Chapter 164: Toad Oil
"This is simply a waste of opportunity! Hurry up and breathe fire! Now is the perfect time for an accelerant!"
Hearing the voice, Malcador saw Francis directing the Salamanders warriors to seize the opportunity and ignite the flammable gas around the rebels.
The bewildered Salamanders warriors hoisted their iconic heavy flamers, aiming them at the chaotic rebel lines.
The roar of massive flames erupting was like ten thousand dragons screaming in unison. The inferno transformed into a burning torrent, sweeping toward the rebels. The fire instantly ignited the flammable gas released by the enemy. Chain explosions ripped through the rebel positions, with towering pillars of fire like an enraged god of fire brandishing his fists.
The rebels, tormented and in agony from the concoction, didn't even have time to react before the overwhelming sea of fire engulfed them. Their screams intertwined with the explosions.
Countless soldiers, with flames shooting from their backsides, soared into the sky, howling in continuous pain.
Francis watched all of this, nodding with satisfaction.
Suddenly, he saw a massive figure and immediately raised one hand, shouting.
"Brothers, follow me! We're going to capture that toad alive! Toad oil is a great tonic!" His voice was loud, carrying undisguised fanaticism.
Then he turned and leaped onto a modified combat vehicle, pointing his finger in the direction of the Father of Nova. "There! That three-eyed ugly toad thing must be there! Catch him and give him to Malcador as a gift!"
His voice was so loud that it even reached the rebel positions.
The Father of Nova pointed at his own head, his tone shocked. "They want to catch me as a toad? How dare he?"
He turned to look at the others, who could only turn away, not daring to meet his gaze.
Although, yes, he did resemble one somewhat. But they couldn't say that!
"Impudent child! Even the Emperor has to negotiate with me! I'll teach you a lesson for Him!" The Father of Nova roared. His third eye suddenly opened and erupted with a blinding beam of warp energy.
The beam, like a reality-distorting blade, cut across the battlefield, heading straight for Francis.
"Oh ho! Four-legged toads are easy to find, but a three-eyed toad is quite feisty!" Francis laughed wildly, shouting back in response.
As he roared, his combat armor shifted. Strange lights pulsed across its surface. Hundreds of eyes opened from the armor's seams. Each eye instantly gathered light, firing various colored warp energy rays that collided head-on with the Father of Nova's attack.
The two forces clashed violently in mid-air. The explosive shockwave swept across the battlefield, knocking hundreds of warriors flying.
Both rebels and Custodians were thrown into the air by this power.
Giant dust clouds obscured their vision. With a whoosh, a pitch-black spear instantly flew forth, shooting toward the Father of Nova.
Just as the opponent continued to fire rays, the warp energy, which had always been invincible, suddenly seemed to wither.
The spear easily tore through the ray, directly piercing his abdomen. A shrill scream followed. "Ah! Despicable! What is this!"
The Father of Nova felt immense terror as his energy drained. The warp continuously receded from him. He staggered backward, his third eye trembling slightly, clearly suffering a backlash.
As if sealed, the other Navigators, seeing this, immediately rushed forward. But unfortunately, they were met with countless psychic flames from the Thousand Sons Legion.
"Ha-ha, you're outdated! Times have changed. Don't you check the guides before you rebel?" Before he even arrived, Francis's voice had already reached them.
Vulkan, driving the Russ Ravager and carrying Francis, charged over.
Upon seeing the figure of the opponent collapsed on the ground, Vulkan couldn't help but interject. "Francis, you're not really going to refine him into toad oil, are you? He's the leader of the Navigators!"
Hearing this, Francis was also stunned for a moment, then said with utmost seriousness. "In that case, he really can't be killed for oil. No, let's slow roast him over a small fire. Roast out a few dozen pounds of oil, then let him go. Look how thin Old Malcador has become. Our Father doesn't even know how to feel bad for him."
Thanks to his psychic abilities, Malcador could hear them talking. His heart felt warm. Even though he had never educated Francis, the young man was truly thoughtful.
Francis then continued. "If he gets too tired, who else can manage the Imperium's affairs? It's really too tough. With one word from the Old Man, he's been working hard for so many years; it's truly not easy. When I manage a planet in the future, I'll find someone like that, too!"
Vulkan, hearing this, showed a sympathetic expression. "Indeed, Francis, you are truly a good person."
Francis said, "Of course, we're brothers, no need to say more."
Malcador: "..."
Malcador didn't understand why, even without using psychic powers to boost his metabolism, he felt so agitated.
He was tense! His fists, for the first time since the Unification Wars of Terra, clenched again.
"When recording this campaign later, encrypt everything the Soul Drinkers Legion did," Malcador said to the Custodians beside him.
