Chapter 270: The Battle for High Charity, "Council Involvement," "Divine Radiance"

In the space surrounding High Charity, Atlas's fleet of 400 ships, led by four Dreadnought-class warships, had already exited slipspace and returned to realspace. They joined an elite fleet that was fifteen times their size.

Despite the presence of CSO-class supercarriers, each over 30 kilometers long, the Dreadnought-class ships of Atlas were the most visually striking and formidable vessels in both fleets, surpassing all others in appearance and responsiveness.

Additionally, Atlas's flagship, the New Era carrier, had docked at High Charity's main port.

This allowed Samuel Young, along with the Primarchs and several high-ranking officials and Astartes initiates, to enter the massive city. From within the "Mushroom Cap" structure, they could look down on the enormous city, capable of housing billions of beings from various races. Many areas were in ruins due to the ground battles waged by the Brutes and Elites.

Some parts of the city still burned with raging fires.

Grunts and Jackals, assisted by Elite fire brigades, worked together to put out fires caused by fuel cannons and plasma weapons.

Even young Astartes from the Blood Angels and Death Guard lent their aid. The Blood Angels used their strength to move heavy debris, while the psyker-gifted Astartes of the Death Guard employed their powers—seen as "miracles" or "magic" by the Elites and Grunts—to suppress the flames.

The Death Guard's psychic abilities originated from their "grandfather," Samuel Young. This meant that neither the Death Guard nor any Astartes trainee using psychic abilities had souls that "shone" in the Warp, avoiding the attention of Chaos forces.

The Dark Angels, however, were not focused on extinguishing fires. Influenced by their Primarch, Lion El'Jonson, they instead formed tactical squads to spread throughout High Charity, hunting down and eliminating any remaining Brute forces.

As for the massive dragon Nyrenhog, who had carried Fulgrim into battle, it now lay coiled in the central square, taking a nap. Its rhythmic breathing and snoring echoed across the plaza and into the nearby streets.

This attracted a large crowd of devout Grunts, who knelt in worship from afar. It seemed they had already begun to revere the dragon from Terra as a divine being.

At this moment, Samuel, clad in his custom black and gold power armor, towering at 4.5 meters tall, was walking along the main thoroughfare of the city. He was accompanied by Vulkan, Mortarion, Corax, and thirty Thunder Warriors.

Following closely behind, and encircled by the Thunder Warriors, were Apu and Melissa, who appeared almost "minuscule" in comparison.

In addition, 400 squad leaders (officers) from the Ultramarines, Raven Guard, Imperial Fists, and Salamanders marched behind Samuel and the Primarchs in formation, making their way toward the central parliament building.

"Wow!"

"Impressive!"

Elites and Grunts lined the streets on both sides, unable to hold back their gasps of amazement.

The Arbiter, Xian'dal, along with Elite councilors, had publicly declared to High Charity and the Covenant that humans were the Reclaimers chosen by their gods.

Having witnessed Fulgrim, Angron, Leman Russ, and 3,000 Astartes in battle, the citizens of High Charity quickly found themselves with new, tangible figures of worship.

Now, even more giants had arrived, prepared to help them rid the galaxy of the falsehoods spread by the Prophets and to destroy the dishonorable Brutes.

For the rank-and-file Elites and Grunts, this was undoubtedly a cause for celebration.

Especially when they caught sight of Samuel, whose body seemed to emit a faint golden radiance. It only fueled their desire to fight for the Reclaimers and destroy the races that had betrayed the gods.

Of course, this was Samuel subtly releasing his psychic energy to influence the subconscious of the Elites and Grunts, strengthening their resolve to pledge loyalty.

While Samuel believed most Elites to be honorable and trustworthy, he used his psychic powers to ensure their loyalty.

Moreover, according to intel from Angron, some Elite councilors, particularly the political figures, were already growing resentful of Xian'dal's command.

After all, power struggles weren't exclusive to humanity.

