Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 200: Dark Tides (2)

"Fire!"

The cramped space within the tunnel forced the Arbitrators to adopt a multi-layered formation. The Arbitrators in the front rank had to kneel down to clear firing lanes for those in the rear.

In the next second, sacred flames spewed from the muzzles of shotguns, while the ear-piercing crack of bolt pistols filled the entire cavern.

The bullets killed a portion of the incoming xenos monsters, simultaneously kicking up swirling vortexes of crushed stone from the tunnel floor and walls.

Corpses piled up continuously, but the enemies kept surging forward. The Genestealers hacked exactly through the corpses of their own brood-kin, desperate to close in on their prey.

The Arbitrators knew they could not flinch at this moment. The concentrated hail of shot spewing from their muzzles spread across the monsters' shimmering carapaces, the struck enemies letting out agonized shrieks in the darkness.

"What's that soun—"

Suddenly, amidst an Arbitrator's exclamation of surprise, a monster a full size larger than its kin broke through the defensive line. Its massive claws seized the leg of an Arbitrator standing in the front rank, dragging him across the ground.

The Arbitrator immediately raised his other foot, viciously kicking the monster's rounded head with his boot. But it was completely unmoved, and instead opened its maw wide to reveal rows of black, damp fangs.

"Look out."An Arbitrator ignited his already prepared flamer, speaking even as he sprayed furious, roaring flames at the monster.

Enveloped in flames, the monster released its prey. The Arbitrator swiftly pushed himself up into a kneeling position, raising his bolt pistol to join the volley.

The beast violently struggled and rolled under the intense firepower, finally collapsing to the ground dead, its blackened corpse becoming just another body piled upon the floor.

"I think we need another frag grenade, Arbitrator."

The Arbitrator nodded in agreement and tossed a frag grenade down the tunnel. The Arbitrators hurriedly shielded their faces to evade the shockwave generated by the explosion.

BOOM—!

When the tremors subsided, they saw injured cultists attempting to crawl out from the rubble, their bodies riddled with holes from shrapnel.

Filled with incomparable hatred, the Arbitrators finished off the enemies one by one before continuing to advance towards the other end of the tunnel.

Half an hour later, the squad stopped in a spacious room to take a short rest.

They had already discovered several such rooms in these complex underground mineshafts, allowing them a temporary reprieve from the cramped tunnels.

"According to our route calculations, we shouldn't be far from the exit now."

The Arbitrator drew in a breath as a squad member bent over to apply healing ointment to the wound on his leg.

"These monsters, we've killed over a hundred of them by now, haven't we."

"There are too many of them; these casualties are practically negligible."

The one who answered him was the strike squad leader leaning against the room's main door.

"Spreading everywhere just like an infection."

"Then we will cleanse this wound."

The Arbitrator replied resolutely, then stood up.

"Come on, we have to keep moving."

The group of Arbitrators walked toward the next tunnel. As long as they passed through that area, they could reach a hidden exit from the mining sector, providing the fastest route back to the safe zone.

A half-hour had passed since their last encounter with the xenos, and the condition of the passageways here was clearly much better.

Since they didn't need to stop and clear away debris blocking the path, the squad's pace of advance was extremely rapid, and the Arbitrators' morale also rose high.

Suddenly, the Arbitrator stopped in his tracks, raising his fist into the air. The Arbitrators arrayed into a single-file column behind him.

He seemed to hear some movement ahead; some figure was moving within the shadows...

"Stay alert."

The Arbitrator whispered. Everyone raised their weapons, entering a combat-ready state.

Soon, a massive silhouette appeared at the end of the tunnel, its size far larger than any monster they had seen before.

The Arbitrator had heard of mutants far larger than human size, but he had never personally fought one.

That silhouette was moving rapidly, yet it lacked the animalistic frenzy of the other xenos monsters.

"Hold your fire."

The Arbitrator commanded, and the squad obeyed in succession.

He didn't intend to startle this beast.

Quickly, this massive beast vanished into the darkness, yet the Arbitrator suddenly realized a problem.

They were obviously supposed to be very close to the safe zone here, so why would such a dangerous creature appear?

Then was there a possibility...

Had the safe zone already fallen?

He shared his thoughts with the Arbitrators, and everyone agreed. Considering that their departure hadn't exactly been covert, it was highly likely the enemy had already laid an ambush.

"Perhaps we should change our route. If we take the side passage here to exit, we'll reach the Rust Zone. There's a batch of transport vehicles there that might..."

As he spoke, the Arbitrator's voice gradually trailed off, because he realized the strike squad leader had suddenly focused his attention into the depths of the passageway.

Then, the group heard the familiar sound of crawling coming from ahead.

"Here they come again."

He grumbled in a low voice, raising his pistol.

Yet another swarm of Genestealers struck from the darkness. The Arbitrators' weapons roared, tearing a gap through the charging enemy horde, but soon even more enemies surged forward to replace them.

A squad member triggered his flamer, spewing cleansing flames toward the oncoming horde, but its fuel had long since been mostly consumed during the previous intense combat.

The monsters braved the intense firepower to charge recklessly, as if some force even more powerful than their primal ferocity was driving them on.

The bright light and roaring flames filled them with seething rage, lunging toward the Arbites squad as a single entity.

"Fall back into the room!"

The Arbitrator shouted, retreating backward alongside the squad while maintaining a tight formation and keeping up their fire.

The squad leader followed at the rear, shooting down chunks of stone from the tunnel ceiling to delay the monsters' assault.

Upon reaching the room, they immediately set up their defenses. The closely pursuing enemies subsequently swarmed in through the entrance.

The Arbitrators once again began pouring out firepower, striking down enemies no slower than the pace at which the monsters lunged.

Then, the surging horde parted, and a figure entirely covered in dust appeared within the tunnel.

While the Genestealers hunched over and crawled like beasts, this figure walked fully upright just like a human. He wore an ornately decorated robe, upon which a sigil was carved—a brass-colored, curled-up insect.

However, his head was entirely different from a human's. His swollen cranium was three times the size of a normal human skull, and three thick, purple veins bulging atop it throbbed as if they possessed a life of their own.

"You are not welcome here."

The monster barked angrily in a low voice, speaking High Gothic.

The voice drilled straight into his mind; the Arbitrator instantly felt this Hybrid's psychic power.

His body began to cringe; that invasive power was far more unbearable than any physical agony.

"This place belongs to the Four-Armed Emperor! Our ascension is already a foregone conclusion. Any resistance is meaningless."

He glided forward as he approached, as if standing atop a swarm of venomous serpents.

"Xenos scum!"

The squad leader roared furiously, aiming his gun at the monster.

He saw the monster raise a hand. The squad leader suddenly froze, his eyes growing increasingly cloudy as he lowered the weapon in his hands.

"Do you see? You are utterly powerless to stop us! We are endless, we are righteous, we are the true inheritors of this world..."

"Rot in hell, you piece of !!"

With a furious roar, a grenade suddenly flew from the Arbitrator's hand toward the monster.

The very instant the other Arbitrators reacted and ducked into cover, the explosion shook the entire room violently, showering them all in crushed stone and dust.

Amidst an ear-piercing shriek, the xenos Hybrid was lost from sight, as if having been swallowed by the dust.