Chapter 354: Cloning a Great Unclean One |
On an unnamed planet.
The temporary outpost built by Exploration Team 1 was enduring a fierce bombardment.
The rubbish thing had somehow acquired several Titans from the Imperium of Man and was using them to assault the outpost's weakest points.
These Titans had long fallen into disrepair. Their thrusters failed when firing, and they couldn't fire while moving, making their offensive rhythm rather sluggish.
Even so, without the support of heavy or strategic weapons, the exploration team was pinned down by the massive explosive rounds, unable to even raise their heads.
In a rift valley roughly three kilometers from the outpost, the Great Unclean One Dicalemus was locked in brutal combat with Emperor Boy.
The narrow space of the rift restricted Emperor Boy's movement.
A pulse of psionic energy laced with pathogens and parasites tore through the valley. Emperor Boy leapt into the air, using the biological rocket thrusters on his ankles to glide a short distance and evade the psionic bombardment reeking of corruption.
Before he could find his footing, barbed vines burst from the ground, sweeping toward him like a tidal wave.
"Haha! Palu Ork! Mark my words! You are the first Palu commander to fall by my hands, but you certainly won't be the last!"
Dicalemus let out a manic laugh. He raised his staff and waved it wildly, sending streaks of green light crashing into the ground.
Plague zombies covered in festering sores clawed their way out of the dirt. Answering their master's call, they charged at Emperor Boy with the frenzy of the wolves smelling fresh blood.
"You humiliated me too much last time; this time, I'll pay you back a hundredfold! ...Die! Become my masterpiece!"
Dicalemus thrust his staff forward, aiming a half-meter-thick beam of psionic energy at Emperor Boy.
Black insects and toxic mist spiraled around the beam, forming concentric rings like the particle acceleration coil of a Gauss Weapon.
Emperor Boy had only survived this long by relying on his Palu Psychic Field and Psychic Shroud; this impending strike was more than enough to claim his life!
In the nick of time, Brother Li descended.
Li Nuo took control of Emperor Boy's body. Gripping his sword with both hands, he unleashed a horizontal slash that cleared his field of vision. Immediately after, he locked his gaze on Dicalemus and activated Brain Paralysis.
A system notification flashed, warning Li Nuo that it would cost 1.3 million tons of Monocrystals to paralyze Dicalemus for a single second.
Li Nuo hit confirm without a second thought.
Dicalemus froze, and the Nurgle daemons surrounding Li Nuo stopped in their tracks.
In that split second, Li Nuo propelled himself forward using the Vibration Technique. Combined with the explosive physical power of Emperor Boy's flesh, he arrived in front of Dicalemus like a bolt of lightning.
His right hand swung the sword in a diagonal arc, severing Dicalemus's head from his body.
His left hand reached out, fingers closing into a loose grip.
Struck by an invisible air hammer, the hideous head fell perfectly into Li Nuo's grasp.
Brain Paralysis ended.
Dicalemus was decapitated. His headless body gave a slight shudder as a smug voice echoed from his belly, and the surrounding Nurgle daemons swarmed over like a swarm of hornets.
"Haha! Did you really think I'd fall for the same trick twice? I saw through your little game long ago! You can keep the head!"
"Thump! Thump!"
The head in Li Nuo's hand throbbed violently. In the blink of an eye, it swelled to more than triple its size and detonated.
"Bang!"
Foul, putrid gore splattered everywhere. A shockwave mixed with Nurgle pathogen strains rippled outward.
Piercing blades of wind sliced Emperor Boy into several pieces. A thick layer of white maggots instantly swarmed the surfaces of his wounds.
The dismembered corpse crashed to the ground. The surrounding Nurgle daemons swarmed the remains, devouring them in massive bites.
Dicalemus let out a triumphant laugh, kicking aside the underlings blocking his way, and stepped closer.
He was just preparing to desecrate the corpse when he suddenly noticed something extra in its right hand.
"Beep, beep, beep—"
The crisp, melodic chime of a countdown echoed. Dicalemus's expression warped in horror as he recognized what the object was.
"Protect me! Hurry!"
Dicalemus spun around and bolted. He made it exactly three steps before the explosion arrived on schedule.
"Boom!"
This explosion was far more grounded in science than the last one.
A bright blue plasma storm expanded in a perfect sphere, engulfing a hundred-meter radius in less than a millisecond.
Dicalemus's massive figure was swallowed by the blue storm, instantly reacting like cold water dropped into boiling oil.
His flesh tore open, foul blood sprayed wildly, his eyeballs ruptured, and the blue veins bulging across his skin burst inch by inch.
Though it was agonizing, Dicalemus survived the baptism of plasma fire, sustained entirely by the blessings of the Loving Father.
His underlings weren't nearly as lucky. The blue storm swept across the battlefield with devastating force, leaving a massive stretch of charred remains in its wake.
