At the Mariupol Sector Capital, the Inquisition's Black Ship docked at the Starport, and the Inquisitor, accompanied by his acolytes and Kill Team, traveled rapidly through the Hive City streets in a special vehicle.
His nerves were highly strung; carrying a secret, he was on his way to the Inquisition's headquarters on this Imperial World.
Any rustle along the way would make him nervous, fearing someone might take the opportunity to launch an attack.
For an Inquisitor, his state was somewhat overly tense; after all, in the Imperium, while it wasn't unheard of for someone to dare attack an Inquisitor, not just anyone would dare to do so.
It was just that the secret in his mind made him twelve parts wary of everyone; he would not let down his guard until he met the Inquisition Grand Master.
To ensure his safe arrival at the Inquisition headquarters, he even called for a Department of Justice Marshal Squad to escort him.
Watching the two Department of Justice gunships above him through the car window, the Inquisitor finally felt a little more at ease.
Although they were just two gunships, if he could, he would have preferred to call two Valkyries from the local Defense Force, but the Defense Force was the Star District Governor's private army, and they were not trustworthy to the Inquisition.
In contrast, the Department of Justice was an Imperial law enforcement agency, much like the Inquisition, relatively more independent, and thus more trustworthy.
Of course, the main reason was that the Department of Justice Marshals' equipment and combat power were a notch stronger than the Defense Force's; when a small support force was needed, the Department of Justice Marshals were far more reliable than the Defense Force.
Thinking about this, the Inquisitor couldn't help but wonder what exactly the secret in his mind involved that made him so nervous.
Even he himself did not know the specific content of the secret, which was sealed by psychic power, but the importance of the secret had not been sealed.
Therefore, this Inquisitor clearly knew that the secret in his mind concerned the safety of the entire Imperium!
It could even be said that as long as this secret was leaked, a large-scale rebellion and war comparable to the Badab War would be unleashed, countless Imperial Worlds would fall into war, and billions of lives would turn to ashes.
What kind of secret could cause such terrifying consequences? The Inquisitor didn't know, but he knew he had to bring this secret to the Inquisition Grand Master, the highest authority of the Star Sector Tribunal.
The Inquisitor's car stopped at the entrance of the Inquisition headquarters, and the Department of Justice Marshals also jumped down from their gunships, lining up to guard the Inquisitor.
The Inquisitor's own Kill Team deployed, and his acolytes were all ready for battle.
Arriving at the Inquisition headquarters did not mean safety; after all, the internal factional struggles within the Inquisition were more intense than the wars between the Imperium and heretics.
Inquisitors from different factions had completely different attitudes towards certain matters.
Some believed that wars, rebellions, and various other incidents needed to be constantly stirred up in the Imperium to stimulate it, to make the Imperium recover from its decadence and decline, and for this, they would not hesitate to sacrifice Imperial interests to force a Sector to rebel, summon Greater Daemons, or even cooperate with xenos and betray the Imperium.
Others, however, believed that the Imperium must be pure, and all non-humans must die! Even legally sanctioned abhumans were no exception! And the Astartes, they were the largest group of xenos in the Imperium, and they too should die!
The Inquisitor had no intention of delving into which of these two factions was more insane; he was just a relatively conservative radical Inquisitor, who, while also hoping to do something to change the current state of the Imperium, would never resort to such a drastic measure that could drag half the Imperium into war!
But while he thought this way, others might not.
"Well, well, well, look who it is? Isn't this Paul Inquisitor of the Pursuit Ordo?" A somewhat nauseatingly greasy voice sounded, and another Inquisitor appeared before Paul Inquisitor: "What, have you returned from delivering the ship to that lucky fellow? How does it feel to give away your mentor's flagship to someone else? Or did you miss this ship so much that you brought it back?"
Gazing at the man before him, three of whose four limbs had been replaced with prosthetics, Paul Inquisitor took a deep breath before speaking: "Move aside, I don't have time to waste words with you. I need to see the Inquisitor Grand Master!"
Paul Inquisitor had no intention of getting entangled with him, and he tried to bypass the obstructing man by turning sideways.
"I'm afraid not. The Inquisitor Grand Master doesn't have time to see you at the moment, and I won't let you pass." This Inquisitor blocked Paul's path with his prosthetic limb, his eyes instantly turning fierce: "Unless you hand over the secret in your mind, otherwise you'll be lying here today!"
The secret was leaked! This was Paul's first reaction.
Although Paul, as instructed by Alex, had not told anyone about the secret in his mind, and he hadn't even used astropathic communication to contact the Inquisitor Grand Master, the grand display he made upon returning from Rostov, heading straight for the Inquisition headquarters, was enough for interested parties to deduce something.
Not to mention that in the Warhammer World, sometimes knowing a secret doesn't require directly learning its existence from the person keeping it.
Psychic prophecies, daemon hosts, xenos devices... there were simply too many things and methods that could allow one to know what they wanted to know.
The time elapsed from Paul's Black Ship arriving at the Starport to his arrival at the Inquisition headquarters was already enough for interested parties to discover that he carried an important secret.
However, it seemed they didn't know much, or rather, they knew too late.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have made their move at the Inquisition headquarters; they should have intercepted him in a more accessible location!
Paul made his judgment internally, then focused his gaze on the Inquisitor blocking his way.
"Since you know it's a secret, you should understand that some matters are not for you to interfere with." Paul tried to persuade the other party, but his hand was still on his weapon: "Move aside, I don't want to stain my hands with the blood of a fellow Inquisitor!"
"That's probably not up to you!" This Inquisitor had no intention of saying more to Paul and directly launched an attack on him.
Immediately, gunshots erupted in the hall of the Inquisition headquarters, and the two Inquisitors' teams instantly engaged in a fierce struggle.
Due to the close proximity of the two sides, it was the most brutal close-quarters combat from the very beginning.
No one had time to react; they could only raise their weapons at the first opportunity and attack the nearest non-friendly target.
And the two Inquisitors also fought each other, holding nothing back.
In an instant, in the Inquisition headquarters hall, which should have been solemn and dignified, blood flowed like a river.
The monitor is broken, so today's update will be a bit slow.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.