Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 864 A Triumphant Return (?)
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When the Ironforge appeared in Sabathus's orbit like a proud emperor, wrapped in ribbons of microparticles and gas from a space jump, it brought with it another low-key yet powerful cruiser, in addition to the Blood Angel's Blood Oath, which was warily facing it bow to bow.

Its hull paint is almost identical to that of the Destiny Steel, and its appearance is very similar to that of a relic Astartes cruiser.

However, if someone were to pass through the rigorous checks and gain access to its interior, they would discover that many of its internal details are quite different from those of a typical battlecruiser.

It has more sophisticated and robust armor, larger passageways, cabins, teleportation rooms, and airdrop hangars—because the selection and trials of the Grey Knights are so arduous, and because they have their own dedicated forging world, Timos, each of their members can begin wearing Aegis Terminator after becoming Grey Knights. Therefore, all the corresponding cabins, facilities, and spaces on their ships have been modified to be much larger.

Meanwhile, all its passageways and key locations are equipped with anti-demon magic arrays and protective runes made by Moonsilver. In addition to regular ammunition, its weapon system also includes a large amount of exorcism ammunition made with holy promethium and purifying substances, as well as the Extinction Order weapon, one of the privileged weapons possessed by the Grey Knights as members of the Inquisition. When necessary, it can carry out the mission of destroying all inhabited worlds in the entire galaxy.

In addition, the ship also carried nine Grey Knight strategists borrowed from the Third Brotherhood, Hyperion's own combat squad, a squadron of special mission servants, and the Mechanicus defenders from the Grey Knight's exclusive forging world.

"This is the general situation of my current flagship, the Wide Area Peace."

Hyperion Zano Eifernetti explained, and then followed Ramizane onto the bridge of the Destiny Steel. Facing many unfriendly or suspicious gazes, the Grey Knights responded with reserved smiles.

"I am so glad that they were able to meet and travel with your Destiny Steel on their way to pick me up. It is truly an encounter guided by the Supreme Master."

Peturabo BC let out a loud, cold snort, so loud that everyone present could hear it.

"Perhaps there is some misunderstanding between my crew and you, sir? I sincerely hope that we can resolve this issue here and now, so that any misunderstanding or communication breakdown will not become the beginning of a rift between us."

"You mean your so-called fateful encounter is just nine fully armed high-level think tanks teleporting directly to my doorstep?"

“This is actually an extremely dangerous act, my lord,” Hyperion said. “We did it entirely because we believed that the bond between you and our chief Supreme Grand Master still existed after ten thousand years—at a time when the forks in the Web could appear and disappear at any moment, and the Wide Peace had to immediately entangle itself, and the lifelines we carried, with the lifelines of your flagship, in order to safely reach the correct Prospero system to meet us.”

"And I'm sure you've already made them pay the price for such an impolite and urgent act, haven't you?"

The Defiant Fearless remained silent—his first reaction upon the teleportation was to activate his shield, allowing them to land in front of him, and to activate the Vortex Cannon and Stasis Ray.

The reason the enemy was fortunate enough not to be wiped out by the first wave of attacks was because the nine borrowed Gray Knight think tanks seemed to have foreseen this and instantly formed a full defensive formation, sending code from a long-lost think tank leader before he could launch the next step.

"Alright, alright, at least we managed to pull them out of the vast ocean quickly, cough cough. The divination hall section needed for their hibernation treatment has also been specially opened—"

Seeing that Hyperion was about to say something more, Ramizane quickly smoothed things over.

"Didn't you and your squad teleport directly to us? I thought your ship was like Mephisto's, already in orbit."

"This was an extremely special teleportation, more like a summoning than a teleportation. Otherwise, I wouldn't have personally traced the path of my own life to come to your side, my lord. With you by my side when I was young, so... (Petrabo BC grins)... I gathered powerful psionicists like the Chief Think Tank, which allowed me to become powerful enough to support all the special plans that followed. These chains are linked one after another. If the plan doesn't anchor itself to the Destiny Steel in the end, then we will have a considerable chance of failure, which is unacceptable."

"I don't quite understand the logic here."

"It's extremely rare to find someone who can live this long, survive without dying from psionic awakening or being consumed by chaos in childhood, and ultimately be successfully recruited into the Astartes Order as a 'special prophetic type'."

Mephisto finally spoke, giving Hyperion a gloomy look.

