Chapter 103 The End of the Era: An Action of No Return
Vito walked into a building that looked like a Fenris tribe hall. Well, this is not accurate after all, this is a battleship and not really on the ground, but it is indeed very unique here.
The entire indoor structure is a complete imitation of the one-to-one structure of the Fenris tribe hall. Every Fenris tribe has a place like this. You know, it's just like the Viking activity hall on earth. The long hall is placed in the center. There are braziers and meat hooks hanging on them, barbecue grills, log beams, support columns and pebble walls.
Comfortable carpets are laid far away from the flames, and long rows of tables and chairs are placed around them. Fenris warriors will drink and brag on them, taste the spoils during the long winter nights, and tell the story of ancient legends. Ballads and legends.
Most of the Fenrisian children grew up in this kind of place. During the long winter nights, this was the warmest and most comfortable place. They would listen to the old patriarch or the elders on the hanging candles and plush carpets. The elders tell stories, recounting countless heroic legends of Fenris, or legendary powerful creatures.
But the most fascinating among them are the rumors of the celestial warriors. Those celestial warriors who live on the peak of Wolffang Castle. It is said that they will ride on the longships flying in the sky to fight among the stars, die in glory and enter the world. The Hall of Valor of the legendary All-Knowing Father.
Many Fenrisian children grew up listening to this story. They would fall asleep listening to the legendary stories of the Celestial Warriors on winter nights, and some of them would eventually stand in the ranks of the Celestial Warriors.
Many Space Wolf warriors gathered around the warm brazier. They sat on benches or gathered in small groups. The warriors talked to each other in Fenrisian, while the mortal warriors wearing Cadian military uniforms Gathered together again, they talked by the brazier.
But soon all the loose guests were attracted by the voice of Wolf Lord Sven Bloodhowl. The tall Wolf Lord struck the ground with the end of his power battle ax. His loud voice made every pair of eyes look towards the door. direction.
Vito and the four Death Watch warriors walked into the hall. Together with Sven, they stood in front of the brazier at the back. The wolf master held a huge power battle ax and looked around, "Pay attention! You wolf cubs, give this to the new recruits among you." Let me introduce you! This is Vito Constantine, our honorary friend. Some of you may have heard of his legend, but I’m sure you’ve missed a lot of things!”
Sven's bragging made Vito feel a little embarrassed. Although he was very cheeky, it was indeed very refreshing to be admired and even admired by some Astartes.
"These four are Vito's entourage. You all know him, our respected Olaf Rune Priest! The glorious psionic archmage of our Chapter!" Sven pressed Olaf's shoulders unceremoniously and said to him People around shouted, and there was a chorus of agreement among the Space Wolf warriors.
Olaf smiled and nodded to his brothers, "It is an honor to meet my brothers here again. We will be honored in the name of All Father."
"And this is our lively wolf cub Ragnar! Aha! I think many of you know him!" Sven hugged Ragnar's neck, he raised his battle ax and roared loudly, Ragnar Na also raised his fist happily, and soon there was a burst of wolf howls and happy laughter in the hall.
It seems that Ragnar is well-known in his Chapter, especially among the younger warriors.
"These two are the glorious knights of the Dark Angels and the erudite wise men of the Macragge Ultramarines Chapter. You idiots have a lot to learn from them!"
Swain's bold and exaggerated introduction made Lancelot and Bell bow their heads in humility. They paid tribute to the Space Wolves who were shouting in the entire hall, but Swain still laughed and seemed to be in a good mood. Pretty good.
"Judge, let me introduce you." Sven said, pointing to the soldier wearing a Cadian uniform beside the brazier, "This is the leader of the Thirteenth Cadian Regiment, the brave Mars New. Colonel K!"
Colonel Mars stood at attention and saluted the inquisitor. He had a long scar on his face, and it didn't look like it was a recent addition. The colonel and the officers behind him both stood straight and gave Vito a standard military salute. It was so standard. Couldn't be more standard.
"My Lord Judge, it is an honor to meet you." "I am also a colonel, and it is a pleasure to meet you."
