The dazzling white light flashed an arc on the armor. Finus placed his hand on the podium and turned his gaze to Hades.
Hades lowered his head slightly, listening to the sound on the eavesdropping channel.
It was quite common for two armies to greet each other when they met, and the words used were very official.
The Word Bearer's voice echoed politely in the channel, while the Lord of Medusa responded with a stiff hum from time to time.
He stared at Hades, waiting for Hades' judgment.
… No… Hades thought that although the time of the Order of Silence was slightly chaotic when traveling alone in the warp, their time was normal when traveling with the Iron Hands.
According to the map, no matter how fast the Word Bearers are, there is no way they can be here now.
Hades blinked, looked at Fenugreek, opened his mouth and said a few words silently.
The Lord of Medusa nodded, and in the moment of silence of the Word Bearers, he spoke,
[I hope to meet Luojia.]
The other side replied quickly that the decision was not in their team's hands, but they had already informed the Primarch.
Fenu paused, his tone softened slightly.
[I remember that the Fourth Legion was stationed here. Are they here too, or have they gone to another territory?]
"My lord, the Word Bearers and the Fourth Legion are stationed together in this sector. Three sectors deeper, you will see the Iron Warriors legions."
Hades and Finus looked at each other, and Finus continued to speak.
[Are there already two legions stationed here? Then the Iron Hands will not continue their expedition.]
The other side's response was still a polite blessing, wishing the great expedition victory.
Fenus hung up the communication, turned around and stared at Hades, who was still in deep thought.
What can you see
Hades shook his head slightly.
"The Word Bearers shouldn't be here. There are three possibilities. They are really fine, but just like the Iron Hands, they didn't receive any notification from Terra. There is already a problem with the Word Bearers, but the wound has not spread yet. The team we met are just survivors. There is a problem with the Word Bearers, and this spy deliberately answered us this way."
Hades' eyes flashed. The ships of the Order of Silence had been completely dispersed and hidden in the Iron Hands fleet. Unless they opened the Warp Eye, the opposing team would not know that Hades was here.
Just as Hades was thinking, the communication request from the Word Bearers rang again. The communication light flashed eagerly, and Fenus opened the channel without hesitation.
"Master of the Tenth Legion Iron Hands,"
The Word Bearer on the other side was replaced by a person with a slightly anxious tone.
"Although there are already two legions stationed in the Cygnus star field, I, Thor Targron, guarantee my life. I implore you to speak to our Primarch."
Hades raised his eyebrows imperceptibly. It seemed that they had encountered a special situation.
Finus continued along with the Word Bearer's words,
[Why.]
Finus asked calmly. There was a noisy sound in the channel. It seemed that these Word Bearers were arguing.
Finus gave them a moment to react, and then his strong voice rang out,
[Answer my question directly, Thor Tagron. Your words just now are disrespectful, but if you choose not to answer me and continue to contradict the Primarch—]
Finus' voice became quieter and he waited for the other side.
Thor's slightly panting voice sounded anxiously again. It seemed that he had just defeated several brothers who opposed him. He spoke very quickly.
"I am very sorry, my lord, but I don't have time to explain the matter slowly. Our father has been in a bad state recently. After meeting with the primarch of the Fourth Legion, he became-"
"I'm sorry, sir."
A new voice came from the other channel.
"Sol Tagron was recently dismissed by my father as the captain of the 34th Company and was later assigned to serve in our team. The change in position makes him feel a little abnormal."
Finus and Hades looked at each other, and Hades made a few gestures.
Finus was silent. There was only the slight crackling of the arc in the Primarch's channel. Hades imagined the pressure exerted on the other side because of the Primarch's silence.
[How will the Word Bearers deal with him if he contradicts a Primarch?]
Finus' voice sounded with a hint of impatience and anger.
[Don't tell me you're going to use the excuse of waiting for orders from your superiors to get away with this.]
Hades turned his head, and while Finus was talking to the other party, he looked at Santo the Iron Hand who was standing guard at the door of the command room.
"Come here, come here quickly."
Hades whispered,
Santo glanced at his father in confusion, and Fenus gave him a determined look, so Santo stepped forward.
The closer distance allowed him to hear the hesitant explanation from the other end of the channel.
[You are offensive enough.]
Finus said,
[I don't care about anything else, but military discipline is strict and mistakes need to be punished. Let him have a duel with my soldier Santo. If he wins, then this matter will never be mentioned again.]
Hades bent down, patted Santo on the shoulder, and tuned into the channel of Finus and the Word Bearers for Santo. Santo opened his eyes wide. He could tell that the two generals had other intentions, but what did he want him to do -
He saw Hades' mouth move, inviting him to get on the boat.
Finus' voice stopped at the right moment. Santo swallowed and spoke with anger in his voice.
"I, Gabriel Santo, Captain of the Iron Hands Company, challenge the Word Bearer Thor Tagron to a duel in the presence of the Iron Fists."
