NCCnovel Chapter 367: The True Secret of Blackstone!
Chapter 367: The True Secret of Blackstone!
**Eastern Canyon of the Unbreakable Defense Line, Imperial Standard Time 03:21**
When the landing pod, disguised as orc remains, crashed into the ground, even the most basic cushioning system failed to activate. The pod twisted and deformed upon impact, sending green-skinned corpses and rusty metal parts flying everywhere—perfect camouflage.
Russell was the first to step out of the hatch. His breathing mask filtered out the remaining Nurgle fumes in the air, and radiation warnings flickered on his tactical goggles. The canyon was quieter than the intelligence had indicated, with only a few scattered swarms of Bladebugs wandering about, their scarlet markings on their carapaces faded, moving as sluggishly as rusty machines.
"The Hive's will has indeed retreated." Katosikalius's power sword hummed slightly, its blade sweeping across the dried Zerg slime on the rock wall. "But these Zerg are still following their final orders."
Twenty **Imperial Guards** dispersed like golden ghosts, their halberd tips releasing scanning pulses. The leader, a black-armored Imperial Guard, crouched down, his finger tweezers tracing the ground—where tiny black crystalline fragments were embedded in the soil, multiplying at a visible rate.
"The black stone is growing." The Imperial Guard's voice, encrypted and transformed into a mechanical hum, said, "This is not a natural phenomenon."
The sound of wings slicing through the air echoed from high above. Carleon's Super Angel squad landed at a high vantage point, their psionic vision scanning the depths of the canyon.
"The energy reading is coming from 200 meters underground." Carleon folded his wings, his psionic spear pointing to a hole covered in Zerg secretions. "There's a structure—not a Zerg nest, but an artificial construct."
Russell pulled up a cross-sectional view of the canyon, and Katoscicarius's light spear marked three infiltration routes on it:
1. **Frontline Breakthrough:** The Imperial Guard launches a strong attack on the main passage guarded by the Zerg (drawing fire).
2. **Vertical Invasion**: Superangels perform psionic teleportation through a crack in the rock face (High Risk)
3. **Covered Infiltration**: Russell and Catoscicarius infiltrated through the drainage system (slowest but most covert).
"Choose the third option." Russell tapped the "Blood Drinker" emblem on his leg armor. "We need the full investigation time."
Carleon spread his wings: **"The Angel Squad will create false signals in the air."** He pointed to the sky, **"to make the Zerg think their main fleet has attacked ahead of schedule."**
The black-armored guards suddenly handed over a sealed metal cylinder: **"The final command from the Mechanicus—it can only be opened upon reaching the core of Blackrock."**
The drainage channels were drier than expected. Russell's tactical light illuminated strange patterns on the walls—not Zerg secretions, but some kind of ancient mechanical structure, as if forcibly embedded with blackstone crystals.
Katoscarius's power sword suddenly lit up: **"There's something ahead—"**
His words were interrupted by a piercing metallic scraping sound. At the end of the passage, three "figures" clad in Ultramarines power armor staggered towards him. Their armor was riddled with dents, and an eerie green light emanated from behind their helmet visors.
"The missing men of the Seventh Company..." The Second Company Commander's voice wavered for a rare moment, "Their genetic material has been contaminated."
Russell had already drawn the Blood Drinker. The blood grooves on the shovel blade glowed with a dark red light, illuminating the insectoid tissue writhing beneath the armor of those "warriors."
"Not the Zerg." He lowered his voice. "Blackrock transformed their corpses into some kind of...bridge."
When the first "zombie warrior" pounced, its arm suddenly split open, revealing whip-like black crystalline tentacles inside.
…………
The last undead warrior in the passage exploded under the Imperial Guard's halberd, black crystal fragments raining down on the rock wall. Russell crushed a still-wriggling crystal core, and the red glow of the blood groove on the "Blood Drinker" entrenching tool gradually faded.
"This isn't a naturally formed black stone." Katosikalius used his power sword to pick up a prismatic fragment, scanning its interior with spiraling energy patterns through his eyepiece. "Look at these etched patterns—standard Death Guard Plague coding."