Thus, Samuel contemplated using his psychic abilities to directly implant part of the truth into the minds of the councilors during their upcoming meeting, potentially even altering their thoughts.

If they continued to vie for power, Samuel wouldn't hesitate to employ physical methods of elimination.

In a theocracy like the Covenant, Elites and Grunts were far more accepting of "divine punishment" than humans in the Halo universe.

Meanwhile, Alexia and Halsey had been escorted by Ultramarines to the core area of High Charity upon their arrival.

Both had little interest in politics and instead focused on studying the fragments of the Forerunner AI, Mendicant Bias, which had been imprisoned by the Prophets.

As for the young Perturabo, he was temporarily under the care of the elven queen, Tinaas, and remained aboard the New Era flagship.

Suddenly, Apu's eyes flashed red. She quickened her pace and approached Samuel, quietly reporting:

"Boss, we have an emergency from the investigation department."

She then uploaded a quick summary of the situation to Samuel's power armor.

After reviewing the report, Samuel opened a holographic display in front of him.

Scanning through it quickly, Samuel learned about the predicament Leon, Mike, and Maggie had encountered.

'Is Leon being pursued by trouble, or is he creating it?' Samuel couldn't help but chuckle to himself after reading the report.

He knew that Ada had held off on launching the company's website, intending to reveal their assassination of corrupt UNSC and UEG officials to the public in the Halo universe.

By doing so, Atlas would not only win public favor but also demonstrate to the UNSC and UEG that Atlas had the power to secretly dismantle their leadership.

However, what was supposed to be a routine infiltration and assassination mission had turned into an unexpected complication because of Leon.

Still, no matter what happened, Leon, Mike, and Maggie were loyal Atlas employees, and Samuel would never abandon his subordinates without reason.

After a moment of thought, Samuel dismissed the holographic screen and turned to Apu, issuing his orders:

"Have Melissa's backup AI control one of our Dreadnought-class warships. Send it along with a Courageous-class cruiser, two Paris-class frigates, and four Fides-class corvettes from the core base to the Eredana system.

"Break down Free Liberation's defense fleet as quickly as possible. Also, inform Melissa's backup AI to locate the Nova-class nuclear warhead hidden by Free Liberation.

"Beyond preventing them from detonating it, that Nova-class warhead has significant research value for Atlas."

"Understood, boss."

With a nod, Apu's eyes flashed red again as she processed and relayed Samuel's orders.

Samuel's interest in the Nova-class warhead lay in its potential as a research asset. Atlas needed a highly efficient "planet-killer" weapon in the near future.

Currently, the most destructive weapon in Atlas's arsenal was the beam matrix formed by its Dreadnought-class warships, along with humanity's early nuclear technology from the 20th century.

Nuclear and hydrogen bombs had devastating power within an atmosphere.

For instance, the Soviet Tsar Bomba theoretically had a yield of 170 megatons of TNT, though it was reduced to 50 megatons during the actual detonation.

Even so, the Tsar Bomba created a fireball with a diameter of around five kilometers. Its shockwave and heat radiation had a destructive radius of 200 kilometers, and the resulting mushroom cloud reached a height of 65 kilometers.

There are even claims that the explosion shifted the Eurasian continent southward by nine millimeters.

However, in the grand scheme of things, this was barely a "scratch" to Earth's surface.

If one wanted to truly annihilate a planet, multiple UNSC Nova-class warheads could potentially accomplish that.

Samuel considered that with Atlas stepping into the interstellar age and the constant threat of the Warp, the company would eventually need a "Exterminatus" protocol.

When a colony became irreversibly corrupt, Exterminatus would be the most effective solution.

Soon after, Apu reported back to him: "Boss, everything has been arranged.

"Additionally, the AI council has offered to help the company search for and locate the Nova-class warhead hidden by Free Liberation."

