[Cardia]
It is now 30k. Apart from the Iron Warriors, the Empire has not yet set foot here, and Cadia is still a slowly rotating ignorant planet in the Eye of Terror.
This is an ancient planet. In some ways, this planet is very suitable for the development of human civilization. There are large tracts of temperate forests, grasslands, and plains suitable for farming. However, no decent human civilization has developed here.
When the stormbird landed, Lorgar used the Primarch's amazing vision to see the locals hiding in the folds of the earth. They looked rough and wore some religious decorations.
Luo Jia frowned imperceptibly.
Perturabo invited him to a gathering on this newly discovered "important planet" of the Iron Warriors, where it seemed the Iron Warriors were trying to build a military facility.
Lorgar didn't know why this world at the junction of the warp and the physical world was important, nor did he know why Perturabo insisted on building trenches here, but he believed that before doing so, Perturabo should at least educate the locals.
The Stormbird landed on the dry plains north of Cadia. Lorgar walked out of the Stormbird's door. Through the dry and transparent air, he saw Perturabo and the huge alien building behind him.
What is that
Lorgar thought to himself as he smiled gently and strode towards his brother, while Perturabo stepped forward to greet him.
They exchanged a few brief greetings, and then Perturabo looked past Lorgar and at the guards who were performing guard duties behind Lorgar.
[What is going on?]
Perturabo's mouth moved slightly, and a sound was heard only by the two of them.
Lorgar had his back to the Imperial Guard Vidana. He knew that the Imperial Guard gatekeeper could not see his expression. The smile on his lips froze, hanging there awkwardly.
[A failed prayer.]
Luo Jia said softly, and at the same time he walked forward quickly, as if avoiding the sight of the imperial guard.
[He was ordered to join the Word Bearers' army after the Perfect City incident. Although I have repeatedly declared my loyalty to my father, he still did so. I can understand him.]
Lorgar looked at Perturabo and saw a strange light flashing in his eyes, which made him feel uneasy.
[Understand him?]
Perturabo raised his voice in disbelief.
[He sent someone to monitor you, and you still hope—]
Lorgar's eyes widened in astonishment. He quickly stepped forward and tried to grab Perturabo's arm, signaling him to stop talking.
But Perturabo ignored him. The Lord of Iron waved his hand, making Lorgar's attempt go awry. Perturabo looked at the guard with his dark grey eyes. He said in a cold and provocative tone,
[Did the Emperor ask you to monitor my conversation with Lorgar?]
The voice of the Guardian Vedana sounded dully,
“It’s my duty.”
Perturabo smiled sarcastically.
[This is just a reunion between brothers. Since when did the conversations between Primarchs become eavesdropped on? ]
Before Vidana could make matters worse, Lorgar spoke up.
[Just a few minutes. I think the Emperor has given you free rein, Vedana.]
At the same time, Lorgar strode forward quickly. The Imperial Guards swayed, but were stopped by Angertai in front of him. The Word Bearer carried two spears on his back and stood silently in the way of the Imperial Guards.
In the end, Vidanna could only watch as the two Primarchs walked into the depths of the wasteland, talking and laughing.
————
[I have always wanted you to see this, that is why I invited you to this planet.]
Perturabo spoke, and looking off into the distance, Lorgar saw a native in rough clothing walking toward them, surrounded by the Iron Warriors.
It was a tall woman with eerie violet eyes and layers of dry brown leather sewn into her clothes, which were covered with words written in dried blood.
Luo Jia's brows wrinkled slightly. He seemed to ignore Perturabo beside him and stared at the female tribal leader.
What do you see
Perturabo whispered in Lorgar's ear. Lorgar still frowned, his eyes full of confusion.
[Colchian?]
Colchis, homeworld of the Primarch Lorgar.
Lorgar whispered, [That is, Colchian?!]
Why does a primitive woman from a remote star region have words written in Colchis on her clothes
As the woman approached, Luo Jia's eyelids twitched imperceptibly. He recognized that the brown skin was dried human skin, and the words on it were pagan prayers!
God Emperor is above!
Lorgar tightened his grip on the scepter, and Perturabo watched him thoughtfully. The Lord of Steel spoke.
[Do you recognize those words, brother? ]
Luojia gritted his teeth, his scepter was already stirring, such a blasphemous existence should not survive for so long!
He gritted his teeth and said,
[She believes in a blasphemous paganism, my brother, you know what I am going to do—]
[etc,]
Perturabo interrupted Lorgar.
[Why do you know these words, Luojia? ]
This briefly freed Lorgar from his dissatisfaction with seeing the heretic, and he returned to his initial doubts.
