Zeke stood on the surface of Mariatus, the Webway Fragment clutched in his hand.
There was no time to lose; he decided to test it immediately.
He built a Nether Portal on the spot and placed a wooden sign next to it, labeling it "Nether Portal A."
Not far away, he constructed "Nether Portal B."
Now was the critical moment.
He raised the Webway Fragment, focused his mind, and fixed his gaze on Nether Portal B before him.
The starlight within the fragment was awakened, flowing out in several strands of light.
Zeke saw every Nether Portal he had built so far, including those at Refinery No. 1 and Refinery No. 2.
Zeke selected Nether Portal A and Nether Portal B, linking the two gateways together.
The connection was established. The durability of the Webway Fragment in Zeke's hand dropped by 1%.
At the same time, the two Nether Portals underwent a transformation.
The originally swirling purple vortex turned transparent, becoming a thin, water-like film.
Through this film, Zeke could see the wooden sign standing beside the opposite portal.
Zeke stood before Nether Portal A and stepped into the film.
This time, he didn't arrive in the Nether. Instead, he stepped directly out onto the sandy ground of Nether Portal B.
"Incredible," Zeke murmured, excitedly beginning further tests.
This time, he stood outside Nether Portal A and poked his head into the gate.
His entire head emerged from Nether Portal B.
He turned his head slightly and could even glimpse his own headless body standing outside Nether Portal A.
He pulled his head back, and everything returned to normal.
After a few more tests, Zeke realized that the durability consumption of the Webway Fragment was related to the link distance.
The farther the distance between the two linked Nether Portals, the greater the durability cost.
However, he didn't panic. Trazyn wasn't the only source of Webway Fragments.
The Aeldari, as one of the creations of the Old Ones, had taken control of the vast majority of the Webway following the Old Ones' demise.
As it happened, he still had an Eldar Harlequin as a guest back home.
He'd have to prod her a bit—see if he could dig out a few more Webway Fragments.
–
Zeke returned to Refinery No. 1. He carried all the obsidian mined he had obtained over the past few days.
Using a blueprint, he began constructing a colossal Nether Portal outside the Refinery
This portal was large enough to allow the Firemane's Fang to pass through.
The machine had been very effective; the amount of obsidian excavated was enough to meet such a massive construction requirement.
He activated this super-sized Nether Portal with flint and steel, and a purple glow enveloped the entire Refinery No. 1.
–
Per Zeke's instructions, personnel from the Adeptus Mechanicus were gathering all supplies.
The Golden Apple Farm, the Potion Brewery, and the Iron Golem Farm were all being consolidated, ready for transfer.
Wolf Lord Bloodhowl stood with Zeke in front of this super-sized Nether Portal.
"Have you decided? Head back to Cadia first to assess the situation, or charge straight for the Blackstone Fortress and take Abaddon's head?" Bloodhowl asked.
"Is it impossible to have both?" Zeke asked in return.
Zeke took out a newly crafted Ender Chest and handed it to Wolf Lord Bloodhowl.
"If there are urgent matters in the future, we can communicate through this chest. Just write what you want to say on a slip of paper and put it inside, and I'll receive it."
Zeke was the only "player" in the Warhammer world; regardless of who placed an Ender Chest, it would always link to Zeke's inventory.
Bloodhowl took the chest. "Does this thing have a distance limit?"
"No distance limit."
"Will it be interfered with by the Warp?"
"No," Zeke shook his head repeatedly. "Use it with confidence."
"Alright, I'll hold onto it."
"By the way, did you get in touch with Castellan Creed?"
"I did. It took some time, but your message was finally delivered."
"That's good." Zeke had been urging Bloodhowl to find a way to contact Creed.
The Ender Pearl, currently held in a stasis field, was ready to be released.
"In a little while, I'll probably just go whoosh and return directly to Cadia." Zeke pointed to himself.
"Keep an eye on this Nether Portal," Zeke said. "I guarantee it will give you a big surprise."
Zeke left it as a teaser.
Thinking about his imminent return to Cadia, Zeke felt a bit emotional.
He hadn't seen Dance or Cow in a long time. He wondered how they were doing...
Strictly speaking, only two or three days had passed since he arrived on Mariatus.
But amidst the ceaseless fighting, it felt as if a long time had gone by.
Waiting for the Ender Pearl was getting a bit boring.
Zeke looked at Bloodhowl, who was also staring blankly at the Nether Portal, and his hands began to itch for something to do.
