Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 300 Act

Ferrus Manus stands behind the finish line of an equestrian event.

At first, he drank some local Olympia ale in a makeshift tent.

There is a saying in Medusa that you have to tell which of the two barrels contains wine and which contains diesel. No matter you smell or taste it, you can't tell; but whoever drinks a few drinks will be ruined the next day. If his soul dies, he will find a warrior who is too weak to live.

Fortunately, Olympia's ale does not have that unique taste, and the bubbles will only use the most normal way to bring some tingling enjoyment to the tongue with keen senses.

When the top runners in the competition arrived three miles away from the finish line, Ferrus Manus walked out of the tent and asked the mortal host to take him to the finish line where the horizontal strips had been pulled up.

He noticed that the strips were really yellow and black, and even though he was normally stern, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

Ferus stood on the side of the track with a pair of silver hands behind his back, waiting for the month-long equestrian competition to come to an end, which would also bring a flawless end to the entire Olympia Games.

He wanted to know where Fulgrim was these days. It seemed that Fulgrim and Konrad Curze had not appeared since the conflict between Telemanon Lyras and Thor Sahar. body. Thinking of this, he had a headache.

Soon, the first batch of contestants arrived.

When Perturabo, Leman Russ, Magnus and other brothers were able to return to Terra one after another, swear allegiance to the Emperor, and gradually separate his uniqueness from their father's side, there was indeed a period of time when Horu There was an unbearable sourness in Si's heart.

The winner was a young man wearing animal skins and a huge predatory cat underneath him. He kept accelerating towards the finish line. He didn’t know what he had experienced, and he was covered in thick skin. , with mud from the turf.

"It's... very different there," the champion player's grammar and vocabulary were still a bit strange even after being translated. "We hunted, ran around, barbecued, and drank. We like to compete."

Fortunately, it wasn't long before he adapted to the existence of other Primarchs and realized that in this galaxy where wars and killings were intertwined, it was a blessing to have brothers who came from the same origin as him and had the same mind. Things.

The winner was a long way ahead of the second place finisher. Ferus first wanted to ask which planet in the Olympia cluster the champion represented in the competition. Later, he verified the backwardness of that planet in some ways. For example, he found that the champion could neither speak Low Gothic nor speak Low Gothic. Hardly use a translator.

During this month, he tried his best to spare time and intermittently shared his experiences with these brothers who were enjoying their leisure time in Olympia. This made him feel that he was connected by blood with them, that they were all children of the Emperor.

Across from the datapad containing Horus, Magnus and Angron looked at each other.

Although there are escorts watching over the players throughout the entire process, under the rules of the event, the only thing they will do is to ensure the basic human rights of these players, such as not suffering casualties. In addition, the exploration of the route, food and accommodation supplies, travel planning, etc. are all handled by the players themselves.

In the distance, more different and dusty players began to approach one by one, decorating the blue skyline of Olympia with colors from different planets.

"What reward do you want from the Lord of Olympia?" the Primarch asked, thoughtfully.

He decided not to mention the fact that the two men had been at the Emperor's side during this time to assist in the construction of the Webway.

"Bring him here," said Ferrus, admiring the young victor. However, a young man was able to defeat hundreds of competitors and win the crown, which is worthy of recognition.

During the first thirty years of being alone with the Emperor, he thought that he would object to any interference from outside factors in this precious and sweet life. He could not imagine that the Emperor would take another heir to read books and answer questions. , and a day of watching the bright stars at the observatory.

-

The little runner excitedly crossed the finish line, hugging the yellow and black strips to his chest, and then fell down on the grass with his animals from exhaustion. The escort quickly fished him out from the grass with hands and feet, preparing to put him in a different place to avoid being accidentally trampled by other players later.

Because of this, the players each had their own embarrassment. Not to mention other aspects, first of all, most of them did not find a chance to take a shower and clean themselves.

"I never thought about it." The young player still held the yellow and black strip with his left hand, and patted his head with his right hand, and the mud fell piece by piece. "Then, sir, I want to participate in the Iron Warriors."

