Conqueror?
Listening to Khârn's roar, everyone present was stunned.
This name was extremely unfamiliar to most of them, as the World Eaters Legion's flagship had been missing from the galaxy for ten thousand years.
As a result, most people only looked confused and bewildered when they heard the names Lorgala Sarine and Conqueror.
Only Alexander, Ahriman, and the taciturn Raven Guard reacted to these two names.
Had Erebus enslaved the Conqueror?
Alexander raised his eyebrows slightly. That was indeed a possibility. The Conqueror, constantly moving between the galaxy and the Warp, with no fixed location and internal spatial distortions due to corruption, could indeed, to some extent, guard against the anywhere door and the seeker's staff.
But what truly interested Alexander was that Erebus had actually succeeded.
The Conqueror... Well, it was in the hands of that oath-breaker Kossolax. This small World Eaters Chaos Lord certainly couldn't stop Erebus.
But the problem was that the Conqueror wasn't as unowned as it seemed.
"Lorgala Sarine, I remember that name." Ahriman glanced at Khârn: "That was the Conqueror's captain—a mortal, a woman actually becoming the Conqueror's captain, the World Eaters' number three, which surprised me even then—is she still alive?"
"Could she have merged with the ship? Become something like the machine spirit?" Ahriman raised an eyebrow slightly, asking.
As a master in the Warp, Ahriman easily guessed Lorgala Sarine's current situation.
"You guessed correctly, she is still on the Conqueror. She has always been fulfilling her duty, I can feel it."
Khârn truly opened his mouth like a bloodthirsty wild dog, revealing his ferocious, blood-stained teeth, anger overflowing from him:
"But you were wrong about one thing. Sarine isn't the World Eaters' number three; in a sense, she is the World Eaters' number one."
"Angron and I were pretty much insane during the Siege of Terra. It was Sarine who was responsible for contacting Horus, for maintaining the operation of the World Eaters Legion and the Conqueror. Angron and I both respected and loved her."
"Erebus, that beast dares..."
Dense blood energy surged like a tide around Khârn, but his tone was extremely calm, as calm as a beast lurking in a sea of blood, waiting to bite its prey to death.
Alexander's gaze shifted slightly.
Lorgala Sarine, captain of the World Eaters' flagship Conqueror, one of the few who could converse with Angron, and even, to some extent, "command" Angron.
The entire World Eaters Legion held a degree of respect for her, and she remained loyal to this broken, twisted, and insane legion, as well as to Angron and Khârn, maintaining loyalty and friendship.
Though a bit comical, Angron and Khârn were like two mad hounds, and Lorgala Sarine was the only one who could leash their sanity with friendship and loyalty.
Towards the end of the Siege of Terra ten thousand years ago, Captain Lorgala Sarine had already merged with the highly corrupted Conqueror, becoming the Conqueror itself, a being akin to the machine spirit of this blasphemous flagship.
It was precisely because of her that Alexander found it strange that Erebus could enslave the Conqueror.
Because even ten thousand years later, Lorgala Sarine still maintained some connection with Angron. She could even summon Angron, call out to Angron, and have Angron descend upon the Conqueror.
Erebus' raw power could never defeat Angron. The only possibility was that the Blood God had helped Erebus.
No wonder Khârn was so furious.
"My Lord." Khârn's tone became prayerful as he bowed his head to Alexander: "I beg you..."
"I'll speak for this clumsy fellow."
Raum, the daemon possessing Khârn, emerged and saluted Alexander with a rounded hand.
"My Lord, Khârn begs you to save the Conqueror and Lorgala Sarine. He can only plead with you now."
"I can persuade Sarine, My Lord." Khârn said in a deep, hoarse voice: "I can make the Conqueror loyal to you. You will gain a Gloriana-class battleship as your flagship—"
The Light Lord itself gave a slight tremor, seemingly displeased with Khârn's words.
"Stay away from the boiler when walking at night—" the Light Lord's petulant words suddenly echoed in everyone's minds.
Khârn's expression twitched slightly.
The Light Lord's machine spirit had always been active and friendly. Sometimes, when Khârn was tormented by the Butcher's Nails, it would even actively lower the noise of the surrounding machinery to prevent the noise from further exacerbating Khârn's pain.
But Khârn's recent words had clearly offended it.
Alexander couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. His ship full of oddballs was truly amusing.
"I'll help you. We're already hunting Erebus, aren't we?"
"Hmm, you should quickly organize the Conqueror's situation and draw an internal structural map of the Conqueror based on your memory."
