Chapter 55: The Genestealer Patriarch
Valentin stared blankly at the monster before him.
He could hear Vienna murmuring to herself; the Genestealer Patriarch was communicating with Vienna through the Tyranid psychic network.
"Are you hungry, my Lord? I will bring the people up at once."
At the Patriarch's command, one Genestealer cultist after another walked forward.
Valentin noticed that even when these people saw the Genestealer's utterly terrifying form, they showed no fear, still regarding it as an angel of their God-Emperor.
These cultists were all deceived by the Patriarch's psychic illusions. In their eyes, the Tyranid Patriarch did not look like this at all, but was the avatar of the great Four-Armed Emperor.
The Patriarch's massive body required a large amount of food every day, and its food was these selected human followers.
The Patriarch's eyes scanned the cultists before it, as if choosing its favorite meal.
And these cultists all looked expectantly at the Patriarch, wanting to be the first lucky one.
When the Genestealer Patriarch found the meal it most desired, it seized a cultist with its claw.
Then, as if eating a snack, it tossed the person into its mouth.
The Tyranid Patriarch shoved the person directly into its maw and began to chew vigorously. The agony of being eaten alive was imaginable.
Yet, the Genestealer cultist being eaten alive still wore a look of utter contentment, as if feeling no pain at all.
"Madmen… how can this be!"
Valentin couldn't believe how someone could smile while being killed in such a manner.
And the other waiting cultists seemed not to have seen a thing; in their eyes, the chosen one had already ascended to the Golden Throne.
After the Tyranid Patriarch had completely devoured the person, it still seemed unsatisfied.
It looked at Valentin.
The extremely bloody scene just now had scared Valentin witless. He struggled to get up from the ground, trying to flee, but Vienna's psychic powers pinned him in place.
"As food desired by the Patriarch, how could I let you escape?"
The Magus used her psychic powers to control Valentin, causing him to float towards the Tyranid Patriarch.
"Dark Gods, save me!"
Valentin's prayers received no response. The psychic shadow formed by the Genestealer Patriarch's powerful psionic abilities had long since completely shielded his prayers within the Warp. The Genestealer Patriarch eagerly swallowed Valentin in one gulp. It chewed with great mouthfuls; the energy contained within this Chaos-blessed body was far greater than that of an ordinary human!
It was very satisfied with this meal! After eating Valentin, its psychic power seemed to have grown a little stronger.
Valentin, who had plunged Agathos into Chaos, was now dead. He had considered many possible ways he might die after his failure, but he had never imagined he would be eaten alive.
After finishing off all the remaining offered cultists, the Genestealer Patriarch sat back down on its throne.
And at this moment, it actually began to speak in a human tongue.
"The rebellion on this planet has disrupted the arrival of the Day of Ascension. The number of followers is still not enough to light the psychic beacon. Taking advantage of the chaos in the underhive, we can now expand our congregation."
"I will have the faithful see to it. The weapons we have secretly stockpiled over the years are enough to arm every believer," Vienna replied. "However, Patriarch, should we dispatch a Sanctus to assassinate that newly arrived Rogue Trader? An Agathos lacking management will allow us to better expand into the underhive."
"You may. Go and do it! And those few Chaos Astartes, they are also an unstable factor. Have the faithful and the Sanctus eliminate them as well. The Supreme Will might like their genes, and it could also make the cultists stronger!"
At the Genestealer Patriarch's command, a large number of fourth and fifth generation Genestealer cultists known as Neophytes, who were already mixed into the underhive, began to act. At this generation, their appearance was little different from that of ordinary humans.
On a daily basis, they lived and worked in the underhive like normal Imperial citizens. But upon receiving the order, they took up arms and began to attack the chaotic forces retreating into the underhive.
They rescued and protected those being oppressed. When you are about to be killed by a Chaos cultist, a Genestealer Neophyte saves you. He smiles, gives you food, treats your wounds, and even calls you brother or sister. They are so selfless. One can imagine what the rescued person would think at that moment. And they even still profess belief in the God-Emperor!
One could imagine just how rapidly the Genestealer Cult would expand under these circumstances.
——
At this moment, Lucan was listening to Pavian's report. After two days of regrouping, the Dynasty's soldiers had begun to enter the underhive to retake some of the lost territories near the uphive.
Faced with the PDF supported by the Raiders, these remnants of the Chaos forces could only continuously retreat deeper into the underhive.
The vast hive bottom was too large for his current number of Raiders to cover, so he needed more equipment!
But Lucan was also a bit puzzled. Valentin had not been captured, and even those Word Bearers were still at large.
The number of Chaos cultists who had fled back to the underhive during the battle for the uphive was also large.
So why was the resistance from the retreating Chaos cultists in the underhive so weak… It shouldn't be.
And Norris had also lost contact due to the damaged communication systems in the underhive.
"Captain! Construction of the industrial zone you requested has begun! With the help of the Holy Machines, the Barracks, Factory, and Starport will all be completed soon! The Starport on Agalos has ceased production of Banshee fighters; the first Battlecruiser has already begun construction. It will only take 15 days to complete.
Your fleet is also temporarily acting as transport ships, continuously ferrying qualified ore back from Agalos. Soon, all the sacred STCs will be able to operate at full capacity!"
"And is what you said about being able to travel long distances without using the Warp true?" Pavian asked.
Pavian was reporting on the work to Lucan.
Since being able to receive the faith of Pavian and the other Tech-Priests of the Golden Ram, Lucan could also feel their loyalty; it was at a level of absolute unbetrayal. So Lucan had directly told Pavian.
And most importantly, the Tech-Priests who had become his followers could also command some SCVs and operate some of the Barracks, which saved Lucan a lot of effort, as he no longer had to operate everything himself.
"That's right. When the time comes, we will completely break free from the shackles of the Warp!"
"By the Omnissiah… This will change the situation of the entire galaxy!"
This round of construction cost Lucan almost all the Psy-crystals he had.
But when it was all completed, his subsequent equipment production capacity would be terrifying.
The entire uphive was mobilizing for war. Damon and Verre were responsible for recruitment, which was proceeding exceptionally smoothly.
Just the promise of receiving more food rations for joining the army was enough to tempt people.
And this time, it wasn't like before, being dragged to the front lines as cannon fodder.
The Governor had promised that, gradually, a combat suit would be provided for everyone.
It was known that for those refugees who had fled into the uphive, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Originally, they might have spent their entire lives as laborers in the underhive, working desperately for every mouthful of food, every drop of water, every degree of energy they used.
Now, they could join the Governor's Planetary Defence Force. This was something not just anyone could join before.
The selection criteria had also been relaxed considerably.
In a way, this was a form of class ascension.
And those selected would have to undergo further training by the Raiders. Those who failed the assessment could only return to the ranks of the refugees.
(End of a chapter)