I summoned the Fourth Scourge in Warhammer

Chapter 141 You found more traitors than anyone else combined!
The purge could not last forever. After some time, the War Council, which determined the fate of billions of lives, convened once again aboard the flagship of the expeditionary fleet.

However, it should be noted before that the human empire was not united in this war; on the contrary, its various factions had considerable differences with each other.

This is the nerve center of the fleet. A huge round table made of obsidian occupies the center of the room. Above the table, a huge three-dimensional holographic star map is slowly rotating, clearly showing every planet and every shipping route in the target star system.

However, in this war aimed at purifying the aliens, the human empires were far from united. On the contrary, when the Emperor's servants gathered, they brought not only fleets and legions, but also deep-seated divisions and conflicts. These divisions could be roughly divided into three factions among the giants surrounding the round table: the extermination faction, the moderate faction, and the centrist faction.

Among them, the extermination faction held the purest and most extreme position. In their view, anything non-human was a stain on the universe, and any idea of ​​coexisting with aliens was the deepest heresy. They had only one demand: this newly discovered alien civilization, known as the "Tau Empire," must be completely erased from the material universe, along with its history, culture, and traces of existence, burned to ashes. As for the other alien races that came to support the Tau Empire, that was simply a matter of convenience.

The main figures were the state bishop Iso Guni, who instigated the war and gathered so much power, and the inquisitor Grand.

In contrast to them were the moderates. Their argument was that these blue-skinned aliens should be dealt a devastating blow, their fleets destroyed, their colonies burned, so that for the next thousand years they would tremble at the mere mention of the word "empire," never daring to again trespass upon human territory. That would be enough. After all, an alien civilization whose backbone had been broken, yet which still retained a sliver of vitality, might become a lucrative trading partner or a useful buffer zone in the future.

The main representative was Lucius, a wandering merchant who was the first to discover the Titanium Empire and report it to the authorities.

Caught between these two distinct factions are the centrists. They have little interest in ideological battles and are unwilling to consider the political landscape for the next century or even millennium. In their view, formulating correct strategies and tactics is far more important than these somewhat abstract ideological principles in securing an indisputable victory for the empire.

The most prominent figure was Wendell Gage, the commander-in-chief of this expedition.

As for the other six Astartes Chapters, although their Supreme Commanders also participated in the War Council and, due to their deep-seated hatred of the Xenomorphs, leaned towards the Extinction faction in actual combat, the Space Marines had no intention of joining the mortal debates, so they were generally considered to be in the middle.

Commander-in-Chief Wendell Gage surveyed the tycoons around the table. His gaze lingered briefly on the judge's cold face, then swept over the calculating smile of the traveling merchant, before finally settling on the empty, ornate seat belonging to the state bishop.

"Has Bishop Aesop Guni not joined us yet?" Wendell's voice was steady and firm.

Judge Grand, his head concealed by metal and a hood, turned slightly toward him, his voice icy: “Bishop Aesop believes it is his duty to personally oversee the cleansing operations on each planet to ensure that the Emperor’s wrath will burn away all villains and traitors.”

Wendell's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. "I hope he can hurry. The longer this internal purge goes on, the more time the Xenomorphs will have to react."

"A stable and secure rear is a prerequisite for any successful holy war, General," Grand replied coldly, his words leaving no room for argument.

Neither Wendell nor the traveling merchant Lucius responded. The general's jawline tightened slightly, while the traveling merchant toyed with an alien gemstone ring on his thumb. Their silence spoke volumes more clearly than any words.

Just then, the huge automatic doors of the strategic command hall slid open silently to both sides.

Bishop Aesop Gunnie entered with light steps, his magnificent priestly robes swaying slightly with each step. All eyes were drawn to him; they could all see that this old man, usually so fervent and dignified, was genuinely happy. And they soon learned the reason for Aesop's joy.

"Fellow colleagues!" The bishop's voice echoed in the hall, filled with excitement and admiration. "Please allow me to introduce you to a commander who is passionate, steadfast in his faith, and truly carries out the will of the God-Emperor to the end—the Demon Drum Commander from the Third Legion of the Dead of Pedyia!"

All eyes passed over the bishop and turned to the silent figure behind him. The man was clad in a full-body, pure black armor suit, completely enveloped in cold armor from head to toe. Most were merely curious, but a flicker of surprise crossed General Wendell's eyes. He wasn't about to forget this strange astral legion commander so quickly.

Aesop turned to the side and urged enthusiastically, "Ghost Face Leader, come on, quickly tell them how you carried out the will of the God-Emperor in this land polluted by betrayal!"

Ghostface was somewhat bewildered. He had been happily directing his troops to loot the spoils of war in the hive capital when the bishop's private plane abruptly pulled him here, and along the way he had heard a lot of religious fanaticism jargon that he didn't quite understand. However, he did understand the last sentence.

The players' real purpose—finding good equipment—was something that couldn't be said. Ghostface gathered his thoughts under his mask and said succinctly, "After receiving the order from the War Council to cleanse the hive city, I discussed it with the other two Astral Legion Commanders."

"I believe that anyone taller than the wheel of a Taurus all-terrain assault vehicle possesses clear logical thinking. And in the hive, those skilled enough to apply this kind of logical thinking to business and diplomatic conspiracies are mainly concentrated in Upper Hive. Therefore, we executed everyone in Upper Hive who was taller than the wheel of a Taurus."

He paused, as if recalling something, and then added, "Later, during the cleanup, we discovered that the gangs in Zhongchao were basically connected with the nobles of Shangchao. So we spent more time dealing with all the gangs in Zhongchao as well. The total number was probably between two and five hundred thousand and three million."

The moment those words were spoken, the air in the hall seemed to freeze instantly. Everyone present looked at Ghost Face with a different expression.

Ghost Face naturally noticed the strange change in the atmosphere, and he asked somewhat uncertainly, "Uh, is this number... a lot?"

After all, even if someone hadn't delved into the background of Warhammer 40 before playing the game, they would inevitably look into fan art and lore after playing it out of interest. In his mind, the death of a hundred or two hundred million people in this universe wasn't a big deal, so what was a mere two or three million?

Bishop Aesop's face broke into a bright smile. He stepped forward and asked kindly, "Chief Ghost Face, do you know how many traitors have been found across the entire Jersey Sector, excluding the planet you are in charge of?"

"Hmm..." Ghost Face sensed something was wrong at this point, and he tentatively guessed a number, "Ten million?"

Aesop shook his head, his smile growing increasingly fervent: "No, all the other planets combined amount to only a few million."

"Huh?" Ghost Face was truly taken aback. "So that means..."

“In other words,” Iso Guni said enthusiastically, reaching out and patting Ghostface hard on the shoulder, “all the other Star Guardians combined, across all the planets, don’t have as many traitors as you, Ghostface, alone!”

(End of this chapter)