The Chaos faction's communication channel crackled with a restless, oppressive energy. It was completely unlike the savage bloodbath raging at the Heralius front.
The original plan, multiple synchronized strikes to shatter Imperial defenses in one swift blow, had ground to a frustrating stalemate at several key hive cities. In some areas, the tide was even starting to turn.
Scorchwind's respawn point was tucked beside an altar built from blasphemous runes and pulsing flesh-tubes.
He'd only just revived from his fight with I Am Not God. The phantom ache in his chest, combined with the faint golden debuff icon from [Honor's Vengeance], was like gasoline on a fire.
His rage over the deteriorating battle situation was ready to explode.
He pulled up the faction's overall combat status panel, scanning the data curves that tracked troop strength, controlled territory, and key objective capture rates. Most were flat or dropping, especially at Heralius Hive City.
That sector, freshly pounded by artillery and then immediately refilled by Imperial players with waves of gray cannon fodder and those mysterious hulking units, had turned into a meat grinder for Chaos forces.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!"
He couldn't hold it in anymore. His voice tore through the Chaos faction's global voice and text channel, garbled by harsh electronic static from his vox modulator.
"How long have we been at this?! Open your damn eyes and look at our troop count! Look at what we've burned through! We haven't even taken a single complete hive city! Is everyone asleep at the wheel?!"
The channel went silent for a few seconds.
Then several messages popped up, tinged with frustration or resignation:
"Wind, losing it won't fix anything. Check out that golden-glowing guy on the Imperial side. It's like he's got god mode on, cutting through our daemon swarms like it's Dynasty Warriors.
His score's going through the roof! And those grunts around him are all juiced up too. They don't even flinch at dying."
"Right. Omsk got Astartes reinforcements, and it's the Ultramarines. Tough as nails. We've got numbers with the plague zombies and Horrors, but the quality gap is real."
"Scorchwind, you've got high points and high permissions. Complaining won't do squat. Check if there's some ace we can play! I'm seeing battlefield intensity over 50% now!"
That last message snapped Scorchwind to attention.
He quickly closed the complaint channel and brought up his tactical interface. Sure enough, at the top of the support panel, a category labeled [Chaos Strategic Protocols], previously grayed out, was now pulsing with sinister dark red and purple-black light. Blasphemous runes crawled across its edges.
He clicked in.
Three options appeared, each radiating a distinctly different but equally dangerous aura:
[Dark Mechanicum Support Protocol] | Activation Cost: 1 point | Status: Awaiting Activation
[Black Legion Support Protocol] | Activation Cost: 1 point | Status: Awaiting Activation
[Request Greater Daemon Manifestation Support] | Activation Cost: 10,000 points | Status: Locked (Requires special conditions or higher intensity)
Below each option was a short explanation:
[Note: Battlefield Intensity reaching 50% enables activation of one support protocol. Once activated, that protocol's affiliated force will commit heavily to the battle. When Battlefield Intensity reaches 100%, another protocol can be unlocked and activated. Greater Daemon manifestation requires additional sacrificial conditions or battlefield intensity exceeding 80%.]
Scorchwind's eyes darted across the three choices.
Ten thousand points for a Greater Daemon? He dismissed it immediately. Not enough points, conditions unclear.
The Black Legion? Sounded like elite Chaos Space Marines. Probably devastating.
But the Dark Mechanicum option caught his interest.
He knew about the Mechanicus, of course. Back on the Death Hive City map, those cold Skitarii who turned living people into servitors had left quite an impression. Their steel-wave tactics and advanced tech weren't to be taken lightly.
So what would a Dark Mechanicum look like, the Mechanicus branch that fell to Chaos?
Technology blessed by the Warp, what kind of nightmare would that produce?
Plus, mechanical constructs usually meant large-scale, mass-producible war machines. Maybe just what they needed to break this deadlock and regain momentum.
"Black Legion sounds solid, but Dark Mechanicum has more potential for surprises."
