Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 378: The Emperor’s Children: Chapter of the Lion and the Wolf (Part )

Dim. There is no day in the dense forest. Night and twilight are forever hunting each other and vying for the top spot. The overlapping branches block out every ray of sunlight that the stars are stingy with. They are like a filter that removes the golden and white light layer by layer, leaving only water vapor. The sultry heat mixed with the fog sealed the jungle.

He opened his eyes, looking through the blood-stained hair, looking at every airflow surging in the dense forest in the thick fog, judging from the tremors that the dull wind should not bring, distinguishing between this thing and him There is no precedent for this new situation compared to anything we have ever encountered in our lives.

He had seen strange things intruding into this forest more than once.

Once upon a time, some creatures with black metallic light on their surface entered his territory. They had four limbs, but only the lower pair were needed to move. Sharp spikes grew out of the upper limbs. Sometimes, they had four limbs. Attached to the square parasite, the opening of the parasite can emit a bolt of lightning accompanied by a loud noise.

At that time, he lowered his body and hid behind the thick natural cover formed by the thick grass, letting the wind take away his body odor so as not to alert potential prey that he had temporarily marked.

Some nameless words and jumping symbols passed through his mind. He didn't know what these things were innately accompanied by his birth. He just calmly accepted the answers and results these things brought to him.

The best time to attack will be at the moment when the insect crawls half of the veins of the first leaf on the right. He needs to tear off a prey from the side and rear of the four-hooved thing it is riding on. His palms can easily separate it. Using the black hard barrier, he crushed the juicy new creature, letting the soft stuff spill out along his fingers that dug into his skull.

Then, he can immediately attack the creatures on the side with square firearms on their forelimbs. The shock brought by this is enough to eliminate the threat they pose in the next few short breaths...

He breathed steadily, waiting for the opportunity, observing the jumping hooves through the weeds. The opportunity was approaching, and every muscle in his body was fully prepared. Energy and will were accumulated in the perfect body given by God. Waiting to serve his mind to complete this simple hunt. In the next few short cycles of temperature changes and light fluctuations, he will extract from them the essence needed to survive.

Insects crawled slowly on the leaves, and the opportunity came to his fingertips. He is about to fly forward...

The eyes of a creature were exposed from the gaps in the black iron, scanning the surroundings aimlessly.

There is something else in those vivid eyes, different from the spirituality of the prey he has been hunting, something close to, or homologous to, himself, existing in the owner of those eyes. .

A sudden wave of anxiety and hesitation suddenly grabbed his hair and pulled him firmly in place. Something brand new and unfamiliar flowed through his veins without warning, trying to urgently tell him something that was about to come out, but his dazed brain could not grasp these things that were flashing by quickly, just like he could not stop himself. Shi's hand couldn't hold a handful of spring water.

No, his mind stopped him. Something different from the wildness required for survival was touching his thoughts, and some additional judgment conditions were vaguely added to his hunting principles. He didn't seem to be born as a pure hunter. He vaguely captured these flowing consciousnesses, and the creatures in the black iron had something in common with him.

what are they?
What is he?
——What exactly is he?
Immersed in the sudden increase in thoughts, he lost the opportunity to hunt for no reason for the first time in his life. He silently and gently retracted his hiding place, then climbed the branches lightly along the parasitic vines, waiting for them to leave his territory.

After that, he never attacked these various tiny figures once. He couldn't figure out why, but he listened to his instincts.

In the forest, the airflow began to turn, and some humming from the earth touched the branch where he was. He smelled the hot and strange smell wafting in the air. It didn't smell good, like some giant beast. The smelly heat emanates from the nest.

This smell comes from the brand new intruders he has been tracking recently. These creatures are different from the prey he has let go many times before.

They are taller and more fearless, creating a constant cacophony of noise in the forest. Attracting groups of predators.

They bared their teeth and claws, and their whereabouts were obvious. They were wrapped in dazzling bright silver iron shells. From time to time they let out bursts of loud strange screams and laughter, waving buzzing shiny objects, and even some symbols engraved with crooked lines, easily Execute the beasts with their attached gleaming limbs,

Then, they will openly light a hot and shiny thing, decompose and cut the beast, wastefully only take the most delicious part, roast it on the shiny moving thing, and then stuff it with laughter. It goes into their mouths and makes a gurgling sound.

Among their group, there is a particularly tall individual, who is like the leader of the beasts worshiped by his descendants. He makes a lot of noise, accepts the gifts from the smaller children, and brings them protection.

It was as tall, powerful, and agile as him. Seeing its roughness and ability in hunting, the beasts whose skulls were split by an ax fell in front of it, and their sticky hot blood was sprinkled on the surrounding grass, proving the strength and fearless wildness of the hunter.

It never uses anything to cover its head, and its golden hair is exactly the same as the light that occasionally shines through the gaps. Its wild face sometimes shows amazing sensitivity and alertness when facing the shadows in the forest.

Many times their eyes seemed to meet, and he almost thought it had caught him.

This made his two hearts beat nervously and his whole body felt slightly hot. When I saw those small creatures similar to him several times in the past, the excitement in my heart was rapidly expanding layer by layer, just like the new creatures that couldn't wait to break out of the ground when the seasons changed. The hazy emotions had been accumulated for too long and gradually became too clear, pushing him forward.