"At first, I thought he belonged to the rare Mirror-type psychic—as the name suggests, this special talent allows him to reflect the power type and intensity of the psychics around him like a mirror. With training, such psychics can replicate any psychic power that does not exceed their own strength, making it a very effective talent. Mirror-type psychics are rare, but there are still records. But now it seems he's more than that. His prophetic abilities are so powerful that they allow him to use other psychic techniques, and his gene seed..."

"My genetic modification surgery comes from our Supreme Master himself."

Hyperion answered with a smile.

"It has been personally reviewed and blessed by the Imperial State Church and the Imperial Inquisition. If you have any questions, you can file a complaint with the Holy Hammer Order of the Inquisition."

...What about squinty eyes and vampires...?

You two shouldn't fight on the bridge! If you want to fight, go to the gladiator cage!
Lamizain was drenched in sweat.

Because of the Grey Knight's last words to Anteros, Mephisto now harbors a great deal of resentment towards Hyperion. Ramizane, on the other hand, believes that it's because Mephisto doesn't know how to deal with some of his inner struggles and even awkwardness.

As the chief think tank of the Blood Angels, Mephisto rarely encounters anyone other than Dante who can face his pressures without any fear. Unfortunately, here, his identity and power seem to have lost their former effectiveness.

Ramizan's status was mysterious and extraordinary, with a strange sense of ease; Hyperion, backed by the Inquisition, showed no fear of him with his own psychic powers; and this highly suspicious Defiant Dauntless, who called himself the "Silver Skull" Captain, gave him an instinctive sense of danger, like a beast encountering an even stronger beast. When did this galaxy suddenly produce so many extraordinary individuals? Or was this, like the recent rapid increase in mutants and psychics, a side effect of the opening of the Great Rift?

Furthermore, on this even more dubious Glory Queen-class vehicle, Mephisto sensed the presence of several powerful beings through layers of barriers and protection—inexplicably, his divination revealed that the self-introductions of this Dauntless and the others were true.

The Silver Skull Chapter is an old and very active chapter inherited from Primarch Guilliman. They have also cooperated with the Blood Angels. How could Mephisto not know a thing or two about them? Although they are wealthy, it is impossible for a Glory Queen-class ship in such excellent condition to suddenly appear out of nowhere. There is absolutely no related information or rumor about them.

Yes, as the owner of the entire ancient library of the Blood Angels and a reader with a photographic memory, Mephisto recognized the ship as the Glory Queen-class at a glance. However, when he tried to compare it with the flagship of all the loyalists, he was surprised to find that none of the records in his mind matched the one before him.

The records do indeed indicate that more than one Glory Queen-class ship went missing, but none of them quite match what he saw. The closest match might be the Iron Fist, but the style here is completely different from that of the Steel Hands...

Of course, we can rule out the Red Tear ship first, because—

"Morpheston? Morpheston?"

He snapped out of his daze and realized everyone was staring at him, and Ramizan was calling him. How could he have been so careless, spacing out in front of everyone? Perhaps it was because the Black Angel within him hadn't yet adjusted to the balance of power after its hibernation?
"how."

"So, well, we have two people wailing and one person tearing flesh here. Two of them are receiving treatment. Perhaps you'd like to go see them?"

Mephiston stared at Ramizan.

"treat?"

"Well, to be precise, the medical report I received indicates that Malakin Forros is recovering from Black Wrath. Judging by the timing, he probably went into Black Wrath during the ritual dissolution and was extremely lucky to return before being completely destroyed. This is firsthand information, and perhaps you'd be interested in it?"

Although he wanted to say that he was neither a Blood Priest nor a Blood Priest like Kobro who considered breaking the Warband's curse his life's pursuit—but—damn it, yes, Mephisto suddenly felt an urge to know immediately what the Blackfury survivors had gone through, perhaps the key to unraveling this mysterious ship was waiting for him in the dark.

"Thank you for informing me." The chief think tank member nodded slightly. "I am also very grateful for your arrangements for them. Where are they currently residing? I can go there immediately."

Ramizan seemed relieved to be able to get Mephisto away for the time being. "Of course, they're in our infirmary, and our apothecary is taking good care of them. I'll assign... oh, we don't seem to have any other people here, Diocletian? Would you mind taking Mephisto to the infirmary?"

