The Astartes Family's Notebook

Every single battle was a Pyrrhic victory; the human empire would have been finished long ago.

The reason for this is that, in addition to the fact that the fleet that Kaz pulled out was strong enough, Deathwatch's preliminary reconnaissance work was also very thorough.

Without needing to infiltrate and conduct reconnaissance, they were able to directly deploy landing forces based on the space pirates' deployment map, targeting blind spots in their firepower. The Epsilon brothers deserve the most credit.

War is all about intelligence gathering, and Katz gave the new recruits a good lesson.

But despite the side quests, looking at the star map, Kaz was still deeply confused as to why the deep-space beacon left by Epsilon was increasingly deviating from its usual course.

Are Deathwatchers so idle? The Sabat world has over a hundred worlds to guard, why are you always running around in areas marked "Explore later"? Do you have OCD?

However, it's not a big problem. There are still many unexplored areas within the Empire's territory. Although we gradually entered the unknown areas on the Empire's star map by following the direction of the deep space beacon left by Death Watch, the subspace route is not something to be taken lightly. Short jumps between adjacent star systems, a few light-years apart, still ensure a certain level of safety.

In particular, although the subspace travel between the world of Sabat and the outside world is quite unstable, and some voyages even require specific celestial alignments and specific time periods to be able to pass, the subspace routes within the Sabat worlds are relatively stable.

Following the beacon left by Epsilon, Kaz suddenly understood why.

Holy crap, I accidentally found the Deathwatch fortress.

Holy crap, can Deathwatch have its own directly controlled planet?

Holy crap, the Epsilon brothers are building their own pocket empire!

Chapter 489 Moral Vacuum

"Answer truthfully, did you see who fired the shot?"

"I can't see clearly, but he occupies a high point; he's standing in the sunlight."

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The empire's technological level is so outstanding that it's hard to describe in a few words.

Kaz is one of the Astartes who has seen and experienced everything in this hellish galaxy, but he still treats the human empire's amazing oracle technology with utmost disrespect, as if you're fucking insane.

Can the Empire monitor the warp?

Theoretically, it is possible.

When conducting large-scale void naval battles within a star system, it is standard practice to deploy several large, manned or unmanned probes to monitor Mandeville Point. The Empire's gravitational wave detection technology is quite advanced, capable of detecting massive objects even through the veil of reality. Combined with the real-time observation of the Star Speakers and Navigators, a sneak attack is not an easy task.

Some people might ask, "The navigators have three eyes, so it's not surprising that they can see, but how come the blind astronauts can also see?"

The vicissitudes of life are nothing more than this. Experienced star speakers, based on the degree of distortion in the complex star information permeating the subspace, actually have a built-in warning function. Although they can't explain exactly what's going on, they can just sense that something is wrong.

Of course, this is the blessing that Kaz has earned by treating his own psionicists well over the years. One-third of the psionicists in the Star Speakers choir on the Imperial Icon are still the same group he recruited back then. The Eighth Company Commander has only been "retired" for more than a hundred years, and the old guys are still alive.

As a result, the leader of the Star Language Choir had just reported to Kaz that he felt something was wrong when the fleet that jumped out of Mandeville Point found itself trapped in a minefield.

Ok?

The sheer number of deep-space booby traps required to deploy such a large number would only be possible for a well-established sector fleet with substantial resources. Is Deathwatch really that extravagant?

In fact, the Imperial Icon is well-suited to handle this kind of situation.

Even the smallest destroyer in the Imperial Navy is a behemoth weighing millions of tons, making it far too difficult to use for minesweeping—like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

However, the Imperial Icon was a battlecruiser specialized in aircraft carrier operations. Once the carrier-based aircraft were deployed and a path was cleared, it wouldn't burn tens of thousands of tons of aviation promethium.

It's just unnecessary.

Deathwatch had already discovered a fleet of that size.

It's important that Katz doesn't intend to hide his identity.

