Time flowed on.
The planet Saraso, which not long ago was mired in a bug tide invasion and a purgatory-like struggle against a god-like entity, had now taken on a completely different appearance.
On the surface, the worm army that once wreaked havoc like a tide had long been wiped out.
Having lost the unified command and coordinated will of the Qu, these biological weapons acting solely on the instincts to devour and replicate were pure targets before the highly disciplined, well-equipped Night Lords Legion with orbital fire support, even though their individual defenses and aggressiveness far exceeded the Arachnids the Human Empire had encountered before.
The purging operation was conducted efficiently and thoroughly. Only the smell of burning and blood that had not completely dissipated in the air, along with the craters and wreckage scattered across the earth, recorded that brief, intense battle of purification.
However, for the local Sarasoans, the disaster was not over; it had merely changed forms.
Those civilians who narrowly survived the terrifying modifications of the Qu and the maws of the worms, and even many of the surviving soldiers, did not receive the rescue they anticipated. Instead, they were met with an even colder and more ruthless order.
With absolute military force, the Night Lords forcibly drove the Sarasoans scattered in ruins and shelters everywhere into centralized detention.
Crude but sturdy temporary camps were rapidly erected on the outskirts of the cities. Towering barbed wire fences, watchtowers, and patrolling clone soldiers formed the Sarasoans' new picture of existence.
They lost their freedom and their homes. With their future fate hanging in the unknown, they could only wait for their 'disposition' in fear and confusion.
The technicians from the Empire's Bio-Division conducted systematic sampling and analysis on the captured Sarasoans—blood, tissues, neural reflexes, and consciousness scans.
The focus of the assessment lay in whether this species was susceptible to Chaos pollution.
Was their physiological structure and mental will easily corrupted, seduced, or even incited to rebellion by Chaos?
These data would directly determine the ultimate fate of this civilization.
The Empire's logic was clear and cold.
If the final analysis confirmed that these intelligent Sarasoan creatures could engage in 'normal' communication conforming to Imperial standards, and their socio-cultural and ideological tendencies contained no intolerable 'heretical' inclinations...
And if their resistance to Chaos fell within an acceptable range, then they might have the fortune to be incorporated into the Empire's massive system, becoming a sheltered vassal or servant race, enjoying a certain degree of autonomy and the right to survival, and perhaps even sharing a modicum of the grace of Imperial technology in the future.
But all of this was not free; they needed to pay taxes and contribute resources and manpower.
The Empire could fight for the interests of its human compatriots and unconditionally shelter human subjects wandering in foreign lands, but for these non-human aliens, the Empire's protection always came with a price tag.
If the assessment results were unfavorable, what awaited them would be a more thorough 'purification' or 'resource-oriented' utilization.
At the same time, the Engineering Division accompanying the fleet had also fully mobilized.
Massive engineering machinery roared on the planet's surface like metal behemoths, clearing the ruins of war, laying standardized foundation modules, and establishing energy cores and orbital elevator bases.
Since this planet had been taken over by the military force of the Night Lords, according to Imperial law, it temporarily became the property of the legion, and even the entire Human Empire.
Modification and reconstruction were not aimed at restoring the original appearance of the Sarasoan civilization, but at forging it into an outpost base and resource world that met the Empire's strategic needs.
At this moment, inside the grand, gloomy bridge of the Night Lords Legion's Imperator-class flagship, the Eternal Night's Prowl...
The lighting here was deliberately kept very dim, with only the faint light emitted by countless console screens illuminating the tall figure standing in the center—Curze.
The pitch-black armor and the hanging skull decorations exuded a chilling aura.
Around him, three solid and clear hard-light holographic images formed a semicircle.
They were the Dark Angels Primarch Lion, with a tall posture and resolute face;
The Dusk Raiders Primarch Mortarion, clad in heavy armor, radiating an aura of dead silence at all times;
And the Iron Warriors Primarch Perturabo, with a grim expression and data streams flashing in his eyes.
What the four Primarchs were currently conducting was an interstellar tactical intelligence exchange meeting.
The fleets they respectively led were scattered across different areas of the Triangulum Galaxy, executing missions of reconnaissance, contact, and clearance.
As the Warmaster, Lion spoke first, his voice steady and powerful: "My forces have contacted three primitive local civilizations. Two of them showed strong hostility and have been purified. The other is still under observation and assessment; its technological level is roughly in the Iron Age, and no direct traces of Qu activity have been found."
Mortarion's voice carried a muffled echo: "A withered world where Qu modifications failed, with its ecosystem completely collapsed and possessing no value, has been marked as a dead planet. In addition, the wreckage of a Qu observation post was discovered, and Techmarines are currently attempting data recovery."
Perturabo's report was full of precise data and logic: "My forces mapped seventeen star systems and found traces of Qu biological architecture spread across five of them. Their architectural style exhibits a highly unified biological template characteristic, leading to the deduction that their social structure is a strict hive mind or a rigidly hierarchical caste system. A large amount of environmental and structural data has been collected and is available for in-depth analysis."
