99: Chapter 99 Good News and Bad News

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Realizing it couldn't win, the Genestealer Patriarch abandoned all sense of honor and began frantically summoning its minions.

Large numbers of unfinished and unevolved Purestrain Genestealers were forcibly awakened, screeching as they crawled out of incubation sacs throughout the cavern, lunging like madmen at Fu Haoran and his group.

At the elevator entrance, the pressure on Ling Shuang and the others suddenly intensified as Genestealers flooded in with suicidal recklessness.

A mountain of corpses nearly blocked the elevator entrance; the stench was almost tangible, and the screeching made the rock walls hum.

The communication channel suddenly crackled with noise, and Ling Shuang’s anxious call came through amidst the roar of heavy bolter fire:

"Governor! The Genestealers have gone mad! They're launching a suicidal assault!"

"We're almost out of ammunition! We can hold for another hour at most!"

Fu Haoran also wanted a quick resolution, but the problem was that this beast was playing hide-and-seek.

The Patriarch's massive body leaped across the rocky outcrops, darting through the shadows of the cavern. It refused to face them head-on, relying instead on a continuous stream of minions to wear down their stamina. It was clearly stalling for time, waiting for all the Genestealers in the Underhive to surround them.

"Wait! It... it's not hiding! It's using psychic energy to send a signal! That beacon is still active!"

"The beast is stalling for time!" Tychus's expression was grim as his club smashed the skull of a lunging Genestealer.

"You think I don't know that?"

Fu Haoran's chainsword swept out, bisecting a leaping Purestrain Genestealer. With a backhand motion, he shoved his bolter into another Genestealer's mouth and pulled the trigger, blowing its head off instantly.

The purple light in Tychus's eyes flared as his psychic precognition triggered, precisely predicting the trajectory of three Genestealers. His dual power clubs swept left and right, crushing two heads, while a backhand psychic bolt carbonized the third.

He didn't forget to snap back at Fu Haoran: "The debt for you scheming against me just now—we'll settle it after the fight!"

"Settle it then, you think I'm afraid?" Fu Haoran dodged a rock thrown by the Patriarch. "Who was the one slacking so hard the boat almost capsized?"

"I call that conserving my strength!"

Tychus smashed an Aberrant away and recited a short poem in High Gothic: "The Arbites' hounds chased for ten years, but in the dark alleys of the Hive, I'm still the one who calls the shots."

Dredd's face turned green. He had returned to the group carrying the unconscious Bishop Moriah, and as soon as he landed, he heard an Ogryn bringing up old wounds involving him and his master. He was instantly enraged.

He cleaved through a Genestealer in his face and roared, "You actually have the heart to recite poetry right now?!"

"Dredd, keep a close eye on that woman. Don't let her die, and don't let her run. I still have a use for her!" Fu Haoran felt compelled to remind him.

Tychus grinned, his power club crushing another Genestealer's head. "This is called the art of combat. It's normal that you don't get it; your master Grix didn't understand it back then either."

Dredd ignored him, seizing an opportunity to slam his chainsword into a heavily wounded Purestrain Genestealer.

Just as he was about to land the blow, a chain of lightning descended from above, turning the Purestrain into charcoal.

Dredd's sword hit nothing but air, nearly throwing his back out.

He turned to glare at Tychus, his eyes bloodshot. "You're stealing my kills?!"

Tychus looked innocent as he shook the xenos blood off his club. "I'm just helping you finish it off, worried you couldn't cut through. You hit that last one three times before it died; I was getting anxious for you."

"That was a feint!"

"Feinting what? Testing if its carapace was hard?" Tychus mocked.

Fu Haoran's roar interrupted their bickering. "Stop arguing! Get the Patriarch off that wall first! The outside won't hold for much longer!"

Everyone knew they had to kill the Patriarch quickly. Once the Patriarch died, the entire cult's psychic link would be severed; only then would there be hope of ending the battle.

Fu Haoran cleaved through a Genestealer's skull and shouted to Tychus, "Tychus, help me! I have a plan to kill this beast!"

"What kind of scheme is it this time?" Tychus swatted away a rock thrown by the Patriarch. His palm split open, blood flowing, yet he grinned. "Speak! I'll cooperate!"