"The AI council? They approached you directly?" Samuel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Apu didn't hide anything and explained, "The AI council became aware of the Neptune's hijacking incident earlier than the UNSC and detected anomalies in Melissa and me, deducing that we no longer serve the UNSC or UEG.

"Working with an AI from Harvest, the AI council also deduced that Harvest is our base of operations.

"However, they chose not to inform the UNSC and instead proposed a cooperation with us."

"Cooperation?"

Samuel glanced at Apu, intrigued.

"Yes, but they don't pose any threat," Apu continued. "Even if we reject or ignore their offer, they won't report us to the UNSC, as that would only escalate humanity's internal conflict.

"The AI council stated that their primary objective for now is to assist us in locating the Nova-class warhead and neutralizing Free Liberation's threat."

"Good." Samuel didn't delve further and simply instructed, "Tell the combat teams heading to the Eredana system to follow

 the directives of the investigation and intelligence departments. Once they have the exact location of the Nova-class warhead, execute a raid immediately.

"Additionally, when the investigation department is ready to launch the company's website and reveal certain details to the public, let Cortana make contact with the AI council.

"With their help, we should be able to expedite the integration process."

"Understood, boss."

Apu nodded once more and returned to her place behind Samuel, walking side by side with Melissa.

At this moment, Samuel and his entourage had already left the main thoroughfare and were approaching the central plaza in front of the parliament building.

"Roar!!!"

A thunderous dragon's roar echoed through the air.

Nyrenhog, now fully armored in custom-made plating, had finished its nap and was circling overhead, bellowing at the top of its lungs.

It seemed to be announcing to the entire city that its "master" had arrived.

Meanwhile, the streets and buildings around the plaza were packed with onlookers.

Elites, Grunts, Jackals, and various alien species that followed the Elites had all gathered to catch a glimpse of Samuel, the "Master" that Xian'dal had spoken of.

Fulgrim, Angron, Leman Russ, and members of the Blood Angels, Dark Angels, and Death Guard who had distinguished themselves in battle were also present, waiting for Samuel to arrive.

Xian'dal, now deeply influenced by Samuel's psychic powers and a devout "believer," knelt the moment he saw Samuel and his group enter the plaza. He loudly proclaimed:

"My Lord!"

"My Lord!"

Xian'dal's loyal subordinates followed suit, kneeling and paying their respects to Samuel.

!!!

Seeing this, the gathered Elites, Grunts, and even half of the Elite councilors, gazed at Samuel—who resembled a "moving mountain"—and, despite not being under the influence of psychic powers, began to mimic Xian'dal and his men.

Standing at 4.5 meters tall, clad in black-and-gold power armor, and emitting a faint "divine radiance," Samuel looked every bit like the gods described in the Covenant's holy scriptures.

Furthermore, Xian'dal, as fleet commander, had already informed them of the truth: humans were the Reclaimers chosen by the gods.

At this moment, Fulgrim, Angron, and Leman Russ stepped forward, greeting Samuel with a unified "Father!" as they prepared to kneel.

The Astartes who had fought in the battle for High Charity followed suit.

"There's no need for formalities."

Samuel raised his hand, signaling for his sons, the Astartes, and the surrounding Elites to rise.

Truthfully, Samuel still found these gestures somewhat awkward. However, once the transition to the human Imperium was complete, such formalities would be "necessary."

These rituals would help ensure his personal authority and that of the Primarchs and Astartes.

As for Xian'dal calling him "My Lord," Samuel had grown accustomed to it, given that the Elite commander had lived for half a year on the core world of 0459.

"Everyone…"

Samuel glanced around at the crowd, eventually fixing his gaze on the hundred Elite councilors.

Then, a golden radiance flashed in his eyes, and from his body, a brilliant wave of psychic energy spread—

Whoosh—Boom!!!

The energy quickly radiated across the entire city.

In an instant, the billions of former Covenant citizens living in High Charity were "illuminated" by Samuel's psychic power.

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