Emperor's Bane

Chapter 990 The Cataclysm of Terra

Chapter 990 The Cataclysm of Terra (Part 2)

"boom!"

His fist slammed heavily on the table, crushing the solid marble into dust.

"The High Lord was assassinated in full view of everyone, less than ten kilometers away from Terra Palace."

"The Mountain Array is under attack for the first time in a century. The enemy is advancing toward the main control room."

"More than forty arms depots in Terra were detonated simultaneously."

"The Seventh Corps' database was compromised, and data on hundreds of millions of members and weapons were stolen."

“Malicious attacks and poison gas attacks occurred on floors 100 to 400 of Lionsgate Airport.”

"There was even a squad of the Royal Guard: their bodies were found hanging from the statue of the Warlord, which faces Terra Palace."

"Like a trophy in his hands."

"Huh...heh..."

After heavy, irritable deep breaths, a somewhat weary sigh followed.

"What's next?"

"Are they planning to storm the palace and point guns at you, me, and those Imperial Guards?"

In the command room of Terra Palace.

Rogdorn was unusually enraged.

Before him lay a gigantic map of Terra, the source of the Primarch's fury.

This is a vast map of the Holy Terran administration, so large that it occupies an entire wall of the command post. It was designed and drawn with Macardo's personal involvement and can show the Emperor's confidants the situation on the human homeworld in real time: every inch of land worthy of being ruled and occupied, every accident that occurs between cities and wilderness, and every problem that makes them want to take a break from their documents.

For the previous two centuries, this imperial treasure had steadfastly fulfilled its duty, marking each instance of loss of control with its blinding red light and the sound of its flutes.

Normally, these red lights appear in hundreds or thousands, and occasionally even tens of thousands: Terra is a land of boundless desolation, countless people and an innumerable history of chaos. Even the glory of the Emperor, which shines over the most remote corners of the galaxy, cannot bring true peace and stability to this place.

The unrest never ceased, and the atmosphere in the remote lands remained one of barbarity and bloodshed: it was not until Rogdoryn inherited the power of the Terra Guard and devoted a great deal of his energy to maintaining order on Terra that this vigilant map finally saw a day of true peace.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Emperor Fist Master, the daily riots and conflicts on Terra have been suppressed to below three digits.

The triumphant expedition brought Terra rich rewards, enough for everyone on the land to reap the benefits. Along with it came a flood of officials and highly skilled individuals. The culture and refinement they brought successfully tempered the land's wildness, and new cities and order were established one after another. The last vestiges of the era of strife, along with the cries and bloodshed of outlaws, disappeared into remote corners.

The chaos and madness of those bygone eras seem to have vanished completely.

until today.

"..."

Dorn raised his head.

Since becoming a Terran Guardian, he has spent his days quietly studying this vast map, which has become an integral part of his life.

He had grown accustomed to seeing the map gradually calm and soften under his efforts; the shrill whistles ceased, and the red lights diminished, replaced by green, a symbol of safety.

But today, everything is different.

The past returns with a vengeance, striking like a warhammer at the minds of those who have survived the Great Expedition.

Red light, sirens, piercing sound, blinding light.

Millions, tens of millions, or even more warning signals are appearing one after another on the map, with more riots and loss of control every second, tearing apart the order that can still be maintained.

If one does not observe closely, it may seem as if the entire Holy Terra has been submerged by this sudden crimson.

Just like Dorn in front of it.

"My soldiers quelled several disturbances."

The Primarch stood very close to the map, his face shrouded in a crimson glow by the overwhelming red light, as if he had just survived a life-or-death battle.

"They suffered heavy casualties during the crackdown, but they also killed countless instigators."

Dorn spoke slowly, as if he were recounting something that had nothing to do with him.

"The vast majority of them were incited rioters and remnants of warlords, as well as the poor who could not bear the oppression."

"And those who lead them are often ordinary agents who have undergone rigorous training."

"But in that greatest destruction, my soldiers also killed several very valuable targets."

"Based on the most authoritative identification, it can be confirmed that they are all soldiers of the Alpha Legion."

"so……"

"Is this the Alpha Reis you made me believe in?"

"The one who holds the seal?"

The Terra Guard turned around, and in this almost deserted area, his gaze was able to focus intently on Macado's aged body.

He stood not far away, his dark brown robe also glowing eerily in the red light emanating from the walls.

Faced with the Primarch's questioning, this rare instance of the Imperial government controller not dealing with documents simply maintained his signature silence, and only after a long time did he reply with a single sentence.

“I will find time to call him back.”

“We can ask these questions in person.”