When it was the last turn, Curze's slightly lazy yet bone-chilling voice rang out, instantly catching the attention of all the Primarchs: "On my end, I've encountered something rather interesting."
He slightly raised his hand, and an image recording the dismantled Qu remains was projected. "I captured a lone Qu individual alive. It seems I am the first to have intimate contact with the main culprits."
In the image, the Qu remains, reduced to just a head and torso yet still maintaining life signs, made Lion's gaze sharpen, Mortarion's breathing seem to pause for a moment, and a glint flash in Perturabo's eyes.
"The technicians are rushing to 'study' it," Curze continued. "They are attempting to pry more intelligence regarding their civilization's structure, technological level, and troop distribution from its biological brain and potential memory glands. Meanwhile, its physical composition, energy circuits, and genetic sequences are also undergoing in-depth analysis."
"Excellent," Perturabo immediately took over the conversation. "Since we have obtained the complete genetic fragments of the Qu, this provides us with a perfect tracking beacon. We can utilize the neutrino pulse scanning arrays equipped on the Imperator-class flagships of each legion to conduct a directional, large-scale neutrino pulse scan."
The neutrino pulse devices on Imperator-class ships were essentially highly scaled-down versions of the core components of the Halo Array.
Although their power and effects fell far short of the complete Halo Array capable of reshaping the galaxy, they similarly possessed the capability to conduct regional neutrino pulse scans.
This type of scanning could penetrate the vast majority of physical and energy barriers, conducting superluminal, wide-area detection and localization of specific genetic sequences or energy signatures.
At this point, Perturabo pointed to the star map: "If we can assemble a sufficient number of Imperator-class flagships, say, reaching the scale of a hundred ships, and perform phase synchronization and energy concatenation on their pulse arrays to form a temporary scanning network.
Then...
Centering on our current position, by conducting a directional enhanced scan, its effective detection radius would be sufficient to cover an area of at least four thousand light-years.
Within this range, all lifeforms or creations carrying the Qu genetic sequence would have nowhere to hide, shining like lighthouses in the dark."
Mortarion remained silent for a moment before his muffled voice sounded again: "Feasible. The efficiency is far higher than blind searching."
Lion quickly weighed the pros and cons.
Utilizing the Qu's genetic fragments for scanning would undoubtedly greatly accelerate the search efficiency, aiming straight at the enemy's core.
He looked around at his three brothers and made the decision: "Execution approved. By the authority of the Warmaster, order all Imperator-class flagships participating in this expedition to make immediate adjustments. Concurrently, all ships will begin extracting dark matter energy from the surrounding star sectors to charge their pulse scanning arrays.
Once the adjustments meet the standards, immediately utilize the Qu genetic fragments provided by Curze to initiate the large-scale, directional neutrino pulse scan."
The order instantly spread throughout the Imperial fleets scattered across the Triangulum Galaxy.
An unprecedented beyond-visual-range hunting operation targeting the Qu civilization was about to commence.
The Empire's wrath would no longer be blind; it was transformed into a fatal blade pointed precisely at the enemy's heart.
Hearing this, Curze did not delay in the slightest. Through a highest-clearance encrypted data link, he immediately uploaded the crucial information parsed from the captured Qu, including the complete genetic sequence and unique biological energy signature codes, to the shared tactical network among the Primarchs.
Almost simultaneously, Curze on the bridge of the Eternal Night's Prowl, as well as all captains of Imperator-class flagships scattered across the Triangulum Galaxy, could clearly feel an extremely faint yet bone-deep hum coming from beneath their feet.
This was not a mechanical vibration, but subtle ripples produced when the spatial structure itself was disturbed by some massive energy.
At the core of the engine matrix towering like a Gothic cathedral dome on the Eternal Night's Prowl, and at the corresponding locations on all Imperator-class flagships, the devices specifically designed for extracting and converting dark matter began operating at unprecedented power.
Invisible streams of dark matter seemed to be drawn by an unseen force, crossing the void, merging into the devices, and being converted into unimaginable pure energy that poured incessantly into the complex and precise neutrino pulse arrays deep within the ships.
"Energy reserves have reached the critical threshold."
"All Imperator-class flagships have responded; phase synchronization complete."
"Concatenation network construction stable; main control clearance confirmed."
The notification sounds echoed in the bridge.
"Initiate scan," Curze ordered indifferently.
There were no earth-shattering explosions, no blinding flashes.
But in the perception of every psionically sensitive individual, especially the four Primarchs, an intangible, formless, yet vast and boundless 'fluctuation' centered on all the concatenated Imperator-class flagships—like ripples stirred by a stone thrown into a calm lake—instantly expanded in all directions in an incredible manner exceeding the speed of light, silently sweeping across every inch of space within a four-thousand-light-year radius.
This fluctuation brushed past stars, penetrated nebulas, and washed over planets and black holes. Its subtlety was enough to identify even the faintest trace matching the Qu genetic fragments in the database.
