Day of Salvation

Since the day Curze awakened, his strength and wisdom had grown with each passing day.

By now, every Hive City on Nostramo looked like a child's building blocks to him.

He could go wherever he wanted.

In fact, he had already been able to do that back in Quintus Hive City.

But the stories Han Mingxuan had told him had taught the young Night Haunter that conquering a realm was easy; holding it was hard.

He needed to learn.

He needed to learn how to govern a Hive City from his erudite father.

Some of his father's methods looked ancient, even primitive.

But they worked.

During his brief time governing Quintus Hive City, Curze had learned and fully grasped the reasoning behind Han Mingxuan's methods.

Now it was time to expand his territory.

Konrad Curze, Primarch of the Eighth Legion, began to act.

Only when he truly began preparing to unify the entire planet did he realize that a mortal perspective had constrained him.

For him, ruling this planet was effortless.

It wouldn't even take three months. With Quintus Hive City as a foundation, he could do it within one.

"Always remember what Father taught you, boy. Compared with the entire universe, you still have much to learn."

Looking at the confident Curze, the Night Haunter felt somewhat worried.

He worried that, having broken free of a mortal perspective, the young Inquisitor would lose himself in this unparalleled power.

"Don't worry, Night Haunter. I've always kept Father's teachings in mind."

"To outsiders, I may seem like some god or devil, but I know very well that the knowledge in my head tells me clearly that my abilities are a product of technology. At heart, I'm still human."

"Remember to keep a clear head, Grand Inquisitor." The Night Haunter said no more. He simply sat on the throne and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

Under Curze's swift and decisive measures, every Hive City was brought under control, and Nostramo had a new master.

But this was only the beginning.

To govern the planet, he had to proceed step by step.

The first step was to judge the nobles.

He would make them disgorge as many of the resources they held as possible, by the most legal means.

Then he would raze the Hive Cities.

Yes, raze the Hive Cities!

Not many beings on Nostramo could be called human, so since the population was small, he would tear everything down and rebuild the planet.

This was also something Curze had learned from Han Mingxuan.

Burn the old world to ashes in one great fire, then build new city-states on those ashes.

With his immense strength and wisdom, Curze quickly moved from theory to practice, developing a complete environmental transformation plan suited to Nostramo.

He would use five Hive Cities as its core, with the ruins of the other Hive Cities and settlements on the wastelands as footholds.

Then he would begin releasing airborne nanobots on a massive scale.

The five Hive Cities worked around the clock in three shifts, and vast numbers of nanobots began to appear on Nostramo.

It was an artificial megaflood.

It cleansed all the filth from the planet's atmosphere.

It also created an artificial light source in orbit around Nostramo.

For Curze, this was easier than repairing a scrapped mine cart.

At last, the sun came out.

"Is that... the sun?"

Even the nobles who lived in the Upper Hive District felt their entire bodies go numb when they looked up and saw that dazzling light.

Their breathing quickened, their limbs turned cold, and their vital signs showed extreme abnormalities.

Blood rushed to their heads.

The Bat of Eternal Night, the Grand Inquisitor, Nostramo's new master, Konrad Curze.

He really did intend to change this world, and the results were remarkable.

Sunlight spilled over Nostramo.

It illuminated the planet's dry riverbeds, enormous mines, and seafloor continental shelves.

From high in the sky, the dazzling light brought brightness and warmth straight to the surface.

On this day, everyone on Nostramo, noble or commoner, miner or official,

stopped what they were doing.

They were feeling something long absent, something that had perhaps existed only in legend.

Warm light.

"Praise the Father of Night for his guidance, which has freed us from our confusion."

"Praise the Night Haunter for his gift, which has allowed us all to receive the sun's redemption."

"Praise the Eternal Judge, who has brought us law and justice."

From that moment on, no matter who they were or where they stood, everyone was sincerely grateful for it all.

This was the day of Nostramo's rebirth. It came to be called the Day of Salvation.

Their beliefs were devout, simple, and united as one.

At last, a storm was born in the ocean of the Warp.

Calm, rational, and just, without a trace of wicked thought.

Every entity in the Warp noticed the change.

Just as they sought to investigate, a strand of power broke away from that blue chasm and merged into it.

This gave the power a firm anchor, when it would otherwise have faded into echoes after raging through.

The storm swept across the Warp, passing directly over the entire Segmentum Obscurus.

At the same time, the Imperium's Great Crusade fleet had just entered the Segmentum Obscurus.

Aboard the command flagship, a red, one-eyed giant looked at the Emperor.

Endless wisdom churned in his single eye, along with a thirst for more.

"Father, the fluctuations in the Warp are strong, but..."

"There is a sense of order to them," the Emperor said.

"Yes, Father. In all my studies, I have encountered very few such cases."

"Make for that location at full speed. You will meet a new brother."

And an uncle, of course.

Nostramo, the Upper Hive District of Quintus Hive City.

Han Mingxuan had kept himself shut in his study all this time.

If the food delivered to him at regular intervals hadn't been eaten, Sevatar would have thought something terrible had happened to him.

During that time, Pationa had come many times, only for him to turn her away each time.

Today, Han Mingxuan finally came out.

"Uncle, you've finally come out."

Han Mingxuan nodded. For the past few days, he had been thinking about whether to stir things up in this world that was no better than a cesspit.

After wrestling with the question for several days, he had finally reached an answer.

Do it!

What was the difference between having a cheat and not using it and being impotent?

None!

So he had to do it, and do it big!

After making his decision, he had also taken some time to investigate what the pen did and practice his handwriting.

"How are things outside?" Han Mingxuan asked.

He might have been better off not asking. The moment he did, Sevatar dropped to his knees with a smack.

"Praise your guidance, great..."

Bang!

Han Mingxuan had picked up a book from somewhere and brought it down on Sevatar's head.

"Get up. No kneeling."

"Stand up straight and tell me what happened, quick."

"Heh heh, I forgot you don't like that sort of thing, Uncle. Here's what happened..."

As he listened to Sevatar's account, Han Mingxuan couldn't help marveling at the power of a Primarch.

No wonder they were called rippers of the laws of physics.

Those stats were a bit too overpowered.

But... did the people of this world have some kind of religious buff?

Even this could be tied to faith. Fortunately, they hadn't knelt down, which was good.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

A muffled sound came from the distance as a fifty-strong squad of Thunder Warriors marched over in perfect formation.