Qin Yun ignored Kugath's temptations.
Instead, he silently adjusted his breathing and prepared for battle.
Kugath stepped down from his palanquin and strode toward Qin Yun.
This Great Unclean One stood over seven meters tall, its bloated body like a moving mountain of rotten flesh.
"That corpse is a liar. He can give you nothing. After death, only complete annihilation or endless suffering awaits you."
"But if you join the Garden of Nurgle, your fate will be entirely different."
"Grandfather Nurgle's garden is paradise for all living things. Nothing dies there."
"From the tiniest virus to the largest beast, all can rise again from the mud."
"There is no death, no pain. Suffering will become a sweet and lasting pleasure."
Qin Yun pointed his blade at Kugath. "You talk too much, just like your master. It's revolting."
"You really are a stubborn fool."
Kugath was enraged by Qin Yun.
It spun its greatsword over its head and brought it down.
Qin Yun dodged the slash.
The greatsword slammed into the ground with a boom, blasting out a huge crater and sending countless shards of stone flying.
"I will seize you and drag you into the garden. You will be trapped there forever, accompanied by countless plagues, until you accept us."
As Kugath spoke, it swung its fat, pustule-covered hand at Qin Yun.
Qin Yun dodged again, leaving a deep wound on its arm.
Kugath felt pain and let out a low growl, but it had also found an opening.
Warp energy erupted from its slimy palm, condensing into a gleaming spear that shot toward Qin Yun in an instant.
The passive skill Shield of Faith activated on its own.
A golden shield of light appeared beside Qin Yun, blocking the spear of Warp energy.
The collision between the two forces triggered an explosion, forcing Qin Yun to retreat and bleed off the impact.
Kugath's body was fat and bloated, yet it did nothing to hinder its agile movements.
It pressed the attack, intending to crush Qin Yun.
Its greatsword swept sideways, tearing through the air.
Qin Yun had no choice but to use the Blade of Divine Judgment to parry the greatsword.
Clang—
The blades collided, unleashing a terrifying shockwave.
Qin Yun's hand went numb, pain faintly prickling through it.
Then Kugath delivered another heavy blow, sending Qin Yun staggering backward.
As expected of Nurgle's most favored servant.
Even projecting only a portion of its power, it could still firmly suppress Qin Yun.
"Looks like you have not received much blessing from the Corpse Emperor. You are not strong enough yet." Kugath laughed. "You are destined to belong to Grandfather Nurgle."
Qin Yun leaped back and avoided its slash. "You really do talk too much."
During the fierce battle, Qin Yun caught Kugath's opening and carved a wound across its abdomen.
But Kugath took the chance to shatter his helmet, exposing half his face to the air.
Plague viruses invaded Qin Yun's body through his nose and mouth.
The Warp's evil power caused signs of decay to appear on his face.
His powerful immune system rapidly defended itself, exterminating every pathogen that had entered his body.
Golden radiance emerged, driving away the Warp's evil power and restoring his complexion.
"What a noble face, just like Mortarion's."
"Once I bring you back to Grandfather Nurgle's garden, the two of you will surely become good friends."
Kugath said delightedly, "Give up resisting. Embrace Grandfather Nurgle."
Qin Yun said nothing. Instead, he thrust his sword forward fiercely in reply.
He would never submit to the gods.
"Foolish."
Anger appeared on Kugath's face as it launched an even more ferocious assault.
On the other side of the battlefield, Ten-Timer and the other players were desperately holding back the Daemon Tide.
"This is insane. There are way too many daemons."
Several small Hellstrike Missiles launched from the rear of the Exoskeleton Armor controlled by Little Fatty.
They exploded amid the Daemon Tide, tearing apart swathes of enemies.
But the enemy numbers were endless.
No matter how many they killed, replacements immediately filled the gap.
"We'll be worn down to death."
Brother Zhong abandoned his powerless Exoskeleton Armor, jumped out of the cockpit, activated his Power Sword, and cut down the charging Plaguebearers.
Ten-Timer used the Chainsword on his exoskeleton equipment to rip a Plaguebearer apart.
"We can't keep fighting like this. We need to destroy the anchor points between the Warp and reality."
"Turtle, contact Old Bird. Have him activate the Auspex and scan all of Goliath Hive City."
"There must be other altars in the Hive City. Nurgle's sacred numbers are three and seven, and the summoning ritual must follow those numbers too."
"Understood." Turtle nodded, then opened communications and contacted Old Bird, who was staying behind aboard the Imperial Glory.
Before long, Turtle looked at Ten-Timer.
"You were right. The Auspex detected excessive Warp energy readings in two more areas."
"Old Bird sent over the map coordinates. What do we do next?"
Ten-Timer quickly opened the data panel and examined the areas with abnormal Warp energy readings.
