40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 392 121. Interlude: The Battle between Phoenix and Gorgon

Ferrus Manus only had some vague impressions of buildings like the legion's garrison. Unlike other primarchs, he had special feelings for his home planet, and he did not even think about unifying his home star Medusa.

After returning to the Empire, he quickly devoted himself to war and conquest. Throughout the Great Crusade, the Iron Hands had been at the forefront of the expedition. Even if their fleet needed supplies, they would not be permanently stationed on a certain planet. .

But he still has some basic common sense about this, and it all comes from Fulgrim.

He knew the criteria for a proper Legion garrison, such as at least five training halls, more than ten armament rooms, large tactical meeting rooms, and a huge living room dedicated solely to the Primarchs.

There is no doubt that this last item is an unnecessary luxury, but one that the Empire values ​​greatly. Fulgrim used to have strict standards for his living room, and would not even live in it if it wasn't to his liking.

But now, the room in front of Ferus Manus did not have any furniture in the standard sense. It looked like a small, private training room.

There were sword marks everywhere on the ground and walls. About thirty dismantled fighter servitors were thrown in pieces in a corner. The Chemos man himself was waving two blunt training swords. Torture an adamantine training doll.

As far as Ferrus Manus was concerned, he was not training. Training requires combat, which must simulate at least 80% of actual combat. Training requires blood because war requires death.

Fulgrim was simply swinging his sword to torture the adamantine doll, turning its surface into pits. Of course he knew that Iron Hand was coming, but he did not choose to stop or say hello, so Ferrus Manus also chose to remain silent.

He began to turn his head and observe every detail in the room, such as a dozen training shirts thrown on the floor, completely soaked with sweat. Or maybe a few data boards and stacked files about two meters high.

From these things, Ferus knew that Fulgrim might have really been living in this room for a long time.

He frowned and finally spoke with a completely intolerable attitude.

"You need a real sparring partner. Spare that adamantine doll alone. It should be forged into a weapon or armor, not here to endure your torture."

"I did not torture it, Ferrus," Fulgrim said.

He still had his back to Iron Hand, and his long hair was messily draped over his shoulders, already wet with sweat. He still looked strong and agile, but somehow inhuman.

"It won't fight back." Iron Hand frowned and said. "If you continue to swing the sword non-threateningly like this, it can withstand many attacks until it is completely turned into a ball of steel that needs to be remade."

"Interesting." Phoenix chuckled, but still did not turn around, but slowly raised his hands.

The two blunt swords were raised high by him, and then two cold lights almost fell completely. The air vibrated, and a heart-wrenching sound of metal twisting followed. The adamantine doll split into three, flew upside down, and was embedded tightly into the wall.

The debris fell, making a messy sound on the metal floor. Phoenix let go of his hand and let the two blunt swords fall to the ground.

Ferrus Manus could clearly see that they were burning - the metal began to turn into ashes floating in the wind, and in the gradually dimming firelight, the two blunt swords became pure nothingness.

"He won't fight back. Listen to yourself, Gorgon."

Phoenix slowly raised his hand and tied his white hair with a piece of rag that came from nowhere. Ferrus was familiar with this action, and he probably knew what Fulgrim was going to do next.

"What? You want to be my opponent?" As expected, Phoenix raised his eyebrows, asked a question slightly frivolously, and issued a challenge.

Ferrus Manus's expression became a little gloomy. The world-famous Furnace Breaker was not in his hands at the moment - he did not choose to wear a weapon, although he could, even if this was a royal palace.

But he didn't say anything, he just watched Fulgrim turn around gracefully and bowed to him.

The Chemos people who used to be surrounded by pearly light are now completely surrounded by scars. The body of the Primarch will heal all wounds. Generally speaking, no scars can remain on their bodies unless they want to.

Just like the string of 'certificates of victory' that Angron of Nuceria kept for himself, Fulgrim now has his own scars.

But they are not proof of victory, but names, densely packed names. The right hand, left hand, and chest... all light up and disappear together with their master's breathing.

Ferrus Manus' expression began to grow more serious - he knew the names, and the makeup of the Emperor's Children had never been a secret to him.

"How is it, Gorgon?" Fulgrim asked. "I'm worried that I don't have a suitable opponent to test my current strength. Do you accept this challenge?"

"You have no armor," Ferrus said. "And there are no weapons."

"Oh, no, that's not it." Phoenix grinned slowly, which was completely different from his usual reserved and handsome smile. "I don't need weapons, dear Gorgon."

He slowly raised his lowered hands, and suddenly tightened them as if holding a sword blade. A burning sound flashed through the air, and then a dark shadow. A burning giant sword transcended reality like that. Appeared in the hands of Phoenix.

The whole body was pitch black, but the inside was a dull red, like dried blood. Fulgrim released his left hand, put it behind his back, bowed gracefully, and the flame on the sword blade suddenly went out.

Ferus was keenly aware of the difference between burning and extinguishing, and this difference also made him frown slightly in annoyance.

".I am a weapon myself." Fulgrim said slowly.

Of course he noticed Ferus's mood - but, how to put it? He did it on purpose.

Ferrus Manus raised his hands silently, and a shadow then enveloped him. In this fragment of perception that was too short to even be called time, the Gorgon of Medusa used his extraordinary powers of observation to I saw a giant sword that was about to cut off my head.

A loud noise came then, and Iron Hand clamped the giant sword with both hands. Fulgrim looked at him with a smile from across the sword, his dark red eyes filled with deathly silence.

"your eyes."