The black-armored guards suddenly slammed their halberds heavily on the ground. A holographic projection unfolded from the tip of the halberd, displaying a scan of the underground structure—the crystal pillar they were in was just the tip of the iceberg; deep underground stretched a giant eight-pointed star structure with a diameter of three kilometers, each corner embedded with a plague furnace.
"Motalian's Blasphemous Workshop." The Custodian's voice was like rusty gears grinding together. "He transformed Blackrock into a warp pump station."
Carlyon's wings suddenly unfurled, his psychic vision piercing the earth: "Those furnaces are drawing matter from the real universe... transforming it into corrupting energy within the Nurgle realm."
Russell's tactical panel suddenly received Guilliman's encrypted frequency. The Primarch's holographic image emerged from the static electricity, with the Macragge fleet's artillery barrage visible in the background.
"Execute the 'Annihilation Protocol' immediately after confirming the target's nature." Guilliman's powered fists struck five coordinate points on the hologram. "These are the energy nodes supporting the structure."
Katoscarius quickly synchronized the coordinates with the squad members:
1. **Eastern Node:** To be handled by the Imperial Guard squad, using Achilles-type molten metal bombs.
2. **West Side Node**: Superangels inflict psionic overload.
3. **Central Core:** Russell personally installed the "Void Disintegration Bomb" provided by the Mechanicus.
"Forty minutes to go." Guilliman's image began to blur. "The fleet will conduct synchronized orbital bombardment."
As the squad split up, the ground suddenly trembled violently. Plague runes on the surface of the blackstone pillars lit up one after another, and yellowish-green pus gushed out from the cracks, solidifying into the shapes of seven Death Guard Terminators—their armor still bearing the Legion insignia from the Great Crusade.
"The Immortal Guard..." Katosikalius switched his power sword to maximum power. "Motalian's personal guard, frozen in a state of near-death by the Eternal Plague."
Russell's entrenching tool clashed with the first Plague Axe to charge, the putrid pus evaporating in the golden psionic energy. These millennia-old veterans possessed tactical memories far surpassing those of modern soldiers, and a third Immortal suddenly attacked from the side, his rusted chainsaw sword cleaving Russell's shoulder armor.
"Two nodes have been destroyed!" came the shouts of the Imperial Guards over the communicator, accompanied by a violent explosion.
Carrion's psionic spear pierced the skull of an immortal, but the man grinned maliciously on his decaying face, grabbing the spear shaft and dragging the angel toward his fanged mouth—
Russell's shovel severed the arm just in time. "Don't get bitten!" he kicked away another lunging immortal. "Their saliva can rewrite the genetic code!"
When the last energy node was destroyed, the entire underground space began to collapse. Russell placed the disintegration bomb at the base of the crystal pillar, and the countdown numbers on his mask flashed blood red:
**[ 00:03:00 ]**
The immortals suddenly ceased their attack, erupting in a twisted, maniacal laugh. "You think... this can stop the Father's grace?" the leader's decaying vocal cords vibrated. "Every piece of black stone... is a cell of His..."
Russell cleaved his skull open with a shovel and turned to rush towards the evacuation tunnel. The superangels used their psionic energy to prop up the collapsing dome, while the Imperial Guard's halberds released anti-gravity fields to clear a path.
As they burst from the surface, the first orbital bomb landed. The flames of the macro cannon engulfed the entire canyon, while deep underground, the spatial collapse triggered by the Void Disintegration Bomb crushed the Blackrock construct into elementary particles.
Katoscarius stood on the edge of the cliff, illuminated by the gunfire, and suddenly pressed down on Russell's shoulder. From the fissures in the earth beneath their feet, countless identical black stone structures could be vaguely seen extending towards the planet's core.
"This is just a tentacle." The platoon leader pointed his power sword at the horizon. "Look—"
In the firelight of the orbital bombardment, the surface of the entire impenetrable defense line was cracking, revealing the crisscrossing black veins beneath.