Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 658: Unraveling the Mystery (Part )
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"Do you have anything to say, Magnus? You have two minutes before we begin questioning our last witness."

the Lord of Steel asked solemnly.

"This is absolutely ridiculous..."

The Red King raised his hand, which was clasped with a beautiful and colorful jeweled gold wristband, to cover his single eye. The fingertips of his other hand subconsciously stroked the smooth and empty eye socket on the other side of his eye. "No, I have nothing to say. Please continue, my brother. Respected Perturabo, I have understood your previous warnings. Perhaps," he glanced at the bright and powerful emperor emitting golden light on the first throne, "perhaps I have also always misunderstood the advice from my 'father'."

The Fifteenth Primarch seemed to have quickly fallen from his extremely high spirits into a bitter and autistic state. His skin color became dull, from dazzling scarlet to light ebony. He looked listless, and his body seemed to have shrunk by two sizes. Sitting in his seat, his long red hair flowed down his back and shoulders like the finest horse mane.

"You don't have to belittle yourself," said Ramizarn. "You should know that although the Nikea Conference was held in the name of solving the problem of psykers in the human empire, the entire Nikea was built for you."

"Yes," Magnus replied glumly. "Indeed, I was foolish, indeed. I thought I should seek knowledge, more knowledge, for the sake of humanity, but I did not realize that the desire to know more was itself a sin."

His depressed and weak appearance made him seem much more sympathetic than when he was trying to convince others of the advantages of psionic powers or when he was mocking Russ before. It was a pity that this was not the center of the amphitheater, but the hall inside the theater. The people here were not ordinary people on the grand jury. Except for Ramizane and Perturabo BC, perhaps only Sanguinius secretly revealed a trace of struggling sympathy for his brother in his eyes.

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"Hmm... what's going on?" Pallas asked. At the same time Magnus said that, each of them felt that the behemoth like the Iron Blood seemed to shake, like an earthquake - no, no, it was not so much the Iron Blood that shook, but rather the entire Broken Galaxy was in turmoil because of the warp storm that blew up in the Vast Ocean, causing this modified Queen of Glory-class battleship, which was actually much larger on the inside than it looked on the outside, to oscillate and float up and down on the cusp between real space and warp space like an ordinary merchant ship.

Russ also raised his eyebrows. "I'm not sure what's going on here, but that sentence from Magnus is undoubtedly very meaningful, even though he doesn't seem to realize it." He sniffed, letting the clean air flow deeply through his nostrils and lungs. "Even the dry and odorless air here has the smell of psychic waves, which makes me want to board the dragon ship to hunt those Krakens."

"Aren't those Kraken the remnants of the Hive Fleet?"

"Whatever it is." Leman Russ raised his chin. "The Wolves will destroy everything. That is what we were created for."

"Gu! Lighthouse! Lighthouse!" The pigeon screamed, and it flapped its wings in panic and landed on Magna Dorn's head, urging him with its thin red claws. However, considering that this was a metal head that was smoother than a stone head, it was a bit difficult to know where to start. "Lighthouse! Lighthouse! Ship! Ship! People! People!"

"What does He mean?"

"Magnus's words just now have caused great dissatisfaction among a certain blue acquirer." Magna Dorn's display screen flickered, "and the modification of the dam this time is indeed a bit too big... He means that the Astronomican, which is already very fragile now, is unable to illuminate the way for more ships of the Human Empire due to the sudden large-scale storm, which will cause losses greater than Cadia's opening of the Scarlet Road. He wants us to brighten the lighthouse of Wandering Port to guide those ships that are about to get lost in the warp storm and save the people on them."

"Huh?" Pallas looked at the white pigeon in surprise. Leman Russ also stopped his wine tasting and looked at the pigeon with curiosity.

"Although you are greedy, like to boss people around, play dumb and shirk responsibility, is your basic thinking so normal?"

"That's not quite normal," Magna Dorn said with a twinkle, "Because if it was Him on the Golden Throne, He would never and could not urge me to do this, because..."

The pigeon screamed, appearing very anxious, and its wings and claws kept flapping at Magna's metal head and mask. The golden spiritual light visible to the naked eye spread out from his body like ripples - but the range was pitifully small, just like what Pallas had seen before, it almost disappeared as soon as it left the room.

