Chapter 423: The Emperor’s Son: The Soul in the Blood
“On this day of great victory and national celebration, I am honored to be invited to contribute to the Ninth Legion’s recent victory in a great and unheralded battle. , to complete its glorious record. Yes, the Blood Angel invites me to Melchior, not summons me for it." - "Sanguinius: Blood." Wings of the Middle"
[Time: -8.12.12]
Radolon examined Amit's scarlet armor and identified new cracks on the opponent's shoulder armor, as well as A bolter with half the barrel broken off.
A few hours ago, the last battle with the Nephilim left traces on Nasir Amit's body, but the most obvious difference still appeared on his face - his bright pupils The ground tightened, the hot breath flowed with wild panting, and the excitement of fighting under the bright red flag made the Fifth Company so content.
"I'm glad to see you didn't drink blood secretly." Radolon stepped forward and hugged Amit briefly.
After they reunited with their genetic father, Amit was punished for his past crime of eating prisoners during the first round of job transfers within the legion after the Battle of Galaspa.
The punishment itself is secondary, but the primarch's rebuke is crucial. While this doesn't change the warrior's bloodthirsty nature, he at least learns to hold back a lot of the time.
The price is that his company must keep an eye on the company commander to prevent the entire company's blood and wine quota from being consumed quickly and unknowingly.
"The blood of the Nephilim has no drinking value," Amit replied, looking across the heather wasteland with dried blood. "In addition, angels teach us that we must learn to exercise restraint."
"But I still hope that the Eighth Legion can take time to send us a batch of supplies recently." Radolon said, following Amit's eyes.
There, the Nephilim's alien prayer tower is being demolished by the humans once ruled by the Nephilim, overseen by the Blood Angels. In more places, the dead bodies of aliens are being processed uniformly, waiting for subsequent incineration.
On that wasteland, their Primarch personally participated in the battle, his wings were like lightning, and his golden armor turned into thunder from the sky, piercing and spinning rapidly within the alien defense line.
Sanguinius's battle is enough to transform any follower into a warrior with high morale. Even the Luna Wolf soldiers who were also present were deeply inspired by Sanguinius and transformed into Using a giant scissor-like weapon, he chopped the Nephilim into pieces among the gathering pearl-white waves.
Ladoron nodded and noticed that Amit began to walk in the direction he came from. He immediately determined that the company commander had something to say to him. The Chief of Blood followed tacitly, and walked with Amit to a temple of Nephilim.
"Remember Osuran?" Amit said, his tone restrained.
“Oh, the former legion commander,” Radolon nodded, “left us fifty years ago.”
“The real Osuran left earlier, he relied on The ghouls went to eat his flesh in order to regain their memories."
"But when he died for the last time, you allowed him to truly leave. The Battle of Shadow Twilight in the Holy Grail Expansion. I heard the Fifth Company failed to bring back his flesh and blood," Radolon said.
The term "Holy Grail Expansion" stirred a hidden memory in him. This dangerous border area of the empire was nominally first discovered and developed by the Eighth Legion, but Radolon had served with Azkalon at the side of the original, and was fortunate enough to learn the reason why the expansion was discovered.
The information was not the result of a divination by Konrad Curze, nor was it an omen produced by any of his descendants.
No, it originated from a prophetic dream of Sanguinius - a vision of doom lurking at the edges of the world, expanding with the expansion of radiance. Blood, flies, plague, scars, aliens, darkness... In the direction of the expansion of the Holy Grail, the black flame cruelly and viciously licked the edge of the Star Torch's light.
The Night Ghost Blood Marquis silently recognized the dream that worried Sanguinius, and as always took the initiative to play the role of a man with prophetic powers and enough to go his own way.
In fact, the main factor that prompted his choice was not his invisible friendship with Sanguinius, but mainly Konrad Curze's personal pride.
The shadow of the temple is cast above Ladoron's head. The winding gray stone road is nested with metal arches one after another. The dim shadows surge coldly behind the arches.
The sour smell of alien blood spread through the Blood Angel's sensitive sense of smell. He noticed that the blood and minced flesh of the Nephilim were scattered in almost every corner of the path. Even though the style of the Fifth Company has always been violent and cruel, this still It gave Ladoron a bad feeling.
