Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Do you feel like the air is getting muggy around here, Polux?"

"I can feel it, Dantioch, the instruments are showing a high temperature signal ahead."

"It's those Hruds, they're coming up again: there are still frightening numbers."

"Yeah, I can't kill them all no matter what."

The War Blacksmith was not sure whether his emotion contained fear, but he knew that it definitely contained embarrassment: this embarrassment came not only from worry about the current war situation, but also from the few explosive bomb reserves left in his hand.

Not only Dantioch himself, but also the warriors under the War Blacksmith, the Imperial Fists around him, as well as the Dawnbreakers and their mortal auxiliaries stationed on the other front, have all fallen into this dilemma.

They had to carefully calculate the bombs in their hands. Even the artillery support from the rear had changed from indiscriminate bombing at the beginning to accurate strikes now. Only the fleet fire support in low-Earth orbit was still functioning normally.

Frankly speaking, Dantioch had not encountered this kind of situation for a long time, and he even felt a little uncomfortable: although as an Iron Warrior he should be used to this, but he was no longer a pure Iron Warrior.

Although the Warsmith was an Olympian, one of the first warriors to follow his genetic father Perturabo into the galaxy, during his more than sixty years in the service of the Imperium of Man, Dantioch had The time he served on the frontier far exceeded the years he fought in the Iron Warriors fleet.

The brand of Avalon is deeply engraved in his soul. He has become accustomed to abundant logistic reserves and powerful mortal auxiliary allies. He is also accustomed to abandoning worthless fortresses or rescuing people in danger at all costs. Masses in Danger: Although he still retains the careful planning and coordination he developed from the Iron Warriors days, in fact, he has not worried about logistics for a long time.

But not now: Although the Lord of Avalon's dispatch was still timely and reliable, they rushed too far forward and had already exceeded the effective supply range, and could only passively fall into the dilemma of lack of ammunition and ammunition.

It is very difficult to quickly adapt to this change on the battlefield, especially since this war is definitely not an easy one. The only thing that makes the War Blacksmith feel lucky is that, just as the Spider Queen promised him: to team up with him This Imperial Fist is indeed an ally worthy of his trust wholeheartedly.

The Warsmith didn't want to admit it, but the son of Dorne did win the respect and trust of Dantioch as quickly as any Iron Warrior he knew: he and the man named There seems to be some kind of innate understanding among the warriors of Polux.

Whether it was the same silent character and pragmatic style, or the tactical habit of quickly setting up a defense line after capturing an enemy fortress, they looked at each other with a bit of surprise: Soon, this This astonishment turned into recognition and appreciation.

Although they had almost no extra conversation except for necessary tactical discussions along the way. This is a common feature of the Imperial Fist and the Iron Warriors, but when they join forces and lead their respective teams, in this world After fighting for six hours, and jointly breaking through more than thirty fortresses, defense lines, and tactical targets, both the two company commanders, as well as the officers and soldiers under their command, seemed to have developed a tacit understanding.

It was so fast: so fast that the Warsmith couldn't believe it.

Whether it was the Imperial Fists under Polux who were better at conducting assault operations, or the Iron Warriors under Dantioch who were better at building defense lines, they all found themselves meeting the most suitable comrades.

After capturing the enemy's defense line, Polux and his warriors will switch to a defensive position and use the most determined resistance to buy enough time for the Iron Warriors to take over and repair the enemy's defense line.

Then, without even the need for special introductions from the Sons of Perturabo, the Dornish warriors were able to move freely in the fortresses of the Fourth Legion, as if these fortresses were built by their own hands.

The Iron Warriors were shocked by this, but they didn't know that the same feeling of consternation was also circulating among the Seventh Legion: The warriors of Polux carefully observed the Iron Warriors' fortresses, only feeling that they were from the strongest of the Seventh Legion. The hands of a good fortress architect, rather than a friendly force that had previously had no cooperation.

In this way, when they had to defend the Hrud offensive, the Imperial Fists and Iron Warriors fought side by side in the fortress: if they were only separated, they could at most resist an alien army twice their size, but when they were stationed in With one piece, this number will increase at least three to five times.

And when the battle turns to attack, the ferocious Iron Warriors can also allow the Imperial Fists' flanks to have no worries. Even if the warriors of Dantioch are at the forefront, they will receive full support from Polux and others. , or even proactive post-work.

