Chapter 224: Affairs of the Territory

"Hmm, a message from Baal?"

Eden removed his sunglasses and sat up, sinking his consciousness into the Hive Network.

Soon, amidst the countless flickering points of light in the Hive Network, he located a massive crimson-red node.

That was Baal's soul node.

Eden initially intended to directly observe Baal's status and surroundings through the soul node.

However, as soon as his consciousness approached, an incredibly terrifying and violent aura surged toward him.

Damn, it's Khorne!

Not long ago, when he had possessed the Little Sun and been near the Golden Sun, he had encountered the aura exuded by Khorne.

That memory was still vivid.

Eden frantically pulled his consciousness back, feeling lingering fear.

That was close—his consciousness had almost strayed into Khorne's domain.

If he had tried to pry into Khorne's realm and been caught, the consequences would have been disastrous. At the very least, he would have suffered a severe injury.

Baal's efficiency was impressive—he had already infiltrated Khorne's forces so quickly.

When Eden had sent Baal into the Warp, he had placed no restrictions on him, allowing him to act freely.

Whatever progress he made depended entirely on his own efforts.

Since direct communication was impossible, Eden turned his attention to the psychic messages Baal had sent.

Baal had transmitted four or five fragmented visual sequences, mostly from his own perspective.

Eden retrieved these sequences and immersed his consciousness within them.

Immediately, he beheld the landscape of Khorne's domain.

Endless clouds of blood, shattered lands, and numerous pits filled with bones, broken armor, and jagged weapons—arenas of unending combat.

Humans, mutants, bloodthirsty beasts, and various bizarre Warp entities, all wreathed in the essence of slaughter, stood in line within the arenas.

Are they queuing up to join?

Eden mused—after all, Khorne's recruitment standards were unique. No matter what you were, as long as you could fight, you were eligible.

To join the ranks of the slaughter, one had to survive the pit duels first.

For promotion, constant battle was required—the more one fought, the more power one gained.

The scene shifted. Rather than wait in line, Baal had walked straight up and challenged a steel-clad warrior at the front.

In the ensuing duel, he beheaded his opponent.

This action drew cheers from the surrounding daemons.

Having won his first battle, Baal roared and leapt into the pit, beginning duel after duel.

Khorne, the god of battle and honor, valued true combat. One could not rely on brute force alone, nor trickery, to curry His favor.

Nor could one gain favor by slaughtering the weak or innocent.

He preferred His followers to challenge worthy opponents—at the very least, those who could wield a weapon.

Only after vanquishing true foes could they indulge in unrestricted carnage.

Before long, Baal had claimed enough skulls to earn the title of Khorne's warrior.

Climbing out of the pit, he embarked on his campaign within Khorne's vast domain.

For Khorne's warriors, war was eternal. Those who failed to conquer others would forever remain at the bottom.

Across the vast blood-soaked land, the deafening roar of daemon armies echoed endlessly. War never ceased, and the skulls of the fallen piled high, rivers of blood flowing without end.

The next few sequences showed Baal defeating dozens of warriors and rallying a force of his own.

He had already earned the title of Centurion and was now leading his warband to challenge other rival daemon armies.

This was the path to ascension among the commanders of Khorne's legions—only by winning more wars could one attract the attention of higher-ranking daemons.

Of course, if one were a Champion of Khorne, the rules were different.

Baal, astride a massive blood-red bronze bull, led his growing daemon host into constant battle.

Soon, he drew attention.

In the final sequence, Eden saw an immense, shadowy figure, causing his pupils to contract involuntarily.

Ka'Bandha?!

How was this beast still alive and kicking—looking even more formidable than before?!

Well, that's just great.

A sense of crisis surged in Eden's heart.

After all, he had already formed an irreconcilable enmity with Ka'Bandha, and it was only a matter of time before the daemon prince sought revenge with an army in tow.

He would need to prepare more consecrated bone ash rounds to greet Ka'Bandha properly.

At that moment—

In the distant Warp, within Khorne's domain, Ka'Bandha was observing the battles within his territory, selecting strong warriors.

Suddenly, he shuddered.

He felt as if some terrifying entity had fixed its gaze upon him.

"Damn Devourer!"

Ka'Bandha roared internally, a flicker of fear surfacing within him.

Ever since their last encounter, nightmares had haunted him constantly.

He would experience sudden palpitations at random moments.

Even after razing several worlds and besting Angron in combat, the sensation had not faded.

This was expected. After all, the Emperor's Golden Sun had tormented Tzeentch into depression.

