"...Big E, the price you mentioned is not something like the Black Crown King, right?"
"What are you thinking? The Black Crown King is the most direct move of a certain company to stir up the warp. It easily broke the balance of the Chaos Powers in the warp, causing those four guys to change their behavior logic unconsciously. Just kidding, that blue mollusk is still pondering some irreconcilable problems. The price I mentioned is that if I do this, I will need to devote a large part of my energy to moving the timeline. Your descended bodies must all be from the Imperial faction, and the chess pieces that each of you can bring with you can only be from the Imperial faction, and there is a certain limit on the number."
"So, we will be sent to the time before the extermination order was activated?"
"It's like this - if you are willing to go to that system, I plan to send you to the time when the Inquisitor and his fleet entered that system - this is the farthest past I can dispatch."
"But, Big E, according to the Empire's operating style, aren't worlds that can be subjected to extermination orders usually too chaotic to be resolved by conventional means? So the Inquisitor should be there to assess the problem, right? Moving forward for such a short period of time should have little effect?"
"This is what's strange. That's why I hope you can go back to the time of prayer and start investigating."
After saying this, Big E paused.
"That galaxy and that planet, at least when the Inquisitor first arrived, in my opinion, did not have any problems that were too far-fetched for the Empire."
2. The Hammers who deployed their troops
Minot planetary system.
This is a small, isolated planetary system in a hazy galaxy, with a small star called Minoit that is still in the main sequence but does not radiate much heat. There is a small rocky planet that is too close to Minoit and has an amazing temperature difference between day and night, a large planet with three frozen satellites orbiting it and a surging liquid surface that has become an icy world because it is too far away from the star itself, and a medium-sized planet with a star number of Minoit-1 that is at a reasonable distance from the star, although most of the area is covered with yellow sand and rocks, the atmosphere is not thick, and the ecological environment is thin, and it may take the final step in the imperial assessment at any time and become a Delta planet.
Before the Great Crusade, this galaxy was completely devoid of any signs of life. After the galaxy was discovered by the Empire during the Great Crusade, since the liquid planet of Minoit and its satellites were found to be rich in promethium, a hive city was naturally built on Minoit I to support it. A large number of Imperial residents were relocated to this planetary system and became part of the Empire's equipment for exploiting the resources of this galaxy - until the promethium on these planets was basically developed and most of the Imperial residents were relocated again to another galaxy.
However, not everyone left Minoit - a small number of people, perhaps because they were not summoned, perhaps because they overslept, or perhaps because of other more bizarre reasons, chose or were unwilling to stay in this desolate galaxy world, relying on the construction equipment and resources that the empire did not dismantle or take away, and tenaciously survived - and because of a series of completely unintentional reasons, the empire also lost the data of this galaxy that was no longer important to the empire in the darkness - so, this planetary system and the people left in this planetary system, as time went by, slowly returned to the wilderness...
However, today, when this galaxy had been forgotten for thousands of years, a tattered strike cruiser jumped out of the Mandeville Point of the Minoit galaxy without any warning, and quietly turned its bow towards the direction of the Minoit star. When the crew on the ship confirmed that they had successfully returned to the physical universe, they all
Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother Daken, can you determine how long we have been lost in the warp, and can you determine which star field of the Empire we are in?"
Although the strike cruiser Hunter, which serves as the base monastery of the Sword of Hatred Chapter, has suffered a large number of system outages or loss of function due to the warp wandering, the technical sergeants on board have been carrying out emergency repairs on key areas, so the strike cruiser's most important functional groups are still operating stably.
"From the star map, we are now in the Obscure Star Region, but since we don't seem to be able to return to the real universe near a functioning imperial world, I am unable to determine how many years we have been lost in the subspace."
The technical sergeant called by his chapter commander fiddled with the control panel in front of him, which was cracked but still reliable, and after confirming the parameters on it, he answered his chapter commander in a hoarse voice due to lack of water - they had been lost in the warp for a little too long, so that the number of mortal assistants on their ship had dropped to a terrible number. Therefore, now on such a large strike cruiser, the Astartes of the Sword of Hate have become the main force in maintaining the operation of this ship in all aspects...
