On Trailblaze, Zhou Ye was enjoying his lunch with great interest.
Stir-fried yellow beef and pan-seared ant-beef steak.
Honestly, this kind of Warhammer-specialty cuisine was truly delicious, but it was also a real pain to prepare. Although the parasites within an improperly cleaned steak of this kind wouldn't cause him any harm, being able to eat something and being willing to eat it were two different matters.
Fortunately, the food he was eating had certainly been properly prepared by Ashira, who stood beside him. His grand chef would never serve him anything that wasn't perfectly clean. After all, in their perception, cooking for him was the highest honor.
Of course, he would be fine even if he didn't eat, but as an ordinary human, Zhou Ye felt it was necessary to maintain the habits of eating and sleeping.
"I wonder when they'll reach Macragge. This kind of leisurely life is just too good."
He glanced at his processor. It had only taken him an hour to handle tens of thousands of documents. The next twenty-plus hours were his own. He could now slack off to his heart's content, just like now—eating lunch and listening to his subordinates give him their briefings.
"Hmm...?"
Just then, the Grand Master of Zhou Ye's Grey Knights let out a cry of surprise, his expression turning grim.
"What happened?"
"Most urgent broadcast. According to Rogue Trader Alfie Thompson, a Chaos infestation has broken out on the hive world of Apolte. The sacrificial ritual is already complete."
"Again? They certainly can't handle that."
Zhou Ye nodded. In a situation where a sacrifice had already occurred, the forces accompanying the Rogue Traders were indeed insufficient. In the Imperium, a full Chapter would typically need to be deployed for such an event. After all, you never knew what might be summoned. His Rogue Trader fleets usually had about ten Space Marines and a few thousand auxiliaries. Throwing them into a daemonic tide would see them swallowed in an instant.
"Currently, an Emperor's Children strike cruiser is near those coordinates. According to their report, they saw an Inquisition Black Ship that appears to have been shot down."
"The Inquisition was shot down? Looks like the corruption came from the upper hive. In that case, it's most likely Slaanesh or Tzeentch. Doesn't seem like Nurgle or Khorne's style of ambush. In that case, should I…"
"Father, leave it to us."
Just as Zhou Ye was considering whether to act personally, the Grey Knight Grand Master spoke immediately.
"Alright. How many of you are there?"
Zhou Ye considered it. In a way, him not going would be a mercy to that planet. He had no idea if his direct involvement would once again lead to a bizarre, massive brawl, or the prelude to one. Every one of his plans was meticulously crafted, and he always did everything right, yet they always devolved into chaotic free-for-alls. A planet that might have been salvageable could end up exploding on the spot after he was done with it.
It had to be some strange quirk of fate in the Warhammer universe. Thinking about it, the wars the other Primarchs got involved in were hardly simple affairs either. So, it definitely wasn't his fault. It was just that this world had a strange matchmaking mechanism.
So, Zhou Ye decided he should be a bit more merciful to that planet. Besides, he didn't know when Cawl would reach Macragge, so it wasn't wise for him to leave arbitrarily.
"Have that company of Emperor's Children jump there immediately. As for you… how many men do you have available?"
"Most of the brothers are on missions. Including myself, there are seventy-eight who can be deployed."
"Seventy-eight. A fine number. Go."
"Yes, Father!!!"
The Grey Knight Grand Master nodded sharply and turned to leave. Although their chapter had recently been expanded, they still only numbered 251 in total. Every battlefield they were deployed to was of the most dangerous and terrifying kind.
(As for why 251? It was originally 250, but Zhou Ye felt the number was insulting him, so he added one.)
Pulling men away from their posts at a time like this was a very risky matter.
"I have a strange feeling about this. Hey, take this with you."
The moment the Grand Master turned, Zhou Ye stopped him, handing him a weapon that looked like a bolter.
Although they were deploying over seventy men, fifty-one of them were new recruits. It was a good opportunity to give them some field experience. And this weapon, while it looked like a bolter, was actually… the Simulacrum of Stellar Harmony.
It was an artifact-level weapon in this world, something Zhou Ye had only recently created. He had planned to keep it for himself, but he handed it over for now. In any case, without Imaginary energy as the key to activate it, it was just a piece of scrap metal. No great loss if it was lost.
"Yes!!!"
---o---
Apolte, one of the most important hive worlds in the local sector.
With a population of no less than fifty billion, it was a traditional Imperial hive world in every sense. Naturally, it was also riddled with every kind of vice, with various factions locked in a strange, delicate balance. This was precisely why Zhou Ye generally forbade his people from meddling in the affairs of hive worlds; you never knew how you might shatter that balance and unleash uncontrollable chaos.
But clearly, the opening of the Great Rift had shattered Apolte's balance. The Genestealer cults had lost out to a Khornate cult that had only just emerged. The nobles in the upper spires had been corrupted in droves by insidious whispers, and in the end, the Slaaneshi cultists, who had secured the greater resources, gained the absolute advantage.
The final sacrifice was made. Now, the top spires were swarming with daemons of Slaanesh. The fallen Sector Governor had shot down the Inquisition's Black Ship. Under normal circumstances, he would never have dared to do such a thing.
But things were different now. The moment the Inquisitorial ship exited the Mandeville Point, a single shot brought it down.
Almost everyone aboard the Inquisitorial vessel died instantly. Only the Inquisitor in his specialized armor and… the Grey Knights survived. The rest of the Inquisitor's retinue, including his Storm Troopers, were all killed in the void of space. The few survivors had only avoided instant death by making an emergency teleport to the planet's surface.
