The planetary orbit of the SPO-2 Homeworld was now completely blanketed by countless Imperial Navy warships. The basic strategic deployment was complete.
Now, no matter where one stood on the planet's surface, looking up would reveal at least one fleet massive enough to blot out the sun.
"Lord Macarnos, is there truly no other way?"
On the screen in front of Kenmei was a middle-aged man on the verge of tears. Though he stood in an opulent room, his face was ashen.
"I still have three million Astra Militarum guardsmen here, and twenty-five billion civilians are still alive."
The man was nearly on his knees, his tone pleading.
Anyone facing this situation would be driven to despair and madness. Not only was he on the planet about to be subjected to Exterminatus, but he was also the only person who knew the planet had been judged as an enemy of the Empire.
All communications on SPO-2 had been jammed the moment the Inquisition's advance force arrived.
After finally receiving a response from the Empire, it was only to inform him that the entire planet had been abandoned and that Exterminatus was imminent.
Even the authorization to launch anti-air defenses had been locked out by Adeptus Mechanicus specialists, turning the weapons into scrap metal.
This was to prevent a mutiny by the remaining military forces. After all, to defend against Chaos invasions, Homeworlds were generally equipped with formidable anti-air weaponry that could inflict heavy losses even on an attacking Imperial Navy fleet.
"Governor Spire, I deeply regret your situation."
The middle-aged man before him was the Planetary Governor of the SPO-2 Homeworld. Due to the planetary blockade, even as a high-ranking Imperial official, he could not leave the surface.
"This is a necessary sacrifice for the Emperor."
Even if there were tens of billions of innocent civilians on the planet, everyone's fate was sealed the moment the Exterminatus order was signed.
Moreover, just because these people were alive didn't mean they weren't infected; the plague simply hadn't erupted yet. Even if only a tiny fraction of those twenty-five billion survivors were infected, they had to be purged.
Kenmei expressed his inability to help. The order had been signed by higher-ups in the Inquisition. He was making this call merely as a formality before the execution of the Exterminatus—to inform the planet's highest ruler and offer a final courtesy.
Furthermore, the fact that the planet had reached this state was largely due to the failure of its administration.
The plague outbreak was caused by heretics worshipping the "Plague Lord." They had held a forbidden sacrificial ritual in a city with a population of over a hundred million, attracting the attention of the Chaos God Nurgle, which led to these horrific consequences.
Sixty-five percent of life had perished in the first wave of the plague, and their corpses, corrupted by the power of the Chaos God, had turned into monsters spreading the disease further. This was a failure of supervision by the planetary management.
The duty of the Ordo Hereticus was to execute heretics within humanity. However, the Empire's territory was unimaginably vast. With the Inquisition's limited manpower scattered across the galaxy, there might not even be one Inquisitor for every hundred star systems.
This universe was just that hopeless. From the moment Horus launched his rebellion and the mortally wounded Emperor was interred upon the Golden Throne, humanity had no hope left to speak of.
All the armed forces—the Astartes, the Inquisition, the Astra Militarum, the Imperial Navy, the Adepta Sororitas, the Custodes—were like desperate white blood cells in a terminal cancer patient. All they could do was delay the inevitable end of the Empire's life.
Exterminatus was chemotherapy. Whether they were healthy cells, white blood cells, or cancer cells, all would be killed.
"Governor Spire, do you have any other questions?"
Seeing him shake his head, Kenmei ended the call with one final sentence.
"Thank you for your continued contributions to the Empire."
Kenmei turned to look at Admiral Sharif Ismail, commander of Battlefleet Bakka, who had arrived on the Daemonhunter.
Elena immediately brought out two briefcases and placed them in front of the two men.
This was to prevent any ship captain from disobeying orders, unwilling to execute what was essentially indiscriminate slaughter.
Therefore, the firing safeties for all warships in the fleet, including Battlefleet Bakka, were now consolidated into these two briefcases.
There were ninety warships in total, split evenly between Kenmei and Admiral Sharif—forty-five ships each.
"Admiral Sharif, count down ten seconds with me."
Kenmei opened the lid of his briefcase. Inside was a simple interface slot. He inserted his Inquisitorial Rosette. A simple turn was all it would take to decide the fate of twenty-five billion people on the planet.
"Admiral Sharif?"
Kenmei removed his 'I' badge from his chest, only to find the Admiral zoning out.
"Oh, apologies."
Sharif had been staring absently at the planetary data on the screen. The blood-red areas indicated destruction and death, while only ten percent of the planet remained free of the red overlay. That area also held the highest concentration of civilians.
Consequently, the main batteries of both his flagship, Dawn of Victory, and Inquisitor Macarnos's Daemonhunter were aimed precisely there.
Firing would inevitably lead to the devastation of life.
This was an experience Sharif had never encountered in his long military career. He had climbed to this position from commoner roots, his reason for enlisting simply to protect his home and country.
"Lord Macarnos, do you not feel even a shred of hesitation?"
To this, Kenmei replied coldly:
"It is all for the Emperor."
