Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 982

Chapter 973, Divine Evil

sudden rebellion of the Marines was clearly premeditated.

They had simply made up their minds to do this.

All their previous cooperation and obedience were a feint.

But if it were simply a rebellion, the problem might not be so serious.

With the Marines already loyal, Robert had more than enough forces at his disposal to sweep across the planet’s surface.

Especially since his ground forces had already established a foothold on the moon, he could easily continue to deploy them. With the support of the vast Imperial Navy fleet, even if a single Marine unit defected, even the entire Moon Guard would have joined in, it wouldn’t have affected the overall situation.

However, the most concerning issue wasn’t the rebellion itself, but the sacrificial array they had stolen.

What was the purpose of that sacrificial array? Why was it worth the Marines’ sacrifice? The loss of life was secondary; the more important thing was that they had given up a great opportunity to lurk near Robert.

Had they remained in hiding, they would have been considered among the first of Robert’s Holy Terran forces to defect. As long as they could remain hidden, they would likely betray him at a crucial moment, unleashing a devastating blow.

Especially considering the reports from the front lines regarding the demons and Chaos cultists disguised as Marines, Robert, combined with his intensive research, could conclude that they were likely members of the so-called “Cult of Tzeentch.”

Followers of this evil god were known for their cunning schemes. Given their personalities, a long period of concealment was the best course of action.

The reason they didn’t do so was likely due to one factor: the stolen magic circle itself represented a massive conspiracy for them, a crucial moment.

While mobilizing his troops, Robert personally set out with his closest guards, preparing to disrupt the enemy’s actions.

Although he had already set out immediately, time was running out, and he might not be there in time. As he journeyed, he pondered what he would face next.

He was already considering the worst-case scenario.

Yet, when he was truly faced with this situation, he remained frozen in shock, unable to believe his eyes—

a terrifying giant with a single eye, nine horns, demonic wings on his back, and countless demonic eyes swirling across his purple-red skin…

How could Robert believe such a terrifying being could be his brother?

Magnus… had he become like this?

This son of the Emperor, once the Son of God, the genetic father of the Sage Legion, now a “divine abomination”!

Robert knew that many of his brothers had turned traitor. He had fought many of them and witnessed their abominable forms.

No matter how much he hated their betrayal, the bond of blood remained.

It was precisely because of their blood relationship that the betrayal seemed so profound and heartbreaking.

Yet, overall, ten thousand years ago, when they first rebelled, even though their souls had become corrupted, they at least appeared somewhat human.

Magnus was one of the “brothers” Robert hadn’t seen in person since the Heresy. He hadn’t imagined that upon waking from the stasis field ten thousand years later, the first brother he’d see would be this.

His face was a strange blend of sadness, grief, hatred, anger… a multitude of emotions, a rather strange sight.

Magnus, however, admired his expression.

He opened his mouth, as if to greet his brother whom he hadn’t seen in ten thousand years.

But he was met with a swift barrage of explosives from Robert!

The Regent offered no further words, sprinting forward, firing furiously.

Robert’s so-called rationality, wisdom, and prudence, often praised by others, were all thrown out of the window.

Sorrow and rage overwhelmed him, and all he could think of was the fallen brother before him. The flames ignited by the Emperor’s Sword were the ultimate manifestation of his inner rage.

Similar things had happened before. Whenever he calmed down, he always regretted his impulsiveness, always able to think of more rational, more efficient solutions. However, in the moment, faced with events that could provoke a major shift in his mindset, he couldn’t control himself.

Time and again, faced with events that could trigger his emotions to lose control, he would sink into anger and grief.

This is commonly known as “getting carried away.”

When he got carried away, he would abandon all hope, determined to fight to the bitter end.

His gene-children around him tried to dissuade him, but he wouldn’t listen.

What else could they do?

His descendants hurriedly followed.

As Robert charged ahead, focused on his ascended demon brother, his descendants stood beside him, one after another, clearing the way for him.

The demonic enemies who tried to stop him, attempting to overwhelm him with a wave of humanity, were met with the full force of the Infinite Warriors.

And now, the “divine evil,” the Demon Prince Magnus, seemed to be interested in a proper confrontation with his brother.

He took the initiative to step forward.

Halfway through his advance, warp rifts opened up around him. Countless demons surged out of them, rushing towards the human side.

From a bird’s-eye view, the demons that surged out almost completely filled the entire area.

Robert rushed forward too far. He and his closest guards seemed to be a small boat sailing against the waves of a sea of demons, looking quite small.

But no matter how small they were, no one could ignore them.

This was especially true when Robert, holding the Emperor’s Sword, began to kill the demonic enemies who tried to block his way.

No matter what rank, a demon couldn’t withstand a single blow from him.

Most terrifying of all, the Emperor’s Sword could truly slay demons, utterly shattering their very Warp essence.

This was a terrifying prospect for the demons.

After some of them perished, the Tzeentchian daemons with any sense became reluctant to stand before him. It

was both useless and costly.

Only the mindless, low-level demons remained. They either didn’t fully consider the danger, were born too recently to have heard of the Emperor’s Sword, or were pressured by higher-level demons to lead the charge, effectively forcing them to obey.

