A Core Ship From The Start
/ A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 1043
Chapter 1043: Chapter 717 Chaos Chapter 1043: Chapter 717 Chaos For Horus, this was a successful rebellion.
It should have been so.
He purged the Loyalist Faction within his legion on the planet of Istvan III, loyal to the Emperor, but what Horus hadn't expected was that under the sudden protection of the Tribunal, the Loyalists evacuated and disappeared without a trace. Afterward, upon learning of Horus's rebellion, Terra immediately ordered the Steel Warriors, Midnight Lords, Whisperers, Steel Hands, Fire Lizards, Shadow Crow Guard, and the Alpha Legion to move to the Istvan Star System to suppress the rebellion.
However, in reality, besides the Shadow Crow Guard, Steel Hands, and Fire Lizards, the other four legions had already secretly defected. Thus, when the three legions loyal to the Emperor landed on the planet Istvan V, they were greeted by a pincer move consisting of betrayal from their former allies and attacks from their enemies ahead.
The result was that the genetic prototypes of the Steel Hands and Fire Lizards were killed, the Shadow Crow Guard was missing, and the Loyalist Astarte Legions were severely weakened.
Horus was very pleased with this result, and now under his command were the Sons of Horus, Emperor's Sons, World Eaters, Whisperers, Steel Warriors, Midnight Lords, Death Guard, and the Alpha Legion.
On the Imperial side, the majority of the Astarte's main force had been redeployed away from Terra upon the War Marshal's orders. According to Horus's plan, the Limit Warriors were backstabbed by the Whisperers in the Kaus Star System, the Holy Blood Angels fell to the Obsessive Sin at Signus, the Space Wolves and Thousand Sons were fighting each other, and the White Scars were in chaos over whether to join Horus. This left only the Imperial Fist Rogal Dorn to defend Terra.
Additionally, with the rebellion of the Mars Mechanicum, the only real forces Terra could call upon were Imperial Fists and Imperial Guards, and at most the Silent Sisters. Horus mused that an eight to one fight was certainly a winning situation.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Logue returned with a sorrowful expression.
And then Horus was completely stunned.
“Say that again?”
Horus stared at Logue, his eyes nearly murderous–almost all of the Whisperers and World Eaters had been annihilated, three Abyssal-class battleships completely wrecked–Horus had plans to uphold these in the Solar System against Dorn's Mountain Array, but now you've ruined them?
You must be joking!
Logue was also frustrated. Who told you to insist on having the World Eaters join our ranks? If it weren't for the World Eaters, I wouldn't have ended up so miserably, at least I could have bitten the Limit Warriors.
Now, not only have I not gained anything, but I've also drawn unwanted attention. Who am I to complain to?
“However, it is strange.”
Seeing the atmosphere cool down somewhat, Fulgrim also spoke up.
“The deployment of Abyssal-class battleships is a military secret. By all logic, no one else should know about it other than a few limited individuals. But by the responses of the Limit Warriors and the Tribunal, it seemed like they already knew we would deploy three Abyssal-class battleships just as if they knew our trump cards, and they directly countered it without even trying to probe with an initial attack.”
This felt very strange.
“Were those Limit Warrior battleships?”
“It doesn't seem like it.”
Mortarion shook his head.
“That is not the style of the Limit Warriors, nor does it resemble the Imperial style, but more like an Alien Battleship.”
“Now the question is how they knew about our military deployment.”
Logue was also annoyed.
“Ares died, so it's evident that from the beginning the Limit Warriors knew our plans, which is not surprising, since the Tribunal was around, Kiriman must have learned the situation from the mouths of the beaten and broken Loyalists, and it's understandable to be cautious against Whisperers. But the question is, how could they have known that Abyssal-class battleships were to be used by Whisperers to attack the Kaus Star System?”
“Could there be a traitor among us?”
As soon as Fulgrim said this, the expressions of everyone else became subtly alert. Generally speaking, this kind of situation and possibility were not nonexistent. After all, the Loyalist Astartes had been purged, leaving only the rebels.
How could it be possible that someone was still betraying us from within when they're already contaminated by the forces of Chaos?
“Stop with the wild speculations.”
Seeing the suspicious glances among his supposed comrades, Horus forcefully interrupted this train of thought. If this continued, they might disintegrate internally even before they could strike back at Terra. What kind of a fight would that be?
“I believe it is very likely that the Tribunal has already infiltrated our ranks. They have been monitoring our every move through the loyalist Astartes.”
Saying this, Horus's expression darkened. He still maintained that this suddenly emerged Tribunal was essentially the Astarte's watchers, which made sense because the Emperor, that shameless old bastard, loved playing these kinds of balancing acts. It was only natural for him to set up a Tribunal to secretly balance the Astartes.
Indeed, in the Loyalist Faction, there were quite a number of high-ranking Astartes, such as Luo Ken, the commander of the Tenth Company. Although he was the commander of the Tenth Company, he was also a member of the Remembrancers–a group similar to the staff of the Sons of Horus. They could speak directly with Horus, offer advice and opinions, and even oppose Horus's plans openly.
Under such circumstances, although Horus was extremely cautious, he was not sure whether a Loyalist Astarte might leak his affairs to the Tribunal, thereby exposing his plans and schemes.
Perhaps from the very moment he chose to rebel, there were those below who clapped and whistled while secretly betraying him.
