The Highest Form of Business Warfare

The new settlement in the Southern Highlands was like lichen tenaciously clinging to rock, painfully stretching out green tendrils amid the ashes of disaster.

People threw themselves into reconstruction with an almost devout fervor. The miracle Lorgar had foreseen acted like the strongest adhesive, binding everyone's faith and fate tightly together.

Every stone laid in place, every hide tent raised, seemed to silently proclaim their absolute loyalty to the Godchild and his representative—Zhou Beichen.

Zhou Beichen stood atop a protruding boulder, looking down at this nascent "holy land." Orderly enough. Morale was serviceable. Below, Lorgar was using his inhuman strength to help several believers position a massive metal frame as the main beam.

Sunlight fell across his sweat-dampened bronze skin, reflecting a metallic sheen. Even as he worked, those violet eyes retained their reassuring calm and compassion.

Assets were steadily appreciating, cash flow was healthy, and the market outlook was bright. Zhou Beichen conducted his routine assessment inwardly. If nothing unexpected happened, he could develop steadily here, wait, or take the initiative to seek contact with Imperial forces from a more advantageous position.

But in the Warhammer Universe, there was no shortage of surprises.

A rapid bone-whistle sounded from the watchtower—three short notes and one long. It meant unidentified outsiders were approaching, and they were armed.

Zhou Beichen's heart sank slightly. He signaled for Lorgar to continue, then led a squad of Faith Guard toward the settlement's sole entrance—a narrow Stone Gorge that was easy to defend and hard to assault.

There were a dozen or so arrivals. They wore matching, relatively intact gray coarse-cloth robes. Dusty from travel, yet steady in their steps and sharp in their eyes, they were far superior to ordinary tribesmen. Their leader was tall and lean, his face hidden beneath the shadow of a hood. Only a hard-lined chin and part of a metal necklace bearing some religious symbol were visible.

But Zhou Beichen's gaze immediately fell upon the familiar geometric patterns embroidered in dark red thread at their cuffs and collars.

The Covenant Church.

And the orthodox kind, not some free-range wild pastor like him.

A chill instantly shot up Zhou Beichen's spine. He recalled the information he had gathered shortly after crossing over: the mainstream faith of Colchis, a tightly organized sect that absolutely did not tolerate heresy.

The group stopped outside Stone Gorge. The tall, lean man pulled back his hood, revealing a weathered face carved with piety and severity. He looked around fifty. His eyes were like the vultures of Colchis—sharp and appraising.

"In the name of the Covenant," the man said in a hoarse voice carrying the authority of one long accustomed to power, "I am Korfalon, an itinerant pastor of the Covenant Church. I heard that believers of the same faith had established a settlement here, so I came to convey the Covenant's teachings and concern."

Korfalon!

Zhou Beichen's mind buzzed as though struck by a heavy hammer. Every trace of wishful thinking, every plan, shattered into dust at that moment.

Fucking Korfalon! How did I forget about him?!

The pitiful scraps of Warhammer knowledge in his mind surged wildly—this was the man who found Lorgar when the primarch descended, brought him back to the Covenant Church, and slaughtered the entire village that had witnessed Lorgar's arrival to keep that "miracle" from spreading!

Now, history seemed to be grinning viciously as it prepared to roll its wheels over this moment once again. Only this time, Lorgar had an additional variable by his side—one from another world.

Zhou Beichen took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. The appropriate smile of awe and delight quickly formed on his face. He stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"So it is the honored Pastor Korfalon! For the Covenant's radiance to illuminate such a remote corner of the world is our greatest honor." He gave the man before him a slight nod. "I am the pastor of this place, Zhou Beichen. We have always faithfully observed the Covenant's teachings, struggling to survive here as we await the Lord's summons."

Korfalon's sharp gaze swept over Zhou Beichen, then the Faith Guard behind him, whose clothing was shabby but whose eyes were resolute. Finally, seemingly casually, it passed over Zhou Beichen's shoulder and toward the depths of the settlement, where a tall figure was working.

Even from a distance, Lorgar's physique, far beyond that of an ordinary man, and his distinctive violet eyes stood out like a lighthouse in the night.

Korfalon's gaze lingered on Lorgar for a full three seconds. Deep within those eyes flashed a nearly imperceptible trace of shock, greed, and... cold resolve.

Zhou Beichen's heart sank completely to the bottom. He knew that look too well. Back in the trading halls of his old life, it was the exact look the tycoons wore when they spotted an unlisted stock destined to skyrocket—determined to possess it, and fully prepared to eliminate every potential competitor without hesitation.

"Pastor Zhou," Korfalon said, withdrawing his gaze and looking at Zhou Beichen again. His tone was mild, yet carried unquestionable pressure. "You have done well. It is no easy task to gather so many followers in such a barren place. However, the Covenant's doctrine requires orthodox guidance, lest one... stray down the wrong path." He paused, then added pointedly, "Especially in the interpretation of miracles."

Damn it, I need to debate doctrine and keep him outside!

