Chapter 16

(MC POV)

Over the past few days, hundreds of thousands of Astartes, along with tens of millions of Imperial army troops, have spread across the solar system in huge fleets.

They were followed by 20,000 Custodes and close to 60,000 Sisters of Silence, and their number was increased by including troops from the Imperial Palace, which is in the warehouse.

All Primarchs were given their own fleets and clearly marked targets to conquer. Several Primarchs worked in groups for specific targets.

The Astronomicon itself projected hid the vast fleet from any threats.

I shift my gaze to the battle that was taking place above Ceres. The sky was filled with enemy Q'Hreli flying ships, while our ships responded very quickly.

I thought about all the possibilities and consequences of this action and I decide that everything is ready

"FIRE!!!" I exclaim happily.

Moments later, our spaceships began to launch missiles. I saw a kind of beauty and power as the missiles shot through space, surrounded by beams of energy. Some hit the target, while others missed, but their presence was enough to keep the enemies in awe. The Q'Hreli ships responded, but our new weapons were too heavy for them.

I watched the duration of the bombing on the screen. Minutes seemed like hours. Finally, the fair saw the effect of our bombardment - enemy ships in Ceres' orbit began to lose altitude, spewing black smoke and distorted bodies.

"Great job! Keep bombing!" I bark the order.

Our ships continued to destroy the Q'Hreli ships while those that survived tried to escape. It was obvious that we took the initiative in this battle.

As I watch the enemy ships fall apart and the remaining enemies retreat, I feel nothing but relief. Ceres is our.

The Q'Hrel were an ancient species, with a history spanning millions of years, but now it is their time to be turned into the dust from which they were born.

Malg-Dantu Palace proved to be the first target for testing the new cannons. The scans also showed that the vast majority of life forms matching human biological characteristics are found below the surface of the proto-planet.

Spear fire tore through the kilometer-high structure. Leaving angular cuts that turned the thick layer of frost on it into large clouds of steam. Whole sections of the macrostructure were detached from the main tower and swaying precariously. As the vivisected structure began to settle from the devastation inflicted by the energy weapons, shells from the fleet's macro-cannons slammed into it.

Megatons of explosive force shattered the palace into frozen shards that flew through the void, partially affected by the rapid decay of the palace's artificial gravity. Forming an incredibly beautiful spectacle of crystalline snow floating between the earthquake-inducing blows.

The Q'Hreli would have thought they could strike back, but they were sorely mistaken and their arrogance caused their defeat.

I watch as the remaining twenty strongholds turn to ash and suffer the fate of Malg-Dantu Palace.

The bombardment continued for several more minutes, reducing most of the Xenos to a bloody mess. The reanimated slaves were reduced to ashes.

Now it's my time to fly in.

I step out onto the outer edge of the ship, look down and feel the battle that has just begun below. I pull the flaming sword out of its sheath and push myself hard and a second later I feel myself falling in a storm of golden and white light.

A maelstrom of emotion floods my being as I descend through the atmosphere at a speed that would literally make a normal person dizzy and faint. My heart is pounding with excitement as I twist and turn, never losing my bearings as I approach the surface of Ceres and my view of the surface becomes clearer.

I found a new extreme sport to do in my spare time.

As I approach the ground, I brace myself for the violent impact that will follow. My armor along with my powers do their thing, reducing the force I will feel from the impact. But I am still aware that the consequences will be huge, which will be reflected in the creation of a large crater below me.

The moment I touch the ground, a tide of adrenaline and euphoria floods my body. I feel the earth shake from the force of the impact, while a cloud of dust rises around me. The crater grows above me, looking like a scene from a science fiction movie.

As I emerge from the crater, I can see all around me the clearing operations of the remaining Q'Hreli enemies.

My people respond to my presence with shouts of fanaticism "AVE IMPERATOR,GLORIA IN EXCELSIS TERRA!!!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A few hours later)

The tunnels were damp and cold. Icy water seeped through cracks in the foundation. Jagged wet stones formed walls and would tear human skin like paper. It was a miserable dirty place.

The terrible and disgusting stench created by the mixture of rot, dirt and old machinery could be felt very well.