In the extremely brief instant the fluctuation passed, the space near all the Imperator-class flagships participating in the scan exhibited incredibly subtle, water-ripple-like distortions. Light experienced an almost imperceptible deflection, as if the flow of time was 'rewound' or 'previewed' for a split second.
And this was precisely the secondary effect triggered by the neutrino pulse, known as 'temporal echoes'.
However, compared to the terrifying scene when the Halo Array was activated, which was sufficient to affect the spacetime structure of the entire galaxy, the effects produced by this scan were strictly limited to a minuscule range around the flagships. The dark matter energy consumed was even more insignificant compared to a galaxy-wide pulse.
The scan did not last long.
Soon, on the massive holographic star map in the center of the bridge, which originally only marked the positions of the Imperial fleets and known star systems, dramatic changes began to occur.
As if a brush made of data was rapidly painting, the scope of the star map expanded quickly, and details filled in at flying speeds.
And in these newly drawn areas, piercing crimson light spots began to emerge densely, one after another.
These red spots were either clustered like bloodstains or scattered like drops of blood. Their distribution followed no pattern; some hid within deep nebulas, some were attached to barren planets, and a few red spots even clearly showed movement trajectories, indicating they were in interstellar transit.
All these red spots represented targets locked on by the neutrino pulse within the four-thousand-light-year scanning range that highly matched the Qu genetic sequence.
Looking at the red markers on the star map, which almost covered every corner of the scanned area, a trace of undisguised disgust and killing intent flashed in Perturabo's eyes.
He spoke in a deep voice, proposing a more radical and efficient plan: "Since we have already locked onto their positions, why not make it clean and simple? Rather than dispatching fleets one by one to purge them, wasting time and resources, it's better to...
Directly execute a true neutrino pulse wave.
Utilizing the energy gathered from the concatenation of a hundred Imperator-class flagships, although far inferior to the Halo itself, it is sufficient to conduct a targeted 'purification' pulse based on the Qu genetic sequence within this four-thousand-light-year range."
Perturabo's fingertips swept over the dense red spots on the star map. "Thoroughly erase all Qu within these areas from the material level.
By doing this, the massive commotion caused and the instantaneous large-scale extinction of their kin will inevitably provoke the highest degree of vigilance and desire for revenge from all main Qu forces within the Triangulum Galaxy, and even from further regions.
Like an enraged swarm of bees, they will actively seek out and besiege us 'murderers'."
Perturabo looked at the other three Primarchs: "We only need to wait at our leisure in our respectively prepared fortified positions for them to actively deliver themselves to our doorsteps, and then annihilate them one by one.
This is much more efficient than taking the initiative to search for them across the vast sea of stars."
Mortarion's voice followed, expressing agreement: "Acceptable.
The Qu civilization is essentially a nomadic species, like cosmic locusts, migrating between different star systems, attempting to modify everything into the twisted forms they approve of.
Instead of expending effort to chase them, it's better to let them strike proactively.
Take this opportunity to draw their main forces here and solve this trouble once and for all, which will also fulfill Father's wish and quell his anger as soon as possible."
Mortarion's mention of the Emperor's focus on this matter undoubtedly added weight to the plan.
Curze remained silent, his hands crossed in front of him, his eyes fixed on the red spots on the star map as if appreciating a work of art painted with death and despair.
He voiced no objection, making his tacit approval clear.
Lion's gaze swept over the star map and over his brothers.
The Warmaster's original intention was also to seek a decisive battle. Perturabo's proposal coincided with his own thoughts, and having undergone numerous trials, the Dark Angels Primarch of today was more attentive to listening and adopting his brothers' strategic opinions.
"Plan approved." Lion's voice was firm and decisive. "Order: All legions, with company fleets as units, must complete the defensive modification engineering of their respective current star systems within seven standard Earth days.
Transform the selected star systems into impregnable temporary fortresses of war.
In seven days, all Imperator-class flagships will complete final concatenation, initiate the neutrino pulse wave, and purify all identified Qu targets within four thousand light-years."
He paused, his tone becoming exceptionally serious as he emphasized: "Once the pulse wave is released and the Qu main forces are drawn here, we will face a gruelling defensive siege.
Remember, in the early stages of the battle, especially during the first contact, all troops must strictly control their firepower, displaying a stance of 'being evenly matched' with the enemy, or even slightly at a disadvantage.
We cannot expose all our strength and technological superiority right from the start.
We must make the Qu believe they have the capability to swallow us, thereby committing all their forces.
If we appear too strong and scare them away, we will plunge back into an endless hunt, needlessly adding to our troubles."
"Understood," Perturabo responded concisely.
"Agreed," Mortarion assented in his muffled voice.
"Hehe."
Curze let out a low chuckle of unknown meaning, serving as his acknowledgment.
A death trap utilizing the entire galaxy as a chessboard had quietly begun to be laid out.
The Empire's Primarchs were preparing to use a massacre of unprecedented scale to pacify the Emperor's wrath and completely end the Qu civilization's sinful footprints in this star sector...
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