This is the bonus chapter for reaching 900 Powerstones.
--
Aru Industrial Zone.
The Crimson Dawn forces left behind began executing Paul's orders.
Three hundred Astartes warriors reformed the defensive line, completely cordoning off the area surrounding the rift.
The Tech-Priests continued operating the sealing device. Under the continuous illumination of the milky-white beam, the rift's diameter shrank slowly but steadily.
Meanwhile, another contingent of personnel began... recycling operations.
[I am not the Regent, I'm Just Passing By Guilliman] led the team personally.
He requisitioned twenty Chimera transports. The troop compartments had been cleared out and refitted with heavy mechanical arms and sealed containment units.
"Start recycling with the Beasts of Nurgle. Those things have the highest unit price," G Bro directed over the regional channel. "Be careful. Although these corpses are dead, they still hold residual corruption. All operators must wear fully enclosed hazmat suits, and mechanical arms must be subjected to purification protocols immediately after touching a corpse."
Working in pairs, Astartes warriors used power claws or grappling hooks to drag the massive corpses of the Beasts of Nurgle over to the transports.
The mechanical arms extended, grabbed the corpses, and fed them into the sealed containment units inside the transports.
[System Prompt: Recycled Beast of Nurgle Corpse x1, Gained Imperial Coins: 3,200]
[System Prompt: Recycled Beast of Nurgle Corpse x1, Gained Imperial Coins: 3,100]
[System Prompt: Recycled Plaguebearer Corpse x1, Gained Imperial Coins: 1,550]
The notification chimes rang continuously in the operators' consciousness.
G Bro watched the numbers jumping frantically on the virtual interface, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
At this rate, by the time the battlefield was completely cleared, the total recycling revenue should hit a good few hundred million. Although it was just a drop in the bucket compared to the expenditure of this war, it was at least some blood recouped.
Simultaneously, the Tech-Priests were also treating the wounded Blood Angels and PDF soldiers.
"This wound is deeply corrupted. The infected tissue must be excised, gene-purification serum injected, and then mechanical augmetics grafted."
A Tech-Priest player examined the wound on a Blood Angels warrior's leg.
He wielded a scalpel with practiced ease. The blade incorporated a high-frequency disruption field, capable of precisely excising corrupted tissue without damaging healthy parts.
Once the excision was complete, he pulled an auto-injector from the medkit at his waist.
It was an [Advanced Gene-Purification Serum] redeemed from the System Store. At thirty thousand Imperial Coins per dose, its efficacy was thirty percent higher than the standard serum used by Blood Angels Apothecaries, and the side effects were reduced by fifty percent.
He injected it.
The corruption on the warrior's leg stopped spreading at a visible rate, and fresh granulation tissue began to grow.
"Next is the mechanical augmetic graft," the Tech-Priest opened another case containing a leg power-exoskeleton. "It's temporary. Once you return to Baal, you can have your Apothecaries swap it out for something better."
He spoke as he operated, "But at least it will let you stand back up and keep fighting."
On the other side, the treatment of the wounded PDF soldiers was also underway.
[Broad-Spectrum Anti-Plague Stimulant], [Tissue Regeneration Gel], [Neural Interface Stabilizer]...
The effects of these medicines, all redeemed from the Store, were so miraculously good that even the Blood Angels stared in disbelief.
"Are these medicines... new products from Mars?" a young Blood Angel couldn't help but ask.
The Tech-Priest player operating on him didn't even look up. "Imperial secret. Specially authorized by the Praetor."
The young Blood Angel shut his mouth. The secrets of the Imperial Custodes were not his to pry into.
But what surprised the Blood Angels even more was the liquid the recycling personnel sprayed while handling the daemon corpses.
It was a transparent solution with a faint, pleasant fragrance, kept in spray bottles. After processing a corpse, the recycling personnel would spray some around the area.
