Realizing the situation was critical, the players rushed toward the site of the Warp psychic eruption at top speed.
Rebel soldiers tried to stop them along the way.
But those fools were like praying mantises trying to stop a cart and were easily crushed by the player squad in Exoskeleton Armor.
After fighting their way through, Ten-Timer and the other players finally reached the area of the psychic eruption.
"Over there."
Turtle, who had been implanted with Sensory Prosthetics, spotted the target at once.
It was an altar covered with corpses and skulls.
Fourteen Psykers stood around the altar, chanting prayers in praise of Grandfather Nurgle.
Three priests presided over the sacrificial ritual atop the altar.
"Stop them. The Warp is becoming more and more active. The ritual is about to be completed."
As a Psyker, Ten-Timer was extremely sensitive to the flow of Warp energy.
He could sense those demons screaming hungrily behind the veil of reality.
There were many Cultists around the altar.
When they saw the players, they all let out crazed roars.
They charged at the players in swarms.
"Traitors must die."
Bald Monk shouted.
The machine guns mounted on the Exoskeleton Armor spun up and opened fire on the Cultists.
Amid dense gunfire, the charging Cultists fell like grass before a scythe.
A few Fanatics charged up to the players through the fierce barrage.
But before they could do anything, they were cut apart by sharp Chainswords and circular saws.
Relying on the overwhelming advantage of their Exoskeleton Armor, the players forcibly tore open a gap in the Cultist horde.
The fourteen Psykers had exhausted too much energy sustaining the ritual. Faced with the players, they had no strength to fight back and were shot dead on the spot.
But the ritual did not stop.
The three priests on the altar continued guiding it.
They were protected by shields, while Cultists fearlessly threw themselves in the path of bullets for them.
"If ranged attacks can't reach them, then we'll go in close. Cover me."
Twisted Man opened the armor plating of his exoskeleton and jumped out of the cockpit.
He activated the Mantis Blades on his wrists and charged toward the three priests on the altar.
"Cover Twisted Man."
Ten-Timer gathered Warp power and violently crushed the heads of the enemies on the altar.
The others also provided fire support, preventing rebels and Cultists from approaching the altar.
After a fierce battle, no enemies remained before Twisted Man.
He stepped forward and killed two priests with one slash each.
Then he drove another blade through the chest of the last priest.
The priest turned his head toward Twisted Man, coughing blood as he laughed.
"You came too late. We have already succeeded."
"Sevenfold Plague, Sevenfold Curse, Sevenfold Blessing, Seven Fates, Seven Sacrifices, Seven Prayers, Seven Responses."
"Grandfather's angel will soon descend and bestow his blessing upon this world."
"Madman." Twisted Man pulled out his Mantis Blade, and foul-smelling blood burst forth.
At that moment, the altar erupted with an even more violent surge of Warp energy.
Twisted Man and the corpses were all blasted away by that power and hurled heavily into the ruins.
Space around the altar twisted and flickered.
Eerie light gathered into a kaleidoscopic vortex.
The ground began to rot.
The ruined wasteland rapidly grew damp, slimy moss and decaying vines.
Then, a dense swarm of flies emerged.
The swarm blotted out the sky, staining the heavens a filthy, murky black.
Every fly was fat and glossy black.
Each bore three blood-red circles representing Nurgle's blessing.
Then came the Nurglings.
They were countless, no fewer than the flies, cackling merrily as though having a wonderful time.
Next came the lesser Nurgle demons, the Plaguebearers.
Trampling over the Nurglings carpeting the ground, they raised rotting banners and formed ranks of seven hundred and seventy-seven.
Then countless Nurglings carried out a rotting palanquin.
Seated atop it was a Great Unclean One.
It possessed an obese body that swayed endlessly upon the palanquin.
Its intestines dangled from a festering gash in its abdomen.
Unlike the Nurglings and Plaguebearers, it did not look happy at all. Its face was full of melancholy.
Ten-Timer and the other players went numb as they watched the Nurgle daemon army emerge from the Warp rift.
"Holy shit! A Great Unclean One? That makes no sense!"
