Recaps

Li Qinwu patrolled the warship during Warp travel, killing Daemons and cutting the ship’s casualties to single digits. On the tenth day, Inquisitor Thraxol summoned him to the bridge for a meeting after the fleet left the Warp, while Li Qinwu made a deal with a Tech-Priest to protect the hangar.

• Li Qinwu killed a Tzeentchian Daemon with his golden Lightning Sword, and Catwoman acknowledged him and left him to patrol.
• Over the next several days, Li Qinwu and the Silent One hunted Daemons aboard the warship, while he learned the crew had previously accepted hundreds or thousands of deaths before Daemons departed.
• Li Qinwu’s patrols kept casualties in the single digits and earned him a reputation as a saint, though his way of tormenting Daemons disturbed some crew members.
• On the tenth day, Inquisitor Thraxol invited Li Qinwu to the bridge to discuss matters before the fleet left the Warp the next day.
• Li Qinwu showed Thraxol a Daemon-possessed Servitor being shocked for amusement, then killed it with his Demon-Cleaving Greatsword.
• Li Qinwu offered to protect the hangar and the Omnissiah’s creations in exchange for repair and technical support, and the Tech-Priest agreed.

After the fleet prepared to leave the Warp for Planet 495, Inquisitor Thraxol assigned Li Qinwu the task of recruiting troops and warships for the defense of Industrial World 496A. Li Qinwu accepted and received a replica Rosette that granted him much of the Inquisitor’s authority.

• Lord Nobudal, the fleet’s Navigator, said the fleet would exit the Warp near its target the next morning.
• Inquisitor Thraxol explained that he intended to requisition troops and equipment from Planet 495 to reinforce the fight against the Orks on Industrial World 496A.
• Thraxol revealed that the last army he recruited from Planet 495, including the local nobles’ children, had been wiped out within three months.
• Thraxol asked Li Qinwu to handle recruitment because the planet’s nobles did not know him, and Li Qinwu agreed.
• The Pale Baron gave Li Qinwu a replica of the Inquisitor’s Rosette, which Li Qinwu tied to the hilt of his Demon-Cleaving Greatsword.

Li Qinwu visited Planet 495 and used the authority of Inquisitor Thraxol’s Rosette to frighten the governor and nobles into proving their loyalty. He returned to Thraxol’s fleet with a frigate, four Warp-capable cargo ships, 2,000 Chimera Transports, and 400,000 Astra Militarum troops.

• Li Qinwu arrived at Planet 495 and was greeted by the governor, who asked where Inquisitor Thraxol was.
• Li Qinwu accused the governor and nobles of plotting rebellion, then claimed he had been testing their loyalty when no Power Axemen appeared.
• Li Qinwu accused the governor of presuming to study the God-Emperor’s will and condemned the nobles for eating Earth Dragon meat.
• The terrified governor asked how they could prove their loyalty, and Li Qinwu arranged for them to supply ships, transports, and troops.
• A few days later, Li Qinwu returned to Thraxol’s flagship with a Sword-class Frigate, four cargo ships, 2,000 Chimera Transports, and 400,000 Astra Militarum troops.

Li Qinwu completed the Inquisitor’s mission by securing two warships from a space-station governor, then tried to trade cheap trinkets for fighters. The governor offered him a Fury Interceptor in return for help dealing with Genestealers, and Li Qinwu confirmed that the governor showed no signs of infection.

• Inquisitor Thraxol assigned Li Qinwu to obtain at least two warships at the asteroid space station and allowed him to do side business after completing the mission.
• Li Qinwu met the station’s unusually tall governor and accused him of rebellion, prompting the governor to offer two Scimitar Frigates to prove his loyalty.
• Li Qinwu removed his imitation Rosette and tried to sell Yiwu trinkets to the governor and his officials in exchange for space fighters.
• The governor offered Li Qinwu a surplus Fury Interceptor and asked him to help with the threat of Genestealers brought to the station by passing visitors.
• Li Qinwu used Psychic vision to examine the governor and found no sign that he had been infected.

