Warhammer Fanfic: Starting with a Core Cabin

It was now deep into the night. Torrential rain poured down from the sky, shrouding the entire city. The city was completely dark, without a single light, resembling a cemetery of death.

Only one pale beam of light illuminated the broken street ahead. Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer and walked forward along the road. The searchlight on the side of his head emitted a brilliant white radiance, tearing through the darkness and revealing everything before him.

As Duanmu Huai watched the road ahead, he also glanced at the map data displayed in his helmet—this was a reward he had received after rescuing the captives from city hall: a reconnaissance servo-skull. It could scan the surrounding environment and display all life signs on the map.

Hmm, definitely a good asset for Duanmu Huai. If there was any downside, it was that servo-skulls looked incredibly ugly. When he first descended to the surface and disrupted the evil god ritual to rescue Alisa, Duanmu Huai had obtained a repair servo-skull, which was mainly used for power armor maintenance.

Now, he had acquired a reconnaissance servo-skull. Both were essentially useful "external plugins" for an Inquisitor.

All servo-skulls were made from human skulls. They retained the human head and part of the cervical spine, then were transformed into drone-like devices through mechanical modification.

Nothing more to say—at least visually, these things gave off serious villain vibes. A white skull floating beside a black knight? Anyone uninformed would probably assume it was some kind of undead construct... But this thing was undeniably useful.

Servo-skulls were small, hard to detect, and could fly silently, making them the best reconnaissance drone units. They could even slip into places like ventilation ducts without obstruction. In fact, thanks to the reconnaissance servo-skull's help, Duanmu Huai had already detected several ambushes in advance.

When the enemies foolishly rushed out, what greeted them was the thunderous blow of his warhammer.

"Tsk, this guy is really impressive." Watching Duanmu Huai once again mercilessly smash a group of Skaven into meat paste, the elf scout muttered quietly.

She wasn't acting alongside Duanmu Huai directly. After all, elf scouts specialized in reconnaissance and exploration. Although she had decent swordsmanship, it was clear the man in black armor didn't need her standing beside him.

The elf scout had dealt with Skaven many times and knew how dangerous they could be. But these monsters were like clay dolls before this steel knight—completely powerless to fight back.

But what's the deal with that little girl...

The elf scout turned around and looked at Olgis, who was silently following behind her. Duanmu Huai had said she was his final trump card and that he wouldn't let her act unless they encountered a truly troublesome enemy. The elf scout subconsciously assumed Olgis must be a mage—many mages possessed powerful spells but lacked frontline combat abilities, which would explain why Duanmu Huai was protecting her.

What puzzled the elf scout was that she couldn't sense the aura of a living person from this girl, yet Olgis didn't seem like a vampire or other undead creature either...

Both of them are mysterious and strange...

When they finally reached the temple entrance, Duanmu Huai came to a halt. The temple gate ahead had been sealed shut, with wooden crates and various debris piled in front—clearly a makeshift blockade to prevent entry.

"Looks like we can't get in. Should we find another route?"

The elf scout approached and asked quietly. Duanmu Huai glanced at the map displayed on his panel and shook his head.

"No, unnecessary."

At that, Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer, crouched down, and charged directly toward the gate sealed with debris.

Then his backpack instantly ignited, erupting with scorching blue-white flames. Under the tremendous force of propulsion, Duanmu Huai shot forward like a cannonball, crashing into the barricade head-on.

"Boom!!!!"

The gate, sealed with wooden crates and rubble, naturally couldn't withstand Duanmu Huai's impact. Within moments, the fragile blockade was blasted apart, and Duanmu Huai charged straight into the temple. At the same time, he quickly scanned his surroundings, taking in the entire scene.

All temples had similar layouts—a spacious front hall for preaching and prayer, with clergy quarters in the back. This one was no exception. However, what surrounded the statue now weren't devout believers, but a swarm of filthy, stinking Skaven and evil god cultists.

They were gathered around the statue, seemingly conducting some blasphemous ritual. Duanmu Huai's arrival had clearly caught them off guard. But before they could even react, Duanmu Huai had already flown across the temple hall, reaching the wizards at the heart of the ritual.

