From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 442 "Contest"

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After the captain of the 2nd Company of the Luna Wolves left the cabin, Magnus's gaze quickly "focused" on the metal block in his left hand.

According to various reports, Magnus already knew that inside the metal cube, or rather the exclusive storage box, was a strange book that almost bewitched an ODST reconnaissance captain.

Even though the sealing measures are extremely strict, Magnus can still feel the "restlessness" inside the box with his psychic power.

Presumably, the sealed books are chaotic devices with "souls".

Therefore, Magnus instantly became alert at this moment. If there was any abnormality, he would not mind using psychic energy to smash and destroy the storage box.

A moment later, the commander of the 2nd Company, along with a dozen company guards, walked steadily down the ramp of the hatch.

Their armor gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the light of the stars, and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed throughout the area.

When they arrived in front of the two primarchs who stood like towering mountains, the captain and the guards stopped in unison.

They raised their right hands, clenched their fists, and then crossed their arms in front of their breastplates, saluting respectfully. The whole movement was quick and neat, without a single bit of redundancy.

Then, the captain of the 2nd Company took a step forward, raised his left hand holding the storage box slightly, and said with a serious face:

"Father, the 2nd Company has fulfilled its mission and successfully collected key evidence of the collusion between the Na'vi and the forces of Chaos.

This is the strange book we found, which has been properly sealed in a special storage box. At the same time, I promise that within six hours, all the Na'vi clans on Pandora will be completely wiped out without any future troubles. "

Upon hearing this, Horus nodded slightly with a stern expression, without saying anything more, and also stretched out his left hand to take the exclusive storage box from the company commander.

Although his movements seemed relaxed, the solemnity in his heart was self-evident.

“Very good.” Horus’s deep voice was like a torrent rolling over rocks, revealing unquestionable majesty: “Remember, no matter old or young, no one will be left alive.

The existence of these heretics is a blasphemy to the empire. Besides, there is no need to waste time extracting biological samples. Complete data on the Na'vi are already available in the archives of the Biology Department.

Your mission is simple, that is to purify the entire Pandora and eliminate all heretics, clean and neat, do you understand?"

"Yes, father." The company commander answered in a strong voice without any hesitation.

"Yeah." Horus nodded, his stern face still expressionless.

He glanced at the captain of the 2nd Company and his company guards, and finally added: "Go and eradicate all the heretics."

"Yes!"

The company commander took the order again, then turned around and led the guards away in the direction of the Thunder Eagle gunboat.

Horus and Magnus stood there, watching the captain of the 2nd Company and his guards board the Thunderhawk gunship.

The three pale-white-painted Thunderhawks gradually closed their hatches. The roar of their engines broke the silence, and they took off one after another, rising into the sky, and finally turned into a few black dots that gradually moved away, completely disappearing in the azure sky.

After seeing the other party successfully leave the base airspace, Magnus turned his head slightly, looked at Horus standing beside him, and asked inquiringly:

"Brother, can I take a look at the evidence the 2nd Company found? I want to personally inspect the structure of this item and its possible hidden dangers."

"Of course." Horus did not hesitate at all, lowered his head and handed the exclusive storage box in his hand to Magnus.

But he immediately added: “However, brother, we’d better enter the underground defense facility before conducting research.

The potential threat of this thing has not yet been fully understood. I don't want it to cause any accidents on the surface, especially the possibility of causing uncontrollable damage to the 2nd Company Base or even the nearby city."

"You're right, brother." Magnus nodded in agreement and took the storage box.

And the moment he touched the storage box, he felt more intuitively the "restless" spiritual energy faintly emanating from the box.

If it were opened right there and then, it might cause some kind of chaos shock, causing irreversible damage to the 2nd Company's base and nearby cities.

Next, the two Primarchs led their respective Honor Guards and headed towards the underground entrance inside the base.

After everyone arrived, they found out that this was a large magnetic levitation elevator leading to the depths, surrounded by complex transportation pipes and heavy armored partitions.