"Hey, Captain, your mother company has sent people to arrest you."

Epsilon simply ignored the teasing from his teammates.

Since he had refused the recall order from Chapter Master Saladin, it was only a matter of time before the chapter sent someone to inquire about it.

But sending an entire fleet to cause trouble for me seems a bit much.

The most crucial point is, isn't that the Imperial Icon of Saint Markarius?

Mamen, bliss!

Even an Astartes like Epsilon would stand tall with pride when recalling the Makarian Expedition.

After the two sides exchanged identities, Deathwatch quickly called a halt to the Kaz fleet, telling them to stop clearing mines and that the path map would be shared with them. He explained that setting up deep space mines was quite a task for them and urged them not to mess around.

Whether it was the reputation of the Wings of Desolation that was so effective, or the Imperial Icon that was so impressive, Kaz had no idea.

However, without any diplomatic incidents, following the route map provided by Deathwatch, the fleet directly passed through the fake minefield and anchored at Deathwatch's fortress berth.

"I knew it! This number of void mines is far beyond what a rural star system like this could handle. It turns out it was all a trick, a mix of real and fake."

"This tactic is very valuable for reference. I'll mention it to the guild leader later. Haven should also try it out."

Kars and Draven seemed to be chatting casually, but their hearts were far from calm.

Outsiders cannot understand that this is a thorn in the side of those graduates of the third generation of the Frankish School, a wound that has not healed for hundreds of years.

Forget about chapter missions and chapter leader instructions, put them aside for now. Brother Epsilon, I'm taking you in.

However, there was no revenge plot involving the Dragon King returning to his throne with a crooked smile.

In front of everyone, Epsilon took off his tactical helmet, first knelt on one knee, then put down the helmet, and then knelt on both knees, bowing directly to Kars and Draven.

???

!!!

“I am not a competent company commander. What happened back then was clearly an internal dispute within the company, but it hurt you. I have kept this to myself for so many years. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to apologize.”

Listen, he's thanking us.

Draven was completely bewildered by Epsilon's antics and could only stare blankly at Kars.

Katz didn't waste any words and only asked the most crucial question.

Where is Sephiroth?

"I do not know."

Epsilon raised his head and looked honestly at Kaz.

"You do not know?"

"No one knows his whereabouts except the warband leader."

Even though Epsilon, the instigator, had been forced to kneel, Kaz's resentment had not lessened in the slightest.

To be honest, although the root of the problem lies with the people in front of us, the blame for what happened back then cannot be pinned on Epsilon.

Katz, not one for internal strife, also took off his tactical helmet and went to help his old leader up.

“Brother Epsilon, you’ve suffered all these years.”

Upon hearing this, Epsilon instantly understood. Sigh, another petty person. Oh well.

When Kaz pulled Epsilon up from the ground, he realized, "Holy crap, this guy is taller than me, probably about 2.55 meters tall without any clothes on."

The onlookers dared not say or ask anything. Anyone with eyes could see that there was a grudge between the two sides, but what did the internal affairs of the Wastewing Legion have to do with these idle people?

They'll host a dinner party for us.

"Brother Epsilon, what's going on with your fortress?"

"It was abandoned during the M35 era, but I later retrieved it and put it back into service."

They were all Astartes who had served as company commanders; they could understand and speak Mandarin.

Katz was actually asking about the planet below Deathwatch Fortress that was clearly inhabited, and Epsilon's answer focused on the timeline of M35.

It's just a mess from the Dual Emperors Era.

At the banquet, Katz was surprised to find that his calculations were wrong.

Epsilon was accompanied by twenty-six Deathwatch Astartes, twenty-one of whom were Black Shields.

this......

Kaz hesitated for a moment and changed his original plan.

"Die Watchers, I have something to tell you all first."

"You said."

Epsilon thought Katz was going to forcibly take him away and had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem.

"According to reliable intelligence, a group of Chaos Warriors has their eyes on you."

Oh, and then?

