Chapter 104: The Death of Caligos
At this moment, a large number of Imperial warships were already docked near Footfall.
Footfall had never been so bustling.
Fleets from various factions had answered the call and had all gathered at Footfall.
The influx of a massive number of soldiers made Footfall seem exceptionally crowded.
But at the same time, the huge demand for supplies also allowed many merchants to make a fortune.
And at this time, the occupant of the palace of the King of Footfall was no longer the King of Footfall.
Before the major powers, this ruler of Footfall could only yield his own palace.
Any random Rogue Trader pulled from the crowd had a higher status than him.
"How many have answered the call so far?" Lord Inquisitor Scyvilla Calcasar of the Expanse asked his attendant beside him.
"Five Rogue Trader Dynasties have responded to the call. They have all dispatched fleets and soldiers.
The largest among them is the Kourda Dynasty. After all, the Expanse is only a part of their Dynasty's wealth; they also have considerable power in the Calixis Sector. To protect their wealth, they are the most proactive! The forces they have dispatched are also the most numerous. Moreover, the Kourda Dynasty's loyalty to the Imperium is unparalleled.
Rogue Trader Aspice is also currently in Footfall. The other four are minor Rogue Trader Dynasties, with fleets consisting of nothing more than some frigates."
Hearing his acolyte's reply, Scyvilla was not very satisfied.
The other major power in the Expanse, the Winterscale Dynasty, had not responded at all. The astropathic messages sent had received no reply. Even their sphere of influence, Winterscale's Realm, was now completely sealed off, not allowing anyone to enter.
And the Inquisition's spies in Winterscale's Realm had also lost contact. Thinking of this, Scyvilla's expression turned grim.
In his process of hunting xenos and enemies of mankind, he knew that behind any unusual event, there was always some terrifying conspiracy.
"And the Mongorte Dynasty?"
"The astropathic messages from the Mongorte Dynasty have been consistently replied to, but they seem to be intentionally delaying time. However, I have recently heard that their Astra Militarum regiment, named the Raiders, is already on its way and should be arriving at Footfall soon."
Scyvilla placed great importance on the Mongorte Dynasty. The production of their combat suits had greatly improved the combat effectiveness of Imperial soldiers in the Expanse. Even his own personal guard had been refitted with such equipment. The soldiers currently responsible for guarding the palace entrance were also uniformly clad in these combat suits.
Scyvilla was not an extremist Inquisitor. He had always followed the principle that as long as it was beneficial to the Imperium, it could be utilized or used for his own purposes.
That was why he had approved Ian's request to establish an Inquisition branch office on Agathos.
If he could pull Lucan into his camp, it would be of great help to his operations in the Expanse.
"These forces are still not enough…"
Scyvilla looked at the intelligence in his hand. He knew better than anyone in the Expanse how severe the problem facing the Calixis Sector was.
Top-secret intelligence from the Inquisition stated that a large number of space hulks had emerged from the Warp and were drifting through various sectors. No one knew what existed on these space hulks. Some giant space hulks were even large enough inside to swallow an entire company of Astartes.
If you were lucky, it was just some mutants. If you were unlucky, you might draw a Greater Daemon of Chaos.
The traitors' warships had also emerged from the Warp, attacking the worlds of the Imperium. And this time, it wasn't just mortal traitors, but also one renegade Space Marine Chaos warband after another.
And that terrifying Plague of Unbelief was also spreading within one planet after another.
Entire planets were even turning into horrifying worlds filled with zombies.
The fleet gathered now might seem powerful in the Expanse, but if truly thrown into that kind of battlefield, it might not take long for them to be annihilated.
"Continue sending astropathic messages to the Winterscale Dynasty! Also, have the Mongorte Dynasty dispatch more fleets and soldiers!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
And at this moment, unbeknownst to Scyvilla, on the flagship of the Winterscale Dynasty, Caligos was clutching his abdomen.
Blood flowed continuously. Massive blood loss had already begun to blur his consciousness. All sorts of injuries all over his body made the magnificent clothes he wore appear tattered and torn.
At this time, within this warship named the Emperor's Vow, it was instead filled with Chaos corruption.
Caligos tightly gripped the power axe in his hand. On his bridge, not a single living crewman who had followed him could be seen; all their heads had been chopped off.
His once most powerful household guards had, unknowingly, all been corrupted.
They should have been the last line of defense protecting him, but now they had become his death warrant. The vast amounts of gene-enhancements and bionics spent on them had become the very tools to kill Caligos.
Only now did Caligos know why his personal guards had become so powerful after receiving their modifications.
The so-called powerful modification technology that his first mate claimed to have discovered from an unknown world was itself tainted with the corruption of Khorne.
The modification process was also changing their minds and eroding their souls.
In the past, Caligos had led them into battle everywhere. The bloody combat had continuously deepened this corruption.
The moment the modifications were complete, these powerful soldiers had already slowly fallen into the embrace of Khorne.
In one battle after another, they completely became slaves of Khorne.
He had once thought it was just the desire for battle of powerful warriors. Even he himself had almost been lost in the bloodshed.
And around him, besides those treacherous warriors, there were also more than a dozen Bloodletters of Khorne from Khorne's own domain.
Blood-red bodies, daemonic horns, the brass swords in their hands burning with flames from the Warp, continuously spreading the Chaos corruption of Khorne to the surroundings.
And Caligos looked at his once immensely trusted first mate before him.
After Caligos had returned from Agathos, he had remembered Lucan's words. After Lucan had cleared the influence of Khorne from him, it had also allowed him to regain some of his sanity.
He had tried to test his first mate, inviting a priest to verify him.
But he had never expected Wolteng to erupt instantly, killing the priest and swinging his weapon at Caligos.
If not for Caligos's own astonishing combat prowess, he might have died in that initial attack.
"Wolteng… why did you do this…"
At this time, Wolteng's body had already shown physical mutations.
"Caligos… skulls and blood are everything. You were originally on a path to possess endless power, but you gave it up. Although I don't know how you got rid of this gift, since you are unwilling to become a believer of the great Blood God, then I can only use your skull to please Him."
Seeing Wolteng address the Ruinous Power in such a way, Caligos knew he was beyond saving.
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"For the God-Emperor!"
Caligos died. His head was placed at the very top of a skull mound.
Lucan perhaps also never imagined that his reminder would lead to Caligos dying at the hands of his own first mate.
And after Caligos was killed, Wolteng led the daemonically possessed warriors and the Bloodletters to attack the last loyalists on the warship.
And when this flagship fell into Wolteng's hands, he also planned to spread the flames of war to every world of the Winterscale Dynasty.
Only greater wars and more blood and skulls could please the Blood God.
And the first sacrifice would be the planet beneath the Emperor's Vow.
And the garrison on the planet did not know that their Rogue Trader was already dead, much less would they have any defense against the Dynasty's flagship.
When the orbital strike from the Vow destroyed all the ground defense batteries on this planet, the soldiers, now completely consumed by Khornate corruption, began to descend upon the planet.
Countless civilians were slaughtered. More and more skulls caused the maddening corruption of Chaos to rapidly spread across the entire planet.
Those whose will was not strong enough were assimilated, turning their weapons on the loyalists.
If one were to look down from orbit, the entire planet was suffused with a bloody red color. A massive blood-red ritual circle was gradually taking shape, and more and more Khornate daemons were arriving on this planet.
And these assimilated mortals, along with the Khornate daemons, would spread the flames of war to all nearby star systems.
(End of Chapter)
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