RNP Page 106
Page 106
The Hilichurl looked at its "masterpiece" with apparent satisfaction. It casually tossed the power hammer to the ground with a "clatter" like trash, then clapped its hands, turned around, and with an air of nonchalance, disappeared in a flash.
At the scene, only the Imperial Fist soldier and the still-smoking humanoid crater remained.
The Imperial Fist soldier walked curiously to the edge of the pit, squatted down, and carefully poked the motionless war blacksmith embedded in the mud with his power armor-clad fingers.
"Hey? Iron Warrior's brother? Are you... alright?"
He asked in a muffled voice, his tone carrying genuine concern and a hint of bewilderment.
Inside the pit, the Warsmith's power armor emitted a faint buzzing sound, like a system reboot.
Then, a hand with a powered claw trembled and struggled out of the soil.
This hand, without making any gesture of pleading, stubbornly and resolutely, slowly reached towards the concerned (and foolish) Imperial Fist helmet above...
He held up a straight middle finger!
The camera zooms out and freezes on the scene filled with insulting gestures and the bewildered figure of the Imperial Fist, while the playful yet ironic end credits music plays in the background.
This "friendly exchange" across the Milky Way and the continent of Teyvat ultimately ended with the physical "sinking" of the Iron Warrior Warsmith and the Hilichurls' dashing departure, drawing an extremely imperfect, but absolutely unforgettable conclusion.
Chapter 127 Raiden Shin: "What kind of demonic universe is this?!"
The three days, filled with chaos, efficiency, and all sorts of bizarre situations, have finally come to an end.
As the first rays of dawn shone into Inazuma Castle, the unconscious citizens began to awaken one after another.
They rubbed their sleepy eyes and yawned, as if they had only experienced an exceptionally long night.
However, when they saw the scene before them, all their sleepiness vanished instantly!
"Why...why is the street in front of my house so wide now? And it's paved with something black and hard?"
The residents of a town stared in disbelief at the “standardized road” wide enough for four carriages to travel side by side.
"The castle tower... what is that huge thing next to the castle tower, tens of meters tall and gleaming with a cold metallic light? Is it a new defensive tower?"
A samurai pointed to the towering, colossal building whose style clashed with Inazuma's (actually a backup communications tower built by the Imperial Fist), his voice trembling.
The most striking feature is the walls of Inazuma Castle—the original wooden and stone structure has now been replaced by a giant composite armor plate that exudes a cold metallic luster and is full of firing holes and observation windows!
The height was forcibly increased to thirty meters, and the thickness reached an astonishing ten meters!
This was a "simplified version" that Guilliman reluctantly agreed to after strong protests and attempts to stop him by the group of four!
"This...this is our Inazuma?"
People looked at each other in disbelief, as if they had been transported to a steel fortress overnight.
What terrified them even more were the things floating in the air—fist-sized metal skulls emitting a ghostly green or red light, with tiny robotic arms and sensors attached to their bottoms. They moved silently through the streets like ghosts, performing tasks such as patrolling, monitoring, and even sweeping (using the robotic arms to pick up fallen leaves).
"A machine, a machine skull?"
Someone whispered in fear.
Experienced detective Kanoin Heizo approached a "skull" that flew low overhead, carefully examining the texture and structure of the bones. His face instantly turned deathly pale: "This...this isn't a model! This is real human bone!"
These words, like a pebble thrown into water, stirred up ripples of panic.
Mechanical creations made from real human skulls? This is beyond the scope of "mechanical arts" that Inatsume could understand, and is filled with blasphemy and an ominous aura.
In fact, this is already the result of Guilliman's "purification".
There were also some beings that were even more sanity-degrading, such as cherubim decorated with candles and chanting binary hymns, and half-machine, half-flesh servants with stiff movements.
But when a Cherubim tried to preach to an elderly woman named Inatsume who had just woken up, and scared her into fainting, the enraged Guilliman personally punched him into pieces with his Power Punch.
Subsequently, a group of Astartes veterans from the 30K era (who were relatively "normal") conducted a "physical traditional education" on their increasingly fanatical successors from the 40K era, forcibly confiscating and destroying all the Cherubim.
A 40K Ultra Warrior technical sergeant was devastated by this, and even took out an alien-style instrument (which looked like a suona) and played a funeral tune. Then a 30K veteran grabbed him by the collar and "educated" him.
As for the servants, Guilliman watched their ability to efficiently process documents and clean the streets. Although he was extremely disgusted by their inhuman nature, he eventually reluctantly accepted their existence, considering the efficiency of Inazuma's reconstruction, but strictly forbade these "flesh and blood machines" from appearing in public places.
Just as the Inazuma residents were feeling disoriented by their newly transformed (and extremely terrifying) home, a purple figure rushed out of the castle tower like lightning, and with an almost sliding tackle, precisely pounced at Guilliman's feet as he inspected the walls, grabbing his thigh covered in blue power armor!
"Lord Guilliman——!!!"
Raiden raised his head, his usually gentle and dignified face now filled with despair and grievance, tears almost welling up in his eyes.
"You're finally here! Why?! Why is my office piled high with documents?! And they all need my personal review! Shouldn't the backlog be smaller after I slept for three days?!"
When she woke up, she thought she could enjoy a moment of peace, but when she walked into the office, she saw that the huge desk was piled with files taller than her! Moreover, they were clearly categorized and labeled, as if they were silently mocking her.
At that moment, Thunder felt like Sky Island was about to collapse!
But upon learning that Guilliman was in Inazuma, her survival instinct (or rather, her instinct to shift blame) caused her to unleash astonishing speed in an instant.
