Chapter 73: Huh? Who's the Real Great Devourer?!

Chapter 73: Huh? Who's the Real Great Devourer?!

The most brutal battle began. The Aberrant Hypermorphs formed a wall of flesh and charged forward, their massive bodies even covered with some alloy plates as armor to resist damage.

More Genestealers launched suicidal charges.

It often took the concentrated fire of dozens of soldiers to kill a single Aberrant Hypermorph. Even the plasma flames of the Firebats couldn't instantly burn these creatures to death; the Aberrants, their bodies burning, ignored the pain and continued to charge, disrupting the Dynasty soldiers' lines.

There was no cover around them, only the most brutal exchange of fire and melee.

The C-14s' rate of fire reached its limit, and the Marauders' grenades constantly exploded within the Genestealer swarm, while the Genestealers' own las, plasma, and melta weapons shot back at the Marines.

Sancti leaped into the crowd, brandishing their daggers.

But the Genestealer Patriarch had miscalculated the combat effectiveness of this group of Raiders. If a group of PDF troopers had charged in, they might have already been torn to shreds by the Genestealers. But the ones who charged in were Raiders, all clad in ceramite combat suits.

They completely crushed the Genestealers here in both ranged firepower and melee combat. The Medics continuously repaired the Raiders' injuries, and the Raiders had all injected themselves with stimms. The combat suits' auxiliary battle systems constantly marked enemies for them, reducing wasted firepower.

Some of the remaining Widow Mines even burrowed into the ground right in the middle of the charging Genestealer crowd.

The Genestealers, not understanding what was happening, were annihilated along with the Widow Mines in a series of violent explosions.

The Genestealer Patriarch even felt its vision blur. Just how many people had infiltrated? Why were large numbers of Raiders still pouring in from the entrance? Could the tunnels outside really fit so many people?! It had been here for over a hundred years; how could it not know the environment around its own home?

When Lucan knew there were still so many enemies around the Patriarch, he directly consumed his Psy-crystals to warp in another 1000 Raiders to join the battle.

Let alone the Genestealer Patriarch, even the non-warped-in soldiers were a bit surprised, but they merely thought it was another contingent arranged by Lucan.

A continuous, unending stream of firepower tore this group of Genestealers to shreds. If needed, Lucan could even warp in more soldiers to join the battle.

At worst, he would just empty his coffers!

Flesh and blood appeared so frail and weak before the metal storm.

Even if your Purestrain Genestealers were fast, as long as I saturated an entire area with firepower, I was bound to hit you. I can afford to waste countless bullets, but you can only afford to make one mistake.

The only one who could withstand the concentrated fire was the Genestealer Patriarch itself. Its thick carapace, harder than diamond, could even tank grenade hits, and the psychic shield it generated blocked all the spike rounds and depleted uranium armor-piercing shells.

Protected by several powerful, specialized Genestealers known as Genestealer Guards, the Patriarch tanked the firepower and charged into the crowd.

The Genestealer Guards had inherited Lictor-like speed and strength. They precisely sliced through the weak points of the combat suits, and the scorpion-like barbs on their tails could accurately pierce the suits' visors.

"For the Rogue Trader!!"

Soldiers near the Genestealer Patriarch drew their chainswords and charged forward. But the Patriarch's massive body was still exceptionally agile. Before they could even get close, the Marines attempting to engage in melee were cut in half.

The greatest threat to the humans present was the Genestealer Patriarch's powerful psychic abilities. Unseen psychic energy surged from it; physical protection could not defend against this kind of psychic attack. The Hive Mind began to invade the brains of the surrounding soldiers.

Hallucinations began to appear before their eyes. They even mistook their comrades for Genestealers and attacked each other.

"Weak humans, how could you possibly understand the greatness of the Hive Mind!"

And the High Priest also demonstrated his formidable combat strength. The bionics that replaced his original limbs were clearly powerful implants of some kind, and even his weapons were wreathed in a disruption field.

As expected of someone who had survived an encounter with the Genestealer Patriarch; even Purestrain Genestealers posed no threat to him.

His blade flashed, and a Purestrain Genestealer's head was lopped off.

He weaved through the Genestealer swarm, continuously reaping lives.

