The Bizarre Adventures of the Oil Man, but Starting with Warhammer 32K

The internally stored data flashed before Leon's eyes like a waterfall, and Leon quickly picked out the key information that was useful to him.

"Udyr, a former Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus, was wanted by the Ordo Malleus for performing a demon-summoning ritual and slaughtering civilians. He took advantage of the chaos during the Imperial Army's hasty retreat to sneak into Covenant Harbor..."

"Pavonis, an Inquisitor of the Order of the Holy Hammer, formerly a sage of the Space Technology School of the Mechanicus of Mars, has maintained close ties with Mars even after joining the Inquisition. This time, he used various means to join the team heading to Covenant Port. I suspect there are instructions from Mars behind this..."

"Governor Egrim Horst. The seventh-generation scion of the Horst family, his family followed the Emperor's Children Legion in liberating Covenant Harbor. He was personally awarded the title of Governor of Covenant Harbor by the Primarch..."

This is key information.

Leon pulled out the data disk and threw it back to the Inquisitor: "What do you think of the planetary governor here?"

"He's a good-for-nothing with a bit of ambition. He has his own plans, but they're just dependent on others."

Reina's thoughts were basically the same as Leon's: "His ambition will be destroyed along with the Covenant Port, or shattered when the Imperial Army returns to the Covenant Port."

"Then did you know that his target is also the Bottom Nest?"

Reina was stunned for a moment: "But his planetary defense forces are all concentrated in the upper hive."

"So he wants us to clean out the bottom nest, that's why he contacted us."

The Governor and the Inquisitor's goals actually overlapped. No matter how justifiable the reasons the Governor had used previously were, they were obviously enough to arouse the vigilance of Leon and the Inquisitor at this moment.

Reina stood up and verified the new information with Leon. She seemed ready to act immediately. "Perhaps this Governor General will be a good starting point."

"Do you think he's involved with that Inquisitor from the Underhive?"

"At least it won't be as simple as regaining control of the Underhive. I'll be monitoring the Governor's movements for a while. You must make some noise in the Underhive so I can catch him. If he makes any unusual movements while you're operating in the Underhive, I'll notify you immediately."

Li Ang pinched his chin and didn't nod immediately.

The strength of the Inquisitors depended on how many reinforcements they could summon, but after the Great Retreat, the official power of Covenant Port had weakened to the point where it was no longer able to effectively govern it. Under such circumstances, there was no need to expect much from an Inquisitor without external reinforcements.

However, she is at least a professional at identifying chaos. If the rebellious Inquisitor of the Underhive is really involved with the Planetary Governor, then letting her supervise is indeed a more appropriate choice.

But this also means that the Underhive can only rely on him and these three hundred Astartes.

Logically speaking, the Underhive shouldn't pose much of a threat to the Astartes in power armor. But an Inquisitor who could summon demons was in the Underhive. Who knew what monsters and demons were there?

But if you want to understand what the situation is like in Covenant Port, you must start from the bottom nest.

Leon and the Final Wall were now in a state of shared fate. The Final Wall couldn't afford to back down due to Chaos's tricks, and Leon naturally couldn't avoid this issue either.

In other words, his goals and the Inquisitor's goals overlap at least in part.

Then cooperation is also possible.

"We will use our own methods to gradually search the bottom nest."

Leon agreed. "I won't act entirely according to your ideas, and the Astartes coalition is not your puppet. However, where our goals coincide, I think we can maintain limited cooperation."

"very good."

There was no disappointment on Reina's face. She didn't even object to the term "coalition forces". Obviously, she knew that she was not qualified to ask for too much now.

The two men concluded their conversation and left the private room. The crowd, previously agitated by Leon's display of the Throne Coin, fell silent after Leon deliberately displayed the plasma pistol at his waist. He left the bar smoothly, blending back into the crowd before returning to the Astartes' quarters.

The preparations made by the Astartes who were preparing for war were not limited to the camp. When Leon returned to the base and entered the command room, he saw everyone looking at the information brought back by the Felyne cats with serious expressions.

