Chapter 682 Interlude 64: Winter in Fenris

Chapter 682 64. Interlude: Winter in Fenris

M40, Fenris, Winter Tower.

Azek Ahriman's right hand suddenly trembled.

The light from the candle was trembling on his face, and the shadow cast by the quill pen fluctuated and spread on the parchment roll, like a ghost, distorting the characters, and turning the original meaning of the sentence into a chaotic babbling that could not be carefully understood.

He put down the pen, rubbed his wrist, and turned his head to look at the candles on the side of the desk.

For a blind man, it certainly doesn't matter whether they are burning or not, unless they can be as bright as the Star Torch - but since he became the poet of the wolf pack, Ahriman has never ignored this matter.

He will leave a conspicuous light source in every place he often appears. Although the wolf pack does not need them and prefers a dark environment, he still does it.

Only a few people know that their blind poet will leave something small in every candle or wick he lights.

Ah, don't get me wrong, you think it's psychic power or magic, right? I'm afraid you are wrong, he will correct his mistakes.

Ahriman reached out, held the longest of the five candles, and slowly raised it. The wax slid down the wax bit by bit, creating a slight stinging pain on his palm and fingers.

Since he became blind, his body has a more sensitive perception ability to compensate, and pain is naturally one of them. For ordinary people, this is not good news, but Ahriman takes it very seriously.

He frowned and raised his hand to let more wax roll down. The continuous stinging pain came to him in an absolutely abnormal way. Half a minute later, the temperature of the wax had exceeded its original limit, and it fell on the blind man's skin that became abnormally rough due to excessive writing, and it could even emit green smoke and hiss.

Ahriman's brows were getting tighter and tighter.

He stood up and walked to his window. It was the coldest time of the year in Fenris. Every time this time came, who knows how many people would die in the continuous blizzards.

The cold wind howled, and the cold air penetrated from the cracks in the stone, trying to knock this thin, tall and ignorant blind man to the ground, but he limped to his feet and then stretched out his hand to push open the window.

The sound like the scream of the dead poured into the room with the wind.

The light immediately went out. Except for the candle in Ahriman's hand, which had strangely burned to only the last third, the rest of the candlelight had all returned to nothingness. The violent cold wind in the far north of Fenris was raging here.

Strangely, the ancient scrolls that filled the bookcases, long tables, and even submerged most of the ground did not move at all, as if they did not actually exist here.

Ahriman's long hair danced like a silver snake. He turned his face expressionlessly to look at a small black dot in this world of ice and snow, then opened his mouth and let out a low wolf howl.

Half a second later, the wolves responded in unison. Sixteen seconds later, four fully armed long-fanged killers pushed open his door, holding axes or giant swords, staring at the room with their hair and beards. It was not until Ahriman personally closed the window to block the cold wind that they left this killing state.

Eight golden beasts stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"Is there anything unusual tonight?" Ahriman asked. His tone was low, and the language he used was extremely simple. The dangerous roar gathered faintly in his throat, making him sound like an angry wolf.

"No." The wolves responded in unison and bowed their heads to show respect.

The leader raised his head first, and his wild and angular face was completely covered with wounds and tattoos, looking like he was wearing a hideous mask. He retracted his weapon, raised his hand and made a gesture to increase his persuasiveness, and then gave another response with emphasis.

"I swear on my name, blind man, no evil spirit will wake up tonight."

Ahriman said nothing, but handed over the still burning candle in his hand. The man stepped forward and took it carefully with both hands, and then he groaned from the burns of wax through his gauntlet, and his face changed rapidly.

"Your answer is completely contrary to the facts." The blind poet said slowly. "Therefore, no matter where the sneaky matter leads us, tonight, a lifeline will be cut off."

He walked towards the door, went down the spiral stone stairs, and came to the bottom of the Winter Tower.

This building is not wide, nor tall, with only two floors. It is just a small lighthouse built on the northernmost part of Fenris, which is completely incomparable to the magnificent building like Et. However, for this place, the protection provided by the wolf pack is amazing.

