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

Everything seemed to be going as they had hoped, and Egrim nodded in approval of Ayesh's performance. However, he still had one crucial thing to confirm.

"Where's the female judge?"

This matter concerns his safety, so of course he has to focus on confirming it last.

Just a day ago, the Inquisitor's attendant quietly sneaked into Egrim's Governor's Mansion. The attendant seemed to want to approach Egrim, but was accidentally "seen" by Ayesh at the last moment.

Ayesh naturally understood the Governor's concerns. "Rest assured, my Lord. I have declared martial law in the Upper Nest, and have launched a comprehensive investigation of the Upper Nest under the pretext of rebellion and war preparations. Although we haven't apprehended the Inquisitor, she and her retainers will no longer have the opportunity to easily approach us."

The Inquisitor's attendant had already triggered the psychic alarm set by Ayesh. Ayesh pretended to accidentally discover the operation and killed the attendant at the last moment. Unfortunately, the attendant who finally bit the suicide pill died quickly, and he could not obtain any information through soul searching.

But this also exposed the whereabouts of the Inquisitor who disappeared after bringing the fleet intelligence - he had been in the nest all the time, monitoring their every move.

Ayesh was curious about how much intelligence the Inquisitor possessed. For days, he had been channeling his psychic energy into his men, remotely controlling them to hunt down the Inquisitor. Although he hadn't caught him yet, the Inquisitor no longer had any influence on his plans.

"Then let the sacrifice begin."

Egrim gave the order.

Ayesh maintained a facade of obedience, nodding respectfully as he relayed the planetary governor's orders. However, the governor's orders, which had been passed down through the various levels of devotion to the Lord of Pleasure, ultimately fell to the followers of Tzeentch to carry out. Several followers of the lower midhive stood at the center of the sacrificial ritual, offering themselves to the demons in a frenzy.

"I call upon you, supreme being from the Warp! May your coming tear the veil of reality apart! I offer my soul and loyalty, only to bear witness to your destructive power! Come, let fear and despair consume this world, and let the will of Chaos dominate everything!"

The remaining spiritual energy was drawn by the magic circle, and with the souls offered by these believers as the location, a temporary small entrance to the real universe appeared in the crystal maze.

The Horrors, previously defeated in the Underhive, stormed into the real universe with overwhelming force. There were no Astartes to stop them, only the frightened and helpless civilians.

If this were the bottom nest, everyone might still have some power to resist. But this is the middle nest, the seat of the law-abiding citizens of the empire.

Unlike the lower nest, they lacked the martial virtues of the lower nest, nor did they have the military protection of the upper nest. They only wanted to improve their situation through hard work. They were once the most suitable targets for exploitation in the eyes of the nobles, but now they have become the delicious lambs in the eyes of the devil.

The horrors screamed in excitement, pouring out all their anger and desire to play with people's hearts on these helpless civilians.

The chaos began.

Chapter 141: Homecoming.

It took Li Ang a lot of time to clear out the entire bottom nest.

The final transformation of the previous sacrificial ritual sacrificed the souls of all Nurgle believers in the array's core, but that was limited to the array's core. The Nurgle believers who had expanded wildly in the bottom nest due to the orc invasion were not just that few.

A large number of Nurgle believers who were sent by the bishops to "preach" in the Underhive settlements did not realize until they returned that the Cult of Life had been destroyed by Leon and the Astartes.

Some of them wanted to rebel, some wanted to return to their loyalty to Leon, but it didn't matter what they thought. For most mortals with very low resistance, the corruption of Chaos was irreversible once it began.

Leon treated both groups equally, using his flamethrower to bring real mercy to both groups.

But this mercy was obviously not understood by the Father's believers. Realizing that they could not be accepted again, these Nurgle believers began to resist fiercely.

Since there was no longer a ritual to absorb the evil power of Nurgle that escaped after their death, their corruption and infection had begun to match that of normal Nurgle believers. This forced Leon to eliminate several settlements where the infection had spread when he was clearing them out.

It took two and a half days to get the matter roughly settled.

