The Astartes Family's Notebook

Amaterasu, could it be you?

If so, then they're really going downhill. The leader of the dignified Staff of Truth is deliberately causing trouble in my name; it's beneath him.

The loyal Samar has returned to his grandfather's empire, but the legend of the "Destroyer's Blade" continues in the warp.

Chapter 517 The Dregs Resurface

791.M41, twenty-six years after the Sabat Expedition began.

Compared to the expedition of Ma San, although from Sledor to Macaros, the two generations of Warmasters practically paved the way with the heads of their Star Guardian brothers.

However, putting aside human nature and considering costs, the Sabat expedition has been quite worthwhile so far.

Therefore, Macaros's position has been unstable for sixteen years, but neither the Holy Terra nor Hydrafur has any intention of touching him.

One bug is a bug, but a bunch of bugs can cause problems.

Why bother with Macaros when he's doing a good job?

However, the expeditionary force had become quite militarized, to the point that Katz had a strange feeling of returning to Alevia.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that being a military leader is bad. In your empire, having some feudal personal dependence is, to some extent, called enlightenment and progress.

But Alevia...

Bah, I mean the situation in the Sabatian realms is already predictable.

The Astartes have already discussed the matter privately, and everyone is preparing to leave.

White Scar had no words to express his bitterness. This messy situation was causing him a lot of distress. Since the Battle of Balhout, the Chaos forces had been struggling to survive. Although Ullock Gore had reunited the Chaos forces of Zabat, he was ultimately not Nazbal and did not possess Nazbal's awe-inspiring numerical beauty.

As long as the empire doesn't act recklessly, it's only a matter of time before it takes over the entire Sabat region.

The militarization of the expeditionary force was precisely the safest approach.

This is no joke. Fighting against the forces of chaos is a living hell if you lose, and even if you win, you can't avoid a great purge. The militarization of the expeditionary force itself was secretly approved by Macaros and also had a tacit understanding with the imperial high command.

While the fighting continues, planetary reconstruction has already begun. After all, the Sabat region has a population of five trillion. As long as the expeditionary force doesn't cause any epic defeat that requires Holy Terra and Hydraf to form another expeditionary force to clean up the mess, warlords are fine. Aren't there enough warlord forces in our human empire?

It doesn't matter if we have the land of Sabat.

Seeing the Empire re-entering its strategic comfort zone of overwhelming others, White Scar, having participated in Saint Sabat's first expedition and unaware of the ancient covenant he carried, still left two companies as a fire brigade. Meanwhile, the Silver Guards expressed their enjoyment of the situation, saying they hadn't gained much yet and were prepared to continue their loafing around.

Alright, just as Kaz was about to leave, the Blood Ravens finally arrived.

In other cultural contexts, Blood Raven would probably have offended every other faction that participated in the Sabat expedition.

However, subspace travel, as those who know, know, is only less than thirty years late, which is within the normal margin of error.

Blood Raven Gang...

Ugh, I mean the Blood Duck Squad...

Kars realized he had made a mistake. On the one hand, he had tricked Blood Raven when he formed Blood Duck, and although he didn't feel guilty, he still felt somewhat in the wrong. On the other hand, the Galactic Pirates were notorious, and Kars really didn't want to have too much contact with Blood Raven. It wasn't easy to accumulate some wealth, and nobody's weapons and equipment came from thin air.

Therefore, Kars refused Blood Ravens' request to board the Victory Balance and instead chose a strike cruiser to receive the Blood Ravens' visitors.

Blood Raven's Astartes probably knew his reputation among the loyalists, but he didn't care. He just wanted to say hello, exchange battlefield intelligence, and ask about the current situation.

"Lord Kaz, shall we take inventory of the storeroom?"

"Forget it, there's no need for that."

As long as I don't take inventory, nothing is missing, that's all there is to it.

Bringing back the scattered companies is also a troublesome matter.

The Child of Pure White was indeed preparing to leave, but Kaz wasn't going to turn his back on her and leave like that.

Interests need to be divided, relationships need to be maintained, existing gifts should be distributed, and favors that should be converted into cash should be converted into cash in a timely manner.

