The Astartes Family's Notebook

The price he paid was that quite a few bad canned goods were eyeing him.

It's not that there aren't good ships; the [Destroyer's Blade] has destroyed countless gangs, and they've sold several heavy cruisers to black market oil dealers.

The question is, would Kaz dare to touch those massive ships that require tens of thousands of crew members or hundreds of high-ranking demons?

I wouldn't dare.

So after much deliberation, I chose a dilapidated destroyer, not for any other reason than that it was clean.

Most of the crew on board were prisoners of war from other Chaos factions, either through exchange or ransom, and many more were second-hand prisoners.

Apart from the captain, who vaguely suspected something, the other crew members were secretly plotting a mutiny.

So, would the Hongpao section dare to leave personnel behind?

dare not.

Kaz was both pleased with the integrity of the Imperial soldiers and annoyed by the absurdity of the current situation.

Like the undercover agents in Gutella, how do you prove your innocence?

If a purity review is to be conducted, it should be conducted by the Tribunal and the Mother Group. Why should he explain anything to the sailors and crew he rescued?

Who knows how many war gang spies are mixed in, and how many traitors have already defected to Chaos?

It's impossible to tell the difference.

So by the time Kaz makes contact with the organization, the ship will most likely be scrapped, as the Empire doesn't have the manpower or resources to perform an exorcism ritual on a destroyer.

And these imperial prisoners who escaped the Eye of Fear, even if they were not exterminated, would not meet a happy end, much like a perfect bedtime story.

But as we'll get to the point later, the current situation is that even though Kaz has a destroyer, encountering local gangs in the Misty Starfield is proving to be a real problem.

If Kars is truly a Chaos Astartes, things become simpler.

There are already enough ghost stories in the real universe, one more won't make a difference.

However, Katz is a true loyalist, and there are many unethical methods he cannot use.

This is very troublesome.

As a result, the pirate ship discovered that the ship, which appeared to be an Imperial Navy destroyer, was acting strangely. After probing the ship several times, they boldly attempted to board and seize it.

The pirate raider's leap didn't frighten Kaz; it was the various contingency plans left by the Chaos Warband that truly terrified him.

Does the name of Samar possess such power that it alerted nine demon hosts hidden on the ship alone? Who knows how many more remain undiscovered...

As a result, while Kaz was still figuring out how to deal with it, the space pirates' boarding party had already been wiped out by the "wild monsters" on the ship.

Shouldn't we give these demon hosts a little red flower?

It's a mess. No matter how arrogant the demon host is, he wouldn't dare to act arrogantly in front of Astartes, especially not in front of a notorious Astartes like [The Blade of Annihilation] Samar.

Anyway, the demon host is a haunted corpse. After having a good meal, he can find a dark corner to hide in. With such a big ship, he can just play hide-and-seek with Kars.

This is clearly a case of them having Kars cornered.

You can go back to being the loyal Astartes company commander, no one will stop you, but your "little secret" brothers will live off it for life!

Before leaving, Amaterasu had led his men on a thorough inspection, but Kaz had no idea when these demon hosts had infiltrated.

Just like flies and southern nymphs, when you find one in your house, only heaven knows how many more are hiding there.

Kaz now not only has to figure out how to make contact with Deathwatch, but also how to deal with the instability on the ship.

As for mere space pirates, Kars really doesn't take them seriously.

The first group of raiders who boarded the ship seemed to have vanished without a trace, and the strange situation naturally aroused the vigilance of the other pirates on the ship.

But alcohol emboldens the cowardly, and money tempts the heart; the interstellar pirates of the Misty Starfield are all renowned men in the underworld.

For example, in the famous Calissis Sector, the local pirate guild even dared to organize a large fleet to fight a direct battle against the Imperial Navy.

I'm determined to become the Pirate King!

Before long, several more pirate ships received the distress signal and surrounded the area; the second wave of pirate raiders had arrived.

This time, it's not just a simple demon host; vampires, freaks, shapeshifters, nuggets, and even some native warp demons have come out to feast.

Amaterasu, what have you been checking?

Could it be that those Chaos Wizards recruited by the Stick of Truth faction took bribes from other factions...?

The more I think about it, the more likely it seems.

Kaz also knew that considering what Samar, the "Destroyer of Destruction," had done in the Eye of Fear, the fact that he could escape unscathed was truly heartbreaking.

