Ignatius Dorn was stumped by the question. He began to furiously turn his head, his superhuman brain starting to churn. Two minutes later, he had the answer.
"I apologize, Chapter Master Deus Krieg, I have failed Grand Marshal's expectations. As of now, the statistics for the Underhive population are still incomplete."
"From the current situation, the number of people in the Underhive of just this hive city alone should be at least 20 billion."
"Although we are doing our best to house these people, you know that voidships are constantly making short jumps from the Warp, dropping off large numbers of people here."
"Even if the crew members on these voidships are registered, the untouchables in the bottom of the ships are not. I apologize, I know I shouldn't call them untouchables, but you know, it's just a term."
"Their numbers are simply too vast. As long as one voidship docks at our planet, at least hundreds of thousands of untouchables will enter our Underhive. It's simply impossible to count them."
Deus Krieg fell silent upon hearing this reply.
He knew what the Imperium of Man used to be like, and he also knew how remarkable the world his Grand Marshal had created here was.
For ordinary Imperial World residents, everything here was no different from heaven. Here, they were as if bathed in the Emperor's holy light.
This was the place they dreamed of living, even the Underhive of a hive city.
These Underhive dwellings might not have been built or renovated by Noah, nor by the local governor, but they had one major difference compared to other worlds.
Noah would distribute relief food to them, and the local governor faithfully carried out this order.
Every month, they would regularly deliver large quantities of food to the Underhive to ensure that the people of the Underhive would not starve to death.
And it was done in an orderly fashion, protected by PDF troops, and distributed to everyone, while arbites also patrolled the lower levels to maintain public order.
At the same time, people from the Department of the Interior would go down to the Underhive to select a portion of the Underhive people, allowing them to enter the middle levels and live in the newly established urban blocks.
Although the number of people selected would not be too many, after all, more people were continuously entering these planets.
But this was a hope.
This was a precious hope!
In the Warhammer Universe, in the dark regions of the Imperium of Man, to see this hope was incredibly precious for ordinary people.
They were willing to wait for this hope. They were willing to die for this hope.
At least after taking the risk and traveling by voidship to these worlds, they would not starve to death. Although they couldn't eat delicacies,
ordinary protein bars and energy bars were definitely plentiful.
As long as these people could reach these worlds, they wouldn't have to worry about starving to death.
Not starving to death, that was equivalent to a heavenly world!
This silence lasted for several minutes, but due to the urgency of the battle, it was interrupted by Deus Krieg after a few minutes.
"Alright, you and I both know that Grand Marshal's policies are indeed too appealing.
No citizen of the Imperium of Man could have imagined such days. What's happening in the Underhive is indeed not your fault, but they must be controlled."
"On Nairus, I remember there are a total of 460 million PDF troops."
"Send out the PDF troops and deploy them to patrol the Underhive. They must patrol every day to prevent the emergence of cults. If cults appear, they must be immediately suppressed and never allowed to spread."
"At the same time, recall all retired PDF and militarily trained PDF, and have them return to their respective units to prepare for service. We need to expand our military."
"Since we temporarily cannot get reinforcements, then we need to expand our military to cope with the enemy's powerful military force.
Their Space Marines number far exceeds ours, and my Chapter may not be a match for those World Eaters."
Although it was truly embarrassing to say this, Deus Krieg still said it.
The number of World Eaters far outnumbered the Space Marines stationed here. With over 10,000 World Eaters against 10,000 Space Marines, the World Eaters clearly had a higher chance of winning.
Moreover, the enemy could also summon Daemons. Considering that his Space Marine troops were only PDF a few years ago,
there was definitely a gap in elite status compared to the enemy. Therefore, he still chose to say it.
Ignatius Dorn pretended he hadn't heard anything. A Space Marine saying he was not good enough was to emphasize the seriousness of the situation.
As a governor, he had the necessary political acumen. He would not bring up this statement and then embarrass the Chapter Master.