Before leaving, Kaz planned to concentrate his forces on a major operation against the Chaos forces.

Coincidentally, the Steel Serpent thought the same thing.

Macaros has been a war coach for over a decade, so he's got the knack for taking advantage of situations.

Therefore, Katz accepted Lugo's invitation to help the Second Army, while Steel Serpent went to the Fourth Army to assist Vitus Ullienz.

The expeditionary force, having regrouped, was finally ready to launch a two-pronged attack and fight one last major battle.

However, this simple farewell song had its prelude played for a full three years.

What does it mean?

The empire is not a charity, and the high lords do not engage in philanthropy.

Hidraf may grant a grace period for tithe reduction, but the portion of Holy Terra must be submitted truthfully, in full, and on time.

Isn't this a war?

How could this be!

Alas, even Holy Terra has disregarded the fact that the generals of the Sabat Expeditionary Force have become military leaders, and you still intend not to pay your share? Is that even possible?

As a result, Macaros devoted most of his energy to the duties and responsibilities of the "Sector Governor," and was not much like a Warmaster.

However, none of the four army groups that split off from the expeditionary force said anything objectionable. They just thought, "Let's just hang in there, things will get better."

The headquarters wasn't in a hurry, and neither was Katz.

It's unclear how long a fish's memory lasts, but the Chaos Warriors are definitely stronger than fish.

Seeing that Urdish couldn't catch any fish, Kaz simply scooped up the fishing spot and took it with him.

Even the most dilapidated strike cruiser is still a cruiser at heart. After years of repairs and maintenance, it barely looks decent anymore.

Many Imperial loyalist chapters with homeworlds choose to conceal information about their homeworlds, making them virtually undetectable except in their local sector or even subsector.

But the Child of Pure White is different, or rather, the Wings of Desolation are different.

Because the Haiwen text is the subspace/real universe transportation hub from the Taiping Starfield to the border development zone, it cannot be hidden even if one wants to.

The battle group is preparing to leave, but the established relationships and trade contracts still need to be maintained and fulfilled.

Kaz really had no right to laugh at Macaros during these three years. He also didn't really fulfill the duties of an Astartes Chapter Commander. He spent his days either exercising or meeting with guests and discussing business.

After all, his wish has been fulfilled.

Brother Epsilon, will this endless hail of heads soothe your soul as you return to the Golden Throne...?

No, they've all returned to the Golden Throne, receiving top-tier treatment in the Warhammer universe. Where does this unease come from?

Halfway through his revenge, Kaz suddenly realized that this was a good thing.

The two guys who went undercover are back, each with two gene seeds, making a total of four heads.

Then, regretfully, they were told that it was no use; the Midnight Lord couldn't be coaxed out.

On the other side of the vortex, in recent years a group of Astartes warriors, with the Midnight Lords as their core members, has emerged, calling themselves the Red Pirates.

The group that killed Epsilon has most likely joined the Red Pirates, but these Midnight Ghosts insist on becoming outlaws, ruling the mountains and cultivating the Whirlpool jungle, refusing to come out even though there's plenty of loot available on Sabat's side.

Finally, having no other choice, the two brothers tricked four newbies who were willing to come out and see the world, and with a swift stroke of their knives, they brought back souvenirs for Kars.

"Go down and rest first."

If this were in the early years after his reincarnation, upon hearing the name "Red Pirate," Katz's first reaction might have been, "Wang Xiulun has rebelled!"

However, the five Jiazi's cultivation of inner strength was not for nothing. His title of "Destroyer of Halls" was used by a group of imposters. Who knows if the Red Pirate was a name that Wang Xiulun later stole?

Then think about the Empire's red, blue, yellow, green, black, white, and gold sanctuary...

It's hard to give a proper evaluation.

Having gathered enough military supplies and mobilized a sufficient number of troops, the final battle finally began.

However, Aisolie actually came to see Katz.

Little girl...

Although in Kaz's eyes, this girl in her thirties was a genuine young woman, according to the Empire's standard of judgment, this middle-aged spinster was already...

"I'm dying."

"Then you can have life-extending surgery."

"I must die."

