Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

"Trust my brother Perturabo," Horus Lupercal said, "I can't think of anyone who could handle Daven's rebellion more impeccably than him, even though I feel guilty about the unrest there. This shows that the governor I chose has failed in his duty."

The Wolf God placed his hands on a control panel in the strategic hall of the Vengeful Spirit, and the universe of the Draco region rotated under his hands.

In the holographic image, the fleet of the Shadow Moon Wolves was fiercely engaged in a firefight with the giant ship driven by the orcs. The sound of the ship's structure breaking was blocked by the vacuum environment of the universe, but just by looking at the hull of the warship in the image being broken in half, they could almost hear the wailing coming from there.

"Excuse me, my lord, Daven's governor was recommended by Lord Aurelion," said Loken. The Council of Four Kings had just been ordered to go to various places in Vengeful Spirit to complete their respective tasks, so it was his turn to stand beside Horus Lupercal. "Besides, the blame for this turmoil should fall on the traitors, not on us."

"Didn't I approve his nomination?" Horus said. Loken could hear that there was no sarcasm or hint in his gene father's words at this time. Most of his energy was on the complex battle situation in the holographic image, and the small part of his spirit was completely used to be honest about his true thoughts.

"If there is a chance, I should personally execute those traitors instead of letting my brother do it for me." Horus sighed softly with worry.

Davion is a very rare rebel among the planets conquered by the Shadow Moon Wolf.

Loken looked at the fur of the giant beast hanging on Horus' right shoulder.

About sixty years ago, after they completed the last handover in the galaxy, they readily agreed to participate in the local hunt. A real beast was skinned and replaced with the artificial wolf skin that originally decorated the outside of the armor of the Shepherd Wolf God. The Shadow Moon Wolf shouted "Wolf God", and Lupercal could not hide his joy, and all these things were still in front of him.

No one could have guessed when and why the loyalists would betray. This was almost as rare as the orcish technological warlords they were facing at this moment.

"These beasts," Horus snorted.

The second half of his words was said before the Council of Four Kings left the strategic hall: they were not divided into internal levels according to strength, size, bravery and color, but according to technology and wisdom.

To give a simple example, when the mechanical priests calculated that the hit rate of these orcs was more than 75%, instead of the common 30% to 50%, the Shadow Moon Wolves could not believe their eyes.

If Angron had not reminded them before the war that there might be such a unique type of greenskin, their losses would have been even higher - underestimating the enemy's wisdom and technical level would bring immeasurable consequences.

"I think we need to adjust the distribution of the fleet to make up for the weakness of the right wing," Loken reminded faithfully, making suggestions and supplements to the commander's decision-making, which is his current responsibility.

"I know," Horus said, a storm gathering in his sea-green eyes, "I'm waiting..."

He looked at the timer in the sidebar of the projection. The best time for reinforcement was approaching. He believed that his father knew this better than him, but the golden bow of the Emperor's Dream had not yet cut through the dark universe and projected its unimaginable light into this dark and chaotic cosmic environment.

The Emperor had long promised him to join the war, but now he was still late, which seemed to vaguely confirm a catastrophic premonition in Horus' heart.

The Lord of Mankind's heart was not here.

When he greeted the Emperor of Mankind on the bridge of the Spirit of Vengeance and knelt on one knee to the Lord of Mankind he was looking forward to, he felt that the Emperor was taller than usual, but also more tired.

He solemnly invited Horus to hold his hand, and then asked his son to stand up in front of him, and put his golden-armored hand on his son's pearly white armor shoulder, and talked to him about this battle, the dead heroes and the expectations for the future - his eyes fell on the distance, like the golden eagle on the armor, always looking into the distance, and it seemed that he had no time to pay attention to the present.

Horus responded to the Emperor's care, but this hard-won closeness made Horus feel indescribable and intuitive fear.

Some changes are happening to the Emperor of the Galaxy, hidden behind the Emperor's every move, and only those who are most familiar with the Emperor can perceive it.

Tens of thousands of Luna Wolves, mortals watching the bridge through a hundred broadcasts, hundreds of memoirists and preachers, and three hundred loyal golden-armored guards, all gathered around the Emperor, thinking that the victory was certain and the celebration banquet was just around the corner, Horus Lupercal was secretly uneasy and spit on his own uneasiness.

But what does that mean? Horus couldn't help but think.

Has the Emperor no longer cared about him?

Even though he had expected the Emperor's departure from the expedition, it still made Horus feel extremely bitter.

"The Emperor's flagship." Loken reminded quietly and quickly.

In the holographic image, the golden fleet cut a corner of the battlefield, and the light spears woven into a giant net of golden threads, connecting countless exploding fire points, and further cutting one after another of the giant ships transformed by the greenskins into multiple regular sections. Among the fleet, the most conspicuous flagship jumped out of the subspace surrounded by frigates, and the array of artillery fire was activated one by one, pointing directly at the space fortresses built by the greenskins in the planet's orbit and on the surface.

In the scale of the universe, even the largest ork artifacts were nothing more than a speck of dust, torn apart and ripped apart by the explosion, surrendering to the star-destroying firepower of the Emperor's Vision.

