Warhammer 40: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 250 Ceremonial Warship
Abaddon was surrounded by the elite of the Black Legion, veterans of the ancient war, ready to accompany their warlord in seizing the Cardia beneath their feet.

Abaddon listened to the report, and he also learned of the commotion on the Chaos Ship.

Even the vengeful spirit appeared in a brief pause.

Unspeakable roars echoed inside the warship.

Gao Yi's power caused the machine spirits inside the warship to feel pain as well.

However, the Vengeance Soul has been corrupted for too long, and there is no possibility of it returning to normal.

The chaos on the powerful Glory Queen-class warship was quickly quelled.

The subspace blessing, far exceeding that of ordinary chaos, enabled it to resist the intrusion of Gao Yi's purification code.

Listening to the reports from the black oil guys, how could these oil guys who believed in Vashtor not understand his power?

"Why did humans come to wield Vashtor's power?!"

Isn't what's happening in the Chaos Fleet exactly the same as when they used Chaos Code to invade human warships?!
It's just in a different form.

Abaddon couldn't care less about that now, and he had no way to counter it. The Chaos Ship could only rely on the power of the warp and the possessed demons to offset this effect.

At least the Black Legion's fleet has not completely lost its fighting capacity.

Meanwhile, the Chaos Wizard, who had forcibly landed, was ready.

He's already come to this point; there's no turning back.

Seeing the seemingly unbreakable planetary shield still enveloping Kadia, Abaddon gave the order for a general offensive.

The presence of those SCVs means that as long as one shield array is still operational, it can be repaired.

Kraf Bastion, the Shield Array, and most importantly, the Blackrock Plains were all attacked simultaneously.

Whether the shield array is destroyed or the obelisk above Blackrock Plains is destroyed, Chaos can win, which forces Creed to disperse his already limited forces.

Abaddon himself led his elite troops into the opened portal.

Blackrock Fortress held off the most threatening ship, the Mountain Array, while the Vengeful Spirit also set its sights on the Mountain Array, and the remaining Imperial warships could only barely disrupt the Chaos landing forces.

Fortunately, Gao Yi's interference reduced the number of troops that Abaddon could deploy.

Garadon watched helplessly as countless landing pods hurtled towards the surface of Cardia, including those of the traitorous Chaos Titans, but he was powerless to stop them.

All weapons using physical ammunition were nearly rendered inoperable, and Blackrock Fortress would stand in the way of the Mountain Array when he tried to destroy the forces approaching Cardia with energy weapons.

Energy weapons are far too inefficient at breaking through void shields.

However, Guilliman's fleet advanced with unstoppable momentum, taking advantage of the opportunity to tear apart the enemy's formation. More than a dozen warships, which were used to break through the enemy's formation, had even penetrated into the enemy's ranks.

“Kauer, Pavian, your work here is done. I need you to go to Kadia, especially you, Kaauer. The deciphering of the Blackstone Obelisks requires your help. Activating the Blackstone will be key, otherwise the current number of Blackstone Obelisks will not be enough to stop the expansion of fear.”

"Lord Gao Yi, I am glad that you trust me, but it is impossible to crack the Black Stone in such a short time. I need a lot of time. The technology of those space necromancers is far more difficult to crack than I imagined. I think it is more important for me to stay here to assist Lord Guilliman and win the battle in the void."

That way I'll have plenty of time!

"Don't worry, as long as you study the Black Stone, a space necromancer who likes to collect figurines will definitely come looking for you! He will try to tell you how to activate the Black Stone, but I'm not sure if he will offer any deals."

"Pavlian, if it's not too outrageous, you can agree for me first."

"Collecting figurines? Space necromancers?"

In the end, Kaul and Pavian urgently boarded a Gorgon and headed towards Kadia.

Meanwhile, a change occurred within the enemy fleet that Gao Yi and his team least wanted to see. Confirming that the Chaos Fleet was locked in combat with Gao Yi and Guilliman's fleet and could not be separated in the short term, several Chaos warships began their own plans.

The few ships at the rear of the enemy fleet, scattered among various warships, were finally nearing the end of the blasphemous summoning ritual. These warships had remained at the rear of the fleet and had not joined the battle.

However, they were at a distance far beyond the firing range of the Empire's conventional warships.

However, they were not significantly affected when the cleansing code infiltrated the Chaos Battleship.

The subspace energy within has accumulated to the point of almost solidifying into a tangible form. Without any summoning ritual, demons of various colors and worshipping different evil gods will come to these warships on their own initiative.

There are hardly any normal crew members left on these warships.

The internal structure of these warships has also undergone tremendous changes.

A large number of bulkheads were removed in order to make room for a sufficiently spacious area.

The warships were crammed with slaves far exceeding their intended population capacity.

These slaves included soldiers, civilians, loyal psykers, and even some captured loyal Astartes.

The more powerful the soul, the more suitable it is to exist as a sacrifice; the souls of the loyal become the material for the chaotic blasphemous rituals.

The ritual began to take effect, and the chaotic magic circles drawn with blood on almost every part of the warship began to efficiently absorb the souls of the humans inside.

The humans who were struggling and screaming, trying to find a way out, suddenly felt their bodies begin to disintegrate and their souls being extracted.

The Chaos Wizard looked at the Black Templar Astartes, who was bound to the sacrificial altar and stripped of his power armor.

"With such fervent devotion to the Corpse Emperor's soul, the gods will surely be pleased!"

The ceremonial dagger plunged into Astartes' chest, then brutally removed his two still-beating hearts.

Before long, countless corpses piled up inside these warships, and the flowing blood soaked almost every part of the deck.

Meanwhile, the chaotic magic array, now infiltrated with blood, began to continuously spew out energy from the subspace.

At this moment, the interiors of these four ceremonial warships were temporarily linked to the subspace.

The cultists, still made of flesh and blood, laughed maniacally as the energy of the warp altered their bodies.

Blood rose from the deck floor, defying the laws of physics.

Countless strange phenomena filled the interior of these warships.

Cultists and sorcerers chanted incantations taught by the dark gods around the corpses.

They are guiding the Primarchs to their arrival.

For this goal, they, who have been completely enslaved by the evil god, are willing to sacrifice everything.

As the last note of their incantations faded, these cultists and sorcerers picked up ritual daggers imbued with chaotic magic and plunged them into their hearts without hesitation, or slit their throats, or even beheaded each other.

They brought the final step of the ceremony to fruition with their lives and souls.

A giant chaotic eight-pointed star magic array appeared out of thin air on the armored hulls of these warships.

Subspace rifts, large enough to allow warships to pass through, are being formed through blasphemous rituals performed on these warships.

When this crack appeared, both Guilliman and Feralas frowned.
They sensed it; they sensed that their traitorous brothers had come here.

(End of this chapter)