Chapter 147: Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [147]

The Ace Slaanesh Killer let out a cruel smile, purple light radiating from his body. The runes on his demonic sword began to glow as the weapon flew out from his asteroid pouch. This was his specialty! And truthfully, he had been itching for a slaughter. Unlike the golden one, he, who inherited the power of Slaanesh, preferred killing—especially slaughtering Dark Eldar. He raised the purple rune sword in his hand, unleashing over a dozen terrifying purple sword slashes toward the Dark Eldar fleet ahead. These slashes, imbued with the divine power of Slaanesh from the Warp and his strength, effortlessly destroyed the Dark Eldar ships at the forefront. As the massive purple giant emerged, with his demonic helmet and its grotesque, elongated tongue protruding from the mask, the Dark Eldar froze. His armor, exuding blasphemous and malevolent energy, along with the terrifying rune sword in his hand, left no doubt in their minds: this was an old foe. "Impossible! Slaanesh? This is Slaanesh!" The terrifying sight of the monstrous figure struck fear into the hearts of the Dark Eldar. They had merely come here on a treasure hunt, but to their horror, they had instead encountered this creature—the nightmare of their race. "No! Slaanesh can't enter the Webway! This... this must be one of his greater daemons or a Daemon Prince!" exclaimed one of the Dark Eldar. "What is happening? Why? Why would a Keeper of Secrets—a greater daemon of Slaanesh—appear in the Webway? And why in Commorragh?" But no one had an answer to his question. By now, the Ace Slaanesh Killer had charged forward, shattering a colossal hundred-meter-long ship with a single swing of his sword. He laughed madly, his rune sword unleashing relentless, terrifying purple slashes. At the same time, he fired devastating purple shockwaves from his palm, annihilating the Dark Eldar fleet before him. In mere moments, the first wave of the Dark Aeldari Eldar near the asteroid belt had been completely obliterated. "This is a trap! A trap! Run! Flee!" "Slaanesh wants to take our souls! Run for your lives!" "Hahaha! Your souls are mine!" the Ace Slaanesh KIller roared with excitement, charging forward with his purple rune sword. He descended upon Commorragh itself. The massive city spanned the size of dozens of planets. Within a single district, the slaughter began. The Executioner swung his massive sword wildly, and before him, none of the Dark Eldar could resist—they were wiped out in an instant. To Rhodes, it felt like watching a live-action kaiju movie. The Ace Slaanesh Killer rampaged through the Dark Eldar city like a monster tearing apart a metropolis. His purple rune sword continued to reap the lives of the Eldar without pause. Against a Slaanesh daemon of this magnitude, the Dark Eldar felt no will to resist. Each Dark Eldar was born with the knowledge that their soul was constantly being consumed by Slaanesh. There was no escape—unless they tortured others to steal their soul energy and hatred, they could not preserve their souls. Commorragh, the bloodiest and most depraved city in the galaxy, was a place of endless slaughter, betrayal, and deceit. Yet today, this city—safe for millennia—had been invaded by a daemon. Could it be that the Gate of Khaine had been breached? But if the Gate of Khaine had truly been destroyed, then countless daemon armies should have poured in. Just a single Slaanesh daemon couldn't appear. As the Ace Slaanesh Killer continued his carnage, the resistance within Commorragh began to mobilize. Elite Dark Eldar forces, massive Titan-like constructs, and even grotesque flesh golems crafted by the Haemonculi joined the fray—among them, ice-beast warriors created by Rhodes himself. The Ace Slaanesh Killer soared through the skies, dodging attacks with incredible agility. Even when stray blasts managed to hit him, they were absorbed by the psychic shield formed by his purple daemon armor. "How is this possible? This creature... it's too agile! It can fly?" exclaimed one of the scheming Dark Eldar leaders as they watched the purple giant unleash devastating waves of energy from above. "No matter what, we must take this thing down! We've been fighting for so long, yet no other Slaanesh daemons have appeared. This means the Gate of Khaine hasn't been destroyed—this creature is here for some unknown reason, likely due to that massive energy surge earlier," said a Haemonculus. "Warriors! Attack! Kill it! It's only one daemon!" A massive force of Dark Eldar surged forward, joining the battle to overwhelm the Ace Slaanesh Killer. But as the Ace Slaanesh Killer faced tens of thousands of enemies, even his immense power began to falter. After being struck by hundreds of Dark Eldar cannons