Did the Salamanders and the Bat-boy start fighting?

Time will tell how much damage the Alpha's infiltration will cause the Rak'Gol.

Time does not speak, it simply moves forward. The Rak'Gol's defenses on the right flank were collapsing. After returning, the Raven Guard's fleet erupted with fierce aggression. The Styx, seemingly mutated after being infused with Sandman's divine power, saw a qualitative leap in both its main cannon's power and shield strength. Coupled with the War Moon captured from the Rak'Gol, the Rak'Gol's right flank became increasingly difficult to defend.

However, soon the Raven Guard's assault returned to its original rhythm...

"What the hell, Konrad? I'm not a psychiatrist. What do you mean you want me to check on Konrad?" Sandman on the Styx stared at the psychic projection before him, wishing he could slap someone hard enough to knock out two teeth and make a necklace for the other Primarchs.

He wasn't the Emperor's babysitter. Why should everything be directed at him? And why Konrad, a mentally unstable individual? What if he scared Konrad to death when he went over?

The cause of the incident was simple. With the majority of the Imperium's Legions drawn to the front lines, Konrad's Night Lords had taken over the defense of the vast Imperial territories surrounding the Ghoul Stars in the Extreme Sector.

At first, everything was normal. The Night Lords' scum patrolled and monitored the planets strictly according to Konrad and Sevatar's orders. But then, Konrad's psychic premonitions began to occur frequently. Without the Primarch's presence to keep them in check, the Night Lords Legion's scum started causing trouble. Sevatar, preoccupied with Konrad's condition, didn't have much time or energy to restrain them, and most importantly, he couldn't.

As a result, the worlds around the Ghoul Stars fell into dire straits. Initially, the Night Lords merely toyed with the prisoners in the jails. However, soon these scum, addicted to the Primarch's terror tactics, were no longer satisfied with tormenting prisoners.

The Night Lords quickly turned their attention to the scavengers and gangs in the lower hives. Strictly speaking, if the Night Lords had covered their tracks well, these wouldn't have been major issues. Scavengers in the lower hives were ruthless, and infighting was common. Gangs, on the other hand, were a menace that deserved to be purged.

This was the perspective from the Night Lords' point of view. But when the Night Lords clashed with a Salamanders fleet executing a secret mission, a minor incident escalated into an uncontrollable situation.

Enraged Space Marines in the Hive City immediately engaged in a bloody conflict with the Night Lords. However, the lumbering Salamanders were no match for the Night Lords in the narrow confines of the lower hive. An entire squad of Salamanders died at the hands of the bat-boys.

How could the Salamanders commander in space tolerate this insult from the Night Lords? If they couldn't defeat the Night Lords in the lower hive, could they not defeat them in space? The Salamanders commander immediately ordered his fleet to retaliate, and the situation escalated into a fleet standoff.

However, the situation was dire for the Salamanders. They were a fleet on a secret mission, and the Night Lords' homeworld was right next to the Ghoul Stars. This meant the Salamanders were surrounded by the bat-boys.

Fortunately, the bat-boys hadn't completely lost their minds. Legionary Commander Sevatar rushed to the scene. The situation had reached a point where it was difficult to resolve. The Salamanders had destroyed two of the Night Lords' Heavy Cruisers and several Frigates, while sustaining heavy damage to one Battleship and several Frigates themselves.

The combined conflict resulted in the loss of nearly 20 warships, including three capital ships. The incident quickly reached the high command of both Legions. However, the Salamanders' homeworld was tens of thousands of miles away, making immediate reinforcement impossible. Thus, the Ultramarines, temporarily responsible for the defense of the surrounding star systems, were drawn into the conflict. The politically astute Ultramarines, wishing to avoid trouble, reported the incident directly to the War Council.

Once the matter reached the War Council, it was no longer just an issue between two Legions.

"Look at what you've done!! Who gave you permission to go to the planet's surface? Who gave you permission to kill people!" Sevatar, on his flagship, was so furious he could have spat directly in the face of the fleet commander who had engaged the Salamanders.