"Faster! Faster! One second! Life or death!"

"…Well, you said it." Magna walked over to the wall that had once belonged to the lab itself, but was now obscured by decorative tapestries. "I recorded it all. You can use it at your own risk."

He moved the tapestry aside and placed his metal fingers on the metal wall of the cabin. The wall began to melt like cream, gradually engulfing his entire palm and forearm, then his back, spine, limbs, and the back of his head.

Mechanical steel wings made of cables and pipes unfolded directly from Dorn's back. His electronic eyes were bright blue, and countless floating photons passing by at high speed were exchanging data.

"...very cool, I must say." Pallas admired the stunning beauty in front of him with admiration. "I will definitely suggest that they add some similar decorations to all the Emperor's Children and Iron Hands power armor! I think this effect can be achieved with linear lights!"

Leman Russ sighed softly.

Magna Dorn's exposed part of the steel and cables flashed to them a continuous progress status.

"Roaming Port - Destiny Steel - Backup communication status test. Link status is good, and the 'light sign' is working normally."

"Power rating: 33%; expected coverage areas: Hazy Star Region, Taiping Star Region, and Sun Star Region; radiation effects may reach: Storm Star Region, Maelstrom, and parts of the Far East Star Region."

Ruth changed his sigh midway into a gasp.

"Where did you find so many psychics in such a short time?! Also, don't you need to send Him over in person to activate this?!"

"Test communication, first time. Feedback is normal."

"Testing communications, second time, ready to launch."

"Testing communications, third time, starting link loop."

beep.

beep beep.

Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep————————

"Snapped."

Light appears and illuminates the universe.

“Guaaaaaaaa why is your light blue? Gua ...

"Didn't I tell you that you can take the photo, but you will have to bear the consequences at your own risk."

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In a subspace in a remote frontier of the empire that no one can find...

On a tattered warship that was creaking like wood in the storm and about to disintegrate, the desperate navigator was breathing with difficulty through fluid exchange. His amniotic fluid tank was already overwhelmed due to the lack of new fluid replacement for a long time. Although he had tried his best to clean it, perhaps this time the warp jump he reluctantly made to avoid the pursuit of the hive tentacles was too reluctant...

When the Scarlet Road was launched, the light of the Astronomican disappeared for a moment, which caused countless shipwrecks, deaths, and even more disappearances. Their location was too remote, and he hadn't seen the Astronomican for a long time. Perhaps today was the day when his soul returned to the throne... Well, although he didn't want anything to happen to the crew on the ship... But he really did his best and served loyally. This miserable life might end...

"Snapped!"

What is this? A blue light?

The navigator opened his bloodshot eyes, and a hint of hesitation appeared on his malnourished face that looked like a skeleton. Should I go? At this moment, if I concentrate on following the light, I will undoubtedly be able to jump out of the subspace...

But this blue light was really... too unlucky. He suddenly remembered the legend that deep-sea monsters would use spots of light to lure prey, and he further remembered the lamps in his residence on Terra when he was a child that were specifically used to catch and kill insects.

Finally he decided to leave the decision to the owner of the boat.

The message sent received a reply quickly.

So the battleship began to try its best to muster its last bit of strength and sprint towards the direction of the blue light.

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Ten thousand years ago, on the planet Nikea
"Okay, then, this series of witness testimonies is obviously linked to each other and are all recorded. So now we should question the most critical witness." said the Lord of Steel.

"Casper Ansbach Hauser, please come forward."

A mortal man who looked like a strong young man in his twenties or thirties stepped forward.

He was dressed in the style of Fenris tribesmen, with a wolf skin on the outside - judging from the size, it should be a gift from a Space Wolf - but his clothes still revealed a style different from that of a true son of Fenris in many details: neat edges, careful folds, not so many ornaments, etc., all of which showed the fact that he was not a native of Fenris.

"I noticed you have another name on Fenris."

“Yes, honorable Lord of Iron,” the man saluted, “I am also known there as Ahmad ibn Rusta.”

"Which is your real name? I need to make sure of that first."

"Casper Ansbach Hauser, my Lord."

"Your name... any scholar would ask you the first question when hearing it, right?"

"I am used to it, my Lord. But fortunately, it is rare for such learned men to come into contact with people of my level."