Their bloated bodies overflowed with plague and toxins—these evil wizards were the most devout "children" of the God of Decay.

But none of that mattered to Duanmu Huai.

"Whoosh—————!!"

The Thunder Warhammer whistled down, smashing toward one of the fat wizards. At the same time, a dark green barrier appeared beside the wizard, attempting to block the blow.

But not just any shield could stop a full-force strike from a Space Marine.

The moment the Thunder Warhammer struck the barrier, it twisted, deformed—then suddenly burst.

—Matter Displacement!

The Thunder Warhammer, having shattered the shield, continued its downward arc without pause, slamming directly into the fat wizard's skull and smashing it to pieces.

The wizard's body flew across the hall, propelled by the immense impact, slamming into a nearby wall like a swatted cockroach with a wet splat—then went still.

"Roar roar roar!!!"

Just as Duanmu Huai casually eliminated the first wizard, the remaining Skaven and evil god cultists surged toward him like a wave, surrounding him the moment he landed.

Their individual strength might not have been enough to harm Duanmu Huai, but their sheer numbers could still restrict his movements for a time.

Fortunately, Duanmu Huai wasn't fighting alone.

—Psychic Shockwave!!

A brilliant blue radiance erupted from his body, blasting outward in all directions. The Skaven and cultists leaping toward him were immediately knocked to the ground by the psychic surge's sheer force.

Duanmu Huai then shook his body—and dozens of puppet assassins appeared out of thin air, pouncing on the enemies who had fallen and hadn't yet managed to get up.

As for Duanmu Huai himself, he charged straight toward another fat wizard, once again reducing it to meat paste with a single hammer blow.

Just as he turned to eliminate the final wizard, something unexpected happened.

Right as Duanmu Huai's Thunder Warhammer broke through the last wizard's barrier, the cultist's body suddenly began to swell. In a matter of seconds, it enlarged several meters in height—taller even than Duanmu Huai.

Not only that, the once fragile-looking body was now wrapped in grotesque layers of fat, ballooning into a hideous, pig-like monstrosity three to four meters tall...

"Thud!!"

The previously unstoppable Thunder Warhammer met unexpected resistance. Duanmu Huai's full-force strike didn't break through as before. Instead, it felt like he had smashed into a giant rubber tire—thick, dense, and completely unresponsive.

At the same time, the fat wizard's belly suddenly split open, revealing a vicious, bloody maw. Somehow, a giant sword had appeared in its hand, and it came crashing down toward Duanmu Huai!

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai cursed inwardly, hastily pulling back his warhammer to block. In the next moment, the whistling greatsword struck him squarely, sending him flying!

"Plague Apostle?!!"

The elf scout, who had just arrived on the scene, screamed in shock. She hadn't expected such a monster to appear here!

Damn, I knew it wouldn't be that easy to deal with...

Duanmu Huai got to his feet, eyes locked on the grotesque creature before him.

[Plague Apostle (Elite)]

[LV35]

This thing is 15 levels higher than me!

Fortunately, Duanmu Huai had prepared for this situation. Just as the Plague Apostle lunged toward him, he played the trump card he had been holding onto!

"Olgis!!"

"Crash———!!"

With Duanmu Huai's call, the silver-haired girl's suitcase beside her suddenly sprang open. A massive masked puppet flew out and instantly positioned itself in front of Duanmu Huai, arms crossed to meet the Plague Apostle's descending greatsword.

"Crack———!!!"

But this time, the artificial puppet couldn't stop the Plague Apostle's power. The greatsword cleaved straight through its body, turning it into scattered fragments.

At the same time, Olgis raised both hands, and shining threads silently emerged from every direction, wrapping tightly around the Plague Apostle's body.

However, unlike the previous Bloodthirster, the Plague Apostle was less sensitive to this kind of restraint. Although the threads temporarily immobilized its movement, the Plague Apostle didn't care. Grinning maliciously, it continued to lunge toward Duanmu Huai.

Damn it, this is why I hate dealing with virus users!

Seeing this, Duanmu Huai spat inwardly. Among the four evil gods, the followers of the God of Decay were undoubtedly the most disgusting. Not just their methods—but their very existence was revolting.

