I Have a Score to Settle with You

The boy was fascinated by everything he saw around him.

With the help of several military police officers surrounding him, he boarded the magnificent and elegantly streamlined mechanical device with a sense of bewilderment.

The machine somehow managed to float in mid-air.

"My Lord God, this body of mine..."

The boy glanced at his filthy, tattered clothes and said with shame.

Bear!

But what he never expected was that, in the next moment, the god who had originally meant him no harm suddenly covered his entire body with flames.

Fire!

It's fire!

Is he going to be burned to death by these flames?

No, the boy didn't even feel any pain emanating from his body; he only felt a long-lost warmth spreading from the flames towards him.

Immediately afterwards, his hunger and pain seemed to vanish completely in the next moment, and the filth and dust that had been clinging to his body also dissipated as the flames left.

"Follow me. Remember, don't say anything more."

"Noble Child of the God, Dragon Slayer, Radiance Saint, Crown of Stars"

The moment Kasgar stepped off the Anti-gravity Bike onto the luxurious upper deck of the city, dozens of servants waiting on the deck began their welcoming ceremony with a Choir -like aria in High Gothic.

No wonder they say the Sons of the Emperor is a junior Adeptus Custodes.

Now even the length of names is gradually approaching that of the Adeptus Custodes.

The melodious chanting lasted for several minutes, finally the Veil with a cry of "Garr Grando".

"Your most humble servant welcomes your victorious return."

The reason why this place is called a "city" by others is because, over the years, "city" has become a proper noun to describe this steel fortress.

There is only one city in Chemos, and there will only be one city.

The Sons of the Emperor will not allow anyone to survive alone outside of them—except for those worthless wanderers roaming the wastelands.

In order to build a giant facility where they could play to their heart's content, the city built by the Sons of the Emperor on Chemos was obviously more beautiful and artistic than the large Hive City of other Hive World.

—On that massive foundation, comparable in Forge World's steel casting, several silver-white giant towers rise up.

Each tower in the megacity is comparable in size to an Upper Hive of a large Hive World, and the Kasgar just logged into is only one of them.

The megacity is surrounded by five colossal towers, and these five towers merely cluster around the very center—

On the surface, it was Fortress-Monastery for the Sons of the Emperor.

But for the Sons of the Emperor, who are now mostly idle and aimless, it is just another playground for the Child of the God the Chapter.

"Sir, is there anything else you would like to ask?"

As the other person's expression grew increasingly grim due to his answer, the military police officer standing beside Kasgar could only groan inwardly.

How could he dare to tell a single lie?!

The opponent could easily evaporate even that Child of the God in an instant, and what's even more terrifying is that they didn't even leave him the slightest chance to beg for mercy.

To solidify their legitimacy, the Chapter of the Sons of the Emperor have been spreading and reinforcing the myth of their divine parents on their homeworld.

And the scene where the Child of the God frantically shouts "Father!" before disappearing.

God!

He... he really is a god!

No one but the gods could possess such power.

"No, according to that bastard's memory, there are only two hundred Sons of the Emperor in the entire city."

"Where are the rest of them, those Child of the God you mentioned?"

—Of course, they're having a happy vacation in other galaxies.

This Chemos was just one of the many pleasure quarters of the Sons of the Emperor.

After all, no matter how much resources are invested, Chemos is just a dying planet clinging to life in a dim binary structure.

Despite having their home planet as a symbol of the glorious Sons of the Emperor, the Sons of the Emperor preferred to transform the planets of nearby star systems into paradises where they could have fun, rather than this boring world that was always shrouded in twilight.

Chemos was merely a resting place for the Sons of the Emperor.

The numerous Garden World in the nearby galaxies are important places for the Sons of the Emperor to relax and have fun.

In fact, initially, there was no information about a heavenly world in the area surrounding Chemos.

Some high-ranking Imperium bureaucrats, retired officers, Governor, and hereditary nobles on planets can enjoy life in Paradise. So why should Chapter Sons of the Emperor, the most glorious Space Marine Chapter in the Imperium, have to endure hardship and seclusion and never be able to enjoy life properly?

Right?

This is clearly unfair. As the most glorious Sons of the Emperor Chapter in the Imperium of Man, they also deserve more rest and vacation retreats to properly heal their wounded bodies and minds (in reality, they are not wounded at all).

In order to better enjoy the game, the then -Chapter Master the Sons of the Emperor's Chapter successfully brought several surrounding star systems under his command by leveraging the prestige of the Sons of the Emperor's Chapter.

Then, they filled in the Hive City cities on the planet and enslaved the original human inhabitants of the world, forcing them to work until they died.

Then, at the cost of vast resources, they obtained mechanical devices capable of purifying the world from the Cawl of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and over hundreds of years, they transformed several surrounding star systems into various kinds of paradise worlds.

The Agri World of the ocean planet was transformed into an ocean resort, and the ice and snow world was turned into a snowfield. As for the original Hive World...

Perhaps the word "Commorragh" would be a more fitting description.

And it was registered under the name of one of the Chemos native families that could be completely controlled by the Chapter.

