Warhammer, but Emperor's Chosen

Isaac Loxim's eyes flashed red, but his answer was very straightforward:

"Rejected! Archmagos Hobotov has not returned to Corden Tertius, and we have not hidden his flagship. His betrayal has nothing to do with Corden Tertius. We will immediately arrest those related to Archmagos Hobotov, but we will not lift orbital defenses. Any unauthorized visits will be severely punished!"

Zizi!

As soon as the words fell, the astronomical signal was cut off cleanly.

"How arrogant!"

Noah groaned. It was obvious that Corden Tertius was the one suspected of rebellion, but the deputy director of foundry still acted arrogantly. He even turned the tables and cut off the communication between the two parties in a tough manner.

However, precisely because of the toughness of the Forge World, Noah was almost certain that they had something to hide.

If they had nothing to hide, they shouldn't have cut off communications directly even if the Mechanicus refused their visit.

After all, Hobotov's betrayal was entirely Noah's one-sided statement. The other party should at least ask the reason for the betrayal, right?

But Isaac didn't even ask, and seemed not surprised at all by Hobotov's rebellion. Anyone could see that there was something wrong.

"Sir, do you want to try to continue contacting them?" White asked.

"Keep in contact, and also convey my orders to the Soul Drinkers and the Navy Fleet, telling them not to act rashly."

Noah nodded slightly and gave the order, but he actually had no hope of doing so.

Since Isaac dared to cut off the communication, he is unlikely to accept their communication requests again. He is probably busy destroying evidence and contacting allies, trying to use the connections accumulated over thousands of years in the Forge World to survive this crisis.

In the human empire, rebellions occur almost every minute.

But rebellion can be big or small.

The Empire may not even bother to look at small rebellions such as those on the edge of the world. Even if these worlds send out requests for help, they will be drowned in the vast amount of documents for help, and it may take years or even decades for the Empire's reinforcements to arrive.

But a rebellion on a Forge World would definitely alert the Terran government. The Empire could not afford the risk of losing a Forge World, so it would certainly send a large fleet to investigate. If there was a rebellion, it would be suppressed; if there was no rebellion, it would be nipped in the bud.

Wait and hope!

As long as the empire's reinforcements arrive, everything will be fine!

-----------------

Corden Tertius Forge World.

Isaac Locksim interrupted the communication, looked at the waiting Mechanical Priest on the right, and ordered:

"El, order the Skitarii to capture Koro Varn and Gruntian. You lead the team yourself."

"Yes, great sage."

El Sheen's eyes flashed red as he used code to convey orders to the two Skitarii on one side.

"Also, have the Astronomican Choir send a distress signal to the Brass Claw. Corden Tertius is under siege by the Imperial Fleet."

"Yes, great sage."

"Go ahead and carry out the mission."

"Yes, great sage."

El was extremely respectful and led the two Skitarii out of the room.

Isaac Loxim looked at the huge Thinker in the room in silence for a long time, as if he was thinking and recalling something. Unlike mortals who easily forget things, the memories in his data storage will not be forgotten, but it takes a certain amount of time to read the data, especially since he is still using an old model of data storage.

Finally, something seemed to click in Isaac's mind, and he walked to the corner of the room and pressed his palm against a hidden corner of the wall.

Snapped!

The place where his palm pressed down was dented, revealing a large door with a code identification lock.

click!

Although it had not been used for a long time, the genetic identification lock did not malfunction.

Isaac walked into the secret room behind the door, and rows of huge thinker arrays came into view. These neatly arranged thinker arrays were connected to each other with cables, and flowing binary characters flashed on the green screen.

Isaac was familiar with all this. He turned and walked towards the huge Thinker in the center. He pulled out a thin cable from his palm and connected it to the Thinker. The sound array device emitted a cold voice:

“销毁档案XC1-009至XC9-099的所有实验记录和实验数据，启动C1-99和C1-999号实验室的自毁程序。”

"Confirming the code, identity verification completed - Great Sage Hobotov."

