Everything is different now compared to the past. The Imperium's double-headed eagle is slowly replacing the Votann Alliance. The glory and power of the old nobility have been reviled.
Those who supported the Sorian system were living in the past, stubbornly believing they were defending their homeland.
But I see things differently.
No matter the ideology, no matter the political system, no matter the actions, their core intention should stem from the happiness of the people.
Even if the actions of those people are embellished a hundred times with phrases like 'defending the homeland', it cannot hide the fact that the upper and lower strata of the Votann Alliance have been severed.
No matter how noble the purpose, how noble the dream a regime was created from, no matter what great achievements it accomplished, what magnificent feats it performed.
As long as it deviates from its original path and no longer stands on the side of the common people, that regime should be eliminated. The failure of the Votann Alliance is not solely due to the Imperium's strength.
More importantly, it is the disaffection and disloyalty of countless planets and countless citizens; they no longer believe in the beautiful ideals the Votann Alliance once proclaimed.
The hardliners manipulated public opinion, using the name of homeland defense to deceive and trick the ignorant masses into sacrificing themselves.
However, the seeds of crisis have been deeply sown.
Even if it can survive this defense of the Sorian system, it is destined not to be able to continue.
Some people will call me a traitor.
But I believe I am on the right path.
Every member of the Pardin family will not betray their ancestral teachings.
From the moment they stepped out of the Milky Way, the first member of the Pardin family had already sworn an oath. They would devote everything to protecting the survival of human civilization.
Honor and disgrace are irrelevant, only fulfilling one's duty matters.
Pardin followed those warriors down the long corridor lined with statues.
As he passed by the giants clad in heavy armor, Pardin felt immense pressure.
It was like walking past ferocious beasts, and the fear of death involuntarily arose in his heart.
It was like walking across a single plank bridge suspended between buildings over three hundred stories high at night, fearing that one careless step would lead to being swallowed by the endless darkness, making one tremble uncontrollably.
Confusion arose in Pardin's mind.
What kind of existence could create these warriors so powerful they were like gods.
In the Sorian system, he had personally seen the holographic images of these warriors in combat.
These giant warriors were like the killing gods from hell incarnated as humans come to this world. They were the mythical beasts, ponderous and massive, with bulging muscles, exuding an aura of slaughter.
When they let out their battle cry, it was like the war gods spoken of in legends roaring, making their enemies tremble with fear.
Pardin revered the strength of these giant warriors.
He was also curious about the Holy Emperor whom these giant warriors served.
What kind of prestige, what kind of courage, could make these god-like warriors pledge their loyalty.
Continuing down the corridor, Pardin was awed by the sheer size of the Imperial warships. They were roughly the size of a planet. They had large numbers of factories and residential areas.
Pardin used various means of transport along the way, such as trains and gunboats.
But it still took a lot of time to reach the destination. The final part of the journey was along an internal corridor with no windows facing outwards.
Pardin, led by the Primaris warrior, walked through this corridor that blended technology and faith.
Priceless golden statues held up torches and braziers.
Holographic projections flickered and rotated on either side of the corridor.
Flying metal cherub robots held incense burners. Tech-priests used sacred oils to anoint the surfaces of force field machinery, praying for the protection of the machine spirit. The Imperium's technology was powerful enough to create black holes and destroy stars.
Yet, inside the warships, they used braziers for lighting and believed that machines had their own souls.
Advanced and ignorant. Technology and religion. These things that should not be put together were strangely combined within the Imperial warships.
If he hadn't witnessed it himself, Pardin would never have imagined such a contradictory mix.
Perhaps it was precisely this strangeness that allowed the Imperium to endure in the terrifying galaxy.
Pardin was finally led to a massive arched hall.
It was very large, like a super plaza, surrounded by statues of eight Primarchs, with statues of the Holy Emperor and the Great Emperor in the center. The statues stood in the hall, supporting the circular arched ceiling.
Symbolizing that they held up hope and the future for humanity, supporting the bulwark against endless darkness and terror. There were many people in the hall, wearing Imperial robes with the golden double-headed eagle, and most of them had some mechanical parts.