The instant the solution touched the ground, the soil—soaked in pus-blood and covered in fungal blooms—began to return to its original state at a visible rate. The putrid scent was dispelled, the fungal blooms withered and sloughed off, and even the residual psychic pollution of the Warp was purified.
"What... is that?" Seranaphy couldn't help but ask.
He was currently receiving debridement treatment on his face from a Tech-Priest. Half of his festering cheek had been excised, exposing the bone beneath, but the medicine was actively promoting tissue regeneration.
"Imperial Custodes secret," the Tech-Priest answered simply.
Seranaphy asked no further. Even as a Blood Angels Legion Champion, he had no authority to question the secrets of the Imperial Custodes.
He simply watched the recycling personnel efficiently clear the battlefield. Watched the Tech-Priests operate equipment he had never seen before. Watched the rift slowly close under the illumination of the milky-white beam.
This suddenly appearing army...
Mysterious, powerful.
And... obscenely wealthy.
Those medicines, that equipment, that liquid... Every single item reeked of exorbitant cost.
Was this the true power of the Imperial Custodes' Covert Inquisition?
"So damn rich they've lost their humanity," Seranaphy cursed silently in his heart with awe, gratitude, and... a trace of indescribable unease.
--
Inside the cabin of one the gunship, Paul disengaged his faceplate's seal and let out a long breath.
The majestic aura of the Custodes Praetor dissipated.
"Paul, that was some solid acting," Tax Bro leaned over, grinning widely. "That 'I will report this matter to the Emperor, exactly as it is' scared the shit out of Seranaphy. But then again, isn't scaring them like that a bit..."
"No," Paul shook his head. "The Blood Angels are proud, not stupid. With a Chaos invasion of this scale erupting under their watch on Aurelian, they can't absolve themselves of the blame, regardless of the cause. By applying pressure as a Custodes Praetor, it actually makes it seem more legitimate to them. An Inquisitor directly answering to the Emperor should be that strict."
He paused. "Besides, only by fully committing to the act will we avoid suspicion when we eventually withdraw. A covert force deployed by order of the Emperor to handle a crisis, who then returns to Terra to report... striking fast and leaving immediately. It's perfectly logical."
White Scars gave a thumbs-up from the side. "Paul, with your level of political acumen, it's a shame you aren't a High Lord of Terra."
"Give me a break," Paul chuckled. "Those old farts on the Senatorum Imperialis do nothing but scheme against each other all day. I'd like to live a few more years."
This remark drew laughter from the crowd.
Right then, Blood Angels' Second Emperor walked over from the back of the cabin, holding Helovia's hand.
The little girl joined the group.
She looked up at Paul, her small face filled with adoration. "Big Brother Paul, you're so amazing!"
She gave a thumbs-up—the "awesome" gesture the Crimson Dawn had brought over from Earth.
Paul crouched down, his giant golden armor making him seem a bit cramped in the cabin.
He reached out and gently ruffled Helovia's hair.
"I'm not amazing." His voice softened. "Everyone is amazing. Those uncles and aunties blocking the daemons on the front line, the older brothers and sisters operating the artillery, and the workers and doctors in the rear producing ammo and treating the wounded... Everyone is fighting with everything they have."
Helovia nodded vigorously. "I know! Mom used to always go help out in the Youth League's kitchen. She said she wanted to make sure all the uncles and aunties in the League had enough to eat!" She suddenly blinked and whispered, "But... Big Brother Paul, I keep feeling like something is calling me."
Paul's hand paused slightly. "Calling you?"
"Mhm." Helovia pointed out the viewport, toward the City of the Holy Anthem. "Right over there... I've had this feeling the whole time..." She tilted her head, trying to find the right words. "It's like... like there's a little bird in my heart, and it just keeps wanting to fly in that direction."
The cabin fell silent for a moment.
Blood Angels' Second Emperor, Tax Bro, White Scars, [Have you been loyal today]... all the players turned to look at Paul.
Paul smiled. "Then we'll go," he said, standing up and donning his faceplate once more. "Let's go see exactly what is calling you there."