"Understood. I will now order the PDF to act accordingly. The rest is up to you. I will order the factories to resume full production."
"I know that this upcoming decree may go against the Grand Marshal's instructions and his original intentions.
But please understand that all of this is for the world not to be occupied by the great enemies of chaos, and all of this is to protect humanity."
Ignatius Dorn spoke with sincerity.
Expanding the military is not something that can be achieved by simply opening and closing one's mouth. Where will the equipment, weapons, and ammunition needed for expansion come from? They must come from the factories.
The war on the entire planet was about to begin, and considering this, the factories would inevitably have to work overtime.
Working overtime was a necessity; at least, continuing to implement the 8-hour workday stipulated by the Grand Marshal was clearly impossible to succeed.
"Chapter Master Deus Krieg, I hope you can understand my upcoming actions and operations in domestic policy.
And please understand, do not interfere arbitrarily, just as I am now handing over all military command authority to you."
"Nairus, this world would have fallen into the hands of the great enemies of chaos long ago if not for the Grand Marshal's appearance.
It was the Grand Marshal who brought this world its current vitality, and it was the Grand Marshal who saved this world."
"As governor, I cannot watch this world fall into the hands of the great enemies of chaos. I will never allow the Grand Marshal's glory to be defiled by the great enemies of chaos at this time.
Therefore, I must fulfill my responsibilities. If this world ultimately falls into the hands of the great enemies of chaos, then I would rather destroy it."
"The citizens have enjoyed the Grand Marshal's benevolence towards them; that was the Grand Marshal's benevolence, and now it is their time to repay him."
Ignatius Dorn's gaze was resolute!
Deus Krieg remained silent, looking at the governor before him.
The other party saying such words was undoubtedly giving him a warning.
And his current silence was, in fact, equivalent to tacitly accepting the warning given by the other party.
"The latest directive from the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
"Effective immediately, all factories will extend their 8-hour workdays to 16 hours."
"Furthermore, all workers' wages will be halved, and the halved wages will be used to sustain military expenditures."
"To protect this world, and to better protect the world created by the Grand Marshal."
"Everyone's food rations will also be halved, with the reduced portion replaced by energy bars or protein-starch protein bars!"
"For the Grand Marshal, for the Emperor!"
Ignatius Dorn understood what the Chapter Master opposite him meant by his silence, so he no longer hesitated.
He stated his intentions.
Work hours would be doubled to 16 hours!
Ultimately, he was still merciful, as in the Imperium of Man, when a world was under attack, even increasing work hours to 22 hours would be considered worthwhile.
But he had only mercifully increased it to 16 hours.
Deus Krieg looked at the governor before him, his lips moved, but in the end, he did not object.
The only true pure-blooded Terran Federation member was Noah; he possessed the Terran Federation's high moral standards and sought to pass them on to his subordinates.
He was successful; under his influence, his subordinates indeed treated ordinary citizens better and better, even those who could be called Space Marines were incredibly tolerant of civilians.
But no matter what, they originated from the Warhammer universe; they had all experienced the darkness of the past, and they knew how suffocating it had been, so they all agreed with one statement:
Sacrifice is the bedrock of the Imperium; no sacrifice is too great to accept, and no betrayal is too small to tolerate!
Now the enemy had arrived, the Arch-Enemy of Chaos had arrived, and to defend this world, to achieve the Grand Marshal's plan, what was wrong with the citizens below making some sacrifices?
It was just asking them to work 16 hours; was 16 hours of work a lot?
Not much.
In many ordinary worlds, 16 hours of work was common, and most Forge Worlds and Industrial Worlds even worked 18 hours.
Now, merely increasing the time to 16 hours, Krieg felt he could actually accept this increase.
And even though wages were halved, wasn't halving wages also for the sake of this world?
Under Noah's governance, the wages on Nerrus were four times higher than in other prosperous worlds of the Imperium.
