Warhammer 40: My Fiancée Fulgrim.

Chapter 217 Kaska Wants to Become the Pirate King

The courtroom must not show even the slightest leniency.

Since the Great Rebellion, it was precisely the lack of a certain intelligence and surveillance organization throughout the empire that ultimately led to the tragedy of the Great Rebellion.

Faced with this situation, the Emperor appointed the Sealholder, Makador, to gather a group of outstanding and virtuous individuals to find and eliminate traitors, aliens, demons, warlords, and ambitious individuals lurking within the Empire. These individuals would act as secret guardians, protecting the Empire from internal and external conspiracies and exercising the power of judgment.

By order of the Emperor, a group called the "Ranger Knights" was formed at the call of the Imperial Chancellor, Macado, and it was the prototype of the Inquisition.

Although the influence of the chaotic forces has largely subsided over the past ten thousand years, most matters can be handled by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior. The Inquisition no longer needs to travel to various worlds to issue extermination orders as it did in the original timeline.

But traitors like Abaddon and Space Marines and pirates continue to harass various parts of the world, alien forces within the Empire continue to invade planets, and countless undercurrents are always surging within the human forces—for example, both sides in the Badab War actually believe they are on the right side.

At this point, the Tribunal, which is most loyal to the Emperor, must step in to determine which side is right.

They must be wary of any power within the Empire and have oversight of all organizations within the Empire, because everything could be a conspiracy by alien or Chaos traitors.

Apart from the Imperial Guard.

—Even the Imperial Guard.

As for the Badab Sector, Luft Huron, the Chapter Master of the Starclaws, insisted that he could not afford the tithe of the Mechanicus.
The special envoy from the court, Judge Jerome Serkis, after consulting numerous ancient historical texts, decided to grant Wang Hulun a just trial.

"death penalty!"

One of the two distinctive features of the court is that it begins with the death penalty.

According to Judge Serks, Great Astartesism was the root cause of the great rebellion and corruption in the empire!
Without these people insisting that they were the creators of the Great Crusade, looking down on other mortals, and valuing the bond between brothers in battle more than loyalty to the Emperor, the Great Rebellion would never have happened!

It was his selfishness and arrogance that fueled the resentment, discontent, and even rebellion among these Space Marines.
Therefore, any Space Marine who feels that his efforts have been in vain must be eliminated immediately before he rebels!

Loyalty has no reward; loyalty itself is the reward.

Of course, the judge's overly radical statement was met with opposition from many Imperial forces, including the Red Scorpion Chapter Master—after all, Huron had rendered meritorious service in guarding the Great Vortex, and his previous attempts to deploy troops had failed, so it was quite normal for Huron to harbor resentment.

But Judge Sergey insisted on severely punishing the villain.

And it seems that the time to receive that intelligence is fast approaching.

"almost."

After reviewing the case of the Emperor's Arrival Trading Ship, Judge Sergei looked up through the ornately decorated classical stained-glass window to the outside world.

At night, the temporary residence arranged by the planet's governor was quieter and more peaceful than usual.

The crackling of the fireplace was the only sound in the silent room. He stood up and looked out the window.

Right there on the eaves outside the window, Judge Sergeus saw a small bird perched on a branch in front of him.

"How's the matter I entrusted to you going?"

"Gu Gu."

The second of the two distinctive features of the Tribunal: the Alien Tribunal plays with aliens, and the Demon Tribunal plays with demons.

In order to better track down the cunning villains within the Empire, the Inquisitors often cooperate with some strange allies to achieve their goals.

In any case, it's all for the sake of eliminating traitors and villains for the empire, isn't it?

The crisp chirping of birds rang rhythmically in his ears, and with the distinctive tapping of the typewriter servant in his room, a string of words appeared before the judge's eyes.

The Star Claw Chapter has over-enlarged its force by incorporating remnants of the Tiger Claw Chapter who were labeled as traitors, bringing its total strength to approximately 3500.

"That's Huron! Just as I expected!"

Judge Serkis paced anxiously back and forth in the room.

This was not the first time he had suspected and prepared to imprison corrupted Space Marines.

Not long ago, he had just finished interrogating the Ultramarines' second company commander in Gallia, the world of Forge.

While facing the overwhelming onslaught of the orcish Greenskin army, the opponent actually managed to shut down the power source filled with warp energy with their bare hands.

That wasn't all; he even went so far as to tear apart the demon prince who had just ascended to demonhood and betrayed the opposing faction.
Unaffected in any way!

This is no longer the emperor's loyal warrior; it has clearly been thoroughly corrupted by chaos!

What normal human being could possess such terrifying resistance to subspace?