Vito also returned a less standard military salute, but the colonel obviously didn't mind. Swain continued to introduce in his bold way. He raised his tomahawk and pointed with the weapon without hostility. The other side was farther away. The Marshal of the Mechanicus Skitarii here, his appearance does not look like the traditional, common image of a Mechanicus priest.
The Skitarii Marshal looks more like a warrior, or Skitarii. Under his red robe is a powerful steel structure, a steel structure built purely for war. He wears a handful of Mechanicus on his waist. Powerful weapons, behind them are two or three mechanical arms equipped with destructive weapons.
His face was completely covered by machinery, and the gear structure on his head also imitated a centurion's battle helmet. He watched Vito's eyes keep clicking and rotating, and the light of the flames illuminated his entire front half, making this steel terminator Even more terrifying.
"Marshal of the Skitarii of Agrippina, what is it? Ah" "Delta, my lord."
The Marshal of the Skitarii said mechanically, but his voice sounded like a tough guy in the Mechanicus, and his voice sounded like steel. The sonorous and powerful voice would not make you suspect that he is a useless gear boy. If you doubt, Then your face will probably be punched with a hole in the face by a phosphorus fire weapon.
The Skitarii Marshal turned his mechanical head, and his red mechanical eyes clicked at the inquisitor in front of him. He seemed to conduct a brief scan and analysis, but Vito did not think this was disrespectful. Come on, this can be regarded as "etiquette" in the world of these iron-clad weirdos.
"I am the Forge World of Agrippina who serves the Ohm Messiah. I am the Skitarii Marshal Delta-G038 under the Great Sage. I have been ordered to walk with the Angels of Death to unleash the wrath of the Ohm Messiah."
Vito looked at the Skitarii Marshal and nodded slightly. The latter also responded. The Skitarii Marshal's steel legs made a roaring sound on the ground. Behind the marshal, there were several Skitarii soldiers standing. They They were all silent, holding their finely crafted weapons like servitors on standby.
"He's just as weird as most members of the Mechanicum." Sven leaned closer to Vito and whispered, and the Inquisitor smiled and nodded slightly.
"So what is our problem? Grand Marshal, what mission brought you to leave the Forge World and come here. I believe Agrippina's current situation is not very good." Vito looked at Delta with one hand behind his back. asked, knowing without a doubt that too much rhetoric for the Mechanicus.
Anyway, in the end, they will only be able to recognize and read the key content, and they will not even be able to read the rest of the gorgeous rhetoric.
"Indeed, Chaos has tried to launch an attack on the Forge World, but the Great Sage believes that there is a more urgent mission for us to complete." Delta said word by word. Although his voice was better than that of ordinary Mechanicus members, he still More like a machine than a human being.
"It is related to the safety of Cadia." He turned to Colonel Mars as he spoke. The Marshal of the Skitarii raised his purely mechanical arm to signal to Colonel Mars, "I believe that Colonel Mars can give you a reasonable explain."
Mars nodded affirmatively, then looked at Swain asking for permission, "Sir, if you allow me."
"Of course, Colonel, you are better at giving briefings than me!" Sven chuckled, Mars nodded gratefully, then raised his hand and waved it above the brazier, and a holographic planet appeared above the brazier, and the green fluorescent light instantly suppressed it. The burning fire was left, with orange-red and fluorescent green light mixed together.
The faces of Vito and the four dying angels were illuminated by a strange light. They looked at the holographic planet in front of them, and they knew that this planet was Cardia without the colonel introducing them.
There is no other planet in the galaxy that is covered with pure fortresses on the surface. The hives here are giant bastions, with towering city walls and large and frantic rail guns pointing straight into the sky, projecting storms of destruction. Towards the sky.
In addition, there are literally tunnels all over the continent, groups of bunkers and heavy weapons arrays, gravel-like military camps and firepower points densely distributed on the continent from north to south. The entire planet is a fortress, so yes, This is definitely Cadia.
But it seems that the situation on this planet is not very good now. I mean, yes, I know that Cadia is not in good times. After all, it relies on the Eye of Terror. Looking up is the entrance to the Chaos Realm. Looking down is not a variant. People are chaos demons running around.
