Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

“He does not need to eat or drink, and His rituals require neither gold nor silver, but people still use gold, silver, marble, and silk in rituals, as if the rituals are not luxurious enough to be called worship. . They do not invite people to believe in Him, but sell His grace.”—The Book of Lorgar.

This book was first published on 69 Book Bar → 69𝖘𝖍𝖚𝖝.𝖓𝖊𝖙, providing you with a reading experience with no wrong chapters and no chapters out of order.

Lorgar Aurelion replaced the four candles on the altar of the Wandering Temple. He gently pried off the old, burned-out wax oil from the black iron candlestick, and then placed the new candles on the altar shaped like the wings of an eagle. in the base. The candles are evenly distributed on both sides of the emperor's icon in the center of the altar, symmetrically.

The fire ignited one after another, and a cluster of deep red flames swayed on the top of the white jade candle. Soon, the first drop of wax oil slipped against the edge of the candle, and the inside was glowing with a solidified light red color, like falling blood or flowing tears.

Lorgar raised his head and looked at the statue of the sword-holding emperor in the center of the black iron candlestick, seeking higher guidance.

The uncarved eyes of the Emperor's statue stared into space. Under the icon, the black iron reliquary stood alone in the center of the altar, maintaining its eternal silence.

Each picture painted on the stained window is silent, refracting the artificial light into countless bright and transparent colors. After careful arrangement and design at the time of construction, the color blocks are laid out in the center of the church. On top of the rug. Aurelion turned around, walked down the steps, and left this empty and bright hall along the long carpet in the center of the sanctuary.

"The exegetical fathers will also be ignorant of many things," he thought silently. "Why does death come?"

The glory of the Wandering Temple remains undiminished, but on the surface of the planet where the Law of Faith is anchored, Space Marines are dying. Faster than in the outer battle before they entered the sentry. Faster than the dozens of blitz campaigns they had completed previously.

Caught between reality and echo, in battles or exploration missions, dangerous or not, thousands of Astartes died one after another in just a few days, and most of them could not even find their bodies.

In the Word Bearer's Queen of Glory, the resting place in the Hall of Hindsight is filled with the names of new ones every day, who leave their expeditions in advance to bask in His glory.

Almost all of the dead had been close or far to the wreckage of Ran Dan's biological spacecraft on the surface after it disintegrated, and heard some kind of distant echo, and even saw a clustered phantom.

trees. river. Rustling grass. Rolling rocky mountains. Aggressive native predatory plants. A harmless beast with smooth, warm light orange fur. Some life forms that once existed and established simple civilizations lived in groups near water and on different planets. One hundred unspoiled natural terrains. A thousand different kinds of ancient life. Full of life. Verdant green. Bright yellow. Watery red wild flowers. Edible amaranth.

what is that? Perturabo's Iron Warriors carefully and quickly collected local geological data, and the Iron Lord himself supplemented his study of the analysis of geographical conditions.

"About fifty to five hundred years ago," Perturabo said. On the screen, his image was more distant and cold than the real him. "That was the original ecological environment of these planets. Later, Randan expanded here , relying on Ran Dan’s seeds to convert all organic matter into nutrients for Ran Dan’s alien survival.”

"Why do the Randan aliens' psychic fields radiate memories of when they first landed?" Horus asked this question, "rather than the current status of the planet they now occupy?"

Perturabo thought with an unexplained seriousness on his face. Then, he shook his head: "That is not Ran Dan's alien memory, Horus. Morse has told us that from Ran Dan's perspective, there is no difference in color in the world."

"I don't know much about psychic powers," Horus frowned, "But can the psychic memories of creatures that survived five hundred years ago be preserved until now? It's a pity that my father did not allow us to communicate with the person who is good at psychic powers. Brother contact. Can you-"

"He's already here," Perturabo answered. "Next time, we'll come with answers. Pick a war conference room?"

"None of us have been to the Indomitable Truth." Horus said, his voice deepened, and his eyes moved to one side on the screen. Lorgar knew what he was looking at - the dark patch that symbolized Leon. Screen. "It seems that if we don't take the initiative to meet our emperor's eldest son, he will never take the initiative to find us again."

Lorgar walked out of his memories, and his feet landed on the edge of the long carpet on the floor of the Wandering Temple. The Word Bearer pondered for a moment, then took another step out of the sanctuary and glanced at the two Word Bearers guarding both sides of the sanctuary.

"Close the door, children," Aurelion said, "my priests."

The two Word Bearers pushed the open door of the temple inwards. Lorgar watched the door close, and the vast brilliance of the Wandering Temple was blocked inside the door. He once again met the empty eyes of the Emperor's icon in the center of the two doors. They looked at each other, then turned around and followed his path. The Word Bearers were at his side.

"What do you think of this battle?" Aurelion asked gently. "Tell me, Daniel, Erebus."

