The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 3455 Only Kill!

Besides the complete infiltration of Sotha's populace, Soshyan also strongly suspected that there might be Genestealer-infected Space Marines within the Emperor's Scythes. Whether Space Marines could be parasitized was actually hard to say. Soshyan occasionally saw relevant data when reviewing reports submitted by the Adeptus Mechanicus, roughly meaning that the probability of being parasitized was very low, but not absolute.

If that was the case, then Soshyan would face a difficult problem this time.

Should he save them or not?

How should he save them?

In fact, his impression of the Emperor's Scythes was already very poor. Perhaps it wasn't their fault that they were invaded by aliens, but their series of traditions exacerbated this process. And the Genestealer Cult had expanded to this point, frankly speaking, it was impossible to solve without extermination. Everyone on Sotha could be a Genestealer or infected, and even Soshyan couldn't tell, because many early-stage infected people had no psychic signals.

And the infected were sometimes more dangerous than Genestealers, because as early as when the Ecclesiarchy cleaned up the Genestealers, the Adeptus Mechanicus discovered some Genestealer individuals with unique divisions of labor. They often disguised themselves as doctors or alchemists, and rarely mixed with the Genestealer Cult. They would build their own secret laboratories to study ways to quickly spread gene viruses among mortals. They would use viruses to contaminate medical supplies and rations, spreading the curse from the stars through oral intake and liquid transmission, rather than the traditional Genestealer's Kiss.

The Adeptus Mechanicus named these unique individuals Infectors. Their existence proved that the Genestealers had found a more terrifying way to expand, no longer limited to the stingers of purebred Genestealers. Although the infected were still human, once they reproduced, the reincarnation of the Genestealers would begin, and because their bodies and even genes had no significant changes, it was difficult to detect.

Either kill, indiscriminately kill everything on Sotha.

If Soshyan had come here as the Chapter Master of the Star Knights, then he might really have made this decision, killing all the mortals on Sotha, arresting all the Emperor's Scythes, conducting detailed inspections, and handing them over to the Inquisition for processing.

But he wasn't now. With his current identity, if he did that, he couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart.

Of course, he could also ignore it, quickly complete his goal, and then leave, letting the Emperor's Scythes swallow the bitter fruit they planted themselves.

But he had come after all.

This was also an important reason why his impression of the Emperor's Scythes had deteriorated. Their own series of mistakes led to Soshyan having to face a trolley problem.

But this wasn't entirely meaningless. At least it sounded a warning to Soshyan. Although he didn't agree with the attitude of most planetary governors who regarded the people as pigs and dogs, sometimes things were so bizarre. The survival mode of the Genestealers was easier to breed and grow in more relaxed places. Their organization had an overwhelming advantage in areas with lax management. Therefore, Genestealers often operated in the underhive, because that was a lawless place, but it was difficult for them to transmit upwards, because the Imperium had a strict hierarchical barrier. This barrier sometimes even gene viruses could not penetrate. The isolation of the rulers of the upper hive from the lower levels was basically the isolation of two species. The estrangement formed by this absolute oppression became a protective belt. No matter how powerful the Genestealers were in the underhive, it was difficult to form a threat to the planetary ruling class, or it would take a very, very long time, long enough to attract other changes.

From a certain point of view, the Emperor's Scythes said that they treated civilians equally, without airs, without oppression, but in fact, the environment they created was no different from the underhive. They discarded all the management responsibilities that should have been fulfilled, lying drunk in their imagined moral paradise. In this dark era, strictness was responsibility, and indulgence was harming others and oneself.

Of course, the mistake wasn't made by one or two people. The Chapter Masters of the Emperor's Scythes of all generations were responsible. In the end, the current Scythes were also victims.

After a brief thought, Soshyan made a decision. Now the Genestealers must have realized that something was wrong. In the absence of the Patriarch, it would take time for the Broodlord to choose a new Patriarch, and this period was their most vulnerable time.

"Val'gul, Rakzan."

"My Lord."

The two Overlords came to Soshyan, and he only uttered one word.

"Kill."

"Yes."

Almost in the blink of an eye, the Flayers disappeared.

Before long, Soshyan heard distant screams and shrieks, but not from underground, but from above ground.

The Flayers would wreak havoc in Sotha, turning the city into a river of blood. The purpose of doing this was to force the Genestealers to start an uprising in advance—it was unrealistic to find them one by one, and it was even unrealistic to eliminate them. The only remedy was to make the Space Marines in the Emperor's Scythes who hadn't been infected realize that their planet was already full of aliens.

Soshyan didn't have much hope at this time. Sotha was definitely going to be finished. It depended on their own abilities how many people from the Emperor's Scythes could escape, but the premise was that they were "clean" people. Even considering the interests of the entire Imperium, Soshyan didn't mind killing them all. The infected mortals already had such great destructive power, so the threat posed by the infected Space Marines was even unimaginable. The only thing stopping him was his empathy as an Astartes.

After all, if this matter was reported to the Inquisition, the Emperor's Scythes would definitely be removed from the rolls, without any surprises.

After thinking for a while, Soshyan raised his hand, rolled up the corpses on the ground, and then turned into a red mist and disappeared into the Flayer Rift.

The Pharos Mountains in the setting sun reflected an ominous blood color. Seen from the Black Stone Mountains in the east, the Pharos Mountains outlined a distant edge, embedded in the horizon like teeth, and as the Thunderhawk approached the huge fortress at the fangs, the engine made a panting roar.

As the home of the Emperor's Scythes, the fortress named Emperor's Watch has sheltered the Chapter for nearly ten thousand years. The Chapter has carefully maintained it for generations. The exquisite windows are carved on the ever-new exterior walls, overlooking Sopolis below—this is a satellite city of Sotha, and also the city closest to the Chapter.

Walking down the landing pad along the handrail, Thracius was preoccupied. He noticed that on the other side of the road, a row of sentry guns were drooping and shaking on the brackets, in an inactive state, and some of the serfs who should have been responsible were sitting on the steps chatting.

Logically speaking, he should have reprimanded them, but after thinking about it, he decided to forget it. Perhaps the long-term martial law was indeed too tiring for them.

"Sergeant!"

Company Sergeant Busterbull trotted over to greet Thracius, and the Captain just squeezed out a reluctant smile and nodded to the other party, and asked:

"How is the situation?"

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