An Unexpected Turn of Events

Sien looked somewhat surprised by the clear holographic projection before him, then glanced at Sage Vashur beside him.

"Technology I've never seen before. Is this machine your latest masterpiece, Sage? This technology seems highly advanced. I would be willing to send our Techmarines to your Conclave for a period of further study."

Vashul felt rather awkward, but unlike Iax, Sien and his men could not read the changes in his emotions from the mere quarter of his body that remained flesh.

Besides feeling awkward, Vashur was also extremely nervous. After all, he did not know whether Sien's words would anger Iax.

If they caused this Ancient Construct to go berserk, everyone present would likely die.

He had clearly witnessed the automated sentries killing Plague Marines in an instant.

To conceal the ancient construct's existence, Vashur had even edited out the footage of the automated sentries killing a Plague Marine with every shot.

Sien, meanwhile, had never imagined that a fourth faction was lurking behind all this.

"Inferior bioengineered creature, what led you to such an erroneous conclusion? Was it that trace of canine genes mixed into your genome?"

Iax tilted his body slightly, sweeping an appraising gaze over the Black Templars.

"Hmph. A collection of bioengineered constructs with chaotic, spliced genomes. Even after all your biological modifications, you remain pitifully weak."

The Astartes of the Black Templars had never expected this strangely shaped mechanical being to mock them like that. Fury surged through them at once.

Their leader, Sien, abruptly raised a hand, signaling all his battle-brothers to remain silent.

Then he drew the Power Sword at his waist with a reverse grip, glanced at Iax, and turned to fix his gaze on Vashur.

"The Emperor's angels are not for just anyone to disparage, much less a brainless machine! Sage, your creation may need to be melted down and rebuilt. This machine spirit may already have been corrupted by Chaos."

The instant he finished speaking, the Power Sword in his hand traced an arc of light.

Clang!

Crack!

With the two sounds ringing out almost simultaneously, Sien stared in astonishment at the Power Sword in his hand, now snapped in two.

"What happened?"

Vashur turned his head in surprise, looking at the broken Longsword in Sien's hand and the section of its tip embedded in the floor nearby.

The Astartes were the Imperium's superhuman warriors. From the moment someone resolved to become an Astartes warrior, he would face countless trials of life and death.

Only after enduring immense hardship would he earn the chance to become a recruit.

Those recruits would then undergo a selection process so brutal that it resembled venomous creatures being forced to fight until only one survived.

Those who ultimately passed the selection and completed their augmentation would truly become the blades of the Imperium.

Countless battles honed each of them into a warrior with extraordinary combat experience, while augmentation surgery gave them superhuman bodies. Combined with genetic enhancement from gene-seed and suits of ceramite Power Armour built with the Imperium's finest technology, all of this turned the Astartes into superhuman, humanoid fighting machines.

Any Astartes could move dozens of times faster than an ordinary person. Normal humans could not even follow their movements in combat. Their strength was equally staggering: even without armour, they could lift a two-ton object with one hand. With the assistance of their Power Armour's artificial muscles, they could lift nearly ten tons single-handedly.

Just now, after finishing his words, Sien had activated his Power Sword and brought it down in a vicious vertical strike aimed at the center of Iax's head.

He moved so fast that even the extensively augmented Vashur saw only a blurred shadow through his electronic eye.

But that degree of speed meant nothing to Iax.

By adjusting his body's reaction speed, Iax could enter a state his ancient creators had called bullet time whenever he wished.

Even an Astartes' movements could become as slow as a snail in Iax's eyes.

Watching the Power Sword descend toward his head, Iax even took the time to examine the pale blue force field coating it.

Then a different light, faintly dark gold, lit up at the end of his mechanical hand. His arm shifted slightly, and his finger touched the blade falling toward his head.

The Power Sword's Disruption Field seemed utterly helpless against that dark golden light. His finger pierced it with ease and even snapped the blade itself.

Everything happened so quickly that the residual Disruption Force Field on the broken tip had not yet dissipated. The fragment plunged into the hall's floor and lodged there.

Vashul had failed to see Sien's movements, let alone Iax's.

Iax's body could withstand this extreme acceleration. His speed even gave Sien the illusion that he had not moved at all.

But as Sien looked at the broken Power Sword in his hand and the unscathed mechanical construct before him, he was left bewildered.

With the hand holding the Longsword, Sien flicked the Disruption Force Field switch on its hilt. Once the field surrounding the remaining blade had dissipated, he refused to believe what he was seeing and reached out to feel the break.

Nothing. It wasn't an illusion or some visual distortion. It really was broken.

"How is this possible?"

Power Swords had shattered before. During prolonged fighting on the battlefield, the energy cell in the grip could run dry, leaving the Disruption Field unable to sustain itself. Once that happened, a blade made from high-strength alloy would keep colliding with flesh and metal, and breaking or shattering was a perfectly normal outcome.

But shattering a Power Sword while its Disruption Field was active? It wasn't as though he had been hacking at a Terminator's energy shield. How was that possible?

Iax's electronic eyes narrowed slightly, emitting a frightening crimson glow as he stared directly at the black-armoured warriors before him.

"Why is it impossible? Though I had never heard the Emperor's name before, I have insulted no one. Your genetic characteristics tell me that you are a group of biosynthetic organisms suffering from genetic contamination. By no measure can you be considered human."

Iax's words left almost every Astartes present in shock.

"You've never heard the Emperor's name?!"

Then something suddenly occurred to Sien. He immediately turned toward Sage Vashur and demanded loudly.

"This isn't your mechanical creation?! Tell me what this is!"

Iax tilted his head as he looked at Sien.

"I need no spokesman. I am Iax, one of the crowning technological achievements of humanity's Creator and the Engineers of the Men of Gold."

Beside them, Sage Vashur glanced nervously at Iax, then at Sien and his battle-brothers. He began pacing anxiously back and forth, unsure how to begin explaining.