"Can you determine the data parameters of the planetary system in front of you?"
After hearing the answer from his technical sergeant, the commander of the Sword of Hate Chapter - Igust frowned slightly, thinking that his luck was not good - now their strike cruiser would definitely need a series of repairs before it could safely navigate the warp again, but if there were no functioning Imperial worlds nearby, they could only gamble that there were resources remaining on these worlds that could be used by their chapter.
"There is no information about this planetary system in the battleship's database, Chapter Master. The only thing I can confirm at the moment is that this planetary system has a rocky body that is at a relatively good distance from the star in the system."
"Brother Daken, start the engine and let's go take a look inside the planetary system."
Although he still didn't get the answer he expected, Igust still issued the order to enter the Minoit system. He knew very well that this move was a gamble. However, compared to the option of driving the now broken strike cruiser into the subspace again, which was a deadly choice, the gamble of getting something on or near the rocky planet was the only chance to keep his regiment going.
"Yes."
The old battleship's engine was ignited, and the Hunter slowly left Mandeville Point under the thrust, heading towards an unknown future - well, although, although, these Space Marines had no idea that their ship had already fallen into the sight of something beyond the High Heavens, beyond the limit of their imagination...
—————————————The dividing line between the Hammer guys——————————————————————
"That ship, looks like an Astartes strike cruiser?"
In Queen Yu Rongguang's war hall, Liang Feifan was sorting out all the chess pieces of his imperial faction in his military box and determining the types of units to be sent out in the first round. At the same time, he was looking at the battleship on the big screen with the corner of his eye. The battleship had been easily locked by the Hammer guys because of the loud noise caused by its jump out of Mandeville. After hanging out with Big E for so long, the Hammer guys could roughly recognize what some of the big imperial gadgets with realistic styles were. Well, although, even though, this battleship looked tattered no matter how you looked at it.
"It's an Astartes strike cruiser. It may have become like this because it was lost in the warp for too long."
As the political commissar spoke, she calmly took out the Imperial Guard units from her army box and placed them on the battle preparation table. After confirming with Big E that although the number of chess pieces they could descend each time was limited, there was no limit on the number of chess pieces they could carry, the Hammermen stuffed all the Imperial units they had on hand into the army box. Therefore, for this mission, the Hammermen not only brought a large number of conventional Astra Militarum, conventional Astartes, Oilers and other classic Imperial units, but also a bunch of Inquisition, Imperial Guards, Grey Knights, Assassins' Court, etc., which would make people who knew what the arrival of these beings meant tremble like vibrating screens. In addition, because of the improvement of Big E's ability, the restrictions on the Hammermen's descending bodies were further relaxed. In addition to the main descending body selected by themselves, other chess pieces can also serve as descending bodies for the Hammermen. Although, using non-main chess pieces to descend will make the Hammermen unable to control them as they please, however, this gives the Hammermen more possibilities.
"It's hard to say if there are any problems with the Astartes on this kind of ship. Is that Inquisitor here chasing after these Astartes?"
A certain Silence picked up an Inquisitor chess piece in his hand, looked at it, hesitated for a moment, and put a Callidus Assassin in his starting unit.
"It's hard to say. From the intelligence Big E gave us, this star system has long been abandoned. There is no Mandeville point in this place in the Imperial route. Unless the Inquisition received intelligence in advance, it is impossible for it to emerge from the warp so punctually. I am more inclined to believe that the Inquisition also got lost here - who can tell about the things in the warp?"
Abathur, who was fiddling with his White Scar veteran, shrugged.
"So it can be said that it was accidental - here it comes!"
I just found my blood in the military box.
The Chosen One of Crow pointed at the big screen. On the screen, a fleet of warships with the emblem of the Inquisition, which was not large in scale but extremely well-equipped, was slowly leaping into reality from the Mandeville Point in the Minoit Galaxy. After comparing it with the information provided by Big E, the Hammers were sure that this was the Inquisition they were looking for!