Where is there any resemblance to the Astartes here?

Therefore, although on the surface the Sons of the Emperor is still a model Space Marine Chapter that doesn't cause trouble and pays the seed tax well.

In reality, they were already a large conglomerate with its own armed forces—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them a large dynasty protected by Space Marine Chapter.

The Sons of the Emperor of today hardly resembles a Space Marine anymore!

If you didn't know, you'd think you'd entered Slaanesh's Six Rings Road.

—The original plan was for the Codex Astartes to have a thousand members, but now the entire Chapter is reduced to only two hundred, who are still pretending to guard the Fortress-Monastery.

Kasgar: "."

Should he be angry?

After the initial anger, Kasgar now feels a profound sense of disappointment and powerlessness.

The Sons of the Emperor has fallen too far, and his actions have completely deviated from what Kasgar envisioned the entire Chapter to become.

Compared to the ascetic Astartes, the Sons of the Emperor was clearly much more worldly than Kasgar had imagined.

But aren't there such things everywhere in today's Imperium of Man?

While waiting for the Expeditionary Fleet to return in the Badab Sector, Kasgar often went to the Red Scorpions's library to read about the historical events experienced by the Imperium of Man over the past ten thousand years.

He also wanted to figure out what changes had taken place in the Imperium of Man during this time.

In Kasgar's eyes, after losing the last Lord Regent, Guilliman, everything in the Imperium of Man was heading towards destruction.

In the past ten thousand years, apart from the upcoming Leviathan Hive Fleet, the Imperium of Man has not encountered any force that can directly confront the Imperium Astra Militarum and Navy.

Not to mention the Astartes.

There are also Necron —but so far only the Tomb World of some small dynasties have been awakened, and most of those battles take place with the archaeological excavation teams of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

It was to the point that the artifact itself jumped up and attacked someone; most of the Imperium's inhabitants had never even heard of its existence.

Today, people living in this era don't care whether the Imperium of Man will encounter new powerful enemies—in their eyes, the Great Crusade has already wiped out all Xenos forces that could contend with the Imperium of Man.

Although it lacks the grand epic of Emperor, as the overlord of the galaxy, humanity has never encountered any formidable opponent in the world.

Even without Chaos and external enemies, the Imperium of Man would still be struggling in a cesspool.

Kasgar wandered aimlessly inside the giant tower.

Apart from a very small number of Emperor's Children Space Marine, there are also many members of noble families here—as nobles who provide the Sons of the Emperor with Child of the God, they naturally enjoy power second only to the Child of the God.

Moreover, Chemos is currently in a completely closed state, and with the lack of outsiders, the entire upper area can be used for all sorts of entertainment.

(The specific content has been deleted by the Inquisition)

Even Kasgar could be considered one of them.

He could feel that the weight of the fall fell on the little boy beside him.

Everyone knows what the servants in this city are for the Child of the God.

Although this great Child of the God said little and simply strolled around in silence, his clever and resourceful servants had already prepared everything for him.

The others simply gave him a knowing look and went about their own business.

It feels numb when you squeeze it.

Kasgar looked down at the boy who knew nothing at all.

He suspected that if he were to reveal his true identity, his lifelong reputation would be ruined by this kid.

But then he thought about it again—these beasts who call themselves Emperor's Children have already completely disgraced him.

"Never mind, just stick close to me."

"Don't look at anything except the scenery."

Even though Kasgar had seen many ways of playing (forced), when he actually walked into the upper interior, Kasgar still felt his mind was blown away.

Because his current identity is that of Emperor's Children, he received quite a few invitations during his travels.

In response, Kasgar could only cover his face and run away.

Ashamed.

I'm too ashamed to show my face!

These are all Emperor's Children whom I have painstakingly cultivated. How shameful!

How will he communicate with other Chapter Master in the future, and how will he persuade them to Kasgar the Emperor's Children Legion formed by the Casgar?

His reputation is ruined!

Like an honest man who has just arrived in the city and is suddenly brought into Commorragh, Kasgar stands in the middle of this magnificent street.

Lowbrow humor.

That's too low-level. This kind of gameplay won't attract Slaanesh's attention at all—even if she wanted to solve the problem, even Kasgar couldn't suppress this trend that was spreading throughout society.

Was it caused by the hidden influence of Slaanesh?

Kasgar couldn't help but think of it.

Although the Great Crusade had taken a heavy toll, Chaos did not directly appear before the Sons of the Emperor to tempt them.

Instead, they became more secretive and elusive. Cunningly lurking in the shadows where he could not see them, they never truly revealed their true intentions, yet they were able to gradually entice the entire Sons of the Emperor to corruption.

This is something that Kasgar fears even more.

I'm not going to shop anymore.

After touring the interior of the upper tower, Kasgar was quite exhausted.

Guided by the waiter, Kasgar entered an extremely spacious room.

Being in the upper levels, the rooms serving the Child of the God would certainly not merely display the ugly twilight scene outside Chemos.

