Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 633

Chapter 631, Death of the Great Sage

. “You truly disgust me, Varuk.”

Gu Hang uttered these words, speaking from pure emotion.

He disliked scolding his enemies, whether they were traitors, Chaos, or aliens. While it was Gu Hang’s duty to ruthlessly slaughter them all, that was simply a matter of position and responsibility.

Even when faced with the most seemingly disgusting enemies, those Plague Daemons and the Father’s followers, Gu Hang would simply purify them without batting an eyelid. Those cysts, pustules, and secretions were indeed disgusting, but

that was only physically disgusting. However, what Gu Hang saw upon entering Varuk’s cathedral truly disgusted him psychologically.

It was only natural that one of Varuk’s mechanical arks had a cathedral. In fact, cathedrals were a common feature on Imperial ships, and many large vessels even had more than one.

During long voyages, especially when traveling through astral tunnels, ships were often subjected to strong Warp intrusions. Most of these were protected by astral force fields. The effects of debris left on ships that affect people’s minds are minimal, and academically, they can be largely ruled harmless.

However, they can still cause psychological stress.

Furthermore, are all Astral Fields manufactured to perfection? Even if they’re flawless upon leaving the factory, won’t some damage develop over extended use that can’t be repaired in time?

This can exacerbate the Warp’s intrusion during interstellar travel.

Normally, this isn’t a major issue. Mind disturbances slightly above Imperial standards, as long as they’re not excessive, are tolerable.

In such times, spiritual comfort becomes crucial. This is why shipboard chapels and clergy are essential.

Even without these factors, religious life has always been a part of Imperial life, especially during the often tedious and boring life aboard ship, where faith provides relief.

Furthermore, nearly every Imperial ship requires a staff of technicians to operate and maintain the ship. The vast majority of these personnel are clergy from the Mechanicum, and naturally, a chapel is necessary to accommodate their daily needs.

These various factors combined to make it inevitable that Imperial ships would have churches, often more than one.

This was true of ordinary ships, let alone the Mechanicus’s mechanical arks.

On the Alfonzo I, Varrick’s ship, the central church was exceptionally grand and massive. Even compared to some of the core cathedrals on land, or in the hives, it differed only in size, but its specifications were undoubtedly superior.

Images of the God of Mechanics, another incarnation of the Emperor, were scattered throughout the church, represented in various religious art forms, including sculptures, portraits, and stained glass.

If it had been this, it would have been fine. It would simply be that Varrick’s display of the Emperor’s paintings and statues while collaborating with the xenos was rather disgraceful, but not enough to make Gu Hang call him disgusting.

However, that was not the case.

Those portraits and sculptures had all been altered.

The iconic symbol of the God of Mechanics, with its human skull embedded in the center of a gear, and its numerous electronic eyes, metal pipes, and other elements that were very characteristic of the Mechanicus, remained. However, many of the Mechanicus’s elements have been replaced with purple biological eyes, fangs, and claw marks.

The most significant change is the skull in the center of the sacred emblem, representing pure humanity, replaced with a Zerg chitinous skull. Its fangs have even been retracted, giving it a benevolent, sickening expression.

The gears surrounding the skeleton have also been transformed into twisted limbs.

Not only the emblem of the All-Mechanicus, but also various statues depicting the Emperor within the church have undergone corresponding stylistic changes. These figures often retain the same attire as the original All-Mechanicus statues, wearing traditional Mechanicus clothing, but key elements like the skull and gears have been replaced with Zerg heads, limbs, and fangs. Four arms extend from behind, resembling the Four-Armed Emperor.

The religious images depicting the Emperor as the All-Mechanicus, and the images of the Emperor leading the earliest members of the Mechanicus in the arduous founding of the Mechanicus, building vast planet-scale factories, and developing technology, have all been distorted into images of the Four-Armed Emperor leading the Zerg Angels in saving the world.