"Better so."

Dorn simply nodded; he wasn't the kind of person who was completely unreasonable.

“But before that, I will remember what the Alpha Legion did to Holy Terra.”

"I know."

After receiving the answer from the keeper, Dorn did not delve deeper into the matter. He strode out of the room with Macardo, who followed closely behind, and threw the tangled map to the bewildered administrators.

The two then entered a quieter room.

There's also a Terran digital sandbox here, which is a better place for private discussions.

"What do you think the leaders of this riot want?"

When Dorn rests his hands on the table, his shoulder armor makes a creaking sound as it rubs against each other.

That's right, the current master of Emperor Fist is fully armed.

In the original plan, he was supposed to board the Eternal Expedition half an hour earlier, then head to the Pluto space realm to join the main force of the Imperial Fist, and then go to the front line together to fight against War Marshal Horus. However, a series of mutations on Terra completely disrupted this plan.

"First, we can be certain that their goal was not to take advantage of the chaos to conquer Holy Terra."

The person holding the seal tapped the edge of the sand table.

"Although the riots appear to be large in scale, the connections between them are weak, and there has been no real impact on organizations such as military camps: Terra's military forces remain firmly in our hands, not to mention there has been no reaction on the out-of-control Mars."

"Ah."

The Primarch nodded.

"But they did pick a good time."

"The main force of my legion is currently in near-Earth orbit around Pluto, preparing to depart for the front lines. It will take a long time to recall them."

"As for myself..."

Dorn looked at Makado.

Do you think the purpose of the organizers of this riot is to remove you or me from the palace?

"pretty close."

The person holding the seal nodded.

"Cases that occurred near the palace, such as the assassination of Finance Minister Ossian..."

At this point, Macado paused.

He sighed.

"That guy... sigh..."

"He did it on purpose."

"?"

The Primarch frowned at this.

“I remember suggesting to him that he arrange for a few Imperial Fist members to be his bodyguards.”

"He won't agree."

The person who held the seal rubbed his temples in pain.

He was already fed up with it.

"Honestly, I already promised him that I would arrange his retirement after all these things were done."

"It's just a delay... a few decades."

"..."

Dorn fell silent.

"Never mind...where were we?"

After a brief hesitation, the person holding the seal regained their sharp gaze.

"Ah, things like the assassination of Ossian, and other incidents around the palace, although they seem to have a high impact and cause great harm, they don't last long. For example, the assassination case, despite causing a bad influence, did not actually require our intervention. We only needed to send capable specialists to manage the follow-up stages."

"In places far from the palace, such as the attack on the Mountain Array, the riots lasted much longer than those near the palace, which meant we had to go there in person to maintain order and thus leave the palace vulnerable."

Indeed: it's not impossible.

Dorn nodded.

"They attacked the places we had to defend, in order to lure the two of us out of the palace grounds."

"He's doing that right now."

"..."

The one who held the seal understood the hidden meaning in those words.

"Are you worried about the Mountain Array, Dorn?"

"The battle situation there is not going well."

The master of Emperor Fist did not deny this.

"I can't spare any more reinforcements from Holy Terra, and it will take some time for the rapid reaction fleet from Pluto to return. The pressure on the Mountain Array is greater than we imagined: the Alpha Legion has produced many unimaginable monsters, and their actual performance in the war is even comparable to that of the Primarchs."

"I see."

The person holding the seal seemed to be deep in thought.

"If I remember correctly, there is indeed a secret technique circulating within Hydra's legions."

"By introducing the Primarch's blood, Alpha's warriors can temporarily gain the Primarch's power."

"But the effect is very short: the time from injection to death is almost only one Terra standard day."

"..."

Dorn's expression turned serious.

"You mean, there's a high possibility that a Primarch who is hostile to us is lurking on Terra right now?"

The one who held the seal remained silent.

He remained silent for a long time until he had no choice but to compromise under Rogdorn's unwavering gaze.

“Actually, a long time ago, your father and I had a suspicion: we suspected that the Alpha Legion might have more than one Primarch.”

"how is this possible?"

Dorn instinctively retorted.

“All the Primarchs were created by Father. How could he not understand something as simple as this?”

"Don't forget the warp."

The person holding the seal simply retorted with a cold face.

"In the subspace, anything is possible."

"not to mention……"

Just as he was about to continue speaking, a somewhat hurried Imperial Fist knocked on the door.

"grown ups!"

He clutched a piece of paper and stumbled somewhat as he approached Dorn.

"This is... the latest intelligence!"

Dorn took it and glanced at it.

