Chapter 166: No Heretics, Only Loyal Ministers

Old One-Eye rubbed his single remaining eye, put down the pen in his hand, and stretched his muscles and bones.

Since arriving on Baal, mental exhaustion had been eroding him; this was far more tiring than his days in the Underhive of Asford.

As a cult leader, the problems he faced were too numerous and too complex.

Old One-Eye even felt some regret; if he had known, he would have followed Xiang Xiang Leina to Cadia.

Being loyal to the greatest fortress world of the Human Empire and serving as a soldier on the battlefield was purer than being a cult leader.

Perhaps after a few hours on the battlefield, one could die for Hua Di Huang and have one's soul return to the Wang Zuo.

Old One-Eye stood up and walked wearily to the window, looking out at Asford and the Lexio refugee encampment.

Scattered lights flickered on the loose small buildings outside the window, resembling broken stars in the desert.

This town was originally built by the Lexio people, who called it Magda Town, named after the Battle Sister who had once protected Lexio.

But that Great Battle Sister had not come to Baal; instead, she had hurriedly departed with the remaining Battle Sisters and a small number of refugees, heading to an unknown destination.

Yet the Lexio people had not forgotten the Great Battle Sister's dedication; in fact, not far away stood Ses Town, built to express gratitude to the Flesh-Ripper Chapter Master.

This town was simply too vast; the Lexio people lived under a vast sky, leading a nomadic life, and their architectural style seemed influenced by this, becoming loose and scattered.

People like Old One-Eye, from Asford, were actually very ill-suited to this.

Even now, he still felt that the vast sky was somewhat terrifying.

That fellow Ragna might live more comfortably on Baal II, where the outposts were mainly established by the people of Asford.

If he survived after the war ended, perhaps he should build a town belonging to the people of Asford on Baal.

Saint Doraemon Town? That sounded too much like the name of a holy city; it couldn't be built as narrow as a hive city.

Flax Town? To commemorate the Governor family Old One-Eye once served? No, let's forget it; the final rule of Augustus Flax was not worth commemorating.

Droste Town? That would be more appropriate, to commemorate the Astra Militarum General who defended Asford.

Or, Zhou Yun Town? Old One-Eye thought of his old friend.

"Zhou Yun, Ryan Russ, Neos, Saint Doraemon... old friend, if you truly possess divinity, come and help us."

Old One-Eye couldn't help but mutter to himself, pulling a box of lho cigarettes from his pocket.

Baal had little industry; the locals naturally did not smoke this slightly addictive industrial byproduct.

They smoked tobacco rolled from desert plants, which Old One-Eye was not accustomed to.

Whenever he felt tired, he would take out a lho cigarette brought from Asford from his pocket and take a puff.

Old One-Eye took one out and put it in his mouth; only three cigarettes remained in the box. Old One-Eye wanted to save one for the battlefield.

He also needed to save one; if he could meet that old fellow Ragna, he could share one with him.

Old One-Eye couldn't help but smile.

And Zhou Yun... I don't know if there's any hope of seeing him. Never mind, he seems not to smoke.

Old One-Eye pondered for a moment, then took another cigarette from the box and walked over to the desk.

A statue of Saint Doraemon sat on the desk.

Old One-Eye did not actually have very deep faith in Saint Doraemon, not because he was unaware of Saint Doraemon's power; in fact, Old One-Eye, who knew that Zhou Yun was Saint Doraemon, was one of the people who knew best.

He simply could not imagine that the old friend who had once drunk alcohol with him had, in the blink of an eye, become a saint worshipped by others.

It was almost as if he had become a god.

Old One-Eye lit the cigarette in his mouth and also lit the one in his hand.

Then he stood the cigarette in his hand upright before the statue of Saint Doraemon.

"Lho cigarettes are good things; why don't you smoke?"

"Now that you are a saint, I invite you to smoke one."

With a cigarette in his mouth, Old One-Eye muttered to the statue on the desk:

"If you are truly a saint... or even a god, then send a reply to me, old partner."

The lho cigarette burned, and white smoke with stimulating and slightly hallucinogenic properties slowly rose from the upright cigarette.

Old One-Eye took a deep drag from the cigarette in his mouth, enjoying the slight confusion brought by the hallucinogenic components.

His eyes narrowed as if half-asleep and half-awake; the smoke drifting from the cigarette before him spread, dyeing the entire room pale and shrouding it in a layer of haze.

Suddenly, Old One-Eye felt a gentle breeze blow from directly in front of him, striking his face; the white mist immediately surged toward the direction from which the breeze came.

Old One-Eye was startled and quickly opened his eyes, seeing only a reddish-pink wooden door appear before him.

"Holy crap." The lho cigarette in Old One-Eye's mouth fell as he exclaimed.

The wooden door slowly pushed open, and Zhou Yun stepped out from within, his gaze meeting Old One-Eye's.

"Is this cigarette that strong?" Old One-Eye couldn't help but say, "Or have I really summoned you?"

Zhou Yun's gaze fell upon the statue of Saint Doraemon on the table.

Before the statue, an upright cigarette was emitting pale smoke; Zhou Yun's face suddenly twitched.

