Chapter 359 Funeral
There is no fragrance here of dripping wax or scent of perfume. There were no murmured hymns, no prayers, no foreshadowing of tears.
There is only the industrial smell of detergent and polishing powder, the olfactory stimulation caused by the aldehyde and ketone products of the decomposition of steel ions, and the low hum of power armor.
More than 50,000 Astartes warriors stood quietly in the monument room in the center of the Cheorwon, fully armed and with a solemn posture. Bright light fell from the dome along the huge steel monument, and from top to bottom outlined the names engraved in High Gothic on the iron monument that were worthy of being engraved, and then illuminated the tens of thousands of armors arrayed, as well as a Zhang Zhang's silent and determined face.
After the battle, their armor had only undergone basic cleaning. After the Battle of Satradar Abyss, both the Astartes warriors and the legion's auxiliaries who filled the gaps outside the Legion's tactical tendencies, especially the Iron Warriors Legion, were suffering from the fatigue caused by the war.
These steel warriors wearing iron-gray armor and simple tones, surrounded by warriors in four-color power armor of bright yellow, blood red, gray white, and dark blue, are like a solid and cold bedrock. They are not eye-catching, but they are indescribable. Or missing.
Amidst the distant ringing of mechanical bells, the funeral procession wearing ceremonial black armor entered the monument room and jointly escorted five black iron coffins engraved with imperial emblems and mottos.
Each legion selected several high-ranking officers to pay deep respect to this large-scale funeral. The black iron coffin does not contain the actual body of the deceased, but instead contains the fragments of the shoulder armor, plastron, helmet and other battle armor of the deceased of the five legions. This also makes the black iron coffin particularly heavy.
Perturabo stood under the monument, wearing his steel armor, paying supreme silence to the coffin of the fallen soldier, waiting for the ceremony procession to pass through the entire huge memorial hall and come to him. forward.
The remaining primarchs each stood quietly waiting on the high platform on the second floor. Conrad Curze, the Lord of the Night Haunted Court, chose to stand with Sanguinius, the Lord of the Blood Angels. The two stood on the high platform on the other side.
"I was also assigned a coffin." Coze whispered softly, looking at the black iron coffin escorted by his warriors, his face was particularly pale. "We."
"Of course," Sanguinius answered, never taking his eyes off the ceremonial escort. "Your descendants also contributed their blood to this battle."
Koz didn't speak. Sanguinius didn't care either.
At the victory celebration a few days ago, the archangel walked among the warriors, observing the hearts of these warriors, and discerning whether the light in their eyes symbolized the survival of hope, or whether it was due to injury or loss, etc. Due to the numbness caused by factors, he sincerely praised their achievements appropriately and neutrally, and encouraged and comforted some of the soldiers in a timely manner.
The silent and firm will of these legions gave him a certain amount of surprise and relief, and of course, the bitterness that followed.
Whether they are Astartes or legion auxiliaries, the warriors have been shaped by the battle to look different from the ordinary people. They have no fear of life and death, but only faith. Although this was necessary, it did not please the angel.
The ceremony team placed the black coffin on the ground. Their respective military flags were passed from one pair of armored hands to another. Finally, they were caught by the high-ranking officers at the front of the ceremony team and gently placed on the surface of the black coffin. , covering and leveling.
The iron skull emblem of the Iron Warriors, the winged blood of the Blood Angels, the spiked skulls of the Death Guard, the clenched iron fist of the Imperial Fists, and the bat-winged skeleton of the Nightghost Court.
Five flags were draped over the iron coffin, and Perturabo declared a five-minute silence.
The Lord of Iron has made it clear that overly long ritual actions will prevent people from focusing on the meaning behind the ceremony. Therefore, the procedures should be appropriately simplified and the time should be limited to highlight the theme of the ceremony and make it truly important. The spirit of respect is valued. In his opinion, five minutes of silent mourning would be enough for the Emperor's warriors.
Afterwards, Perturabo asked the soldiers from each legion who wanted to express their condolences to come forward and give a speech. They stood under the iron monument where he stood and stated their respective thoughts. In this link, military rank is no longer restricted.
From the war blacksmith and the commanders of the regiments at the same level, down to the most ordinary sergeants, some of them reported the names of the fallen who were familiar with them in turn, and talked about the relationship between them The intersections they had had, how the dead sacrificed themselves for the Great Crusade in front of them, the last moment they fell, the dignity they left to the world, and the sadness imprinted in the hearts of those who survived.
Koz looked at the serious soldier on the stage who was delivering a eulogy, and recognized the chiseled and unsmiling face. The soldier's expression was exactly the same as that of Perturabo, who was standing sideways on the stage at the moment. Even though he was wearing uniform ceremonial black armor, without paying attention to the legion emblem, he could tell at a glance that he was a soldier under Perturabo's command. . "Do you know him?" he asked in a low voice.
"He just introduced himself, Eric Anderson, the commander of the second battalion of the Iron Warriors."
"It means you don't know him," Coze shrugged, expressionless, "He is a celebrity... but relatives of famous celebrities are all mortal."
"Relatives... Perturabo The two missing warriors waiting at the end?" From Eric Anderson's description, Sanguinius immediately recognized the existence of the two warriors that Perturabo had been waiting for for a long time.
Although Barabas Dantioch and Zoran Anderson are still registered as missing, their names have been engraved on the steel inscriptions, and they are currently silently overlooking the entire monument hall. .
In an earlier speech, Alexis Polux, a company commander of the Imperial Fists, also mentioned the existence of the battalion commander among them, and his tone was almost choked with tears. This is a rare case among soldiers who mostly take the stage to mourn the dead of their own legions.
"Of course, of course..." Curze said, suddenly noticing Rogal Dorn's Haskar Guard Captain appearing next to the original body, and making a report in a low voice.
After hearing this, Dorn frowned, nodded with Mortarion, and immediately turned around and strode away.
"How rude," Curze said sarcastically.
Sanguinius tapped Curze's back with his wings, "It must be an important thing to allow Rogal Dorn to leave early from the funeral hosted by Perturabo."
"Of course I understand," Cozz looked sullenly, walked away from the iron railing, walked around to the darkness behind, and whispered a few words to the shadow. In the shadow, a faint blue light flashed past.
——
"Introduction," Rogal Dorn said calmly, walking at a slightly wider pace than usual, forcing Acamus to jog to keep up.
"The shape of that spaceship is not in any of the empire's classics. It is initially estimated that it has been in service for more than two thousand years. It is equipped with a variety of complex weapons and has no intention of firing for the time being." Acamus held the data pad and held it tightly. Following the Primarch, "Its signal was unregistered. But it accurately dialed into our signal channel and sent its greeting in Gothic."
"Its request?"
"Meet you, my lord."
Roger Dorn was silent for a few seconds, then turned and walked through the tunnel towards the connection of the Cheorwon's multiple loop paths.
"Perturabo, you heard it." He said to the front, knowing that there must be a camera device capable of capturing audio and video hidden in the dark, and the Iron Lord must be monitoring the situation inside the Cheorwon. "I need to return to the Sanjin."
Thirty seconds later, the shuttle connecting the Cheorwon's first inner ring and the second inner ring arrived in front of the two of them at the fastest speed.
(End of this chapter)