I walk on and see only a pile of remains of the despicable Xenos' miserable attempts to defend this place.

The floating city of Xenos was occupied very quickly. Light towers are hit quickly and effectively destroying them in the process. Hordes of Xeno defenders were cut down like grass before a scythe.

The true core of Ceres was of human origin but augmented by the twisted and wondrous architecture of Q'Hrel. The heart was a massive, ten kilometers wide and high super-cave. Their tunnel-path bent due to gravity and became part of the bottom of the cave. Shaped like a kind of titanium cube and riddled with numerous tunnel openings, the chamber defied all human logic and reason. Each side of the chamber had its own gravity.

The city was the size of an Imperial cruiser and was built entirely with organic technology, like all Q'Hrel technology.

In the very center there was a huge door and it was closed by countless mechanisms. Stasis locks, gravity boosts, arcane shielding, molecular bonds insulated with terrible energies, force fields of human and alien manufacture. It was a bizarre hybrid, human, Xeno, natural, supernatural.

I raise my sword slightly above my head and with one full swing of the sword, the door is immediately shattered allowing me to enter.

As soon as my foot steps through the opening, I immediately accelerate to the inhuman level, crossing most of the room to the vicinity of Naalrac-Aou.

In the original timeline, he would have freed The Shoggoth, but in this one, he will be just another corpse to pave my way to greater power.

The Shoggoth was a mass of ever-changing and hungry flesh and matter that could take any form and follow any order.

He couldn't be killed just sealed and now I'm going to kill him permanently.

Just as the humans had the Iron Rebellion, the Aeldari birthing Slaanesh, Kinebach Nurglite apathy, the Q'hrels had the Shogoth uprising of their slaves as a reminder to be careful what you create and what you wish for.

I hold it in one hand as I use the other to break the seals holding The Shoggoth and watch 100,000 tons of ever changing mutant flesh pour out with thousands of hungry mouths looking for enemies to kill and matter to feed on.

One light pressure was enough to penetrate, the mind of the captured Q'hrel and extract from it all the information I was interested in.

I throw Naalrac-Aou into the jaws of my pet, on the his usefulness to the ends has expired.

He didn't even have time to scream or make any reaction, he was already completely absorbed. Given that his mind is broken, it's not like he could scream and have more time.

[image here]

Before the Shoggoth can turn his tentacles on me, I direct my flaming sword and stab him in the flesh.

My focus on the sword results in it becoming a conduit to the Warp. Warp-rift in the shape of a sword.

For a moment the material universe struggled to understand what I had done but once the universe calmed down and the laws of physics could synchronize, destruction was unleashed and everything that came into contact with the rift ceased to exist, torn apart by the pure energy of the Warp.

I channel all the Warp energy from my hands and push the thing through the rift but the creature fought with every bit of its being to break free. The tendrils with claws and fangs tried desperately to break through the armor and destroy me, but they could not and I easily suppressed them.

In response I amplify the energy poured into the rift and even more things fall into the rift. Due to being at the junction of immaterium and matetium, I don't know if the battle lasted a few minutes or an entire eternity.

Eventually, the Shoggoth's entire body was dragged into the warp. A hundred thousand tons of ancient horror were dragged into the Warp. The thing screamed terribly and tried to escape so I just increased the attack until the whole monster was thrown into the Warp experiencing the cessation of existence.

I close the Warp rift with one movement without any effort.

I decide to give myself a few minutes, I give myself a breath and take a deep breath. This was really fun.

It's really good to be Emperor but I realized that I just neglected some things that need to be done.

I quickly create a mental map of my duties in the next few hours and see that a lot of work has accumulated that requires my presence.

In the next few hours I would be busy slaughtering the remaining Q'hrel adults and adding their technological and biological secrets to myself and needing to put a bunch of their artifacts into my warehouses. Human relics should be handed over to the Mechanicum.

Mass executions of captured Xenos should be organized. In a king, nothing unites people like reveling in the misery of his oppressor.

I almost forgot the fact that I need to add a certain amount of Polyp-Spawn to the storage. I want to repopulate the species from scratch and can be used to eliminate minor threats that do not require Astarte deployment.

'This is going to be a long day' I think as I leave the room to continue my duties.