One standard Terran hour ago.
Byzas central continent, the capital.
"The area near where the rebel army is gathering has been cleared, and most of the nearby residents have also been evacuated to the safe locations we designated."
Vizier Corinthus looked worried. "Madam Iterant, I wonder when the Lady Phoenician will be able to return?"
After seeing the Firebird fly towards the southern continent, those restless nobles had also begun to make their move.
After several generations of change on the central continent of Byzas, even the army was controlled by numerous oligarchs.
These people, when Fulgrim was present, had to fear her almost god-like combat ability.
But now that Fulgrim was gone, they were like beasts that had lost their keepers, and together they formed a vast rebel army, advancing towards the capital.
The situation for Abdemon was...
...quite optimistic.
"Vizier, I believe that the rabble we are currently facing does not require the trouble of Lady Fulgrim at all."
Listening to the Vizier's defeatist report, Abdemon was dismissive.
As a commander of the Emperor's Children with a Gloriana-class battleship, he did not believe that those decadent armies could pose much of a threat to them.
"I hope so," the Vizier Corinthus said with a sigh, and then slowly left the central hall of the residence.
After Fulgrim had announced the takeover, this place had been used as a temporary military conference hall.
Abdemon was not worried about the impending rebel army.
The other side's army was just a group of a few thousand hastily assembled farmers, some of whom didn't even have guns.
The dozen or so tanks and artillery pieces were practically antiques. It was estimated that only some military museums on Holy Terra would have collections of the same models.
"Lady Fulgrim really should have brought more people with her," Abdemon said under his breath. After exchanging a few more words about combat matters with the Iterant, he quickly left the governor's residence.
He needed to go to a high observation post to check on the gathering of the rebel army.
Several behemoths appeared in the sky, a dense mass that blotted out the sun, attracting Abdemon's attention.
Airships.
Airships equipped with anti-gravity devices were one of the few advanced technologies that had survived on the world of Byzas.
Of course, they only knew how to use them.
After all, the few remaining military airships on Byzas were all completely controlled by the government forces.
But it seemed... they had all appeared in the sky.
Abdemon's brow furrowed.
These airships should not have been deployed.
At least, according to his, Abdemon's, orders, he had not deployed these weapons.
He activated the communication device on his helmet.
"Situation has changed. Calling Quinn, Cyrius, and Alkenex. Be aware of unidentified airships. They may not be friendly."
"Airships have been spotted. Monitoring target's movements."
"Reporting, Commander. Should we shoot them down?"
"Just stay on alert. I'll go and find out what's going on."
BOOM!
At that very moment, the airship above Abdemon opened fire.
Pneumatic stone-thrower cannons, laser cannons.
As a battle-hardened Lord Commander, Abdemon silently recited the names of these weapons in his mind as he dodged.
The airships were firing at their location, the governor's residence.
Although the other side's weapons were not advanced, under the support of a large amount of firepower, the governor's residence, which served as the command post for the 28th Expeditionary Fleet, was soon riddled with holes and on the verge of collapse.
Not only that, more soldiers were parachuting from the airships to the ground, coordinating with the rebel army outside the city to launch a pincer attack.
"Quinn, you take some of the mortal auxiliaries and defend the city, clear out the rebels inside."
"Alright."
"Iterant, what's your situation?"
"We're fine. Thanks to the Mechanicum Magos's energy shield, we're still safe for now."
"But the Vizier is not with us. He might still be somewhere in the residence waiting for aid."
"Understood. I'm on my way."
Abdemon drew the power sword hanging at his waist with a grim expression and walked into the crumbling governor's residence.
Inside the governor's residence, which was crumbling under enemy fire.
Large chunks of rubble and fine gravel were constantly falling from the once-magnificent marble dome.
But under the protection of his power armor, Commander Abdemon was not afraid of these falling stones.
But the mortal Corinthus was another matter.
"Corinthus?!" he shouted, calling his name.
"Here, Abdemon, I'm here."
It was the very center of the residence.
The most spacious banquet hall of the residence!
This fool, doesn't he know to hide in a place with a denser building structure?
