"The K Demon Army has arrived, led by a Daemon Prince of considerable strength. He should be able to delay them for a while," Ahriman nodded slightly, his tone carrying a cautious assessment.
He paused, seemingly deliberating his next words, then added with a touch of embarrassment, "However, during the ritual, I seemed to be affected by some unknown interference. This Star District itself has a hidden worship of K, which unexpectedly directed the ritual towards K.
What's more troublesome is that this seems to have caused a chain reaction among K worshipers within the Star District…"
Ahriman's voice gradually trailed off, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the runes on his staff: "They will become exceptionally violent and aggressive within a short period, and this effect might last for several weeks."
Alright, Alex finally understood why the Blood Oath Society suddenly rebelled at this critical juncture.
In short, they were affected by the aftershocks of Ahriman's ritual. The hidden Chaos cultists, under mental pollution, became violent and aggressive, feeling that now was an excellent opportunity, and thus began the traditional art of K worshipers—rebellion amidst chaos.
However, Alex remained calm on the surface, neither showing anger nor blaming Ahriman.
He just nodded slightly, but deep down, he reminded himself.
He must be extra cautious about this matter, because this typical scenario of "trying to stop something through a Chaos ritual, only to inadvertently trigger another event that makes the situation worse" is very much like T's usual cunning methods.
Although the current situation is not ideal, it is at least not yet beyond repair.
And frankly, Ahriman's actions did achieve the main objective.
Alex could only comfort himself in his heart.
After all, from the results, K's Demon Army successfully delayed the Necrons' advance, and even, by a strange twist of fate, forced out the hidden heretical cultists within the Blood Oath Society.
Aside from the timing not being the most suitable, this could even be said to be a good thing.
Because if the Blood Oath Society continued to lie dormant, they might take advantage of this Expeditionary Force's large-scale recruitment of medical personnel to secretly develop followers in various departments of the fleet, expanding their influence.
If a rebellion were to break out then, the destruction and impact would be far greater than the current scale.
After informing Ahriman of the full situation, the Thousand Sons Sorcerer's expression immediately became extremely complex.
He bowed deeply, his voice filled with sincere apology: "I apologize, Commander! I truly did not expect the ritual's collateral effects to be so… diffusive.
Please allow me to atone for this mistake; I can use my magic to assist in suppressing the rebellion."
Hearing Ahriman voluntarily offer to suppress the rebellion, Alex frowned slightly, his slender fingers lightly tapping the metal surface of the command console.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "You will go to the Star Sector Capital as the Chief Librarian of the Ash Knights to assist the Inquisition in quickly suppressing the Blood Oath Society's rebellion."
His voice was steady and calm as he continued, "You do not need to participate in the Inquisition's specific actions. If the Blood Oath Society's rebellion is small in scale, you don't need to directly intervene.
But if they begin sacrificial rituals, attempting to summon Demons, then give them a profound lesson and ensure the Inquisition can complete the suppression work as quickly as possible."
"I understand, Commander," Ahriman took a deep breath and nodded.
He tightened his grip on his staff, runes flickering slightly on its surface, as if he was already prepared to deal with the Chaos invasion.
At this moment, Loken, who was standing nearby, stepped forward. He asked in a deep voice, "Do we need to mobilize more troops for reinforcements? Based on the current battle assessment, we can still spare about two hundred thousand Astra Militarum and three hundred Astartes for counter-insurgency."
This number was not a casual estimate but a conclusion reached by Loken and the other two Commanders after detailed analysis.
Because the Necron Dynasty's Crown World was under fierce attack by K's Demon Army, the main Necron forces were forced to return to defend, which significantly reduced the pressure on the Expeditionary Force's front lines, thus giving them some mobile forces available for deployment.
However, Alex shook his head, saying firmly, "Not yet! I have already dispatched a Holy War Army and a company of Astartes as reinforcements. The Star Sector Capital's existing forces should be sufficient to deal with the rebellion."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, and continued to explain, "The Blood Oath Society's influence is mainly concentrated among the middle and lower-class populace of the Star District. Their armed forces are not elite, and given the Star Sector Capital's defensive capabilities, suppressing the rebellion is only a matter of time.
My only concern is that they might summon Demons through Chaos rituals. Once a Demon entity appears, the situation will become extremely tricky.
It is precisely for this reason that I sent Ahriman to personally oversee it."
"As for other aspects, we will focus on stability for now," Alex's fingertip lightly tapped the star map, his voice low, revealing his inner concern about the battle situation: "If this rebellion escalates into a larger-scale disturbance, causing the entire Star District to be unable to continue supporting the Expeditionary Force, then we will face more serious logistical problems.
In such a situation, not having enough reserve forces would be the real big trouble."
After hearing Alex's analysis, Loken turned his gaze to Ventanus and Sigismund. Seeing that neither expressed opposition, he nodded and said, "In that case, this mobile force can temporarily be stationed on Rostov II.
This planet is currently one of our core worlds under control, and ensuring its stability is crucial under the assumption of being isolated and unaided."
"Hmm, let's arrange it that way," Alex nodded slightly, then changed the subject: "Also, what is the situation on the other three planets?"
His gaze returned to the strategic star map, awaiting the latest battle reports.
"The situation on the other three planets is currently stable. Although the Necrons launched a large-scale attack on Donetsk, the main force of the Expeditionary Force is currently garrisoned on this planet. With the help of the naval fleet, the Necrons have not been able to gain an advantage," Sigismund explained the current situation to Alex, his tone full of confidence: "Although the situation on the other two planets is not as optimistic as Donetsk, two attack clusters have been assigned to defend these two planets, with myself and Captain Ventanus overseeing them, and the current situation remains stable."
"If I want to solve the problems on the other two planets besides Donetsk, do you have confidence?" Alex looked at the star map in front of him, not intending to engage in a meat grinder with the Necrons.
"Given the current situation…" Ventanus assessed the current situation and nodded, saying, "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, as long as we commit mobile forces, we can resolve the conflict on any one of those planets."
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