How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 318: Alliances are not exclusive to humans

Amid the high-temperature steam gushing out from the operation of the machinery, the noise made by the friction between the levers, gears and pistons, and the noise of the squirming of tendons, flesh and blood, Vashtor, the "Lord of Ten Thousand Furnaces, God of the Machines," let out a thunderous sigh of indignation:
"Bilak, are you serious about what you said?"

No wonder Vashtor asked this question. Bilak, the demon prince who was promoted and abandoned by the four gods, obviously didn't know how to write the four words "propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame" - or in other words, people or demon princes who can make a name for themselves after joining the chaos are all like this. Whether in the waves of the High Heaven or in the real world, it has not been long since the last conflict between Bilak and Vashtor, but the former has once again come forward with a "playful smile" and proposed to form an alliance with Vashtor.

The demon prince known as the Lord of Darkness had just come to mess with the Lord of Ten Thousand Furnaces when he was building the Discord Engine—although judging from the final result, he did not succeed. Even though the Discord Engine had been successfully built on Dragon Forest and could indeed function as Vashtor had expected, when the God in the Machine realized the existence of the other party, in the Stone Fortress, the scar that Bilak had left on Vashtor began to hurt again.

Do Warp creatures like Vashtor also experience phantom pain? Probably. Infiltrated by the abundant Warp energy, the damage he suffered in that battle was quickly healed, but the emotions that surged with the damage could not be calmed down quickly. The anger of having his plans disrupted and the pain of being hurt echoed from the past, repeatedly stinging Vashtor's body made of twisted metal and flesh from his memories.

"Of course I am serious." Be'lakor's shameless voice came from the shadows. "Not to mention that I am now under the command of Chaos Warmaster Abaddon. In theory, we should be allies. Vashtor, as the most powerful warlord in the vast Supreme Heaven, you should also understand the principle of 'this time is different, that time is different'."

Vashtor showed a disgusted expression - if anyone could read this from his metal face. He did not like Bilak, and did not trust the "allies" that Bilak mentioned. But he did not sneer or refute the part of Bilak's "should have been allies", nor did he order the surrounding demon engines or flesh cannons to attack the shadow where the Lord of Darkness lived.

Because He also knows that “different times have different circumstances”, and this is indeed the truth.

"So, you've also heard the rumor." Vashtor said gloomily, "The 'Fifth God' will ascend the throne in Barr."

Time has no meaning in the warp, and a message can spread everywhere before it is even spoken for the first time - especially with the help of some very powerful and interested people.

Of course, Vashtor had heard the news, but he didn't want to pay attention to this groundless rumor. He was the one who had carefully planned and laid out a long-term plan to become the fifth god, so he had a clear understanding of the difficulty of this matter: it was not something that could be done on a whim to bypass the cursed old man who had clearly reached the chair but was reluctant to sit down, and gain a new seat in the realm of the Supreme Heaven.

But Bilak obviously didn't think so:
"That is no longer just a rumor." The Dark Lord said, "The Blood God's domain is boiling with rage, and the Crystal Labyrinth is also in turmoil. Even though the Grandfather God, who has been devastated, and the Lord of Debauchery, who is busy fighting with the Eldar, will not personally participate, they have decided to send their trusted followers to join in the event. Even the Black Legion will go to Baal Prime together after resting."

Bilak thought that what he said was enough to prove something. Vashtor did understand the other party's implication, but he didn't buy it: "It sounds like you already have a lot of troops. Then what does this have to do with me? What benefits can I get?"

"This is not a question of 'what benefits', Lord of Ten Thousand Furnaces, didn't you notice?" Bilak's voice became anxious, "I know we have had many disagreements in the past because of the same thing, and I know this is not nice to say - but you and I have been aiming for that position for such a long time, but when have we ever enjoyed such an honor in the chaotic and vast ocean?"

"Weren't you also crowned by the four gods together?" Vashtor took advantage of the opportunity to ridicule the other party's sore spot, and then made his attitude clear. "Even if the dark powers really want to crown the fifth god in Baal, it is obviously not something that will happen in the near future. In any case, the triple-cursed corpse king on the throne of Terra is an insurmountable barrier. Don't tell me that your efforts to compete with the four gods for tens of millions of years have been in vain, so that you can't see how much effort it takes to bypass it."