The vacuum left by the shockwave drew in a fierce gale. Black smoke laced with sparks drifted on the wind, while the lingering embers crackled and popped.
Dicalemus gasped for air, leaning heavily on his staff just to stay on his feet.
"Damned Palu Orks, you're all a bunch of lunatics! Even crazier than the red daemons!"
Dicalemus cursed viciously. Suddenly, his stomach lurched, as if an external force was dragging something out of his body.
Damn it!
My head!
His vision blurred. He could faintly see his own intestines, muscles, blood vessels, and skeleton gliding past his eyes. The scorched rift valley came into view, and Dicalemus found himself staring directly into the distinctive emerald-green eyes of a Palu Ork.
Before he could speak, that familiar stiffness welled up within him.
Damn... it...
Got me... again.
Dicalemus's brain shut down. When he regained consciousness, he stared in utter despair at the bubbles of artificial amniotic fluid drifting past his eyes.
Once again.
Once again, his head had been severed and stuffed into an amniotic tank to serve as a prisoner!
This was an absolutely humiliating disgrace!
Frustrated and furious, Dicalemus screamed at the top of his lungs, "What's the point of capturing me? As long as the Loving Father's gaze remains upon me, I will never truly die!"
The hulking Ork standing in front of the amniotic tank remained silent, merely staring quietly at the Great Unclean One.
Confused, Dicalemus glanced around, surprised to find that the situation was different from last time.
The last time he became a prisoner... no, wait, the last time he was captured by the despicable greenskins, there had been plenty of Mekboyz and Painboyz bustling around.
But this time, the massive interrogation room was entirely empty, save for the single Ork standing before him. Not another soul was in sight.
"What kind of trick are you playing now?" Dicalemus scrutinized his captor warily.
The Ork still didn't say a word, his deadpan eyes locked onto the Great Unclean One without a ripple of emotion.
Was he in deep thought?
Putting on a mysterious act?
Or was he just staring blankly into space?
Dicalemus rolled his shifty eyes, assessing his current predicament.
"Well, if you're regretting this, you can just let me go. I promise I'll at least say hello before I come looking for trouble next time."
Dicalemus probed for a reaction but received no response.
His words vanished without a trace, like stones tossed into a bottomless abyss.
"Damn it, did the Palu Orks send a total idiot to watch over me?" Dicalemus muttered under his breath. "They're really underestimating me. Once I get out of here, I'm going to chop you all into pieces and use you for compost..."
"Hsss—huuu—"
The Ork suddenly gasped for air, snapping out of his daze as his eyes finally focused.
Hearing the noise, Dicalemus looked over, just in time to see an absolutely detestable smirk curl onto the Ork's lips.
"Greenskin, what the hell are you doing?"
The Ork grinned widely and raised a hand, snapping his fingers.
A mob of Mekboyz and Painboyz marched through the door, lugging an assortment of strange instruments. A few Gretchin dressed like researchers trailed behind them, looking rather comical.
Was the day's torture session finally about to begin?
Dicalemus secretly started drafting lies, planning to weather this agonizing ordeal without betraying the Loving Father.
Oh, great Loving Father!
Witness my fortitude and fearlessness as I endure their torture!
No matter how cruel their methods, I will never sell you out!
Having mentally fortified himself, Dicalemus glared defiantly at the Ork in front of him.
Bring it on!
Ask whatever you want!
If I spill a single word, I'll turn my own skull into a watering can!
Strangely enough, the Ork didn't interrogate him.
After entering the interrogation room, they buried their heads in their work, barely sparing a glance at the hideous head inside the amniotic tank. And when they did look, their gazes were cold and utterly contemptuous, as if staring at a reckless fool.
Dicalemus felt a wave of uncertainty wash over him.
A few minutes later, a Gretchin wearing a lab coat scurried over to the Ork, respectfully offering up a Dataslate.
"Boss, here's the experimental proposal you asked for."
The Ork took it and examined it closely.
Dicalemus pondered for a moment before asking, "Are you that Li Nuo who merged with the essence of the True Ork God?"
The Ork ignored him.
Dicalemus's eyes darted around. A thought seemed to strike him, and he spoke with a sly, plotting expression.
"To tell you the truth, we've planted spies inside the Imperium of Man. We know about the plans of the Imperium and the Eldar. Are they trying to transfer a portion of the Empyrean gods' power to the age of rebellion sub-universe just to mess with you?"
The Ork shot a sideways glance at the amniotic tank.
Dicalemus chuckled darkly, "Don't worry. As long as you cooperate with us, the plans of the Imperium of Man and the Eldar will never succeed. We can even carve out a sector for you on the dark side of the galaxy to serve as your domain..."
Dicalemus's pitch was abruptly cut off.
The Ork handed the Dataslate back to the Gretchin and ordered, "The experimental proposal looks fine. Start executing it."
