Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, Primarch's Office.
Arsena, holding a data-slate, reported.
"My Lord, in the Emancipation of Drune's campaign, four thousand one hundred seventy Shadows of Orders fell, including ninety-two Librarians."
Nareth nodded. The Emancipation of Drune had taken one month less than in his memory.
Originally, this bloody battle had lasted six months.
'Losses are also far lower than I expected. The Librarians played a key role against the Enslavers, but fewer than a hundred died.'
'This is thanks to most Librarians mastering the "Griffin's Roar." It is a bane to Warp entities.'
'Not only daemons, but also Enslavers, Psychneuein, and other Warp creatures.'
"Compile the battle lines of each Chapter. Submit to me all worlds that meet the following criteria: Existing for over eleven hundred years, with intact order."
The advancement ritual for "Mentor of Disorder": Plan and cause chaos, destroying the order of a world that has existed for over eleven hundred years, and profit from it.
Nareth already had a target in mind, Terra.
'Hmm... Pseudo-Terra.'
It was a world conquered by Horus Lupercal after he became Warmaster.
A planet that could not be subdued through diplomacy.
'Terra' had lost contact with other human worlds since the Age of Strife.
It had an Emperor.
He too called himself Emperor of Mankind, and had led his people through the five millennia of darkness.
The 'Emperor' and the people of 'Terra' considered themselves the center of humanity, the legitimate continuation of human civilization.
The 'Emperor' firmly believed that the Imperium would once again conquer the stars, and demanded that Horus and the Luna Wolves swear fealty to the Lord of Humanity.
Merely claiming the title of Emperor would cause most future Imperial factions to brand him a heretic. Organizations like the Ecclesiarchy would not hesitate to issue Exterminatus.
Even so, Horus continued diplomatic efforts.
He sent Hastur Sejanus, a member of the Mournival who was both warrior and diplomat.
Among the Luna Wolves, his record was second only to Ezekyle Abaddon's.
But Sejanus and his Honor Guard were brutally slain.
Horus lost his son, a member of the Mournival, who had fought alongside him for years, conquering hundreds of worlds.
Soon after, Garviel Loken took his place, becoming the final member of the Mournival.
Suppressing his grief, Horus sent another emissary, his equerry, Maloghurst.
Maloghurst's transport was shot down by ground fire. He miraculously survived but suffered irreparable damage, making his nickname the Twisted even more apt.
A year after the Emperor appointed Horus Warmaster, the Warmaster killed the 'Emperor.'
Thus, Nareth had no qualms about causing chaos on Pseudo-Terra.
He had long targeted Pseudo-Terra. The Luna Wolves had recovered three STCs there.
The Pseudo-Terrans possessed cutting-edge military technology rivaling the Imperium's. Only their soldiers were inferior to Astartes.
Imperial technology could not detect their invisible warriors when stationary; they only revealed themselves when moving.
Nareth had long decided to take those three STCs from Horus. This campaign would coincide with his advancement ritual.
Causing chaos on 'Terra' would also ensure, amidst a sufficiently large-scale upheaval, that the highest-grade potion materials were fully absorbed, preventing waste and advancement failure.
As he thought, he instructed:
"Order the Third, Sixth, Tenth, and Eleventh Chapters to assemble at the Kalium Gate in the 11th Month, 882."
..
11th Month, 882.
In the third layer of the Kingdom of Disorder, the triangular pyramid tumbled into his hand, but nothing changed.
'Indeed, using the divination on the uniqueness has come at a cost.'
The "Baron of Corruption" looked at the dice in his hand, confirming its spiritual luster was nearly fully restored.
It just wasn't complete, not fully charged.
'Fortunately, it's close. About a month.'
'In that case, I won't divine another world. I'll wait a little longer.'
He then went to the first layer, looking at the hive-sized furnace.
Because of the Enslaver leader's immense size, he had ordered the Techmarines to build the furnace in modular sections.
He could activate part or all of the modules as needed to concoct the potion.
