Even on a raging battlefield, the sudden sight of a massive force of Grey Knights charging right into their faces was a jarring experience for the daemons of Chaos.
The Keepers of Secrets looked at the Daemon Prince. It was well known that Slaaneshi daemons loved nothing more than corruption and perversion. The sole traitor from among the ranks of the Battle Sisters, those bolter-wielding fanatics, was their handiwork.
So, they wanted to corrupt a Grey Knight. Just one. They had orchestrated this entire scenario precisely to lure a squad of Grey Knights here. Their plan, it turned out, was a success.
But… what the hell was with the nearly one hundred Grey Knights? The forces that banished Daemon Primarchs like Mortarion or Angron only numbered a little over a hundred. These two Keepers of Secrets, let alone confronting a Daemon Primarch, were among the weakest of the Greater Daemons of the four gods.
The Daemon Prince was now breaking out in a cold sweat. There was nothing about this in his prophecies.
---o---
The Imperial Grey Knights were equally lost in confusion. Since when did they have so many brothers? And the light emanating from these new arrivals… how was it even more dazzling than their own?
What they didn't know, and indeed, what even Zhou Ye didn't fully realize, was this: although he had deflected almost all of the faith directed at him, sending it all to the Golden Fiend, the sheer quantity had now accumulated to a certain point. Furthermore, with his base of operations now firmly established, he had become something of a great beacon. The Golden Fiend was now trying to toss some of that faith back.
In this back-and-forth, Zhou Ye himself was mostly fine, but some strange changes had nevertheless occurred. Moreover, since his Grey Knights were natives of this universe, they were affected. The Imperial Grey Knights couldn't see the difference, and besides…
"In the name of the Father?"
Since when did they, the Grey Knights, have a father? But…
"Brother, help me buy time, I need to try again…"
Squelch…
The Grey Knight's words were cut short as he watched the newcomers charge straight at the daemonic horde.
Unmask them? Find their true name? To hell with their true name!
Never mind the fact that Zhou Ye didn't possess their Liber Daemonica; his methods of countering daemons were of a higher order. Not only had his own weapons become bizarrely powerful, but his gene-sons had also undergone strange transformations.
So, the Imperial Grey Knights could only stand there dumbfounded as they watched their gleaming golden counterparts charge into the fray. In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the Slaaneshi daemons were slaughtered so brutally they were crying for their mothers.
There was no helping it. The Slaaneshi daemons had discovered something that terrified them. Any daemon struck by those halberds, which radiated an aura of heavenly punishment, suffered immense damage directly to their spiritual essence. A daemon killed by these weapons would be incredibly difficult to resurrect unless their god took personal notice. For a Greater Daemon, it might be possible. For these Slaaneshi daemonettes, it was absolutely impossible.
But…
"Charge! If any of you dare to retreat, you die!!!"
With the two Keepers of Secrets watching, the horde of lesser daemons didn't dare fall back. Their only choice was to charge the few Imperial Grey Knights and the Inquisitor, all of them praying to be killed by these knights instead.
In an instant, the scene took on a highly theatrical quality. One group of daemons launched a death-defying charge against a handful of Grey Knights, while a much larger group of Grey Knights chased after them, shouting.
The situation was utterly comical. But just then…
"Eeeeeeeaaaaaaaaah!!!"
That piercing noise rang out again as a group of Noise Marines charged forward. Unlike the daemons, when they died, they were truly dead. But that didn't matter. To them, this wasn't a brutal battlefield, but a grand concert hall where they were performing the most beautiful music.
The massive sonic wave attack enveloped the entire area. Combined with the dense swarm of daemons, it was a truly sickening sight.
"Since conventional tactics are no longer sufficient, I must use the weapon my Father has given me."
Looking at the rookies he had brought with him, the Grand Master of Zhou Ye's Grey Knights spoke with a hint of resignation. He was unaware that his words made the ears of the other Grey Knights perk up like a rabbit's.
Since when did they have a father? Did the Grey Knights really have a father?
Zhou Ye's Grand Master didn't elaborate. Instead, he drew the massive pistol Zhou Ye had given him. Then, under the expectant gaze of the Imperial Grey Knights, he pulled the trigger.
BOOM!!!
In an instant, a massive black hole was fired, flying forward with incomparable force before exploding on the spot. It instantly carved out a massive crater several dozen meters deep and over a kilometer wide. Every being in its path and at the point of impact was utterly consumed.
Seeing this, everyone was stunned. Even the Grey Knight who fired the weapon was taken aback. The power was immense, and the energy consumption was considerable… but at least it had cleared a path.
The two groups of Grey Knights quickly converged. The Inquisitor let out a sigh of relief; he had no desire to die here. And this new group of Grey Knights was profoundly strange. How was their aura of holiness so overwhelmingly dense?
"Reinforcements have arrived!!!"
Just then, the Grey Knight's voice rang out again, and countless shooting stars began to fall from the sky.
Seeing this, the Daemon Prince looked at the two Keepers of Secrets. Hadn't they corrupted the Sector Governor and seized control of the anti-air defenses? How did these reinforcements get through? The Keepers of Secrets were equally baffled. Clearly, Zhou Ye's forces had slipped in using their Imaginary shields. Besides, thanks to the Slaaneshi influence, the officials in charge were long lost in their own debauchery.
At the same time, a massive drop pod slammed into the ground, and a squad of Space Marines in black and gold armor charged out.
"Traitors!!!"
They immediately charged the group of Noise Marines, each a dual-wielding master, and began carving through the Slaaneshi daemons like they were cutting melons.
