I Am Honkai

Thud! Thud! Thud!

With heavy steps, a towering giant approached the pilot from behind. His power armor was marked with the scars of battle and the signs of fiery warfare, with coagulated blood spread across his thick chest plate and shoulder armor.

The thick smell of blood instantly hit the air.

The Astartes officer, watching Gray Serpent on the screen, had a gaze like a sword behind the green visor of his helmet, radiating bloodthirsty rage, locking onto the figure of Gray Serpent as he walked out of the gates of Kinpo Mountain Temple.

"Even a mosquito's leg is still meat. Notify squads B and D, prepare for an airborne operation."

"Yes, sir!"

The Astartes warriors of this legion, compared to those of other legions, have undoubtedly a much simpler and more austere power armor design.

There are no golden or silver engravings, no ribbons or decorations—just bone-white power armor. The shoulder pads are embellished with numerous protruding pyramid-like spikes, with deep blue as the base and brass lining, and the brass lining is marked by a regular arrangement of round brass studs.

Upon closer inspection, the round brass studs resemble a planet being torn apart by sharp teeth.

Other than that, there is nothing else. Compared to the flashy armor of other legions, theirs is as plain as freshly manufactured blank armor.

But if one thinks they are merely inexperienced recruits lacking honor or battle merit, that would be a grave mistake!

This is the unique style of their legion.

In their appearance, you won't find any other of the Astartes' favorite decorations such as olive branches, double-handed swords, wings, or similar motifs, nor do they use the imperial or Selene's iconic double-headed eagle.

As they put it, "We are the Empress's blade, nothing more." Loyalty remains in the heart, and they see no need to express it through any other means.

Their chest plates bear only the simple, direct "XII" serial number, marking their identity.

The Twelfth Legion of the Astartes—The World Eaters!

They are the loyal war dogs, but also the Empress's executioners.

The officer of the World Eaters averted his gaze and slowly moved to the rear compartment of the assault boat, his voice low as he spoke: "Brothers, good news—we've found new prey. They say it's a big fish."

As he spoke, he drew the chainsaw axe that was magnetically attached to his waist. "No matter if they're alive or dead, no matter how many lives they have, if they're our enemies, anyone who dares show themselves before us World Eaters will be killed on sight!"

Vroom... Puff!

This was the sound of the chainsaw axe powering up. Perhaps it had accumulated too much blood, bone fragments, and rotten flesh in the teeth of the axe blade, as it emitted a brief, unsettling puffing noise.

"Ha... Ha..."

Without words, the other World Eater warriors, seated at their positions, let out low, rumbling laughter. Then, they all stood up and activated their own chainsaw weapons.

Vroom... Puff!

Normally, whether it's the power claws, power swords, power fists, lightning claws, power hammers, chainswords, chainsaw axes, chainsaw halberds, or any other weapons like bolt guns, plasma guns, and laser weapons, each legion would be equipped with these standard issue weapons provided by the Imperial Science Bureau.

However, depending on the preferences of the legions, the weapons chosen vary significantly.

For example, the First Legion, the Dark Angels, prefer power swords; the Second Legion, the Punishers, favor power fists and lightning claws... each legion tends to follow the preferences of their respective Legion Masters.

But the Twelfth Legion, the World Eaters, is distinctly fond of chainsaw weapons, especially chainsaw axes.

The World Eaters are the best representation of the concept of brutal combat and strength.

This is reflected even in the design of their fleet. Aside from the legion's flagship, which has a palace garden for Selene to reside in, the rest of their ships are built with thick armor plates, as many as possible, and the heavy concentration of close-range artillery is nothing short of insane.

"What are we?"

"We are the Empress's World Eaters!"

"What are we?"

"We are Selene's war dogs!"

"Thus, the time to drink blood has come."

"Blood for the Empress! Skulls for the Golden Throne!"

No further commands are needed; the only order their internal communication system delivers is one—kill.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At thirty meters high, the assault boat's hatch opened, and one by one, dull meteors fell from the sky, crashing into the ground, creating powerful shockwaves that immediately cleared the grass around them, raising dust clouds several meters high.

These heavily armored warriors, with their towering, muscular builds, stood on the ground like massive, indomitable towers. Boom!! The explosion erupted in the corridor...

"Here they come." Gray Serpent calmly observed the World Eater warriors descending from the sky. "Twelfth Legion, huh?"

Bone-white armor, deep blue as the base, brass accents, and the "XII" serial number—yet another new unit.

Gray Serpent's consciousness was controlling multiple bodies at once, with his mind sharing real-time access to each of them, meaning he was essentially single-handedly facing off against the entire Astartes.

"Let me see what makes the Twelfth Legion different," he mused.

He drew his green-glowing dual-action revolver—Colt Defender. Even though he wasn't the type to engage in direct combat with great effectiveness, Gray Serpent had no intention of surrendering.

Even if it meant death, he would make sure to knock a few brass and silver decorations off their power armor.

Previously, at a World Serpent base, after a breach, Gray Serpent's body had been severed in half, but he wasn't human. A mere mortal wound wasn't enough to stop him. By feigning death, he took the opportunity to shoot and shatter the gold-plated double-headed eagle emblem on an Astartes sergeant's shoulder pad.

Although his mangled body was torn apart by a barrage of blades, the anger on their faces had pleased Gray Serpent.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As Gray Serpent fired, the mech suits and Honkai-corrupted synthetic beasts hidden within the shadows surged forward.

After all, as a mere civilian official, one could never leave the house unguarded.

