The Primordial Wrath Owl Sect

The marines' electromagnetic rifles fired in a fierce, concentrated volley.

Under this relentless barrage, the middle-aged man could no longer mount a counterattack like the one he had unleashed moments ago; he could only struggle to maintain a storm shield to avoid being gunned down.

But he was reaching his limit.

Extraordinary power was formidable, but it could not withstand the full-force fire of multiple electromagnetic rifles. The fact that he had held out for several seconds was, in truth, already astonishing.

Seeing that the storm shield was about to collapse, the mortal body behind it would surely not survive even a single metal spike, and he would be executed on the spot.

But at that very moment, the marines ceased fire.

At this moment, the only person who could make them stop their attack was, of course, Gu Hang.

"Take him alive."

Yan Fangxu raised his fist, signaling a ceasefire.

At this moment, the storm shield on the man's body was already extremely weak. The white, swirling vortex had faded in color, nearly on the verge of dissipating.

The man himself was deathly pale, half from the terror of his current desperate situation, and half from the exhaustion of his spiritual energy.

Gu Hang stepped forward and merely waved his hand; an invisible blade of soul energy pinpointed the fully exposed weakness of the storm shield and sliced it open.

The psychic backlash immediately caused the middle-aged man to vomit a mouthful of blood.

Gu Hang looked at his face for a moment, then said, "Vaughan, isn't it? We met once, back when I first arrived on this planet."

Hearing Gu Hang's words, the dull look in Vaughan's eyes regained a flicker of life, as if he had finally processed the situation.

Too frantic to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, he stammered, "Governor... Governor... I can explain... I..."

He faltered, unable to continue.

"Hmm? Why stop? Don't even know how to make up an excuse?"

Vaughan truly did not know what to say.

There was no point in lying through his teeth. He had just seized the cargo, the goods had just been transported back, and they hadn't even finished unloading them into the warehouse before the Governor's troops arrived and crushed his long-time mercenary partners with overwhelming force.

Caught red-handed with the stolen goods, how could he possibly argue his way out of this?

"I have lost, Governor. I accept all charges. I surrender to you completely. I beg you, spare my life. I am willing to pay any price..."

As he spoke, he struggled to move, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing deeply to Gu Hang.

He had tried his best to make his attitude appear as sincere as possible.

Gu Hang smiled brightly. "Only when you reach the end of the road do you realize you should turn back? It is a bit too late for that. Vaughan, I am sorry. You were once a member of the Alliance Council and should have been part of the planetary government under the Governor's leadership, eligible to become an officially recognized official of the Empire. But you have committed grave crimes: looting cargo, attacking the Governor, acting in bad faith, and... colluding with a cult."

"I admit everything... What? Colluding with a cult? No, no, no..." Hearing the last four words, Vaughan's eyes widened.

He was not some ignorant commoner; he understood one principle perfectly well.

If it were only the first three charges, he might still have a glimmer of hope. After all, his greatest crime was merely opposing the Governor. He had lost, but not completely.

He still had assets and influence in Revival City, and he controlled a very important portion of the grain trade. These things should have value to the Governor. If he surrendered completely, handed everything over, and acted as a loyal and reliable dog for the Governor, he might actually have a way to survive. Or perhaps, if he could weather this current crisis and wait a couple of years for this Governor to fail, he might still be a big player in Revival City.

However, if he were tainted by a cult, he was finished.

On the scale of the entire Empire, so-called heretics and cultists were the most significant internal traitors—a heinous, unforgivable crime. There was only one faith within the Empire: the great God-Emperor.

On Nuxiao Planet, the situation for cults was slightly better—but only slightly. This was because there were too many factors threatening human survival on Nuxiao Planet, leaving no room for large-scale purges of cultist heretics.

But this did not mean they would be gentle with those confirmed to be heretics.

Heretics on Nuxiao Planet were essentially synonymous with the Primal Owlbear Cult.

The name Nuxiao Planet was derived from a giant predatory terrestrial creature that existed on the planet before the world-ending war. Its body was like a giant bear covered in feathers, with a head resembling an owl and deer-like antlers. From existing records, this creature looked somewhat silly and cute, with a peaceful and docile temperament, but it was extremely fierce when enraged.

This cult believed that on the once-beautiful Nuxiao Planet, the Owlbear represented a beautiful image. The first Owlbear was born with the planet and became a deity, protecting the entire world. That world-destroying war had enraged the Primal Owlbear, and His anger transformed into the eternal waste-energy storms on the planet's surface, which would never cease until the world had atoned for its sins.

The Primal Owlbear Cult was dedicated to this atonement. Beyond their own set of religious rituals, their most important rite of atonement was to sacrifice sinners who did not believe in their will to the deity, in order to pray for "forgiveness."

They had indeed caused a great deal of destruction. The horrific blood sacrifices were one thing; after all, human life was cheap on Nuxiao Planet, and being eaten by mutant monsters, starving to death, or dying of disease didn't seem much different from being sacrificed by a cult.

But the key was that they didn't just target a few people. This cult's goal was to make the entire planet atone for the deity. They had created multiple incidents that destroyed entire settlements, and they were committed to expanding the areas polluted by waste-energy storms, which led to a reduction in farmland, the inability to utilize mineral veins, and the total ruin of factories built through investment.

This made them a public enemy.

Whether from the perspective of Imperial law or the local conditions of Nuxiao Planet, Vaughan knew that if he were confirmed to be colluding with a cult, he would undoubtedly die.

He now regretted immensely why he had used storm sorcery the moment the other side broke in.

And the worst part was that he couldn't even escape!

He could only struggle to argue his way out of this: "Governor, please believe me! I did not collude with a cult! I don't even know them! I... I... I just suddenly discovered one day that I could use..."

Gu Hang nodded. "I have heard your testimony, and I will verify it. Next, you will be interrogated, and you will confess everything you know. Finally, I will hold your trial in Revival City and make a final ruling. Rest assured, it won't take long; you will soon receive the fate you deserve."

I've been Tzeentched; chapters 22 and 23 were supposed to be for tomorrow, but I set the timer wrong...

Just consider this an extra update for today, brothers! There will still be two updates tomorrow as usual.

My stockpile has suffered heavy damage...