"At that time, we brought back Osuran." Amit suddenly spoke, his hoarse voice slowly floating around the pillars of the arch. "He came back to us alive."
"I didn't hear about that."
"Officially, he died in a massive plasma bombardment. But in reality "The primarch executed him himself," Amit said, rolling his eyes and looking straight at Radolon. "You should be able to feel that in that Shadow Dusk battle, there was some kind of...revival that was latent in the depths of our blood."
Radolon lowered his eyebrows and did not answer. And deep in the temple, a suppressed roar came out briefly, echoed eerily in the depths of the shadows, and was barely suppressed, turning into painful gasps.
——
“The Battle of Melchior was initiated by the Blood Angels and concluded with the Luna Wolves, aiming to destroy the Nephilim aliens that disrupted the rule of the Empire on the borders of the Empire. This alien The name comes from the myths and rumors of ancient Terra. Some imperial scholars claim that Nephilim is the giant descendant of demons and human women in foolish myths, and was born from the pollution of humans by demons in order to delay the arrival of the Messiah. "< br>
[Time: -17.43.76]
The last war began with a long-range confrontation. The intensive artillery fire of the human empire and the screams of alien weapons almost established an iron curtain in the air. A terrifying barrier, the flames of the bomb blasted out thick smoke and golden-red fire, tearing out charcoal-like cracks on the surface of Nephilim's disgusting gray or blue skin, and dangerously shattering the mutated twisted structures. A is further destroyed. The Land Speeder's laser cannon and explosive snake cannon poured out firepower mercilessly, launching multiple rounds of shooting. The explosion caused by the pulse of the gravity gun shook the ground, and oil mist and war cries rose together.
Soon, the Space Marines and the aliens engaged in close combat. The interlacing sword lights split the flying sand. Resolute and cold anger burned in the battlefield, led by the scarlet angels and the moon-white pale. The wolf conducts energy and crushes the weak alien creatures. Those ugly elliptical heads fell together with the iron filings accidentally scraped off the armor of the Astartes warriors.
The billowing smoke is constantly being torn apart by the luster of the power knife and sharp claws, like cutting cloth. The front line is constantly pushed forward, like the tide touching the beach, pressing upward round by round, continuously and destructively swallowing up the alien-shaped sand surface. Gnaw.
A cheerful smile graced the handsome face of Horus Luperkar.
"Look at our warriors!" The Primarch spread out his hands happily, the ring on his little finger reflecting in the light, "No one can stop them."
"I am happy, "Sanguinius smiled, taking in the full view of the battle on the stone plain. He recognized his splendid sons, the crimson storms that plowed the battlefield, the sword and fire that tore apart the Emperor's enemies, and his bodyguards in armor of gold, bronze and blood.
He recited their names one by one in his heart, and the touch of the scarlet ribbons and ruby beads hanging on their wings became more intense. He could recognize each of them, Azkalon, Tagas, Amit...
Of course, Sanguinius was also very familiar with some of the Moon Wolves warriors, such as Hastur Sejanus of the 4th Company. In the smoke and dust, he could occasionally see the other person's face - while saying angrily Cursing these aliens, he had a headache because of the opponent's psychic sound wave attack.
Behind the two Primarchs, the Memoir responsible for completing the narration of this battle was quietly turning his data pen. From time to time he looked up at the two Primarchs who were chatting happily, and thought to himself He lowered his head unnoticed. Joao, that's his name.
In principle, he is not specifically responsible for the history of any legion, but is specifically responsible for narrative descriptions of major battles; of course, this does not prevent Joao from always pursuing the Blood Angels. After death, I wish I could save a whole battle book for them.
"Your warriors are vigorous," said Horus, "unstoppable. If they were my warriors, I would be extremely proud of them."
He paused for a moment Leaning his body against the wall of the fortress, in a more comfortable position, he looked sideways at the angel, appreciating his brother openly: "You single-handedly shaped your legion, the most glorious of all legions."
"I'm lucky," Sanguinius blinked. "They knew their mission, and I followed right behind them."
Out of the corner of his eye, Horus noticed the Remembrancer starting behind the angel. Writing quickly, he dared to say that the mortal must be recording the angel's words in real time. He couldn't help but smile briefly at this, and then turned his gaze to the battlefield.
