I thought as I vomited out a mouth full of blood mixed with organs and bone fragments.
Truthfully I'm surprised I'm still alive...
I thought as I started steading and deepening my Irregular breathing.
...but I haven't felt so alive In years, the feeling of my f*cked up body, the taste of my own blood In my mouth, and the threat of dying, It's all so exciting!
I thought as my lips curled up while my facial expression morphed Into a maniacal one as I looked at the slumping towards me orc.
"In death, I live"
I muttered the keywords for my cheat that I had developed for myself and relied upon heavily In my earlier days.
But didn't have a reason to use for a while, apart from me only the senior members of the death marines could barely use It.
I thought as I cracked open the pill attached to my teeth by biting down hard.
The special mixture of drugs flowed out Into my mouth mixing with my own blood, as It did I swallowed it down.
Almost Instantly my two hearts started accelerating while squeezing themselves even harder.
Pumping my cells full of oxygen, adrenaline, synthetic combat stimulants, and the special mixture.
Until they physically could no more while my caterpillars started bursting apart from the sky high blood pressure.
My eyes whites became bloodred as their caterpillars burst open causing Internal bleeding.
Making my view crimson while my mind got emptied of all the unnecessary thoughts, focusing on a single goal and that was how to kill the f*cker In front of me.
It only took a few seconds for my hyperactive brain which was now functioning way above my augmented limits.
Ran through dozens of simulated scenarios until I came up with the one that had the highest chance of success.
As It did I took my laser edged combat knife still clutched tightly In my left hand whose fingers I had to pry open with my right hand.
I clutched the handle tightly to the point my knuckles were threatening to pop out while assuming a sprinters starting position.
My feet dug into the asphalt, my steel like muscles tensing up while scolding breath escaped my mouth as my pores started secreting sweat prufiously, the result of my body's rapidly Increasing temperature.
Then I took off like a rocket, with each step I felt my muscles micro tear themselves while my burning lungs expanded and contracted to the limit.
The world around me slowed down as I closed the distance between us in a matter of seconds.
Once again the limping orc warchief swung his power hammer sideways but as he did I dropped to the ground and performed a side slip.
Without hesitation, I sliced my laser edged combat knife through his Injured armored knee.
The blade passed right through completely cutting off his right lower leg, as It did the orc war chief collapsed to the ground this time for good.
His own attack working against him as he hit the ground with his right armored shoulder.
The ground Itself trembled from the war chief's massive body.
Not waisting the opportunity I jumped onto him and drove my combat knife with a deactivated laser edge by a press of a button straight Into his throat.
While spitting out a mouth full of my almost boiling blood straight at the f*ckers face, blinding him while I yanked my combat knife to the side.
Causing a fountain of green blood to land on my face.
Before the f*ckera could react I drove my combat knife with a reactivated laser edge straight Into the f*ckera remaining with all the strength I could.
Yet even then the blade sank In almost all the way, the monstrosity still tried to grab my throat.
"Die, just f*viking die already you son of a b*tch!"
I roared as I started pummeling the things face with my right hand, my knuckles burst open, my skin and muscle tissue got scrapped off and I felt my entire a arms bones microfracture with each hit.
That felt like I was hitting a steel plate, the thing had a really tough skull.
"You f*CK you think you can waltz Into my turf and start doing whatever you want ?!Die!Die!Die! You overgrown green skin!"
As I delivered one more punch my right arm finally became unusable so I stood up and started stomping on the f*cker with my right foot.
With each hit the things body twitched while my muscles continued to tear themselves apart.
As my organs started shutting down one by one.
"I'm gonna find you're entire race and I will f*cling exterminate It for this you got that you f*ck?!"
I roared madly one last time my bloody saliva exiting my bloody mouth as I stomped one more time.
As I did a satisfying crunch reached my ears, finally, I managed to crack the thing's skull open.
But at the same time, my right leg was good as gone too.
I took a moment to appreciate my handiwork only for my bloodred view to start spinning as all the strength left my body.
I collapsed onto the twitching corpse, the cold metal somewhat cooling my boiling and spasming body.
Damn, now I'll have to wait twenty more years before my new backup body reaches full maturity.
I thought while smiling bitterly as I saw Nova Roma's defensive weapons Installations come to life.
Blanketing the sky In a shower of fireworks as If it was July Fourth.
While I felt my heart rate start dropping rapidly and my breathing becoming shallower by the second.
As my body was approaching the end of the line.
...
Isabellas POV
Isabella watched in horror as the scene unfolded before her eyes.
She had never witnessed such brutality, such raw determination to kill, even in the face of certain death.
The man with Injuries that would have killed any member of known species except one of her races purebloods and at least 1000 thousand years old foggies, fought with a ferocity that defied all logic and reason.
As she looked on, she couldn't help but feel a mixture of awe and terror.
This was no ordinary warrior; this was a force of nature, a being driven by an unquenchable thirst for chaos, death, and destruction.
But amidst the chaos and violence, Isabella saw something else—something she hadn't expected.
Beneath the blood and gore, beneath the primal rage and brutality, she saw a glimmer of humanity, a flicker of something that resembled compassion.
Despite the overwhelming odds, despite his Injuries that were killing him, the man fought not just for himself, but for something greater—for his brothers In arms, for his people, for the Ideal that was Imperium itself.
And in that moment, Isabella realized that she was witnessing the true essence of heroism.
But even as she marveled at Dracula's Iron will that would break first before bending Isabella couldn't shake the feeling of unease that gnawed at her insides.
This was a man pushed to the brink of madness, a man consumed by bloodlust that threatened to consume him whole.
At least that's how she saw It.
As she watched him collapse onto the ground, his body broken and battered, Isabella felt her heart tighten for some reason.
He's dying...
Isabella thought as she could hear Dracula's heart rates drop down rapidly thanks to her vampiric senses.
...no I won't let him die...
Isabella decided In her mind to do her race's biggest taboo while standing up only for two armored hands to pin her down to the ground.
"Don't move!"
A string of scrambled words that sounded like gibberish to her entered her ears as she felt an armored knee press Itself against her neck while two hands locked her arms behind her back and cuffed them.