Even in the deepest depths belowground, the light of the Emperor's faith had once shone here. Thousands of years ago, this Imperial monastery had already stood at the very heart of this desolate planet.
Multicolored stained-glass windows hung high above the monastery's inner hall. Gloomy light, as if coming from the void itself, streamed through them into the church, illuminating four massive statues.
These silent guardian statues, hooded and wielding greatswords, supported the space around them with their enormous frames.
A lofty dome soared overhead, adorned with countless lily patterns and the majestic outline of the Golden Throne. Rays of light spread from the throne, their radiance eventually transforming into countless carved prayers that covered the entire dome.
Beneath the dome, several senior members of the Devout Society sat around a mahogany-colored round table. Candles burned in a candelabrum at its center, casting wavering light across their faces.
Henry sat in his chair. As curses rang out and fists pounded the table, the flames wavered like candles in the wind. The head of the Lower Hive Convent helplessly rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Mosley, brother, calm down."
"Calm down? We lost an entire shipload of Crimson Essence! An entire ship!" Mosley roared, dressed in a gray robe.
He had already changed into his priestly uniform. The emblem of three coiled serpents entwined together was emblazoned on his gray robe, and he wore a metal ornament around his neck.
Mosley roared and glared at Vito. "This is all because of your plan, Vito Constantine! If you hadn't used Crimson Essence as bait, we wouldn't have suffered such a huge loss! An entire ship! Not to mention the batch we practically gave away for free before!"
"I thought that as a priest, you'd be happy to expand the flock, Brother Mosley," Vito said with a smile.
"The flock? No! They're only helping us for the Crimson Essence. Most of them still need us to keep supplying it to them. Junkies! It's blasphemy against the gods! A disgrace!"
Henry looked at Vito, who leaned back in his chair and casually rested one hand on the armrest.
"Indeed, Brother Vito. This kind of growth in faith is very unstable. Though we have recruited many people this way, and seized quite a bit of territory."
"Blasphemy! It's blasphemy! The factory must have missionaries present before our faithful brothers can preach through visions, letting our followers see the true forms of the gods and hear their words. As things stand, we're just throwing a flock of ignorant lambs into a vortex of chaos!" Mosley shouted, rising to his feet. He glared at Vito and pointed at him.
"You have no faith at all, Vito Constantine! You're not one of the family! You don't understand our truth!"
"Enough, Mosley! I won't let you insult Brother Vito!" Henry stood and rebuked him sharply. Mosley glared at Henry, then sat back down, seething.
Once the hot-tempered monk had taken his seat, Henry turned to Vito. "You need to address this problem during this meeting, Brother Vito."
Vito smiled, clapped his hands, then stood. Henry sat down and yielded the floor to the young Brother of Faith.
"Brother Mosley and Brother Henry are both right. This kind of preaching is chaotic. Our new brothers don't understand what the gods' words mean; they're only left confused and lost."
As he spoke, Vito began to pace around the table, walking behind the others. "We've also suffered a considerable loss. We don't know how the Hammer Gang found out about the Crimson Essence."
"No, we do. That woman! Silver Snake! The one you've been fooling around with!" Mosley said, slamming the table.
"Miss Silver Snake is the Underhive's information hub. We all trade information with her. Of course the Hammer Gang got the news from her. But the question is, how did she get it?"
Henry frowned as he watched Vito pace. "You mean there's a traitor among us?"
"We can't rule it out."
"But I don't think the traitor is in the convent. I often visit Silver Snake's bar. If one of our own were responsible, I would have noticed. But I often see plenty of Underhive workers there—Hammer Gang workers."
Vito stopped with a smile and leaned against a statue. "Brothers and sisters, I think our traitor may be passing information back and forth with the factory workers, and then it eventually reaches Silver Snake."
"Then why not tell Mal Hammer directly? Why go to all that trouble?" Henry asked. Vito only chuckled teasingly, seeming a little helpless.
"Money, of course, Brother Henry. If telling Mal directly earns him nothing, why not sell the information to Silver Snake?"
"Hmph. Greedy people," Mosley said disdainfully, folding his arms.
