Crush the Psion's Head

Nimrod looked up, locking his gaze onto the highest point at the stern of the battlecruiser, where the strategy room of the Flao was located.

From this deck, he only needed to climb three more levels.

"Follow me."

As Nimrod spoke, he swung his heavy halberd, cutting through six Flao like a scythe through wheat, bisecting them in a single strike.

Their upper bodies slid slowly away, spraying deep purple blood; yellow fibers stretched like silk threads between the two halves, while secreted white fluids attempted to knit the bodies back together.

The death throes lasted only an instant; the Flao's evolved regenerative abilities were useless against the destructive power of a Primarch.

Nimrod then stepped onto the spiral staircase paved with purple metal and began his ascent.

Countless Flao rushed from all directions, their agile forms launching attacks against the four of them.

Witnessing Nimrod's terrifying combat prowess, Maria understood that no matter how many Flao came, they would only be slaughtered mercilessly by the giant; she simply needed to guard the rear and ensure he remained unencumbered.

"Tsvetana, Dementyeva, we hold the rear."

Dementyeva, possessing muscles as robust as any man's, pulled out a syringe and plunged it into her left wrist.

Her body immediately swelled in size. "ROAR!"

Dementyeva gripped her shield with her left hand and charged fiercely downward.

The dozen or so Flao surging toward the stairs were sent flying by her impact, and her chain-axe roared, cleaving the head of an alien that lunged from the right.

At that moment, a Flao wielding dual daggers darted out from the flank, his eyes on either side of his head fixed on the prey in the center.

The next instant, a searing beam of light pierced the alien's right eye and exited through his left.

The three assassins coordinated with seamless synergy, driving back the Flao.

Nimrod was like a reaper; every casual swing of his heavy halberd claimed the lives of a dozen aliens.

The Flao looked at the giant in terror; having plundered dozens of star systems, they had never encountered such a horrific war machine.

For a moment, they dared not step forward to block him, retreating in a panic.

Nimrod easily fought his way through the spiral staircase and was just about to continue climbing when a bulkhead groaned and opened. A Flao commander clad in deep purple armor rushed out from the deck with his subordinates.

Seeing his shrinking kin, he shouted in angry reprimand.

The defeated troops regained their morale and were just about to turn back to kill the giant when they suddenly felt the weight of a mountain pressing down upon them.

The Flao commander was shocked; dozens of his kin had been slaughtered by the enemy in a single charge.

They were not elites, but every Flao was a qualified void Warrior, and there was no dead weight on a capital ship; yet, they were being butchered like livestock.

He widened his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing, and it took a full second for him to snap out of his stupor.

The Flao commander gripped his twin blades, rolling continuously to seek the giant's weak point.

At the same time, he opened his throat comms, urgently reporting to the bridge in the alien tongue.

Having fought his way here, Nimrod had grasped parts of the language through the aliens' shouts and actions, discerning words like "terror" and "reinforcements" from the commander's broadcast.

He flicked his heavy halberd, and the tip shot out like a sharp arrow, instantly piercing the throats of twenty-seven of the commander's personal guards.

Maria plunged her serrated dagger into the top of a Flao's head, then kicked out with her right leg, sending him flying into two aliens rushing up behind him.

She happened to see Nimrod execute the 16th strike of the Osberh-Vaya sequence; having trained under a fencing master since childhood, she was naturally well-versed in this Vostonian sword art.

The 16th strike was one she excelled at, but even with her scimitar and combat stimulants, she could not unleash over twenty strikes in an instant—her limit was thirteen. Yet, Nimrod completed over twenty strikes in a heartbeat with his heavy halberd, and every single one pierced an enemy's throat.

[This is the perfect fusion of strength, speed, and swordsmanship; his attack is truly peerless!]

A brilliant light flashed in Maria's eyes, her mind filled with the image of Nimrod just moments ago.

As the inspiration struck, she pushed off with her legs, leaping toward the aliens and executing the 16th strike with her scimitar, cutting throats with every swing.

One, two, three...

Maria synchronized her scimitar with the heavy halberd's rhythm, performing thrusts; in a single instant, she completed five strikes, breaking her limit for one-handed attacks without stimulants.

As she rolled to dodge an attack, severed an alien's arm, and snatched a dagger, she thought silently to herself.

[The gap is immense.]

As Maria landed, she looked toward Nimrod and saw him face the alien's rapid dagger strikes, swing his heavy halberd, and land a simple, direct cleave onto the alien's chest.

[The 23rd strike! He found the only opening in the alien's rapid dagger assault and delivered a precise strike to the weak point!]

Maria asked herself if she could have executed such a precise strike in the blink of an eye.

[It is possible, but I have no absolute certainty, and I certainly wouldn't be as relaxed as he is.]

[What word would the Magadanian use to describe this?]

["Lifting the heavy as if it were light."]

The commander's death caused the morale of the Flao to collapse once more; this time, it was not just the ordinary crew, but the Warriors as well.

Nimrod was unstoppable, advancing another deck.

The bulkhead opened, and a squad of Flao clad in purple-gold robes filed out, each holding a staff, with warp energy swirling around them.

At the same time, over a thousand Flao Warriors surged from the deck below, attacking upward from the rear.

Nimrod knew that the Flao possessed a series of terrifying psychic mysteries; in his memories, they had encountered Astartes from various Legions during the Great Crusade, inflicting significant casualties upon the Space Marines.

When the Salamanders and Word Bearers engaged the Flao during the pacification of Serapis, the Word Bearer Edical was severely wounded and subsequently interred within a Contemptor Dreadnought.

The notorious Alpha Legion Saboteur and Terra veteran Nihairen had also been interred within a Contemptor Dreadnought following a battle against the Flao.

Nimrod took a deep breath, the air rushing into his lungs and swirling several times before he suddenly opened his mouth to unleash a furious howl.

Dozens of Flao clutched their heads in agony as the howl bored into their brains; the ultrasonic humming echoed, causing them to vomit blood in unison before they were stunned into unconsciousness and toppled downward.

Nimrod swung his heavy halberd, cleaving the unconscious xenos psykers to death, then looked up into the air.

Among the Flao were several powerful psykers who had shielded themselves with psychic energy the moment before the Wild Howl erupted.

[The Flao are most adept at precognition.

Hmm, the Wild Howl is, after all, only a Sequence 8 Beyonder ability. Although my body as a Primarch far exceeds that of a Sequence 8 Beyonder, I have not specifically reinforced my lungs, and the Wild Howl has not undergone a qualitative change.

They clearly also possess telekinetic arts capable of defending against sound waves.]

As these thoughts flashed through Nimrod's mind, he bent his knees and tensed his muscles to leap.

He appeared instantly before a Flao, swinging his heavy halberd with his right arm to crush two other psykers.

Simultaneously, he reached out with his left arm, grabbing for the head of the Flao.

The telekinetic shield was like paper, failing to withstand the Primarch for even a second.

Nimrod's massive hand gripped the Flao's head, and with a slight exertion of force, the shark-like skull was crushed, sending a mist of deep purple blood drifting into the air.