40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 349 69. The End of Destruction (1)

This was the first time Perturabo had seen Horus Luperkar, the Warmaster, since Ullanor.

This lofty position was attractive to Ferrus Manus and Leon El'Jonson, who were in fact fully qualified to serve as Warmaster, but so was Horus.

The reasons why the Emperor decided to make Horus Warmaster are unknown, but he certainly had his own considerations. However, people also have their own supporters, so at the end of Ullanor's celebration, this matter inevitably caused some discussion.

Perturabo never participated in these matters, and was more concerned with the meaning behind the Emperor's departure from the Great Crusade than this matter. Furthermore, he also believed in Horus Luperkar's determination and ability.

At least that's how it used to be.

But now, he was standing on the holographic projection stage of the Blood of Steel, staring at the giant in black and gold armor, his expression becoming serious little by little.

He was not blind, he could see the changes in Horus Luperkar.

The projection created by the holographic projection table cannot compare with reality, but it is clear enough. He could completely see the changes in Horus, from his armor to his face, from the disappearing eagle to the eight-pointed star mark that replaced him.

And that smile that was so fake that it almost hurt people's eyes.

"Nice to see you again, brothers." Horus said with a smile. The blue light spots on the holographic projection platform were polluted by him into pitch black, and his eyes were as terrifying as black holes.

"Arrived as promised is really a beautiful word. You are very punctual. As a general, I can't be more demanding on such a unit. So, let's talk about the battle plan?"

"What are you?" Vulcan asked.

The Fire Dragon Lord's expression was very ugly. He had been prepared early in the morning, but preparation alone was obviously not enough. His image floated to the left of Horus. If this was a face-to-face communication, Perturabo believed that the Lord of Fire Dragons would have already begun to swing his war hammer.

"Your question is a bit strange, Vulkan." Horus looked at him in surprise. "I am Horus Luperkar, or else?"

"No. You are not," Vulcan said. "Answer my question, what exactly are you?"

The smile turned into trouble, Horus frowned, glanced at Vulkan with a puzzled expression, then turned his head and began to seek support from the fourth person present.

"Mortarion, my brother, what happened to Vulkan?"

The Lord of Death looked at him silently and did not answer the question. The respirator hissed, and he said nothing, but raised a weapon with one hand. The Silent Scythe flashed light and suddenly appeared in the holographic projection.

Horus was stunned and seemed a little at a loss, but he soon laughed.

"It seems that you have been warned in advance?"

The smile gradually turned into calm, and Horus Luperkar, whose pupils were like burning stars, asked slowly: "Who informed you? Angron, Fulgrim, Corax? They shouldn't Did we bump into you by chance?"

"What did you do to them?" asked Perturabo seriously.

He put his hands behind his back, and his right hand was already behind him making two firm gestures to his company commander Fricks. The bridge of the Blood of Steel immediately became silently busy, and its main guns began to warm up, so the rear artillery positions will also complete the loading of ammunition in the next two minutes.

They would launch immediately at Perturabo's command.

"You should ask, what did they do to me, brother. You should ask, what did they do to my legion, what did they do to my ship." Horus's expression suddenly turned gloomy. "They killed my heirs, destroyed my ships, and even tried to kill me in my royal court."

"Where are they?" Perturabo asked indifferently, his expression becoming calmer and calmer.

Horus stared at him for a while before speaking slowly.

"I thought you would understand, Perturabo," he said.

His eyes flashed, and the blue dots that made up his image began to dance wildly. An unprecedented error message came from the holographic projection platform, and several cables placed on the ground made crackling explosions.

"Can't you see the Emperor's lies? He came to Olympia and threw you into a war without asking if you wanted to. So you stayed away from your homeland, and the Empire began to squeeze it."

"I heard there was a rebellion in it? That's what the Emperor's lies did. He turned your homeland against you, made your people hate you, and then he could take your place. Open your eyes and look. Look, brother, don't be fooled any further."

"What is happening in Olympia is none of your business," said Perturabo. "As for the lies you said, the emperor may have indeed lied, but I still have eyes and I won't be able to see the difference between you and him."

"He deceived you!" Horus roared lowly. "Think about it carefully, why he allowed the Mechanicus to regard him as a god while opposing all religions, and why did he allow Lorgar Aurelion to preach in the empire? A self-contradictory liar and hypocritical villain!"

"I don't care about such things," Perturabo replied coldly. "I only ask you one thing, Horus. Do the words you say mean that you are rebelling against the Emperor and the Imperium?"

Horus Luperkar smiled slowly.

"So what?" he asked softly, seemingly affectionately.

Perturabo raised his right hand and swung it down in front of his face.

"I look forward to the moment when you and I meet." Horus said before the light spot dissipated. "I will analyze his lies for you one by one."

"Shut up, traitor," the Lord of Steel said.

The decks trembled, the cannons rang out, and the fleet group began to exchange fire silently in the vacuum. The fleet led by three Glory Queens began to advance slowly, with gunboats and assault boats coming and going. They were shot down in the stars of Istvan, or landed on enemy ships as they wished.

Perturabo has returned to his command platform. Dozens of screens flashing chaotic data streams are slowly raised in front of him. One command after another is issued in time, even to the accuracy of a certain ship. a sergeant

The main bridge of the Blood of Steel underwent some changes during this period. The twelve huge portholes became the first way for the crew to observe the battle situation after the metal plate landed. Perturabo made some improvements to his ship, and this was just one of them.

The Lord of Steel's face was illuminated by the cold light of the screen. He stood on the command platform and scolded Fang Qiu. The warships of Vulkan and Mortarion all accepted his direct orders. This was communicated before the war started. thing.