For Ka'Bandha, it had become an unshakable nightmare—a shadow that would loom over him for the rest of his existence.

After reviewing Baal's transmissions, Eden discreetly sent back a message through the soul node.

The gist of it was simple—Baal should continue his undercover work and climb the ranks.

If the daemons of Khorne made any significant moves, he was to report them immediately.

Unfortunately, direct communication was impossible, and even sending messages had to be done with extreme caution.

Unless absolutely necessary, it was best not to contact Baal at all to prevent exposure.

This felt like an undercover espionage operation.

Planting loyal subordinates within the forces of Chaos was an incredibly wise decision.

Since Chaos was always trying to corrupt key Imperial figures and embed spies—even among the Primarchs—

Then why shouldn't Eden do the same to Chaos?

With this shift in perspective, the situation changed dramatically.

Since he had such a powerful entity as the Little Sun on his side, he had to make full use of its abilities.

Once the Little Sun had accumulated more dark energy, Eden planned to bless additional heavy-duty operatives and infiltrate all four Chaos Gods' domains with sleeper agents.

Monitoring their movements from within.

In the future, when Chaos launched its invasion, only to find their own generals were actually double agents—

That would be a sight to behold.

For now, having Baal in Khorne's domain was sufficient.

After all, Khorne's followers thrived on battle, always rushing to wherever the biggest fights were happening.

When the time came for them to launch their assault on Ultramar's sanctum, aiming to stop Guilliman's resurrection—

Eden would know immediately and be able to respond accordingly.

He felt that the time for Guilliman's return was approaching fast.

Before that happened, he needed to expand his power base further to prepare for the coming galactic upheaval.

After finishing Baal's report, Eden received a briefing on matters regarding Matira.

His administrative team had condensed a massive trove of documents—hundreds of thousands of pages—into a concise three-to-four-page summary for his review.

With governance streamlined, he only needed to glance through these files; approvals were unnecessary.

Only if he spotted major issues would he step in to recommend corrections to the relevant authorities.

But such instances were rare—after all, Baeyev was overseeing operations, and in territorial administration, the old steward was far more skilled than he was.

Scanning the documents, Eden gained a general understanding of Matira's status and future plans.

In a few days, an official decree would be issued, designating Urth as the capital of the Golian Sector.

Under the new governance structure, planetary governors would be abolished, with the Ministry of Internal Affairs overseeing all territories directly.

The old noble and bureaucratic system of Matira would be dismantled, its officials reassigned within the new administrative framework.

Under this structure, former nobles and officials would be reassigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of War, or other governmental bodies, with their new postings not necessarily confined to their original planet—they could be transferred elsewhere as needed.

As for the prisoners of war, their fate would be determined according to the decrees of the Codex of Redemption.

This meant that the Codex of Redemption would be fully implemented in Matira.

It was not merely a religious text but also contained constitutional laws, regulations, decrees, and organizational structures.

It functioned as the fundamental law governing Eden's domain, serving as the ultimate charter for its organizations and operations.

The Codex of Redemption was vast, comprising dozens of volumes, each unified in principle but with distinct areas of focus.

The version in the hands of the faithful contained only the religious scriptures and doctrines.

Meanwhile, departments such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of War, the Tribunal, and the Mechanicus each had their own versions tailored to their administrative and operational needs.

For them, it was both a guide for their duties and a beacon for their faith.

According to the laws within the Codex of Redemption, some of the prisoners of war deemed beyond redemption would be executed.

The remainder would be subjected to varying periods of labor reformation, with those who demonstrated good behavior eventually earning citizenship.

Of course, this required integration into the psychic network and the implementation of a graded citizen system.

The Mechanicus forces under Kaul had already taken possession of the Mechanicus factories and related resources that had belonged to Harris.

The main machine-spirit core of the psychic network on Matira was already under construction.

Eden skimmed through the files briefly before setting them aside, having grasped the essential details.

Then, he put down his data slate and continued basking in the sunlight.

"Lord Savior, it is time for you to head to the cathedral. According to your schedule, several important matters await your attention this afternoon," Linda, the head maid, came to remind him.

"Alright, vacation's over. Let's go."

Eden stood up, allowing the maids to dress him in his ceremonial robes before boarding a hovercar bound for the grand cathedral aboard the Dreamweaver.

Baeyev was already there, leading a delegation of over a dozen individuals from Matira.

These individuals were primarily former nobles, high-ranking officials, or leaders of the resistance movement, soon to be appointed as key officials within the Court District's governing institutions.

But before that, they had to undergo a special ritual…

(End of Chapter)

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