Chapter 200: Chapter 201: A New Version of the Warrior - Big Barrel
Deep beneath the surface, the underground research base sprawled vast like a subterranean city.
A place shrouded in darkness and taboo, its halls were lined with eerie blood-red runes.
This facility belonged to the black-robed Biotechnician-Sage, Agur, a master of forbidden Chaos technology.
He was responsible for creating powerful warriors for the Tyrant.
Over the years, billions had perished within these walls.
Any test subjects brought here first had to endure brutal gladiatorial combat.
The survivors would then undergo a series of cruel surgical modifications before being cast into the blood pools to receive the so-called "blessing" of the Blood God.
Yet, the chances of survival were almost nonexistent.
And even those who did survive could no longer be considered human.
They were known as Bloodthirsty Warriors—mindless beasts of war, devoid of rationality.
But now, the black-robed mechanist Agur was no longer satisfied with merely creating Chaos warriors.
He had a grander vision.
Underground Tunnels
Deville flipped through intelligence reports obtained via interrogation, his eyes burning with fury.
"These damned heretics must be judged!"
The heretical mechanist Agur was performing an extremely dangerous ritual inside the base.
If they didn't intervene soon, he might summon an even greater Chaos force.
They had to break in and stop the ritual at all costs.
"Have we found the entrance yet?"
Duke's steady voice echoed.
The Void Angels had been dispatched by the Savior to assist the Tribunal.
Before Deville could respond, Puru mumbled vaguely:
"It should be somewhere around here…"
He was holding the leg of an unknown crimson mutant beast, which had been roasted medium-rare by psychic flames.
The creature had attempted an ambush from the shadows, only to be incinerated instead.
With his helmet retracted, Puru tore into the beast's flesh with a crunch, chewing noisily.
A look of satisfaction spread across his face.
"This thing tastes decent. A bit too tainted with Chaos corruption, though. Definitely influenced by the research base."
Swallowing the meat, Puru casually extended the roasted beast leg toward Duke.
"Hey, Old Duke, want a bite?"
As the squad's self-proclaimed gourmet, he was always eager to share his food.
Duke glanced at the still-dripping, contamination-stained crimson beast leg and frowned.
"No thanks."
He much preferred the taste of mushrooms.
Most of the Void Angels were vegetarians by choice.
Of course, they consumed meat when necessary—but purely for energy replenishment.
"Boss, can we have a taste too?"
Behind Puru, a towering warrior known as Big Barrel gazed at the roasted beast leg with eager eyes.
If his boss enjoyed it, surely it was worth trying.
Puru smirked at Big Barrel and handed him the leg.
"Big Barrel, you truly appreciate my exquisite taste…"
Strictly speaking, Big Barrel wasn't a true War Angel.
He had been genetically modified using a special gene-seed derived from Puru himself, inheriting the same devouring trait.
Since their numbers were too few to form an independent chapter, they had been temporarily assigned to the War Angels, acting as free agents within the ranks.
According to the Savior, these devourer-type Space Marines would one day become a special multi-functional sub-chapter.
Deville continued searching through maps.
The main transport tunnels of the research base had been destroyed from within, forcing them to find an alternative entrance.
However, without precise intel or a psychic network, pinpointing a hidden entrance was proving difficult.
Suddenly, Puru sensed something.
He patted Deville's shoulder.
"Brother, forget the map—I found a way in!"
His enhanced digestive system had broken down the mutant meat, extracting trace memory fragments from its pheromones.
This granted him partial recall of the mutant's knowledge—including the entrance to the research base.
Under Puru's guidance, Deville led a hundred Space Marines and elite Thunder Guards through the labyrinthine tunnels.
They cut down hordes of crimson mutants, trampling their corpses underfoot as they advanced.
At last, they reached a massive sewage outflow.
The stench of blood was overwhelming.
Puru pointed at a sealed alloy drain cover.
"We go in through here."
As he spoke, he casually slapped a large melta charge onto the metal cover.
Beep—
The melta charge activated, unleashing multiple beams of superheated energy.
One beam veered off course, narrowly missing Puru, who dodged just in time.
"Damned cheap tech! I knew Kaul's junk was unreliable!"
Puru cursed.
He was already planning to use this as an excuse to demand Kaul build him a custom toaster.
Duke, standing a safe distance away, muttered:
"Puru, the instructions clearly state to stand at least three meters back when using it…"
"Got it, Old Duke—next time I'll do it right."
Puru snapped his helmet shut.
Raising his bolter, he fired a barrage of explosive rounds into the partially melted drain cover, widening the opening.
Finally, he delivered a powerful kick, sending the weakened metal lid crashing down.
He gestured grandly.
"After you, gentlemen!"
Deville nodded and led the charge, the rest of the warriors following silently.
Puru stayed behind to cover the rear.
Before entering, he duang smacked Big Barrel's helmet with a sigh.
"Are you a damn Takkar swine? How do you eat more than me?"
Big Barrel was currently stuffing a wriggling tentacle creature into his mouth.
The slimy appendages flailed desperately as they disappeared down his throat.
Muffled noises.
He swallowed the creature whole and reached into his storage pack for another one—this time, a shrieking, squirming tentacle beast.
"Boss, want a taste? It's really good.
And full of nutrients—"
"For real?"
Puru was intrigued.
"Save me one. We'll experiment with recipes later."
With that, he dived into the sewage tunnel after the others.
"Got it!"
Big Barrel stuffed the tentacle creature back into his pack.
His power armor was custom-modified—wider than standard War Angel armor and equipped with sealed storage compartments.
He looked like a chubby Space Marine.
"Time to work!"
Big Barrel loaded his bolter and rumbled after Puru.
As he ran through the dark tunnels, a light appeared ahead.
He burst out of the sewage tunnel and into a massive wastewater basin.
The pool was over two meters deep, the water lapping at his chest.
Looking up, he saw the squad far above.
Deville's forces had used jump packs to reach a high platform some five hundred meters up.
Just as Big Barrel was about to activate his own jump pack, a massive wave surged from below.
ROAR—
A monstrous, dark-red fish—nearly four meters long, with three legs—lunged from the water.
Its enormous maw, lined with jagged fangs, clamped onto Big Barrel's helmet, dragging him under.
The mutant beast had absorbed high levels of Khorne's slaughter energy from the contaminated wastewater.
Underwater, it was vastly stronger.
Rust-colored sediment churned up, obscuring the surface.
Seconds later, silence.
Then—
A flash of light flickered beneath the water.
The mutant fish floated up, belly-up, tendrils of crimson psychic lightning still crackling around it.
"Not bad."
Big Barrel stood, tearing off a fish fin and stuffing it into his storage pack.
Then, he fired up his jump pack.
Boom!
Water sprayed as his bulky form rocketed skyward.
"Boss, I'm on my way!"
(End of Chapter)
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