The Black Serpent

The Custodes' rude behavior angered Erda. Of course, she knew they were wary of her. Those utterly ill-mannered bastards trusted no one.

"Of course you may. You can even open it. It is merely an ancient gift from an old friend." Erda suppressed her anger and answered easily, a generous smile on her fair face.

Ptolemy silently took a step back, positioning himself at the ideal distance, ready to support his companion or kill Erda at any moment.

Achilles was drawn to the object inside the box and could not help murmuring, "So it is this. An ancient religious scripture of humanity."

The box contained a stasis field that could freeze time, preserving precious items for long periods.

An ancient paper copy of the Bible lay quietly within. A coiled black serpent was painted on its cover, with a golden rose brooch pinned near its head.

Protected by the stasis field, the book was spotless and pristine, bearing no trace of time.

"My lady." There was a warning note in Achilles' voice. "Lady Erda, you should know that the Emperor greatly dislikes such books."

"They are destined to become a handful of ashes in my lord's future plans."

The Emperor intended to overthrow every religion, shatter all superstition, and burn every book related to religion, freeing humanity's thoughts from faith.

"I know, of course. But not now, correct?" Erda nodded lightly without further explanation, extending a hand to indicate that the Custodes should return the book.

Achilles found nothing unusual after inspecting it. Yet as he closed the pages, the scarlet eyes of the serpent coiled upon the cover gave him an uneasy feeling.

"It is rare for a 'snake' to appear on a Bible cover. The black serpent deceived Eve and symbolizes betrayal."

The Custodes had always been well-read. Achilles calmly commented on those fables, but his seemingly casual words instantly made the underground base tense.

Betrayal! At this moment, it was undoubtedly an extremely sensitive word.

Her brows furrowed, and a faint anger rose on her face. Erda snapped at Achilles, "Custodes! Watch your words!"

"Respected lady." Achilles lowered his head, the red plume on his golden helmet swaying. "I do not suspect you."

"Hmph!" Erda snorted softly, forcefully suppressing the tremor in her eyes as she secretly let out a long breath.

When the Custodes had spoken the word "betrayal," the instant it exposed what was in her heart, Erda's emotions had shifted slightly. Even the slightest change would not escape the Custodes' keen eyes.

Fortunately, in that instant, she had concealed her emotions with a show of anger and escaped Achilles' probing.

The Custodes' strength was not merely physical. Their minds were equally formidable.

By observing minute physiological changes in their targets, such as the slight contraction and dilation of pupils, they could discern lies from truth. Detecting deception was one of their most basic skills.

A seemingly casual remark could conceal a perilous probe, as though a blade rested against one's throat.

Achilles' voice was full of apology, but his face beneath the helmet showed not the slightest expression. After confirming there was no problem, he presented the book to Erda.

Erda accepted the book with a livid expression, turning away from the cramped, tense environment of the underground base.

An ancient book designed to mislead had successfully diverted the Custodes' attention, allowing Erda to easily obtain what she needed.

Her slender fingers brushed the cover, passing over the rose brooch as though dusting it off.

Every movement appeared clear, logical, and normal in the Custodes' eyes. Once the book had been confirmed harmless, she placed it in her personal bag.

Little did they know that those seemingly reasonable actions had already activated certain ancient technological constructs within the underground chamber.

After the three departed, several mechanical eyes deep within the secret base flickered with blood-red light, awakening from slumber and entering standby mode.

With the item in hand, the three immediately set off for the Himalayas.

Terra was far from safe. Warlords rose everywhere, and feudal lords waged endless wars.

Since the twenty-fifth millennium, Warp storms had gradually ravaged the galaxy. Their violent fury cut off humanity's routes to the stars. Genetic mutations among humans surged, producing vast numbers of psykers and intensifying social unrest. Combined with the rebellion of intelligent machines, humanity entered an age of chaos and despair.

That dark past had yet to fade. Humanity still struggled bitterly amid mutual conflict.

The mother planet that had birthed humanity had never been free of war. Her land was scarred beyond recognition, with traces of conflict everywhere.

The Emperor stepped into the spotlight, determined to end humanity's internal strife and reunite mankind.

The newborn Empire had yet to spread its wings, yet everywhere he looked, there were enemies.

Albia, Albion, the Pan-Pacific Empire, the Caucasian Wastes, Franc, Ursh—powerful technological warlords and sorcerous tyrants who commanded secret arts.

The Emperor dispatched his army, the savage Thunder Warriors.

They fought in his name across every land, waging war against all forces hostile to Terra and pursuing the goal of unification.

Upon returning to her residence, Erda casually returned the "Bible" to its shelf. The book had been a decoy; the brooch was what she had truly come to retrieve.

Sitting at her desk, she gently stroked the rose brooch and pricked her finger with its pin, confirming the user's DNA.

It was a relic from the Dark Age of Technology, a precious technological construct capable of opening a dimensional rift to store objects.

A faint azure glow spread out. A dimensional rift opened in the void before Erda, and a wooden box and a Golden Ring emerged from the dimensional space.

Inside the box lay a bronze dagger. Its design was ancient and simple, a relic from Terra's feudal age.

The unadorned Golden Ring was a masterful disguise. No one would suspect that it came from the Golden Age and concealed advanced temporal technology.

She removed her combat uniform and changed back into her usual silk robe, reducing the threat she presented.

