Warhammer: Start with a dog

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Over the next week, the multiple ships of the 125th Expeditionary Fleet, scattered over several astronomical units in the darkness of the outermost reaches of this remote galaxy, gradually recovered from the shock wave. One after another, astropathic communications were resent and received, and the fleet began to gather towards the Primarch's flagship. The surviving crew members and the legionnaires who returned to the ships were required to count and inventory all losses and anything left behind.

Following the Primarch's orders, Fricks then sent out a large search party to scour the now empty system to confirm the situation and ensure that no one was left behind.

These warriors, who were in relatively better condition, brought back a small amount of wreckage, as well as surveys of the surfaces of Gugan, Gorkys, and other worlds.

Closer to the impact, all living things and man-made objects have been rusted by time. Only rocks, ancient and desolate large rock balls, remain in place.

The aliens literally left without any additional attacks or traps - they completely left the area.

But the Iron Warriors fleet did not leave, but began to wait outside Mandeville Point in this dying galaxy according to the Primarch's orders.

Although no one knew what the Primarch wanted to do or what he was waiting for here by disobeying Terra's orders and stopping the attack, no one had any objection to this.

During this period, they silently witnessed and assisted their father in arresting the senior members of the Mechanicum stationed in the 125th Fleet one by one and turning their brains into decorations, and unexpectedly successfully recoded the middle and low-level technical priests, making them work more diligently and honestly for the Iron Warriors and their ships.

No Iron Warriors questioned the Primarch's unusual and unprecedented behavior. They just tried their best to repair their ships in the absence of orbital docks and other conditions. The Primarch's secret order was passed down. The 125th Expeditionary Fleet would definitely make long-distance voyages including multiple warp jumps under the Primarch's command. Therefore, it was vital to repair the hull weakness caused by the aliens' time weapons as soon as possible.

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"…But in this abyss of desolate galaxies, in addition to the abandoned ones in front of us, there are still sixteen major Hrud inhabited worlds and eighty-six minor ones. And it took us seven months to launch an attack on just one of the main worlds in this system and the nearby vassal worlds. There are more - twelve thousand Iron Warriors killed, and several times more seriously injured who can't fight at full strength - the pharmacists told me that many people may have to be trapped in their power armor for the rest of their lives because they have become too old and leaving the life support system of the power armor will kill them."

Ramizane sat on the throne of the Iron Blood's command deck in the husk of Perturabo, with Fricks and Dantioch on either side of him. The former's Terminator was equipped with his personal emblem, the legion commander's emblem, and the elite emblem, which were polished and oiled to a shine, gleaming in the light.

The latter's old, rusty, and dilapidated power armor has been transformed into a brand new set of customized Iron Cavalry-style Terminator armor, with his name Dantioch inscribed on the newly added laurel wreaths and ribbons - of course, an order allowing all other Iron Warriors to add names, battle honor emblems, and special battle commemorative patterns to their power armor has also been issued to the entire fleet at the same time, but more than half of the legionnaires are still waiting and watching.

The fact that the Trident had not yet appointed a third person was considered by many warsmiths and captains to be another test or interest of the Primarch. They each pulled themselves together and supervised the repair work of the fleet and equipment, while also secretly spreading the words that the Primarch had said to "Lucky" Urdek in the Masonic Hall at that time.

The new recruits who were recruited after that incident talked excitedly about the changes in the Father of Genes, while the veterans who had experienced the eleven draws were obviously more silent and more cautious about the matter.

"So, according to my rough calculations, if we want to take over all the Hrud worlds in the Sark-Chorada Abyss according to the original order given to us, it would be an impossible task to fill all of our warriors here, including the 120,000 who can still move out of the 150,000. What do you think?"

Halfway through the third day when everything was ready and there was only one thing left to do, Ramizane sat there bored and began to chat with Fricks and Dantioch. They talked about their recent reconnaissance of nearby star systems, their assessment of the number of troops needed for the battle, and their different opinions on Terra's orders.

Fricks hesitated. It was not without reason that he had been favored by Perturabo despite being a Terran veteran.

