40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 360 80. Memories of the Fire Dragon

Perturabo thought it was a sign of surrender, but he was wrong.

If he had listened to Horus, he would have discovered the truth, but he would not listen. This is due to its character. Steel instinctively rejects everything that is harmful to it. It is stubborn and can only be destroyed by fire or greater violence.

There is no other way, ordinary people cannot twist steel with their bare hands. But Mortarion is different. He is equally stubborn, but not so stubborn that he is unwilling to listen.

He listened with hatred, wondering what Horus Luperkar was trying to say, and so he discovered the truth.

The truth is——

"Typhons is on his ship," the Lord of Death said grimly. "On the Vengeful Spirit, I threw him into space and I saw it clearly. He died and then went into space. It turned out that he appeared on Horus's ship and was even able to borrow his ship's broadcast. Declare war on us."

"He declared war on you? It's so unnecessary." The Lord of Steel asked, his tone as calm as if nothing had happened. "I thought this had already happened."

"He declared that he would throw me into a cauldron. He asked me to go to the Spirit of Vengeance, otherwise he would completely destroy my legion." Mortarion said and smiled, his expression hidden behind the respirator. .

This was supposed to be a secret, but anyone could hear the cold smile in his voice.

"crucible."

Vulcan's rich voice sounded from behind the two of them, and the Lord of the Fire Dragon strode in holding the Thunder Head, his dark face full of anger.

"So, what has the war become?" he asked the other two people present.

"First the vines, then the crucible. The combination of these two words can only remind me of those evil wizards in the wild world. They would squat in front of the cauldron to brew herbs that they did not know what they were, and then put them in a During good times he distributed these potentially poisonous concoctions to those who would give him money."

"Your description is very accurate." Perturabo put down the data tablet and nodded towards him. "But Horus is not a stupid and cruel wizard. He is a hundred times crueler than them, and a thousand times smarter."

He raised his hand and knocked on the command platform of the Cold Iron a few times, and the scene behind the battleship was projected - at least hundreds of densely packed battleships were chasing after them, and all the artillery had been fired. The preheating is completed, but it has not started yet.

The red or blue light that represents danger is faintly beating on the hull of the battleship. Naturally, it is impossible for the image capture to really show the position of the muzzle clearly, but it makes this scene even more intimidating.

These dense lights were like thousands of eyes representing death, staring at them.

"He's threatening," Perturabo said deadpan. "In the thirty-two minutes since our rendezvous, the Vengeful Spirit has sent out six broadcast signals. I didn't listen to any of them, but I guess he wanted to get something from us, and that doesn't make sense at all. "

"Because he could have taken it himself." Mortarion turned his head in disgust. "Just a few salvos will slow us down, the void shield will be damaged, and then the hull will be damaged. If we're unlucky, we may even be hit directly on the engine."

Yeah, that doesn't make sense at all. The words of the Lord of Death hit the point - anyone should have at least one reason for doing anything, but what Horus is doing now has no logic and is completely inconsistent with his nature.

For a moment, no one spoke here, only silence and silence remained.

In quiet thinking, Vulkan's thoughts began to wander.

He seemed to be back at one of his favorite stoves, wearing a blacksmith's apron and wielding a forging hammer to strike iron blanks or ores. He simply closed his eyes and allowed himself to really imagine his workshop.

The stove, the piles of firewood, the ores, and the leather began to feel comfortable on his skin, really returning to that comfortable heat. But this does not mean escaping. This is Vulkan's favorite place, but it is not his safe haven.

This is where he makes weapons.

In his imagination, he walked silently to the stove, and reached out to hold the forging hammer. The flames in the furnace immediately rose to a high pitch, and the bellows began to pull on their own. Vulkan bent down and picked up a rough piece of ore. He held it with one hand and looked at it carefully.

There were still traces of iron picks on the rough surface, and Vulcan's mind began to wander. He began to try to imagine the person who discovered the ore and how it was sent here.

His imagination began to get stronger and stronger, and his thoughts began to relax more and more. In a trance, a gust of wind hit him from behind.

The voice belonging to Horus Luperkar sounded from behind him, accompanied by the sound of the door being pushed.

"It's really hard to find you, brother." Horus threw down his fur cloak and closed the door to the workshop, while not forgetting to complain.

"Do you know how long I walked to get here?"

Vulkan put down the ore, picked up the forging hammer, and turned around silently. He studied this Horus, who relaxedly opened his hands and allowed him to inspect them, but his words continued.

"You should know that I am just a figment of your imagination, right?"

"Yes." Vulkan said, his expression could not be called sad, but his eyes were very dim. "I see."

"So I can only know those things that you also know." The Wolf Shepherd God smiled slightly. "You and I both understand that this does not apply to that thing. My way of thinking is that of Horus Luperkar, the primarch of the Luna Wolves, not the monster that is hunting you."

"But at least it can provide me with some inspiration.?"

"Perhaps," Horus said noncommittally. "I hope I can help you. You are in so much pain, Vulkan, that I can't stand it."

"I'm not in pain."

"I come from your memory. In a sense, I am a one-sided projection of your mind. Do you really want to lie to yourself?" Horus laughed.

"Admit it, it's okay. We all know that Father poured too much humanity into your nature. He originally wanted you to be a bridge between the Primarch and the world. You are the kindest person among us. , you may even grieve over things we don’t care about.”

Holding the forging hammer, Vulkan sighed: "Stop making fun of me, brother."

Horus looked at him and suddenly took a step forward.

The flames in the furnace immediately went out and the workshop became extremely cold. The face of the Wolf Shepherd God was gradually obscured by shadows, his eyes turned into pure darkness, blood vessels bulged on the surface of the skin, and his teeth began to fall off, like a deceased person who had been rotting for a long time and was buried deep in the ground.