Pinning the brooch to her chest, putting on the Golden Ring, and concealing the dagger, Erda's gaze hardened as she left her bedroom and headed for the Emperor's laboratory.

The Emperor's laboratory was deep beneath the foothills of the Himalayas, Terra's only remaining mountain range.

Twelve Custodes guards led several squads of first-generation enhanced soldiers, the Thunder Warriors, in defending the laboratory entrance. Around them were large numbers of mortal troops, as well as various anti-aircraft weapons and heavy war machines.

As always, Erda approached with an easy expression, a gentle smile on her face, and graceful steps.

Achilles and Ptolemy followed three paces behind her, performing their duties faithfully.

As the Emperor's close friend and Minister of the Interior, often standing beside him in public, Erda was known to most people in the Empire as the gentle woman at the Master of Mankind's side.

She required no pass or identification. By virtue of her prestige and the Emperor's trust, she could freely enter even the most confidential areas.

Now, Erda was shrouded in shadow as a massive hand clad in metal armor blocked her path.

She stopped in surprise and looked up to see a savage warrior in a helmet that left only his nose and mouth exposed standing in her way.

Erda's pupils contracted slightly. A first-generation enhanced warrior of the Emperor, a defective product soon to be replaced, had blocked her path.

"You are no longer permitted to enter this place, my lady."

The warrior spoke slowly in a cruel voice. His towering body blocked out the light. His limbs were thick, and the exposed muscles between the gaps in his armor bulged unnaturally. His voice was hoarse and deep, with the scent of gunpowder in every word.

"Soldier." Erda's face darkened, all gentleness gone and replaced by contempt. "Who gave you the authority to stand before me and stop me?"

Thunder Warriors! Terra trembled beneath their feet. They destroyed city-state after city-state, offering victory after victory to the Emperor.

These warriors were the Emperor's heavy hammer—crude, violent, and utterly savage. Brutality flowed in their blood, and their minds held only slaughter and destruction.

Erda despised them, utterly dismissing the achievements and glory possessed by the Thunder Warriors.

When the Thunder Warriors breached city-states, countless brilliant achievements left behind from the Golden Age were destroyed alongside them. Knowledge and the civilization humanity had once possessed were trampled beneath their feet.

Beyond that, Erda knew the fate of the Thunder Warriors. They had no future at all.

To conquer Terra as quickly as possible, the Emperor had created the Thunder Warriors in haste. Though powerful, they were extraordinarily unstable, with short lifespans, fragile minds, and genetic diseases that frequently erupted.

The Emperor already had a plan. Once the next generation of soldiers was born, the Thunder Warriors would be secretly purged.

Those outside would only know that they had died during Terra's unification, living on in songs of praise.

"Tell me, soldier. How dare you stand before me and show me such contempt?"

"My lady, I respect you." The Thunder Warrior lowered his head and knelt on one knee, drawing in his body as much as possible so that the woman before him would not have to look up at him. "But these are the orders we received. We cannot let you pass."

"Whose orders do you obey?"

"My lady, there is no need to make things difficult for him. We act under Malcador's guidance and obey the Emperor's will."

A Custodes clad in golden armor stepped out from behind the Thunder Warrior, answering all of Erda's questions with a single sentence.

"Malcador!" Erda's slender golden brows rose. Deep down, she secretly admired Malcador's sharpness and wisdom. That hunched old fox was truly irritating and troublesome.

At the same time, she understood that Malcador was on guard against her, though he did not know exactly what she intended to do.

"Hmph." Erda gave a cold smile. The holy lady had no mercy at this moment as she calculated the odds of forcing her way into the laboratory.

Twelve Custodes, several squads of Thunder Warriors, and countless mortals. Malcador had truly gone to great lengths, immediately arranging such an overwhelming force over a trace of suspicion.

"What a pity. You cannot stop me!"

Without hesitation, the Custodes swung his Power Halberd across the short distance and stopped it at Erda's neck. Then he questioned whether he had heard correctly. "My lady, what did you say?"

A chill came from behind. Achilles and Ptolemy attacked without hesitation. Their halberds had not yet activated their Disruption Fields, but their gleaming blades sliced through the air with perfect calm, making no sound at all.

Three halberds pinned Erda between them. Their snowy blades reflected her fair, jade-like neck, while blood slowly ran along the edges, warning her not to make any rash movement.

The surrounding Thunder Warriors had not even clearly seen the Custodes move. They only saw the cold glint of blades flashing through the air. In less than a few milliseconds, the Custodes had completed a series of movements and subdued Erda.

Exclamations rose one after another. The Thunder Warriors could not help expressing their astonishment at the Custodes' strength.

Erda smiled coldly, paying no heed to the Custodes' warning. Her hands, folded over her lower abdomen, subtly tapped a finger against the mechanism. The Golden Ring released an invisible shockwave.

"A construct from the Golden Age will tear you apart, Custodes!"

The moment her words fell, the three Custodes bore the brunt of it. The instant they realized something was wrong, they swung their halberds at Erda, only to find that their bodies could not keep up with the speed of their thoughts. Their bodies felt trapped in a swamp, unable to move.

The air around them became viscous. A transparent semicircular barrier erupted from Erda as its origin, enveloping everything within thirty meters.

A temporal weapon!

The Custodes were widely learned, having read extensively in the Emperor's library. They immediately understood what had happened.