Chapter 11 It is a technique of exceptionally high purity

The massive spherical breach tore through a large section of the area, including the outer wall and part of the mansion's main structure.

This exposed much of the mansion's interior and underground sections while simultaneously engulfing all the cultist guards on that side.

However, despite creating this opening, the cost was the entire town erupting into chaos.

Once the nature of the event was realized, a piercing alarm blared through the town.

Large numbers of cultists began converging on the mansion, and countless demons, drawn by the psychic disturbance, were already swarming toward the area.

Time was running out for the decapitation squad.

Even if they succeeded in their mission, the odds of escaping alive were slim to none.

Yet, it was clear that the five remaining squad members didn't care much about that.

The group quickly circled around the edge of the breach and entered the mansion's interior.

Zhang Ge found a section of the ruined wall to use as cover and raised his laser rifle to intercept the first wave of cultists, who had originally been part of the external patrol.

The twisted heretics swarming in were eliminated as quickly as Zhang Ge could pull the trigger.

But their numbers were so overwhelming that even after dozens fell, more would immediately fill the gaps.

For now, all Zhang Ge could do was barely suppress them on the opposite side of the breach.

But as the enemy numbers grew, their counterfire became increasingly intense.

Bullets whizzed past his ears and struck the cover relentlessly. Even as he constantly shifted positions, the situation continued to deteriorate.

While reloading after emptying another magazine, a bullet from an automatic rifle finally grazed past his face, drawing a thin line of blood. Just a few centimeters closer, and it would have pierced his skull.

Seeing this, Zhang Ge shouted, "I won't last much longer! If I get seriously injured before you're done, make sure to finish me off before you leave!"

This was a precaution. If he ended up captured alive by those depraved cultists of the Lustful Heresy, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Even in ancient times, humans had developed horrific tortures to stimulate the senses.

One could only imagine what these heretics, with no moral boundaries, might do. The thought alone was enough to send chills down his spine.

The commissar's voice, slightly labored from exertion, soon came from inside. Under the increasingly oppressive influence of the Chaos God's domain, his emotional side was beginning to outweigh his rationality, making his words more verbose than usual.

"Typically, officials would build shelters beneath their mansions, and the altar is likely underground as well.

We need to block them off from below first. If that doesn't work, we'll clear them out from above. This will take some time! … Sister Amelia, go assist him!"

The mansion's interior was complex, with numerous rooms.

Clearing it out room by room wasn't feasible given the time constraints.

Yet advancing recklessly in such a layout was equally dangerous, as enemies could emerge from unknown corners at any moment.

Guns would be bad enough, but who knew if the crazed cultists had strapped themselves with thermal explosives?

Thus, they decided to head directly underground, gambling that the mayor wouldn't have placed the shelter or the initial ritual site above ground. The goal was to block off the enemy from below.

Given that enemies surrounded the exterior, attempting to rappel directly into the breach from outside was out of the question—it would be no different from serving oneself up as a live target. The only option was to blast a hole through the floor.

However, the structural steel used in the mansion's construction was far stronger than the soil outside.

Even with thermal guns and thermal explosives, it would take time.

As the commissar finished speaking, a white blur suddenly shot out from the building, streaking past Zhang Ge at an incredible speed and stirring up a gust of wind.

Sister Amelia, wielding her greatsword, moved with agility that defied its cumbersome appearance. At a speed far beyond human limits, she dodged incoming bullets while her sword traced elegant arcs through the air.

By predicting the direction of enemy gun barrels and the timing of their trigger pulls, she positioned her blade along the path of incoming laser beams, deflecting them before they could strike her.

The resulting bursts of energy disrupted other bullets and beams, making her movements appear almost as if she were orchestrating the enemy's attacks. Each parry was executed with perfect precision.

Unable to react in time to organize concentrated fire, the cultists found themselves overwhelmed as Sister Amelia charged into their ranks.

In close combat, their attempts to adjust their aim were far too slow to keep up with her movements.

Even when their weak automatic rifles occasionally hit her, the bullets only managed to embed themselves shallowly in her muscles, failing to cause fatal damage.

Amidst the spray of severed limbs, the pressure on Zhang Ge's side eased considerably.

Seconds ticked by as attacks continued to fly toward Zhang Ge, yet none managed to cause further harm.

While it was understandable for shots to miss over such a distance, the complete lack of accuracy was beginning to feel absurd.

Experiencing the cultists' poor marksmanship firsthand, Zhang Ge couldn't help but feel like he'd discovered a group of unpolished talents.

Finally, as the blood from his earlier wound began to seep deeper into his mouth, the first wave of demons came into view. At that moment, the commissar's voice once again rang out:

"Sergeant Zhang Ge, call Sister Amelia back!"

Shaking his head in disappointment at the cultists, Zhang Ge fired a few shots into the sky as a signal.

Though they hadn't agreed on this beforehand, Sister Amelia wasn't foolish enough to think he'd waste ammunition on skyward shots for no reason in such a situation.

Sure enough, a short while later, the white blur returned.

But as Sister Amelia approached, Zhang Ge noticed something was off.

One of her arms seemed to have been directly melted off by something.

The wound was cleanly severed, but there was no bleeding, as the burned flesh at the stump had fused together, sealing the blood vessels.

"Painkillers."

Sister Amelia calmly said to Zhang Ge as she planted her longsword into the ground.

Although enduring pain was also a part of serving the God-Emperor, pain could objectively impair physical functions.

Weighing the sin of failing to complete her mission to the fullest against enduring pain, she was clear on which was the lesser evil.

As Zhang Ge pulled out a painkiller from the emergency medical kit and injected it into her, Sister Amelia continued speaking:

"They brought in a laser cannon, using a crowd to obscure our line of sight. They tried to vaporize me along with a dozen heretics. They failed, but I didn't completely evade it either.

This position can't be held. Heavy weapons will arrive soon."

"The task inside is already complete.

There's no need to hold this position anymore."

Why does it feel like you people talk so much?

Zhang Ge silently complained without much concern.

However, he didn't fully understand that in a place like this, talking more was actually normal.

On one hand, it was necessary to exchange information.

On the other hand, the insidious corruption of the Warp's Chaos Gods was often silent and subtle; no one wanted their teammate to suddenly snap and fall to corruption.

Thus, as long as it didn't interfere with combat, speaking in logical, coherent sentences or sharing personal memories could help both oneself and allies gauge whether and to what extent they had been corrupted.

The two didn't waste much time.

After the injection was administered, they quickly entered the building. Inside, a barely sufficient opening for Ogryns to jump through appeared before them. The others were already on guard below.