"What do you mean? Team up with the Imperial Guards, Grey Knights, and Inquisition assassins to join the gang? Have a friendly exchange with the Inquisitor?"
An egg is rubbing its hands in anticipation.
"No, if this group boarded there, there would be not one but three worlds that would be ordered to exterminate. And it's strange to send an extermination order to a deserted world. Even if the Astartes on that broken ship were traitors, it would be strange. There must be something in that world that's worthy of the Inquisitor's attention. Big E said that he didn't feel that there was anything wrong with this galaxy before the extermination order was issued. In other words, can we infer that there might be something good in this galaxy?"
Seeing the Chosen Ones, Abathur and his Hammer guys were eager to try. Gu, who had just formed an Assassin's Court team with his Vindicare Assassins and Chulisas Assassins, quickly spoke up to stop them. High-level Inquisitors, a bunch of Guards of the West, a group of assassins, and various SM veterans all appeared in the Wasteland Star Region at the same time. According to the suspicious nature of the Inquisition, even if you tell him that you are just here for a visit, he will think that this place is scary!
"That's right, so we have to wait for the Inquisitor to take action before we follow him?"
"Well, once the Inquisition ship goes in and the Inquisitor lands, we will start deploying units right after them. Oh, and be careful, our anchor point is on this Inquisitor. When deploying, stay as far away from him as possible and don't let him notice!"
"No problem. Big E gives us a wide range of delivery. Look, I'll just -"
Before Gu could finish his words, the assassin team in front of him disappeared on the delivery platform. At this time, he realized that he had accidentally triggered the delivery and uttered the second half of the sentence.
"They can all send my assassin units to the bottom layer of the Inquisitor's flagship..."
3. The Inquisitor Entering the Galaxy
Orogen, who belongs to the Holy Hammer Order of the Inquisition system, is a high-ranking Inquisitor who has been on the path of an Inquisitor for more than two hundred years and is on his way to a lifespan of three hundred years. As a mortal who has been "dealing" with Chaos for many years, this achievement is not great - because of the "well-known" secret of a certain Inquisitor who has reached a certain level, the Inquisitor, as an Imperial Guardian who is often faced with a bunch of things that may cause trouble even if they are described in words, because of the pursuit of efficiency or other things, the Inquisitor himself has become the object of elimination by his own duties, and finally he is killed by his own descendants in a posture that deserves death. It can be said that this is the fate of most Inquisitors - the Holy Hammer Order summons demons, the Anti-Rebellion Order gives birth to heretics, and the Anti-Foreign Order colludes with aliens, which is nothing more than this.
But now, as a person who always doubts everything, Orogen has vaguely felt that he is very close to crossing that line - no, maybe he has already crossed that line and he didn't realize it - after all, he has seen many inquisitors who crossed that line and were dealt with, and none of them felt that they had crossed the line. Therefore, how can he feel that after struggling in this darkness for so many years and using so many necessary but problematic means, he has not become something that should have been eliminated by his duty?
Therefore, in order to at least end his life in a career that is valuable to the Empire, and to minimize the damage to the Empire when he crosses the line, Inquisitor Orogen, who had learned some intelligence, used complicated human connections and went to a galaxy where the Empire's control was weak, where he met a fortune-teller who was said to have very accurate predictions, and received a series of meaningless hints from him - the high-level Inquisitor was convinced that these words were about the place where his final battle would take place, and the place where he could realize the final value of the Inquisitor. As long as he could finish his life there, he would die "meaningfully"!
After receiving these hints, Inquisitor Orrogan immediately returned to his lair, closed the door to visitors, and studied these words with his most trusted people for decades, slowly piecing together a pile of fragmented information. In the middle of a dark night, the high-level Inquisitor walked out of the room and announced to his subordinates that he had found his destined place, where he would burn the enemies of the empire. Then, before the other Inquisitors who were monitoring this high-level Inquisitor who looked wrong could take action, Orrogan took several warships with his trusted people and jumped into the subspace without hesitation.