Then, Gray Serpent realized something: these enemies were different from the ones he had faced before. They were far too simplistic. Moreover, the heavy stench of blood emanating from them made even his mechanical organs tremble with a sense of nausea.

Zzzzz...

The energy shields within their power armor hissed and writhed like ripples in water as bullets struck the orichalcum composite armor plates.

Though not as sophisticated as the Void Shields or Void Field Generators worn by high-ranking officers and generals, these energy shield modules were cheap, durable, and easy to maintain. They were rechargeable like batteries and could be swapped out quickly.

Their widespread use across the Astartes—indeed, even the servitor legions—was something the Void Shield system could never achieve.

Some veterans even preferred to focus the energy on the joints and head, where the armor was most vulnerable, leaving the thicker chest and shoulder plate areas somewhat less reinforced.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The muzzle of the boltgun flashed as it fired, sending bright streaks of light into the air. The mechs in the frontlines took nearly a hundred rounds before exploding in a burst of sparks. The armor shattered, and the disabled mech collapsed in a heap.

"Blood for the Empress!"

With war cries, Selene's executioners, filled with a fanatic bloodlust, charged directly into the line of mechs and Honkai beasts, tearing through them with explosive rounds and chainsaw weapons.

They wielded one-handed chainsaw battle axes, cleaving everything in their path as if they were chopping down trees.

Boom! Boom!

One of the recently emerged [Death Web] was instantly overwhelmed, its fragile head turned into a mist of blood by a hail of bullets. Its headless corpse slumped to the ground.

Clang!

Another mech lost its arm as the chainsaw's teeth sliced through it effortlessly.

A thrust pierced through the prey. A single slash shattered bones or armor.

Ssshh! Ssshh!

The World Eater officer, engulfed in a visible blood-red storm, rapidly moved through the battlefield. Whether it was a mech or a Honkai beast, none of them lasted more than a few moments—each encountered and killed almost on the spot.

Armed with twin chainsaw axes, he was a perfect killing machine.

A [Death Web] swung its razor-sharp blade forward, and three seconds later, its head and the broken, pitch-black mechanical creation both fell to the ground.

Two city-guard-type mechs charged in from the left and right, attempting to flank, but in the next moment, one of them was sent flying backward with a boom, crashing into the [Death Web] behind it. Its head processor twisted into an unnatural curve, as if it were about to snap at any moment.

It shook violently, as if it might break any second.

Moreover, Gray Serpent noticed that they didn't seem to prefer activating the chainsaw's monomolecular cutting mode. Instead, they favored the brutal tearing of flesh and machine, reveling in the sheer force.

Every time the armor of a mech cracked open, revealing the sizzling electrical sparks of its internal circuits, or when a Honkai-corrupted beast's body was torn open, with blood splattering everywhere, they all let out a savage battle cry.

Their combat style was vicious and bloodthirsty, and the Twelfth Legion was infamous for its terrifying close-quarters assault tactics.

Gray Serpent suddenly realized that compared to the heavily armored giants he had encountered in the Schicksal Organization's territory, these World Eaters felt far more savage in their approach.

With each passing moment, their bloodlust intensified, and Gray Serpent felt an overwhelming sense that they were truly the true agents of the Herrscher of the End.

"Die!!"

The World Eaters completed their brutal cut through Gray Serpent's World Serpent forces, and a tight encirclement quickly formed.

Trapped on the hillside, Gray Serpent now only had one option: break through. But unless he could eliminate several of the World Eaters quickly, there was no hope left.

"This difference... The Jackal's Valkyrie Hunters strength is nowhere near enough," Gray Serpent thought.

He raised his right hand, and his custom Colt Defender began to charge with Honkai energy. A green-glowing round shot out, hitting the head of one of the Astartes warriors.

Bang!

The tremendous kinetic force sent ripples through the energy shield, but Gray Serpent's fire remained steady, undisturbed.

"A coward hiding behind cover, shooting like a rat!" the World Eater officer sneered.

In response, Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gray Serpent fired three shots in quick succession.

"Who would fight you brutes in close combat?" he thought to himself. Given his physique, if he really went toe-to-toe in close combat with a World Eater, he'd be reduced to a pile of parts.

Moreover, Gray Serpent had noticed that the World Eaters seemed intent on either chopping him down with axes or capturing him alive. With such a close distance, they hadn't used their bolt guns or plasma weapons to strike him.

In the next instant, Gray Serpent raised both hands, each holding a custom Colt Defender. The .50-caliber rounds, powered with Honkai energy, were ready to unleash.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

At less than 20 meters, the remaining nine rounds were fired almost instantaneously, each landing in nearly the same spot!

The energy shield rippled uncontrollably. The damage wasn't significant, but the insult was undeniable.

"Do you really want to die?!" the World Eater officer growled.

"Hmph, if you want me dead, I'll die. But you'll each..." he started to taunt, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his eyes narrowing as an unfamiliar signal surged through his mind.

"I suddenly don't want to die anymore..." He relaxed his hands, spinning the revolver in a nonchalant manner, displaying utter disdain for the World Eaters.

"..." Though the helmet obscured his expression, the World Eater officer's fury was palpable. "Damn! He's mocking us! Focus fire! Kill this rat in the gutter!"

Boom boom boom!

A barrage of boltgun rounds, plasma beams, and assault craft heavy explosives engulfed Gray Serpent completely!

"..."

As his body was reduced to scrap metal and his consciousness transferred to another, Gray Serpent's single remaining eye still held an unmistakable glimmer of satisfaction.

"Doctor!"

At this very moment, deep within an underground base, a pair of bottomless serpentine eyes opened in the darkness.

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