However, these two and a half days were not just about clearing out the bottom nest - after discovering that the Inquisitor's diary clearly pointed out that Butler Ayesh was a Chaos believer, Leon had already sent people to transfer the supplies they stored in the main nest to the bottom nest in advance.

The three cruisers also found an excuse to leave the port, while keeping a distance from the Imperial Fleet and Covenant Port.

He also contacted Inquisitor Fratilena and asked her to send someone to test whether the planetary governor was also a Chaos believer.

The governor's previous speech was inspiring, but after learning that this traitorous Inquisitor was from the Isstvan faction, the planetary governor's previous bold words seemed very suspicious.

I have to say it again, not only the bottom nest, but the entire Covenant Port is full of talented people.

Inquisitor Fratilena hadn't responded yet, and Leon wouldn't sit there waiting for news. Whether the planetary governor was a Chaos believer might bring some minor changes, but Leon's decision remained unchanged.

"We must return to the Top Nest and slay all the Chaos minions!"

Of course, no one would object to this proposal. In fact, ever since Leon exiled the Archdemon in front of them, his ideas would always be more respected by the Astartes.

Lancelot of the Black Templars was the most enthusiastic in this respect, telling everyone he met, "The God-Emperor must have possessed this sage!"

The Astartes of other Chapters might disagree with the Black Templars on other matters, but on this matter, they held an unusual consensus.

But actions must always be justified. Although Fulgrim had boasted that he only needed a small squad to recapture a planet, the days of the Primarchs were long gone. Even a single hive city, let alone a planet, was beyond the reach of three hundred Astartes lacking heavy weaponry.

They have to mobilize more forces.

Leon intends to tie this matter together with dealing with the last followers of Nurgle.

At a time when the Nurgle believers in the Underhive have been basically wiped out, the last stronghold of the Cult of Life is among the Cult of Life believers who are besieging the Planetary Defense Force's defense line.

They were originally assigned by the Bishop to lead the mortals who followed the Cult of Life to besiege the defense line of the Planetary Guard to prevent the Planetary Guard from supporting the low-level believers of Astartes. As a result, after the Bishop who wanted to defeat Astartes with magic was defeated, this group of Nurgle believers who drove away the mortals became the last survivors.

These low-ranking believers realized that the bishop had failed after discovering the traces of the Astartes. Now that the Undernest had been turned into a slaughterhouse for cultists by the Astartes, the Undernest citizens on their hands became their last resort.

They commanded these mortals to attack the positions of the planetary defense forces, attempting to break through the defenses and reach the Middle and Lower Hives in search of a glimmer of hope. However, the defenses built by the Imperial Fists were impregnable, and even if they were not stationed there by Space Marines, these Lower Hive citizens with their simple weapons could not break through this defense line.

After several unsuccessful attacks, the people of the Bottom Nest Bureau, who left corpses all over the ground, began to fear - they originally joined the Cult of Life in order to obtain food and water to sustain themselves, but if the price of getting these things was their own lives, wouldn't that go against their original purpose?

But the cultists refused to back down. They instituted a stricter distribution system and even began using their limited evil powers to try to resurrect the dead as zombies.

Although this caused quite a stir among the residents of the Bottom Nest, rather than starve to death or be turned into the living dead, most of the residents still launched another attack on the defense line under coercion.

"Attack forward!"

The Nurgle believers loudly encouraged the residents of the Underhive: "This time is different from the past. The blessing of the kind father protects us!"

The credibility of this statement disappeared long ago when the Nurgle cultists tore off their hypocritical masks.

The residents of the Bottom Nest stepped onto the battlefield tremblingly, holding tattered weapons. They used deformed promethium barrels as shields, guarding against the machine gun fire network on the defense line that could cover them at any time.

But they soon realized that this time was indeed different.

There were only a few scattered lumberjacks on the Planetary Defense Force's defense line shooting at them, and these shots were completely inaccurate.

Colonel Wilhelm von Alferris of the Planetary Defense Force sat slumped in a trench, his lungs feeling as if they were filled with broken glass.

