Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 251 On the Way to the Court

This was Chen Xi's first time arriving in the capital of the Mariupol star sector, and also his first time truly leaving Rostov and arriving in another imperial civilization.

Although he had inspected Zaporosh and another colony, both of these worlds were merely newly established colonies and were vastly different from the true imperial world.

The stark difference between it and a star sector capital is enough to make one marvel at the fact that they were from the same era and the same country.

If we had to draw an analogy, it would be roughly the difference between Shanghai in the 3K era and a certain rural town.

The former is a modern international metropolis, while the latter is just a dusty old place that is still stuck in the past thirty or forty years, and it is so small that it cannot be smaller.

The Mariupol sector is a newly developed sector, which was developed as an extension in the early M38 period and officially designated as an Imperial sector about five hundred years later.

The capital of the Mariupol sector is also a newly discovered planet, with a history of less than three thousand years.

This was indeed very new for an imperial world, unbelievably new.

The planet's geological structure has not yet collapsed due to over-exploitation, its atmosphere has not been completely eroded by industrial waste gas, and even the magma activity deep within the Earth's crust remains relatively stable.

The planet's environment has not been severely damaged, and there are not many nests on the planet. The few that exist are concentrated in the temperate region near the equator.

When Chen Xi's black ship docked at the starport on this planet, he could even look down from space at the yellowish-brown wasteland on the planet's surface.

The unconcrete, pristine landscape gleamed with a rugged luster under the sunlight, like a piece of uncut jade.

Even more astonishing is that the clouds covering the city are pure white, not lead gray or any other heavily polluted color.

These clouds floated lightly among the spires of the hive, adding a touch of life to the cold, metallic buildings.

This is quite rare in an imperial world with a hive capital.

It is important to know that after most imperial worlds establish their first hive capital, their home planets are transformed into lifeless, metallic planets due to unrestrained industrial expansion, and little of the original planetary features can be seen anymore.

Because, generally speaking, to establish a capital city in an imperial world, one would inevitably have to destroy the planet's environment.

Mining operations tear apart the Earth's crust, factory fumes poison the atmosphere, and the waste from billions of residents will completely alter the planet's landscape.

But in Mariupol, the capital of the district, everything seems to be under control.

At least there are no oceans dyed purple, or lands of any other color on the planet.

There are no volcanoes emitting toxic smoke, no jungles glowing from radiation, and no garbage mountains stretching for thousands of kilometers, common in an overdeveloped world. Everything here still retains some of the purity of the New World.

Unfortunately, Chen Xi wasn't in the mood to appreciate the scenery.

His thoughts were preoccupied with the war on the expedition and the heavy responsibilities on his shoulders. What he saw was not the vitality of the new world, but the complex and profound political struggles and power struggles on the planet. He only glanced briefly at the scenery outside the window when he was traveling to the Inquisition headquarters in the shuttle.

In that fleeting glance, sunlight pierced through the clouds, refracting a dazzling light onto the metallic surfaces of the city, as if the entire city were bathed in golden sunlight.

The spires and domes piercing the clouds look like towering mountains rising abruptly from the earth, arrogant and unshakeable.

They were cast from fine gold and plastic steel, their surfaces engraved with the imperial double-headed eagle emblem and sacred scriptures, gleaming with a cold luster in the thin, high-altitude atmosphere.

Countless spires converge to form a city in the clouds—Upper Nest, the domain of the powerful and high priests, suspended above the mortal world, overlooking all living beings.

Beneath the abyss of this city in the clouds lies the Lower Nest, which forms the cornerstone of the empire in various ways.

There is no sunlight there, only the incessant roar of machinery and murky artificial lights; no clean air, only polluted exhaust fumes that have been circulated hundreds of times; no order or glory, only survival and struggle.

The light of the upper nest will never reach there, just as the prosperity of an empire is always built upon countless unseen darkness and sacrifices.

The shuttle quickly came to a stop on the helipad in front of the main court building, and Chen Xi and his guards disembarked.

Judge Paul, who had dealt with Chen Xi before, was standing in front of the helipad to greet him. Chen Xi noticed that among the entourage behind him was a tall Astartes wearing a power armor painted in blood red.

This is a descendant of Saint Gilles, except that his power armor is a darker color than that of the Blood Angels, and the pattern on his shoulder armor is a black dragon head, rather than the winged blood droplets commonly seen on the Blood Angels.

This is a warband with a poor reputation—the Blood Dragons. They only care about their own mission and tasks, and never care about the common people. They are the least well-regarded group among the children of Saint Gilles.

"Welcome to the capital of the Mariupol Sector, Your Excellency Chen Xi," Paul greeted Chen Xi.

"Looks like you've been doing quite well since we last parted ways, now you even have Astartes following you around," Chen Xi said, half-jokingly.

"Thanks to the wine you asked me to deliver last time." Paul was a little embarrassed as he explained the situation to Chen Xi: "Last time I went to Baal, I was received by the Dante Chapter Commander and representatives of various chapters of the Blood Angels lineage, and successfully signed a contract with the Blood Dragon Chapter."

Paul also wanted to sign a contract with the Blood Angels and hire an Astartes from the Blood Angels Chapter.

However, for various reasons, he failed to sign a contract with the Holy Blood Angels. Instead, he unexpectedly signed a contract with the Blood Dragon Chapter and gained an Astartes from the Blood Dragon Chapter to join his acolyte ranks.

Although it did not meet its expectations, in a sense, the Blood Dragon, who was relatively less concerned about civilian casualties, was more in line with the Inquisition.

After all, sometimes they have to do dirty work, and the Astartes are too concerned with honor to target civilians, which can cause a lot of trouble for the mission.

For example, the Tian Shi Battle Group is a typical case. Originally working for the judges, they ended up clashing with the court because of an extermination order.

"Your Excellency Chen Xi, the Grand Judges and Instructors are already waiting for you." Paul gestured for Chen Xi to proceed, then led him toward the headquarters of the Court of Justice.

(End of this chapter)