"Although it has suffered ten thousand years of corruption, the internal situation of the Conqueror may be completely different from the past, but it can still serve as a reference."
Khârn nodded, indicating he understood.
"Professor A, the task of locating the Conqueror falls to you, but I won't be hiring you for the specific operation." Alexander turned to Ahriman and said.
Although, according to Ahriman, Tzeentch was currently busy digesting new domains and recovering lost ones, with not much energy to focus on the material universe, and Ahriman had unique techniques to obscure his own destiny, avoiding monitoring by Tzeentch,
Alexander didn't trust him at all. Ahriman was, after all, Tzeentch's chosen, which meant he was the unluckiest fellow who got tricked by Tzeentch the most.
Alexander believed in Ahriman's skills and abilities, but he didn't believe in Ahriman's anti-fraud awareness.
Ahriman clearly realized the reason for Alexander's decision. He sighed slightly, feeling a little sad about losing a job.
Indeed, as an outsourced worker, he was at most a side worker, with a status similar to many Terran-born members in legions during the Great Crusade.
Unfortunately, Ahriman had no way to resign from Tzeentch, and Tzeentch wouldn't be as generous as the Blood God letting Khârn go.
Alexander then instructed Karlaen, the former Holy Blood Angels First Company Captain now leading the Terminators, to prepare for boarding the Conqueror. If the anywhere door couldn't directly enter the Conqueror, then the old method of boarding would have to be used.
As for the remaining specific strategies, they were handed over to more experienced warriors like Khârn, Seth, and the silent Raven Guard to discuss and deliberate.
After the meeting, Khârn couldn't help but rub his temples.
The fact that Erebus had enslaved the Conqueror made it difficult for him to suppress the constant surge of anger in his mind.
The anger itself, intertwined with the pain brought by the Butcher's Nails, gave Khârn an intense headache.
But he still had work to do. According to Alexander's instructions, he had to organize the internal situation of the Conqueror.
After completing that, he would also have to discuss specific action plans in a small war council.
He was just a World Eater. Who would make a World Eater responsible for such brain-intensive work?
"Solaq, come and help me organize the situation inside the Conqueror."
Khârn decided to grab someone to help. Solaq was a good choice. His personality was calmer and more composed than Khârn's, and his writing was clear and orderly, making him very suitable for this kind of work.
"If there's time, I can give you some more guidance." Khârn used what little 'drawing a big picture' skill he had left in his head, saying to Solaq.
Solaq was attracted by Khârn's offer of guidance and began to organize the internal situation of the Conqueror with Khârn.
It proved that Khârn's judgment was indeed correct. With Solaq's help, he quickly completed the work.
He even had the opportunity to teach the Primaris warrior in purple power armor before the small war council began.
"Your swordsmanship is exquisite, quite reminiscent of the Imperial Fists of old."
"Imperial Fists, Lord Khârn." Solaq replied, wielding the longsword in his hand.
"..But you rely too much on your swordsmanship, Solaq." Khârn lightly threw a punch, landing precisely on Solaq's face.
"I knew a Luna Wolves captain named Loken. He once said: 'Know your enemy, win by any means necessary.'"
"Don't just rely on your sword. You yourself are a powerful weapon, a weapon forged by the Emperor and Belisarius Cawl's skill. Don't waste them."
Solaq humbly nodded, admitting defeat, then widened the distance from Khârn, preparing to try again.
He could now last for a short while under Khârn's not-so-serious attacks.
But before the two could start another round, a slightly noisy sound reached their ears.
"The Light Lord has been invaded. Primaris warriors with free time, quickly assist cabins 8-13."
"Invasion?" This didn't surprise Khârn and Solaq.
Whenever the Light Lord entered the real universe, some death-seeking warbands, pirates, or cultists would try to harass the Light Lord.
These people were most likely acting on orders from Erebus or Tzeentch, but were deceived by Erebus and Tzeentch, unaware of the situation on the Light Lord, and rashly challenged enemies they couldn't handle.
The fate of these unlucky ones wasn't too tragic, because Khârn, Saint Doraemon, Ahriman (when occasionally on board), and the Raven Guard wouldn't intervene, but would leave these guys to the less experienced Primaris to train themselves.
"You go. It's a good opportunity to digest what you learned today in combat." Khârn nodded at Solaq and said.
Solaq politely nodded in acknowledgment, gave Khârn an aquila salute, and then asked over the comms: "Who are the enemies? Warbands? Pirates? Cultists?"
"It's a warband."
"It's an Emperor's Children warband."