Recapture Operation

With Duanmu Huai's assistance, Kado immediately set about making plans with decisive efficiency.

Their first objective was to retake City Hall. According to Kado's intelligence scouts, although most of the army had been defeated, quite a few civilians and soldiers were still being held inside City Hall, where the Ratmen and Evil God Believers were using them for their blasphemous rituals. Thus, Kado's first priority was to rescue those people. On one hand, they could replenish their troop source; on the other, they could destroy the Ratmen's evil scheme.

After Kado finished explaining his plan, Duanmu Huai received a "Rescue" mission prompt. Naturally, the requirement was to save as many people as possible... Well, that sounded neither particularly difficult nor particularly easy.

Because the previous Ratmen attack had inflicted heavy casualties, Kado could only barely spare a single squad. Duanmu Huai did not mind. He had his own plan anyway.

When night fell, Duanmu Huai led that squad to a street near City Hall. There, he saw a masked, long-eared Elf wrapped head to toe in a cloak and holding a longbow.

Yep, she looked exactly like something out of a fantasy game.

"So you're that big guy? You really are huge."

The Elf was startled when she saw Duanmu Huai, but she quickly withdrew her gaze and began explaining the situation to him.

"I've figured out what those Ratmen are doing. After you defeated them, they holed up inside City Hall and haven't dared come out. Those Evil God Believers are in there too. As for the prisoners, the Ratmen have locked them in the basement. My plan is to infiltrate through the Underground Sewers next door..."

"That side is yours."

Duanmu Huai waved a hand, directly interrupting the Elf.

"Whatever plan you have, go carry it out yourself."

"What do you mean by that?"

The Elf's tone immediately turned cold at Duanmu Huai's response.

"Listen, I know you're powerful, but..."

"Then tell me, Miss Elf."

Duanmu Huai turned around and looked at her.

"Do you think I can sneak around?"

"Uh..."

Looking at Duanmu Huai's enormous body and that heavy-looking black armor, the Elf Scout was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, with that size, only a blind man could fail to spot him sneaking around.

"I'll launch a frontal assault and draw the Ratmen's and Evil God Believers' attention. Then you lead the soldiers in through the route you planned, find the prisoners, and get them out."

Duanmu Huai gave his answer bluntly, then looked at the Elf Scout.

"No problem, right?"

"I'd like to say there is..."

The Elf Scout hesitated, then nodded helplessly. She glanced at Okegis beside Duanmu Huai and frowned.

"What about her?"

"She's coming with me."

As soon as Duanmu Huai learned that the Evil God Believers were up to something in City Hall, he had brought Okegis along, lest they summon some Chaos Demon or something...

"All right."

The Elf Scout said nothing more. Okegis looked like a young lady traveling around with a Traveling Case, but in these ruins... well, that was more than a little strange.

"Then I'll go in first. You act according to the situation. And if you run into trouble you can't handle, find a way to signal me."

With that, Duanmu Huai straightened up and looked ahead. Then his helmet emitted a dazzling scarlet glow. Next, bright beams shot from the lamps beside Duanmu Huai's head, illuminating the dim, pitch-black street before him. He gripped his warhammer and strode toward City Hall in the distance. Okegis followed silently behind him, like a voiceless ghost.

"What a strange one."

Watching Duanmu Huai's departing figure, the Elf Scout gave a soft snort. Honestly, if she had not sensed no Chaos aura from him, she would have thought that black-armored knight was some creature summoned from the depths of hell.

With that thought, the Elf Scout withdrew her gaze and looked at the soldiers behind her.

"Follow me."

Duanmu Huai had no idea what the Elf Scout's plan was. As a Space Marine, he had only one plan: kick down the door, charge inside, then kill his way back out.

What else was he supposed to do?

With the armor he wore, he could not even cross a wooden bridge. One step and it would collapse.

Besides, Inquisitors did not bother with all that empty nonsense. Loyalty was all that mattered.

BOOM!!

Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer and charged up the steps of City Hall. Then, like a battering ram, he smashed straight through the tightly shut, heavy wooden doors and reduced them to splinters.

SKREEEE!!!

The next moment, accompanied by shrieks, several Ratmen rushed at him, their spears thrusting directly toward Duanmu Huai's body.