After a long silence, Deathwatch, who was present, suddenly understood what was going on.

This is to investigate the mole.

What the hell are you going to investigate? If we could withstand any scrutiny, what kind of black shield would we be?

I wanted to lash out, but with over a hundred brothers from the Eighth Company, how could I possibly lash out? I couldn't lash out at all.

"Kaz, this is against the rules."

Epsilon pondered for a moment and then gave his answer.

“Epsilon brothers, you’re overthinking it. What business do I have of getting involved in your Deathwatch affairs?”

These words immediately eased the tension in the room.

"Taking you away is the decision of the battle group commander, an order that must be carried out. So what you should be thinking about is not what I should do, but what will happen to your brothers after you leave."

Kaz spoke slowly and deliberately, giving Epsilon ample time to think.

“Brother Epsilon, the Chapter Master’s orders to me are to bring you back to see him, not to transfer you back to the Chapter from Deathwatch. Don’t try to use your tricks on me.”

"Furthermore, what I just said about the Chaos War Gang from the Great Vortex having their eyes on you is not a threat. If you don't take advantage of the Eighth Company's presence and our strong forces to resolve this issue, you'll have to deal with the subsequent troubles yourselves."

Katz didn't talk about brotherhood at all; every word he said was an analysis and consideration of Deathwatch from the perspective of reality and interests.

That's incredibly convincing.

"Let's eat first, we can talk about it after we finish eating."

Row.

The real skill lies in the details.

Kaz was, after all, a loyal Astartes who had served in the Warband, a company commander who had received core training in the Warband, and a leading figure who had systematically studied the unspoken rules of the Empire. His perspective on issues was not on the same level as that of ordinary gangsters.

There are specific rules and customs surrounding the removal of helmets within Astartes.

Even in the time of ancient Terra, a common soldier could tell the emperor, "I am in armor and cannot perform the full ceremony."

This was especially true for the imperial elites like Astartes, who had been elevated to the status of demigods; otherwise, face-to-face greetings wouldn't have become such a high-level etiquette.

Kaz is the company commander of the Eighth Company, so it's no problem for him to ask the brothers of the Eighth Company to take off their helmets to eat at the feast.

Anyway, Astartes' stomach was enhanced by the Emperor, so ordinary poisons were useless to it. It was like the Yunnanese eating mushrooms – if there was any poison, it was probably because they weren't cooked properly.

The highly toxic substances that can effectively and quickly kill Astartes are mostly rare and precious materials with other uses. It would be much easier to sell them and use them to make molten metal bombs, wouldn't it?

Therefore, food safety was the least of our worries at banquets in Astartes. Fenris' wolf wine was served openly, so what else was off-limits?

On the other hand, Epsilon's ability to command the Black Shields to remove their helmets and attend a feast demonstrates his prestige and virtue, which have earned him widespread respect.

Perhaps in private, Deathwatch would also respectfully address Epsilon as "brother".

After they had eaten enough, Epsilon whispered something in Kaz's ear, then summoned Deathwatch and left.

Draven asked Kaz if they should be on guard against any changes, but Kaz shook his head and told the company adjutant to continue eating.

It was obvious that the fresh ingredients were "tribute" to the angels by the planet's inhabitants. Although the energy density was far less than that of the terracotta porridge, the original flavor of nature was incomparable to that of synthetic foods, and Kaz ate with great pleasure.

A short while later, Epsilon returned with Deathwatch, carrying a head in his hand.

"Want to try some?"

"it is good."

Kaz didn't mince words; he stuck out his finger, stirred it, and then put it in his mouth with a slurp. Mmm, smooth...

So it's really difficult to infiltrate the Astartes Chapter/Warband. If they suspect you of having a problem, you'd better actually have one, otherwise you'll die for nothing.

Aside from the First Legion and Alpharis having special memory-sealing techniques, other Chaos factions attempting to infiltrate others would easily find themselves in a losing proposition.