"It's better that you stop this kind of moral condemnation and self-punishment of yourself first." The Wolf Shepherd said coldly. "You are just punishing yourself by imagining me at this time. My death has nothing to do with you."

Vulkan didn't speak, but looked at him tiredly. After a long time, he slowly spoke.

"Too much has happened, Horus," said Nocturne's blacksmith. "And there was nothing I could do. I could only watch it all happen. The legions of Perturabo and Mortarion were severely damaged, but the Salamanders remained intact, which makes me feel guilty."

"You're stupid if you think so." Horus frowned. "Could any of them be harsh on you for this?"

"They won't, but I will." Vulkan replied painfully.

Horus shook his head and actually made a joke: "It seems that kindness is really an unnecessary burden in the world we live in. Brother, you are being dragged down by your own character. Fortunately, you still have me."

The Wolf God laughed, and the flames ignited again, and his old face returned - and the concentration that uniquely belonged to Horus Luperkar. He folded his hands and began to express himself in a way that Vulkan deliberately avoided. That part of the struggle is nature thinking.

"First of all, he can kill you at any time without paying any price." Horus said seriously. "But he claimed that he didn't want to do it, that he didn't want to kill you, and he didn't want to kill his father. And that's definitely not why he didn't fire, brother."

"I prefer to speculate that his current behavior is a kind of siege, like a siege. He wants you to defeat yourself from the inside."

"But we are retreating," Vulcan said. "If we successfully sail to the edge of the Five Hundred Worlds, how will he deal with the self-defense system of Macragge's Five Hundred Worlds?"

"So he must have some way to prevent you from leaving." Horus said, the firelight reflected in his pupils, and half of his face was illuminated, like an oil painting.

"Remember those giant vines?" he asked. "Things like this are probably what he relies on. He has similar methods or back-ups to prevent you from leaving. Then he will surround you and make you run out of ammunition and food."

Vulkan tightened his grip on his forging hammer again.

"Then." Horus said heavily. "He's going to send out another broadcast for you to hear, and it's probably going to be the same thing. You've heard all six broadcasts, haven't you? He's asking you to stay and interview him but, trust me, brother. Just go If you get on that ship, there will be no chance of coming back.”

Vulkan tried to reject this statement, but why should he refuse?

"You cannot refuse," said Horus.

"The part of your nature that you have escaped and your sensitivity to war is gradually awakening, Vulkan. Your humanity can mask violence, but violence will eventually show up, just like our essence. We are weapons in human skin, It’s a carefully numbered blade in my father’s hand.”

"I'm not--"

"——Ferrus once thought that you were a god of destruction during the battle. You said that his evaluation was biased, is that true? Is it really so? Could it be that Ferrus Manus deliberately slandered one of his brothers? ?”

The Wolf Shepherd looked at him meaningfully, and Vulcan closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Accept it," said Horus. "You've already thought of a solution."

——

Vulcan opened his eyes.

"We rush into the warp," he said with sudden determination. "It's better to fight to the death than to be surrounded and have to surrender."

"What?" Mortarion looked at him in surprise. "What are you talking about, Vulkan?"

"He wants to surround us," Vulcan said. "Then let us surrender ourselves. If things come to that point, it doesn't matter whether we surrender or not. This is the reason why he didn't fire. To intimidate, force, and drive away - can't you see it?"

"How is he going to surround us?" Mortarion asked. "The destroyer may be able to catch up with us, but he will never be able to stop us. The only way he can stop us is to fire, but he is not firing now, so sooner or later we will sail to the edge of the Istvan system."

"He has other methods." Vulkan looked into the eyes of the Lord of Death and said in a very calm tone. "Like those vines, Mortarion. He must have some other way of accomplishing this."

Mortarion opened his mouth and fell silent. He looked like he wanted to refute, his eyebrows were knitted together, and he wanted to say something, but his expression became more and more serious with the silence.

"You are right." After thinking for a long time, Perturabo said this.

"Indeed, this is the most likely explanation, Vulkan. The enemy cannot pin their hopes of victory on a tactic that can only be used once, like orbital bombardment or swarm charges, which are so useful in war. , there’s no reason to only use it once.”

The Lord of Steel took a cold breath of air, picked off a tulip from the armor belt, and held it in his hand for inspection. The scene should have been comical, with his fingers being much bigger than the flowers, but the mixed emotions on his face took away from it all.

"But, rushing into subspace?" Mortarion couldn't help but ask. "There's no Mandeville point here, the fleet will be thrown in, we'll disperse, we'll show up anywhere."

"Even if you throw me on a planet full of orcs, it will be better than here." Vulkan began to speak faster and faster. "And we don't have a better way."

"Keep sailing, bet he becomes an idiot, don't fire, and let us go. Or turn the ship around and fight a war that is impossible to win? This is the only possible way, even..."

"What?" Mortarion asked.

"Even if he actually wants us to rush into the subspace, I'm afraid we have to do it." The Fire Dragon Lord said firmly. "It's impossible for him to not expect our reaction. He has a lot of time to pre-construct tactical models and war situations. This matter must have been deduced thousands of times in his mind, and rushing into subspace is definitely what he expected."

"But he can't control everything, just like that place. Could he turn the subspace into one of his royal courts?"

Vulkan concluded with these words, staring at his brothers, waiting for their decision. Agree or disagree, the Fire Dragon Lord already has the answer in his mind.

After a few seconds, Mortarion let out a long sigh. Perturabo turned around and began issuing orders from his command platform.

They will rush into the warp.

There is one more chapter.

By the way, the relationship between the four gods and the subspace is not actually the relationship between the owner and the house. They are at most tenants.