They even said they had to strike hard!

After receiving accusations from Ledros that he was a heretic of Chaos, Inquisitor Serx immediately decided to take him away for investigation.

This is the second company commander of the Ultramarines, not only the company commander of the founding regiment, but also a soldier under Regent Guilliman!

If he could discover signs of corruption within such a battle group, he would practically be saving the entire world single-handedly!
If he can truly discover the first signs of corruption, what immense honors he will receive in the future!
—But it didn't happen.

Even though Inquisitor Serx used every method in his personal collection and tried countless times to question the Ultramarines 2nd Company Commander, he never admitted that he had been corrupted.

What a stubborn fellow.

Since even this couldn't make him admit that he had been corrupted by Chaos, then it could only mean that—

This only proves that he is a stubborn and unyielding heretic!

Judge Sergey was clever; he knew that once the platoon leader was imprisoned, it would be impossible not to convict him.

The company commander of the newly formed regiment has already been imprisoned. If he is released now for some reason, the responsibility will fall on the judge.

If he doesn't convict the other party, he will be the one convicted!

Therefore, even though he couldn't find the problem with the Ultramarines' Second Company Commander, he still chose to imprison him in the static field of his cell, waiting for others to forget what had happened.

Even when Calgar, as the chapter commander of the Ultramarines, bombarded him with a barrage of questions, trying to reclaim his second company commander position, Inquisitor Sergeus ignored them all.

My thoughts return to the present.

Dealing with this damned Badakhshan War is of utmost importance.

Under the meticulous investigation of his allies, Huron's ambitions were gradually exposed: the gene seeds he failed to hand over were not lost or unrecoverable in battle, but were used by him to expand his army!
His actions completely contradicted the teachings of the Astartes, and this alone is enough to conclude that Huron harbored rebellious intentions.

—In fact, Guilliman also believed that a battle group structure of 1000 people was indeed too fragmented for organizing a large-scale war.

However, he was confident that his prestige was enough to mobilize enough subgroups to go to war together and obey him, the father of genes, so there would be no problem in actual action, and he did not change this sacred rule.

But he never imagined that he would lose his duel with Magnus and fall into a deep sleep in the static field until now.

The original structure of the Holy Scripture Guidance Warband, consisting of 1000 members, continued into the fortieth millennium.

"Huron's ambitions are obvious, but I shouldn't know all this, and I can't expose his scheme yet."

Upon learning that the opposing side had violated the Holy Scriptures by expanding its legions, Inquisitor Serks resolved to destroy everything in the Star Claws Chapter, leaving no seed of rebellion.

However, the leader of the Red Scorpion Legion took it upon himself to negotiate with the Empire's enemies at this critical juncture!

If negotiations proceed smoothly and the two sides reach an agreement, the Badab War will come to an end.

"That damned Red Scorpion!"

Astartes, the Astartes Chapter are all the same.
Astartes would naturally appreciate each other, but if Huron were to continue expanding by using the Great Vortex as leverage, wouldn't that give Huron an even better opportunity to plot a rebellion in the Great Vortex in the future?
"ga"

Just as Judge Serkis was pacing back and forth, pondering how to handle the situation, the birds outside his window suddenly chirped.

We have ways to sabotage their negotiations, if you're willing.

"What? You can do that?"

Judge Sergeus stepped forward eagerly to inquire.

[That's right. While killing that troublesome Red Scorpion Chapter Commander Otis, we'll pin the blame for this incident on Huron and his Star Claws.]

A strategy that achieves multiple benefits at once.

Not only could this eliminate the doves within the Human Empire who had long sought peace talks with Huron, it would also serve as an opportunity to validate his status as a war hawk and increase the high command's commitment to this matter.

"it is good."

After careful consideration, the judge nodded.

"The fleet you are protecting is over there. Since you are new here, you have to follow the rules."

"I can provide you with the most basic equipment. If you have the skills and the tools yourself, go to the right and register with that hairless monkey."

Standing in the bodyguard team, Casca silently followed behind the group, laser gun in hand.

Hopefully, this time we can successfully lure in a pirate attack.

Then he could have his Casca board the enemy's pirate warship and make a reverse boarding maneuver, thus finding a capable enough helper in the pirate den of the Great Whirlpool.

Then, through a surprise attack by the pirate fleet, they rescued the two warband commanders and uncovered the true culprit who started the war.

His plan had no flaws.

But the question is, what if you don't encounter pirates?
As both sides in the Badab War are currently stationing troops here, merchant ships come and go constantly at the transit point.

While there might be a chance of encountering pirates, the probability of actually encountering them is extremely low.