He marked one location.
"What else can we do? We have to find a way to destroy every altar."
"Brother Zhong, take some people and destroy the altar marked on the map."
"Understood." After dealing with several enemies, Brother Zhong led several veteran players away from the battlefield.
They brought compressed explosive packs and rushed toward the target area.
"Blood Pigeon, can you hear me?"
Ten-Timer called the flight squad over the communications channel.
"Yes." Blood Pigeon replied.
"Go destroy the other altar at the coordinates. It's too far from the ground forces, and you would have to cross the enemy ranks. Only you can handle it."
"Alright, leave it to us."
After Blood Pigeon's flight squad dropped their ammunition onto the defensive position, they headed toward the other altar.
"Hold the line!" Ten-Timer shouted at the remaining players. "If we lose, we get nothing."
If this battle failed, Planet Automata would be corrupted into part of the garden.
Everything the players had worked so hard for would turn to ashes.
"Let's do this."
"It's time to prove our loyalty. For the Emperor!"
"Old Bird, send a few more rounds of orbital bombardment based on our positions. Suppress the Daemon Tide."
"Don't worry about whether we're still here. Just bombard them."
"..."
The players' fearless resolve deeply moved Aing.
He fervently encouraged the soldiers and personally took command at the front line.
"For the Emperor! Hold the line!"
"Perhaps we will not return alive, but the God-Emperor's glory will be with us."
Colonel Griffin commanded the artillery units, providing fire support for the players.
"Calibrate the parameters. Set the boundary twenty meters ahead of the God Chosen. Use a creeping barrage. Fire."
The Genestealer soldiers also fought with the resolve to die.
Whenever daemons charged at them, they shouted the Emperor's name and perished alongside their enemies.
Deep within Tyreen Hive City, the Genestealer Patriarch watched this war and the God Chosen through the eyes of those Genestealer soldiers.
He calculated his next move.
On the battlefield, the fighting between both sides grew increasingly desperate and brutal.
Brother Zhong and several veteran players formed a mission squad.
They cast aside everything and sprinted onward, seeking only to reach the altar as quickly as possible.
There were not many daemons along the way, but there were many Rebel soldiers and Cultists.
They charged at the player squad without fear of death, intending to stop them from destroying the altar.
After a brutal battle, red warnings popped up across the Exoskeleton Armor worn by Brother Zhong and the other players, indicating that their power was nearly depleted.
But they successfully broke through to the altar's vicinity.
"The gods always want us to kneel, but humanity will never yield."
"In the Emperor's name, let those daemons see the art of self-destruction."
Realizing there was no way to fight their way out, Brother Zhong gave the order to detonate the explosive packs.
"For the Emperor."
"For Demacia."
"Feel the charm of explosions."
Amid cheers, the players detonated the explosive packs they carried.
A deafening explosion erupted.
Towering flames swept outward, destroying the ritual altar.
With one altar gone, the Warp Storm weakened.
Kugath and the other daemons also weakened considerably.
Qin Yun seized the opportunity, leaping into the air and bringing the Blade of Divine Judgment down upon his opponent.
The blades collided, and the tremendous force sent Kugath staggering backward.
Missiles howled in from the distance and struck Kugath's body.
As explosions rang out, rotten flesh splattered everywhere.
A horrifying wound appeared on Kugath's bloated body, revealing its decayed organs.
"We can't drag this out any longer."
Kugath could feel its power fading.
When Qin Yun attacked again, Kugath abandoned defense and allowed the sword to pierce its body.
Then it unleashed a terrifying bolt of Warp energy lightning from its hand.
Shield of Faith appeared automatically.
The two energies produced a horrific explosion.
Qin Yun was blasted away and crashed heavily into the ruins.
"You did not have to suffer so much."
Kugath dragged its greatsword toward Qin Yun, who was struggling to rise.
At that moment, a Leman Russ Tank roared forward at full power.
"For the Emperor! For Lord Guide!"
Fanatical cries rang out from the loudspeakers.
Flames flashed from the tank's cannon.
Shell after shell fired out, striking Kugath's body and exploding.
But Kugath did not care in the slightest, as though the shells were merely scratching an itch.
Even in the face of this, the Leman Russ Tank did not retreat. It continued at full power, charging straight at Kugath.
"Annoying thing."
Kugath swung its greatsword and cleaved the Leman Russ Tank into fragments.
"For the Emperor."
An officer crawled out from the wrecked tank.
"What a pitiful creature." Kugath bent down to look at the mortal. "You have given so much to the Corpse Emperor. What can you possibly gain from it?"
"Loyalty." With his last strength, the officer pulled the fuse on the cluster bomb at his waist.
PS: The Second Imperium's three goofballs
Before you continue