The First Captain had long ago learned his role on Terra, a weapon well forged, a useful tool, and though there were times when he wanted to speak his mind, he knew just as well that that would most likely be the end of his career as his master's useful weapon.

Therefore, in a conversation like this, one needs to strike a good balance in speaking in the Gene-Father's favor, making him feel respected and obeyed, but without appearing to attack the Primarch's noble character and his beloved father and emperor.

Phrases like "thinking and organizing" are a test of the speaker's mind. Fricks is actually not good at putting together such sweet words. He prefers to use the language of mathematics and engineering to plan and build. But the First Captain will really try his best to consider Perturabo in everything from the bottom of his heart, and Fricks will really execute any orders given to him by Perturabo. Perhaps this is why he has been in this position.

But Dantioch obviously did not have as many concerns as Chief Trident. This warrior, who looked old but was young at heart, had just been inspired by the rescue of the Noble Steel, so he spoke without hesitation.

"I think so too! Lord, Fricks and I have used chess to deduce that we need to sacrifice at least 500,000 Astartes to achieve our goal - this is a task that no one wants us to complete! Moreover, Lord, this place, forgive me for being blunt, even if we conquer this damn place, no one will come here to cultivate or colonize it within a few hundred years! You see."

The new Trident leaned out half of his body and asked the servitor to enlarge the scale of the holographic star map. Then he pointed out to the Lord of Steel, "Look, sir, the nearest imperial world to this place is a full twenty-three light years away. And because the only route here that can avoid those unstable stellar particle flows and solar storms is the extremely narrow channel of the Fulpa Star Gorge, I dare say that there will be no development here in the next one hundred... or two hundred years."

Fricks was sweating in his palms at Dantioch's boldness in acting on his own before the emperor.

"I agree with you." The Lord of Steel did not show any sign of being offended, but just rubbed his chin with interest.

"In fact, looking back at the situation, no matter how you explain it, you will feel that this place is not a frontline that needs to send a Primarch and 150,000 legionnaires across half the galaxy for an emergency attack, right? In other words, either someone deliberately sent the Iron Warriors here to suffer from these unreasonable rats, with the purpose of damaging the morale of the Iron Warriors and the combat effectiveness of the legion; or someone deliberately sent us to this godforsaken place to fight a harmless battle with the real purpose of getting us out of the way. So, what is so important, or in other words, what must be done to get me and the Fourth Legion out of the way?"

Even the bold Dantioch knew it was best not to respond to such a naked question of death. He and Fricks both bowed their heads slightly to show their obedience to the Primarch.

A guard's low scolding voice came from outside the door.

"What's up?"

Fricks immediately stepped forward and went to the door to deal with it. He was very happy that he could escape from the terrible stagnant atmosphere just now.

He opened the door to find a trembling bridge officer standing outside, looking terrified.

"Is there something you can't tell me through the communication? Or tell me in advance? Do you have to come and disturb the Primarch's rest? Don't you know that the Master needs to rest now?"

The first captain asked with a slightly unhappy tone, but his attitude was still friendly, so the other party was still able to stammer out his purpose in front of the iron giant.

"The supply fleet...jumped out of Mandeville Point and is...heading here, my lord."

Fricks frowned. "What's wrong? Shouldn't you be very familiar with the process of receiving new soldiers and supplies? How many people and ships did they bring this time?"

The officer was speechless, and beads of sweat were pouring out from under the brim of his hat.

Until the voice of the Lord of Steel came lazily from the depths of the room.

"How many supply ships have arrived? Answer."

The poor mortal was shaking all over. "I-I-we-we-were-not-the-bridge-and-the-captain-are-checking-my-lord-my-lord,-but-it-looks-like-there's-only-one-ship-there..."

Not to mention Flex, even Dantioch couldn't help but look surprised.

But the Lord of Steel spoke faster than they did.

"Got it. Double check it again and notify the bridge deck. I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, yes, sir!" The man fled quickly as if he had been pardoned.

"Let's go." The Primarch stood up and walked to the door. "By the way, Dantioch, take the tray of medicine bottles I need to take. Um, Fricks, come and support me. I look a little weak. I have to put on a full show. Very good, that's it. Let's go to the bridge and see what's going on."

