Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

"When the City of God travels on earth, it summons fellow travelers from all nations in the world, regardless of laws, systems and virtues. As long as they love Him, it points to the peace in heaven." - "The Book of Lorgar"

Malkadot carried his Skyhawk Scepter and walked into the room where Morse and the Emperor were.

𝟔𝟗𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐱.𝐧𝐞𝐭】

In terms of age and appearance in the secular sense, the Imperial Chancellor is undoubtedly an old man who will be respected in any race and culture, but when he was in the same room with the two people in front of him, he was not sure whether his steps would involuntarily become lighter and his emotions more varied.

Well, he thought, after so many years, he should have admitted that if he did not delve into the experiences and thoughts hidden in the depths of the soul, just from the many superficial phenomena of an individual's existence, he, the seal holder, was the oldest among the few people, and even if Waldo was included, the situation would not change at all.

"How is it?" Malcador walked to the big table and looked down at the endgame on the table. Some of the original chessboard bunkers were destroyed by the two unruly chess players, turning into small piles of dust on the table, flying in the air flow driven by the sleeves.

He noticed that the decorative angel statue in the center of the table was also destroyed, and the golden spiritual energy of the Emperor turned into bits of debris and merged with the dust.

As for the ending of the second Primarch, like the craftsman Morse, the Sigillite also pieced together the whereabouts of the entire Legion as the war progressed.

They all believed that the Emperor knew more, even if the Lord of Mankind far away on Terra might not really know the whole story - but the Primarchs were the only twenty precious creations in the universe, and the Emperor could not erase the existence of any of them for no reason.

At least, according to Malcador's understanding of the Emperor, he still didn't think that a Primarch who was behaving like this now could touch the bottom line of being completely eliminated.

"Now?" Morse turned his head. "According to the Terran calendar, we have just reached the year 854."

The Artisan and the Emperor now stand on either side of the table, leaning against the edge of the table and leaning towards the ongoing battle. The former took a step back, took his hands off the edge of the long table, and ceremoniously moved his fingers to introduce the situation to Malcador.

"Randan suffered a relatively severe blow in the first quarter, mainly led by the Luna Wolves. In the following quarter, they established more reserves and tried to retake the planets captured by the Imperial Fleet without success.

"During this stage, the alien angel families we faced were more flexible and showed obvious behavior of obeying unified dispatch. They are preparing to detour their forces from the west and south to try to attack the defense line built by the Iron Warriors. "

His hand covered the side of the table. There was nothing in the direction he pointed, but Malcador could imagine the war scene at that time. He nodded slightly.

"At the same time, an unexpected angel family intended to set out from the 177-54 area on the northwest side to attack our flank and make an auxiliary assault on the defense line. If they succeed, the two camps of the Iron Warriors will suffer heavy losses, and the central area from 52-61 may become a breakthrough for a roundabout attack on our main force. After removing the intercepting detachment, the entire line of advance and charge will be opened. "

Malcador tilted the scepter towards the table, and the eagle on the tip of the scepter stared at the area pointed by Morse, "The danger has not come."

"Thanks to the news from the Dark Angels. "The Emperor spoke, he pulled the rosewood chair forward a little, sat down slowly, and placed his hands quietly on the table.

"Yes, for strategic needs, Lion El'Jonson still shared with Perturabo the attack signal of Randan that he obtained from his own sources - he even skipped Horus Lupercal and directly contacted the Lord of Iron. "

"Where does their conflict come from?" Malcador sighed, his old face leaning towards the Lord of Mankind, as if he meant something.

The Emperor picked up a retired Luna Wolf chess piece on the low table next to him, fiddled with it in his hands, and carefully observed the painting level of craftsman Morse.

"In short, after the corresponding deployment plan changes, the Iron Warriors are ready to hold on.

