After several high-ranking officers of the Dark Angels left in succession, the rest of the teams also began to depart from the location.
Although nothing was explicitly said, afterward, without exception, the witnesses maintained silence about the duel.
However, what shocked the various Space Marine chapters was that the next day, when the Dark Angels intended to have another discussion with the Oathbreakers regarding the Watch Fortress, they discovered that the Oathbreakers had already vanished without a trace—only after searching every room did the Dark Angels confirm this fact.
Yet, according to unverified rumors, the Oathbreakers did leave something behind. The Dark Angels' commander reportedly found a parchment that detailed much about the incident, which was the main reason he believed that the Oathbreakers had uncovered no actual secrets... along with some other elements.
Of course, these were merely baseless speculations based on the commander's unusual behavior.
He had entered a room and remained there for over a dozen Terra minutes, during which he only issued a command to the outside: "No one is allowed to enter this room until I leave." When he emerged, he maintained several Terra hours of silence, leaving others puzzled about what he was contemplating... at least for most people.
As the instigator of the duel, Zhang Ge was finally satisfied to have vented his frustrations by watching the commander's silent demeanor.
After the duel concluded, he instructed the Oathbreakers to discreetly depart; that very night, they left the Watch Fortress via a several-kilometer-long underground tunnel primarily excavated by Perveti.
Creating a sufficiently long tunnel beneath the sands was no easy task, especially within such a short time frame and without being detected by the Space Marines' acute perception. Without Perveti, who was comparable to a man-shaped digging machine, the plan would have been impossible to execute.
As a parting gift to the Oathbreakers, Zhang Ge mischievously had Endymion write a letter to the Dark Angels and left it in one of the rooms where the Oathbreakers were stationed.
Though he did not see the contents himself, based on Endymion's abilities and the commander's subsequent reaction, it was likely enough to make the commander feel guilty for quite some time.
However, the Dark Angels' internal thoughts did not influence the overall withdrawal plan; upon discovering that the Oathbreakers had departed, the various stationed units in the Watch Fortress embarked on their journey back after staying there for nearly a full day—compared to the serious atmosphere before, they were noticeably more talkative on the return trip.
Despite their memories framing it as a leisurely round trip, merely collaborating with three newly formed Space Marine chapters was enough to warrant considerable discussion for a long time; moreover, some Space Marines were even willing to give them small gifts.
Zhang Ge's subordinate unit was, of course, among those retreating. However, to conceal the presence of Perveti and the others, they were the last to leave. By the time Zhang Ge and his group boarded the Valkyrie again, the entire Watch Fortress was already deserted.
Takeoff, the sensation of weightlessness.
Everything familiar returned, but this time, there was an extra large girl squatting in the center.
Endymion could still be seated by taking up two spots, but Perveti... just the weight of her armor was enough to crush the seat, so in the end, she had to half-squat in the middle.
Fortunately, she didn't throw a tantrum due to her special treatment; she just pressed her legs together and wrapped her arms around her knees, curiously observing everything around her while occasionally asking Zhang Ge simple questions.
The brief flight quickly ended amidst their casual conversation. Upon landing, the surrounding scenery was already the familiar camp... huh?
Something felt off, indeed, about nine parts out of ten.
When did the camp become so new? Has time not flowed similarly here?
The Deadwood Festival Zone borders the desert; although there was a wall outside the festival zone, and the nests inside had their own protective casings, for hundreds of thousands of years, the quality of air within the nests had inevitably been affected, prone to accumulating fine dust.
But now, even the barbed wire not far from the landing zone was shining as if polished—what was going on?
As for the Battle Servitors, weren't they supposed to be carrying out their assigned tasks? How could so many people be free?
With these doubts in mind, Zhang Ge disembarked from the Valkyrie, took the damp towel from Penelope's hands, wiped his hands and face, and intended to have a sound array with her...
Penelope?
"What are you doing here?"
After folding the towel into a small square and placing it in her side pouch, she crossed her arms in front of her abdomen and smiled as she answered Zhang Ge's question:
"Master, a portion of the nobles was willing to cooperate with us and 'loaned out' the controlled detection arrays, allowing us to promptly notice the returning aircraft and surmise that you would also come back, enabling us to greet you in time."
"Combining the phrase 'willing to cooperate' with nobles doesn't sound very credible... I haven't been gone long; what exactly have you all been doing?"
"Um... First, we leveraged military management momentum and the channels from the Imperial Fists to force numerous nobles to release the slave clans bred to model after House Agamemnus, slightly increasing their numbers. Following that, according to your instructions, we eliminated some of the non-compliant nobles."
Listening to her gentle explanations, Zhang Ge could not discern any issues; perhaps it just meant their numbers were a bit more than anticipated, but no unexpected surprises had arisen.
That was a small comfort after the journey from the Watch Fortress.
With that thought, he asked one last question:
"How much is a portion?"
"Ah, among this nest and several surrounding nests, it's seventy-four percent. As for places further away, they mostly have not completely completed the plans; I apologize, Master. However, to speed up the process, we have borrowed some custodial troops from the Mechanicum and will not disappoint your expectations."
"Seventy-four percent?"
Zhang Ge initially intended to confirm if she meant there were that many left; he wondered if she misspoke. After all, it had only been a day or two; even when slaughtering pigs, it couldn't be done that quickly.
"Master, among the remaining twenty-six percent, many are willing to cooperate voluntarily, and some have indeed committed lesser offenses. If we were to kill them all..."
"Stop, stop! I didn't tell you to kill them all! How did you manage to slaughter so many nobles in such a short time??"
"After obtaining permission, we evacuated the innocents, civilians, and nobles outside the range, then closed off the isolation walls and elevators between the upper nest and the tower apex, afterward injecting combustible gas into the tower apex's air circulation system, completing efficient incineration."
As she delivered this statement, Penelope's red lips maintained that poised smile, slightly sweet yet demure.
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