What is this? This planet has Star God fragments?

Despair?

Fear?

These emotions might appear in any person.

But they will never appear in a player.

The threat of death is meaningless to them.

Gunfire cannot bring them any fear.

Facing the roaring artillery, far from being afraid, it instead stirred their desire for experience, victory, and loot.

They are a catastrophe that brings despair to their enemies.

As soon as the battle broke out.

The players cheered and launched an assault on the enemy.

Their fighting style was exceptionally brutal.

They charged heroically while weathering the enemy's lasers and bullets.

There was not a trace of fear of death in their eyes.

Only longing and excitement for the battlefield.

Watching this scene, Aing, who had just landed, doubted whether these God Chosen were actually Ork Boyz wearing human skin.

The Cultists and Plague Zombie in the Outer District had already suffered heavy casualties after a round of orbital bombardment.

Under the fearless charge of the players, they quickly collapsed and scattered in flight, unable to organize any decent resistance at all.

The veteran players wore Exoskeleton Armor and charged at the very front.

Shoulder-mounted machine guns spun continuously, gunning down enemies who poked their heads out from cover.

And behind them were the rookie players responsible for finishing off the survivors.

"This game is intense, man."

Damo held his Lasguns and shot down Cultists in the trenches one after another.

"Die, minions of the Corpse Emperor."

From behind a piece of cover, a Cultist suddenly rushed out.

With a crazed expression, he gripped a sharp knife and lunged toward Damo.

Damo dodged, causing his opponent to miss and stumble forward.

Damo seized the opportunity to smash the butt of his Lasguns into the opponent's back.

This caused the man to lose his balance and fall forward.

Immediately after, he quickly pulled the trigger and shot the man dead.

"Damo, were you a soldier?"

Seeing Damo's smooth and fluid set of movements, Hardcore Bro sounded somewhat surprised.

"Never served, I just work, I practice often." Damo said casually.

"Let's form a team." Hardcore Bro said: "The veterans have too much of an advantage right now; if we don't team up, it'll be hard to catch up to them."

"Team up?" Damo pondered: "That's a great suggestion. You help me get stronger first, then I'll help you get stronger. It's a win-win."

Hardcore Bro: "..."

"Damn! Forget I said anything."

"Don't be like that, let's team up. Once we're offline, come to the island, and I'll treat you to a full package of food and entertainment."

"..."

On the other side of the battlefield.

A group of fleeing Rebels soldiers hid in a half-collapsed ruin.

Boom!

The charred wall was smashed open.

When they saw a five-meter-tall Exoskeleton Armor appear, the Rebels were stunned.

"Heh! Heh! Those who betray the God-Emperor—die."

Little Fatty's voice came from inside the Exoskeleton Armor.

The circular saw mounted at the end of the mechanical arm spun at high speed, swinging toward the Cultists.

The flesh and blood of the Rebels were instantly torn apart, and crimson blood and internal organs spilled all over the ground.

The Rebels soldiers who were lucky enough to survive were terrified to the point of collapse, turning to flee as far as possible from this Asura hell.

The Multi-laser mounted on the other mechanical arm began to spin at high speed.

The muzzle flashed, and a dense barrage of light beams poured out.

In an instant, the few Rebels attempting to flee collapsed, their bodies riddled with charred, smoking wounds.

"Praise the Omnissiah."

Little Fatty searched for a new target and continued the slaughter.

He needed to turn these damned enemies into his experience, Contribution Points, and Faith Points.

Inside a trench.

"We have lost; we must leave."

The adjutant's report caused a look of disbelief to surface on Kras's face.

An hour ago, they had still held an absolute advantage.

They had possessed countless Plague Zombies and well-equipped cultists.

All they had needed was to complete the ritual and spread the plague to the inner city to win this planet for Grandfather Nurgle.

And now, they were losing the war.

"How on earth did all this happen?" Kras asked.

"It is that Guide; rumors say he is an envoy of the God-Emperor, possessing a Lunar-class Cruiser and a group of fearless subordinates."

The adjutant's voice was filled with terror.

"Damn those Corpse-Stench Minions," Kras roared in anger.

"We must retreat and find a chance to regroup," the adjutant said.