"They first strengthened their use of the natural shelters in this system, and then transferred a destroyer fleet from the surrounding area - I know it looks like a fleet of Kratos tanks on this table, and there are also aircraft in the reserve - here referred to as the god Aetos (tos Dios), and concentrated a large amount of firepower on Section 56 to thwart the enemy's strategy in defense.

"Because each Randan Angel family has different characteristics, we cannot calculate the exact enemy configuration, so Perturabo chose a set of the most prudent configuration strategy, first consuming the enemy's attack power, and then switching to the offense to crush the enemy's family group."

"The Iron Warriors have won another victory," said the Emperor, with expected recognition in his words.

"A very reliable legion, isn't it?" Morse couldn't help but smile and nodded to Malcador.

The Imperial Chancellor had to nod in agreement with a silent sigh. In recent years, the craftsman Morse's preference for the Iron Warriors has gradually lost the last bit of cover. Although this is reasonable, it is sometimes a bit sour.

"The Iron Warriors stood firm while the remaining three legions strengthened their firepower deployment in different directions after formulating the training plan. The main force marched to the north. The command post was located in the Vengeful Soul Command Hall, and the deputy commander was designated as Wandering Saint. "Tang," the emperor's lips inevitably showed some unnecessary movements after mentioning the special place inside Lorgar Aurelion's fleet, "The headquarters is designated as the Cheyuan in the rear."

"Anyone who is willing to make military suggestions can submit their ideas to the senior commanders of their respective legions. Finally, they will be integrated by several serving war blacksmiths and then presented to the desktop of the Primarch. The remaining ideas will be stored and kept in files." Sis said that the Luna Wolf chess piece in the Emperor's hand rose quietly under the tug of the golden runes, flew to the table, and joined his companions.

The Emperor did not stop him, but gave him a brief helpless look in return.

"As time went on, the cosmic tide in this star area changed to a certain extent, and both sides once again adjusted and assembled their troops. Another family of Randan Angels appeared, and their awareness of military deployment was stronger, which gave the imperial fleet more strength. The attack brought greater obstacles - not to mention that they were already too deep inside the Ran Dan Empire.

"Whether there is a problem with the supply line, which does not necessarily require Ran Dan's alien action, or a large-scale attack in a certain strategic direction, it may cause part of the military strength to be crushed, and then the advantage of the entire situation will gradually shift to Ran Dan's side. tilt.

"At the same time, through the exchange of information and high-intensity exchanges, our three legions: the Luna Wolves, the Word Bearers and the Iron Warriors, have also discovered the existence of a family of Silver Angels, but have not yet determined the other party's identity. Purpose and behavioral logic.”

Some Silver Angels that were crushed in previous simulations reappeared on the table as phantoms, and were destroyed in the void war with the relentless artillery fire of the Imperial fleet.

This is the most mobile unit on the entire table, but it is also the model with the weakest armor. Even though they seem to be wearing a silver carapace, it later turns out to be just some kind of crystal-like decoration rather than actual protection. A structure.

"Beautiful hapless fellow, huh," Morse shrugged. "Some unkind comparisons come to mind, but I would never describe them in front of you."

"You'd better say so, Morse," the Emperor said.

"Well, I think silver is more pleasing to the eye than the previous gray and yellow paint," Morse replied, "That's what you asked, my lord."

In the shadow of the fallen hood, Malcador assessed Morse's words, trying to discern whether they contained any hidden hints of mercy or intercession.

The attempt failed on his part, and as for the Emperor, the Lord of Mankind simply said: "Your taste is confusing."

Morse shrugged his shoulders, took out a golden-skinned chess piece holding a power hammer, and then a Primarch chess piece with blond hair like a lion's mane, and raised them above the table.

"Lorgar Aurelion approached Leon El'Jonson without hesitation and raised a serious question: The paths of the Dark Angel and Silver Angel should have intersected many times, but why did they never hear from Leon? Heard the wind?

"His questions contained more confusion than questioning, but Leon still appeared deeply offended, and his displeasure aroused Aurelion's dissatisfaction. This time, Horus adjusted the relationship between the two and told They must put the Emperor's will first."