The number of Astartes is not more than that of the aliens, but this torrent of red and white seems to be drowning the aliens. They moved forward bravely and worked together. Just watching this scene, no one would have thought that twenty-four hours ago, Sanguinius was still arguing with him about the specific attack strategy.
In the combat headquarters, the Primarchs debated, quarreled, and refused to give in to each other. Horus preferred a more violent approach, destroying all who stood in the way of the Astartes, viewing the operation as a display of military power against the enemies of the Emperor. To this end, the Vengeful Spirit brought a Memento to better demonstrate the Emperor's power to the Imperium.
And Sanguinius had to point out that there were civilians in those alien fortresses that could still be fought for. He told Horus Luperkar that the world of the Emperor's dream was not built on the embers of destruction, but that the true concerns of the Archangel's heart could not be easily stated.
Since the battle deep into the Holy Grail expansion decades ago, something buried deep in the blood of the Blood Angels seems to be quietly resurrecting. He could feel the bloodthirsty dark will, ready to move behind every violent destruction.
This made him even sometimes regret that he had led the legion deep into the expansion area and assisted Conrad in the battle; although this negative thought made him worried and ashamed.
Now, he is also trying to lead the legion to avoid falling into the sea of blood, and requests the Eighth Legion to send blood wine with built-in memory factors to make it more relaxing and soothing - Curze said it was incredible, It's a relief to ask the raw materials under what circumstances Sanguinius was responsible for bleeding.
"You are very humble, Sanguinius." Horus smiled. "If you are any more modest, I will say that you are showing off proudly."
"I am. Showing off? Anyone can say that, Horus, but it's not appropriate for you." Sanguinius blinked and looked down at Horus's hand.
Horus shrugged. On the battlefield below, a Luna Wolf slashed back a Nephilim who was approaching the Blood Angel. In return, the gun in the Blood Angel's hand shattered the abdomen of a giant Nephilim, and a thick mass of alien blood burst out in an instant, splattering in all directions and pouring on the Blood Angel's helmet, adding to the scarlet armor. A touch of shine.
That is Alotros, Sanguinius thought, one of Amit's warriors.
Horus judged the progress of the war situation, and his rich combat experience gave him a good answer. He smiled and said: "It's almost over. Do you plan to go down and take a look?"
"What about you?" The archangel flapped his wings and crossed his arms on his chest.
“Is this an invitation or a challenge?”
"Good question," Sanguinius said, "Whose Stormbird are we going to land in?" Russ!" Horus laughed. "Use my Stormbird."
"Then you'd better use the alien as your landing pad. I'm sure you can, my brother." Sanguinius said, drawing out his The red-edged sword at the waist.
In a few minutes, this sword will use the sticky silver blood of Nephilim as flowing paint, throwing out bright loops that cut through the smoke, dust, and oil mist, like bright teardrops, and like an archangel. A new addition among the thousands of radiances around him, leading the legion to advance step by step toward the depths of brilliance forever.
——
"After the war, the two legions arranged the fate of the prisoners of war and the surviving civilians respectively. The prisoners of war were mainly composed of humans who had been possessed by the Nephilim spirit, and Horus Luperkar showed great disgust towards them , This may be related to a certain past experience of the Wolf God, but no one knows the specific circumstances.
And Sanguinius advocated letting humans who still miss Nephilim personally dismantle Nephilim’s alien prayers. Tower, and personally carrying the bodies of these creatures.
The great angel said that this experience comes from the order of Muristan among the Word Bearers, which is lenient and extreme in its treatment of pagans. A balance was found, and allowing the pagans to witness the ugly death of the creature they worshiped as their god and dominated their spirit would be extremely effective in breaking down the prisons in their minds. Eventually, Sanguinius' plan was adopted."< br>
[Time: -5.59.21]
Joao strode behind the Wolf Shepherd, accompanying the Lord of the Moon Wolf after the war, supervising the clean-up work on the battlefield. and speak with the chatty Horus Luperkar.
Once, when he had the first chance to be alone with Horus, Joao was so nervous that he couldn't utter a word. Although he loves describing battlefields, this does not mean that he has enough courage to apply it in interpersonal interactions.