Seeing this, Gu Hang was naturally furious.

He wasn’t a staunch believer in the Emperor, and fanatical faith had nothing to do with him. But he was a human, and the leader of a human interstellar political group. His status and self-perception undoubtedly sided with the human race.

And everything displayed in Varuk’s Church was not only a blasphemy against the Emperor, but also the greatest blasphemy against humanity as a whole!

Varuk truly deserved to die.

And Varuk, who Gu Hang had judged absolutely deserving of death, was now in a state of panic.

Gu Hang’s personal appearance had truly surprised him to the core!

Shouldn’t Gu Hang be trapped in his Thunder Kingdom? His primary focus should be on not leaving the Storm Kingdom. Otherwise, without his full support, his Thunder Kingdom would be tipped against the enemy, suffering irreversible damage…

No.

The presence of those Emperor’s followers liberated Gu Hang!

After the Thunder Kingdom briefly flashed and dispelled the shadows of the Warp, his position was exposed! So, the second flash, taking advantage of another brief dispersal of the Warp, teleported directly in.

It was precisely because of the haste of the operation that the teleportation lacked precision, resulting in the Space Marines’ scattered arrival.

But that was no longer crucial.

Gu Hang had come in person!

Even if he couldn’t call upon the power of his Storm Kingdom, that didn’t stop him; he always had the might of an Alpha-class psyker.

To put it bluntly, it was enough to rip the very stars apart!

Of course, that wasn’t a reason for Varuk to surrender.

He turned a deaf ear to Gu Hang’s so-called disgusting remarks. The order to attack was instantly transmitted to every unit responsible for protecting him within the cathedral.

Those who could remain inside were undoubtedly powerful units from Alfonzo I’s Ark. However, a significant number of them were tossed about by the shockwave created by Gu Hang’s blast through the cathedral’s majestic gates, barely able to rise and adjust to combat stances. Some were even crushed to death.

Although the remaining survivors, following the Great Sage’s instructions, launched a collective attack on Gu Hang, the damage these attacks could cause was quite limited.

In front of Gu Hang, the protective spiritual energy expanded into a large area, completely dissipating all kinds of attacks.

Gu Hang didn’t have a Void Shield, but it was more than enough to have

one. The two shared similar characteristics: both deflected incoming attacks into the Warp. The difference was that with a normal Void Shield, no one knew where the firepower was being diverted. The Warp was an infinite place, as vast as the universe, a never-ending garbage dump. Isn’t that just throwing garbage into it?

Gu Hang’s uniqueness lay in his ability to precisely direct this firepower to any area within the Warp he could reach.

Under the current circumstances, Gu Hang would undoubtedly hurled all attacks against him into the shadowy warp that enveloped his divine kingdom.

Varuk felt a wave of discomfort.

Wasn’t this tantamount to attacking himself?

But stopping the attack was impossible.

He couldn’t just stand by and watch Gu Hang act recklessly, could he?

The only way he could think of to turn the tide was to launch a powerful offensive, suppressing the psychic energy Gu Hang needed to maintain his protective body.

After all, Gu Hang was now cut off from his divine kingdom. His inherent strength, even at Alpha level, was limited, a human’s.

While Alpha-level weapons were said to be capable of tearing apart stars, the legendary Great Sage’s self-equipping, imbued with cutting-edge technology, could also enable him to defeat an entire planet with his own strength.

Who’s afraid of who when he boasts?

He had already fully deployed his combat posture.

Honestly, he hadn’t done this in a long time. Even though he performed regular self-inspections, his equipment was always in top condition.

He certainly didn’t have enough combat experience. After all, becoming a Grand Sage wasn’t about fighting prowess. But as a Grand Sage, he had a solution. He had developed a comprehensive set of pre-defined action algorithms, integrating all his equipment—both the old mechanical components and the newly developed biochemical limbs imbued with the will of the Swarm—and updated them in real time. Once the algorithms were activated, he didn’t have to worry about inexperience hindering his full combat effectiveness.

