In an unknown star system, Reality space suddenly warped.
The nearby Imperial detection satellites immediately issued an alarm.
Suddenly, a rift appeared, spewing forth an eerie light of witchcraft.
The next second, these detection satellites were all swallowed.
A giant battleship, covered in flesh and eyeballs, flew out of the rift.
It was the Death Guard Primarch's flagship – the Terminus Est.
After ten thousand years of Warp corruption,
the Terminus Est now, even if its creators appeared,
would likely be unable to recognize this once glorious Queen-class battleship.
Its giant eyeballs constantly blinked,
as if it were a living being, filled with malice and hatred.
Behind the Terminus Est were seven massive Plague Barges.
They sailed from an eerie illusion reflecting Nurgle's Garden, like pleasure yachts cruising calmly on a placid sea.
These Plague Barges were once living creatures, and may even still be alive.
They were Void Dragons, dragged into the Garden by Nurgle, the Plague God during the Eternal Night Crisis.
These creatures possessed a size comparable to planets and a lifespan so long it was almost eternal.
Now, they were imprisoned and enslaved by Nurgle, the Plague God's will.
Countless plagues and pathogens parasitized their bodies, turning them into terrifying entities.
They sang with eternal regret.
Their tails and claws hung limply, their bloated bodies already rotted, like swollen corpses soaked in water.
The thick layer of fat beneath their skin had decomposed into furry swellings, hosting various parasites.
The interior of their ribcage framework was dark and foul-smelling, with black viscous fluid flowing within.
Of course, the most striking vessel in this fleet was still the Death Guard's flagship – the Terminus Est.
As the flagship of a Daemon Primarch, it possessed Nurgle, the Plague God's blessing, capable of withstanding attacks powerful enough to destroy stars.
In addition, it was also an anchor in the Warp, continuously drawing energy from the Warp to pollute the surrounding space-time.
Even the Imperium of Man's Sky Punishment Colossus might not be able to destroy its shields.
Inside the Terminus Est, Mortarion and a host of Death Guard strode through corridors filled with dense, poisonous steam, heading towards the Bridge.
The higher one went within the ship, the denser the poisonous gas became.
At the very top of the rotting command Bridge, only crew members blessed by Nurgle could survive.
But their lives were still miserable; their lungs had long rotted, infested with maggots.
However, for the Daemon Primarch and the Death Guard, this air was so refreshing and comfortable.
He walked proudly through the waves of toxic mist, his robes stirring the gas into a swirling vortex.
Within the wind, three-lobed Nurgle marks and grinning skull patterns flashed by.
At the topmost level of the command spire where he walked, the toxic gas was as thick as liquid, even covering the walls on both sides of the passage.
"We have arrived in the Reality universe. It is time to implement our plan."
Mortarion looked at the image projected by the skull in front of him.
Ordinary machinery could not operate in such an environment.
Only Nurgle Daemons could ignore the damage of the toxic gas.
For this reason, they needed to merge with the machinery to ensure the operation of the Terminus Est.
Entwined organic matter replaced metal pipes, taut nerves replaced wires.
Rotting brain matter appeared where circuits connected.
Captured Daemons, imprisoned in locked jars, took over the work of the Cogitators.
The Terminus Est had completely merged with the Warp.
"But the situation is dire," said a Astropath. "This is a heavily defended area of the Imperium of Man; they have many battleships here."
"If a firefight breaks out, we could easily be annihilated."
The hovering image displayed dense Imperial battleships, with an initial estimate of over five hundred vessels.
Such a powerful military force was enough to crush Mortarion and his group.
"My brothers have changed this rotting Imperium of Man," Mortarion frowned. "Before, they wouldn't have so many battleships stationed in one place."
The appearance of the Imperial Saint was the most troublesome thing for the Chaos Gods and many Chaos factions.
This fellow was unkillable and knew how to manage things.
The Imperium of Man becoming like this was all his doing behind the scenes.
How great it would be if he could be eliminated; he would gladly trade Typhus's life for it.
"Should we retreat?" a crew member fused with a Daemon asked, "Lord Mortarion?"
