I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 117 "Barbarians"

The curtain of warp was ruthlessly torn open, and the laws of reality surged back like a tide. An elegantly designed yet deadly Inquisition cruiser and a massive, rugged Space Wolf battle barge, brimming with primal fury, sailed almost side by side out of the twisted Mandeville Point.

Behind them, the Imperial Navy fleet followed at a leisurely pace, like a group of detached bystanders. Adjusting its speed, it maintained a delicate yet safe distance from the two ships ahead, which reeked of gunpowder.

Clearly, the Navy had no intention of getting involved in the mess between the Inquisitors and the Space Wolves. They were only there to follow orders, and as long as they didn't act out on their own, no matter what trouble the other two caused, they wouldn't be held responsible.

On the bridge of the Inquisition cruiser, Inquisitor Herbert Hernampold stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out the porthole at the planet suspended in the endless void.

“This is Peditia.” He stroked his neatly trimmed chin, his eyes gleaming with scrutiny. “The main terrain is ochre-yellow desert, with only one main hive… It looks quite peaceful.”

He turned and took the data panel handed to him by the attendant. The screen displayed a standard archive photograph of the Peditian system, a quiet, yellow planet. Herbert carefully compared it to the scene before him.

"Yes, it matches the photo perfectly, you could even say it's exactly the same." He nodded in satisfaction, a hint of relief in his voice. "It seems that nothing major has likely happened on Peditia."

Herbert breathed a sigh of relief. If that was the case, this process would most likely be another tedious bureaucratic tour: contacting the planetary governor in orbit, landing at the spaceport, receiving a warm (or perhaps ulterior) welcome from the governor and a host of nobles, settling the tithe issue, then symbolically strolling around the hive to confirm there were no signs of Chaos or Xenomorph corruption before heading home.

After going through such a rigorous and detailed process, the Space Wolf's warship next to them would most likely find no excuse to use force. Herbert could even imagine their group of reckless warriors beating their chests in frustration inside the ship. It seemed they would have to return empty-handed.

Just as Herbert was making these plans and enjoying this rare feeling of having everything under control, his pupils suddenly contracted.

On the horizon of that tranquil yellow planet, a tiny yet undeniably bright white dot bursts forth.

The light was so pure, so intense, as if someone had conjured a miniature star out of thin air on the planet's surface. Even after being filtered through the bridge windows, the light was still blinding. Immediately afterward, a visible, ring-shaped shockwave rapidly spread through the atmosphere, tearing and pushing aside the clouds, leaving an ever-expanding, ugly scorch mark on the planet's surface.

"By the Emperor!" Herbert cursed, "What the hell is that?!"

“Uh… I think it’s a nuclear bomb, sir,” the captain replied from his command seat.

“Of course I know that was a fucking nuclear bomb!” Herbert turned his head sharply. “I’m asking why a nuclear bomb would explode on Peditia!”

The captain was so frightened by this sudden outburst of anger that he huddled in his chair, too afraid to even breathe.

Herbert took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He realized that his earlier assessment of Peditia as "still intact" was wildly wrong. On the contrary, Peditia's condition was extremely, extremely bad...

However, this is fine.

A fleeting thought, bordering on excitement, flashed through his mind. In his long career as a judge, things had always been getting worse. To suddenly encounter something so peaceful and uneventful felt strangely unusual.

"Full speed ahead!" Herbert's voice turned cold and decisive. "All units, combat readiness! Target high orbit! I just hope it doesn't become a second Krieg before we reach Peditia!"

“Call Pedittia,” he then commanded, “use all frequencies. I need to know what’s happening on the ground immediately.”

The communications officer's fingers danced across the control panel, a blur of static filling the bridge. Minutes passed, but only deathly silence answered. Herbert's brow furrowed deeper, a sense of foreboding rising within him—had the planet's command system completely collapsed?

Just as he was about to order a more forceful information intrusion, a synthesized electronic voice finally broke through the noise.

"...This is Peditia...Authentication...Please identify yourselves..."

Half the weight lifted from Herbert's heart. He snatched the communicator and said in a deep voice, "This is Inquisitor Herbert Hernampold. I order you to immediately report the situation on the ground and grant my fleet docking access to the spaceport."

After a brief silence, the voice spoke again: "...Authorization granted, Your Honor. We await you at the spaceport. Over."

Communication was interrupted.

