Chapter 62: Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [62]

The entire Tyranid Hive Fleet swiftly departed from the star system where Rhodes was located, showing no intention of continuing the fight—they fled at an incredible speed. Rhodes even had Ace Robot and Iron pretend to be completely drained of energy, looking as if they were about to collapse, yet the Hive Fleet still didn't return! Rhodes was speechless as he watched the rapidly escaping Hive Fleet. "Are you serious, guys?!" "I haven't even destroyed one-tenth of your fleet yet! Your casualty ratio isn't even half! You still have enough strength to continue fighting! Why are you running away?" "Why are you running!" "Why are you running!" "You still have hundreds of Hive Ships and thousands of Biovessels! You've only lost a tiny fraction!" "At most, you've lost about 50 Hive Ships and maybe 100 to 200 Biovessels!" Rohd esinitially thought the Hive Fleet would retreat to a safer distance, something like a dozen or even hundreds of astronomical units away. Then, after regrouping, they would come back for another round of battle. But instead, the Tyranid Fleet completely withdrew from the system and bolted away like a streak of light! "This isn't how you Tyranids usually behave! Where's your usual aggression?! This is seriously disrespectful!" Now, the question was—should he pursue them? Even if he rested for 24 hours to fully restore the energy of both Ace Robot and Iron, Ace Robot could at most fire two more Super Metarium Beams. His ship's main cannon could destroy a few more enemy vessels. Then, he could spend 300,000 system credits to upgrade the Pedan ship to a medium-sized mothership, allowing for a bit more fighting against the Tyranids. But after this round, Rhodes would have to draw a new mechanical monster—and it had to be one capable of fighting in space. If he was lucky, he might get one that could, like Iron, replenish Ace Robot's energy. If he was extremely lucky, he might even draw an Ultra Brother. Otherwise, there would be no way to continue this battle. The sheer number of Hive Ships would eventually overwhelm him. Even if he miraculously pulled an Ultra Brother, the Tyranids weren't idiots. They had already realized that Rhodes could grow stronger by slaughtering their forces. Under these circumstances, unless they found a way to counter him, the Tyranid Fleet would never engage him head-on again. At this point, the Hive Fleet probably viewed him like a plague god—whenever they saw him, they'd just turn around and run for their lives. Catching up to them would be a huge challenge! After much deliberation, Rhodes decided not to pursue. After all, he had access to the Empyrean. He could simply track down the Tyranids' whereabouts and go hunt them down later. "No need to milk the same cow dry—I can always find some Chaos forces, Orks, or other Xenos factions to play with!" Once the Pedan ship's radar completely lost track of the Tyranid Fleet, Rhodes recalled Ace Robot and Iron. Then, he activated the ship's autopilot and left the captain's seat, heading toward the medical bay to check on the Deathwatch Space Marines. At the medical bay entrance, two Deathwatch Marines stood on guard. Upon seeing Rhodes, they immediately straightened up, knocked on their armor, and saluted him. Rhod esnodded at them before stepping into the medical bay. "My lord! You've arrived! What's the situation now?" The Deathwatch lieutenant immediately walked up to him, bowed, and asked. "No need to worry, lieutenant. The Tyranids have retreated. There are no more signs of them in this star system." Rhodes replied. "Are you serious, my lord?! The Tyranids have been defeated by you?" The lieutenant's face lit up with joy. Ever since they had been stationed on this planet, barely a month had passed before the Tyranids appeared. Initially, there were only a few dozen Hive Ships, but that number had quickly grown to several hundred. The Warp Shadow had severed all psychic communication from the planet. If this lord hadn't suddenly arrived on the battlefield, this world would have been doomed. "We defeated the Tyranids together!" Rhodes corrected. "You all sacrificed your lives to destroy five Tyranid Heavy Hive Ships. You also held back their assassination forces at a critical moment. "This victory belongs to all of us—you deserve at least half the credit!" Rhodes patted the lieutenant's shoulder. After all, he needed to boost their morale. Besides, they had played a crucial role. Protecting him was their greatest contribution—guarding the commander was a huge merit! "You're too kind, my lord. Our lives combined are insignificant compared to yours. Dying for you is our honor." The Deathwatch lieutenant responded. To him, the Deathwatch Marines had only played a minor role in this battle. If not for the weapons and ships provided by this lord, they wouldn't have been able to execute such a successful boarding action and destroy five Tyranid Hive Ships. Rhodes laughed. "My name is Rod. Astartes, which Chapter do you hail from?" This Deathwatch lieutenant had sharp strategic insight and was also an insanely strong warrior. Earlier, during the Tyranid boarding assault, this man had single-handedly held back a Hive Tyrant. Not only that—without any assistance from Rhodes or the other Deathwatch Marines, he killed the Hive Tyrant alone and unscathed. His combat prowess was insanely high. "I am a sinner. I have shamed my parent Chapter's honor. I have been atoning for my sins, praying that one day the Emperor will forgive me and let my soul return to the Golden Throne." The lieutenant sighed. At this moment, Rhodes finally noticed—this Deathwatch lieutenant was actually an Astartes from the Black Shields. It was well known that Black Shield Space Marines were those who had brought shame to their parent Chapter. They had been exiled, erased from their Chapter's records, and carried a burden of disgrace. Rhodes smirked. "Astartes, as one of the Emperor's chosen, and in recognition of your bravery in this battle against the Tyranids, I hereby pardon all your past sins on behalf of the Emperor. "Now, tell me your name, Deathwatch lieutenant." Since he was currently acting under the title of the Emperor's Chosen, whatever he said was essentially the Emperor's will. Granting a pardon? Easy. "M-My lord! You... You would pardon me?! Even though... Even though I was once accused by my own battle-brothers of falling to Chaos?" "I have pardoned you in the name of the Emperor. Now, remove your helmet and tell me your name." Rohdes commanded. The Deathwatch lieutenant, visibly moved, removed his helmet, revealing the face of a resolute middle-aged man. Three golden studs adorned his forehead, symbolizing that he had served for at least three centuries. "Lord Rhodes, my name is Titus. I hail from the Ultramarines." ... Holy shit! It's Titus! The legendary Titus, once rumored to be Khorne's Chosen!