As Mephisto turned around, expecting to see a seasoned, battle-hardened adjutant or a new recruit like Anteros, still full of dreams for everything, to lead the way, a dazzling suit of golden armor caught his eye.

"Force?"

The Chief Think Tank of the Holy Blood Angels frowned, scrutinized Diocletian from head to toe, and after confirming that he was a genuine member of the Imperial Guard, turned back to face the three men on the bridge.

"Ever since I was invited aboard this ship, I've been constantly being 'surprised.' Gentlemen, what other surprises do you have to offer? Now, if you were to tell me that I haven't actually left Tzeentch's Silver Tower labyrinth, I would accept it."

“There are no surprises here,” Ramizam said sincerely. “It’s just life.”

"I hope so."

"If this is your life, then it's an unparalleled drama."

After watching the chief think tank and the Imperial Guard leave, Hiriak, who had been huddled in the shadows since they arrived, looked up and spoke.

This clown, who had previously been smugly trying to prank passersby, now had sunken eyes, looked haggard, and his pointed ears had even drooped down, which surprised someone who secretly took many close-up photos of him.

The Eldar's pointed ears really do droop when they're frustrated! That makes up for the fact that humanoids don't have tails!
“Uh, don’t worry, Pei… she already told me that we’ll still be using the Webpath on our way back, so once we’re back outside the Eye of Dromlah, we’ll release you. Don’t worry…”

“Worried? No, no, I think quite the opposite.” Hiriak jumped up, ignoring the automatic weapon locked on him, and performed the most complex courtly salute to Ramizan with perfect elegance. “I have a sudden realization of the play that Higoki has shown me! This court will be the stage where I am destined to achieve the greatest success—who can refuse the opportunity to perform alongside the gods, even if only as a clown?”

He raised his head, his narrow eyes gleaming with a mixture of fervor and ambition. "Your court needs a clown! Any true emperor's court needs a clown! A court drama without a clown is incomplete! And I am the perfect candidate for this position!"

“First,” Peturabo began, “Lamizan is not an emperor; second, there are no gods here; and finally, my ship is strictly forbidden from harboring any kind of Eldar… Eldar! Hey! You shameless pointy-eared thing! Get your arm off my… off Lamizan’s thigh!!”

Is that elegant way of pounced on someone and begged for their leg to be clung to—so practiced? Mr. Clown?

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On Sabathus, Colonel Fedorak handed a cigarette to the sergeant beside him. Malik lit the cigarette, and the two officers looked up at the three stars and a new, distant planet that were gradually disappearing in the night sky through the rising smoke.

"Do you think it's too naive of me to refuse their invitation, Malik?" The colonel stared blankly at the departing light of the ship. "After all, going with their ship might be a better way to survive than staying here fighting and rotting in the jungle. Everyone can go with them too."

“That’s true, but I think everyone understands you, Colonel.” The sergeant scratched his skin, which had turned yellow from an overdose of antibiotics and jungle prevention medication. “They’ve given us a lot of supplies, and now the walls have been made even stronger by those amazing Astas. They’ve also repaired the communicators, the freshwater wells, and other things—well, we’ve been guarding this place for so many years. Maybe we can finally complete the mission our ancestors were sent here to accomplish. In my opinion, this is thanks to the Emperor’s blessing that we can complete the mission! Once we complete the mission, we can go home with our heads held high!”

Colonel Fedorak laughed. "Yes, let's finish the mission and then go home."

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In the divination hall of the Destiny Steel, Hong Su finished checking the data of the nine activated psionic life support pods and hurried towards the door to the apothecary's laboratory. Only the faint light from the life support pods illuminated the place.

The nine Grey Knight think tanks lay quietly within.

Nine points of light lit up in the darkness one after another, illuminating the magic circle on the ground that had been extinguished for a long time.

The sound of wings flapping suddenly rang out.

The lumens in the hall were turned on again, and Magna Dorn walked in with a white dove on his shoulder, bending down to lift a tiny fledgling from the center of the magic circle.

"I truly never imagined in my life that I would see something like this actually appear in the real universe," the pigeon said with extreme emotion. "But considering that I was able to jump out of that chair, what else is impossible?"

“That’s why we need Ramizan instead of God.” Dorn held the silver-beaked chick up to his eyes and examined it closely. “We need a birdcage. I know there’s a suitable one at Peturabo.”

(End of this chapter)