Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [28]

Rhodes placed a Pedan armor suit on a tree and tested its durability with the bolter given to him by the Space Marine captain.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Rhodes fired multiple shots, then went to inspect the armor, only to find that it had only a few white marks and no signs of damage whatsoever!

Are you kidding me?! This is a bolter! Not some standard-issue laser gun used by common soldiers—this is the signature weapon of Space Marines! And yet, it failed to penetrate Pedan armor!

In the original story, this armor was depicted as quite weak, but now that it's real, its defensive capability is insane.

Then again, this is exactly what you'd expect from armor made by an interstellar civilization.

And this was just standard infantry armor—there was still officer armor and captain armor above it.

Rhodes immediately removed his Imperial carapace armor and put on the captain's Pedan armor underneath, before putting the Imperial carapace armor back on top.

The Pedan armor was incredibly lightweight, fitting like a bodysuit. Only the chest area had a layer of armor-like material, but even that felt soft to the touch—yet its defensive power was astonishing.

Wearing the captain's armor underneath felt just like wearing a normal outfit, and the Empire's carapace armor fit perfectly over it.

Next, Rhodes tested the functionality of the weapons and the teleportation bracelet. Within a ten-kilometer range, he could teleport freely using the bracelet.

Within the space of an entire star system, the bracelet could instantaneously return him to his mothership.

The Pedanium Ray Rifle was incredibly powerful—just one shot reduced a massive rock into rubble, even blasting a crater into the ground.

Its firepower far exceeded that of a bolter. As for the handgun, it was even more powerful than the rifle—boasting greater range, compact size, and superior convenience.

These are some seriously good weapons!

At this moment, a bold idea formed in Rhodes's mind.

Previously, Red King wasn't all that effective against the Tyranid swarm—it was purely a melee fighter. But King Joe? It was the nightmare of the Tyranids!

Equipped with powerful armor and long-range weaponry, King Joe could annihilate swarms of Tyranids with ease. On top of that, it had flight capabilities, making it perfect for pursuing enemies.

Rhodes could stay here and farm Tyranids! Small Tyranid strike forces like this were rare opportunities to gain combat experience.

And with King Joe's upgrades, if he could fully enhance the asteroid-class Pedanium Cannon, he would have more than enough firepower to wipe out every Tyranid hive ship in the area!

Previously, he obtained a mechanical kaiju just to escape the planet, but King Joe was on another level altogether!

And even if things went south, he still had a starship to retreat on!

Just as Rhodes was deep in thought, he heard footsteps approaching from the distance.

The PCaptain, the Battle Sister, the Imperial Commissar, and Sister Hospitaller Elena arrived at his location.

The moment they arrived, their eyes were drawn to the massive King Joe standing before them.

King Joe's imposing form was simply awe-inspiring.

"By the Emperor! Is… is this a Titan?!" the Imperial Commissar gasped in admiration at the towering golden war machine.

This… this is practically a miracle of the Emperor!

Everyone knew that Imperial citizens worshipped the color gold.

Back in the day, when the Emperor walked among mortals, he wore a golden suit of power armor. The Imperial Custodians also donned golden power armor.

Gold was a symbol of the Emperor!

And King Joe's appearance was perfectly in line with Imperial aesthetics! While not as radiant as pure gold, its brass-gold finish was still stunning.

"Is this a Titan war machine? It doesn't look like it was made by the Adeptus Mechanicus… Its design seems more in line with human aesthetics… Could it possibly be…?"

The Captain stared at King Joe in awe.

If such a colossal Titan appeared on the battlefield…

The morale boost for ordinary soldiers would be unimaginable.

As long as this behemoth stood, the Imperial troops would maintain unwavering courage and determination.

"That's right. As you suspect, this is a machine from humanity's Golden Age—a true war machine."

Rhodes spoke with confidence.

In Warhammer 40K, technological advancements were made through archaeology, and that wasn't a joke—it was a fact.

The Adeptus Mechanicus was forbidden from openly developing new technologies, so they had to rely on excavating relics from humanity's Golden Age.

Even their massive Ark Mechanicus starships were discovered through archaeology—the Imperium no longer could build them from scratch.

Archmagos Belisarius Cawl was secretly researching AI technology, and the largest Ark Mechanicus vessels didn't have Machine Spirits—they were controlled by artificial intelligence.

"How powerful is this war machine's firepower? Can you pilot it alone? Has its Machine Spirit acknowledged you?" the Captain inquired.

"The powerful Machine Spirit has already acknowledged me. I can operate this war machine flawlessly. His firepower is strong enough to obliterate a Tyranid Bio-Titan with a single shot."

"He also has powerful energy shields, rendering ordinary Tyranid attacks ineffective."

"And this beast… can even split into four independent units for battle."

Rhodes briefly explained King Joe's combat capabilities.

He even referred to it as "he" instead of "it", implying that the machine had a Machine Spirit—after all, no one would be able to tell otherwise.

"Lord Rhodes! If it can split into four parts for combat, can you control all of them alone?" the Captain asked.

In the current Imperium, even the smallest Warhound-class Titan required dozens of crew members to operate.

Larger Reaver- or Warlord-class Titans required hundreds, while Emperor-class Titans needed thousands.

And yet, this massive war machine could split into four independent units?

Could one person possibly control it all?

"Imperial Knight suits are fully piloted by a single individual."

"And this machine is a relic from the Golden Age."

"You must not underestimate its technological capabilities—it can be controlled by a single pilot, and it is even capable of fighting in the vacuum of space."

Rhodes declared confidently.

The Captain's eyes widened in shock.

"You… You're not seriously thinking…!"

Rhodes had shown them a war machine—but not a starship.

This guy…!

"That's right, Son of Guilliman."

"Shall we go big? Let's annihilate these Tyranid forces completely."

PS: First lemon at chapter 44. :)