Kasgar Wants to Become Pirate King

The Inquisition must not show even the slightest leniency.

Since the Horus Heresy, it was precisely the lack of a certain intelligence and surveillance organization throughout the Imperium that ultimately led to the tragedy of the Horus Heresy.

Faced with this situation, the Emperor appointed the Master of the Sigil, Malcador, to gather a group of outstanding and virtuous individuals to find and eliminate traitors, Xenos, demons, warlords, and ambitious individuals lurking within the Imperium. These individuals would act as secret guardians, protecting the Imperium from internal and external conspiracies and exercising the power of judgment.

By order of the Emperor, a group called the "Ranger Knights" was formed at the call of the Imperium Prime Minister Malcador, and it was the prototype of the Inquisition.

Although the influence of the Chaos forces has largely subsided over the past ten thousand years, most matters can be handled by the Adeptus Arbites and the Ministry of the Interior. The Inquisition no longer needs to travel to various worlds to issue Exterminatus as it did in the original timeline.

But traitors like Abaddon and Space Marine and pirates continue to harass various parts of the world, Xenos forces within the Imperium continue to invade planets, and countless undercurrents are always surging within the human forces—for example, both sides in the Badab War actually believe they are on the right side.

At this point, the Inquisition, which is most loyal to the Emperor, must step in to determine which side is right.

They must be wary of any power within the Imperium and have oversight of all organizations within the Imperium, because everything could be a conspiracy by Xenos or Chaos traitors.

Apart from the Adeptus Custodes.

—Even the Adeptus Custodes.

As for the Badab Sector, Luft Hurons, the Chapter Master of the Star Phantoms, insisted that he could not afford the Tithe of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The special envoy from the Inquisition, Inquisitor Jerome Serx, after consulting numerous ancient historical texts, decided to grant Wang Xiulun a just trial.

"Death penalty!"

One of the two distinctive features of the Inquisition is that it begins with the death penalty.

According to Inquisitor Serkes, Great Astartes was the root cause of the Horus Heresy and corruption in the Imperium!

Without these people insisting that they were the creators of the Great Crusade, looking down on other mortals, and valuing the bond between Battle Brother more than loyalty to the Emperor, the Horus Heresy would never have happened!

It was his selfishness and arrogance that fueled the resentment, discontent, and even rebellion among these Space Marine.

Therefore, any Space Marine who feels that his efforts have been in vain must be eliminated immediately before he rebels!

Loyalty has no reward; loyalty itself is the reward.

Of course, the Inquisitor's overly radical statement was met with opposition from many Imperium forces, including the Red Scorpions Chapter —after all, Hurons had rendered meritorious service in guarding the Maelstrom, and his previous attempts to deploy troops had failed, so it was quite normal for Hurons to harbor resentment.

But Inquisitor Serkes insisted on severely punishing the villain.

And it seems that the time to receive that intelligence is fast approaching.

"Soon."

After reviewing the case of the Emperor's Arrival Trading Ship, Inquisitor Serkes looked up through the ornately decorated classical stained-glass window to the outside world.

At night, the temporary residence arranged by the Planetary Governor was quieter and more peaceful than usual.

The crackling of the fireplace was the only sound in the silent room. He stood up and looked out the window.

Right there on the eaves outside the window, Inquisitor Serkes saw a small bird perched on a branch in front of him.

"How's the matter I entrusted to you going?"

"Coo coo."

The second of the two distinctive features of the Inquisition: the Ordo Xenos plays with Xenos, and the Ordo Malleus plays with demons.

In order to better track down the cunning villains within the Imperium, the Inquisitor often cooperate with some strange allies to achieve their goals.

In any case, it's all for the sake of eliminating traitors and villains for the Imperium, isn't it?

The crisp chirping of birds rang rhythmically in his ears, and with the distinctive tapping of the Servitor in his room, a string of words appeared before the Inquisitor's eyes.

The Star Phantoms Chapter has over-enlarged its force by incorporating remnants of the Tiger Claws Chapter who were labeled as traitors, bringing its total strength to approximately 3,500.

"That's Hurons! Just as I expected!"

Inquisitor Serkes paced anxiously back and forth in the room.

This was not the first time he had suspected and prepared to imprison corrupted Space Marine.

Not long ago, he had just finished interrogating the Ultramarines' Second Captain in Galia, the Forge World.

While facing the overwhelming onslaught of the Orks Greenskin army, the opponent actually managed to shut down the power source filled with Warp energy with their bare hands.

That wasn't all; he even went so far as to tear apart the Daemon Prince who had just ascended to demonhood and betrayed the opposing faction.

Unaffected in any way!

This is no longer the Emperor's loyal warrior; it has clearly been thoroughly Chaos by chaos!