Abdemon cursed inwardly and rushed over.
The Vizier Corinthus was sitting right in the center of the hall.
His long robe was covered with rubble and dust, and even his originally neat appearance had become grimy.
"Vizier, how are you?"
"I'm fine, just a little injured."
"Quick, follow me to the shelter."
"Wait, Abdemon!"
"Assassins! There are assassins!"
The Vizier said weakly, and in an instant, a black-clothed, masked man jumped out from in front of and behind him, and the sharp blades in their hands instantly swung towards him.
Abdemon rushed forward, and the power sword in his hand instantly activated its disruption field.
SHING!
With just a simple chop, the once-agile assassin was completely defenseless in front of Abdemon.
The disruption field instantly turned half of his body into nothingness.
And with another block, he cut the other assassin in half at the waist.
The whole process was so fast that only afterimages remained.
"Are you alright, Vizier? Are you injured anywhere?"
Sensing no more enemies around, he turned off the disruption field in his hand and reached out to the Vizier.
"Over there! Abdemon, there are more assassins over there!" the Vizier shouted in terror.
But there seemed to be no signal in his senses.
Abdemon subconsciously turned his head.
And then, he felt a real pain in his waist.
It was an ancient and exquisite dagger.
The dagger had pierced through the almost indestructible ceramite armor, and its blade had already sunk into the flesh of his waist.
"It seems even a demigod can bleed."
The Vizier Corinthus smiled and twisted the hilt of the dagger.
Abdemon wanted to reach out and stop him, but he could only feel the strength draining from his body.
That dagger was not as simple as he had thought.
It was poisoned.
And this poison was not of a level that the people of Byzas should have.
A purple gas covered the wound on his waist and spread with his blood.
Dizzy, he subconsciously knelt to the ground.
"...This is betrayal, Corinthus."
"...Why?"
"Why?"
The Vizier suddenly burst into laughter.
"Of course, it's to defeat you tyrants."
"What else? To invest all of our Byzas into your so-called Great Crusade, to exhaust everything we have left?"
As he spoke, he pulled out the purple dagger and threw it on the ground. It bounced a few times on the smooth, reflective marble floor with a pleasant, light sound.
"Fulgrim is an orator, but her words cannot hide the fact that she will drag Byzas into the cruel quagmire of war."
"Her favorite, Kasjia, can keep her stable when he's around. But once he's gone, her actions have proven that she is the same kind of person as the tyrant who created the glass wasteland after the nuclear explosion."
"Perhaps the dream of your Great Crusade is great, but Byzas will not fall into the hands of a tyrant who will burn our world to ashes again."
"The Great Crusade... the Great Crusade is great," the dying Abdemon struggled to retort.
"No!"
"How can an insatiable, eternal war be called great!"
"All tyrants, and the lackeys of tyrants, will be killed by us!"
"And you are no different."
Corinthus sneered and stood up, slowly pacing around the fallen Abdemon.
"In the legends, you are immortal and invulnerable."
"But today, a false demigod will die at the hands of a mortal. This news will spread, and this world will turn against you like an invader!"
"This is the mission given to us by Sabazius."
"To wage an eternal and endless struggle against the tyrant who sits on his high throne!"
"I have already set up a recording in this hall," the Vizier Corinthus said after a pause, as if he was enjoying the sight of Abdemon's life draining away.
"The real-time footage will be recorded and spread among the resistance."
"Abdemon, your death will declare to this world our will to resist the invaders."
As he spoke, he picked up the dagger again and carved some kind of symbol in the hall with the bloodstains.
"We will use your blood to summon Sabazius to fight with us," he said with a smile.
"Not only that, I want everyone to see this moment, to see how Sabazius appears and fights alongside us."
"Hahahaha! With the blood of a demigod, we call upon the arrival of our savior!"
He laughed wildly, spreading his arms and basking in the multicolored light.
A dazzling light appeared, and in Abdemon's gradually blurring vision, a resplendent Warp gate opened before his eyes.
Does Sabazius really exist?
And what kind of obstacle will he pose to Lady Fulgrim's future actions?