The governor explained that Genestealers had infiltrated the asteroid world and infected hundreds of thousands of residents, then asked Li Qinwu to purge the affected districts. Li Qinwu accepted the job in exchange for a Fury Interceptor, leaving the governor’s world facing a dangerous cleanup operation.

• The governor told Li Qinwu that Genestealers had infiltrated the asteroid world, established hybrid generations, and threatened to summon a Tyranid hive fleet.
• The governor explained that three districts were confirmed infected, six were suspected, and nearly three hundred thousand people might be carriers.
• The governor offered Li Qinwu a fighter in return for purging the infected areas, explaining that the local forces were too physically weak to face the hybrids.
• Li Qinwu weighed the risks to his three thousand Power Armor guards against the value of the Fury Interceptor and decided the mission was worthwhile.
• Li Qinwu shook hands with the governor and agreed to the purge.

Li Qinwu began purging the Genestealers from the asteroid with three thousand Power Armor guards, using reduced oxygen to cripple the hybrids and organizing district-wide inspections. He left Yellow Zone One after his force annihilated a large group of Genestealers hiding in a warehouse.

• Li Qinwu briefed his guards on Genestealers and led them into the asteroid to clear its residential sectors.
• Li Qinwu ordered the planetary governor to reduce the air supply to Yellow Zone One, weakening the human-breathing hybrids.
• Li Qinwu divided his troops to secure streets, inspect homes, and search pipes while soldiers killed suspected hybrids and anyone who resisted inspection.
• Li Qinwu led the Flavor Terminators and nearly one hundred guards to an abandoned warehouse after detecting a crowd inside.
• Li Qinwu and his troops opened fire on the Genestealers gathered in the warehouse and killed them all.

Li Qinwu’s troops cleared the six yellow zones, where a rebellion over air restrictions briefly disrupted the operation. He then prepared to enter Red Zone No. 1, where dangerous Genestealers were concentrated and the planetary governor planned to lower the oxygen supply.

• Li Qinwu’s troops cleared three yellow zones on the first day, killing more than 1,500 Genestealers.
• Residents of Yellow Zone 5 rebelled against the planetary governor’s air restrictions, and Li Qinwu’s soldiers dispersed nearly fifty thousand rioters while causing several hundred injuries.
• The planetary governor explained that a past geological disaster had killed nearly four million people, leaving the planet dangerously short of population.
• Li Qinwu’s troops finished clearing all six yellow zones by the end of the second day.
• Li Qinwu warned his soldiers about the Genestealers’ speed and deadly claws before they entered Red Zone No. 1, where the governor would lower the oxygen supply.

Li Qinwu led the purge of Red Zone No. 1 and Red Zone No. 2, finding humans and Genestealers incapacitated by low oxygen and turning both zones green. He prepared to face the remaining Red Zone No. 3 after resting his troops and receiving the governor’s promised Plasma Guns.

• Li Qinwu led his troops into Red Zone No. 1, where they inspected households and killed a family of five who were Third-Generation Genestealers.
• Li Qinwu called in twenty thousand PDF troops to help search the zone and learned from a soldier that Voidborn made natural fighter pilots, prompting him to plan to recruit more spacers.
• Li Qinwu’s troops and the PDF cleared Red Zone No. 1 without resistance, restored ventilation, and turned it into a green zone.
• Li Qinwu rested his troops before leading them to Red Zone No. 2, which they also cleared and turned green.
• Li Qinwu paused before Red Zone No. 3, rested his soldiers for a day, and equipped them with the one hundred Plasma Guns delivered by the planetary governor.

Li Qinwu led his recovered soldiers into Red Zone No. 3, where they discovered and attacked a huge force of Genestealer Hybrids. After the battle began, he had Little Joel record his speech so he could promote his services as an interstellar mercenary and pursue future opportunities.

