Right now, what they needed to consider was not how to blow up the corpse of this massive monster, but whether the swarm could defeat this creature!
This ability to recover strength and then become even more powerful was simply too bizarre. If it slaughtered enough Tyranid creatures, it could grow stronger and regenerate all of its injuries.
For the swarm, killing it was almost an impossible task. No one could defeat an enemy that was unkillable and capable of infinite evolution.
If this giant creature won, what would its attitude toward humanity be?
Even if this behemoth repelled the Tyranid swarm, reclaiming this planet wouldn't be easy.
A terrifying thought suddenly crossed the mind of the Space Marine captain—if this creature slaughtered humans, would it evolve just like it did when killing the swarm?
If that were the case, then the best course of action would be to issue an Exterminatus on this planet!
Such a horrifying creature could never be allowed to leave this world.
The only good news for now was that this massive beast didn't seem capable of flight. That was a small blessing amid the misfortune—at the very least, it couldn't leave the planet.
"My fellow battle brothers, take a moment to rest! I don't think we need to worry about this massive brute for now. I need to speak with the Scibe Sister."
After speaking, the Space Marine Captain took out a communicator and pressed a button. This matter needed to be reported to the Scribe Sister.
She had to document this intelligence—if anything unexpected happened, the information must be transmitted back to the Imperium. Whether the High Lords would take it seriously was beyond his control.
How many more secrets did this titanic beast hold?
Meanwhile, in the cave where Rhodes was hiding, the Scribe Sister Atoria was still relentlessly trying to persuade him.
She spoke of loyalty to the Imperium, of his well-being.
But Rhodes remained completely unmoved, refusing to respond at all—even outright ignoring her by the end.
At this point, Atoria was seething with frustration.
There were no proper medical tools here, and the cave wasn't particularly safe. Time was pressing, and they might have to evacuate at any moment. Otherwise, they could have simply killed him and extracted his gene-seed through medical procedures.
Did she have to sacrifice herself and engage in a philosophical debate with this mere civilian?
Truth be told, she didn't want to give up her only hope of joining the Sisters Famulous.
Just then, a beeping sound filled the cave. Atoria's expression changed instantly. She abandoned her argument with Rhodes and hurried to the cave entrance, pressing the communication button.
"Captain Dres, is that you?"
["It's me, Sister Artoria. A new development has occurred. The Titan creature appears to be absorbing the Tyranid corpses and growing stronger."]
["Its size has noticeably increased—it has grown from 45 meters to 47 meters. I estimate this battle will continue for a long time."]
["I need you to come here and record every detail about this beast."]
Hearing this, Atoria's expression darkened. She had no patience to deal with Rhodes anymore. She grabbed her electronic binoculars and carefully observed the massive creature outside.
The wounds it had sustained just moments ago had completely vanished, and its size had indeed increased by 2 meters, reaching a towering 47 meters.
"How is this possible? That brute evolved!"
["Exactly. And every single Tyranid corpse it killed has mysteriously disappeared. Come here immediately—I need you to document everything about this Titan beast."]
Upon hearing this, Atoria gritted her teeth, glared at Rhodes in frustration, then took a deep breath to calm herself before responding:
"Understood, Captain Dres. I'll be there right away."
After ending the communication, she quickly began packing her belongings. Then, turning toward Elena beside her.
"Elena, you will need to find a way to extract his gene seed. I must head over to observe the Titan creature."
"If there's an emergency, I'll contact you via communicator. If necessary, you must come to me, and we'll leave together in the escape pod. I hope you succeed in obtaining his gene-seed—even if it's just one sample."
"I—I understand. I—I'll try my best." Elena, her face flushed, stammered in response.
"Good! Remember this: If the Canoness or anyone else contacts you, do not mention this civilian."
"The Battle Sisters are fanatically extreme. If they find out about this poor civilian, he's as good as dead." Atoria spoke with a deep, knowing tone.
She absolutely could not let the Battle Sisters learn about this civilian. Unlike the naive young Hospitaller Sister, they would immediately suspect what she was up to.
A Sister harboring greed—personal desire.
That was enough to warrant punishment as a Repentia Sister.
Repentia Sisters were a division of the Battle Sisters, but their punishments applied to all branches of the Sisterhood. That meant that whether one was a Hospitaller Sister, a Famulous Sister, or a Scribe Sister—if they committed a sin, they would be sent to join the Repentia.
The Battle Sisters would flagellate themselves over the smallest of sins, declare themselves guilty, and throw themselves into the ranks of the Repentia. They would abandon their power armor, wield only a chainsword, and charge to their deaths in battle.
For the love of the Emperor! Only those muscle-brained Battle Sisters would do something that reckless.
As a wise Scribe Sister, her dream was to join the Noble Sisterhood, becoming a Sisters Famulous.
To live an elite, aristocratic life—not to fight on the battlefield, where death lurked at every turn.
"I understand! I'll keep it a secret. If someone comes, I'll hide him first." Elena nodded.
"That's right, sister. We are protecting him."
Atoria nodded in satisfaction, then turned and left the cave, heading toward Captain Dres' position.
At the same time, the Canoness of the Battle Sisters, a Commissar of the Astra Militarum, and two surviving company captains were also summoned.
After Atoria left, the cave became awkwardly silent.
Rhodes continued to observe the status of Red King, while Elena kept her eyes on him.
Finally, she gathered her courage, took a deep breath, and stepped in front of Rhodes.
"Um… would you… would you like me to use my hand instead?"