Abdemon didn't know. He could only feel his life constantly draining away.
Just as his consciousness was about to be completely cut off, he saw an arm extending from the front of the gate.
It was an arm covered in golden-red cracks.
"Hey."
He leaped out of the gate in a single step.
"That's right, hello everyone!"
"I am Sabazius!"
As he spoke, he looked around.
"Abdemon?! Why are you so badly injured?!"
A golden-red flame instantly surged forth. Kasjia turned the other's body over and began to burn the wound.
The dark purple poison was instantly cleared away.
Even the flesh covering the wound was completely healed at that moment.
Abdemon was no longer in mortal danger.
But after losing a lot of blood, his face was still a little pale.
"Kasjia... how can it be you?"
"Heh heh, don't worry about that for now. Just lie down and rest."
"From now on, watch me."
Kasjia smiled and turned to the astonished Vizier Corinthus.
"You? How can it be you?"
He recognized Kasjia.
The favorite courtier of Fulgrim at the banquet.
But he could absolutely not be the same as the greatest hero of Byzan legend, Sabazius!
This is absolutely impossible!!!
This is an insult to the hero of Byzas!
"But that's the truth."
Kasjia faced the broadcast system that was connected to all the resistance forces.
"I'm sorry, everyone, citizens of Byzas. I am Sabazius, the hero of Byzan legend."
"Here, I am honored to announce that I will be joining Fulgrim's 28th Expeditionary Fleet, and will be participating in the Great Crusade as one of them."
"NO!!!"
The Vizier instantly let out a strong, mournful cry.
"You are not Sabazius!!!"
"Daemon! I will not allow you to impersonate our hero!!!"
"But your summoning portal was set up for me, Vizier."
Of course, the summoned target was Sabazius.
But he was still running for his life right now.
So Kasjia, who was following behind him, entered instead.
What?
You daemons have impersonated humans how many times? What's the big deal if I, a human, impersonate a daemon for a bit?
Don't be so petty, okay?
"Also, the thirty years I spent with Fulgrim are a time I have always cherished..."
He then told the story of the Sagittarius Golden Ring again.
According to him, their Sabazius had been hooking up with Fulgrim since they were on Chemos!
"From now on, I declare that Byzas, and I, will be joining the Great Crusade and the 28th Expeditionary Fleet."
He even shamelessly showed off the collar around his neck, which was engraved with the name Fulgrim.
"Sorry, everyone!"
"Um... I still have some things to do. I'll be back later!"
As he spoke, Kasjia jumped back into the portal behind him and disappeared from everyone's sight again.
As for the Vizier Corinthus...
...after hearing all of this, he fainted on the spot from anger.
Apocrypha.
And the kind of apocrypha that is both wild and historical.
Abdemon: "..."
He was speechless.
Although the effect Kasjia had achieved far exceeded his expectations.
Not only had it fundamentally dissolved the basis of the folk worship of Sabazius, but it had also greatly挫败 the morale of the resistance.
In the future, if anyone were to launch an uprising under the banner of Sabazius, and thought of what had happened today...
...算了, let's not think about it.
Anyone who saw it would be embarrassed.
This First Lord Commander Kasjia seemed to have a natural ability.
An ability to make anything normal instantly become extremely abnormal.
Useful, but not a move that an ordinary person could pull off.
"Emperor's Children, report your status," Abdemon struggled to get up, picked up the power sword at his side, and opened the communication on his helmet.
"The resistance's offensive in the south of the capital is weakening!!"
"Their morale seems to have dropped by more than one level. We can't hear them shouting that Sabazius anymore. What about you?"
"The west is the same!"
"It seems a fleet of airships in the central district is preparing to surrender to us... what's going on? Lord Abdemon, do you know the reason?"
"I... I don't know."
It's best if no one ever knows.
Abdemon prayed silently in his heart.
The rebel army holding the banner of Sabazius was quickly wiped out.
In the end, all that was left on this continent was the absurd rumor of Sabazius being beaten to his knees by Fulgrim and eventually becoming her hardworking slave.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (150 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (170 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (150 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (30 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (50 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it