Inside the cold, dim Bai Si Sect chapel, the reddish-pink wooden door opened, and Zhou Yun led Old One-Eye out from within.

Almost the instant they stepped out of the wooden door, Old One-Eye smelled a faint trace of blood in the air.

He glanced around the surroundings shrouded in darkness, vaguely seeing numerous corpses hanging in the dark.

Some were human, and some were Tyranids.

Di Xi, wearing simple black leather clothes, stood before a rough stone table, waiting silently for Zhou Yun. Clearly, before coming to find Old One-Eye, Zhou Yun had already come to see Di Xi.

This immediately made Old One-Eye's nerves tighten.

Di Xi and the sect he founded worshipped Saint Doraemon, but their focus of worship differed.

Di Xi was more willing to believe that Saint Doraemon was the chosen of the Death God, who would bring equal death.

Whereas Old One-Eye was more willing to believe that Saint Doraemon could wield the Warp, was the dragon that devoured the Tyranid swarm, and would bring hope and redemption.

The two were almost diametrically opposed, each denouncing the other as a heretic; if it were not for the Tyranids and the Tyranids being common enemies, the rapier in Di Xi's hand might have already touched Old One-Eye's neck.

To be honest, it's not uncommon for one sect to denounce another as heretical — even within the national church itself it happens.

But Hua Di Huang would not walk among the faithful of the national church, would not summon the leaders of two sects to meet, and would not personally deliver his will to them.

Old One-Eye was worried — worried whether his act of splitting the sect was right.

But Di Xi and the others' faith was simply too abstract; Old One-Eye and the vast majority of Ashford people could not tolerate it, and the herders on Resio had drifted even further apart.

"My Lord." Di Xi dropped to one knee before Zhou Yun, head still lowered, yet a killing intent subtly turned toward Old One-Eye.

"After arriving at Baal, he and Lague couldn't wait to pop out, split our faith, and commit heresy in Your name."

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Old One-Eye almost felt his throat being strangled; he wanted to open his mouth and explain, but Zhou Yun waved his hand, signaling him to say no more.

"There are no heretics — all are loyal ministers." Zhou Yun glanced at Di Xi, then at Old One-Eye, and said with a sigh,

He sat down beside the stone table and gestured for the two of them to sit as well.

Di Xi kept her head lowered and, without the slightest objection, sat down across from Zhou Yun,

Old One-Eye sat down as well.

Zhou Yun looked at the two of them — silent and reverent — and the corner of his eye twitched slightly,

Laxatives, person on Baal, playing saint for the first time, online begging for a tutorial, urgent.

Zhou Yun drew a deep breath, rubbed his temples, and said in a tone that was gentle yet still carried authority:

"The clouds drift in the blue sky, the water rests in the vase — one of you is the cloud, the other is the water; the things you do are simply different."

"There are no heretics — all are loyal ministers and fine generals. I can see it."

Old One-Eye let out a slight breath of relief,

while Di Xi bowed her head reverently, and the killing intent aimed at Old One-Eye faded along with it.

"You have no questions, do you? Di Xi." Zhou Yun said, looking at Di Xi.

He truly did not want to see the Ashford people slaughtering one another, drifting further apart,

the swarm was drawing near — everyone ought to be bound together.

"How could doubt exist within a pure faith? Any questioning of my Lord would be the most sacrilegious of acts."

Di Xi hurriedly dropped to her knees, as if she thought Zhou Yun was questioning her devotion.

The winged figure within the Bai Guang trembled slightly and said something, but Zhou Yun still couldn't hear it clearly,

yet Zhou Yun could guess what the winged figure within the Bai Guang was complaining about. Perfect_City. jpg.

Zhou Yun gestured for Di Xi to stand up and forbade her from kneeling.

"Do either of you have a map showing the location of Angel Castle on hand right now?" Zhou Yun asked, looking at the two of them.

If there was a map, Zhou Yun could use a portal to enter Angel Castle directly, and fairly easily bypass the outer defenses.

Right now nearly five digits' worth of Sanguinius's children had gathered near Angel Castle — almost the largest assembly of the Blood Angels and their successor chapters during the Horus Heresy, nearly one-thirtieth of the Imperium's total number of Adeptus Astartes,

and the defensive level of Angel Castle, the palace of the Emperor of the Second Imperium, now stood second only to the Terran palace.

There were indeed a few items that could make Zhou Yun invisible on a physical or psychological level, but they were either flawed or far too expensive.

For example, the stone hat that could make others completely ignore Zhou Yun's existence — its rental price was nearly one-tenth of Zhou Yun's current savings,

and once redeemed, he wouldn't be able to scrape together enough for the cost of the item needed to resurrect Sanguinius.

Old One-Eye shrugged his shoulders, sighed, and said: "This mission is far too difficult for us."

"A precise map of Angel Castle — how could a bunch of mortal refugees like us get our hands on one? Have any of you tried to infiltrate?"

Old One-Eye looked at Di Xi — he had seen the Bai Si Sect followers' infiltration skills with his own eyes before.

"…Tried two months ago." Di Xi shook her head and said: "But we were discovered before we could act."

"That cadaverous Chief Librarian foresaw us through his precognitive abilities and stopped us."

Still haven't gathered enough winners, still two short.....

(End of chapter)