The Bizarre Adventures of Cloud Hammer

Ou Ge: "Who gave this mission to the Word Bearers? A high-ranking Dark Apostle?"

"I don't know, but the message mentioned Abaddon."

Luochen: "Oh, it's our brother Dun. I have to go and see it now."

Apu: "Then let's go. It's not far anyway."

"No problem, we're confirming the route and estimated time..."

"Just call us when we get there. I'm tired and ready to go to sleep."

(Second update, emmmm, it seems a bit late)

Chapter 92 Gather together

The Phalanx is a "space fortress" built by humans during the Dark Age of Technology. It is also the largest interstellar spaceship known to mankind. Since the return of the Imperial Fists Primarch Rogal Dorn with the Phalanx, it has been the mobile fortress and monastery of the Imperial Fists.

So massive is the Phalanx, the size of a small moon or large asteroid, its foredeck capable of docking over a dozen Imperial Navy cruisers. The ship is essentially a hive city, the only vessel constructed by Mankind to approach the size and complexity of an Eldar craftworld.

Unlike other Imperial space fortresses, such as Fort Ramirez, the Phalanx was considered a battleship precisely because it could independently perform warp jumps and often accompanied the Imperial Fists throughout the system.

In the 40th millennium, the Phalanx is no longer docked on Terra, but patrols the Sol System. Due to the split of the Chapter and the regulations of the Codex, such a large ship could not be maintained by a mere -man Astartes Chapter. Many areas of the Phalanx have been abandoned and damaged, and due to the "loss" of technology, the Imperium is unable to repair the Phalanx.

Today, only one company of Imperial Fists (and mortal troops) is stationed aboard the Phalanx, and the Phalanx's dilapidated state seems to mark the end of the glory of the VII Legion.

Is this really the case?

Half a year after the Battle of Isil, the Phalanx docked at a location on the edge of the solar system. Today, unlike usual, it was alone. A large number of ships from other Astartes Chapters were docked on the front deck and around the Phalanx. These Astartes Chapters had one thing in common: they were all descendants of the Imperial Fists and descendants of Dorn.

Black Templars, Celestial Lions, Crimson Fists, Executioners, Rebukers, Astral Knights, Hammer of Dorn, Iron Knights, Emperor's Messengers, Soul Drinkers, Punishers... and so on. This is not all. Never since the Second Founding of the Army have so many Sons of Dorn from different chapters gathered on the Phalanx. This spectacular scene recreates a corner of the 7th Legion during the Great Crusade.

This is also the reason why the Imperial Fists parked the Phalanx at the edge of the solar system. If the sons of Dorne gathered in the core area, it would inevitably attract the attention of the Council of High Lords, which would then lead to all kinds of political troubles.

Half of the companies of the Imperial Fists' main group returned to the Phalanx to protect its safety during the meeting. When the time was almost up, representatives from each Imperial Fist sub-group sat in the Phalanx's conference room. They all came for the same news.

The current Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists gave a brief opening speech in the center of the conference room, then he got straight to the point:

"Fellow kin of Dorne, I know we are all here today for the same cause. I will not waste any more words. Let us witness and judge with our own eyes the story of an elder."

In the conference room, the Imperial Fists played the footage of Malorion recorded by the Black Templars in Isil. The fearless elder's words, deeds, and the things he told all proved that he came from the Imperial Fists Legion more than 10,000 years ago. His qualifications could even be traced back to the Terra Unification War. He was an ancient and noble warrior who had fought alongside the Emperor and the Primarch and experienced the entire Great Crusade and the Great Heresy.

The emotions of the sons of Dorne became excited. Even though many of them were sub-regiments formed later in the founding of the army, the blood of Dorne connected them together. The appearance of a thousand-year-old elder allowed them to glimpse the glory of the Seventh Legion in the past.

The scene continued playing, and the Sons of Dorne all listened to the elders' teachings on how to become a commander and combat techniques. Then the representative of the Crimson Fists called a pause and asked:

"I wonder who the elder is talking to now."

"He's the lord of one of our Black Templars' expeditionary fleets, named Arthur," the Black Templars headquarters representative replied. "This expeditionary fleet fought alongside the Elder on the planet called Isil."

"What about the owner of Castle Arthur? As the person involved, shouldn't he also be present?"