He sailed towards the 'destined place' he saw in the prophecy.
————————————————The Judge’s dividing line——————————————————————
"The Minoit Galaxy, is this the place pointed to by the prophecy? However, this galaxy was abandoned thousands of years ago."
In the bridge of his flagship, Orogen sat on a chair decorated in a luxurious style exclusive to the Imperial Inquisitors. He leaned back gently, tapping the armrests with his fingers. His red artificial eye flickered as he watched a series of pictures about this incident being refreshed on the screen floating in front of him.
As he was looking at the intelligence of the galaxy, the other eye that had not been transformed was also wrinkled because of thinking - admittedly, as a high-level inquisitor, he knew that heretics, rebels, and aliens were typical of "heroes don't ask where they come from", and they might pop up in any corner of any planet in any region of the empire. As an inquisitor, dragging out even the enemies of the empire hidden in the most corner and burning them is their most sacred duty as the Emperor's servants - is there any need to be "choosy" about heretics, aliens, and rebels?
However, the place where he ended the war was not only located at the edge of the empire, but also far away from most of the galaxies, and it was also an abandoned area. Orogen couldn't help but wonder in his heart - is there really a rebellious existence here that can threaten the empire? Did he really not misinterpret the prophecy? If he did not misinterpret the prophecy, then which of the two abandoned planets and the undeveloped planet in this galaxy is problematic?
"Master, we have confirmed the surrounding intelligence. The instruments show that this Mandeville Point had a subspace jump before we entered this system."
Just as Orogen was pondering over how to move forward next, a new report lit up on the screen in front of him. After quickly reading the report, the Inquisitor had an idea in his mind.
"Fleet, start engines."
——————————————The dividing line between the Hammer guys————————————————————
"Hiss—Isn't it true that all ships of the Empire will be covered with strange things?"
On the lower level of the Inquisitor's flagship, which was slowly starting its engine, Gu, who currently regarded the Vindicare Assassin as his incarnation, nimbly bypassed a thing in front of him that was flattened to the ground by his Iverson Assassin, and shook his incarnation's head to determine if there were other enemies ahead that needed attention. Behind him, the Chulisas Assassins and the Callidus Assassins were silently on guard, alert for enemies that might come out of the darkness at any time and that Gu might have overlooked.
"Even new ships of the Empire may have some strange things growing on them, let alone old ships like this. So, what are you going to do now?"
The other Hammer guys who were watching Gu on the Queen of Glory were eating melons and watching the show.
"What else can I do except go shopping and try to figure out the structure of this ship? I can't possibly drive these pieces to meet the Inquisitor right now. When four faction assassins show up at the same time, I think the Inquisitor will immediately press the self-destruct button."
Thinking of the pawns he was carrying, Gu felt a little annoyed. For the Inquisitors, it didn't matter if a small group of Astartes got in trouble, but when four types of assassins all came to his ship and specifically targeted him...
Presumably, any normal Inquisitor would think himself a heretic - well, although in most cases, the probability that an Inquisitor is a heretic is quite high. However, as the Hammers cannot be sure of the situation of the Astartes who first entered the galaxy, it is not a good idea to scare the Inquisition into a panic - after all, their current anchor is still this Inquisitor!
"Send your Callidus a disguise to approach?"
"We need a chance - well, I found an interface that I can probably hack into - oh, the latest news, this Inquisitor has also discovered that other ships have been to this system, and he is sending the fleet into the planetary system."
"Then it seems that the reason for the problem in this galaxy is most likely that the Inquisition and the Astartes who entered at the beginning collided, and then the two sides had a gradually escalating war, which eventually led to the invasion of the power of the warp. I don't know which of them has a problem - judging from the Inquisitor's last prayers, he is most likely fine at least in terms of faith."
The egg began to think.
