Following his usual custom, whenever Noah arrived at a planet, he would order his warship to conduct a comprehensive scan of that planet to determine its conditions.
This time was no exception.
Although this was Earth, and logically Noah should have been very familiar with it, in reality, it was of no use.
Because he didn't believe this was Earth at all; he hadn't seen a single ocean.
Everywhere was yellow earth and various strange gases, which made Noah somewhat doubt if he had come to the wrong place.
The scan of Holy Terra was not as simple as with other planets; there was one area that could not yet be fully scanned.
There was strong psionics interference there, affecting the warship's scan, but other areas were successfully scanned in detail.
Everything displayed by Holy Terra, the capital planet of the Imperium of Man, the Throneworld, left Noah dumbfounded.
He simply couldn't believe this could be the capital of an interstellar civilization.
After the planet Cadia was destroyed by the Chaos Warmaster Abaddon, the Great Rift, spanning the galaxy, was born.
This harmful, cursed scar split the territory of the Imperium of Man in two, and colossal psionics waves swept across the galaxy during a period known as the Age of Darkness.
Because not only did Warp storms erupt everywhere, but even the Emperor's astronomican briefly extinguished during this time.
The extinguishing of the astronomican caused catastrophic effects.
On a galactic scale, Imperial ships lost their ability to navigate the Warp, and many ships then deep within the Warp sank and were never heard from again.
Countless vessels were forced to return to the real universe, but the Imperium of Man had no means of faster-than-light travel, so, having lost their Warp travel capability, they were stranded in the cold void of the real universe.
During the Age of Darkness, Warp storms hindered communication, and the extinguishing of the astronomican also meant the cessation of all inter-system travel.
The energy of the Great Rift caused many persistent spacetime disturbances, and the flow of time became different in various parts of the galaxy, making attempts at rescue and self-rescue extremely difficult.
Many planets, under the influence of a complete black-out, believed themselves to be the last remnants of humanity in the universe.
Along with this tide came a vast number of daemon armies, who began to slaughter their way through the galaxy alongside traitorous forces like the Chaos Space Marines.
Although Holy Terra, the Throneworld of the Imperium of Man, was not directly hit by Warp storms, due to the loss of the astronomican's light, the Throneworld was completely cut off from external resources and transport.
The Terra government had no way of knowing if the Imperium beyond the Solar System still existed. As the sacred capital of the Imperium of Man, Terra had an astronomical population and critical institutions.
But none of this was the most important; the most crucial factor was that they lacked the corresponding capacity for material and food production.
Terra, this capital of the Imperium of Man, needed continuous external transport to survive.
This was something Noah simply couldn't believe; he couldn't believe that an interstellar civilization would actually need to face food shortages.
This was something the Terran Federation wouldn't even dare to imagine.
Because when interstellar shipping was cut off, this world quickly plunged into chaos.
The densely packed, overcrowded hive Cities on the human homeworld almost immediately fell into famine.
Despair began to spread among the populace, and the Chaos propagators, who had always lurked in the shadows, also struck out everywhere during this time.
They seized upon the dimming of the Emperor's light as an opportunity to fan the flames.
They drew many people who had lost hope of survival into Chaos cults, further pushing the chaotic situation to the brink of destruction.
During this period, isolated Terra entered a state of martial law, but soon even the Adeptus Arbites and Astra Militarum forces were unable to suppress the restless crowds, for the people's sustenance is paramount.
The scarcity of resources was a practical problem that could not be overcome by will; when there was nothing to eat, the will and surging emotions of the crowd simply could not be suppressed.
As the chaos continued to expand, the Terra government had no choice but to close the gates of the Imperial Palace.
Such an action was tantamount to de facto abandonment of all areas outside the city walls, meaning that these people effectively chose to let all of humanity on Terra fend for themselves.
The Custodes, the Old Hundred Legions, the Adeptus Arbites , and the Imperial Fists, among other garrisoned forces, shifted all their focus to defending the Imperial Palace itself.
It could be said that apart from the Emperor's palace, almost all areas of Terra were plunged into riots.
The minions of Chaos were accumulating power amidst this madness of blood and death, and an even greater crisis was about to arrive.
So, after Noah completed the scan of the entire Holy Terra, he both marveled at how many people this planet contained and at the chaos of this planet.
Who could believe that this capital planet of the Imperium of Man had such a massive population, but most importantly, that this population was so chaotic?
All kinds of factions were everywhere, and he also felt those disgusting Chaos energies.
He hadn't dared to hope that the capital of this interstellar civilization would be luxurious, or comparable to the federation.
But when he truly saw the lives of the common people beneath Holy Terra, he could only sigh that they lived worse than pigs and dogs.
Therefore, after disembarking from the cruiser with Guilliman, Noah could no longer hold back and asked,
"Are you sure this is the capital of your Imperium of Man? This is your Throneworld? Are you sure this isn't a beggar's world?"
"I have visited many xeno civilizations in the universe, and I have also seen various planets, but I have never seen a planet like your capital planet."
"Your capital has become like this; does your Imperium of Man truly still have enough strength?"
This scene before him made Noah have to wonder if his attempt to gain the support of the Imperium of Man was a pipe dream.
After all, this civilization, no matter how he looked at it, seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
Because no matter how he looked at it, Noah could see that on Holy Terra, besides the chaotic populace, there were also their defenders, and their morale was constantly weakening.
The act of abandoning all the residents of the Throneworld had a severe impact on their mental state, and the fact that the astronomican had not reignited also made them begin to worry about the Emperor's condition.
No one dared to imagine what future humanity would face if the astronomican were to extinguish permanently?
All of this, for Noah, who possessed powerful psionics, he had already sensed.
He could feel that the capital of this Imperium of Man was simply filled with despair, and also those Chaos energies.
That energy, like filth, continuously stimulated his brain and nerves, making him somewhat angry.
Noah had to wonder if his decision was correct, and Guilliman, facing Noah's inquiry, could only show an embarrassed expression.
What could he know? He had only just awakened from stasis; he knew nothing.
Of course, he was also angry now.
How could he not be angry that the Imperium had become like this?