————
The Word Bearers who were being escorted to the Iron Hands mothership on Thor had their communications cut off and were knocked down at the first opportunity.
Thor looked back in shock, watching the battle brothers escorting him being disarmed by the Iron Hands who emerged from the shadows. Although he couldn't figure out what was happening, Thor drew his warhammer and prepared to fight alongside the Word Bearers.
Then he was pinned down by Santo, face down, in close contact with the metal floor of the Iron Fist.
A huge shadow was cast in front of him, and Thor felt his limbs beginning to become weak. He swallowed, thinking quickly about what to do now.
A deep voice sounded, but with a relaxed tone.
"Relax, Thor of the Word Bearers. I wish to ask you a few questions."
It wasn't... It wasn't Fenuth's voice, nor was it Santo's voice.
Santo, who was holding him down, silently hit Thor in the back with the butt of his gun.
"Answer this gentleman's question seriously, Thor. I don't think you want to cause any further misunderstandings."
The strange voice sounded again.
"Don't be so nervous. In fact, I admire your courage, Thor."
Thor's mind was almost a mess now. He was sure that he was caught in a bigger vortex, but he didn't know what it was... Unless... Thor remembered what he had said before, and his heart skipped a beat.
"What happened to Lorgar?"
The voice asked softly.
Thor felt as if his blood had frozen, and he gasped for breath.
"What happened, have the other adults realized what happened, sir?"
Thor spoke loudly, and what answered him was another heavy blow from Santo. For his escape from the question, Thor felt the ceramic steel fragments of the power armor embedded in his back.
"Yes, some people realize it, and that's what I'm here for."
The voice said slowly,
"Now, answer my question, Thor, what happened to Lorgar?"
Thor gritted his teeth, smelled the blood in his mouth, and screamed.
"Something has changed! My Lord, I mean - Master Lorgar has become strange. He has begun to compile new teachings, not... not about the God-Emperor."
There were footsteps, and Thor could imagine the adult pacing slowly behind him.
"Where are the guards? Where did they go? I remember that the gatekeeper Weidan was not a person who neglected his duties."
Thor felt his blood run cold and his head buzzed. Now he was absolutely sure that the people in front of him were here to deal with the Word Bearers. The Word Bearers were absolutely sure that the God-Emperor had never revealed to other legions the news that the Word Bearers were stationed with the Imperial Guards. Even those who had seen the Imperial Guards would not know their titles so clearly.
Not to mention that the other side directly mentioned the name of Vidana, the leader of the Imperial Guards.
But... but... Thor struggled to think that before he was exiled, he had heard the news that his good brother Angerte was suddenly demoted. He secretly went to find Angerte for this purpose, and Angerte told him some disturbing news.
Thor did not wait for the disaster to happen, because he was thrown out of the main fleet for going to find Anglete privately.
But is this kind of news really suitable to be told to the person who comes to solve the problem? This will definitely lead to punishment, Thor hesitated.
"I am not quite sure. The Custodians are not well-received among the Word Bearers."
The footsteps stopped.
"Then, Vidana and the others should have been sacrificed."
That voice quietly spoke of the extraordinary decision.
"Do you agree with me, Thor?"
Thor was silent, he felt the cold sweat running down his forehead.
With a sigh, the voice became harder.
"This means that the layer of protection we placed around Luojia has failed,"
The stranger said calmly,
"This isn't surveillance, this is protection, Saul, and that's exactly the kind of situation we're worried about."
"My Lord, please allow me to ask you, who are you?"
The voice paused for a moment, as if judging whether Thor deserved to know his name.
"Hades,"
Hades said,
"Perhaps you are more familiar with my other name, the Silent One."
Hades looked at the Word Bearer's body, which seemed to be exhausted and collapsed on the ground. He nodded slightly. Santo let go of Thor. Iron Hand pointed the incendiary gun at Thor's head and slowly stood up.
But Thor did not stand up. He remained on the ground like a dead fish. After a long while, Thor's weak voice rang out.
"Sir... please save us, something is definitely wrong, father... father is not normal."
Thor saw from the corner of his eye that the Silent One had an expressionless face, and darkness enveloped him.
"So you don't know much."
Hades said in disappointment that maybe he shouldn't expect a man exiled to the fringe squad to know anything, and now it became clear to Hades that they encountered several minions far from the center.
Hades thought about it while informing Fenus to fool the opposing team with a few words, and then go deeper under the pretext of visiting Lorgar.
Now it can be confirmed that there are at least two legions. Hades thought to himself that the Word Bearers might not be deeply corrupted, but this might also be an illusion... and Perturabo... Hades frowned and thought, why would it be Perturabo
Two legions, this means that the next battle may be difficult, but now is not the time to retreat or stay. Hades frowned, the opposite side has discovered them.
Even if the Iron Hands choose to retreat now and wait for reinforcements - as long as the Eye of Terror is opened before the reinforcements arrive, all that remains is failure and death.
