Chapter 124: The Demon Host

“Xuan, have you secured the ship?” Wang Ming asked through the communicator, his eyes fixed on Alexander Keida, who was bound by Edwei and Cloyas.

“Boss, almost done. We’ve taken control of most of it,” Wu Xuan replied, his laser cannon mounted on his arm aimed at Captain Hipond’s head.

“Good. We’re boarding now to find the cargo.” Upon receiving Wu Xuan’s confirmation, Wang Ming led his team onto the War Marshal Ambition, intent on locating the cargo.

“Edwei, are you sure it’s here?” In a dim corridor on the lower deck, Wang Ming, Wu Xuan, the Krieg brothers, and a sizable contingent of human auxiliary soldiers followed Edwei cautiously.

“It should be. At least, that’s what his memories showed,” Edwei replied with an embarrassed smile. She wasn’t entirely certain; she only knew from Alexander Keida’s memories, unaware of any subsequent changes.

“Uh… Boss, I keep feeling like something’s following us,” Wu Xuan whispered, scanning the shadows with his tactical goggles.

“Normal. This is the lower deck. You never know what might appear,” Wang Ming said calmly, patting Cloyas on the shoulder. Cloyas nodded, gripping his plasma rifle in one hand and his grenade launcher in the other as he charged into the darkness behind them.

“Pop, pop, pop!” The flare of grenade launcher fire flickered briefly in the gloom before Cloyas returned, unfazed. “Just an ant-bull. It’s taken care of.”

Wang Ming instructed, “The three of you take the outer flank. Humans stay on the inside. Auxiliary troops, ready your weapons for laser volleys at any moment.”

The lower decks of an imperial ship were a haven for all manners of alien creatures—ant-bulls and other peculiar beasts eager to give human crew members a fright or two. The Krieg brothers positioned themselves at the perimeter as José directed the human soldiers to adjust their formation.

Under Edwei’s lead, the group pressed on, occasionally encountering small, seemingly innocent creatures. The auxiliary soldiers delighted in blasting them open with their laser rifles.

“We’re here,” Edwei announced, stopping before a sealed bulkhead.

“Auxiliary troops stay outside. You three—Krieg brothers and Wu Xuan—come with me inside. Edwei and Cloyas, remain with the auxiliaries,” Wang Ming ordered, stepping toward the door, followed closely by the others.

“How do we open this?” Wu Xuan examined the control panel; the door was password-locked.

“Edwei, do you know the code?” Wang Ming called out.

“It requires biometric recognition—specifically, the merchant’s iris,” Edwei answered.

“Alright… hold on a moment.” Wang Ming shook his head, crouched, grabbed a protrusion on the door, and with a mighty heave, tore the heavy metal bulkhead open amid the screech of snapping metal and sparks flying.

“Let’s go.” Without waiting for Wu Xuan’s response, Wang Ming strode inside.

“Boss, I could’ve hacked it,” Wu Xuan thought ruefully, recalling he had intended to mention this before Wang Ming forced the door.

Inside was a vast chamber, likely a warehouse. Suspended midair by several chains was a massive rectangular crate. Its surface was etched with chaotic runes and strange arcane sigils.

“So it really is chaos stuff,” Wang Ming confirmed his suspicions.

“Boss, do you think it’s holding something inside?” Wu Xuan asked, sensing the crate concealed a secret.

“Let’s open it and kill whatever chaos thing is inside.” Wang Ming drew his grenade launcher and fired several shots, severing the chains. The crate crashed to the floor.

Wu Xuan activated the laser cutter on his arm, slicing along the crate’s edges until the lid fell heavily to the ground.

“Boss, it’s a woman inside,” Wu Xuan reported, staring down at the emaciated figure within.

A woman? Wang Ming wondered, perplexed. He had expected a chaos demon or a powerful demon host—not a gaunt woman.

“Wu Xuan, strike her head!” Wang Ming suddenly commanded, a possibility dawning on him.

Before Wu Xuan could react, the woman’s hand shot out, grasping his metal skull. Psychic flames flickered into existence, erupting from the void and piercing the armor of the combat automaton. Inside, Wu Xuan’s brain, submerged in nutrient fluid, was instantly reduced to ash.

