It wasn't just Titus who was shell-shocked.
The members of his Kill Squad were equally stunned, unable to process what they had just seen.
The Warhound-class Titan, though a scouting model, was still a true Titan.
A genuine God-Machine, the engine of war.
And it had been taken down just like that, with a single blow.
In that instant, the world felt completely unreal to them.
"With that kind of firepower, if he went to kill some Orks, wouldn't he just absolutely take off?"
Beren shot and killed a nearby Guardsman, blowing his head clean off, as he exclaimed in genuine awe.
"Regular greenskins are small fry. Only beasts on that level could fight the Saint," Carter said.
Beren's Chainsword tore apart the body of a mutant behemoth.
"It's a crying shame the Warp Storms are so bad right now, otherwise someone would definitely be sending this footage to Baal. Those Blood Angels would be screaming their heads off with excitement."
"It'd be child's play for the Saint to pull a fast one and fool those Little Angels."
Carter wholeheartedly agreed with Beren.
"This is so incredible, but it makes zero scientific sense!"
Darius also chimed in on the comms, offering his own complaint.
"You need to talk to those Warp Daemons about 'science,' Tech-Sergeant," Orpha retorted.
Magos Morio, the loyalist leader of the Rath Forgeworld, witnessed Daniel's one-hit kill of the Warhound Titan by sharing the vision feed of Alpha-class units on the battlefield.
In that instant, he felt as if his logic core was about to overload and burn out.
By his calculations, there was no logical way that mere flesh and blood could defeat a Warhound-class Titan.
Yet, this impossible feat unfolded right before his eyes.
"Gears and hammers, this must be the Omnissiah's power."
After a long pause, Magos Morio uttered these words.
Everything incomprehensible is merely a miracle of the Omnissiah.
"Victory will surely be ours."
"For the Omnissiah."
The Priests beside Magos Morio bowed, giving the zigzag salute.
The shock on their faces was no less profound than the Magos'.
In that moment, the image of Daniel as a Living Saint and the Omnissiah's messenger was permanently burned into their minds.
Among the many mechanical guilds of the Rath Forgeworld, there had always been doubts about the Emperor's Saint.
After all, he was too unorthodox, showing no respect for Mechanicus dogma, and wantonly blaspheming the creations of the Omnissiah.
From this moment on, all those doubts vanished.
Such power could only be explained by the Omnissiah's direct blessing.
"By the Machine God above, what immense power!"
The commander of the Legio Venator, Kel'Thuzad, who piloted the Marauder-class Titan, Wrath of Rath, was equally stunned by the battlefield view.
Kel'Thuzad sat rigid in his Princeps chair, eyes closed.
The dense data manifold connectors were inserted into the back of his head.
The Titan's perception had completely replaced his bodily senses.
This allowed him to truly become one with the God-Machine.
Through the visual module of the Wrath of Rath, he clearly saw the entire event.
The Saint, wielding a spear, descended from the sky and, with a single strike, reduced the Warhound-class Titan to burning wreckage.
Beside the Marauder Titan, the pilots of numerous smaller Titans and Knight Suits were also staring in shock and disbelief.
How can flesh and blood stand against a God-Machine?
Yet, the Emperor's Saint had done just that.
The war horns blared from the loudspeakers of numerous Titan-Machines, solemn and awe-inspiring, shaking the entire battlefield.
They cheered for the Saint and sounded the desperate final chapter for their enemies.
On the other side of the battlefield,
Numerous Zaku mechs formed a square formation, advancing against the thick artillery fire from the city walls.
"The Guide is just consistently on his game, as always." Rigby also saw the scene, but he was already used to it.
After all, when they supported Macragge, the Guide had already taken on a Khorne Greater Daemon.
At this point, tearing apart a Warhound-class Titan with his bare hands wasn't that wild.
"Doesn't this just prove our power-leveling was a success? Remember when we first started, the Guide was getting chased around and smacked by those monsters." The guy with the pigtail grinned, cracking a joke.
