manynovel Chapter 42: First, a full-body massage to break bones; then, a heart-to-heart talk.
Chapter 42: First, a full-body massage to break bones; then, a heart-to-heart talk.
The idea of possessing a demon and binding it within a Space Marine's body is not just a risky act, but a heretical and insane one. It wasn't just a sudden inspiration from Sun Qian.
In fact, this was a practice tacitly approved after rigorous research by the imperial high command.
This, of course, refers to the "future" empire.
In the dark period of the original history, an Astartes Chapter called "Exorcists" was born. The selection ceremony of this chapter was to summon a demon into a recruit for 12 hours and then exorcise it. If the recruit failed to exorcise the demon, he would become a prison for the demon, imprisoning the host along with the demon.
So in a sense, Sun Qian's actions can be seen as a belief in the wisdom of later generations.
So the question is, why would this warband conduct such a dangerous recruit recruitment ceremony?
The answer is that they believe warriors who have been possessed and successfully exorcised will have a greater resistance and fighting power against Chaos Demons.
Although the specific principles behind them have been debated and varied even after research by the Grey Knights and Inquisitors in later generations, Sun Qian is now very certain of one thing...
This theory is correct.
Samus, who had been reborn countless times, roared and pounced on Sun Qian. However, facing the demonic claws that had disemboweled him countless times, Sun Qian not only did not dodge but instead took the initiative to meet them with a punch.
Click!
It was the crisp sound of bones cracking, but this time it wasn't Sun Qian who was injured, but Samus's hard claws that should have been able to easily destroy even ceramic steel.
"Ooh-ooh!"
Samus's groan lasted less than a second, as Sun Qian immediately grabbed his arm, swung him into the air, and slammed him headfirst into the ground.
That wasn't all. Sun Qian then grabbed Samus by the sharp horn on the side of his head and pulled him up, while clenching his fist with his other hand and pounding it against the already bloody and mangled beast's head.
Literally, it means to beat a dog when it's down.
In the real world, this is almost impossible. To unilaterally beat up a great demon, one would need at least the physical strength of a Primarch.
However, this is the realm of consciousness, where the competition is based on willpower, soul strength, and various factors such as psychic energy.
Samus was originally able to act arrogantly because he, as a demon, had an overwhelming advantage over Sun Qian in terms of psionic energy and soul strength. However, this situation changed completely after Sun Qian accepted the soul fragment from Loken, which was the
This is both Loken's power and Sun Qian's own power.
In fact, this was the first ability Sun Qian obtained after awakening the system. However, unlike the hard-working
Not to mention that he didn't have any other character cards before meeting Liu Bei, even after obtaining the three character cards [New Three Kingdoms Sun Qian], [Standard Version Liu Bei], and [Standard Version Zhuge Liang], Sun Qian still felt that the risks and benefits of using this ability were disproportionate.
Since he's going to use skills anyway, why can't Sun Qian use them himself? Not only would he be more proficient at using skills, but he also wouldn't have to suffer the side effect of a long cooldown time.
It's important to understand that the battlefield is constantly changing, and being unable to use your abilities for 24 hours could have fatal consequences.
Not to mention, these are Sun Qian's essential skills for survival; if these trump cards were leaked and the enemy found out...
After a series of battles and encounters with loyalists, traitors, saints, and chaos, Sun Qian has gradually come to understand what this ability represents.
No one dislikes the ultimate heroism, no one doesn't yearn to be in control of everything, and no one doesn't enjoy the adoration and praise of others.
But in this universe, these very things could potentially plunge one into the abyss of depravity.
Trust, sacrifice, patience.
These are the weapons that maintain our human identity and are used to fight against the enemies of Chaos.
The concept of "humility and elegance" can be seen as a manifestation of these ideas.
And it turned out that this was true.
Giving up the obsession with power and instead entrusting your power to others does not actually make you weaker.
On the contrary, it will make him even stronger.
"Woohoo!!!"
Suddenly, Samus, already covered in wounds, let out another violent psionic shriek.
Taking advantage of the moment when Sun Qian's movements were halted by the mental shockwave, Samus quickly got up.