"Horus," the Emperor repeated Horus' name.

"Yes, Horus, he was saddened by Leon's words for half a year, but people have to move forward - oh, sorry, he is the original gene," Morse put down the original chess piece and said Walk around the table until you reach the side of the long table and continue the narrative.

"Leon promised that he would share more information and further stated that this was what he intended to do and was not forced to do so by any Primarch. Regardless, no one ever questioned his abilities or his influence on Keeping his promise, Dark Angel's record, even if full of doubts, still earned him the respect of his brothers."

"After that, battles continued one after another, and the logic of the Dark Angels' behavior changed somewhat - they returned to large-scale legion operations and no longer traveled through the subspace, as if they were affected by some kind of void. Guidelines."

Morse stretched out his hand, drew a new deployment line on the side of the long table, and redeployed all the Dark Angels behind the new deployment line.

A few years ago, during a break from work, he and Magnus finalized the rules of this war chess game and gradually improved them in subsequent updates. And Morse tends to believe that it doesn't hurt to let go of the rules sometimes.

"But they seem to be intending to attack concentrically in a certain direction in order to eliminate a specific family line. The Iron Warriors cooperated with them to establish deep echelon defenses in important directions, and the troops gathered in areas that are more likely to be threatened. "

On the table, as Morse narrated, the Space Marines' chess pieces moved closer and closer to the Randan alien's backfield, and the casualties on both sides became more obvious.

Even though the two chess players are constantly adding more chess pieces to the table through means outside the rules, and using language narration to emphasize the new entry characteristics and different halo abilities of each model unit, next to On the low table, the chess pieces symbolizing the deceased were still accumulating rapidly, overlapping each other and lying in the bright light golden light of the palace.

"This is our current situation, Malcador." Mors bowed politely and exaggeratedly to the Imperial Chancellor, showing that he had completed the task of introduction, and then fell back comfortably into the soft rattan chair, folding his hands. Stacked together, they looked at the new chess players with interest.

Malcador rubbed his scepter with his fingers and sighed softly.

"The chess game continues," the Emperor said, sending his reminder, rising from the rosewood chair and returning to the chess table.

Machado had to take over from Morse. The simulation of the Emperor and Morse's simulation has reached a point close to reality, and the round has reached the fifth round. As for the remaining few decisions, even if he has not received the latest war report, it is not difficult to follow the original body's instructions. It can be inferred from their military strength and character.

Strengthened defense or attack instructions, the use of bunkers on the table, movement, rush, shooting, carefully adjusting the direction of each army, Malcador and the Emperor are focused on this game.

"There are no mission rules," Morse suddenly said, sending a cold reminder casually, "The only chance of winning is to clear all the opponent's armies from the table."

The Prime Minister of the Empire met the eyes of the Lord of Humanity, and then he lowered his scepter against the long table, with the wings of the eagle resting on the edge of the table.

The Chancellor speculated on theories of probabilities and numbers—not just the probabilities of this dice game, but also the probabilities of the Emperor's unique commands.

He didn't think the Emperor would use reinforcements to widen Randan's invasion field, but that would be a mistake. A group of Silver Angels appeared close to the Space Marines without cooperating with the Dark Angels; due to the existence of the one-inch principle, Malcador had to consider how to destroy them in advance.

The best mobile force is the Dark Angels. The Prime Minister pushes a group of Ravenwing motorcycles forward and takes the lives of the Silver Angels.

When he realized what he had done, Malcador couldn't help but raise his head, observing the Emperor's expression.

He found that the other party became more engrossed in watching the situation on the table. His dark fingers with neatly manicured nails are set off by each bright chess piece.

The Emperor stared at this wide tabletop with the Milky Way as the background, and his next decision was still the movement of the Silver Angels - in order to gain the bonus of rapid-fire combos, another group of Silver Angels approached other people on the front line. Randan family, but this also exposed them to the sight of Leon El'Jonson and other legions.

