A Switcheroo to Fool Them All!

"So it was you!"

Cedric gritted his teeth, glaring at Alvin, veins bulging on his forehead. If he still cared about the Lion King, he probably would have rolled up his sleeves and charged at him for hand-to-hand combat!

The Grand Sage of Mechanicus and the Field Marshal of the 19th Expeditionary Force of the Astra Militarum didn't look much better, their expressions conveying the message that if you didn't give them a convincing reason, you wouldn't be leaving this room alive!

Old man, you're really shameless!

Knowing he'd been tricked again, Alvin glanced resentfully at the composed Lion King, sighed helplessly, and frankly admitted to the three that it was his idea. "That's right, it was I who suggested to the Lion King that we repair the Chaos Battleship and temporarily block the news that the Chaos Fleet had been annihilated."

"I can understand the need to block the Chaos Fleet from being annihilated; if this news leaks out, it could attract even more Chaos Legion." Cedric took a deep breath, his stern yet questioning gaze like a sharp sword fixed on Alvin: "But what I don't understand is why waste already scarce resources repairing these Chaos Battleship?!"

He spoke like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, giving Alvin no time to speak, and said in one breath, "If you're planning to have the Tech-Priest and the Ecclesiarchy Priest purify these warships, I advise you to abandon this naive idea as soon as possible!"

At this moment, the sage of the Mechanicus nodded in agreement, echoing in a hoarse voice, "The logical and computational possibilities of purifying a Chaos Battleship are infinitely close to zero."

At this point, the Mechanical Sage paused, looked at Alvin, and said in a mocking tone, "Even if it's theoretically feasible, the resources, manpower, and time consumed in the process would be far less than if my shipyard used those resources to build another one, and the cost would be lower than purifying a Chaos Battleship."

After they had all finished speaking, Alvin calmly and deliberately said, "I understand your thoughts."

But the purpose of repairing these Chaos Battleship is not for purification.

"If it's not for purification, then what's the point of what you're doing?!"

The hot-tempered Cedric slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Don't you know? The ones who need these resources the most right now aren't those worthless warships, but the Imperial Navy, the Iron Judicator Fleet!"

That's what really angered him.

In the short term, the resources produced by Avalon's Hive City are extremely limited. Even repairing the Imperial Fleet might be a struggle, let alone using these precious resources on Chaos Battleship.

The same applies to Mechanicus.

The number of Tech-Priest, as well as Servitor and Forge Factory, is limited. Instead of using this manpower and resources where they are truly needed, wasting them on Chaos Battleship is not only wasteful, but what good would repairing them do?

The Chaos influence permeating the Chaos Battleship makes the repair work extremely risky; someone could Corruption at any moment. Isn't this just adding insult to injury?

Even if it's repaired, they still won't be able to pilot the Chaos Battleship!

Cough cough--

Seeing the three men's angry gazes, Alvin coughed twice. "I understand your thoughts, but to understand why I went to repair the Chaos Battleship, you need to hear me out for my second plan before you can understand my purpose."

"The second plan?"

They frowned and looked at the Lion King.

The latter remained Mount Tai, as if everything was under control, which put aside their doubts and made them decide to listen to the second plan.

"Before officially announcing the second plan, I have a question for everyone." Alvin turned to Cedric: "Commander Hamilton, why do you think I'm keeping the news of the Chaos Fleet's annihilation a secret?"

Cedric, a seasoned general, immediately explained, "Our annihilation of the Chaos Fleet this time was largely due to luck. If another Chaos Fleet were to arrive, Avalon's current defenses would be insufficient to withstand their attack. Therefore, concealing this news is also for the safety of the Hive City. We must keep it a secret for as long as possible, at least until Imperium reinforcements arrive. Otherwise—once the Black Legion discovers this and sends a second fleet, Avalon will be doomed!"

"Your analysis is correct; I have indeed considered this aspect." Alvin nodded and said, "But not entirely. This involves the second plan: I need your fleet, the Astra Militarum, including the Mechanicus, to withdraw entirely from Avalon's defense zone."

What?!

Upon hearing this, everyone, including Cedric, was shocked by his words.

"Please be patient, all of you. Let me finish."

Seeing that Cedric was about to speak again, Alvin interrupted him without hesitation and continued, "Not only that, I will also have the people of Hive City evacuated, and create the illusion that the city has been completely taken over by Chaos. Of course, this will not be easy; it will require the three of you, in your respective capacities, to send a Warp communication to Lord Dante, the supreme commander of the Dark Side."

"This communication will inevitably be intercepted by Abaddon, and I will still forge it into the name of the former high-ranking Chaos general 'Zane,' and apply to go to the front lines to support the Black Legion, which is besieging the Stone Fortress."

"This is the key to the second plan."

Alvin took a deep breath, a cold glint in his eyes, and said, "When this Chaos Fleet appears behind the Black Legion, then it will be our turn to give them a surprise!"

His plan, in general, was not very complicated, and the three of them understood it, and couldn't help but gasp.

Is there anyone who's really that audacious?

However, it must be said that if this plan really works, it will not only severely damage Abaddon's Black Legion in one fell swoop, but also relieve the Dark Angels from their Chaos. It's like killing two birds with one stone!

But Cedric immediately questioned, "How can you be so sure that Abaddon won't see through your disguise?!"

"Listen-"

Alvin was speechless.

He couldn't very well say that, from a certain perspective, he was now considered a "Chaos" element, could he?

Therefore, he could only turn to the Lion King for help, hoping that he could testify on his behalf.

There's no need to worry about that.

The Lion King nodded slightly and testified for Alvin: "He possesses an ancient artifact; even Abaddon couldn't have detected his disguise."

"Mr. Alvin, there's another very important question," the Adeptus Mechanicus Sage began. "Even if your disguise is perfect and can fool Abaddon, how will you pilot and control hundreds of Chaos Battleship? How can you control just one of them? Most importantly, how will you deal with the Daemon Machine Spirit?"

"I had already considered that."

Alvin revealed a mysterious smile, "These Chaos Battleship are the product of Abaddon's collaboration with the Dark Adeptus Mechanicus. Coincidentally, I know a high-ranking Mechanical Sage of the Dark Mechanicum who has modified the Daemon Machine Spirit of these warships. Only a few Tech-Priest are needed to complete simple control."

The Dark Adeptus Mechanicus?!

The Grand Sage of the Mechanicus, his Cybernetic eye flashing crimson, stared intently at Alvin.

"Cough cough."

The Lion King coughed lightly and casually cast a glance his way.

The Grand Sage of the Mechanicus twitched his lips, but in the end, he could only let out a cold snort and swallow back the words he was about to say.