They also possessed the ability to rise up, resist, and defeat powerful enemies of their species!
This kind of spiritual encouragement is far more important for an intelligent species than mere survival. If they lose their goal and direction in life, then even a meager existence is nothing more than a walking corpse destined for extinction.
These felynes defeated their enemies and themselves. They paved the way for the future and hope of their entire tribe through their sacrifices. That's why they organized a grand feast here with the bazelgeuse's meat, where all the felynes got thoroughly drunk. After tonight, they, and indeed their entire tribe, would usher in a new beginning.
Dio felt that what he saw was not just a hunt, but a Great Crusade belonging to the felynes. He was not only drawn by the felynes' desperate resolve to win their future in the mural but also felt a spiritual resonance.
However, while these warriors had won spiritual encouragement for their tribe, Dio was not optimistic about their continued progress.
Although the original Monster Hunter world was also overrun with monsters, there were also intelligent races like humans and Wyverians who were equally skilled in combat. They had already carved out relatively safe territories and systematically organized the Hunters Guild to combat monsters.
Naturally, felynes integrated into human society didn't need to be mentioned. felynes living in the wild could also survive in relatively safe wilderness areas where the Hunters Guild regularly cleared out large monsters, and they could also easily exchange goods with the humans in settlements.
But this planet is different now; there are no other intelligent species here, and the weak felynes alone are too vulnerable. From the perspective of species evolution, if they cannot consistently obtain high-energy meat, then the possibility of an intelligent evolution for a species is minuscule.
While their omnivorous nature ensures they won't starve without meat, if they spend all day gathering low-calorie wild fruits, how can a tribe lacking the energy to reproduce and expand, and without time to study tool usage, possibly evolve?
One must know that humans on Earth were already apex predators at the top of the food chain during the Stone Age, yet these felynes have been stuck in the Stone Age for so long without making any progress. Dio truly didn't believe that they, with only about a hundred cats left, could achieve a generational leap in the time to come.
But then again, the intelligence of these felynes was indeed remarkable. Just by seeing himself shooting the bazelgeuse with a plasma pistol in mid-air, they could actively think of borrowing his weapon, and even unlock the safety to fire it... Dio pondered, considering the potential of the felynes species.
If judged by the standards of the Imperium of Man, these creatures, who already had the rudiments of civilization but were far removed from humanity, were undoubtedly xenos. However, the felynes' level of civilization was too rudimentary, and Dio also knew that felynes were highly dependent and could form excellent partnerships with humans. If he could bring these felynes under his command... As Dio was pondering, several felynes approached, carrying buckets and crude brushes made of feathers. Dio glanced at them and saw that the buckets seemed to contain primitive pigments they had ground from ore. They first respectfully greeted the matriarch, then began to dip their feathers in the pigment and paint on the rock wall.
Dio watched their primitive but historically informative and cognitively descriptive method with interest, and then he saw a small figure in a red robe holding a blue pistol being smeared onto the wall. Realizing that these cats might be painting him, Dio's eyes widened.
He observed carefully and found that his image in the mural also depicted a handsome black Dragon. According to the depiction in the mural, Dio felt that in the understanding of these felynes, it seemed that the black Dragon spread its wings, and the airflow generated by its wings blew him in front of the felynes.
What is all this stuff?
Dio pointed to the black Dragon in the mural and began to inquire. He found that the felynes' attitude towards the black Dragon was one of reverence and piety.
The felynes, led by the matriarch, led Dio to a crudely made shrine. Inside the shrine, an image that was recognizably a black Dragon was enshrined. Seeing the felynes bowing before this shrine, Dio's eyes widened, and he realized that these felynes already possessed primitive religious beliefs.
In the Monster Hunter world, Elder Dragons are a collective term for Dragon Species creatures that humans cannot yet understand, and among Elder Dragons, the black Dragon is the most legendary. They mostly possess power that humans cannot contend with, and their appearance can have immeasurable effects on the entire environment.
