Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

The first day performance event selected by Kalifeng for the Games was equestrian competition.

Although this word was extracted from the classics and books of ancient culture, no one could confirm whether the "horse" in the book was consistent with the creatures they could recognize in reality - God knows which one is correct among so many mammals with four legs, or have real horses disappeared in the past ten thousand years?

In this way, the animal standard for this equestrianism, or riding competition, has never been clearly defined.

Therefore, the restrictions on the animals chosen by the contestants in this riding competition have gradually been reduced to four legs and have not undergone a mechanized transformation process in a series of serious discussions.

"How regrettable," Conrad Coz rarely took care of the mood of others around him today, changed into a set of clothes made of real plant fibers, and covered the upper half of his face with a hood as black as night.

He laughed sharply, "One of our brothers has not yet returned, and has no chance to ride on this green world with dense trees. He can only chase storms and drive eagles alone in the grassland..." "Who is that, Konrad Curze?" Rogal Dorn was always one of the only two people who would answer Konrad Curze's incoherent words, and the other Primarch was Fulgrim. "You can provide more information as a reference." "I don't know." Curze immediately perked up and glanced at Dorn provocatively, his dark eyes looking over the edge of the hood at his brother's unshakable cheek, "The thread of fate cannot be touched lightly, and destiny lies in silence..." Perturabo turned a deaf ear to Curze's voice. From the brother who led Curze back to the Empire to the one who often ignored Konrad's words, Perturabo seemed to have undergone some imperceptible changes, or he just became more and more clear about what Konrad Curze needed and when. "Because of our temporary rules," the Lord of Olympia made his voice over Koz's words, and he received a bored sneer from the latter.

"In the list of participants, the most promising one is the team of Lumati IV of the Melatara Cluster under Olympia. The four-legged beasts they brought are the best in this riding competition in terms of endurance and explosive power."

"This may not be fair enough, but in the hasty preparations, this is the final plan chosen by the committee of this Games that takes into account both fun and feasibility."

"The strength of each planet itself is also considered part of the competition." Ferrus said, and before he could bypass the mortals who appeared on the street, those short people retreated on their own.

At the opening ceremony of the Games, the snake demon Medusa he played was projected indelibly in the hearts of countless people through the robot servants of the entire star cluster and the Internet broadcast - or the yearning of the heart. It depends on the acceptance and interests of the mortals.

Perturabo nodded slightly, raised his right hand, and pointed to the pale snow peak at the end of his sight. Above the snow peak, the Iron Fortress, anchored in low orbit in the sky, hovered quietly.

For ten years, it has become an indispensable and important landscape in Olympia, almost a permanent decoration on the top of the snow, embellishing and filling the empty sky with man-made spectacular beauty.

"The western foot of Mount Telephus is the starting point of this equestrian event. Before the competition officially begins, we still have time to walk through this market street."

"During the competition, the contestants need to choose their own path and record the arrival time at several relay stations set up in advance. The rider who first crosses a quarter of Olympia and arrives at the city of Ax will win the equestrian competition - I named it the Iron Journey."

"Is the ribbon at the finish line yellow and black?" Conrad Curze asked.

"Really?" Fulgrim came from behind.

He had just finished talking to several mortal artists who particularly liked his performance, and was in a good mood to point out a few details of the performance that these mortals could not see, in exchange for their sincere praise full of surprise and joy.

"I am a little curious, Perturabo."

"It was arranged by Kaliphon." Perturabo's face did not change, "I didn't ask about such details."

"You trust her very much," Angron said, his rough voice sounded gentle because of his tone. In a sense, he and Vulcan give people a similar feeling.

"She... almost grew up with me," Perturabo replied. "Perhaps she resembles your warrior Crest, Angron."

"Her face is full of frost, my brother," Fulgrim came closer. "If she is close to your age, then she has never had any surgery to prolong her life. Why not let this goddess of youth stay young and beautiful, or does she have other ideas?"

"She has her own ideas, and I have never interfered." Perturabo replied. "The fruit drinks in this shop are excellent. Would you like to try them?"

"Thank you," Vulkan did not refuse his brother's recommendation. "If possible, do you have hot drinks?"

"Anything is fine." Angron said.

"No lemon juice." Rogal Dorn asked.

"What did the archaeological department of the Mechanicum do to you?" Perturabo said casually, and before Dorn described the latest developments of the Mechanicum in detail, he immediately asked the other brothers, "Anything else?"