Kill a mutant before breakfast, a traitor before lunch, a "friendly exchange" with demons in the afternoon, kill a mutant or something in the evening, and maybe a "night visit" from a traitorous Space Marine in the evening.
But even by Cadia's standards, the current situation can be described as fucked.
"The emperor's holy ribs are on top, Colonel. This situation cannot be described as bad." Vito said while looking at the holographic display. Colonel Mars nodded affirmatively and pointed to the planet's orbit, "The Chaos Fleet controls the planet's orbit. , The Imperial Navy has fought many battles with Chaos in the entire star field before, and has long been unable to defend the orbit. "
"Yes, we know that we saw a large number of ruins and battlefields on the way here." Ragnar said, he frowned slightly and looked at the hologram, "But this situation is too fucked up, Cadia's orbital defense system What? "Why didn't you respond?"
Mars frowned and nodded anxiously, "That's right. The orbital defense system was down for some reason and could not be started at all. The Mechanicus initially believed that it was caused by the rebellion of the Eighth Regiment. They betrayed us and the Emperor in the planet's capital, killing If the entire command level is killed, it is likely that the master control system will be destroyed.”
As he spoke, a red dot appeared on the map. It was the capital of the planet of Cadia, at least it used to be. Now that place has become a battlefield where cows, ghosts and snakes are fighting.
Then, following the movement of the colonel's hand, a figure appeared on the screen. It was the leader of the rebel force, but judging from its reddened image, it seemed that the traitor had been killed. The Emperor bless him.
The image of the loyalist who killed the traitor also appeared on the other side. It was a man with a resolute face, and his name was also marked below.
"The Lord of the Castle, Creed, led the Sixth Cadian Regiment to eliminate them and reorganized all the armed forces on the surface. However, when Chaos began to attack, the absence of the orbital system caused Chaos to land on the planet's surface on a large scale. Currently, The situation is critical."
The colonel pointed to the battle line across the continental plate on the hologram, "The Chaos traitors and demons are following the traitorous Space Marines and are advancing towards the current wartime headquarters along the central axis of the continent. Lord Creed and others have arrived and provided support. The Black Templar Grand Marshal, Marshal Amalric, is doing his best to stop them."
"The traitors had complete control of the air. We were forced to abandon many places due to orbital bombardment and air suppression. The situation barely stabilized before we left."
"Father bless you, Inquisitor, the Black Templars arrived at the battlefield in time. Their war fleet defeated the Chaos Fleet in the western hemisphere of the planet to ensure safety. Then they completed a large-scale landing deployment, with a thousand Space Marines and an entire battle group. The deployment has been completed." Swain's tone was filled with appreciation. Of course, everyone knew that the Black Templar had seriously violated the Holy Code.
But as a camp that also treats the Temple as a fart and continues to maintain the Dalian and super-staffed battle groups, I think the Space Wolves probably appreciate the Black Templars' plan.
"Why did you leave in such a dangerous situation? The Firemane Fang is one of the few battleships in the orbit of Cadia that has strong enough firepower and assault capabilities, but you brought it here? With an entire company ”
Swain snorted and raised his finger slightly, "Do you think we came here because we were afraid?" "No, Swain, I think you are planning to do something big, and I don't know what it is yet."
"Then you can know now." Sven Gorehowl said as he snapped his fingers, and the holographic image immediately began to flash and change. In the blink of an eye, a huge creation appeared in front of everyone, with a terrifying giant cannon. of man-made buildings.
Vito frowned and stared at the thing. He turned to Sven, who nodded in affirmation.
"Blackstone Fortress. Did you find the Blackstone Fortress near here?" Vito asked silently. Marshal of the Skitarii nodded mechanically, and his mechanical eyes rotated a full circle counterclockwise, "Correct, on Cadia. During a naval battle in the area, the Imperial Navy fleet discovered the emergence of the Blackstone Fortress. Although the Imperial Navy was almost completely annihilated to hide the secret, one destroyer still managed to escape from the scene. "
"Lord Eternal Will, one of the Blackstone Fortresses stolen by Abaddon." Colonel Mars added.
