Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 1060, 09.1059: 'The Legend of the Three Bugles'

"Thank you... thank you..."

The old gardener's body trembled slightly. He reached out his calloused, muddy, and shaky hands and took the neatly folded military uniform and the heavy wooden box, holding them tightly in his arms as if they were the most precious relics.

"In...in this dark age, to die in an honorable manner, to return to the Golden Throne, and to no longer endure humiliation, is my son's...fortune. Thank you...thank you for coming all this way to tell me this news, thank you."

The old man raised his head and looked deeply at Horatio and Jadvig with his cloudy eyes, which were already brimming with tears.

Then, he slowly raised his trembling hands and gave them a standard, military-style Eagle Salute.

It's clear that he was a soldier before becoming a gardener.

Perhaps he was a knight squire of the Wadsław royal court, or perhaps he was just an ordinary Polaberia militiaman.

But it was this military imprint that was already ingrained in his bones that prevented him from losing control when faced with the devastating news of his loved ones' passing.

“We still have military affairs to attend to, so we’ll take our leave,” Horatio replied with a nod.

Then, he gestured to Yadwiga with his eyes and left with him.

Just as the two passed through a tall hedge and their figures were completely hidden, they heard behind them a long-suppressed, heart-wrenching wail.

.

Yadwiga's mood plummeted to rock bottom.

Her steps became heavy, each step feeling like walking on broken glass.

She didn't know whether distorting the facts and using a well-intentioned lie to comfort a grieving father was right or wrong.

Horatio seemed to have read her mind.

He slowed his pace to walk alongside her and said in a calm, almost cold voice, "Even if it's a lie, it's a white lie."

If such an old man knew that his son had died a humiliating death at the hands of the Sintira flintlock gunners he should have considered his comrades, then his later years would be forever consumed by endless rage and the desire for revenge—which might lead him to die in a more tragic way, directly or indirectly.

You did very well. There's an irreconcilable blood feud between the Polaberians and the Orks. He can now accept this 'truth' more readily.

“You are very skilled.” Yadviga lowered his eyelashes, kept his head down, and strode forward, as if trying to shake off his guilt with speed.

"I graduated from Chungsuke Academy."

Horatio's voice was completely calm. "I was an orphan before the day I entered the Imperial Military Academy."

During my military academy years, I witnessed countless classmates and comrades die before my eyes.

I have seen the physical form of a demon, witnessed the bloodiest massacres, and also seen the most sacred miracles.

I have experienced massive and brutal battles in the boundless void, and witnessed millions of vibrant lives perish completely in a single afternoon as the void war raged on.

But as you can see, I haven't become numb to it or turned into a cold-blooded monster.

Because I am very clear that we are the warriors of the God-Emperor, and what we are facing is the most terrifying and vile being in the entire galaxy.

All our successes are built upon countless sacrifices. The path of human progress has been paved with the skulls of hundreds of millions of our compatriots.

At first, I also hated loss and sacrifice.

But soon, I saw the cruel truth behind it all—if we don't pay the price of a million lives, hundreds of millions of people will lose their souls.

And that's not just death; it could be sacrifice to demons, or other even more terrifying beings.

He gazed into her eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "Take it slow. You'll face things like this often in the future. You have to get used to it and adapt to it. Because this will be your life, your choice, your future."

"Thank you, Commander Citizen. I have learned a lot from you again today."

Jadvig suddenly stopped, looking at Horatio with a complex expression in her eyes.

Then she gave him a standard military salute, a gesture more resolute than ever before.

He returned the courtesy.

“Go to Volshar. You should know the area well. Please show me the way.”
-
“Volshar. The word comes from the Old Polyberian word for ‘war horn’.”

On the hovercar heading to the capital, Jadviga introduced Horatio to the places they were about to arrive at, using recollections of ancient history to ease the heaviness in her thoughts.

“There is a very old ballad in Polaberia, so old that it is said to predate the first knight to establish his family on this planet.”

"Can you sing?"

"Yes. Every Polaberia knight and their descendants will. It is the knights' 'war song,' and it carries our history."

Then, she cleared her throat and, in a distant and desolate tone, softly sang:
"The rowan tree, growing alone amidst the marshes. Where did you come from? Why must you be buried in the moss? One day you bid farewell to your mother, your iron cavalry crossed mountains and passes. You left me with the bugle call of the three armies, and as soon as you left the courtyard, drums and trumpets sounded. In the blink of an eye, I passed the city corner, and then I sang a mournful song. Wandering aimlessly, I entered the army camp, where the song and music had not yet ceased. I leaped on my horse, raising yellow dust, and all my comrades looked on in awe. Suddenly, the enemy army arrived, fierce and strong. We galloped across the battlefield, killing the enemy amidst the white blades. My lord is mighty and strong, his talent worthy of the highest kingship!"

"It has the feel of an ancient epic," Horatio commented. "I didn't realize your ancestors were so cultured."

No one was better at writing poetry than the people of his previous life, but even as a time traveler, after carefully appreciating the poem, he couldn't help but admire the tragic grandeur and heroic spirit of war contained within it.

"This city was originally built on the wreckage of an ancient Terran colony ship called the 'Warhorn'."

Our ancestors established the first knightly regime on this planet, relying on the wreckage of the spaceship and the STC it carried.

The 'three horns' are the core of our Polaberia knightly culture and the cornerstone of all legends.

"Legend has it that whichever king can obtain these three horns will gain the support of the people and become the undisputed ruler of all of Polaberia."

"Are there really three horns? Or is this just a folk legend?" Horatio asked curiously.

“It really is!” Yadvig’s tone became excited. “My mother told me when I was a child that before the first ‘Great Tooth Calamity,’ these three horns were always kept in the palace as the highest treasures of the royal court, serving as the most important ceremonial objects.”

These three horns are only played simultaneously at the most important events.

"An ancient and legendary cavalry force known as the 'Silent Guard' serves only the king who possesses these three horns."

They are the most loyal supporters of the king, and the most elite silent warriors.

But when Hodkiewicz, the High King of Polyberia, died in battle, we lost the three horns in the chaos of the First Great Tooth Plague, and with it, lost our rule over Polyberia.

That legendary cavalry unit thus vanished from the world.

Some say they retreated to the mountains, refusing to pledge allegiance to the Sintira colonial regime, and to this day continue to resist any outsiders who attempt to invade their territory.

"Is there really such an elusive unit?" Horatio considered the veracity of this legend from the perspective of military logistics: "You never mentioned these 'three horns' to me before."

Horatio stroked his chin, thinking rapidly, "Would the absence of these three horns affect your status as the legitimate successor to the throne of Polaberia?"

“In a sense… yes. But if…” A glimmer of hope flickered in Yadvig’s eyes, “if we can find the knight mech that my mother left behind, perhaps we can find the legendary ‘Three Horns’! I have a gut feeling about it!”

"captain."

Just then, Sergeant Major Valina, who was in charge of Horatio's guard, turned to her seat at the rear and reported:
"Wolshar has arrived. Ground crew is guiding us to land on the VIP parking platform outside the Colonial Governor's Palace."

(End of this chapter)