The High Priest looked towards the Genestealer Patriarch. The Patriarch now was markedly different from a dozen years ago. It was larger, stronger, and the psychic energy it generated also affected his Death Cult assassins, though their faith in the Undying Emperor prevented them from being deceived by the illusions.

The High Priest felt death slowly descending upon him.

"Oh, Undying Emperor, if this is my destiny, I accept it with joy."

He was going to pursue his own death.

All the surviving Death Cult assassins gathered towards the High Priest, launching a final, desperate charge at the Genestealer Patriarch together.

The other assassins helped the High Priest block the Patriarch's guards, while he himself charged towards the Genestealer Patriarch.

However, before the High Priest could get close to the Genestealer Patriarch, a figure approached at an even faster speed.

Faced with the ant approaching him, the Genestealer Patriarch attacked rapidly with its four limbs, but that person dodged the attacks with even greater speed. That person was Lucan. Reaching the Patriarch's feet, he swung with all his might. The power sword left a massive wound on one of the Genestealer Patriarch's legs.

Losing its support, the Genestealer Patriarch toppled to the ground. It couldn't understand how its psychic shield had just failed?!

The Genestealer Patriarch raised its head and looked at Lucan. As it gathered its psychic energy, intending to blast away the advancing Lucan, it discovered that its psychic powers were having no effect.

No matter how much psychic energy it released to form an attack, the moment it got near Lucan, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, instantly disappearing without a trace, all of it converted into Psy-crystals in Lucan's pocket.

"High Priest! Let's finish him together!"

Lucan directly climbed onto the Genestealer Patriarch's body. "If cutting your legs won't kill you, then I'll cut off your head now that you're down. Let's see if you die then."

And the High Priest also rushed over with swift steps.

The instinct of a deadly hunter made the Genestealer Patriarch also feel the approach of death.

How could a human's physical attributes be so high?

The Genestealer Patriarch withdrew its mental control over all the others, focusing this power entirely on Lucan and the High Priest.

The High Priest, who had been in mid-charge, froze on the spot.

He only felt all sorts of ideas suddenly appear in his soul; the appearances of the humans and Genestealers before him were constantly switching.

He felt like his head was about to explode…

And Lucan similarly felt a will invading his soul.

"Hmm? Mind control? Doesn't feel like much?"

Lucan's face was relaxed, but the Genestealer Patriarch was no longer calm.

Wait, aren't you human? Why does your soul look like that?

As the Genestealer Patriarch's will invaded Lucan's consciousness and soul, it directly saw Lucan's Warp projection.

"This… this is the thing that's devouring my psychic energy!"

And the Genestealer Patriarch's mental control was also a manifestation of psychic energy. But unlike ordinary psychic power, it was an ability derived from the Tyranid Hive Mind.

It used the hive network to link all the Genestealers together, simultaneously strengthening the Patriarch's psychic power and being used to control the Genestealers.

And at this moment, Lucan's Xel'Naga projection was tearing at the Genestealer Patriarch's hive network, slurping up this web-like psychic power as if it were noodles.

If you had lit the psychic beacon and connected to the vast Hive Mind of a Hive Tendril, Lucan might have been in trouble. After all, his projection's ability to devour psychic energy had its limits, just like when he had previously encountered the Emperor's projection. But right now, you are just a Genestealer Patriarch that hasn't connected to the Hive Mind!

You haven't even lit the beacon, what are you posturing for?

You don't represent the entire Tyranid race. Let me show you who the real Great Devourer is.

Following that tightly connected hive network, Lucan's Xel'Naga projection devoured its way along the Genestealer Patriarch's psychic power.

Before the Genestealer Patriarch could even sever this part of the connection, Lucan's projection had in turn invaded the Genestealer Patriarch's brain.

"Severed… it's all severed…"

The Genestealer Patriarch's link with the other Hybrid Genestealers was forcibly cut, and its psychic power grew weaker and weaker.

The previously invincible Genestealer Patriarch began to wilt entirely.

Even the surrounding remaining Genestealers, unable to sense the presence of their Patriarch, fell into a frenzy. Their attacks were no longer orderly; they had completely descended into chaos.

(End of Chapter)