The Astartes Family's Notebook

With Motor Sich and Yesfe in command on the Victory Balance, arguing with the Imperial Navy, the command of the First Nest City was handed over to the two of them.

Great! We've finally gotten to fight! Great!

With a large number of combat-capable Ascendant soldiers participating in the Hive City operation, the war situation on the planet's surface is becoming increasingly clear.

Katz, however, was not very interested.

It wasn't that he was being reckless or always wanted to dance on the edge of a knife, but after fighting a major battle with the Chaos traitors, he simply couldn't muster the energy for the battles against the Nurgle cultists and the Plague Walkers.

None of the warband brothers expected that the Chaos traitor would betray his teammates. He really abandoned all honor just to save his own life, didn't he?

But thinking about it, it makes sense. If they really cared about honor, why would they side with Chaos?

The underground tunnels were not suitable for large-scale troop deployments, so the loyalists who participated in the battle advanced all the way using heavy promethium flamethrowers and a large number of explosive projectiles. It felt really good.

In the struggle for every corner and the clearing of every passage, both loyalists and traitors of chaos brought their war skills, honed over many years, to their fullest potential.

That was really exciting!

However, it was expected to be a major battle between loyalty and faith.

As a result, those Chaos Astartes ran away.

Arriving at the empty ritual site, where were the people? Where were all those Chaos Astartes?

Having realized he had been tricked, Motor Sich was preparing to return to the ground immediately, but the oracle detected a large number of people rapidly approaching.

The unexpected encounter caught the abandoned members of the Death Shadows gang completely off guard.

I haven't boarded the ship yet!

Betrayal is either zero times or countless times.

Even without thinking, these abandoned chaotic Astartes understand what has happened.

The enraged stinking cans launched a desperate charge against the superior numbers and equipment of the loyalist Astartes.

It was really exhilarating for Kaz to face such a large number of Chaos Astartes on the front lines for the first time.

A chaotic Astartes that has lost its mind is no more difficult to deal with than a wild beast.

Driven by feelings of betrayal and despair, the abandoned Chaos Astartes didn't even consider running away, and just launched a head-on assault.

Even Motor Sich got carried away in this battle.

The battle was exhilarating!

Not only was the battle itself exhilarating, but it also had a profound impact on the subsequent development of the campaign.

With the Chaos Astartes, now devoid of the Shadow of Death Warband, serving as a strategic stronghold, the recapture of the First Hive City poses no further obstacle to the Imperial mortal army.

If those abandoned warband members don't lose their temper and realize things aren't going well, they'll return the way they came, cower in their base, and continue their desperate resistance. Then the battle will go on for a long time.

Even the most cunning schemes of the loyalists cannot compare to the brilliant idea of ​​the chaotic traitor.

Unfortunately, life isn't a video game. Defeating the Chaos traitors doesn't bring up a results screen, and the Nurgle cultists in Hive One don't automatically die after the battle ends. The war has to continue.

However, with the addition of a large number of regular Astral Army soldiers, the Astartes no longer need to waste explosives on the Plague Walkers.

The war situation has returned to the normal style of the empire.

Skord's local PDF also breathed a sigh of relief.

With IG as the regular army, we useless PDFs can just fill in the lines properly.

The only ones who were very dissatisfied were the armed sailors and indentured laborers recruited from the Imperial merchant fleet.

In their view, even without the support of the Astronautical Army, Hive One would be taken down sooner or later; they were here to reap the benefits.

However, with Astartes "standing" on their side, overall morale was able to be maintained.

There are so many people, that's really amazing.

With more than a dozen astral legions joining the purge, the collapse of the Nurgle cultists accelerated exponentially.

After the core area was completely recaptured by the Imperial army and the remaining Nurgle cultists were thoroughly divided, the Mechanicus's Sage of Exploration finally made a public appearance.

And the acting female governor, who had been lying low throughout the war, revealed her true colors for the first time.

The granddaughter who was valued by her strong-willed governor grandfather, and the family successor who had received a complete imperial aristocratic education, might lack military talent, but her courage and insight were certainly not lacking.

With all family members dead, it means that the vast wealth accumulated by the governor's family over three thousand years will all belong to her.

The seemingly weak and helpless acting governor is actually an incredibly wealthy woman.

In order to get rid of her "agent," she was willing to sell her belongings.

Chaos contamination is indeed troublesome, but there's no need to be overly fearful.

The human empire has extensive experience in purification.

Not only is the Empire experienced in purifying worlds infested with chaotic cults, but it also has no qualms about dealing with worlds that have been occupied by chaos for thousands of years, including demonic planets that have been swallowed into the warp and then spat out. As long as they are valuable enough, the Empire has plenty of ways to deal with them.

So Skord's problem of chaotic corruption is significant, but it may not be that significant.

It remains to be seen whether the acting female governor can offer enough leverage to appease the relevant imperial institutions, including the government, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Military Affairs, the State Religion, and the Cult of Mechanics within the star sector/sub-sector.

Ms. Vinawa admired the little girl who had suddenly changed her appearance, saying she had the same demeanor she had in her younger days.

But it still wasn't as good as her.

The female judge thought to herself that if she had a governor as her grandfather, her achievements would certainly be far greater than they are now.

But this is for the best. Having witnessed the grand stage of the galaxy, the slightest ripples on a single planet are no longer enough to stir Vinava's emotions.

Young girl, consider this my goodwill as an old man, letting you experience the wickedness of our human empire in advance.

The acting female governor, who thought she could exploit the conflicts between the parties to seek her own interests, never imagined that, despite the Imperial Navy and the Astartes Chapter being on the verge of war, they could actually find common ground when demanding benefits from the planetary governor's office.