How could these low-level demons possibly hold back Robert and his victorious army?

Their advance accelerated until—

they encountered their “brothers.

” Robert encountered the dark psychic power of his blood brother, Magnus, and it bombarded him. Even with the psychic resistance of a Child of God, and the immense defensive power of his Fate Armor, he still stumbled.

And the gene-children around him, whether from the Ever-Victorious Army or the more ordinary warriors of the Infinite Legion, faced equally matched opponents.

Magnus was once the Legion Master of the Magi. After his fall, he no longer held full leadership of the Magi, and like many other traitorous legions, the Magi splintered into numerous warbands, large and small. The remaining Magi were not entirely under Magnus’s leadership.

Generally speaking, however, the majority of the knowledge-seeking Magi fell under the wing of Tzeentch, becoming his allies. And Magnus was Tzeentch’s Daemon Prince. Given the connection between the Gene-Father and his Gene-Children, it was only natural that when Magnus emerged from the sacrificial ritual stolen by Tzeentch’s followers into the real universe, ripping open numerous Warp rifts and calling for help, his pink-armored traitorous offspring would appear alongside him.

Nearly every one of the Magi warriors, besides possessing powerful combat skills as Space Marines, was also a brilliant user of psychic powers and a formidable Chaos Sorcerer.

This meant that the Magi Legion was the smallest of all the Traitor Legions. Otherwise, their current power and notoriety would likely be far greater.

Nevertheless, the Ever-Victorious and many Infinite Warriors had already experienced the difficulty of dealing with these rare traitors. While the

Magi were few in number, they were certainly no less numerous than the Ever-Victorious, now deeply enmeshed in the enemy’s ranks. Even more irritating was the fact that these Chaos Sorcerers lacked much of a warrior’s honor. They disdained single combat with the Ever-Victorious. They often used their psychic powers to unleash Chaos sorcery, igniting terrifying psychic flames from the Infinite Marines, or summoning pink, incorporeal tentacles to suddenly grab the Space Marines’ ankles, at least restraining their movements, even if they failed to trip them.

When the Ever-Victorious aimed their bolters or plasma blasters behind them, they would use their psychic powers to pull nearby Tzeentch Daemons to use as shields and scapegoats.

When the Ever-Victorious attempted a swift melee charge to reach the Chaos Sorcerers, it proved difficult. Not only did they have to fight their way through the numerous demons blocking their path, but often, by the time they reached their target, the Chaos Sorcerers were enveloped in a flash of light and transported dozens of meters away.

The previous dangerous charge had to be repeated.

With so many demons blocking the way, and constantly being disrupted by the magic of the Sage Sorcerers, the risk was extremely high.

A few exceptional Ever-Victorious Soldiers managed this feat. The Chaos Sorcerers, however, were unable to perform a second Blink Teleport in such short order. In close combat, they tried their best to resist with their magic swords, but were often no match, their psychic shields breached and they were slain.

However, the Ever-Victorious Soldiers could see that the slain Sages’ armor often shattered into pieces, leaving no trace of flesh or blood within; only quicksand oozing from the cracks in their armor.

It was unclear whether they were truly dead!

Of course, regardless of whether they were truly dead or not, this meant that a Sage had been permanently removed from the battle.

However, the Ever-Victorious Soldiers who managed to slay the Sages at close range had already penetrated too far into the enemy’s formation. Even with the long-range firepower and support of their fellow warriors, a successful retreat proved difficult.

Often, they themselves were overwhelmed and unable to return.

The Infinite Warriors were dwindling in numbers.

Although the loss of troops was slow, facing the seemingly endless swarms of daemons pouring out of the Warp rifts, if this situation continued, they would inevitably lose.

The real key to this battle still lay with Robert and his brother.

However, what was even worse was that Robert hadn’t gained the upper hand.

On the contrary, he was at a disadvantage.

Perhaps if Robert had been given the opportunity to get close to Magnus, the Emperor’s Sword in his hand would have given the traitor a lesson from his father.

However, that proved difficult.

Magnus’s powerful psychic powers and various Chaos sorceries were effortless. He rapidly tore through several Warp rifts to summon more daemons, while simultaneously using his psychic powers to suppress Robert. Furthermore, he was even able to multitask, teasing Robert with vicious words.

This only deepened Robert’s anger.

The rage in his heart made the flames burning on the Emperor’s Sword in his hand grow stronger and stronger.

Although he was clearly far away from Magnus, he angrily swung his sword at the traitor fiercely. The sword actually crossed the long distance and formed a flaming blade, which was about to chop Magnus’s face in the blink of an eye!

The Demon Prince was a little surprised, but he had countless ways to deal with the attack. In the blink of an eye, he summoned a psychic shield, which appeared in front of him. It was much harder and thicker than the shield that was used to resist Robert’s bombardment.

However, this flaming sword blade actually penetrated Magnus’s psychic shield. It only weakened it slightly, but it still slashed him hard.

He cried out in pain, and a charred sword mark appeared on his chest.

When he looked at Robert again, he was already full of fear.

(End of this chapter)