People often believe that the Chaos Gods seduce people into corruption and depravity by relying on various illusions and deceptions.
Yet the way Chaos excels most at seducing people is by acknowledging your achievements, praising your strength, and helping you accomplish the dreams you have always wanted to fulfill.
In this process, one completely falls into becoming a cultist of Chaos without even realizing it.
And the Dark Gods simply utilized the desires hidden within Valentin's heart.
As a blood kin of the Mongert Family, he had lost in the competition against Ludwig.
He had always believed that Ludwig used scheming and treachery to seize the position that originally belonged to him, and even continued to persecute his family after Ludwig became a Rogue Trader.
They were driven from the position of Planetary Governor, replaced by an outsider, and even stripped of the rights that originally belonged to their family.
He was relegated to managing the chaotic Lower Hive.
As time passed, the accumulated resentment in his heart grew ever larger, and he came to believe that this dynasty had completely rotted away.
His gradually corrupting soul also attracted the attention of entities existing within the Warp.
That unknown existence constantly acknowledged his achievements and abilities, repeatedly telling him that everything in the world would end, and the dynasty where he resided would be no exception.
When all things ended, a new dynasty and order would be rebuilt upon the existing ruins and corpses, and as long as he was willing to cast himself into Chaos, he would possess the power to accomplish all of this.
Valentin agreed, and from that moment on he was no longer Valentin Mongert, but the sect master of the Church of the Final Dawn on Agathos.
Using his authority, he continuously recruited followers and utilized the power bestowed by the Dark Gods to corrupt his own kin. When Ludwig became lost and lost contact in the Warp, he knew his chance had arrived.
The original plan was to slowly expand his church and use the power of the Dark Gods to corrupt key figures within the dynasty.
Yet no one expected the dynasty's flagship to emerge from the Warp, even replaced by a new Rogue Trader. He knew he could no longer wait, and subsequently launched an armed coup. Yet that hateful Rebecca had long guarded against him, preventing the Upper Hive from being successfully breached for so long!
Not only that, but within the areas he occupied, there had been continuous reports of various attacks.
The combat effectiveness of that Adepta Sororitas order was outrageously strong, and his cultists and the soldiers who originally belonged to the family were simply no match for them.
Their faith in the False Emperor was far too steadfast!
Faith endowed them with the defense against corruption, and their exceptional combat skills served as the blades bestowed upon them by the Emperor.
They roamed the lower sections of the Hive City, even gathering together those lower hive civilians who still remained loyal to the Empire and refused to transform into monsters.
They acted like torches in the darkness, letting people know the Emperor was still by their side.
They continuously raided his material warehouses and supply lines, and Valentin knew those sisters' target was him personally!
Aside from these sisters, two other unexpected forces were obstructing him.
One was a church named the Death Cult, which continuously assassinated his subordinate officers and important members of the church; even the illegal psykers he secretly bred could not escape their assassinations.
Valentin had always known of this Death Cult's existence—some even said they appeared when the dynasty first colonized this planet—but in the past they only operated within the lower hive or Lower Hive, and he had never taken this sparsely populated church seriously, yet now they had brought him immense trouble.
The Death Cult fanatically worshipped the Emperor, even more fanatically and extremely than members of the Ecclesiarchy. They believed blood and sacrifice were the foundation upon which human survival was established, that it was the Emperor's great sacrifice that allowed humanity to endure, and that the Emperor seated upon the Golden Throne, existing between life and death, was the embodiment of death.
To these people, every death, every wound, and every mouthful of blood was an act of worship to humanity's immortal Emperor. They were obsessed with killing anyone who showed disrespect to the Emperor, and were the most terrifying presence in the Lower Hive.
Furthermore, the lives of these cultists and enemies of mankind were the finest sacrifice to offer the Emperor.
Their supreme swordsmanship and assassination skills allowed them to continuously harvest the lives of his enemies. Fortunately, the members of the Death Cult were not numerous, as not everyone could accept such an extreme doctrine.
Although Valentin could not exterminate these Death Cultists, they were likewise unable to deal a fatal blow to his core foundation.
What gave Valentin the biggest headache, however, was the Lower Hive.
He had originally thought that the thugs of the Lower Hive would willingly sell their lives for him as long as he made them certain promises, refusing to believe anyone could willingly live in that dark Lower Hive.
There, deadly radiation and wastewater existed, and even a normal mouthful of food was an extravagant hope.
He could accept those mutants, as these people were naturally the most suitable source for Chaos cultists.
Yet he never expected this rabble of Lower Hive scavengers to firmly guard the Lower Hive, refusing to let him enter. Not only did they reject his call, but they even attacked his soldiers and cultists.
They would even actively aid Lower Hive inhabitants who refused to throw themselves into Chaos!
They treated the Lower Hive as their own territory, and there was even a trend of them breaking outward.
Not to mention, the combat strength of these mutants was far stronger than he had imagined, and their fighting spirit was terrifyingly resolute.
His soldiers reported that they shouted the Emperor's name just the same—since when did the mutants of the Lower Hive display such devout faith in the Emperor?
Despite the seemingly smooth-sailing situation, only Valentin himself knew that he could no longer afford to wait. The longer the delay, the more pronounced his disadvantages became.
He intended to hold an unparalleled sacrifice the very next day, summoning the true "Dawn" into this world, and He would help him breach the seemingly impregnable defenses of the Upper Hive.
Leaving this forge workshop, Valentin arrived at the sacrificial site under the protection of his guards.
At a single glance, hundreds upon thousands of cages held countless civilians and workers from the Lower Hive.
There were adults, the elderly, and many young children, ruthlessly locked inside these iron cages like livestock.
Whether they pleaded for mercy or cursed in anger, no one paid them any mind.
Looking at the surrounding scene, even the most foolish among them knew their impending fate.
"Sect Master, all 99,999 people are completely here!"
"Very good, how is the ritual coming along?"
"Ninety-five percent! All preparations can certainly be completed before tomorrow!"
"Speed it up!"
"Understood, Sect Master!"
If they refused to embrace the arrival of the Final Dawn, they might as well become the nourishment for the dawn's arrival.
Illegal psykers were using blood to draw one blasphemous array after another upon the walls of the Sacrificial Hall.
These arrays would become the bridge of communication between the material universe and the Warp.
The lives and souls of these people would add up to become the key to opening the doors.
A day's time happened to coincide precisely with the timing Gao Yi had prepared for his action.
A day's time passed swiftly.
The newly departed fleet had once again approached the planetary orbit of Agathos.
Gao Yi looked at Harlan and the others, who were currently donning the RS Fusion Suit, and spoke.
"The pressurization devices and oxygen-generating chambers inside the fighter can allow you to operate within orbit for a short time, but only a very short time."
"The warship will sail into orbit to forcefully withstand the enemy's first wave of firepower, sending you into planetary orbit."
"The locations of the vital ground defense facilities have been sent to the Wraith's tactical equipment."
"Your mission is not complete destruction! It is to paralyze them, making them lose their launch capability! Buy time for the fleet's airborne drop mission!"
"I understand, Captain!"
"May the Emperor protect you!"
Harlan saluted Gao Yi with an Aquila Gesture before sitting down inside the Wraith's cockpit.
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