40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 547 65. Interlude: Angel flutters its wings (additional update 3/5)

"Yes, I will set off," Sanguinius repeated. "Yes, the destination is—damn it, Abo, don't ask anymore, okay?"

"No," said a holographic image.

He folded his hands, looking cold and impatient. In sharp contrast to him was another holographic projection not far away from him. This one had a very calm expression, as if he didn't care whether Sanguinius left at all.

He wasn't even paying full attention to the conversation. Instead, he was holding a data pad with his head down and sliding on it.

"You have asked me twelve times." The archangel said expressionlessly. "And I'm pretty sure I won't have to repeat to you where I'm going and what I'm going to do."

The Lord of Steel looked at him coldly and said nothing. He looked like a statue, the kind that would be carved on a coffin. Gloomy but majestic, solemn but cold.

He doesn't need to have an expression, just the simple use of his eyes is enough to send shivers down the spines of many people in this vast empire. But not now. Now, he was facing the angel of Baal.

A century ago, Sanguinius had never cared for his brother's inherent sullenness, and even more so now, as he called Perturabo.

The archangel returned the cold stare with equal intensity. Across the sea of ​​​​stars, the two Primarchs tortured the mechanical components and the machine souls of their respective instruments on their respective holographic projection stages.

Their stares continued until Rogal Dorn spoke.

"You need support." Stubborn said with a firm tone.

Sanguinius looked at his brother - to be fair, at this moment, the angel did have the urge to fight back, but he did not put it into practice.

His rebuttal impulse was just an impulse. It was a collection of anger and resentment that was unrealistic and should not be treated as reality. It was not directed at Donne, but at himself.

Splitting the Legion into war groups was indeed in compliance with the call of the times, but it also put him in an unexplainable dilemma: the Blood Angels now only have 1,500 men at full strength, and this has exceeded the standards of the Holy Code.

Of course, he does not actually have to strictly abide by the holy scripture. It is just a reference book. However, it is precisely because of his "authoritative" endorsement that this reference book will be useful.

Sanguinius sighed.

"Yes." He admitted. "I need support, and lots of it. I want the auxiliaries—"

"—It's the Astra Militarum," Perturabo said. "Or the Imperial Guard. The Blood Angels are not war hounds, so where can we find auxiliaries?"

"Is there a difference between those two terms?" Sanguinius asked, glaring at him.

"And you will need more Astartes," Dorn said seriously.

He brought the topic back without leaving a trace. If it were in the past, Stubborn Stone would not mind seeing Steel and Angel arguing with each other for more than a dozen words, but it is different now. Every second now is precious.

The empire has lost contact with the Five Hundred Worlds for a long time. Now is an opportunity for this vast territory to re-establish complete contact with the empire.

"I will issue orders to have the Imperial Fists along the way provide you with support. You can organize an expeditionary force as regent, Sanguinius, and all the Forge Worlds will be more than happy to provide you with anything you can for this purpose." Something needed.”

Hearing this, Angel frowned slightly. He considered his words and said, "I don't think it's a good thing to let your sons participate, Rogge."

"Why?"

"Do you have to let him speak clearly?" Perturabo interrupted slightly impatiently. "Expeditions once every twenty-five years, continuous large and small wars, if they didn't happen to have some good recruitment worlds, it would be very difficult to maintain the number of members of the group."

"They are born to bear certain responsibilities." Dorn looked at him, the holographic image was fluctuating, and his tone was very firm.

"They understand the weight of responsibility, and—"

Perturabo sneered again: "——Speaking as if others don't understand."

"Listen up, Rogal Dorn, because I will only say the next words once. You better listen to every word I say, you stubborn elm-head, otherwise I will find you in the fortress myself. , I will make it impossible for you to step down in front of your Chapter Leader, do you understand?”

"A hundred centuries can change a lot. Your sons are not the Imperial Fists. They have independent traditions and culture, just like every separate chapter. These people are other than your sons. Protector of the world.”

"This tradition has probably been going on between them and the local people for thousands of years, and even in the darkest times, they didn't let this tradition disappear. And you'd better not let their hard work go to waste. waste."

"There is more than one duty in this world, and the people who need to be protected are far more than the civilians in the five hundred worlds."

Dorn was silent for a while and asked, "So, what are your plans?"

"Yes." Perturabo nodded slowly and looked at Sanguinius again.

He said to his brother in a tone that left no room for doubt: "Go to my Galactic Guard, they will help."

The archangel nodded and looked at the Lord of Steel with a slightly regretful smile.

The latter frowned and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Actually, the Abo Military Ministry has already compiled a list and sent a summons order under the instruction of Machado. As we speak, there are probably several war groups that have received the order and have set off to the meeting place. Wait for me."

"So, like Roger said, this is an expedition, but you don't actually have to argue, your sons are on the list."

He gets two expressionless faces.

"I came to you just to inform you." Sanguinius forced himself to say in a calm tone.

"But I didn't expect that you would be so active on this matter, and even briefly forget the common sense of our administrative department's repeated orders - any large-scale military joint operations must be executed through orders issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs, remember, two adults ?”

The holographic projection platform fell into darkness, and both Perturabo and Rogal Dorn exited the holographic projection platform at this moment.

The light blue fluorescence dissipated, but the archangel showed an uncontrollable happy smile and stood up slowly, holding on to the armrest of the throne.

