Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 689 The pony is quiet, it must be...
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"Hmm... Prospero's Landing... Let me see..."

After leading the Wolves and Iron Warriors to enjoy the sunshine, sea and beach near the port of Tizca, Ramizane and Perturabo BC returned to their parasols.

While the latter was being bathed, brushed, and blow-dried by Bjorn, the former took a shower, lay comfortably on a beach chair in the cool breeze, took out an encrypted data tablet and a mind-reading feather pen, and began to draw on them.

"Okay, um, 'It was Leman Russ who led the wolf pack to land on Prospero from the port of Tizca... so the Wolf King must be the first person to set foot on this planet... well... anyway, if you want to say, it was set foot with feet, so he was the first to set foot on this beach barefoot! I think it's right, it fits." He looked subtly at the bare feet of other people on the beach, as well as some people wearing full armor.

Well, it's enough that some people are there, the rest doesn't matter.

"Oh, that's not right." He frowned, looked at the entry written before "Leman Russ Landing", turned around and summoned his faithful trident.

"Felix."

"Sir." The Chief Trident was the only one in the legion who was fully armored and looked suitable for connecting with other legions. He walked over and bowed with the greatest kindness that an Iron Knight Terminator could allow. "Would you like some new iced soda? I'll immediately let..."

"I really need it. You can go get some later. Oh, don't forget to send some for my brother and others as well."

"As you command, sir."

"Then I want to ask." The Iron Lord tapped the edge of the data tablet with the tip of his pen. "What about the grand daytime fireworks we were supposed to start here?"

Fricks's shell visibly stuck, but he immediately made up his mind.

"Perhaps there is some problem in the communication with our cousin's fleet." He said, "I will send someone to inquire immediately. Or, if you can't wait, our own fleet can also..."

"I just want to see the Space Wolves launch."

Fricks saluted expressionlessly, and the eyes of several war blacksmiths who were at a disadvantage and had auxiliary hearing implants suddenly became hot when they looked at the wolf brothers around them.

[Don't ask.] Perturabo BC sent a message via telepathic communication, [I just asked Bjorn to ask - the speaking habits of the wolves in Russ are sometimes difficult for outsiders to understand. It was Gunnar Gunhilt of the First Company of the Legion who thought this matter was too ridiculous, so he suppressed it and is reviewing it and delaying the time.]

[Isn't he your... I mean, Russ's chief captain? ]

[That's right. But Gunhilt is a pure Terran veteran and has some opinions on the current Space Wolves Legion - in fact, he was the acting legion commander before Russ came back. Similarly, Russ couldn't ignore his opinions in the legion. I guess the two of them are not as...harmonious as they seem on the surface, but this old warrior knows whose orders he should obey, is very conscious and has a just right amount of decisiveness in dissenting opinions, just like a qualified uncle or advisor - hey. ]

Ramizane politely ignored Perturabo BC's last whisper, "So should we continue to wait here? Valdor has just sent someone to ask how long he and Commander Kroll need to 'waste a soldier's precious time' here."

[I think it's okay to wait,] Perturabo BC raised his front paws on his beach chair so that the confused aide-de-camp could blow dry the hair between his polished nails. [After all... well, the progress of the Sixth Legion may be a bit too fast recently. I am here, without the help of the system on my future ship, and cannot test the balance table well. I can only make an approximate estimate.]

[Yes, but the Thousand Sons have been unusually quiet lately... Are they lagging far behind? Should we help them?]

[No, I have already added equipment to Ahriman's ward in the Black Crow Pyramid. As a puppet of the fate path that a certain blue-haired bird loves, he can do a lot of work just by lying here. Let him work first.] The black and white dog said coldly.

[I see, you are well prepared, Perturabo! You are awesome! Oh, by the way, have you seen Magnus? Where is he now? ]

[He just said that he suddenly remembered that he had something to deal with, so I asked him to go back first. I was thinking of finding an excuse to let him go back. It would be best if he left on his own.] The dog frowned when he said this, [Speaking of this, the strange thing is that the progress of Qianzi's side seems to be much higher than I expected.]

