Ahriman peeled back the layers of the merchant's memories, seeing clearly the face of that 'Saint'.
Although he possessed a Primarch-level height and physique, and was equally handsome and striking, his appearance was completely different from Sanguinius's in his memories.
"It's not Sanguinius?"
Ahriman breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been terrified just now, thinking that the one on the Golden Throne had finally erupted and was planning to drag the entire galaxy down with him.
Ahriman had participated in The The Battle of Terra throughout, and during Horus's decisive battle with the Emperor, he entered a mysterious library on Terra.
There, he read a book about the Dark King and heard the Dark King's echo.
That was a true god, created by human anger, hatred, despair, and death, born only for destruction.
The Emperor refused to become a god; he killed Horus as a mortal and expelled the Chaos Gods.
Abaddon's destruction of Cadia Fortress was a foolish decision.
The Emperor's power was strengthened, and his interference in Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) was deeper.
The Despoiler's Black Crusade was a game of the gods.
Abaddon could not kill the Emperor; even if he could reach Terra again, he still couldn't kill the Emperor.
The Lord of Humanity could have become a god back then, and he still can now.
As long as he is willing to abandon humanity, abandon his last shred of humanity.
The ultimate fate of the galaxy is destruction, both for humanity and Holy Terra (Earth/Reality), and for the gods and the Warp.
No one knows how long the Emperor will last on the Golden Throne, nor does anyone know what fate the galaxy will face once the Emperor gives up on protecting humanity.
Ahriman tried to examine and manipulate the 'Saint's' threads of fate, but found that he couldn't see them at all.
It was like the black sun in the Warp, which burned away all fate leading to itself, so even the gods could not know what destiny this 'Saint' would bring to this universe.
Ahriman released his hand, and Hargren's corpse slumped powerlessly to the ground.
The poor merchant's eyes were wide, filled with despair and confusion.
He couldn't believe such a cruel fate would befall him.
A photo of him with his wife and children slipped from his pocket.
During the perilous Warp journey, his family was an indispensable spiritual pillar for him.
Ahriman bent down and picked up the photo.
"A nice family."
"What should we do next?" asked Ktesias, a subordinate standing nearby.
He was not a veteran of the War of Ages but a new recruit cultivated five hundred years ago through rituals and gene-seed.
Among the Thousand Sons Sorcerer, there were also those purely from rituals; by pledging allegiance to Magnus, if they survived the ritual, they became Thousand Sons Sorcerer; if not, they went mad or died.
Just as Ahriman was about to answer, his face suddenly changed.
"Here it comes again."
Ktesias's face also changed instantly.
Heat surged through his body, like inhaling air from a furnace.
The Red Letter Warrior nearby also trembled in place, strange sounds emanating from inside his armor, as if screaming in pain and calling out to companions.
Ktesias had no time to do anything.
It was as if a fire bomb exploded in his head, and white light, roars, and towering flames consumed everything.
He saw nothing but flames.
The pain and scorching heat, like the roar of a firestorm, seemed to last forever.
When it was all over, Ktesias found himself kneeling on the floor, his mouth filled with the taste of smoke and ashes.
Next to him, a Red Letter Warrior had completely turned to ash, even the echo of his soul had vanished.
Ahriman's voice was filled with pain, "The warnings are becoming fewer and stronger, and they will only stop when they burn us completely to ashes."
Ktesias stood up, a bitter expression on his face.
This was the aftereffect of their second Red Letter spell — the Evil Fire Backlash.
That large-scale spell did not end easily.
It spiraled out of control, like a great fire engulfing every tree, only extinguishing when the trees were completely burned to ash.
Ahriman tried to stop it, to change the fate of the Thousand Sons Legion.
He went to Gomorrah, obtaining the death messages he wanted from the Blood Pigeon and the leaders of the Cabal.
But he also angered those guys.
They would never endure such humiliation, and after Ahriman left Gomorrah, Drukhari / Dark Aeldari assassins were dispatched.
The high-ranking officials of Gomorrah vowed that these Thousand Sons Sorcerer would pay the price.
Ahriman also made a trip to the resting place of the Haksos Dynasty, where he took an artifact capable of manipulating time.
This act also angered that ancient and long-standing Necron dynasty.
The awakened Phaeron must have sent Overlords to hunt them down.
Calixis Sector was Ahriman's last stop before returning to the Eye of Terror.
Tzeentch's Great Daemon, Kairos, once told Ahriman that there were pure Thousand Sons here, without any corruption, and unaffected by the Evil Fire Backlash.
Ahriman had secretly observed Planet Atoma, a well-developed human world with a progressive new atmosphere, a complete defense system, and thousands of Astartes.
The strength displayed by Planet Atoma forced him to choose to lurk in the shadows first, gathering intelligence about this planet.
From Hargren's mind, Ahriman learned that Planet Atoma had more military forces than he had initially seen.
Including those not yet awakened, Planet Atoma should have tens of thousands of Astartes.
This greatly shocked Ahriman and made him glad he hadn't acted rashly.
One should know that during the Great Crusade, major Legions rarely had new recruits of this scale; it took years of accumulation to reach tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands.
With such a vast force, what exactly did that so-called 'Saint' intend to do?
Conquering the Calixis Sector would be more than enough.
Ahriman's mind was filled with confusion.
"Should we launch an attack on Planet Atoma?" another Thousand Sons Sorcerer, Ignis, inquired.
Ahriman shook his head; he didn't believe that his small force could deal with tens of thousands of Astartes, which was a Legion-level military strength.
"Starting a war would undoubtedly be courting death; let's first figure out the matter of the pure Thousand Sons."