He was just an ordinary Inquisitor. With the Exterminatus order already in effect, unless Kenmei was simulating the Imperial Regent Guilliman, there was no way to stop this tragedy.
All Kenmei could do was use the most powerful weapons available to ensure these people passed as peacefully and painlessly as possible.
This simulation was the most terrifying one Kenmei had experienced so far.
Unlike the cheerful Orks, the Empire offered only ruthless orders and suffocating despair.
A thin piece of paper could determine the fate of billions, even tens of billions of lives. Even someone as powerful as Kenmei's mentor, Ahriman, couldn't fight fate; the homeworld of the Thousand Sons Legion had been utterly destroyed by an order equivalent to an Exterminatus.
He even had a question: Was the Empire truly on the side of justice?
Did other races in the galaxy view the Emperor and His Empire as entities no different from the four Chaos Gods?
"For the Emperor..."
A truly fitting answer for the Inquisition.
Admiral Sharif sighed, took out the badge symbolizing his supreme command of Battlefleet Bakka, and opened the briefcase in front of him.
When Kenmei and he simultaneously flipped open the safety covers, the sharp prows of every warship orbiting SPO-2 opened like blades, revealing their main batteries. Missile pods and lance battery covers slid open, exposing the terrifying warheads within.
"Three, two, one."
Kenmei and Sharif, each gripping the symbol of their authority, turned the keys in front of them together.
With the crisp, melodious click of a trigger being pulled inside the briefcases, the sky above SPO-2 boiled like boiling water in the very next second.
The twenty-five billion civilians had no idea what was happening. They simply noticed the sky suddenly fill with sun-blotting warships, followed by the heavens turning bright.
"Mama, I'm scared."
A mother held her anxious, frightened child tight and spoke gently:
"Don't be afraid, child. The Emperor protects."
Only Planetary Governor Spire of SPO-2 walked out of the administrative hall. Seeing the sky illuminated by fire, he knew the Exterminatus had begun.
He fell prostrate on the ground, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes, seemingly thanking the Emperor for His mercy.
"Praise the Emperor..."
One hundred and ten Imperial warships unleashed their full firepower. What a sight it was.
Even the darkest night became as bright as day; the entire sky was torn asunder!
All the plague-ridden clouds were dispersed by the countless cannon blasts and beams of light raining down from space.
A storm of munitions rose from the cosmos, a barrage as dense as a torrential downpour hammering the ground.
Building-sized Macro-cannons and Lance batteries slowly raised their barrels and roared. Countless terrifying orbital guns and lances spewed a relentless curtain of death.
Not only that, but thousands of devastating warheads surged from missile pods, their long tails of smoke trailing behind them as they plunged straight toward the surface.
Incalculable firepower rushed toward the beautiful homeworld. With all the clouds torn apart by the dense barrage, the view of SPO-2 from space was crystal clear.
This allowed every sailor, logistics officer, commander, and Inquisitor in the Imperial Navy and Inquisition fleets hovering in orbit to witness countless terrifying mushroom clouds rising from the planet's surface.
The most crushing part was that, due to pre-programmed firing sequences, their ships continued to fire relentlessly, raining destruction upon every inch of the land.
Such saturation bombardment essentially guaranteed that nothing on the surface could survive. Only civilians hiding in deep underground bunkers might have stood a chance.
Unfortunately, this was an Exterminatus. It wasn't just clearing out life; it was clearing out the planet itself, which now looked as if it were burning.
After the order to cease fire was given to all fleets, the retreat command followed.
Once all Imperial warships had withdrawn to a safe distance, Kenmei opened a special missile silo on the Daemonhunter. This was the forbidden weapon he had retrieved from the sealed armory.
Seeing the design of the warhead, Admiral Sharif's voice trembled.
"Cyclonic Torpedoes?"
In the entire Empire, only the Inquisition and a select few Chapter Masters of the Adeptus Astartes had the authority to order the use of Cyclonic Torpedoes for Exterminatus. Even a Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy, who outranked Sharif, did not have the right to use such insane weaponry.
Just one Cyclonic Torpedo would burn the planet's atmosphere into a vacuum. The terrifying heat would boil away the oceans completely, leaving behind nothing but bare bedrock.
But don't think that was the end. The explosive power of a Cyclonic Torpedo was typically enough to crack the planet's crust and destabilize its core. In some cases, the planet would shatter into fragments. In other words, this was a true "Planet Killer."
Kenmei pulled the trigger on the devastated world.
Although they were just two missiles, insignificant compared to the planet's volume, the moment they touched the surface, a fire far more terrifying than all the previous bombardment engulfed the globe.
It literally turned into a burning fireball, like a star. Even though the Imperial warships had retreated almost to the edge of the system, the searing flames still illuminated their faces.
When the temperature reached its peak, a clear crack appeared on the planet's surface. Eventually, more and more cracks covered the entire world...
"Execution of SPO-2 World complete."
Exterminatus. The Emperor's ruthless wrath against heresy.