Inquisitor Eli Morgan of the Ordo Malleus. He wasn't supposed to be here, but upon seeing the Great Rift open, he had desperately pushed through the failing light of the Astronomican to force his way to the Apolte Hive. And then…
"For the Emperor. We shall all die with honor."
Staring at the overwhelming tide of Slaaneshi daemons, the Inquisitor and the seven or eight Grey Knights who had accompanied him were grim-faced. They were in the upper hive, which was crawling with daemons. Who knew what horrors festered in the underhive.
The space here was now so warped that even an Exterminatus order couldn't be carried out. They had to destroy the source of the corruption before anything else could be done. But for them, even reaching that source was an almost impossible task, as they had no idea where the Greater Daemon or Daemon Prince was located.
"Can you find the source of the corruption? It's the only way we can use the Exterminatus."
Though he spoke the words, Inquisitor Eli Morgan felt a sense of despair. They had no external support. This planet was a critical node, the seat of the Sector Governor. They had been fighting here for some time and still hadn't found their target.
While Slaanesh's creations were generally pathetic, the problem was their sheer numbers. The massive, tide-like daemonic host made every step a struggle. Furthermore, the emergency teleport to the surface had left them all injured.
So, while the Inquisitor refused to give up, they had all silently accepted the truth: the Imperium was about to lose this planet, and perhaps the entire sector.
"It is not yet time to give up. We must at least find the Astropathic choir. If we can send out a distress signal, our sacrifice will not be in vain."
SKREEEEE!!!
A piercing sound ripped through the air. Despite the protection of their psychic hoods and helmets, the men felt a stabbing pain in their very souls.
"Noise Marines!!!"
Feeling that agony, the Inquisitor cursed. Traitors of the Emperor's Children, fallen into the embrace of Slaanesh. If they were at full strength, they wouldn't fear them. But now, they were all heavily depleted.
With the arrival of the Chaos Space Marines, a wave of Slaaneshi horrors broke through their defensive line in an instant. In a flash, a Grey Knight was tackled to the ground. But another Grey Knight swiftly killed the daemon with his weapon, and the fallen warrior scrambled back to his feet.
BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!
More attacks rained down upon them, almost all of which were blocked by the energy shields of their armor. But beneath their helmets, the faces of the Grey Knights were pale. They still hadn't determined the enemy's goal.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
At the same time, the sound of rhythmic drumming began, and a presence emerged from within the Slaaneshi army that made them all take a sharp breath. As elite Slaaneshi daemons appeared, a huge, twisted figure slowly walked out from the edge of their vision.
A Greater Daemon of Slaanesh. Two Keepers of Secrets.
And what was worse, they were charging straight for them. Alongside them was another twisted figure of no lesser power—a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh.
"Blasphemy!!"
Looking at the twisted beings, the Inquisitor couldn't help but curse. Two Greater Daemons and a Daemon Prince, charging right at them. The faces of the small group turned ashen. While these creatures were among the weakest of the Greater Daemons, they were far too close.
"Brothers, protect me. I need to perform a divination."
A Grey Knight spoke slowly. There was no time to consult the Liber Daemonica. The enemy had clearly dealt with Grey Knights before and was charging them head-on, giving them no chance to look up their true names. To make matters worse, they were all wounded from the teleport-drop. It was a miracle no one had materialized inside a wall, but now they had to face two Greater Daemons and a Daemon Prince.
The pressure was immense. Their only hope was to find their true names through a burst of prophecy. Of course, these daemons were nothing compared to the ones Zhou Ye had faced; those Khornate fiends had been massively empowered by the huge Warp rift. These ones had no such blessing; they were just ordinary Greater Daemons.
But without Storm Troopers to hold them back, their situation was perilous.
"Protect him!!!"
Seeing their battle-brother about to perform the divination to forcibly identify the enemy, the other Grey Knights and the Inquisitor formed a protective circle around him, continuously firing their specialized bolters. They killed every Slaaneshi daemon that lunged at them, but this rate of attrition was a drop in the ocean against the pink tide.
And…
Squelch!!!
"Hahahaha!!!"
A spray of blood erupted, and the divining Grey Knight collapsed limply to the ground. At the same time, the raucous laughter of the Slaaneshi daemons echoed around them.
"Backlash! How was it so fast?"
"They interfered with the prophecy…"
Watching the fallen Grey Knight, the Daemon Prince let out a horrifying smile. Before becoming a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh, he too had been a psyker of the divinatory arts. After his ascension, he had become even more unrestrained. His greatest pleasure was to weave illusions for other diviners, causing them to fall into his traps and into the embrace of Slaanesh.
Of course, he couldn't weave such illusions for a Grey Knight, but interfering with a prophecy and causing a backlash was well within his power.
The Daemon Prince's joyous laughter filled the air. Seeing this, the faces of the remaining Grey Knights and the Inquisitor hardened with grim resolve.
"For the Emperor!!!"
The group drew their weapons, their bodies erupting with psychic light. They were going to make their last stand.
"Hahaha… Gak!!!"
One of the Keepers of Secrets and the Daemon Prince were laughing with delight. Grey Knights were a fine prize indeed. But their laughter began only to be cut short.
With a flash of golden light, a full squad of Grey Knights in pristine armor, radiating power, slammed down right in front of them.
The joyful laughter froze on the daemons' faces. The Inquisitor and the other Grey Knights stared with stunned expressions.
"In the name of the Father, for the Emperor, we shall banish… eh?"
The leader of the new arrivals roared, then stopped mid-sentence as he, too, saw the other group of Grey Knights and the Inquisitor.
---o---