Their mission was merely to patrol. Apart from docking at supply stations for fleet resupply, they were forbidden from leaving their warships. Now, not only had they violated Legion orders, but they had also killed Imperial soldiers. Did they truly believe the Salamanders were all pushovers?

Had they not seen the footage of Vulkan tearing tanks apart with his bare hands?

"Legionary Commander, the Salamanders attacked first. We were merely defending ourselves. Besides, this is our defense zone. Shouldn't the Salamanders have notified us before coming here? If they arrived without a word, who knows if they had some sinister plot?" the Night Lords commander, drenched in Sevatar's spittle, retorted.

At this point, they absolutely could not admit fault; their only option was to muddy the waters.

"Take whatever you have to say to the Imperial Emissary. You are hereby relieved of all duties and confined to the brig!" Sevatar commanded.

Two Terminator Guards escorted the fleet commander to the brig.

"Sigh..." Sevatar, rubbing his forehead with exhaustion, sighed and began to ponder how to handle this thorny issue. Silence fell once more within the massive flagship, as no one dared to disturb the commander who had fallen into deep thought.

"The Salamanders and Night Lords are fighting? Such explosive news." Sandman, having learned the full story, was highly interested. He wasn't surprised by the clash between the Salamanders and the Night Lords. If two Legions met on the battlefield against Xenos, the Salamanders' methods against Xenos would be even more brutal than the Night Lords'. The Salamanders' love was for mortal humans; for Xenos, their flamers were the best answer.

But when the Night Lords engaged in such actions in worlds under Imperial rule, and the Salamanders encountered it, the situation completely changed.

The Salamanders' love for mortals was ingrained in their very being. If a Salamander was beating you with a hammer, you'd best consider if you'd ever done anything remotely related to people in your life. Seeing such an event unfold, the Salamanders naturally raised their hammers, and the conflict between the two Legions became inevitable.

"So, the root of the problem is still Konrad. If his issue isn't resolved, the Night Lords will only face more problems down the line," the Emperor stated.

"Why not bring Konrad to your side? He inherited your precognitive abilities, not mine," Sandman said with great displeasure.

"I have too many entanglements with the Chaos Gods. Being near me would only make him more deranged," the Emperor replied, revealing the various traces left from his battles with the Chaos Gods. Amidst the golden light, red, blue, pink, and green hues mingled.

Clearly, these were remnants of the Emperor's battles with the Chaos Gods in dimensions unknown to Sandman. If these were brought near Konrad, his terrifyingly powerful precognitive abilities would automatically focus on the Chaos Gods. In Konrad's current state, it would be impossible not to go mad.

"That being said, I have no clue. And another problem: what if I scare Konrad to death when I go there?" Sandman quickly clarified.

He now wielded the authority of death over humanity, that purest, coldest force of death. What if Konrad saw him and thought Death itself had come to claim him? Would he then be blamed for it?

"Handle it as you see fit. Konrad isn't as fragile as you think. He's my gene-son, after all; he won't die from being scared by you. Besides, can't you mask your psychic projection? It's not that difficult," the Emperor said, looking at Sandman, who was trying to find excuses to avoid the task.

"What about the Rak'Gol then? If Rak'Gol Supreme launches a surprise attack, the entire front line will be lost." Sandman mentioned that the situation here was far more critical than Konrad's.

This was Sandman's true concern. The distance from the Rak'Gol front to the Ghoul Stars spanned half the galaxy; this was no trivial matter.

However, the Emperor quickly dispelled Sandman's worries and proposed a suggestion that was even more inhuman.

"I never said you had to leave here in person. Although the possibility of Rak'Gol Supreme launching a surprise attack is zero, you can't just leave the front line. Use a psychic clone directly." The Emperor intended to exploit Sandman to the fullest.

"You're truly a dog. Meeting you is the unluckiest thing that's ever happened to me!" Sandman angrily ended the psychic communication. He hadn't expected the damned Emperor to calculate so accurately, even accounting for the fact that his psychic clone could support free movement across half the galaxy.

