Leaving the Inquisitor Grand Master's office, Paul reunited with his Acolyte and Kill Team.
Looking at his forces, which were full of wounded soldiers, Paul's expression was somewhat indescribable.
His Acolyte and Kill Team were elites he had carefully selected after becoming an Inquisitor, and he knew every one of them by name.
They had accompanied him through life and death, experiencing many dangerous missions.
Some sacrificed, some were disabled and left the team. Paul once felt he had become accustomed to farewells, as it was their duty as an Inquisitor to serve the Emperor faithfully, making sacrifices and contributions.
But when he saw warriors who should have sacrificed for the Emperor die meaninglessly due to conspiracy and self-interest, Paul felt only intense sorrow and mockery.
He seemed to be gradually understanding why his teacher became increasingly extreme and disappointed in his later years, as if he had lost faith in everything and fallen into self-doubt.
Perhaps it was precisely because he had seen too many instances of people disregarding the Imperium for personal gain, desecrating their sacred duty as Inquisitors, that his teacher ultimately chose to bravely face death in a battle to hunt down heretics.
Paul didn't want to think about these things. He shook his head, looked at his Acolyte and Kill Team, and told them to go down for treatment and rest, recovering their condition in the shortest possible time.
Then he walked over to the Department of Justice's Marshal Squad and asked them, "You should also understand what you've gotten yourselves into, right? If you don't want to die for nothing, how about joining my command?"
The surviving Marshals of the Marshal Squad looked at each other, then sighed helplessly and nodded, agreeing to Paul's invitation.
They had understood they were caught in an internal power struggle within the Inquisition when the fight broke out. If they had died just now, it would have been fine; the Department of Justice could have collected their bodies.
But now that they were alive, if they didn't want to die inexplicably, the best choice was to join this Inquisitor who seemed to have won and seek protection.
Otherwise, having participated in the battle just now, they would definitely be silenced.
If they were ordinary Defense Force grunts, or even low-ranking Astra Militarum soldiers, they might not understand these things; they would mostly just fight blindly. Who would care about such detailed matters?
But for a profession like Hive City Marshals, who often deal with all sorts of unsavory characters, they understood these corrupt dealings much better.
So they didn't hesitate much and chose to join Paul's team.
Seeing the Marshals voluntarily join, the expression on Paul's face finally relaxed a little.
His Kill Team and Acolyte had suffered heavy casualties, and this remaining Marshal Squad, though depleted, was a welcome addition, ensuring he wouldn't be without personnel for his upcoming missions.
Although he could recruit Battle Sisters, Astra Militarum, or even Storm Troopers to fight for him, Paul was still more accustomed to having a relatively elite Kill Team assigned to him, so that when he encountered trouble or a crisis, he would at least have a reliable force at hand.
This was also the practice of most Inquisitors; even if their influence was limited, they would recruit some capable Acolytes to avoid being silenced without the ability to resist if they truly uncovered something while investigating dangerous incidents.
"You all go get ready too. We will soon leave the capital of Mariupol. I'll give you one day to pack your belongings and say goodbye to your families. Meet at this location tomorrow morning." Paul handed an address to the Marshal Squad and instructed, "You don't need to worry about the Department of Justice matters; I will send someone to handle the handover. You just need to gather at this location tomorrow morning.
As for weapons and equipment, the Department of Justice's gear is too conspicuous. I will provide you with new weapons and equipment; you don't need to worry about that."
After explaining the precautions, Paul turned and left to go to his stronghold for treatment and preparation.
The current situation wasn't dire enough to require activating a safe house. Paul had just received his mission from the Inquisitor Grand Master and a group of Grand Inquisitors. If anyone wanted to target him at this time, they would be opposing the Mariupol Sector Star Sector Tribunal.
Although, to some extent, his current predicament was largely caused by these Grand Inquisitors and the Inquisitor Grand Master, it was best not to delve too deeply into that topic.
After all, without the permission of these individuals, who would dare to use force at the Inquisition headquarters?
The more important thing now was to focus on his mission.
Thinking about how he would soon travel to Baal, the Blood Angels' home world, to deliver that important message to the Blood Angels Chapter, Paul couldn't help but feel a little excited.
He even fantasized about whether he could, through this incident, hire one or two Space Marines from the Blood Angels to serve him.
He didn't hope to hire an entire squad, after all, for an Inquisitor of his status, even one Emperor's Angel accompanying him was already extremely rare.
—
While Paul was fantasizing about being able to hire one or two Space Marines to follow him, Alex had already, with the increased authority after upgrading, added a new Astartes to his army list.
At Level I authority, Alex could use 500 points of pieces; at Level II authority, this value increased to 1000 points.
Now he was at Level III authority, able to deploy a total of 2000 points of pieces.
This meant Alex now had a surplus of 1500 points to invest in new pieces.
If he wasn't particular, these 1500 points would be enough to field an entire Astartes company.
And even if he was a bit more discerning, not just deploying combat squads, 1500 points would still be enough for a proper army list, arranging a fully functional and combat-ready squad.
However, after comprehensive consideration, Alex only planned to deploy a Primaris half-company and an old Space Marine half-company.
Although the two combined would make a full company, because both half-companies were under-strength, each only having five squads, overall they could still fit within the 1500-point range.
Because he intended to use the Primaris half-company for expansion, he included a ten-person command group in this half-company, comprising a Chaplain, Techmarine, Librarian, and the crucial Apothecary.
In contrast, the old Space Marine half-company only brought Veterans of the Guard and Terminators, making its composition seem much more meager.
The specific composition of the two half-companies is as follows:
Primaris Half-Company, thirty-three people, 885 points: 1 Command Squad 415 points (Captain 80 points, 4 Company Heroes 95 points, Chaplain 60 points, Techmarine 65 points, Librarian 65 points, Apothecary 50 points), 1 Sword Guard Veteran three-person squad 90 points, 1 Black Templars Crusader ten-person squad 140 points, 1 Suppressor three-person squad 75 points, 1 Eradicator three-person squad 85 points, 1 Inceptor five-person squad 80 points.
(Captain + Company Heroes, including Company Champion, Standard Bearer, and two Veterans)
(Librarian)
(Apothecary)
(Chaplain)
(Techmarine)
(Sword Guard Veteran)
(Eradicator)
(Suppressor)
(Inceptor)
(Crusader Squad)
Old Space Marine Half-Company, twenty-one people, 545 points: 1 Veteran of the Guard five-person squad 100 points, 1 Terminator five-person squad 170 points, 1 Tactical ten-person squad 140 points, 1 Dreadnought 135 points.
----------------------------------------
If you'd like to follow the story earlier than the public release, come join my Patreon:
👉 patreon.com/TripleCrown07
There, you can read up to 40 chapters in advance, enjoy exclusive content, and help support me to keep releasing chapters more regularly.
Thank you so much for your support and for being part of this journey! ❤️