“Alright, our reincarnated saintess, is there anything I can do for you?”

"Don't go to the whirlpool."

"Ok?"

"The waters there are deep, you can't hold on. Now that you've finally escaped their sight, cherish your life now and do more meaningful things."

This was all so abrupt and left without giving Kaz a chance to tease her. As soon as Aisol finished speaking, she turned and left without looking back, just as quickly as she had come.

Ultimately, I just can't connect with psionic Muggles.

As the warp nature of Betty Sabbat's immortality gradually awakens, Aisori also begins to understand everything.

Then she realized that she really had to die.

The Hagia Holy Mountain Cathedral, sealed for five thousand years using ancient technological relics, saw Saint Sabat suppress the resurrection ability of the immortals, in exchange for a significant increase in spiritual power.

Today, Aisolly has surpassed Betty in the realm of psionic power.

But that's not enough, far from enough.

This level of increase cannot save the empire, nor can it save humanity.

The ritualistic aspect is disrupted by chaos, and the symbolism is also lacking.

Therefore, she must die again, perish in glory, be reborn in legend, and wait for the moment when she is truly needed to be resurrected.

The Illuminati has already secretly contacted her, and her funeral arrangements have been made. Now all that's missing is a grand farewell.

The Emperor wasn't the only one who loved humanity. Aisol understood what the Emperor was carrying, so she was willing to help Kars one more time.

The unfolding of the Great Rift was the result of an agreement among the five giants of the subspace, an inevitable fact that Kars could not change.

Rather than stirring up trouble in the whirlpool, it's better to trust the Emperor's plan.

What was that saying again?

If we never meet again, may you die a worthy death.

Kaz only took Aisolie's words as a child's concern, well, awkward concern.

However, it wasn't until news arrived that Aisolie had traded one life for one with the Chaos Demon on the battlefield of Apocalypse that Kaz realized that some separations are destined to end in death.

But there's no time for sentimentality.

Because the battlefield doesn't believe in tears.

Aside from his terrible military command skills, Lugo is really strong in other aspects.

With the regrouped Sons of the White serving as the vanguard, the Second Army launched an attack on Anakwanar Seq, who called himself the King of Terror and Lord of Chaos.

While the Sabbat Expedition could not compare to the Marcarius Expedition in terms of scale, the intensity of the battles and the difficulty in dealing with the Chaos warlords remained unparalleled in the world in the eighth century of the forty-first millennium.

It's really rare to see so many "Chaos Heroes" on other battlefields of the Empire.

In the previous Battle of Kakaliad, the expeditionary force almost suffered a major setback.

Nazibal was killed in action at Balhout, and as the Imperial forces turned towards the Cabal system, Sek continued to counterattack the Imperial offensive.

During the same period, internal strife broke out within the retreating Chaos army, with a struggle for the position of the new Chief Chaos Ruler, and some Chaos warlords began to compete and fight each other.

Other contenders for the position of consul, including him, include Nocard the Withered, Shoren Scala, Cux the Eyeless, Helito Asforddel, and Enoch Inokenti.

However, after careful consideration, Seker decisively withdrew from the struggle for Nazbal's political legacy and took the initiative to assist Enok Inokenti in attacking the weaknesses of the Imperial army exposed by the long battle lines.

If Aisoli hadn't killed Enoch Inokentity, the Imperial army would have defended Balhout again.

However, Seker's greatest characteristic is his ability to learn.

Urlock Gol seized the title of Chaos Archon with his superior number and quality of blood pact troops. Seik decisively followed Gol's example and created his own blood pact troops, named "Sons of Seik".

If that were all, it wouldn't seem like a big deal. Afterwards, Ullock Gol didn't keep it to himself; he openly and generously passed on the training methods and organizational structure of the Blood Pact forces to other Chaos warlords.

However, we must mention another chaotic madman, Helito Asforddel, whose name was deliberately erased by the Empire.

The judges suspected that this guy was from a black oil background. Although the video footage sent back by the judges' agents showed that Helito Asforddel did not have significant Mechanicus-style modifications, he was a technical expert on the side of Chaos, especially skilled in creating various war machines and demon engines.