Immediately, his face turned grim. The one who held the seal had never seen such a clear change in expression on Rogdorn's face before, which made him somewhat nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah."

The Primarch nodded.

"Those Alpha monsters have reappeared in large numbers."

"where is it?"

The Primarch took a deep breath.

"According to their reports, there are hundreds of Alpha monsters and even more Alpha soldiers."

"They are besieging the location of Star Torch."

"..."

As Macado remained silent, he noticed that the Terra Guardians were preparing to turn and leave.

"Where are you going?"

"Star Torch, I must personally oversee this."

Dorn replied coldly.

"Have you forgotten what we were discussing?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten."

The Primarch stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked seriously at the Handprinter.

"But we can't gamble."

"At least we can't gamble on this."

"Keep an eye on the palace, and I'll be right back."

"……Um."

Makado nodded, and after receiving the assurance, the Master of Emperor Fist left without looking back.

Only the one who left the palm print remained, facing a cold sand table.

After a long while, he lowered his head, shook his head, and sighed.

"Alpharis..."

The ancient fingers, six thousand years old, slowly clenched into a fist.

Then he smashed it onto the table in front of him.

------

"boom!"

"Phew... I'm so tired..."

Leaning against the wall that had just dried out, and watching the extra stone finally fall to the ground, Old Tom was finally able to catch his breath.

"I really don't know when this will end."

"I don't know if they'll pay me back then."

Muttering to himself, he slowly reached into the pocket of his work clothes, intending to find the pack of cigarettes.

Just as he took out his cigarette, a large hand suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey!"

"!"

Old Tom was startled, and the entire pack of cigarettes fell to the ground.

"Sir, I just..."

When he clumsily turned around, all he saw was a smiling face covered in mud.

"What are you doing, old man?"

"...Get lost, you little brat!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing that his back was soaked with cold sweat.

"I thought it was those bastards."

"So it was you, you bastard."

The guy called "scoundrel," who was usually hunched over, didn't seem to care.

"Want a cigarette? Give me one, please."

"Be careful."

Old Tom picked up the cigarette box and carefully flicked off the dust.

"Don't get spotted by those patrols."

"Do not worry."

Little Jack quickly came over.

“Our project is almost finished, and the patrols aren’t keeping a close watch anymore.”

"Really?"

"Look if you don't believe me."

Following the other party's directions, Old Tom secretly glanced in the direction where one of the patrolmen always stood.

Sure enough, the mortal auxiliary soldier with the Imperial Fist symbol painted on his shoulder only glanced at them before casually turning away.

Old Tom breathed a sigh of relief.

"These awful days are finally coming to an end."

In return, he handed the lighter in his hand to Jack, not forgetting to complain to the latter.

"What kind of mess is this? That Primarch said he wanted to repair something, so he razed all the museums, parks, and stadiums near my house, and then forced all of us to work on the construction site."

"It's been months. They won't let us go out, they won't pay us, and they won't let us contact our families. We don't even know what we're doing."

“I heard them say that we are building a fortress.”

Little Jack lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

"It's said to be a rather large fortress, bigger than a mountain range; we've only built a small part of it."

"fortress?"

Old Tom smiled.

"What? Are we going to have another war?"

"Who knows..." Receiving no answer, old Tom could only chew the cigarette in his mouth.

"If you ask me... ouch!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, just a toothache, it's an old problem, I'll have to get this rotten tooth pulled sooner or later."

"How about you let me try?"

"You? Aren't you a miner?"

"Yes."

Little Jack nodded, then pointed into the distance.

“Look, that’s the blacksmith, that’s the carpenter, that used to be a road repairman, those two over there are insurance salesmen, and that guy is the unluckiest. I heard he used to be an accountant, he took the blame for his boss and went to jail, and then he was put here with those financial criminals.”

"I heard that the Primarch is arresting people all over Terra. Anyone can be arrested except for officials, soldiers, and their relatives."

"What a son of a bitch..."

"They collected so much tax today, and now they're arresting people everywhere."

"If you ask me, Horus is even better."

"Where did you know that?"

"I once found a booklet with some of Horus's slogans written on it, and it was pretty good."

"Throw it away as soon as possible, it's no good."

"Maybe I didn't even dare to keep it, but those kinds of things are thrown everywhere, and tons of people have found them."

As they fiddled with the lighter, they caught something out of the corner of their eyes.

"Huh? What came in?"

"The supply truck arrived early today."

Jack answered casually, his voice very low, because the usually most ferocious patrol officer was walking past them.

But he still couldn't help muttering to himself.

"But isn't this car going a bit too fast...?"