After he got closer, Ferus discovered that judging from the state of his bones, the age of this young player may not be more than fifteen Terran years; and the newly peeled thick animal skin on the prey even increased his age. apparent age.

Perturabo had a good fortune. Ferrus Manus thought.

Under the influence of some common tacit understanding, Angron spread his palms on his knees and said to Horus: "We have also only arrived in Olympia a few hours ago, Horus. Before that, we also had a close relationship with the Great Crusade. Relevant things need to be dealt with.”

"Did I miss a lot of things?" Horus Luperkar sighed, looking a little listless in the center of the frame framed by the small screen.

"It is true," Magnus continued. "We missed almost all of the games, and his warriors took the opportunity to beat my heirs."

After speaking, Magnus turned his gaze to Angron, and glared at Angron through the monocle presented by Perturabo.

"Don't worry, I believe that when Perturabo thinks of holding another large-scale event in a few decades, he will not forget to send you invitations." Horus comforted, "You are of great importance to the Lord of Iron. No need to say anything more.”

"Oh..." Magnus admitted that he felt unreasonably sorry when facing Horus now.

As the first scion of the Emperor to return to Terra, Horus Luperkar was still unaware of the existence of the Webway due to his personal superiority in conquering the stars.

In addition, he was the one who really missed the sports day, but now he came to comfort him and Angron.

Then Magnus thought of the few Primarchs who were still immersed in the expedition and had not even received a real-time broadcast. In contrast, he quickly forgave himself.

Magnus stood up and lowered his head slightly to prevent himself from hitting the roof of the tent.

Morse's final act is about to begin, and it is said that this time the star will be the Emperor. While he was looking forward to it, he couldn't help but want to question what legend Morse had brazenly tampered with.

He picked up the data tablet and held it in his arms. Angron stood up with him, opened the simple brown and red velvet curtain of the camp, and walked towards Lokos City.

On the way, Horus was inevitably surprised for a moment when he passed the high-rise black tower built overnight on the outskirts of the city by Konrad Curze's strange army.

The Wolf God has not yet seen the Primarch of the Eighth Legion, but the living habits of Konrad Curze he has seen in the data tablets these days, as well as his... informal works of art, really impressed Horus. Some unforgettable memories were left behind.

However, Horus was willing to believe that such an eccentric brother was willing to contribute his strength to the Great Crusade and to establish a good relationship with Perturabo, which showed how noble his nature was, hidden behind a cold appearance. How worthy of respect is the personality behind the bloody hobby. "Okay, Horus," Magnus said, "I've calculated the time and it's time to go to the theater! The Emperor is among the leading actors today!"

-

Curze grabbed the hammer, tossed it several times in his hand, and then put it back on the ground without interest. The hammer's handle leaned against the corner of the table, making a slight knock.

He continued to circle around the workshop, the steam and smoke sometimes covering his body and sometimes revealing it.

This temporarily attracted Vulkan's attention. The Fire Dragon Lord smiled at Curze and continued to tell the mortal craftsmen around him about his personal experience in forging.

While watching the game and dealing with legion affairs at every moment, Vulkan visited all the blacksmiths and workshops in the city in order to find everything he could do to enrich his life.

At first, the locals were equal parts fear and respect for him. He knew that his appearance was indeed scary, and he didn't mind. Sure enough, after one or two days of communication, whenever he appeared in the workshop, people would hurriedly gather around him to listen to what he was going to say next.

As for the Night Ghost Blood Marquis with an even more formidable temperament, after the second act of the play performed by him ended, the locals' love for him suddenly rose to a new level.

Even though he often disappears and appears like a ghost, most of the locals, except for young and innocent children, are willing to greet him with kindness and curiosity.

This further reduced Konrad Coates' presence in the crowd.

"That's it for today, friends." Vulcan glanced at the sky outside the window, "The closing ceremony will be in the evening."

"Are you leaving after today?" A child brought by a craftsman stuck his head out, carefully stretched out his short finger, and poked the corner of Vulcan's robe. "Can you stay a few more days?"

"Why do you have so much free time, why should you be so lazy and carefree?" Conrad Coates suddenly appeared behind the child, and touched the child's head with his cold fingers, making the child tremble all over.