• Li Qinwu equipped a Power Greatsword, a Bolt Rifle, and a mind-controlled Logging Gun turret before leading his troops into Red Zone No. 3.
• Li Qinwu’s soldiers set up firing positions, and the Bird Spectrometer detected a mass of hostiles in the dark residential district.
• Li Qinwu threw a flare and revealed tens of thousands of armed First- and Second-Generation Hybrids wearing oxygen gear.
• Li Qinwu ordered his soldiers to fire, and their barrage inflicted devastating casualties on the Hybrids.
• Li Qinwu gave a speech denouncing the xenos and asked Little Joel to record it for a promotional video aimed at planetary governors.
• Li Qinwu planned to work as an interstellar mercenary, explore ruins and battlefields for lost warships and weapons, and eventually trade between planets.

Li Qinwu’s forces slaughtered waves of Genestealers, but a Genestealer leader ordered a reckless charge while its angel planned to kill Li Qinwu. Modified mining vehicles with thick iron shields then advanced as mobile cover, forcing Li Qinwu to order rocket launchers to fire shaped-charge armor-piercing rounds.

• Li Qinwu’s soldiers overwhelmed the Genestealers with lasers, Logging Gun rounds, and rockets, killing large numbers within minutes.
• A Third-Generation Hybrid contacted the Genestealer angel, who ordered the hybrids to charge without regard for losses and create an opening to attack Li Qinwu.
• The Third-Generation Hybrid rallied its kin by invoking the Day of Ascension, while the narrator explained that the Hive Fleet would consume the Genestealers when it arrived.
• Li Qinwu used the Logging Gun to mow down attackers, and he sensed that its Machine Spirit grew stronger with each kill.
• Genestealers advanced behind modified mining vehicles fitted with thick iron shields that resisted the Logging Gun’s fire.
• Li Qinwu ordered his rocket-launcher teams to fire shaped-charge armor-piercing rounds at the Shield Vehicles.

Li Qinwu used Plasma Rifles to destroy the Genestealers’ Shield Vehicles, then made himself a target in the residential district to lure out their hidden leader. The Genestealer sprang from its disguise and attacked the weak armor at his waist.

• Li Qinwu ordered Plasma Riflemen to fire, destroying several Shield Vehicles and burning nearby Genestealers.
• Li Qinwu recalled the Plasma gunners and realized the Genestealer leader was still hiding and could create another horde.
• Li Qinwu ran toward the residential district, stood atop a half-melted Shield Vehicle, and taunted the Genestealers to draw their leader out.
• The Genestealer watched Li Qinwu from beneath scrap and corpses in an alley, then leapt at his back when he turned away.
• The Genestealer stabbed its Disintegration Field-coated Monomolecular Claws toward the weak armor at Li Qinwu’s waist.

Li Qinwu crippled a Genestealer and agreed to capture it alive after a tech-sage promised to support his future machinery repairs. He fought through the remaining hybrids and subdued the Genestealer, leaving it badly damaged but alive.

• Li Qinwu detected a Genestealer's lunge, severed two of its arms, and shot it until it was gravely wounded.
• A tech-sage asked Li Qinwu to capture the Genestealer alive and offered future repairs to large machinery in exchange.
• Li Qinwu ordered his forces to clear the remaining Xenos, disabled his Logging Gun, and charged through the hybrids with his Flame Sword and Psychic Blasts.
• Li Qinwu's troops opened fire on the hybrids while he reached the Genestealer and severed its remaining arms.
• Li Qinwu kicked apart the Genestealer's jaw and slammed its mangled body into the ground, leaving it badly beaten.

Tech-Sage Rob sought a living Genestealer to advance his research, but Li Qinwu sold the chance to shock the captive to local nobles. Rob then inspected a Fury Interceptor with Li Qinwu and several Tech-Priests.

