Reclaiming It from the Oppressors

The warm, comfortable Upper Fortress of Karax.

In an office floored with rare, precious timber from Chemos, Herod leisurely received report after report from his subordinates.

Ever since the old patriarch had been assassinated, he had relied on his patrol squads to capture the siblings who had also coveted the position, becoming the true power controlling Karax Fortress.

The process had not been easy, but fortunately, the result had been worth it.

"You may leave now, Raul. If the workers come to protest again, bring more shock batons and guards."

He casually gave the order to the shabbily dressed, odd-looking lackey before him.

The man was somewhat dim-witted in manner and downright unhinged in behavior. Fortunately, he could fight and was fiercely loyal, and he handled matters rather well.

"Yes, Master."

As his subordinate departed, the entire room belonged to him alone once more.

That woman Fulgrim really was stupid.

Leaning back in his leather chair, admiring the exquisite furnishings around him, Herod could not help but sneer.

Improving mechanical production was certainly a good thing.

But unfortunately, after increasing production efficiency, the first people she had thought of were not the nobles, but those lowly workers.

Giving all those gleaming resources to paupers would have been bad enough, but she had even spent vast amounts of time teaching them literacy and art, talking about "letting beauty return to Chemos."

What a sin.

He had intended to properly educate her after their marriage alliance, to make her recognize the reality that people were inherently different.

Yet not only had she failed to appreciate his goodwill, she had stubbornly chosen to become engaged to that useless Kasgar!

If this continued, would not every worker become an idle loafer, spending each day studying useless drama and philosophy instead of thinking about how to work?

Would that not make them no different from nobles?

Then how were they supposed to display their noble status? How could they still call themselves nobles?

Thankfully, he, Herod, had sabotaged the Engagement Ceremony and successfully driven a wedge between Fulgrim and the workers, making those fools believe that Fulgrim had betrayed them.

And after taking power, he had immediately ordered the workers' hours to be gradually restored, bit by bit, to what they had once been.

Those of the lower classes should serve those above them forever, rather than ridiculously wasting their energy on artistic creation.

It was, without question, a complete waste of resources.

He would reclaim those precious resources squandered on the workers and turn them into ornaments for the nobility.

As for the two who were still fugitives—

Since they had already turned against one another, no matter how capable Fulgrim was, she should not be able to cause much trouble now.

Tch.

Still, it was a pity about that perfect face of hers.

"Report!"

Just as he was considering how to deal with the two of them, the office door suddenly flew open.

Raul, who had just left the room, rushed inside and dropped to his knees, baring a mouthful of uneven yellow teeth in an awkward smile.

It startled him badly.

"Slow down, Raul, slow down."

"Perhaps you should learn proper manners, like a normal person, instead of being like those workers who only know how to riot."

Herod complained, rubbing his forehead.

"Speak. What is it?"

"It's Fulgrim! We found her!"

"Oh?" He straightened up, immediately interested. "Finally. After hunting her for so long, we can finally capture her."

His patrol squads were not entirely useless after all.

"Tell me, Raul. Where is that woman now?"

"She..."

"She's right outside your door, Master."

Having a blade held to one's throat was not a pleasant feeling.

Especially when it was held there by a demigod nearly three meters tall.

"Fulgrim, what exactly do you want?"

Herod's tone was fierce, but his heart was weak.

The battle had ended quickly.

Faced with the sudden attacker, he had immediately assembled his most trusted squad of enforcers to fight her.

Every one of them was skilled. Some could even take on an entire patrol squad alone without falling behind.

They had rushed her all at once. Even if Fulgrim was huge and naturally powerful, she should not have been able to withstand their encirclement.

That was how it should have gone.

Yet then, he had watched helplessly as his elite men fell in groups at astonishing speed.

Fulgrim's blade traced an exceptionally elegant and swift sword style.

Under her peerlessly precise movements, even the finest swordsman in Karax could not withstand a single move.

Quite a few had their weapons sent flying before they could even see their opponent's movements clearly.

Herod did not understand how a giant nearly three meters tall could possess such swift swordsmanship.

But reality was reality.

The vast difference in strength between them had turned all his previous schemes into a joke.

As for the first—and last—time he had clearly seen that cold gleam, it had been when it rested against his throat.

How many heads did they have, daring to fight Fulgrim in close combat?

Did they really think this was Nuceria, and that she was Angron?

"Fulgrim, you... You actually dare use such crude violence to provoke the nobility!"

Herod's expression shifted uncertainly.

He had truly underestimated his opponent's strength.

However, seeing that she had merely knocked the weapons from the patrol squads' hands rather than taking their lives, he found a little courage to bluster.

Surely this woman still feared the methods of the nobility.

She should fear them.

"I warn you, Fulgrim."

"The other nobles of Karax have already formed an alliance with me. If you dare harm us, the entire fortress will fall!"

"Oh?"

She raised an eyebrow slightly.

Herod snorted. "We control the fortress facilities! If you dare lay a hand on me, on the nobles, then without our leadership—"

"The enraged people will deliver Melt-Explosive Charges and the fortress blueprints beyond the city walls, so the remnants of the other nobles can avenge me!"

"Hahaha! When the time comes, they can blow open the fortress. At worst, we all die together!"

A flicker of madness flashed through Herod's eyes.

"The people outside the city! Yes, the people outside the city!"

"Give the big bombs to the Sulfa people!"

Raul shrieked in agreement at just the right moment.

"Raul, you idiot! I never said it was the Sulfa people!"

"The Sulfa people?"

For once, Fulgrim's expression grew grave.

The Sulfa people were the largest nomadic tribe on Chemos.

If Chagatai Khan had truly descended upon Chemos as expected, he would probably have become a carefree speed freak among the Sulfa people.

Unfortunately, reality was always full of twists and turns.

Due to certain meddling powers of the Warp, the one who had ultimately landed on Chemos was Fulgrim, who had been found by the workers of Karax Fortress.

As for combat, every Sulfa warrior was highly capable.

With their exceptional swordsmen and scrap motorcycles assembled from ancient machinery, they remained fierce and formidable fighters even while surviving in the harsh wastelands beneath endless yellow sands.

If they acquired Melta Bombs and the fortress maps, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Fulgrim might not fear them, but Karax Fortress, lacking sufficient fighting strength, would very likely fall because of it.

"The troublemakers you arranged before were Sulfa people, weren't they?"

She asked coldly.

".I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kill me if you wish, if you can accept the fortress falling into chaos without noble leadership and ultimately being lost."

Herod turned his head away and shut his eyes, looking rather like a righteous warrior calmly facing death.

"No." She shook her head. "You seem to have misunderstood something."

"I never said I was going to kill you."

As she spoke, she returned the coldly gleaming blade to its sheath.

An elegant, perfect Primarch would not choose such crude means to conquer Karax.

That was the way of tyrants and dictators.

And she, Fulgrim, had her own unique methods.

"Herod, I merely came to invite you to watch a play."

She said this with a smile.