117: Chapter 117 Rebellion and Unexpected Events

Within Troy Hive City.

After receiving news that Western Hive City had fallen, Xue Shatian immediately mobilized half of his military forces, preparing to head to Ironwood Hive City to reinforce its defenses.

In just three months, Western Hive City had been declared lost, which dealt a massive shock to Xue Shatian.

If Ironwood Hive City were to fall as quickly as Western Hive City, the pressure on the entire Troy World would become immense.

Just then, a guard rushed into the study of the Blood-Killing Hall in a panic.

"My Lord, something has happened! Something has happened!"

Xue Shatian looked at the panicked Chaos servant before him, knowing clearly that something major must have occurred.

He wanted to crush this reckless fool on the spot, but he held back; with a major crisis at hand, he could not lose his composure.

"What is the situation now?"

Xue Shatian twirled the dagger in his hand.

"Ironwood Hive City! A rebellion has broken out in Ironwood Hive City!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Shatian froze instantly, and the dagger in his hand slammed into the tabletop.

"What did you say?"

Xue Shatian widened his eyes in disbelief.

I am just about to mobilize troops to defend Ironwood Hive City, and you are telling me now that a rebellion has broken out there and it is on the verge of falling? Are you joking with me?

Xue Shatian reached out abruptly, and a powerful surge of Warp energy transformed into an invisible iron claw, dragging the Chaos servant forcibly in front of him.

"What exactly is going on?"

Three minutes later, Xue Shatian understood the ins and outs of the situation, the fury in his chest like an unexploded bomb with nowhere to vent.

At this moment, Xue Shatian had a splitting headache.

Xue Shatian slumped into his chair; the Chaos servant from before had already become a pile of mush.

This poor, unlucky fellow had become Xue Shatian's punching bag.

At this moment, a voice, hoarse as if it had been hacked by an axe a thousand times, came from not far from Xue Shatian:

"What do you intend to do? Mobilize the army to retake Ironwood Hive City?"

Listening to Kargos, Xue Shatian shook his head helplessly.

"There is no time; the Empire's response will definitely be faster than ours."

Xue Shatian rubbed his forehead wearily.

The facts were indeed as Xue Shatian had expected; Xia Xingchen's forces received news of the rebellion in Ironwood Hive City immediately.

Speed is the essence of war; Xia Xingchen immediately requested that Inquisitor Kolo deploy the Nova Marines into the battlefield.

The Nova Chapter immediately dispatched a strike team composed of the Second Company.

They fast-dropped via Thunderhawk Gunship, quickly seized the main gate of Ironwood Hive City, and established contact with the rebel forces inside the Hive City.

Meanwhile, Xia Xingchen also deployed one of the strongest units under his command, the Death Assault Army.

To accelerate the pace of the advance, he adopted a large-scale airborne tactic.

A large number of transport ships conducted airborne drops within the area controlled by the Nova Marines.

The Nova Marines watched as transport pods landed one after another, and batches of soldiers clad in carapace armor and wielding laser guns emerged from them.

The combat effectiveness of these soldiers was not to be underestimated; in less than three days, they captured the most important lift platform of the Hive City, opening up a stable and safe landing corridor for the transport aircraft.

The report Xia Xingchen received showed that the entire Ironwood Hive City was roughly split into three factions: Chaos, the rebels, and the Empire.

The three forces were intertwined and occupied the territory.

Chaos controlled the Upper Hive, The Spire, and parts of the Middle Hive area; the Empire controlled the remaining half of the Middle Hive; while the rebels completely controlled the Lower Hive and the Hive Bottom area of Ironwood Hive City.

When this news reached the command post, only Division Commander Zhang Bo and his party were handling it.

Xia Xingchen gave them great authorization, allowing them to freely deploy troops.

Because Xia Xingchen was being driven to distraction by another matter.

The cause of the matter was that a group of Battle Sisters inadvertently discovered a middle-aged man hiding Chaos scriptures; by following the clues, they uncovered a Chaos cult hidden beneath the Hive City.

The Battle Sisters swiftly captured all members of the cult with thunderous momentum and executed them all.

Logically, this matter should not have caused any waves and would instead have been praised by everyone.

But the trouble was that this group of Battle Sisters was too extreme; they not only wanted to execute the cult members but also deemed all the commoners on the entire street as accomplices, sending them to the pyre.

Their behavior drew the dissatisfaction of Saint Sabbat.

Saint Sabbat rarely appeared; most of the time, she helped Xia Xingchen shoulder the pressure in logistics.

Just as the Battle Sisters were preparing to "cleanse" all the commoners on the street, Saint Sabbat arrived in time to stop them.

Saint Sabbat stood before all the commoners like a saint saving the world.

In her heart, that shepherd-like benevolence had never dissipated.

She was the Emperor's chosen one, the Living Saint appointed by the Emperor, harboring benevolence and love for all things in the world.

She had always advocated guiding the commoners back to the Empire, rather than mindless cleansing.

The Battle Sisters and Saint Sabbat were at daggers drawn; in the end, having no other choice, Saint Sabbat suppressed this squad of Battle Sisters with her powerful strength.

But she did not do anything more; after handing them over to the soldiers for custody, she left alone.

After learning of this, Xia Xingchen did everything in his power to protect Saint Sabbat.

In negotiations with Vera, Xia Xingchen clearly stated his support for Saint Sabbat's actions.

In the end, Vera had no choice but to back down and suppress the matter, forbidding anyone from delving deeper.

Just as Xia Xingchen finished handling these matters, a little girl quietly ran up to his side.

"Big Brother, Big Brother, hurry and go see Sister Saint."

Xia Xingchen looked down and saw the little blonde girl beside him, then crouched down and asked:

"Oh? Who is this Sister Saint you are talking about?"

"It's Sister Sabat; she is praying in the church now."

Xia Xingchen patted her little head.

"Alright, leave Sister Saint to me; I will go take good care of her."

Xia Xingchen arrived in front of the prayer church and saw that the church had been damaged beyond recognition; dried bloodstains were everywhere on the ground, and the symbol of the Chaos eight-pointed star was carved on the walls.

Although those marks had been shattered, they were still recognizable.

Xia Xingchen pushed open the church doors and walked in.

Inside, it was a mess, with only a broken statue of the Emperor remaining.

Chaos had crudely blown up the holy statue of the Emperor with explosives, leaving only the upper body of the Emperor standing alone in the ruins.

At this moment, Saint Sabbat was kneeling before the broken holy statue of the Emperor, praying softly.

Xia Xingchen stood behind her and spoke after a long while:

"The matter has been handled; you don't need to blame yourself anymore."

Xia Xingchen patiently counseled her:

"This is not your fault; I think you did the right thing, and I support you."

Before he could finish speaking, Saint Sabbat suddenly turned around and threw herself into Xia Xingchen's arms.

"I am so scared."

Xia Xingchen knew that Saint Sabbat was never afraid of battle; what she feared was faith being tainted and ideals being shattered.

"Everything has been handled; there will be no more indiscriminate cleansing in the future. Rest assured, no matter when, I will stand on the same front as you."

Saint Sabbat then released Xia Xingchen and said from the bottom of her heart:

"Thank you."