The xenos were multiplying. Their numbers swelled with each passing hour, and their assaults grew ever more frenzied. The frozen plains were choked with war cries, the air saturated with smoke and the scent of blood. Containment was becoming an increasingly tenuous effort.
"I can hardly believe it…"
While Qin Mo was fine-tuning the Nexus Firmament, a steady influx of reports streamed in from the officers stationed at the northern and southern poles of Talon III.
Both polar regions were under siege by Orks, their relentless assaults stretching the defenses thin. Fortunately, two Imperial Knights were deployed alongside the conventional Legion forces, their towering forms thundering across the icefields, sending Ork mobs scattering like insects. Their firepower was proving sufficient, at least for now.
"If we're staying on this planet for an extended period, I formally request reinforcements," came the voice of a weary vox-commander, the static almost drowning out the urgency in his tone.
"No need. In half an hour, I'll charge the teleportation array and extract all forces back to the orbital shipyard."
Qin Mo decisively denied the officer's request. There was no reason for ground forces to remain for long. With a legion of servo-Drones and automated construction units dedicated to the task, the twin pylons at the poles would be completed swiftly.
And then, it would be time to test the effectiveness of the Nexus Firmament.
"Hold the line a little longer. Once the pylons are functional, your mission is complete."
After taking a brief moment to charge the teleportation array, Qin Mo immediately returned to the secret chamber.
On the smooth, metallic sphere of the Nexus Firmament, two glowing points appeared, one at each pole. These points expanded outward, tracing luminous arcs until they connected at the sphere's center. In the end, the entire structure morphed into a perfect, miniature replica of the planet Talon III.
It was as if the planet had been shrunken down and perfectly replicated within the chamber.
Every topographical feature, every tectonic plate, even atmospheric pressure zones were mirrored in real time.
Above the cloud layers of the projected world, a shimmering blue energy field encased the entire planet. This was the Firmament, a construct that would bind everything within its influence to a higher-dimensional anchor, preventing any unauthorized entity from escaping the planet's surface.
From his vantage point in orbit, Adam, aboard the fleet's command vessel, could see the glowing sphere enveloping Talon III.
"If this drags on any longer, we'll have a damnGargantstomping around soon…" he muttered, watching sensor readings spike.
Qin Mo's gaze shifted back to the poles. From his perspective, he could clearly see the Ork horde, a writhing mass of green bodies advancing across the white tundra. More scattered concentrations of Orks dotted the planetary surface, marking different tribes and warbands at various stages of growth.
The sheer numbers were staggering. It seemed as though something had driven them to the surface. Ordinarily, Orks on this planet should have been dwelling deep underground.
Or perhaps they had simply detected the presence of humans at the poles and instinctively swarmed toward the fight…
Regardless, the First Legionhad already withdrawn via teleportation. There were no remaining forces to halt the Ork tide as they surged toward the freshly completed Anchor Pylons, launching crude but effective assaults against the structures.
Yet, these Pylons had already served their purpose. Their function was to act as dimensional anchors, reinforcing the Firmament's hold. Now that the system was fully operational and they were already imprisoned in the dimension, their destruction was irrelevant.
No physical act could undo what had already been written into the higher realms of reality.
Shifting his focus, Qin Mo examined the planet as a whole.
The Nexus Firmament was not merely a vast, impassable force field. It was no simple Void Shield, nor was it comparable to the Pleasure Domes of the Eldar.
(Lore: The Pleasure Domes were sprawling, reality-warping constructs filled with exotic sensations, psychedelic environments, and extreme emotional experiences.
After the Fall of the Eldar, the Pleasure Domes were destroyed or abandoned, their remnants lost in the ruins of the old empire, or existing as haunted echoes in the Warp.)
Once activated, the Firmament anchored everything within its bounds to an elevated dimensional state, allowing for absolute control over every molecule beneath its influence, whether for destruction or creation.
This was not merely a world-ending weapon; it was also a tool of godlike creation.
Placing his hands upon the Firmament's surface, Qin Mo channeled the raw power of the C'tan.
Instantly, he perceived every material composition on Talon III, every atomic structure, every biological entity. Not even the Chaos cultists lurking in the shadows could escape his awareness, nor the insidious warp-tainted forces they revered.
The realization sparked his deep innate hatred within him. The Orks, too, stirred an equally intense revulsion.
The thought formed, and reality obeyed.
In an instant, every Ork, whether on the surface or lurking underground ceased to exist.
When Qin Mo looked back toward the polar regions, the sea of green that once stained the tundra was gone.
The Orks had been deleted, not merely killed, but removed from the timeline entirely.
Their existence was expunged across all dimensions, past, present, and future. No records, no remains. Even if someone invented a time machine, they would find no trace of the deleted entities in the past. All that would remain were false memories, fragments of recollection with no physical proof to support them.
Qin Mo continued his work.
One by one, he purged other undesirable lifeforms from Talon III. Even daemons, those cursed spawn of the Warp, were not spared. If they had manifested within the Material Realm and failed to retreat back into the Empyrean before the Firmament took full control, they too were erased.
From the moment he had first conceived the thought of extermination, every enemy on Talon III had been erased.
Now, Qin Mo faced a decision.
His first option was to leave the planet as it was, claiming an uninhabited world for future use.
His second option? To reshape Talon III using the very matter of its existing atomic structure, creating something far more useful.
"A Fortress World?" he mused aloud, his voice low in the quiet chamber.
An idea sparked within him. He could reinforce the planet's crust, hollowing out its core to transform it into an unassailable bastion.
Such a drastic alteration would likely disrupt Talon III's orbital stability, or even cause total planetary collapse, but that was a non-issue. Qin Mo could always recalibrate its gravitational balance to maintain proper celestial mechanics.
But he quickly dismissed the notion.
The primary issue plaguing the Talon System was not defense, it was a lack of resources.
Currently, the Hive Worlds under his control sustained their industries by scavenging the remnants of ancient forge-complexes buried deep within the lower strata.
In its distant past, the underhives had once been an immense manufactorum, extending tens of thousands of meters underground, filled with vast reserves of scrap metal. These materials were now being refined into advanced multi-purpose alloys, developed through Qin Mo's research.
But the metal veins would not last forever.
Talon II, an industrial world, had already begun depleting its mineral deposits.
With this in mind, Qin Mo knew exactly what Talon III needed to become.
Without hesitation, he restructured the planet.
The transformation began.
Every material composition within Talon III was rearranged at the atomic level. Only the structural supports necessary for planetary stability were left untouched; all else was converted into rich metallic ores.
At the surface, he created oceans, scattered islands, and even carefully designed mining tunnels for easy extraction.
When the process was complete, Talon III appeared to be an ocean world, but in reality, it was a vast mineral-rich planet. Perhaps, in the distant future, it would be reclassified as aGarden World, but for now, its primary function was clear, resource extraction.
If enemies ever invaded the Talon System, Talon III would be indefensible. But that didn't matter, Qin Mo had better plans for system-wide defense.
"Done," he whispered.
He withdrew his hands, deactivating the Nexus Firmament.
The blue sphere enveloping Talon III gradually faded, while the massive metallic core of the Firmament returned to its inert state.
Observing his months-long masterpiece, Qin Mo felt dissatisfied.
This was only the beginning.
One day, he would refine the Nexus Firmament even further, until it could reshape entire star systems at will.