"Inquisitor? Oh, the one on Lexio?"
"The governor might use him to deal with me?"
In a conference room at the Ark Gang's stronghold,
Reyna, Dixus, One-Eye, and Alexander sat at the four sides of a square table.
Although One-Eye was once the governor's man and still maintained contact with him, Alexander trusted him and knew that One-Eye was no longer loyal to the governor.
He was now more focused on atoning for his past mistake of letting the Hellworm escape, and for this, he was an enemy of the genestealer.
In this regard, Alexander and One-Eye shared a common enemy, and he needed One-Eye to train the members of the Ark Gang.
Just now, One-Eye had reminded Alexander that there was an Inquisitor on the neighboring planet Lexio, who might be used by the governor against them.
Inquisitor. Most Imperial citizens harbored an almost natural fear of Inquisitors.
Every Imperial resident could recount a hundred terrifying stories about Inquisitors, yet no one dared to tell them in public.
Reyna, an illegal psyker running a cult in the Lower Nest, couldn't help but shiver: "It's an Inquisitor... Alexander, are we really going to face white phosphorus execution?"
Looking at Reyna's nervous expression, Alexander couldn't help but shake his head: "Don't worry, I know who that Inquisitor is. He should be more interested in catching big fish right now... Hmm, that's not a metaphor, he's really catching big fish."
That Inquisitor belonged to the Ordo Xenos, whose primary goal was to cultivate... oh no, to purge xenos.
And in the tidal waters of Lexio, there was an enormous aquatic xenos, locally known as the "Salt Goddess."
According to Alexander, that xenos might be a special kind of Tyranid hive Fleet creature.
The monster was terrifyingly large, had tentacles, possessed considerable intelligence and psyker power, and was even worshipped by the GSC on Lexio.
It was just unknown how the Tyranid managed to send this monster to Lexio.
And that Inquisitor, Damian. Ulrich, was trying to fish that thing out.
He probably wouldn't be interested in Alexander for a while.
Even if an Inquisitor really intended to thoroughly investigate the problems in the Netherworld Star System,
Besides the Titan-sized beast on Lexio, the governor of Lexio was also suspected of directly defecting to the genestealer. On the neighboring Perdita, there was a group of Necron infected with the Flayer virus and a shard of a The Burning One Star God. Deep within the star system, on Tartarus, there was also an alien artifact, the "Starflame," capable of destroying the entire star system.
"With so many problems in our Netherworld Star System, one Inquisitor can't handle it all. And this Damian. Ulrich is just starting out, only bringing a squad of Tempestus Scions, so he can do even less."
"Really?" Reyna asked, a hint of fear in her voice: "He won't issue an Exterminatus for us, will he?"
Reyna had clearly heard many terrifying stories about Inquisitors circulating in the Lower Nest.
In the eyes of Imperial citizens, most Inquisitors were madmen who could issue an Exterminatus at any moment.
But even a madman who could issue an Exterminatus at any moment would have to consider the Netherworld Star System.
"This is the Netherworld Star System."
Alexander emphasized the words "Netherworld":
"The Netherworld Star System is the gateway to Baal, the most important fortress protecting Baal, and Baal is the homeworld of the Blood Angels."
"Issuing an Exterminatus for the Netherworld Star System, what's the difference between that and shitting on the Blood Angels' face? Why doesn't he just orbital bombard Baal directly?"
Without the Netherworld Star System, Baal would be wide open, losing an important fortress system.
Theoretically, an Inquisitor's power is almost limitless... But there are always some in the Imperium who can ignore Inquisitors, or even threaten them in return.
For example, the Custodes, Space Wolves, Dark Angel...
And the Blood Angels, who, like cats and dogs, are a First Founding Chapter.
Wolves bite when cornered, and Angels, when desperate, will see an Inquisitor as Horus with a rose knot.
More than ten thousand years ago, the warriors of the Ninth Legion, before Sanguinius' return, were known as ghouls.
And now, there are many madmen among the Blood Angels' successor chapters. These madmen would dare to strike down not only Inquisitors but even Guilliman himself.
Alexander silently complained.
If Augustus really found an Inquisitor, that would definitely be a bad move.
Killing him now would be too cheap; Alexander still needed to squeeze out his remaining value.
Without him, the Top hive's supplier of materials, how would we, the lords of the Lower Nest, deal with the genestealer?