What normal human being could possess such terrifying resistance to Warp?

They even said they had to strike hard!

After receiving accusations from Lethros that he was a heretic of Chaos, Inquisitor Serkes immediately decided to take him away for investigation.

This is the Second Captain of the Ultramarines, not only the company commander of the First Founding, but also a soldier under Lord Regent Guilliman!

If he could discover signs of corruption within such a Chapter, he would practically be saving the entire world single-handedly!

If he can truly discover the first signs of corruption, what immense honors he will receive in the future!

—But it didn't happen.

Even though Inquisitor Serkes used every method in his personal collection and tried countless times to question the Ultramarines Second Captain, he never admitted that he had been corrupted.

What a stubborn fellow.

Since even this couldn't make him admit that he had been corrupted by Chaos, then it could only mean that—

This only proves that he is a stubborn and unyielding Chaos!

Inquisitor Serkes was clever; he knew that once the Second Captain was imprisoned, it would be impossible not to convict him.

The company commander of the First Founding has already been imprisoned. If he is released now for some reason, the responsibility will fall on the Inquisitor.

If he doesn't convict the other party, he will be the one convicted!

Therefore, even though he couldn't find the problem with the Ultramarines' Second Captain, he still chose to imprison him in the Stasis Field of his cell, waiting for others to forget what had happened.

Even when Calgar, as the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, bombarded him with a barrage of questions, trying to reclaim his Second Captain, Inquisitor Serkes ignored them all.

Let's return to the present.

Dealing with this damned Badab War is of utmost importance.

Under the meticulous investigation of his allies, Hurons's ambitions were gradually exposed: the Gene-seed he failed to hand over were not lost or unrecoverable in battle, but were used by him to expand his army!

His actions completely contradicted the teachings of the Codex Astartes, and this alone is enough to conclude that Hurons harbored rebellious intentions.

—In fact, Guilliman also believed that Chapter structure of 1,000 people was indeed too fragmented for organizing a large-scale war.

However, he was confident that his prestige was enough to mobilize enough subgroups to go to war together and obey him, the Gene-father, so there would be no problem in actual action, and he did not change this sacred rule.

But he never imagined that he would lose his duel with Magnus and fall into a deep sleep in the Stasis Field until now.

The original structure of the Holy Scripture Guidance Chapter, consisting of 1,000 members, continued into the fortieth millennium.

"Hurons's ambitions are obvious, but I shouldn't know all this, and I can't expose his scheme yet."

Upon learning that the opposing side had violated the Holy Scriptures by expanding its legions, Inquisitor Serkes resolved to destroy everything in the Star Phantoms Chapter, leaving no seed of rebellion.

However, the Chapter Master of the Red Scorpions Chapter took it upon himself to negotiate with the Imperium's enemies at this critical juncture!

If negotiations proceed smoothly and the two Chapter reach an agreement, the Badab War will come to an end.

"That damned Red Scorpions!"

Astartes, the Space Marine Chapter are all the same.

Astartes would naturally appreciate each other, but if Hurons were to continue expanding by using the Maelstrom as leverage, wouldn't that give Hurons an even better opportunity to plot a rebellion in the Maelstrom in the future?

"Gah"

Just as Inquisitor Serkes was pacing back and forth, pondering how to handle the situation, the birds outside his window suddenly chirped.

We have ways to sabotage their negotiations, if you're willing.

"What? You can do that?"

Inquisitor Serkes stepped forward eagerly to inquire.

[That's right. While killing that troublesome Red Scorpions Chapter Otis, we'll pin the blame for this incident on Hurons and his Star Phantoms.]

A strategy that achieves multiple benefits at once.

Not only could this eliminate the doves within the Imperium of Man who had long sought peace talks with Hurons, it would also serve as an opportunity to validate his status as Warhawk and increase the high command's commitment to this matter.

"Good."

After careful consideration Inquisitor nodded.

"The fleet you are protecting is over there. Since you are new here, you have to follow the rules."

"I can provide you with the most basic equipment. If you have the skills and the tools yourself, go to the right and register with that hairless monkey."

Standing in the bodyguard team, Kasgar silently followed behind the group, laser gun in hand.

Hopefully, this time we can successfully lure in a pirate attack.

Then he could have his Kasgar board the enemy's pirate warship and make a reverse boarding maneuver, thus finding a capable enough helper in the pirate den of the Maelstrom.

Then, through a surprise attack by the pirate fleet, they rescued the two Chapter Masters and uncovered the true culprit who started the war.

His plan had no flaws.

But the question is, what if you don't encounter pirates?

As both sides in the Badab War are currently stationing troops here, merchant ships come and go constantly at the transit point.