"Retreat?" Mortarion's tone was displeased. "Don't you see that victory is already in our grasp?"
At these words,
not only the crew, but even the Daemons widened their eyes.
They have a few battleships, you have a few battleships; have you inhaled too much poison gas?
One volley from the Emperor's fleet would render their entire fleet scrap.
Seeing Mortarion clutching the giant scythe in his hand,
the crew and Daemons still did not voice their confusion.
Being struck by that fellow's scythe was not a fun experience.
One's soul would be cut in half, a truly miserable fate.
"To be honest, the scale of the Imperial fleet is too large," a pharmacist cautiously stated.
"If we face them head-on, we have no advantage. Perhaps we should try a flanking maneuver."
The others nodded in deep agreement.
It wasn't just a lack of advantage;
if they confronted them head-on, they would definitely be completely annihilated.
"..."
Facing everyone's admonitions, Mortarion remained perfectly calm, without any change in his expression.
He gazed at the Imperial fleet, his lips curving upwards into a smile, a smile that indicated everything was under control.
"My brother and that Imperial Saint are preparing for a decisive battle with the Chaos Gods, but they know nothing of the Chaos Gods' power."
"The Triple Path: Future, Present, Past—these three are one. The seed of corruption planted in the future can bear magnificent fruit in the past."
"Today, you shall witness Father Nurgle's true power."
"Those fools will realize what a terrifying thing it is to anger the Chaos Gods."
At this moment, the Imperium of Man had already detected the invading Plague Fleet.
A large number of battleships were mobilized.
The Commander issued a free-fire order, allowing the Captains to earn their medals of honor.
Giant muzzles began to charge, emitting a bright glow and surging with destructive aura.
The sheer number of battleships filled the crew and Daemons on the Terminus Est with despair.
"We're finished."
A Daemon muttered to itself.
It was already considering what posture it should adopt to return to the Warp later, to look a bit cooler.
With so many Emperor battleships, this situation was a guaranteed death.
Just then, Mortarion raised the scythe in his hand and swung it fiercely.
"In Father Nurgle's name, be destroyed."
As his words fell, a sudden change occurred.
Rotting tentacles and flesh spread like a plague to every corner of the Imperial battleships.
The brightly gleaming Imperial Aquila instantly became dim.
The massive Imperial fleet disintegrated in an instant, turning into countless rusted fragments.
This scene filled the Imperial Commander in the void command center with terror.
There had been no detection of any attack,
so why was this happening?
What had those damned Chaos Warriors done?
Even the Daemons and Cultists were dumbfounded!
How was this done?
Just by swinging a scythe, an entire Human fleet was destroyed??
Even the blessings of the Chaos Gods shouldn't be this terrifying, right?
"This is the power of a god," Mortarion said calmly. "Using the cause of the future to forge the fruit of the present."
"Launch a surprise attack, eliminate all enemies. I want to establish a node for the Plague Network here."
The Imperial fleet was annihilated in an instant, and the Humans were already in a dead end.
As the Chaos Warriors and Cultists landed, some bravely resisted, then were all slaughtered.
The Supreme Commander died for his country.
Mortarion, with the Death Guard, boarded the Astropath central station.
There were still some surviving Imperial soldiers here.
They attempted to launch a counterattack, but the outcome was naturally predictable.
They were easily shot down by Mortarion's subordinates.
Bang! Bang!
As gunshots continuously rang out, the last loyalists also fell.
Mortarion stepped over the corpses and arrived at the door of the Astropath Hall.
The door was cast from multiple metals, incredibly sturdy.
Even shells blessed by the Chaos Gods could not damage it in the slightest.
However, in front of Mortarion, it was like tofu.
He reached out his hand and touched the alloy door.
The once gleaming alloy door instantly rusted and was completely corroded.
Inside the Astropath central station, the Astropaths were bound in cradles.
Even though the Imperium of Man now had a lighthouse communication network, Astropaths still played a significant role,
monitoring the movements of the Warp, searching for lost worlds, and so on.
The servants attending the Astropaths watched the invading Chaos Warriors in terror, trembling with fear.
Mortarion waved his hand, and the Death Guard behind him opened fire.
Bang! Bang!