The two leaders of the cult looked at each other, and Erebus took the lead and said: "The First Primarch is proposing the use of extermination weapons. He is right. The punishment of warriors is not enough to make up for the insult brought by heretics. We should Choose his method and bring down the punishment of heavenly fire directly.”

Luojia nodded slightly, hiding his satisfaction.

Erebus could always tell the answers he especially wanted to hear. His understanding of the teachings was always so consistent with him that he was even willing to engrave some of Lorgar's usual teachings on his skin in the form of tattoos. . This allowed Lorgar to acquiesce in the Word Bearer from Colchis's journey to where he is today.

However, being a devout person who was too perfect and never wandered sometimes made Lorgar Aurelion feel strange and hesitant about the authenticity of his beliefs.

There are times when the human spirit lacks wisdom, judgment, and obedience, and therefore people need guidance.

But Erebus was not. He seemed to naturally understand why He was the source of salvation. His spiritual life did not deviate for a moment, which was something that even Aurelion himself found difficult to achieve.

Aurelion didn't want his suspicions to stem from jealousy, that would be a terrible mistake.

"What about you?" Luojia lowered his eyes and asked the other Word Bearer beside him.

"His love cannot accept them into favor so long as they remain sinful," said Daniel. “Receptive love is established in Him, and it is only by relying on Him and entering into Him that He does not return sin to them.”

"So, what is your opinion?" Erebus asked pointedly, crossing Lorgar, or he consciously asked on Lorgar's behalf.

Daniel lowered his head and made a worried cross on his chest. "They are still sinful," he murmured.

——

When the Primarchs entered the battle center of the Indomitable Truth, they were certain that Leon El'Jonson had no desire to receive them.

Leon stood next to the hologram, looking down at the suspended screen and the scrolling data. The long blond hair was draped over his shoulders and back without being tied up. The hair ring given to him by Horus is now missing. Lorgar Aurelion believes that with the sensitivity of the Wolf God, he also discovered this small but natural change. Horus's expression became disturbing.

"Leon," Lorgar said softly, "here we come."

"I know." The Lion turned around. This was an extremely simple opening statement, in line with Leon El'Jonson's usual habits. The stubble on his chin has lengthened slightly, making his face look more mature, and the emotions hidden in his green eyes have always been difficult to judge.

"Are we talking here?" Horus asked.

The lion didn't even look at him. He turned to Perturabo: "I heard you brought more knowledge of Randan, Perturabo."

"Indeed," said Perturabo, "he went to the surface, and then to more planets, gaining knowledge from the wreckage of the battlefield..."

Leon raised a hand and said, "Sit down." He pointed to the chairs around him. They seemed to have just appeared, and they seemed to have been placed in an obvious place, but they had just been noticed.

Regardless, this symbolizes that Leon finally decided to talk to them.

"May I continue?" asked Perturabo, who was never one to smile in response to cold enthusiasm even when he was not irritated. The wiring to his head shimmered with reflections from the room lights, and Lorgar wasn't sure if that meant Perturabo was using his neural links at the same time.

The lion stared at him without moving or giving an immediate answer. There was some hidden evaluation going on in his mind, like a good meditator who doesn't have to make noise while thinking. His silence confused Lorgar as to the Lion's sincerity, and then he saw the Lion's eyes moving between Horus and Perturabo: he suddenly understood what the Lion was thinking.

The Lion wondered how likely it was that Perturabo would side with Horus.

Finally, Leon spoke: "It makes no sense, Perturabo."

"Tell me your reasons."

"For this war, we need to know the enemy's firepower, the way the enemy supplies, the enemy's camps, the tendency to counterattack on the front and more combat techniques to effectively kill the enemy." Lion said, "To complete our But Ran Dan’s alien social culture has nothing to do with us.”

Speaking of the second half of the sentence, his tone became obviously more serious, "Knowing how many males and how many cubs there are in a female beast's group does not help how to hunt them. Knowing where they came from and when they moved to The forest they are in now will not prevent us from swinging our sword at their necks!"

Before Perturabo could answer, Leon stared directly at Horus, and clear anger finally burst out from his deep eyes: "Is this the answer you gave us, Horus? I agree. I am not following you through this radical battle just to have my honor insulted by your recklessness, and let my legion be the price for your research on aliens!”

"What are you talking about, Jonson?" Horus said, his tone was very soft. "The cost of studying aliens? I don't want to accuse you, my brother, but why should my legion be the one you hide your secrets from? The price? Why should my honor be damaged because of your resistance?”

The lion pursed his lips, returning a dark look to Horus's words. Luojia stood uneasily, his eyes moving between the confrontation between the Wolf God and the Lion King.

He wanted to join them and advise them to live in harmony, but the silence at this moment gave him a dangerous warning, telling him that the conflict between the two was not only a competition between hunters, but also a mutual repulsion between beasts. contradiction.

Around Leon El'Jonson, the Dark Angels remained silent in their black armor, but Lorgar could feel that their previous pride had faded away like a tide, and was replaced by an emotion almost shuddering, existing in their bodies. Guilty, as if they would rather be pierced by thorns and bones on the battlefield than stay in this combat command room.