While there might be a chance of encountering pirates, the probability of actually encountering them is extremely low.

We need to find a way to make the pirates pay 100% attention to them.

Hey!

Near the Maelstrom.

Black Claw Pirate Flagship, Despair Raider.

As a pirate gang that spreads chaos and plunder throughout the interstellar space, you'll naturally find all sorts of people here.

Mortal Cultists, traitors, or lone Space Marine, Corsairs and mercenaries, and even Orks looking for a fight, could all appear under this pirate banner.

Especially now that the war situation in Badab is tense, with both sides gathering forces to fight each other, the defenses in other territories are even weaker, giving the pirates an opportunity to take advantage.

"Our next target for a robbery will be—"

As the Navigator of the Black Talon pirate fleet, the Void Dreamer from the Craftworld Aeldari, and also the ruler of this pirate fleet, activated his Warp vision to search for nearby star systems—

Ah!

A burning pain shot through her eyes, the mark he had left when he gazed at something in the Warp.

What is it?

It could actually burn her soul while she was staring at it?

"What's wrong with the boss?"

"Boss, are you alright?"

"Fine."

"It just flashed suddenly."

The Void Dreamer and pirate leader once again focused his attention on the area where he had been stung earlier.

She was also very curious: what kind of being could possibly burn the soul of the great Eldar?

As the leader and core of the Black Claw Pirates, she is crucial to the existence of the entire ship.

Without her guidance as Void Dreamer, the entire Black Claw Pirates would never have been able to traverse the Warp so easily.

Although she often called the crew "monkeys," working for her was low-risk and high-reward, so it wasn't a bad idea to actually be her monkey.

Having been Void Dreamer for nearly a thousand years, what hasn't she seen? How could she possibly...?

She didn't think she'd ever seen this before.

It was the golden-red Warp Radiance that kept flashing in one of the merchant ships in the fleet.

Even now, when she was prepared to observe it, the other party was still flashing its light, seemingly unconcerned about being discovered by others.

It was as if the light, flashing with a strange pattern, was broadcasting "I'm an idiot!" to the whole world, as if it were announcing its existence throughout the universe.

"What are these monkeys doing? Are they trying to provoke us?"

"Could it be that the higher-ups of those monkeys are transporting some important artifact, which would cause such a large-scale Psychic Power fluctuation?"

Very likely.

According to her detection results, the ship appeared to be just an ordinary merchant ship used for trade and transportation, not very large, and without any other defensive equipment installed on it.

Although it's not clear what's going on, it's obviously just an ordinary transport ship, without even any defensive weapons on its hull.

Is it a trap?

Or perhaps, humans hid some vital treasure on one of the ships, using it as a means to smuggle it out?

Want to take a gamble?

The Void Dreamer kept pondering this question.

Other humans are afraid, but she isn't!

If she really finds a human artifact, she can take the opportunity to return to the Craftworld, or sell it in her Fallen Cousins's city of Commorragh for a fortune.

Can you humans still find her?

But she still decided to play it safe.

Having lost the protection of the Craftworld, the soul of the Void Dreamer is now exposed to the fangs of the Thirsting Lady.

If anything were to happen, her soul would suffer eternal torment in Palace of Slaanesh —something she certainly didn't want to see.

But clearly, she wasn't the only pirate fleet in this Maelstrom.

"Those monkeys!"

Just as she was still hesitating, with the fluctuations in the Warp, she could sense that no fewer than three pirate fleets were approaching the transport ship that was flashing with light through the Maelstrom.

If, by any chance, one of them succeeds in seizing the artifact and their strength skyrockets, wouldn't their Black Claw fleet become their next target, devoured by them?

"We can't let this opportunity fall into the hands of other pirates!"

Seeing other pirate gangs obtain this artifact was even more painful for her than losing it herself!

Even if it means causing trouble for other pirate fleets, Black Claw still has to go and see for themselves.

"Black Claw Fleet, move out!"

Meanwhile, the other fleets in the Maelstrom:

"Brothers of the Red Hook Fleet, let's go join the fun! Brothers, let's go!"

"So many fleets have been mobilized, this thing must be of some value. The Dark Fire Pirates can't afford to miss out on this raid."

The pirate fleet, which had been temporarily quiet due to the Badab War, suddenly became extremely lively again.

"."

"Have these pirates gone mad?!"

The captain was bewildered as he watched the three pirate fleets approaching their transport ship in the distance, seemingly driven mad and chasing no one else.

They had just left the transit station and were preparing to make a few shallow jumps in Warp before successfully completing this transport mission.

Just as they were approaching Mandeville Point, several pirate fleets that had been lying in ambush suddenly appeared nearby, heading straight for their transport ship without any regard for anything else.