"He's in lockdown."

"Confinement?"

The representatives of the sub-groups present were puzzled. Why was Lord Arthur punished with confinement after he found the elder?

"Okay, let's finish reading the records first."

The Imperial Fists Chapter Master interrupted the conversation, saying any questions could wait until the scene ended.

The scene continues, and the battle begins. Elder Mallorian, the Black Templars, the Celestial Lions, and another unknown warband fight against the army of traitors and demons. They rely on defensive positions to withstand wave after wave of attacks, leaving the enemy helpless.

The representatives of the successor groups thought that the Imperial Guard in the picture would defeat the enemy in this way, but the appearance of a Khorne Daemon reversed the situation on the battlefield.

The Imperial Guard first retreated to the rear position, and then chose to fight Khorne head-on. The best warriors present were selected and charged towards Khorne.

This Great Daemon of Khorne was so powerful that the sons of Dorne present could not help but break out in cold sweats. Many warriors were killed by the Great Daemon of Khorne during the battle. The two Dreadnoughts only caused a little damage to the Daemon before losing their combat effectiveness.

The warriors in the picture suffered heavy casualties. One warrior stepped forward and fought with the demon for a long time, but was eventually "defeated" by the demon. The remaining warriors fell one by one, and in the end only Arthur and two other captains were left.

Because of Arthur's mistake, the two chapter leaders fell one after another. At this time, Arthur burst out with incredible strength and knocked the big demon to his knees. He was only one step away from killing the big demon.

Just when the sons of Dorne thought everything was over, Arthur suddenly lost power again, and then they saw Elder Malorion's body shattered by the attack of Khorne in order to save Arthur.

Boom! ! !

The Executioner's representative punched the alloy table top in front of him, which dented it. Not only him, but all the representatives of the sub-groups clenched their fists after seeing this scene.

Hard! The fist is hard!

Now they know why Lord Arthur was put in solitary confinement. Why was he put in solitary confinement? Why not just expel him from the battle group and send him to the Expedition of Atonement?

"Calm down, everyone, calm down first, let's finish watching first, okay?"

The Imperial Fists' Chapter Master understood the feelings of everyone present. When he first witnessed this scene, he wanted to drag out everyone in Arthur's expeditionary fleet and beat them up. What the hell are you doing?! Why couldn't you protect the elders? And Arthur, why would the elders risk their lives to save you?

The middle scene was skipped, and the sons of Dorne present only knew that the great demon was killed, and then came Malorion's last words. The elder asked Arthur not to blame himself and entrusted a task to Arthur.

"I really want to...see Terra's sky again..."

As the elder uttered his last words, the entire conference room fell into silence. None of them had expected that a distinguished, thousand-year-old elder would pass away in this way.

The recording ends, and the Imperial Fists Chapter Master addresses the representatives of the successor chapters in the conference room:

"Now, everyone can speak."

"I would like to know where the elder's remains are now?" asked the Soul Drinker representative.

"Due to Chaos corruption, the Elder's remains could not be preserved. The Black Templars brought the Elder's ashes back to the Phalanx. We have placed the Elder's ashes in the reliquary. Later, we will bury the Elder in Valhalla, to rest in peace with the heroes of the Imperial Fists." The Imperial Fists Chapter Master replied.

The representative of the Star Knights raised a question:

"I wonder why the only person in the picture is Lord Arthur, the commander-in-chief of this expeditionary fleet?"

The Marshal is the leader of the Black Templar Expeditionary Fleet, but he has never been seen in the recorded footage. The great demons have been summoned, so how could the Marshal not be on the front battlefield?

"Let me explain this," the Black Templar representative stood up and said, "Marshal Koslo, who led this expeditionary fleet, had previously fallen into a coma after a near-death battle. Command of the expeditionary fleet was then handed over to Lord Arthur."

"Has Marshal Koslo been rescued?"

"No, after the battle, he was placed into the Contemptor Dreadnought of Malorian the Elder."

"What did you say!?"

The representatives of the sub-groups all looked at the Black Templars representative. A marshal of an expeditionary fleet actually used the Elder's Holy Dreadnought!?

"This was Elder Mallorian's request before his death, and it has been approved by his chapter," the Black Templar representative explained. "We have also inspected this Dreadnought, and it is indeed a sacred artifact from ten thousand years ago."

