— Barbarus, Southern Swamp, Diderot Mountains —
— The first year Hades arrived in the south —
<+>
Hades move fluidly through the horde of Xenos puppet, scythe in hand.
The Xenos surrounding him acted as if they couldn't see him.
Whenever Hades approached, the grotesque creatures would drool and unconsciously move aside, creating a spherical space with about a three-meter radius, clearing a path for Hades.
An ordinary man, fully armed and wielding a scythe, walking casually among the puppet monsters, with the monsters automatically making way for him—the scene was bizarre and absurd beyond words.
Indeed, the powerful Untouchables could even achieve complete invisibility when faced with sentient beings.
It was like a cheat code that allowed them to alter another being's field of view, Hades mused silently.
But this had its pros and cons.
Hades recalled a formidable Sister of Silence who, while using invisibility, roamed among the World Eaters to harvest heads—
Only to be decapitated by the mighty Kharn The Betrayer.
Kharn was even puzzled as to why his kill counter had increased.
That was a true Warhammer dark humor.
<->
Twenty, forty, sixty. Hades stealthily moved among the puppet horde, estimating their numbers.
This was the territory of a mid-sized Xenos Overlord named Desley.
Based on his previous observations, this Xenos Overlord commanded around three to four hundred low-level puppets and kept a pack of about fifty filthy hounds.
From his advance through the territory and his observations, Hades estimated the monster numbers to be close to what he had initially observed.
Hades didn’t intend to recklessly charge through the monster horde like a berserker. That would be a very unwise choice.
Apart from Mortarion and Necare, probably no one on Barbarus was that reckless.
Hades' strategy was to capture the leader first: stealthily approach and decapitate the Xenos Overlord.
This strategy had been refined through countless battles with small to mid-sized Xenos Overlords.
Unlike mid-to-large Overlords, especially the large ones, these small Overlords generally used low-level puppets as their army. They lacked higher-level puppets and had no higher-intelligence creatures serving as commanders.
As a result, if the head of a small Overlord was cut off first, those controlled by the Overlord’s psychic sorcery would quickly collapse and flee.
In some cases, for the lowest-level puppets, once the control sorcery vanished, Hades only needed to shine the black zone on them, and their ugly, flesh-stitched bodies would disintegrate on their own.
And those fleeing individual puppets were no match for a well-trained Death Guard.
Moreover, Hades had expertly planted mines near all the entrances and exits of the territory.
Once the puppets fled, the explosions would further weaken their combat strength.
As for the filthy hounds... they were indeed tricky, but Hades had some ideas for them.
All of this depended on Hades successfully killing the Xenos Overlord Desley.
Through the thick gas mask, Hades' breathing was harsh and raspy.
A tough battle was certainly ahead, but he had a winning chance.
In fact, this mission to eliminate the mid-sized Overlord Desley might be relatively easy.
After arriving in the southern swamp region, Hades spent his days sleeping in wheat fields near villages and patrolled the villages at night.
If he encountered hunting monsters or slaver teams, he fought them.
Although the Death Guard had since garrisoned most of the southern villages, at night, people chose to defend within the villages, rarely venturing out to fight.
One reason was that it could lead to heavier casualties; another was that the poisonous mist was denser at night, and rough gas masks couldn't withstand the corrosive mist.
Hades had modified his gas mask hundreds of times.
Without using advanced electronic components, his gas mask was sufficient to withstand the toxic mist even in the high-altitude mountains of Barbarus.
Persistent, Hades hunted monsters nightly, gradually earning the nickname "The Revenant."
"The Revenant, wielding a giant scythe, roams the toxic mist, harvesting the lives of Xenos. He is the judge, the destroyer. Any creature that gazes upon him will feel a deep unease in their soul."
—by nearby villagers
<->
With his arrival, small Overlords who had been marauding around now retreated to their territories, becoming reclusive.
Most small Overlords relied on the poisonous environment and psychic sorcery to suppress mortals.
Some impoverished small Overlords even descended from the mountains to capture slaves themselves.
Before Hades arrived, these small Overlords, hidden under the toxic mist and using psychic sorcery, were the villagers' nightmares.
But after Hades arrived, his high-resistance gas mask and the Untouchable black zone specifically countered them.
Psychic powers? That's exactly what I’m here to destroy!
After a few small Xenos Overlords who descended were slaughtered by Hades, the remaining Overlords decided to stay silent and secluded in their homes.
After weeks without any Xenos to kill, Hades pondered and then informed the nearby Death Guard that he was heading up the mountain to kill the Overlords.
Thus, Hades began offering head-hunting services for the small Overlords.
"Dear Overlords, enjoy the home service. Remember to give a good review~"
Hades remembered his first attempt to proactively enter a Xenos territory to clear a dungeon—
He was almost beaten to death, barely escaping with his life due to a burst of power from the black zone at the brink of death.
A history of embarrassment, but he survived.
Through numerous battles, Hades had refined his use of the black zone.
He could now use it to hide himself and inflict control, silence, and stun debuffs on enemies.
Unlike the Death Guard who fought head-on, Hades' assassination missions were perfectly suited for these small to mid-sized Overlords.
Hades was single-handedly purging the south.
And now, he continues his work.
Hades moved through the relentless puppet horde.
The toxic mist and the creatures' hot breath dispersed as he walked.
Ahead, a small fortress surrounded by toxic mist loomed before Hades.
Taking a deep breath, Hades gripped his scythe tightly.
It was time to begin.
<->
Tn:
A simple power hierarchy on Barbarus:
Mortarion's foster father, Necare
Mortarion
Mid-to-large Overlords
Hades
Small-to-mid Overlords
Death Guard
Puppets
Low-level monsters
Ordinary villagers