Chapter 80: Too Extravagant |
An eerie silence fell over the hall.
The patrolling Astra Militarum guards and the Enforcement Squad maintained their aiming stances, while the terrified civilians did not dare to move a muscle.
Only the young soldier, clutching the Aquila Mark that glimmered with golden light, continuously repeated the same sentence.
"I need to see a lord with authority."
"Commissar, what should we do?"
The Adjutant locked his gun into the desk slot, ensuring he could pull the trigger instantly even if he were shot, and asked in a low whisper.
This situation was completely bizarre.
He had seen blasphemous engravings of Chaos, and he had seen the Aquila Mark radiating golden light, but when both of these elements were concentrated on a single person, it was truly disturbing.
"Send a message to Lord Romulus,"
Romulus had repeatedly emphasized to them that they should report any uncertain matters directly to him without ever fearing it would be a bother.
Regarding this, the Commissar could only think that if the Departmento Munitorum personnel were even half as responsible as Lord Romulus, he would not have to scream at his superiors every time he returned.
"Leave him to us."
The gentle Angel passed through the crowd and reached out, resting a hand on Cornwall's shoulder.
It did not look like he was apprehending a prisoner.
"Yes, Lord Karna."
Looking at that mild and handsome face, everyone let out a sigh of relief, as if they had just found their pillar of support.
Arthur also sheathed his sword and followed Karna.
Behind them, the figures of the Adeptus Astartes and ordinary people quickly scattered, vanishing into the crowd.
Karna would mingle with the masses to gain a deeper understanding of the thoughts of ordinary Imperial citizens, while Arthur always acted as a bystander, observing everything before his eyes.
Romulus would record their data during this process. Once they left to lead the troops in an assault, these statistics would serve as his reference for monitoring the order of the shrine.
"Lord, will I die?"
Stepping onto the stairs leading to the Rooftop Conference Room, Cornwall asked calmly.
"Yes, you will die,"
the Angel replied with equal tranquility.
"I still have things to say."
His face, rendered exceptionally resolute by his determination, betrayed a trace of nervousness.
"Mhm, we will listen."
Karna pushed open the doors to the conference hall.
Three Adeptus Astartes Chapters, the Inquisition Guard and the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Ecclesiarchy and the Sisters—all were waiting inside.
Indifference, scrutiny, and disgust filled the room.
"I know the location of those Fallen Angels."
Cornwall spoke with absolute directness.
Romulus let go of the Model he had been fiddling with in his vision and looked up to listen.
"I am Piedmont Planetary Defense Force 2nd Assault Division - Assault Reconnaissance Company Sergeant Cornwall Invic. While conducting combat operations in the Underhive Taoga Sector, we encountered a Chaos Cult attack, which included an ambush by roughly three hundred Fallen Angels."
"We were subsequently taken prisoner and moved to the southernmost edge of the Hive City, into the Stowbin Sector. At the Stowbin Six Street Grand Incinerator, a massive horde of cultists is entrenched. By my estimation, their numbers exceed two hundred thousand, with around six hundred Fallen Angels present."
"There, they subjected us captives to a Blasphemous Ritual designed to allow Daemons to possess us."
Cornwall took off his shirt. From his arms stretching across his entire back, the skin was densely covered in chaotic runes.
"After undergoing the Blasphemous Ritual, I... turned traitor."
Saying this, Cornwall subconsciously looked back. Unfortunately, the magnificent staircase and reliefs blocked his view, preventing him from seeing the crowd below.
"My mission was to return to the upper hive and sabotage Imperial facilities under the guidance of the possessing Daemon. I took an intact freight elevator from the Stowbin Sector back to the upper hive, but before I could take any real action, I was rescued by a patrolling Armed Zealots convoy and brought to the shrine."
"During this time, the Daemon constantly tried to reveal visions of the future to me. However, the future it described was entirely different from what I saw with my own eyes, so I did not commit any acts of sabotage."
"This is all the information I possess."
It was evident that this soldier's professional competence was not to be underestimated. Even in such a horrific environment, he had managed to memorize the surrounding elements.
But a man was just a man in the end; he could not forge his entire being into impenetrable Steel. When a slight flaw appeared in his heart, a Daemon would seize the opportunity to invade.
If the collective choices of the people had not allowed his family to survive, humanity would have undeniably gained another enemy.
Romulus then looked toward Rameses.
They needed to verify the truthfulness of his words.
Rameses reached out, his hand hovering over Cornwall's head.
"Do not be afraid."
Following those eyes that gleamed with golden radiance, Cornwall felt the chaotic runes on his body begin to burn, as though he were plunging into the grasp of an infinitely magnificent entity.
'No, no, what is this? Why can I not see anything? My memories, I—'
Accompanied by a piercing shriek, something was violently extracted from Cornwall's body.
"It is true,"
Rameses said, lowering his hand.
Daemons were usually Stubborn-Mouthed, making the process a drawn-out Interrogation Technique. However, as his research into Daemons deepened recently, he discovered he could forcefully rip out the specific information he wanted by dismantling the Daemon entirely.
Although this process would inevitably cause the Daemon to explode into a useless, chaotic Warp Info-Stream.
But who cared about that?
He then shared the extracted information over their internal comms before continuing,
"The Daemon was an eye Tzeentch sent up to spy on us. The recent rampant cultist activity is due to the Four Gods failing to suppress their interest in us. As for those Word Bearers, they are testing a Possession Spell gifted to them by Tzeentch. We can basically confirm that the remnants of the Nemesis Chapter are there as well."
'How does Tzeentch manage to screw over his own allies without us even having to meet them?'
Rameses wanted to mock the situation, but for them, this was entirely a good thing.
"But isn't that a Genestealers' Community? We just scouted it yesterday. How could Chaos possibly—"
Romulus frowned, then suddenly remembered something.
"Damn it, the Genestealers and Chaos are playing Darkest Under the Lamp with me."
Romulus cursed under his breath. Relying on a Stereotype had really hurt them this time.
He had only focused on the fact that Genestealers and Chaos were absolute enemies, forgetting that as the Tyranid fleet approached, the Genestealers' autonomy would significantly increase.
During this period, the Genestealers would attempt various methods of self-preservation, aiming to escape before the Tyranid swarm consumed the planet. In the eyes of these liberated Genestealers, any faction with the capability to leave the planet was a potential ally worth swaying.
Chaos must have discovered their behavioral patterns and used the Genestealers' cover to hide themselves.
And when he was searching for traces of Chaos, he had subconsciously ruled out the Genestealers hiding deep in the underhive, as they were difficult to interfere with.
"Deploy 'Broken Sword'. Have the Space Sharks and Black Templars each dispatch two Terminator Companies. The Sisters and the Inquisition Guard will accompany them. The Heavy Firepower Squad will take the freight elevators. All the large transport facilities in that sector are in our hands; avoid the narrow pathways and advance straight down the main roads."
His mind consumed by various combat simulations, Romulus rapidly mapped out an attack route and distributed it to everyone.
"You three head over there as well."
The bugs had already arrived. They had to eliminate the Word Bearers as quickly as possible, then direct the elite troops to assault the Forge World, while they would need to consolidate the combat units in the upper hive.
Arthur and Karna turned around in unison, descending the stairs alongside the various commanders, while Rameses walked over to Cornwall's side.