However, here, in the eyes of these felynes, the black Dragon was an embodiment of natural power, a deity of this planet. It maintained the balance of the planet's ecosystem, and Dio, who descended from the sky and helped the felynes defeat the bazelgeuse, was the chosen one bestowed upon the felynes by the black Dragon.
The felynes' thoughts made Dio a bit dumbfounded. Unable to communicate, he had no intention of laboriously explaining to the felynes. He simply picked up the black Dragon's shrine, intending to examine it closely in his hand.
However, as soon as he took the shrine, he felt a faint sense of resistance from it.
Dio was stunned. He was familiar with this feeling; as an null, when he touched items with psychic power, the psychic items would repel him in this way.
But this feeling appearing here now... Does it mean this shrine has psychic power?
But why? Is this thing like the Emperor, where if you squat on it, these cats will worship some illusory divinity out of it?
No, that's not right. Even if it's the ethereal power of faith, it can ultimately be understood as a form of psychic energy expressed differently. If so, it cannot be directed towards something non-existent; it must be at least a psychic creature or some warp entity... While Dio was thinking, the shrine in his hand had already begun to succumb to the pressure of mutual repulsion between the null and psychic energy. Fine cracks appeared all over the wooden shrine.
Dio wanted to put it back in its original place, but the quality of the old wood itself was questionable. After resisting the null and exhausting the psychic energy on the shrine, it could no longer maintain its existence and directly split into two halves in Dio's hand.
Dio was stunned, and the felynes were also stunned. They looked at Dio in fear, unsure whether it was he, the "chosen one," who had destroyed the shrine, or if the deity was displeased with them.
Looking at the bewildered felynes before him, Dio, who had paused, quickly realized that this was also an opportunity.
He decisively crushed the shrine in his hand, then stood in front of where the shrine had been placed, and raised his hands to preach to the felynes below.
"You need not fear the darkness."
Dio's expression became sacred and solemn: "For the light of the God-Emperor has arrived!"
When Dio and the felynes, dragging carts and carrying large bags, appeared at the entrance of the astartes camp, the brother on guard was clearly a bit bewildered.
He hesitated, looking at Dio and the felynes, unsure whether he should let Dio and his group of "xenos" in directly.
Fortunately, Amidel soon arrived at the scene. His eyes, having received the news, held an unconcealable joy, but this joy turned to surprise upon seeing the "xenos" beside Dio.
Dio, draped in the red robe of the Adeptus Mechanicus, had a solemn and dignified expression, looking more like a red-robed Bishop of the Adeptus Ministorum. Seeing Amidel arrive, he nodded slightly at Amidel, then raised his hands:
"Angels of the God-Emperor, I have returned!"
If there were an Inquisitor present, Dio would likely have been taken for a purity test to see if he had been possessed by a daemon. But Amidel, after all, was not a person who had fought in the Heresy. So he first let Dio and the felynes in, admonishing a few brothers to strictly guard these "xenos," before pulling Dio aside and asking:
"The brother who came to inform me said you were captured by xenos, who had hijacked you and another severely wounded brother at the entrance of our camp, intending to negotiate with us... So what happened? Why did you suddenly bring back a group of xenos?"
"These are not xenos, these are cats."
Dio corrected him righteously: "These were once one of humanity's best companions on Old Terra, later disappearing due to the mass extinction of species after the Age of Darkness. I never expected to see genuine cats on this planet today. Even the Emperor himself would probably sigh, 'My youth has returned.'"
"Cats?" Amidel glanced at the bipedal felynes, then at Dio, and confirmed again: "Old Terra creatures?"
Dio nodded without hesitation: "Even the Emperor himself kept cats; this is also recorded on the electronic devices of Old Terra."
Amidel could tell Dio was talking nonsense, so he stopped pressing the issue about the cats: "Then what's with this Magos-like getup? Why do you look like that clerk who used to come to our company every day to preach about the Emperor being a god?"
"Show some respect! I am an emissary of the God Emperor," Dio reprimanded solemnly. "The God Emperor has chosen the felynes as his elect. Even if you are the Emperor's angels, you must not be rude!"