All the servants were easily shot, leaving only the Astropaths lying in their cradles.
Mortarion took out a bottle of carefully prepared plague, letting it transform into a glow that merged into the air, becoming one with the thoughts and souls of the Astropaths.
Immediately after, these Astropaths screamed one after another, ultimately dying unnaturally.
"Thus, the loop is closed."
Mortarion's tone was calm.
The other Daemons and Death Guard, however, were wide-eyed with shock.
Actions done in the future affected the past.
Such authority was simply too terrifying.
"Alright, now continue working. I will corrupt this planet and make it part of the Garden."
As Mortarion gave the order, the Plague Barges began to enter the planet's atmosphere.
They crashed heavily onto the surface.
Greenish skin split open on their sides, spewing out large amounts of foul-smelling liquid.
Swarms of Daemons emerged from the liquid, stepping onto the planet's surface.
Countless flies formed dark clouds, covering the sky, and began to spread the plague.
Following them were Nurglings, their numbers comparable to the flies.
These evil creatures cackled with laughter, happily scurrying about.
Plaguebearers, Poxwalkers, lesser Nurgle Daemons, and eternally cursed Scribes with rotting bodies.
They formed a procession of seven hundred seventy-seven, marching forth.
The entire world corrupted at a visible rate, countless people died from the plague,
and those who survived would live in agony.
"This is the first,"
Mortarion said. "Once we have corrupted seven hundred seventy-seven planets, Father Nurgle's Garden will descend into the Reality universe."
The first planet, the second planet….
Mortarion launched a plague war against the Human world.
With Father Nurgle's full support, Humanity was beaten back again and again.
The Imperium of Man's military strength had reached an incredible level.
However, the Chaos Gods could use their authority to negate this advantage.
Many Imperial fleets were completely annihilated before even engaging, causing heavy casualties for the Imperium of Man in a short time.
The Players also noticed the plague war launched by Nurgle.
When their battleships were destroyed by Nurgle through almost cheating causal means, their mentality instantly exploded.
"This is too ridiculous, it's cheating, absolutely cheating."
"This fat dead guy is too malicious, actually doing something like this."
"How do we fight? The opponent is actually using time attacks?"
"I'm in despair, brothers, truly in despair."
"......"
The Players were wailing in misery.
Their battleships were destroyed before the battle even began.
Without battleship support, they were no match for Nurgle's daemon army, being utterly routed by the opponent.
After all, the opponent had battleships, they did not.
The opponent's orbital bombardment alone could make them question life itself.
Alex also noticed the plague war launched by Mortarion.
Besides the opponent's eerie attack methods, there was also the wicked intention of trying to build a corruption network by corrupting planets.
"Causal means?"
After repeatedly reviewing the videos that the Players had managed to preserve by all means,
Cortana, Void Dragon, and other C'tan soon analyzed Nurgle's methods.
It was nothing more than exploiting the characteristics of the Warp, inverting cause and effect, thereby harvesting first and then sowing.
"It's nothing more than playing with time," Orikan commented. "We should immediately retaliate, using similar temporal means to return the favor."
"For details, you can consult this great collector; someone is very accustomed to using time reversal to steal things."
"That's not stealing, that's rescuing precious cultural heritage," Trazyn said irritably. "Please, can you not be so childish? Is it fun to attack me all day?"
"Saint, I truly suggest pulling out this fellow's thought-crystal and throwing him to be a regular soldier."
"You're not childish, you're tattling!" Orikan said irritably. "And you want to pull out my thought-crystal, why are you so vicious?"
"You're just an artifact thief, a thief."
"And you're a charlatan, a useless charlatan," Trazyn retorted without ceremony.
"Enough," Alex interrupted the two irritably. "Nurgle, the Plague God has launched an attack on us, and we have no reason not to fight back."
"He thinks such methods can deal with us, but that greatly underestimates the Imperium of Man. Isn't it just temporal causality? We also possess such methods."
"Issue time-reversal devices to the God Chosen, allowing them to reverse time. We must win this war of time and causality against Nurgle, the Father Nurgle, and let them know that their era has passed."
"The future will be the era of Humanity."