Horus pressed the control panel first, and the elevator quickly descended with the low sound of mechanical operation, taking them to the core area of ​​the base a hundred meters below the surface.

When the elevator stopped, they stepped into a shelter room with a very high level of defense.

This shelter has been specially designed to withstand direct attacks from shipborne electromagnetic main guns. The surrounding walls are made of composite armor several meters thick. The interior is arranged as a simple yet functional space, and the central control panel emits a light blue light.

"This place should be safe enough." Horus said softly after looking around.

Magnus nodded, carefully placed the metal storage box on the operating table, and began to prepare for further inspection and analysis.

The figures of the two Primarchs appeared even more majestic under the cold light of the shelter. Their eyes were focused and they were completely immersed in studying the dangerous items in front of them.

As the storage box slowly unfolded like mechanical petals, a strange book covered entirely with nanometal gradually appeared before the eyes of the two Primarchs.

The book exudes an ineffable presence, and the outlines of the pages reflect a faint luster in the light.

Horus stared at the object in front of him, frowning slightly.

He raised his hand and summoned a hard light screen suspended in mid-air. The control interface of the storage box and the unlocking option of the nano-metal seal were instantly displayed on the screen.

However, Horus did not act immediately. Instead, he turned his head slightly and looked at Magnus who was standing beside him.

Horus said nothing, but his calm eyes seemed to convey a clear question to Magnus, asking him whether he was ready.

Magnus and Horus' eyes met briefly, then he nodded slightly, his calm expression revealing extreme vigilance.

He used silent actions to show that he was ready and able to deal with any unexpected situation at any time.

After getting his brother's confirmation, Horus no longer hesitated. He manipulated the options on the hard light screen and slid his finger across the unlock command.

Seeing this, Horus no longer hesitated and immediately controlled the hard light screen to unlock the nanometal that sealed the book.

Hiss—hiss——.

Accompanied by an extremely slight electronic sound, the nanometal covering the surface of the book began to change.

The nanometal layer that was originally covered like armor now "flows" slowly as if it had life.

These metal substances slid along the outline of the book in a fluid state and emitted a cold luster under the light. Finally, they regrouped on the right side of the book, returning to the shape of solid metal the size of a ping-pong ball, and quietly stopped beside the inner wall of the storage box.

And the true appearance of the book, as the nanometal faded away, was completely and thoroughly revealed to the two people's vision.

The cover of the book was engraved with difficult-to-identify runes and patterns. Each line seemed to contain fluctuations of spiritual energy, and there was also an imperceptible low resonance in the air.

All signs indicate that this book is a "living" entity.

But the two Primarchs, Horus and Magnus, did not hear any misleading whispers like the captain of the ODST reconnaissance team.

The book in front of him was filled with a chaotic aura and was indeed a heretical device, but the mental barriers of the Primarchs were as impeccable as a solid wall of steel.

The Gastalins and Sekhmets standing around were not disturbed by the books at all, and everyone remained on high alert.

This group of Honor Guards either raised the parallel bolter attached to their left arm armor and pointed the muzzles at books that were the size of their palms, or extended the power claws on their right arm armor.

Buzz~buzz.

The sharp claw blades flickered in the dim light, and the plasma force field covering the claw blades also emitted a low "roar".

For the Glory Guard, as long as there is any abnormality in the book, no matter how slight, they will take action without hesitation and physically destroy it with firepower.

But the Glory Guards also knew that if the situation really got out of control, even their full-scale attack might not be able to reverse the situation.

After all, the Primarch's own abilities far surpassed those of any Astartes.

Even the newly formed Imperial Guards could not pose a substantial threat to the Primarch. Unless the Imperial Guards relied on a "human wave offensive", there was a slight possibility that they could "exhaust" the Primarch to death.

And the premise is that the Primarch will not retreat, but will just stand there and passively take the beating.

