NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 10: chapter 10
Chapter 10: Warning
The World Museum is a landmark building built by the people of Kasus. To be more precise, it is a large pyramid with three corners built on three small pyramids. It is built of square stones and plaster and is the crystallization of the wisdom and craftsmanship of the engineers of Kasus.
Ten kilometers away, the Global Museum came into sight. It was a large and magnificent building complex. Bucky and others quickly arrived near this amazing building.
When they arrived, the Extreme Marines who had left earlier had already disappeared.
On the avenue in front of the World Museum, numerous flags were hung in the air and danced in the wind. The patterns on them depicted the Empire, Ultramar, or the Ultramarines. Under the flags were lush and beautiful gardens. The rainbow formed by the spraying water mist made this area as beautiful as a fairyland.
As soon as he entered the inner court, he was immediately greeted by mortal servants dressed in the uniforms of the Universal Museum, delivering a message from Ventanus.
"Everyone, Lord Ventanus asked you to go to the inner hall of the Universal Museum immediately after your arrival. Please follow me."
At this moment in the inner hall of the Universal Museum, Ventanus had already ordered all servants and staff to take emergency action. He issued a wartime status order, instructing the airport managers who were in a meeting to mobilize immediately and report to him the latest developments regarding the Word Bearers.
"Abt, Dario, and Chancellor Etwin, return to your posts immediately, and notify the Ultramarines in other areas to assemble at once."
"Send a level-one alert signal to the orbital platforms and surface watchtowers, asking them to activate their weapon systems."
"Send an alert signal to the Ultramarines Legion warships in the low-Earth orbit starport, asking them to start their engines and remain on alert."
A series of orders were issued in an orderly manner, and even Ventanus abandoned the polite and peaceful attitude the Ultramarines usually maintained toward mortals. Everything was done to ensure the entire system operated at maximum speed.
"My lord, the group you summoned has arrived, along with two Ultramarines," the mortal servant quietly reported.
Ventanus walked toward Sabik Wayland, Tess, and the others who were approaching him. He shook hands with them cordially, expressing his gratitude. To Bucky's surprise, the captain of the Ultramarines also personally thanked him in front of the crowd.
"Dear friends, the news you bring is invaluable. Currently, 200,000 Ultramarines of the XIII Legion are gathering. Most of the warships, including Macragge's Glory, are anchored in the orbital starport. I cannot even imagine the disastrous consequences if the Word Bearers were to attack while we were unprepared."
Ventanus addressed Bucky. Guilliman's descendants also had strong political acumen. He had already deduced the status of Bucky, an ordinary mortal, in the eyes of the two brothers.
Clearly, he was the one making the decisions.
"No need to thank me. I also have my mission," Bucky replied humbly. After thousands of years of experience, he had reached a state of being unmoved by praise or criticism.
No matter what, he stood on the side of humanity. Whether the enemy was an alien or a human who had chosen to defect to the Warp, they were all foes.
In front of an exhibition stand, a kneeling, statue-like figure began to move. The servo system in his power armor hummed softly, supporting his towering frame, which was even more imposing than Ventanus.
The finely crafted power armor, adorned with gilded wings and eagles, stood like a mountain.
"My Night Lord," Ventanus saluted.
"I have heard your orders. You have done well," the Macragge hero named Lamiad praised with a smile. Compared to the serious-looking Ventanus, he seemed calmer and more composed.
The Four Paragons formed a special management hierarchy within the Ultramarines Legion. They represented four worlds, wielding power and status higher than the Chapter Master and the Planetary Governor, second only to the Primarch.
Bucky noticed that the right half of this hero's face was strikingly handsome, while the left half was covered by a ceramic mask. His mechanical eyes had lifelike pupils, scrutinizing everyone.
"The Legion is on the brink of crisis. Fortunately, we have been warned in advance."
Lamiad sought to boost morale. He could see the unease and tension in the hearts of Ventanus and the others.
"If the Word Bearers have truly chosen to betray us so disgracefully, then we will ensure the City of Perfection burns a second time!"
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Orbital Sentry Tower
Servomaster Hurst, clad in the scarlet robes of the Adeptus Mechanicus, was busy within the mind-space of Calth. Over 10,000 personnel worked in this outpost, a complex hub where a constant flow of people moved through the command station, managing the overwhelming number of starship movements in orbit.
The tracks at Kasus had never been busier.
Whether it was the bustling starports in space or the endless stream of transport convoys on the ground, all relied on the sentry towers for data support. Due to the Imperium's strict prohibition against artificial intelligence, the Mechanicus technicians depended on the Thinker system for data processing.
Hurst had sixty highly skilled technicians assisting him. Nearby, a heavily augmented, statuesque woman detected the sudden surge in his adrenaline levels.
"What's wrong with you?" Senior Technician Tao sent a string of binary code to Hurst. Within the Mechanicus, binary communication was far more precise and efficient than High Gothic.
Normally, Hurst would have responded in kind, particularly to this high-ranking technician he secretly admired, but at that moment, an order from Numinas forced his thought processors into overdrive.
"Are they those waste codes? They've been interfering with our systems for a while, and we haven't found a way to remove them." Tao's fingers flew over invisible keys. Not long ago, technicians had discovered inexplicable data fragments within the mind-space of Kasus.
These traces of corrupted information were neither viruses nor ordinary glitches, but they were undeniably malevolent. The filtering systems couldn't expunge them, and they stubbornly clung to the data streams.
"No. This is a combat readiness order from the Global Museum. Captain Ventanus reports that of the two Legions currently assembling over Calth, the incoming Word Bearers Legion is suspected to pose a high-level threat. Lord Ventanus has ordered the fleet to terminate its assembly."
The duty of the service division was to ensure the seamless coordination of orbital movements. This abrupt mission change would send them into overdrive.
"Regardless, connect to Macragge's Glory immediately and report this information," Hurst ordered. "As for our other warships, they are currently docked at the spaceport with engines shut down for repairs and maintenance."
However, just as the servitors prepared to transmit the information through the mind-space, eight names entered the network—unleashed through a sacrificial ritual. The Eightfold Path of the Chaos cultists had finally revealed itself.
What the technicians had dismissed as harmless junk code now showed its true form.
Like a dormant plague suddenly awakening, the corruption spread—an insidious force, corrosive, infectious, and unstoppable.
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The power of the Warp spread across the four dimensions of Calth.
(End of this chapter)