Take the Plague Apostle in front of him—although it appeared to have a unified form on the surface, its body was more like a mass of viral tissue clumped together. Unless you destroyed its core, killing it was nearly impossible.

Olgis's thread attack, if used against other evil god followers, would've sliced them into seven or eight pieces. Only this slime-like monstrosity could withstand it.

No choice—different resistances.

The best weapons against this type of foe were necromantic or elemental magic. Unfortunately, both Duanmu Huai and Olgis relied on physical attacks, which made them poorly suited for fighting this kind of enemy.

But that didn't mean they couldn't fight.

Even restrained by threads, the Plague Apostle continued its assault. It opened the bloody maw on its belly and sprayed a stream of toxic slime at Duanmu Huai.

However, Duanmu Huai didn't dodge. Instead, he stepped forward and thrust his steel warhammer straight into the gaping mouth in the Plague Apostle's stomach.

Then came lightning and thunder.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

Brilliant lightning instantly engulfed the entire Plague Apostle, making its grotesque body tremble and emit agonized wails. Duanmu Huai seized the moment—he released the Thunder Warhammer, reached back to draw his chainsword, leapt up, raised it high, and swung it down with full force toward the Plague Apostle!

"Buzz—————!!"

The frantically spinning chainsword tore into the Plague Apostle's head, cleaving downward. But the sensation wasn't like cutting through muscle or bone—it felt more like slicing into a pile of sponges. Only when it reached the chest did the chainsword suddenly stop.

Found it!

Sensing the shift through the chainsword, Duanmu Huai's eyes sharpened. His arm muscles bulged as he unleashed another surge of strength, forcing the chainsword downward again. In the next instant, it carved into and split open the Plague Apostle's core.

Then the creature's bloated body suddenly swelled like an overinflated balloon—until it exploded with a "bang!"

A violent shockwave blasted outward. Even Duanmu Huai, protected by power armor, was forced to take several steps back. The elf scout, sensing imminent danger, had already grabbed Olgis and rushed out of the church. She didn't have Duanmu Huai's durability—if she had been caught in the Plague Apostle's self-destruction, she might've lost a layer of skin even if she survived.

"This damn thing..."

Duanmu Huai, now completely splattered with plague flesh and gore, was clearly displeased. If he hadn't been wearing a fully sealed power armor suit, this fight would've been miserable.

He had fought this type of creature before during team missions. Back then, the Plague Apostle's self-destruction had wiped out nearly all the melee fighters, leaving only a few healers and ranged attackers alive.

Still need magic after all...

Looking at the Plague Apostle's mangled remains, Duanmu Huai shook his head. These things had incredibly high physical resistance, and both he and Olgis relied on physical attacks. It seemed he needed to explore other ruins soon to collect some magic-type soul cards.

"I never thought you could actually eliminate a Plague Apostle..."

The elf scout had also reentered the hall, staring in awe at the scene before her. To be honest, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed anyone could single-handedly take down one of the evil gods' elite subordinates...

No—he wasn't fighting alone.

Thinking of this, the elf scout glanced at Olgis beside her. The puppet-like girl still wore her emotionless expression, her face calm and serene. But the elf scout clearly remembered how she had summoned some kind of thread to bind the Plague Apostle. It seemed the knight was right—this girl was indeed deeply mysterious.

"Alright, the monsters here are all cleared."

Duanmu Huai lowered his chainsword and scanned the surroundings.

"Where's that relic?"

"I know."

Upon hearing him, the elf scout's eyes lit up. She quickly approached the statue at the back of the hall and began softly chanting what sounded like an incantation. Soon, the corrupted statue emitted a soft, gentle glow, and the hands that had once been clasped in prayer slowly opened.

Inside was a pearl about the size of an apple, radiating a pure white brilliance.

Seeing this, the elf scout breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew... Fortunately, it's still intact..."

However, before she could finish her sentence, Duanmu Huai had already raised his chainsword to her throat.

"For a scout, you sure know quite a lot."

Staring coldly at the elf scout before him, Duanmu Huai spoke with a chilling tone.

(End of this chapter)