• Tech-Sage Rob, a veteran sage who had stalled in his research, hoped to find a path toward becoming a Grand Sage by serving alongside the young Inquisitor.
• After learning Li Qinwu had captured a Genestealer, Rob contacted him and requested a living specimen, but Li Qinwu made the captive wait while he looked to profit from it.
• Li Qinwu sold electric-baton turns to local nobles, who shocked the limbless Genestealer until Rob rushed in and warned that they might kill it.
• Li Qinwu reassured Rob that the batons had drained batteries and dragged him to inspect a Fury Interceptor.
• Rob and several Tech-Priests examined the aircraft and found it in excellent condition, with a stable Machine Spirit and powerful weapons for space combat.

After completing resupply and recruiting pilots at Crossroads, Li Qinwu’s fleet set out for Glory Star to seek Knight House support for the campaign against the Orks. Li Qinwu volunteered to reach the Knight World ahead of the fleet, hoping to find a chance to obtain a Knight Mech.

• Li Qinwu asked Crossroads’s governor what the asteroid needed most and learned that it lacked people and water, while it could provide trade goods and warship supplies.
• The governor waived payment for the one hundred fighter pilots Li Qinwu recruited, asking him to bring people to Crossroads on a future visit.
• The fleet entered the Warp, later emerged a month’s journey from its destination, and Inquisitor Thraxol explained that it was heading to Glory Star to secure Knight Mechs and Knight House support.
• Thraxol described High King Buddas’s forces on Glory Star and asked someone to travel ahead in a Photon Dart to negotiate.
• The Pale Baron offered to go, but Li Qinwu volunteered instead, and Thraxol approved his trip.

Li Qinwu prepared for a diplomatic mission to recruit a Knight House against the Orks and launched himself toward the target planet inside a Photon Dart. During the three-day journey, he meditated and discovered that Warp coordinates shifted independently of material-universe coordinates, then considered whether portals could send physical objects into the Warp.

• Li Qinwu chose enhanced Power Armor and a light weapons loadout before packing supplies for his mission.
• Sage Rob explained the three-day Photon Dart journey and gave Li Qinwu laxative and nutrient gel for the cramped trip.
• Li Qinwu entered the launch pod and was fired from the warship at extreme speed.
• Bored during the journey, Li Qinwu meditated instead of watching Imperial movies or sleeping through the trip.
• Li Qinwu discovered that Warp coordinates did not match material-universe coordinates and could change between portal openings.
• Li Qinwu wondered whether the Silent One's portals could send objects from reality into the Warp.

Li Qinwu arrived on Glory Star after surviving the Photon Skiff’s landing and discovered an empty village near a battlefield between red and green armies. When he realized the red warriors served Khorne and their presence disabled firearms, he fought them with his Demonbreaker greatsword.

• Li Qinwu discovered he could send objects into the Warp and retrieve them, but each new Portal opened at random coordinates.
• The Photon Skiff landed on Glory Star, and Li Qinwu left his life-support pod in a quiet, pastoral landscape.
• Li Qinwu found a deserted farmstead and climbed a nearby mountain to survey the area.
• Li Qinwu saw a vast battle between red and green forces, then attracted the attention of red warriors who charged toward him.
• Li Qinwu recognized Khorne symbols on the red warriors and found that his Lasgun and Boltgun would not fire.
• Li Qinwu killed the first red warrior with his Demonbreaker greatsword, and the remaining warriors charged at him with greater excitement.

Li Qinwu fought off Khorne’s warriors, then fled into a forest when their battle blessings made them increasingly dangerous. Hungry and unable to use his Bird Spectrometer, he found a camp with a nobleman and a Knight Mech.