The Lord of Ten Thousand Furnaces was not as confident as he appeared, nor did he really not care about this matter as he said. In fact, he cared about it to death. He chose to say this just because he wanted to try to trick Bilak into giving him some information that he didn't know.

The previous joint election of the four gods did not disappoint Vashtor. Even though Bilak had been rejected by the four gods a long time ago, the dark laughter he made at this time still hinted that he had obtained more information than Vashtor through some channel.

This is actually not worth being happy about, because it means that the Four Gods can still influence Bilak through various means - he is still a puppet under the Four Gods, an unwelcome chess piece, and his status is essentially unchanged. But the Lord of Darkness, who is feeling smug, can't think of this now: "What if the Cursed One also agrees with the selection of this 'Fifth God'?"

The iron wings behind Vashtor suddenly exploded: "This is impossible!"

"This will become the only possibility." Be'lakor vowed, "Why do you think the gods decided to join in such a grand event? Of course, it is to work together to pave this only path in the chaotic waves! Lord of Ten Thousand Furnaces, ask yourself: Can you allow this impending event to really happen?"

——It was obviously not a wise thing to go against the Four Gods in the warp, but for Vashtor, knowing that there was a certain existence that had quietly surpassed Him and ascended to the throne of God before Him was even more unbearable. Compared to this story that sounded more and more real in Bilak's narration, Bilak himself seemed more tolerable. Although Vashtor didn't think much of the Dark Lord, a demon prince who was spoiled and rebellious after gaining the favor of the gods, in the current situation, this rebelliousness made the "Four Gods Not Chosen"'s request for an alliance with Him seem more sincere.

If Vashtor couldn't stand this "fifth god" who randomly popped up from the bushes on the roadside, then Bilak certainly couldn't allow this to come true. Although they were both eyeing the same chair and had a life-and-death conflict not long ago, the situation was different. The Lord of Ten Thousand Furnaces realized that there was no more trustworthy ally than this capricious demon prince in the matter of "disrupting the fifth god's coronation" - the same was true for Bilak.

After a period of silence, Vashtor's voice rang out again amid the roar of machinery:

"Tell me your plan, but I reserve the right to withdraw at any time." "Of course." Bilak smiled, "We can even sign a contract - just like you usually like to do."
-
Fujimaru Ritsuka blankly read the Death Watch Kill Team situation report in his hand, then looked up at Hastings blankly: "Why do you want me to read this?"

Sibylla Hastings, the 40K Iron Man who hadn't slept in half a month, was furious because of this confusion: "I don't know, but maybe it's because - this Death Watch (emphasis) killing team was thrown into the hands of me, the Inquisitor of the Order of the Holy Hammer (emphasis) because of your unauthorized running around? There is even a Black Shield whose true identity is not easy to disclose? And this Black Shield has actually boarded your pirate ship???"

Even Vasilian's murderous gaze could not stop Hastings from expressing his emotions. Similarly, the guards' gazes could not prevent Fujimaru Ritsuka from shrinking in the anger of the Inquisitor, who was about to collapse: "I understand, I understand, I'll handle it, I'll handle it immediately!"

"Watch your words, Inquisitor of the Order of the Holy Hammer. You have overstepped the boundaries." Considering that sentencing Hastings to immediate execution would obviously be opposed by Fujimaru Ritsuka himself, Vasilyan finally chose to use this as a reminder of his identity, and then turned to the incident itself: "Why should your Majesty's spokesperson personally take care of such a small matter? They are just a few Astartes. After executing the corresponding amnesia procedure, they can return to the Overwatch Fortress according to the original organization."

Hastings snorted coldly. "If it were that simple, I could find an Ogryn on the Shadow Hammer who could write such dispatch documents and throw the matter to him."

"That's not the case. It's easy to talk about others - they are not deeply involved in this matter. The key point of the problem is Sahar." Knowing that his afternoon tea was ruined again, Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed and decided to ignore the issues of organization and scheduling again. "I'd better go see him again."

