The smoke of battle had long since stained the sky above Saint Garus Castle with a murky gray-black.
Lynn leaned against a broken marble column, his chest heaving violently.
His human guards had all died or been wounded, and hundreds of elite corpses lay scattered around him.
The platinum-colored, finely crafted Power Armour was also corroded by the Chaos energy, leaving pitted and uneven marks, and the congealed bloodstains left large dark brown stains on the stone floor.
Not far away, a small Dragon of Frost with three heads and a body length of several meters was struggling to hold on.
They were originally meant to cover Lynn's retreat, but now they were surrounded by dozens of Pink Horror and Nosac Warrior left behind by Atia.
The icy blue breath swept across the enemy ranks, freezing the demons into crystalline ice sculptures, but the next second, even more demons would emerge from the Warp Rift, an endless onslaught.
Meanwhile, in the sky, the real killing move was already poised to be unleashed.
Luna rode on the back of a Heldrake, her large Chaos hood obscuring most of her face, revealing only half of a golden mask that gleamed with a cold metallic light.
Dark purple Psychic Power Lightning danced at her fingertips, and with each wave of her hand, several twisted arcs of electricity would strike, precisely hitting the area around Lynn's hiding place.
The explosion sent shards of stone flying everywhere, and the marble columns were corroded into honeycomb-like holes at a visible speed.
She had waited too long for this day.
Lynn's elite forces have been exhausted, and Rena's main body is being held back by Atia, leaving her unable to spare any attention. Now is the best time to take him down.
As long as we capture Lynn, all the failures and humiliations will be completely washed away.
"Roar!"
A small Dragon of Frost was simultaneously entangled by three Nosac Warrior, their bone blades piercing deep into its wing membranes.
It roared in agony, whipping its neck to tear the demon to shreds, but just then, a bolt of purplish-black Psychic Power Lightning descended from the sky, striking it precisely on the head.
"Sizzle!"
The icy blue scales instantly turned black, the little dragon's body stiffened abruptly, then it crashed heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still.
The corpse quickly turned into a pool of foul-smelling black water under the corrosive influence of Chaos energy, seeping into the cracks of the stone slab.
Another one is missing.
Luna chuckled softly, her voice coming through the mask, tinged with a twisted pleasure.
She raised her hand to stroke the cold armor of the Heldrake, the behemoth beneath her letting out a deep roar, its dark blue eyes churning with savage desire.
These Daemon Engine were a blessing she received in exchange for offering ten Psyker souls to the Lord of Change.
Each dragon's Daemon Engine imprisons hundreds of desperate souls, allowing it to fly at Lightning speed and possess combat power far exceeding that of ordinary demonic creatures.
" Lynn, you can't escape."
Luna's voice drifted down on the wind, "Kneel before me and repent, and perhaps I can grant you a quick death."
Her response was a precise Laspistol shot.
The bullet grazed Luna's hood and struck the Heldrake's armor, sending up a tiny spark.
"Stubborn and incorrigible."
Luna's eyes turned cold, and she raised her hand to make a gesture downwards.
The two Chaos Knight mechs, which had been poised for action, simultaneously unleashed astonishing speed.
They were nearly ten meters tall, their armor covered with Tzeentch's twisted runes, and the Volcano Cannon mounted on their hands rapidly charged, emitting a dangerous red light.
The one on the left wielded a buzzing Chainsword, while the one on the right clenched its massive Power Fist, both charging heavily toward the pillar where Lynn was hiding.
With each step, the ground trembled.
"Boom!"
The Chainsword struck first, cleaving the half-meter-thick marble column in two.
Amidst the flying debris, Lynn's figure had already broken free of cover, rolling to the side to dodge the following Power Fist.
The enormous fist slammed into the ground, creating a crater two meters in diameter.
Lynn stood up and leaped into the air.
Instead of fighting head-on, he tiptoed and used the rubble as cover to retreat quickly.
But just as he leaped half a meter into the air, the wind overhead suddenly became fierce.
Luna, riding her Heldrake, swooped down from the sky!
The golden mask beneath the hood reflected the light of Chaos flames, and Luna's lips curled into an uncontrollable smile of ecstasy.
Now!
If she succeeds in this pounce, she can grab this man herself, torture him mercilessly, and then offer him to the Lord of Change!
Closer, even closer.
She could even see the astonishment on Lynn's face and smell the faint scent of blood on him.
Victory is within reach.
But just then, a chilling whisper entered Lynn's mind without warning.
The voice was gentle and seductive, like the whisper of a lover in one's ear, or like a demon from the abyss tempting a lost lamb.
Embrace it, for you are destined to possess the power to Domination everything...
"Those lowly souls were meant to be used by you..."
"What are you hesitating for? Just reach out, and you can have everything..."
The allure of the Warp gnawed at him like a leech, creeping into his very being.
The scene before my eyes began to distort, Luna's figure became blurry, and the surrounding shouts of battle gradually faded away, leaving only that seductive voice, repeating itself endlessly.
Immediately afterwards, a cold system pop-up window suddenly lit up on his retina.
[Skill Trigger: Grip of Domination ]
[Effect: Select a unit whose mental strength is significantly weaker than yours, and instantly Domination everything about them.]
[WARNING: Frequent use will exacerbate Warp erosion and carries a risk of corruption.]
Lynn's consciousness oscillated between excruciating pain and temptation.
He knew better than anyone that such "convenience" that came out of nowhere was never a free lunch.
Relying on it again and again will only lead you step by step into the abyss of Chaos, and you may eventually lose yourself forever.
But he looked up and gazed at the battlefield not far away.
The two remaining small Dragon of Frost were covered in wounds, their wings torn, and golden blood seeping from beneath their scales, yet they still stood firmly between the demon and Lynn, refusing to retreat an inch.
Further into the sky, the Dragon of Frost's true form was locked in fierce combat with Atia, their icy blue and rainbow-colored energies colliding constantly, causing the entire sky to tremble.
Rena has done everything in her power to hold off Atia.
She was fighting for him, doing everything in her power to survive.
How could he collapse here?
He's never the kind of man who would let a girl down!
So what if we fall into the abyss?
Lynn roared inwardly, his eyes hardening with determination.
" Grip of Domination, activate!"