Chapter 111: Khornate Cultists Have Brains, But Not Much

Chapter 111: Khornate Cultists Have Brains, But Not Much

Scyvilla, along with his acolytes and Aspice, boarded Lucan's Stellar Pioneer. Accompanying them were several minor Rogue Traders who had already pledged allegiance and even received an Inquisitorial charter.

Walking through the interior of this warship, the emotion contained in everyone's eyes was different.

There was envy, there was jealousy, but more than anything, there was apprehension.

A Golden Age warship… no one in the entire Expanse possessed such a thing. Even within the Imperium proper, apart from some First Founding Chapters or the Adeptus Mechanicus, almost no one possessed a warship of this caliber.

Ships like the Gloriana-class or the Ark Mechanicus of the Adeptus Mechanicus were not something the current Imperium could build; their technology all came from that bygone era.

Lucan and Harald were already waiting on the bridge.

Harald had even brought all the warriors of his Great Company with him.

Under normal circumstances, the Space Wolves were unlikely to get involved in a dispute over interests between a Rogue Trader and other factions. Even if the other party had saved their lives, they usually wouldn't. But when Lucan told him the other party was the Inquisition and some of their followers, Harald became energized.

The impact of the "Months of Shame" incident from the First War for Armageddon still lingered even after several hundred years.

The Space Wolves, in order to protect the mortal warriors who had fought alongside them from being purged by the Inquisition and the Grey Knights, had brazenly fought them.

The losses inflicted upon the Space Wolves by the Inquisition and the Grey Knights on that occasion were even more severe than the losses brought by the Daemon Primarch Magnus's invasion of their home world, Fenris.

But at the same time, it also let the Inquisition and the Grey Knights know just how tough a bone the Space Wolves were to chew.

Their large number of battle barges and their fortress-monastery, The Fang, whose durability was second only to the Imperial Palace on Terra, gave the Inquisition a massive headache.

Even after that incident, the Inquisition was still looking for leverage against the Space Wolves, and the Space Wolves' home system of Fenris still refused entry to all Inquisitorial personnel.

In the eyes of both parties, while they might not be mortal enemies, they were both thorns in each other's side.

Harald indicated that if the other party was the Inquisition, then he and his wolf pups would definitely come to back Lucan up.

Arriving on the bridge, Scyvilla also hadn't expected the Space Wolves to be here. The Months of Shame incident might be a secret to others in the Imperium, but as a Lord Inquisitor, how could he not know?

"What are these guys doing here?! How did Lucan get mixed up with them?!" Scyvilla cursed internally.

"Honored Lord Inquisitor, greetings. This should be our first meeting, yes? I have long heard of your name. The Koronus Expanse is truly fortunate to have such a loyal Inquisitor as yourself!"

Lucan said with a smile. Lucan was playing the good cop, while the Space Wolves at his side played the bad cop.

Harald and the other warriors looked fierce, even baring their fangs, unabashedly displaying an attitude of "I am just not happy with you Inquisitors."

"Indeed, this is our first meeting. I just didn't expect the great Space Wolves to be here as well."

No matter how much the two sides disagreed, everyone knew in their hearts that while they could scheme against each other in the shadows, under the guise of talks, neither side could possibly engage in a direct conflict here.

Gathering around the holographic display on the bridge, everyone sat down.

The initial show of force was over; now it was time to talk business. In the absence of Chaos intervention, everyone could fight to their heart's content, but when a real threat was placed before them, everyone knew they had to temporarily set aside their mutual prejudices.

And Lucan constantly felt a hostile gaze watching him. That person was Aspice. Lucan clearly remembered that this person was a pervert who even believed that eating people's brains raw could allow one to sense their heretical actions.

"I didn't expect you to have resolved the traitors on Vaporis in just over ten days."

Scyvilla once again looked at the Space Wolves beside Lucan. In his eyes, Lucan must have accomplished this with the help of this group of Astartes.

"Every second spent purifying Chaos is important. Let's talk about how to completely resolve the issue of the Winterscale Dynasty."

And this negotiation was not just about planning the upcoming strategy, but also about the division of spoils.

Once the problem of Chaos was resolved, the power vacuum left by the disappearance of the Winterscale Dynasty would be immense.

Not just the planets themselves, but the minerals, population, and even the trade routes upon them were all precious treasures.

And the most direct model for distributing the benefits was that whoever resolved the rebellion on a particular planet would get everything on it.

Both Lucan and Scyvilla, as well as Aspice, thought this was very reasonable.

Both sides felt their own strength surpassed the other's.

Lucan knew of his hidden strengths, while Scyvilla and the others believed that in terms of both fleet and soldier numbers, they surpassed the Mongorte Dynasty. Even with this Golden Age warship and the help of the Space Wolves, it would be useless.

After all, besides the Rogue Traders, Scyvilla could also mobilize the Imperial Navy.

Although the negotiations between the two sides were not pleasant, they were very smooth.

Lucan would continue his offensive starting from Vaporis.

Originally, Scyvilla and the others had wanted to join the attack on Vaporis together.

Now, their strength was not needed there, and it was also impossible to claim ownership of this planet.

They then departed from Vaporis and headed for the Kourda Dynasty's fleet.

Soon, the combined fleet of the Kourda Dynasty and the Imperial Navy had already launched an offensive on another border world.

The massive fleet used its hard power to directly crush the opposition. With sufficient troops and ships, they forcibly carried out a drop assault without regard for casualties.

Thanks to Lucan's warning, the Khornate corruption on many worlds had not yet reached an irredeemable stage.

But under the fleet led by the Kourda Dynasty, those planets where Chaos corruption had appeared were subjected to inhumanly brutal attacks.

It wasn't just the fleet's bombardment; after the ground troops landed, anyone who was suspected was given an execution order.

To completely eradicate the corruption of Chaos, death filled these planets. By the time the fleet left, not even one in a hundred, or even one in a thousand, of the planet's original population remained.

They did not possess Lucan's ability to quickly purify corruption.

And the simplest method was to kill everyone affected.

This was also the most common method used by the Inquisition.

And after these planets were "purified," the minerals and various industries on them would also be taken over.

And when a planet was deemed completely beyond saving, Scyvilla would issue an Exterminatus order without mercy. Compared to within the Imperium proper, Inquisitors in the Expanse had greater autonomy.

Cyclone torpedoes would sweep across the entire planet, killing all life on it.

But regardless, issuing an Exterminatus order on any planet was a huge loss for the Imperium.

Chaos could hit and run, but a planet subjected to Exterminatus also lost its value.

So the Imperium's review of Exterminatus orders was actually very strict. Although an Inquisitor had the right to issue an Exterminatus order, often in the subsequent review by the Imperium, the actions of these Inquisitors would be deemed illegal, and they would be executed by the Imperium.

This matter had always made Lucan feel incredible. Even so, these Inquisitors still dared to issue Exterminatus orders. It had to be said, they were very brave.

The once-rich Winterscale's Realm was now consumed by the flames of war.

One could imagine how tragic this star sector would be after this was all over. Wanting to restore its former prosperity was already impossible.

And the war was also fueling the corruption of Khorne. Khorne didn't care if it was his followers or the armies of the Imperium providing these emotions; he took them all.

The relative strength among the Four Gods could be said to depend on the situation in the galaxy. When a powerful plague swept the galaxy, Nurgle would become stronger, as was the case in the later Plague Wars, which was why Tzeentch would proactively betray Nurgle. And when an unparalleled war arrived, Khorne would once again suppress the other three gods.

(End of Chapter)

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