In other words, the key to victory this time is to prevent the Eye of Terror from being opened and to hold out until reinforcements arrive.
Thor's voice interrupted Hades' thoughts.
"My Lord, I have a map of this star region, which marks the star regions where the Iron Warriors and Word Bearers are stationed."
Thor gritted his teeth, his teeth clashed together,
"There is definitely something fishy going on with the Iron Warriors. I paid special attention and collected their maps."
Hades raised his eyebrows.
"You did this all by yourself?"
Thor took a deep breath.
"There are others, other exiles."
He smiled bitterly.
"We want to inform the public about the situation."
Silence, a hand reached out and pulled him up, and Thor heard the mournful cry of his power armor.
Hades patted Thor's shoulder armor. Thor turned his head and saw the bottomless darkness.
"Well done,"
Hades said,
"You have earned my respect for the Word Bearers."
————
It turns out that even Finus understands the art of using words.
Hades thought as he sat in the command room, calculating Thor's map again and again. The unfortunate news was that Thor told him that the Iron Warriors seemed to pay special attention to planets with alien buildings.
Worst case scenario, Hades thought, he connected the planets where the Iron Warriors were stationed. Even Hades, who knew nothing about psychic powers, could see that the locations of these planets had some commonalities.
On the other side, Finus was keeping a close eye on the situation around the fleet. The Iron Warriors were heading deep into this star field under the leadership of the Word Bearers exploration team that was successfully persuaded by Finus.
Hades was confused as to how Fenus had managed to convince the Word Bearers, but somehow, Fenus had done it.
Perhaps he shouldn't underestimate Fenus, who often communicates with Fulgrim.
[Do you want to continue to go deeper?]
The voice of Finus rang out amid the ticking of instruments.
[We are about to enter the Iron Warriors' territory. We expect to receive a communication request from the Iron Warriors in three minutes - or artillery fire.]
Hades was sitting calmly at the command table, but Finus could hear the slightly irritated sound of Hades tapping his fingers.
"The line that opens the Eye of Terror is closing."
Hades said,
"This line is extremely long and is located behind the Iron Warriors' defense line. Currently, only a few planets and anchor points - the most critical point - have not been occupied."
Hardy paused.
"Considering that Thor's map has a certain lag and one-sidedness, we don't have much time left."
Finus frowned.
"You mean, the Iron Hands need to go deep into the Iron Warriors' territory and prevent this line from closing? Then we can attack the weak point."
Hades stopped, and Finus could feel Hades' eyes fixed on him.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple."
Hades said softly, he seemed a little unsure.
"I don't know how the other side will treat the Black Stone Obelisk. If they choose to destroy it directly, then this means that we can only go to the anchor point in the center to defend the last obelisk."
"but… "
Hades said hesitantly,
"If they choose to reverse the polarity... According to common sense, we should be able to interrupt the expansion of the Eye of Terror by occupying a section of the battle line."
[So what are you hesitating about, Hades? ]
Finus asked,
Hades took a deep breath.
"I don't understand psychic power, so I asked my great sage Kirkland to take a look. His reply was that the battle lines are about to close. Unless we can occupy at least one-fifth of the defense line in a short period of time, the loss of only a small part will not be able to prevent the final outbreak of the Eye of Terror."
The problem is, Hades doesn't know whether Kirkland is right or not.
As for where Kirkran learned psychic powers... The Great Sage was originally a psychic researcher on Mars... What's more, Hades only recently learned that Kirkran had been following Mortarion after he left the Death Guard.
In other words, Kirkland used numerology to calculate this for Hades.
First, Hades could not fully trust Mortarion's numerology, and second, the numerology of anyone other than Mortarion was even less credible.
But Hades had no choice. He also asked Iron Hand's think tank, but the other party replied that they were powerless.
[That is to say,]
Finus said calmly,
[Now we need a sharp blade to pierce their anchor point to ensure that the largest source is not open, is that right? ]
"yes."
Hades said, he looked at Finus and nodded,
[Then fight.]
Finus said,
[Hades, I know what you are hesitating about. If things are really as you said, we will soon face two legions - but you should believe that the Iron Hands will not be weak. ]
The Iron Hands are the most socially Darwinist of the regiments.
"And the demon army."
Hades added,
Finus paused.
[Can the Order of Silence deal with them? ]
Hades blinked, and finally he chose a word.
"Can."
Hades said, he saw Fenus put on a cold smile, and anger seemed to begin to burn in his iron-gray eyes.
[If they really betrayed - abandoned the empire under the temptation of their own desires, then I would let them see the wrath of steel. Although Russ and I did not communicate much, steel is much colder than winter.]
Hades lowered his eyes, shadows covering his eyes, and he smiled helplessly.
"Be prepared... a burning empire is coming."
A true fight between brothers is about to begin, and it will not end until death.
The audience sitting in the auditorium applauded.
5.1k, no more, good
(End of this chapter)