Even with their wages halved, they were still twice as high compared to other Imperial worlds.
As for food, there was even less to say; in this world, they could still eat real food, while in other worlds, they couldn't even get enough corpse starch. Were such conditions truly harsh?
Those who had truly experienced what darkness was like would never feel such conditions were harsh; these conditions were still lenient.
More importantly, the governor had not mentioned stopping food supplies to the Underhive; food supplies to the Underhive would remain, allowing those in the Underhive to still eat their fill.
Such treatment would earn one the title of a living saint on any other planet; this was truly a living saint!
As the Space Marine Chapter Master and the governor reached a consensus, the directive was quickly approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and then dispatched worldwide.
However, the impact of this policy, once issued, far exceeded the expectations of both Deus Krieg and Ignatius Dorn.
Both of them held high positions; one was a Space Marine Chapter Master, equivalent to the highest military commander of the planet.
The other was the governor, responsible for guiding the planet's development; their high positions gave them a broad perspective, allowing them to understand more than ordinary people.
They believed their policy was understandable and acceptable, and that it was already far, far better than other worlds in the Imperium; they were merciful, and the Grand Marshal was merciful.
They continued to maintain the Grand Marshal's consistent merciful style.
But the common people below did not think so.
Noah had arrived too recently; he had not implemented universal compulsory education for everyone. He had not made everyone aware of what writing was, what knowledge was, or what thought was.
When the workers, who had been enjoying a year of good life, heard this news, it struck them like a bolt from the blue.
Work hours increased to 16 hours, wages halved, food rations cut in half, replaced by protein powder and protein bars!
This was no longer something that ordinary tyranny could explain or justify; this was outright oppression, persecution.
A portion of Imperial citizens actually knew that the treatment on their world was exceptionally good, and even in its current state, it remained incredibly appealing to ordinary Imperial citizens.
This group included some who possessed sufficient knowledge and ideas, and others who were newly settled Imperial citizens from other worlds.
They had experienced the true, unadulterated darkness, and they still remembered that darkness.
They knew very well that the conditions on this world were still incredibly good for them, and still incredibly good within the Imperium, but ordinary people would not think this way.
A year's time can change too much… Ignatius Dorn and Deus Krieg had not anticipated that their order would cause unrest to arrive prematurely.
It also allowed the cults to develop more effectively.
Two hours after the directive was passed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and announced to everyone, a large group of people gathered in a tavern after their factory shifts.
They used their past savings to drink a lot in the tavern, which was run by a Tzeentchian cultist.
Upon seeing the deep resentment of these workers after their shift, he realized his opportunity had arrived!
As most of the workers were heavily intoxicated, the Tzeentchian cultist walked up to the bar counter of his tavern, jumped onto it, and began to denounce the current planetary government.
"Fellow workers! Brothers! You fools who have been deceived, exploited, and betrayed!"
He spread his arms, a twisted smile that appeared gentle and benevolent to ordinary people on his face, and his voice suddenly rose.
"Look at yourselves! Look at your hands! Your hands are covered in calluses, full of blisters! Your hands are stained with oil and sweat!
Your hands—they should be creating wealth, they should be enjoying wealth! But what have you received?!"
He abruptly pointed out the window, towards the towering governor's Palace in the distance.
"Sixteen hours! Sixteen hours of hard labor! Wages halved! Food halved! And them—those high and mighty lords—
What do they eat? Fresh meat! Fine wine! Delicacies you will never taste in your lifetime!"
"Once, under the Emperor's benevolence, under the Grand Marshal's benevolence, we gained all of this, but now they want to strip it all away!"
"Are you willing? Are you willing to have everything that rightfully belongs to you so easily taken away?"
The crowd began to stir at his words, and angry growls echoed through the tavern.
"They call it 'sacrifice'! They say it's 'for the Emperor'!"
"But I ask you, what have your sacrifices bought you?!"
