Chapter 436: Both Bullets Fired at Airebas

"I must kill Airebas."

Zhou Yun said to Saint Guilliman and Leman Russ calmly, slowly, and with certainty.

This is certainly out of anger,

had Zhou Yun not long ago made backups of the flesh and blood of Reina, Saint Guilliman, Leman Russ, and other acquaintances in his fourth-dimensional pocket,

had the Time Wrinkle Cloth not been able to reverse certain objects back to their complete state,

Reina would have truly died in Airebas's scheme.

But it is not only because of anger,

Airebas's attempt to kill Reina naturally had a purpose,

and that purpose could only be Zhou Yun himself,

Zhou Yun did not understand what Airebas intended to do, but Zhou Yun would never sit idle.

Furthermore,

whenever something terrible happened in this galaxy, Zhou Yun first suspected Anarch, then Airebas,

Zhou Yun confirmed with the Divination Machine of Right and Wrong that Anarch had quietly pushed Airebas's actions,

although Zhou Yun often mocked Anarch's plans for always backfiring, that did not mean Zhou Yun could let Anarch's schemes unfold unchecked.

The final reason is,

according to the intelligence Reina brought back after her resurrection, the attacker was Lu Se,

the adoptive father of Leman Russ, Primarch of the Dark Angels, and the leader of the Fallen Angels. According to Zhou Yun's memories from his past life, soon after the Great Rift opened, the demonic prince Mabas of the Fallen Angels attacked the Rock Fortress and freed Lu Se,

Lu Se was clearly the Penitent one foretold by the Emperor,

he indeed fit the Emperor's prophecy: "He repents for the sins he committed, yet because of his repentance, he walks down a path of error."

The primary villain is Airebas, the Penitent is Lu Se, the remaining two are the Avenger and the Envious One.

Who are they? Those with grudges against Lu Se are Leman Russ and the entire Dark Angels Legion, but Leman Russ's feelings toward Lu Se are far more complex—"revenge" alone cannot summarize them,

as for the Dark Angels themselves—their numbers are simply too vast.

Then, those with grudges against Airebas? There are too many of them too.

If you gave every person who held a grudge against Airebas a bolter and one bullet to fire at him,

just producing those bolters would require a hundred Forge Worlds operating at full capacity.

Zhou Yun had not yet grasped the identity of the Envious One; there were many possible candidates.

Regardless, according to the Emperor's prophecy, the galaxy's fate for the coming period centers on these four individuals,

Zhou Yun must confront them all to find the path forward,

therefore, whether based on personal emotion or practical necessity, Zhou Yun must kill Airebas.

"I agree with this."

Leman Russ nodded at Zhou Yun and said approvingly:

"If you gave me a bolter and two rounds, and before me stood Fulgrim, Corvus Corax, and Airebas, I would—"

"You'd fire both rounds at Airebas?" Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow.

"I'd fire both rounds at Airebas, then smash Corvus Corax over the head with the bolter like a hammer, and finish Airebas by swinging Corvus Corax into him," Leman Russ smiled, revealing his bizarre sense of humor.

"Then why not add Fulgrim into the mix? Grab Fulgrim by the tail and whip Airebas with it?" Zhou Yun asked with mild curiosity.

Leman Russ paused, then said in a tone so rational it bordered on naive: "I might not be able to defeat Fulgrim."

Not "might"—you simply cannot defeat Fulgrim.

Zhou Yun and Saint Guilliman, seated beside him, almost simultaneously thought this in their minds.

Leman Russ either did not notice the subtle expressions on their faces, or pretended not to, and continued speaking:

"No matter what method Airebas used, the fact that he directly attacked Sol, specifically Mars—the third most important human planet—proves his current threat is no less than it was ten thousand years ago."

"The assaults by Chaos and the Traitors have been fiercer than I anticipated. We no longer have time to wait and accumulate strength slowly."

"The campaign against Airebas and the Unyielding Crusade must begin simultaneously at maximum speed."

Both Zhou Yun and Saint Guilliman agreed.

Chaos daemons, Traitors, mutants, and opportunistic xenos now infest the galaxy, chaos rivaling the Old Night,

without the Unyielding Crusade, launching a lone assault into such a galaxy to hunt Airebas would impose unbearable pressure,

conducting the Unyielding Crusade and the campaign against Airebas simultaneously could relieve pressure across the galaxy and create supporting forces in different regions to aid Zhou Yun,

Zhou Yun controlled the Gate of Passage, and from Lu Se's actions, it appeared Airebas's faction had also acquired some form of warp-travel capability,

when the two sides pursued each other, battle could erupt anywhere in the galaxy.