When Lion witnessed the "killing" of the Imperial Guards in the simulated town, he spoke highly of them, but he never worried whether the Imperial Guards would pose a threat to their Primarch.

And if even the Primarch cannot stop the threat before them, then these elite of the elite Astartes, even with extraordinary strength, will be like an ant trying to shake a tree.

Despite this, Gastalin and Sekhmet remained loyal to their duties, ready to sacrifice their lives as a last resort.

At this moment, Horus stared at the book.

Although he failed to sense any obvious abnormalities, the instinctive feeling of disgust weighed on his heart like a heavy shadow.

He clearly felt that the very existence of this book was a provocation to order and was something unspeakably unclean.

In contrast, Magnus seemed to be lost in thought.

With his eyes slightly narrowed, he seemed to be weighing whether to take further action.

"Brother, this object is extremely strange." Horus whispered, his eyes never moving away from the book.

Magnus did not answer immediately.

He slowly raised his hand and stared at the intricate and twisted runes on the book, his eyes as deep as the bottomless abyss.

His mind was racing, trying to dissect the truth of the book while also weighing whether it was worthwhile to directly touch this unknown territory.

Magnus' right hand stopped less than an inch above the book, and a faint psychic glow emanated from his fingertips.

At this moment, Magnus looked directly at Horus and said in a low but firm voice: "Brother, I have decided to take the risk and read this heretical book.

My father's visions did not provide any further clues, but this book may contain direct intelligence about this Chaos invasion, which, no matter how dangerous, could be an important step in unravelling the Chaos conspiracy."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere around him became more solemn.

The Honor Guards remained on high alert, but their attention shifted from the books to Magnus.

Horus frowned, he was well aware of the danger of Chaos, but he also understood the mission his brother was carrying.

He did not rush to respond, but just looked at Magnus with a sharp gaze for a moment, as if to confirm his determination.

"However," Magnus continued, his tone becoming more serious, with a hint of barely perceptible worry in his eyes:

“If I show any abnormality, whether it’s psychic energy going out of control or being corrupted by the evil spirit, brother, you must take action immediately.

I demand that you forcibly separate me from this book without hesitation, or - kill me directly."

His voice was extremely firm, and every word seemed to speak loud and clear. "No matter what happens, I cannot let the devil or evil gods use my body to descend into the real world."

Horus's eyes flickered slightly, and then he nodded in response, with a hint of cold promise in his tone:

"Don't worry, brother. I will never let you fall into the control of Chaos, no matter what the cost."

After finishing speaking, Horus stood up straight, ready to strike at any time, while emitting a sense of oppression that was about to explode.

Seeing this, Magnus nodded slightly, then took a deep breath and refocused his attention on the book in front of him.

His finger hovered above the cover of the book, and the psychic light slowly gathered, like a barrier, fully preparing for the next adventurous move.

Everyone present held their breath, waiting for the next moment——

Whether it is discovering the truth or facing an unknown disaster, it seems that the answer is about to be revealed.

Magnus's right hand had just touched the heretical book, and in an instant, a dazzling blue and gold light burst out from the contact point, like a suddenly ignited psychic flame, illuminating the entire room with extraordinary brilliance.

As he slowly opened the book, a strange blue light seemed to have life, quickly spreading around and shrouding the entire shelter in an ominous glow.

Every corner seemed to be swallowed by the blue light, making the fully armed Gastalins and Sekhmets feel extremely cold and oppressive.

However, at the moment when the blue light took the dominant position, the golden light representing pure spiritual energy suddenly burst out, like an unstoppable tide of spiritual energy, quickly counterattacking, suppressing and dispersing the blue light.

The golden light enveloped the room again, bringing a brief moment of peace and tranquility.

However, this contest between psychic lights did not attract Magnus' attention.

At this moment, his eyes became empty, but his expression did not show any pain or struggle.

It seems that his consciousness has been pulled by some invisible force and entered a "different space" that no one can perceive.