"The more we grind, the stronger the Guide gets." September 9th's voice rang out in the comms. "It's all thanks to our hard work and dedication."
"This game shouldn't be called 'Warhammer Online,' it should be renamed 'The Emperor and Saint Power-Leveling Plan,'" Brother Pian chuckled.
"Haha, you're right, you're right, this game needs a new title," Rigby agreed heartily.
The regional chat channel was flooded with chatter.
Yuji: "Man, when will I be half as awesome as the Guide? I could just pulp Ahriman."
Spaceking: "Don't hold your breath this lifetime. Try being reborn in a Himalayan lab next time."
Lobster: "Before he could even grow up, the Emperor would grab him and refine him in an instant."
Daigo: "I checked the Guide's character sheet, and the whole thing just reads: 'Hacks Enabled'."
Warmaster: "You're lucky the GMs aren't listening to that kind of trash talk!"
Daigo: "What's the big deal? It's not like the GMs would care if we crack a joke about the Guide being OP."
Warmaster: "Okay, you got me there."
"For the God-Emperor, for glory!"
Daniel soared into the sky, raising his spear high, and a golden light burst forth, making him shine like a sun.
Skills like [Battle Cry], [Blessing], and [Imperial Light] were unleashed, buffing the Imperial Army.
His roar ignited a frenzy among the Imperial soldiers, who charged the enemy while chanting the same slogans.
Unlike the Imperial Army, the traitors were consumed by dread.
Daniel's performance made them realize they were fighting a legendary demigod.
Only the Primarchs, spoken of in ancient myths, possessed the power to fight the God-Machines.
The Imperial forces launched a fierce assault, and the artillery fire intensified.
The morale of the traitors collapsed, and fear consumed the heart of every soldier.
They lost all will to fight, abandoning their armor and weapons, fleeing in a panic.
The ground forces crumbled, leaving the enemy Titans exposed and without support.
They not only had to fend off attacks from the loyalist Imperial Titans but also deal with relentless harassment from ground troops.
Under the ferocious Imperial offensive, they were quickly defeated and became burning wreckage scattered across the ground.
After the Imperial forces cleared out the enemy outside the city walls, they launched a full-scale offensive against the enemy's firmly held Forge Hive City.
The Forge Hive was a sight to behold.
It was composed of countless magnificent foundries.
Today, every foundry was operational, running at full capacity, churning out shells and war machines.
Massive high walls stood at the city's perimeter.
A huge Void Shield formed a dome, covering the entire Forge City and deflecting the heavy Imperial bombardment.
"Hold the line at all costs!"
Magos Galamond issued a direct death order.
No matter what, they had to hold out, buy time, and complete the research on the Paradox Engine.
Unfortunately, it was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Forge Hive City.
The control room of a main reactor's energy node.
The Mechanical Priest, Nesegas, was monitoring energy readings, while rows of Thinkers on the wall ticked away.
The holographic screen projected into the air displayed energy readings that constantly jumped and refreshed.
The Imperial Army was relentlessly shelling the Hive City, and energy had to be carefully managed to ensure the Void Shield didn't fail under the onslaught.
+++Warning: An error has occurred in a node+++
A servo-skull trembled and announced an error.
"Go check al-144-cv-1754," Nesegas ordered a red-robed Tech-Servitor.
The servitor obeyed and walked out.
However, the tech-servitor's signal immediately disconnected.
Confusion flashed in Nesegas's optical implants.
He tried to call out to the servitor but received no response.
A malfunction?
Nesegas strode out of the control room.
Then, the lumens began to flicker, finally plunging the entire control room into pitch darkness.
A strange laugh echoed in the dark.
+++Abnormal life signs detected+++
An armed gun-servitor emitted a mechanical sound.
The three servo-skulls beside him echoed the alert.
They had all undergone extensive modifications, allowing them a massive range of rotation beyond human limits.
"Who's there?" Nesegas looked alarmed, his prosthetic eye scanning the darkness, but finding nothing.
