An ill-timed purple progress bar appeared in David's vision.
At first, David thought it was the health bar of that Warlord-class Titan, until the two large words [RAID] appeared above the progress bar.
What the hell? Isn't this supposed to appear only when Illagers attack a Village?
How could this thing show up here?!
Far away on the Tylock Plains, a burst of eye-searing crimson fire bloomed.
Looking down from the peak of the snowy mountain, countless fragments rose from the explosion point.
Not only was David confused about what was happening, but the Cadian soldiers were also bewildered, and the radio channels were a mess of chaos.
"What's happening? Dammit, can someone tell me what's going on?"
"It's the traitors! Those Voskani soldiers have betrayed us! They've been corrupted by Chaos!"
"Dammit, protect the Planetary Governor! Prioritize the Planetary Governor! All mobile units, converge on headquarters!"
"Help me! I'm from the Rowiczki family, I have money! Someone help me..."
The tears and smile that had just appeared on Hans' face vanished, replaced by an expression of blank helplessness.
And that wasn't even the worst of it.
In the sky, beneath the Eye of Terror, countless meteors lit up.
Those were innumerable drop pods, tearing through Cadia's atmosphere and hurtling toward the planet.
David's memory was triggered.
If he remembered correctly, this betrayal and surprise attack launched by the Voskani ultimately led directly to the death of the then-Planetary Governor of Cadia.
It also paved the way for the legendary Lord Castellan, Ursarkar E. Krid.
It was inhumane, but it was an opportunity—a precious chance to come into contact with the future supreme military commander of Cadia.
A drop pod, as if it had eyes, came straight toward him.
David gave the stunned Hans a pull.
Two wooden boats appeared; he squeezed into the lead one with Otis, while Hans jumped into the other.
BOOM!
The drop pod, glowing red-hot from atmospheric friction, landed on the snowy slope dozens of meters behind them.
The high heat melted a vast amount of snow, sending up a thick white mist.
One of the hatches was kicked flying from the inside with a violent 'clang' of sheer, brutal force.
An awe-inspiring figure stepped heavily and slowly out of the hatch.
[Death Guard (Harbinger)]
[150/150, Defense: 30]
A Plague Marine, belonging to the First Company of Harbingers under the command of Typhus of the Death Guard Legion.
His physique was even more massive than a regular Space Marine; swollen flesh squeezed out from the seams of his armor, and in some places, it had even grown fused with the plates, constantly dripping with pustules.
The Death Guard symbol on his pauldrons, once a symbol of glory, was now covered by a writhing, proliferating fungal carpet.
I'm fighting a Chaos Space Marine? For real?
David sucked in a breath of cold air. He didn't even have a diamond armor set yet; how was this any different from fighting a Warden while naked?
"Filthy beast, an existence that defies Father Nurgle's grace... by the Father's will, kill it!"
The Death Guard looked at David... or rather, Otis behind him.
So he's not after me. David turned his head to look at Otis sitting behind him; they stared at each other with wide eyes.
"He called you a filthy beast. Do you have any thoughts on that?"
Otis' response to David was a long, low moo.
Considering your head is full of nothing but wheat all day, you probably don't have many thoughts.
David turned back to look at the Chaos Space Marine.
"Let's go, Hans!" David shouted, giving the rock wall a fierce push and retrieving as much water as possible to prevent the enemy from using his water source.
You want to kill my cow? Not a chance.
The two wooden boats, swept up by the torrential water, rushed over the edge of the cliff and charged into the rapids below.
A sense of weightlessness seized David as water droplets pelted his face, and the rock walls on both sides turned into blurred grey shadows flying upward.
"Moo—ooo—"
From the boat behind, Otis' voice was stretched out by the fall, trailing into a comical vibrato.
At the edge of the cliff above, the Death Guard watched the escaping targets and, without hesitation, stepped forward and leaped down.
No way, he can even follow us down there?
David's face was distorted by the rushing wind of the fall as he looked up.
After falling for a bit, the Death Guard thrust his hand directly into the rock wall, his immense strength piercing the stone as if it were tofu.
Using his hand embedded in the rock as a brief pivot, he kicked off the cliff face and resumed his descent.
Stab, kick, repeat.
As if that wasn't fast enough, after a few boosts, the Death Guard simply adjusted his posture.
With his feet planted on the rock wall, he sprinted down the nearly 60-degree steep slope in a manner that defied the laws of physics.
Seeing the Death Guard getting closer and closer, David rummaged through his backpack for something useful and pulled out a [snowball].
Let's try this. He grabbed the snowball, turned around, and threw it at the Death Guard above.
Three snowballs hit the Death Guard's breastplate in succession, exploding into small patches of white.
Both of them were stunned for a moment.
The Death Guard's ceramite power armor had a knockback resistance effect similar to a Netherite set.
Not only did the snowballs fail to knock him back, but they also enraged him.
The Death Guard raised a hand, brushed away the bits of snow, let out a low growl of offense, and charged down even faster.
While sprinting, he raised a massive gun and aimed it at... Otis behind David!
A large glob of bubbling, dark-green slime hit the wooden boat.
A searing, burning pain flared up. David looked down, and his status bar was flooded with notifications:
[Zombie plague I], [Poison III], [Slowness II], [Weakness I], [Nausea I]... a dozen or so debuff icons lit up in total.
Oh, is that all?
David pulled out a bucket of beast milk, tilted his head back, and chugged it down.
He also gave a big gulp to the terrified Otis next to him, dispelling the bit of venom that had splashed onto it.
It seems... he's not that strong?
David smacked his lips, looking at his clean status bar with a sense of absurd relief.
One should know that the tactic the Death Guard was most proud of was relying on the power of plague to invisibly and unknowingly infiltrate the enemy, thereby dismantling them from within.
It was pervasive, incurable, and utterly terrifying.
This action completely ignited the Death Guard's fury.
"To desecrate the Father's gift is unforgivable!"
The Death Guard reached behind his back and drew a Manreaper scythe.
Even angrier, even more crazed, he was prepared to do whatever it took to cut down the person before him.
Seeing the Death Guard blinded by rage and charging headlong,
David reached into his backpack and placed cobblestone on the sliding path not far behind him.
Stone blocks appeared out of thin air. The Death Guard, eyes fixed only on his prey, completely failed to expect this move.
He slammed squarely into a block of cobblestone.
His charging momentum stalled, and his body stumbled. Although he wasn't injured, his speed dropped sharply.
He swung the Manreaper scythe, smashing the blocking cobblestone into powder, but more blocks appeared in his path.
The Death Guard hacked away furiously, and David placed them frantically.
I have 6 stacks of stone. I don't believe you can chop faster than I can place them!
Cobblestone was constantly turned to dust under the scythe,
but new obstacles always appeared at critical moments, precisely blocking his path, disrupting the Death Guard's charging rhythm and forcing him to slow down repeatedly.
Despite his terrifying strength and speed, the Death Guard was rendered unable to move an inch by this endless supply of stone.
Accelerated by the current, the wooden boats went faster and faster, gradually leaving the roars behind.
David took a moment to look back. That terrifying figure in relentless pursuit had already become a small dot.
"Phew..." David let out a long breath and patted the still-shaken Otis.
"Safe for now."