This was one of the creatures that reminded him most of himself that had ever appeared in his life, second only to the reflection of his own face he saw when passing by those mirror-like pools of water. They are simply the same kind of existence, two sides of the same person, reflections of the same thing.

Appreciation and yearning sprouted in his natural mind, which had few emotions. In addition to the need for survival, he had a new desire. He couldn't tell what it was.

Out of another emotion that was simply not in line with his survival needs, he refused to follow them, picking up the remaining entrails and flesh to gnaw on, even if it would make his survival much easier.

However, following for a long time also made him irritated, and having no time to hunt made him hungry and exhausted, and his stored strength slowly drained away.

He needs to make a decision and create some other opportunities to end this long tailgating.

Ahead was a lake. According to what he had learned about them recently, these creatures would rest by the water and sing songs accompanied by roars and laughter. Their sense of smell is sensitive, and if he wants to remove the strong smell on his body and avoid being detected, he has a choice.

-

"The stars of Fenris are on the water, and the stars of Fenris are under the sky. There are dead grass growing in the depths of the river bend. Under the grass lies the dead hunter. Schools of fish are like silver arrows, biting him over and over again... "

The harp sounded melodiously, and the strings were lightly plucked by the hands of the warriors grasping the weapons. The tunes originating from the vast snowfields of Fenris were paired with the casual words and phrases of the third-rate poets of the Space Wolves. In Caliban's Echoes in the dense forest.

Russ once laughed at them, why not go to Fulgrim to learn what real poetry is? These lazy guys immediately cried and protested, saying that they did not want to be pressed against the wall by the Emperor's Children. A perfume.

Leman Russ squinted his eyes hard and sat beside the fire that the wolf pups had finally raised in the hot and humid forest. At the same time, he concentrated on observing whether these soldiers who were unfamiliar with the forest would accidentally splash sparks. Going outside the bonfire surrounded by stones, he tried to stuff the string used to thread the stone necklace engraved with runes back into the dozen gray stones.

In a previous battle, he accidentally broke a leather rope, which directly caused the small bones and stones he had collected in previous battles to be scattered everywhere. Leman Russ was doubtful that his heirs would be willing to help him string the necklace, so he decided to put down his weapons temporarily and do it himself.

He was carefully holding a thin bone needle against a leather rope and slowly passing it through an oval stone. A wild wolf under his command came over and interrupted him: "There is something nearby, sir."

"There's a lake and a forest near here," Ruth said. "What did you find, a winter plague? Fairies finally appeared in the lake?"

Winter Calamity's power armor buzzed for a while before quieting down: "It's the body of a beast, and blood has been splashed all the way to the edge of our fire."

"Oh? The body is in the lake?" Russ made a confused sound. He looked over and found a pool of fresh blood seeping out of the reeds near the lake.

"It turns out that fairies also eat meat." The Wolf King said with a smile.

He strung the round stone on the way, picked up the leather rope, shook it, smoothed out the decorations, then picked up the next small animal bone that was polished very smooth, and continued to string it on the leather rope.

Of course, it was impossible for him not to have noticed recently that something huge was secretly following their team; but it never launched an attack and did nothing else all day long, just swinging in the trees and swinging on the ground. I don’t know what I am thinking about all day long. Russ did whatever he chose, waiting for the beast to make a new reaction.

Now it appears it may be ready to take action.

"The goddess of Fenris also has wolf blood flowing in her body," Winterscourge said seriously. "Maybe the goddesses of Fenris also eat meat."

"That's about it. Keep singing your songs. Where did the goddess Fenris come from?" The Wolf King said with a smile. "At most there are a few drowned water ghosts who catch people under the Storm River every day."

Rollpaw, another Space Wolf, interjected: "That's not Kra—"

Leman Russ raised his hand and made a simple gesture. The celebration of the wolf cubs stopped for a short moment and then continued.

Everyone already knew something was lurking beneath the surface of the lake, and despite being cautious enough, their alpha wolf had spotted the predator.

Except for the wolf cub, who was taking his turn to sing, he felt that the atmosphere was not suitable, so he replaced a sour love song they had made up with a simple pre-war song.

Ruth tied a tight knot on the leather rope in her hand, held it in her hand, muttered "I'm going to wash the necklace", and approached the water.

His nostrils twitched slightly, distinguishing the strange smell hidden under the water. One of the memories they honed while hunting in Asaheim was learning to distinguish the scent of beasts hidden in the natural environment.

Ruth squatted down by the water. The lake in the forest was clear and not muddied by other beasts. This already shows that there is a dominant king in this territory. It is likely to be cunning, intelligent, and capable of lurking, but it can no longer endure its thirst for blood, and its savage ferocity is ready to burst out.

Thinking of the battle that might happen next, Russ raised his upper lip and smiled.

"Water ghost," he repeated the word in a low voice, slowly stretched out his hand and touched the lake water.

Out of love for the necklace he had just strung, Leman Russ put it aside temporarily, and his wisdom was soon proven.

A wet hand suddenly came out of the lake and grabbed Leman Russ's wrist forcefully. The size of the palm caught Russ off guard. In a short moment, he suddenly realized the identity of the other party.

The next moment, the Wolf King was violently pulled into the water by a huge force. The last thing he saw was the young and chiseled face appearing behind the lush beard and hair, as well as the cold dark green eyes.

(End of this chapter)