Chapter 71: Reunion in the Chess Room
Interstellar warfare is terrifying. It's normal for an alien planet to have tens of millions of alien enemies, and hundreds of millions are not uncommon. When encountering reproducing species like the Orks, populations can reach billions.
To conquer a planet, millions of casualties are commonplace. When facing a powerful alien civilization with human auxiliary forces, tens of millions of casualties are hard to avoid.
Omega watched indifferently as densely packed recruits took an hour to complete their march.
"Probably five or six million people. A large portion of the population was likely drawn from the lower levels of the buildings."
He considered the strategic implications. "Perhaps I should also expand my recruitment scope. Judging from the current situation fighting the Ork Empire, if things continue like this, there's a high probability of a rebellion breaking out in the Alpha Sector in the next few decades."
They could continue expanding recruitment across more planets. Having control over two or three star sectors would make things much more manageable. They would need to return to Sophis World to understand the specific situation.
As more than five million new recruits walked past pedestrians, the surrounding civilians fell silent. There was no cheering of "Long live the expedition!" as one might have expected.
This scale of conscription had become quite common in recent years.
Out of the corner of his eye, Omega saw a group of religious members dressed in priestly robes silently praying for the departing recruits in the distant crowd.
Omega's exceptional senses allowed him to easily discern that the god they were referring to was the Emperor. He couldn't help but feel amused. The Emperor had recently made a firm decision to destroy Monarchia, and right under his nose was a group of believers.
Omega had only heard of the Holy Word written by Lorgar through intelligence reports but had never actually read it. In a flash, he appeared beside the group of believers.
...
Suddenly, a Space Marine in power armor appeared. Upon seeing him, the believers immediately became frightened and kept insisting they worshipped the Emperor, not as cultists. This surprised and amused Omega considerably.
"Are there cults on Terra?"
A leader of the believers, dressed in a grey robe and holding a scripture, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course, there are quite a few, but these cults are small-scale and their strongholds are very well hidden. I've heard that many small cults at the grassroots level worship strange biological forms as sacred objects."
"You are a Space Marine, an angel of the Emperor. You should lead people to destroy them!"
Omega had eliminated many strange cults during his campaigns. This was Terra, and he didn't need to get involved. Seeing their nervousness, he asked casually,
"I will report this, and there are specialized government departments to handle these matters. You seem afraid of my presence. Do you not understand the Emperor's promotion of the Imperial Truth, or do you prefer to worship the Emperor?"
He paused. "Don't be nervous. I just felt things were going well, seeing you all praying for the recruits."
The priests were pleased to have received some approval.
The leader said gratefully, "Thank you. It's rare to see Space Marines so kind to civilians like us. I've read the Imperial Truth; its materialistic concepts and logic are very rigorous and truly truthful. But we ordinary people of humble origins, crave spiritual solace more."
"The Emperor is great and sacred. My friends and I are willing to worship him as a god. In our hearts, he is and always will be divine."
Omega nodded and said calmly,
"Religion has always been related to people's spiritual culture. I understand your feelings. If the Emperor is unwilling to acknowledge himself as a god, what are you, as believers, supposed to do?"
"This...!?" For a moment, the five or six believers were stunned and embarrassed, unable to answer.
Just then, Omega's eyes landed on a thick book in a man's hand. "Is that the Holy Word in your hand?"
"Yes, uh, no, it's a copy, uh.. we're willing to give it to you as a token of our gratitude for your tolerance of our faith." The leader nodded and immediately handed over the scripture, then led his people away quickly.
Seeing these priests depart hastily, Omega chuckled and found it quite amusing, then put away the Holy Word.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man in black robes watching him from a corner.
The other person was startled and pretended to be a passerby, walking away. But in the next moment, Omega appeared directly in front of him.
Beneath the black cloak stood a cold, sinister-looking man with blue eyes. Upon seeing the Space Marine blocking his way, he was shocked and gripped the short staff in his right sleeve, but did not attack.
The man in black robes gave a slight bow, a standard priestly gesture, and spoke softly.
"I am merely a passing psyker, a loyal follower of the Emperor, and an agent of the Emperor."
"Don't give me this nonsense. You're definitely a rogue psyker. I'll count to three, and you give me a reason why I won't kill you. Maybe I'll consider letting you go," Omega said coldly.
Did they really think his observation skills were fake?
The man in black robes immediately tensed up, revealing his short staff in his right hand. He wanted to attack but lacked confidence that he could win or escape, and couldn't help but feel discouraged.
As a rogue psyker, he had killed countless people, but he felt a sense of weakness and helplessness when facing the Space Marine.
Then, trembling with insecurity and fear, he said, "If I can't think of anything, you can make the decision."
A soft sound of bones breaking echoed out. Omega seemed to turn and leave without making a visible move, while the rogue psyker's body fell to the ground.
The patrol quickly discovered the body found by the roadside. Upon discovering the person was a psyker, they promptly reported it. Psyker incidents were beyond their jurisdiction and required the involvement of a specialized agency.
The death of a rogue psyker by the roadside drew the attention of Malcador's operatives and the Sisters of Silence.
You must understand that this was Terra, right under the Emperor's nose.
Before the events at Monarchia even occurred, Malcador had already made contingency plans for the entire planet, fearing that the Emperor's followers might cause trouble as a result.
Omega probably never imagined that casually killing a psyker would cause such a huge uproar. But that was another story.
At this moment, relying on his extraordinary memory, Omega finally found the location of the chess room. However, in front of him was a tall building wall. The street was also unusually quiet, as if pedestrians deliberately avoided this road.
Omega blinked, not missing a single detail, and gradually discovered strange energy fluctuations. He reached out and touched the wall. His hand disappeared directly into it.
"This disguise is definitely psychic."
His figure seemed to disappear into the wall as if burrowing into it, vanishing from the quiet street outside.
Looking up, he saw the same familiar chess room, exactly as it had been when they parted decades ago. A sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.
He gently waved his hand across the thick layer of dust on a table. The dust rose. The entire chess room was covered in dust, clearly indicating no one had been here for a long time.
Omega's footprints were imprinted on the thick layer of dust on the ground. Suddenly, the lights in the chess room turned on, and the ventilation system activated, gradually expelling the stale air. Omega glanced at the light and discovered it was an induction lighting system.
He returned to that familiar chess table, where a thick layer of dust covered the Go board, and two boxes of Go stones remained there as always.
In the chess room, a woman, shrouded in a black robe, suddenly appeared behind Omega. She looked at the Space Marine in power armor with some uncertainty but still watched quietly.
Omega, with his back to her, said quietly, "Your psychic abilities are really convenient. You can even teleport?"
"Omega, it really is you, wearing Alpha Legion power armor. I was worried that Alpharius had discovered this place," Erda chuckled upon hearing this, confirming that it was the person she was waiting for.
With a flick of her slender, pale hand, a burst of psychic energy emanated from her body, obliterating any dust in its path.
The newly renovated chess room, illuminated by the lights, looked exactly as it had been before.
Erda stepped forward lightly, and the beautiful woman beneath the hood was clearly delighted and happy, curiously examining Omega's power armor.
Erda, seeing the armored head looking at her, chuckled. "Psychic power can do countless things; it's almost omnipotent."
Omega gently stroked the table and asked softly, "Including cleaning? A wooden table that hasn't decayed for over fifty years and can maintain its environmental stability seems to involve time manipulation. Are there any side effects or costs?"
"I'm a master of psyker abilities. Omega, say, do you know about the Warp and psykers?" Erda asked confidently and calmly.
[End of Chapter]
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