"Longer working hours! Less pay! Worse food! And them? Their palaces are still resplendent! Their tables are still laden with delicacies!"
He bent down, his voice lowered, yet more venomous.
"Do you remember a year ago? Do you remember that 'benevolent' Grand Marshal? He gave you hope, he gave you dignity! But now?"
"He hasn't even left yet! And his 'successors', they couldn't wait to tear off their masks!"
"They couldn't wait to tell you that you are unworthy! You are only fit to be slaves!"
These words were more inflammatory than any others.
The kindness Noah had shown them was something these commoners had never imagined, and it was precisely this kindness that made it even harder for them to accept.
If this order had been issued by Noah, perhaps it would have been somewhat better.
At least the Tzeentch cultists would have needed to use different language to fool them, but this was issued by the governor.
Someone started smashing cups, others roared curses at the governor's office.
"They tell you, 'it's for the war'! But I ask you, whose war is it?!"
"Is it yours?"
"No!"
"It's the war of those high-ranking officers!"
"It's the war of those Space Marines!"
"It's the war of those governor Lords! They use your blood and sweat to fuel their ambitions! And you—you can't even get a decent piece of bread!"
He abruptly raised a cup of wine and slammed it to the ground, glass shards scattering.
"They thought you would obediently comply! They thought you would wag your tails and beg like dogs! But you are people! Living, breathing people! You have the right to be angry! You have the right to resist!"
"Fellow workers, brothers... are you truly content? Content to be deceived? Content to be exploited? Content to live like livestock?!"
A thunderous roar erupted from the tavern: "No! Absolutely not!"
"Then—it's time to let them know who the true masters of this world are!"
He jumped off the bar, and those Khornate cultists who were already among the crowd also stepped out, moving to the very front.
They began to echo the words of this Tzeentchian heretic.
"Come with us! Let those lords hear just how terrifying the wrath of the workers can be!"
Leveraging Noah's past kindness to these citizens and the sudden reduction in rations by the governor, the Tzeentchian heretics successfully incited these not-so-intelligent human citizens.
From tavern after tavern, drunken men stumbled out, some of whom were honest, hardworking laborers during the day.
Others were parasites already within the factories.
Parasites exist everywhere, even in Warhammer 40k, they still exist.
These parasites were not the most diligent workers after entering the factory.
They also earned high wages, which they then used for gambling and spending. Now they were in debt.
The governor's sudden decision to reduce rations and cut their wages was a fatal blow to them.
Among the crowd, these people were the most agitated and aggressive.
Because a reduction in their rations meant they would have to return to a life of being hated by people and idle like dogs.
They were in debt, and without this income, their financial chain would be completely broken.
All kinds of people appear in society; no matter how good the policies from the planetary government or Noah, it cannot change that as long as education has not reached a certain level, there will always be some fools among humans.
They don't consider anything else; they live for today, enjoying themselves in the moment, even if it means borrowing money, gambling, and trying everything.
Then they accumulate a mountain of debt and slowly pay it back.
humans are always impulsive, and in the heat of the moment, they will do things they regret for the rest of their lives.
Like now, under the influence of alcohol and some chaotic magic and pollution from the Tzeentch cultists, they also did things they would regret for the rest of their lives.
Before, in a moment of impulsiveness, they accumulated a mountain of debt, needing this salary to pay it back, and now—
Large numbers of such people poured out of taverns throughout the hive city.
They gathered together, shouting banners of resistance and protest, and surged towards the arbites station. They wanted to protest, they wanted to resist the planetary government.
Mixed among them were some Khornate cultists, armed with autoguns or other weapons, who were boosting morale among the crowd and maintaining their fervor.
Such behavior naturally attracted the attention of the local arbites. Large numbers of personnel appeared on the streets; it would have been strange if it hadn't caught the arbites' attention.
When hundreds of thousands of people raised banners of protest and resistance, and some of them were openly armed on the streets, the arbites alarm was sounded.