--
Meanwhile, deep within the underhive of the City of the Holy Anthem.
Sacken Alar stood before the Tzeentchian Warp rift, which had already expanded to a massive one hundred and fifty meters in diameter.
The psychic wings on his back trembled madly, and the purple tentacles surging from the scar on his left cheek had crawled across nearly half of his neck.
But at this moment, the ecstatic joy of his smoothly advancing plan had vanished from his face. Only... shock and uncertainty remained.
"Lord Aetaos..." Sacken's voice trembled. "Why... has Nurgle's emissary been annihilated? That was a Great Unclean One! A new favorite shaped personally by the Grandfather! How could..."
Deep within the rift, the massive avian phantom of the Lord of Change, Aetaos, slowly manifested. Its three pairs of eyes blinked simultaneously, its gaze falling upon Sacken.
The Greater Daemon did not answer immediately. In truth, even Aetaos itself had fallen into a momentary... sluggishness.
The slaying of the Nurgle's Great Unclean One. This was indeed not among the possibilities it had simulated.
In its plan, that obese creature that had just crawled out of the plague cauldron should have caused a large enough disturbance in the Aru Industrial Zone to pin down a portion of the Blood Angels' forces and even force Sanguinius to divide his attention.
But now... the green signal in Aru had been extinguished. Extinguished so thoroughly that even the Great Unclean One's Warp essence had been erased.
There is an unexpected variable... Aetaos's voice echoed in its own mind. A variable... outside of destiny.
But it could not reveal this to Sacken.
"Do not be surprised, Sacken." Aetaos's voice carried the calm composure of having everything under control. "Everything is proceeding exactly according to plan."
It looked out of the rift, toward the upper hive of the City of the Holy Anthem. There, Sanguinius's golden psychic energy was fiercely clashing with the blue-purple energies of the two Greater Daemons of Tzeentch.
"The fall of Nurgle's emissary merely adds... a few twists to this theatrical play. And change is the Changer of Ways' favorite spice," Aetaos's three pairs of eyes narrowed simultaneously. "Now, go and do what you must. Assist the Mist-Weaver and Cinder-Burner... stall Sanguinius for a little while longer. Do not worry; everything will execute exactly as planned. You will absolutely obtain the outcome you desire."
Sacken took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms and drawing pale blue blood.
"Yes, Lord Aetaos."
He turned and looked toward the three massive pillars of psychic energy entangled on the distant battlefield.
Sanguinius... how much longer can you hold out?
--
Central Ruins Sector, Upper Hive, City of the Holy Anthem.
Sanguinius forced Mist-Weaver Calidus back with a single strike, the Blade Encarmine tracing a pale golden arc through the air.
His pristine white wings were stained with faint purple-black smudges, but the Primarch's psychic energy remained as vast and tempestuous as the sea.
"What is the matter?" Sanguinius looked toward the blue-plumed Greater Daemon, a flash of mockery crossing his amber-gold slit pupils. "It seems your ally is rather unreliable."
The stellar vortexes of the Mist-Weaver's eyes constricted slightly. It naturally sensed the complete dissipation of that putrid psychic energy from the direction of Aru. This was illogical, and it shouldn't have been possible.
Cinder-Burner Ignis let out a furious screech, the Warp flames on its cinder-feathers burning violently. "Shut your mouth!! That was merely... an expected event outside of the plan!"
"An expected event outside of the plan?" Sanguinius smiled. A smile laced with freezing murderous intent. "Then I suggest you..."
He flapped his wings, his figure instantly appearing above the Cinder-Burner's head. The Blade Encarmine cleaved straight down. "...prepare a few more expected events outside of your plan. Because next..."
The blade clashed against magma carapace, detonating a sky full of sparks.
Sanguinius's voice pierced through the roar of the explosion. "...I am going to take you two filthy birds... pluck your feathers out one by one... and then stuff you right back into the birdcage where you belong."