Rufus coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of filthy water.
His mechanical arm trembled as it supported him in the mud, as if it might fall apart at any moment.
Leon Drake leaned forward slightly.
“Take the Taurus Armored Personnel Carrier on the far left.” “Dismantle it.” “Turn it into scrap.
Right now.” The underground hall fell silent.
Only the steady drip of water echoed from the drainage pipes.
Rufus froze.
So did the sixty kneeling Enforcers around him.
That was a Taurus APC.
Their entire patrol division had spent five years skimming money, pulling favors through Hive City connections, and bribing the right people just to acquire it.
The armor plating wasn’t factory original.
But in the Underhive…
A vehicle like that meant power.
It meant no one dared stand in your way.
And now…
The first order from this “Lord Inquisitor”…
Was to make them destroy it with their own hands.
Leon calmly watched the stunned natives.
He could dismantle it himself.
One burst of flame from a Firebat would be the quickest solution.
But if the Enforcers broke apart the vehicle first…
The SCV would recycle it much more efficiently.
More importantly…
This was a test.
A test of obedience.
If they could destroy their own livelihood with their own hands…
Then perhaps they were worth keeping.
Rufus slowly raised his mud-covered face.
“My…
my lord…” “That vehicle is officially registered military property under the Planetary Defense Force.” “If it is to be dismantled, according to the Imperial Departmento Munitorum Asset Regulations, a decommission request must be submitted.
A Mechanicus Tech-Priest must also perform the proper rites to soothe the machine spirit…” Clack!
The loud metallic sound of a weapon being cocked cut him off.
Helena strode forward.
Holding her Arbites-issued bolt pistol in both hands…
She pressed the barrel firmly against Rufus’ temple.
“Questioning an Inquisition order?” Her voice was as cold as sharpened steel.
“Are you attempting to place the Departmento Munitorum’s decaying bureaucracy…” “Above the chosen will of the Omnissiah?” “Carry out the order immediately.” “Otherwise…” “Every one of you will be judged as accomplices of Chaos and purified on the spot.” The pistol forced Rufus’ head sideways.
He looked at the Arbitrator who now stood completely at Leon’s side.
Then he looked at the two crimson-armored Firebats behind her.
Finally…
He broke.
“Dismantle it!” “What the hell are you all waiting for?!” “Take it apart!” All sixty Enforcers scrambled to their feet.
Some pulled out entrenching shovels.
Others activated high-frequency cutting blades.
Several extended hydraulic clamps built into their cybernetic arms.
An entire squad of heavily armed law enforcers surrounded their own armored carrier…
And began the most ridiculous act of destruction imaginable.
Bang!
A heavy hammer shattered one of the headlights.
Screech!
A cutting saw sliced through the side armor, spraying sparks everywhere.
Some Enforcers’ eyes had already turned red.
Normally…
Touching this vehicle without permission earned them a kick from Rufus.
Now…
They had to reduce it to scrap themselves.
Leon watched the absurd scene unfold.
“Ada.” “Does this count as legally stealing from the Empire?” [Definition Analysis.] [You are requisitioning local military assets while posing as an Inquisitor.] [This satisfies both fraud and coercion criteria.] [However, no individual currently possesses the authority to verify your identity.] [Therefore, this action is legally classified as the execution of official duties.] Leon twitched the corner of his mouth.
“You’d make one terrifying legal consultant.” As the Enforcers continued dismantling the vehicle…
The roof was torn away.
External armor plates crashed onto the ground one after another.
“That’s enough.” Leon snapped his fingers.
From the shadows behind him…
The SCV rumbled forward.
Its massive mechanical arms unfolded.
A plasma welder extended from the left arm.
A high-frequency cutting claw unfolded from the right.
The Enforcers instinctively backed away.
None of them had ever seen a machine like this.
There were no incense burners.
No sacred scriptures.
No servo-skulls.
Only thick armor.
Hydraulic lines.
And an overwhelming sense of industrial power.
The SCV rolled directly in front of the ruined APC.
Its cutting claw seized a half-ton slab of plasteel armor.
The plasma welder ignited with a brilliant blue flame.
The thick armor melted before everyone’s eyes.
Molten metal disappeared into the recycler mounted behind the SCV.
[Recovered High-Density Plasteel.] [Minerals +30.] [Recovered Drive Shaft and Chassis Scrap.] [Minerals +20.] Numbers continued climbing across Leon’s retinal display.
Less than three minutes later…
The ten-ton Taurus Armored Personnel Carrier had completely vanished.
Nothing remained except a puddle of water…
And a few burned electrical cables.
Rufus sat motionless in the mud.