Perturabo nodded suggestively to the Dark Angels.

"Please allow us to retire," the commanders whispered, bowing slightly, and there was an urgency in their departure.

Leon didn't look at his warriors, simply acquiescing to their actions.

"You will only use intelligence on a level that has nothing to do with the battle assigned to you by the Emperor. Horus, you insist on having the squad search for traces of the Second Legion in the wreckage of flesh and blood, and let them fall into the wrong battlefield. Recently, Within three days, every soldier who fell into Ran Dan’s trap died because of your wrong decision.”

Leon said coldly, his lips curved slightly in the suppression of anger, and the arc was like a curved sword. "But after the air defense system was broken, those planets could have..."

"I thought you knew that the surface area that orbital strikes can scorch is limited," Horus said. "How to clean up the aliens hidden underground? Only the Astartes can complete this task. Perturabo also understands this That's why the battle of Hrud is so difficult, Leon!"

"I'm referring to the extermination weapon, Lupekar." Leon's words were softer, and his fingers passed around his waist, where he deliberately did not wear a sword. "Cyclone torpedo, bipolar cyclone torpedo, virus bomb, atomic weapon, atmospheric missile..."

"How many have you brought, Leon?" Horus asked. "Dozens? Hundreds? Do you want to destroy the entire sector? Not even an inch of land is left for the empire? And are your torpedo reserves really enough? Instead of understanding their weaknesses as soon as possible on the periphery, you have to be in the core Are you aiming blindly into space to launch torpedoes at tiny targets within a diameter of twenty kilometers?”

"Excuses, lies," the Lion King sneered, "Nonsense. Don't lie to yourself, Luperkar, all your decisions are based on your stubbornness to save a brother. You pretend to be a vassal and supporter of the Emperor. , but you also covet the frivolous brotherhood and care about what you think in the eyes of others. "

"What about you, Lion? Pretend that you are not one of us, pretend that you don't care about normal friendship? Or you can't get..." Horus could hardly speak at all, and he struggled to put in more severe taunts. Swallowing it back, this made his face, which was always full of vitality and vitality, turn slightly pale, "Or have you been living in barbarism and never received that inspiration?"

Leon squeezed out a sneer that was almost a roar from his lips. "Heh... what exactly do you want, Horus? Do you want the friendship itself, or the satisfaction it brings you? Do you want your brother, or your brother's respect and love?"

"Leon..." Lorgar said softly.

"Are you obeying the Emperor himself? Is your loyalty to the Emperor himself, or to the love your father gave you? Do you respect and love him, or do you respect and love him for the preference he gave you, the kindness he bestowed on you, and your The joy and comfort you get from being his beloved son? Otherwise, why would you disobey him and resent the possibility of his love being transferred?

"From Perturabo and Russ to later brothers, they regarded your sourness as a harmless joke, but I have never understood your mutually contradictory duplicity, Horus Luperkar."

Horus's pupils shrank instantly, as if being penetrated by a terrifying thunderbolt. The anger only rose in a very short moment, and then transformed into bone-crushing shock and some kind of fear.

"You are wary of me, Horus." The Lion King added calmly, "In our first tactical meeting, before I made the suggestion, you wanted to hand over the interrogation work to the Dark Angels. You naturally The earth assigns us tasks and war commanders.

"You know that Perturabo and Aurelion will agree with the responsibilities you assign, but I don't necessarily, so you first show me how Perturabo and Aurelion approve of you, and then leave the last inquiry. Give me."

Horus's hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white from the exertion. Lorgar had never seen Horus look so bad. He was no longer radiant and energetic. The Wolf God turned into a stiff stone statue, stripped of all its bright clothing and jewelry, leaving only his pale marble self.

"Perturabo..." Horus squeezed out a breath from his throat and changed the topic with a wolfish hiss: "I... But you should still listen to what we found, Leon. Chasing the Second Legion... …It’s not a complete lie, we do have clues… Please, Perturabo…”

The lion tilted his head, his blond hair flowing and shiny like a mane. "Please, Perturabo."

"The memories obtained by our soldiers are indeed stored from the Randan aliens, although these memories did not belong to them in the first place."

Perturabo said that during the tit-for-tat conflict between the two Primarchs, he remained as calm as steel, which at this moment was almost the only source of calm in the arena.

"The memories of creatures transformed by Randan's seed will also be absorbed into the Randan alien itself. This is why we found nothing in the remains of the original traitors, and found memories that did not belong to them in the psychic field around the alien. "

"That is to say," Lorgar said, his words like a soft mourning, "the clues to the disappearance of the Second Legion may exist in any Randan alien, or even in themselves..."

The lion's teeth made a clear grinding sound.

"You win," he said coldly, all emotions retracted into his heart, "but I will go to the surface myself and lead the Dark Angels to fight. They will no longer obey your command directly, Horus Lupercal."