Cadia.

Duanmu Huai was not unfamiliar with this planet, nor were the players. It was located at the edge of the rift between Subspace and the Material Universe—the border of the Eye of Fear, serving as the front line for the Imperial fight against Chaos. Many heroic stories have unfolded here, along with that famous saying.

Cadia stands unconquered.

Just these words alone reveal the resilience and courage of the Cadians in their fight against Chaos and Demons.

However, resilience and courage alone are not enough to withstand the Chaotic Demons.

Duanmu Huai had already learned from Judge Sten about the timeline he was currently in—the one where Abaddon, the inheritor of the title War Marshal, was leading the Demon Army in a complete assault from the Eye of Fear, launching a fierce campaign against the fortress at the front line of the Empire's battle with Chaos.

The reason was simple. On the planets led by Cadia, there stood Blackstone Obelisks built long ago by Space Undead, which served an anti-psychic function. It was precisely because of these Blackstone Obelisks that the Eye of Fear was contained within a certain range. Therefore, Abaddon sought to completely destroy these devices limiting the Eye of Fear, allowing Subspace to completely tear apart the entire Milky Way.

And ultimately, he succeeded.

Abaddon smashed the Blackstone Fortress onto Cadia, completely shattering the planet. Without the restraint of the Blackstone Obelisks, the roaring psychic energy from the Eye of Fear poured out, tearing the entire Milky Way apart and bringing about greater chaos.

For now, Duanmu Huai found himself within this timeline of the Thirteenth Expedition.

They do know how to choose a time for me.

Duanmu Huai watched speechlessly as the people ran back and forth on the command deck before him. Indeed, this could be said to be the timeline where the power of the Chaos Evil Gods was strongest, but... so what?

Duanmu Huai knew that situations like this generally couldn't be stopped. After all, this was deemed a very important temporal node, but... not being able to change it didn't mean he couldn't fight you.

In essence, as long as Cadia explodes on the spot, tearing apart the Milky Way, won't the job be done?

It doesn't have to be now, right?

In a few millennia, wouldn't it be the same?

Besides, does Duanmu Huai want to change the past?

Of course not, he just wants to have a good kill!

Just like last time in 30K, Duanmu Huai went to kill Ares, not caring about altering history, he just wanted to eliminate that bastard!

Likewise, it was the same now, with an opportunity to beat Abaddon, would Duanmu Huai let it pass?

Absolutely not.

As for whether it would affect the future?

Probably not, since even if he eliminates Abaddon now, the future is already fixed, and thus won't change anything.

If that's the case, why not kill?

Save it for the New Year?

So Duanmu Huai wasn't worried about changing past timelines; he was eager to get to Cadia and take down Abaddon and his Black Legion, letting the "invincible" War Marshal have a taste of his Iron Hammer!

But unfortunately, this warship seemed powerless in the current situation.

The Subspace Storm had isolated the Cadian System from other systems, making it impossible for Judge Sten to reach Cadia. They simply couldn't pinpoint Cadia's location amidst the turbulent Subspace waves, let alone make the journey there. Furthermore, all communications leading to Cadia were cut off, and even the information received by the Starseers was intermittent and unclear.

But Duanmu Huai had no particular comment on this—back during the Great Betrayal, the Chaos Evil Gods played this exact move, cutting off Subspace communication and stirring up Subspace storms. Don't they have any other tricks? They repeat the same two tricks over and over, is there any creativity?

In Duanmu Huai's view, it's quite uninteresting.

So he decided to offer the opposition something interesting, a fun change.

"Hey."

Duanmu Huai walked up to Judge Sten, patting his shoulder. The latter turned to look at Duanmu Huai, his expression somewhat stiff.

"Is there something you need?"

"Do you want to go to Cadia?"

"Of course, we have received orders..."

"Ah, I know, but that's not the point."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand, interrupting Judge Sten.

"As you can see, the Subspace storm is raging, so even if you want to go, you can't. You might want to look desperately anxious, but you know that even if you act like that, you still can't reach Cadia."

"...What do you mean?"

"I can offer you an opportunity."

Duanmu Huai stared at Judge Sten, his expression unchanged.

"I can let you go to Cadia, but you should know what you'll face—countless enemies, endless fleets, and over here... you have only one warship. Even if you go, it would just be certain death. So, do you still want to go, or stay here, making futile efforts, all the while thinking we have done our best?"

"Of course I want to go."

Under Duanmu Huai's watchful eyes, Judge Sten's expression also turned serious as he stared at Duanmu Huai without looking away.

"The Tribunal's duty lies here, even if there's only one ship, only myself, I will head to Cadia!"

"Very well."

Upon hearing Judge Sten's response, Duanmu Huai nodded.

"I'll give you ten minutes."

"???"

