Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 111 Leman Russ
Besides wind and frost, there was also a biting, chilling cold.

This is Fenris, where there are no lush trees as in legends, only biting, bone-chilling winds and endless frost.

Fenris is a nearly perpetually frozen planet where summers are short and intense.

Summer is short but intense. When volcanoes erupt, the frozen surface cracks in the heat, and magma carrying melting ice pushes the plates to shift.

The frozen seas of Iceland and floating continents alternate between the thawing of summer and the cold winds of winter, resulting in a constantly changing geographical environment that is different every year.

The Fenris people are like thorny thorns on an ice field, taking root and tenaciously surviving amidst the ravages of wind and snow.

On the surface of ice and frost, there is a constant struggle for survival.

They compete with humans, monsters from ancient times, and even packs of wolves.

Several years ago, a human tribe discovered a strange man dressed in wolf skin who lived with a pack of wolves and behaved like a werewolf.

The werewolf and its wolf brothers attacked the tribe, and the wolf pack suffered heavy losses and fled in disarray.

To protect their pack, the werewolf stayed behind with its wolf brothers and fought against the human hunting party, but was eventually captured.

The people subdued the werewolf, and as it bared its teeth to intimidate the crowd, they used a spear to rip off its skin.

The hunting team was astonished to discover the true nature of the strange creature before them: it was a naked human.

He was exceptionally strong, with powerful muscles in his limbs and torso, sharp toes and fingers like a wild beast, wrinkles on his face from anger, fangs in his mouth, and wolf mane growing from his cheeks.

People were surprised by his appearance, but they still brought him back to the tribe and gradually accepted him.

The tribal chief named him Leman Rus, meaning Rus's love.

Ruth quickly learned human language and, with his two wolf brothers, survived among humans.

In the eyes of wolves, humans are no different from them; they are the same kind of beings.

After the Golden Age was shattered, in order to resist the harsh natural environment of Fenris, humans injected "Wolf Spirals" into their bodies.

Those who did not succumb to their animalistic instincts and successfully survived gained the power of the wild, enabling them to withstand the storm.

The losers, their minds consumed by savagery, became the wolves of the Fenris Icefield.

Ruth gradually revealed his talents as a Primarch, guiding the Ruth tribe's blacksmiths in forging and leading warriors in battles across the land.

Through repeated conquests, Russ gained respect and was completely accepted and embraced by humanity.

Before his death, the tribal chief appointed Ruth as his successor to continue leading the tribe.

Under Ruth's leadership, the Ruth tribe unified the hemisphere and became the true overlords of Fenris.

The tribe was exceptionally lively today, having witnessed a grand raid that yielded a large amount of supplies, and the people were celebrating yet another victory.

Leman Russ laughed wildly in the tribal hall, his boisterous laughter drowning out all the other conversations.

He stood at the very center of the banquet, his enormous physique drawing attention, while behind him, his wolf brothers devoured meat, their expressions of enjoyment evident.

The Primarch was the center of the feast, where all the warriors and servants drank Fenris and devoured fatty roasted meat.

Since Ruth came to power, he has led his warriors to hunt giant beasts, killing the once invincible creatures and ensuring that the tribe has plenty of food even in winter.

No leader could compare to him, the Great Wolf—Riemann Russ.

Because of his presence, the winters of Fenris were no longer frightening, but rather a peaceful wait before the arrival of summer.

Ruth drank the strong liquor with gusto and chewed the roasted meat in his mouth with gusto. The amount of meat and liquor he swallowed far exceeded the total of all the warriors combined.

He enjoys everything he has now, venting freely and without caring too much.

Ruth's werewolf intuition was very sharp; he keenly captured the outward expressions and inner thoughts of everyone in the banquet hall.

Someone patted the waitress's shapely buttocks, causing the girl to scream and quickly leave.

That's not excessive. The soldier and the girl had an ambiguous relationship; the woman simply didn't expect the sudden attack and, in shame and anger, screamed and ran away.

The warrior, his face flushed from the looting, was clearly drunk by the men. He jumped onto the round table, spitting as he recounted how he had beheaded his enemies.

His wild and intense behavior, boasting about his achievements, though suspected of exaggeration, still ignited the atmosphere of the banquet.

