Meanwhile.
The Emperor dared not waste a single moment. He used Gene-seed to create the Astartes Legions, preparing to unite Terra before advancing into deep space to reclaim humanity's lost territories.
Elsewhere, the incubation pods carrying the Primarchs skipped across the Warp, scattering throughout the galaxy.
After Primarch Twenty-First left the Warp, he arrived at the edge of an unknown star system. After drifting for some time, he was finally caught by a planet's gravity and fell toward it.
Planet Nul. A land of light, a human-made world from the Golden Age.
In humanity's most glorious age, this brilliant planet had revered "science above all else" and used advanced technology to build an empire among the stars.
Viewed from space, the planet possessed magnificent gemstone mountain ranges in dazzling colors, azure oceans, rolling hills, and vast plains.
The most magnificent sight was the artificial construct encircling the planet's equator, embracing the entire world: the Ring of Nul.
A majestic creation from the Golden Age, it symbolized the heights humanity's civilization had once reached.
Unfortunately, the Ring of Nul was now dim and lifeless. There were no signs of human activity, and the colossal ring surrounding the planet lay completely silent.
Directly beneath the planetary ring, several giant cities stood along the equator. They had been built around supply routes extending from the Ring of Nul, linked to one another by massive trains that transported resources.
Today, Nul faced the greatest crisis since humanity's decline.
Guardian Domain—the largest city on Nul—was under fierce attack.
More than a decade ago, a meteor had pierced the planet's barrier and crashed onto its surface. When an investigation team arrived at the strange impact site, they found nothing but scorched earth. Everyone assumed the meteor had been burned to nothing while passing through the atmosphere.
Later, reports came from scattered settlements that they had been attacked by an unknown species never seen before.
According to witnesses, the attackers were green-skinned and hideous, with vicious fanged faces, thick limbs, and an extremely warlike nature.
They armed themselves with scavenged iron scraps, improvised swords, and even their own teeth. They charged without fear of death, roaring:
"Waaaaaagh!!!!!!!!!!!"
The Nul warriors who fought them called them "Orks." In the ancient language of Terra, Ork meant "beastmen"—Greenskin Orks.
The warriors of Nul fought bravely. Using high-tech weapons left behind from the Old Night, they repeatedly drove back Greenskin raids across the plains of Nul.
But the Greenskin Orks seemed endless. Kill one group of Orks, and their numbers would swell tenfold or even a hundredfold in the next attack, drowning their enemies beneath overwhelming numerical superiority.
Wave after wave of Greenskins exhausted humanity. The war had shifted from humanity hunting Greenskins to Greenskins besieging humanity.
Even more unsettlingly, the Greenskin weapons grew more advanced with every battle. Some individuals seemed to have evolved, becoming abnormally large and displaying intelligence far beyond that of their kind.
As one side waned and the other rose, the battlefield moved from the wilderness to the outskirts. Humanity was driven step by step to the city's edge, until the cities themselves fell.
Greenskins had become a disaster across Nul, sweeping through every human settlement. Humanity kept retreating, relying on cities to hold its ground.
Now, the Orks' offensive surged like a tide, surrounding the great human city of Guardian Domain.
Guardian Domain had been built around a colossal orbital tower leading to the Ring of Nul. White walls, like marble, rose around the vast circular city.
This City of Warriors, ruled by the warrior class, was on the verge of collapse beneath wave after wave of Ork assaults. The resources within had been exhausted during the three-year siege.
The various defensive installations atop the walls had fallen silent for lack of ammunition. Only a few pure-energy weapons were still firing.
"Notify everyone. Make the final resupply, then follow me out of the city." King Norwick wore ancient black armor. One hand rested on the battlements as he gazed at the green ocean beyond the walls, his brows drawn tight and his eyes filled only with helplessness. He knew humanity could not escape disaster today.
Humanity's war against the Greenskins had fallen completely into a disadvantage. Millions of Greenskin troops stood below the city, ready to break through the walls and exterminate humanity.
His gaze crossed the green sea and met that of the largest Greenskin leader. There was only cunning and cruelty in the creature's eyes, while the smug grin on its face was utterly wild.
For more than a decade, humanity had never regarded the Greenskins as a threat, believing them to be nothing more than a mindless race.
Then the appearance of the Greenskin boss had completely exceeded humanity's expectations.
They called him: "Warboss! Ork boss!"