When the Leviathan hive Fleet arrives,
Alexander also planned to use Augustus as bait.
Thinking of this, Alexander looked at Reyna, who was sitting beside him, and asked: "How is the war against the genestealer progressing?"
Hearing this, Reyna, who had just felt a little relieved, immediately looked troubled.
"..It looks good," Reyna said with some bitterness: "The first batch of weapons has been delivered, and our people are equipped."
"When we launched our attack, the genestealer almost immediately began to retreat, spitting out the territory they had once swallowed, inch by inch..."
"..Not a defeat, they are deliberately contracting their front lines," Sanguinius shook its head and said.
Alexander's mouth twitched slightly. He seemed to have guessed the Genestealer purpose in doing this.
"They wouldn't have cleared out almost all usable resources before retreating, leaving a wasteland for your people, would they?"
The bitterness on Reyna's face grew: "Yes, and as the front lines tighten, the genestealer forces, with almost no losses, become denser and denser. We, however, have to use a lot of manpower to occupy those useless territories to prevent genestealer forces from appearing anywhere at any time."
"And when we retreat, the genestealer will quickly follow, filling the empty areas we left, repeating this tirelessly."
Facing this GSC tactic,
Reyna felt like punching cotton, but the cotton was filled with a pile of nails, making it uncomfortable.
No matter how powerful the punch, it would only result in a bloody mess.
"What a sophisticated tactic..." One-Eye, responsible for training the Ark Gang soldiers, said with a frown.
Besides Sanguinius at the corner of Alexander's eye, One-Eye was the most knowledgeable person about military matters present.
He immediately saw the subtlety of this tactic.
Using the least effort to consume the Ark Gang's greatest strength, under repeated stalemates and tug-of-war, the Ark Gang would surely be worn down.
"I need stronger soldiers. How long until the first batch can be trained?" Reyna asked, looking at One-Eye.
"Training takes time. No matter how urgent... I still have to tell those idiots to close one eye when aiming, right?" One-Eye said, quite helplessly.
Reyna couldn't help but sigh.
The Ark Gang could only be dragged into this back-and-forth game by the genestealer now.
"..I have an idea, I wonder if you're willing to hear it."
Alexander suddenly spoke.
Reyna, One-Eye, and Dixus all looked at Alexander.
Especially Reyna, she looked at Alexander and said with a strange expression:
"Are we willing to listen?"
"Dixus and her Dying-worshippers, your people."
"The Ark Gang, you also have a share."
"One-Eye, you introduced him."
"Is there a possibility that in this home of ours... you are the one in charge?"
Hearing this, Alexander smiled lightly, then looked at the three people present and said: "I don't know much about military matters."
"But I understand the GSC. GSC forces are all commanded by a single leader."
"This leader himself has a psychic link with the entire GSC cult, commanding his forces as if wielding his own arms."
"He is the soul, brain, and even the entire nervous system of the GSC forces..."
Alexander smiled.
"But he must be protected by many troops," One-Eye said with a frown.
Reyna nodded in agreement: "Not only that, he's probably hidden very deeply."
"..As long as he can be found, death will always take him," Dixus said softly.
Her voice was chilling, making both Reyna and One-Eye shiver slightly.
"I will send our assassins to find him, but it will take some time," Dixus said.
"..We'll try our best to hold them off for a while," Reyna rubbed her temples.
"No need for such trouble."
Alexander chuckled and shook his head.
He reached his hand into his four-dimensional pocket at his waist.
"Ding dong ding dong..."
Dixus West and One-Eye showed curious glances, while Reyna had an "I knew it" expression.
Alexander slowly pulled a staff from his four-dimensional pocket.
West sat in the cabin of an Ashford heavy truck, his eyes closed before the virtual sandbox.
The sandbox was merely an aid; the true battlefield was hidden in his mind.
The mind of every brother of the race was clearly visible in his mind, and the eyes of every hybrid cultist were his monitors.
He could see every detail of the battlefield with his own eyes, relaying every command to every warrior's hand.
His soldiers were as agile as tentacles, gently and slowly licking the entire Lower Nest. Each attack seemed not fatal, but as time passed, the entire Ashford would be drawn into the rebellion he stirred up.
Until the Song of Leviathan sounded, and the Four-Armed Emperor from the stars embraced them.