"What are you going to do?" Ktesias asked.
"I already have a perfect plan," Ahriman said.
Moments later, the deceased Hargren stood up again and returned to his captain's seat.
The crew on the freighter also acted as if nothing had happened.
"The Warp Storm has subsided a bit!" the navigator shouted.
"Then let us continue our voyage," Hargren commanded, "Target Syntilla."
The Geller Field activated, covering the hull.
The Warp engine roared, opening a Warp rift, and the light of paradox overflowed like a tide.
The freighter entered the Warp, heading towards Syntilla Planet.
...
The battle for Syntilla was drawing to a close.
The Emperor Niuma Battle Group was frantically boosting their KPIs, digging three feet deep to catch rebel leaders,
but they were still a bit short, only managing to secure third place.
Fourth was the Hammer and Sickle Battle Group, which made Little Fatty gnash his teeth in anger.
Their goal was originally to secure third and contend for second, and everything had been going smoothly,
but then the Hunter Demon Battle Group unexpectedly appeared, leaving them in fourth place.
The members of the Hunter Demon Battle Group had been looking down on everyone for the past few days,
occasionally spouting lines like,
"Oh, it's just an MVP, nothing to be proud of."
"Why work so hard when you can just catch a Demon Host?"
"..."
Such remarks were endless, and Players from other Warbands gnashed their teeth in hatred, almost wanting to put them in a sack.
But they endured it, as they still had to continue fighting the rebels later.
If the Hunter Demon Battle Group could catch one Demon Host, could they really catch all seven Great Demons of the Calixis Sector?!
If they had the guts, they should solve the notorious Tyrant Star too.
"It's just a fluke; during a large-scale battle, they're bound to be left behind."
"That's right, void combat, aerial combat, and ground assaults are the true paths to glory."
"It's just a Demon Host; can't we Psyker catch them too?"
"..."
To these comments, Zigman simply replied with a lighthearted, "A bunch of sour grapes. No matter what happens later, right now, we are the MVP. We were the least favored, but we tried the hardest."
This single sentence broke the composure of many Players who had just calmed down, and they swarmed him, pinning him to the ground and beating him up.
But Zigman, with two black eyes, still chuckled, making everyone even angrier.
After Alex finished his tasks, he summoned the Players to discuss the distribution of spoils.
Everyone contributed to this battle, so it couldn't be a matter of whoever snatched it first, as that would be unfair to others.
"First is the Exemplar Saint Fist battleship. The Emperor Niuma Battle Group made the greatest contribution, so they not only have priority purchase rights but also a discount."
"If other Warbands wish to purchase it, they must offer at least double the price given by the Emperor Niuma Battle Group to acquire it."
"Additionally, Imperial Navy ship officers need military ranks to enter the operational sequence, so Players who purchase warships still need to pay sufficient Contribution Points and merits to exchange for military ranks, or hire NPCs with military ranks."
"Considering that Players currently do not have enough Contribution Points and merits, they can purchase on credit, but they need to repay it within a limited time."
"Now, does anyone want to offer a higher price for this spoil of war?"
Alex's words made the Players look at each other.
Blood Pigeon calculated in his mind and finally gave up.
Within the Imperial Navy's ranks, a battleship captain is usually a general, and the first officer is a senior colonel.
This meant that in addition to the cost of purchasing the warship, they would have to pay a considerable sum to recruit crew members to fight alongside the Navy or enter the official command structure.
Besides these, they would also be responsible for the warship's maintenance expenses.
Other Players were in the same boat; they all had some savings, but it wasn't cost-effective to invest everything in a single ship.
Forming a fleet would also incur significant expenses, and before finding a suitable way to earn money, there was no need to do so.
If it blew up, they would cry.
"Since that is the case, the Exemplar Saint Fist battleship officially belongs to the Emperor Niuma Battle Group starting today."
As soon as Alex finished speaking, the members of the Emperor Niuma Battle Group cheered.
With this warship, they would have more confidence in snatching the MVP.
Tenjiro, Sea Turtle, and other Players immediately draped a cloak over the Warmaster.
The style was just like the Marine cloaks in One Piece.
Only, the word on the back wasn't "Justice" but "Loyalty."
On his shoulders, there were also double-headed eagle epaulets as embellishments.
Combined with his tall stature and the greatsword on his back, he had a Warhammer 40K version of the One Piece style.
After putting it on, the Warmaster flung his cloak and shouted, "Loyalty!"
The other Players were stunned; how did these guys' minds work?
It could be like this??
Little Fatty: "Damn, these guys have so many tricks up their sleeves??"
Blood Pigeon: "You're an Astartes, wearing a Navy cloak?"
Zigman: "I often feel out of place because my thought process isn't eccentric enough."
"..."
Alex's mouth also twitched.
Never underestimate the Fourth Catastrophe's ability to create spectacles.
Next, Alex also auctioned off the captured frigates and cruisers.
If a Player wanted one, it would go to them first; if not, it would be incorporated into the Imperial Navy fleet.
After the spoils distribution meeting, the Warbands that participated in the war had their Contribution Points completely depleted and were heavily in debt.
Xia, Kaiting, Aying, and others standing by were dumbfounded.
This was too ruthless, wasn't it??
They fought a war, not only earning nothing but also going into debt.
If it were any other military unit, they would have mutinied long ago.
Yet, these God Chosen seemed quite happy.
What kind of thought process was this?
Meanwhile, as soon as Alex finished the spoils distribution meeting, Cortana appeared by his side.
"Master, Lord Guilliman has sent you a communication request. Would you like to accept it?"
"Guilliman? Has he encountered something?" Alex frowned. "Connect it."