He hadn't even used his psychic clone before. Although it wasn't as powerful as his main body, he wasn't going to fight other gods; suppressing one Primarch should be achievable.

With no other choice, Sandman led a Raven Guard fleet towards the distant Ghoul Stars in the Extreme Sector.

Extreme Sector, Ghoul Stars.

The Salamanders' fleet and the Night Lords' fleet remained in a standoff in the void. However, neither dared to make a move. Both sides were in a precarious situation. The Ultramarines fleet, stationed nearby, watched the proceedings with amusement. Emotionally, the Ultramarines leaned more towards the Salamanders.

While the Ultramarines' attitude towards mortals wasn't as extreme as the Salamanders', they were still a relatively friendly Legion. However, what the Night Lords had done was truly outrageous. If it were prisoners in the jails, the Ultramarines might have turned a blind eye, but slaughtering innocent civilians in the lower hives was simply too much.

Even before Sanguinius's return, the Ghouls wouldn't have acted like this. Their cannibalistic behavior occurred only on the battlefield. Otherwise, the Ultramarines wouldn't have escalated the matter. If they hadn't, perhaps not a single ship from the small Salamanders fleet would have escaped.

Felix stood quietly by the window of the warship's command bridge, gazing at the two fleets in confrontation. His iconic azure Power Armor was like a solidified galaxy. The armor's surface, though polished by countless battles, still retained a fine matte finish—each subtle scratch was not a flaw but a medal of his countless campaigns.

The golden laurel on his helmet, crafted from Orichalcum, had layers of leaves. Tiny gems were embedded along the edges. When the ship's lights shone through the porthole onto it, the light flowed along the veins of the leaves, forever capturing the glory of victory. The symbol of purity on his chest was even more striking. The silver-white Aquila of the Emperor was surrounded by a ring of blue and white enamel. The eagle in the center of the emblem spread its wings.

"Lord Felix, the Terra War Council has sent word. The Imperial Emissary is already en route. It's estimated that the two sides will no longer engage in conflict," the attendant reported to Felix, the foremost of the four Ultramarines heroes, enveloped in his azure Power Armor.

"Who is the Imperial envoy, and when will they arrive?" Felix withdrew his gaze and asked the attendant; such a simple question shouldn't have been his to ask.

"These are the only orders from the Council. We sent a message to the Terra Council, and the reply was that the War Council also doesn't know which Lord is coming. The upper echelons merely requested the Ultramarines to fully cooperate with the envoy in resolving the conflict between the two Legions." The aide responded; they had tried to obtain this information but received no answer.

"Understood. We'll just wait then. It's not like the fighting can start up again anyway." Felix withdrew his gaze and returned to his seat. As the foremost of the Ultramarines' Four Heroes, his administrative duties were also extremely heavy. He needed to sift through many matters, and anything beyond his scope would be forwarded to the Primarch Robert Guilliman's terminal.

Thanks to Ferrus's integration and upgrade of the Imperium's communication systems, the Imperium's communications now were not so bad that even the Sector Governments couldn't be contacted. While there were still delays, they were at least usable.

Night Lords, Nightfall.

As a Gloriana-class Battleship, the greatest difference between Konrad Curze's flagship and those of his brother Primarchs was one thing: its blackness. Most of the internal compartments of the flagship were in absolute darkness. Even important areas like the Macro Cannon decks had their lighting adjusted to the dimmest possible level.

As a result, many of the mortal crew members working aboard the Nightfall completed their tasks relying on muscle memory. The core area where Konrad Curze resided was in perpetual absolute darkness. Only when someone from the Legion came to meet the great Lord of Night would a dim light illuminate every few dozen meters to guide their path.

Curze had brought the environment of Nostramo to his flagship. In fact, it wasn't just the flagship; many other Night Lords of Nostraman descent were emulating Curze, transforming their warships' environments into predominantly pitch-black states.

Night was the domain of the 8th Legion.