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"What on earth are they planning to do?"

Pallas asked, and at the same time he sat down next to Clarks from Magna, and handed him a cup of newly brewed malt drink with delicate snow-white foam. "Try it? This is a new variety that the cafeteria just made today, but we have been developing it for a while."

"Ah." Dark Crow twitched his nose, and the unique fragrance and bitterness of hops and malt hit his nose. He looked at the drink with interest, then took a sip, squinting his eyes slightly to enjoy the feeling of the rich bubbles bursting and stimulating his mouth. "This is obvious, little Pallas, they are trying to balance the weight they give between each god."

"Hmm?" Pallas showed a confused expression. His perfect appearance coupled with a little bit of innocence with fatal temptation was very eye-catching at this moment.

So Clarks took a sip of the fragrant malt beverage and continued to persuade them, "Why? You have lived here for so long, I am surprised that they have never told you this? - What they are doing now is like a thief who steals the sky and replaces the original silk threads in the tapestry of fate with their own dyes, and uses the pebbles they have picked up and thrown back into the river of fate to quietly divert the water from the hands of the gods, and falsify the accounts to make the gods succumb to the arms race created for them by this hateful wealth thief... Oh, you don't know, they have done a big job in the subspace!"

"Really? Then you must tell me. What does it mean to do something big?"

"Ah, they built a fortress with unprecedented functions in the Eight Nodes, and hired many poor people who were not strong-willed or too weak to work for them. Their agent there is named Julius Robert Omar, commonly known as "RO". You should see him, he looks very much like one of your brothers but he is completely different... I last saw him at a friend's party..."

Magna and the Pigeon King looked at each other silently.

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"Do we really want to try this first under the circumstances?"

In the crystal cave beneath the Secret Eye Square, Utherma Atla watched as Magnus hastily set up the altar made of white stone slabs and handed her a vessel filled with ancient mysterious sandalwood, jasmine essential oil and plum blossom spices.

He took them, deftly lit the plum blossom scented incense burners at designated locations around the white stone slab, and then began to help Magnus draw the lines of the magic circle under the stone altar. "Yes. Why? Your ritual preparations are very precise," Magnus praised with a smile, and his heavy heart still felt a little inexplicably relieved because of having such a person by his side. "Are you worried that you will make a mistake? Don't worry, it will be me lying on it instead of you."

"I am not worried about that at all, my lord." The mortal youth now changed into a white silk robe as requested, with a thin golden chain around his waist. After lighting the incense burner, he began to light the charcoal stove with his own hands, using alder and laurel branches as fuel. After doing all this, he walked in front of Magnus, who had now taken off all his clothes, jewelry, shoes and socks, leaving only a piece of clothing to cover his body.

Maatra tied up his long burgundy hair and then used a black wool brush to apply sandalwood and jasmine essential oils all over Magnus' body.

"I just think that we shouldn't attempt this here alone, my Lord - from what I've learned recently, I can see that even with the help of this cave, this is obviously a ritual that requires the power of very, (he emphasized) very powerful psykers... and even life force to perform. It would be extremely unwise for the two of us to try it alone - even if you say you only plan to go around Prospero and see what happens."

"If it weren't for the situation I'm in now, and the dream I saw on Nikaea that I've been concerned about, I would agree with you that this should be an experiment with at least some precautions."

"I won't ask you about the dream you've been talking about. I think it's very important. Then why did you change your mind and bring me here to do the experiment today?"

"First of all, it's because of Ahriman's continued coma." Magnus sighed, a trace of genuine worry on his brow, "Ahriman is my most special... the son with the most ability to recite the Book of Magnus," he smiled, "Of course, now I find that you may be even better, which really makes me feel relieved and surprised. I need to confirm that you can take Ahriman's original position in this ceremony - his position is too important that I can't replace it in other forms."

