The white-haired girl tilted her head slightly, her soft hair brushing against Raynor's cheek. A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes.
[Nurgle?]
During her time on the planet Brevis, she had read a vast amount of data regarding the enemies of humanity. She knew of the existence of the Chaos Gods, as well as the authorities they wielded and their methods of operation.
But she had never heard of the name "Nurgle."
[Is it the Chaos God who represents life and disease? I've seen it in the archives; they call him 'Grandfather' or the 'Plague God'.]
[Yes,] Raynor replied in the mental link. [Nurgle is his true name. This designation is far more accurate than those hypocritical titles.]
Sarah nodded thoughtfully. [Indeed, it is quite precise... Nurgle...] Her tone carried a hint of disgust.
As a Tyranid, she possessed a natural aversion to anything that would contaminate biomass. And Nurgle's plagues were undoubtedly the most repulsive thing to her.
Raynor's brow furrowed tightly. He currently had a massive headache.
First the Greenskin invasion and the Chaos ambush, then Ragnar's bizarre resurrection, and now Nurgle's plague. Has this Brevis system offended some celestial law? Why did trouble keep coming in wave after wave?
A backwater sector like the Calixis Sector usually barely saw any xenos. Now, not only had a horde of Orks erupted, but cultists of Slaanesh and Tzeentch had appeared, and even Nurgle was joining the fray.
And anyone with half a brain could guess that Nurgle's target was surely planet Brevis; planet Dorito was just a pitstop along the way.
But why?
The 13th Black Crusade was raging in full swing, and the main forces of Chaos were concentrated at the Cadian Gate. Why would Nurgle's followers, instead of fighting on the front lines, run off to this remote system?
Countless thoughts flashed through Raynor's mind.
Could it be because of me and Sarah?
Impossible.
They had only been in the Brevis system for half a year and had kept their presence well-hidden. Aside from Solene and a few others, no one knew their true identities. Nurgle couldn't have detected them so quickly.
Then why?
Raynor's gaze fell upon an inconspicuous metal dial on his wrist.
Could it be because of that STC?
But what attraction could an STC meant for shield reinforcement hold for Nurgle? What Nurgle wanted was to spread plague, rot, and death. An STC was practically worthless to him.
Raynor was completely baffled.
But the only thing he could be sure of was that a massive storm was brewing in the Brevis system. Orks, Chaos, the Imperium, and the Swarm—multiple factions were about to converge here. The days ahead would certainly not be peaceful.
"It seems we must make thorough preparations," Raynor turned and said to Sarah with a resolute tone. "Sarah, it's time to take it a step further. We need to continue expanding the Swarm's strength."
Hearing the words "expanding the Swarm," Sarah's eyes instantly lit up. Her face showed a look of sheer joy, like a child who had just received candy.
"Really?!"
"Can we finally expand on Dead World-A?!"
Sarah's tone was filled with anticipation. She had wanted to do this for a long time.
The resources of Dead World-B were nearly depleted, and the Swarm's scale hadn't grown significantly in a long while.
Meanwhile, Dead World-A was the second dead planet in the Calixis system. Its volume was twenty times that of Dead World-B, almost as large as planet Brevis. It possessed richer mineral resources and a more diverse array of native organisms, sufficient to support the Swarm's growth to an unprecedented scale.
Furthermore, Dead World-A was closer to planet Brevis. If any unexpected event occurred on Brevis, the Swarm could arrive in the shortest possible time.
Raynor looked at Sarah's excited expression and couldn't help but smile.
"Yes."
"Split half of the Swarm on Dead World-B and transfer them to Dead World-A."
"Establish a new hive there and hatch combat units on a massive scale."
"But it must be kept hidden." Raynor's expression grew serious again.
"We cannot let the humans of Brevis notice anything amiss. All hatching and construction work should ideally take place underground. Try not to alter the surface environment on a large scale."
"Even though the humans of Brevis are currently overwhelmed, we still cannot afford to be careless. Once the Swarm's existence is exposed, we will be caught in a dilemma again."
"Don't worry!" Sarah puffed her chest, saying with absolute confidence.
"Are you still worried when I'm handling things?"
"I'll have the vanguard establish hidden spawning pools underground on Dead World-A first, and then slowly transfer the Swarm. We absolutely won't leave any obvious traces."