[coincide?]
Lorgar spoke uncertainly, staring at the prayers. The words became more and more familiar. He had seen them in Colchis.
[… Before I unified Colchis, similar heresies did exist in Colchis, but I purged them with the faith of the God-Emperor.]
Luo Jia said seriously,
[Listen to me, brother. Perhaps you cannot understand the power of faith. It can make the weak stronger, but it can also corrupt the strong. I am now certain that the words on the body of the native are heretical prayers. You should kill her.]
Lorga paused, then his tone softened.
[Brother, perhaps you could not recognize the words on it before, but now you know clearly that it is blasphemous, and it is a culture that should be burned to ashes.]
Lorgar had been staring at the heretic, but suddenly he seemed to realize something. He turned his head to look at Perturabo and found that Perturabo was also staring at him with a frown.
The Lord of Iron waved his hand, signaling the Iron Warriors to stop holding the native.
[I mean, Luojia, why is it so coincidental? Is this really a coincidence? ]
Lorgar choked, and then he spoke in a voice that seemed a little annoyed.
"Are you doubting me, brother? You don't trust me either? And your so-called proof is that a random planet has the same language as Colchis?"
Perturabo spread his hands innocently.
[I'm just worried about you. I'm curious about what happened in the Perfect City—you've changed a lot, Lorgar.]
Luo Jia took a deep breath and said angrily,
[My offspring were corrupted by the heretics of Colchis, and the God-Emperor saved me and my Legion, that's it!]
Perturabo paced back to his own place and said slowly,
[I still don't understand your faith, brother, I mean... even after everything that happened, why are you still so persistent? ]
Luo Jia sighed and said sincerely,
[I don't believe in the Imperial Truth, brother - this world has gods, and the God-Emperor is the savior of mankind. He created the Primarchs, created the Space Marines, and then launched a great crusade to revive the entire human race. He is selfless and a god, and we should follow him and submit to him.]
Perturabo was silent for a moment.
I don't think he is a god.
He said firmly.
Luo Jia shook his head slightly. He had argued with countless primarchs on this topic countless times, but he would still stick to his point of view.
He is,
Luo Jia said,
[Only God can perform miracles.]
He heard Perturabo chuckle softly, which made Lorgar feel a little offended and a little angry.
[With all due respect, that is only what a powerful psychic can do. ]
[Playing tricks... Why are you the only one who takes it seriously?]
Perturabo's words sharpened, and Lorgar frowned.
[You and I both know that it is far beyond human power. I have discussed this with Magnus before. Magnus himself admitted that the power of the God-Emperor is not something that ordinary psychics can achieve. Even Magnus cannot reach His level.]
[not to mention…]
Luo Jia paused.
[Maybe more than one...]
He spoke in a low voice, and Luo Jia thought of Hades, the corrector under the throne of the God Emperor.
[perhaps.]
Perturabo's voice sounded, and Lorga was not sure which of Lorga's words he was answering.
Perturabo said,
[Please allow me to ask an offensive question, brother, why did you choose to believe in him? ]
Luo Jia was getting a little impatient. He spoke,
[It was not I who chose Him. It was He who chose me—He showed the way for His followers and gave them the strength to survive and fight.]
Lorgar turned his head and saw Perturabo staring at him, with a color flashing in his eyes that he could not see through. Perturabo's hands were casually resting on his waist.
[Sounds interesting.]
Perturabo said pertinently, and before Lorgar could refute him, the Lord of Steel changed the subject in time.
[Let's take a look at the alien buildings I discovered recently. I think these are more interesting than those weird natives. ]
Perturabo said casually, glancing at the native woman and letting the Iron Warriors bring her to the front.
[After I show you around, you can execute her directly in front of that alien building. In fact, there are quite a few primitive people like this on this planet. I have gathered them all in front of that alien building. You can do whatever you want with them.]
Perturabo was not interested, but he changed the subject in a moment, his tone rising again.
[You should come and see this. I recently discovered them, the Black Stone Obelisk. These buildings seem to have been built by some more ancient race. They are scattered around the Eye of Terror and can emit force fields to hinder the dispersion of the subspace turbulence.]
Perturabo walked quickly forward as he spoke, and Lorgar had to quickly follow Perturabo's steps, but he was not very interested in what Perturabo said. He listened silently, his mind full of thoughts on how to eradicate the heretics on this planet.
Lorgar had no idea why Perturabo's subject jumped so drastically, as the Lord of Steel's words flew past his ears at high speed.