The arbites siren pierced the night sky, and red and blue arbites lights flashed between the steel canyons of the hive city.
Riot arbites quickly assembled, clad in heavy carapace armor, holding riot shields and shock batons, forming a steel defense line in front of the arbites station.
"Everyone stop immediately! This is an illegal assembly! Disperse at once!"
The arbites megaphone's voice echoed through the streets, but the only response was even more furious roars.
"Liars! Traitors!"
"Give us back our wages! Give us back our food!"
"The Grand Marshal would not allow you to treat us this way!"
In the crowd, the eyes of the Khornate cultists glowed crimson as they snarled, pushing the people in front, escalating the anger further.
"They want to crush us with laws! They want us to remain slaves!"
"Charge! Let them see our strength!"
A stone flew towards the arbites line, followed by a second, a third... Dull thuds sounded on the riot shields, and the arbites' nerves were stretched to their limit.
"Last warning! Retreat immediately! Otherwise, we will use force!"
But the warning was already meaningless.
In the crowd, a Khornate cultist suddenly raised a stolen autogun, aimed at the arbites, and pulled the trigger.
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
"For the Blood God! Kill them all!"
A gunshot cracked, bullets tore through the air, and a riot policeman grunted. His chest armor was pierced, and blood splattered out.
"Open fire! Open fire!"
It wasn't just this gunshot that broke the arbites' last bit of calm, but that phrase: Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!
These arbites officers, who were prepared for work on the frontier planets, naturally understood what this phrase meant.
It meant that these people in front of them had already been corrupted by Chaos; they had become cultists.
What it meant to hear this slogan at a time when the Khornate fleet was about to invade was almost self-explanatory; the arbites' last nerve was directly snapped.
The arbites' laser guns began firing wildly, aiming at the crowds opposite them.
Bolter shells were also constantly unleashed, directly eliminating large numbers of people.
To be honest, when the phrase "Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God, Offer Skulls to the Skull Throne" was uttered, some people had already reacted; some workers had realized they were being exploited.
But even if they reacted, what good would it do? Most people hadn't reacted yet, and Chaos magic had already taken effect.
Even within the purifier's range, Chaos magic could still take effect.
After all, these ordinary people hadn't awakened their psionicss yet.
To resist the corruption of Chaos, one must possess psionic abilities.
Under the shroud of Chaos magic, even those who had sobered up were instantly enveloped by the magic and plunged back into madness.
"Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God, Offer Skulls to the Skull Throne!"
"For the Khorne, kill them all!"
The riot arbites' line began to collapse under the charge of the rioters.
The workers, bewitched by Chaos magic, had bloodshot eyes, unnaturally swollen muscles, and blasphemous runes appearing under their skin.
They no longer feared bullets; some even caught incoming bullets with their bare hands, charging at the arbites with 瘋狂 laughter.
"For the Khorne! Skulls! More skulls!"
A Khorne worshipper brandished a rusty chain-axe; his body was twisted and deformed, with a spine protruding like a blade.
He charged into the arbites ranks, his axe blade tearing through carapace armor, blood and organs splattering on the steel ground of the hive city.
The arbites communication channels were filled with desperate shouts:
"Requesting backup! Repeat, requesting backup! We can't hold them! These aren't ordinary people, they—ah!!!"
The communication abruptly ceased with the sound of flesh being torn.
At the same time, at the center of the riot, the Tzeentch worshipper stood on high ground, his robe fluttering without wind, blue evil flames flickering in his eyes.
He chanted incantations in a low voice, his fingers tracing bizarre symbols in the air.
"Very good... very good... let the anger burn more fiercely..."
As he spoke, the lights of the hive city began to flicker, and twisted forms emerged from the shadows.
The bodies of the workers, thoroughly corrupted by Chaos energy, began to disintegrate, their flesh reorganizing into terrifying Chaos Spawn.
Their skin peeled away, revealing writhing muscles, their limbs twisted into sharp bone blades, emitting inhuman howls.
