Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 366 Everything is in the Plan
Having escaped the von Kleist family manor, the group stumbled to a stop on a dark street, using collapsed walls and abandoned vehicles as cover for a brief rest.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and the scorching remnants of energy weapons. The sounds of battle and the towering flashes of blood in the distance reminded them that things were getting worse.

The Ministry of Justice's law enforcement officers were almost all killed or wounded. The survivors either leaned against the wall to bandage their wounds or silently checked their dwindling ammunition, their morale at rock bottom.

Many of them had lost their comrades-in-arms, their eyes filled with exhaustion and confusion.

MaiMai and Twilight's killing squad also suffered losses, with several members falling in the fierce firefight.

However, they still maintained a certain level of morale, passing water bottles and power batteries among themselves, silently awaiting new orders.

Inquisitor Craig's troops, however, suffered minimal losses because they were the last to enter the scene.

His men were cautiously scattered around, maintaining a battle formation, clearly still uneasy about their surroundings.

Craig himself stood beside an abandoned armored vehicle, calmly observing the changes in the enemy situation on the holographic map.

Seeing Mai and Twilight dejected from their failure to stop the ritual, Judge Craig put away the holographic projection, walked slowly toward them, and said, "You two did a good job. Don't be so discouraged. Everything is going according to plan."

"In the plan?" MaiMai and MuSe exchanged a glance, both reading the same doubt and wariness in each other's eyes.

They recalled the various obstacles they had encountered during their previous investigations, including the inexplicable blocking of files and interference with their operations.

Without hesitation, Mai Mai raised the plasma pistol in her hand, blue-white energy flickering slightly at the muzzle, pointing it directly at Judge Craig's chest: "Your Excellency Judge, could you explain what you mean by 'everything is going according to plan'?"

Her voice was exceptionally clear on the quiet street: "When we were investigating heresy, we were constantly obstructed by the Inquisition. Wasn't that your doing?"

The air around them seemed to freeze, and everyone stopped what they were doing.

Dusk quietly placed his hand on the stun gun, his eyes sharply fixed on Craig: "I expect you to give us a reasonable explanation, otherwise, I can only assume that you have betrayed the Empire."

Mai Mai's actions immediately triggered a chain reaction.

Craig's guards quickly raised their weapons, and the members of the killing squad immediately went into battle.

The two sides faced off tensely, the mechanical sounds of weapons being loaded echoing through the narrow streets, and the cold clanging of metal reverberating in the air.

The buzzing of plasma weapons and the charging sound of bomb guns mingled together, and everyone's fingers were pressed tightly against the trigger, waiting for a signal to erupt into a bloody firefight.

The atmosphere on the street instantly became tense, the air seemed to solidify, making it hard to breathe.

The killer squad lowered their stance slightly, seeking cover, while the Inquisitor's guards maintained standard firing positions, their eyes fixed on their opponent.

A new conflict seems imminent; all it takes is a spark to ignite this deadly misunderstanding.

"Put down your guns!" Craig suddenly shouted, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.

His men hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered their guns, but their wary eyes remained fixed on Mai Mai and the people of Dusk.

The judge himself stepped forward, spreading his hands slightly to indicate that he had no hostile intentions.

"I imagine you've uncovered more than just the von Kleist family, haven't you?" His gaze swept between Mai Mai and Mu Shi, his tone low and calm: "How much do you know about the forces behind them?"

"The Invisible Brotherhood? Or Zanazt?" Mai asked, answering the question as well, but he only lowered his gun slightly, not completely letting his guard down.

Dusk's finger was still on the trigger guard, ready to raise the weapon again at any moment.

Craig's lips curled up slightly, seemingly unsurprised by their answer.

“It seems you do know quite a lot.” He nodded, his tone even carrying a hint of admiration: “The acolytes under Judge Chen Xi are all of this caliber. I’m becoming more and more curious about what kind of person this Judge Governor really is.”

Then, his expression turned serious again, and he began to explain the ins and outs of the matter.

In fact, as early as three hundred years ago, when the Invisible Brotherhood began to lay out the whole plan, the Inquisition had already noticed their unusual movements.

The person in charge of this matter at the time was Craig's teacher—a highly experienced judge.

That senior figure uncovered secret information about the Invisible Brotherhood and Zanazt, and successfully thwarted their first attempt.

“The solar eclipse three hundred years ago,” Craig said slowly, his gaze seemingly piercing through time: “The ritual of the Unseen Brotherhood was successfully disrupted, and Zanazt’s plot to reincarnate was completely destroyed.”

