NCCnovel Chapter 290 The Fallen Fortress
Chapter 290 The Fallen Fortress
Deep within Mal'Karn's flagship, on an altar forged from skulls and black iron, the remnant soul of Gorgraz shrieked amidst crimson flames. Twelve Word Bearer wizards chanted around the altar, chaotic runes pouring from their decaying eye sockets, binding the fragments of the wizards' souls.
“Your failure requires blood retribution,” Malkarn said, inserting a scepter inlaid with a demonic core into the altar, “but now… first open the shell of White Scar Fortress for me.”
The remnant soul let out a piercing wail, but under the pressure of the scepter, it transformed into a ball of dark purple energy. A holographic projection of White Scar Fortress appeared on the surface of the sphere—energy nodes, weapon arrays, underground supply tunnels… every defensive detail was clearly visible.
Seventy-two hours later, the detection arrays at Whitescar Keep sounded a piercing alarm. On the horizon, a black tide of tens of thousands of cultists was approaching. They pushed Khorne's skull cannons and carried Nurgle's plague catapults, their grotesque bodies crawling with chaos parasites. In the center of the procession, Gorgrazh's resurrected body stood atop a demonic engine, the tip of his staff spewing a thick mist of corrosive psionic energy.
“Of the 300,000 enemy troops, 70% are fanatics carrying heavy weapons.” Arya’s psionic scan caused crimson ripples to appear on the holographic sand table. “There’s a Chaos Drilling Machine vibrating underground in the northwest corner—they’re digging a tunnel.”
Casal's White Tiger Blade cleaved through the sandbox projection: "Activate the Void Shield, charge the Plasma Cannon Array. Russell, take your men to the underground tunnels."
Russell crouched behind the tunnel bunker, the Bloodthirsty entrenching tool stuck at his feet. The serrated edge, having absorbed chaotic psionic energy, trembled slightly, like a wild beast that had caught the scent of its prey.
“The drilling sound is three hundred meters away,” a white-scarred soldier said, attaching a molten bomb to the rock face. “Prepare to detonate.”
A deafening roar of metal tearing apart suddenly echoed from underground. Six filthy, corrosive drilling rigs burst forth, spewing foul-smelling pus from their drill bits. Russell's golden arc of electricity blazed in the tunnel as his entrenching tool cleaved through the waves of pus, its blade plunging into the power core of the nearest drilling rig.
"For the Emperor!" The White Scar warriors hurled molten bombs, the scorching heat turning the corrosive drills into molten iron. But more drills surged in from behind, and Gorgraz's laughter echoed through the tunnels via loudspeakers: "Struggle as much as you want, your corpses will become the foundation of the new altar!"
On the ground battlefield, Arya's psionic shield flickered amidst a hail of plague shells. She suddenly grabbed Kassar's arm: "They're using the bombardment to mask a psionic ritual—Gorgraz is summoning the Khorne Bloodcrusher!"
Before the words were even finished, eight pillars of flesh and blood rose from behind the cultists' ranks. A rift was torn open in the sky, and four colossal bronze beasts, each the size of a hill, stepped out of the warp, their hooves causing earthquakes with each thud.
"Aim the plasma cannon at the behemoth's eyes!" Kassar pointed his White Tiger Blade at the sky, only to see a dark red beam descend from above—Malkarn's flagship main cannon shattered the void shield generator on the east side of the fortress.
As Russell fought his way back to the surface from the tunnels, he witnessed the first Bloodcrusher crashing through the city wall. He leaped onto the monster's back, his Blood-Drinker entrenching tool plunging into its cervical vertebrae, golden arcs of electricity shooting into its brain along its nerve cords. The behemoth collapsed with a groan, but more demonic engines were pouring out of the cracks.
"Cassal! Reinforcements are needed in the southwest corner!" Arya's psionic communication was interrupted by the sound of an explosion—Malkarn's Chaos Mech had personally led an elite guard to airdrop onto the battlefield.