Someone is definitely plotting against me.

This wrecked ship is beyond repair.

But the pirates' small, dilapidated ships were clearly not capable of long-distance ocean voyages.

Unable to change ships for the time being, Kaz had no choice but to accept this messed-up situation. His defense was outsourced to Chaos Demons. Maybe he should rename the ship Ishimura.

Having a lot of experience and knowledge can only comfort yourself by saying that you have strong theoretical knowledge.

Karz is not a threat to ordinary warp evil spirits, but the problem is that Karz is a Squib. He doesn't know psionic magic, and physical exorcism methods are ineffective against truly powerful evil spirits.

In particular, the monsters on the Ishimura were clearly organized and disciplined. They did not harm the ordinary crew members that Kaz brought out from the Eye of Fear, but feasted on the pirates who boarded the ship.

What is this? The people's Sadako, the Crystal Lake Masked Baseball Man who passed the civil service exam and now works full-time against pornography and illegal publications?

Kaz had already prepared a complete plan and written the script: first, find a star system overrun by aliens and stake out the area; then, follow the Deathwatch's killing squad, deliberately revealing their presence during battle, cautiously making contact with them, and then using the aliens' heads as a gift to meet the Watchmaster. With the Watchmaster's guarantee, he would use the hundreds of Chaos Astartes' heads on the ship as a gift to prove his loyalty, and then get the Lord of Watchfortress to help contact his mother organization, the Desolate Wings.

If all else fails, the Dark Angel route is also an option. The ten gene seeds of the Redemption Angel brothers within me are the best gift. No matter what, a Dark Angel wouldn't resort to violence at the slightest provocation.

I guess so.

Kaz really didn't want to guess what the inner circle madmen were thinking, so unless there was no other way, option one was more reliable.

"Reliable my foot! Your Excellency, what loyal Astartes would keep hundreds of Chaos Astartes heads on a ship for fun? What are you thinking!"

Seeing impairment and cognitive impairment are not the same thing. Kars was completely unaware that his thinking patterns had systematically gone astray, and unfortunately, there were no combat brothers around him who could stand up and point out Kars's problems.

Since things have come to this, let's eat some pig brains first.

None of the warp spirits on the ship dared to challenge Kars' authority, just like the Deepsea Spawn encountered Captain Duncan. Kars simply stood there, hands on hips, toes lightly tapping the floor, and the warp spirits who were originally enthusiastically harvesting souls and flesh instantly scattered like birds and beasts.

So my brother Amaterasu, did you get your master's degree in warp psionics by selling hooks? What exactly did you check?

The pirate survivors, who were initially relieved to see the strange-looking objects scattering and fleeing, took a closer look and realized, oh, it was Astartes, and completely gave up the fight.

Brothers, we're doomed.

Kaz racked his brains several times, but couldn't glean any useful information.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. If someone who jumps ship has a star map in their mind, it would actually be a problem.

Knowing that there are unrecorded interstellar dark ports nearby is already good news.

Kaz isn't in a hurry, but the monsters on the Ishimura are.

As Kaz had guessed, many factions within the Eye of Fear knew that he was going back to the Empire to continue his undercover work.

So whenever they had the chance, or rather, any warband with a Chaos Wizard under their command would slip some "little gifts" onto the ship while they were forming up at anchor.

Even if they can't make contact with the Imperial Chapter that [Destroyer of the Hall] Samar is so obsessed with, they still have to extract information from them.

In the subspace, there are only bad ones, no good ones. You stuff a demon host in, I stuff a demon whose true name is known in, and everyone thinks there's only one, and Kars won't find out. But everyone has one. That's how the Ishimura was trained.

However, the Sea of ​​Souls is turbulent, and when given the opportunity to come to the real universe on official business, the ghostly creatures on board are exceptionally proactive.

Katz is not someone to mess with. The sailors on the ship can only look but not eat, so I can eat those bad guys who have boarded the ship without any problem, right?

Oh, sweet soul...

While Kaz wasn't looking, the evil spirits even held a small meeting and let a few pirate raiders go back.

Then, news spread that a "space wreck" returning from warp to the real universe was carrying a tithe of an entire subsector of the Empire.

Dude, have you guys never seen money before? It's a destroyer! The Ishimura is just an ordinary destroyer. A planet's tithe requires a fleet to transport it. Do you really have no idea what the tithe of a subsector is like?

