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Chapter 347: A Battlefield Skill
🕑 Added 2025-10-07 12:15:23 +0000 UTCChapter 347: A Battlefield Skill
At that moment, the image of Gork and Mork in the minds of the hundreds of millions of Orks housed in the Synaptic Lathe began to change. Although they couldn't understand why the face and body were so different, the absolute bond with their racial gods made them, after a moment of confusion, decide to begin worshipping this special version of Gork and Mork before them.
The worship of these Orks once again transformed into faith, and the WAAAGH! energy began to act upon Lucan's physical body.
Lucan looked at his own body in surprise. It was now covered in a layer of green WAAAGH! energy. Even his head was green. This layer of energy was strengthening his body. Lucan could feel his physical strength increasing, as was his regenerative ability. Even his physique was becoming more heroic.
But while the WAAAGH! energy brought positive benefits, it also brought a negative side effect that Lucan did not want. In the consciousness of the Orks, Gork and Mork were constantly enjoying battle, and this perception began to affect Lucan as well. He felt a desire for battle begin to emerge in his own soul, and this desire was growing stronger and stronger.
Furthermore, the WAAAGH! energy was not just acting on his physical body; Lucan felt that his Xel'naga projection was also being covered by a layer of it. If the energy on his physical body was a reinforcement, then the energy on his Xel'naga form had given him the ability to peek into, or rather, to invade, the Orks' unique "psychic local area network."
Sensing that isolated region of the warp, Lucan guided his Xel'naga projection to investigate. As the projection delved deeper, the special barrier that separated it did not repel his consciousness. When his mind entered the divine realm of Gork and Mork, he saw only two colossal Greenskins, fighting on a barren wasteland.
The domains of the four Chaos Gods all had their own characteristics: a garden, a palace, a labyrinth, a gladiatorial arena, and the Emperor's Golden Throne. In their own domains, they would also have countless chosen champions. But in the domain of Gork and Mork, there was nothing but joyful combat. They did not even bother to specifically choose who to bless. Any Ork in the material universe who continuously fought and won would automatically receive an infusion of WAAAGH! energy. But by the same token, if one died, Gork and Mork would not, like the other gods, welcome their followers. If you lost, you lost. Losing meant you weren't WAAAGH! enough. What right did you have to come to their domain?
Lucan saw that the battle between Gork and Mork never ceased. Their brutal, fist-to-flesh combat would sometimes shatter the other's form, but even in such a life-or-death struggle, the two of them were still laughing boisterously. From their expressions, Lucan could see that they were truly enjoying the fight. The WAAAGH! energy provided by the countless Orks in the galaxy would then reassemble their bodies.
Suddenly, Gork and Mork stopped. Their smiles turned to confusion. They both looked in Lucan's direction. They had discovered that another individual, besides the two of them, had appeared in their domain.
If it had been the other four gods who had discovered an intruder in their domain, they would have been furious, feeling they had been provoked. But Gork and Mork's expressions shifted from confusion back to desire.
Don't care who ya are! Ya came, so let's have a scrap! Fightin' is fun!
Seeing the two Ork gods charging at him, Lucan immediately withdrew from their private network.
"Jeez... those two are really crazy," he muttered. "If Gork and Mork are really that simple-minded in the Orks' perception, then it's no wonder it's affecting my mind."
Looking at his own body, which was becoming unbelievably strong, and feeling the impulse from his soul, Lucan quickly used his devouring power to purify the WAAAGH! energy and called for Pavian to stop.
Pavian, seeing the change in Lucan, eagerly asked about his experience. "My Lord, how do you feel?"
"The WAAAGH! energy is indeed strengthening my body, but the desire for battle is also affecting my will. If the number of Orks being guided increases, a person with a weak will could truly be reduced to a being that knows only battle. Pavian, you can continue to use the WAAAGH! energy, but do not make me or any other individual the god in these Orks' perception."
Hearing this, Pavian felt a pang of regret. This was god-making, after all.
"However," Lucan added, "if we can make them perceive me as Gork and Mork, then we can do it another way!"
"Please speak, my Lord!" Pavian's hope was rekindled.
"Make these Greenskins believe that the Dynasty's soldiers are invincible. Make them believe that all armor is incapable of withstanding our bullets and cannons. Make them believe that all weapons are incapable of breaking our armor. Wouldn't that also be of great significance?"
Lucan's idea was simple. Since they couldn't create an all-powerful individual, they would use the WAAAGH! energy to strengthen his entire army. This way, they would not have to suffer the fate of becoming monsters who craved only battle, and they could also greatly enhance the army's combat effectiveness. Whichever unit needed strengthening in battle, they could just change the perception of these Orks in real time. This would allow Lucan to turn the WAAAGH! energy into a strategic ability, or a global army-wide skill.
"I understand, my Lord! I will have someone begin the attempt immediately."
"Pavian, remember, unlocking new technology must still be the first priority!"
A year passed.
Guilliman's crusade fleet was making further progress in unifying the Imperium. Using the military power at his disposal, he was forcibly rolling out the administrative management system and the online trading exchange. This made the central authority of the human Imperium more efficient than ever. It could be said that in this one year, the number of Planetary Governors executed by Guilliman was countless.
The families that had held all the power on their entire planets for generations were not willing to just give it up. Some planets even united to publicly question Guilliman, claiming he was destroying the traditions of the Imperium. You promised you wouldn't interfere with our rule as long as we paid our tithes!
But who would choose feudalism when you could have a centralized government?
The battles between Guilliman's crusade fleet and the local forces of various systems and sectors had barely stopped over the past year, but every one of them had ended in his victory. With a large number of Astartes at his command, as well as a large number of auxiliary troops equipped with the powersuits provided by Lucan, his suppression of the planets was incredibly efficient.
The unification of the Imperium was something the Chaos Gods did not want to see. Even though the forces of Chaos seemed weak now, they were still eroding the Imperium through corruption and infiltration. These Planetary Governors and various factions who were unwilling to obey Guilliman's plan were the perfect targets. This meant that during the process of unification, a large number of Chaos traces had appeared. Some planets were even completely corrupted, forcing Guilliman to issue an Exterminatus upon them.
However, what surprised Guilliman was that although Chaos corruption was still everywhere, he felt something was strange. The most active Chaos forces within the Imperium were not daemons, but mortal Chaos traitors and the Chaos Astartes warbands they led. After the rout of the Black Legion, the largest remaining force was the Red Corsairs. Having absorbed the remnants of the Black Legion, the Red Corsairs had reached an unprecedented scale.
From past experience, the Red Corsairs were far more cunning than the Black Legion. With their ever-expanding size, they were bound to be short on resources, which should have led to raids on the Imperium. Their hit-and-run tactics could have run the Imperium ragged.
But Guilliman discovered that Lucan was, from time to time, sending him accurate intelligence on the Red Corsairs' attack plans, allowing him to dispatch forces to respond in time.
And this intelligence was being sent by the spy who had infiltrated the Red Corsairs: Cypher.
"Does Lucan have a spy in the Red Corsairs?!" This was the only possibility Guilliman could think of. To plant a spy in Chaos... this was a first.
He did not know, however, that the spy was Lord Cypher.
Relying on his past actions in the Imperium and the resources provided by Lucan, Cypher and his Fallen Angels had already gained a certain status within the Red Corsairs. In their own way, they were weakening the Red Corsairs and Chaos, and providing key intelligence to Lucan when needed.