This algorithm, combined with the hardware quality of his modified equipment, was truly top-notch. He could destroy even a Warlord-class Titan in a head-on battle!

In other words, Varuk’s frontal firepower was even greater than that of a Warlord

-class Titan. Could the psychic shields of an Alpha-class psyker withstand a frontal attack from a Warlord-class Titan?

Perhaps.

But could they sustain it?

Varuk felt unlikely.

Add to that the firepower of the numerous elite Skitarii units surrounding him, and Gu Hang could be worn down to death.

The situation unfolded just as he had envisioned.

Gu Hang was pinned down not far from the church’s gates, maintaining his psychic shield. For a moment, there was no sign of it breaking, but there was no time to act.

He simply waited.

The longer he dragged on, the more Skitarii would hear his message and rush to his aid. The attacks on Gu Hang would only grow stronger, and eventually, unable to withstand the pressure, he would be annihilated.

Without Gu Hang, his kingdom wouldn’t simply be trapped; it would crumble beneath the oppression of the Warp’s shadows!

It seemed as if this was happening before his very eyes, and a smile crossed his face, a face that shouldn’t have held any emotion.

Wait…

this wasn’t right!

He had a vague feeling that this was happening too fast!

How could it be so smooth?

As he thought this, everything before his eyes suddenly vanished like a bubble.

“Oh? You’re awake?”

he heard Gu Hang’s voice.

But he could see nothing, only darkness.

His visual system had been removed.

But that didn’t matter. As a great sage, he had many other means of perception. For example, Gu Hang had preserved his hearing, along with other electromagnetic sensors. He could also connect to surrounding surveillance cameras to observe the situation.

Once connected, he found himself still in the core cathedral of Alfonso I, still seated on his throne. However, his body, once in full combat form, should have been the size of a small Titan, was now reduced to a tangled mess of about two meters, the rest of it violently dismantled. Around him, the elite Skitarii units that should have been there were reduced to rubble.

“What have you done?” His voice trembled, unsure whether from fear or from the damage to his vocal cords caused by the violent demolition.

“Shh, shut up.” It was clear Gu Hang didn’t want to pay attention to him. He didn’t have the time. He

‘d thought he’d sleep longer, but he’d woken up a bit too early.

No problem, Gu Hang simply dismantled his vocal cords.

Killing Varrick wasn’t a difficult task. Upon entering his cathedral, Gu Hang had used his psychic powers to disrupt his mind.

If left unattacked, this guy, with his cutting-edge equipment, would indeed pose a considerable threat, potentially pinning Gu Hang to his ground. However, when Varuk designed his combat algorithms, he clearly hadn’t considered the sheer number of concerns inherent in a close encounter with an Alpha-class psyker.

Or perhaps he had estimated it, but underestimated it.

At the very least, he wasn’t able to defend against Gu Hang’s psychic power,

which resulted in his near-instantaneous demise.

Trapped in a dreamlike state, Varuk no longer posed any threat. Even his firepower wasn’t aimed at the escort, as he’d intended, but instead pelted the nearby elite Skitarii, saving Gu Hang considerable effort.

Afterward, Gu Hang cleared out the Skitarii within the cathedral while using his psychic power to guide the Space Marines to assemble at the cathedral.

At least 450 Shadow Warriors remained.

Their mission was to establish a perimeter here and protect Gu Hang. Gu Hang needed them, as he now had to focus his attention back into the Warp.

Contrary to what he had thought, Varuk was controlled, but the Warp Shadow hadn’t dissipated.

Did he need to kill Varuk to end the Warp Shadow? Gu Hang felt that wasn’t the case.

He had a hunch: if Varuk died, the situation might actually get worse.

At that moment, Gu Hang remembered the long worm shadow that had entangled Varuk when the Lightning Kingdom flashed.

(End of this chapter)