At the same time, Francis, ignoring the Father of Nova's struggles, pulled out an even thicker blackstone spear and said to Vulkan. "Do you know how to make a humanoid creature quickly stiffen and remain motionless for a long time?"
The dark-skinned Vulkan wore a puzzled expression, pondering. "Roast him dry with a big fire?"
Francis: "..."
Clearly, Francis was much kinder than that, forcefully thrusting the spear into the Father of Nova's body. With a tightening of muscles, the Father of Nova's face instantly turned crimson.
"Uh... you... uh..."
They very smoothly captured this toad and tied him to a black stone cross.
Seeing this, the rebels lost all their arrogance and retreated. Their eyes darted away.
On the battlefield, thick smoke billowed. The wreckage of mechs and the bodies of soldiers lay scattered amidst the scorched earth.
In a temporary clearing in the center of the battlefield, a massive blackstone cross stood amidst the ruins.
The Father of Nova's enormous body was forcibly pinned to the cross. His once-flapping blue wings were now severed by the Custodians, blood dripping along the edges of the chains.
At this moment, his tone was very gentle. "Sigh... Even if you capture me, it's useless. Unless the Webway is destroyed, we will not obey the Imperium's command. Without us, the Imperial crusade will only become more difficult."
"Do you really want to kill all of us? Furthermore, if you kill me, the navigation capabilities of the entire Navigator family will weaken."
Everyone else fell silent. Such a price was indeed quite high.
"That's not difficult at all. Just dig out all your eyes and transplant them to psychic individuals loyal to the Imperium. What's more, I can use your genes to create eyes. I can just make external flesh armor with them." As he spoke, Francis suddenly thought of something.
His eyes lit up as he continued. "That's right! We can turn you into wetware that can only navigate, keeping only the eyes and brain, and replacing all other biological components with machinery."
"When more are needed, just clone one directly. If we encounter a severe warp storm, deploy a few more wetware units, and then..."
Francis grew more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes blazing with unprecedented mad enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, the Father of Nova's expression gradually shifted from curiosity to bewilderment, then to shock, and finally to terror.
At this moment, he only felt his throat dry, wanting to speak but unable to.
"Uh... uh... uh..."
His eyes darted wildly. His body exerted maximum strength, twisting constantly, as if he were on the verge of collapse.
"Such an incredible powerful navigation ability like yours must be experimented with extensively and thoroughly studied. Not only can it navigate, but it can also be used as a biomass energy cannon! I just calculated that the power consumption of your light beams is much lower than that of other power sources."
"Seriously, if we replaced everything with you, the Imperium could save at least the tithes of dozens of tax-paying planets each year. We must mass-produce you!"
Francis's eyes gleamed with the light of efficiency. The Father of Nova, hearing this "good news," his eyes wide as saucers, finally roared out a sentence. "Ah! Kill me! Ah! Kill me! Ah! Ah!"
He completely descended into madness, screaming and yelling frantically.
Everyone: "....."
Seeing this, everyone felt a chill down their spines. If possible, they never wanted to be enemies with Francis. Not for anything else, but to die quickly and painlessly.
Even the Grey Knights in the corner all looked at Francis with admiration. Their small red notebooks constantly recorded methods for quickly breaking down mutants.
They had initially thought they had seen everything there was to see in interrogation, believing Francis to be like a frog in a well, seeing the moon.
But after this period of learning, they realized the gap between them was like a mayfly seeing the vast sky.
With their leader captured, the rebels gradually disintegrated. The scorched earth was littered with broken mechs and battle standards. Smoke lingered in the air.
Not far away, Malcador was watching the Father of Nova, who was bound to the blackstone cross. The Father of Nova had long since fainted, left to the Custodians' escort.
Francis stepped toward Malcador, his tone filled with concern. "Old man Malcador! You keep this thing safe, leave me the eyes and brain. As for his body, you can dry it and extract the toad oil to consume. Such a big toad must be very nourishing. It not only nourishes the kidneys and essence, moistens the lungs, but also enhances immunity, improves skin, regulates endocrine, promotes growth and development, and fights fatigue. You must take care of your health..."
Malcador looked up, his face constipated, at the other person. With Francis pulling such a stunt, he couldn't really get angry. His feet constantly tapped the ground.
Finally, he forced out a single word. "Good!"
The surrounding Custodians all suppressed their expressions, looking at Malcador. This was the first time they had seen the Regent so conflicted.
Francis turned and waved to the Soul Drinkers and Thousand Sons Legion, shouting. "Lads, follow me! The Orks' Battle Moon is still invading the Imperium, and civilians are still displaced! Charge!"
Francis's voice ignited the warriors' blood. They roared in unison.
"For Francis! For the Emperor and freedom!"
"All to dust!"
[End of Chapter]
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