"Left wing," Horus ordered, "follow."

--

Many Primarchs, though modest and polite, often believed that their combat skills were among the best, if not the best, and that the only ones who could fight them were their blood brothers.

This was not an illusion, but if any of them had ever seen the Emperor in battle, the last trace of arrogance in their modesty would be blown away by the wind.

In the interval between the swings of the heavy hammer, Horus saw the Emperor's golden armor sweeping through the greenskin battle formation like a storm, burning everything in its path in the destructive wind and fire.

The Emperor crossed from one end of the battlefield to the other, accompanied by thunder, setting fire to the fortifications and weapons factories built by the Orks on the surface of the planet Goron with all the discarded items. The Ork fortresses were defeated and demolished from the outside to the inside. Golden thunder and white lightning passed through the vertical and horizontal, shattering the fortresses, splitting the beast heads, and taking away dozens or even hundreds of enemy lives with one sword and one claw.

Each of his strikes was perfect, faster than Jaghatai Khan, more accurate than Fulgrim, more brutal than Leman Russ, and more courageous than Angron. The existence of the Emperor itself is the cohesion and collection of mankind's wisdom and bravery for tens of thousands of years, and it surpasses the limits that any single person can show.

The armies approached each other further, and the war cries of both sides burned in the fiery atmosphere. The greenskins poured out of the collapsed defenses like boiling thick green foam, and the Shadow Moon Wolves and the supporting Word Bearers went up to fight, following the Emperor's majesty, and the gray and white waves smashed the greenskins' foam.

The explosion of bombs and the shriek of various weapons twisted with the dangerous ion explosions of the greenskins, and the mixed roars also merged into the rumbling tremors that echoed between heaven and earth, like the cracked sky and the collapsed earth, all becoming the accompaniment and soundtrack of the Emperor's battle. The orcs' slashing seemed nothing in front of him, and those roars and screams became the buzzing of mosquitoes. Only the blood flowed more, paving the way for the Emperor's feet.

Horus followed the Emperor's footsteps, and Gastalin followed behind him. Between the screams and explosions, he fixed the Emperor's glory in the corner of his eyes. The Emperor was as heroic as always, even more swift than the many times they fought side by side for more than a hundred years, vowing to end the battle in a few hours.

Was he more anxious than usual? Was he using more power than usual?

A thought flashed through Horus's troubled mind: What was chasing the Emperor on the scale of time?

The army pushed forward and rushed to the front of the fortress. The battle entered a critical period to determine the outcome. The Luna Wolves and the Word Bearers fought against endless greenskins. The brilliance of energy weapons, bombs and cold weapons intertwined, and the situation changed rapidly.

The orc commander analyzed the attacking imperial army in turn. The larger greenskins roared and rushed into the attacking queue from the flank. The bombs rained down on the umbrella, rubbing against its tough skin and the sturdy heavy armor that was pieced together.

Some warriors fell down. Sejanus, who was on the flank, fought back hard to protect his fallen warriors. The sword light tore through the thick armor of the greenskins, and the enemy's blood turned into charcoal and fell from the tip of the knife. The members of the Glory Squad who were guarding each other's backs were dragged to the ground by more greenskins.

Then, Sejanus suffered a heavy blow on the back of his neck. He staggered forward one step. In a flash, the second attack of the greenskins was brought by a boulder-like heavy fist, knocking him to his knees.

"No!" Horus shouted, his voice as if torn apart.

However, it was too late. Hastur Sejanus, the symbol of the crescent moon in the Council of Four Kings, was knocked away by the greenskins and hit hard on the surface of the container, making a dent in the iron sheet. The giant greenskin's ugly face showed a cunning smile. Sejanus, with blood on his hands, raised his gun to fight back. The bullet hit the greenskin's checkered thick armor and made ripple-like dents.

Horus used his armor to resist the enemy's attack and ran desperately towards Sejanus.

A shadowy black light passed over his shoulder, traversed a hundred meters, and came through the air, piercing the alien's blood and flesh, and went straight to the giant claws swinging the axe.

In an instant, the dark ball of light exploded on the spot, starting with the dark green claws, and then suddenly expanded, engulfing the orc's arms and even shoulders into the black hole-like energy ball. Cracks like broken glass instantly spread all over the orc's body. The huge body was torn into pieces under the strong gravity and exploded into blood foam mixed with black mist.

The Shepherd Wolf God had no time to think about where this unprecedented power came from.

Horus crossed the black mist, grabbed Cyjanus's hand, and protected his favorite warrior between the bomb and the giant hammer. Cyjanus struggled to stand up, panting, and his right arm fell weakly, maintained in shape by the muscle corset and armor.

"Father," he whispered, "I can continue to fight."

"Until my last breath?" Horus whispered, then laughed, picked up a fallen power sword from the ground, and threw it to Cyjanus.

The Moon Wolf caught it with his backhand: "Until my last breath."

"For the Emperor!" Horus roared, ending this short conversation.

For the Emperor, until his last breath. That had been his first thought the moment he had reunited with the Emperor on Kosonia. And it would be his last thought if his body and soul were to perish.