We need to find a way to make the pirates pay 100% attention to them.

Eh!
Near the whirlpool.

Black Claw Pirate Flagship, Ashheart Raider.

As a pirate gang that spreads chaos and plunder throughout the interstellar space, you'll naturally find all sorts of people here.

Mortal cultists, traitors, or lone Space Marines, Eldar pirates and mercenaries, and even Orcs looking for a fight, could all appear under this pirate banner.

Especially now that the war situation in Badab is tense, with both sides gathering forces to fight each other, the defenses in other territories are even weaker, giving the pirates an opportunity to take advantage.

"Our next target for a robbery will be—"

As the navigator of the Black Talon pirate fleet, the Void Dreamer from the Ark Eldar, and also the ruler of this pirate fleet, activated his warp vision to search for nearby star systems—

Ah!
A burning pain shot through her eyes, the mark he had left when he gazed at something in the subspace.

what?
It could actually burn her soul while she was staring at it?
"What's wrong with the boss?"

"Boss, are you alright?"

"fine."

"It just flashed suddenly."

The Void Dreamer and pirate leader once again focused his attention on the area where he had been stung earlier.

She was also very curious: what kind of being could possibly burn the soul of the great Spirit Race?
As the leader and core of the Black Talon pirate crew, she is crucial to the existence of the entire ship. Without her guidance as a Void Dreamer, the Black Talon pirate crew would never have been able to traverse the warp so easily.

Although she often called the crew "monkeys," working for her was low-risk and high-reward, so it wasn't a bad idea to actually be her monkey.

Having been a Void Dreamer for nearly a thousand years, what hasn't she seen? How could she possibly...?

She didn't think she'd ever seen this before.

It was the golden-red subspace glow that kept flashing in one of the merchant ships in the fleet.

Even now, when she was prepared to observe it, the other party was still flashing its light, seemingly unconcerned about being discovered by others.

It was as if the light, flashing with a strange pattern, was broadcasting "I'm an idiot!" to the whole world, as if it were announcing its existence throughout the universe.

"What are these monkeys doing? Are they trying to provoke us?"

"Could it be that the higher-ups of those monkeys are transporting some important artifact, which would cause such a large-scale psionic fluctuation?"

Probably.

According to her detection results, the ship appeared to be just an ordinary merchant ship used for trade and transportation, not very large, and without any other defensive equipment installed on it.

Although it's not clear what's going on, it's obviously just an ordinary transport ship, without even any defensive weapons on its hull.

Is it a trap?
Or perhaps, humans hid some vital treasure on one of the ships, using it as a means to smuggle it out?

Want to take a gamble?
The Dreamer of Emptiness kept pondering this question.

Other humans are afraid, but she isn't!

If she really finds a human artifact, she can take the opportunity to return to the Ark world, or sell it in her fallen cousin's city of Comoros for a fortune.

Can you humans still find her?
But she still decided to play it safe.

Having lost the protection of the Ark, the soul of the Void Dreamer is now exposed to the fangs of the Thirsty Lady.

If anything were to happen, her soul would suffer eternal torment in Slaanesh's palace—something she certainly didn't want to see.

But clearly, she wasn't the only pirate fleet in this whirlpool.

"Those monkeys!"

Just as she was still hesitating, with the fluctuations in the subspace, she could sense that no fewer than three pirate fleets were approaching the transport ship that was flashing with light through the vortex.

If, by any chance, one of them succeeds in seizing the artifact and their strength skyrockets, wouldn't their Black Claw fleet become their next target, devoured by them?
"We can't let this opportunity fall into the hands of other pirates!"

Seeing other pirate gangs obtain this artifact was even more painful for her than losing it herself!

Even if it means causing trouble for other pirate fleets, Black Claw still has to go and see for themselves.

"Black Claw Fleet, move out!"

Meanwhile, the other fleets in the vortex:

"Brothers of the Red Hook Fleet, let's go join the fun! Brothers, let's go!"

"So many fleets have been mobilized, this thing must be of some value. The Darkfire Pirates can't afford to miss out on this raid."

The pirate fleet, which had been temporarily quiet due to the Badab War, suddenly became extremely lively again.

"."

"Have these pirates gone mad?!"

The captain was bewildered as he watched the three pirate fleets approaching their transport ship in the distance, seemingly driven mad and chasing no one else.

They had just left the transit station and were preparing to make a few shallow jumps in subspace before successfully completing this transport mission.

Just as they were approaching Mandeville, several pirate fleets that had been lying in ambush suddenly appeared nearby, heading straight for their transport ship without any regard for anything else.