"The order has been received and is being executed."

Binary codes of 0 and 1 flashed on the Thinker's screen, with a progress bar in the center showing the progress of the execution of the instructions.

BOOM!

There was a faint sound of a huge explosion in the distance, but Isaac Loxim ignored it.

Although it was a pity to destroy the precious experimental data that took hundreds of years to accumulate, it didn't matter, he would get more knowledge in return.

"It's part of the plan."

He murmured in a low voice, his expression becoming increasingly resolute, but a hint of confusion flashed in his scarlet eyes. What was the plan?

What kind of experiment is the experimental data based on?

Is he in charge of the experiment? He is the Great Sage and the Chief Foundry Officer, so he should be in charge of it, right?

But why did the Imperial fleet surround them? Why did they come here?

Where's Al? Why isn't he here? What is he doing?

Forget it, it doesn't matter.

This is part of the plan!

-----------------

The blockade of the Forge World of Corden Tertius lasted for quite some time.

It wasn't until the twenty-third day that a huge fleet leapt out from the Mandeville Point in the galaxy and headed straight for Corden Tertius.

Noah's eyes fell on the tactical panel, which showed the composition of the huge fleet:

Including an Emperor-class battleship, an Inquisitorial cruiser, seven cruisers, three battle barges, and eight strike cruisers.

The number of naval fleets was not large, and this was just a preliminary investigation fleet. Only when it was found that the Forge World was really at risk of rebellion would the Empire send out a punitive fleet to reclaim lost territory.

But it is not difficult to see the importance the Empire attaches to Corden Tertius, as such a large fleet was assembled in just over half a month.

In contrast, the number of battle barges and strike cruisers was surprising enough, because from the organization of these warships, it was not difficult to judge that these were not the entire strength of a certain chapter, but belonged to three different chapters - Brass Claws, Soul Drinkers, and Red Hunters.

This huge fleet had remained silent since entering the galaxy, and had not sent any astropathic signals to Noah and his team. It was not until they entered the fleet's auspicious instrument detection range that they finally sent a belated communication request.

"Captain."

White walked over to Noah with his long legs and reported in a low voice:

"We have received a communication from the sound array. Inquisitor Thaddeus and Inquisitor Zoulas hope that you can go and meet with them in person."

Noah was not surprised by such a request. He nodded slightly and said:

"Ajetta, and Titus, lead your teams to assemble in the hangar."

The communication bead vibrated slightly, and White added softly:

"Lord Sarpedon wishes to accompany you."

Noah was a little surprised. Facing the order of another Inquisitor, Sarpedon took the initiative to ask to go with him, which was almost an open statement that he would support Noah. You know, the main fleet of the Soul Drinkers is also in the support fleet. If Sarpedon does this, it may cause a conflict with his own regiment.

"Okay, White, you will be responsible for the coordination and docking of the fleet."

"Yes, Captain."

White saluted respectfully and watched Noah go to the hangar under the escort of a team of battle sisters.

The Thunder Eagles of both sides completed the rendezvous in space and, guided by the sound array communication, headed for the meeting place - not the Emperor-class battleship, nor the Punishment-class battleship, but the Inquisition cruiser.

The Thunderhawk gunship landed in the cruiser's hangar, the cabin lowering with a faint hydraulic hiss.

Stepping down the slope, a team of battle sisters wearing gorgeous black power armor walked out of the cabin, followed by taller extreme warriors wearing blue power armor.

They were greeted by three teams of Battle Sisters also wearing black power armor and a team of Space Marines in purple power armor. The holy grail paint on their shoulder armor indicated that they were Space Marines of the Soul Drinkers Chapter like Sarpedon.

The Soul Drinkers Space Marines stood on the periphery, while the Sisters of Battle lined up neatly on both sides of the spaceship like a guard of honor. The Inquisitor strode past his Sisters of Battle guard of honor and took the initiative to greet Noah who was getting off the spaceship, with a gentle and friendly smile on his face:

"Welcome, Sir Noah, I am Thaddeus Harker."

