Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

When the Midnight Ghost led the heirs who had just reunited with him, they were cleaning out the remnants of the past on Nostramo.

When the most elite warriors in the Dawnbreaker Legion gathered on the Dawn Goddess, they did their best for the extremely glorious burdens beside the Gene Mother.

When Dantioch led his battle brothers, he personally laid the foundation of a giant fortress complex in the desert of Chaguarsa, a remote and desolate border world, and planned the remaining fifty miles along the entire tax road. At the time of the defense systems of multiple imperial worlds.

The huge shadow named [Predator Furnace] finally appeared outside the eastern border of the human empire: more than twenty outposts scattered on the edge of the galaxy reported one after another in less than five days. The whereabouts of this monstrous heretical forging world.

In addition, between the Milky Way frontier controlled by the Human Empire and the outer ring of the Milky Way known as the "Outer Territory Darkness" area, countless outposts and patrol fleets scattered throughout are also continuously sending back various kinds of messages. This kind of invasion alarm reports various enemy situations: Ulan Huda's invasion is like a cannon shot on a dead battlefield: it is by no means lonely, but a symbol of the long, bloodthirsty and madness that follows. symphony of war.

And the first syllable of this war symphony happened on the edge of the Salamas Sector. On a small world called Stygia IV: Originally, this world was just a desolate and huge dark rock. Before the ships of the Human Empire arrived, there was only an extremely declining human colony, trapped in the long night of the Age of Strife. Got here.

This world undoubtedly swore allegiance to the Lord of Mankind under the banner of the double-headed eagle, and became an outpost of the Empire placed on the edge of the galaxy in exchange for supplies and military protection to continue to survive.

In the following period, only a few observers were stationed there, ruling the local colony, and constantly observing the supernatural threats outside the galaxy with fear: until rumors of Ulan Huda's impending invasion spread throughout the world. Salamas has only a few dozen Iron Warriors stationed at the actual eastern border of the human empire.

Perturabo's descendants took over all the rule and built a small but sturdy castle here, as well as a helipad larger than the entire colony.

These two buildings soon demonstrated their role: on the last day of Conrad's Nostramo purge, the remaining midnight dignitaries were methodically driven to the fortress in the desert. , while executing people one by one, [Stygia 4], as an outpost, finally observed the behemoth that appeared at the edge of the galaxy.

The rumors are true: at the junction of civilization and darkness, the metal body of the [Predator Forge] tore apart the veil of the High Sky, and its blasphemous engine capable of leaping in the subspace ignited a fire that could illuminate the entire world. The beacon of the galaxy, this unrivaled predator came from the dark direction outside the territory. As for its destination, there is no doubt that it is the Thalamas sector that has just been put into the emperor's command.

And just as the observers and residents on [Stygia 4] fell into a moment of extreme panic because they witnessed this apocalyptic existence, the local steel warriors were also carrying out their tasks in an orderly manner: Most of these Astartes warriors are young people. Less than ten of them are old people who came from the Fourth Legion, and the rest are all new blood recruited in Avalon. This is also A common situation among the [6,000] Iron Warriors troops active in the Salamas sector.

Most of these newcomers of the Fourth Legion have just completed training, and possess more outstanding courage and completely different behavior styles than Perturabo's legion.

The young warriors, under the leadership of their experienced commander, quickly divided into three groups and began to act simultaneously.

The soldiers in the first group quickly reported the enemy's invasion to many outposts and military bases further back, and ordered everything that could be used in the colony: such as weapons, vehicles, and even semi-permanent equipment. The large machinery was demolished at an incredible speed and loaded onto the transport aircraft. After completing this, they still had enough time to transport the residents' property, and they took the most careful records.

The second group had the largest number of people: according to the roster in their hands, they gathered all the mortals in the entire colony, whether they were officials of the empire or local residents, and sent them to the station parked in orbit one by one. The transport ship, the parking lot that was larger than the entire city, played the greatest role at this moment, ensuring that everyone could be sent away in one batch.

Under the combined effect of the threat of the huge enemy and the kindness and authority established by the Iron Warriors over the years, the retreat even went smoother than the demolition operation, and an Iron Warriors pharmacist was able to leave himself Plenty of time to perform a caesarean section on a mortal pregnant woman in labor in the transport ship, allowing the newly born baby to take one last look at his hometown.

While the two teams responsible for demolition and evacuation were busy in full swing, the third team, which had the smallest number but was also the bravest, seized the time and launched a long-planned great plan.

After observing the [Predator Furnace] appearing at the edge of the galaxy, this team quickly boarded the lightest spaceship and arrived at the center of the galaxy, the most massive and conspicuous Stygia 1: During the few years they were stationed, the Iron Warriors were not trapped in that small colony. They also built a huge castle in this deserted wasteland world, and even installed corresponding void shields and Automatic weapons, even when no one is stationed, can still carry out feigned resistance here.

