The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 2187: Terra's Orders

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞

"Supreme Commander, it's time for the crusade to end. →"

When Terra's envoy, Faisal, found Sochoyan and said these words, Sochoyan was not too surprised, because two months had passed since the decisive battle in the Cala System, and the storm shrouded in the depths of the Maelstrom showed no sign of dissipating.

The Grey Knights had left a month ago, and Sochoyan had a few words with the Broken Blade among them, but that person was always probing something, which Sochoyan didn't like very much.

After that, the Red Hunters also received new combat missions from the Inquisition, detached from the expeditionary force, and left the Maelstrom to go to the Ghoul Stars area in the Ultima Segmentum. Other chapters also had a tendency to leave. After all, the Imperium is so big, there are wars everywhere, and hundreds of wars are in urgent need of troops, but such a large and powerful corps is idle in a war zone where there are no enemies. Even Sochoyan himself felt it was a waste.

During this period, he focused his energy on post-war processing and personnel arrangements. The most important thing was the choice of the governor of Badab. In the end, he chose Arnie Morales, who fought to the end on the Destroyed Moon and almost wiped out the entire army. Of course, the current title is the acting governor of Badab, but everyone knows that for the Morales family, it is not difficult to become a full governor.

The considerations for choosing Arnie are mainly several aspects. First, this young man's performance is indeed very heroic. The Badab Sector, as the core of the Maelstrom, will never be calm. More than nine million troops are already stationed there. In the future, there will still be continuous wars in this place. The enemies may be pirates, alien raiders, or the Red Corsairs who have made a comeback. In short, the local governor must not only have governance capabilities, but also have sufficient combat capabilities.

Second, the old Morales has invested a lot of money and is very determined. He even secretly swore allegiance to Sochoyan, and hoped to send more than a dozen children from his family to participate in the new recruit selection of the Star Knights. Even if they fail, they can become battle group servants, which is equivalent to being willing to deeply bind the family with the battle group.

Third, Arnie himself is relatively simple. He is relatively obsessed with military affairs and war. In politics, he benefits from the support of his family. In economy, he has the support of his newlywed wife's family. He does not have too many concerns about Zorg's invitation to cooperate as a mysterious businessman. Therefore, it will be very convenient for Zorg's new family to take root in the Badab Sector in the future.

Of course, in order to appease the Ecclesiarchy forces and other great nobles who support him, Sochoyan also adjusted the candidates for governors of various planets such as the Kolkria System and the Cala System.

When the cake in the Maelstrom has been divided up, this is also implying to everyone that the war is basically over.

But understanding is understanding. As the supreme commander of the expeditionary force, Sochoyan still has to "fight" a little.

"Envoy Faisal."

Staring at the hazy sea of clouds in the morning from the command center of the hive spire, Sochoyan, with his hands behind his back, pondered for a moment before turning around.

"Huron has not been killed yet. This expedition has not been fully successful. Are we just giving up halfway?"

Envoy Faisal, wearing a formal dress, then shook his head.

"Chapter Master Sochoyan, who knows when the warp storm will end? The Achilus Crusade in the Jericho Reach has also recently encountered twists and turns. In the Orpheus Salient, the Deathwatch high command believes that an invasion of Tyranid fleets is imminent. In the Acheron Salient, the Celeres War Zone of the Death's Cauldron is also experiencing partial front line wavering and collapse. The Grael Front in the Canis Salient is also falling behind in several battles with the alien Tau. The High Lords of Terra urgently need to draw forces to go to that direction. It is unacceptable for the strength of more than a dozen chapters to be idle here. →"

When the other party mentioned the Achilus Crusade, Sochoyan couldn't help but sigh softly. This is the worst crusade in the Imperium in the past few thousand years, and it can even be called a quagmire of war.

From the discovery of the Jericho Reach warp gate in 41 and the formation of the expeditionary force until now, nearly two hundred years, this crusade still shows no sign of ending, and the strength of the crusade has also increased from the initial billions to the current tens of billions. Sixteen Space Marine chapters and their companies have participated in it, and the resources and strength invested in it are ten times greater than the Maelstrom Crusade, but no ripple can be seen.

