Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 878 (08.877): "The Horn of the Space Wolf (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)"

On the bridge of the "Swift Eagle," which looked as if it had been gnawed by a giant beast, three holographic images suddenly lit up amidst the crackling air and flying sparks.

One of the images was filled with jarring static noise and distant, indistinct battle cries, with no clear human figures yet visible.

Horatio's gaze quickly swept over the other two images.

He saw Colonel Sterling's familiar, weathered face, who gave him a brief, firm nod in salute.

Horatio nodded in return, then turned his gaze to the third image, a completely unfamiliar face.

"Welcome to the Colonus Expansion District, Colonel, the Supreme Lord of the Gothic Fleet." The man politely removed the bicorn hat adorned with tricolor flowers from his head, revealing a head of meticulously styled medium-length brown hair.

His uniform was tailored to fit perfectly, and the gold sash and medals shone brightly in the holographic light, exuding an air of classic imperial aristocratic elegance and arrogance.

"I am Rear Admiral François Paul Brues de Agaliyes."

By order of my mentor, Admiral Louis-Tomas Villaret de la Tous-Trèveil, I led the flagship Holy Grail-class high-speed battleship 'Vostok' and the rearguard fleet, and changed course en route to the Whirlwind Line to provide emergency support for the RX-0371 escort convoy.

Please inform me of the current status of the fleet. What is the status of the Swift Eagle?

(François Paul Brues de Agalius, one of the very few Bourbon noble naval commanders still serving in the French Republic.)
The man spoke in a high Gothic accented with ancient Terran French, each syllable clear, precise, and rhythmic, as if reciting a war poem.

[...Are all the names of these Sintira nobles this long?] The lengthy speech evoked a touch of inappropriate dark humor in Horatio's mind.

Seeing Horatio fall into a brief silence, the major general's gaze fell on the dried blood on his face, and his brows furrowed: "Are you injured, Captain?"

"It's nothing serious, thank you for your concern, Major General."

Horatio's voice remained calm and steady, though weary, it showed no sign of wavering. "The situation is urgent, and we need battleship support. Currently, our ships are delaying the enemy's main force, but we are on the verge of falling."

The escort convoy is being hunted down by an enemy detachment; more than ten ships have already been crippled or destroyed. The situation is extremely precarious.

"Understood. The 'Eastern' will provide you with full support. Propulsion Department, full speed ahead! Towards the Swift Eagle..."

"For Ruth and for all of Father!!!"

Before Horatio could finish speaking, the third holographic image, which had previously only produced noise, suddenly erupted with a thunderous battle roar.

That wasn't just one person's voice, but a roar from the heart of a group of warriors, filled with the joy of fierce battle, instantly drowning out all the communication noise on the bridge.

The image finally stabilized, and a wild, unruly Space Marine appeared before Horatio.

He had the same black hair as Horatio, but it was tied into a towering braid that pointed straight to the sky, giving him a somewhat heroic appearance like a warlord.

However, upon closer inspection, his face appeared unusually young.

Compared to the soldiers around him who generally had thick beards, his face was unusually clean, so clean that it stood out, even appearing quite fair.

Horatio's gaze shifted downwards.

His power armor was a distinctive grey-blue, and a cloak of black-maned Fenris wolf skin, with a ferocious appearance and scarred eyes, was draped over his right shoulder. On his left shoulder armor, a golden howling wolf totem was painted.

Undoubtedly, all these characteristics irrefutably prove that the people in front of them are the Space Wolves Chapter, once known as the "Imperial Military Police"—another glorious chapter among the nine founding chapters that has inherited the glory of its Primarch.

Although by the 41st Millennium, these former Imperial Guards, due to their unruly attitude and temperament, were no longer accepted by the Highlords of Terra, and their "guards" positions were gradually replaced by rising forces such as the Tauren Chapters and Grey Knights controlled by the new ruling body, the Space Wolves, these free-spirited Space Marines, still roam the most arduous battlefields of the Imperium of Man, hunting down the toughest targets.

And continue to ruthlessly eliminate the fools and traitors within the empire.

“I am Ragnar Blackmane, the Black Wolf,” the young Space Marine spoke, his voice booming with undeniable confidence and honor. “We were swept here after being caught in a warp vortex during our voyage, but we also received your distress signal.”

High Lord Colonel, Space Wolf Blackmane Dalian, I answer your call! We will bathe in the blood of our enemies alongside His holy navy, for the sake of the Father!

Having said that, he slightly raised his head, and then suddenly raised his giant hand covered in terracotta steel, slamming it heavily onto his breastplate with a crisp "bang!"

[Space wolves, huh? As expected, it's exhilarating.] Horatio thought to himself.

For mortal warriors loyal to the God-Emperor, the Space Wolf is perhaps the easiest Space Marine to deal with.

They don't care about gains or losses; once they make a promise, they will go all out and do their best. They are bold, straightforward, and easygoing; after a bloody battle, all they want is a glass of strong liquor that can burn their throat.

And Black Mane Dalian...

From the depths of Horatio's memory, fragmented pieces of information began to surface.

They are Blackmane Dalian of the Space Wolves, and the Wolf Lord Ragnar Blackmane appears to be the youngest Wolf Lord in the history of the Space Wolves. He is also widely regarded as the most promising candidate for Chapter Leader due to his illustrious battle record.

[From Captain Afar to Cato Sicarius, and now Ragnar Blackmane, how come I've run into all the youngest and most promising captains in the founding chapter...]
Horatio didn't know if it was some kind of fate that brought these promising young men together in the midst of war, but his understanding of the Space Wolves was far deeper than that of an ordinary Imperial Navy captain.

Space Wolves is not a sacred group.

Their Dalian was a larger and more flexible company-level organization during the Great Expedition.

The reason they so openly disregard Guilliman's holy book is that they simply don't care about it, and they also can't muster enough people to completely contradict it.

This demonstrates their independence and is one of the reasons why they are not favored by the Terra Highlords and have long remained on the fringes of Imperial politics.

However, it is said that Blackmane Dalian is somewhat similar to the Second Company of Ultra Warriors, and they also have some of their own "little secrets".

As Horatio knows, these secrets include their genetic seed defects, which appear to be more active and pronounced than those in other Dalians.

Especially when the "Wolf Brothers" subgroup, which was highly anticipated during the second army's founding, was feared due to rumors of its genetic defects, which ultimately led to the Court of Justice's forced intervention and its disbandment, Blackmane Dalian moved even further away from the political center of the human empire and threw itself into one brutal battle after another.

Nobody knows why.

Perhaps it's atonement, perhaps it's anger, or perhaps it's simply a form of catharsis, a silent protest against the corrupt and incompetent decisions of bureaucrats.

As the Supreme Lord Captain who had the authority to represent the Imperial Navy's Gothic Fleet in the field, Horatio understood that he had to maintain a certain ceremonial distance from these Fenris's offspring.

We can no longer engage in clandestine "communications" too quickly and secretly, as we did with the Man-Eating Shark and Grayclaw gangs before.

Because these wolf cubs are as straightforward in mind as they are in words and deeds.

Once a space wolf feels offended or its privacy violated, its trust will be quickly lost. Gaining its help and trust again will then be extremely difficult.

(End of this chapter)