Before Ulan Huda's iron hooves officially arrived, these brave men came to this city of lies, activated the automatic defense system in an orderly manner, and also released false signals to attract predators here, and then again In the shadow of the heretical forging world that was about to swallow up Stygia No. 1, he escaped in a thrilling way.

But they did not run far, because the long efforts and thrilling actions were only for the next moment: the ships of this group of Iron Warriors were hiding in the shadows in the distance, while reporting Ulan in real time to the two evacuating troops. Huda's actions were to cover the evacuation of friendly forces. On the other hand, he took out the best recording equipment and began to accurately record the attack methods of [Predator Furnace] on other worlds.

After all, although the [Predator Furnace] is famous in many worlds in the Far East, no one knows how this so-called heretic forging world has swallowed up other worlds. The empire is completely unaware of this enemy that is about to invade. They know nothing: Therefore, the Iron Warriors are very sure that what they are recording now will be the intelligence the empire needs most when it resists this invading enemy.

Therefore, while the descendants of Perturabo were delighted with the good news that all friendly forces and residents of the colony had successfully evacuated, they began to record the scene in front of them with great excitement: After all, they are soldiers of the Fourth Legion. In their blood, It flows with the divine will of construction, steel and destruction.

For these born builders and destroyers, what could be better than witnessing a world driven entirely by metal, using the most thorough and violent means to destroy and even "devour" another world? What makes them feel excited?

A [Metal Planet] that has undergone the most thorough transformation, able to roam at will in the galaxy, and use super huge metal instruments to completely crush and devour other worlds: Come on, although this [Predator Furnace] is indeed a need A terrifying opponent that was completely defeated, but it was also really cool, okay?

Thoughts like this have completely enveloped the minds of these brave steel warriors. Although they are now within the range of Ulan Huda and once discovered, there is no possibility of survival at all, but this cannot extinguish their hearts at all. The blazing fire: Being able to witness the existence of such a great miraculous creation while fulfilling your duties, even if you are shattered into pieces, it is completely worth it.

Now, even if they die, it will definitely be worth the price of admission.

However, the lives of these brave men are not in danger after all: because their hard work on Stygia 1 has received the most perfect response at this moment, with the huge void shield, fierce automatic defense firepower, And the solid fortress on the surface completely deceived Ulanhuda.

The heirs of Perturabo have never understood the meaning of being short of weight. During the past few years of their stay, they have indeed used a lot of building materials and time to build a building that can accommodate hundreds of people. A solid city with tens of thousands of people, as well as all the facilities needed for a civilized world, and even countless fake and real human projections placed on the streets to serve as props for their big lie.

It can be said. In addition to having no real inhabitants, Stygia One is more in line with the standards of a civilized world than most worlds in the Empire.

And this delicious existence naturally attracted all of Ulan Huda's attention. The Hungry Star has been fleeing in the darkness and ghoul stars outside the territory for too long, and its endless desire to eat has destroyed its little rationality. .

The remaining Iron Warriors witnessed a grand massacre in excitement and trembling. They saw it with respect: just the approach of Ulan Huda had already caused the huge imperial world to begin to fall apart, not to mention those Cutting beams with a diameter of several kilometers gathered in units of thousands, cutting the entire continent in an instant, as well as the swarm of physical drones that could compete with the fleet, and the kilometers-thick external armor on the surface of the predator. , all show that this is an opponent that requires at least one legion of Astartes to deal with it seriously in order to fight against it.

The descendants of Perturabo recorded all this, until the predator opened its big mouth and swallowed up the entire world, and soon fell into an infinite world because there was no trace of biological energy on it. When they were furious, these brave men made a blind subspace jump at the fastest speed on the eve of the swarms of physical drones looking for them.

With the blessing of the Emperor, the place where they reappeared was not far from Salamas. Except for a few unlucky ones who suffered mental trauma during the jump, the rest of them could immediately accept their rewards.

Before they made the jump, this priceless real-time projection had been conveyed to the desks of the two Primarchs through the advanced instruments they carried in advance, and to those who were conducting the mission in Nostramo. A huge fleet assembled for battle.

——————

[And this is why I can tell you all this here. 】

Morgan put down the data tablet and looked out the porthole. At this time, the boundless void was illuminated by the light emitted by an entire fleet, allowing people to clearly see the hundreds of endless Man-machine and small ships are constantly transporting manpower and supplies among the huge capital ships: everything heralds the arrival of a long expedition.

"Since it's the last day of the Nostramo Purge..."

Standing behind her mother, Virgo was writing furiously to record all this, and at the same time she was mumbling to herself, calculating other times and events.

"In other words, all of the above happened: from our perspective, about sixteen hours ago?"

【Yes. 】

The original body nodded, and she placed the data tablet on the pile of data tablets at hand: the height of these letters or intelligence was as high as the desk in front of Morgan, and they were all Requests for help and warnings came from various outposts or military bases in Salamas.