Some even claim that the Achilus Crusade has become an "ulcer" that constantly bleeds the Imperium, and its military investment has far exceeded the worlds it has occupied.

There are many problems with the Achilus Crusade, but the core is still chaotic command, many factions, and serious internal political struggles. Even the Space Marine Warmaster Achilus, who initiated the crusade, "sacrificed" in an unclear ship accident in the tenth year after the crusade. His successor formulated a plan to divide the troops into three routes in order to alleviate the internal struggles of the expeditionary force. As a result, the strategy of seeking greatness and completeness made it impossible for the Imperium to concentrate all its strength in each direction, and eventually formed three salients fighting each other and falling into a tug-of-war quagmire. Although some people have suggested giving up one route and concentrating their strength to break through in two routes, giving up any world that has been "liberated" would be a devastating blow to the reputation and future of any commander, and no one is willing to bear such a crime.

Thus, a crusade full of internal pulling and a tug-of-war began and lasted for nearly two hundred years. (So don't complain that the Maelstrom plot is too long)

So sometimes the Imperium is not really surrounded by enemies and overwhelmed. Another reason why it is plagued by war is that in the past 10,000 years, it has rashly launched too many inefficient and meaningless crusades, which has greatly wasted troops and resources, and has also made the people increasingly tired.

"Not only the Achilus Crusade, but also the Damocles Gulf. The damned Tau aliens have begun to attack the worlds of the Imperium again. Large-scale heretical riots have also occurred in the Obscurus Segmentum, and on the edge of the Storm Zone, some worlds have fallen to the aliens called genestealers, and there is a growing trend. The High Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos believes that this may be a precursor to a large-scale Tyranid invasion, and it is necessary to immediately start organizing troops for defense."

Envoy Faisal's reasons are impeccable. Sochoyan knows that any rhetoric is powerless in the face of direct war threats. In the end, he nodded.

"I understand. Then, at the award ceremony, I will announce the victory and end of this crusade. After that, I will gradually disband the various departments of the expeditionary force. After completing the final ending work, I will leave the Maelstrom and return to my garrison. The Departmento Munitorum can also start conveying the latest orders to the various troops. If Terra has any arrangements for the various chapters, just convey them to them separately. There is no need to go through me again."

"Thank you for your understanding, Chapter Master, but"

Envoy Faisal hesitated for a moment and then said cautiously:

"You may not be in a hurry to return to your garrison."

"Hmm?"

Sochoyan frowned. The High Lords wouldn't want to throw him to the Achilus Crusade, would they?

But what the other party said next shocked him even more.

"The High Lords of Terra ask you to handle the matters of the Maelstrom properly and then set off for Terra as soon as possible."

Sochoyan looked at the other party blankly and subconsciously asked:

"Why?"

"Uh... many reasons, and it's not just the High Lords of Terra. If possible, can you meet these two?"

"Who?"

As soon as Sochoyan spoke, he suddenly remembered that it seemed that this envoy had brought two very tall followers this time, but they were all covered in hooded black robes. Sochoyan thought they were Minotaur's bodyguards.

What the other party said seemed to have another mystery.

Soon, the door opened, and two black-robed men walked into the room like ghosts. Judging from the outline of their figures, they didn't seem to be wearing power armor, which made Sochoyan even more curious.

Then the two took off their robe hoods, revealing cold, resolute but slightly old faces and graying crew cuts, but just looking at their movements, Sochoyan knew that these two were both experienced warriors who had been through hundreds of battles, and each had an Aquila tattoo on their foreheads.

The two didn't say anything. The one on the right showed a rose knot-like badge in his hand, with two crossed lightning bolts and an eagle head relief engraved on it, and this badge belongs to only one organization in the Imperium...

Sochoyan narrowed his eyes and then uttered two words softly.

"Adeptus Custodes."