“At least it’s not completely out of control yet,” Herbert muttered to himself, tossing the communicator back to the communications officer. A response meant order was still intact. This was far better than the worst he had anticipated. As the landing craft smoothly touched down on the spaceport’s massive tarmac, the hatch opened, releasing a pungent odor of gunpowder mixed with disinfectant.

Herbert, wearing his black overcoat, descended the gangway, surrounded by a squad of elite guards clad in armor and wielding hellfire guns. His gaze swept around, noting that while the massive spaceport was still operational, it had clearly been neglected for a long time.

Almost simultaneously, an even larger, more savage-looking landing craft slammed heavily onto the tarmac not far away. The hatch was kicked open violently, and the massive bodies of the Space Wolves filed out, their power armor's servo systems emitting a low hum, each step causing the deck to tremble.

The leader of the wolves, Crona, had an undisguised, beast-like smile on his weathered face. He stared intently in Herbert's direction, his eyes full of provocation.

Herbert glanced instinctively at the mortal guard behind him. This elite force, which had protected him in countless missions and struck fear into the hearts of enemies, seemed so insignificant before these demigod-like giants.

Fortunately, Peditia's representatives arrived quickly, breaking the silent standoff. Space Wolf wouldn't resort to direct violence under such circumstances.

However, what puzzled Herbert was why only two people came to greet him. Judging from their attire, one was an officer of the Astral Army, and the other was a cyborg priest. This was completely inconsistent with the protocol for welcoming an Inquisitor and the Astartes Chapter.

“For the Emperor.” The officer spoke first, giving Herbert and Crona a simple Eagle salute. “My name is Nguyen Van Bo, commander of the Legion of the Dead of Pedidia. I apologize for not preparing any welcoming ceremony; you have arrived too soon.”

“Radito.” The mechanical priest beside him replied even more crisply, his synthesized voice completely flat.

“I am Inquisitor Herbert Hernampold.” Herbert gave a brief self-introduction before getting straight to the point, “Where did the original Peditian Astral Army go? And what about the Planetary Governor?”

"The original Peditian Astral Army was scattered in the war against the Xenomorphs, and we are the result of its reorganization," Ruan Wenbo said calmly, reciting his prepared lines. "As for the Planetary Governor, he was executed on the spot for his heretical acts. The two of us are now the highest-ranking people in Peditian."

"Heretical behavior?" Herbert raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

“Yes,” Ruan Wenbo continued, “After the warp storm, the planetary governor, perhaps out of boredom or for some other reason, contacted and invited a group of fallen space marines. By the time we broke through Middle Nest and arrived at Upper Nest, everyone there was dead, leaving only various modified heretical creations. The planetary governor and his family were found by us after the war and were immediately executed by firing squad. Their bodies were burned to prevent contamination.”

“Hmph… well done. And you seem to know quite a lot,” Herbert was about to delve into the details when a huge figure rudely squeezed in.

Croner shoved Herbert aside, and the wolf guards behind him stepped forward, using their steel-like bodies to force the judge and his guards to a distance of more than ten meters.

Krona looked down at Nguyen Van Bo and asked casually, "Hey, mortal, where are my fallen cousins ​​now?"

"We've already solved it."

Nguyen Van Bo calmly uttered a statement that was enough to make everyone present—from the judges to the Space Wolf—widen their eyes.

The air seemed to freeze.

The smile on Croner's face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, soul-chilling scrutiny. He narrowed his eyes, his voice low and menacing like the rumble of thunder before a storm: "You'd better think carefully about what you just said. Mortals, this is no laughing matter..."

“I’m not joking,” Nguyen Van Bo said calmly, meeting his horrifying gaze. “I can take you to see their corpses. There were sixteen Space Marines in total.”

Krona stared intently at Nguyen Van Bo for a good ten seconds, as if trying to find even the slightest trace of lying on his face.

“Ruan Wenbo, right?” he said slowly. “Very good, I’ll remember you!”

With that, he suddenly stretched out his massive hand and slapped Ruan Wenbo hard on the shoulder. The force was so great that the latter's legs went weak, his body shuddered violently, and he almost squatted down.

Krona then casually put his arm around Nguyen Van Bo's shoulder, half-dragging and half-pulling him away, his voice filled with impatient enthusiasm: "Come on, come on! I can't wait to see how those traitors are killed by a bunch of mortals!"

Herbert, who was nearly shoved to the ground and only managed to avoid losing face with the help of his guards, got up and saw Space Wolf forcibly carrying the people of Peditia away. He suppressed the urge to curse them as "barbarians" (mainly because they would definitely be heard at this distance) and hurriedly followed.

(End of this chapter)