Though Skarbrand was a Khorne Greater Daemon, possessing the mighty power to destroy worlds, facing the synchronized lance strikes from the battleship and the combined expulsion efforts of many Eldar prophets, he inevitably moved towards defeat.
He was destroyed amidst roars, his soul banished back to the Warp.
Lucius died in battle, and Skarbrand was banished.
The remaining daemons and Chaos warriors realized the battle situation was lost; continuing to fight would only mean throwing their lives away for nothing.
They all chose to retreat, fleeing into the intricate Webway.
The surviving Human Empire warriors pursued for a distance, then gave up, turning to clear the battlefield.
They executed the injured enemies,
and searched for the wounded to send them for treatment.
This battle was extremely brutal; the loyal soldiers who had withdrawn from the Cadia battlefield were almost completely wiped out.
Those who survived had no smiles on their faces,
because they knew even harder trials lay ahead.
Alex consumed Faith Points to draw upon the Emperor's power to heal his injuries.
Golden radiance enveloped him.
His broken wings returned to their original appearance,
and the wounds left by the Khorne Greater Daemon quickly vanished in the light.
This scene brought a look of excitement to the numb soldiers.
For them, this was undoubtedly a miracle,
a manifestation of the Emperor's great power.
After recovering from his injuries, Alex cast the skills [Blessing] and [Light of the Emperor] on the wounded,
expelling the Warp's evil forces from their bodies,
so that their wounds would heal faster and their souls would be soothed.
This scene brought many to tears.
These tears were not for their own dark fate,
but for the Human Lord on the Golden Throne.
He had not abandoned them; He still loved them,
which was why He sent His messenger.
"I am Celestine, the Emperor's messenger."
The flying Celestine landed in front of Alex, retracting her wings.
The twin sisters Elenore and Genevieve walked over with the Battle Sisters of the Martyred Lady Convent.
They stood behind the Living Saint, their gazes towards Alex filled with piety,
simply because they could truly feel the Emperor's power surging within Alex.
Black Templars Grand Marshal Amaric, Inquisitor Greyfax, and Fabricator General Cawl also walked over.
Their expressions varied: some were surprised, some joyful, and some wary.
"I am the Emperor's Saint, the spokesperson of His will, the Guide and Redeemer of civilization."
"I came here by the Emperor's guidance to assist you in completing your mission."
Alex recited his many titles without changing his expression.
When out and about, one's identity is self-proclaimed.
"Praise Him."
Celestine's face was filled with joy.
Neither she nor her Battle Sisters had any doubts.
Heavy footsteps sounded.
Dreadnought Veteran Sard walked over with a few Star Realm Knights.
"Lord Guide, the Chaos enemy has been repelled; we have won another victory."
Alex nodded, "The God-Emperor rejoices in your devotion."
"Sard, what exactly is going on?"
Amaric asked.
"The last time I received news of the Star Realm Knights, it was that you had embarked on a crusade. How do you appear here?"
The Dreadnought Veteran turned his massive body to face Amaric.
Sard's voice came through the loudspeaker.
"After Chapter Master Amrad sacrificed all his warriors to destroy the World Engine, Terra revoked our Warband's designation."
"The Sable Swords took over our assets and homeworld."
"They gave us two choices: either join them, or choose a battle barge for a crusade. We chose the latter."
"But due to a Warp Storm, we were lost in Immaterium, and with the Guide's help, we managed to escape our doomed fate and arrive in the Calixis Sector."
"We recuperated there, assisting the Guide in training new recruits, purging Chaos enemies, and restoring the God-Emperor's glory."
"Afterwards, the Guide said he received the God-Emperor's guidance to assist Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, so he led us to reinforce Macragge."
"..."
Sard explained in great detail.
Celestine and the sisters behind her all showed excited expressions.
They firmly believed that Alex came here by the God-Emperor's guidance.
Cawl's mechanical face showed no change.
But he must not have been averse to it.
Based on the current situation, Alex's appearance benefited his mission.
Only Greyfax, she looked at Alex, then at Celestine,
a hint of suspicion and wariness in her eyes.
She was an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus, of the Puritan faction.
The Inquisition is divided into three main Ordos.
Ordo Malleus: commonly known as the Daemonhunters,
superficially responsible for overseeing other Ordos,
but their actual business is secretly hunting daemons, possessing the Grey Knights as their direct force.
Ordo Hereticus: commonly known as the Witch Hunters,
their main business is hunting down and burning Heretics and Mutants.
They have no direct forces; for major matters, they borrow from other departments.
Ordo Xenos: commonly known as the Alien Hunters,
their main business is hunting down aliens, working closely with the Deathwatch.
The Inquisition is a vast, loose, and complex organization,
a legacy left to the Human Empire by Malcador before Horus's siege of Terra and Malcador's ascent to the Golden Throne.