“Regardless, the plan must continue,”
Horus took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the raging fury in his heart. In Horus' plan, he could utilize his identity as the War Marshal to disperse the strength of the Loyalty Faction without the other legions knowing, then incite a Subspace Storm through ritual, blocking the Subspace routes, and sealing off these Loyalty Faction legions. Then, they would be systematically destroyed without even knowing what hit them.
In truth, causing a Subspace Storm as a sacrifice of a planet could be done anywhere; it was not necessary to confront the Limit Warriors directly. However, because the Whisperer held a grudge against the Limit Warriors, and Horus believed that Kiriman would not be aware of their betrayal, coupled with the fact that the Limit Warriors were indeed the biggest threat he faced during the rebellion, he ultimately agreed to Rogal's request, allowing the Whisperer to take on the Limit Warriors.
And now, things had completely backfired.
Not only had the Whisperer suffered heavy losses, but even the three Abyssal-class battleships Horus acquired from the Mechanicum rebels had turned into scrap metal. Currently, Mars was still in a state of rebellion, and Horus learned that Rogal Dorn had already sent his legion to support the Mechanicum in suppressing the rebellion. At least for now, Horus had little hope of obtaining another Abyssal-class battleship.
Horus himself was not faring well either. Initially, when the Sixty Second Expedition Fleet attacked the Tribunal, Duanmu Huai had countered with a micro black hole, swallowing up a large portion of the fleet, resulting in significant losses among the Sons of Horus, Emperor's Sons, and the Death Guard. Although they managed to annihilate three Loyalty Faction legions at Istvan V afterward, the enemy's counterattack before their demise had also inflicted considerable damage on the Rebel Army.
This was also why Horus was extremely wary of Kiriman and allowed the Whisperer to deal with the Limit Warriors — the number of Limit Warriors within the Empire was unmatched by any other, and if Kiriman were to raise an army to quell the rebellion, just his Limit Warrior Legion alone would equal the entire rebel coalition.
Paired with the Dark Angels and Holy Blood Angels, as well as the Imperial Fists stationed at Terra and the White Scars who were wandering somewhere, Horus had a foreboding sensation that he might be facing a catastrophic defeat.
But this was just a fleeting premonition, quickly subdued by Horus.
“The plan must continue, summon the Subspace Storm, we need to block the routes, cut off communication, and then… head straight for Terra!”
Killing the Fake Emperor would make all of this worthwhile!
A disastrous defeat for one side naturally set the stage for a triumphant victory for another.
The Limit Warriors had once again defeated the enemy, achieving victory, and Kiriman had personally sought out Duanmu Huai to express his gratitude. Although the Tribunal Fleet had left the battlefield as the real fighting began, the Limit Warriors all knew that if it weren't for the Tribunal's three Alien Battleships destroying the enemy's Trump Card, they might have faced a completely different situation.
From one perspective, no one had sacrificed more in this war than the Tribunal.
Of course, for Duanmu Huai, this hardly counted as sacrifice. But…well, it didn't need to be said out loud.
A grand victory feast was naturally indispensable; of course, for the Astartes, they didn't need to waste time on eating and drinking, but sometimes a gesture was necessary.
At least for the moment, the Tribunal was indeed their ally.
Duanmu Huai and Kiriman were also at the head table, holding cups and chatting.
“What do you plan to do next?”
“No matter what, I will defend the Emperor, protect Terra.”
Kiriman also replied without hesitation.
“The Limit Warriors will immediately begin recruiting, maximizing our enlistment and warship production. We will leave part of the fleet responsible for guarding the Five Hundred Worlds, while the rest will head toward Terra.”
“I can escort you there, and once we reach Terra, it will be time for us to part ways.”
“Why?”
Surprised by Duanmu Huai's response, Kiriman asked.
“Everything the Tribunal has done is worthy of being written in the annals of history. It is because of your help that we were able to stop the Whisperer's treacherous actions and protect the Five Hundred Worlds…”
“I don't get along with your father, and a meeting would likely lead to conflict.”
Duanmu Huai waved his hand, cutting off Kiriman's words.
“Honestly, if I really go to Terra, I might not be able to refrain from issuing an Extinction Order myself, considering both the Terra Council and the Emperor are up to no good…”
“Um… …”
Faced with Duanmu Huai's frankness, Kiriman was at a loss for words. Although he couldn't openly discuss the Emperor, he more or less agreed with Duanmu Huai's view on the Terra Council — he held no fondness for those who merely occupied their roles without fulfilling their duties.
Duanmu Huai, holding his wine glass, gazed at the banquet hall, having nearly guessed why he was here. In the past, players had spoken about the birth of the Four Chaos Gods, mentioning that when they were born, they existed simultaneously in the past, present, and future — because Subspace doesn't have the concept of time.
Now, Duanmu Huai was also considered a god, even the God of Destruction, God of Joy, and the Old God.
So, did he also exist simultaneously in the past, present, and future?
This might be a question, or perhaps not.
Yet, Duanmu Huai could feel that his time here might not be much longer.
The past can be changed, but it cannot be overthrown.
Like a house, when you are laying the foundation, you can plan whether to build a skyscraper or a villa, but you can't just scrap it to make a park.
And what he could change… might only be this much.
Chapter end
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