Sparks from the clash between the White Tiger Blade and the Power Claw illuminated the night sky. Casal roared into the communications channel, "Russell! Take men and blow up the altar in the northwest corner! That's the energy source of the rift!"
The blade of the Bloodthirsty entrenching tool, soaked in demon blood, glowed with an eerie light of interwoven gold and red. Russell looked toward the altar—Gorgraz was standing in the center of the magic circle, beckoning him with his rotting finger.
…………
The Void Shield of White Scar Keep teetered precariously under the Chaos Barrage, with explosions of energy nodes echoing everywhere. Kassar's White Tiger Blade cleaved through the chest of a Word Bearer berserker, only to see more enemies pour in through the breach.
“Energy reserves are down to 30%,” Arya’s psionic shield flickered amidst the explosion. “At this rate, we won’t last two hours.”
Russell's golden arc of electricity exploded in the enemy ranks, and the Bloodthirster shovel cleaved through the joints of a Chaos mech. But more mechs surged in from all directions, forcing him back behind cover.
“Gorgraz is at the altar in the northwest corner,” Russell wiped the blood from his face. “Only by killing him will the rift close, and then we’ll have a chance to break out.”
Russell led ten White Scar warriors toward the altar. The serrated blades of the Blood Drinker's entrenching tool sliced through the air with interwoven gold and red light, cleaving through the cultists blocking their path. But with each step forward, more Chaos mechs emerged from the shadows.
"Left side! Khorne!" A white-scarred warrior had barely finished shouting when his chest armor was shattered by a power claw. Russell's golden arc of electricity exploded, and his entrenching tool pierced the mech's core, but another mech was already approaching from the right.
"Retreat! Regroup!" Russell's voice was hoarse amidst the explosions. When they retreated to their bunker, only five men survived.
Inside the command center, Casal stared at the holographic sand table: "A frontal breakthrough is impossible, the underground tunnels are blocked by the Naggle Corruptor, and an aerial breakout will be shot down by the flagship's main guns... We're trapped."
Arya's psionic scan suddenly focused on the area behind the altar: "There's an abandoned ancient tunnel there, leading straight to the edge of the desert. But someone needs to distract Gorgraz."
All eyes turned to Russell. The blade of the Bloodthirsty entrenching tool trembled slightly, as if responding to its master's resolve.
“I’ll go.” Russell stood up, golden arcs of electricity swirling around him. “But this time… I need a weapon that can break through the mechs’ defenses.”
Russell stood atop the fortress's highest point, a Bloodthirster entrenching tool planted at his feet. In his hand lay a plasma spear, a treasured possession of White Scar—the only weapon capable of piercing the armor of a Chaos mech, but with an extremely high risk of overload.
“Arya, give me three minutes.” Russell’s voice was eerily calm. “After three minutes, whether I succeed or not, you must evacuate.”
A psionic shield materialized around him as Russell leaped from the hundred-meter-high wall. The plasma spear charged as it fell, golden arcs of electricity and blue plasma streams intertwining to form a death spiral.
The first Chaos Mech was reduced to scrap metal by the spearhead, and the cockpit of the second was cleaved open by an entrenching tool. Russell weaved through the wreckage, each step teetering on the edge of death.
Gorgraz pointed his staff to the sky: "Kill him!"
Four Khorne mechs attacked simultaneously, and Russell's plasma spear overloaded and exploded, sending him flying several meters. He struggled to his feet.
“Three minutes are up.” Arya’s psionic message was choked with tears. “Russell… I’m sorry.”
A muffled explosion echoed from beneath the fortress—White Scar's main force had breached the tunnel and evacuated. Russell watched the receding dust, a bitter smile playing on his lips.
"It seems... this time I'm really going to die." He gripped the entrenching tool tightly, and golden arcs of electricity flashed one last time in the enemy ranks.