Chapter 63: Secret Arrests

Chapter 63: Secret Arrests

Inside the barracks of the Agathos Planetary Defence Force's 1st Regiment, 3rd Battalion, several PDF soldiers were gathered together.

"Lieutenant Albert, if this weaponry and equipment could be smuggled back to the church, it would surely be a great help for the coming of the Day of Ascension!"

Hearing this, Albert also caressed the CMC combat suit he had taken off and the rail rifle beside it.

"Yes… it would be wonderful if we could take it back."

However, Albert knew that this equipment wasn't like standard-issue Imperial lasguns or flak armor, where a few missing pieces might go unnoticed.

With one set issued per person, they had no opportunity to hide it. Even with his rank as an officer, losing a set would likely result in severe consequences.

Compared to this equipment, the cost of being exposed was far greater.

"Everyone, continue to conceal yourselves. Do not attempt to transport this equipment back to the church for now. The Rogue Trader has already begun the reconquest of the underhive. Once our unit enters the underhive, we can hide this equipment under the guise of combat losses. Then we can arrange for the church in the underhive to receive it."

Albert put a stop to the others' ideas. Their most important mission was still to hide themselves and send all kinds of information about the Dynasty back to the cult.

Compared to this equipment, Albert knew that the brothers and sisters currently beside him were the most important asset.

The Genestealers had infected a noble family responsible for managing the underhive a century ago. After generations of procreation, it was only by the fifth generation that they, hybrids with no outward differences from humans, had appeared.

Albert envied his older brother, his father, and his mother; their purple skin was so mesmerizing, and their extra two arms were a sign of being closer to the great Four-Armed Emperor.

He, however, did not have these traits, but the Magus had told him that from the moment he was born, he had a more important mission.

The church, using its control over the hive bottom, continuously provided him with intelligence and opportunities for merit. After accumulating enough achievements, they helped him leave the hive bottom and become an officer in the uphive. He knew he wasn't the only one in the uphive; other cult members were also hidden in the same way.

And he had used his position to send a large quantity of weapons and equipment back to the hive bottom and to provide intelligence to the church, allowing them to evade the Dynasty's purges and investigations of the hive bottom several times.

During the battle with Chaos, he had fought with all his might. He shouted the God-Emperor's name with his lips, but in his heart, he silently prayed to the great Four-Armed Emperor. Many of his hidden brothers and sisters had died in the war against Chaos.

This loyal-seeming behavior and his combat record had also allowed him to be among the first to be allocated a suit of combat armor.

Just as Albert was telling everyone to get some sleep, a knock came at the barracks door.

Albert, still unaware of what was about to happen, unsuspectingly walked over and opened the door.

"Albert Hauns?"

Seeing the man standing at the door was the Rogue Trader's Purser, Verre, he was surprised why the Purser would come looking for him so late at night.

"That's me, honored Purser! How may I help you?"

But as soon as Albert finished speaking, a Raider following behind Verre smashed a rifle butt directly into his face.

The strength amplification provided by the combat suit was terrifying. Even though the force was controlled, it was enough to knock Albert unconscious instantly.

Seeing Albert fall, the other hidden Genestealers were about to reach for their weapons but were subdued one by one by the Raiders who swarmed in.

And such scenes were taking place all across the uphive.

Some were controlled before they could even resist, but some did attempt to fight back and were killed on the spot, their bodies taken away by the Raiders.

None of these people had expected the Rogue Trader to strike so suddenly.

One by one, the officers, administrative officials, and nobles on the list were dragged to the cells.

Regardless of whether they were innocent or not, detaining them at this time was the safest option.

And soon, these individuals would undergo the strictest physical and genetic testing.

Although these Genestealers looked no different from ordinary people on the outside, in essence, they were no longer human.

And before long, the test results came out one by one.

Sure enough, two-thirds of those arrested had problems discovered in their test reports – non-human genes, which showed a high degree of overlap across so many different individuals.

And the positions these people held covered almost every aspect of the Dynasty. It was truly frightening to think that if they hadn't been discovered, every move his army made upon entering the underhive would have been known to that group of Genestealers.

"Execute all those with problems! Also, all soldiers, officers, and nobles in important positions must undergo genetic testing!"

Rebecca also frowned; this was her dereliction of duty. She had thought she was doing a good enough job in management, yet such a thing had happened. And worse, it had been the Governor himself who had found the problem.

"I have already arranged for people to do it! Should we postpone the offensive plan?"

"The offensive plan remains unchanged. This round has at least caught most of them."

The sudden disappearance of officers and nobles caused some chaos; some soldiers found their superiors had suddenly vanished.

But after other officers quickly filled the vacancies, they no longer pursued the matter. The entire focus of Agathos was on the reconquest of the underhive.

The Rogue Trader's promises had ignited an exceptionally high pursuit of meritorious service among the people, and this sentiment overshadowed the news of the disappearing officers.

The army set out. Shouting the God-Emperor's name, the first wave of 100,000 troops advanced along the main thoroughfares of the uphive towards the underhive.

The heretics, now without a unified command, were even less able to withstand the loyalists' attack.

Without the support of the "dark grease-monkeys" (Dark Mechanicum), they couldn't even perform normal maintenance or production of their equipment.

During their retreat into the underhive, these cultists even began to attack each other, continuously venting their extreme negative emotions within the underhive.

Through one bloody sacrifice and ritual after another, other leaders among the traitors attempted to once again gain the favor of the Dark Gods.

But the Genestealers were constantly sabotaging their actions in the shadows.

And it wasn't just the Genestealers; the efforts of the Battle Sisters also played a huge role.

These nearly one hundred Battle Sisters had broken into smaller units. They gathered the workers of the underhive, used the underhive's own facilities to manufacture weapons, and under the leadership of the Battle Sisters, they continuously fought back.

Even after the traitors' rout, they had successfully retaken some areas and, using them as strongholds, had held their ground, awaiting the arrival of the Dynasty's army.

And many gangs also became an important force in resisting the traitors.

When these Chaos traitors were strong, the gangs had only dared to hide. But after the traitors fell into chaos, they immediately rushed out from their various dark hiding places in the hive city to reclaim their original territory.

It turned out that not everyone wanted to become a madman or gain power through mutation.

Not to mention, these gangs were originally from the underhive. They had witnessed the extreme evil deeds of the traitors with their own eyes, and some even had relatives who had died in the traitors' sacrificial rituals.

For the gangs, they also needed Agathos to continue to exist. Although they usually committed no small number of evil deeds themselves, they had long since formed a symbiotic relationship with the underhive. Only if the underhive existed, only if Agathos existed, could they continue to survive and profit from it.

Moreover, the Genestealers hidden within the gangs were also fanning the flames from behind the scenes. They encouraged the people's morale and took the lead in attacking the traitors, which even allowed some disguised Genestealers to become gang leaders.

The reconquest of the underhive was proceeding far more smoothly than imagined. These Chaos traitors could only flee in disarray, losing one controlled area after another.

Lucan also ordered the Tech-Priests to immediately begin maintaining the underhive's communication facilities and various important factories.

The output of these factories – energy, industrial goods, and even a large number of daily necessities – was the key to restoring order to Agathos. People had to live, after all. Lucan could conjure equipment, but this equipment couldn't replace various daily necessities.

(End of Chapter)