Chapter 312: The Black Templars That Could Make Ji Li Man Pass Out

"You mean you intend to bombard Macragge with virus bombs?"

"Bombard the third most important planet of the Imperium of Man, the capital of Octaria Secundus, the homeworld of the Ultramarines, Macragge where two Primarchs reside?"

Zhou Yun's expression twisted into a distorted knot.

Virus bombs, one of the weapons the Imperium of Man commonly uses to carry out Exterminatus, contain an artificial virus named the Flesh-Eater that can spread across an entire planet within minutes, penetrate most power armor and life-support systems, rapidly rot and decompose any living being into a mass of soft slime, and subsequently release large quantities of highly flammable gas.

Afterwards, these gases will be ignited, turning into an apocalypse fire that burns the entire planet, consuming all the oxygen of a whole world, leaving only a bare planet behind.

This weapon was once used by Horus on the infamous planet Istvaan III; one dud was preserved by the loyalist Emperor's Children Dreadnought Raelano, and ten thousand years later, Raelano used this virus bomb to create a trap that banished Fulgrim back to the Warp.

Being able to send a Daemon Primarch back to the Warp in a single strike, although there was an element of surprise, is enough to demonstrate the power of this doomsday weapon.

But its reliability is inferior to Cyclone Torpedoes, and its cost is far higher than other Exterminatus weapons, so in the forty-first millennium of humanity, it is almost no longer used.

Only the armories of a few Space Marine Chapters preserve this world-destroying weapon; obviously, the Strike Cruiser Heresy's Calamity before us carries one.

"It is three." Three Chaplains lowered their heads, their voices thick with repentance as they spoke: "They are all relics from the Great Crusade era."

Zhou Yun's expression went a bit numb; no wonder your ship is called Heresy's Calamity.

Even Heretics would tremble knowing your ship carries three virus bombs produced ten thousand years ago; if this thing hits well, a single strike can send several warbands to their doom; no Warband Champion, Chaos Lord, or Daemon Prince can stop it; even Abaddon would have to stay far away.

"How exactly did you come up with this plan?"

Zhou Yun was invited by the three Black Legion Chaplains to the position in the command room, his face twitching as he covered his forehead and looked at the three of them.

The three Chaplains clad in black armor looked at each other, then at each other again; finally, after hesitating for a long time, they spoke:

"We saw visions, a series of visions with symbolic meaning."

"A round and fat blue raccoon cat stood in the Warp, extending its corrupted round hands toward the two Primarchs."

"The power of the Warp surged into the bodies of the Emperor's sons; their souls, consciousness, and essence were all dyed with colors not belonging to the Hua Di Huang."

"Sanguinius's wings were dyed blue; Robert Ji Li Man's order changed; two threads hung down from the round hands, manipulating them like puppets, and through them, manipulating the Ultramarines and the Blood Angels."

"Countless Ultramarines and Blood Angels were infected by the power of that round and fat blue raccoon cat, becoming warriors controlled by Him."

The more the three Chaplains spoke, the more fearful and uneasy they became:

"It was as if it foretold two Primarchs falling into Daemon Princes, two Legions becoming traitors; this is simply too terrible."

"Especially recalling Horus's resurrection, recalling Chaos's corruption, thus we believed this was the enlightenment the Hua Di Huang showed us, to let us see clearly that the two Primarchs have been corrupted."

"This... this, aren't you afraid this is pure hallucination?" Zhou Yun, sweating profusely, said with a twitching mouth corner.

In a sense, they really didn't guess wrong; according to Sanguinius's words, although Ji Li Man was unaware, both of them were nearly Zhou Yun's Daemon Princes, enjoying Zhou Yun's power.

Indeed, quite a few Ultramarines and Blood Angels were equipped with Zhou Yun's items and were commanded by Zhou Yun.

"We thought this way too; after all, they are two Primarchs; how could we harm the Hua Di Huang's sons, Dorn's brothers?"

"But just when we approached near Macragge, we heard a terrifying song; that song was as terrifying as the first cry of Slaanesh when the Aeldari fell."

"We saw more visions; we saw Sanguinius and Ji Li Man resisting a newly born Great Daemon; Ji Li Man was bathed in blood all over, but finally fell before the Great Daemon... We believe this foretells that a new Daemon was born above Macragge, and this Daemon completely crushed Sanguinius and Ji Li Man my lord, just as the Slaanesh Daemon parasitic in the sword overwhelmed Fulgrim back then."

Zhou Yun couldn't help but reach out and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Although the conclusion was a bit problematic, the process seemed, perhaps, indeed was exactly like that.

"But we still felt uneasy; what if this was some Chaos conspiracy?"

"So we infiltrated the celebration in Gecheng, Macragge; everything was normal until the Magistrate corrupted by Slaanesh appeared, and fell beneath the burning, flaming straight sword of 'Ji Li Man'..."

"We detected a strong psychic reaction emerging; powerful Warp power surged within the body of that 'Ji Li Man'; vaguely, we seemed to see a Daemon lurking beneath the skin of 'Ji Li Man'."

The Chaplains' voices were full of apology, carrying deep guilt as they continued speaking to Zhou Yun:

"Thus we believed the Primarch was very likely corrupted; for the sake of humanity and the Imperium, we had to take action."

"... Although what you saw indeed seemed a bit disloyal, but what if, er, they are actually loyal sons of the Imperium?"