Every ten years, a Great Company will take on the task of guarding it, and only the most elite warriors among them will get this opportunity. They will set out in groups, walk here in advance, and need to deal with all dangers along the way.

The natural environment of Fenris treats everyone equally, whether you are a mortal or an Astartes, it doesn't matter. As long as you lose your caution, you will definitely die.

The sirens that can jump out of the sea and tear up gunboats alive, the greedy monsters that only appear in groups at night and can eat people alive in a second, and the Fenr giant sheep that can crush a wild wolf with a man, shield and armor

These terrifying creatures living in the north are the culprits who keep driving the Fenrisians to the south. It's not that no one wants to try to conquer here, but they all become the nutrients of the north in the end, and among them, wild wolves are definitely not a minority.

Ahriman walked past the long table piled with steaming barbecue, raised a wine glass, and drank the overflowing mead in the glass. He drank quickly, as if the poisonous wine was no different from plain water to him.

The four wolves looked at him in amazement, not understanding what he was going to do. It was not until the wine glass was thrown onto the thick carpet by Alimu himself that they realized the poet's true emotions at the moment, which were hidden under the thick ice and invisible to ordinary people.

Anger.

And this thing they had never seen before.

Ahriman came to the end of the long table without saying a word. His target was certainly not the rock sheep meat that was rotating in the oven here, but a shield and a long sword hanging above the oven.

And they seemed to be not simple weapons. Long before Ahriman's fingers touched them, a faint buzzing sound began to stir. When they were really held in Ahriman's hands, this buzzing sound turned into a thunderous roar.

The wolves only heard a rumbling roar, and the long sword suddenly glowed with dark red dead fire. The transformation of the shield was even more amazing. It was originally just an inconspicuous one-handed wooden shield, which was nothing even in the mortal's weapons, but now it has become a large shield half a person's height.

If he bends down slightly, Ahriman can even hide behind it completely. It is dark and thick, and an extremely large exorcism charm is blooming wildly in the center of the shield.

"Notify the leader wolf that the wolf pack must go out." The poet said in a low voice. "Then follow me."

The clear beep of the communicator sounded three times, followed by footsteps, and followed Azek Ahriman's seemingly imperceptible steps to crush the wooden floor.

The heavy door was pushed open, and the wind and snow poured in. Five figures walked out of it without saying a word, stepping on the dim moonlight and walking towards the frozen cold sea in the north. If it wasn't said, who would know that the leader and the guide were both blind?

The thick snow creaked under the feet of steel boots, and the rune-carved axes or giant swords were held in the hands of their owners at some point. Of course, there was also a candle, a candle that was still burning even in the strong wind.

It was only the length of an ordinary thumb, and it was ridiculous to fall into the hands of the leader of this small wolf pack - but it was emitting a kind of light, an unreal warm glow, which should never appear on Fenris.

They kept walking like this until the dark night weighed on their shoulders, and the heavy ice replaced the snow and began to bear the weight of the steel boots and their owners.

One of the wild wolves reached out and tightened his cloak, and then took out a small piece from a string of black rune ornaments hanging on the leather belt. It looked like a stone, and the exorcism charm was also flashing on it.

He handed it to Ahriman, who let go of the shield and let it stand on the ice, then reached out to take it, but still expressionless, like a statue made of snow.

Then, the other three stones were handed to him one by one, as well as the candle. Its light was already very weak, and the blind man stared at it for a while, half-knelt on the ground, placed it on the ice, and spread out the four stones one by one.

In an instant, the wind and snow stopped, as if the world was still.

"Get ready." Ahriman said in a low voice.

As soon as the voice fell, he took the initiative to blow out the candle.

The only light was extinguished, and even the moonlight was obscured by dark clouds. The wild wolves' eyes were shining, so they could clearly see the ice under their feet that was gradually becoming transparent, and the countless faces of drowned people that were swollen and pale due to blisters.

The wolves began to growl.