Instead, through Holographic Projection, users can be satisfied with any beautiful scenery, whether it's a starry sky, a beach, or something else they desire.

These devices are indeed all quite expensive, but for the wealthy and powerful Emperor's Children who allocates the most funds, they are nothing.

As for the little boy he brought, he was very curious—but even in the city, there are absolute leaps between different social classes, and it is impossible to generalize.

For him, this upper city, with its Holographic Projection screen and vast, beautiful scenery, was the kingdom of his dreams.

Although there are things he still doesn't understand, according to God's instructions, he shouldn't look at what he doesn't understand.

However, despite this.

Even the god, who possessed supreme power, still sighed.

"God, why do you sigh?"

"Is this city still not satisfactory to you?"

"I've heard that God possesses unparalleled power. You will never lose a battle."

"But in this world, power alone cannot solve all problems."

Yes.

In terms of strength, Kasgar is now unmatched within the Imperium.

Sometimes, even with immense power, it is impossible to straighten out a crumbling Imperium of Man.

He could easily kill the Chapter Master of the Sons of the Emperor and these corrupt fellows.

But then what?

Aside from the fact that he did get his venting done, what else could he do after directly destroying the most glorious Chapter of the Imperium of Man and depriving the Imperium of an honorable goal for many Chapter to follow?

He could only destroy them; he had no way to revitalize the Sons of the Emperor Chapter and restore them to their former glory and humility.

Despite possessing immense strength and wisdom, Kasgar still had no effective solutions when faced with the problems at hand.

For no apparent reason, Kasgar found himself reminiscing about the time he and Fulgrim had spent together on Chemos.

Yes, those thirty years.

Thirty years in which everything was moving in a positive direction.

Kasgar silently raised his head and looked at the intricately carved ceiling in the room.

The power of Chaos had clearly been utterly defeated by Kasgar in the Great Crusade.

But why, in the end, does everything return to square one?

"My child, you must remember one thing."

"What can destroy humanity is not a powerful enemy like Chaos, Xenos, or Demons."

"It is—ourselves."

All the Child of the God in Chemos await their orders and prepare to proceed to the Central Fortress-Monastery.

We have welcomed a guest from the Red Scorpions Chapter. The leader calls himself Nullus, a name I've never heard before.

Let's not tarnish our Radiance image in front of our guests.

[Sons of the Emperor Chapter Master Salakiss]

At that moment, a communication signal came through Kasgar's communication system.

After burning that damned Emperor's Children to ashes with flames, Kasgar also seized his communication system.

In fact, Kasgar's own communication devices can also receive them, but he cannot guarantee that the other party will not have any tricks to intercept his communication devices.

Kasgar originally thought that this central Fortress-Monastery would only become more chaotic and decadent.

But apart from some of its splendor, everything else inside the central tower remains intact.

Even as an honor guard, the Sons of the Emperor still stood in standard formations, just like they had ten thousand years ago.

Standing in this standard line, Kasgar could hardly believe that this was the now completely corrupted Sons of the Emperor Chapter.

So, you're just going through the motions with your feelings, right?

It may look beautiful on the outside, but it's rotten inside.

But it is indeed effective.

The Imperial Ministry of the Imperium needs the Emperor's Children's Radiance image for propaganda, and the Emperor's Children needs Imperium funding to continue his pleasures.

Both sides get what they need.

"As far as I remember, Chemos shouldn't be like this."

As Titus, surrounded by the Red Scorpions Company, entered the Fortress-Monastery, he frowned in thought.

In his memory and in the stories told by those around him, Chemos had always been a beautiful paradise. As for the endless desert before him now, it made him feel strange.

But Titus is currently just an ordinary soldier of the Red Scorpions.

There are some things that he cannot ask about right now.

For example, the whereabouts of Kasgar that he was anxiously searching for.

"I understand, Nullus, but we, the Sons of the Emperor, have no obligation to help you."

The Chapter Master of the Sons of the Emperor, Salakiss, refused him.

"But the missing person was the champion of Red Scorpions, a warrior who once dueled with the Carcharodons Chapter and escaped unscathed."

"Even if that's not the case, we should not abandon any of our Battle Brother."

Titus continued to argue his case.

Unfortunately, he was unaware that the imperial Emperor's Children, regarded by everyone as a model for the Imperium, would never concern himself with such ridiculous trifles.

Who is this Nullus?

Not even a Red Scorpions Company Commander, yet he dared to order their Emperor's Children to find someone?

"I have no reason to help you, warrior from Red Scorpions."

"As a member of the sub-group, even if Otis himself came, we must follow the rules of etiquette."

Although still in disguise, Chapter Master Salakiss's tone had become somewhat barbed.

"Leave now, Red Scorpions. We can let bygones be bygones."

"If--"

"Wait a minute."

"Perfect timing. Now that all the members of the Emperor's Children on Chemos have arrived, let's not leave."

Just as Titus was preparing to leave for other areas to continue searching for Kasgar's whereabouts, one of the members of the Sons of the Emperor's guard stepped forward.

"Me and you, and all of you."

"There's a score to settle for everyone."