"Wolf Lord Bloodhowl," Zeke leaned over. "Since we're idle anyway, want to play a mini-game with me?"
"A mini-game?"
"I'll take that as a yes." Without waiting for an answer, Zeke pulled a blueprint from his backpack, flipping through until he found an entertainment facility he had saved during his spare time.
On the open ground, a large arena encased in obsidian appeared before them.
The internal structure of the platform was divided into four layers. The bottommost layer was empty.
Above that was a layer paved entirely with TNT.
On top of the TNT was a layer of sand.
The topmost layer was covered in stone pressure plates.
TNT wasn't very useful in the Warhammer world—it felt less effective than a Leman Russ tank—so Zeke rarely used it.
"The rules are simple." Zeke hopped onto the arena stage first, stepping on a few pressure plates to demonstrate.
"As long as you step on a pressure plate, it activates the TNT, and the sand will fall along with it."
"Whoever falls to the bottom first loses." Zeke said to Wolf Lord Bloodhowl and handed him a stack of snowballs.
"No jumping allowed," Zeke added.
When Wolf Lord Bloodhowl first stepped onto the pressure plate-covered arena...
The click-clack sound of the plates under his feet and the loosening of the sand layer immediately put him into a state of high alert.
After just a few rounds of engagement, a look of excitement—like finding a new toy—surfaced on his face.
This game suited his appetite perfectly!
The first test was speed.
On a limited platform, whoever could move faster to seize the safe zones held the initiative.
For a Space Wolf known for rapid assaults, this was practically instinct.
The second test was adaptability.
Not only did one have to avoid the pressure plates they triggered themselves, but they also had to predict their opponent's movement.
Just as the blocks beneath the opponent's feet were collapsing, a perfectly timed snowball to the face would cause a brief stagger, enough to send them plummeting.
"Interesting!" Bloodhowl began to run in a circle with Zeke as the center.
Wherever he passed, patches of pressure plates lit up, and blocks fell away.
He was creating an encirclement of death, compressing Zeke's operating space to the minimum until there was nowhere left to run.
Since jumping was forbidden in this game, if you triggered all the blocks around your opponent, victory was essentially yours.
"Trying to trap me?" How could Zeke not see his plan?
He fired multiple snowballs in succession. One snowball smashed into Bloodhowl, causing the Wolf Lord's movement to pause for a split second.
Zeke seized this opportunity to rush straight out of the encirclement of death before it could close.
Breaking out of the trap, Zeke didn't stop for a moment; he turned back and fired two more snowballs in rapid succession.
The Space Wolf's speed was simply too fast. Even if his snowballs hit, Bloodhowl could still escape before the blocks beneath his feet fell.
As the two faced off, the remaining blocks in the arena grew fewer and fewer.
Their combat space was being compressed; victory or defeat would be decided any moment.
Zeke pulled a Potion of Speed II from his backpack and downed it. His speed surged instantly.
"Sorry, Wolf Lord. Coming through!"
Riding the momentum of Speed II, Zeke charged toward the area where Bloodhowl was standing, his target clear.
He aimed for the few remaining, crucial pressure plates connecting the solitary patch beneath Bloodhowl's feet to the main platform of the arena.
Zeke rapidly stomped on those three vital pressure plates.
"You—" Bloodhowl watched helplessly as the three plates lit up. The sand lost all support and plummeted.
The area beneath Bloodhowl's feet turned into a solitary peak suspended over nothingness on all four sides.
The only bridge had been destroyed by Zeke's own hands.
"Cheater!" Wolf Lord Bloodhowl's face flushed red. "You're playing dirty!"
Zeke was just about to explain that all is fair in war.
Suddenly, he turned into a flash of purple light and vanished.
Wolf Lord Bloodhowl stared at the arena, now containing only himself, realizing that Zeke had already returned to Cadia.
The sand beneath his feet finally gave way, sliding downwards.
Bloodhowl allowed himself to fall along with the sand and stone into the deep pit several meters below.
His armor crashed into the sand pit, kicking up a cloud of dust.
He lay at the bottom of the pit, looking up at the broken frame of the arena above.
"Hahahahaha." He sat up. "That was pretty interesting, that little game."
With no opponent, the game was naturally over.
He powered his legs and, with a crisp, clean leap, jumped back up to ground level.
"Once this business with the Blackstone Fortress is over, I'll have a proper match with that kid."
"Next time, I'm definitely winning."