The Salamanders' Slaughter

After reaching a unanimous resolution on the matter of the Dark King, everyone began acting separately according to the plan.

Qile would become a banner openly opposing Terra's extremist Ecclesiarchy, using that cause to unite the similarly dissatisfied factions and organizations.

The Inquisition, the Assassinorum, and some Astartes Legions... would form an alliance against the extremist Ecclesiarchy.

Dividing the Ecclesiarchy was also one of Qile's important tasks.

The Living Saint directly contacted numerous religious worlds in the Ultima Segmentum and won the support and allegiance of their cardinal bishops.

Compared to a reasonable pope, the cardinals who had long been rooted in the Ultima Segmentum utterly despised Alfreda, whom they had heard about through intelligence reports.

"Euphrates Qile is the only Ecclesiarch pope we recognize. Any shameful betrayal will be purged!"

"The chronicles of time cannot bury the truth. Justice lives in the hearts of the people!"

After meeting Qile, a highly esteemed cardinal bishop made this public declaration, openly and unequivocally supporting her.

With Qile present, believers who were deeply dissatisfied with Terra's Ecclesiarchy had found someone they could rally behind.

More and more Ecclesiarchy believers gathered around the pope, preparing to join this war against Terra's extremist Ecclesiarchy.

These people only opposed the Ecclesiarchy controlled by Alfreda; they bore no ill will toward the Ecclesiarchy itself as the vessel of faith in the Emperor.

In the eyes of most, this was merely a matter of setting things right.

Terra had always been beyond reach when it came to the Ultima Segmentum. Even if they learned through their intelligence network that Qile was gathering forces in the Far East, what could they do?

Though the threatened Astra Militarum commanders-in-chief and Imperial Navy admirals agreed to cooperate with Terra's Ecclesiarchy in its punitive war as much as possible, in practice