"I am the Emperor's Wrath, I am the Midnight Ghost, I am the Punisher, I have come for you."
The voice sounded like a ghost, echoing in the control room and sending a shiver down the spine.
But the gun-servitors failed to lock onto the target, and panicked cries echoed in the control room.
+++Target locked, executing annihilation protocol+++
The gun-servitor broadcast its intention while activating the massive boltgun on its arm.
The heavy boltgun fired, ejected casings clanging loudly.
The explosive rounds missed the unseen enemy.
Instead, they struck the servitors and slaves in the control room, instantly pulverizing them.
After accidentally hitting friendly forces, the gun-servitors did not stop firing.
The guns kept blasting, reducing other working computing machines to scrap as well.
Nesegas scanned the area but found no trace of an intruder.
It was as if the enemy didn't exist at all, just a trick of the imagination.
"Stop!" Nesegas shouted, ordering his minions to cease fire.
+++Command received, killing protocol terminated, awaiting new command+++
The machines fell silent.
Nesegas breathed a sigh of relief.
He walked up to the mangled corpses and scanned them, trying to find any clues.
"You really messed that up. If you hadn't stopped them, I would have had a lot less trouble with these guys."
The voice came from directly behind Nesegas. He spun around to see a pair of scarlet eyes.
"I am the Ghost of the Night, I am the Executioner of Extermination, I am Batman, the Guardian of Gotham, the Joker's mortal enemy."
'Batman' spoke in a teasing tone, not waiting for the Priest to respond.
His sharp claws instantly pierced through the Priest's body, destroying his logic engine and processing core.
Nesegas died before he could even react.
"Too bad I don't subscribe to the 'no killing' rule."
Batman pulled out his claws, and the Priest's body slowly slid to the floor.
+++Controller deceased, killing protocol restarted+++
When the armed servitors opened fire again, Batman had already dashed from his original position.
Screams echoed again in the room.
The armed servitors slaughtered everyone left in the control room before finally being torn to pieces by Batman, the Lord of the Night.
After everything was over, Batman stepped over the scattered corpses and walked to the control panel.
He implanted a viral program chip into the console, then turned and left.
A moment later, a series of error codes flashed across the screen.
Not long after,
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion ripped through the area.
The out-of-control energy device was like a powerful bomb.
It instantly destroyed buildings within a mile radius; the blast radius was terrifying.
The energy supply was severed, and several sections of the Void Shield flickered and winked out.
The besieging Imperial forces quickly noticed the breach.
And this was just one of the acts of destruction carried out by the infiltration team.
In the main data-control room, hundreds of millions of data cables converged.
The server, connected to the mainframe, sat here, linked to the database, sorting information flow from different regions.
Tech-Priests continuously muttered, repeating the commands and statements they received.
The automated copy machines ticked rhythmically, and the information conduits hummed incessantly.
Magos Osa, monitoring the area, tirelessly urged his servitors to replace damaged parts to ensure smooth communication.
However, the next second, the armed mech-servitor standing next to him suddenly convulsed.
An overwhelming amount of data instantly overloaded its mechanical mind.
Bright sparks flew from the mechanical parts.
They all then collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Only a few remained intact and unaffected.
Magos Osa went over to check the fallen mech-servitors and discovered they had all been infected with a virus specifically designed to target machine minds.
+++This is a grave disrespect and blasphemy against the Machine God+++
Magos Osa was enraged and issued orders to the remaining armed servitors.
Mechanical thoughts were transmitted to the armed servitors' brains via neural network connections.
+++Go check for intruders+++
The armed servitors left the main information room, but one remained perfectly still.
+++Execute my command, or I'll send you back to the production line.+++
Magos Osa walked over, continuously issuing threats via mechanical thought.
The armed servitor was unmoved, instead aiming its meltagun at Magos Osa.
+++Alpha-ER-35, mission instruction error, correct immediately+++
"Sorry, I can't do that."