"What will you do about the opposition and conservatives on Terra?" Saint Guilliman asked softly.

Once the Unyielding Crusade began, immense administrative and logistical burdens would arise; Terra must become a secure rear base, and cannot be lost.

According to Leman Russ's original plan, they would use a sausage-cutting strategy—gradually dismantling the conservatives, slice by slice, without their awareness.

This was not because Leman Russ feared the conservatives,

in truth, both conservatives and reformers were minorities among the billions of administrators; the vast majority were silent centrists.

A direct, large-scale purge of conservatives might frighten the centrists, driving them toward the conservatives or triggering an expanded purge that would further cripple the Empire's already overburdened administrative system.

But Airebas's sudden attack has disrupted the original plan.

Saint Guilliman looked at Leman Russ, asking how he intended to respond to the current situation.

In terms of martial strength, Saint Guilliman had nine ways to make Leman Russ sleep soundly in the stasis field,

but in politics, Leman Russ had nine ways to dismantle Saint Guilliman's Legion right before his eyes.

"To purge the conservatives directly, they must first act foolishly and launch an extreme offensive against us, forcing the centrists to side with us," Saint Guilliman said.

Leman Russ smiled faintly, speaking calmly: "Have they not already committed heinous crimes? For power and profit, they betrayed the Empire and attacked Mars to obstruct the Unyielding Crusade?"

Saint Guilliman and Zhou Yun both paused in surprise.

"You…" Zhou Yun vaguely understood Leman Russ's meaning: "You're evil."

"You need to be a little more evil too," Leman Russ smiled at Zhou Yun. "Please ask the Forge General to immediately issue a condemnation of Terra."

"The condemnation will state: according to the Adeptus Mechanicus investigation, former Neiwu Force Director Irtu, in collusion with the current Imperial High Admiral, secretly controlled numerous starships to ram the Iron Ring, nearly causing catastrophic damage to Mars."

"This is slander!! Outright slander!!"

"It's a blatant smear campaign against me, against us, against the Neiwu Force!!"

"This is definitely a self-staged plot!!!"

In a secret chamber within Irtu's private residence, he roared, screaming as he hurled the condemnation letter from Mars onto the wooden table before him,

Fawu Force Minister Avilisa Dracma, High Admiral Melida Pereis, and the Master of the Assassinorum sat in silent observation.

The disaster on Mars had completely surprised them,

they had originally delighted at the massive setbacks in preparing for the Unyielding Crusade,

but even more unexpectedly, Mars now claimed the disaster was deliberately caused by Irtu and High Admiral Melida to obstruct the Unyielding Crusade.

Irtu angrily denounced it as pure slander, a self-staged plot,

but everyone present—including Irtu himself—knew no one would believe them.

Leman Russ would never deliberately destroy so many ships and damage one-sixth of the Iron Ring just to smear them.

The most fatal point: Melida, as one of the High Lords and supreme commander of the Navy, was indeed capable of such an act.

Although the Fawu Force Minister and the Master of the Assassinorum had not been directly condemned by Mars,

if Leman Russ wished, he could easily use a simple investigation to smear them too.

"What do we do, my lord?" High Admiral Melida trembled.

If Mars's condemnation was confirmed, she and Irtu would be guilty of treason against the Emperor and the Empire.

"Damn all of you!"

Irtu gritted his teeth and slammed his fist onto the table:

"Leman Russ has wronged me too much!"

"This is definitely the work of that evil Doraemon!"

"If they kill us all, the Empire is finished."

Irtu's gaze swept over the Fawu Force Minister, the High Admiral, and the Master of the Assassinorum.

"Let us fight to the death!" Irtu said, steadying himself. "The Minotaurs Legion is already close to Sol!"

"Melida, mobilize your loyal fleet units."

"Avilisa, deploy every enforcement unit within the Fawu Force."

"And above all, you, Fadix—your assassins are essential."

"Even Primarchs and Saint Doraemon are still mortal!"

Irtu's voice turned almost savage:

"They die from starship bombardment, from bolter rounds, from assassins slitting their throats too!"

The High Admiral and the Fawu Force Minister were terrified by Irtu's tone, trembling in place,

yet after hesitation, they nodded slightly, agreeing with Irtu's plan—there was truly no choice but to fight to the death.

Only Fadix, the Master of the Assassinorum, remained unmoved; he slowly and firmly nodded to Irtu.

"The assassins have already been prepared," Fadix said.

"Really?" Irtu's face lit up with excitement. "Where are they?"

"Right here."

(End of Chapter)