"A sacrifice by a bunch of mortal Cultists can summon a Great Unclean One?"
"Normally, it would already be absurd for a mortal sacrifice to summon a group of Plaguebearers."
"That was before. The Eye of Terror has split open now. Is it really strange for mortals to summon a Great Unclean One?"
"If that fluttering moth came over, even that fat bastard's garden could be summoned."
"..."
From the Great Unclean One's characteristics, Ten-Timer identified its identity.
"This guy seems to be Kugath, the Nurgling who became a demon. He's an Arch-Daemon. It feels like the devs are targeting us."
"Who cares who it is? Hurry to Titan and ask the Grey Knights for help." Little Fatty sprayed bullets into the demon horde.
"Stop making memes at a time like this. Get the Guide to use orbital bombardment already, or we're all screwed."
Twisted Man climbed out of the ruins and limped into the battle.
Ten-Timer shook his head. "Calling for orbital bombardment is useless now. A Great Unclean One has already appeared. We need at least Exterminatus."
Little Fatty poured fire into the demons, blasting Nurglings and flies into sludge.
"Looks like we're getting wiped out here this time. I just wonder whether Planet Automata can be saved."
"I'd say we'll probably have to switch worlds." Twisted Man was somewhat pessimistic.
"That's Kugath over there. We have no chance of winning."
The players active across the battlefield all rushed over.
They relied on the exoskeletons' savage firepower to establish a defensive line, barely containing the demons' advance.
Yet no matter how many they cut down, even more demons would surge forward.
The forces under Griffin and Aing also arrived soon afterward.
They swiftly organized themselves and joined the players in resisting the demon assault.
"Praise Grandfather."
Kugath looked upon this world and sighed sincerely.
Grandfather would surely be pleased if this world were transformed into a garden.
Just then, a whistling sound rang out as several missiles flew in and struck Kugath.
The flames from the explosions engulfed Kugath. They did little damage, but they enraged him.
"Ignorant people who worship the Corpse Emperor, you truly have no manners at all."
"Abandon your worship of that rotten corpse and join Grandfather's embrace."
More missiles and laser fire answered him.
"Very well. Since you refuse to see reason, do not blame me."
Kugath took a flask of cultivated diseases from the frame of his palanquin,
and hurled it at the Imperium soldiers and players,
causing them to rot to death.
Not even steel could block the plague contained within the flask.
Various vehicles rapidly mutated, growing writhing flesh and turning on the soldiers and players.
Kugath also projected spears of Warp energy from between his sticky fingers, piercing soldiers' chests before exploding into foul blood mist;
with a single exhalation, he spewed Plague Wind, corroding Plasteel armor until it crumbled while flesh melted and dripped away like wax.
No one could stop him.
A Great Unclean One was already a nightmare that drove people to despair.
And Kugath was far stronger than an ordinary Great Unclean One.
He was simply not something the players at their current stage could handle.
Just as everyone fell into despair, the roar of Valkyrie engines echoed through the sky.
Dense volleys of explosive rounds and energy beams rained down, easing the pressure on the ground forces.
Then the hatches opened.
A giant clad in heavy armor leaped straight down from the Valkyrie.
With a thunderous boom, horrifying cracks spread across the ground.
Seeing the newcomer, Kugath and the many Nurgle demons widened their eyes.
That size, that oppressive presence, and such powerful blessing upon him.
Since when had the Cursed One made a new Primarch??
"Go back, demon."
The Blade of Divine Judgment in Qin Yun's hand erupted with brilliant radiance.
He let out a roar, bolstering the soldiers' courage, then raised his hand and bestowed a blessing.
Golden light burst forth, restoring the stamina and spirits of the Imperium soldiers and players.
"You should join Grandfather's family."
"Then you will receive more Blessings and become even stronger."
Kugath raised his rusted, slime-covered sword and tried to persuade Qin Yun.
PS: Give us a wronged Kugath.
Sorry for the delay. Repeated revisions caused it.
I originally planned to gloss over this, but he is an Arch-Daemon after all, so I figured I should write him in more detail.
Before you continue