Deep within the dark green Warp Rift, the Pale Rose is sailing out of the distorted space.
This former Imperium heavy cruiser has long since lost its original appearance.
The ship's hull was covered with a thick layer of rust and dark yellow pus.
Thick, pink veins, like vines, coiled around the main guns and bridge, pulsating rhythmically and delivering turbid bodily fluids to every corner of the ship.
The observation windows on the bridge have long been replaced by a translucent membrane of flesh and blood. Looking through the membrane, it looks like a huge, beating heart.
Rusty Phelps stood in the center of the bridge, or rather, he had long been connected to the flesh and blood of this warship.
The life support tubes that had grown from his Power Armour had completely fused with the fleshy base of the bridge.
Dark green pus seeped out continuously from the gaps in the armor, only to be reabsorbed by the flesh and blood tissue below and returned through the vascular ducts.
Its upper body still barely retained a human form, the heavy plague Power Armour covered with pits, rust, and holes, inside which swelled rotten flesh.
His face was completely ulcerated, and his cloudy eyeballs hung outside their sockets, held together by a few strands of flesh.
But like most Plague Engineers, his face mask and hood concealed his ugliness.
"Hehe, hehehe..."
Phelps let out a hoarse, leaky laugh, the putrid fluid in his chest gurgling with each laugh.
He watched the images transmitted back by the reconnaissance array, and saw that the Imperial Fleet not only failed to approach to eliminate the decoy.
Instead, they dispersed their formation, increased the distance, and unleashed long-range firepower towards the crevice exit, a hint of appreciation flashing in their cloudy eyes.
"Interesting, someone actually saw through my little joke."
A Death Guard beside him was hunched over.
The Plague Marine's Mark III "Iron" Power Armour was so corrupted that its original model number was no longer visible.
"Sergeant, the Imperium bastards have scattered. Our decoy is useless now. Should we have the vanguard ship accelerate and charge forward?"
"What's the rush?" Phelps spoke slowly, a pale green mist escaping from the corner of his mouth with each word.
"The fact that they could see through the bait means that there are veterans among them who have witnessed the glory of the Grandfather."
"That's good, this makes it more fun to play."
He certainly knew that decoy tactics might not fool everyone.
But this was never the deciding factor; it was just an appetizer.
Even if the enemy doesn't fall for it, as long as we can force them to break up their formation and abandon the dense defenses of the starport, our objective will have been achieved.
The Imperium's Tithe Fleet was essentially a converted transport fleet, lacking mobility and excelling at defensive warfare based on starport fortresses.
Once forced into open space to fight, their defensive capabilities will be greatly reduced.
Phelps didn't actually want to make a move so soon.
According to his original plan, he should have waited another half month, until the plague in the Lower City had fully fermented and the Hive City capital was in complete chaos.
He'll wait until the Imperium and those Xenos mongrel dogs fight each other to the death before he leads his fleet out to reap the rewards.
But the Grandfather's revelation came three days ago.
The revelation says that if we don't act now, the fruit will be taken by the little minions of the Lord of Change.
The Tzeentch witch who was plotting beneath the castle moved much faster than he had anticipated.
If we wait any longer, and she gains complete control of the ground situation, it will take much more effort to take down Brevis.
So he came.
Even if the timing wasn't perfect, even if it meant facing off against an Imperium Tithe Fleet head-on, he had to take action.
" Brevis is the Garden of Nurgle." Phelps ' voice was filled with fervent devotion as the axe blade gently struck the fleshy floor, producing a dull thud.
"Whether they are the lackeys of the False Emperor, the charlatans of the Lord of Change, or those Xenos insects lurking in the shadows..."
Ultimately, we will all be bathed in the grace of the Grandfather and become one with Him.
"Pass down the order: all warships, advance steadily, prepare your main guns, and fire a salvo when you approach within effective range."
"Target: Gemstone."
His one remaining intact eye was fixed on the most conspicuous Imperium flagship in the reconnaissance array.
A mocking laugh, "ho ho," emanated from beneath the mask.
If they can board and capture the Gemstone, and infect it, the entire Tithe Fleet will become a new Plague Fleet.
At that time, the entire Brevis and the entire Calixis System will become Nurgle's paradise.
That would be the best gift for my Grandfather.
The Saint Garus Castle is located on the third underground level, within Nine-Sided Spirit-Sealing Barrier.
A ghostly blue magical light swirled around nine Chaos Knight arranged in a ring, surrounding Guyu and several surviving veterans in the center.
The bombardment from the Volcano Cannon and the Melta Cannon continued relentlessly, slamming into the Psychic Power mesh and exploding into a shower of light, yet they could not break through that seemingly delicate defensive line.
Luna hovered on a high platform at the edge of the barrier, half of her golden mask gleaming coldly.
With a gentle tap of his magic staff, he constantly adjusted the energy flow of the barrier, controlling the attack rhythm of the nine knights.
She's not in a hurry.
The flow of time was slowed down tenfold, giving her enough patience to slowly wear down Guyu's Psychic Power and tear apart this chosen creation of the Tyranids bit by bit.
Once Guyu is worn down, we can use the barrier to trap Lynn's reinforcements. At that point, the conflict between Dominic and Lynn outside should completely erupt.
Then she can strike from behind and reap the benefits, and the entire Brevis will fall into her hands.
But at that moment, her heart skipped a beat.
The multifaceted crystal at the tip of the staff suddenly began to flash violently, its eerie blue light flickering, causing a momentary disruption to the energy flow of the barrier.
Luna looked up abruptly, her pupils contracting sharply beneath the mask.
Warp Rift, eastern airspace, the Nurgle Fleet?!
Damn it!
She cursed under her breath, her usually calm tone revealing undisguised anger for the first time.
Plague Fleet, those filthy maggots!
Her plan had clearly reached its most crucial step.
Dominic has become wary of Lynn. If he gives her a few more days, he can make the two of them completely break off relations and become enemies.
As a result, these madmen of the Nurgle actually jumped out at this critical moment and sent their fleet directly to the entrance of the starport!
Luna gripped the scepter tightly in anger.
Of course she knew what was going on with the plague in the Lower City.
That Death Guard warband had been lurking on the edge of the galaxy for a long time; she had even secretly tampered with things to help them slightly conceal their Warp traces.
The purpose was to make the plague spread even more in the Lower City and cause Lynn some trouble.
But she never expected that these lunatics would dare to jump out and directly confront the Tithe Fleet!
This completely disrupted her plan to instigate a conflict between Lynn and Dominic.
Disruption, pure disruption!
Luna's chest heaved a few times as she suppressed her anger and forced herself to calm down.
wrong.
Looking at it from another perspective, this may not be a bad thing.
With the arrival of the Nurgle Fleet, Dominic will be preoccupied with its own problems and all its attention will be drawn to the space battlefield.
He was barely able to take care of himself, let alone have the energy to manage the sects on the ground or hold Kerry von Fung accountable.
He might even have to rely on Lynn's ground forces to jointly resist the invasion of Chaos.
Thinking about it this way, the seemingly hopeless situation actually came to a close.
Dominic is tied up in the fleet battle and will absolutely not be able to intervene on the ground in the short term.
She now had more time to slowly wear down Guyu before turning her attention to Lynn.
As for those Nurgle scum...
Once she's dealt with the internal situation, she'll have plenty of ways to slowly bring them down.
The Lord of Change, is never disrupted by one or two unexpected pieces.
Luna curled the corners of her lips into a smile, and the composure beneath the mask returned.
She raised her staff again, and the eerie blue magical light stabilized once more.
"Everything is still in the planning stages."