When Fury Learned to Laugh

He had long since led the gang members in an unprecedented transformation of the area around Gragg's chosen defensive position. They hollowed out the ground beneath that region, creating an enormous cavern. Then, over several days, they dumped every bit of the gang's "stock" into it, along with the filthiest, stickiest substances they could gather.

Inside were an upgraded version of Father's Surprise Sauce, Rainbow Soup mixed with over a hundred different plagues; Despair Mud collected from the Marsh of Sorrow, capable of plunging one's emotions into endless despair; and their greatest masterpiece—a massive Ultimate Pustule cultivated from the stomach fluid of a dead plague toad and the essence of countless Nurglings.

This pustule was the "crown" prepared for Kabanha. And Liu Zhipeng himself, along with his most loyal "suicide squad" of one hundred Nurglings, would be responsible for "placing" it upon him. They would be the masters of ceremony for this "coronation," as well as the sacrifices.

Everything was ready.

The roar of war descended once more. Kabanha tore through Nurgle's battle line like a red Comet. He ignored the Plaguebearers and Beasts of Nurgle trying to stop him, his eyes fixed tightly on the Great Unclean One slowly swinging a rusty greatsword—Gragg the "Vomiter."

A titanic duel began at the center of the stage Liu Zhipeng had prepared.

From a Nurgling's perspective, it was a war beyond description. Every swing of Kabanha's massive axe carved a burning trail through the air, splitting the earth with deep fissures. Gragg's plague sword was slow and ponderous, but every block unleashed great clouds of plague spores.

The gang members all held their breath beneath the thin layer of earth, feeling shockwaves above them powerful enough to grind them into dust. For several moments, Liu Zhipeng even wondered if his plan was too fantastical. Before such absolute power, any scheme seemed pale and powerless.

But he had no way back. He could only gamble that the bone-deep arrogance and fury of a Khorne Demon would make it overlook the lowliest danger beneath its feet.

The battle dragged on for a long time. The aged Great Unclean One finally ran out of strength, and beneath one of Kabanha's storm-like barrages, his massive, bloated body was split down the middle by the brass great axe.

A torrent filled with countless maggots and entrails burst from Gragg's body. Even in his final moment, Nurgle's great champion used his death to bring Papa's Gift to this land.

Kabanha stood atop the Great Unclean One's hill-like corpse, raising his great axe high as he prepared to unleash a victory roar that would shake the heavens. He had succeeded. He had slain a powerful foe. This glory, this skull, would please the Blood God.

"Now!"

At the very instant Kabanha was about to roar, the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed without warning.

The great Bloodletters, along with the Great Unclean One's corpse beneath him, plunged into a bottomless pit filled with thick, multicolored liquid.

The sudden change left Kabanha briefly stunned. Then a liquid reeking of extreme foulness and poison completely submerged him. It was as thick as a swamp, wrapping tightly around his limbs and making even his mountain-splitting strength difficult to use. The countless plagues contained within it frantically eroded his body. Even as a favored child of Chaos, he felt waves of bone-deep pain and itching.

"Roar—!!!"

The suppressed roar finally erupted from the pit as tangible fury. Kabanha struggled to rise from the slime, his body now covered in multicolored, nauseating fluid, looking utterly bedraggled.

He saw them. Countless little green heads poked up densely around the edge of the pit. Those damned bugs he had been searching for were staring at him with an incomprehensible look of "cheerfulness."

Humiliation! This was the ultimate humiliation!

He was about to charge out of this damned mire and crush those bugs regardless of the cost. But just then, he heard a different kind of shriek.

"For Papa's love! Coronation—!"

On the other side of the pit, dozens of giant fungi shaped like slingshots released their "triggers" at once.

One hundred and one figures were launched into the air like cannonballs, tracing green arcs as they flew toward Kabanha at the center of the pit.

The one at the front was the smallest, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.

That was Liu Zhipeng.

At the instant he was launched into the air, his thoughts became clearer than ever before. He saw the entire battlefield, the shock and fury of Khorne's legion, the confusion and curiosity of Nurgle's legion. He saw Kabanha's face twisted by extreme rage.

He felt his body undergoing its final fusion with the Ultimate Pustule within him. His life, his consciousness, his everything, would become the most dazzling and disgusting fireworks in the next second.