"I hope it's not bad news, my Lord."

"Ha. The gods of this universe love to see things go against their will."

As they escorted the Lord of Steel toward the ship's automated transport train, the two Tridents heard the Gene-Father mutter sarcastically.

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The atmosphere on the bridge deck was like a tomb for the newly deceased. Apparently, the unfortunate people here had heard some worse news in advance. They all looked as pale as dead people, and every device screen here was the tombstone where they would be buried.

When the Primarch appeared here, surrounded by his two adjutants and his guards, looking like he had just recovered from a serious illness and was not so aggressive, many people were so relieved that their legs went weak and they had to hold on to the equipment they were operating to maintain their demeanor.

The "Captain" saluted the Primarch mechanically with his eyes in his iron coffin.

"Report the situation." The Lord of Iron ordered an unlucky officer on duty, who forced himself to move in front of the Primarch under the angry glares of all the legion soldiers here.

"The supply fleet is the Androcles, sir." He swallowed, "They contacted us a minute ago. Its captain, Sir Seshugo, is coming here in person on a transport boat. He has important news that he must convey to you in person..."

"Hmph." The Lord of Steel's meaningless snort made the officer on duty tremble instantly. This abnormal and excessive fear made the two Tridents present feel that something was wrong. But the Lord of Steel himself was here, so Fricks and Dantioch could only hide their doubts and other emotions in their hearts.

"So she was the only ship, and no other ships from the supply fleet showed up, right?"

The Lord of Steel's tone was strange. It sounded more like a confirmation than anger or a threat.

The officer on duty's Adam's apple rolled up and down several times, and he could hardly continue the conversation politely.

"I guess, even though Seshugo said he wanted to meet me to deliver the message, you're sure everyone heard what he wanted to say, right?"

The Primarch slowly turned his head, his icy blue eyes sweeping over every living person on the bridge. Everyone who had just heard the communication here subconsciously shrank their bodies and lowered their heads. No one dared to look into the eyes of the Lord of Steel for more than one tenth of a second.

An increasingly strong sense of foreboding came over Fricks.

"tell me."

The fear of death flickered in the officer's eyes, and for a moment he looked like he was about to scream and run away from the Primarch, but the huge, black muzzle of the gun in the Primarch's guard's hand stopped his muscle impulse well. He stood where he was, and his pants seemed to become darker in the shadow of his uniform. His voice was almost lighter than the flapping of an insect's wings, and the trembling was so severe that even the Astartes' superhuman hearing could hardly distinguish it.

"It is...it is Olympia, my lord...Olympia has rebelled against the Emperor's Light."

No one dared to look up at the Lord of Steel's expression at this moment.

What expression would that be? What would be the look of madness or bewilderment? Would it take blood to end his primal rage?

"I...I'm sorry about this...your Excellency..."

The Lord of Steel reached out his hand expressionlessly and grasped the officer's shoulder.

His armored hands were so huge that a mortal man's arm would be as thin and fragile as a matchstick in his hands.

Finished.

In a fragment of his stunned mind, Fricks was still thinking that this mortal's tragic death was completely foreseeable, and the best case scenario was that he would still have a recognizable remainder...

Dantioch subconsciously tightened his grip on his gun amid the invisible and approaching angry thundercloud.

Many mortals in front of the equipment showed despair on their faces, and no one on the deck dared to think that they could leave here alive.

“Puff.”

“Bang!”

The officer on duty collapsed on the floor in front of the Primarch due to excessive fear, leaving a pool of foul-smelling stains flowing out from under him.

"…This is terrible. Someone come and clean this place up."

Ramizane wrinkled his nose, took a step back, and turned around slowly.

"After Captain Seshugo comes aboard, have him report to me on the command deck. 'Captain', begin planning an emergency subspace jump plan for the fleet."

"I will follow your orders, my Lord. May I ask where the route destination is set to?"

"Is that even a question?" The Lord of Iron smiled with four teeth showing as all the legionnaires and mortal officers looked at him with increasing horror and disbelief. "Of course it's Olympia."

"We can finally go back."