Population Abduction Plan, Blood Ravens Squad: You Said There Was What?

"Hugh! You traitor."

"My lord, it's him, it's him! Quickly, seize these traitors."

His loyalty did not earn him a commendation from Burn; instead, Burn, having nowhere else to vent his emotions, swung his Power Scepter at him.

"You've soiled my things, you wretch."

Burn looked toward the direction of these commoners.

The gaunt boy, however, did not fear him, staring straight at him as if peering into his very soul.

A mere wretch, daring to look at me with such eyes.

Even...

This gaze, fixed upon him, stirred fear in the depths of Burn's heart, reminding him that his so-called noble status was nothing more than a thin skin draped over a mortal.

Lord Burn forced himself to remain calm.

Behind me stand the High Lords, while they are but my slaves. I am a being that transcends them; they dare not kill me. Even if I am at fault, only the High Lords of the Imperium may judge me and pass sentence upon my crimes.

Even if they killed me, the High Lords of the Imperium could learn everything that happened to me through psychic divination.

They would face a lethal strike from the High Lords of the Imperium.

And this is a price that even the Astartes would not dare to pay.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Dull, heavy footsteps echoed.

Cyrus's towering figure walked through the crowd.

The crowd automatically parted to make way.

They looked up at these envoys from the Imperium, their eyes filled with profound reverence.

Only the gaunt man standing at the very front of the resistance did not move.

He fixed his gaze, full of reason and fury, upon the noble opposite him. He knew that the original sin was not his companion's betrayal, but the exploitation and enslavement by these nobles before him.

Talon glanced down at the Prototype in his hand, which had long since stopped its beeping, and casually switched it off.

Cyrus's majestic frame exerted immense pressure on the mortals opposite him.

Standing nearly three meters tall in his Power Armor, he walked toward Lord Burn step by step.

His stern rebuke left the others unable to move a muscle.

"The Imperium granted you supreme power."

"Yet you use this power to harbor the enemies of the Imperium."

"You have betrayed the Imperium! You have betrayed The Emperor!"

"You and your dynasty are hereby stripped of your status in the name of The Emperor."

"As for you lot," Cyrus turned his head to look at the retainers on the side, "will you seek atonement, or will you continue to side with Chaos?"

Behind Cyrus, Blue produced evidence of their collusion with Chaos.

A mutated, twisted Chaos monster, grown with horns and scales, was wearing the clothes of their guards, complete with the crest of Lord Burn's family.

The thud of the mutated monster hitting the ground and the strange sounds it made struck at their hearts.

The moment the monster fell, the retainers panicked.

Their minds were filled only with the Officio Assassinorum and the Ecclesiarchy's stance toward the corrupted.

The ties within this dynasty were not firm; they were bound together solely by interest.

After Talon revealed certain traces of Chaos corruption, a portion of the retainers chose to defect immediately, promising to attack Burn's guards and private soldiers in exchange for a chance at atonement.

As for the so-called retainers in the room, even if they wanted to resist, they had to consider whether they could truly escape punishment by doing so.

Watching the others abandon their resistance.

Cyrus closed in step by step.

He raised his Bolter, looking down from above, and pressed it against Lord Burn's head.

"And you."

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

The light in Cyrus's helmet paused for a moment, then a flash of resolve flickered through.

"No choice."

He pulled the trigger.

He fired.

Bang!

A head exploded directly in front of everyone.

The others, including those retainers, did not believe Cyrus would truly kill the man, because the consequences of slaying a Rogue Trader were difficult for even an average Chapter to bear.

If he were truly targeted as the aggressor, he would face severe punishment from within the Imperium and accountability from the High Lords.

Yet, Cyrus killed him regardless.

As if making a final decision.

"Captain."

"Captain."

"The order was mine. If there is any issue, come find me, Cyrus." Cyrus's gaze flicked to the side of the void, as if speaking to someone.

Magnus, who had walked in from outside, interrupted the group of Yalta's men as they drew their weapons to silence the witnesses. "Captain, I checked the Astropath's navigation logs. They had transmitted news of this place several times; that Astropath has also been 'corrupted'."

"Understood."

This ship had experienced a war of Chaos and had long since been corrupted and tainted.

As the tool for psychic communication in the Imperial fleet, the Astropath had been exposed to more Warp energy, and corruption was only a matter of time.

The Astropath transmitting news of this place would lead to two outcomes.

A good outcome: the transmitted message was not heard by the Imperium, or the Imperium ignored it.

A bad outcome: the transmitted message brought the Imperial Tithe, the Inquisition, or the High Lords. Any one of these results would bring a devastating blow to this fragile but infinitely promising world.

Only by first raising the status of Governor Cisrain, elevating him to a position of sufficient power in this frontier, could they succeed.

Only then would there be a chance to unite with the Ultramar World.

And only then could they accomplish great things.

Only then would they have the opportunity to push him up to replace those corrupt and stubborn High Lords.

The positions of the High Lords were meant for humanity; they could not take them, but they could give them to more reliable humans.

Cyrus walked toward the mortals.

When he killed Lord Burn single-handedly, he knew he would face severe reprimand and judgment in the future.

But it didn't matter anymore.

If he didn't get rid of these pieces of trash.

They would only make the Golo Beast of the Imperium too expensive to eat!

Cyrus paused in front of the gaunt boy.

He looked into the boy's eyes.

A spirited lad, as if he didn't know the meaning of fear; perhaps he could accomplish great things.

Then he continued walking outside, "Clean up everything on this ship. Strip what can be used, and throw the rest into the star."

If they relied solely on the Prototype in Talon's hand to probe, it would take them a vast amount of time.

Moreover, even if they thoroughly cleaned this warship, there would still be a risk of Chaos hiding within it.

Tossing it directly into the star would end it once and for all.

"As for these people."

Blue approached to report to Cyrus.

"There are still quite a few."

"Fine, since the Governor needs them, hand them over to the Governor and his people to handle!"

Although Cyrus would have preferred to directly eliminate those who might have been corrupted by Chaos, these people were also a resource. The Governor's side had started late and needed a large population; having more tools was better than nothing.

"Yalta!"

"Captain." Yalta took a deep look at the retainers who had defected, holstered his weapon, and followed Cyrus, "What is it?"

"You and Talon help them relocate these people. I am returning to the Gamma World with them; the Governor wants us for a meeting."

"What's happening over there?"

"An STC Template from the Golden Age."

"Ah."

"Ah?"

"Ah!!!"