The Classification of Evil

The Fierce Angels' veteran and recruit soldiers watched the combat footage in the command center.

The next wave of attacks hadn't begun yet, so this was footage from before Lu Jin faced the two Chapter Masters.

The tactical characteristics of the Great White Shark and Minotaur Chapters were revealed as their Space Marines slaughtered mortals.

Xenos noticed that in the footage, the Great White Shark Chapter could have broken through the Manros' defenses with their armored units, but they simply didn't.

They insisted on charging into the buildings and wreaking havoc.

Initially, Xenos thought this might be due to concerns about the Manros having anti-tank weapons, or ambushes from armored units that had previously engaged on the plains.

However, that wasn't the case.

The Great White Shark's tactical squads completely abandoned their armored units.

Only after Lu Jin began employing guerrilla assault tactics did some of them attempt to organize tactics around armored vehicles.

In the video footage, Xenos saw a Dreadnought: "A Contemptor Dreadnought... an ancient Dreadnought from ten thousand years ago. Forget ordinary Chapters, even some founding Chapters wouldn't have this antique. What's the origin of this Chapter?"

None of the Fierce Angels, except for Xenos, knew what a Contemptor Dreadnought was.

But they could understand Xenos's words.

"Because the Great White Shark is itself a very ancient Chapter."

"Besides being ancient, they are also very unique."

Lu Jin stated what he knew.

"They wander the dark void year-round and have entirely different beliefs from other Chapters."

"For example, you call the Emperor the God-Emperor because you grew up in an Imperium where the Ecclesiarchy governs the grassroots."

"However, Space Marines from founding Chapters generally don't call him the God-Emperor. It's not that they don't believe the Ecclesiarchy's claims, but their attitude towards the Ecclesiarchy is ambiguous."

"The Great White Shark's beliefs are even more different; they call the Emperor the Void Father."

"In short, from the perspectives of faith and equipment, they are ancient and unique."

Then Lu Jin spoke of the Red Tax and the Grey Tax.

These two taxes were one of the characteristics of the Great White Shark Chapter.

The Grey Tax was a means of acquiring resources, while the Red Tax was a means of acquiring manpower.

The Red Tax, also known as the Blood Tax, involved the Great White Shark Chapter taking one generation of youth from a planet to serve as slaves or new recruits.

These abducted individuals would then engage in combat, and the victors would become new recruits.

"What's the difference between this and Chaos?" Kao asked, pointing at the screen. "When I was little, I heard that the star system next to my homeworld was attacked by a heretic warband, and all the young people on the planet were taken away, leaving only the elderly to die slowly... If the Great White Shark had done this on the planet next to my homeworld, I would have thought they were a Chaos warband!"

"The difference is that they fight for the Emperor," Xenos said with a hint of helplessness in his tone. "And, they don't kill because they like it, maybe not because they like it... I'm not sure."

Lu Jin nodded. "Xenos is right. The difference between the Great White Shark and Chaos followers lies in these two points. Their actions are a form of pure evil, not evil for the sake of being evil, but because they need to commit evil to achieve a certain goal."

"Their actions are predictable, unlike Chaos warbands who suddenly decide to slaughter you. Or you can only stop them with even greater evil."

Lu Jin thought of those Blood God cultists.

More than thirty of them were still alive, managed by Kase, who had joined the Chapter.

These individuals had no goals other than to fight alongside the Fierce Angels and kill.

"What about the Minotaur Chapter?" Kao asked. "Are they more like a righteous faction compared to the Great White Shark?"

"Hard to say," Lu Jin shook his head. "They don't care about civilians and often do things that I consider wrong, but they might be slightly more merciful than the Great White Shark. Their evil is a subservient evil."

Kao quickly understood.

Evil also came in different types.

Disordered evil, pure evil, subservient evil.

"Compared to them, you are too benevolent," Kao said. "We..."

"Actually, I am also a form of evil," Lu Jin interrupted him, lowering his head in thought. "Fighting violence with violence, fighting evil with evil. To those we slaughter, we are the most wicked."

"Would the Manros consider you wicked?" an old soldier asked.

"Of course not, but this standard of judgment comes from all others, not from a fixed standpoint," Lu Jin said.

Kao thought for a moment and realized it was true.

Meanwhile, Xenos, in his silence, was thinking: In fact, most Imperial bureaucrats and some Chapters might not be as extreme as the Great White Shark, but from a mortal's perspective, they are definitely not good people.

Fierce Angels, a Chapter of "No Honor," are quite rare.

But in Xenos's opinion, the Fierce Angels are considered benevolent by most mortals, primarily because this Chapter "eats from a hundred families."

The Fierce Angels under their first Chapter Master were more like Space Rangers, rushing to put out fires everywhere, and then accepting the "food and drink" from mortals. Because of this tradition of "eating from a hundred families," it gradually evolved into everything encompassed by the battle cry "No Honor."

"The Great White Shark has a company of fully equipped Terminators called the Crimson Brotherhood."

Lu Jin mentioned matters related to the upcoming battle.

"Be extra careful."

"This company is no ordinary one."

Upon hearing of the Crimson Brotherhood, Xenos finally understood that the Great White Shark, like other powerful Chapters, had typical "Astartes Codex behaviors," such as the First Company's Terminators being equipped for assaults.

But Xenos was puzzled by one thing: "Are all those in their so-called Crimson Brotherhood old and steady people? Why haven't I seen them before?"

