In the study of the Von Kleist Family's manor in the Upperhive, Count Hermann von Kleist leaned elegantly against his ancestral oak desk.
A vintage brass desk lamp cast a warm glow on the dark red velvet tablecloth, illuminating the antique Regicide chess piece he was toying with in his hand.
The chess piece was exquisitely carved from black marble, with every detail of the king's statue rendered lifelike.
"What a perfect layout!" Hermann said in his elegant High Gothic accent, his slender fingers gently placing the chess piece on the edge of the holographic projection.
The projection displayed a three-dimensional map of the entire Hive City, and the chess piece corresponded precisely to the location of the Grey Dove Sanatorium.
"My dear Inquisitor Craig probably hasn't realized yet," he took a sip of the amber liquor in his crystal glass, "that every step he takes is within the chess game that the Von Kleist Family has been planning for generations."
Old consultant Stephen, dressed in a traditional butler's uniform, bowed slightly, his silver-grey temples gleaming softly under the light.
"Master, we just received news," his voice was low and restrained, "the Hive City Adeptus Arbites has mobilized three elite enforcer squads, and the Inquisition's armed forces are also assembling."
Upon hearing this news, Hermann raised his hand and pressed the chess piece firmly onto the ivory-inlaid chessboard, making a crisp sound.
"Let them go," his voice maintained the composure typical of a noble, but every word was as sharp as an ice pick, "when the eclipse is complete… "
He elegantly pushed the chess piece across the entire board, "this three-hundred-year-long game of chess will usher in its grandest endgame."
A hint of worry flashed in old butler Stephen's eyes, but it quickly returned to professional calm: "Those subordinate organizations of the family… "
"They are merely chess pieces to be captured on the board," Hermann gently swirled the crystal glass, watching the liquor form a perfect vortex within it, "just as my grandfather used to say, to win a game of chess, one must be willing to sacrifice a few good pieces."
—
The second basement level of the Grey Dove Sanatorium was permeated with decaying dampness, the rust on the walls gleamed dark red under the beam of a tactical flashlight, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of rust mixed with blood.
As Mai Mai and Twilight's team stepped into the corridor, their tactical boots made a squelching echo on the waterlogged floor.
Suddenly, rustling sounds emerged from the shadows, like countless claws scraping on metal surfaces, sending shivers down their spines.
Dozens of Khorne cultists poured out from ventilation shafts and wall cracks, their bodies covered in dark red war paint, their throats emitting bestial growls, wielding jagged cleavers and crude chain axes.
Their eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty fanaticism, as if they could not wait to offer blood sacrifices to their god.
"It's a trap, as expected," Mai Mai's cold laugh echoed in the confined space, his finger lightly pressing the trigger of his plasma pistol; the gun hummed and glowed with a ghostly blue light, illuminating the cultists' hideous faces opposite him, "no wonder someone was eager for us to stop—they were afraid we'd overturn the chessboard."
Twilight did not respond, his multi-spectral vision device glowed coldly in the darkness, and the muzzle of his modified Bolter adjusted slightly as his gaze locked on.
The cultists at the forefront of the encirclement suddenly let out a war cry, waving their weapons and charging madly; their charge was disorganized but filled with pure murderous intent.
"Fire!" he roared, and gunshots erupted almost simultaneously.
The heads of three cultists exploded in response, dark red blood splattering like fountains on the walls, staining the rust an even deeper color.
However, more fanatics trampled over their comrades' corpses, continuing their charge, their roars echoing in the narrow corridor as if endlessly.
"Execute fallback plan!" Twilight suddenly raised his voice, pressing the button on his waist heavily.
The entire building plunged into a deathly silence, the emergency lighting system instantly cut off, leaving only the muzzle flashes of Bolters and the blue light of plasma weapons flickering in the darkness.
The cultists' war cries were torn apart by the roar of Bolters as soon as they began, and crimson trajectories wove a net of fire in the pitch-black, tearing the charging enemies to shreds.
Mai Mai's team had already set up interference devices around the building, and now piercing shrieks penetrated the walls, causing a brief disruption in the cultists' charge; their war cries turned into angry roars, but they could not stop the deadly curtain of fire from continuing to reap.
"Get out with the people!" Twilight roared amidst the hail of bullets.
Two team members propped up the unconscious researcher and rushed towards the emergency exit; the fanatics' blades had just grazed their shoulder armor when they were incinerated into molten metal by plasma beams.
Mai Mai fired as he retreated, the blue light spewing from his gun tracing deadly arcs in the darkness.
"Tell your master—," he grinned at a surveillance camera somewhere on the ceiling, the blue light from his gun flaring, "it's time for someone else to take the pieces in this game!"
The blast wave from the explosion knocked over the last few charging cultists, and the shockwave shattered the glass on both sides of the corridor, scattering fragments like rain.
When the smoke cleared, the corridor was left with only scattered broken weapons and charred remains, as well as a huge hole in the wall melted through by a plasma beam, with cold wind howling in from outside.
—
In a secret stronghold of the Inquisition in the Upperhive, dozens of holographic projection screens flickered beneath a dimly lit dome.
Inquisitor Craig stood before the central control console, gazing at the main projection in front of him, which clearly displayed everything happening inside the Grey Dove Sanatorium.
"The Von Kleist Family is too confident," Inquisitor Craig's voice held a cold laugh, the projection's light casting shifting shadows on his sharply defined face, "they thought they could hold us back with a few cultists, thought they controlled everything… "
He suddenly paused, his gaze shifting to the other side of the command room.
There, a large orrery was operating automatically, displaying the countdown to the impending eclipse.
Acolyte Algernon hurried over, the information on his datapad constantly refreshing: "Inquisitor, the Von Kleist Family's private guard is assembling at the manor."
"As expected," Inquisitor Craig sneered, "but they don't know that we've already pinpointed the true ritual location."
He raised his hand and enlarged the projection; the entire three-dimensional model rotated and unfolded, revealing the structural map of deeper underground.
Algernon hesitated: "Those two investigators… won't they alert the enemy? After all, it's such a big commotion… "
"They did very well," Inquisitor Craig's gaze fell on Mai Mai's back in the projection, the young Rogue Trader precisely firing to open a retreat path for his teammates.
"They are indeed elite acolytes personally trained by Alex," a rare hint of admiration surfaced in his tone, "sometimes, the most effective cover is a grand feigned attack."
The Inquisitor suddenly turned and walked towards the communication console; when he spoke again, his voice abruptly became like ice: "Notify all standby units to act immediately when the eclipse begins. Code name: 'Purifying Flame'."
Inquisitor Craig's lips curved into a dangerous arc: "Remember, our target isn't those small fry, but—the big fish hiding behind the scenes."
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