Fortunately, Horus Luperkar's kindness and charm quickly made João fall in love with him. "Someone told me that we, the warriors of the empire, serve you mortals," Horus said Si smiled and said, "Of course, don't think that I will agree with him. But it is indeed a way of thinking, Ruoao - no, don't put this sentence in my name, I will never accept it."
Joao immediately deleted the real-time record from his data pad. "Yes...yes, my lord." He said somewhat staggeringly. This made the Wolf Shepherd laugh.
They walked together on the edge of the desolate plain. Horus looked at the destroyed or surviving temples of Nephilim, as well as the ruined fortresses and various urban divisions. , speak freely.
“Jaghatai will clean up our remaining Nephilim,” said the Wolf Shepherd, and generously shared the upcoming military arrangements with the Memoir Messenger who was very enthusiastic about it. “After we After the battle here is completely over, I can provide you with a communication channel and ask White Scar if he is willing to take you with him."
"I thank you very much, my lord!"
"Then write me better in the biography, Reminiscence Master. I won't mind adding more glory to my body." said the Wolf Shepherd. "Unlike Conrad - did you know that he actually told Sanguinius the location of the Nephilim but refused to reveal it in front of others?"
"I...I am the one... Someone else?"
"Yes, you are."
"I understand!" Ruoao shuddered, "I will never reveal...this matter. .”
The Wolf Shepherd laughed softly, and the laughter vibrated in the memory of the memory. A warm current gradually emerged from the mortal's heart, making his stiff limbs more comfortable and flexible.
"Sanguinius and Conrad Curze maintained a secret friendship. If I hadn't been on good terms with both of them, I might have had some little secrets kept from me." Holland. Russ deliberately shook his head without being angry at all, "These guys! It's really too much, Perturabo and Rogal Dorn, Perturabo and Magnus, Perturabo and Alpharius, Pertura Beau and Angron..."
"Lord Perturabo sounds as welcome as you," the Memoir said.
"Haha! Beautiful flattery, I accept it." Horus said briskly, regretting that Sanguinius was not by his side.
Sanguinius just decided to take a walk around and observe the situation on the battlefield separately with him. And Horus also ran into Amit, the Blood Angel who was eagerly looking for his Primarch.
He pressed the ring on his hand with his thumb and put the story that was about to come out from his mouth. Maybe when he earns more credits, he'll be more proud to tell his story. As the Great Crusade progresses to this day, the glory accumulated by the Dark Angels, Iron Warriors and Iron Hands is equal to or even surpasses that of the Luna Wolves.
Although less concerned about competition than Ferrus Manus, Horus still felt that he should contribute more to the Emperor's dreams.
"Why do you like to follow the Blood Angels, Remembrancer?" he asked smoothly.
"Because...I..." Joao stuttered again, "I am from Baal..."
He lowered his head in despair, "I failed the Blood Angels' fitness test, my lord."
"So you found another way! I like your answer, Joao!" Horus said with a smile. "I thought Sanguinius's charm surpassed mine again."
"And back then...my friend joined the Blood Angels..." Joao finished hesitantly.
"You want to see him again? Easy, tell me his name and I'll ask Sanguinius for you. It's convenient, Sanguinius remembers the name of every child in his fleet. "Horus answered very readily. No matter what, he was always happy to see good things happen.
"I have actually met him, sir, thank you for your kindness... I do also like recording wars." João laughed. "I love my job."
"That's not bad. Speaking of wars, there is actually one going on here. There are about a dozen galaxies in Ullanor that have lost contact, and then the Luna Wolves will go take a look."
said. At this point, Horus suddenly remembered that he had not asked the angels if they were willing to go to Ullanor with him to fight and share more glory with him.
He didn't know where the Sanguinius people were now, so he could only give up his thoughts with regret.
"Is there anything missing from your materials, Chronicler? I'll take you to see it." Horus invited. "Keep a good record of the Emperor's achievements, João."
"Hmm...the Temple of Nephilim?" the Memoir said uncertainly, reporting the first unfamiliar building within his sight. .
——
“After the Battle of Melchior, the Blood Angels accepted the Emperor’s order, said goodbye to the Luna Wolves, and went to fight in the Perseus War Zone.