Maatra bowed. "I am honored."

"Secondly, the ominous premonition in my heart and the dream are getting stronger and stronger." Magnus raised his head, his single eye seemed to be looking through the top of the cave, looking at the sky, looking at the distant land on the other side of the galaxy. "Now that things have come to this, I can't hide it from you completely, because I have decided to promote you to my command. You know that I once fainted in Nikaea due to the overly strong subspace fluctuations and the revelation caused by the disturbance of the thread of fate."

"You mentioned this, and this is why you set up the altar here and restored this ancient device."

"Yes, and do you know what the revelation says?"

"I do not know, my Lord." The young man's deft fingers applied the last of the oil to the sole of Magnus's foot, and then he began to scrape away the excess with a smooth scraper made of buffalo horn.

Magnus took a deep breath.

"I encountered a monster in the space of revelation. It was wearing the face of Horus. It told me... the betrayal of my most noble brother." The Scarlet King's voice was filled with infinite sorrow, regret and urgency. "The Wolf God Horus will betray us all."

Maatra stopped scraping his back gently, and Magnus could feel the slight trembling of those hands, as well as the turbulent emotions in the heart of the mortal behind him. The emotions were so strong and rich that tears almost filled his own eye again.

"How... could it be?" Maatra finally squeezed out a few words from her mouth, as if with great difficulty, "Then why... didn't you... at that time...?"

"That was Nikea, that was our trial." Magnus's sadness was instantly replaced by other emotions. "Should I accuse my father's most beloved son, the most noble and glorious warmaster among our brothers, the model of the legion, the glorious and great Horus of being a traitor when I am still the one on trial? Please note, Uther, at that time I only 'foresaw' this incident, and it did not happen. How could I make such an accusation in front of everyone with such a false accusation? What's more, the source of my horrible prophecy is exactly the crime we are being tried for - psychic power?"

"Uther, I did not dare to tell anyone about this at the time, not even with Perturabo by my side - Russ was always with him, and I could not avoid the canine's keen eyes and ears." Magnus lowered his broad shoulders, and the red giant now showed a pitiful decadence.

"Right now, they are having fun and reveling on the harbor beach with the teachers and supervisors sent by my father. They have no time to care about me. That's why I can carry out my little secret experiment with you here. If this is successful, I can plan a bigger official launch."

"Your body has been anointed with oil. Your body is now clean and flawless."

Maatra finished scraping him with the essential oil, put down the scraper, bowed, and then trembled and spoke again. "So, what exactly is it, what exactly did the monster say that made Horus betray? How do you know it is not lying to deceive you so that you can divert your attention elsewhere?"

"There are still things that I can't interpret and correspond to in everything it says, but there are some things it does say."

"What did it say, my lord?" The green-eyed young man looked almost shaky. "Please be kind! If I am having the most terrible nightmare!"

"That's not necessary." Magnus reached out and held the other party. "It says that there is a moon in the Davin system where Horus will be attacked by a terrifying weapon with self-awareness. He will fall and become weak. While he falls, the destined enemy of all living things will begin to act and capture his noble warrior heart. If no one stops it, the galaxy will be torn apart."

"How could Horus, with his superior skills and armor, fall down just because of an attack?"

"This is fate." The Fifteenth Primarch shook his head sadly. "We were in the depths of the Vast Ocean at the time, and I knew that what it said was true."

"Then why didn't you tell Horus?"

Magnus let out a sad laugh. "Tell him what? Tell my most noble and great brother that you will betray us all because of your injury next?"

"So...what do you want to do?"

Magnus's face became calm, almost indifferent.

"I will attempt to fly myself to warn and save Horus," he said. "Only if I fail will I choose to tell the Emperor."

His one eye turned towards the green-eyed youth.

"And you will help me accomplish this."

(End of this chapter)