Derrick Xian's eyes did not focus on the source of the light shooting out from the corridor's shadows.
But thousands upon thousands of combat drills, blindfolded close-quarters fighting, and vast amounts of implanted combat experience allowed a Praetorian Guard to lock onto a target without looking. While the miserable green light cutting through the air still illuminated the ash-filled gloom, the bolt had already spun out of the barrel, propelled by the blasting air. Its miniature rocket ignited at once, its gyroscope stabilized its flight path, and it streaked straight into the darkness with a trailing flame—only when the blast flared up at the far end of the corridor did Derrick Xian examine his surroundings, all while remaining vigilant. From the corner of his eye, he caught a vague silhouette at the center of the explosion, indicating that the enemy had been hit directly. The bolt's warhead had detonated. No organic creature without a carapace-like exoskeleton could endure the instantaneous temperature of that fusion core. Even steel would vaporize and melt.
It was not as if he had failed to notice the peculiar golden radiance that had appeared before the sorcery struck his Power Armor.
Derrick Xian was not surprised. This was not the first time he had witnessed such a thing. The Gene Alchemy bestowed by the Emperor upon every Praetorian Guard was not merely genetic engineering on a physical level. Sorcery inexplicably weakened before them, and the lethal energy and projectiles fired by energy weapons and conventional firearms inexplicably veered aside. From the perspective of reality, this manifested as every Praetorian Guard possessing luck and opportunities far beyond ordinary people. Some gifted individuals could even see the resplendent golden radiance surrounding them. The Praetorian Guard could not explain how the Emperor influenced the Material Plane. Understanding even a