Chapter 413: Russ Will Eat You All One by One

The Antarctic ice sheet's cold wind brushed against Zhou Yun's face, causing his body to shiver slightly.

This sensation was strange: Antarctica was nearly the only place on Terra still preserving some natural landscape, its wind like an echo from a distant past.

During the Unification Wars, this region belonged to the Olok City-State, which had built its shelter city dozens of kilometers beneath the ice, using geothermal energy to power the entire settlement—a rare paradise on Terra.

The people here believed the entire world was the result of interaction between the souls of the dead and material reality; all dreams, hallucinations, and shadows were merely glances from dead souls toward the living.

When the rest of Terra fell under the Emperor's control, the Sacrificial King of this Antarctic city refused the Emperor's surrender offer, stubbornly maintaining independence and clinging to their faith.

So the Word Bearers stormed the city, detonating its central geothermal plant, burning the entire settlement to ashes, leaving only molten lava smoldering.

Afterward, the Antarctic ice sheet was preserved because the Inquisition took up residence there.

The Inquisition transformed the ruins of the Olok City-State into their fortress, becoming the de facto Inquisition headquarters.

Even though Terra suffered severe water shortages, no Water Cultist would dare lay hands on the Inquisition's home—they dared only journey among the stars to harvest frozen asteroids for Terra's water supply.

After all, the Sisters still tried to persuade with words before firing their bolters, but Inquisitors only ever launched "exterminate your entire family."

Soon, the faint comfort brought by Antarctica's natural scenery vanished without a trace.

Wild, almost supernatural blizzards slammed against Zhou Yun's body, leaving his vision a blinding white chaos; distant Antarctic mountains flickered like shadowy phantoms in the storm, reminding Zhou Yun of the mad mountains described by humanity's second-millennium horror writers.

At that moment, a gentle warm breeze stirred as Sanguinius unfurled his wings beside Zhou Yun, his psychic power shielding him from the surrounding snow and wind.

Then Sanguinius looked toward Doraemon, standing not far from Zhou Yun, still exposed to the blizzard.

"Is he here?" Sanguinius asked in a clear, conflicted voice.

Zhou Yun glanced at Doraemon beside him, within whom the Emperor's will had once resided.

The Emperor had ordered Zhou Yun not to reveal his identity, to keep knowledge of it as limited as possible, especially from Guilliman.

He claimed this was to conceal himself and wait to ambush the Chaos Gods, but Zhou Yun couldn't help suspecting he merely wanted to avoid extra work.

Though the Emperor was, in principle, ruler of the Imperium, during the Great Crusade he preferred handling military, diplomatic, and technical matters over governance, taxation, and law—that was Macaroth's domain, now Guilliman's.

Yet Zhou Yun still shared this news with Sanguinius—the Emperor only said not to reveal it to Guilliman; he said nothing about Sanguinius.

Sanguinius's feelings on this were complex; he even told Zhou Yun frankly that he wasn't sure what having an Emperor who occasionally walked among mortals might bring.

So Sanguinius accepted the Emperor's desire to hide himself—it did serve some greater purpose.

Sanguinius also advised Zhou Yun to remain wary of the Emperor, to treat him as a consultant, but to doubt every word he spoke, and to frequently consult the Truth-Oracle on his statements.

"No matter his reasons, he is one of the galaxy's greatest liars and bastards," Sanguinius warned Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun found this odd and couldn't help asking why Sanguinius had once been so loyal to Him.

"Because He is my father, my sovereign, humanity's rare hope, and destined so," Sanguinius simply replied.

Zhou Yun glanced at Doraemon standing in the blizzard—his will filled the body, with no sense of foreign intrusion.

The Emperor had not lied; he could not always penetrate Doraemon's body with his will.

Zhou Yun gave a slight shake of his head, signaling to Sanguinius that the Emperor was not present.

Sanguinius then slightly widened his wings, encompassing Doraemon within his psychic shield, protecting him from the snow and wind.

Zhou Yun couldn't help smiling, then turned his gaze toward the distant, faintly visible entrance of the fortress beyond the storm.

It was an arch constructed of stacked stone, crude and primitive, as if excavated from the deepest depths of human history.

Above the arch were carved symbols of intertwined skulls, beneath which an inscription in High Gothic read: "The Imperial Inquisition, by the Emperor's Holy Mandate"—the Inquisition's full title.

It was said these words were written by the Emperor himself at Macaroth's request, possessing unique power to repel daemonic intrusion.

Beyond the arch lay a deep, endless tunnel descending beneath the ice sheet.

Below the arch stood two Inquisitors: one was Inquisitor Ruse, whom Zhou Yun knew; the other was someone he had never seen before.

But Zhou Yun knew who this one was: the Fortress Master of the Inquisition.

Originally, Zhou Yun, Sanguinius, and Guilliman had not planned to visit the Inquisition Fortress personally.

According to Inquisition tradition, only Inquisitors were permitted entry—Guilliman chose to respect this custom.

He dispatched Inquisitor Grayfax to the fortress under the pretense of reporting to her own Conclave.