A wonderful tacit understanding was established between this constant switching of offense and defense. No legion was the leader of this pair, but the warriors loyal to the two genetic fathers gradually became a small team. , a few hours later, became a complete joint force on the map: on this battlefield with clear barriers, such a scene can be called a spectacle.

Everyone in this joint force was vaguely aware of one thing: there seemed to be some kind of close connection between the Imperial Fists and the Iron Warriors, a bond that did not originate from blood, but was extremely strong. Brotherhood.

The warriors silently accepted this unexplored friendship: the Imperial Fists had no ill feelings towards the Iron Warriors, and they soon began to appreciate this group of partners who worked well together, and Sara under Dantioch The Maas are not the kind of bitter and resentful sons of Perturabo. They don't even mind that the soldiers of the Seventh Legion always take the honor of [attacking first].

Faced with this kind of brotherhood that spread rapidly in silence, the two top officers of the company, who were originally wary and testing each other, fell into a delicate situation: Dantioch and Polux initially embraced each other. Some kind of brave and cruel people wanted to lead their troops to overwhelm the opponent, but when they saw the various teams gradually mixed together on the map, silence occupied the entire temporary command room.

Originally, these two competing commanders did not want to stay together, but they soon discovered that if they commanded separately, the efficiency would become extremely low, so a temporary command room was built in this way. In the alien fortress previously captured by the joint forces, out of the principle of fairness, there was a legion soldier stationed outside the door.

The two gatekeepers had obviously fought side by side for a long time in the previous battle, because through the weak door, the war blacksmith could hear the sounds outside clearly: he heard the voice of Salamasi under his command. The new recruit is enthusiastically looking for a common topic with the Imperial Fist beside him.

Although the Sons of Dorne did not always reply to his words, often the Iron Warriors would say four or five sentences before the warriors of the Imperial Fists would reply to one of them, but they were indeed chatting: because the Sons of Dorne really In his own way, he answered every question from the Iron Warrior slowly but seriously.

But the chat between the new friends made their immediate superiors even more embarrassed. The War Blacksmith and the Captain of the Imperial Fist could only stare at the map in front of them, marking in silence their previous combat locations and possible enemies in front of them. position, and the only team rushing in front of them, the elite Seventh Legion led by Dorn, the primarch of the Imperial Fist. Their positions were highlighted on the map.

"It's not a good position."

The War Blacksmith pressed down the last stone nail for the blueprint work, and quickly spoke to the Imperial Fist opposite him: He pointed to where Dorne was stationed at the moment.

"It's really not a good location."

Polux just nodded, and his finger slowly drew a circle on the sand table around Dorn's team. Within the circle, apart from their combined force, there were only two Imperial Fists companies that could move quickly. , but there are more than thirty ugly chess pieces symbolizing the Hrud people.

"These two companies of the Imperial Fists are under great pressure, and the enemies in front of us are no less than them. Obviously, the Hrud want to surround Lord Dorne, and if they want to launch a large-scale rescue operation , it will take at least half an hour: only the Emperor knows what will happen in this half hour."

Polux frowned. Although he was not worried that his genetic father would make mistakes due to emotional impulsiveness and other reasons, he also knew very well that Dorne was not someone who would choose to retreat easily: that is to say, he The chance of being surrounded by the Hrud was not small, and when he thought about the terrifying ability of those aliens to make the Astartes warriors age and die just by getting close, the Captain of the Imperial Fist felt worried.

After all, no one knew whether this ability would have any effect on the Primarch.

"We must move closer to Lord Dorn's troops immediately. If the two companies behind him are suppressed by the Hrud, we are the one most likely to provide timely support among all the teams: even for the most critical reason. Even the slightest possibility must be nipped in the bud.”

Polux's huge palm slapped hard on the sand table, causing almost all the chess pieces to fall to the ground. Dantioch raised his hand and asked the Captain of the Imperial Fist to calm down. Then, another move from the War Blacksmith One hand pointed to a corner on the sand table that was deliberately ignored by all of them.

"I think you missed one point, brother. Our company is not the only one that can support Lord Dorne now: in fact, we are not the team closest to Lord Dorne. Look here."

He poked his finger on the sand table, and there was an unshakable gray chess piece there, which was the unique symbol of the Lord of Steel.