• Li Qinwu slaughtered the first wave of Khorne’s warriors, but noticed one of their axes had marked his Adamantium Shield as the followers grew stronger.
• Li Qinwu broke through the surrounding warriors and ran from the mountain, escaping into distant golden wheat fields while the Khorne followers chased him.
• Li Qinwu ran for over an hour before stopping at the edge of a forest, where his hunger and thirst had left his system readings critically low.
• Li Qinwu searched the forest for prey, but his Bird Spectrometer failed to work, so he followed the scent of smoke and the sound of a whistle flute.
• Li Qinwu found a golden-haired man in ornate white armor beside a campfire, with servants roasting prey and a Knight Mech standing nearby.

Li Qinwu met the Freeblade knight Luca and learned that the High King's palace stood more than two thousand kilometers away. Luca offered to travel with him toward Throne Mountain and have his priests recharge Li Qinwu's armor.

• Li Qinwu emerged from hiding and joined Luca, who ordered his guards to stand down and invited him to share a meal.
• Li Qinwu recognized Luca as a Freeblade, and Luca confirmed that he had left his former family and fought for what he believed in.
• Li Qinwu told Luca he was seeking High King Buddas and asked where they were after the Chaos uprising.
• Luca explained that they were in the Golden Land and that the High King's palace was more than two thousand kilometers away.
• Luca offered to travel with Li Qinwu toward Throne Mountain and have his priests charge Li Qinwu's armor.
• Luca arranged for guards to bring them roast meat, wine, and utensils so they could share a meal and stories.

Li Qinwu learned from Luca how Glory Star had fallen into planetwide chaos under the influence of Khorne and discovered that High King Buddas had died, leaving Prince Frais to fight the Chaos Warlords. Li Qinwu decided to travel to Royal Court Mountain, while Luca revealed he planned to finish his journey around the planet and leave aboard a ship.

• Luca told Li Qinwu that Glory Star’s culture of dueling and escalating violence had attracted the God of Anger, who came to be known as the Red Demon and the War Hound.
• Luca explained that firearms and communications had failed, weakening the Royal Court and allowing rebellions, civil wars, and battles between loyal knights and Chaos Warlords to spread across the planet.
• Luca told Li Qinwu that High King Buddas had died in the Duel Arena and that Prince Frais was fighting Chaos Warlords with the family’s Knight and Squire Mechs.
• Li Qinwu decided to head to Royal Court Mountain to see the situation for himself.
• Luca said he intended to complete his journey around Glory Star, collect soil from his homeland, and leave aboard a ship to become a Freeblade.
• Li Qinwu thought he could invite Luca aboard his own ship and imagined traveling through space with him.

Luca and Li Qinwu traveled to Baron City so Luca could take a mercenary commission against a Red Demon Warlord force. They found the baron's territory devastated and the city walls covered in human remains, and Luca ordered his army to prepare to assault the city.

• Luca set out for Royal Court Mountain with his army, and Li Qinwu traveled alongside him.
• Luca told Li Qinwu he planned to accept a baron's commission to crush a Red Demon Warlord force in exchange for supplies.
• Luca's army entered the baron's territory and found burned villages, headless corpses, and the remains of a vast battlefield.
• Luca's army reached Baron City and saw its walls covered in corpses, heads, and flayed skin.
• Li Qinwu recognized the signs of Khorne worshippers, and Luca condemned the massacre and ordered his troops to prepare for an assault.

Luca’s army attacked Baron City to seize its main gatehouse and let the Knight Mechs enter, but the Red Demon defenders’ elite troops repelled their first assault. The battle remained unresolved as Luca’s forces regrouped below the walls.

• Li Qinwu assessed the defenders and concluded that Luca’s three thousand soldiers could not safely storm the walls or besiege the well-stocked city for years.
• Luca’s commanders debated their options until a red-robed Tech-Priest proposed capturing the main gatehouse, raising its Ceramite gate, and lowering the bridge for the Knight Mechs.
• Luca ordered his army to concentrate on the main gate, and Tech-Priests used aerial ladders to carry armored infantry up the walls while Luca hurled boulders at the defenders.
• Luca’s soldiers fought the elite Chaos God troops guarding the gatehouse, but after less than ten minutes they suffered nearly a hundred casualties and retreated down the walls.