Because he left in a hurry, Malcador couldn't make too many arrangements, and coupled with ten millennia of development,
the Inquisition internally divided into countless factions based on different philosophies and methods of operation.
The Puritan faction was one of them.
They believed that humanity should not enjoy any comfortable life,
but should endure hardship, suffering, and extremely scarce material conditions,
thereby tempering themselves in adversity to become stronger.
Greyfax was once captured by the Necrons Overlord Trazyn the Infinite,
imprisoned in his hypercube labyrinth as an exhibit.
The reason was that she had executed Inquisitor Valeria, who had contact with Trazyn.
When Abaddon the Despoiler launched the Thirteenth Black Crusade,
Trazyn intervened in the Cadia campaign.
He released Greyfax and other 'prisoners',
allowing them to support the Human Empire forces on the Cadia battlefield.
Upon regaining freedom, Greyfax was deeply shocked and displeased by the current state of the Human Empire.
Unsanctioned psychics abused their powers, Space Wolves transformed into werewolves in battle,
and even more critically, the soldiers of Cadia fanatically worshipped a Living Saint who was clearly a Mutant.
But due to the urgent situation, she suppressed her anger and threw herself into the defense of Cadia.
After the war was lost, she withdrew from the battlefield with the Living Saint Celestine and Cawl.
But she never trusted Celestine's identity as a Living Saint.
This was not due to her narrow-mindedness,
but because in her long career of serving the Emperor, she had seen very few true miracles.
Most seemingly redemptive gifts were often the defiling temptations set by the Chaos Gods.
Many of the galaxy's miseries began with good intentions and beauty.
Greyfax was already wary of Celestine, and now another one appeared,
which intensified her wariness, fearing it was a plot by the Chaos Gods.
However, she did not reveal her inner thoughts,
because without concrete evidence,
acting rashly would only bring trouble and not solve the problem.
While Alex was communicating with the Human Empire heroes,
the Players were also discussing the new NPCs.
"The one with wings is Celestine, next to her are the twin sisters, the one in black armor is Amaric, the one with the bionic eye implant is Inquisitor Greyfax, and there's no need to say more about that iron lump, the Fabricator General, Guilliman's Doraemon."
Tenjiro explained in detail to the other Players.
The Bald Donkey standing next to him stroked his chin, looking at Greyfax.
"I think this Inquisitor's gaze is a bit off. She wouldn't want to tie the Guide to a pyre and burn him, would she?"
Twisted person and other Players also started chattering.
"According to the Inquisition's Mutant screening standards, over three meters tall, possessing powerful Warp energy, and having a pair of wings – definitely a Mutant. He needs to be immediately taken to the execution ground and shot dead."
"Greyfax seems to be from the Ordo Hereticus, and this Ordo specializes in burning Heretics and Mutants. Good heavens, this guy really wants to burn Celestine and the Guide."
"Uh, according to the Inquisition's screening standards, it seems few Primarchs would pass."
"Hahaha, let these obsessed people travel to 30k Terra, and guess if they'd demand the Emperor and the Primarchs lean against the nearest wall with their hands on their heads, then shoot them one by one with bolters."
"That scene alone sounds like hell."
The Players did not restrain their discussion voices,
and Amaric and the others, having undergone enhancements, had astonishing hearing.
They heard the Players' discussions,
but these discussions contained many strange noises and whispers.
This prevented them from understanding the Players' dialogue.
Alex was already familiar with such matters and explained when he saw their bewildered expressions.
"They are the Emperor's God Chosen, born in the Emperor's domain."
"Sometimes they seem a bit strange, but you'll get used to it."
"..."
Upon learning that the God Chosen even needed to spend Contribution Points to buy their own equipment,
and if they had no Contribution Points, they needed to take out loans,
even Amaric and Greyfax were shocked.
Such loyalty, even they couldn't achieve it!
After Alex finished explaining about the God Chosen,
he had several data-slates handed to Cawl, Amaric, and Celestine.
"I have given you secondary authority for the mission. You only need to issue tasks, and the God Chosen will act for you."
Greyfax looked at the data-slate in her hand, showing confusion.
"Issuing tasks will make them act?"
"Yes."
Alex nodded and demonstrated in front of them.
[Task: Clear the Battlefield
The great war has ended, but daemons still lurk in the ruins of Twilight City.
They are the minions of Abaddon the Despoiler, constantly providing him with information. Please find a way to eliminate them.
Task Reward: 25000 Contribution Points, 50 Honor Points.
]
Soon, several God Chosen came to accept the task,
entering the ruins to search for daemons.
Cawl and the others watched this scene, their faces thoughtful.
At this moment, the members of the Reaper Army, led by Eldrad Ulthran, walked over.
The Great Prophet of the Ulthwé Craftworld, his face filled with worry, said to Alex and the others:
"Everyone, we must hurry to Macragge. I fear that the Chaos forces may have already launched an attack on Macragge."