Curze hummed softly, strolled to Vulkan's side, turned around and leaned against the table.

"You go," he said lazily, "if the heavenly wheel of the universe also shows mercy, our yarns will intertwine again."

After several mortals gathered in the workshop left, the hall, which originally didn't have much open space, actually seemed empty.

The Lord of the Fire Dragon put away the blacksmith's tools he had borrowed, and asked at the same time: "What happened to Fulgrim, Konrad?"

"I look like I know?" Conrad Coates shrugged.

"Yes." Vulkan smiled, understanding that Curze was especially not good at dealing with such an answer.

Sure enough, Cozz seemed to choke for a moment, glanced at him with pure black eyes, and suddenly sighed.

"I only know what troubles he encountered, but I don't know the path he is on now. Although I took some actions in the process, I don't know the pros and cons of my actions. Whether I did a good thing or made a mistake Evil deed.”

"No matter what, the Emperor and Perturabo himself are by Phoenix's side. I can be sure that things will be better in the world."

-

"Rogal Dorn, how many times do you have to mention Akul Duna before you can confirm that the chief swordsman of the Emperor's Children is lying in a hospital bed with severe injuries and is unconscious, and it is only a miracle that he is alive?"

Mechanical Perturabo said to Roger Dorn, dropping the hollow iron ball in his hand and putting down the portable homemade laser engraving pen at the same time. Due to the hollow pattern, the iron ball stays firmly on the table without rolling, showing the exquisite and detailed texture on the surface of the sphere.

This is a panoramic miniature craft ornament of the planet Olympia, with a diameter about the length of a mortal hand. Perturabo decided to give it to Callifon before leaving.

Before the last act of the Grand Theater and the closing ceremony, while waiting with Rogal Dorn in the Royal Palace of Lokos, he took out the iron ball and further refined it.

"This is only the second time I've asked a question, Perturabo." Rogal Dorn stated his point of view with his usual attitude, neither smiling nor angry. "If you answer me, I don't need to mention it a third time."

Sometimes Perturabo wondered whether the stone-headed Primarch from Inwett was truly unaware of the abominations he said or did, or whether he just enjoyed being the one who took the initiative to offend others.

Not long ago, he had a chat with Ferrus Manus while exchanging skills, and he learned that the last time this devilish stone had a conflict with Ferus was because Dorn accused Ferus in front of the warriors. Impulsive and bellicose.

"Then, I have answered." Perturabo moved his eyes to the plate of fruit on the table.

After these days of continuous consumption, the food reserves of Planet Olympia and surrounding planets were consumed at an extremely fast rate, and the gene-edited grapes that the Primarchs most often ate were finally the only ones left in front of them.

Thinking that the mechanical body he placed here at this time was not convenient for eating, he generated additional anger. This was probably the emotional impact Rogal Dorn had on him.

"Before I leave Olympia, will Akulduna be able to regain his fighting ability?" Roger Dorn asked the second line on his list of questions.

"Fulgrim is guarding Akul Duna. I don't think that Astartes can return to his original state in just a few days." Perturabo paused, "He lost his temper for the battle. To the last drop of blood - a metaphor, not a literal one. What's wrong?"

Rogal Dorn nodded and said the reason: "My templar Sigismund always wanted to have another battle practice with him. He believed that the battle with Akul Duna made him rediscover his personal limits. And I hope that Akul Duna can conduct assessment trials for the Haskar Guard, and broaden my guards’ horizons and understanding of combat.”

He took a breath and saw that the mechanical Perturabo did not interrupt him, so he continued to talk about the third thing.

"In addition, I am worried about the status of Fulgrim and Akul Duna. Have the Emperor's Children survived the occasional crisis?"

"More than living through it." Perturabo smiled, "How can a phoenix sleep forever in ashes?"

He listened carefully and heard a sound of rallying trumpets ringing from the Lokos Coliseum, and carried by the ringing bells around the city, leisurely and far away on the surface of Olympia.

"The fourth act is coming," he said. "Let's go to the Grand Theater."

(End of this chapter)