"Hmm, Emperor's Children?" the Inquisitor muttered to himself, watching the newcomers charge. He was completely lost now. What in the world was going on?
With the arrival of reinforcements and the scanning support provided by the forces in orbit, the group quickly located the source of the daemonic incursion. The battle progressed rapidly, and with the help of the numerous soldiers, they soon dealt with the two Keepers of Secrets and the Daemon Prince.
But then… the air fell into a brief silence.
The two groups of Grey Knights stared at each other. As for Inquisitor Eli Morgan, he watched it all in silence. He could confirm that these were Grey Knights, and they were more efficient, more pure than the ones he had brought. The light of the Emperor was practically overflowing from them. The problem was, where the hell did they come from?
The existence of the Grey Knights was a top secret even within the Imperium, and these newcomers had just shouted their battle cry on an open channel. What had he heard? Father? Emperor preserve him, was he even allowed to hear that? The origin of the Grey Knights' gene-seed had always been a mystery, unknown even to the Inquisition. Many speculated it came directly from the Emperor, but that was thought to be impossible. The Emperor had never used his own gene-seed to create a single Astartes; even the Primarchs' gene-seed was extracted when they were infants.
At this moment, Eli Morgan was seriously considering whether he should just shoot himself with a bolt pistol.
But then, something happened that made his brow twitch. The Imperial Guard and a contingent of Space Marines he had never seen before were just… silently cleaning up the battlefield.
Weren't they going to use the traditional Grey Knight methods? This… this wasn't right.
"Brother, who are you…?" one of the Imperial Grey Knights asked, looking bewildered at the group that didn't act very much like Grey Knights. The holy light radiating from the newcomers' Aegis Terminator armor was blinding.
"The war continues. We have no time. Brother, come with me to the next planet. It is currently under invasion by the Lord of Plagues. The world is heavily corrupted, and we intend to deploy an Exterminatus order."
The Grand Master spoke directly. He didn't think much of it. Zhou Ye didn't let them act rashly simply because their powers consumed a great deal of energy. As for the traditions of the Imperial Grey Knights, Zhou Ye had completely forgotten to tell them about such things. He had considered it an unimportant detail and had simply neglected to mention it.
Seeing the Imperial Grey Knights hesitate, this Grand Master had no idea what their problem was. According to their scans, the entire planet was covered in sacrificial sites. In the underhive, Khornates, Nurglites, Orks, and Genestealers were all fighting each other, and then teaming up to fight the Tzeentchians. They had just cleansed this one nexus of corruption, but another would soon appear. There were no normal people left on the entire planet. If left unchecked, it would inevitably cause a chain reaction and become a catastrophe that threatened the entire sector.
While this stable Mandeville Point was important, they didn't need it. Besides, they had a new mission. So, he intended to invite these few to come along. After all, the legions on Trailblaze came from all sorts of origins. He simply assumed that these "Grey Knights" were made from their Father's old gene-seed.
Looking at the miserable state of these brothers… what kind of garbage weapons were they using? They could only banish daemons, not kill them outright. It was truly pathetic.
"Huh?"
"You cannot perform trans-sector teleportation directly into the heart of a battlefield?" Zhou Ye's Grand Master asked, a bit puzzled, looking at the confused Grey Knights.
"What are you talking about?"
The Imperial Grey Knight's brow furrowed. He felt that these newcomers were extremely strange and clearly not from their own order. But fighting them was out of the question; the difference in numbers was too great. And if they stayed here, they would surely die when the Exterminatus hit.
More importantly… Father? What in the warp was that about?!
The Imperial Grey Knight realized something was wrong. This was a secret, a secret concerning their chapter and the entire Imperium. They had to find out what was going on, no matter the cost.
He exchanged a look with the Inquisitor, and they switched to a private channel for a brief discussion.
"Can you take us with you? We… also wish to see the Father."
Of course, while he said this, these Grey Knights were prepared to die. They had even prepared certain blasphemous rituals. If they discovered some terrible secret, they would sacrifice themselves to send a message about the heresy here back to the Monastery on Titan.
But… they also hoped they could have a father. Seeing the other legions, it was a lie to say they weren't envious. And these newcomers' wargear was truly exceptional. And what was this about trans-planetary teleportation?
"The rest of you, continue with the Father's mission. You three, accompany me back on the strike cruiser. I am sure the Father will be pleased to see his children who were lost outside return home."
"Yes."
The other Grey Knights nodded. Then, in a flash of golden light, they vanished, continuing on to their next battlefield, much to the utter astonishment of the Imperial Grey Knights. Since they were all new recruits, this was being treated as a training exercise.
Seeing this, the Imperial Grey Knights fell silent. Based on the previous conversation, they had just teleported directly to another planet. What was this technology?!
"Did you cut our equipment budget?" one of the Grey Knights asked, looking at the Inquisitor.
"I swear, the Imperium does not have this technology!!!" the Inquisitor replied after a moment of silence, throwing up his hands.
"..."
The Imperial Grey Knights exchanged glances and nodded grimly. Soon, the small group boarded the strike cruiser. They then fired a cyclonic torpedo at the planet. As they watched it begin to crack apart, they departed. Then, to their utter shock, the ship jumped directly to a beautiful blue planet.
---o---
Soon after, in the palace, Zhou Ye, who was bored out of his mind and about to start working on some new inventions, received a message.
"Father, I have found several of our brothers who were lost outside. I am bringing them to see you now."
"???"