Of course, all this depended on West being able to guarantee his own safety and not be killed.
Otherwise, the warriors of the entire genestealer cult would degrade from unstoppable killing machines into foolish brutes with mutations.
To protect himself, West stole this heavy truck, manufactured by Ashford, from a factory.
This heavy truck was an important military product exported by Ashford, with technology reportedly from Necromunda.
It not only had extremely thick armor and two twin-linked autocannons, but it was also extremely fast and equipped with some kind of signal jamming device.
This allowed West to move erratically like a ghost, riding this heavy truck, making him almost untraceable.
Around the heavy armored vehicle, West also arranged a group of motorcyclists to guard, patrolling constantly.
The Saint Arbiters were also hidden in the surrounding buildings, their bullets capable of taking the life of any attacker.
But the patriarch still felt uneasy. To protect West's safety, he even dispatched a group of—
Enemy! Danger!
West's pupils suddenly contracted, and the psyker linked to the patriarch issued a warning.
In the warning, West saw a dark figure, holding a rapier that pierced through his chest.
West hastily turned around, looking behind him.
A dark figure was already less than half a meter away from him.
That chilling rapier was about to pierce his throat.
Assassin!
How did she find my truck? How did she sneak in so silently?
Neither the Saint Arbiters in the nearby buildings, nor...
West quickly raised the bio-bone sword in his hand to block—
"Ah ah ah ah!!!"
West let out a wail. The icy rapier easily bypassed his bio-bone sword, directly piercing into West's eyeball.
Fortunately, at the last moment, four chilling purple arms suddenly grabbed the rapier, preventing it from piercing into West's brain.
It was a Pureblood genestealer!
These were atavists born after five generations of hybridization, monsters closest to the genestealer patriarch's genetic sequence. Each had the potential to start a new round of infection, or even become a new patriarch.
Lurking in the shadows, it was almost one of the most terrifying and dangerous life forms in the entire galaxy.
Five Pureblood genestealers silently emerged from the shadows, crevices, and compartments of the heavy truck, surrounding the assassin who dared to attack West .
A smile appeared on West's lips.
Although he lost an eye, replacing such a skilled assassin was worth it.
The Pureblood genestealers were fast, their four sharp claws striking at the black-clad assassin like a thorny net.
However, the assassin was even faster!
To West's astonishment, the two Pureblood genestealers closest to the assassin were, in the blink of an eye, impaled through the head by the two rapiers, leaving a rather gruesome wound on their heads.
Her body shifted slightly, using the opening created by the death of the two Pureblood genestealers to escape the encirclement and rush towards West.
Fortunately, the Pureblood genestealers were fast enough and quickly re-engaged Reyna, buying West a little time.
Even faster than Pureblood genestealers!!!!
West's eyes widened in astonishment, quickly realizing that these five Pureblood genestealers would not be able to stop the assassin in front of him for long.
He had to abandon the vehicle and escape immediately!
West made an immediate decision, rushing without hesitation towards the closest door.
Then, he saw the black-clad assassin's gaze fall upon him.
"Doraemon greets you."
The assassin exposed her black leather waist, where a reddish-brown gourd hung.
The assassin pulled open the stopper of the gourd at her waist, and a howling hurricane suddenly roared out within the truck.
Alexander stood on a high point of a nearby building, with the Dying-worshippers assassin beside him killing the Saint Arbiters lurking nearby.
He silently gazed at the heavy truck driving on the road, holding a slender staff with a red shaft and silver head.
The staff glowed with a faint luster.
[Item Name: Person-Finding Staff]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth - Future Department Store]
[Production Time: 271.M3]
[Function: An item in the shape of a staff. Stand the staff upright and let it fall naturally, and it will point in the direction of the person you are looking for. However, the accuracy is only 75%]
[Value: 880,000]
This was an item priced at 880,000, but at first glance, it didn't seem particularly powerful.
Its main purpose was to find and track people.
A sharp storm suddenly burst from the heavy truck, the gale instantly twisting the truck slightly. In a blink of an eye, the gale turned into a tornado, engulfing half a block in an instant.
Dixus had successfully unleashed the Pocket Tornado. The next step was...
Alexander's finger slightly released, and the Person-Finding Staff in his hand fell to the ground, pointing in a direction.