"My genetic father, Lord Perturabo's team, is the closest to Lord Dorn's team: although they chose two completely opposite landing locations at the beginning of the war, as the battle line advanced, they finally The strategic goals are the same, so the distance between them is actually not that far.”

"If Lord Perturabo can support Lord Dorne, he will be the most powerful and fastest force on the entire battlefield: at least two to three times more efficient than us."

"Are you sure he will do this?"

In front of Dantioch, Polux did not hide his doubts at all.

"..."

The war blacksmith was silent for a moment. He really couldn't make a guarantee in this regard.

"Then, how do you know whether your original body will encounter any danger?"

"this is very simple."

Polux coughed slightly.

"As you can see, Lord Dorn's team is followed by two companies used for rearguard work, and they themselves also carry another mission: once they lose contact with the original body's troops, then they will A signal flare will be released into the sky immediately to notify all companies and fleets in low-Earth orbit of the situation."

"Flare?"

"Yes, it looks like a signal flare. At least it can emit..."

"boom--"

Before Polux finished speaking, an unprecedentedly violent cannon shot, perhaps coming from dozens or hundreds of kilometers away, penetrated the wall and blasted through the eardrums of the two commanders, followed closely by the thunder. Yes, it is a strange scene that attracts everyone's attention in the distant sky: the red smoke is like a wall of clouds swept by the wind. In the blink of an eye, it fills most of the sky. Through the window, it covers the backs of the two warriors and most of the room. , all dyed a deep blood red.

"Blood red light..."

"..."

"..."

For a moment, the entire headquarters was eerily quiet. Although the war blacksmith was facing away from the window and did not see what the source of the blood-red color looked like, he could only see the gradually distorted image of Polux on the opposite side of the desk. , crazy and anxious face, the son of Perturabo understood what was happening.

Just before the Captain of the Imperial Fist rushed out of the door and roared to summon all the troops, Dantioch, knowing that he could not stop him, turned around and took out a long-dusted communication from the package he carried. appliance.

As he said before: Only one person can save it all now.

That is……

——————

"Lord Perturabo."

"You have created another miracle."

The sound of praise rang in my ears. Ice blue eyes captured all the destruction and death in sight: nothing could make the Lord of Steel feel more joyful than the sum of these two. He glanced at Minato with a smile. The sycophants around him.

He recognized it. It was Berossus, the war blacksmith of the second battalion. He had temporarily taken over Frix's duties. He was one of the very few war blacksmiths who had worked for decades at a stretch.

"It's the simplest thing and it's the duty that every one of me has."

"it's not a big deal."

The original body threw a cold admonishment to his heir, but he did not hide the pride and smile on his face: Berossus resigned wisely, knowing that his genetic father wanted to enjoy this moment of happiness alone. , and all the happiness comes from the doomsday scene at the front of the battle line that destroys the world.

The Iron Warriors watched silently.

The secret weapon developed by Perturabo was very effective. In fact, the effect was even better, because several teams deployed at the front were also affected by this ruthless destroyer. Their situation was only It's just a little better than those Hrud people who were destroyed in ashes, and they can barely be saved.

As for all the aliens within the killing range, perhaps millions of them, they are not so lucky: Perturabo's weapon does not appear to be lethal to the naked eye, because it is against the laws of physics itself and When the trump card of the soul realm was dropped into the center of the fortress created by the Hrud, there was neither a collapse of the sky nor a raging fire, only an invisible wave of destruction that could be sensed by all psykers in the world. , sweeping across dozens of hive-sized areas of land in twenty seconds.

This wave only had one wave, and it only lasted for more than ten seconds, but in the short period of time it exerted force, it completely changed the logic of the time force field of the Hrud people, making them unable to avoid it. In addition to the corrosive ability of the years on the language itself and its compatriots, coupled with the tactical tradition of these aliens' massive human seas, it goes without saying that in just ten seconds, the bloody massacre was greater than that of the entire empire. Expeditionary Force, the sum total of all the struggles of the past few months.

The Lord of Steel even specially designed the volatilization effect of this bomb into a flat rectangle, so as to ensure that the bomb can only destroy the aliens in front of him, but will not affect those in front of Dorn.