Above their heads, flying cherub angels and servo-skulls buzzed. The floor was covered with meticulously woven and intricately designed carpets.
Information windows floated in the air of the hall.
People clicked and wrote on the information windows floating in front of them, and then the windows would automatically float to the person in charge of the next processing step.
The indifferent faces of the heroes in the ancient murals and oil paintings hanging on the walls and pillars gazed down at the crowd. The hall was immense; Pardin estimated it was seven or eight football fields combined in size.
People were busy within it, walking back and forth, or ordering servo-skulls and cherubs to deliver documents. The Primaris warrior led Pardin through the crowd to a doorway on the side of the hall.
After confirming his identity, the door was opened.
He walked in.
It was a circular room with a very high ceiling. The braziers on the walls and the lumen-globes on the roof provided dim lighting.
A giant holographic projector was suspended in the center of the room.
It rotated slowly, and the beams of light that formed its image were very bright in the dim environment.
Several warriors in heavy armor and Imperial officers in uniform surrounded the projector, the faint halo reflecting on their stern faces. They looked at Pardin as he entered, and the seriousness in their eyes made him feel a lot of psychological pressure.
"My name is Marrog, Chapter Master of the Explorers Chapter, Sir Pardin, you said you were once a member of the Sorian Council?" a warrior in heavy armor walked up to Pardin.
"Yes, I was a member of the Sorian Council," Pardin tried to stand up straight, appearing neither subservient nor arrogant.
"They are voting to launch an exterminatus strike, and I hope the intelligence you provide is substantial," Marrog said, "Otherwise, we can only welcome a ruined Sorian system."
"You are about to slaughter compatriots who have been separated for a long time," Pardin said, feigning calmness, "Please consider carefully."
"To kill one person to save thousands, the sin shall be borne by us," Andy interrupted directly, cutting off the lecture, "By the Holy Emperor above, we cannot waste too much time here
. This universe is not just the Andromeda Nebula that needs to be saved by the Imperium; the entire universe will be illuminated by the glory of our Emperor. The resistors of Sorian have lost the chance to be redeemed; only destruction awaits them."
Councilor Pardin frowned slightly upon hearing the other party's words.
He scanned these people. The faces of these Imperials were filled with confidence and calmness.
It seemed that the words of this female Imperial commander were their shared consensus.
Utter arrogance.
Pardin made his judgment of them.
Even their ancestors would not dare to say they could dominate a universe.
Choosing to assist the Imperium, he truly didn't know if it was right or wrong.
If it weren't to prevent the tragic deaths of so many innocent people in the Sorian system, he would definitely turn around and leave.
Associating with madmen will surely lead to the abyss. This was an ancestral teaching of the Pardin family. The Imperium's arrogance and ambition would eventually backfire.
So warlike, how far could this empire go?
Pardin took a deep breath, trying hard not to refute the other party's crazy words.
"The defenders of the Sorian system are very likely no longer controlled by the Votann Alliance, but by Abominable Intelligence."
"Go on," Marrog said.
"Ursal, who was responsible for defending the Sorian system, allowed a portion of the peace faction to leave with the elderly, women, and children before the war broke out.
However, not long after the war started, the ships that were originally planned to send away the elderly, women, and children did not continue to set sail. The high command of the Votann Alliance not only stopped this plan but also used the elderly, women, and children as human bombs."
"I tried to contact Ursal several times, but found that his replies were extremely strange. Even when I said the previously agreed-upon code, the other party was indifferent.
This is why the defenders of the Sorian system are so fanatical; they have been deceived. The Machine Intelligence is using every means necessary to make humans kill each other."
"Is that why you chose to help the Imperium?" Marrog said, "Just because you suspect that the Machine Intelligence has replaced the high command of the Votann Alliance."
"I cannot sit by and watch so many people die," Pardin said, "Protecting the people is the belief of our family."
"It doesn't matter whether the Machine Intelligence or the Votann Alliance high command is in power, the point is that we must take the Sorian system as quickly as possible, Councilor Pardin.