Guilliman was caught off guard by this sudden attempt to curry favor. He tried to maintain the Primarch's dignity, but seeing Raiden's tearful expression, he softened his tone:
"Lord Raiden, please calm down. These documents are the backlog from the past three days, and are the urgent matters that my descendants have sorted out based on the Inazuma Law and the actual situation. Efficiency... is a virtue of Otramar."
(Subtext: My subordinates are too capable, they've given you "work PTSD," sorry, but I'll do it again next time.)
Just then, an Astartes wearing scarlet power armor and adorned with the emblem of the Holy Blood Angel walked over somewhat awkwardly.
He didn't even dare to look Guilliman in the eye; his helmet hung low.
"Ahem, Primarch..."
The Blood Angel's voice came through the helmet speaker, sounding noticeably uneasy.
"what's up?"
Guilliman resumed his calm tone, but a sense of foreboding lingered in his heart.
Anything related to the Holy Blood Angels, especially outside of combat, is usually not a good thing.
"Well... I have a few lads under me... who were thirsty for blood... and couldn't hold back, so they exploded..."
The voice of the Holy Blood Angel grew fainter and fainter.
"They... disposed of... half of the prisoners in the makeshift prison..."
Guilliman merely raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.
He was no stranger to this "traditional skill" of the Blood Angels. After three days of suppressed fighting, this situation was not ideal, but it was still within acceptable (Warhammer standards).
He even felt that since only half of it had been "handled," the constraints were still quite effective.
But Raiden, who was clinging tightly to his leg, had no idea!
"Handle...handle?"
Raiden looked up blankly at the Holy Blood Angel, then at Guilliman, his little head filled with big question marks and fear.
"What does 'process' mean? Could it be... could it be... eaten, eaten up?!"
Her voice suddenly rose, trembling with disbelief.
Guilliman then realized the seriousness of the problem—for the relatively "peaceful" worldview of Teyvat, cannibalism was simply too shocking.
He tried to explain: “Lord Raiden, this is an ancient… um… genetic defect of the Holy Blood Angels, which we call ‘blood thirst.’ Under certain circumstances, they will find it difficult to suppress their craving for… uh… ‘red liquid.’ This is not their intention…”
However, to Raiden Shin, his explanation was tantamount to admitting, "Yes, my men ate half of your prisoners as snacks."
Lightning scurried behind Guilliman's broad blue power armor in a flash, peeking out only half its head. It looked at the Holy Blood Angel with the same terrified eyes one would have for a prehistoric beast, its little hands clutching Guilliman's cloak as if it were its only lifeline.
Helpless, Guilliman continued questioning the Blood Angel, trying to change the subject and find out the specifics: "Which chapter did those warriors who couldn't control themselves come from?"
The Holy Blood Angel was even more embarrassed, and almost squeezed out the answer through gritted teeth: "Yes... of the Blood Knights, sir."
"...Blood Knight..."
Guilliman's lips twitched slightly as he looked at the Blood Angel.
"What's your name?"
"Joel, my lord. Joel, the leader of the Blood Knights Chapter."
"...No wonder..."
Guilliman held his forehead, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.
He turned to Raiden Shin, who was hiding behind him and trembling, and explained in the gentlest possible tone (but still full of 40K hardcore style): "Lord Raiden Shin, please don't panic too much. The 'Blood Knights' chapter to which Joel belongs is a sub-chamber of the Holy Blood Angels."
"Their... well... resistance to 'blood thirst' is slightly... weaker compared to other sub-groups. Therefore, their behavior may appear... rather 'radical' in certain extreme situations. In the High Lords' archives, they are even marked as 'traitors'."
He paused, trying to look at the matter from a "positive" perspective: "However, to put it in a good light, they only 'dealed' with the prisoners in jail who already deserved their punishment, and did not harass ordinary civilians."
"From the perspective of controlling losses, this is already a very... restrained and targeted action."
Raiden Shin: "!!!"
Restraint?! Targeted?! Eating half a prisoner is considered restraint?! If there were no restraint, wouldn't the entire Inazuma Castle be destroyed?!
She looked up at Guilliman's profile, its sharp lines gleaming metallic in the morning light, then at the towering steel buildings in the distance, the servo skulls floating in the air, and the crimson giant before her who had just admitted that his subordinates could eat people...
A clear realization struck her mind like lightning:
The universe where Lord Guilliman and his crew live... is practically a hellish place overrun by demons and utterly lawless!!!
She gripped Guilliman's cloak tighter, as if she had grasped the only beacon of reason in the chaotic darkness (even though the beacon's minions were cannibals), with only one thought in her mind: this great god must not be let go!
At least... at least we have to wait until he helps us finish processing that mountain of documents on the table!
Chapter 128 Working Overtime Again
As Guilliman and his group of hardcore, incredibly efficient, but also full of "surprises" Astartes transformed into streaks of light and returned to Zhang Chu's hands as chess pieces, Inazuma finally (temporarily) bid farewell to that strong 40K flavor.
However, what was left for Inazuma's local management was a mess left behind by the forced increase in efficiency.
The castle tower, the highest office.
Raiden stared at the desk, which was almost completely covered in documents, and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
Those documents, organized, categorized, and prioritized by the Ultramar warriors with "Ultramar efficiency," now appeared to her like a majestic snow-capped mountain, radiating a chilling aura.
"No...don't..."
She let out a desperate cry, then a resolute glint flashed in her eyes.
She turned around abruptly, her gaze fixed on Kosai-miya, who was tiptoeing out of the office.
"The Fasting Palace—!!"