"No! No! This isn't what we wanted!"
A few workers who still retained their sanity retreated in horror, but it was too late.
The Chaos Spawn lunged at them, their claws tearing through flesh, turning their former companions into new sacrifices.
A riot, born from a Chaos cult, erupted on the planet even before the World Eaters' fleet arrived.
Over 600,000 cultists stormed into a residential area and attacked the local arbites station, killing all 1,000 arbites officers within!
Even though these arbites officers wore carapace armor and wielded newly produced, powerful machine guns, they still couldn't withstand such a massive army of cultists.
The Khorne worshippers mixed among them spearheaded the attacks on other areas.
The cultists achieved a temporary victory, but this was ultimately not an ordinary Imperial World, nor was it an ordinary Imperial Underhive.
Moreover, their rebellion was, in the end, just a small rebellion; it hardly caused much of a stir. 600,000 people compared to a planet with hundreds of billions of inhabitants was an infinitesimally small number.
This was the Misty Star Domain 108 Worlds, and its supreme ruler was Noah. This was an unofficial World built by Noah; they would never abandon any piece of land.
Especially not for such a small-scale rebellion.
When this residential area fell and the arbites station was overrun, the news was simultaneously sent to the governor.
Ignatius Dorn looked at the holographic communication sent back by his subordinates, his face extremely grim.
As governor, how could he not be aware of the difference between his World and other Imperial Worlds?
Wasn't it just an increase to 16 hours?
How much better was this than in other Imperial Worlds?
How dare they do this, how dare they? Never mind them working 16 hours; look at how long he, the governor, works!
Normally, in the middle of the night, other governors and officials would already be resting. But look at him.
Since receiving news of the World Eaters' legion's arrival, his working hours had been extended to 23 hours.
He led by example, changing his working hours to 23 hours, constantly dealing with various government affairs on the planet.
As governor, he was truly very angry. He didn't know what he was angry about, but he was genuinely very angry.
He could understand the people below wanting time to rest; he could understand their dissatisfaction with the current changes.
He could understand everything. If they were dissatisfied, why didn't they come to him directly to talk?
Why didn't they find representatives?
Under Noah's governance, each planet had parallel administrative bodies; they could form unions and present their opinions to the highest-level governor.
The governor had the obligation and necessity to meet with these democratically elected representatives and converse with them.
Therefore, the governor, trained by Noah, deeply understood this point. Since he took office, he had discussed issues with the common people more than once, and those issues had all been well addressed and resolved.
He couldn't understand why, after he had done so much—as an Imperial governor, he was even willing to negotiate with the common citizens and understand each other—
Why this time they weren't even willing to negotiate and were directly swayed by the cultists!
Was the Grand Marshal not good enough to them?
Was he not good enough to them? Could they live such good lives in other Imperial Worlds?
No betrayal is small enough to be forgiven, no sacrifice is great enough to be unacceptable!
These people must pay the price; they must pay the price. This is the consequence of their betrayal!
He would not affect other residential areas, nor would he affect other citizens, but the families of these rebellious individuals must pay the price!
Anger began to consume Ignatius Dorn's mind!
The long working hours had already made him extremely tired; how could he not be angry upon hearing such news?
Just as he was burning with rage, a cold, large hand rested on his shoulder.
It was Deus Krieg.
"Ignatius, calm down!"
"These people were merely swayed by Chaos cultists. Ultimately, this matter stems from a problem with our policies; they have been away from the Imperial way of life for too long."
"Our government officials did not properly explain the reasons and basis of this policy, allowing those Chaos cultists to exploit it. We need to reflect on this matter."
"The immediate priority is not to consider how to punish these people, but to suppress this cultist unrest first. Mobilize the PDF; I will send a company of 1,000 Space Marines to assist you."
"Suppress it. Suppress this small rebellion. We will consider the rest of the matters tomorrow!"