Noticing Leon's return, Kurland nodded slightly to Leon, then pushed the information in front of Leon.

"Not good news, is it?"

"It's worse than that."

Having just finished his conversation with the Inquisitor, Leon was already somewhat prepared. But when he saw the pictures taken by the Felynes, he couldn't help but frown.

The ground was littered with skinned corpses.

Chapter 127: Unusual Movements at the Bottom Nest.

The upper levels of the hive are where the powerful and senior managers seek pleasure, while the middle hive is where the common people rely on the hive industry to support their families. And below the industrial and foundry level (the lower hive) where these common people live is the end of the hive - the bottom hive.

Most of the residents here are mutants who cannot be accepted by the hive city or criminals who are on the run. Some criminals have united to establish gangs of various sizes that control various areas of the bottom nest. All residents of the bottom nest must survive the gang rules and conflicts, so here, might is right.

But the upper level of the hive city does not completely ignore the bottom hive. As long as a hive city still needs to mine resources from the planet, transporting them to the upper level through the bottom hive is the most convenient route.

Although the Hive nobles do not care about the life and death of the Underhive, the amount of resources is related to their enjoyment and the collection of the imperial tithe, so they will ensure the smooth transportation of resources by supporting or intimidating the Underhive gangs.

On most worlds of the Empire, this terrifying game based on the connection between the Hive City nobles and the Underhive gangs was a tacitly accepted unspoken rule. But when the nobles of Covenant Port fled the Port one after another, this deformed yet effective system collapsed.

The previous black terror turned into a truly chaotic riot.

Each gang appropriated the resources previously sent to the upper echelons, reselling them through their own channels to acquire weapons to expand their power and seize more resources. The previously incessant roar of gunfire now gave way to a continuous blaze of war. Less than a month after the Imperial Army's complete retreat, the small Half-Nest had been reduced to a desolate ruin amidst their fighting.

"Lasguns, standard Astra Militarum bolters, and even the Stormtroopers' Hellgun."

Leon picked at the bodies of the slain gang members and said, "These bottom nest scum are in unexpected places, which is not surprising. I suspect that the planetary governor came here personally to resell them."

"That's quite unlikely."

Thorne shrugged and looked at the planetary defense force sent down by the planetary governor. "Their weapons are just ordinary laser guns."

"That only proves that the planetary governor's control is too weak."

The Planetary Defense Force is a private armed force managed by the planetary governor. If the governor can get any good equipment, he will definitely try his best to equip his own private soldiers first.

But the fact is that these gang members have obtained high-end weapons that are only available in the warehouses of the Astra Militarum, while the Planetary Defense Force still uses low-powered junk.

It's no wonder that the planetary governor needs to rely on the Astartes for the sake of justice. The power he has is indeed not enough to be placed under the bottom nest.

Although incompetent, this actually slightly reduces the suspicion of this planetary governor who is very good at talking.

Now is the third day since Leon led his team into the bottom nest. In view of the intelligence from the Inquisitor and the discovery of Felynx, Leon did not disperse the Astartes to sweep the bottom nest, but concentrated his forces to directly seize the resource transportation line.

This move directly angered the underground gangs. As the saying goes, to cut off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. These people, living on the edge of a knife, are not the kind men and women who believe in the Emperor. With no respect for the Emperor's Angels, they immediately seized the weapons they had circulated from the Midhive and used them to engage in armed confrontation with the Astartes.

But the Astartes were never honored as the Emperor's Angels by the faith of others.

The Hell Gun, a laser gun weapon that can pose a threat to Astartes power armor, is indeed a great improvement for the gang members whose strongest firepower in the past was the lumberjack gun. However, no matter how much they upgrade their weapons, they are just chickens and dogs in front of the Astartes without any tactical skills.

With only a few minor injuries, Leon and his men repelled the attack of the largest gang in the Underhive. Leaving behind thousands of bodies, the enemy fled in haste, only to be intercepted by Armidale's team. Kurland led his team directly into the gang's lair, and within moments, this largest gang in the Underhive had collapsed.