"The elder's chapter?"

The representatives of the successor chapters all remembered that the paint on Elder Mallorian was the same as that of a chapter in the picture. Could this chapter also be a successor chapter of the Imperial Fists? But why were they not in the mountain formation?

"There are too many omissions in the recorded footage. Which warband did the elder belong to before, and who killed that demon?"

"Who built the defensive position in the picture? Are there any architects of such accomplishments among the Black Templars and the Celestial Lions?"

"Who was that warrior who was defeated by the demon because of his weapon?"

Representatives of the sub-groups asked their own questions one after another.

"Let me answer that."

Elio stood up and said that as the Chapter Master of the Celestial Lions he personally attended this meeting.

"I am Elio, Chapter Master of the Celestial Lions. We, the Celestial Lions, bear some responsibility for Elder Mallorian's death."

"The chapter that Elder Mallorian belongs to is called the Nebula Hammer. I swore an oath to Chapter Master Uldren of the Nebula Hammer. I cannot reveal their detailed information, but there is one thing I can tell you."

"There are predecessors in the Nebula Hammer who were contemporaries of Elder Mallorian. They came from different legions. The defensive position in the picture was built under the command of one of these predecessors. The warrior fighting the demon is also an elder in this legion."

As soon as this information came out, the conference room was in an uproar.

"Are you sure, Chapter Master Elio?"

"I am sure, I can swear by the honor of the Celestial Lions, that there is not a single falsehood in what I said."

"Then why don't you keep this chapter? Chapter Master Elio, you should be aware of their importance."

"I know, but I can't do it."

Elio explained the reason. Both the Celestial Lions and the Black Templars' expeditionary fleet owed the Nebula Hammer too many favors in the Battle of Isil. They couldn't stop these predecessors from leaving.

The representatives of the sub-groups put themselves in their shoes and thought that even they probably couldn't keep the Nebula Hammer Regiment, so they didn't mention the matter again.

"Then who is the one who slew the demon? Captain Elio, you haven't answered this question yet."

"It's a chapter that cannot be mentioned. This chapter is a secret within the empire, and they are experts in dealing with demons."

Elio provided enough information, and the few warbands that had dealt with the Grey Knights quickly reacted and told Elio not to continue, and the other representatives not to delve into it any further, otherwise it might cause trouble.

"I just want to know what will happen to the Black Templar expeditionary fleet and what kind of punishment will Lord Arthur receive?" asked the Executioner's representative.

Everyone present heard Elder Malorion's last words. Although the elder volunteered to save the world, it did not mean that all the sons of Dorne would forgive him. Failure to protect the elder was an unforgivable mistake. Only when Lord Arthur and the Black Templar expeditionary fleet were punished accordingly could the anger of the people be appeased.

"The punishment of the expeditionary fleet is not something we can interfere with. Let the Black Templars handle it."

The Imperial Fists Chapter Master asked everyone to calm down. He understood their anger, but they must not ignore the words of their elders. The punishment that the expeditionary fleet should receive was an internal matter of the Black Templars, and other chapters could not interfere.

"Let us move on to the second matter, the most precious legacy that Elder Malorion has given to us, the sons of Dorne," said the Grand Master of the Imperial Fists.

"As blood relatives, I believe everyone is aware of the flaws we, the descendants of Dorne, share."

During the Siege of Terra, in order to quickly increase the number of troops, Rogal Dorn ordered the Imperial Fists to abandon two surgeries: salivary gland and meningeal reconstruction. It was for this reason that after the end of the Heresy, these two organs also degenerated and became ineffective in the genes of the Imperial Fists.

After the Second Founding of the Army, the original Imperial Fists Chapter was annihilated in a war, and the sons of Dorne completely lost the possibility of restoring these two organs.

"The Sons of Dorne have always been more likely to die in battle than other Astartes, causing our casualty rate to remain high, and many warriors who could have been saved have died as a result."

"I know that all the sons of Dorne are fearless warriors. Even without feigned death and acidic saliva, we can still crush our enemies! But who wouldn't want our warriors to be even more tenacious?"

"Now, we can finally get out of this predicament."

As the Emperor Fist Captain finished speaking, an object was projected into the conference room. The representatives of the sub-groups widened their eyes when they saw the object.