"It is also possible that everything was fine, but something went wrong by chance. The relationship between the Inquisition and the Astartes is a mess. In the eyes of the more extreme Inquisition, the Astartes are not human. To put it bluntly, in some sense, Abaddon has to send a banner to the Inquisition."
Liang Feifan shrugged and gave another possibility.
"Another possibility is that the two of them encountered other problems when they joined forces, and the Inquisitor, who was out of ammunition and food, had to use the Extermination Order to end it. Forget it, there is no point in making random guesses here. The most urgent task is to determine the identity of the Astartes who entered this system. In this regard, our interests are consistent with those of the Inquisitor. Gu, how about you continue to stay on the Inquisitor's ship and get more information about them?"
"Okay, I think this is all I can do at this stage."
4. The Sword of Hate in Scavenging
The yellow sand is endless and the sun is burning.
In this endless desert, although it has been abandoned by its creators for thousands of years, the towering remaining hive buildings are still telling any member of the empire who sees them about the lost splendor of this world in silent words.
The ruins of buildings stand like a forest in the sand, and the broken metal or glass pieces reflect the blurred sunlight. Perhaps the road is covered with sand and dust, and the bustling scene of the past has long disappeared. The wind blows through the ruins, bringing up a whirlwind of sand and dust. They shine golden light under the sunlight, like millions of
Tiny gems are jumping in the air. Occasionally, you can see a few pillars still standing stubbornly in the ruins with a trace of something different. They have become old and firm under the baptism of time. In a deeper place, abandoned statues and fountains are still standing, mottled and broken, like watchmen, watching over this relic, watching over the past that can never be returned.
But today, some unexpected people, some warriors who theoretically should not appear on this abandoned world, visited this ancient ruin, and what these Emperor's Angels of Death want is just...
"With the Emperor's blessing, there are still many useful things in this hive."
In an area that was obviously a stopped factory, Daken, the most accomplished technical sergeant of the Sword of Hatred on the Path of the Ohm Messiah, was leading several of his battle brothers, holding various tools and carefully dismantling a large part that had been mostly swallowed by dust, but in fact the overall structure was still intact. They were preparing to transport it back to the Thunderhawk gunship. About a Terran day ago, their strike cruiser arrived above this rocky planet. Although the members of the Sword of Hatred were dismayed to find that this world was dead, their situation still forced them to descend to this world and try to find some useful supplies from the ruins. Now, the members of the Sword of Hatred were satisfied that the harvest was not bad?
"The Imperial residents in this hive should have been evacuated in an orderly manner. Therefore, there are so many usable equipment and facilities preserved here."
Another technical sergeant who was busy beside Daken completed his dismantling task, and carefully collected some useful pipes together, and said with a slightly fortunate tone - under normal circumstances, although their unknown warband who can't find their father in the Empire has a little supply, they don't have to value these things. However, now squatting in such an abandoned galaxy in a corner of the Empire, everything that can be used is a treasure...
"But this isn't good news either - I think you know what I mean, brother."
Hearing what his battle-brother said, Daken revealed a bitter smile on his face hidden under the helmet - of course, being able to touch so many useful things is a good thing for the Sword of Hatred Chapter, which is now short of everything. However, the abandonment of this world also means that they cannot obtain more hard goods needed by the Sword of Hatred, such as food blocks specially used by Astartes, ammunition, and some more important things.
"At least we have the possibility to repair our ship - now we can only take it one step at a time."
The technical sergeant understood what Daken meant and expressed helplessness in his tone.
"We're lucky we can still walk - wait, something's happening!"
Just as Daken was about to say a few words to liven up the atmosphere, some unusual sounds reached his ears. Instinctively, the Astartes Brother quickly entered a state of combat readiness, and quickly moved to hide behind a large machine that had been dismantled of most of the things they needed. The other battle brothers around him also quickly put down the things that had nothing to do with the battle, and hid in the combat points that they had locked when they entered the area. In just a short yawn, the area became "calm".
"Direction of the sound...approximate number...estimated volume...You two, wait here, everyone else, follow me!"
