The Astartes Family's Notebook

"Katz brothers, should we restrict the escape of personnel?"

Astartes raised questions.

"No need. Notify command to dispatch fighter jets for patrols and shoot down all escaping aircraft. Remember, all of them."

Katz's words weren't actually implying anything; it was simply a responsible statement, giving Motor Sich a way out and taking the blame for his superior.

"What about the people who fled to Zhongchao?"

"The same goes for you... Squad 16 and Squad 17, go back to the hangar and get some explosives. Set up barriers at the connection passage to the middle nest and the elevator tower. We don't care if the personnel at the top nest try to escape to the middle nest, but if any heretics left in the middle nest want to come up, just carry out the demolition operation. You don't need to ask me for authorization again."

"clear."

"clear."

Low temperatures will solve everything, instead of explosives.

Once the 30-minute standby period was over, the infrared detection function of the tactical helmets proved particularly useful. The Astartes no longer needed to go through the trouble of executing millions of Imperial rebels one by one; they only needed to turn off all heat sources.

The Katz brothers did a really good job, brilliant!

Vinava couldn't help but applaud the ruthlessness of the Astartes.

"Your Honor, shall we evacuate?"

"No need. The Governor's Mansion has an internal energy supply system. We can just wait patiently. Leaving now would only make things more likely to go wrong."

The infighting at the top has little to do with the Shadow of Death faction; Chaos Astartes, focused on deleting their database and leaving, is simply following their plan to deal with the games that are now entering garbage time.

"Amaterasu, when exactly do we make our move?"

The leader of the Shadow of Death still couldn't hold back and asked a question, thus relinquishing the initiative.

"Don't worry, I'm here now. If something really goes wrong, just shoot me. I wouldn't risk harming you, would I risk harming myself?"

Amaterasu came alone, showing his sincerity, so the Chaos Astartes of the Shadow of Death Warband no longer had any doubts.

The worst-case scenario would be that all the brothers in the War Gang would abandon City One, retreat to the mines to wage guerrilla warfare, and endure decades or even centuries of conflict with the Empire's loyalists.

If that's the case, then trusting Amaterasu, this Chaos Wizard, isn't a high-risk thing.

Although the plan is somewhat abstract, upon closer examination, there is still a chance of success.

As long as this Chaos Wizard isn't bragging [beep].

Amaterasu could guess what these Chaos Astartes were thinking without even using his psychic mind-stealing technique.

He could have run away now, but he hasn't achieved his goal yet, so how could he just let it go?

In the purgatory galaxy, everyone is striving to maximize their personal interests.

However, the optimal solution for local interests will never be the solution for maximizing global interests.

Empires are like this, and so is chaos.

Many things go wrong precisely because of this.

Chapter 137 Deceiving the Heavens

Ordinary people always revere the unknown and refer to it as ghosts and gods.

So why are the monsters and demons of the subspace so awe-inspiring?

In short, they are elusive and unpredictable.

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Amaterasu's plan, to put it bluntly, was nothing more than a deception.

He doesn't know advanced teleportation spells like the Gate of Infinity, but a Chaos Wizard can create point-to-point directional teleportation by drawing magic circles.

Having previously rejected the Dark Prince, Amaterasu now faces the challenge of the Lord of Change interfering, prompting her to once again activate her skill, "Ten Moves, Yet Rejection."

Anyone who has been through the Eye of Fear knows that if it's something within your own capabilities, never seek help from a destructive force just to save trouble.

There is no free lunch in the subspace; any advance payment will eventually turn into a desperate debt.

Therefore, Amaterasu vowed never again to do such a foolish thing as trying to please the gods.

Helping the Shadow of Death fight over a hundred Chaos Astartes escape isn't really that difficult.

Just like Dio once said, what do you do when there's a traffic jam? The sidewalk isn't very wide. If you want to escape, there are plenty of ships in planetary orbit these days.

The only problem is the think tank on the loyalist side.

That think tank is very strong, although it's still far inferior to mine, but it's enough to cause trouble.

