Chapter 151: Rebellion Stirs
"Vulkan, do you think you're clean? Stop pretending! Have you forgotten what you did to those Aeldari on Kharaatan?"
"You've used Exterminatus too, haven't you? You wouldn't have forgotten!" Konrad Curze's words cut like blades, each one aimed at old wounds.
Vulkan's hand trembled on the communicator. The reinforced casing groaned under his grip before crumpling like parchment.
"You! You! You!"
Pain flooded through him, not physical, but something deeper. He hadn't expected such cold words from his brother. Konrad knew exactly where to strike.
Meanwhile, aboard Konrad Curze's battleship, the lights flickered.
Several Night Lords warriors stepped into the corridor when footsteps shattered the silence.
"Intruders!"
Callidus Assassins emerged from the shadows. In the flickering light, silver phase swords flashed toward the warriors' necks.
One assassin leaped onto a warrior's back, driving her blade into a seam of his armor. The warrior growled and spun to counterattack, but she was already gone.
Deep within the bridge, Konrad Curze stood at the command console, watching the battlefield.
Dark figures streaked past like meteors, landing behind him. Their daggers gleamed with an eerie light, whispering at the edge of perception.
"So they finally came."
"Everything is like fate, but I don't acknowledge this fate!" His tone was low, carrying anger beneath the surface.
They didn't answer. They charged.
One attacked from behind, dagger aimed at his neck. Another swung from the side, targeting armor seams. The rest rushed from the front, trying to overwhelm him.
But Konrad Curze had seen this moment before. His power whip snapped forward, bisecting the assassin behind him. She slammed into the metal wall with a wet thud.
He spun and kicked the assassin in front of him. Ribs shattered. She hit the far wall and burst apart, spraying blood across the bulkhead.
"Who sent you? Tell me, and perhaps I can leave you a complete corpse." Blood ran down his face as he licked it from his lips. His eyes glowed crimson.
Then a nauseating sensation washed over him. Everything distorted. The bridge tilted. He staggered.
Clang!
An assassin's dagger scraped across his vambrace, throwing sparks. Where it touched, the metal began to decay, crumbling and rotting as if centuries had passed in seconds.
The metal was being corrupted!
"Filthy things, get out!" Pain made him focus his mind, and He roared.
His whip lashed out at his own arm, severing the decaying vambrace along with corrupted flesh beneath. Better to lose the limb than let it spread.
The two remaining assassins lunged again. One leaped high, stabbing down at his head. The other crouched low, circling behind for his spine.
The pain burned away the mental distortion. His whip arced upward, catching the airborne assassin and reducing her to a mist of blood.
His body spun, and the whip sliced across the last assassin's throat. Shock and unwillingness filled her eyes as she collapsed. Her blood pooled beneath her.
Silence returned to the bridge. The assassins' corpses littered the floor, the glow fading from their daggers.
Konrad Curze stared at the unhealed wound on his arm.
"Who is it!" These weren't the Emperor's assassins, that He was certain of.
...
On Terra and across countless human colony worlds, rumors spread like wildfire.
In towering hive cities and remote colonies alike, whispers multiplied rapidly.
"Xenos has corrupted the Imperium of Man. Our leaders may no longer be human."
"Those xenos even control the Legions!"
The rhetoric eroded trust in the Imperium's government. Some extremists burned Imperial symbols, proclaiming their desire to "rebuild a future truly belonging to humanity."
Zealots and Religious groups seized the opportunity.
"The future Imperium of Man is a trial. Only truly pure souls can survive."
"Warp storms will devour all heretics, leaving only the devout."
"Our leaders are constantly destroying humanity. We are His sustenance! We will all die!"
"Let us offer our blood and skulls to the Emperor. He is about to become humanity's God of Death!"
These doctrines attracted those confused by rumors and fear, weaving a paranoid survivalist faith.
In hive city markets and underground taverns, rumors spread like plague. Fanatics graffitied the streets with images of humans sacrificing to the Emperor, accompanied by the words "Humanity will eventually be destroyed."
Some drew images resembling Francis, with the word "xeno" scrawled beside them.
On distant colony worlds, these rumors and beliefs intertwined more deeply. Many impoverished colonists believed the Imperium's endless taxes and conscription existed only to satisfy xenocratic rulers' appetites.
The unrest intensified. Imperial security forces stretched thin, trying to quell the spiraling storm.
...
Magnus's landing craft slowly descended onto Cadia. As the gate opened, He rushed out excitedly.
Then he saw a group of Orks gathered in a circle, fighting constantly, with a strangely shaped scepter stuck in the middle.
Magnus stared in confusion. His Thousand Sons warriors exchanged bewildered glances.
"Don't look there! Over here!" Francis's voice came from nearby. "It's not a beautiful woman, why are you staring so intently?"
Magnus turned and jogged over. "Where is it? What treasure can enhance psychic power? Let me see!"
"Don't be so impatient!" Francis soothed him, peeling a grape. "Do you want revenge for your eye?"
Magnus stared blankly.
Seeing his expression, Francis explained. "It's about the person who tricked your eye away. I was also tricked by him before, but I couldn't beat him then."
"Now I do have a way to get revenge. How about it? Do you want to participate?" Francis showed a sinister expression. He would remember being tricked into an illusion for a lifetime.
Magnus showed a thoughtful expression. He hadn't considered revenge. After coming down from the throne, he had forgotten about it entirely.
Magnus was silent for a moment. "Tell me what to do! I'm with you!"
Francis didn't speak. He extended a hand, pointing toward the Blackstone Fortress above Cadia.
The fortress floated in the hazy sky, its outline vast and ominous, like a dark deity silently watching the entire planet. Even from here, Magnus could feel its oppressive presence, a void in the warp that pushed against his psychic senses.
Magnus followed his finger, confusion and surprise filling his eyes. "What... what is that?"
He frowned, clearly not having expected Francis to point there. Magnus's perception of Chaos had always been keen, but this Blackstone Fortress made him feel oppressed and dangerous.
Francis stood and gestured toward the fortress. "Come with me, I'll take you on a killing spree!"
[End of Chapter]
Want to read more than 50+ chapters right now!
patreon.com/cw/Mr_UmU
https://www.patreon.com/Mr_UmU
____
Want bonus chapters? You got it.
Goal: 300 – Achieved: 279 = 2 Bonus Chapters
📌 1 Power Stone on the Book Page = 100 on Chapter Pages!
!! VISIT the BOOK PAGE to donate your Power Stone.