[About ten hours ago, the governor of Salamas Prime sent me a letter asking for help, and after him, within these ten hours, I received at least two hundred reports of investigation or requests for help. . 】

[From Ordus in the north to Pradis in the south, the entire Salamas sector is under attack from unknown enemies: in addition to Ulan Huda, there are countless terrifying evil species from the darkness outside the territory. . 】

[For example, the barbaric Toruk, they are inferior cousins ​​of the Ogryn barbarians, coming from a colony that is unwilling to surrender to the empire, as well as the ogre army of Glabro, and the psychic warriors of the lost moon Tex, Even a little bit of Clough's alien...]

"..."

"Do you mean: This is most likely to be a large-scale joint invasion from the darkness outside the territory, led by Ulan Huda? Then we need to mobilize the power of the entire Far East border, mother."

[Don’t be so nervous, Anya. 】

The Primarch laughed, and the ease in her laughter silenced Virgo.

[It is not a joint invasion, just a spontaneous action: the extraterritorial dark frenzy covering the entire Salamas has no unified command. They are nothing more than a group of garbage fighting on their own, and they are even life-and-death opponents. , the reason why they chose this time to attack together was because they had previously relied on the power of Ulan Huda to seek benefits for themselves while the empire was concentrating all its efforts on dealing with the predator furnace. 】

"Is it like those dark Ada who always like to take advantage of others?"

【Yes. 】

The primarch nodded.

[Actually, I had anticipated all this a long time ago: Remember, my Aniya, the Emperor once launched an expedition to the dark area outside the territory from the Salamas sector, intending to conquer the alien Krala. The expedition to Lady's Lightless Lair did end in victory, but the Emperor did not systematically eliminate all threats in the darkness outside the territory, but instead completely disrupted the delicate order inside. 】

[The fall of the overlord Mrs. Krala has prompted the darkness outside the territory to enter a new stage of reshuffle, and this invasion is just the inevitable result of chaos after decades of continuation: people like Ulan Huda or these invading villains are all They are losers who can no longer live in the darkness outside the territory and have to march towards the empire. I have already foreseen their existence. After all, this chain reaction is a matter of course. 】

[And this is also the reason why I sent the Iron Warriors to carry out large-scale construction in the entire Salama sector ten years in advance: relying on the mortal auxiliary army of the Salama sector, that is, the Salama Night Watch Legion, it is comparable to With the powerful combat power of the Sun Auxiliary Army, the fortress built locally by the Iron Warriors, and the support troops I dispatched, Salamas is enough to defeat any opponent except Ulan Huda on its own, and even if there is The enemies they couldn't defeat were just making me make one more trip. 】

"In other words, as long as we concentrate our efforts to solve Ulan Huda, the remaining invaders will be nothing more than a thing of the past: Is this also the reason why you only gathered a few thousand troops?"

[Yes, after all, they will play the leading role in the Ulanhuda Crusade, but what about Conrad and his Eighth Legion: My brother finally selected those who he The unsatisfied heir, he now needs a reasonable opportunity to let some future hidden dangers disappear in the flames of war in a reasonable way. 】

[You know, this brother of mine has never been a gentle person. 】

"Indeed, with the current combat effectiveness and form of the Night Lords Army, a frontal attack on a heretical forge world will only be a tragic victory: but, mother, we cannot let this victory come too costly. , otherwise it will be very detrimental to His Excellency Conrad’s future rule.”

【I know……】

The primarch nodded.

[Otherwise, do you think, why should I let Conrad set off first? 】

"……How to say?"

[I contacted another group of people, a group of my friends. 】

The primarch laughed.

[I contacted those forging worlds that are scattered across the Far Eastern frontier and have maintained close cooperation with me, asking them to bring their own strength to participate in this expedition and jointly conquer Ulan Huda. 】

"Will they...be willing?"

【……】

The original body glanced at her maid, and her next words seemed very frivolous.

[I told them that I will not join this battle, and naturally I will not take any loot. 】

[So, Ulan Huda, this person who came from Mars, survived for so long among the ghoul stars full of various heretical technologies, mastered such blasphemous technology, and the casting of ancient alien technology The world: All the wealth on it that is worth using, as well as the instruments that can be redeemed, will naturally belong to the warriors who knock it down. 】

[As for how much you can get: Of course, it depends on how much contribution the warriors made when killing this evil dragon. 】

"..."

"This...is sharing the stolen goods at once?"

[This is a covenant. 】

Morgan smiled dignifiedly.

【We can call it...】

【Midnight Covenant. 】

"..."

"Strange name, Mother."

[From Conrad. 】

The original body stroked his cheek: when he mentioned the midnight ghost, the Lord of Avalon's pupils always shone with a different light.

[However, when Conrad said the name. 】

[He does smile... intriguingly. 】