In a dimly lit corner of the banquet, several soldiers, their faces flushed, were still arguing about the spoils of war, and the atmosphere between them was gradually becoming tense.

Ruth gulped down the liquor, then picked up the sizzling, oily grilled ribs in front of him and tossed them aside.

A piece of roasted meat fell from the sky, causing the arguing group to jump up, immediately abandon their fight, and turn around to find out who had thrown the meat. "Come here! Let's wrestle while eating meat!"

When the group saw Russ waving at them, they immediately put aside their displeasure and surrounded him.

"Wrestling!"

Ruth urged impatiently; he was a passionate wrestler, and wrestling was the first skill he learned in human tribes.

Under his impatient urging, several soldiers walked to the center of the banquet hall and began to fight each other.

The men vented their frustrations on each other during the fight, ending up bruised and battered, but their conflicts were completely resolved.

Beneath Ruth's savage exterior lies keen intuition and a clear mind.

He made seemingly casual and barbaric demands, yet he united his warrior brothers in the way Fenris did.

He was quite satisfied with the current atmosphere, squinting his eyes to enjoy it, watching the intense, carefree laughter.

Deep within the eyes of the Great Wolf lies a profound tranquility.

Amidst laughter, cheers, and the jeers of wrestling, the banquet gradually reached its climax, marking yet another sleepless night.

Unbeknownst to Russ, on the Fenris ice plains, two figures, one tall and one short, strolled through the snow and wind, gradually heading towards his tribe.

Their cloaks billowed in the cold wind, but undeterred by the frigid night of Fenris, they made steady progress across the snowfield.

It was the Emperor and Doom who descended from the Emperor Dream to Fenris.

The raging wind and snow could not shake the two extraordinary humans; the giant beasts of the wasteland trembled in fear of their powerful aura.

Doom wore a suit of light armor without power, his boots crunching in the snow, and only a simple skirt armor around his waist. His thighs and upper body were bare, and his heroic face was hidden in the shadow of his cloak hood, with only half of his chin showing.

He was quite curious about the Emperor. Before setting off, he was wearing the True One Armor, but now he was only wearing a long robe. His body had shrunk, and he looked extremely thin.

Why use this method?

Doom asked, his voice cutting through the snow and reaching the Emperor's ears clearly: "Can negotiations still be conducted by landing ships directly on tribes?"

He now somewhat understands that the imposter who enjoys role-playing games may have picked up those bad habits from being around the emperor all the time.

"Living alone for a long time, or being adopted, your brother, like you, has developed an independent personality."

The Emperor, holding the edge of his hood to prevent it from being blown off by the wind, explained the purpose of the operation to Doom: "I hope to improve our relationship a little through some... interaction."

"To enhance mutual understanding."

"Perhaps it will be useful." Doom remained noncommittal, taking a neutral stance on the Emperor's "interactions," neither denying nor supporting them, deciding to observe before drawing conclusions.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the entrance of the Rus tribe. Inside the guard post, the tribal guards were drinking and eating meat by the dim light.

The two figures quickly attracted the attention of the guards, especially Doom's size, which made the guards involuntarily tighten their grip on their weapons.

The guards, spears and battle axes in hand, rushed out of the guard post and shouted sharply, "Who goes there?"

The newcomer was acting mysteriously, wearing a cloak that concealed his identity; he was clearly not a good person.

That tall figure was even taller than Ruth.

"Don't be nervous," the shorter one spoke up. He took off his hood, revealing a dark face; he was a thin, middle-aged man.

His calm and inclusive tone put the guards at ease: "We come from afar, we are travelers passing through, and we hope to rest here for a while."

The guard nodded repeatedly, seemingly believing him to some extent.

In the Fenris Wasteland, where monsters and wolves roam, the fact that the two of them could traverse it safely speaks volumes about their extraordinary abilities.

They were highly skilled, yet they did not act excessively, and their words were extremely polite.

“I will take them to see Ruth.”

The guard signaled to his companion that he was leading the outsiders to see Ruth, not worried about any unusual behavior from them, as Ruth's strength would resolve everything.

“Come with me, stranger.” The guard’s eyes kept darting over Doom. Ruth should be able to take him down… right?

What if we can't get it?
If even Rus can't handle it, what else can be done? The tribe should just surrender; any further sacrifices would be meaningless.

(End of this chapter)