"boom!!!"

Before the words were even finished, the all-too-familiar supply truck sped off, crashing straight into the fortress gate that represented months of their hard work: the towering flames took on an ominous yellow-black hue, and the sudden explosion nearly shattered everyone's eardrums. They all fell to the ground in agony, their faces covered in blood.

"Grass!"

Old Tom and Little Jack, who were not far away, were naturally also within the affected area. When they recovered from the ringing in their ears that had almost shattered their heads, they found themselves lying in a pile of ruins, surrounded by ashes, with the sound of wailing and death in the wind.

"What the hell is going on?"

The two helped each other to their feet, but before they could figure out their surroundings, a series of loud gunshots startled them so much that they bent over again.

All that could be seen was a number of armed vehicles speeding in from the gate, knocking over the guards, and pouring down from them countless masked men in full armor.

"damn it……"

Faced with this unprecedented scene, the two men stood frozen in place. Soon, they felt as if they had been shoved hard by someone. Turning around, they saw it was the usually fiercest patrol officer: Old Tom could still feel the lashes he had received three days ago on his back.

And now, this scarred man, who was said to have participated in the Great Expedition with the Seventh Army, was pointing in the exact opposite direction from the line of fire and shouting at them.

"run!"

"Run! You two idiots!"

"Get out of here! The farther the better!"

Before the two men, still stunned, could react, he picked up his weapon and charged towards the firing position without hesitation.

"What...what do we do?"

Several seconds later, Little Jack looked at Old Tom in a daze.

"Run...run away..."

"okay……"

So, the two workers, supporting each other, limped and ran wildly in another direction. In their panic, even the precious cigarette box was carelessly thrown on the ground, making a crisp sound.

------

"boom!"

A gunshot seemed to ring out in the distance, causing Officer Sass to raise his head alertly.

"Did you hear it?"

He asked his assistant behind him.

"Ah."

The man simply responded with a sound.

Sass had grown accustomed to this dullness.

He stood up and dusted off his hands.

"Alright, that guy isn't here either."

"We have to keep searching, otherwise we won't be able to explain ourselves to the bureau chief when we get back."

Is he that important?

The partner's voice sounded somewhat dissatisfied.

"It's not really that important."

Sass shook his head, then led his partner into another deep alley: it looked like a place where murders would happen in detective novels, with its intricate network of wires and dusty walls, making Sass frown.

But what bothered him most were the pieces of trash and stones of all sizes on the ground. Several times, Sass almost tripped, and his partner behind him also seemed to be having some trouble walking: he heard himself stumble, but quickly regained his balance. However, after that, his steps became much heavier.

Meanwhile, Sass was still explaining that problem.

"The main reason is that that guy works at a military chemical plant more than ten kilometers away, and his position is quite important."

"You probably haven't been to that place, but I have."

"Then you must have been to that university town in the east, right?"

"There's a huge concentration of science and technology talent there, from scientists to university students, from researchers of military poison gas to the best environmental experts on Terra. I've heard there are hundreds of thousands of them, and they all rely on the products from that chemical plant for their experiments and production. That should give you an idea of how big that chemical plant is."

"If placed in Terra, it would be in the top three, or at least the top five."

"In other words, if that factory were to explode, the toxic gases it releases could wipe out the entire university town to the east. At that point, the High Lord might personally come and wreak havoc: that town has a whole bunch of the best scientists on Terra."

"So, we can't be picky."

"No matter what we think, we have to find out if that guy is alive or dead."

Sass pulled out his cigarette case, only to realize he'd forgotten his lighter: luckily, his partner behind him was also a heavy smoker.

"Otherwise, the two of us might..."

Just as the officer turned around to ask his partner for a light, his voice abruptly stopped.

Because standing behind him was a complete stranger he had never seen before.

His partner had long since disappeared.

The man was tall, at least twice the height of a Sass, and fully armed, wearing a blue power armor. Under the hood, a pair of red-glowing eyes made the officer tremble involuntarily. But most importantly, the dagger he was gripping tightly in one hand was silently dripping blood onto the ground.

"..."

Seeing the blood, Sass, who had been a police officer for at least twenty years, understood everything.

Just then, he heard a muffled voice asking a question from inside the helmet.

"Where is that chemical plant you mentioned?"

"exist……"

Sass tried hard to suppress his trembling. While carefully answering the other person, he secretly reached behind his back for the handle of his gun.

But just when he thought he was about to succeed, a gust of wind suddenly swept across his face, followed by his body flying straight out and intense pain. He felt as if he was about to die from the pain: it was even more painful than when a prisoner's bullet pierced his lung.

