The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 2972: The Nexus Strife

"Good move? Which two steps?"

"First, ensure the neutrality of the Withering Blade, the only Witch Cult within the Shadow Nexus, preventing the succubus Anyala from assisting Salaine during any conflict between them. Due to the slave trade, Anyala is actually closer to Salaine, so this is equivalent to cutting off Salaine's strong arm without her realizing it."

"That's a good move. What's the second step?"

"The second step is to control the Godspire. The so-called Godspire is Ghelan's command center. These bridges on the Ghelan spheres are speculated to have been originally built to house scientists and commanders, guiding it through space like a ship. Therefore, although they are spires, they have many characteristics of spaceship bridges, only on a much larger scale. When Salaine first arrived on the sphere, there were three Godspires that could serve as residences for the Kabal. However, one of the three Godspires was almost completely destroyed, collapsing into the depths of the sphere, and another was too close to the radiation zone to be a good place for a city. Thus, the third Godspire became the center of the Shadow Nexus. Initially, Salaine and Zargarn shared this Godspire, and both factions had enough space to expand comfortably throughout the structure without frequently crossing paths for comfort. But eventually, their powers would clash, especially in areas functionally connected to the sphere's defense network. This is because the Godspire controls the 'Razorweb' defense system, which was built on the star system's original defenses. Previously, they had joined forces to breach the defense system, but later, in order to resist the malice from Commorragh, they repaired the energy relays, using the defense network to protect the city and reactivate and enhance many of the sphere's original defense systems. Many weapons that had been previously damaged or depleted of ammunition were replaced with Commorragh products. When Salaine and Zargarn co-ruled, they jointly controlled the defenses. The only constraint on their fragile alliance was that they could only activate the energy relays together, which stemmed from an extremely complex system."

Sosyos's lips curled into a smile as he grasped the key point.

"I'm guessing this system is still in operation... What happened next?"

"When everything was ready, Zargarn launched the first attack. Salaine chose to avoid the brunt of it, shut down the energy relays, and sent her fleet near the city to provide support. However, Zargarn somehow managed to bring the defense system back online and controlled the entire system when Salaine withdrew from the Godspire. As a result, most of Salaine's fleet was destroyed, and Zargarn gained power."

"Hmm?"

Sosyos frowned.

"The defense system can still operate after the power is cut off? Did Zargarn restart the energy relays?"

"It is said, not so."

"That's strange. Do you know the reason?"

"I know a little. It is said that Zargarn brought an old, mysterious ship to the Shadow Nexus before the conflict occurred, which is probably related to this."

"Is that all?"

"According to some unreliable intelligence from inside the Godspire, Zargarn embedded the entire ship into the Godspire and used it as his palace. He has hardly left since seizing the Godspire. The place is guarded by the creations of the Bloodbrides, and only Zargarn's most trusted people can enter... Rumor has it that the ship is from the ancient empire."

"It's also related to the ancient Aeldari Empire? Interesting, interesting... Then I guess Salaine went to join Kelith-Carnelli after being defeated."

"Your Highness, not so. After being defeated, Salaine first gathered her old subordinates, but with little success. Then she quietly returned to Commorragh to seek supporters, but was almost captured into the arena. In the end, she could only work under Malruk, the Archon of the Cursed Garden Kabal, mainly teaching martial arts to the Archon's daughter. Haha, I am quite familiar with that old man. He is already an old zombie with no ambition, and he is very fond of his only daughter, Vorsar. She and my two daughters have quite a friendship. Many people want to be Malruk's son-in-law, but they all end up dead in the streets. Sorry, I digress... Salaine originally wanted to borrow troops from the Cursed Garden to take back everything she had lost, but old Malruk obviously didn't think she had the ability. Failing to borrow troops, she actually coaxed old Malruk's inexperienced daughter to 'do great things together'. That little girl trusted her quite a bit, and secretly led her men to raid the Shadow Nexus."

"Tsk tsk tsk, if it's really as you said, wouldn't Malruk go crazy?"

"Your Highness is right. As soon as Salaine arrived at the Shadow Nexus, she was ambushed by Zargarn, and Vorsar almost lost her life. At the critical moment, Malruk arrived with a large force. Zargarn was also smart, immediately stopped and explained the matter to Malruk. Thus, Salaine was hunted down by two Kabals and had to flee all the way to the Steel Eyes pirate band."

"Truly hoisted by her own petard, why would Kelith-Carnelli take in such a person? Just because of friendship? I don't think it's likely..."

"Of course, it's not for friendship. Kelith-Carnelli probably coveted the Shadow Nexus long ago. Salaine is the key to opening the door to the Shadow Nexus, and pirates are elusive, so even if the Kabals want to catch them, it's difficult. As long as they hide for a while, and wait for the storm to pass, they can plot to seize the Shadow Nexus. Moreover, based on comprehensive intelligence, I suspect that Kelith-Carnelli knows the origin of the mysterious ship that Zargarn relies on to rule, so as long as he controls it, he can control the Shadow Nexus. However, Zargarn should also be aware of this threat, so he not only sent out his own fleet, but also spent a lot of money to hire another Kabal, the Unspoken Echoes Kabal. In addition, the Cursed Garden Kabal has not forgotten this matter. Although they did not directly send troops, Malruk used his relationship with a certain Harlequin Troupe to find out the location of the Steel Eyes pirate band's Spire Refuge and passed this information on to Zargarn."

"In other words, the Steel Eyes pirate band's lair is now under siege? But logically speaking, they have thousands of warships, so they shouldn't be afraid even if they are besieged by two Kabals, right?"

"Your Highness, in principle, that is correct, but... not everyone supports Kelith-Carnelli. Some captains do not want to fight another Archon for a failed Archon, and some captains even oppose this meaningless war. The composition of pirates is very complex, and their relationships are more based on interests. Kelith-Carnelli's explanation is difficult to convince people."

Realizing what had happened to the Steel Eyes pirate band, Soshyan chuckled gleefully.

"So, some people left, right."