The Course of Fate

In the blink of an eye, the tall, gaunt figure arrived in the slaughter below. As his chains whirled, a new massacre began.

The Xenos Slave-Catching Squad let out enraged howls at the sight of the tall, gaunt figure. Relying on their numerical advantage, they charged him. The sickly pale man merely shook the scraps of flesh from his chains before rushing into the Xenos.

An ordinary chain became Death God's scythe in the hands of the reed-thin man. Every lash came with the howl of death; every lash brought flying flesh and a rain of blood.

At first, the Xenos suppressed the man who had leapt down from the high wall through sheer numbers. Yet within minutes, the silent man had willingly abandoned part of his defense just to slaughter every last Xenos. Before long, they had all been massacred.

"Go!!" Typhon led the few remaining people, dragging the still-dazed Mortarion toward an intact slave-catching vehicle before starting it.

While the Xenos who had been watching from the city walls hurriedly opened the gates and rushed toward them, the slave-catching vehicle vanished into the mist like the wind.

"Mortarion! My child, come back and face me! You cannot run forever. Sooner or later, you will return to me!" From the steep mountain came a shriek like a ghoul's, one that seemed capable of tearing apart human eardrums. The Xenos lord's voice sent ripples through the green poisonous fog.

"If you dare run, I'll make sure you die without a burial ground!!"

"The Mortarion of the past is already dead! I have been reborn! Wash your neck and wait for me!!" Mortarion suddenly rose from the back of the slave-catching vehicle and swung his chain in a wide arc at the pursuing Xenos!

Mortarion tore off everything hanging from his waist, cursing as he hurled everything he could throw, both from his body and the vehicle, viciously toward Mountain Fortress. It was as though he were venting the fury of years of imprisonment, as though he were breaking free from the shackles imposed on him by his adoptive father!

"Fuck you!"

Mortarion shouted toward Mountain Fortress with every ounce of strength in his body.

Having become the Akina Mountain Car God, Typhon had no time to care what Mortarion was doing. He was squeezing out the last of his Psychic Power, forcing his severely overdrawn body to control the vehicle as it sped toward his unknown fate.

In the Warp, Master of the Garden was reducing the sauce over high heat. At last, He had rediscovered the feeling of carefully simmering fate.

He happily picked up a newly born Nurgling from His shoulder and casually scratched a pus-filled blister at His waist. Yellow-white pus burst over His hand, and He bestowed it upon the lucky little creature. The Nurgling in Grandfather's hand let out shrill laughter, thanking Grandfather for His gift. More Nurglings were born around Grandfather.

Grandfather continued stirring the crucible before Him with focused attention. Countless diseases and plagues boiled within the pot, cheering as the great Lord of Plague toyed with them. Though his fate had long been decided, He still needed to remain sufficiently wary of the other beings in the Warp like Himself.

Even a god could not guarantee that fate would always follow the path He had set, especially with that irritating being constantly interfering with Him. A blue figure flashed through Grandfather's mind.

The forge's blazing heat warped the air, while crisp, ringing hammer blows echoed continuously through the mine, composing a melody filled with hope.

"Let's go. All the raw materials in the warehouse have been used up. We can only wait for Korax's Zero Yuan Purchase." Sandman set down the exquisite longsword he had finished.

Besides the longsword, several Power Claws that had completed quenching lay nearby. A deadly cold gleam radiated from their narrow claw blades, warning everyone to stay away from these lethal weapons.

This was the largest Weapon Workshop in Saviors Camp. Besides handling all manner of large and small affairs in the camp,

Sandman and Korax occasionally also acted as master smiths, forging weapons for Shadow Kill. Unfortunately, limited by the available raw materials, most of what they produced here were still ordinary cold weapons.

Korax would occasionally go to Tower and Kiavahr to "take" certain key components needed to produce Power Claws. Thus, as The Saviors' armory became increasingly well-equipped, thefts at Tower and Kiavahr also became more frequent.

Although the technology in Korax's mind was enough to take a Stone Age civilization into the interstellar age, that would take far too long.

Lycaeus was merely a mining planet. Other than ore, there was nothing there. Materials such as rubber and plastic had to be exchanged at supply stations, while there was simply no channel through which to obtain the key components for Power Claws.

"Boss, a few little rats are trying to sneak into our camp. They don't look like people from Tower, more like a Detective Group from Kiavahr. Tower must be suspicious of us. Should we just..." Nekser, guarding outside the Weapon Forging Room, made a throat-slitting gesture.

"A Detective Group? Probably not. If Tower wanted to make a move, they wouldn't need anything so complicated. They could just deploy the garrison directly. They're probably here to investigate Korax's and my backgrounds. Let Shadow Kill have some fun with them, and interrogate them for information about Kiavahr while they're at it. You can decide what to do with the rest." Sandman did not care whether these people lived or died. His true goal was to learn about Kiavahr's current situation.

He spent most of his time and energy in the camp coordinating the relationships between the various camps across Lycaeus.

The large and small camps had been merged together, and they naturally needed time to adjust to one another. Meanwhile, Korax devoted most of his time and energy to training the miners selected from the various camps.

Even the people from Land of Sin had, through the miners' brutal survival-of-the-fittest struggle, chosen a new king.

This king quickly submitted at Korax's feet. Now Saviors Camp supplied them with all kinds of necessities to ensure their survival.

The price was that they would become a death squad and take on the role of First Ascendant, the most difficult and deadliest of the Four Great Military Merits.

The Four Great Military Merits were First Ascendant, Formation Breaker, General Slayer, and Flag Seizer. Accomplishing any one of them was enough for a slave to rise through the ranks. There had been people in history who accomplished all Four Great Military Merits, but only one who was not an emperor yet had an Emperor's Annals written for him: the Hegemon-King of Western Chu!

His valor in battle was unmatched through the ages.

Of course, Sandman and Korax did not expect them to achieve such heaven-defying results. Creating a few opportunities would already be enough.

Saviors Camp would provide only their daily necessities. It would not supply any other weapons or equipment; everything depended on their own luck. These were undoubtedly extremely harsh conditions.