The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Alexei Koh's eyes were incredibly sharp, belying his age of over two hundred years. The moment he entered, everyone felt the ruthless scrutiny sweep over them. They were all Chapter Masters or Company Commanders, and no mortal had ever dared to examine them in such a way.

But this man dared.

Accompanying him were over twenty Crusaders of the Ecclesiarchy, clad in expensive haptic power armor, wielding large shields and power swords, moving in unison like combat robots.

【I hope readers remember our domain name: Taiwan Novel Network →🆃🆆🅺♦🅽.🅲♦🅼】

Besides the twenty Crusader guards, there was also the heavily augmented scribe of the Inquisitor, two psykers, four Death Cult assassins, four Ecclesiarchy zealots carrying torches, ten Stormtroopers, and other miscellaneous warriors and scholars—sixty or seventy people flooding in with great fanfare.

Bahram immediately realized this was not just a meeting, but also a show of force, the other side displaying their power.

Finally, after reaching the center of the hall, the Grand Inquisitor stopped his black leather boots, scanned left and right once more, his gaze lingering briefly on Bahram before settling on Artukus.

The Inquisitor slightly stretched his pale lips, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth, and jested:

"Chapter Master Artukus, you certainly are fast. Our warship engines were nearly exploding trying to catch up with you. If only you could put that energy into destroying the enemies of the Emperor."

Although his words were laced with laughter, there was not a hint of a smile in his eyes, which instead grew even colder.

Artukus's eyes twitched, and he coldly snorted in response:

"Where we go is our own business and requires no reporting to anyone."

"Oh? Have you forgotten that you are on a penitent crusade? Are you planning to abandon your oath of penance? That's simple, I can sign a writ of Excommunication Extremis right here and now."

"We have not abandoned our oath! We will destroy the enemies of the Emperor! But that does not mean we cannot contact other Astartes brothers!"

"Penitent Crusade Chapters must be placed under the supervision of the Inquisition. I hope you remember that."

"That is the rule of the Inquisition."

At this moment, Arash suddenly spoke.

"The initial concept of the Penitent Crusade was the self-imposed exile of Astartes Chapters for redemption, without the need for anyone to supervise. This is a rule forcibly imposed by the Inquisition."

Alexei withdrew his gaze from Artukus, his eyes now looking at Arash with some contempt and mockery.

"Chapter Master Arash, Chieftain Arash, for a sinner who has already committed a crime, is it not extremely naive to expect him to reflect and atone alone without any supervision?"

"The Emperor is our guardian."

"Ha."

Alexei pointed at Artukus with his cane and laughed:

"If they truly had the Emperor in their hearts, they would not recklessly collect those heretical artifacts. Chapter Master Arash, don't be blinded by that false brotherhood. They are a group of cunning opportunists who are likely to continue their depraved endeavors at the slightest opportunity. The only way is to place them under constant surveillance."

With a whoosh, Artukus directly drew his bolter. This action immediately prompted the Inquisitor's Crusaders to react, instantly forming a shield wall to protect their master, while others also drew their weapons.

Artukus pointed his gun at the Inquisitor, roaring:

"If you continue to slander us with that foul mouth, no matter how much power you have, I will kill you!"

"Chapter Master Artukus, don't get agitated."

Concerned that things would escalate beyond control, Bahram quickly stepped forward to restrain Artukus's arm, while Mazhar, not far away, remained silent, still standing beneath the shrine, gently stroking his beard, as if an outsider.

Behind the shield wall, Alexei faced the Space Marine's bolter without fear, coldly replying:

"Slander? Why did the Inquisitor who was monitoring you leave? Do I need to tell everyone? Very well, since you think it doesn't matter, in the Fire Claws Chapter's nearly thirty years of Penitent Crusade, they have only participated in three battles. One was to 'suppress' a rebellion of tens of thousands of people, and two were to eliminate two small bands of Orks who could only rob passing civilian ships. Most of the time, they wandered aimlessly in the void for various reasons, and ignored or evaded the Inquisitor's instructions. Even though billions of people in nearby star systems are suffering from the attacks of Ork warlords, and millions of Imperial Guardsmen and several Chapters are fighting hard, they turned a blind eye. Even the Inquisitor monitoring them could not accept such cowardly behavior and left on his own to assist in the fighting."

"Lies!"

Artukus interrupted the Grand Inquisitor's words sharply.

"Who was it that ultimately ended the life of that filthy beast through decapitation? Who was it that destroyed dozens of nascent Chaos cults? When we were fighting the Chaos daemons summoned by cultists in the underhive, your eyes were as blind as bats! You only focus on the immediate threat and ignore the greater dangers that will erupt in the future."

"That's not your excuse for shirking your responsibilities. Or you can ask these Chapter Masters around you for their opinions. Which Chapter on a Penitent Crusade still maintains such complete strength?"

Seeing Artukus becoming increasingly agitated, Bahram had Arash calm him down, then turned and said:

"Inquisitor Alexei, that's not how it works. Each Chapter has its own tactical style, and casualties are not merits, but the shame of the commander."

Upon hearing this, Alexei waved his hand, and the shield formation in front of him retreated to both sides.

He then sized up the warrior who was clearly not a Chapter Master and asked:

"Which one of the Star Knights are you?"

"Tenth Company Commander, Bahram."

"Oh, Tenth Company Commander, so you also think that the Fire Claws' actions are perfectly fine?"

Upon hearing this, Bahram smiled slightly.

"Then, Inquisitor, which do you think is a greater threat, a mortal Chaos cultist or a massive Chaos army of millions?"

The Inquisitor looked at Bahram, pondered for a moment, and replied:

"The latter, of course."

"Well, in M37, the so-called Saint Balleus condemned thirty Chapters, exiling them to the Eye of Terror for a Penitent Crusade. Only one Chapter ultimately returned, with nearly thirty thousand Space Marines either killed or turned traitor. And in the end, it was proven that Balleus was just a Chaos heretic. He even had a good death, but the damage he caused was greater than any Chaos army. So I don't think there's anything wrong with Chapter Master Artukus's ideas. Unseen dangers are often the greatest."

"Then can they evade the war duties they should be fulfilling?"

"Why do you think they are evading war duties?"

"When the Inquisitor monitoring them left, he extended an invitation to me, hoping that I could urge the Fire Claws Chapter to go to the battlefield where they should be."

"The battlefield where they should be?"

Bahram seemed to grasp the key point, glanced back at Artukus, and then turned to the Inquisitor and asked:

"The battlefield you are talking about is—"

"The Jericho Reach."

"The Achilus Crusade—"

"Yes, my mission is to supervise them to the Jericho Reach and eliminate the enemies of the Emperor."