What? Alvin Joined the Wrong Side?!

That night.

Heavy clouds hung over Avalon's Hive City, and the battle in orbit had temporarily come to a halt, with both sides locked in a strange stalemate.

Meanwhile, the Lion King was in the Governor's Mansion, dealing with the political affairs he hated most.

As Primarch, they were created by the Emperor and are near-perfect individuals, not just reckless warriors who only know how to fight. They are well-rounded in terms of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor.

Politics is also a required course for Primarch.

Although the Lion King himself disliked staying in the office dealing with these miscellaneous administrative matters, he simply had nothing to do at the moment.

While Alvin infiltrated the Chaos, the Lion King secretly met with the supreme commanders of the Imperial Navy and the Astra Militarum during these two days. He used the Primarch's wisdom and charisma to subdue the two and easily gained command of the Imperium side.

However, in order to cooperate with Alvin's plan, the news of the Lion King's return is currently under strict control, and only a handful of people know about it.

Even the Sisters of Battle who accompanied the cardinal and surrounded the banquet hall that day were under the strict surveillance of the Dark Angels.

The Lion King certainly wouldn't place all his hopes on Alvin. If his infiltration plan failed, the Lion King would make preparations for the consequences.

The entire Hive City's factories, including its military forces, are secretly working day and night to supply the Lion King with massive quantities of provisions.

Military supplies, weapons, and other items were also secretly sent to the front lines.

Having finished dealing with the administrative affairs, the Lion King was still full of energy. In fact, the administrative affairs of a Hive City were far less than one ten-thousandth of those during the Great Crusade. For the Primarch, this amount of work was merely a leisure activity.

At that moment, Zabriel pushed open the door and entered.

The Lion King immediately looked up at Zabriel, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but his tone remained calm. "Have you heard from him?"

"Listen-"

Zabriel hesitated, glancing at the battle report.

The main problem was that he really didn't know how to tell the Lion Lord about this. What if the old warlord got angry and used him as a punching bag?!

Seeing Zabriel hesitate, the Lion King, relying on his Primarch's keen intuition, immediately sensed something was wrong, and his voice suddenly became more stern. "What happened? Is something wrong with that kid?!"

His words were full of concern for Alvin.

Zabriel felt a pang of sadness for a few seconds, but still forced a smile and said in a stiff voice, "No, it wasn't him who was in trouble."

"It's Afkar, he's using the Dark Angels's code, an urgent encrypted battle report, and he needs your decision."

"You mean, Afkar used the Dark Angels's code to send you the battle report, specifically avoiding Alvin, right?" Upon hearing this, the Lion King suddenly realized, then a hint of suspicion appeared in his eyes. As shrewd as he was, how could he not understand the implied meaning in Zabriel's words?

The overall commander of the infiltration operation was Alvin, but his subordinate, Afkar, deliberately used the Dark Angels's code. Wasn't this a blatant attempt to avoid reporting to the Supreme Commander, Alvin, on his behalf?

The Lion King, of course, wouldn't reprimand such behavior, but what puzzled him more was what had happened to the Sons of the Forest infiltrated the Chaos Fleet that would lead their adjutant, Afkar, to act in this way.

In less than a second, the Primarch considered many possibilities, but ultimately could not reach a conclusion. However, he also guessed that something big had happened, otherwise Afkar would never have bypassed Alvin and used a secret code to send a communication.

Unless Alvin is the one with the problem?!

Upon considering this possibility, the Lion King's pupils constricted sharply, and a bad thought surfaced in his mind.

"Give it to me!"

The Lion King walked around the desk, strode over, snatched the intelligence from Zabriel's hand, and began to read it carefully.

The blessed parchment scroll contained a few simple lines. "Chapter of the Sons of the Forest, Grand Master, First Watch Knight, Alvin Valshius, is currently suspected of being corrupted by Chaos. The Lion King is urged to make a decision as soon as possible!"

"???"

At first glance, the Lion King thought he was seeing things.

His mind went blank for a moment; even with his Primarch's brain being comparable to a supercomputer, he was almost overwhelmed by the Dry Rock Machine.

But upon closer inspection, after checking several times, he realized it was correct. Even the signature at the end was Afkar himself, and the Purity Seal proved that it had not been affected or distorted by Chaos.

In other words, this is a message sent by Afkar using the Dark Angels's Whisper!

The Lion King stared intently at the blessed parchment, his fingers turning white from the pressure, his pupils seemingly burning with tangible flames, and the oppressive atmosphere around him made even Zabriel shrink back.

Alvin... has betrayed us?!

The air pressure suddenly dropped, and frost seemed to freeze.

An overwhelming pressure surged like a tsunami. The Lion King's gaze fell on the parchment scroll, his disheveled hair standing on end like steel needles. His eyes were ignited with rage, and a terrifying pressure, almost tangible, instantly filled the entire hall!

Creak, creak!

The hard stone brick floor, swept up by the violent aura, was plowed into several dense, spiderweb-like, crisscrossing furrows!

The enraged Primarch, with its sheer power and imposing presence, caused the entire banquet hall to groan under its strain.

"Lion King" Zabriel felt there was some misunderstanding, so he mustered his courage and asked, "Is it possible that Afkar has some misunderstanding about Alvin?"

The Lion King's cold eyes and expressionless face turned as he stared at Zabriel.

Buzz!!!

Zabriel's fur stood on end. When he met the Lion King's gaze, he felt as if he had been hit by a cannon, his chest tightened, and he couldn't breathe.

"Reason?"

The Lion King examined the parchment, his eyes slightly narrowed.

I don't think Alvin is that kind of person.

Zabriel, forcing a smile, said, "There must be some misunderstanding here. Besides, Afkar's secret report only stated the conclusion, not the process, so I don't think we can completely trust it."

His side of the story.

"You really trust him that much, that he won't betray you?"

The Lion King's voice was deep and resonant, much like the snarling of a wild beast hunting.

"Yes, Lion King."

Under the Lion King's intensely imposing gaze, Zabriel took a deep breath. "I believe, Alvin Valshius,"

I will never betray the Emperor and you!

Where is the evidence?

The Lion King continued to stare at him, his eyes blazing with fury, like a volcano about to erupt.

What he hates most is betrayal!

From his former foster father Luther to his current Alvin, and precisely because of this, he was moved when he saw this secret report.

He appeared so furious.

For a few seconds, the Lion King even doubted his own judgment—was there really something wrong with him?

Otherwise, how do you explain Luther's betrayal first, and then the news of Alvin's corruption?!

Zabriel gazed at the Lion King, meeting his gaze without fear, and said softly, "Lion King, I hope you can give His Highness Alvin more trust and prevent the tragedy of Caliban from repeating itself."

"6..."

The Lion King, who was originally furious, suddenly froze, and the anger in his eyes turned into remorse.

It must be said that Zabriel is a professional when it comes to ruthless tactics; he knows all too well how to calm this suspicious tyrant down from his rage.

One sentence brought the Lion King to his senses.

"Send a message to Alvin directly in plain language and make him explain to me what exactly is going on!"

The Lion King snorted coldly, tore the parchment to shreds, and turned to walk towards his desk.

Gazing at the Lion King's forlorn and somewhat sorrowful figure, Zabriel's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

The old warlord has been asleep for ten thousand years, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; at least his temper has improved!