The Silver Angels did not come close to the Space Marines, but they were within six inches of the Dark Angels; if they exploded after death, enough fatal wounds would be suffered by these depleted team members to bury them all together.

What's more...

After a reverse move, Malcador announced another shot at the Silver Angel.

When he made this decision, he found that his heart twitched quietly, but the Dark Angels had already opened fire, burying the evidence of their secret communication with the alien existence in the ion beam in front of the other three legions.

"One step closer to victory, Malcador," Morse said from the side, "eliminate all enemies, respected Prime Minister. I believe this will also be the choice of the Dark Angels. The core is approaching, and it is time to eliminate unnecessary collaborators. After all," he smiled, "they have exchanged fire twice."

Malcador glanced at the middle of the chessboard again, even though there was nothing there... no. There once was a statue of an angel there.

The Emperor abandoned the strict restrictions of large rounds and stages, and more Randan Angels surrounded them from different directions, glaring at the line occupied by the Iron Warriors with their small teams, preparing for the next round of attack. The Silver Angels were also selected from the reserve team and infiltrated into the limited battlefield in no man's land.

Malcador seemed to be able to see the observation and guidance services of the Iron Warriors running around, the defense of the Void Station was organized, and the engineering work was ongoing. Everything was based on precise mathematical calculation models; the legions of the Word Bearers were pouring onto the battle line in large numbers. , while the Luna Wolves and Dark Angels perform every deadly mission.

The universe trembled in silence, explosions roared in nothingness, and the bombardment of heavy artillery and the vibration of engines were like the torrential rain that Terra had not seen in many years, hitting the vast and dark universe.

"Shoot," the Emperor said, and his choice was unexpected by Malcador. "Strength twelve, a group of thirty-six attacks, against Flame Wing."

In the end, the Silver Angel still targeted the Dark Angel.

"My lord?" Malcador asked softly, his expression becoming more serious.

The Emperor looked at him and nodded softly, a smile crossing his face. Under the circumstances, this was cold encouragement.

"Of course they will, Prime Minister," Morse said, holding a paper book and a slender golden pen in his hands without looking up. "Had the Second Legion been willing to be slaughtered, the Silver Angels would never have existed in the first place."

"Go on, Malcador," the Emperor said, his tone so calm, but Malcador had seen the choice that Lion El'Jonson would make - this was undoubtedly what Morse had prepared from the beginning, but the craftsman had handed the final chance to the Sigillite.

"At the beginning of the battle, the Firewing's designated primary targets included the Silver Angels," the Imperial Chancellor said, repeating the military ceremony that Morse had set for the Dark Angels at the beginning of the battle, "so I gain one to hit result."

He then pushed the Firewing team with Lion El'Jonson's model forward, and after an easy charge roll, locked the Silver Angel in close combat.

"At the same time, I gain a boost of one attack," Malcador announced, his voice lowered. "Lion El'Jonson saw the advantage, and he chose to march."

The Emperor raised his hand, and the psychic energy lingered like a trickle, suddenly brushing across the table, wiping out the models of the Silver Angel and the Firewing like flying ash.

"According to the rules, we will perish together." The Emperor said, lowering his eyes.

"My Lord?" Malcador's heart beat faster, a shaky feeling hit his nerves. He opened his mouth and found that his words became less controlled. "Really..."

"Hey, Emperor!" Morse shouted dissatisfiedly, "You can't just turn it into a pile of ashes just because it's not a model you painted with your own hands."

Malcador turned his head and subconsciously looked at the craftsman who had sat up straight in the rattan chair, trying to discern whether Morse was really confused or puzzled, or even some other emotions, or just like him and the Emperor, talking about some topics and joking.

He didn't get an answer. Morse's face did not have any extra expression, and he didn't know when the notebook and pen in his hand were put away.

When the Imperial Chancellor turned his sight again, the wooden chair opposite the long table was empty.