Zhou Yun asked, his eyes a bit wandering.

From the Black Templars' perspective, Zhou Yun, Sanguinius, and Ji Li Man indeed looked like they had been corrupted.

Not to mention the scenes they saw in their hallucinations, merely nurturing a new Daemon on Macragge, letting a Daemon wear Ji Li Man's skin, was enough to make most people scream blasphemy.

"Then we can only leave it to the Hua Di Huang."

The Chaplain lowered his head deeply, speaking with profound guilt:

"If they are still loyal sons of the God-Emperor, then the Hua Di Huang's power will surely protect them, and also punish us, the fools who committed this error."

"..." Zhou Yun's face twitched uncontrollably.

The Black Templars are indeed the Black Templars; this group of religious people are best at self-logical loops.

If I succeed, that means the Hua Di Huang permits it; you are obviously a traitor.

If you are not a traitor, then I cannot possibly succeed, because the Hua Di Huang will protect His loyal sons.

However, their plan is unlikely to succeed; at least, it is unlikely to harm Ji Li Man and Sanguinius; both of them have a Door of Anywhere in their hands and can withdraw at any time.

Additionally, Zhou Yun still holds a Reflection Cloak that was not fully used after the last exchange, enough to bounce the plague bombs back into outer space.

"As expected!" The Chaplain's voice suddenly rose, piety and fanaticism pouring from his voice: "Just as we were about to use the plague bombs, enlightenment descended."

"We saw the sacred form of the Hua Di Huang; He showed us countless visions; we saw that thirty-nine millennia ago, before the Hua Di Huang revealed His existence, He gazed at your deeds through a screen within His secluded place."

"You are hope, you are dreams, you are the friend of the Hua Di Huang and all humanity, the sacred Dora Songbi! The great Dora Ten Thousand Machine God!"

Zhou Yun couldn't help but rub his brow: "Did you come to me just to confess to me?"

That was true; during the previous Slaanesh Avatar incident, the Hua Di Huang had manifested once; He was obviously paying attention to Macragge in some way.

Although part of the hallucinations seen by the Black Templars were pure hysteria, they occasionally received true revelations from the Hua Di Huang.

The Hua Di Huang obviously could not watch the Black Templars really throw three plague bombs at Macragge.

"No my lord, we have two small purposes."

The Chaplain lowered his head, speaking with utmost piety:

"We hope to have an expeditionary force follow you, protect your safety, proclaim your divinity, and conduct a Crusade of Atonement until the last man dies."

Zhou Yun's eyes immediately lit up.

The Black Templars were indeed a bit mad and fanatical, but their strength and faith were beyond question, and Zhou Yun happened to lack a group to help him control the Saint Dora A-Me cult; the Black Templars were clearly a good choice.

Moreover, the Black Templars' style had quite a medieval knight feel, which was also an opportunity for Zhou Yun to satisfy his collecting obsession.

"How many men can you send?" Zhou Yun asked tentatively.

The Black Templars belonged to the type of Chapter that outwardly followed the Codex but was severely over the limit internally.

Zhou Yun estimated they could send at least two hundred to three hundred men.

"What do you think of five hundred? This is the same number you took from the Blood Angels and Ultramarines."

Zhou Yun widened his eyes slightly.

Five hundred? Equivalent to half a Chapter?

The Ultramarines and Blood Angels had drawn that many men only by combining multiple successor Chapters.

You are providing five hundred men from a single Chapter.

"By how much exactly does your scale exceed the Codex regulations?" Zhou Yun could not help but ask.

The eyes of the three Chaplains simultaneously became somewhat wavering, as if hesitating.

"It shouldn't be five figures, right?" Zhou Yun asked with hesitation.

The Black Templars had a large number of Crusade Fleets active throughout the galaxy; each Crusade Fleet was relatively independent, rarely converging, so it was difficult to count exactly how many men the Black Templars had, and thus impossible to verify by how many they exceeded the Codex regulations.

If the Black Templars were truly so insane that several Crusade Fleets each had the scale of a standard Chapter...

"Probably... not..." the Chaplain answered with hesitation.

Zhou Yun was shocked.

You might really have ten thousand men? With that scale, those who know understand the Black Templars are a successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists, but those who don't might think the Imperial Fists are the Black Templars' successor Chapter.

Seeming to notice the scrutiny in Zhou Yun's eyes, that Chaplain hurriedly spoke: "After the Great Rift opened, the various Crusade Fleets were also separated; we have no way to judge exactly how many warriors the Black Templars have now, but there are approximately..."

"The reason I proposed five hundred is because that is the total number of men we can contact from our Crusade Fleets."

Zhou Yun's expression remained strange; six or seven thousand men, a number that would have made Guilliman, who had just finished writing the Codex, choke to death on the spot.

"Then what is your other purpose?" Zhou Yun raised his eyebrows and asked.

"This involves the duty of the Heretic's Bane; with so many Black Templars Crusade Fleets in the galaxy, each Crusade Fleet could produce a Champion of the Emperor, and we of the Heretic's Bane bear the duty of transporting the Black Sword and judging whether a person is truly a Champion of the Emperor."

"We hope to meet you, hoping to confirm the situation of the Black Sword in your hand and formally gift it to you for use—"

"So your meaning is..." Zhou Yun's eyes suddenly brightened: "There is another Black Sword on your ship, right?"

(End of this chapter)