Amaterasu discovered that reading ten thousand books is indeed not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Although the plan on Omidas II failed, he had witnessed the magic circle that twisted Khorne's sacrificial ritual into Nurgle Garden, so the trip was not in vain.

This is exactly what we need now.

The Shadow of Death's actions in the First Hive not only pleased Nurgle but also brought bloodshed to Khorne.

Khorne doesn't care where the blood comes from; his power is also eroding Skord's veil of reality.

If the veil of reality in this world weren't so solid, and if the Blackrock Creatures weren't suppressing psionic energy, the Shadow of Death Warband could have actually summoned the Nurgle army, then summoned the Khorne army themselves, and if the Imperial forces hadn't been waging a major war on this planet, how much fun that would have been!

However, on the other hand, if the Shadow of Death hadn't needed their help, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to obtain this dark sorcery blade. It can only be said that every gain and loss is a matter of fate.

So Amaterasu's response to the Shadow of Death was to stall, to deliberately delay until he finished his preparations and tricked the loyalist think tank down from the sky, which would be the time for everyone to make their move.

Although Amaterasu rejected the Lord of Change, the generous Lord still gave the Chaos Wizard a divine revelation, telling him the crucial information that the loyalist think tank did not possess the ability to teleport.

What's there to be afraid of? Let's get things going!

The first governor of Skord was incredibly audacious, actually choosing the site of his capital atop the Black Stone Obelisk.

Why is it so difficult for the Death Shadows gang to carry out their tunneling plan?

There's only one answer: when the landlord was repairing his own yard, he used truly high-quality materials.

After drilling for two months with professional mining equipment, the Skolds still hadn't penetrated the bedrock beneath the hive. They hollowed out the soil layer in the middle of the natural bedrock and filled it with reinforced concrete, reshaping the several layers of natural rock beneath the hive into a single whole. Under the influence of gravity, this large chunk of hive bedrock is now as hard as the mouth of Rog Dorn.

So why not go around this big rock and build a tunnel from the side?

The Chaos Astartes of the Shadow of Death Warband looked grim when they heard this question.

Is it something we just couldn't think of?

Are we stubborn and unwilling to do this?

It's impossible!

We just took down Nest One, and then the loyalist Astartes arrived. The fleet battle was a complete disaster, and we lost everything. What are our brothers in the land-based warband supposed to do? What should we do? You're just talking without understanding the situation, aren't you?

Without the interference of the Corpse King's lackeys, the Shadow of Death Gang has plenty of ways to destroy the entire planet.

The problem is that the former chapter leader, now the big boss of the war gang, can't even control the Astartes under his command. Some believe in Nurgle willingly, some are forced to believe in Nurgle, some regret believing in Nurgle, and some don't want to continue believing in Nurgle. It's a very diverse and colorful bunch.

If it weren't for the fact that the leader of the gang played a trick with the death notice, luring the Imperial Navy from several star sectors to Garland Gordon, the Shadow of Death faction wouldn't have bothered coming to a remote world like Skold.

The internal conflicts and contradictions of the Warbands, the chaotic Astartes of the Shadow of Death, would certainly not discuss with outsiders like Amaterasu.

However, the Chaos Wizard can still consult on the specific plan for how to destroy Skold.

"So I want to ask something clearly."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Are you trying to extort Abaddon's benefits, or do you really want to destroy this planet?"

Amaterasu's explosive remarks caused the Chaos Astartes of the Shadow of Death Warband to raise their gun barrels by three centimeters.

"Relax. Although I come from the Black Legion, Abaddon is Abaddon. They are wealthy and powerful Eternal Chosen, Warmasters. What am I? An exploited and oppressed Astartes. Tell me the truth so I can take advantage of the situation."

"What are you prepared to ask for if we want to destroy this planet?"

“Just name a price you can’t afford.”

"why?"