It felt as if my whole body was about to split open.

By the time he realized what was happening, his contorted body had already collapsed against the wall of the alley, the intense pain preventing him from even groaning.

The soldier walked over and knelt down in front of him.

"The last chance."

Where is that chemical plant?

"Hoo... Hmph..."

Sass was breathing heavily, his only remaining eye fixed on the man in front of him.

His last words were pieced together from the tattered trachea.

"Go to hell...you bastard..."

"..."

Alpha quietly looked at the mortal before him.

Even though he was barely alive, his hand was still trying desperately to grip his gun.

Really...

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but Alpha simply did what he was supposed to do. He grabbed the mortal in front of him, held his head, and with a forceful pull, ripped the entire head off his spine.

"You should at least leave one person alive."

His companion walked over from the other side, frowning as he looked at the blood gushing from the mortal corpse.

"What do we do now?"

"No need to bother."

Alpha removed his helmet. Then he crushed the skull of the mortal before him, grabbed the still-wriggling brain, tore off a piece, and threw it into his mouth, slowly chewing it.

As he chewed, he squinted his eyes.

"found it."

"Ok."

His companion nodded.

"What's the next step? Blow it up?"

"Pay attention to the wind direction."

Alpha corrected.

“We have to make sure that all the toxic gases spread into that university town.”

"The Primarch needs them to die."

"I know."

"After we've done all this, we still need to infiltrate. There are a few scientists who have to die."

"Then let's do it."

The voices of the two Alphas faded into the distance, leaving only two mortal corpses, quietly rotting in the alley.

"Brains... are really hard to swallow."

"God knows what's going on with those ghouls?"

"Who says it's not?"

Looking at the head that remained open in death, Alpha simply smiled and threw it to the ground.

------

"boom!"

"Is this the last one?"

"That's right: most of Lucifer's Black Guards have now been deployed."

"What about Dorne?"

"Just left: Our brother units at Starfire have sent back accurate reports."

"Great, it looks like everything is going well."

Surrounded by a group of Alpha warriors, the exceptionally tall figure looked up at the distant buildings.

"It's right there, isn't it?"

"The Black Sanctuary's laboratory?"

"Yes."

An Alpha nodded, standing at his feet were mortal soldiers who had fought to the last moment.

"We're going to destroy them?"

"No, there's no need to make such a big deal out of it."

The leader of the Alphas shook his head, his dark blue eyes gleaming.

"Now, we also need the Black Sanctuary."

"Without them, Rogdorn would not have survived to the turning point of this war."

"But at the same time, we don't need an excessive number of Black Sanctuaries."

"That would tilt the course of the war in Terra's favor."

"What we need is: balance."

"Whether it's the Warmaster or Terra, what we want to see is them bleeding continuously in this war. Neither side can gain a greater advantage. Dorne needs the Black Templars to resist Horus's army, but at the same time, there can't be so many Black Templars that Dorne can offset the Shadowmoon Wolves' numerical advantage."

"It's a matter of trade-offs."

The Alphas nodded.

"What to do?"

"First, we need to clear out the guards. Considering that our brother units have done a good job elsewhere, this shouldn't be too difficult."

"Then, I'll take care of the technical issues."

"What you have to do is hold the line and block the reinforcements sent by the High Lords."

"as well as……"

"Delay Dorn's return as much as possible."

"The Star Torch won't hold out for very long."

"..."

Alpha's elite team fell silent.

"What if we don't finish?"

An Alpha soldier threw a mortal soldier, who was only waist-high to him, to the ground.

"It doesn't matter."

Their leader simply shook his head.

"You just need to do your own thing."

"If Dorn breaks through your defenses."

His voice paused for a moment, then became confident.

"Then let me deal with him."

"After all, only I am qualified to do this."

"But you can't."

Once those words were spoken, there was nothing more to say.

He looked at the time.

"That's it..."

------

"Do it."

The order was given from beneath the blue armor, and dozens of Alpha and mortal agents immediately began their work.

As a series of machines were activated, countless ancient gears began to turn again, and these forbidden instruments, which had been sealed away for hundreds of years, were finally unveiled to a new group of visitors.

"Primarch."

Someone in the group said.

"Are you sure you don't need us to come in with you?"

"There might be more traps inside."

"No, it's not necessary."

The figure beneath the armor simply smiled.

"This is where I was born."

"It's just going home, why make such a fuss?"

"You all stay here and keep watch to prevent the seal holders from noticing anything amiss."

"If he sends anyone, kill them without mercy."

"What if he comes in person?"

"..."