"Crimson Brotherhood..." Lu Jin pondered how to explain, then suddenly thought of those Blood God cultists. "They are similar to the Manros Constabulary, scattered everywhere, but I believe they will regroup for the upcoming battle."

Xenos nodded. "I'll keep an eye on them with the gunship."

"The enemy is preparing to attack again."

The comms officer stood up to report.

"Are both those Chapters preparing to attack, or are the Red Corsairs attacking?" Xenos asked.

"Both," the mortal replied.

"Prepare for battle," Lu Jin said. "Kao, it'll be like before: you'll wear my armor."

"And you, sir?"

"I have new armor."

Before the Fierce Angels could salute and leave, new information entered the command center.

The comms officer froze for half a second in disbelief before shouting the news, "The Ragefang... has returned!"

Lu Jin laughed, thinking the other person was speaking nonsense.

But the screen immediately displayed the situation in orbit.

A warship suddenly appeared outside Manros's orbit.

"I have a new plan," Lu Jin said, staring at the warship.

Imperial flagship.

Tiberius had just come out of the command deck.

Moro was not beside him but on the ground.

The great battle between the Red Corsairs and the Imperium was still ongoing on the plains. Knights, pulled from the war, were preparing to join the fight against local forces, so Moro was overseeing the overall situation.

Tiberius, on the other hand, had conducted his pre-battle report according to the regulations of the grand fleet.

"Lord Tiberius!"

The Chapter Master heard a call from behind him, turned, and saw an Inquisitor.

"Morris," Tiberius said the other's name. "Why didn't I see you and the Mercy Emissaries during the previous battle?"

The two knew each other already.

Morris was an Inquisitor to Tiberius's taste because, unlike those rigid Inquisitors, he never lectured the Great White Shark with procedural nonsense, only using his authority to provide convenience.

Tiberius was also aware of the grievances between Morris, the Mercy Emissaries Chapter, and the Fierce Angels.

As the only one who understood the Fierce Angels, Morris had also been ordered by "That Person," who was commanding this war, to provide pre-battle intelligence.

In his intelligence, Morris stated:

The Fierce Angels were few in number and weak. The reason the Mercy Emissaries lost an entire company in the ground battle was due to armored combat, and it had nothing to do with the Fierce Angels.

Furthermore, the Manros people had only one Hive City, and their industries were practically nonexistent.

The local populace was cowardly and foolish; any noble could scare them into kneeling and begging for forgiveness, and they wouldn't dare resist even if beaten to death.

During his recent report on the command deck, Morris had been slapped because of this pre-battle intelligence.

But he felt wronged because he had spoken the truth.

"The First Company was wiped out in an armored battle, along with their Command Vehicle. They needed to regroup, didn't they?"

Inquisitor Morris smiled and stepped forward.

A Space Marine from the Mercy Emissaries Chapter emerged from a branching corridor. He wore a dark purple cloak and had likely just been crowned the new Chapter Master.

"Can you let the Mercy Emissaries participate in the upcoming battle?" Morris stroked Tiberius's pauldron. "I heard you're planning to send the Second and Third Companies into battle; bring the Mercy Emissaries along."

Tiberius suppressed the urge to tear Morris into shreds and desperately recalled the pleasant times of his brief cooperation with the Great White Shark, such as how Morris never interfered in wars and how he, like a loyal subordinate, offered convenience with his authority at opportune moments.

Then, Tiberius asked, "Are they on the hangar deck?"

"Of course," Morris nodded.

Just as Tiberius was about to reply, an alarm suddenly sounded.

The gates along the entire corridor sealed shut, and the warning lights on the walls flashed red.

"Warning! Warning!"

"Warp teleportation signal detected!"

"Warning! Warning!"

"..."

Tiberius subconsciously glanced out the viewport... he didn't see any warships approaching the flagship.

Logically, a teleportation beacon should have been sent first, followed by boarding...

The space at the end of the corridor suddenly folded.

As Tiberius, the Inquisitor, and the Mercy Emissaries' new Chapter Master looked over, a squad of Space Marines emerged from the distorted space.

Less than ten individuals, all veterans of the Fierce Angels.

The one leading them wore the most ornate Ironclad Terminator Armour.

"You're armored this time." Tiberius took a step forward, raising both arms, blue light flashing on his claw-like weapons. "But I can still..."

A flash of light erupted behind the Ironclad Terminator Armour.

A Terminator, its head almost touching the corridor ceiling, about 2.7 meters tall, stepped out of the light.

All the Fierce Angels shifted their bodies aside.

The Terminator had arc-shaped pauldrons, unpainted and very plain.

On the armor above the Terminator's helmet was a cannon, next to it a Mechanical Arm holding a scepter, and combined with the Warhammer and battle axe in its hand... it was very clear which armor Lu Jin was in.

It moved without haste, each step causing the entire corridor to tremble.

Tiberius looked up at the Terminator's head, his arms hanging naturally at his sides.

Not out of fear, but to select a weapon useful against this Terminator.

"Before I have time to deal with you, go find someone to prepare an iron head for you." Lu Jin said, his gaze falling on Morris.

Morris produced a strangely shaped white object and, with the Mercy Emissaries' new Chapter Master, teleported away.

Lu Jin stopped, and the teleportation device implanted in his left pauldron began to operate. Amidst the flashing lights, everyone was teleported away from the corridor again.

Only Tiberius was left in the corridor, holding a grenade capable of annihilating everyone, analyzing the situation in confusion.