Vito snapped his fingers. "Exactly. Greed. Quite a bit of information about the Hammer Gang has been passed along this way, too. We used Crimson Essence as bargaining chips to recruit a group of less-than-devout informants, and that's how we got our intelligence."
"That's why our recent victories have been so impressive. It's a double-edged sword, brothers and sisters, and we should be grateful Mal was so slow to figure out how to use it."
Vito returned to the table and sat back in his place. He smiled as he looked around at everyone. "So, unfortunately for Mal, it's already too late. We'll take his most important factory this week: Hammer Factory, the one we've failed to capture before."
The others began whispering among themselves. Henry knocked on the table to quiet them, then looked at Vito with curiosity. Even Mosley seemed intrigued.
"How will we take it?"
"You see, we've already taken so many of his factories that Mal's focused on defending the ones we might capture—the small and medium-sized factories. He's overlooked the fact that some of our supporters are already right under his nose, in his own backyard."
Vito smiled at Mosley. "Brother Mosley, you see, I've left the biggest Hammer Factory for you. The workers there are waiting for you and your priests to bring them the good news and guide them. I trust you're not worried about the risk of being discovered?"
Vito's faintly mocking smile infuriated Mosley. He sprang to his feet and slapped the table. "Are you mocking me?! Are you questioning my courage and resolve to sacrifice myself for the Lord of Redemption?"
"No, of course not. I have complete faith in you, my brother, which is why I plan to entrust you with the most important task." Vito waved a hand, his smile never leaving his face.
"Mal hasn't noticed the problem right under his nose. I'll have my brothers keep attacking his outlying factories and strongholds, making him think we're preparing a major offensive and drawing his attention away."
"And you, brother—you and your priests can infiltrate Hammer Factory, convert the workers with faith and truth, and lead them in a riot or an uprising, whatever you want to call it. Then, working from within and without, you'll help us take the factory."
Henry frowned slightly, looking puzzled. "If what you say is true, Vito, how will we take Hammer Factory while launching a series of attacks on the outskirts? We'll be short on manpower and weapons."
Vito clasped his hands over his stomach and chuckled teasingly. "That's why we need so many new followers who may lack devotion, but are very brave."
"Our new brothers will take responsibility for the attacks on the outskirts. There are so many of them that, with a few of our elite brothers alongside them, it'll be easy to create the illusion of a large-scale offensive."
"And with the help of Crimson Essence and the chaotic whispers of the gods, these junkies—who, as Brother Mosley says, lack faith—will be very brave. They'll make a great sacrifice on our Path of Redemption."
Everyone stared at Vito. Even Mosley looked a little surprised. Was this all part of the plan? Every seemingly chaotic action was actually connected, with a clear, tight logic behind it. It was hard to believe he'd come up with it on the spot.
But, well, knowing Vito, he really might have come up with it on the spot. No one could say how many plans he had rattling around in his head.
Through the hazy candlelight, Henry looked across at Vito. After a moment's silence, he asked, "Was all this planned?"
"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. It doesn't matter."
Vito raised one hand, holding up five fingers. "I also got my hands on five fully equipped Sentinel Walkers. With their support, we'll take the factory. Of course, with Brother Mosley's help."
The others began murmuring again. Henry was utterly astonished. "Where did you get Sentinel Walkers? I don't remember—"
"I picked them up tonight, before the meeting. Our dear Mal Hammer bought five Sentinels from the Upper Hive. Since he's already caused us so many losses, and our Crimson Essence transport ship was hijacked, I thought I'd take them as compensation."
Vito playfully waggled a finger. "Honestly, those big machines are damn powerful. They'll definitely come in handy."
The young member of the convent looked toward the priest with a smile. Of course, it wasn't a sincere smile; it was more of a provocation. "Brother Mosley, when can you be ready? If you need time, I can—"
"No! We're ready right now! We can spread the word of faith at any time." Mosley accepted the challenge. He had no choice. He couldn't let such a young new member of the convent challenge his authority and make him look so useless.
Henry frowned slightly. He seemed to have realized something, but chose to remain silent. He glanced at Vito, who gave him a genuine smile. "Excellent."
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