The projected object was none other than the gene seeds brought back by the Black Templar and the Celestial Lions.

"This is the gene seed of Elder Mallorian and other martyrs. After testing by the pharmacist, it contains a complete gene sequence, which means..."

The Imperial Fists Chapter Master's voice rose:

"From now on, the sons of Dorne will be free of any flaws, and our warriors will become even more powerful!"

"The Imperial Fists will be reborn!"

【Image: Mountain Array 1】

【Image: Mountain Array 2】

Chapter 93 Take Love Back!

The children of Dorne have long suffered from the pain of organ loss, and now they have a remedy to heal this pain.

The Sons of Dorne present all knew that these complete gene seeds would not be used immediately, and the number of seeds was too small to be distributed to all known Imperial Fist groups.

This batch of gene seeds will be handed over to the Chapter's apothecaries by the Imperial Fists, who will use "experimental slaves" to cultivate enough new gene seeds. These slaves are male Imperial criminals sentenced to become servitors. They are imprisoned in an artificial environment deep in the Chapter's fortress monastery. During the cultivation process, they are kept alive and partially conscious. They cannot leave the cultivation room until they complete the five to ten years of maturation process. After the gene seeds are collected, the lives of these slaves will be freed.

This method was originally intended to be used to quickly replenish the members of those war groups that suffered heavy losses. With these seeds on hand as a starting point, the number of gene seeds will reach a considerable number in the next hundred years.

During these hundred years, the Imperial Fists' new recruits were given priority to use new gene seeds, which could be considered a small privilege of the parent group.

"At the next Feast of Blades, the Imperial Fists will give some new seeds to each chapter to cultivate on their own. Do you have any opinions?"

All the Chapters agreed. Most of the time, the Astartes were scattered across the galaxy. For various reasons, there were few opportunities for the various Chapters to get together. The Imperial Fists were special, as they could have the relatively stable 'team-building' event, the Feast of Blades, which took place once every hundred years.

The Imperial Fists summoned the Sons this time mainly to discuss the matter of Elder Mallorian and the gene-seed. However, before the meeting ended, the Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists mentioned one more thing:

"I actually have some information about the Nebula Hammer Chapter."

After learning about the Nebula Hammer Chapter, the Imperial Fists also tried to find information about this chapter. As a chapter guarding Terra, although the Imperial Fists did not participate in Imperial politics, they also had some collaborators on Terra and Mars. Through these collaborators, the Imperial Fists found some clues about the Nebula Hammer.

"Several months ago, the Nebula Hammer submitted a gene-seed tax to Mars, nominally as a Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines."

In the eyes of the Imperial Fist Chapter Captain, the actions of the Nebula Hammer were not difficult to understand. If the Nebula Hammer wanted to move relatively unimpeded within the Empire, it would need an identity recognized by the Empire. Under the chaotic administrative management of the Empire, as long as the identity was not too outrageous, and as long as they were willing to pay taxes and not do anything out of the ordinary, they could obtain a legal identity within the Empire.

"Not long ago, the Ultramarines submitted an application to the Terran Ministry of the Interior, seeking to re-register a sub-group under their name that had lost its records due to 'disappearance'. The name of this sub-group is the Nebula Hammer."

Is the Nebula Hammer and the Ultramarines a coincidence? Clearly not. This suggests that the first Chapter to encounter the Nebula Hammer wasn't the Black Templars or the Celestial Lions. The Nebula Hammer had clashed with other Chapters in the past, and calling themselves "Successor Chapters" of the Ultramarines was most likely the brainchild of the Smurfs.

"The Imperial Fists will inquire about this matter with the Ultramarines later. I hope that you, my blood relatives, will pay attention to the Nebula Hammer Chapter. If you have the opportunity to meet them in the future, please do your best to keep them here."

If it is true as Elio said, that there are indeed many warriors from ten thousand years ago in the Nebula Hammer, then his safety is very important to all the major founding groups. Judging from the reaction of the Ultramarines, there must be old veterans from the Ultramarines Legion among them.

The Imperial Fists Chapter Master also speculated that there might be loyalists of the Rebellion Legion within the Nebula Hammer. He had repeatedly viewed the defensive position in the recorded footage, and that was definitely not the architectural style of the Imperial Fists.