This Is Our Warhammer Journey

"Hello, Brother Romulus."

The priest behind Orlando clearly found the current negotiation hard to watch and quickly squeezed forward.

"Before we arrived in the Little Pierre Star System, two companies of the Vengeance Goddess Chapter lost contact at Pierre, and now they are completely silent. The Emperor's Tarot revealed the peril of this mission, and the expedition fleet only deployed three hundred brothers, so we need to seek any possible assistance."

The priest spoke more pleasantly, explaining the situation in a calm tone.

He then took out his divination records and showed them to the group.

The Emperor's Tarot, a divination tool used by humans who believe in the Emperor, can predict certain events through rituals. Usually, only the devout can receive the Emperor’s revelations.

"The omen reveals we will march toward death, but there is still a faint light in the darkness. Help is needed."

Arabella translated the message for the ancient saints, as the Ecclesiarchy's faith in the Emperor had only become mainstream after the Heresy. Before that, the Empire’s faith in the Emperor was not yet systematized.

"..."

You see, a Canoness holds the same rank as a Chapter Master and has even greater authority over the deployment of Imperial forces than Space Marines. Facing a mixed culture, a bunch of rebels, an unorthodox style, and dealing with abominable creations every day, the Deathwatch would be hard enough to handle, let alone show respect to them.

Did this Canoness perhaps show too much respect to these Deathwatch brothers?

"Mm."

Romulus acknowledged and raised the importance of acquiring combat strength.

After all, it was the Black Templars, a Chapter watched over by the Emperor, so the divination’s credibility was extremely high.

"Thank you for your interpretation, Sister Arabella."

Although the outdated data on the Genestealers had refreshed his understanding of the absurdity of the Empire, Romulus didn’t hold any prejudice against the Ecclesiarchy’s Sisters.

He also understood that the current state of the Empire could not be blamed on them.

Everyone knew that if they could just take down a few people, or even a few High Lords, the Empire would be made great again. They probably wouldn’t even need anyone else’s help—these High Lords would probably find a high place to jump from themselves.

As for the Transmigrators, they couldn’t let their future Chapter’s homeworld end up like this abstract mess.

"It’s my honor."

Arabella bowed respectfully.

What she most appreciated was that, although these ancient saints did not agree with the current state of the Empire, they had never forcibly denied it, instead respecting the faith and sacrifice of humanity over the millennia.

If the Emperor’s continuous miracles earned the Transmigrators’ awe,

Then the Transmigrators, in their actual interactions with the citizens of the Empire, earned the Sisters’ respect through their "though we don’t fully understand, we respect" mindset. "We would never blame those who’ve sacrificed while battling all manner of twisted creatures." This way of thinking easily won the genuine admiration of the Sisters.

It probably wasn’t just a little.

The priest carefully scanned the Deathwatch brothers, adorned with the insignias of Ultramarines and Blood Angels, and something didn’t feel right.

"So you intend to ask us to deal with the Dark Eldar to gain the aid of the Explorator Fleet, right?"

After sorting through the thoughts, Romulus inquired.

"But Inquisitor Aglaia agreed to the harsh terms set by the Archmagister to allow the Explorator Fleet to accompany us, and as a result, we lost twenty-seven brothers, but now we have gained nothing."

Orlando spoke directly, glaring at the Inquisitor.

"You must take responsibility for the brothers who died because of your psychic sorcery."

"This is the revelation the Emperor gave me!"

Aglaia defended herself.

"That was merely an illusion granted by your witchcraft! Were it not for the Emperor’s emblem you still wear, you would be nothing more than another witch to be purged on the spot."

Orlando glanced at Aglaia, his disgust unmistakable.

The priest, about to speak again, looked helplessly at the Marshal, who was even more extreme than him, and saw that once again the Inquisitor and the Marshal had fallen into an argument.

He took a few steps away from the group and apologized.

"Sorry."

"Understood."

Romulus didn’t mind.

It was the Black Templars after all—every Marshal and Priest in each expedition fleet had to be a little mad.

"So the Black Templars have differing opinions on whether or not to help the Explorator Fleet?"

"The Black Templars also support the Inquisitor's decision. The Emperor’s revelation tells us to seek any help we can get, so the addition of the Explorator Fleet is naturally a good thing."

The priest then turned toward the Archmagister, his tone tinged with indignation.

"But Archmagister Kaul’s demands are truly harsh."

"What do you mean?"

Thud~

A servo skull flew over, and the priest inserted the mission record into the slot in its rear, beginning to describe the process of the attack.

"Under the recommendation of Inquisitor Aglaia, the Archmagister and the expedition fleet reached an agreement to enter Pierre. The Black Templars would ensure the Archmagister’s safety upon landing. After completing the mission, the Archmagister would provide us with a ship in exchange for the rewards."

When the priest spoke of the type of ship, he deliberately kept it vague, then pointed to the star map displayed before them.

"The two sides agreed to rendezvous in the Little Pierre Star System and travel to Pierre together, but when the Explorator Fleet arrived, before our fleet could reach them, a Dark Eldar fleet that had already ambushed them in the area attacked."

"These Dark Eldar were clearly hired by someone to intercept the Explorator Fleet in the Little Pierre Star System. After the naval battle failed, more than five hundred Dark Eldar directly took control of the Furnace Core at the rear of the Steel Soul and used it as a stronghold to occupy large areas of the ship’s rear."

The holoscreen showed the outline of the Mechanized Ark, with the rear section marked in red to show the area occupied by the Dark Eldar.

The priest used a marker to draw a core circle in the region.

"The Dark Eldar's purpose is clear: they intend to delay the Explorator Fleet in this system, even if it means sacrificing an entire fleet."

Sighing, the priest’s voice became tinged with helplessness, his tone distorted by the skull mask he wore, as he gestured toward the Torturer-class cruiser floating outside the portholes.

"And the Archmagister was clearly also hindered. After the naval victory, he left them a cruiser and allowed us to leave early."

"But the Inquisitor still insists?"

Romulus looked at the Inquisitor, who was red-faced from arguing with Marshal Orlando.

"Yes, she insists the psychic omen was the Emperor’s guidance, and she demands that the Archmagister accompany us. The Archmagister insists that we must clear the Dark Eldar inside the Ark within five minutes, or the warship will sustain damage beyond what he can accept."