Zhou Beichen immediately picked up the thread, trying to steer the subject toward a theological debate. It was the only method he could think of that might make the other man back down.

"Honored Pastor, you are right. We have always been confused by the interpretation of suffering as trial in Chapter Three, Verse Seven of the Covenant. Could you perhaps..."

"Discussion of doctrine can wait," Korfalon interrupted directly, a trace of impatience in his tone. "After a long journey, my attendants and I need rest and supplies. More importantly..." His gaze drifted toward the depths of the settlement again. "I need to meet that young man. He is very special."

He had failed.

The other man had no intention of giving him room to maneuver in theory. His target was clear—he had come for Lorgar.

The smile on Zhou Beichen's face stiffened. He knew that if Korfalon entered the settlement and came into contact with Lorgar, he might easily sway Lorgar with his status as an orthodox pastor and whatever psychic power he possessed, perhaps even take him away directly. And to conceal the miracle, the fate of their settlement was obvious without needing to think about it.

Fear coiled around his heart like an icy venomous snake. But immediately afterward, a fiercer ruthlessness born from the instinct to survive surged up from the deepest part of him.

I can't let him enter! I can't let him contact Lorgar!

The respect on his face receded like a tide, replaced by an icy calm. He tilted his head slightly and spoke softly to the Faith Guard behind him. "Go. Ask the Godchild to come over. Tell him an honored guest has arrived." He deliberately stressed the words "honored guest."

The Faith Guard member accepted the order and left.

Korfalon seemed pleased by Zhou Beichen's good sense and gave a slight nod.

Zhou Beichen turned back to face Korfalon, a faint, inscrutable smile returning to his face. But it did not reach his eyes.

"Pastor Korfalon," Zhou Beichen said softly, as if making casual conversation, "you have traveled far and wide and seen much. Surely you understand that everything in this world operates according to its own principles, much like... business."

Korfalon frowned, apparently displeased by the comparison between sacred matters and business, but he did not lash out. He merely watched Zhou Beichen coldly.

Zhou Beichen did not care. He continued on his own, as though delivering one final lesson. The audience was both Korfalon and the approaching Lorgar.

"Where there is business, there is competition. Where there is competition, there is business warfare." He spoke unhurriedly, his hand slowly reaching into the lining of his coarse linen robe. "Low-level business warfare is price wars, mutual slander, and poaching the other side's core employees."

His hand touched cold, hard metal. It was the crudely made laser pistol he had carried with him when he crossed over, loaded with a pitiful few shots of energy. He had always kept it hidden close to his body as a final means of survival, never displaying it before Lorgar or the believers.

"Mid-level business warfare is technological barriers, patent monopolies, and capital crushing the opposition."

He gripped the handle, his fingers feeling the rough trigger guard. The sensation was both strange and familiar.

Korfalon frowned even more deeply. He seemed to sense that something was wrong. His attendants also stirred, hands moving to the weapons at their waists—several live-ammunition pistols and machetes that looked far better equipped than those carried by Zhou Beichen's Faith Guard.

Just then, Lorgar's tall figure appeared on the inner side of Stone Gorge. He looked with some confusion at the two sides facing off.

Zhou Beichen saw Lorgar. His final words rang clearly in everyone's ears, especially Lorgar's.

"And the highest form of business warfare..."

His arm suddenly whipped out from beneath his robe. The crude yet absolutely lethal laser pistol reflected a blinding gleam beneath the light of the Colchis Twin Stars. Without the slightest hesitation, its dark muzzle pointed directly at Korfalon's brow, less than ten paces away!

"...is physically sending the legal representative of your competitor to the afterlife, directly erasing them!"

Before his words had even faded.

Sizzle—!

A soft yet piercing burst of energized discharge rang out.

A searing red beam crossed the short distance between them in an instant, too fast for the naked eye to follow.

The shock, disbelief, and newly rising fear of death on Korfalon's face had not even fully unfolded before they froze there forever.

A small charred hole appeared between his brows, its edges still flickering with tiny sparks. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, his body merely swayed before falling straight backward. He hit the red sand of Colchis heavily, sending dust flying.

Silence.

Dead silence.

Only the nearly invisible wisp of smoke curling from the laser pistol's muzzle, and the faint mixed odor of ozone and scorched flesh spreading through the air, proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.

Korfalon's attendants were stunned. They looked at the fallen pastor, then at Zhou Beichen holding the strange weapon, his face expressionless. For a moment, they forgot to react.

Zhou Beichen's arm was steady as stone. The muzzle shifted slightly toward the next target. There was no joy of victory on his face, only the utter calm—perhaps even coldness—of someone who had just completed a high-risk operation.

He turned his head and looked at Lorgar, who had also been shocked by the sudden scene. Lorgar's violet eyes were filled with enormous confusion, bewilderment, and a trace of... fear toward this unfamiliar father before him.

Zhou Beichen met Lorgar's gaze. His tone was as calm as if he were commenting on the day's weather.

"See that clearly, Lorgar."

"This is called uprooting the problem, eliminating all potential buyers, and achieving... absolute control over the core asset."