Scorchwind licked his lips, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
He loved the unknown. Loved overwhelming power that could crush everything in its path.
Old Devil Medici hadn't given detailed descriptions. Perfect. That was exactly the kind of blind-box thrill he craved, along with the rush of personally unleashing this horror and making it his weapon.
"You're the one."
Without another moment's hesitation, he selected [Dark Mechanicum Support Protocol] and hit the activation button.
[Confirm Activation of Dark Mechanicum Support Protocol? This will irreversibly summon Dark Mechanicum forces to intervene in the current planetary campaign. Their creations and philosophy will fundamentally alter the battlefield environment.]
"Confirm!"
[Command received... Invoking the Despoiler of Machines... Petitioning dark stars for knowledge...]
[Connecting to the Eye of Terror... Connecting to the Forge of Souls... Connecting to countless cursed forge worlds...]
[Blasphemous binary prayer transmitted... Response... Twisted logic approved...]
[Dark Mechanicum Support Protocol: Activated!]
A completely different sensation swept through the entire Chaos faction's communication and logistics network. Cold. Viscous. Like oil and rust mixed with Warp whispers.
Every Chaos player's interface washed over with purple-black and rust-red light, and an unsettling announcement materialized:
[Vashtorr Has Heard the Clamor of War!]
[The Dark Mechanicum Answers the Call, Joining This Grand Blasphemous Experiment!]
[The Unholy Fusion of Steel and Flesh, the Chaotic Marriage of Logic and Madness: Begins Now!]
[May Their Creations Bring Endless Suffering and Destruction, May Their Knowledge Corrode All Order!]
Immediately, Scorchwind's support panel transformed.
A completely new [Dark Mechanicum Support] page unfolded in disturbing light, centered on an emblem that merged twisted gears, exposed piping, writhing flesh, and the Chaos eight-pointed star.
The options were nothing like the Imperial Astartes' pristine lists. These reeked of blasphemy and mutation:
[First Wave of Blasphemous Constructs/Units Responding to Deployment:]
· [Khorne Daemon Engine] - Deployed
· [Tzeentch Daemon Engine] - Deployed
· [Nurgle Daemon Engine] - Deployed
· [Slaanesh Daemon Engine] - Deployed
· (Additional Dark Forge Products: In Production/In Warp Transit/Awaiting Activation)
But it wasn't just a unit roster.
The page also opened a brand new [Dark Technology Shop], where various Chaos-modified weapons, armor, and vehicle components could be purchased. There were even options for Dark Mechanization Modifications to player characters themselves.
Almost the instant the protocol activated, the Chaos fleet in orbit around Planet Alacaster began to move.
Larger than standard Chaos drop pods and irregular in shape, their surfaces covered in squirming flesh or rusted metal and constantly dripping unknown fluids, these deployment sacs or construct pods slammed toward the planet's war zones like diseased meteors. They trailed purple-black or sickly green contrails.
These Daemon Engines or Chaos Constructs weren't purely biological or mechanical. They were horrifying hybrids, forcibly fused and twisted by Warp corruption.
Some resembled giant spiders, with razor-sharp metal legs but roaring daemon faces for heads.
Others looked like mobile fortresses, bristling with cannons built from bone and bio-organic tissue that spewed foul energy.
Still others defied rational description, just churning amalgamations of metal and flesh that constantly shifted shape and shrieked sounds that corroded the mind.
Their arrival sparked fresh chaos and panic across every battlefield.
Imperial firepower was far less effective against these monsters blessed by both the Warp and dark technology. Meanwhile, their inherent corrosiveness, mental interference, and direct energy attacks devastated mortal soldiers and light vehicles.
The Dark Mechanicum's tide of steel and blasphemy had entered the field.
The technological and horrific dimensions of the war had just been ratcheted up to a new, more desperate level.
The Chaos counterattack, accompanied by the grinding screech of metal and daemon shrieks, had officially begun.