"You mean you plan to bomb Macragge with virus bombs?"
"Bomb Macragge, the Imperium of Man's third most important planet, the capital of Ultramar, the homeworld of the Ultramarines, and a planet where two Primarchs reside?"
Alexander's expression twisted into a knot.
Virus bombs are one of the weapons the Imperium of Man frequently uses to carry out Exterminatus. They contain an artificial virus called a 'Phage', which can spread across an entire planet within minutes, penetrating most power armor and awakening devices, rapidly decomposing any living organism into a puddle of slime, and subsequently releasing large amounts of superheated flammable gas.
Afterward, these gases would ignite, turning into a doomsday fire that incinerated the entire planet, consuming all the oxygen of an entire world, leaving behind only a barren planet.
This weapon was once used by Horus on the infamous Istvaan III. One dud was preserved by the loyalist Emperor's Children Dreadnought, Rylanor. Ten thousand years later, Rylanor used a trap made with this virus bomb to banish Fulgrim back into the Warp.
To be able to send a daemon Primarch back to the Warp with one shot, even if there was an element of surprise, was enough to show the power of this doomsday weapon.
However, its reliability was not as good as a Cyclonic Torpedo, and its cost was far higher than other Exterminatus weapons, so it was almost no longer used in the Imperium of Man's 40th Millennium.
Only a few Space Marine Chapters kept this world-ending weapon in their armories. Clearly, the Strike Cruiser Heresy's Bane in front of them had one.
"There are three," the three Chaplains said with deep remorse, their heads bowed. "All are relics from the Great Crusade era."
Alexander's expression was a bit numb. No wonder your ship is called Heresy's Bane.
Even heretics would tremble if they knew your ship carried three ten-thousand-year-old virus bombs. If used well, one of these could wipe out several warbands. Warband champions, Chaos Lords, and daemon Princes would be useless. Even Abaddon would have to hide far away.
"How on earth did you come up with this plan?"
Alexander was invited by the three Black Legion Chaplains to the command center, clutching his forehead with a twitching expression as he looked at the three of them.
The three Chaplains in their dark armor looked at each other and, after a long hesitation, finally spoke:
"We saw visions, a series of symbolic visions."
"A round, fat blue cat stood in the Warp, extending a corrupted round hand towards two Primarchs."
"The power of the Warp poured into the Emperor's sons, their souls, consciousness, and essence all stained with colors not belonging to the Emperor."
"Sanguinius' wings were stained blue, Roboute Guilliman's order changed, and two threads hung from the round hand, manipulating them like puppets, and then through them, manipulating the Ultramarines and Blood Angels."
"Many Ultramarines and Blood Angels were infected by the power of that round, fat blue doraemon, transforming into warriors controlled by Him."
The more the Chaplains spoke, the more they grew uneasy:
"It was as if it foreshadowed the two Primarchs falling into daemon Princes, and the two Legions becoming traitors. This is truly terrifying."
"Especially remembering Horus' resurrection, remembering the corruption of Chaos, we believe this is an enlightenment shown to us by the Emperor, to make us see that the two Primarchs have already been corrupted."
"Are you… are you not afraid that this is a pure illusion?" Alexander asked, sweating profusely, his mouth twitching.
In a sense, they weren't entirely wrong. According to Sanguinius, although Guilliman didn't realize it, both of them were almost Alexander's daemon Princes, enjoying Alexander's power.
And indeed, quite a few Ultramarines and Blood Angels were equipped with Alexander's items and commanded by Alexander.
"We thought the same. After all, they are two Primarchs. How could we harm the sons of the God-Emperor, the brothers of Dorn?"
"But just as we approached Macragge, we heard a terrifying song, a song as terrifying as Slaanesh's first cry when the Eldar fell."
"We saw more visions, seeing Sanguinius and Guilliman resisting a nascent Greater Daemon. Guilliman was bathed in blood, but ultimately fell before the Greater Daemon.
We believe this foreshadows the birth of a new daemon on Macragge, and this daemon completely overwhelmed Sanguinius and Lord Guilliman, just as the Slaanesh daemon parasitic in the sword overwhelmed Fulgrim back then."
Alexander couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Although the conclusion was a bit off, the process seemed, appeared, and indeed was like this.
"But we still felt uneasy. What if this was some kind of Chaos plot?"
"So we infiltrated the celebration in Magna Macragge city. Everything was normal until the Slaanesh-corrupted governor appeared and fell before 'Guilliman's' burning, flaming greatsword."
"We detected strong Psyker reactions. Powerful Warp energy surged within that 'Guilliman,' and vaguely, we seemed to see a daemon lurking beneath 'Guilliman's' skin."
The Chaplains' voices were filled with apology and deep guilt as they continued to speak to Alexander:
"Therefore, we believe that the Primarch has most likely been corrupted. For the sake of humanity and the Imperium, we had no choice but to act."
" . . Although what you saw was indeed a bit disloyal, what if, well, they are actually loyal sons of the Imperium?"
Alexander asked, his gaze a little unfocused.
From the Black Templars' perspective, Alexander, Sanguinius, and Guilliman indeed looked like they had been corrupted.
