Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 641 The Hidden Dangers of a Female Version of Fugen

The other part descended into tragic infighting and self-destruction.

Different war gang leaders harbored their own ulterior motives, vying for the suddenly suspended and elusive leadership, or utterly indulging in ultimate madness and sensual debauchery after losing the guidance of the "gods."

They began attacking each other indiscriminately, even turning their knives on their former so-called "allies" and all life within sight, once again staging the cruel and absurd doomsday farce that is all too common in the Chaos faction.

Many of the remaining soldiers completely lost their will to fight, focusing only on retreating and frantically trying to escape this steel hell that had become an eternal nightmare.

These scattered troops became the ideal targets for the main fleet of the Iron Hand and planetary defense platforms, which were on high alert in orbit.

The vengeful barrage of artillery fire poured down like a cold, precise rain of steel, tearing apart the chaotic ships that were trying to take off and escape, turning them into brilliant but short-lived burning wreckage in the night sky.

The ground operations lasted for several standard days, with sporadic but intense firefights still occurring intermittently in some isolated areas, but the overall situation was settled.

The direct invasion threat from the Son of the Emperor that faced the Medusa system has been temporarily lifted.

Detailed casualty statistics reports were compiled and sent to the command center deep within the Karada fortress. Each page of data was so heavy it seemed to have a physical presence, and it was shocking to behold.

To win this victory, the Iron Hand Legion and its sub-legions, along with the Ash Knights Chapter, paid a devastating price, nearly crippling their very existence.

Entire companies of brave soldiers were wiped out, countless veterans and mid-level officers who had fought fiercely and experienced the war died on the battlefield, and a large number of precious armored vehicles, heavy equipment and Space Marine relics were destroyed or lost and could not be replaced.

The eastern core area of ​​the Orbital Forged City is almost completely destroyed, and the reconstruction work will take a long time and require a huge amount of resources.

However, the foundation of the empire remained unshaken.

The core strength survived—Primarch Ferus Manus was unharmed, and the Legion's high command structure remained intact and functioning effectively; although the homeworld's basic industrial facilities and core production capacity suffered severe damage, they were not fundamentally harmed.

More importantly, through this arduous and ultimately glorious defensive battle, the Tenth Legion clearly demonstrated to the entire Empire the immense power, steely resilience, and unparalleled spirit of sacrifice that they had once again united under the Primarch banner.

Although Imperial Fist's representative, Captain Thor Garadon, and Blood Angels' chief strategist, Mephisto, had left Medusa ahead of time due to frontline military duties, the observers and sophisticated monitoring equipment they left behind recorded almost the entire epic defensive battle, especially the final showdown that determined fate in Forge Square (although the specific details of the stasis field and the existence of the female version of Fugen were classified as top secret and subject to extreme control).

The irrefutable facts speak louder than any explanations or suspicions.

Feralus's performance throughout the battle was impeccable—she remained on the front lines, fearless and decisive, enduring immense pressure, and ultimately, together with her loyal allies, achieved a glorious victory against the Primarch.

Her very existence is the best testament to her boundless loyalty to the empire.

All accusations that she was a heretical creation, a witchcraft puppet, or a being with ulterior motives pale in comparison to this undeniable victory, almost laughable, and even tainted with a hint of heresy themselves.

The numerous doubts and covert obstructions from the High Lords Council of Holy Terra, the Martian Mechanicus, and even the upper echelons of the State Church had to be temporarily and strategically silenced in the face of this unprecedented victory. At least in all public and official settings, doubts about the legitimacy, authenticity, and loyalty of Feralus's return have largely dissipated, making it difficult to form mainstream opinion.

Through this battle, her authority and status as the original creator of the returning genes were effectively consolidated and established.

Judge Qasim Warren's charges, lacking evidence, were thus completely discredited.

Every battle report and intelligence chain he received invariably pointed to a great, decisive victory led by the Primarch against the forces of Chaos.

He could no longer question Feralus publicly or through official channels, and his influence at the official level of the empire shrank dramatically, almost to the margins.

In the end, he and his haunting cruiser, the "Purifying Flame," could only quietly and almost disheveledly withdraw from the Medusa star system, without leaving any form of farewell or official congratulations.

But anyone familiar with the Tribunal’s style of operation knows that a paranoid and ambitious judge like Warren would never truly give up.

He may well retreat into deeper, darker underground activities, continuing his baseless investigation and weaving a more secretive and dangerous network of conspiracies, like a lurking viper, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

The undercurrents of the empire never cease to surge.

After the war, Medusa held a simple yet solemn victory ceremony to mourn the dead and celebrate the hard-won survival.

Felus stood alone atop the high walls of the Karada fortress, overlooking the scarred, battered, yet stubbornly standing metal world below.

The victory came at a great and painful cost, but it also gave the Tenth Army Corps a valuable respite and intangible political capital.

The challenges ahead remain formidable, and threats from all sides have never gone away. But at least for this moment, she and the people she protects have won the right and dignity to continue to live and fight with their blood and steel.

As the clamor of victory gradually subsided, a thorny and highly dangerous legacy problem confronted Chen Xi, Ferrus, and Belisarius Caul, who had just recovered from overload damage—how to deal with the female version of Fugen.

She was secretly transferred to an isolation research chamber deep underground in the Karada Fortress, which was reinforced with multiple black stone fields and the latest anti-psychic technology.

Even while unconscious, she still emanated unstable yet powerful energy fluctuations, with a faint pinkish-purple aura appearing on her body. Her facial features and physical characteristics would occasionally distort subtly but unsettlingly, as if another consciousness was struggling beneath her skin.

Kaul deployed the most sophisticated instruments to monitor and analyze her around the clock.

Data shows that she possesses two distinct yet strangely fused power systems: one originates from a mysterious mark bestowed by the Emperor himself, bringing a kind of ordered power with suppressive and absorptive properties; the other is a fragment of the chaotic essence belonging to the Slaanesh prince, which she forcibly plundered from Fugen, and is mixed with some chaotic memories and personality fragments.

(End of this chapter)