According to rumors , when the primarch Horus Luperkar said goodbye, he made an agreement with Sanguinius that when they meet again in the future, they will finish the chess game they started before the war - Sanguinius smiled and revealed that the game of killing The reason why Jun's chess has not ended is because Horus's defeat has been decided and he refuses to continue playing the chess."
[Time: -02.23.06]
"Calm down, Ah. Lotros," Radolon said in vain, kneeling on one knee in front of Lotros, hoping that the battle brothers in front of him could still hear him.
Although Amit was the company commander of Alotros, he quite self-awarely handed over the comfort task to Ladoron and set off to the combat headquarters to find the help of angels.
Alotros knelt on the ground, panting hard, sweat covering his forehead, unable to say a single word. He was once a staunch warrior with a low reputation, but was still excellent. Now he is holding tightly to the small pot containing blood wine, and his consciousness is on the verge of being lost.
Radolon didn’t know what the other party saw. It seemed to be different from the madness in the blood that once trapped the ghoul, but some kind of crueler and more ominous dark omen. Stable genetic depths emerge again.
He had handed the remaining blood wine to Alotros, which barely eased the battle brother's pain and stopped him from drinking the black blood of the ground.
But now, his panting was getting worse, which made Radolon extremely uneasy.
"Father is coming, stay awake, you can do it," he soothed softly, even though he had no idea what Sanguinius could do for Alotroth except to bring him eternal peace.
Soon, he heard two steady footsteps, echoing in the long corridor leading here behind him. One of them was undoubtedly the Primarch, which gave Radolon some encouragement.
"Father..." He stood up in confusion, the second half of the syllable was cut off, and he changed to another greeting: "Lord Horus!"
The Wolf Shepherd God Lower your head, stop looking around, and look ahead. He was a little surprised: "It turns out there is someone here, soldiers. Well... what happened to him, Radolon? Do you need help?"
Radolon hesitated, "No, sir," he said , feeling his tongue so stiff, "We can solve it."
Horus raised his eyebrows and stepped over the black blood pool formed by the silver blood of the Nephilim and the blood of humans. Radolon knew very well that the Primarch's vision allowed him to see the state of Alotros clearly in the dark. The closer he got, the more abnormal he could see in Alotros.
"My lord," Radolon said in vain, standing in front of Alotros. He heard the sound of water coming from behind. Alotros had put his hand into the blood on the ground, and then, a soft sip exploded in Ladoron's ears like thunder.
Lord Sanguinius, he thought, please come quickly...
"What's wrong with him?" Horus asked again, sounding even more confused. The Memoir follows him. "Is it a small problem that you are thirsty for blood?"
"Yes, his company commander has already gone to find a solution. We can solve all this." Radolon answered, and then added in his heart: But not only in this way.
But Horus came too close and Radolon knew it was too late.
"He is not in the right state," Horus said softly, "Who is he?"
"Alotros!" The memoirs made a surprised voice sound softly, in the space Limited indoor echoes, "Are you okay?"
"Oh, your friend?" Horus said, "Well, if you want. Can you let him go and see, Radolon?" ? This Remembrancer is also from Baal.”
After the Remembrancer spoke, Alotros’s voice stopped, and he seemed to be comforted by something effective.
Maybe an old friend can indeed bring some help to Alotros's precarious sanity. Radolon thought.
"Okay, Remembrancer," Radolon said, stepping aside slightly and taking the opportunity to observe Alotros's condition. He saw that the battle brother had returned to calm, which made him slightly relieved, but the uneasiness did not fade away. "But don't get too close."
"I understand," João walked quickly, holding the data pad and stopped next to Radolon, keeping an appropriate distance. "Are you... okay, Alot?" he asked hesitantly.
Alotros stood up slowly, and Radolon noticed that there was some kind of bleak tranquility in this brother's eyes, as if his life no longer belonged to him, but fell into someone else's eyes. A more empty and dark distance. No matter what, at least he behaved very quietly.
Joao took a step back uneasily and cautiously. He knew that the Blood Angels would have some minor problems, and everyone knew about them. But in more than a hundred years of expeditions, after Sanguinius reshaped them, they have never caused any negative incidents, and those little problems have become a familiar topic of conversation.
"...Oh." Alotros whispered a syllable.
Ruoao was not sure whether the other party was calling him. He raised his head and stared at his friend's face that was difficult to see clearly in the dark, realizing that the other party had not lowered his position for a long time.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Alot?"