To no avail. Such medieval attacks were utterly useless against Power Armor from the space age. Duanmu Huai did not even bother blocking. The spears struck his armor and snapped apart.

At the same time, Duanmu Huai raised his warhammer high and swung it down with all his strength.

BOOM!!!

The warhammer howled down and struck the ground. Thunder exploded outward in an instant, engulfing all the nearby Ratmen. Most screamed as they turned to ash beneath the thunder's radiance. Only a few Ratmen suddenly began to swell, then burst apart like grenades, spraying scarlet flames and intense heat in every direction.

At that very moment, several dark green bottles flew toward Duanmu Huai from behind. They smashed against the ground and became clouds of green poisonous mist, swallowing Duanmu Huai whole.

This was the Ratmen's specialty: poison gas bombs.

The Ratmen had managed to survive without being exterminated for three reasons. First was their powerful, rat-like breeding capacity. Second was their cleverness at copying, reverse-engineering, and developing technology. Finally, there was their poison—though rats using poison was hardly anything new.

Duanmu Huai had no fear of Ratmen poison gas bombs. Power Armor came with its own internal circulation system; ordinary poison gas was completely useless. Without a care, he charged straight out of the toxic fog, pounced on the Ratmen bombers behind it, and smashed them into pulp in just a few blows.

Duanmu Huai's intrusion naturally drew the attention of the other enemies. Soon, hundreds of Ratmen raised their weapons and surged toward him from every direction like a tide.

Duanmu Huai did not need any special technique to deal with these Ratmen.

Who couldn't play whack-a-rat?

Duanmu Huai raised his warhammer high and brought it down with force. Then he raised it again and swung again. Every time his warhammer fell, lightning flashed, and the Ratmen horde erupted in explosions as if grenades had been thrown among them.

Thunder Warhammer (Melee, Two-Handed, Heavy Strike)

+15% chance for enemies to explode upon death, dealing area damage equal to 50% of their health (stackable)

The chance was not high, but there were simply too many Ratmen. Moreover, the Thunder Warhammer itself possessed a Psychic lightning attack. Combined with this special effect, Duanmu Huai was having an absolute blast playing whack-a-rat. Each swing sent flesh and blood spraying in all directions. Within only a few breaths, the hundreds of Ratmen flooding in from every side had been swept away by Duanmu Huai.

However, the enemies were not limited to Ratmen alone.

"Hehehe...!!"

While Duanmu Huai was smashing Ratmen, a fat wizard wrapped head to toe in a cloak silently appeared out of thin air behind him. Holding a staff in one hand, he chanted blasphemous words. Then he stretched out his other hand and clenched it toward Duanmu Huai through the air!

With the wizard's movement, Duanmu Huai's massive body suddenly shuddered. He was instantly unable to move, then began flying through the air toward the wizard.

Yet just as Duanmu Huai was about to reach the wizard, he let out a roar. The next moment, an aura of spiritual light burst violently from his body.

Psychic Shock!

The wizard clearly had not expected the warrior before him to also be a Psyker. Caught off guard, he suffered badly and was blasted away by Duanmu Huai's Psychic Shock. The invisible energy binding Duanmu Huai instantly collapsed, while Duanmu Huai leaped forward and smashed his warhammer down with all his strength, turning the black fat man before him into pulp.

"Damn wizard..."

Duanmu Huai spat. Space Marines had truly low resistance to magic, which was why he had chosen resistance-boosting abilities. With Power Armor, Duanmu Huai could fight Ratmen and even the God of Tyranny's subordinates, but Power Armor was basically useless against magic and psychic powers.

That was also why Duanmu Huai had kept Okegis on standby. If he encountered a mage or Psyker he could not currently handle, it would be Okegis's turn to step in.

Fortunately, that did not seem to be a problem for now.

After killing that black fat wizard, City Hall was already in complete disarray, with Ratmen and Evil God Believers' corpses scattered everywhere. Duanmu Huai paid them no mind and simply strode onward. Then, following the Elf Scout's earlier report, he found the basement.

Duanmu Huai then threw a punch and smashed through the basement door.

When he poked his head inside, he saw the Elf Scout standing ready with her bow drawn, staring at him.

"Yo, you got here pretty fast."