Wang Ming watched as the now uncontrolled automaton collapsed. Raising his golden greatsword, he charged forward. The power of a demon host was formidable—potentially rivaling that of a chaos lord.

He swung the sword at the demon host’s head. The host, confused and disoriented from its long slumber, barely registered its surroundings. It vaguely remembered being summoned into a human vessel by one of Horus’s “Sons of Horus,” intended to sow chaos on Terra. But why was it here? And who was this golden warrior before it?

The demon host narrowly avoided the sword, teleporting with psychic energy. It sensed the golden flames on the blade could harm its true form.

Teleporting just behind Wang Ming, it lifted its mutated hand and quickly placed it on Wang Ming’s body—not attacking with psychic flames as it had with Wu Xuan, but simply touching him.

“What the hell?” Wang Ming thought, puzzled by the demon host’s restraint.

He prepared to turn and strike again, confident the host couldn’t keep teleporting indefinitely.

Suddenly, the room flooded with psychic light. When it faded, both Wang Ming and the demon host had vanished, leaving only Wang Ming’s golden greatsword ablaze on the floor.

“Whoa! Am I in space?” Wang Ming gasped, realizing he was now orbiting the Gobey world, able to see its atmosphere below.

The demon host laughed gleefully, confident that even a gene primarch couldn’t survive a fall from orbit.

It had left Wang Ming’s flaming sword behind in the chamber and believed Wang Ming had no way to truly kill it. Even if he died, it would only mean a return to the warp, while Wang Ming faced certain death here.

Wang Ming seized the demon host’s head. The host was still grinning foolishly, as if it had no clue of the danger.

“Look at you—still optimistic when death is at the door,” Wang Ming muttered, conjuring golden flames that swiftly engulfed the host.

The demon host’s expression twisted in agony as it realized the flames were not from the sword but Wang Ming’s own power. Its laughter vanished, replaced by torment.

The host was slowly reduced to ashes, which Wang Ming swept away with a wave of his hand. The dust floated off into the vacuum.

“Does this count as scattering ashes?” Wang Ming wondered. The vacuum had little effect on a primarch, and his helmet ensured he could breathe fine.

“Primarch! Where is he?” José shouted as he and the primarch’s bodyguards stormed inside. They found only the Krieg brothers and the golden greatsword; Wang Ming was nowhere to be seen.

“He was taken away by the demon’s psychic teleportation,” Bai Qi of the Krieg brothers explained, hoisting the sword.

Meanwhile, Wang Ming slowly descended toward the Gobey world, preparing to experience the sensation of a fall from orbit—much like Volgan’s plunge from Makurag.

As he neared the planet, he felt the searing heat of atmospheric entry. His power armor began melting, the intense heat burning his flesh painfully. He even smelled his own flesh carbonizing.

Enduring the agony, Wang Ming streaked through the atmosphere like a falling star, finally plunging into a lake within a dense forest.

Steam billowed as the lake’s surface boiled from his heat. Beneath, carnivorous native fish swarmed, lured by the scent of cooked meat.

A three-meter-long monstrous fish, armored with thick chitinous plates and razor-sharp teeth, was the lake’s apex predator. It was the first to notice Wang Ming and eagerly approached.

Just as it was about to strike, a massive hand grabbed its head and crushed it before it could react.

At the shore, Wang Ming dragged the fish’s headless corpse onto land. His power armor was in tatters—only the core frame remained, the outer shell melted away exposing internal structures.

Such damage could only be repaired with metal. The only intact item he carried was his infinite-ammunition grenade launcher, which had miraculously withstood the heat.

Wang Ming tore a chunk of the fish’s flesh and chewed it raw.

“Too fishy!” he spat, the pungent, earthy taste unbearable. He set the carcass aside and looked toward the dense jungle, feeling a headache coming on.

Most of the Gobey world’s surface was covered in dense primeval forest, with deserts and lakes scattered here and there. Human settlements were tiny and clustered near lakes and wastelands. People avoided the forests, as the wildlife—though not as extreme as on Catachan—remained perilous.

The planet’s apex predators could rival a Chimera tank, and various bizarre creatures could easily kill a fully armored knight. The forests were no place for the faint-hearted.

Happy New Year, brothers.