Warhammer: Empire Reboot

"How many worlds have I conquered for the empire?"

"I led the Fourth Army through the most dangerous battlefields and conquered the most fortified fortresses. Missions that other armies considered graveyards were all thrown at me!"

"I expanded the territory for mankind and eliminated enemies for emperors, while my sons died one after another in the meat grinder!"

"and then?"

Peturabo's voice grew louder and louder.

The anger that had been building up for millennia finally erupted from the cracks in the steel shell.

"Dorn stood on Terra and built a few walls out of stone, and everyone praised him as the greatest city builder in the Empire!"

"The Emperor bestowed glory upon him, but entrusted me with the dirtiest and most arduous war!"

"All I want is fairness! Is that wrong?"

Lawson looked at him.

"So, you betrayed the Empire?"

"You burned down your whole house because your father didn't praise you, and because your brother received more praise than you?"

Peturabo stared intently at Losen.

"You don't understand at all!"

“I understand.”

Lawson pressed down with his foot again.

A dull cracking sound came from Peturabo's chest.

"You feel like the whole world owes you something."

"When others praise Dorne, they are humiliating you. When the Emperor entrusts you with important tasks, he is using you. Your legions cannot understand you because they are foolish."

"You are always right, and the mistakes always belong to others."

Lawson bent down.

“You’re not unloved, Peturabo. You’re just unwilling to admit that some love in this world doesn’t fit your calculations.”

The anger in Peturabo's eyes faltered.

“Your sworn sister, Califon.”

As the name was uttered, the Iron Lord's body trembled uncontrollably.

"shut up!"

"When Olympia rebelled, she stood before you, trying to make you see yourself clearly."

Lawson left Peturabo no room to escape.

"She took care of you like a mother, and she was one of the few people in that cold world who truly loved you, yet you killed her with your own hands."

"shut up!"

Peturabo let out a roar like a wounded beast.

She betrayed me!

"Do not……"

The memories of the Lord of Steel, sealed for ten thousand years, finally surged out from the cracks.

Perturabo would rather face the entire legion of the Imperial Fist than see those eyes again.

"Kill me... Lawson, kill me!"

Lawson sneered.

"How many loyal subjects have you slaughtered? It would be too easy for you to die now with your eyes closed."

Peturabo caught his breath for a moment, then suddenly let out a hoarse laugh.

"What? You still want me to return to the empire?"

"Would Guilliman agree? Would Ryan agree? Would the high lords and inquisitors of Terra allow a traitorous Primarch to take control of the Legion again?"

"You wish."

Lawson shook his head: "The Empire will not forgive you, and you are no longer worthy to return as the Emperor's son. However, you can atone for your sins."

"I am innocent!"

Peturabo gritted his teeth.

Lawson slapped him on the metal mask, and the Iron Lord's head slammed into the ground.

"If I say you are guilty, then you are guilty."

A holographic projection unfolded above the ruins of the bridge.

Comoros, the city of the Dark Eldar.

"I will take you here, along with those steel warriors."

Lawson calmly announced the verdict: "Don't you like sieges? There are the largest and most complex cities in the entire galaxy. Countless regions are hidden in the broken network of tunnels, and every governor has his own fortress, army, and intrigue."

"Go and break through it. Kill those bean sprouts, destroy their arenas and slave markets, and bring out the imprisoned humans. You and the Fourth Legion owe the Empire a debt, pay it off city by city."

"Until Comoros is flattened by you, or the Iron Warriors bleed to their last drop."

"This is your atonement."

Even though Peturabo was trampled into the ruins, his eyes still revealed contempt.

"You want to use me to make the Fourth Legion wear down the Dark Eldar for you? Don't dream about it. I will never obey your orders."

But Lawson laughed.

"It's not your choice."

His gaze swept over the steel warrior warships outside the flagship, which were still engaged in battle with the Empire's dark side fleet.

"Unless you want your entire legion to perish with you."

After he finished speaking, a miniature sphere appeared above Peturabo's head.

The black hole trapped his head.

Everything before Peturabo's eyes was swallowed by endless darkness.

He lost all sensation.

When his senses returned, Peturab found himself in a different starry sky.

A deep, dark void.

In the distance, the broken network structure, like the skeleton of an ancient behemoth, floated in the eternal night, emitting a faint glow.

He stood on the bridge of the Ironblood, his feet resting on the familiar steel deck.

Lawson stood right beside him, as if he had never moved.

His most trusted chapter commanders—Foul Bazaro and the war blacksmiths of the Fourth Army—had also regained consciousness and were looking around blankly.

Immediately afterwards, Peturabo felt something strange coming from his neck.

He reached out and touched it; a collar made of dark gold living metal was already tightly fitted between his armor and skin.

He could sense the terrifying energy contained within it.

Not only him, but all the Iron Warriors who regained consciousness wore the same collar around their necks.

"what is this?"

"War blacksmith Krogh!" roared. He tried to tear the collar off with brute force, but found that the metal was as if it were an extension of his body, completely immovable.

Lawson flicked his finger.

boom!

Kroger's head, along with his heavy Terminator helmet, exploded into a cloud of blood mist on the spot.

His soul was completely purified and vanished into nothingness the instant the collar exploded.

Inside the bridge, there was a deathly silence.

Lawson's gaze swept over the remaining steel warriors, their faces ashen, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

“You’ve all heard of my methods. Anything that dies by my hand is truly dead; it won’t wait to be resurrected in the warp. The collars around your necks are the restrictions I’ve placed on you.”

He pointed out the porthole to the distorted city suspended in the eternal night.

"Stay in Comoros and atone for the Empire's sins. Anyone who dares to leave this star system without permission will suffer the same fate as that fool just now."

He patted Peturabo on the shoulder.

"I know you don't care about your own life, but you don't want to be nailed to the pillar of shame after you die, do you? Don't you want to prove your abilities? And those loyal sons of yours, they'll be buried with your ridiculous pride!"

"Or are you actually a coward? Lacking the confidence to survive in the Dark Eldar's territory?"

Peturabo glared fiercely at Lawson, his righteous eyes blazing with fury powerful enough to melt steel.

He hated being used, and he hated being threatened with his most cherished legion.

Klossen was right. He could die, but he wanted to prove his strength.

Seeing the suppressed yet unquenchable rage in Perturabo's eyes, Lawson laughed heartily with satisfaction.

"That's more like it! A wise man submits to circumstances. Lord of Steel, if you want to prove to the entire galaxy that you are superior to Dorn, then show your true abilities and carve out your own territory here! Either the Dark Eldar die, or you all die!"

He took a step back, his smile fading.

"Don't let me down, and don't let Dorne's spirit laugh at you."

Lawson's gaze swept over every Iron Warrior present.

"You have two hours to prepare. In two hours, the Comoros welcome party will be coming your way. Good luck."

After he finished speaking, his figure disappeared in the light of the static force field.

After Lawson disappeared, Peturabo was shocked to find that the feeling of reconnecting with the Ironblood had returned.

On the bridge, the dark gold double-headed eagle seal faded, and the emblem of the steel warriors lit up again.