The moment the armed servitor spoke, Magos Osa's eyes widened in shock.
Clearly, the person standing there was not an Alpha-ER-35, but an intruder.
"Who are you?"
"I am Alpharius."
The armed servitor grinned, revealing a purely human smile, and then pulled the meltagun's trigger.
A scorching beam of light burst forth, instantly obliterating the Magos's upper body.
"You can also call me the Clown."
The 'Clown' looked at the half-destroyed Magos and spoke lightly.
After quickly rigging the bombs, he left, humming a small tune.
Once he reached a safe distance, he sent the detonation command.
In an instant, the entire main information room was engulfed in explosive flames.
The network connecting all units on the battlefield was instantly severed.
Countless mechanical units showed confused error messages, uncomfortable with the sudden network disruption.
The backup network was quickly activated, but the disruption still caused several crucial minutes of chaos.
The infiltration team's actions caused the once-impregnable defenses to suffer repeated catastrophic failures.
The Imperial Army seized the opportunity and broke through in a single swift movement.
Massive numbers of Imperial troops poured in through the breach.
Thousands of Astartes, millions of Imperial Guardsmen, along with Titans, Knight Suits, and a vast array of drones and Warhound-class intelligent mechs.
They surged into the Hive City like a tidal wave, shooting and burning every armed enemy in sight.
The former slave laborers also rose up in rebellion, using stolen tools and weapons to fight their overseers.
Soon, the Forge City fell completely.
"This doesn't align with logical calculations! You shouldn't have broken through so fast!"
When the Warmaster and his men stormed into Galamond's lab, the Dark Magos roared hysterically, unable to accept his defeat.
He tried to fight back, but his weapons were quickly disabled.
He and his cohorts were quickly subdued and captured by the players.
As for not simply killing them outright...
The reward for live capture was simply too high.
The news of the fall of the Forge Hive plunged the remaining traitors of the Ras Forgeworld into utter despair.
With Void control lost and the last hope of a comeback extinguished, they had only one path left: death.
Daniel and Arale entered the heavily shielded laboratory where the Paradox Engine was being researched.
The lab covered a vast area, with equipment towering like small mountains.
Countless cables, like massive snakes, coiled and crawled across the floor, connecting various devices.
In the center of the laboratory sat a gleaming silver platform.
A house-sized, spherical, black structure floated above the platform.
Paradoxical light surged through the cracks covering the sphere, as if a compressed sun were hidden within.
"Arale, investigate this Paradox Engine."
"Yes, Master."
Arale was fast, producing a detailed report in no time.
The Paradox Engine could not only generate a beam of light in the Warp, like a miniature Astronomican, to guide ships through the Warp,
It could also continuously draw energy from the Immaterium, allowing the controller and their entire species to achieve sublimation.
An ancient alien race once attempted to use this machine to evolve into higher-dimensional beings.
That race ultimately failed and was consumed by the Warp.
During Humanity's Golden Age, colonists who came to Calixis unearthed this device and attempted to improve it, but were unsuccessful.
When the Imperium established governance in the Calixis Sector and restored human rule,
Tech-Priests of the Ras Forgeworld, during an archaeological dig, unearthed it again and began secretly studying it.
"Absorb energy from the Immaterium, achieve life-level sublimation, and become a higher-dimensional being?"
Daniel frowned.
This Paradox Engine sounded an awful lot like the Aether Engine.
It just wasn't big enough. If it had been built to the size of a star, it might have actually succeeded.
At that moment, a golden mission screen appeared.
[Task: Obtain the Paradox Engine (Completed). Reward has been issued.]
A huge rush of knowledge flooded into Daniel's mind.
It was information concerning Lighthouse 2.0 technology.
"Time to upgrade the Imperial Glory and see just how powerful the Lighthouse Version 2.0 is."
Daniel decided to use the resources of the Ras Forgeworld to upgrade the Imperial Glory.
He would upgrade it to a super-heavy battleship and install the Lighthouse Version 2.0.