"Aha." The Lord of Steel glanced at the people around him, "You are a very interesting person, poet. No wonder the wolves kept you here."

"According to the information I have at hand." The Lord of Steel blinked, and Casper boldly guessed that the Primarch should have a built-in advanced data projection on his retina. "You should be nearly 170 years old this year, which is quite, quite old for a mortal of our time."

He frowned and glanced at the bard. "You don't look like that. And according to the medical examination report you left on Terra, your first rejuvenation surgery was when you were sixty years old. The effect... it was a very common cosmetic method, fat filling, skin tightening, etc.... It doesn't look like the effect you can achieve now."

"My Lord, I thought we were here to question the evil spirits that attacked Nikaea." But the mortal added tactfully before the Iron Lord could get angry or blame him, "I was seriously injured in an accident when I landed in Fenris. I was nearly dead, so when I was brought to Etter, they performed a comprehensive operation on me to save my life."

"...They have done so much for you to save lives." Ramizane, who had already discovered several points of enhancement and transformation with the help of LOGOS, muttered, "The skills of the Wolf Priest are really good. You have been enhanced to a level far beyond that of ordinary people - half an Astartes. It's a very interesting experiment."

"Don't talk too much nonsense at this time." "Leman Russ" typed a line of words quickly, "Ask him relevant questions."

"I think these things are not unrelated... But most people cannot fully appreciate the details, the arrangement, the final effect of countless seemingly unrelated events in a perfect drama. They just feel that this is just as planned."

The Emperor of Mankind's gaze suddenly penetrated his golden glow and stared straight at Ramizane's back. Malcador's brow had already been deeply furrowed, his staff was blazing, and more Sisters of Silence and Guards silently surrounded the entire questioning hall.

"But you are right, Rus." The Lord of Steel seemed unaware that someone was staring at his back. "The testimonies of Amon Tauromachian, Wild Bear, and Ornn Evilwinter are all in order and very coherent, so my questions to you may be more inclined to inquire about details. Do you have any objection to this?"

"No, sir. I think your inquiry is fair and reasonable, and I will do my best to answer it for you. In fact, you have a really good temper, which shows that the rumors are not true." Casper added sincerely.

"Ah! Well, I note that Orn Evilwinter stated, 'Amon, a soldier of the Fifteenth Legion, admitted that he used Casper Hawser to spy on Fenris.' And this is indeed confirmed by the records and memories of the three of them in their armor."

"Exactly so, my lord."

"You used the words that Othrel said when you woke up to expose his true colors, didn't you?"

"Yes, my lord."

"'One should know when to stop.' I agree. But why did you think of using this sentence to give him away?"

"Because, my lord. This Thousand Sons wizard, this Amon, was talking strangely before the wild bear came. His words reminded me of more minor things that I had previously ignored and forgotten in my memory." Kasper Hauser's two heterochromatic eyes boldly raised to look into the icy blue eyes of the Lord of Steel. "In his words, he mentioned the past when I saw my dead companion using power in Lutetia, and I remember that I only told this to the Rune Priest."

"So, you actually started to become suspicious before Wild Bear and the others showed up, right?"

"That's right, sir. But I hadn't waited for them to catch up at that time, so I could only go along with what he said." Casper hesitated. Perhaps because the Lord of Steel was too friendly, he boldly added, "In fact, something happened earlier than this sentence that made me feel something was wrong, sir."

"what?"

"Before saying this, the wizard asked me another question. Now that I think about it, it's... a little bit strange."

"What did he ask you?"

"He asked me if it was true that I had never dealt with the Fifteenth Legion?"

"Then how did you answer?"

"I... I suddenly remembered that a long, long, long time ago, we found a temple in the canyon of Boeotia. It might be a ruin, but some people think it is not. At that time... several Astartes wearing red armor appeared." Casper's eyes became dazed and distant. "I asked them which legion I had the honor of being protected by."

"They said, the Fifteenth Legion. Then they asked for my name, and that was it."

"Ruth" suddenly typed a sentence at this time.

"The name is the shortest witchcraft."

The bard smiled wryly.

"Yes, so my life has been planned since the moment I was adopted, just as the distinguished adults said."

(End of this chapter)