Though the felynes in the distance didn't understand the language, they erupted in a small cheer upon seeing Dio's strong presence. Amidel looked as if he wanted to speak, but after seeing Dio's meaningful glance, he agreed for now.
He turned and pulled Dio to a corner where the felynes couldn't see them. Dio immediately relaxed, no longer playing the part of the eccentric Magos.
"So, what's really going on?" Amidel asked.
Dio shrugged: "After being hunted by two monsters, I encountered these small creatures with basic intelligence. They rescued me and helped me kill one of the two monsters. I think they have some potential as experimental assistants and Legion servants, so I brought them back."
"Then what about your missionary-like behavior?"
"Just a small part of my job."
Dio pulled out a statue he had carved from behind his back. In the statue, the Emperor sat high on the Golden Throne, but with a cat cradled in his arms: "And a little trick of 'grafting' borrowed from the Adeptus Ministorum's missionaries preaching to natives."
Many people often overlook the 'Adeptus' in Adeptus Mechanicus, and forget the meaning of 'Magos' in Tech-Priest. In fact, besides their hunger and greed for knowledge, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus have never forgotten to spread the teachings of the omnissiah.
Although Dio didn't believe in the Machine God, he was well-versed in the process of spreading doctrines.
"Grafting?" Amidel was a little confused.
"It's about transferring their primitive beliefs to faith in the Emperor. I told them that cats were originally loyal companions of humanity, that the Emperor is the savior of humanity, and that we, as the Emperor's angels, would naturally share his glory with humanity's loyal companions. I must say, this approach is indeed effective."
"I'm not entirely sure what the Imperium of Man is like now, but I'm certain the Imperium wouldn't accept them."
Amidel emphasized his words, stating with certainty: "It has nothing to do with whether they are loyal to the Emperor. They even have their own culture and language. By our standards, this is xenos!"
Dio shook his head: "Once they integrate with humanity, these problems won't exist. Before that, as long as other brothers or other people don't know they once had their own culture, it'll be fine."
Amidel still wanted to say something, but Dio pointed to the group of felynes.
"And I'm afraid this isn't something others can decide. Look."
Amidel followed Dio's gaze and saw that the felynes were already kneeling on the ground, beginning to pray.
Accompanying their prayers, a golden glow gradually emanated from their bodies. This scene left Amidel and the other astartes wide-eyed with astonishment.
"What is that?" Amidel asked in surprise.
"Faith... or rather, a special kind of psychic power," Dio replied. "You should have seen it; Librarians basically do the same when they use their psychic powers to assist comrades."
"Faith? Whose faith?" Amidel looked at the statue Dio had pulled out earlier, depicting the Emperor holding a cat in his arms. "Could it be..."
"It's exactly as you're thinking."
Watching Amidel's ghost-stricken expression, Dio felt a secret thrill.
In fact, when he saw this scene last night, his shock was not much less than Amidel's now. Seeing Amidel as shocked as he was, Dio felt much less alone and naturally more comfortable.
At the time, when he raised his hands and announced the Emperor's faith to the felynes who originally worshipped the Black Dragon, most of the felynes still showed a skeptical attitude. Dio could only personally carve the Emperor's likeness, and have the Emperor hold a cat in his arms.
He declared that felynes had actually been humanity's good companions since ancient times, but their tribe had been scattered here and had forgotten their past history. At the same time, he also created a mural titled "The Emperor and the Cat's Great Crusade," interpreting their past "history" to the felynes.
Considering that some apocryphal texts actually mentioned a Custodes Marshal nicknamed 'Kitty' beside the Emperor, Dio felt that his "history" wasn't entirely fabricated.
Dio's confident demeanor quickly swayed the attitudes of some felynes, who tentatively began to pray to the Emperor. Dio, feeling this was a good start, wasn't in a hurry. He planned to gradually instill the Emperor's faith into the felynes tribe, then bring these felynes onto his future ship as pets and assistants.
As more and more felynes began to pray, golden psychic light belonging to the Emperor actually began to flicker from their bodies.
Such effective prayers immediately caused the felynes' religious beliefs to become one-sided, with almost all felynes unhesitatingly becoming followers of the God Emperor. Only Dio, who knew he was just trying to use the Emperor for a deception, couldn't help but gasp.