Since the visitors from the direction of the sound did not cover their tracks at all, Daken easily determined a series of intelligence about the existence of the sound. After quickly considering the tactics in his mind for a while, the technical sergeant decided to take the initiative to attack - although the complex sources of the sound indicated that there were a large number of them, and some of them were large operations, but in Daken's opinion, this actually showed that the existence of the sound was probably not a powerful thing, and it might even be...
"clear."
The order was received, and the Astartes moved quickly. In a flash, except for the two Astartes named by Daken who were still squatting in their battle positions without moving, the other Astartes followed Daken's impeccable tactical movements and sneaked towards the direction where the sound came from. At the same time, Daken also roughly described his guess on the communication channel. Now, these Astartes were a little excited.
————After all, the value of an abandoned hive world to the warband is really different whether it is still inhabited or uninhabited!
——————————————The dividing line between the Hammer guys——————————————————————
While the Astartes of the Sword of Hate were busy fetching all kinds of useful things on Minoit I, the fleet of Inquisitor Orrogan that had entered the galaxy quietly anchored in an abandoned space station in the outer orbit of Minoit I. Inquisitor Orrogan also took a spacecraft to Minoit I. The most direct effect of his action was that the Hammermen, whose anchor had been following the Inquisitor, could finally deliver their pawns to Minoit I. So, in order to ensure that no unexpected major problems arose, the Hammermen
A heated discussion began.
"Can't I send an assassin down first to explore the way?"
After looking for a long time, he felt that it was not good enough if he did not start some special things as the first unit. Silently rubbed the Callidus Assassin in his hands, as if he wanted to put it down.
"No, it is forbidden to use Assassins Court Grey Knights and Custodians. The landing of this unit means that there are big units - except for the one that Gu accidentally lost."
In order to prevent things from getting out of hand at the beginning, the political commissar decisively suppressed it.
"It should be okay for me, Blood Crow, to bring a few chemical dogs?"
After sorting out the chess pieces he brought with him for a while, the Chosen One pieced together a combination that was probably fine.
"Although this combination is strange, it should be fine..."
Gu made a sharp comment on this.
"My other units are a bit difficult to place, so how about I place the Inquisitor first?"
Since most of the units he carried were large and active units, Liang Feifan, who originally wanted to make a super cool appearance, "very distressedly" withdrew his Grey Knights and Assassin units to the side, leaving only a lonely Inquisitor.
"Well...okay, you and my White Scar will act together, so that if someone asks you about something, it will be easier to fool them if the startup group supports you."
Abathur had a normal number of imperial chess pieces on hand, so the ones he brought this time were basically normal stuff. He patted Liang Feifan on the shoulder, signaling this wave of cooperation.
"Then I'll continue with the Oil Man team - do you need me to move the drop zone closer to you guys? That way we can take care of each other and deal with most problems."
After placing the chess pieces he had chosen in the preparation area, Egg, who was obsessed with oil, looked at the holographic projection of the Minoit No. 1 planet floating in the center of the combat hall. On it, there was a large area flashing with halo, and this area represented the place where the Hammers could place their chess pieces.
"No rush. Right now the intelligence is completely unclear. The first batch of chess pieces must all be treated as pathfinders. Our first goal now is to investigate clues everywhere. As long as we can figure out why this abandoned world that looks like it can't even feed the Terrans has developed to the point where it needs an extermination order, it doesn't matter if the first batch of chess pieces are all wiped out."
After thinking for a while, the political commissar put forward her own opinion.
"So we should disperse first? That's fine - in that case, whose chess piece would be best to land near that Astartes Chapter? Let me make it clear first, my assassin will definitely have to follow the Inquisitor all the way, so it's impossible for me."
Gu, who was hiding in Inquisitor Orogen's shuttle with three other assassin pieces, continued to eavesdrop on Inquisitor Orogen's communications calmly, while asking another question and assigning himself a task. After hearing this question, the Hammer guys all began to think.
About half a minute later, Silence spoke.