His eyes had gone blank.
That had been an armored vehicle.
Where had it gone?
The yellow machine didn’t even have an exhaust port.
Where had it “eaten” an entire APC?
The word heresy flashed through his mind.
But he didn’t dare speak it aloud.
Standing nearby…
Helena gripped her bolt pistol more tightly.
Instead of doubting…
Her conviction only grew stronger.
She no longer bothered explaining anything to these fools of the Underhive.
Being able to convert worthless military scrap into sacred resources for war…
That itself was a higher law.
[Resource Calculation Complete.] [Base Inventory: 150 Minerals.] [Recovered Materials: 50 Minerals.] [Current Minerals: 200.] [Current Vespene Gas: 890.] [Factory construction requirements fulfilled.] Two hundred Minerals.
Leon forced himself to remain calm.
Infantry was powerful.
But even elite infantry had limits in a universe built around endless slaughter.
Real men built Factories.
Hellions.
Goliath Walkers.
Siege Tanks.
Once those entered his production line…
Everything would change.
“You’ve done well.” Leon gestured toward the still-dazed Enforcers.
“We’ll leave the other two vehicles intact.” “They still have useful searchlights, communication arrays, and cargo space.” He turned toward Rufus.
“Take your men.” “Break open that warehouse door.” “Every piece of junk inside…” “Bring it out.” Rufus didn’t dare object.
His mind was still trapped on the armored vehicle that had simply…
Disappeared.
If that machine did the same thing to a person…
He shuddered.
Then immediately began barking orders.
At that moment…
Helena quickly walked over to Leon and looked toward the warehouse’s massive steel blast door.
“My lord.” “This may be a problem.” “That door is military-grade tungsten blast steel.” “The Enforcers’ cutting equipment isn’t powerful enough.” “Even after three hours…” “They may still fail to break through.” She glanced at the waiting SCV.
“Should we allow your sacred machine to handle it?” Leon looked at the enormous door.
“No.” “Never use a siege hammer to kill a chicken.” He opened his holographic command interface.
His fingers slid across the building menu.
Locked onto…
[Factory] Construction Coordinates Confirmed: The cleared area at the center of the underground transit hall.
“Ada.” “Deploy the Factory warp beacon.” [Command Confirmed.] Leon tossed a palm-sized blue holographic beacon onto the muddy floor.
Bzzz…
Electric currents crackled throughout the chamber.
Space around the beacon began to distort.
The air filled with the sharp scent of ozone.
The Enforcers struggling with the warehouse door all turned around.
A brilliant blue column of light more than thirty meters across pierced straight through the rock ceiling and the reinforced Hive City’s concrete above.
Inside the light…
Countless energy modules rapidly assembled.
A massive steel foundation emerged from nothing.
Gigantic hydraulic manipulators.
Thick cooling conduits.
Fusion cores glowing with brilliant blue light.
Layer after layer…
Printed into existence.
“A…
a military factory…” Helena’s voice trembled.
She had seen Mechanicus factories before.
Tens of thousands of servitors transporting materials.
Tech-Priests chanting sacred hymns.
Construction projects lasting years…
Sometimes decades.
Yet now…
A massive industrial complex devoid of unnecessary religious ornamentation…
A fortress of cold steel and ruthless efficiency…
Was taking shape within seconds.
Rufus and every Enforcer stared in disbelief.
Moments ago…
They had destroyed one armored vehicle with their own hands.
Now…
An entire factory was growing out of light itself.
The events of this single day…
Had surpassed everything they had experienced during the rest of their lives.
Hidden within the dark maintenance passage behind the warehouse…
The enormous Primus clung silently behind a ventilation grate.
Its four powerful arms dug deep into the wall.
It had witnessed the armored vehicle being consumed.
It had also witnessed the impossible factory materializing from thin air.
As one of the Gene Cult’s senior commanders…
Its connection to the Hive Mind raced at full capacity.
No analysis.
No biomass signatures.
Entirely inorganic construction.
The two-legged creature could not be infected.
And now…
It had summoned a nest that produced steel monsters directly beneath the Underhive.
Slowly…
The Primus raised its right arm.
Gripped within it…
Was a heavy plasma mining cutter stolen from an abandoned Imperial mining facility.
The barrel glowed red as it charged.
Its muzzle remained fixed on the heart of the Factory…
Just moments before completion.
[Warning.] Ada’s voice suddenly rang through Leon’s mind.
[High-energy plasma reaction detected.] [Target locked: Factory Core.] Leon’s expression darkened.
“Find it.” The Primus squeezed the trigger.
A brilliant sphere of blue plasma erupted from the darkness.