If you can provide some important information, the Imperium will certainly not forget your contribution," a Chapter Master said, "If not, then you can only leave."
"I know a way to infiltrate the capital planet. If all goes well, you can end this war in a few days," Pardin said.
Upon hearing this, Marrog, Andy, Seth, and the others exchanged glances.
Even using an exterminatus strike would likely take a long time to completely destroy the Sorian system.
But if they could carry out a decapitation strike, the speed would be much faster.
"I have only one request: you are not allowed to launch any form of massacre," Pardin said, "If you swear by the name of your Holy Emperor, I will help you enter the capital planet."
Pardin gazed at these Imperial commanders.
No Imperial would violate an oath made to the Holy Emperor.
Even at the cost of their lives, they would do their utmost.
Pardin's condition was ultimately accepted. The price was that he had to reveal how to enter the capital planet under the supervision of the Librarium and the tech-priests.
Under the dual protection of technology and psyker power, no lie could hide.
At the beginning of the Votann Alliance's formation, there was a group of people obsessed with warp sorcery. They believed that everything in the world could be understood.
The reason for not being able to understand was only because human technology was not advanced enough and knowledge was not sufficient.
As long as technology was advanced enough and knowledge was sufficient, humans could master everything.
With this mindset, they conducted in-depth research into the warp. The final fate of this group was very tragic.
Even being far from the Milky Way did not mean the warp was safe.
During their long-term research, the people in that team either went mad or suffered severe mutations, and were ultimately directly executed.
All records about them were purged.
Because the truths and knowledge involved were too dangerous.
Simply understanding them carried the possibility of corruption.
However, Pardin's family preserved a copy of these forbidden knowledge. The end of that team was tragic, but they still had some achievements that survived. Those people built a small section of a low-quality replica of the Webway from Terra to Mars within the Sorian system.
It was a failure, but it left behind a path capable of crossing interstellar distances. That path was very secret and very dangerous. Anyone who entered would get lost and be torn apart by the monsters hidden within.
But this path could ignore the influence of stellar gravitational fields on the warp, allowing a large-scale army to be directly projected onto the capital planet.
After checking Pardin's soul several times.
Everyone confirmed that this information was not a deliberately set trap. That path truly existed.
"As long as we set up a warp field projection device in the Sorian system, we can directly open a path and land directly on the capital planet of the Votann Alliance," Marrog said, "This is an excellent opportunity. As long as the enemy's head is cut off, the limbs will quickly lose vitality and be easily dismembered."
"Going deep behind enemy lines, won't it be too dangerous?" an Imperial commander said, "Large-scale Votann Alliance forces and Abominable Intelligence are not easy to deal with. Even warriors who have undergone Primaris secondary upgrades are at great risk of being killed in an encirclement.
More importantly, the Votann Alliance has giant Machine Intelligences capable of biting through spacetime. If they discover the weakness of our path and sever it, then the Imperial army that has entered the Sorian system will be isolated and helpless."
"Every day we delay here is a day we slow down the pace of the crusade. If we follow the current war situation, we will need at least one or two months to completely dismantle the enemy's defenses. If the enemy's support keeps up, this time may even double or triple. Let the Flesh Tearers handle this mission; we will tear through their defenses."
"You are very likely to be completely wiped out!" Andy warned, "We should use absolute firepower to tear them apart."
"Primaris warriors are the Imperium's strongest ground troops, and the Flesh Tearers are the best among them. We can complete the decapitation mission. exterminatus attacks not only waste time but may also cause resentment among the Votann Alliance citizens who have already sworn allegiance to the Imperium. A decapitation raid is the best way to end this protracted war."
"In the name of the Holy Emperor, what we are bringing to this system is salvation. Even if those people stand against us, we should strive to save them."
Seth insisted on his idea. The others couldn't say anything to refuse, and finally decided that Seth would lead the Flesh Tearers to launch a surprise attack using that hidden warp path, establish a beacon, and destroy the spacetime barrier.
Once a breach was opened, the Imperium's main force could use teleportation to continuously enter the capital planet of the Votann Alliance.