This is no ordinary pirate fleet. Judging from the size of their ships and the gun turrets on their Escort, it's clear that none of these pirates are good people.

Why is that?

They dispatched these three pirate fleets just for his one ship's worth of grain?

"Shout out! Shout out!"

"Ask these guys what they're up to! If they're really so hungry they won't even leave this ship full of food behind, then give it to them!"

"Damn, what bad luck!"

"Sound Array administrator, have you received a response from the other party?"

"Yes, Captain! They seem to be after a magical artifact inside the ship, and their pirate fleet is constantly fighting over it!"

"A divine artifact?! If I had a divine artifact, would I need a transport ship to deliver it?"

The captain is going crazy.

What kind of stupid pirates are these?

"Reporting to the captain," came an even more desperate message from the diviner in charge of the transport ship's Augur Array.

"Not only are there three pirate fleets in front of us, but it seems that there are more and more pirate fleets coming from afar."

It wasn't just these three pirate fleets in front of them that were insane.

In the distance, even more pirates were fighting over the fresh food for their transport ship.

"Crazy."

"They're all fucking insane!"

Since things are already like this, what's there to worry about?

We don't need the captain or the transport ship anymore!

"Quickly, prepare the shuttle."

"Let them take this ship; let's get back to the fleet first."

With the captain having abandoned ship, the remaining crew members were naturally thrown into disarray and unwilling to stay aboard.

"Very well, our Black Talon pirate fleet will take over this transport ship as well—"

"Wait a minute, Xenos lady, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

In the communications of the Black Talon fleet that first approached the transport ship, a middle-aged man whose face was half covered by mechanical devices appeared.

In the projection, he was looking at the other person with a cunning gaze.

"I have a name, I am Waldra, Slick Dabus." The Void Dreamer's eyes blazed with fury.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"We've encountered this situation before." A tall figure appeared on the other side of the main bridge projection.

He wore black Mark-VII Power Armour with all paint and markings removed, which seemed to be the minimalist paint scheme of his Dark Fire Pirates.

From the projection, only the "dish"-shaped breathing grille of his helmet could be seen at this moment.

"It's very simple, pirates should decide the ownership of their spoils through duels."

The three pirate fleets gathered here now all have extremely strong firepower. It is still unclear what the magical artifact inside the ships is. What if the pirates start fighting among themselves and end up finding that there is no treasure at all?

Are we really going to drag this whole ship full of grain along with us?

The Dark Fire Pirates' Space Marine captain's proposal was simple—everyone should send out squads to board the ship together, and then decide ownership through a duel after discovering the treasure.

The simplest and most direct approach results in the least loss for all parties.

"Well, Dark Knight, your nickname and your taste are both terrible, but I have to admit that there's some truth to your suggestion."

"But your Space Marine's superhuman physique is clearly stronger than mine, and that Xenos woman who's lived for thousands of years is no pushover either. If I choose your plan, wouldn't that mean—"

"Shut up, Dabus."

The "dish" on the wandering Astartes helmet became larger because it was close to the projection device.

"I don't have time to haggle with you."

"We need to board the ship as soon as possible; more of our pirate comrades are heading toward this light."

"Alright, alright, my guys who've been competing with me for most of their lives, do you really think there's some kind of magical artifact hidden in a tiny grain transport ship?"

"Especially when all the guards ran away as soon as they saw us?"

The leaders of the three pirate fleets and their cronies quickly boarded and rendezvoused with the ship's defenses.

"If you think this is a trap, you don't have to get involved, Mr. Dabus."

"Hehe, I'm not going to watch what I've got fly away."

"Especially when it flies into your hands."

As he spoke, Dabus, who was followed by several automated fighter soldiers, fiddled with the Thinker Array on his forehead. "This way."

The artifact that everyone had been eagerly anticipating was located behind this rather inconspicuous hatch.

"Strange. The instruments show that there is nothing in this cabin except for it."

Are you sure your Augur Array are working properly?

"It's definitely Xenos sister, I—"

"Stop arguing, just open it."

The wandering Space Marine, leading his companions who were also clad in Power Armour, was the first to push open the door.

It was pitch black inside the hatch; you couldn't see anything.

"Let me see. Where's the thing?"

The lights were turned on, and apart from a white chair in the center of the empty cabin, there was nothing else.

Where is the magical artifact?

Is this chair the magical artifact they promised?

Bang.

Just as the pirates were still pondering whether the artifact was this chair, the door behind them slammed shut the next moment.

"Now, have you decided what to do with me?"

A streak of golden-red flames flashed, and a giant clad in purple-gold power armor appeared before them all in the next instant, without anyone noticing.

He sat in that chair with his back to them.