Rowan ticulously looked Yarrick up and down, evaluating his current state.
He had to admit, the lethal aura currently radiating from the Commissar was rapidly approaching—no, it had already vastly surpassed the legendary, fully realized "Old Man Yarrick" from his mories of the lore.
However, just how overwhelmingly powerful Yarrick was right now remained a slight mystery to Rowan.
When Rowan had utilized his reality-bending dominion to forge the chanical power klaw and the bionic eye—guided entirely by Yarrick's newly assimilated "kboy intuition"—he had been forced to integrate a massive amount of chanical transmission structures and wiring that seed entirely illogical. So of the internal schematics looked like the deranged scribblings of a madman, making Rowan feel as though he was just mashing junk together for a joke.
But he had no choice; that was simply the absurd, logic-defying nature of Greenskin technology.
Acknowledging this fact, Rowan had faithfully reproduced every single bizarre specification.
Consequently, Yarrick's actual combat capacity was currently a complete unknown.
Even with Rowan's extensive ta-knowledge, he fundantally could not predict the output of an Ork technological construct; it was simply too chaotic.
After pondering for a mont, Rowan spoke up:
"Well then? Would you care to demonstrate your current combat capabilities for us?"
"I would," Yarrick nodded curtly. "That aligns perfectly with my intentions."
"Alright then."
Hearing his agreent, Rowan imdiately cast a aningful glance at the Custodian standing nearby.
Wait... ?
Catching the gaze, Leonardo felt a slight sense of bewildernt.
As a Custodian of the Adeptus Custodes—and one who had successfully claid the extre honor of the Blade Champion mantle—Leonardo possessed an unshakable, deeply ingrained pride.
He firmly believed himself to be the ultimate executor and defender of the Emperor's will, the absolute pinnacle of Imperial genetic alchemy and martial perfection.
Let alone a baseline human Commissar, even if an Adeptus Astartes stood before him, Leonardo was entirely confident he could violently subjugate them within a single exchange of blows.
What data could this sparring match possibly yield?
But recalling his Lord's absolute authority, he silently accepted the silent command. He strode forward into the center of the clearing, his crimson cloak snapping crisply behind him.
After rapidly clearing a suitable dueling ring...
Rowan formally declared, "The engagent will adhere to first-blood protocols. It is a contest of skill, not a duel to the death. Begin!"
Is this truly necessary?
Leonardo felt a twinge of exasperation, but centuries of ingrained combat instincts caused him to instantaneously shift into a lethal operational state.
In a microsecond utterly imperceptible to baseline human vision, the Custodian shifted his stance, dropping his center of gravity. Completing his microscopic preparatory movents, he launched himself forward. In a blur of auric motion bordering on literal teleportation, he crossed the dozen paces separating them, bringing Yarrick flawlessly into his kill-zone.
However, just as the Custodian assud the match was over before it began, he witnessed through the auto-senses of his Terminator helm that the humie Commissar's bionic eye suddenly flared with a blinding, apocalyptic crimson light.
Wait, what?!
Relying on the terrifying, nanosecond reflexes unique to the Custodes, Leonardo instantaneously aborted his strike and violently shifted his posture. He brought the disruption field of his Guardian Spear directly into the projected path of the crimson light, preemptively shielding his center of mass.
BOOM!
A catastrophic, blinding explosion erupted violently against the blade of the Guardian Spear. Colossal, overlapping shockwaves violently blasted outward. The sheer kinetic ferocity of the detonation was so intense that Steel Legion troopers hunting Orks far in the distance ceased their pursuit, staring in dumbfounded shock toward the epicenter.
Even clad in hyper-dense Allarus Terminator armor, the Custodian was violently staggered. His boots were forced backward, grinding two deep, jagged trenches into the adamantium deck of the Hive City, sending shattered plasteel and sparks flying in all directions.
What in the Emperor's na was that?
Feeling the terrifying, absurd level of kinetic force generated by a re bionic eye, Leonardo imdiately discarded every shred of underestimation.
Out of respect for a Custodian of the Emperor, Yarrick offered a solemn, clinical explanation:
"The technological foundation for this bionic optic is derived from Ork 'Zzap' weaponry. Its primary power source is drawn directly from the Waaagh! Field. It is highly unstable, but its energy output is exceptionally devastating."
"I see!"
Leonardo barked in acknowledgnt, simultaneously twirling his Guardian Spear.
A torrential storm of mass-reactive bolts instantaneously ford a suffocating wall of fire, shrieking toward Yarrick. Yet, they were all effortlessly deflected, leaving the Commissar completely unhard.