This is no ordinary pirate fleet. Judging from the size of their ships and the gun turrets on their escort vessels, it's clear that none of these pirates are good people.

Why is that?

They dispatched these three pirate fleets just for his one ship's worth of grain?

"Shout out! Shout out!"

"Ask these guys what they're up to! If they're really so hungry they won't even leave this ship full of food behind, then give it to them!"

"Damn, what bad luck!"

"Sound array administrator, have you received a response from the other party?"

"Yes, Captain! They seem to be after a magical artifact inside the ship, and their pirate fleet is constantly fighting over it!"

"A divine artifact?! If I had a divine artifact, would I need a transport ship to deliver it?"

The captain is going crazy.

What kind of stupid pirates are these?
"Reporting to the captain," came an even more desperate message from the diviner in charge of the transport ship's oracle.

"Not only are there three pirate fleets in front of us, but it seems that there are more and more pirate fleets coming from afar."

It wasn't just these three pirate fleets in front of them that were insane.

In the distance, even more pirates were fighting over the fresh food for their transport ship.

"Crazy."

"They're all fucking insane!"

Since things are already like this, what's there to worry about?

We don't need the captain or the transport ship anymore!
"Quickly, prepare the shuttle."

"Let them take this ship; let's get back to the fleet first."

With the captain having abandoned ship, the remaining crew members were naturally thrown into disarray and unwilling to stay aboard.

"Very well, our Black Talon pirate fleet will take over this transport ship as well—"

"Wait a minute, alien lady, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

In the communications of the Black Talon fleet that first approached the transport ship, a middle-aged man whose face was half covered by mechanical devices appeared.

In the projection, he was looking at the other person with a cunning gaze.

“I have a name, I am Waldra, slippery Dabus.” The Void Dreamer’s eyes blazed with fury.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

“We’ve encountered this situation before.” A tall figure appeared on the other side of the main bridge projection.

He wore black Mark-VII power armor with all paint and markings removed, which seemed to be the minimalist paint scheme of his Darkfire Pirates.

From the projection, only the "dish"-shaped breathing grille of his helmet could be seen at this moment.

"It's very simple, pirates should decide the ownership of their spoils through duels."

The three pirate fleets gathered here now all have extremely strong firepower. It is still unclear what the magical artifact inside the ships is. What if the pirates start fighting among themselves and end up finding that there is no treasure at all?
Are we really going to drag this whole ship full of grain along with us?

The Darkfire Pirates' Space Marine captain's proposal was simple—everyone should send out squads to board the ship together, and then decide ownership through a duel after discovering the treasure.

The simplest and most direct approach, with minimal losses for all parties involved.

"Well, Dark Knight, your nickname and your taste are both terrible, but I have to admit that there's some truth to your suggestion."

"But your Space Marine's superhuman physique is clearly stronger than mine, and that alien woman who's lived for thousands of years is no pushover either. If I choose your plan, wouldn't that mean—"

"Shut up, Dabus."

The "dish" on the wandering Astartes helmet became larger because it was close to the projection device.

"I don't have time to haggle with you."

"We need to board the ship as soon as possible; more of our pirate comrades are heading toward this light."

"Alright, alright, my guys who've been competing with me for most of their lives, do you really think there's some kind of magical artifact hidden in a tiny grain transport ship?"

"Especially when all the guards ran away as soon as they saw us?"

The leaders of the three pirate fleets and their cronies quickly boarded and rendezvoused with the ship's defenses.

“If you think this is a trap, you don’t have to get involved, Mr. Dabs.”

"Hehe, I'm not going to watch what I've got fly away."

"Especially when it flies into your hands."

As he spoke, Dabus, who was followed by several automated fighter soldiers, fiddled with the Thinker array on his forehead: "This way."

The artifact that everyone had been eagerly anticipating was located behind this rather inconspicuous hatch.

"Strange. The instruments show that there is nothing in this cabin except for it."

Are you sure your oracles are working properly?

"It's definitely an alien sister, I—"

"Stop arguing, just open it."

The wandering space marine, leading his companions who were also clad in power armor, was the first to push open the door.

It was pitch black inside the hatch; you couldn't see anything.

"Let me see. Where's the thing?"

The lights were turned on, and apart from a white chair in the center of the empty cabin, there was nothing else.

Where's the magic weapon?
Is this chair the magical artifact they promised?

boom.

Just as the pirates were still pondering whether the artifact was this chair, the door behind them slammed shut the next moment.

"Now, have you decided what to do with me?"

A streak of golden-red flames flashed, and a giant clad in purple-gold power armor appeared before them all in the next instant, without anyone noticing.

He sat in that chair with his back to them.

(End of this chapter)