"The deeper reason is that I am a Chaos Wizard, and the veil of reality on this planet is too strong. Without a suitable Chaos artifact, it's impossible to deal with it. And above us are the loyal Astartes, who are so loyal they'll risk their lives, while I value my life and dare not confront those things head-on."

Amaterasu's every word revolved around himself, and every sentence was aimed at the Chaos Warband. The faces of the Death Shadow Warband members under their Astartes tactical helmets were not very good.

"So, if, and I mean if, someone tries to extort money from Zhan Shuai, what will you do?"

"Count me in, I know this stuff!"

"..."

Dude, is this how you guys in the Black Legion always do things?

"Hey brother, we're all in the same old mess. I may be a nobody with just a bunch of nobodies, but I'm still the leader of a guild. You don't know the cost of living until you're in charge. I really understand. When Abaddon was showing off on the Vengeance Soul, he didn't share his glory with me. Why should I save him any money?"

Such a heartfelt speech left Chaos Astartes of the Shadow of Death faction completely bewildered.

"Let's continue with the hypothetical scenario. I mean, if, and still if, there were a malicious person in my position, and he had the opportunity to do this, then if you were unfortunately involved and couldn't extricate yourself, what advice would you give if you were forced into a corner?"

That was truly a last resort. Amaterasu suppressed his laughter, his face contorting with rage.

"Of course, we need to produce irrefutable results to shut the big plunderer up. In his position, face is more important than life. As long as you produce results that can shut him up, he'll have to think twice about whether it's worth it to renege on his promise."

“Brother Amaterasu, tell me the details, tell me the details of this gag.”

"The bonus Abaddon is offering is a reward for your destruction of the world, isn't it?"

"Correct."

"So what constitutes the destruction of a world?"

Amaterasu's question stumped the Chaos Astartes present.

Having committed countless acts of murder and arson, I've never really given a proper thought to what constitutes the destruction of a world.

"Does blowing up the planet count?"

"Calculate."

"Does destroying the ecological environment, such as burning glass on the surface of a planet, count?"

"Calculate."

"Does toppling the emperor's statue and killing the entire population of the empire count?"

"Well... I guess so."

"You're not confident, huh? Then let's add one more thing: how about blowing up this whole nest?"

"Calculate!"

"So, you still don't know enough about the Abaddon brothers. There are many glorious stories of them losing money to gain popularity. Being a war commander is not easy. Whether you can get the reward you deserve does not depend on how well you do your job, but on whether you have the capital and confidence to get the reward."

"Master, please continue."

"So many brothers from the War Gang have died, shouldn't the War Commander show some respect?"

"It is appropriate to express this."

"So how can we get the big raiders to show their appreciation?"

“Master Amaterasu, stop beating around the bush and just tell me what you want.”

Amaterasu finally showed a genuine smile.

"I want to perform a demon summoning ritual in that mine northwest of Hive City. You provide the materials and the offerings."

"That's the mine with the black stone vein, right?"

"Correct."

“Okay, please continue. We have already expressed our views. How can we get Warmaster Abaddon to express his views?”

"Of course, we should take advantage of the War General's meeting to discuss his Black Expedition and call on all the fighting brothers of your Death Shadow War Clan to put pressure on Abaddon. In front of everyone, how could he possibly renege on his promise?"

"Is this...is this okay?"

"A general should be a commander with strong and powerful troops. What's wrong with that?"

“Master Amaterasu, you are right.”

Amaterasu nodded in satisfaction as he stroked the hilt of the dark sorcery blade.

The weapon's spiritual essence has been severely diminished due to its age. Amaterasu's forte is psychic magic, which, according to Magnus, the legionary commander during the Great Crusade, belongs to the Skyowl School of the telepathic magic tradition. Therefore, compared to the rudimentary prophetic magic of the Black Raven School, which he still possesses only a rudimentary understanding of, Amaterasu prefers to solve problems using his own expertise.

Through his ability to see the past, Amaterasu determined that the predecessor of the Blade of Magnus was a great demon who slew a Khorne and used its remains to forge this dark, magically cursed blade.