Horus suddenly shouted: "No!"
At the same moment as this call sounded, Alotros suddenly took action, and the speed was far faster. Beladoron was faster than expected. His fist penetrated the mortal's chest in an instant. Joao was lifted up, and his whole body was close to the lips and teeth of the Blood Angel. Fresh blood spurted out and poured on the blank face of the Space Marine.
"What is going on-" Horus was surprised and angry, regretting that he was too far away just now. Before Alotros began to bite, he had restrained the Blood Angel's arms and pinned the opponent to the ground with several movements. This is not his heir, and he cannot execute the other party easily.
Radolon was silently sorting out the mortal corpses, his face filled with regret. This was a mistake in his decision-making, and the cost was a life.
"What are you doing, Blood Angels?" Horus growled, "Damn it!"
"We..." Radolon said with difficulty, "Wait for Senge Lord Les, come...I can't decide all this, Lord."
Horus snorted, knocked Alotros unconscious, and his eyes stayed on the fallen Remembrancer.
Silence spread in the darkness, and the smell of blood, hot and strong, gurgled quietly.
——
[Time: -72.23.42]
"Memorial Messenger?" Alotros said, his stature is so tall that if Ao had to look up to his old friend.
He raised his head: "Hi...Alot. Yes, I am now the Memoir...for the Emperor."
Fortunately, his old friend quickly lowered his position and squatted down in front of him.
The face that had been transformed to become particularly handsome, but whose former outline could be vaguely seen, raised a smile that was familiar to Joao: "That sounds great, Joao. Being able to record these Stories, running around the galaxy... On the throne, if I were not an Astartes, this is the best career I can think of."
"That's right!" Joao laughed, " I also like this job. You know I like writing these stories, recording wars, and recording history. If I were to join the Legion of Astartes now, I might not want to be a Chronicler."
< br>Alotros laughed out loud: "Who told you to break your leg during the test month? You fell down the stairs!"
"Hey! Stop talking," Joao stretched out his hand, He punched Alotros in the chest with his fist, surprised that he could so skillfully perform the actions he did decades ago. "Go on, be careful about your image in the history books, Alot."
"It's really scary," Alotros shrugged, "Okay, Melchior's general attack will begin in a moment. After... well, I'll see you in about sixty or seventy hours."
"Then you'd better fight more fiercely and provide me with more descriptive materials." Joao said, "Goodbye, Alotros, fight... come on? I think your company commander is starting to stare at us. "
"Why do you sound more militant than me?" Alotros stood up. "See you later, Joao. Are you with the Wolf God? Then I will apply to my father. It's easier to find you."
"It sounds like Lord Sanguinius is as tolerant as the legend says," Joao said.
"Of course," Alotros lowered his voice, "The Blood Angels are the best Legion - please put this sentence in your book."
——
“Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to watch the Battle of Melchior. I could only compile this precious war information from the manuscript of the former memoirist João Davila. , and try to restore the scenes and details of the battle at that time, as well as the infinite glory that the two great legions brought to the human world, and the selfless rescue of countless mortals trapped in darkness - this is the meaning of the Great Crusade."
< br>[Timer: 00.00.00]
"Horus Luperkar will keep the secret." Sanguinius said, his fingers twitching slightly, as if the child's throat was still in his palm, resting on it. The last moment before breaking. "He can be trusted, Radoron."
"Yes, sir." Radoron bowed slightly, his expression dim.
Sanguinius sighed, propped himself on the table, sat down slowly, and looked at the profile of his guard.
"My lord?" Radolon asked uncertainly.
"Oh, it's nothing..." Sanguinius looked back. "Nothing..."
He buried his cheeks between his palms, and those disastrous fragments appeared in front of his eyes again.
"Let Melos go and take a look at Alotros's gene seeds." He said, listening to the sound of Radolon's footsteps fading away.
Blood, flies, plagues, aliens, darkness... visions of doom and disaster flowed through like a tide, all of which he had shared with Conrad Coates. Ever since he first saw them, they had returned again and again, haunting him.
But there is another disaster that the Archangel has never told anyone.
The eldest son. He muttered the word silently and let out a sigh.
(End of this chapter)