He checked these felynes thoroughly, inside and out, but he found nothing.
If the blessed individuals are watched by the blesser themselves, then why would the Emperor go to such lengths to bless these felynes? He couldn't possibly have just come to take a look, could he?
Unable to understand why Emperor would bless these felynes, Dio could only shift his thoughts to the fact that it was the Emperor who had thrown him onto this planet in the first place.
He had previously wondered if the Emperor had played Monster Hunter, and now, extrapolating further, he thought the Emperor might have had such deep feelings for felynes because he played Monster Hunter ten times and got a cat nine times.
But whatever the reason, the blessing, similar to the cold sun's psychic power in the warp, couldn't be faked. Dio could only use this genuinely effective charade to speed things up.
Early the next morning, he set off with the unconscious astartes and the packed felynes. Besides the bazelgeuse materials collected by the felynes, Dio also specifically went back to pack the tigrex materials and had the felynes help him carry them, returning to the camp fully laden.
Dio briefly outlined the general course of events to Amidel, picking out the parts he could talk about. All Amidel could do was gasp.
"So, is our praying useful now?" he asked tentatively.
"You want to pray just because you know it's useful? So utilitarian?"
"If prayers truly receive a response, then it's not superstition, but an objectively existing thing," Amidel said righteously. "To return to the galaxy and continue fighting for humanity, what's wrong with being a little utilitarian?"
"Unfortunately, to my knowledge, most human prayers don't receive any response, which is why I'm surprised the felynes' prayers were answered so easily."
Ever since he was thrown onto this planet, although Dio, as an null, felt nothing, the behavior of the felynes always made him feel that some unseen entity was observing him through its followers.
If Amidel and his group were to start praying to the Emperor now, they would probably get a response from the Emperor, but Dio didn't want these warriors to delve deeper into Adeptus Ministorum ideology, so he subtly expressed his disapproval.
"Alright," Amidel shrugged, not feeling it was a loss. "So, what do you plan to do with these xenos?"
"They are felynes."
Dio corrected Amidel's address: "Just keep them in the camp. Even if they are recognized, they truly aren't that presentable in the Imperium. I plan to assign them to logistical positions, assisting us in our work."
"So, this is our little secret?"
"Hey, hey! What little secret?!" Dio's expression changed. "You can't say that!"
"Why such a big reaction... Anyway, we will temporarily accept these xenos... felynes into our camp."
Amidel said: "But whether my brothers can accept these xenos is not something I can decide; it all depends on the felynes' performance. But I still can't understand why the Emperor's psychic power would descend upon them?"
"I'm not talking about race or xenos, but the Emperor is currently on the Golden Throne on Terra. Why can he transmit his psychic power across such a vast distance to this planet?"
"After the Emperor ascended the Golden Throne, the entire Imperium changed a lot. But there's no rush to explain it now; you'll understand in due time. For now, let's focus on the present; our goal is still how to leave this planet."
Amidel nodded: "Although there was an unexpected incident of being chased by other monsters, as you said before, after hunting the tigrex, we only have to face the Rathalos that dominates the Space Hulk, right? Has the plan changed?"
"The plan hasn't changed, but we need to do a bit more preparation."
Dio stroked his chin, recalling the Black Dragon shrine that had shattered in his hand last night: "In fact, just like how I was pursued by two other monsters after hunting the tigrex. Even if what we need to do doesn't change, the variables we will encounter in the process will definitely be much more than we imagine."
"Is something manipulating things behind the scenes?" Amidel's reaction was quick.
"That's right." Dio nodded: "Amidel, have you heard of the World Soul?"
Amidel looked bewildered, clearly having never heard of that term. Dio wasn't in a hurry; he planned to patiently guide the other party to think for himself.
"When Sergeant Arlo and Lieutenant Vigan's teams returned, they reported to you, saying I was chased by two monsters?" Dio asked.
"Yes, they said you were chased by two monsters, each about twenty meters long, and judging by their size, their strength was no less than a tigrex."