"Their colors match me very well." Phoenix laughed and withdrew the giant sword, rotated his wrist, took one step forward, and attacked Ferus' breastplate with the hilt of the sword.

Iron Hand dodged calmly, and swung his right elbow dangerously, accurately hitting the spine of the giant sword, and then his left fist. This series of movements was as fast as instinct, but Fulgrim dodged it as expected.

He retreated back to the sword's advantage, raised his hands, and began to gently laugh at his inarticulate brother.

"Still doing the same thing, Ferus? It's time for you to learn something new."

"Study what?" Ferus retorted, striding forward at the same time.

The speed and force were so fast that it almost seemed as if he was a humanoid tank charging.

"Learn from you?"

"I have no objection." Phoenix said.

Although he said this, his expression didn't seem to agree.

He turned the giant sword sideways, raising it from bottom to top. This sword seemed ordinary, but it stopped Ferus's progress just right. If Iron Hand continued to charge, he would only end up being hit in the face or breastplate by the giant sword.

They have a tacit understanding, even if they have not communicated, they know when to end and determine who is the winner. After all, similar things have happened thousands of times, and it would be difficult even if there was no tacit understanding.

Ferrus had to change his strategy. He frowned, slowed down, and began to deal with Fulgrim. Every step is taken with great care. He had to be like this, there was no way around it.

It would be almost impossible for an unarmed man to defeat a man armed with a long blade, unless a miracle happened, but Ferrus did not point out the unfairness of the fight.

He just waited calmly and patiently. Fulgrim raised his eyebrows, looking a little surprised.

"Aren't you going to attack first?" he asked, raising his sword.

"I'm not Leman Russ, and I insist on wrestling with Vulkan." Ferus replied with a sullen face. “Exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses is a quality that any tactician must possess.”

"Then -" Fulgrim put down his sword and took a step with an unusual starting motion. "——I'm going to start attacking."

"Come on." Ferus said, with a cold glint in his eyes.

His conqueror's nature and competitiveness were at work again, and he knew Fulgrim was the same.

Although those burning eyes could no longer let him dig out the subtle emotions like they used to, he knew his brother, and there was no other person in the world who had such a tacit understanding like them.

Phoenix smiled silently but happily. He rushed towards him and slashed out with his giant sword without reservation. Almost at the same moment, Ferrus Manus also raised his hands.

His power is so pure that one almost suspects that what exists in his body is not flesh and blood, but a powerful engine. The giant sword was stopped again, and this time it was not recovered smoothly.

Ferus began to punch violently, his left hand firmly grasping the lattice of the giant sword, and his right fist kept punching out. The roaring sound of the wind was completely beyond common sense, and even Phoenix was speechless.

"Are you going to break my nose, brother?" he asked loudly while ducking.

"If possible." Ferus replied coldly.

"This is so rude," Fulgrim said, releasing his hand.

He no longer tried to compete with Ferus for control of the great sword, and it did not remain in Ferus's hands. Instead, it quickly disappeared into nothingness like a fading flame.

Ironhand was not very surprised by this, but the escape of the wrestling partner allowed his own power to act on himself for a moment, which also created an opportunity for Fulgrim's subsequent attack.

He grabbed Ferus' right fist and pulled it to the other side, while using his shoulder to force Ferus a few steps away from him. When Iron Hand stood firm and began to prepare to continue fighting, a giant sword was suddenly pressed against his throat.

Ferus narrowed his eyes.

"You lose." Phoenix announced with a smile.

"You're cheating." Gorgon replied seriously. Although he was arguing for the result, there was no reluctance in his tone. On the contrary, he even seemed calm.

"Unfair battles are fun." Fulgrim shrugged. "Equally matched people are boring - what do you think of this sentence? I learned this sentence from our enemies."

"Who?" Ferrus asked. "Horus Lupercal?"

"No." Phoenix sighed and retracted the greatsword. This time, he really let go and let it dissipate completely in the air.

"Horus is dead. He is not an enemy, brother. He will never be an enemy. The real enemy, or the enemy, exists in the sky."

"The sky?"

"Yes, the sky." Phoenix answered calmly. "The 'sky' in the common sense is heaven, where the gods live. Or in other words, the warp."

Ferrus was silent for a while, and suddenly seemed a little annoyed: "If I had known this, maybe I should have come back earlier."

"It's useless, Gorgon." Phoenix walked past him slowly, walked lazily to a corner, and began to look for the one he needed in the pile of documents.

"Even if you were there, you couldn't defeat that thing. Its power is different from ours. If you want to kill an enemy, you need to pull a trigger or let the Hearthbreaker smash someone's head. It's different. It only needs a thought or a word, and we will die in pieces."

"Is this a metaphor, or a reality?"

"It is a reality." Phoenix said. "The Vengeful Spirit is no longer the flagship we are familiar with. It is now a more terrible place. There, it can do anything it wants. I saw it, Ferrus."

Fulgrim paused, he stopped rummaging through the documents, his hands rested on the top of the heavy documents, his voice no longer relaxed, but became low.

"I saw it distort reality, turning the impossible into possible, and changing the universe we live in into a nightmare."

"I don't believe there is a thing in this world that cannot be killed." Ferrus Manus answered simply. "I will find you a set of power armor, and then we will discuss this matter."

Fulgrim was slightly startled, he tilted his head and nodded slowly. A smile like the old one appeared on his face, very clear, very peaceful.

"Okay, Ferrus." He replied softly.

This chapter is 4k, and there is one more chapter.