Of the three Primarchs present, Perturabo was undoubtedly the most gifted for multi-front warfare, and he had long since shed his reputation for disregarding human life.

"He has gone crazy." Mortarion's voice sounded from the communication channel, and Perturabo made a nasal sound to indicate that he was listening.

But the Lord of Death fell into silence after saying these words. The bridge on his side seemed very busy, and some people kept shouting the name of the emperor.

"He is not Horus at all." Vulkan sternly denied Mortarion's conclusion. "Have you ever seen Horus be so hypocritical and creepy? There is no emotion in his eyes when he talks to us, and everything is so fake that it is unbelievable."

"It doesn't matter whether he is or not, traitors will only die. The empire will never tolerate betrayal, and the same goes for humans. Humanity is about to embark on a bright road, and I will not allow anyone to destroy it," Perturabo said.

He lowered his head and turned to another screen. The data flow and a huge star map quickly changed shape under the control of his fingers. Less than ten minutes after the war started, the Lord of Steel had even begun to predict where the second battlefield that might be opened would be located.

His words were agreed by Vulkan and Mortarion, and they began to communicate directly on the battle situation in the communication channel.

It is not difficult for Perturabo to listen to their reports while manually controlling an entire fleet. He has even been immersed in the virtual world constructed by this display screen, ignoring the real world. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to this war.

While he was giving his answer, he asked a certain warship to turn around and fight with Horus' fleet - one thing was quite counter-intuitive. Horus obviously only had one person, but the size of his fleet was not small. It can even remain undisturbed in front of the combined fleet of the three legions.

He owns so many warships, which means that he probably used the name of Warmaster to recruit many ships on the way to Istvan, or perhaps he has a forge world under his command.

Perturabo preferred the former.

His brows wrinkled tighter and tighter due to his own speculation, but this seemed to only represent the beginning of misfortune. A few minutes later, he discovered a single, out-of-place piece of data in the data stream representing his own fleet.

The Lord of Steel found it immediately and retrieved its information. In the dense text, Perturabo accurately found the information he needed most at the moment.

Final number.

Captain: Karas Typhon.

Destination speculation: the center of the Combined Fleet.

Attitude: Full speed ahead.

What does he want to do? Why did you leave your post without permission? These questions ran through Perturabo's mind, and before he could say anything, Mortarion's voice rang in the communication channel.

This time, the Lord of Death's unique voice, hoarse by the respirator, was filled with undisguised astonishment.

"Brother, my first company commander took his ship and left the flank of the fleet."

"I know."

"I'll go communicate with him," Mortarion said. "Maybe it's just-"

——No, that’s not necessary. thought Pertura.

A bright explosion exploded in the central area of ​​the combined fleet. Metal fragments and human corpses rolled away, and were frozen into ice slag in the rapid rotation. Once a battle barge, it was now just a dismembered wreck.

A battleship ruthlessly ran over them and continued to rush towards the Blood of Steel at full speed. Hundreds of assault boats roared out from its forked bow, and it itself rammed towards the Blood of Steel.

"Karas Typhon!" Mortarion roared over the communication channel. "Are you crazy?! Fire! Fire at him and force him to stop!"

Perturabo turned his head and silently gave him another order. Not forcing it to stop, but destroying it. At the same time, another voice came from the communication channel.

Obviously, Mortarion had just connected to the Terminus and connected a person to their communication channel. This is stupid, but considering the relationship between Karas Typhon and Mortarion, it is not incomprehensible.

Perturabo took a deep breath and tried to make himself understand, but he failed.

He couldn't understand.

"I'm not crazy, my Primarch, my dear friend." A hoarse voice slowly spoke.

"What are you doing?!"

"This is just a sacrifice, Mortarion. The Terminus needs some merits to transform into a butterfly, and so do I. My body has endured mediocrity for too long, and I need to move towards a higher realm of immortality."

"What are you talking about?" Mortarion asked in disbelief, his voice full of anger after being betrayed, and he seemed extremely hurt.

"I'm talking to you about the ultimate truth of the universe, Primarch. Hasn't your numerology calculated until today? Seven out of seven" Karas Typhon laughed hoarsely, and his laughter was very low, as if he was stuck with phlegm.

Perturabo ignored their conversation and issued several orders to Vulkan. The Salamanders' fleet immediately began to accelerate. Perturabo couldn't let the tug-of-war that had already begun turn to Horus at this moment.

At the same time, the Iron Blood began to fire repeatedly, and the firepower that should have been enough to destroy the Terminus Est hundreds of times passed by it without hitting it.

This extremely irrational scene made Perturabo's expression even colder, and he began to measure the distance between the Terminus Est and the Iron Blood.

Mortarion also roared at Karas Typhon in the communication channel, saying that he would expel him from the Legion, but the latter didn't care and even gave himself a new name.

"I will become Typhon." He said hoarsely. "I will transform, Primarch, if you want to stop it, come on"

"Typhon, is it?" Perturabo asked. At the same time, he stretched out his right hand and grasped a war hammer forged by himself. On the hammer head, lightning flashed.

"Yes, my lord."

"You will die." Perturabo said. He stared out the porthole, watching the rapidly approaching battleship, his expression so calm that it was unbelievable - the Iron Blood was too big, and even if it accelerated, it could not avoid the collision of the battleship. He had already come to this conclusion through calculations.

But he didn't care.

Come on if you want to fight. He thought. I will kill you, and then kill Horus.

I will triumph

I will not lose anyone.

And.

I'm late, sorry, I rewrote it many times.