"Some red," Cozzi added with a suspiciously malicious laugh between the words, "bright red juice."

"I don't have to!" Magnus stood up on Perturabo's shoulders and said into the Iron Lord's ear.

"Of course, no matter how small the cup is, it is bigger than you, dear Magnus, oh, no, maybe the small toy tea cup specially designed for mortal babies is still bigger than you..."

Magnus made a small snap of his fingers, the red gold light flashed, and the noise made by Curze immediately disappeared. The red primarch sat down again, raised his chin, and crossed his arms on his chest.

"Let's have some drinks that Chemos doesn't have, brother. Even if I guess, Chemos may not have any of the fruits you have here."

"Same as him," Ferus finally replied. "Same as Fulgrim."

Considering the Primarch's height, Perturabo leaned forward against the doorframe of the shop, waiting for the mortal shopkeeper's employees to come out to him.

"Seven cups of hot berries," Perturabo said softly, to prevent his voice from causing too much harm to mortals at close range. He made a decision on the choice of drinks. "The bill will be sent to the palace of Lokos. Can."

"My lord!" the mortal said cheerfully, "It's rare for you to come back to Olympia, how can I ask you to pay the bill? But... may I ask whether the container is..."

Perturabo nodded slightly, stood up again, and asked the other brothers to move closer to the side of the street to avoid blocking the vehicles traveling on the flat passage.

"You can rest assured, Curze and Fulgrim; some of the Iron Warriors stationed in Olympia live among mortals, so there are always clean barrels in various shops in the Olympia star cluster."

"Where is Nocturne?" Fulgrim immediately thought of the home planet of the Fire Dragon Lord. "I heard that your warriors also live with mortals, Vulkan."

“We don’t have so many choices of fruits and vegetables.” Vulgan recalled the place where he grew up and shared what he considered to be a particularly representative feature. “Nocturnes are all over the volcanoes. There, we have about fifteen days a year. The length of the year. Gravity and geocentric dynamics will cause the tectonic plates to tremble... Salamanders, the name of my legion, is derived from a dangerous creature unique to my home planet."

"Half of Russ's Fenris is also full of volcanoes," Magnus said. "The name of his legion is also Dangerous Creatures... But why is Horus the Luna Wolf?"

He suddenly fell into confused thoughts.

"Our respective homes are really different," Fulgrim smiled, leaning carefully against the relatively flat area of ​​the wall behind him. "Conrad, your Nostramo is unique."

Curze snorted in displeasure and pointed at his mouth, his dark eyes fixed on Magnus on Perturabo's shoulder.

"You always abuse psychic prophecy," Magnus said seriously. "I must clarify your actions with the Emperor."

Curze raised a finger and shook it contemptuously, making a mouthful of words.

Excuse. An obvious excuse, he said, born of childish revenge and an immature brain, mini-Magnus. Now who is abusing supernatural witchcraft to silence his brother...

"...Words? Gee, should I thank you for removing the restriction on my language?"

"Yes, Konrad Curze. You can thank him for that," Roger Dorn said.

Angron laughed from the side. He does not restrict himself too strictly when perceiving positive emotions.

The Lord of Red Sand clenched his hand into a fist, blocked it from his mouth, and coughed: "Where is your mentor, Perturabo? He seems to have disappeared after the opening ceremony."

"I gave him a map," Perturabo said.

"A map of Olympia?" Fulgrim asked, "Give me one too, just a tourist map."

"To be specific, it's a review article published in a newspaper about the comparison of various indicators of the Lokos public bathroom, with a map in the appendix." Perturabo said, counting the time in his mind as the stopwatch hand reached the end. A small grid. "Fruit drinks are ready."

As soon as he finished speaking, the mortals in the room raised their heads and shouted: "Sir! Your drinks are ready!"

Vulkan bent down, lifted out two barrels, and handed them to Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus beside him. Angron gave Dorn a barrel. Perturabo handed Curze a bucket, "Your bright red wine, Conrad."

"Thank you, my brother," said Conrad Coates.

Before drinking it, he sniffed the liquid completely subconsciously, analyzed the chemical composition of this strange solution, and in an instant concluded that it did not contain any dangerous substances, was neither poisonous, nor hallucinogenic, nor was it a hallucinogen. Triggering a series of explosions and other conclusions.