He looked Noah up and down, and Noah was looking him up and down.

He was not particularly tall, and he wore no power armor, but instead a brown leather-lined coat.

His black hair was slightly sparse, his face was long and well-defined, his jaw was prominent, his nose was slightly bumpy, as if it had been broken and reassembled several times, his temples and behind his ears were subtly implanted with neural sockets, and his eyes were a strange gray-blue color, which at this moment was showing a wealth of emotions.

Noah asked calmly:

"Inquisitor Thaddeus, do you know me?"

"of course."

Thaddeus smiled and replied, "You are a Rogue Trader of the von Valancius Dynasty and the Acting Throneholder of Grand Inquisitor Kriptman. In the Battle of Macragge a few years ago, you fought alongside the Ultramarines to thwart the attack of the Tyranids. But in the following years, you disappeared during a top-secret mission, and only reappeared in the Empire's sight a few months ago."

After a pause, Thaddeus half-jokingly said, "This is all I know about you. I bet that most inquisitors, even if they spend their entire lives, probably won't have as many legendary experiences as you have in just a few years."

Noah had originally planned to explain why he pretended to be an inquisitor, but now it seems that it is not necessary.

And, Grand Inquisitor, it looks like Kriptman has been promoted.

"Mr. Noah."

After Noah and Thaddeus finished their conversation, the Space Marine wearing the fine Terminator armor stepped forward and said solemnly:

"Thank you for your assistance to the Soul Drinkers!"

"This is our chapter commander, Gorgorion," Sarpedon introduced.

He also heard Thaddeus' introduction of Noah, but he did not see things clearly because of his status as the throne's acting representative, and his attitude remained enthusiastic.

In response to Gorgorion's thanks, Noah's face turned serious:

"Captain Gorgorion, this is all the Emperor's guidance. I am only fulfilling my duty in serving the Emperor. You don't need to thank me."

"Praise be to the Emperor."

Gorgorion praised in a low voice, "But no matter what, Lord Noah, the Soul Drinker will always remember this kindness!"

"Sir Noah, the others are still waiting for us in the conference room. Why don't we talk while walking?" Thaddeus asked with a smile.

Noah also showed a friendly smile:

"The guest should follow the host's wishes. Thaddeus, you are the host, so you go first."

Noah was not an ungrateful person, and he certainly understood that Thaddeus was trying to be nice to him.

After all, Thaddeus could come to greet him in person, which was a very obvious sign of his attitude. Respect was mutual, and since Thaddeus was so friendly, Noah would naturally give him face.

"Please come with me."

Thaddeus communicated with Noah with a smile on his face the whole time. His kind attitude made it impossible to associate him with the Inquisitor. Now he was more like a close friend of Noah who had been away for a long time.

When they entered the meeting room, they immediately attracted the attention of others.

In the meeting room, a complete mahogany long table occupied most of the hall, and countless mortals and Space Marines in various colors gathered on both sides of the long table. Most people were standing, and there were only two people sitting, a Space Marine wearing red Terminator armor and a mortal wearing a coat like Thaddeus.

The identity of the mortal who was able to take a seat at such an occasion was self-evident: he was Judge Zoulas.

Compared to the amiable Thaddeus, Zoulas is more in line with people's stereotype of an inquisitor:

He has a serious expression, a rigid personality, and never smiles. There is a long and narrow scar on his face, which makes his appearance look a little hideous.

"Please take your seats, Judge Thaddeus, and Lord Noah."

Zoulas' voice was a little hoarse, as if it was the sequelae of a previous throat injury.

"Sit here, Noah."

Thaddeus pulled out a chair and sat down, then pointed to the chair next to him and said with a smile, "You three, please sit down too."

Noah couldn't refuse, so he sat down next to him.

Gorgorion, Sarpedon, and Titus sat silently on the other side of Noah.

Zoulas glanced at them, then quickly looked away without any expression.