Come back, don't die here

The swarm continued searching for the entrance to the Necrons.

Lin En stood in the square waiting.

Although he stood still in the middle, the surrounding swarm of insects was constantly feeding back information about the surrounding situation into his mind.

Countless Blue-Green-Purple signal points extend outwards, exploring layer by layer, leaving no corner unchecked.

The entrance to the Necrons tomb is more hidden than one might imagine; it could even be concealed within a spatial fold, its location unknown.

The swarm of insects circled around the ruins, searching for the entrance.

Keep looking, no rush.

That Necrons boss named Zeras is extremely arrogant; he'll definitely find a way to send someone out to kill him, he won't just run away without a fight.

As he was thinking, a Lamenters suddenly rushed over from the east side of the square.

"My lord!"

Lin En turned her head. "What's wrong?"

"Those mindless Astra Militarum and Krieg are almost overflowing; there are too many people. What should we do? Please come up with a plan."

Lin En sighed, "Wait a minute, take me to see him."

The Lamenters led him toward the east side of the square.

After passing through a half-collapsed street and turning two corners, we arrived at an open space on the east side of the square.

The open space was full of people.

Krieg, from the Astra Militarum, wore a tattered uniform, his gas mask askew on his face.

They were gathered up, their hands and feet bound, and thrown on the ground.

At first glance, there are a lot.

They wriggled and struggled on the ground, like trapped beasts fighting for their lives.

Lin En walked over.

The nearest pillar had a young Astra Militarum tied to it. He looked to be only about twenty years old, his face covered in ash, and his eyes unfocused.

He muttered unconsciously, "I can't see anything..."

"It's so cold..."

"The Emperor..."

Please forgive me...

Lin En stood before him, surrounded by hundreds of people and hundreds of voices, all mingling together in a buzzing sound.

"Cold..."

"I can't see anything..."

"Emperor..."

"Forgive me..."

Lin En crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with the nearest Astra Militarum.

The Astra Militarum's pupils were unfocused. Lin En waved his hand in front of his eyes, but there was no reaction; instead, it provoked an attack.

They were severely corrupted by the Pariah Nexus, their emotions and will were largely detached, their sensory functions were disordered, and their perception of sight, touch, and temperature declined.

The Imperium calls them "Soulless Corpses," and they are generally considered beyond saving; they would be killed on the spot during combat.

But there is a group of Lamenters here who have not given up.

His children went up to talk to those people, trying to wake up those who were still conscious.

"Hello, soldier, are you still conscious?"

"Soldier, our superiors are on their way. Hold on a little longer."

"What's your name? Where are you from? Tell me."

But no one responded.

The Lamenters looked distraught.

Lin En took a deep breath and began trying to Purification the crazed Astra Militarum and Krieg.

The halo unfolds, layering Purification.

Golden Light shone down, falling upon the Astra Militarum and Krieg.

As a result, the Golden Light seeped in, and those people trembled a few times before sinking back in.

Purification is useless.

The Pariah Nexus is not Chaos Corruption.

The Pariah Nexus is more like a purely physical state of madness, like being locked in a dark room for ten years and then having a mental breakdown, except that the Pariah Nexus compresses this process into a few hours.

The Blackstone Array physically suppresses and then extracts psychic energy, emotions, and will.

The Purification Aura cannot restore what has been extracted.

So Lin En turned to Indomitable Will.

[Indomitable Will: Significantly weakens the immune system's will within 30 minutes.]

Indomitable Will to forcefully stabilize reason—that's the right approach.

Lin En stood up, Golden Light continued to expand outward, becoming larger and brighter than the previous Purification Aura.

Golden light enveloped the entire earth.

Indomitable Will, coverage area! Forcefully stabilize reason!

This time, the Golden Light poured into the brains of the Krieg soldiers and the Astra Militarum.

Then Lin En saw something.

His vision shifted, and he saw the hallucinations that the Astra Militarum and Krieg were trapped in.

Their Indomitable Will will forcibly stabilized their mental state, and in the process of stabilization, their hallucinations also began to surface.

A world of ice and snow.

He stood in an unfamiliar place, in the snow, under a gray sky, with a strong wind carrying snowflakes the size of hailstones that stung his face.

The surrounding area consisted of low-lying burial structures, and the simple, bizarre stone buildings were half-collapsed, completely unlike the Sanctuary ruins of Paradis III.

This is another place, an illusory battlefield.

Someone is fighting in the snow.

The Astra Militarum, dressed in tattered uniforms, crouched behind rocks, firing their guns.

The Krieg soldiers lay prone in the snow pits, their entrenching tools stuck in the snow, their gun barrels pointing forward.

They fought fiercely and violently, not at all like they were insane.

The enemy surged in from the other side of the snowfield, a dark mass, their nature unclear—perhaps Necrons, or something else entirely.

The Astra Militarum and Krieg were desperately trying to stop the enemy from getting closer.

Lin En took a step forward.

The Astra Militarum and Krieg soldiers in the snow seemed not to see him, giving him no glance whatsoever, and continued fighting.

A young Astra Militarum peeked out from behind a rock, fired a burst, and then ducked back to change his magazine.

His hands were red from the cold, covered in frostbite sores, and his fingers were not very responsive; it took him two tries to insert the magazine.

"Hold on! Hold on!" someone shouted. "Don't let them get any closer!"

"We're running low on ammunition!"

"Shoot sparingly! Aim carefully before you fire!"

The Krieg soldiers lay prone in the snow pit, their gas masks covered in snow, the lenses over their eyes frosted over.

He fired one shot, pulled back the bolt, and fired another. His movements were very rational, not chaotic at all, and he didn't seem crazy at all.

Lin En took another step forward.

An Astra Militarum veteran squatted by the snow pit, his legs wrapped in bandages, blood seeping out and freezing into dark red shards.

He was also firing, his gun propped up on a snowdrift, firing shot after shot.

Then suddenly, a soldier outside cried out in a heart-wrenching, blood-curdling voice. "The enemy has broken in!!!"

"--Left wing! Left wing, hold the line!!!!"

"Ammunition! Does anyone have any ammunition left?!"

"Don't retreat! You're not allowed to retreat!!!"

"We can't hold on! We can't hold on!!!"

"The planet has collapsed!!!"

The veteran was still fighting, his lips moving as he fought.

"Your Emperor... please forgive me."

A soldier nearby was also praying desperately, "Your Emperor, please forgive me."

Please forgive us for failing to protect the planet.

Please forgive us for letting down our planet and our people.

Lin En looked at them.

In this illusion of a snow-covered wonderland.

Even if they went mad, even if their souls were taken away, they still held their ground, defended their homes, and fiercely fought back against the invading enemy.

That's why they exhibit aggressiveness towards others.

This is the elite Cadia Legion and Krieg of the Astra Militarum.

Lin En looked away.

Golden light suddenly covered the entire land, enveloping the Mortals soldiers who were almost frozen solid.

Come back, all of you, come back! Don't die here.