Delta said mechanically, "The ship's reactor leaked. Most of the people on the ship had already died of radiation when they arrived. The remaining people would all die in a short time, but they brought back the important alarm." Cardia."
"May All Father bless their souls and take the souls of the warriors to the Hall of Valor." Sven said with his head bowed, his tone full of respect and regret for the mortal warriors, and the surrounding Space Wolf warriors bowed their heads in silence. .
Vito sighed, but after feeling regretful, he returned to the topic, "The appearance of Blackstone Fortress in the Cadia Star Territory only means one thing."
"Abaddon decided to destroy Cadia with the warp cannon."
As soon as these words came out, the hall fell silent instantly, and the soldiers looked at each other. Although everyone had known this fact for a long time, it still caused quite a shock when someone said it.
Swain nodded calmly and affirmatively, "Yes, Abaddon once used planet killers to destroy a world in the Gothic War, and in the same war, Blackstone Fortress has proven its power, which we have never known before. Powerful."
Yes, Vito knew what that meant, he was there.
He witnessed the most noble sacrifice, the brave battle of the Imperial Navy, and the final victory of the Emperor's Light. But at the same time, he also witnessed the cannon of Blackstone Fortress overloading the stars of the star system and almost turning it into a star system. A supernova that destroys an entire galaxy.
Humans had never known how powerful the Blackstone Fortress was before, but they did then, and to make matters worse Abaddon had taken two of the Blackstone Fortresses, one of which was now in Cadia.
He would use this power, Vito knew, he would.
Vito looked at the Blackstone Fortress and fell silent, then turned to look at Swain, "What is the plan."
"Attack the Blackstone Fortress, land on it and overload its reactor, blow up or paralyze the thrusters." Swain finished the suicide mission in a very short time and in just one sentence.
That's right, a suicide mission, an absolutely fucking suicide mission.
Vito was silent for a moment, and then looked around at the Space Marines around him. They all gathered together and looked at Vito with a pair of resolute eyes. They all knew that this was a suicide attack with no return. Even if there was hope of breaking out and evacuating, There won't be many people here standing here again.
Most of them would die in the attack and would never even see the reactor, but they were still so indulgent and graciously accepted their final fate.
Vito let out a long sigh, then looked at Sven, "How many people will participate in the offensive mission?" "My entire company of two hundred Space Wolves, the Thirteenth Cadian Regiment, a full brigade of the Skitarii. "You will never come back." "I know."
Swain spoke calmly, surprisingly calmly, but there was no trace of panic or hesitation on his face. He calmly told the place where he died and the place where he last fought.
Vito looked at the soldiers around him. They were all the same. As the emperor's death angels, they had long known and accepted their fate.
"We will drive the Firemane Fang to ambush in the asteroid belt, wait for the Blackstone Fortress to pass by, rush up, complete the springboard landing in one go, and then complete the mission before the whole army is annihilated." Sven said.
"We will prevent the Blackstone Fortress from reaching Cadia! Prevent those bastards from blowing our proud fortress world into ashes!" Sven roared, and the warriors around him raised their arms and roared, like a group of wolves gathering before departure.
Sven led his wolf pack to roar for a while, then calmly lowered his head and looked at Vito, "This is a mission that must be accomplished, Vito, you can leave, no one will blame you."
"Inquisitor, I must remind you that we still have tasks that must be completed. We will gladly die for the Emperor, but not here!" Bell walked up to Vito's ear and whispered. The Inquisitor looked at Bell, and then at Sven standing aside.
Ragnar and Olaf stood behind Vito, and they all waited quietly for Vito's order. This time he must make the decision, and only he can make the decision.
Everyone was waiting for him to make a decision, but he remained silent.
Lancelot looked at Vito, and then noticed that the Inquisitor was looking at the brazier, at the burning charcoal and fire in it.
Vito looked at the burning fire in front of him, and a figure seemed to appear in the flames, a figure with long flowing hair.
A figure he was familiar with, the figure of an old bastard.