Staring at the shimring, impossibly dense energy shield that had materialized—one that entirely exceeded his tactical projections—Leonardo asked incredulously, "A Greenskin Waaagh! Field generator?"
"Correct."
A rare, grim smile actually cracked Yarrick's stoic visage. He flexed his massive chanical power klaw, opening the serrated digits to reveal a cavernous muzzle hidden within the palm, pointing it directly at the Custodian.
What is it this ti?!
Leonardo completely failed to comprehend why there was a heavy ordnance bore hidden inside a lee weapon. Having already tasted the absurdity of Yarrick's arsenal, the Custodian imdiately initiated high-velocity evasive maneuvers, attempting to preemptively dodge the incoming attack.
However, he still fundantally failed to anticipate what the weapon actually fired.
Fwooosh!
A pale blue, crackling beam of highly concentrated magnetic energy shot out from the muzzle. Operating under so bizarre, xenos-derived energy paradigm, it whipped and thrashed erratically through the air like a living tendril under Yarrick's control.
The trajectory of this attack was so utterly chaotic and illogical that even a Custodian struggled to completely evade it. In an instant, the magnetic beam latched onto Leonardo's auric armor, adhering to him like an invisible, inescapable tractor hook.
Yarrick planted his boots firmly and engaged a blindingly bright activation rune on his power klaw. A violent, terrifying pulling force erupted from the tether.
Leonardo was violently yanked off balance, sent hurtling through the air directly toward Yarrick.
"Huh?!"
Observing from the sidelines, both Rowan and Lucia were visibly stunned.
Their shock wasn't because they couldn't identify the weapon's origins, but precisely because they had recognized what it was.
"Is that... the Greenskin 'Lifta-Droppa'?! Aren't those massive grav-cannons exclusively mounted on Ork anti-air batteries or literally strapped to the arms of Gargants?!"
"Even assuming the power output has been massively scaled down... this is simply too absurd... How did he physically integrate a macro-weapon system into a personal, arm-mounted power klaw?!"
Yet, reality defied logic; Yarrick had successfully built it!
Furthermore, the true spectacle had yet to unfold.
Being violently dragged through the air, Leonardo did not panic.
He was, after all, an Adeptus Custodes.
Even if I am forcibly pulled into lee range... as a baseline human Commissar, how much martial prowess do you truly possess in close-quarters combat?
However, he was violently forced to discard that thought a microsecond later.
Filling his vision was the rapidly expanding, incoming strike of the chanical power klaw. However, the klaw wasn't glowing with the standard, crackling blue energy of a disruption field; it was radiating a blinding, volatile, violently unstable sapphire light.
The sheer, apocalyptic intensity of this specific light caused the Custodian's hyper-attuned survival instincts to scream in absolute terror!
But caught in the inescapable grip of the magnetic tether, he possessed virtually zero room to evade. He had no choice but to forcefully swing his Guardian Spear to intercept the blow.
BZZZT-CRACK!
A blinding flash of esoteric energy erupted. In an instant, the entire front half of the Guardian Spear's blade simply... ceased to exist.
Leonardo violently retreated a step, staring blankly at the cleanly sheared, empty haft of his relic weapon. "What was that?!"
"Ork teleportation technology," Yarrick answered in his usual, deadpan tone. "Upon physical contact, the energy field instantaneously teleports the struck object away. However, due to the inherent volatility of Greenskin teleportation tech, the displaced object is subjected to violent, catastrophic fragntation and scattered randomly across the imdiate vicinity. Sotis..."
He stomped his foot heavily against the deck and added, "...it even teleports the fragnts directly inside solid matter, fusing them at the molecular level."
"Alright, that is enough! The match is concluded."
Rowan clapped his hands, his expression sowhat complicated.
He clearly hadn't anticipated that upon fully integrating the Waaagh! Field, Yarrick's cognitive "kboy" capabilities would be this staggeringly exaggerated. The man was practically functioning as a pure-blooded Ork Big k!
However, this was ultimately a highly positive developnt. For their upcoming exploration of the Necron Tomb World, this added a terrifying layer of unpredictable security to the retinue, and perhaps, promised many more 'surprises'.
He casually tossed another teleportation hor onto the ground.
A flash of warp-light illuminated the area, and Cybia stepped out from the portal, successfully regrouping with the retinue.
"Now then, I shall outline our subsequent operational directive," Rowan announced. "Our imdiate objective is to locate a specific Magos of the Adeptus chanicus currently operating on this planet. I believe that securing his assistance will provide us with highly accurate, actionable intelligence regarding the Necron Tomb World."
--------------------------
Read 30 chapters ahead on Patreon!
spatreon/goatmama
User Comments
0 comments from readers