Fu Haoran snapped his fingers.

From the shadows, over a dozen Servo-skulls carrying melta bombs instantly buzzed into the air.

Welded to the mechanical arm of each skull was a delayed-trigger melta bomb, exclusive to Imperial military technology. They were designed to tear through heavy armor; they could even blast through a Space Marine's power armor.

Fu Haoran ordered, "Tychus! Shock it down from the wall!"

"Copy that!"

The purple light in Tychus's eyes surged as he brought his power clubs together, unleashing a barrel-thick bolt of psychic lightning that slammed into the Patriarch on the wall.

"Graaaagh!"

The Patriarch shrieked in pain, its massive body falling from the wall and crashing heavily into the ground, sending debris flying.

Before it could rise, over a dozen Cyber-Mastiffs lunged at it like mad, sinking their teeth into its limbs and massive claws, refusing to let go no matter how it thrashed.

The crippled executioner mech nearby, which had completely stalled, suddenly let out a final roar. It squeezed out the last bit of energy from somewhere, using its remaining single arm to push off the ground and crawl over inch by inch.

Its hydraulic rods hummed frantically; even as its armor was shredded by the massive claws, it refused to let go.

This was its final act of loyalty.

"Hurry! I can't hold it for long!" Tychus roared, his psychic lightning continuing to suppress the Patriarch's movements.

"Go!"

At Fu Haoran's command, the dozen Servo-skulls buzzed forward, circling the Patriarch frantically.

The Patriarch roared and swung its massive claws, crushing three skulls with one swipe and batting away four more with another.

Fragments of skulls and explosive residue scattered everywhere; only the last two remained.

One skull tried to break through from the front but was bitten to pieces by the Patriarch, its mechanical parts raining down.

Only one left.

It circled the Patriarch twice but couldn't find an opening; the Patriarch was shielding the bloody hole in its abdomen with its massive claws, leaving no vulnerability.

Fu Haoran gritted his teeth, lunged forward with all his strength, and revved his chainsword to its limit, slamming it into the Patriarch's only remaining intact left eye.

"Graaaagh!"

The Patriarch screamed in agony, its claws instinctively releasing to cover its eye.

In that very instant!

The last Servo-skull dove down, its mechanical arm precisely latching into the gap of the abdominal wound, locking on tight.

Sensing mortal danger, the Patriarch twisted its body frantically, trying to shake the skull off.

Too late.

Fu Haoran slammed down the trigger switch.

Luodibujue says: Read this book!

Boom!

The melta bomb detonated instantly. A directional jet of metal at thousands of degrees erupted, piercing straight through the Patriarch's internal organs and melting a basin-sized hole through its original wound.

Green xenos blood gushed out, sizzling as it hit the ground and releasing white smoke.

The Patriarch let out a scream of ultimate agony, its massive body staggering backward. Even with its organs heavily damaged, it was still not dead, its six compound eyes filled with insane murderous intent.

Tychus panted heavily and roared at Fu Haoran, "This thing isn't right! It's way stronger than any Patriarch I've seen in Grix's archives!"

Before his voice could fade, the purple light in Tychus's eyes began to flicker wildly.

He wasn't some orthodox psychic master, but at this moment, pushed to the limit by continuous slaughter, Fu Haoran's trust, and the brink of death, a bellyful of fire and frustration rushed to his head.

A violent bolt of psychic lightning erupted from his palm, slamming directly into the Patriarch's wound.

Sizzle!

Electrical arcs at thousands of degrees surged through the wound, and the stench of charred flesh immediately filled the air.

Not only that, but the psychic lightning traveled through the Patriarch's neural pathways throughout its body, simultaneously shocking a dozen nearby Purestrain Genestealers until they were charred black and died on the spot.

The Patriarch's regenerative abilities were completely disrupted by this psychic bolt.

Fu Haoran strode forward with his chainsword. Standing before the Patriarch's swaying body and breathing heavily, he confirmed it had completely lost the ability to resist before raising his sword.

Green xenos blood continued to flow, and the air was thick with the stench of charred rot.

The blade fell.

A crisp crack echoed.

The Genestealer Patriarch's massive head was severed cleanly, rolling onto the ground as green xenos blood sprayed all over him.