Thousands of years later, the main bridge of the Red Tears is still unique. The stone pillars made of crimson round stones collected from the depths of the Baal Desert hold up a huge white dome, on which the brilliance of the stars shines.

This dome alone is enough to make the main bridge an ingenious work of art, but it is just an external disguise. Only the most foolish would seriously believe that Sanguinius transformed the main bridge of his flagship into a work of art.

Placed under the dome are war equipment laid out over a large area.

Dense and thick cables extend from the energy center, connecting every meditator around. Coming and going, men and women in navy uniforms were busy moving among these instruments, performing complex tasks to fully awaken this long-dormant war machine.

Once the preparations are completed, all kinds of weapons, including the Nova Cannon, will completely wake up.

If someone could observe this beautiful ship in a vacuum, they would find that its secondary battery positions and even each hangar are moving, like an ancient beast awakening.

Sanguinius took a slow breath of air, hearing the prelude to war for the first time in a long time. He was familiar with it, and even those piles of official documents could not erase this terrible familiarity.

Every Primarch, no matter what they look like, what their personality is, or what responsibilities they are assigned, there is one thing they cannot escape - war.

The Emperor had chosen this path for them long before they were mere embryos floating in nutrient tanks in the laboratory. Regardless of their nature, they are killing machines. Like it or not, violence is in their blood.

Even Sanguinius is the same.

The demon was right in his assessment of him. If everything else was put aside, he was indeed a bloodthirsty warrior. However, it was precisely because of all this that he was not overwhelmed by the desire for blood. Only then could he be Sanguinius, not a ghoul on a wild planet.

like his descendants

"Primarch."

The angel walked down his throne with a smile, and the long stairs could not conceal his enthusiasm at this moment. He stretched out his hands and hugged his Chapter Leader heavily, making the latter briefly feel a little overwhelmed.

"You seem to be a little special today." Chapter leader Dante said.

Even though the angel had ended the hug, he still seemed uncomfortable. This sentiment was completely transparent to the Prince Regent.

Sanguinius looked at him with interest.

He had never seen Dante like this before. Ever since he was promoted to Chapter Master during the war against demons, Dante had been hiding his true emotions under that golden armor. Never had he been like this. Emotionally exposed moments.

"Isn't it the same for you, Dante?" Sanguinius asked, smiling. "Don't you think today is a different day than usual?"

Dante glanced at him quickly, then looked down again and replied: "It's just war, my lord."

"Yes, war - but not the kind of defensive war you are familiar with. We have no fortress to defend, and although the enemy is probably still closely related to demons, this time is different, my son."

"This time, we are taking the initiative. If I had not restrained you and allowed you to fight across the galaxy like your other brothers, then you would understand the difference between initiative and passivity in war."

As Sanguinius spoke, he inevitably sighed: "In the final analysis, I am the one who binds you."

"Please don't say that, my lord!"

"I want it," Sanguinius said.

He raised his chin and looked at his Chapter Leader with pretense of provocation. The latter looked at him in shock and helplessness, not knowing what to say.

Dante has been a member of the Chapter for five centuries and sixty years, and has been its Chapter Master for four hundred years. The amount of time he spent with the Primarch was unparalleled in the entire Chapter. Even if we look at the Legion period, there are probably few who can compare with him.

But he had to admit that today was the first time he had seen Sanguinius like this.

Maybe, this is the original character of the original body? Dante couldn't help but think.

He hurriedly put this thought away, but inevitably a little prying thought arose. So he looked at his primarch again, and this time, Sanguinius welcomed his closest son's observation with a calm face, while Dante was horrified by this.

The familiar regent of the past, the giant who always had a friendly smile, disappeared. Instead, there was a warrior with a sword in his hand. Even the scarlet gems embellished on the luxurious armor looked as hideous as the blood spattered from killing the enemy.

The archangel was supposed to be majestic and regal, and the wings on his back made him as holy as a god. But now, Dante didn't see any demigod, only a warrior with great fighting spirit and enthusiasm.

A pure warrior who wants to fight for protection.

"I will regain my pride, my son," Sanguinius said quietly. "In the past ten thousand years, when people talk about me, not many people remember that I once held a sharp sword and spear in my hand, killing demons and evil on Terra."

"To them, this is just a story in my halo. They want to know if I will visit their world tomorrow. This is their main pursuit. It's strange, everyone seems to be meeting me Consider it a lifelong goal.”

"Things shouldn't be like this, just like people shouldn't see you as a shadow of me, as my extended right hand."

"They only know that you are my Chapter Master Dante, but they don't know that you once faced Khorne's demon army alone, guarded a crumbling fortress, and protected countless people."

"I don't intend to comment on the superiority of these two ways of protecting the empire, but I do have a personal preference, for me."

He suddenly pulled out the sharp sword from his waist, and the dyed red blade gleamed. It had been damaged long ago, but Vulcan personally picked it up and forged it again. The steel that reshaped it came from Nostramo, and the technology that replaced the original disintegration field came from Mars.

It was supposed to be an indestructible blade, but it had been sleeping in Sanguinius's personal arsenal for countless years. It was only today that it was truly unsheathed.

The angel's voice began to echo on the main bridge, and the broadcast system was activated, spreading his words to the entire ship and even the surrounding space. Those words were very simple, but they contained endless power.

"Loyalists——"

"The time has come to fulfill your duties, and the time has come to fulfill your promise. Draw your sword to kill the enemy and live up to the emperor's will!"