and entangled by massive flesh constructs, the Ace Slaanesh Killer suffered his first injuries. Commorragh—the galaxy's most dangerous city—was no pushover. Though the initial assault had caused chaos, the Dark Eldar had rallied quickly and retaliated with overwhelming force. Rhodes, watching from afar, smirked and spent system coins to strengthen the Ace Slaanesh Killer. A surge of purple light engulfed the Ace Slaanesh Killer. His previous injuries, damaged armor, and depleted energy were instantly restored to full capacity. Renewed, he resumed his slaughter of the Dark Eldar before him. The battle raged on fiercely. Reinforcements from other districts of Commorragh continued to pour in, joining the effort to eliminate the daemon. On the asteroid, Rhodes watched the system gold coins increasing rapidly before his eyes and nodded in satisfaction. This was far more profitable than running the Ork Ranch planets! In just a few hours, he had already earned tens of thousands of system gold coins. The Ace Slaanesh Killer alone had taken out at least twenty or thirty thousand Dark Eldar by now. With the Ace Slaanesh Killer drawing the attention of the Dark Eldar, Rhodes wasn't in a hurry anymore. At this moment, the Dark Emperor's Sword, the Empera Blade, was continuously transferring dark energy to the dark giant's statue. Rhodes could sense that the dark giant's statue was abnormally active as if the dark energy sealed within it was resonating in some way. The system had explained earlier that the dark giant's statue must possess immense dark power, and the soul of a dark warrior was required to awaken it. However, the warrior's soul didn't seem to be the key factor—its physical form alone wasn't the main reason for the giant's revival. The statue of Tiga, for instance, needed a complete soul to fully resurrect because it was merely an empty shell. Tiga's light had long since departed, leaving only the body behind. Most of the other giants of light were in a similar state, but the dark giants were different. The statue before him was not an empty shell. It was a complete ancient dark giant with its consciousness and will. When the dark forces became strong enough, the dark giant could be awakened. Rhodes could see that the dark giant's statue now had cracks forming on its surface, and the timer on its chest had started glowing. The webway was already caught in the rift between reality and a dreamlike subspace, and the Dark Eldar was a race of pure darkness. They embodied their dark and bloody faith to its absolute extreme, which filled the city with terrifying amounts of dark energy. All of this dark energy seemed to be drawn to the Dark Emperor's Sword, providing it with an endless supply of power. Time passed quickly. In just a few hours, the Ace Slaanesh Killer had been heavily damaged three times, and Rhodes had performed three upgrades. The number of Dark Eldar members who had died at the hands of the Slaanesh Killer had now reached a staggering 100,000, and Rhodes' system gold coins had surpassed 400,000. At this moment, the dark giant's statue had completely awakened. A terrifying wave of energy surged through the air. The dark giant's statue suddenly shattered, and from within emerged a giant with a dark red body, clad in dark red armor. "Roar! Roar!" The dark giant let out an ecstatic roar the moment it appeared, and an overwhelming dark power shot into the sky. It seemed to celebrate its rebirth, its escape from confinement, and its newfound freedom. The dark giant, Daram, appeared to be extremely excited. After the dark giant was fully freed, Rhodes' monster list was updated with a new member: Ancient Dark Steel Warrior, Daram. Known for its terrifying strength, the ancient dark warrior stands 60 meters tall and weighs an astounding number of tons. "Daram! Stop shouting! Try it—can you control this sword in front of you?" Rhodes said. "You... you are... uh... uh... Daram will serve you, Master!" Daram knelt on one knee before Rhodes as he spoke. Having just gained his freedom, Daram had initially wanted to crush this human in front of him. However, a will he could not resist suddenly descended upon him, completely altering his thoughts. It made him Rhodes' loyal servant. If he refused to submit, his consciousness would be wiped out, and he would completely perish. Besides, this master seemed to have great potential. In the future, he might even surpass their dark giant leader. "Alright, try pulling out the Dark Emperor's Sword. See if you can wield it," Rhodes said. It hadn't been easy—his first dark giant had taken over two months to awaken, and it happened in such an unexpected way. Hearing this, Daram nodded and approached the Dark Emperor's Sword. With ease, he pulled it out and swung it a couple of times.