But Grayfax was detained, accused of colluding with xenos—specifically, the Necrons—and of having illicit relations with warp abominations—specifically, Saint Celestine.

That was asking for trouble.

The Inquisition should thank Zhou Yun for bringing back Sanguinius and Guilliman, not Leman Russ and Lion El'Jonson.

If it had been Lion, he would have already bombarded the Antarctic ice sheet.

If it had been Russ, "Russ would eat them all one by one!" Guilliman had said.

According to Inquisitor Ruse, this was all due to the Inquisition's conservative faction stirring trouble.

The conservative faction's leader being the Fortress Master was confirmed by the Jesters.

"My lords," the Fortress Master's voice cut through the storm: "Thank you for visiting this cold fortress of the Inquisition."

"But please halt here. By Inquisition decree, only Inquisitors may enter."

"My brother Guilliman was born by the Emperor's command as Regent of the Imperium, vested with authority over all Imperial matters—this is his demand and command," Sanguinius said, a faint smile curling his lips as he narrowed his eyes.

"Yet in accordance with the legacy of the noble Macaroth and the Emperor's own Imperial Law, the Inquisition holds supreme authority, even above the Primarchs—you too are under Inquisitorial oversight. Remain loyal, Sanguinius, and commit no heresy," the Fortress Master's voice pierced clearly into Zhou Yun and Sanguinius's ears.

Sanguinius's smile deepened; Zhou Yun even suspected he was already preparing to create another saint who'd drop dead from excitement upon meeting him.

"I must enter this fortress. I must interrogate certain prisoners. I demand you release Inquisitor Grayfax immediately."

Sanguinius's voice rose sharply:

"Is this the Emperor's will? Does the Inquisition dare to judge the Emperor's will?!"

"Ha!" The Fortress Master let out a near-angry scoff.

"Who do you think you are, to presume to guess the Emperor's will? Only He knows His own plans!"

"We mortals need only purge all change, ensuring all in the galaxy unfolds exactly as He foresees."

"Anyone who claims to act in His name is arrogant, dangerous, and equivalent to heresy—"

"I am Sanguinius, son of the Emperor, Lord of the Blood Angels!" Sanguinius's voice cut through the Fortress Master's.

His tone carried no anger, still clear—but the snow swirling around them ignited instantly into golden flame, vaporizing into steam.

"Horus was also the Emperor's son, Lord of the Shadow Wolves," the Fortress Master replied with near-finality.

These words made Inquisitor Ruse beside him gasp sharply; she could already see the escalation, the impending slaughter between the Inquisition and the Sanguinius faction.

Zhou Yun almost wanted to applaud the Fortress Master—those words were deliberately cruel, clearly meant to provoke Sanguinius.

"Do you wish to anger me into killing you?" Sanguinius's voice remained calm.

"Then I shall only be a martyr," the Fortress Master replied, utterly unmoved.

He had clearly prepared himself to die as a martyr, defending what he believed was the Emperor's will.

Even his entire Inquisition faction—the majority within the Inquisition—intended to do the same.

This was unlike the Ecclesiarchy's High Pontiff, who was merely the head of the Ecclesiarchy; Zhou Yun and Sanguinius could simply replace him.

But the Fortress Master was merely the administrator of the fortress, even term-limited; killing him would not silence the Inquisition's internal opposition.

Unless they killed every conservative faction member scattered across the stars—one by one—which would drain too much energy.

And Zhou Yun and Sanguinius had not come here to create a legion of foolish martyrs.

Sanguinius would not be provoked by such crude insults—he had already been trained by Zhou Yun.

But to leave now would mean the Inquisition had blocked the Primarchs' and Zhou Yun's advance, implicitly acknowledging their authority surpassed even that of the Primarchs.

Yet Zhou Yun had prepared for this before arriving.

His original plan had been to use a certain item—even rented it in advance.

But Doraemon the Emperor's appearance gave Zhou Yun a simpler, cheaper idea; he could save that item for later.

Zhou Yun pulled a parchment from his fourth-dimensional pocket; in one corner was a signature, the rest blank.

Then he took out a pen and began writing on it.

Without a word, Zhou Yun walked to the Fortress Master and shoved the parchment into his hand.

The Fortress Master stared blankly at the paper, read the text aloud by instinct:

"Due to the Emperor's inability to pay rent, the Emperor voluntarily mortgages the Inquisition to Zhou Yun. Zhou Yun immediately becomes Inquisition Overseer, commanding all Inquisition affairs, leading all Inquisitors, and all Inquisition personnel must pledge immediate loyalty to him."

Then the Fortress Master burst into laughter—it was a document entirely violating Imperial legal format, written in crude Low Gothic riddled with dialects, utterly amateurish—wait?

The Fortress Master noticed a signature in the corner of the parchment: High Gothic, stylistically distinct from the rest of the text, yet strangely familiar.

"druvataimperatorimperium" meant "The Eternal Emperor of the Imperium."

He froze, then looked up at the arch above, at the Emperor's own handwriting: "The Imperial Inquisition, by the Emperor's Holy Mandate."

Wow—the script was identical!

(End of Chapter)