He paused, his gaze deepening. "But clearly, they haven't given up..." The neon lights above the street flickered erratically, casting shifting shadows on Judge Craig's stern face.

“When the second eclipse occurred two hundred years ago,” Craig continued, his voice low and solemn, “my master realized a terrible truth after the ritual was disrupted once again—if the demon prince Zanazt could not be completely destroyed, the Mariupol sector would be forever trapped in this horrific cycle, facing his reincarnation attempts every hundred years.”

Dusk unconsciously tightened its grip on its weapon, its knuckles turning white from the force.

Mai Mai narrowed her eyes, quickly calculating the terrible consequences of this time span in her mind.

“Perhaps the court can stop him once or twice,” Craig slowly shook his head, a slight glint in his eyes, “but no one can guarantee that we will always succeed.”

Every failure means the destruction of a world and the fall of billions of souls.

The judge raised his hand, and a holographic projection unfolded in the air, displaying a series of shocking historical data.

“So two hundred years ago, that wise judge made a bold decision—after once again thwarting the Unseen Brotherhood, he changed his strategy.” Craig’s voice carried a hint of respect: “He began to train his own disciples, ordering them to find a way to seal or destroy Zanazt once and for all.”

This mission has been passed down from generation to generation, right up to this day.

Mai Mai suddenly sneered: "It sounds touching, but did you succeed?"

Craig's expression grew even more serious: "That's the problem. Zanazt has long since lost his physical form in the material universe; we can neither destroy him nor seal him away."

We can't even banish him back to the warp—because we can't pinpoint his exact location, and can only passively target the Unseen Brotherhood.

Dusk suddenly realized something, and her expression turned grim: "So you've been indulging them all along?"

“It’s not indulgence, it’s a scheme,” Craig corrected, his eyes sharpening. “As long as Zanazt exists, the Invisible Brotherhood is nothing more than a pawn he can easily cultivate.”

Like cutting off the branches of a poisonous tree, its roots still spread in the darkness. Therefore, destroying a cult is pointless; what we need is…

“Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots.” Mai Mai coldly replied to him, finally putting down the plasma pistol in her hand, but the vigilance in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

Dusk nodded thoughtfully, his fingers still lightly tapping the barrel of the bomb gun.

Craig gave him an approving look: "Exactly."

He waved his hand to bring up a new holographic image, displaying research materials on judges from different eras.

“So a hundred years ago, my teacher came up with a bold plan—instead of always being on the defensive, why not let the Invisible Brotherhood successfully complete Zanazt’s reincarnation ritual?” Craig’s voice was tinged with fanaticism: “Let him regain his physical form, so we can seal him away and then find a way to completely destroy him.”

After all, when Zanazt regained his physical form, his greatest asset—his formlessness and intangibility—disappeared.

Mai Mai suddenly sneered: "So you deliberately went easy on us? Letting a demon prince descend into reality? This is simply..."

“Madness?” Craig interrupted him. “But it’s the only viable option! Dealing with a tangible demon prince is far simpler than fighting an intangible chaotic entity.”

He pulled up a blurry video recording: "So, during the last solar eclipse a hundred years ago, my teacher deliberately arrived a step late, allowing the daughter of the leader of the Invisible Brotherhood to be born successfully and receive the blessing of the Chaos Demon, becoming the perfect vessel."

The image shows a baby girl surrounded by chaotic runes, with fanatical cultists kneeling around her.

Dusk couldn't help but shudder: "You're playing with fire."

"Now!" Craig suddenly raised his voice, and the holographic image switched to the current star chart, showing that the solar eclipse was about to reach its peak: "The solar eclipse is coming again, and the opportunity that my teacher and I have been waiting for for hundreds of years has finally arrived!"
I will eliminate this cancer that threatens the Mariupol sector once and for all!

His voice trembled slightly with excitement, and his metal prosthetic leg clenched into a fist involuntarily.

However, MaiMai and MuSe exchanged a glance and then frowned at the same time.

MaiMai calmly asked, "Do you know the exact location of the Zanazt reincarnation ritual?"

He pointed to the intermittent explosions and flashes in the upper nest area in the distance: "Judging from the situation at the upper nest, this is clearly not the actual ceremony site."

Craig's expression suddenly became meaningful. He turned off the holographic projection and a confident smile appeared on his lips: "Of course I know. Your colleagues have already led a team to the deepest part of the bottom nest."

He straightened the collar of his judge's robe. "That's why I said everything is going according to plan."

(End of this chapter)