Both twin-mounted laser cannons on each side of the mortar turret opened fire simultaneously. Sixteen beams of light became threads in Nareth's mind, and he moved like a dancer on a spiderweb.
With a slight tilt of his body, he dodged several beams skimming past him.
A swift charge, and he evaded a volley of covering fire.
"Fire! Fire with everything you've got, damn it!"
The tower garrison commander, dressed in a bright red uniform, shouted loudly.
Only this way could he overcome the fear within him, to avoid thinking that a god had descended to punish his sins.
Inside the fortifications, tens of thousands of guns of all types were aimed at the giant figure.
Nareth took a deep breath; the smoke and dust rushed into his lungs with the air.
In a split second, his lungs expanded and contracted hundreds of times. The air he inhaled spiraled, accelerated, rotated, compressed—becoming a pure ultrasonic wave.
Passing through the organs, vocal cords, and throat of a genetically modified primarch, the ultrasonic wave not only lost no power when it was expelled but was slightly amplified.
"ROAR!"
The howl even overpowered the second salvo of mortar shells for a brief moment.
In the frontline of the fortifications, the defending soldiers clutched their heads in agony and collapsed unconscious as the inhuman roar echoed in their minds.
Those further back bled from their noses, ears, and mouths, their bodies swaying.
Even the defenders inside the metal fortress, operating the twin laser guns, saw stars before their eyes, blood seeping from their ears, their hearing overwhelmed by a deafening ringing.
Nareth leapt into the air and stabilized his form despite the shockwave of explosions.
Smoke and explosions did not dull his senses. He noticed another convoy rapidly approaching.
He immediately sprinted toward the nearest defensive turret.
Still over twenty meters away, he suddenly leapt, legs together, and kicked at the joint between the mortar and the bunker.
Howard, who had just shaken off the dizziness thanks to the life-support system in his precision power armor, saw this shocking scene as his vision cleared.
He shivered. If Nareth had punched him directly, not even the revered armor, considered a gift from the Omnissiah by the Mechanicus sages, could withstand the blow.
Howard realized that the age of Boleslaw was about to end. He would be a hero of the new kingdom, seizing great benefit in the reshuffling and becoming the wise patriarch remembered for generations by the Fender family.
Excited, he switched to the command channel and issued orders to the Fender family forces.
"Move! Follow the battle plan and lock onto your targets."
"When the order to fire is given, use your weapons to purge the filth of the Boleslaw family!"
The red-robed commander shouted, executing five fleeing soldiers with his laspistol to maintain discipline.
As the defensive line began to crumble, he spotted the new Fender family head arriving with reinforcements.
"Count, thank you for your timely support. King Boleslaw will surely be pleased with your performance in this crisis."
Howard looked at his men. They had already infiltrated the defense lines according to the plan, and the unguarded defenders welcomed their arrival.
He raised his left arm and fired a bullet from his heavy lumberjack rifle while shouting into the comms channel: "Attack!"
Gunfire erupted, beams of light flashing.
Nareth swung a cannon barrel, smashing two twin laser guns. He noticed the sudden betrayal.
Instantly, he locked onto Howard's location and recognized his former employer.
He guessed what had happened and walked toward Howard, casually swinging the cannon barrel. One by one, defensive points collapsed, crushing the defenders inside into pulp.
Howard looked at Nareth. Compared to the holograms, the oppressive aura he exuded was like a mountain. He now understood why some soldiers panicked and fled.
He dropped to one knee and solemnly swore fealty using the Vostroya noble vow.
"I, Howard Fender, swear upon my honor and bloodline."
By the customs of Vostroya's Muscan people, he should have pledged loyalty to King Bolesław at Boleslaw at a banquet in Nightkaban.
But now, with no sovereign to serve and no betrayal of noble honor, he knelt to the true king.
"To Lord Nareth, the new King of Tizca, I offer my unconditional loyalty and obedience."
"I will fight for your glory and follow your will!"
Nareth stopped in front of him, and his majestic voice echoed.
"I accept your loyalty."
The Fender family guards joined the fray, boosting the morale of Nareth's followers.
Not just them, the noble lords of the upper hive saw this as a divine revelation. Victory was now certain.
Nareth was the first to charge into the tower. He smashed through the gates and the corridor, facing fierce resistance.
He noticed that even though the mortals in front of him looked at him with fear, none fled.
He knew that besides the royal family, the spire tower was defended by loyal vassal houses whose loyalty far exceeded that of ordinary feudal lords.
'To shatter the rules through violence and build a new order—this path will be stained with blood.'
The thought arose in his mind, and he felt a flare of spiritual vigor.
He moved like a hunter. As he ascended the marble steps, a scarlet trail followed behind him.
Alarms screamed across the spire tower.
For the first time in thousands of years, the Boleslaw family faced an external invasion.
Nobles led their private troops to the corridors to resist the assault.
Nareth climbed upward. His advance was synonymous with destruction.
Compared to the earlier resistance, this one was feebler.
At the top of the spire tower, the Armored Baron nervously helped King Boleslaw don his armor.
He hadn't worn it in decades, and his bloated body made fitting into it a struggle.
The Foreign Minister nervously reported to the king.
"Magos Kaminski has responded. He is gathering the Protectors of the Faith, the Skitarii, and will arrive in three hours and twenty-five minutes. He urges you to hold, Your Majesty."
"Damn it, tell him I can't even hold it for one hour!"
King Boleslaw shouted in terror as he saw his Minister of Defense crushed by the giant on the viewscreen.
A giant was climbing the spiral marble staircase rapidly. With every blink, another floor fell.
Elite troops were like paper in front of him; corpses tumbled like waves.
Suddenly, the giant stopped in front of a lavishly dressed man.
King Boleslaw searched his memory, it was Estupiñán, a collateral relative and the Fifth Arbitrator.
Though greedy, Estupiñán was clever. On every holiday, every gain, he offered gifts.
He also helped cover up matters that might have displeased the Tech-Priests.
Just as the king recalled his loyal lapdog, the giant picked Estupiñán up, and with a rumble
"I should thank you. Without you, I wouldn't have reached the tower so quickly."
As he saw Estupiñán's neck twisted and snapped, King Boleslaw felt no sympathy, only hatred for his foolishness.
"Fool! A man like that should've been recruited, not antagonized!"
"With him, all of Vostroya could have been mine!"
"Damn you, Estupiñán, why did you provoke him?!"