However, he did not intend to attack Sun Qian. Instead, he turned around and tried to escape using both hands and feet.
but......
"Whoa!!!!"
Sun Qian shouted loudly, without using any psionic power to assist him, merely venting his anger towards Samus.
But Samus's back exploded, as if he had been hit by some kind of heavy weapon.
"Why...why?!"
As Samus was grabbed by the foot and dragged back to continue the beating, he managed to squeeze out this wail from his mouth, which was now riddled with most of his sharp teeth.
Perhaps because this is Sun Qian's own consciousness space, Sun Qian is able to sense Samus's thoughts to a certain extent.
His question was about why Sun Qian possessed such power.
The effect of
But the reason that allowed Sun Qian to gain an overwhelming advantage was not just that; the key was that the soul fragments of Loken were used to strengthen Sun Qian.
As mentioned earlier, Samus is a demon born from Loken's death in another timeline. Therefore, Loken is both his nemesis and, in a sense, his "father" and his origin.
This gives Loken a causal and conceptual advantage over Samus; to put it more vividly in FGO terms, it means having a high special attack.
Just like in the original timeline, no matter how disparate Samus and Loken's apparent strength was, Loken always managed to beat the guy up and send him back to the warp.
However, for now, this task—at least the first half—has been completed by Sun Qian.
It's alright, being a stunt double is Sun Qian's specialty.
After bringing Sams back, Master Sun skillfully gave him a super value full-body massage package. Of course, since they were all buddies, it was bound to be a deep dive (literally).
Then, as Sun Qian and Sams poured their hearts out to each other, they could vaguely hear a mournful cry that was now barely audible.
Why...?
As before, Sun Qian could immediately sense Samus's thoughts, but the latter was now asking a different question.
"You're probably wondering why you haven't been banished back to the warp after being wiped out so many times, and you have a lot of blame for that."
If Samus only wants to control Sun Qian's body and merely squeezes Sun Qian's soul into a corner, then it will probably be difficult for Sun Qian to stop him from forcibly leaving after regaining control of his body.
However, Samus was too arrogant and too greedy.
Of course, demons are destined to be arrogant and greedy.
He not only wanted to possess Sun Qian's body and seize the faith gathered within him, but he also coveted Sun Qian's magical abilities.
It's important to know that demons are constantly fighting amongst themselves in the warp. If Samus could acquire Sun Qian's ability, which is effective against demons, it would make him even more powerful.
Therefore, he invaded Sun Qian's consciousness space, wanting to completely merge with and devour Sun Qian's soul.
This was a very common practice in the 30K era.
However, Sun Qian knew that in the original 40K era—
It is not uncommon for humans to forcibly control and devour demons.
Not to mention Astartes, who are psychic cyborgs, in the future there is even a mortal woman who was personally promoted to a demon by Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure, for draining three great demons.
Humans are amazing, aren't they?
So never underestimate humans. This species always has beings that make the Four Gods' eyes light up, and it also always has beings that make the Four Gods' eyes go dark.
Of course, Sun Qian had no intention of devouring this guy; he didn't want to accidentally turn into a Chaos Egg.
"This is my domain of consciousness. As long as I remain steadfast in my belief that you are locked here, you will never be able to leave, nor will you ever be able to return to the subspace."
Sun Qian pulled out Samus's heart and then crushed it as easily as a tomato.
Of course, Samus will recover soon—
But as he grew weaker, he would only suffer more painful torment.
"You'd better hope my companions can return to Terra safely, so that the Emperor or the Horse God can find you and seal you away... Otherwise, I've already told them to put me in a stasis field and bury me somewhere, and we can be good roommates for thousands of years."
Samus's wide-open eyes were filled with a terror that should not belong to a demon.
He realized that this mad Astartes was serious, and having just escaped the seal of the Whispering Mountains, he naturally never wanted to experience thousands of years of solitude again.
This guy is more like a demon than I am!
"Wait, wait! Let's talk! Let's discuss the terms!"
Sun Qian usually says this to others, but this time the tables have finally turned.
"I can make a pact with you... I can grant you my power, making you an enchanted warrior... no, a powerful being like the Blessed Child!"