"Right away, Boss." The Gretchin shot a disdainful sneer at Dicalemus, then scurried over to the equipment to begin operations.
"Bzzzt—"
The hum of static electricity echoed from the base of the amniotic tank. A numbing, tingling electrical current instantly enveloped Dicalemus's head, robbing him of the ability to speak.
Several mechanical arms extended from the top cover, using laser cutters and mechanical claws to extract tissue samples.
The samples were sealed in test tubes, which glided along a conveyor belt into a device equipped with a holographic projector.
A highly unusual genetic structure appeared in the hologram—a microscopic view of a genetic sequence formed by a triple helix.
Two of the genetic strands resembled human DNA, sitting at roughly 20% Genetic Purity.
The third strand was bizarre. It was composed of genetic encoding from a massive array of non-human organisms, including but not limited to plants, animals, fungi, viruses, and xenos.
This specific strand was Nurgle's masterpiece. It had corrupted Dicalemus's original human genetics, completely reshaping his outward appearance and internal anatomy, using hormones and other means to mutate his cognitive patterns and physical behavior.
In theory, this genetic sample could be used to clone a brand-new Dicalemus.
"Hiss—"
The airtight blast doors of a cloning pod slowly hissed open. The slumbering clone was revealed behind the gates, every bit as hideous and foul-smelling as the head currently floating in the amniotic tank.
The boyz collected a genetic sample from the clone and compared it to the original.
The difference between the two was negligible. The variance in Genetic Purity was only 3%, well within the acceptable margin of experimental error.
But this was merely a physical similarity. When it came to psionic energy, the two were leagues apart.
Dicalemus could wield Nurgle sorcery, but the clone could not.
This meant the clone lacked the ability to enter Nurgle's garden.
They had to imbue the clone with psionic power identical to the original's.
Because this required deciphering the fundamental principles of Nurgle's sorcery, the upcoming experiment was extremely dangerous.
A Soul Code Reader, heavily modified by the Palu Academy, was hauled over.
It stood roughly five meters tall and measured two meters in both length and width, resembling a rectangular stone pillar smeared with red, purple, green, and black paint.
Psionic energy cables extended from the reader and plugged directly into Dicalemus's skull.
With the flip of a switch, the machine powered up.
The holographic projectors on its surface cast images into the open air, revealing the full extent of Dicalemus's soul encoding.
The nearby Gretchin scholar clattered away at a keyboard, speaking at a breakneck pace, "Boss, there's a massive load of soul-keys with negative effects buried inside Dicalemus's soul encoding. I suspect Nurgle's sorcery is tied to some of these keys. I recommend against deleting them outright. Instead, we should use isolation tech to quarantine them in a dormant soul sector, then test the effects of each key one by one."
This Gretchin in charge of soul encoding research was currently the foremost authority on soul technology within the Palu Academy.
The Ork nodded, "Do as you say. Safety first."
"Yes, Boss! Rest easy. I've dissected at least ten thousand of these rubbish things, if not a hundred thousand. I know exactly how to deal with the filth in their souls."
"Clack, clack, clack—"
Inside the interrogation room, the frantic clattering of the keyboard echoed endlessly.
Outside, the Palu combat squads stood in tight formation, fully prepared to respond to any sudden emergencies.
Five days passed in this manner.
The Gretchin scholar finally let out a long sigh and slumped back into his chair. He looked physically drained, but a euphoric excitement rippled through his eyes.
Li Nuo walked into the interrogation room.
The Gretchin scholar scrambled over to him eagerly, his voice weak but brimming with excitement, "Boss, mission accomplished. It took five days, but I cracked the soul encoding for fifteen of Nurgle's spells and managed to single out the command that opens the door to Nurgle's garden. Look here."
The Gretchin scholar led the Ork over to the holographic display, meticulously explaining the functions and principles of the three-dimensional spell model before concluding, "Once we implant this segment of soul encoding into the clone, I'm ninety percent sure we can teach the clone the Nurgle spell required to teleport into his garden."
A ninety percent certainty was more than enough.
"You did an excellent job." Li Nuo pulled out a canister of spores and handed it to the Gretchin scholar.
"Shove this inside the clone. The moment it steps into Nurgle's garden, trigger the canister's detonator and scatter the spores everywhere."
"Got it, Boss." The Gretchin scholar accepted the canister without a second thought and scurried toward the clone.
A few moments later.
The canister was successfully implanted.
Li Nuo sent the clone back to the physical universe in the end times.
He dropped the creature onto a desolate planet and pulled all the Palu Orks away from its vicinity.
The clone slowly roused from its slumber, a vacant look plastered across its face.
About half a minute later, it seemed to grasp the situation. Desperate and impatient, it channeled its psionic energy to commune with the Loving Father's garden. Its body dissolved into a flash of green light, plunging headlong into The Warp.