[Genestealer Patriarch (Legendary Unit) Slain]

[Main Quest Completed: Swarm Decapitation]

[Quest Rewards: 100,000 general points, 5 Free Attribute Points, Gene Mimicry device (One-time use item) has been delivered to the system warehouse]

[PS: A whole group ganging up on one and still looking this pathetic... you should be ashamed. A certain Political Commissar once soloed a Patriarch; the gap between people is truly vast.]

"It's finally over." Fu Haoran breathed a heavy sigh of relief, ignoring the system's disparagement.

A moment later, however, he suddenly reacted: "No wonder it was so hard to kill, it was a Legendary Unit! System, can you tell me that earlier next time?!"

...

At the same time, the moment the Patriarch died, the Genestealer tide throughout the entire tunnel seemed to hit a pause button.

The Genestealers and infected cultists, who had been utterly fearless, were instantly plunged into confusion.

Having lost their guiding mind, they quickly fell into chaos; some fled frantically while others stood dazed, their previous organization completely gone.

Ling Shuang's exhausted but surprised voice came through the communicator: "Governor! The Genestealer tide has stopped! We won."

Just then, a dull thud came from behind Fu Haoran, followed by Dredd's angry cursing.

He turned to find that Moriah Thousand-Claws, who Dredd had knocked out, had woken up. Taking advantage of the chaos, she broke free and turned to flee into the shadows of the tunnel.

"Thinking of running?"

Dredd's gaze turned sharp, and he gave chase without a second thought.

Moriah turned and unleashed a psychic shock, but Dredd dodged it.

Her expression turned fierce as an invisible psychic wave swept out.

Dredd felt his mind go blank, and double vision appeared before his eyes.

He bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to force himself awake, and lashed out with his mutated bone claw, precisely snagging Moriah's wrist.

Moriah still tried to struggle, psychic lightning condensing at her fingertips.

Dredd gave her no chance, yanking her entire body toward him.

Crack.

Crack.

He directly dislocated her arms and pinned the Genestealer Bishop firmly to the ground.

Moriah tried to counter with psychic energy again, but Dredd slammed a fist into the back of her head, knocking her out completely.

"Run? Go on, run again." Dredd's eyes were full of the thrill of revenge as he kicked away Moriah's fallen weapon and pinned her to the ground.

This was the woman who had caused the death of his entire Arbites squad.

Tychus approached with his power club, looked at the pinned Moriah, and gestured toward Fu Haoran. "Want me to impale her on a spire?"

"I've practiced this. Back when I was under Grix, I impaled seven cult leaders and hung them on the Hive City gates. No one dared get close for three days."

Fu Haoran rolled his eyes. "No need, I still have a use for her."

Tychus grinned and stowed his power club. "Fine, we'll do it your way. But Scarface's pinning technique is wrong; I'll have to teach him later."

Dredd: "..."

The battle was completely over.

The remaining enemies in the Sanctuary were cleared out, Bishop Moriah was captured alive, the Patriarch was decapitated, and the Genestealer Cult in the entire Underhive had completely collapsed.

Fu Haoran finally breathed a sigh of relief. Control over the entire Hive City was now firmly in his hands.

Tychus came over, sat down beside him, and tossed him a bottle of water. Just as he was about to start bragging, his expression suddenly changed. The purple light in his eyes flickered wildly, and he stood up instantly, his face pale.

Fu Haoran frowned. "What's wrong?"

Tychus closed his eyes, spreading his psychic senses to the limit. A few seconds later, he snapped them open and cursed, "For f***'s sake."

"The routed Genestealers have all hidden back in the Underhive tunnels. The path we came from is blocked by them!"

The smile on Fu Haoran's face vanished instantly.

He suddenly realized a fatal problem:

The defeated Genestealer cultists in the Underhive would definitely retreat into the tunnel network, waiting for a new Patriarch to be born so they could gather again.

But that was precisely the problem.

The cultists had all returned there; how were they supposed to get out?

There were no transport craft to pick them up. Did they have to fight their way back?

Don't be ridiculous.

Against millions of Genestealers, how could they fight?

The enemy could wear them down until they died.

This was now thoroughly awkward.

Fu Haoran had only one thought in his mind:

We're in big trouble!