The veil of the warp was mercilessly torn open, and the laws of reality rushed back like a tide. An elegant yet deadly Inquisition cruiser and a massive, rugged Space Wolves battle barge, filled with primal fury, emerged almost abreast from the distorted Mandeville Point.
Behind them, the Imperial Navy fleet followed unhurriedly, like a group of indifferent bystanders, adjusting their speed to maintain a subtle and safe distance from the two heavily armed ships ahead.
Clearly, the Navy had no desire to get involved in the mess between the Inquisitor and the Space Wolves Chapter. In any case, they were only here to follow orders; as long as they didn't proactively cause trouble, no matter what AlphaBravo the two in front stirred up, the responsibility wouldn't fall on them.
On the bridge of the Inquisition cruiser, Inquisitor Herbert Hernampode stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the planet suspended in the endless void outside the viewport.
"This is Perditia," he said, stroking his neatly trimmed chin, his eyes glinting with scrutiny. "The main terrain is ochre-yellow desert, with only one main hive city... It looks very peaceful."
He turned and took the datapad handed to him by an attendant. The screen displayed a standard archival photo of the Perditia system, a quiet yellow planet. Herbert carefully compared it with the scene before him.
"Hmm, it matches the photo perfectly, one could even say it's identical." He nodded with satisfaction, a hint of imperceptible relief in his tone. "It seems nothing major has likely happened on Perditia."
Herbert secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Given this, the process this time would likely be another tedious bureaucratic tour: establishing contact with the Planetary Governor in orbit, landing at the spaceport, settling the tithe issue under the enthusiastic welcome of the Governor and various nobles, then symbolically touring the hive city twice to confirm no signs of Chaos or xenos corruption, and then returning home.
After such a rigorous and detailed process, the Space Wolves warship nearby would probably find no excuse for combat. Herbert could even imagine the frustrated looks of their reckless warriors pounding their chests in their ship. It seemed they would have to return empty-handed.
Just as Herbert was making these calculations, enjoying the rare pleasure of having everything under control, his pupils suddenly constricted.
On the terminator line of that tranquil yellow planet, an extremely tiny yet blindingly bright white light point erupted fiercely.
The light was so pure, so extreme, as if someone had conjured a miniature star on the planet's surface. Even after passing through multiple layers of filtration in the bridge viewport, the light still stung the eyes. Immediately after, a visible, circular shockwave rapidly spread through the atmosphere, tearing and pushing aside clouds, leaving an ever-expanding, ugly scorch mark on the planet's surface.
"By the Emperor!" Herbert swore. "What the hell was that?!"
"Uh... I think, that was a nuclear bomb, sir," the captain replied from his command chair.
"Of course I know that was a damn nuclear bomb!" Herbert snapped his head around. "I'm asking why a nuclear bomb exploded on Perditia!"
The captain, startled by the sudden outburst, cowered in his chair, not daring to breathe.
Herbert took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He realized his earlier assessment of Perditia being "still intact" was wildly off the mark. On the contrary, Perditia's current situation was very, very bad... But, this was also good.
A thought, almost bordering on excitement, flashed through his mind. In his long career as an Inquisitor, things were never at their worst, only getting worse. Suddenly encountering a calm and peaceful situation, he was actually a bit unaccustomed to it.
"Full speed ahead!" Herbert's voice became cold and decisive. "All units to battle stations, target high orbit! I just hope Perditia hasn't become a second Krieg before we arrive!"
"Call Perditia," he then ordered. "Use all frequencies. I need to know what's happening on the ground immediately."
The communications officer's fingers blurred over the control panel, and harsh static filled the bridge. Several minutes passed, with only dead silence in response. Herbert's brows furrowed deeper; an ominous premonition rose in his heart—had the planet's command system completely collapsed?
Just as he was about to order a more forceful information intrusion, an electronic synthetic voice finally cut through the static.
"...This is Perditia... Identity verification... Please state your identities..."
Half of the stone weighing on Herbert's heart dropped. He snatched the communicator and said in a deep voice, "This is Inquisitor Herbert Hernampode. I order you to immediately report the ground situation and grant my fleet docking access to the spaceport."
After a brief silence, the voice spoke again: "...Access granted, Inquisitor. We await you at the spaceport. Over."
The communication was cut off.
"At least it's not completely out of control yet," Herbert muttered to himself, tossing the communicator back to the communications officer. Someone responding meant that order still existed. This was already much better than the worst-case scenario he had imagined.
