Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 431: Oath before War
The Luna Wolves' flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, was still quite busy. Ever since the Emperor arrived in Ullanor and personally went aboard the Vengeful Spirit to meet with Horus Lupercal, no, a week before this moment came, until now, the entire Vengeful Spirit had not had a moment of peace.

In addition to cleaning and arranging the ceremonial accessories to welcome the Emperor, the arrival of the fleet directly under the Emperor also means the official start of the next round of large-scale attack plan. The captains of the Luna Wolves confirmed the final tactical deployment in front of a large number of holographic interstellar maps. The positions that the various orc tribes have explored and the movements of the enemy are marked one by one, with red, blue and other colored arrows crisscrossing.

From the armory to the arsenal, the engines roared in the test, and multiple mechanical arms moved busily, adjusting the details of each mechanical creation. The armor was being oiled for the last time, and the power swords and power claws were inspected one by one under the supervision of the technical sergeants and the cooperation of the servitors. Fuel was transported through thousands of pipelines, and ammunition for different weapons was distributed separately after coordination to ensure sufficient supplies.

Stormbirds and Thunderhawks were ready to go on the decks and hangars. The warriors checked their respective bolters, laser weapons and flamethrowers, and placed pistols and grenades in their respective positions.

At the same time, they would occasionally tell each other some jokes based on their own understanding, such as debating which of the different types of battle armor was more suitable for the style of the Luna Wolves in appearance - it wasn't the bird head anyway, or pretending to pray to the Emperor, and then laughing at each other for learning from the Word Bearers who were even crazier than the orcs.

"I have a feeling that one day you will take the war oath with us," Torgaddon said with a smile, winking at Loken, "instead of doing us a favor."

"Better not," Loken said stiffly, straightening his arms. "The Council of Four Kings consists of only four."

"Why not five?" Torgaddon shrugged exaggeratedly, "New moon, half moon, gibbous moon, full moon, half moon, half moon... I've long felt bored working with these familiar faces every day."

"Are you sure?" Sejanus punched Torgaddon's shoulder. The reason why he completed this routine task this time was because he was standing closest to Torgaddon.

"Don't think you can stop my truth with vulgar violence," Torgadon began to speak in a pretentious tone, "You must know that the truth will survive the war and the holy words will be revealed in the chaos..."

"And you will take a second blow, Tarik," Ezekiel Abaddon warned. "We are here to take a pre-battle oath, not to imitate the Word Bearers."

Aximand nodded quietly. "Ezekiel is right. Loken has been waiting for a long time."

Loken silently emptied his mind, letting all the noisy conversations slip away from his cerebral cortex, until several Astartes leaned over to him one by one and began to read the oath they would fulfill in the upcoming battle.

Loken stretched his arms straight, letting the four long strips of paper hanging from his arms fall naturally and smoothly, making sure that the oaths of everyone on the Council of Four Kings were clearly displayed. "I am willing to witness your oaths," he said.

Just as several warriors were slashing their palms with swords in turn and smearing blood on the oath paper, Malohurst passed by the door of the hall where they were, walked a few steps, then returned and walked straight towards them.

"Aren't you going to take me with you?"

He looked a little tired, and he had suffered some unpleasant injuries in the previous battles. Torgaddon made his usual comment: he looked more like "Twister", but fortunately he didn't really live up to his nickname - that would stop me from laughing.

"Are you not beside our father?" Abaddon stood up and welcomed Malohurst. Loken handed the oaths back to the Moon Wolf who wrote them.

"Father has much to say to the Emperor in private," said Malohurst, with a weary sigh. "As you know, he has decided to make his battle vows to the Emperor alone, and I have come to you to discuss tactical planning. We still have five systems to determine the order of attack, and the extent of destruction. Exploration work on the front lines has shown that they are still worth preserving, both mineral and biological resources."

"Then you should go find Halhabet first," Torgathon shrugged his shoulders and grinned when he mentioned the sect. "Before fighting alongside them, why do we need to communicate so frequently on how to protect the world we are attacking, instead of using skyfire to wipe them all out..."

"Do you think I don't know this?" said Malohurst. "I was discussing this with the Master." "Erebus?" Loken answered with some curiosity. He had heard of the Master's name for a long time, but he had never had the luck to talk to him face to face.

In the mouths of the Council of Four Kings, Erebus was unexpectedly a man of sufficient rationality. He was not difficult to communicate with, and in some sense he was very different from those battle maniacs. Of course, he would insist on the core ideas that were characteristic of the Word Bearers, such as the need to eliminate the enemy without leaving a single one behind - but they were facing orcs after all, and this was not a contradiction at all.

After Malohurst, Erebus walked into the hall. He was dressed in granite grey armor, of medium build, with deep eye sockets and skin that looked darker against the lines of fine scripture. He had slender fingers and calm movements, carrying a heavy book with a gilded edge. It should be the famous Book of Lorgar, or the Bible that the Word Bearers often talked about.

He made people feel the need to respect him as soon as they saw him, and Locke was attracted by his smile - no, even if it was the first time they met, Locke still didn't like that peaceful and gentle smile. It seemed to make people want to believe his words involuntarily, but it was easy to feel uneasy in their hearts.

"Malohurst mentioned this to me," Erebas said. His voice was calmer than anyone else's in Halhabait. It seemed to contain some trustworthy rationality, confirming his transcendent status as the head of the cult. "Which spiral arm wars need to be spared, and which areas can be thoroughly purified. Halhabait will remember these requirements."

"The same is true for Gastalin," Abaddon replied. "The outer part of the Draco sector will be handed over to the Word Bearers, and we will accompany Master Horus to Ghoron."

"Of course," Erebus nodded politely, his eyes sweeping over the people present one by one, "Abaddon, Aximander, Torgaddon, Cyjanus, and..."

"Gaviel Loken," Torgaddon introduced, "our esteemed Captain of the Tenth Company."

Loken smiled politely, "Erebus."

"Nice to meet you," Erebus smiled and nodded at him, leaving with Malohurst.

As soon as he confirmed that the cult leader had gone far enough, Torgaddon immediately heaved a sigh of relief, "Finally he's gone! I was really worried that he would burn Aximander's beautiful face as well!"

"Don't use Mesati's adjectives indiscriminately," Locke whispered awkwardly, "Those are used by the Memory Chamber for publication and archiving."

"Tsk," Torgaddon smacked his lips, "Loken."

"Why did Primarch Lorgar send this team here?" Cyjanus shook his head. "Even I always feel that Erebus is the only one in the entire cult who can understand the unwritten conversation."

"The Primarch Lorgar would only offer the Emperor what he considered best," Abaddon said. "Even if the two orders coexist, his true love is still the Halhabait."

The others looked at Abaddon in surprise until the captain turned his head and said, "Father's evaluation, that's enough!"

"I was wondering why you suddenly became smart." Togaton laughed.

(End of this chapter)