He blinked his eyes, and suddenly felt that the bright and clear world in front of him had become so distant and unfamiliar in an instant, almost causing a slight sting.

"Give me a spoon," said Perturabo, fetching his own bucket, and holding the small mortal wooden spoon carefully between his fingers, he scooped up a small amount of the drink for Magnus to taste.

Conrad Coates took a sip. "It's too sweet," he said, deliberately showing disgust. "Oh my god, I must let my genetic children come to this store to taste it."

Magnus drank the fruit drink in the spoon in one gulp, handed the spoon back with satisfaction, and asked Perturabo to return it to the employee in the store. "You have hopeless taste, Conrad," he said.

"What does it have to do with you?" Coates said without hesitation.

"Speaking of Gene Sons, have you started recruiting troops, Konrad?" Fulgrim asked. Although he has not forgotten the shock when he first came to Nostramo, this did not prevent him from expressing his gratitude to this brother. Show concern, "I may be able to work with you to improve your recruitment plan..."

He was startled for a moment, then shook his head slightly, his long light-colored hair sweeping like feather tips on his purple robe, "No, I'm the one who said too much. I have no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of your home planet."

"I am...not really suitable for recruiting an army right now, hehe," Conrad Coates' eyes darkened, "Everything has a price, and now is the time to pay. Fortunately, the chips needed to pay are worth such a generous sum. The gift... Sol Sahar is enough, and the members of the current royal court are also worthy of use. "

"When I returned, the Third Legion only numbered close to a thousand people," Fulgrim frowned, and the sadness in his bright, jewel-like eyes was more heartbreaking than the dust that covered it. "If you need my help in any way, please ask me as much as possible. There is a way to make everything more perfect."

"You can also ask me." Ferus said.

"Conrad," Perturabo said suddenly, connected to a cable that hung from his shoulder as a miniature brooding array operating as a robe buckle. "Your Thor Sahar sent a communication request related to a Mechanicum Grand Magus on your battle barge."

"I thought that the Primarchs who are close to you don't like the Mechanicus." Fulgrim spread a hand and joked.

Konrad Curze put down his fruit bucket on the spot. He knew very well the true identity of the so-called Great Sage of the Mechanicus.

According to the rules he set for himself, he would not take the life of a Dark Eldar who drank his blood without reason.

This is one of the few reasons why Hexakeris survives - another important reason is that he needs a partner who is loyal and trustworthy enough to assist him in the second transformation and exploration of his blood. .

"Goodbye for now, everyone, I'm going to the Lokos Palace communication tower," Conrad Coates said softly, "How about meeting you directly at the race starting point camp at the foot of Telefus Mountain later?"

"It's all right." Perturabo nodded and said after a pause, "Fulgrim, you also have a message from a pharmacist."

"I'll go with Conrad," Fulgrim smiled. "Has anyone else received the communication?"

Donn raised a hand, and when he raised his palm, his fingers were aligned, and he was meticulous. "I have something to say to Perturabo, Magnus and Angron."

"Let's change the corner." Perturabo nodded and put down his fruit bucket.

Vulkan and Ferus looked at each other and continued to drink their drinks after the others left.

Out of the hearing range of others, Dorn spoke, finishing all the main information at once: "The Emperor needs Magnus and Angron to return. After obtaining the map, the Emperor realized that there was an abandoned planet on the planet near Olympia. Instead of the collapsed entrance to the network, he hopes to test the practicality of the network to a certain extent by restarting this section of the road and reaching Olympia directly."

He went on to add secondary information: "The Emperor considers me, relative to you, to be idle in the conversation of my brothers, and therefore he communicates directly with me psychically."

"Oh, okay," Magnus said, jumping onto Angron's shoulders. Angron raised his hands near his shoulders, eliminating the possibility of him accidentally falling. "Are you leaving now?"

"The Emperor said he hoped to be in time to witness the closing ceremony of the Games. So, I think so," Dorn answered.

"I will send a small merchant ship to cover your secrets," Perturabo said. "Long-range warp navigation is up to you, Magnus."

"Okay, I understand." Magnus patted Angron, "Let's go. Let the camera servant leave us the video of the event... No, I will just send another one over. Change to a large mag. Come Nusi.”

He's clearly obsessed with Conrad Coates' bullshit.

"You can also say that I was called away by Kahn," Angron nodded to Perturabo, "Then, goodbye, brother."