Leaving aside the visions they saw in their hallucinations, merely the birth of a new daemon on Macragge, allowing a daemon to wear Guilliman's skin, was enough to scare most people into crying blasphemy.
"Then it can only be left to the Emperor," the Chaplain said, lowering his head with deep guilt.
"If they are still the loyal sons of the God-Emperor, then the God-Emperor's power will surely protect them, and will also punish us, the fools who made a mistake."
. . . Alexander's face twitched uncontrollably.
The Black Templars are truly the Black Templars. These religious fanatics are best at self-contained logic.
If I succeed, it means the Emperor approved, and you are clearly a traitor.
If you are not a traitor, then I cannot succeed, because the God-Emperor will protect His loyal sons.
However, their plan was unlikely to succeed, at least it was unlikely to harm Guilliman and Sanguinius. Both of them had anywhere doors and could withdraw at any time.
Additionally, Alexander still had a Cloak of Reflection, which he hadn't used up since the last exchange, enough to bounce the plague bomb into outer space.
"Sure enough!" The Chaplain's voice suddenly rose, piety and fanaticism surging from his tone. "Just as we were about to use the plague bomb, enlightenment descended."
"We saw the Emperor's divine form. He showed us countless visions. We saw that as early as thirty-nine millennia ago, when the Emperor had not yet revealed His existence, He was watching your deeds through a screen in His retreat."
"You are hope, you are dreams, you are the old friend of the Emperor and all humanity, the holy Doraemon! The great Omnissiah!"
Alexander couldn't help but rub his temples: "Are you looking for me just to confess?"
That makes sense. The Emperor had already manifested once during the Slaanesh avatar incident. He was clearly observing Macragge in some way.
While some of the visions the Black Templars saw were pure hysteria, they occasionally received genuine Imperial revelations.
The Emperor clearly wouldn't let the Black Templars actually drop three plague bombs on Macragge.
"No, Lord, we have two small objectives," the Chaplain said, lowering his head with immense piety.
"We hope to have an Expeditionary Force accompany you, to protect your safety, to proclaim your divinity, and to undertake an atonement Expedition until the last man dies."
Alexander's eyes suddenly lit up.
The Black Templars were indeed a bit fanatical and crazy, but their strength and faith were unquestionable. Moreover, Alexander just happened to lack a group of people to help him control the Saint Doraemon Sect, and the Black Templars were clearly a very good choice.
Furthermore, the Black Templars' style had a strong medieval knight feel, which was also an opportunity for Alexander to satisfy his collecting habit.
"How many people can you send?" Alexander asked tentatively.
The Black Templars were the kind of Chapter that outwardly adhered to the Codex Astartes but inwardly far exceeded its regulations.
Alexander estimated they could send at least two to three hundred people.
"How about five hundred? This is the same number you took from the Blood Angels and Ultramarines."
Alexander's eyes widened slightly.
Five hundred? Equivalent to half a Chapter?
The Ultramarines and Blood Angels had to combine multiple successor Chapters to muster that many people.
You, a single Chapter, are providing five hundred people.
"How much does your scale exceed the Codex Astartes?" Alexander couldn't help but ask.
He remembered the saying, ' The Codex Astartes? A bunch of bullscheise!'.
The three Chaplains' gazes simultaneously became a little unfocused, as if they were hesitating.
" . . It shouldn't be five digits, right?" Alexander asked with hesitation.
The Black Templars have a large number of Expeditionary Forces operating throughout the galaxy. Each Expeditionary Force is relatively independent and rarely converges, making it difficult to ascertain the exact number of Black Templars, and thus impossible to verify how much the Black Templars exceed the Codex Astartes.
If the Black Templars were truly so insane as to have several Expeditionary Forces each the size of a regular Chapter . . .
"Probably . . . not," the Chaplain replied with hesitation.
Alexander was stunned.
You might really have ten thousand people? At this scale, those who know would understand the Black Templars are a successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists. Those who don't would think the Imperial Fists are a successor Chapter of your Black Templars.
Seemingly noticing the scrutiny in Alexander's eyes, the Chaplain quickly spoke: "After the Great Rift opened, the various Expeditionary Forces were also separated. We cannot determine how many warriors the Black Templars currently have, but it's probably six or seven thousand?"
"The reason I suggested five hundred is because that is the total number of Expeditionary Forces we can contact."
Alexander's expression remained strange. Six or seven thousand people – that number would make Guilliman, who had just finished writing the Codex Astartes back then, choke on the spot.
"And what is your other objective?" Alexander asked, raising an eyebrow.
"This relates to the duties of the Heresy's Bane. With so many Black Templars Expeditionary Forces in the galaxy, each Expeditionary Force might produce an Emperor's Champion. Our Heresy's Bane bears the responsibility of transporting the Black Sword and determining if a person is truly an Emperor's Champion."
"We hoped to meet you, to confirm the status of the Black Sword in your hand, and to formally present it to you for use—"
"So you mean," Alexander's eyes suddenly lit up, "you have another Black Sword on this ship, right?"