Sejanus reminded him, and Horus concentrated on the battle at hand, unleashing the Primarch's innate talents. The sensory wave of battle washes through the portholes like a curtain of rain, sweeping away dust and distracting thoughts.

The fortress on the ground collapsed under the impact of the imperial army. The golden fire wrapped around the emperor's body became more powerful, and the black light just now seemed like an illusion.

Then, the sharp blade of the giant sword in his hand suddenly penetrated the earth. The vast plains paved with iron filings cracked under the terrifying force. The plates oscillated. The continental shelf disintegrated and cracked with a wail. Thousands of meters of space waste gathered and compressed the earth's crust. The whole thing was penetrated in just a few seconds, and the orc power furnace that drove the planet emitted a fierce orange-red light, like the blazing sun built into the planet, losing the restraints of the earth's crust and expanding dangerously outward.

Horus marveled at the Emperor's seemingly improved power, until he saw the Emperor turning back to look at him from a distance. The cold absolute belief in those dark eyes overcame the suppressed patience that replaced the Lord of Mankind, and also Like an arrow of ice piercing the brow of Horus.

The next moment, he saw the Emperor leaping into the rift.

Horus Luperkar no longer knew where he was, his body chasing the afterglow of the Emperor's remains on the surface before his will.

Some icy fragments pierced his armor, the burning of the fire was like cold wind blowing through his arms, roars and howls blew past his ears, and he walked in the opposite direction. He was unaware of anything but the dark chasm into which the Emperor had jumped.

He fell downwards, and then realized that he was chasing the Emperor's traces. His gauntlets buckled into the molten iron cliff, and then he realized that the bolt gun above the back of his hand was missing. He hit the platform with chaotic gravity and ever-changing , only to realize that his fall has reached a painful end.

Then, he saw a dark scorching sun, excessively venting and swaying its power, almost deliberately consuming excess energy.

The dark halo violently tore apart the complex inner steel structure piece by piece, and even the leaping ion fire turned into the nourishment of the black light, nurturing the aura of power that expanded like the solar wind. Several orcs who were as tall as the original body, or even bigger, were all annihilated in this primitive darkness.

Fear expands infinitely in a limited space, just like the night before human beings were born: the precursor of destruction lurks in the depths of the infinite night, wrapping around the ancestors of mankind who lived in dark caves. At any moment, it will Possibly devouring everything it can, to the point where nothing can be destroyed.

Horus looked for the Emperor's figure. His fear outweighed all the physical pain caused by his fall. He knew that the Emperor was here. He watched him fall. He could not appear anywhere else. A place where harm is impossible...

He felt his breath existing in the core of the black sun, standing still and waiting.

Horus stepped forward and fell into darkness. His vision was useless. He stretched out his hands and grabbed all the debris, metal and rocks that he could use to fix himself, and moved towards the direction he believed in. All the thoughts and doubts in the entire battle were meaningless. All he needed to do was to find the Emperor. Without any worries and at any cost, he would hold the Emperor's hand until his last breath——

His fingertips touched a layer of cold flames, instantly wiping out his gauntlets. He continued to search forward until his hands burned by the fire landed on the surface of something with patterns.

At first, there was no reaction from the thing, and Horus grabbed hold of it eagerly. "Father," he almost whimpered, groping for whatever he touched. "Father."

After an almost infinitely prolonged period of despair, an ice-like hand covered the back of Horus' hand and patted it gently.

"My son," the Emperor sighed, seeming to wake up.

Then, from the point where Horus and his hands intertwined, the outline of his majestic body began to reappear in the darkness, like a pure white crayon painted on black paper, first a rough simple structural line, and then gradually deepening details.

Finally, the glowing golden color condensed into shape, and the emperor's ancient face emerged with endless black light, casting a complex look at Horus. There seemed to be relief and touch, but there was no joy. This made Horus So heartbroken.

The darkness began to draw back, and the rotating shadows retreated between the rolling curtains, and once again escaped into the sinister depths of infinite mystery and evil.

The core of the entire planet has been hollowed out by this dark force, the planet has turned into a hollow polymer, and everything has begun to cool, as if the entire world has reached the sad end of its limited lifespan.

"Let us leave, father," Horus said hoarsely, tracing the Emperor's outline with his eyes amid the dizziness of the world.

"Horus..." the Emperor murmured, "you..."

A rush of heat rushed to Horus Luperkar's cheeks, anticipating the emotion the Emperor was about to utter, whatever it might be.

"No, these are all my obligations." He said hurriedly. "That's my job."

Until my last breath. He thought silently in his mind.

Whether you are favored or valued, these have all turned into ridiculous and childish worries after the recent crisis. His allegiance was to the Emperor, not to the glory the Emperor bestowed upon him. He wanted attention from someone other than the Emperor: he only wanted good things for him.

The Emperor lowered his eyes, then tightened his grip on Horus' hand.

Horus knew this meant the Emperor had made a decision of great importance. He could read the Emperor's expression. In the years they had spent together, he had learned how to interpret every unfinished word of the Emperor.

"Your will will be my will," he said firmly.

The Emperor looked up and looked at him.

"Good," said the Lord of Mankind.