Under the Warboss's command, the Greenskins constantly avoided humanity's main forces, wearing down human troops through small-scale raids and steadily devouring human territory.
The success of this series of strategies and tactics could not be separated from the Warboss's advanced understanding of warfare.
"Hope remains."
Behind King Norwick stood the leader of another human power on Nul: a tall, thin figure wearing solemn black priestly robes and gripping a staff in both hands.
He had come from far away—the High Priest of the City of Truth.
After ten thousand years of decline, human civilization on Nul had regressed severely. Through countless inheritances and compromises, its political order had become a unique feudal structure of divided rule.
King Norwick was the king of warriors, commanding the Night Watchers, the strongest warrior force on Nul. The High Priest, meanwhile, was a high-ranking priest from another city, the City of Truth.
The Night Watchers had emerged during the late stages of the machine rebellion. Formed by a group of powerful individuals, they ended Nul's civil war. Their name meant, "In the darkest future, guard the continuation of humanity."
Since they swore their oath of guardianship, the Night Watchers had protected humanity on Nul for thousands of years.
The City of Truth was different. Its people wielded psychic powers and pursued intangible faiths. Their methods had always been strange, but there was no denying that priests who wielded supernatural power possessed formidable combat strength.
"I received enlightenment in my dream. A savior will rescue us!" Beneath his hood, half of the High Priest's face was thin and pale, but a relaxed smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Isaac, we have no chance of winning." King Norwick turned and stared directly into the High Priest's pale face. "I have never believed in vague prophecies or revelations."
"The Greenskin Orks' offensive is swift and fierce. We will not last until reinforcements arrive."
With a helpless shake of his head, he descended from the wall, raised his right hand, and pointed toward the sky. His voice drifted in and out of the wind. "If there truly is a miracle, it can only be that."
Isaac understood what King Norwick meant.
If humanity possessed control of the Ring of Nul, they would only need to press a button, and the Greenskins would be reduced to ashes.
"The Ring of Nul."
The High Priest raised his head to look at the sky. His voice was slightly hoarse from the strain on his vocal cords, and his gaze passed through the clouds to the massive structure clearly visible in high orbit.
"We have lost everything. Since the machine crisis, the artificial intelligence responsible for guarding the Sky Ring has sealed every route leading to high orbit. The planetary shield became a cage, trapping us on the surface."
Shaking his head, Isaac followed King Norwick away. Beneath the cloak of the last king, his figure was slightly hunched, and the crown atop his head had lost its luster.
The fall of Guardian Domain and the Greenskin Orks sweeping across Nul had become inevitable.
Humanity would vanish from Nul entirely, yet their king could not turn the tide.
King Norwick and the High Priest walked one after another along the broad stone-paved path of Guardian Domain, while the people around them bowed in salute.
The Night Watchers were arranging their armor and inspecting the weapons in their hands.
Their weapons were unique. Embedded within the top of each metal spear haft was a blue crystal, a local product of Nul: Nul Crystal.
Once powered, the crystal would produce a unique energy blade when stimulated. The blade traveled through another dimension, ignoring armor and effortlessly cutting through anything it touched.
The technology of the metal spear haft had been passed down from humanity's glorious technological age thousands of years ago. Combined with Nul Crystal, it was immensely powerful.
The power armor they wore came from ancient armories. The miniature fusion devices within could provide energy for centuries of operation, while personal protective fields allowed the wearer to fight their way through an army and back again.
It was precisely because of this equipment that humanity, despite being at an absolute numerical disadvantage, had been able to repel the Greenskin Orks in the early days and continue fighting brutal battles against them.
The Night Watchers stood over 2.5 meters tall, with astonishing muscle density. Clad in power armor, they possessed tremendous combat strength.
Nul had once possessed large numbers of genetically elevated Gold Men. After ten thousand years of genetic degradation, the Night Watchers, descendants of the Gold Men, still retained extraordinary combat power.
King Norwick stopped and asked the Chief Greatswordsman of the Royal Court, who was preparing weapons for the next battle, "Xilan, how many can still fight?"
Xilan bowed, but King Norwick caught him by the shoulder.
Overwhelmed by the favor, he removed his helmet, revealing a terrifying face covered in scars. After thinking for a moment, he answered, "Less than twenty thousand."
"Prepare a set of equipment for me, Greatswordsman." King Norwick patted Xilan's shoulder. "I will fight alongside you."
"Yes, my king!"
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