Kras looked at the chaotic battlefield and the fleeing cultists, then nodded.

"Issue the order to all units we can contact; we are retreating to regroup."

The adjutant had just prepared to relay the order when he heard an excited voice.

"Hey, brothers, there's a boss here."

"Eat this psychic shot of mine."

Kras and his adjutant instinctively turned their heads.

They saw several crystals radiating light flying toward them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The subordinates beside Kras didn't even have time to scream before their heads exploded.

At this moment, Ten-Timer, Twisted Man, Wrist Bro, and Turtle, all wearing Exoskeleton Armor, appeared above the trench.

Facing the dark, menacing muzzles, Kras and the other surviving Rebels chose to kneel and surrender.

"This guy looks like he has a high rank; he must be worth a lot."

Ten-Timer sized up the kneeling Kras.

Twisted Man rubbed his chin, "Probably some big leader or something."

Turtle laughed, "If the Warmaster knew about this, he'd be furious that he missed out on catching such a big fish."

Seeing the airborne troops of the Imperial Glory advancing like a hot knife through butter, forcing the Rebels into a steady retreat.

The defenders inside the city also seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

Boom! Boom!

The sound of artillery erupted.

Several heavy tanks rumbled over the rubble and debris.

They fired upon the Rebels' remaining fire points.

They blasted the enemies and the bunkers covered in Chaos symbols into fragments.

"Charge! Make those bastards pay in blood!"

"In the name of the Golden Throne, for honor, advance at full speed!"

The Imperial officer shouted, urging the soldiers to pick up the pace.

The Rebel lines collapsed entirely, fleeing toward the outside of the Hive City.

The wandering Plague Zombies were also swept away.

A few days later, the Imperial Double-Headed Eagle flag flew once again over the various streets of the Outer District.

The morale-shattered Rebels had abandoned their armor and weapons all along the way.

They were driven out of the Hive City by the combined forces of the players and the loyalist troops.

The news of the victory in the Outer District battle spread back, greatly invigorating the ragged refugees.

This was the first such good news they had heard in a very long time.

Many spontaneously took to the streets, singing praises to the God-Emperor, the Guide, the God Chosen, and the heroic Imperial soldiers.

Upon learning that the rebels on the ground had been routed, Qin Yun ordered the ships to move to new orbital coordinates.

He prepared to let those rebels and Cultists enjoy a new round of orbital bombardment.

The Warmaster, serving as a diplomatic envoy, sent another message shortly after the battle in the Outer District ended.

"Lord Guide, thanks to my status as a God Chosen and the victory in the Outer District battle."

"The people here are very willing to share those secret histories with me, and they have even allowed me to access the library to search for information at will."

"Through my efforts, I have finally uncovered information regarding that ancestor of the Valancius Family."

"What that person brought back is highly likely to be a C'tan Shard."

"The reason the exploration fleet was completely wiped out in the Koronus Expanse was because they encountered a Necrons fleet that had come to recover the C'tan Shard."

"A conflict erupted between the two sides; the exploration fleet paid a heavy price to destroy that Necrons fleet and brought back the C'tan Shard."

"Currently, that C'tan Shard is most likely located inside the ancestral mausoleum of the Valancius Family."

The intelligence gathered by the Warmaster made Qin Yun's eyes widen.

One had to realize that this was a C'tan!

The oldest beings in the galaxy, participants in the War in Heaven, and the manifestation of the laws of the material universe.

Even when shattered into pieces, they still possessed incomparable power.

The ancestor of the Valancius Family had actually snatched one back.

And they had placed it inside their own tomb.

Is this some kind of ridiculous overpowered protagonist story?

At this moment, a golden light screen appeared.

[Mission: Acquire the C'tan Shard on Planet Automata.

The C'tan are ancient life forms of the material universe, possessing wisdom and power beyond imagination.

If this power and wisdom can be utilized reasonably, it may bring you unexpected help.

Please find the C'tan Shard hidden on Planet Automata and bring it before the Emperor's Shrine.

Reward: A C'tan Seed with a blank past and infinite growth potential.

]

PS: The church the Emperor likes.

Author online, continuing to humbly beg for follows so I can get a recommendation.