"And just as you said, the humans of Brevis have enough of their own troubles to worry about. Who would have the time to care about what's happening on a dead planet?"
Sarah had already planned everything out. She had even simulated the scene of establishing a hive on Dead World-A countless times in her mind.
Raynor nodded. He still trusted Sarah's capabilities implicitly.
"That's good."
"I'll leave this to you. Get it done as quickly as possible. I have a feeling we'll be needing this Swarm soon."
Raynor's gaze grew deep. He looked toward the distant Karl II space station and said calmly:
"If the situation on Brevis deteriorates to an irreparable state, then we will take action ourselves and clean up the mess. Rather than letting the Orks and Chaos profit, we might as well take it for ourselves."
"At the very least, we can wipe away all traces cleanly and leave no future troubles."
This was Raynor's ultimate baseline. He didn't have a strong sense of belonging to the Imperium; it was merely human decency that drove him to temporarily protect the civilians and fulfill his duties as Governor. What he did was ultimately for himself, Sarah, and their Swarm.
If the Imperium truly couldn't hold Brevis, he wouldn't mind personally stepping in and claiming the entire planet's biomass.
Sarah nodded vigorously. "Mmh, I'll do whatever you say!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Just thinking about consuming the biomass of an entire planet made her incredibly thrilled.
"So what are we doing now?" Sarah held Raynor's hand, asking curiously.
"Back to Karl II." Raynor smiled. "To clean up those abandoned Greenskin boys. And let's not disappoint our little tax collector too much."
Although he had no real affection for this proud noble Rear Admiral, Dominic was currently an indispensable and powerful human asset. Before the threat of Chaos was completely exposed, he still needed Dominic and his Tithe Fleet to act as a shield against the Orks and other enemies.
"Okay!" Sarah nodded obediently. "Then let's go quickly. I haven't had a good run in a long time." Her tone held a trace of anticipation. Like Raynor, she possessed a natural desire for battle.
The shuttle's engines roared once more. The silver vessel veered, flying back toward the Karl II space station.
Aside from that, Sarah's affection level had now broken past 80.
However, ever since crossing the milestone of 60, aside from their bond becoming deeper, there hadn't been any substantive changes.
Raynor guessed that when her affection level broke past 100, the system would definitely grant a massive reward, but he didn't care much, her love was a reward in itself for him.
As for Solene and Dominic, although they were likewise bound by the system as targets for conquest, Raynor could not summon the slightest interest in them.
After all, the rewards provided by the system were only directed at the targets themselves and offered almost no stat increases on paper for Raynor, the system's owner. It was far better to focus on cultivating just one.
His current personal strength relied almost entirely on the symbiotic equipment Sarah had custom-made for him, alongside the physical improvements brought by being the "Chosen of the Emperor."
Yet he always felt that this system was not as simple as it seemed, with many features still waiting to be unearthed.
Meanwhile, inside the Karl II space station.
The sound of gunfire, explosions, and battle cries echoed incessantly.
The outer ruins of the entire space station had turned into a chaotic battlefield.
Dozens of Greenskin vessels had successfully breached the space station's outer defenses, deploying millions of Ork Boys.
These Orks howled, brandishing their choppas and scrap-shootas as they charged madly toward the space station's interior.
They thought this would be an easy slaughter.
Because their intelligence indicated that the shrimp were merely using the space station as a shield, and that their main force was not inside.
But they quickly realized they were wrong. And horribly so.
What they faced was not an undefended, fragile space station security force, but the main strength of Raynor's Expeditionary Fleet.
Over a million battle-hardened expeditionary soldiers had already boarded the Karl II space station beforehand. Relying on the station's intricate and labyrinthine terrain, they had constructed loose but highly flexible fortifications.
Raynor had given them a tactical directive of only three words: harass, maneuver, stall.
Avoid head-on trench warfare with the Orks. Instead, use the station's narrow corridors and complex layout to wage guerrilla warfare.
Continuously harass, ambush, and grind down the Orks' active forces, dragging them into an endless mire of urban combat.
Dat-dat-dat! Dat-dat-dat!
In a narrow corridor, a squad of expeditionary soldiers hid behind cover, firing furiously at the charging Orks.