Just half a day ago, several members of his regiment began to develop high fevers and coughs. Due to the planetary defense force's lack of awareness, the disease, which originated from their drinking water, spread to every soldier in just half a day.

"Sir..."

A hoarse groan came from beside the colonel. He turned his head and saw Corporal Faraday, who was serving as his signalman.

He used to be able to walk with great vigor, but now he can only curl up on his side and shiver.

"Those angels...when will they arrive?"

"Hold on, Signalman."

The colonel fed him the last sip of clean water and said, "The angels will be here soon."

"Before those rebels come charging in?"

"Of course they will. The angels will save us all. That's how the story always goes."

The colonel comforted him, even though he didn't believe it himself.

They were far less well-informed than the cultists outside, as they believed the Astartes who had left the defenses hadn't been heard from for three days.

The Planetary Defense Force has never been a strictly disciplined organization, and the colonel himself is just the son of a local noble who attended a military academy for a few years.

In the past, he would have led his troops to evacuate. However, the honor of fighting alongside the Astartes gave him a will and courage he had never experienced before, allowing him to defend the Imperial Fists' defenses for three consecutive days.

He thought he could continue to persevere, but this sudden plague seemed to put an end to his efforts.

He took a deep breath, struggled to his feet, and encouraged them: "If we lose to these mobs, how can we, the Planetary Defense Force, maintain our dignity? Soldiers, for the Emperor, hold the line!"

But the sporadic gunfire in the trenches instead aroused the ferocity of the residents of the Bottom Nest. With no way to retreat under the threat of Nurgle's believers, they realized that this might be their best chance.

The refugees pushed forward with all their might, trying to break through the defenses. The Nurgle believers behind them smiled with satisfaction as they saw success was imminent.

But the Thunderhawk gunboat whizzing past seemed to have pressed the pause button on the entire battlefield.

The Underhive residents had certainly seen this thing before—when the Space Marines slaughtered the Nurgle believers in the square, it was this large plane that came to pick them up. Realizing what kind of opponent they were about to face, the Underhive residents, who had originally been fearless, suddenly fell into panic.

"Keep order! Don't stop attacking!"

The Nurgle believers screamed miserably, cursing the bottom nesters who had wasted the opportunity given by their benevolent father: "A bunch of things that are worse than toads, I say attack!"

But their commands were clearly no match for the mortals' natural fear of the Astartes. The Underhive held their breath, gazing in awe at the Thunder Gunships that overlooked the battlefield, fearing they might attack with lascannons or heavy bolters.

Fortunately, the Thunderhawk gunship did not launch an attack. It circled in the air for a while before landing on the helipad inside the defense line. A group of Astartes, carrying Leon, filed out.

As soon as they left the cabin, a distinct odor of disinfectant and excrement assaulted Leon's olfactory analyzer. Realizing their defenses had been ravaged by Nurgle's followers, the Astartes began the familiar task of disinfection they had become accustomed to over the past two days.

Leon went straight to the colonel. William was very weak from the plague, but he couldn't hide his excitement when he saw Leon and Astarte.

Damn the Emperor, his angel really came to save them!

He wanted to kneel down and salute, but Li Ang stopped him: "Don't bother with these formalities. Tell me, what is the current situation of the defense line?"

The colonel's three days of holding the line weren't all about firing. He began by recounting the resistance against the Diwos' attacks three days prior, explaining how he'd analyzed their increasing reluctance to attack and concluded with the inhabitants being struck by an inexplicable plague, systematically describing their experiences over the past few days.

Hearing Leon nod in his report, his estimate of the feasibility of the plan in his logic analyzer increased by nearly ten percentage points.

"You've done well, Colonel. But now, I still need you to come with me to these bottom nesters."

William was stunned: "Shouldn't we just kill them all?"

"If necessary, I just ordered the Thunderhawk gunship to take action."

He helped the colonel to his feet encouragingly. "Don't worry, with the right methods, they can become our helpers. I'll prepare a targeted and effective medicine for you later, but for now, I still need you to look this miserable."

The defenders opened the gate of the defense line, and several Astartes guarded behind Leon. They walked with Leon to a commanding height so that all the residents of the bottom nest could see them.