A month later, in the third layer of the Kingdom of Disorder, Nareth silently intoned the information he knew about 'Terra.'
'Nine worlds orbiting a yellow star.'
'Another Terra, besides the one in the Sol System.'
'Known in the future as Sixty-Three Nineteen.'
'Its ruler is another Emperor...'
After the information flashed through his mind, he silently intoned.
'Star chart from the Kalium Gate to 'Terra'...'
After intoning it eleven times, he tossed the dice.
The moment the triangular pyramid landed in his hand, the star chart unfolded before him.
After recording it, he looked at the dice.
'Divining the uniqueness cost the dice an extra month of recovery time.'
'I can't tell if this is a temporary increase or permanent.'
Returning to the real world, Nareth assembled his commanders and began issuing orders according to his long-planned scheme.
Five standard hours later, the four Lords, the "Polymath" Arsena, the "Biologist" Marlena, and others entered the Primarch's Office.
He sent the prepared information to them, then addressed the Bukayo, Flamini, Ramsey, and Pell.
"This time, we will adopt a new way of war."
"Your task is not to command your Chapters. You will personally participate, experience causing chaos, and understand this new form of warfare."
Due to factors like honor, the Astartes Legions generally favored direct confrontation. Their strategy and tactics were similarly limited.
The future Night Lords' method of instilling fear was also carried out openly.
The pre-corruption Thousand Sons'methods were too direct.
The post-corruption Death Guard, like the Thousand Sons, used insidious methods like Warp power and psychic abilities.
During the Great Crusade, only the Alpha Legion on a large scale employed agents.
Agents attended high-level meetings. The Primarch and Alpha Legion commanders fully considered their opinions.
Alpharius trusted some agents more than his twin brother, Omegon.
'Hmm... the current Alpha Legion probably isn't led by Alpharius.'
'After I exposed Omegon, he and the hidden Alpharius can at least have equal authority in the Alpha Legion.'
'Thinking about it, Omegon should thank me. Not only did I rescue him, I also greatly elevated his status. He's no longer just the captain of a squad before the Heresy.'
Usually, before the Alpha Legion arrived on a battlefield, agents had already begun secret activities like intelligence gathering and assassination.
The Beyonders had matured. Nareth wanted them to play a greater role, which would also reduce Shadows of Order casualties.
But first, the Lords needed to truly understand, not just follow orders. This advancement ritual was a good opportunity.
Nareth also needed time for the chaos to ferment and reach a certain scale before he consumed the potion.
Seeing the four lost in thought, he then outlined tasks for the Diana and others.
After they understood his plan, he returned to the Kingdom of Disorder and summoned Tierney and Maria Kournikova in turn.
After digesting the "Baron of Corruption" potion, Nareth confirmed on the Blasphemy Slate that his speculation on Necromunda was correct.
The main ingredients for "Pleasure" were the eyes and spinnerets of giant spiders; the supplementary ingredients were fangs and legs.
Confirming that the raft spiders' pure, bright eyes were higher-quality materials than ordinary giant spiders' eyes, but not essential, he used other venom glands, fangs, and legs of raft spiders, mixed with ordinary giant spider eyes, to concoct the potions for Maria and Dementieva to advance to "Pleasure."
The raft spiders' eyes were stored as Beyonder materials, to be used later when advancing Beyonderson the Mother and Paragon Pathways.
"My Lord, thirty-eight 'Witches,' one hundred fifty-two 'Instigators,' and two thousand four hundred ninety-seven 'Assassins' have been assembled."
Nareth nodded slightly. The non-Shadows of Order Beyonders were the main force for this operation. The "Witch" contingent was the core.
The "Pleasure's" face was fair and smooth, no longer as sharp as when he had first met her in Vostroya.
The bridge of her high nose was softer. The sharp edge in her blue eyes was hidden, like rippling blue water.
Her features, combined, were softer, more delicate, radiating an indescribable supernatural charm.
"Execute the plan. Board the Son of Vostroya tomorrow."
"By Your will." The "Pleasure's" figure was swallowed by the black mist.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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