The leading Orks were instantly riddled with bullets and collapsed, but those behind them did not hesitate, continuing to howl and surge forward.
"Throw grenades!" the squad leader barked.
Several frag grenades were lobbed forward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Fierce explosions rang out, and a swath of Orks went down.
"Retreat!" the squad leader ordered without hesitation.
The soldiers immediately slung their weapons and withdrew rapidly along their pre-planned route.
By the time the Orks breached the cover, the area was already deserted, leaving behind only a corridor littered with corpses and explosive debris.
Scenes like this played out in every corner of the space station. The expeditionary soldiers moved through the corridors like ghosts.
Their captains operated as if they possessed all-seeing eyes, intimately familiar with every corridor, corner, and ventilation shaft. Thus, they always materialized in the most unexpected places, dealt a lethal blow to the Orks, and vanished just as quickly.
The Orks were left utterly disoriented and enraged, unable to grasp even a shadow of their foes. They could only wander aimlessly through the hallways, venting their fury by smashing everything in sight.
"Come out, ya miserable shrimp!" an Ork boss roared in fury, splitting a nearby display monitor with his choppa, scattering sparks.
But his only response was a few cold sniper shots ringing from afar, and another Ork Boy dropping dead.
As time trickled by, the Greenskins' casualties mounted, yet they had not even touched the main defensive line of the Expeditionary Force.
To make matters worse, they soon realized they had been abandoned. News of the main fleet's retreat had finally reached the ears of these vanguard forces.
"Wot? Da Boss ran away?!"
"No way! Da Boss wouldn't leave us behind!"
"It's true! I just got word, all da big ships have turned back to Dorito!"
"We've been ditched!"
Panic spread rapidly among the Orks. Their once-high morale plummeted to rock bottom. Without their Boss, without the amplification of the Waaagh! field, and stripped of subsequent reinforcements, they were like abandoned orphans trapped inside a steel labyrinth. Only death awaited them.
Inside the space station's command center, Raynor stood before a massive holographic star map, watching the red dots continuously wink out. A faint smile touched the corners of his lips.
"It is about time," he said softly.
"Notify the Tithe Fleet. They may begin the bombardment sweep."
"Yes, sir!" the comms officer answered respectfully.
Minutes later, around the perimeter of the Karl II space station, dozens of Imperial warships adjusted their batteries, pointing their dark barrels at the station sectors occupied by the Orks.
"Fire!"
At the command, countless macro-cannon shells and lance beams poured down upon the space station like a meteor shower. Tremendous explosions resounded through the void, shaking the entire Karl II space station violently. The Orks trapped within met their ultimate doom.
As the smoke slowly drifted away from the Karl II space station, the acrid scent of scorched metal and foul Greenskin blood saturated the air.
Expeditionary soldiers cleared the battlefield, dragging Ork corpses to centralized incinerator points and repairing damaged defense networks. Occasionally, sporadic gunshots echoed through the halls—soldiers neutralizing the remaining Orks hidden in dark corners.
Inside the command center, the massive holographic star map showed the red dots representing the Greenskins winking out at a visible rate, leaving only a scattered few clinging to life.
Raynor stood in front of the map, hands clasped behind his back, calmly observing the flow of the battlefield.
Sarah stood beside him, clad in a sleek black combat suit with her silver-white hair tied into a high ponytail, her violet eyes intently scanning the star map. From time to time, she tapped the terminal to update the battlefield data, her operations far smarter and more precise than any human technician.
"Report, Commander! All sectors occupied by the Greenskins have been entirely cleared!"
"A total of 3,206,000 Greenskins have been neutralized. Our casualties stand at 315,217!" a comms officer reported loudly, running up to Raynor and rendering a crisp, standard military salute.
"Understood," Raynor nodded, his tone even. "Have the medics prioritize the severely wounded. Ensure the subsequent incineration protocols are carried out thoroughly. We cannot allow Greenskin spores to take root on our territory!"
"Yes, sir!" The officer turned and departed, restoring quiet to the command center.
Sarah turned to look at Raynor, speaking softly. "The Tithe Fleet has completed its bombardment and is returning to its designated orbit."
"That human Rear Admiral has already extended three invitations. It seems he is in quite a hurry."
Raynor smiled and turned around. "Very well. Let us go pay him a visit. It just so happens I have a few things to say to him as well."