"Dwellers of the Bottom Nest! Do you know why the firepower on the defense line is so weak?"

Leon shouted, his voice amplified by the sound array, attracting the attention of everyone present. He pushed the colonel in front of him and used the projection equipment to let everyone see the colonel's haggard face: "This is the reason!"

The residents of the Bottom Nest didn't know what Leon was up to, but the Colonel's appearance still caused them a slight commotion. His haggard appearance, which was exactly the same as that of mortals punished by Nurgle followers, immediately reminded them of the Life Cultists.

"It's just as you think. It's those people from the Life Sect who are causing trouble!"

Li Ang's response confirmed their thoughts: "But don't be happy about this! Do you really think that if you can break through the defense line, these cultists will let you go?"

"They are suffering today, and tomorrow it will be your turn!"

The residents of the Underhive fell silent, chewing over Leon's words. Many of the quick-witted Nurgle believers had already realized what Leon was about to do, and they shouted with a thick, phlegm-filled voice: "Stop him! Don't let him continue!"

A few courageous Nurgle cultists attacked, but their shots were stopped by the energy shield. The Astartes pinpointed the attacking cultists and blew their heads open with bolter rounds.

The residents began to panic at the sudden fighting, but Leon, who held absolute authority with his loud voice, quickly reassured them: "Don't panic, we won't attack ordinary people without hostility! All you have to do is stay away from those cultists!"

Armidale moved through the crowd, pinpointing those cultists who had been struck down by other Astartes. Their bodies had been blasted to pieces by the bolter, but they were not dead. The surging power of Nurgle held their flesh together in an unfathomable way, propelling them back to their feet.

When they stood up, their appearance was far different from their original human form - their swollen bodies burst through the shield, and the surface of their exposed organs was covered with breathing mold. When the Armidales cut his flesh with their swords, living maggots spewed out of his cut organs.

The residents were in an uproar.

They hadn't yet been "accepted" by their benevolent father, and their aesthetic sense hadn't been distorted. What Nurgle's followers considered the beauty of life, they, still maintaining a healthy perspective, saw as unspeakably disgusting. They couldn't believe they'd once been surrounded by such cultists.

They are simply monsters in human skin!

Leon watched the reactions of the bottom nest residents and asked Armidale to bring the struggling cultist to him, so that everyone could clearly see his inhuman ugliness.

"This is the monster that's urging you to die!"

He shouted sternly: "They are not human at all, yet they want to instigate you, instigate one group of humans to attack another group of humans! Let you bleed for their ambitions!"

He lifted the cultist into his hands, and the cultist, who was still recovering from his injuries, suddenly screamed. Nurgle's evil power was banished by Leon's contact, and the cultist, who was still struggling, suddenly shrivelled up.

Li Ang threw the twisted, decayed corpse aside and said, "In the eyes of these monsters, you are cannon fodder, tools, and many other things, but not human beings!"

Pure power brought pure respect, and the Underhive looked on in awe as Leon banished the evil. They watched Leon's every move, but the Nurgle faithful still clung to their last breath.

"Don't be bewitched by him! If you mortals want to survive, you need the food and water we provide!"

A Nurgle believer roared at the risk of his life: "Kill him! The false emperor's lackeys can't kill all of you, but I can starve you all to death!"

These words directly point to the core - a well-fed life is a temptation that every bottom nest resident cannot refuse. In order to survive, they don't really care who they work for.

The bottom nest residents were in turmoil again, and they began to whisper. Leon did not stop them, he just looked around at the bottom nest residents, waiting for them to make their own choices.

Finally, a man stood up. He walked out of the crowd and knelt in front of Li Ang.

He was a middle-aged man with a haggard face, yellow-brown skin, and no mutations on his body. He looked like a standard human being - this was a very rare thing in the bottom nest where there were so many talented people.

"Your Excellency."

He clearly had more experience than the average Bottom Nest resident. "We just want to survive."

"Then why did you come forward?"

The middle-aged man raised his head, his eyes filled with deep sorrow: "I just want them to survive, that's all."

"That's not something I can give."