It was a strange feeling. As a human, he had feared death. But now, as one of Nurgle's creations, he felt the joy of returning and being reborn within death. Perhaps this was Nurgle's true meaning—at the end of decay lay the beginning of new life.

"Goodbye, you fucked-up world."

These were the last words Liu Zhipeng left behind as a human soul.

The next second, he and his "suicide squad" crashed down onto Kabanha like a meteor shower.

"Pop—!!!"

An indescribably dull yet enormous explosion rang across the entire battlefield.

The Ultimate Pustule burst open, and the purest divine power of Nurgle within it, refined and strengthened countless times, swallowed Kabanha completely like floodwaters bursting through a dam.

The battlefield fell into a moment of strange Silence.

Every Demon's gaze focused on the center of the pit.

When the slime cleared and Kabanha's figure reappeared before everyone, even the most frenzied Chaos Demons sucked in a cold breath.

The great Bloodletters was not dead. However, his once-proud body was now covered in countless multicolored fungi resembling flowers and mushrooms. His wings, burning with fury, were wrapped in a thick layer of rainbow-colored slime. Every flap scattered countless sparkling spores carrying a sickly sweet scent. His brass great axe, symbol of power and glory, was now mottled with rust. It had even grown a small one-eyed mouth that constantly opened and closed.

Most terrifying of all was his voice.

He opened his bloody maw, intending to unleash an angry roar, but what came from his throat was an uncontrollable series of joyful... giggles.

"Gig... giggle... gig... haha... hic..."

Great Kabanha, champion of the Blood God, laughed so hard in the center of the battlefield that he rocked back and forth like a child being tickled, his whole body trembling.

This sight completely shattered the will of every Khorne Demon. Their faith, their fighting spirit, their understanding of glory and rage—all of it was utterly crushed in that moment. Their commander, the invincible god of war in their hearts, had become a ridiculous clown.

Khorne's legion collapsed. They began screaming as they fled backward in complete disorder, as though they had witnessed something more terrifying than death.

Meanwhile, Nurgle's legion erupted into waves of joyous laughter. They had won the war in the most unbelievable way, and the way most fitting to Nurgle's teachings.

No one remembered the Nurglings that had launched that decisive strike. They had long since become the most primal Chaos energy in the explosion, returning to Papa's embrace.

Somewhere no one could see, Liu Zhipeng's fading soul was wrapped in a gentle, ancient power.

[Eternal Reincarnation System activated]

[Current host has died. Soul protection protocol activated]

[Disconnecting from current time stream...]

Liu Zhipeng's consciousness arrived in a space made entirely of data and streams of light. He had no physical form, only pure consciousness. Before him, a massive wheel composed of countless runes slowly turned.

[First life: concluded]

[Beginning behavioral evaluation...]

[Evaluation: As the lowliest Nurgling, carried out the ultimate humiliation. Deeply understood and practiced the true meanings of 'decay' and 'resilience,' using 'joy' as a weapon to successfully shake the foundations of 'fury.' Overturned the battlefield's balance and brought an unexpected great victory to the affiliated faction.]

[Based on the evaluation, beginning to forge the previous life's actions into a permanent ability...]

[Forging...]

[Ability generated]

[Permanent passive ability obtained: The Father's Gaze and Love]

[Ability description: In any form of life, you can instinctively radiate a peculiar affinity that causes weak, humble, abandoned, or despairing creatures to develop inexplicable trust and goodwill toward you. They will see you as a symbol of hope and opportunity and be willing to follow you. At the same time, you possess exceptional adaptability to your environment. No matter how harsh or filthy the surroundings, they cannot cause you substantial harm and may instead become your aid.]

In an instant, all the insights from his previous life became a green radiance and merged deep into his soul.

[Reward distribution complete]

[Random reincarnation about to begin...]

[May you also find your own 'joy' in the next cycle of reincarnation]

The massive wheel began spinning faster, and countless worlds, races, and identities flashed before him like streams of light.

Orks, Aeldari, T'au, humans...

Space Marines, Inquisitors, Aeldari seers, Adeptus Mechanicus sages...

At last, the wheel slowed, and a pointer made of light pointed toward one flashing coordinate.

Liu Zhipeng's consciousness was pulled toward that coordinate by an irresistible force.

His vision was swallowed by endless darkness once again.