After Luca’s troops failed three times to break through the Chaos Gods elites guarding the gate tower, Li Qinwu offered to take the tower himself in exchange for Luca joining him on a journey into space. Li Qinwu reached the wall alone and killed two defenders, then faced the watching Chaos Gods soldiers with his Disintegration Field activated.

• Luca’s heavy infantry attacked the gate tower three times, but the Chaos Gods elites repelled them, and boulders could not reach the defenders.
• The Tech-Priest offered to lead an assault, but Luca hesitated to risk the specialists his army depended on.
• Li Qinwu invited Luca to travel into space with him and volunteered to seize the gate tower without soldiers.
• Luca’s army waited beneath the wall as Chaos Gods soldiers mocked them and discussed their ongoing eight-day sacrifice ritual.
• Li Qinwu sprinted to the wall, climbed a siege ladder, and killed two Chaos Gods soldiers with his greatsword.
• Li Qinwu activated his Disintegration Field and challenged the Chaos Gods soldiers on the wall.

Li Qinwu broke through the Chaos Gods’ defenders and helped Luca’s army seize the gatehouse, where Tech-Priests began raising the gate and lowering the drawbridge. As the Chaos Warlord’s sacrifice ritual neared completion, he learned the enemy had taken the gatehouse and was about to bring its war machines into the city.

• Li Qinwu slaughtered the elite shield bearers on the city wall while Luca’s soldiers climbed up and secured the wall.
• Li Qinwu fought through hundreds of Chaos Gods’ elites, then entered the gatehouse and let the Tech-Priests operate the lifting machinery.
• Li Qinwu returned to the wall to help Luca’s soldiers defend the gatehouse as the Chaos Gods’ troops gathered to retake it.
• The Chaos Warlord watched his ritual array, which required 88,888 sacrifices, and expected it to be complete in two days.
• A Chaos Gods’ soldier warned the Chaos Warlord that the gatehouse had fallen and the enemy’s God’s Machinery would soon enter the city.

Li Qinwu fought his way across the wall and captured the enemy battalion’s banner, prompting its 888 soldiers to kill themselves. As he headed back to his allies, the Chaos Warlord challenged him to single combat.

• The Chaos Warlord ordered his troops to retake the wall and went to fight after learning Li Qinwu was killing his soldiers there.
• Li Qinwu rested behind Luca's shield wall between attacks and watched his melee weapon proficiency climb toward 200.
• Li Qinwu spotted the enemy banner and charged through the soldiers guarding it, using injections and an Energy Drink to restore his strength and stamina.
• Li Qinwu seized and destroyed the banner, and the 888 soldiers of its battalion killed themselves in disgrace.
• The Chaos Warlord confronted Li Qinwu on the wall and challenged him to single combat.

Li Qinwu fought Talon, the Chaos Warlord of Widow's Settlement, whose Khorne-blessed axe and immense strength initially overwhelmed him. After tiring Talon out, Li Qinwu disarmed and badly wounded him, but Talon escaped into the city, and Li Qinwu pursued him.

• Talon charged Li Qinwu with a Warp-infused axe that withstood the Disintegration Field and drove Li Qinwu back.
• Li Qinwu blocked Talon's relentless attacks with his Adamantium Shield until Talon's speed slowed from exhaustion.
• Li Qinwu dodged Talon's next chop and cut several fingers from his hand, then severed both arms and wounded his shoulder.
• Talon ordered his soldiers to intervene, but they refused to break the rules of the duel, so he fled over the city wall.
• Li Qinwu struck Talon's back as he escaped, and Talon survived the fall and ran toward the city center.
• Li Qinwu leaped from the wall and chased after the wounded Talon.