But the space pirates didn't care.

The news spread rapidly. While Kaz was still revising his plans, more and more space pirates, eager to try their luck, were already approaching in groups.

Forget it, do whatever you want.

The fact that one could escape from the Eye of Fear is absurd enough; even the naval officers that Katz appointed as captains have become desensitized.

Relying on the star map data dictated and drawn by Katz, the captain only regretted that every yawn he had made in his navigation class back then was a disrespect for life.

Calculating interstellar travel coordinates using only pen and paper without the assistance of a professionally customized navigation mapping system would be an enormous undertaking.

A proper destroyer bridge crew should have more than ten people at full strength.

The bridge crew of the Ishimura consisted of only the captain, the helmsman, and the communications system operator.

Imperial sailors on the lower decks are plotting a loyal rebellion, attempting to overthrow the rule of the "Chaos Astartes," believing that if they can bring the warship back, they will not only return to the Imperial Navy but also receive promotions and raises.

The subspace entities on the mid-deck, driven by blood and souls and the insignificant tasks they carried, worked tirelessly to recruit people, all for the sake of getting a hot meal, thus outsourcing the defense of the Ishimura.

On the bridge, Kars, who was helping the captain draw star maps and calculate navigation, was too lazy to care about what was going on with this dilapidated ship.

Go ahead and make a scene. If you make me angry, I'll just sail the ship into a star. Or I'll just steal a pirate ship and play extreme survival.

All I can say is, Amaterasu, you ultimately failed to protect your dearest brother Samar...

Kars originally didn't intend to bring anything back to the real universe from the Eye of Fear. Chaotic corruption is impossible to guard against; you either defend against it completely or not at all, there is no middle ground.

Those hundreds of Chaos Astartes heads were Kars's collection, the product of a momentary whim, proof of his great achievements. Kars couldn't bear to throw them away, so he simply gave them some preservation treatment and piled them up in the ship's hold.

However, the leader of the Stick of Truth felt that it would be inappropriate for Samar to return to the real universe alone without some wealth, so he secretly stuffed two ship's worth of "hard currency" into Kars's pocket.

This confirmed the space pirates' suspicions.

The subspace unofficial security team deliberately lets a few "lucky ones" escape each time.

The legend of the Ishimura is spreading at an abnormally rapid pace.

"Why don't we just blow up the ship? Exploring the wreckage is better than sending our lives to be lost again and again."

"No, no, let's discuss it again."

The Empire's inhumane practices are not limited to its high-ranking officials; even the space pirates share this despicable behavior.

Let's set aside the feasibility of blowing up the ship for now. After all, the Ishimura was just a destroyer. If the pirates were really willing to spend a lot of money, they could definitely blow it up.

The problem is, if the reactor explodes, how will the cargo on the ship be recovered?

Even without the explosion, it's inevitable and only natural that the seasoned veterans involved in recovering resources from space debris would line their own pockets.

The money belongs to the pirate captain and the core members of the gang. Why should we share it with you?

Self-interest is the sharpest knife, capable of killing without drawing blood.

Kaz was still revising his plans and figuring out how to make contact with Deathwatch. His little dilapidated ship was quickly turning into an interstellar legend thanks to the machinations of the warp evil.

In the end, the pirates came up with a solution that was hardly a solution at all.

"How about we tow this ship back to Starport?"

"I think it's feasible."

"The ship's engine isn't very powerful, but if we work together, we can definitely tow it."

"Let's do it this way. Sending waves of jumping teams up isn't going to work."

"Let's get right to it! Organize the welders, create some towing points on the hull, and tow the ship back!"

???

What are these people thinking?

Kaz wondered why the armored partitions on the bridge hadn't been lowered. Were these space pirates really not going to take a look?

Wow, that's really professional. Who the hell would become a space pirate?

The subspace security team didn't care; as long as they had a soul to feed on, anywhere was home.

As for Kaz, he didn't care at all. He had spent a long time calculating but still couldn't figure it out. Now the pirates were clearly going to willingly serve as his slaves, which was a good thing.

"Captain, turn off the engine speed to save some promethium."

After much deliberation, Kaz decided to repaint the power armor black.

Given the state of the Ishimura, continuing to use the battle group's camouflage might lead to it being recognized, which would be bad.