[These buildings are quite ingenious. According to my calculations, if there were no obelisks to suppress the subspace in this area, if they were destroyed, half of the Obscure Segmentum and a small part of the Extreme Segmentum would fall into the turbulence of the subspace. ]
But what interests me more is that
Perturabo said,
[The polarity of these buildings can be reversed, they can amplify the warp, if we change the polarity of these phalanxes - then the damage they can cause will be even more far-reaching.]
Lorgar paused for a moment, and looked at Perturabo subtly.
This sounds dangerous.
[Yes,]
Perturabo naturally interfaces,
[So I'm glad you're here, brother. The Iron Warriors alone can't fully control this area.]
Luo Jia smiled, but then he felt something. He seemed to hear a bird cry, a roar, a whisper, and a gasp.
He turned his head and stared at the obelisk they were approaching, which did not appear to be in operation.
Is the obelisk in operation
Lorgar turned his head and looked at the obelisk and asked abruptly. Where he couldn't see, Perturabo laughed contemptuously.
[I was checking out that obelisk, but then I decided to welcome you first, brother.]
The two Primarchs walked while talking. The dry earth cracked into tiny scars under their feet. The Blackstone Tower was approaching. Lorgar heard people shouting from the back of the tower. It was Colchis. They were shouting -
"Kill him!"
Luo Jia suddenly opened his mouth.
[Perturabo, contact your guards in Blackrock Spire immediately.]
He watched anxiously as his brother turned on the channel, but only the noisy Colchis language came from the other end of the channel. It was the first time that Lorgar had seen Perturabo so angry, and he heard the whistle of the Iron Warriors gathering.
[Let’s go take a look first.]
Perturabo said grimly,
[We can't let them destroy the obelisk.]
Lorgar nodded, and they started running. A few moments later, the two Primarchs arrived at the battlefield. Lorgar saw the bodies of nine Iron Warriors. The natives were trying to draw blasphemous symbols on their bodies. The undried blood was used to draw magic circles on the ground, and the woman just now was commanding them.
Luo Jia roared. Of course he knew what was going on. Having fought against heretics for many years, he knew that these bastards could use witchcraft - no, they were offering sacrifices!
Where the Warp overlaps the physical world, sacrifice will literally summon those beings!
They must be interrupted before the sacrifice is completed, and Lorgar rushed forward without hesitation. With two primarchs present, unless those natives could use witchcraft more powerful than Magnus, this would be a battle without any suspense.
Lorgar swung his staff, and several mortals roaring blood sacrifices rushed towards him. Their muscles were abnormally strong, but Lorgar simply swung his staff, and the sound of skulls cracking was heard.
The wizards on the side used insignificant magic to disturb him, but Luo Jia remained unmoved. He rushed straight into the center of the simple altar, where the woman was dancing wildly, tearing her skin like crazy.
Without any hesitation, Lorgar smashed the scepter directly at the aliens, and at the same time—
Buzz!
The Black Stone Obelisk suddenly began to move, violent arcs of electricity rose up, carrying strange fluctuations of psychic energy. In a short moment, the space here twisted and trembled.
Lorgar's eyes went dark for a moment. When he regained his vision, he saw the scepter piercing through the woman's body. The dying native was staring at him with a smile.
"Hello, Lorgar."
She said softly,
"My name is Ingsel. According to our original destiny, we should have had a more wonderful acquaintance."
Luo Jia tried to pull his hand away expressionlessly, but the woman's strength became extremely great. The woman's body began to hunch, her skin quickly festered, and white bones pierced through her muscles. It seemed that some other existence was about to break out of her body.
The distorted space whispered in Luojia's ear. Time seemed to be stretched extremely long and extremely short. He heard another destiny and heard the gods... No, no, no, Luojia silently prayed for the protection of the God Emperor in his heart. This made him feel a little better. He tried to retreat immediately and stay away from this place of psychic distortion, but the next moment -
[Perturabo? ]
Lorgar turned his head slowly, in disbelief.
He had never thought about it, and when he heard Perturabo's footsteps he thought he was coming to help him.
Lorga saw Perturabo's expressionless face. His gaze dropped downward, and Lorga saw the slowly seeping red on his back.
I was quite busy today, and at the same time I was trying to wrap up this plot, so it was even later.
In the end, I still haven't finished it. I will definitely finish Pertura Bo Luojia's side tomorrow and start the main quest at the same time.
The matter of the original body was indeed a bit sloppy as it did not take up enough space, but unfortunately I do not have enough capacity.
ps, I think someone seems to have confused the Maelstrom and the Eye of Terror.
PPS. 30k Cadia is the land of Chaos, where the Word Bearers "awakened" in the First Heresy.
(End of this chapter)