Chapter 1007 - 1006: The False Emperor Must Die

Aboard the flagship of the Word Bearers Legion, the Chronicle of Ashes. The commanders of the Iron Warriors, Night Lords, and Alpha Legion assembled on the bridge.

Lorgar Aurelian strode to the center of the gathering and greeted his three brother Primarchs.

"Perturabo, Konrad, Omegon, welcome to this meeting."

Perturabo cast a grim glance around the walls, painted with blasphemous runes, and suppressed his unease.

"Begin. Don't waste time."

Konrad Kurze's arms twitched like the wings of a bird of prey, he had already seen the river's flow.

He glanced covertly at Sevatar beside him, knowing that the slogan he was about to shout would echo for ten thousand years to come.

"This is a meeting of monumental significance."

Omegon shifted his attention from the unfavorable intelligence coming from the Eastern Galaxy to the current situation.

"I must remind you, Nareth's offensive is more ferocious than anticipated."

His Legion had already lost over twenty thousand in the Gordian Leauge and at the Diamat, including elite Headhunters, and nearly the entire Lernaen Terminator contingent had been wiped out.

Lorgar frowned slightly and looked at Omegon.

"My brother, there is no need for concern. The core of the Imperium is flawed."

"The rationalism that our father defined as the Imperial Truth is built upon the lie of atheism."

"The Imperium was founded on a dangerous deception."

Zso Sahaal stood at the very edge of the Night Lords' formation, his narrowed eyes sweeping over the assembly, finally settling on Lorgar.

Within the Night Lords, from the Primarch to the Astartes, all despised the Terran-born.

Although Zso Sahaal had become a captain and was an important member of the Night Lords high command, the Kyroptera, he was kept at the outermost fringes by those of Nostraman origin.

'The only truth in Lorgar's words is that the true gods do indeed exist.'

'But they are neither on Terra nor in the warp.'

'The Black Emperor is the One True God'

Lorgar smiled and looked at Konrad. "Konrad is right, today is destined to be momentous."

He walked to the center of the gathering and stood alongside his three brother Primarchs.

Lorgar surveyed the Word Bearers. "Some of you may wonder why we abandoned the nearly complete pacification of the Gharis campaign."

"Some believe that abandoning the compliance of 1301-20 was in response to the Emperor's summons to Isstvan V."

"The truth is both yes and no. We are indeed going to Isstvan, but for a far greater cause."

His gaze shifted from the Word Bearers to the warriors of the other three Legions. "As I said just now, the Imperium has failed us."

"The Emperor demanded that the people sacrifice truth. He has failed all of us."

He looked at Perturabo. "The Imperium he built is flawed and far too fragile."

He looked at Konrad. "You are the one who needs the least explanation, Konrad."

"You know that his plan will wither forever. The withered vines of Terra will never bear sweet fruit."

He finally looked at Omegon and the Alphas. "And it is precisely because of the Imperium's flaws that it is so vulnerable in resisting xenos invasions."

The High Priest of Chaos listened to the whispers at his ear. "Xenos incursions against human worlds grow by the day."

"Orks trample the southern galaxy. The barbarian tribes of the Calaton have reduced newly compliant worlds to wastelands."

"The Carrion-Eaters of Carnas V have taken Vector Nine by bloody force."

"Countless xenos rise upon the corpse of the Imperium."

Lorgar held his head high. "This is the consequence of humanity rejecting the truth. By rejecting Chaos, we bring about our own destruction."

He struck his chest with force. "I promise you, the new human Imperium that rises from the ashes will be one of righteous faith and enlightened truth."

"It will be an empire proclaimed, commanded, and protected by the avatars of the gods, an Imperium strong enough to withstand blood and fire."

As Lorgar's words faded, First Captain Jago Sevatar of the Night Lords shouted at the top of his lungs: "The False Emperor must die!"

"The False Emperor must die!" The assembled members shouted in unison. Zso Sahaal also shouted loudly.

At the very moment Sevatar cried out "The False Emperor must die," the first ship of the Punitive Fleet, the Tempest-Approaching, entered into realspace.

The Tempest-Approaching was a specially built Symphonic-class warp-detection vessel, equipped with an auspex isolation shroud and an auspex array surpassing any ship ever built by the Imperium.

Alastor Rushal, Captain of the Raven Guard 89th Company, stood on the bridge, gazing at the holographic image.

His helmet communicator beeped, transmitting the mechanical voice of a servant.

"Lord Rushal, the Helmsman has steered the ship into the Wenbi Channel."

"Shut down life support and power systems." Alastor issued the order.

The lumen lamps overhead gradually extinguished. A thin layer of frost formed on the walls and cogitators.

To meet the requirements of this mission, there were no ordinary Legionaries or servants on this ship, only three squads of Astartes and enhanced servitors.

After the Council of Nikaea, the discarded former Chief Librarian Balsar Kurthuri knew this was also one of the reasons Corvus Corax chose them, of Terran origin, to carry out this dangerous mission.

The Tempest-Approaching silently prowled through the darkness. As they headed toward the fifth planet, the two left the bridge and came to the captain's quarters.

After laying down the "Euclidean Rune," they knelt devoutly at the altar and prayed to the Black Emperor.

By the third repetition of the prayer, the black mist surged, swallowing the two.

Alastor and Balsar arrived above the black mist and found two other figures within it.

Through the blurry mist, they could not clearly distinguish the other two.

"Akurduana, Balsar, Alastor, Zso Sahaal."

"You must cooperate fully on Isstvan V."

Among the eleven Legions on both sides of the Isstvan V rebellion, Nareth had few he had horned in on. Only four could be contacted.

Fortunately, there were people on both the loyalist and traitor sides. This gave room to maneuver, to achieve much with little. "The Iron Warriors, Night Lords, Word Bearers, and Alphas have already betrayed the Imperium."

Akurduana suddenly understood why the Warmaster had ordered the fleet to withdraw and had his father fortify the Urgall Highlands.

He was luring the loyalists.

"Balsar and Alastor, your task is to gather the scattered loyalists and lead them out of Isstvan V."

"Akurduana and Zso Sahaal, you must actively encircle and suppress the survivors, secretly aiding them."

"By Your Will," the four said in unison.

They looked at each other and struck their chest plates in salute through the black mist.

The black mist swallowed them, returning each to realspace.

....

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