Before Judge Sten could react to what Duanmu Huai was saying, the latter closed his eyes and raised his right hand, reaching forward.

As Duanmu Huai moved, the waves of subspace collided violently, yet an incomparable power of destruction surged forth like a giant dragon. Under its might, the raging subspace storm was forcibly parted, like Moses parting the sea, creating a gap in the vast, intense, and surging waves of subspace.

From a macroscopic view of the universe, this gap seemed so tiny, so insignificant.

But for a warship, this was nothing short of a heavenly path!

"I see it, I see Cadia! That scarlet glow filled with evil and destruction...!!"

"Depart!!"

Judge Sten didn't have time to ponder how Duanmu Huai accomplished this, for now, what mattered most was rushing to Cadia. This was his duty, his mission. Cadia was the frontline of the Imperial fight against Chaos, and now it was under threat. For a judge, there was only one thing to do!

The Light of Truth plunged into the subspace passage. Around it, the roaring subspace storms were clearly visible, even through the ship's hull, one could see the madness outside, like demons dancing wildly, wanting to swallow the warship into the great vortex of subspace, letting it be forever lost in boundless nightmares. However, the powerful, destructive force mercilessly isolated it, allowing only the Light of Truth to speed within.

Eventually, it broke through the subspace storm, appearing at the chaotic vortex's center.

In front of it lay Cadia, already engulfed by warfare, and surrounded by the Black Fleet. Among this fleet, one could see a massively bizarre warship. It appeared like two intersecting X's, advancing as it rotated.

Blackstone Fortress.

Constructed by the Space Undead, used by humans, and ultimately captured by Chaos—a hapless construct. Originally, the Human Empire acquired six of them, yet during Abaddon's Black Crusade, four of the six Blackstone Fortresses were blown to pieces, with the remaining two captured. One of these was hurled by Abaddon towards Cadia.

Undoubtedly, this was the unlucky one.

The entire star territory was littered with shipwrecks, and it was evident that the Kadian System's defense fleet had been almost entirely destroyed, while the subspace storm prevented the outer Imperial Fleet from entering—not everyone possessed Duanmu Huai's ability to forcibly carve a path through such storms.

And now, with black warships everywhere, one Tribunal cruiser seemed incapable of stirring any waves in such conditions. It was like a rabbit accidentally venturing into a pack of wolves, and its fate became painfully clear.

Fortunately, they weren't fighting alone.

Because a bear drew the hungry wolves' attention.

A giant, gleaming starship roamed the universe, fiercely spewing flames at the black fleet ahead. It was the Mountain Array, the Holy Sentinel of Terra, the base of the Imperial Fists. Currently, it charged through the black fleet's barrage single-handedly, and without even looking, it was obvious that the bold target was none other than the Blackstone Fortress.

"What should we do now?"

Duanmu Huai crossed his arms, staring at the battlefield ahead. The chaotic Black Fleet was desperately blocking the Mountain Array, while the Mountain Array charged madly toward the Blackstone Fortress like a wounded beast ready to take its enemy along in death. Precisely because of this, neither side noticed—or perhaps they didn't realize—this small ship that emerged from the subspace storm.

Thus, the Light of Truth's situation became awkward, like a rabbit intruding into a bear and wolf pack's life-and-death struggle, a participant that neither had the ability to eliminate the other nor a way to leave immediately.

So, I asked you earlier if you were ready.

Observing the contemplating Judge Sten, Duanmu Huai silently pursed his lips, as he wasn't adept at commanding warship battles. Such things were usually left for Aikute to handle.

"What's the current situation on Cadia?"

Judge Sten pondered briefly before immediately inquiring.

"Currently, the Kadian forces are resisting outside the fortresses, and the enemy's assault is fierce!"

"We'll bypass the battlefield and provide aerial cover for the command fortress!"

Judge Sten quickly made his decision. With just one warship, charging into the battle between the Mountain Array and the Black Fleet was suicide. Fortunately, since all attention was concentrated on preventing the Mountain Array due to its confrontation with the Blackstone Fortress, Judge Sten decided to bypass the orbital battlefield and assist the Kadian forces below by providing aerial support—now the Kadian fleet had been utterly decimated, those Chaos Demon Armies would never expect a warship to appear here.

They couldn't play a significant role on the main battlefield, but changing the location, this warship could have an unexpected effect.

Interesting.

Duanmu Huai nodded and then turned away.

"Get me a drop pod; I'm heading down."

Though he wished to take out Abaddon on the Vengeful Spirit immediately, being the flagship, the vessel was heavily guarded by black warships, making entry impossible.

Thus, Duanmu Huai shifted his focus to the ground.

At least there, the demons and Chaos Warriors provided enough fighting for him.

If a Demon Prince or Champion were there, even better.

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