The bad news is that Mita Ashyn did not choose to be resurrected in any sense in the end; the good news is that this was the result that the person concerned and Sahar reached an agreement on after two days of thinking and discussing together. First of all, as a psychic who had fallen, the former Inquisitor Acolyte finally learned to be wary of all "deals" involving the Warp - or perhaps she had been tortured enough and had developed quite severe PTSD towards any Warp entity. Secondly, for Sol Sahar, he also felt that Tezcatlipoca, who suddenly appeared from the room to promote during the discussion, was quite suspicious.

Not to mention whether the repeatedly frustrated Master Smoke Mirror needs comfort in his self-esteem. The final result is that Mita's soul was put into the Ortnaus modification, and in a sense became the machine soul of the Sahar power armor - of course, this so-called "machine soul" can obviously do more things, at least other people's power armor can't read the subspace omen.

The parties involved thought this was a very good result, but Fujimaru Ritsuka herself felt uncomfortable no matter how she looked at it. However, considering that several other options were equally uncomfortable in her opinion, Fujimaru Ritsuka finally succeeded in convincing herself that this was her problem, not the actual result.

Another problem is that the matter of Death Guard Black Shield Thor Sahar itself is... not so legal. Even if Wilchak can use his power to make this identity certificate look completely legal in terms of procedures, at least the person in question is not very willing to stay in this position. Fujimaru Ritsuka has never asked, but she has collected enough clues to prove that Sahar himself has a huge grudge against the Empire and the Emperor - just like the Black Armored Guards including Sevatar on the Storm's Edge.

If it weren't for Conrad, these black armored guards wouldn't be able to stay on the ship. Fujimaru Ritsuka thought so, and then took it for granted that since Sahar had been on the ship for so long, the bats must have completed the task of exchanging information on the important matter of "the original body has been resurrected".

It's a pity that the working environment within the Midnight Lords in reality is more than ten thousand times more dangerous than in the fantasy world. Under the serious atmosphere of forming cliques and excluding newcomers, the poor, unrecognized Captain Sahar, who is always ignored by other bats intentionally or unintentionally, has not received this most important news until now.

——So when Fujimaru Ritsuka asked the other party "What are you going to do next", the person's answer was still: "I plan to find the 'Night King's Crown'."

Under the slightly strange information and misunderstanding, Fujimaru Ritsuka was still a little confused about this goal, but he chose not to speak out. So, after a period of confusion, "Is that iron ring really that important to you?" "Yes, it is that important." After that, a letter of commission for a single mission was quickly delivered to Sahar.

As for why Sahar was followed by several of his "former teammates" in the killing team who should have been sent back to their hometowns after he went solo, what kind of trouble this group of people caused in the merchant ship he was on, and how did it crash at Sahar's destination - these things are Sahar's own adventure story.

Of course, no one mentioned again until a long, long time later how Sevatar's prophecy was finally fulfilled, or how Conrad Curze himself, who was distracted by the meaningless screams a few seconds later, physically forced Sol Sahar to silence him.
-
The course of fate changed again.

In the Crystal Palace, Tzeentch's wild laughter finally stopped. The palace, which had been destroyed by the Lord's capricious mood and rebuilt nine hundred and ninety-nine times, finally stabilized - temporarily, of course. The only thing that does not change in the domain of the Lord of Change is the constant change, but this moment of relative stability did make the demons serving their master feel a little relieved.

A drop of bright red blood floats in the grating surrounded by layers of spells; a pyramid-shaped temple stands quietly in the void; countless magnificent buildings rise from the ground with the pyramid temple as the center; the people, things and objects in the brightly colored murals are all permeated with the evil whispers of the warp; twisted pupils and proliferating wings wail and wriggle on the sphinx statues; ghosts and undead patrol the roads as soldiers; the legendary giant snake hides in the shadows; the winged witch soars in the sky with unprecedented agility.

It was not without cost that Ritsuka Fujimaru escaped from Tzeentch's domain, and now, with the final piece of the puzzle being put together by the hand of the gods themselves, Tzeentch has finally found the means to reap the spoils.

No one in the universe could tell what the Lord of Change's plan would lead to - not even the Lord of Change himself. The only thing that could be confirmed was that a change that could be called "earth-shaking" was brewing, even for the mighty one standing at the top of the sky.

Tzeentch and his minions were convinced of this.

(End of this chapter)