In this way, countless Hrud aliens and the entire hive fortress collapsed. Under their proud abilities, the crowded and dirty flesh and blood turned into thick juice in an instant, until thousands of Wan's corpse was cut down in pieces like overripe wheat, until the majestic fortress, which merged with the entire mountain range and made orbital bombardment helpless, could no longer attack Perturabo and his steel. Warriors, pose even a slight threat.

The Lord of Olympia knew that after he overturned this last obstacle, the Hrud people's command center in the Kraken Abyss would be exposed in front of his troops, and he would personally win the final victory of this expedition.

Now, just order.

Dorne will lose.

…

And that's exactly what he's planning to do.

The Lord of Steel sneered.

But just before he said this command, the scarlet light radiated half of the sky, bringing an ominous omen. Although the Lord of Steel did not know what it meant, he still lowered his arm seriously , because he noticed that it was the direction of Dorne.

Dorne...

What is that bastard doing?

Perturabo did not wonder for too long, because less than a minute later, Dantioch's communication came over: the war blacksmith had never taken advantage of this privilege before, but now, he was across the This communicator, which symbolized love and trust, began to go straight to his genetic father.

"Father, I think Lord Dorne may have encountered trouble: Did you also see that blood-red light? But the signal used by the Imperial Fist to ask for help, Lord Dorne encountered the real main force of the Hrud people. , his personal guards are likely to have been surrounded."

"I'm not surprised by this..."

The Lord of Steel snorted coldly.

"So, Dantioch, why are you sending me this report?"

"Do you want to celebrate that I am going to win this game? Or do you hope that I will give up the pitiful victory and turn my head to support Dorne? You must know that I will soon take the throne of the Hrud people. It’s in hand.”

"But you are about to lose one of your blood brothers, my lord."

Dantioch's voice was neither humble nor arrogant, and his calmness and straightforwardness even surprised the Lord of Olympia: Perturabo had to admit that he had just been shaken, because he really did not think that winning a competition required the use of his brother. His life is the guarantee.

He indeed longed to defeat Dorne, but it had to be a living Dorne.

If Dorne really...

The Lord of Steel licked his lips. He looked at the front of the battle line with some hesitation. The last fortress of the Hrud stood there. He didn't even need a telescope to see it: what a tempting and huge target it was. , as long as he can capture this fortress, he can personally end the Kraken Abyss, end all the criticism and pressure this expedition has brought to him, and end Dorne's rhetoric when facing him.

He didn't notice that his inner voice was almost muttering to himself, but it sounded so clearly in the communicator: even Berossos, who was not far away, could hear it clearly.

"There, that fortress."

"It is so close to me: as long as I can capture it, and I can win all the victories in this expedition, the entire Kraken Abyss and the glory of the war will belong to me, and my Iron Warriors Legion."

"But if you choose it, you risk losing your brother, my lord."

There was no hesitation in the War Blacksmith's next words. He was not sure whether they were words he had already thought about or whether they were sincere words blurted out in desperation. However, Dantioch was certain that he did not regret saying these words. sentence.

"Father, Lord Perturabo, in your eyes, is an illusory victory that has long been held in your hands more precious than the flesh and blood of your living brother: How many more are there in the galaxy? Victory is waiting for you to earn, sir, but how many brothers do you have in total in the galaxy?"

"Do you really want to use your brother's blood to secure your victory?"

"..."

Perturabo licked his lips, his voice sounding so weak.

"But that's Dorne, Dantioch. Although I hate to admit it, Dorne is a capable guy, and he may not necessarily fail..."

"Then you will use his life to make such a gamble? Sir!"

At this moment, the Warsmith's voice even surpassed that of his father.

"Even the slightest possibility: What if something happens to Dorne?"

"..."

Perturabo hesitated, and his hesitation made the air so tense that Dantioch broke into a cold sweat: he wasn't sure what else he could say to impress his man who always liked to make all his own decisions. The father of genes.

He could only wait and wait until it seemed like a century had passed.

Until he heard it...

A sigh.

That was Perturabo's sigh.

——————

"Berossus."

The Iron Lord still spoke. I don't know why, but his voice was very low, as if he was struggling with something in his heart, or as if he could squeeze out a weak and untuned voice under extreme effort and tension.

"Bring Fricks over, let him come to the front and take my place."

"I have to……"

"..."

"I have to go there myself."

"..."

"Go see what that bastard is up to!"