When the landing craft settled steadily on the spaceport's massive landing pad, the hatch opened, and a pungent odor of gunpowder mixed with disinfectant wafted in.
Herbert, clad in his black greatcoat, descended the gangway, flanked by a squad of elite guards in carapace armor, armed with hellguns. His gaze swept around, finding that although the massive spaceport was still operational, it had clearly not been maintained for a long time.
Almost simultaneously, a much larger, more savage-looking landing craft nearby also slammed onto the landing pad. The hatch was brutally kicked open, and the massive forms of the Space Wolves streamed out, the servo systems of their power armor emitting a low hum, each step making the deck tremble.
Wolf Lord Krona, leading them, had an undisguised, beast-like smile on his weathered face. He glared menacingly in Herbert's direction, his eyes full of challenge.
Herbert instinctively glanced at his mortal guards behind him. This elite force, which had protected him in countless past missions and struck fear into his enemies, seemed so tiny before these demigod-like giants.
Fortunately, the Perditia representatives soon appeared, interrupting the silent standoff. The Space Wolves wouldn't resort to direct action in such a setting.
However, what puzzled Herbert was why only two people had come to greet them? Judging by their attire, one was an Astra Militarum officer, the other a Tech-Priest. This completely defied the protocol for welcoming an Inquisitor and an astartes Chapter.
"For the Emperor," the officer spoke first, simply giving Herbert and Krona an aquila salute. "My name is Robert, Commander of the Perditia Helldivers Legion. I apologize for not preparing any welcoming ceremony; you arrived too quickly."
"Reddito," the Tech-Priest beside him was even more direct, his electronic synthetic voice devoid of emotion.
"I am Inquisitor Herbert Hernampode," Herbert introduced himself briefly, then cut straight to the point. "Where is the original Perditia Astra Militarum? And the Planetary Governor?"
"The original Perditia Astra Militarum was scattered in the war against the xenos; we are the result of its reorganization," Robert said, his expression unchanged, reciting a pre-prepared line. "As for the Planetary Governor, he has been summarily executed by us for heretical acts. We two are the highest-ranking individuals on Perditia."
"Heretical acts?" Herbert's eyebrow twitched, his interest piqued.
"Yes," Robert continued, "After the warp storm erupted, the Planetary Governor, perhaps out of boredom or some other reason, proactively contacted and invited a squad of Fallen space marines. By the time we broke through the Mid-Hive and reached the Upper Hive, everyone there was dead, leaving only various modified heretical constructs.
The Planetary Governor's family was found by us after the battle and immediately executed by firing squad. Their bodies have been incinerated to prevent contamination."
"Hmph... Well done. And you seem to know quite a lot," Herbert was about to delve deeper into the details when a massive figure rudely pushed its way through.
Krona shoved Herbert aside, and the Wolf Guard behind him moved forward, their steel-like bodies forcefully pushing the Inquisitor and his retinue back more than ten meters.
Krona looked down at Robert and asked boisterously, "Hey, mortal, where are my fallen cousins now?"
"They have already been dealt with by us."
Robert calmly uttered these words, which made everyone present—both the Inquisitor and the Space Wolves—stare wide-eyed.
The air seemed to solidify.
The smile on Krona's face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, soul-freezing scrutiny. He narrowed his eyes, his voice deep like the rumble of thunder before a storm: "You'd best think carefully about what you just said. Mortal, this is no laughing matter..."
"I am not joking," Robert met his terrifying gaze, his tone still calm. "I can take you to see their bodies. There were sixteen space marines in total."
Krona stared intently at Robert for a full ten seconds, seemingly trying to find even a trace of a lie on his face.
"Robert, is it?" he said slowly. "Very well, I'll remember you!"
With that, he suddenly extended his massive hand and clapped Robert hard on the shoulder. The immense force made the latter's legs buckle, his body shaking violently, almost causing him to squat down directly.
Krona then casually slung his arm around Robert's shoulder, half-dragging, half-pulling him away with large strides, his voice filled with impatient enthusiasm: "Come on, come on! I can't wait to see how those traitors were killed by a bunch of mortals!"
And Herbert, who had nearly been pushed to the ground and only regained his composure with the support of his guards, saw the Space Wolves forcibly taking the Perditia people away as soon as he stood up. He suppressed the urge to curse them as "barbarians" (mainly because he would definitely be heard at that distance) and hurried after them.