Leon sent a messenger to report this news to the planetary governor, and, citing the Astartes' sparse numbers, requested that they dispatch their own forces to garrison the section of the resource transport line that had been recaptured by the Astartes. The governor wisely dispatched several planetary defense corps originally defending the Upper Nest to the Lower Nest to assist the Astartes in the defense.

If the Governor had any ideas, he should have concentrated his forces on his own loyalty. However, Inquisitor Frati Lena confirmed that he had indeed dispatched the few remaining garrisons in the hive city to the basehive as Leon requested, and she did not find any abnormalities in the process.

Leon will not give up his suspicion of the governor just because of this, but for now, he has to focus on the situation in the bottom nest first.

He dissected the body of a gang member and carefully examined its condition. The bodies of these rats, struggling to survive under the industrial waste gas and wastewater emitted by the Zhonghei, were naturally not in good condition. A quick glance at them revealed dozens of internal lesions.

However, as the instrument was inserted into his body for further analysis, Li Ang unexpectedly discovered that these dozen or so diseases had achieved a subtle coexistence within this person. Even though the host had died, these diseases still maintained a vibrant vitality in his body.

This bottom nest is really full of talented people.

Leon stood up and signaled the Astartes beside him to burn the bodies with a promethium flamethrower. He disinfected himself and nodded to Thorn, who had been assigned by Kurland to protect him. "Let's go find Kurland."

They walked through the twisted metal and shattered concrete of the tunnel and entered the gang's headquarters, which was now in ruins. Amid the charred marks and the bodies of people mutilated by bombs, Kurland was carrying the gang's leader.

Leon walked over to him and saw the leader, held by Kurland's neck with his fingers, suspended in mid-air, his legs twitching. Cold sweat, mixed with blood, streamed down his forehead, leaving a winding trail across his face. His eyes bulged in extreme fear, his tongue lolled out uncontrollably, and his trouser legs were soaked with urine, emitting a foul odor.

How dare such a man order an attack on the Astartes?

Leon found it very interesting: "Relax, Kurland, don't strangle him to death."

Kurland increased the force of his hands: "If he is willing to confess honestly, then of course I won't."

"Say... please... I'll say..."

The leader struggled to utter a few words, his voice hoarse and broken. His teeth chattered constantly, his words falling apart into fragments. Every time Astarte's thumb tightened slightly, he let out a painful whimper.

Kurland loosened his grip slightly, and the leader immediately gasped for air as if grasping a lifeline. But this wasn't forgiveness, and Leon continued to interrogate him.

"My strength is not as great as that of an Astarte, but I am well versed in human medicine."

A shot of sobering agent flashed from the mechanical arm behind Leon: "If I discover that even a single word you say next is false, you will be able to see in your utmost clarity how I turned you into a servitor. Do you understand?"

The gang leader nodded rapidly, and Leon was quite satisfied with this attitude. He let go of the leader and asked, "First of all, why did you attack the Emperor's angels?"

"My lord, I have no choice, my lord!"

The leader burst into tears and said, "The entire gang depends on this section of transportation line for food. If we lose this thing, we will all starve to death!"

Li Ang pointed the needle at the chief's arm, pretending to inject him. The chief immediately screamed like a pig being slaughtered: "I'm not lying! Sir, I'm not lying!"

"That's not what the things in your camp told me. Are those two things just for decoration?"

Li Ang pursed his lips, motioning the leader to look at the corpse starch production machine and water recycling purification device that the leader had bought with his own hard-earned money. "Don't tell us your moral standards are too high and you're unwilling to use battlefield corpses to make corpse starch."

"That thing...is useless!"

The chief gnashed his teeth at this. Leon brought the needle an inch closer, and the chief spilled the beans.

"I can't use my own corpses to make starch. That would shake the gang's morale! But other corpses are also not acceptable. Ever since the rise of the Life Cult in the Underhive, if even one of their followers' corpses is mixed into the raw materials, anyone who eats that batch of corpse starch will contract strange diseases!"

"The Life Sect?"