The chief agent was none other than Inquisitor Vinava, who had previously had a conflict of interest with the Wings of Desolation.

"What's so strange about that? They're all His Majesty the God-Emperor's servants. What can't be discussed?"

"Can we talk about this between ourselves?"

"of course."

"What price should I pay to get you on my side, madam?"

"To be honest, I admire you, but don't you understand? Your livelihood was once based on the Astartes Chapter, and your actions are almost tantamount to betrayal."

"Lady Vinava, you are also of noble birth, so why play games with me? Of course, I will pay the angels for their rescue, a reward befitting an Astartes. But I know better than you what kind of planet Skold is. The Astartes will not reside here permanently; this world is too remote. Therefore, I must seize this opportunity, before the war is completely over, to establish my rule, whether it be that of the Empire or of this world itself. Otherwise, I will be completely devoured."

excellent!

Ms. Vinava admired the governor's daughter even more.

"Are you interested in becoming my apprentice? I can help you reach a bigger stage."

For a moment, the governor hesitated.

A judge's favor and recruitment...

"I'm sorry, I'm the only one left in the family. I bear not only my own fate, but also the heavy responsibility of reviving the family."

That's a real shame.

Vinava wasn't a pretentious person; in fact, after a moment of admiration, she somewhat regretted what she had just said.

The succession of judges is a very serious matter. For example, when Leorth chose Odachi as his successor, he would spare no effort to promote his student to the position.

If Vinava were to actually take the governor's daughter as an apprentice, she would essentially be taking the burden of Skord's problems upon herself.

The price of bearing the fate of others is very heavy.

However, the acting female governor was clearly unaware of the unspoken rule that the judges only circulated internally.

She didn't know that if she had agreed just now, all the problems would no longer be problems.

Vinavaro may not be 100% certain of solving Skord's problem of rule, but Leothus clearly is.

Leothus would not deliberately trip up Vinava if she stepped in.

"So, Ms. Vinava, what price should I pay to gain your friendship?"

"Aren't we friends?"

"I think we are friends."

"So, Madam Governor, you must understand one thing: as servants of the Emperor, we must distinguish between public and private matters."

Teasing young girls is indeed very interesting.

"So, is this price reasonable for my marriage?"

"Um?!"

“Ms. Vinava, could you be my godmother? I am just a destitute country governor who has never seen the world. I hope you can choose a suitable husband for me, preferably one who can protect me from the wind and rain.”

The judge couldn't help but lean back tactically, this time his admiration was palpable.

If I had had that awareness back then... I wouldn't have become a judge.

But I misjudged him. He's a really good prospect, and I like him more and more.

What the acting female governor and the judge discussed remains unknown to outsiders.

Only after the Archsage of Mechanicus left the scene did the conflict between the Imperial Navy and the Astartes Chapter subside.

The four forces, united in three groups, formed a super-stable tetrahedral structure.

The Imperial Navy accepted a proposal that would normally be absolutely unacceptable, agreeing to allow the Astartes to send an investigation team to conduct a loyalty review of all Imperial Navy ships involved in the war.

The Astartes also agreed that if the review went smoothly, they would keep quiet about the damned frigate issue.

The mechanical sages of the Forged World of Yomi VI agreed to provide assistance with the post-war cleanup and reconstruction of Skold.

And Motor Sich got what he wanted: the privilege of being allowed to jump the queue for a strike cruiser.

Why not a finished ship?

Kaz asked the company commander of Motor Sich privately.

Then Motor Sich simply smiled and shook his head without offering any explanation.

Transactions must be equivalent.

A ready-made cruiser—the Huangquan VI is so big that the Casting World could certainly produce one.

But putting aside whether the cost of the Desolate Wings is worth a cruiser, how would you explain it to your brothers in the Raptor Squadron if you actually took it?

The loss of three frigates has caused considerable anxiety.

So this privilege of skipping the queue for appointments is great!

Building a strike cruiser, while incredibly expensive, wouldn't be a major financial burden for the Wastewing Chapter, as it could be paid for in installments over a century.

Moreover, this mechanical explorer, who is already starting to resemble a non-human, has an advanced social module, and even knows the basic principle of the exchange of benefits: you are in me, and I am in you.

With this shipbuilding pretext, wouldn't we be able to maintain contact in the future?

Before the war was even over, the female governor had already removed the word "acting".

The Mechanical Cult was very satisfied with the complete betrayal of Nest City No. 1.

The district government was also satisfied that the taxpayers were willing to pay taxes on time.

As the godmother, Vinava arranged a marriage for the female governor, and the Star District government had nothing to say about it.

Even the armed sailors and the PDF group, who were originally indentured laborers, were given the status of residents of the Nest City by the female governor.

You have to give up something to gain something. It may seem like she doesn't care about selling her family's land, but the female governor, who is now all alone, is very clear-headed. What use is wealth and status if you're gone?

If these reinforcements aren't well-fed and aren't bound by future benefits, even His Majesty the Divine Emperor might not know how long he can survive.

So take it all, take it all. The First Nest City is completely empty. Take whatever you want. I only want the position of Planet Governor.

From the moment she left, the female governor made up her mind that she would never go back in her life.

Anyway, you've already cracked the central system control of Nest One, so go find whatever you want yourself.

So when Tyrant took Kaz to explore the underground tunnels dug by the Shadow of Death gang, he was dumbfounded.

"How did these Chaos traitors get their hands on this thing? Investigate thoroughly, they must investigate thoroughly!"

Despite being an Astartes superman, Tyrant was still sweating profusely.

The explosive device that the Shadow of Death warband was preparing to detonate on the planet was the warhead of a Cyclone torpedo.