Ahriman stood up without a word, holding his shield and weapon tightly - as a member of the Thousand Sons Legion, how could he not be proficient in such a useful skill as sword and shield? It was just that he had become rusty later. However, the ten thousand years spent on Fenris helped him pick up these things again.

Oh, yes, thinking about it, he was very lucky. He picked up many things he had lost. Martial arts, prudence, reason, and most importantly, dignity.

Many people would not have such a precious second chance like him. Over the past ten thousand years, the blind man has been grateful for this countless times, and the only thing he can show his gratitude is only one thing.

Not helping Bjorn discipline his younger generation, not accepting Leman Russ's order to become a poet of the wolf pack, and not helping his surviving brothers find themselves, restrain themselves, and slowly and carefully rebuild the Thousand Sons.

These things are important to him and are part of his responsibilities, but compared to this, they are all insignificant.

Ahriman raised his sword to the highest point, and finally thrust it down with all his might, until he fell to his knees, until the blade was completely buried in the ice.

The drowned opened their eyes together, and the black fire began to spread. In an instant, it submerged all the dead and all the seas like the sea.

Then, the sky and the earth turned upside down, the moon and the sea changed direction silently, the dark clouds dispersed, and the four wild wolves tightened their muscles and nerves, standing on the moonlight in awe, fear, but bravely, and began to perform their guard duties.

And Azek Ahriman, he began to ask questions.

Asked the dead in the sky.

"Who is calling on the power of Fenris?" He asked very seriously.

The dead opened their mouths, the cold wind howled, the dead fire boiled, and a voice slowly sounded with the creaking sound of the broken ice.

"Leman Russ." The voice said, full of nothingness.

The wolves seemed to know nothing about this, only Ahriman swallowed a mouthful of blood in astonishment, but this was not the end, he still had questions to be answered.

"Where? Where is he calling?"

The dead answered again, the sound of the ice breaking continued, and their voices seemed to become more solid.

"The dark and empty land, the prison that should not exist, the fantasy of a madman, the man-made hell, the greatest rebellion and greatest expectation that a son can commit to his father."

Ahriman couldn't help but take a deep breath, suppress his emotions, and continue to ask questions.

"Is he in danger?"

"No. But if he escapes, then the danger will come immediately."

Escaping from the trap is the most dangerous moment? Why?

The wrinkles between Ahriman's eyebrows became deeper and deeper, and he instinctively wanted to ask questions, but he strangled this surging instinct for knowledge with his own hands, and he was so determined that he was like a completely different person. He knew that the questions he had left were few and must be used for more critical purposes, rather than satisfying his curiosity born of the curse.

"Why did he enter this prison?"

"Because he wanted to save his brother, Lion El'Jonson"

This time, the voices of the dead were extremely sad - Ahriman looked carefully at the faces of the drowned people, and the same pain surged in his heart.

These people who answered him were not just the embodiment of an abstract power, or evil spirits bound here by terror. On the contrary, they were tools to suppress evil spirits, voluntary sacrifices, and noble martyrs.

If the state church dared to publish this list, everyone on it would probably be canonized, but this list will never be published, in fact, this list does not even exist.

From the moment these people chose to bear this responsibility, this matter was destined.

Therefore, they knew many other things. For them, this seemed to be a reward, enough to make them ignore the pain and firmly sleep here.

The last question.

Ahriman slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, raised his hand and touched his empty eye sockets. The old pain seemed to be spreading. He recalled silently for a moment, thinking about the moment when the sharp knife pierced his eyeball, thinking about Magnus' name, and finally calmed down.

Okay, one last question.

The dead are waiting quietly, and the ice is about to break. After this question, the evil spirits will emerge, and then it will be the time for a fight to the death.

Azek Ahriman clenched his weapon and asked——

His voice was blurred in the loud noise of the ice completely breaking, and the howling ancient evil spirits fell from the sky and drowned them. Only the answers of the drowned were still clear.

"Yes, he will correct his mistakes, so Lion El'Jonson will return."