"Yes! It's a gang that's said to guarantee a steady diet if you join! Even though it's a new gang, their slogan has instantly attracted most of the residents of the Bottom Nest! It's said that their senior followers can survive without food! Even many of my gang members have defected to join them!"

Having enough to eat is the most basic need of human beings. For the low-income people who have difficulty in getting food, such a slogan is indeed unusually attractive.

"How do they manage to survive without food?"

Li Ang asked.

"I don't know. The members of that sect rarely show themselves to the outside world. They never start fights with others, but they swallow up any small gangs that dare to attack them. I also sent a few men to investigate, but they never returned..."

"You'd better show your worth again and stop using your incompetence as an excuse to brush me off."

"I really don't know, sir! I've been accumulating weapons for a long time, intending to unite with several other gangs to eradicate that strange sect. I didn't expect to meet you sir before that. If I could do it again, I would never dare to become an enemy of you sir!"

"You've accumulated so many weapons just to fight that Life Sect?"

Leon sneered: "You bullies, are you so determined to pick on such a tough nut to crack? Why don't you just attack the settlements in the Underhive and capture the civilians there as food?"

Hearing this, a trace of fear appeared in the chief's eyes. Compared to his previous embarrassment, his voice now even carried a desperate cry:

"It's not that I haven't tried that, sir... but I can't! Such orders are simply impossible to carry out! After each siege of a settlement, some of the participants would be skinned and boned, and the skinned bodies would be hung around the gang. In the end, no one dared to siege the settlement anymore!"

A skinned corpse?

Leon's expression froze. He thought of the photo that Feylu had taken earlier. He made eye contact with the Sons of Dorne around him and found that everyone was obviously thinking the same thing.

Li Ang mentioned the leader: "Where is the body? Take us to see it."

The leader walked ahead tremblingly, leading everyone into a gang warehouse where corpses were stored. As Armidale pushed open the warehouse's iron door, a strong stench of decay mixed with the rusty smell of blood assaulted everyone's senses.

Naked, white skeletons lay scattered across the warehouse floor, each missing the most crucial part: the skin. A few traces of decayed flesh still clung to the bones, but most had dried out, leaving them a sickly gray. Pools of blood had solidified on the floor, forming dark red patches, scattered with rotting internal organs, a glossy sheen in the shadows.

The shattered skulls' eyes were wide open, their hollow eye sockets seemingly ablaze with silent flames. Some skeletons remained in running positions, while others knelt on the ground, as if begging for mercy. None of the dead had skin, and their identities, genders, and ages remained a mystery forever.

The leader shuddered at the sight of these corpses, seemingly remembering the deep-seated fear he felt when he first saw them. The Astartes, frowning, went deeper into the warehouse, examining these malicious works of art, trying to find some clues.

"The body is too badly decomposed, and the brain is also damaged. Our detection nerves can't extract any useful information from it."

Amidel said so. Their genes in this area were more developed than other Space Marines. If he couldn't obtain any useful information, then it meant that it was impossible to learn anything from these corpses.

However, it is not necessary to start from the corpse to obtain any information.

"Where were these bodies originally found?"

Leon asked interrogatively.

The leader's voice had almost turned into a plea: "Please, no, I don't want to go back there..."

"You know."

"Leon raised his plasma pistol,"

Death is never an option."

Driven by greater fear, the leader took them back to the crime scene. Although they reluctantly cleaned up the bodies to avoid spreading fear, the gang members who were frightened by the bodies obviously did not have the courage to clean up the crime scene thoroughly.

Fortunately, Leon found a mark smeared with blood on a wall. Although he could not understand it, his knowledge told him that this regular character should be a sentence with special meaning.

But no one present could make out what this sentence meant. Only Thorne, a veteran of the Great Rebellion, looked at it again and again. After a long while, he said uncertainly:

"I seem to have seen these words on the bodies of the first traitors who climbed the walls of Terra."

Thus, this string of blood-colored mysterious symbols turned into a string of meaningful expressions, and its meaning became vivid and could be understood by Leon.

Ave Dominus Nox!

Long live the Lord of the Night!