Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

"This is Terra," Horus said, his three-dimensional image appearing in the center of the table in the ship's command room, "the pearl of the galaxy, the center of wonder." The glory of mankind gathers here, and no gold, diamond or jewelry shines more brightly than Terra..."

His introduction was interrupted by someone approaching.

Horus stepped aside, allowing another brand-new face to squeeze into the projection area. His long, rough golden hair was combed into braids and braids, and his armor was covered with rough long-haired animal skins and hanging bone-white teeth. , hands that are not often washed are holding the original brown wooden cup. The priceless Amaceco wine in this wooden cup is just a sweet and sour juice that can be drank in one gulp, which is not worth mentioning.

His mouth, grinning wildly because of his wild laughter, contained sharp canine teeth that hinted at ferocity. The whole person was almost completely different from the barbarians living in the ice and snow wilderness - if Magnus and Perturabo could ignore those sharp canines. The scrutiny hidden in the wolf's eyes.

"These two are our new brothers, huh?" The Wolf King reached down and grabbed the head of a gray wolf. He scratched the lustrous hair on the wolf's neck and slapped it gently with his palm. Shoot to make the gray wolf lie down again.

"Father obviously wants us all to be friends. What are your names?"

His voice deliberately retains a unique ambiguity, which makes his Gothic language closer to the growls and rolling roars developed by ancient tribes when they tamed wild beasts than a tool for communication between civilized people. The noble identity of the Primarch can only prove that he is using this crude method to test the two new emperor's children and observe their logic and thinking in judging others.

"Magnus, from Prospero." Magnus's eyes fell on the Fenris rune on the beast skin hanging in front of the Wolf King's breastplate in the three-dimensional projection, and he frowned slightly. Undoubtedly, it was a symbol of the wolf's use of psychic powers in his former tribal life.

"I believe Horus introduced our name to you, Leman Russ." Perturabo said, "Lord of the Sixth Legion and Primarch of the Space Wolves."

Russ let out a cheerful laugh, "Riemann from the Russ tribe." He emphasized where he came from and placed the wine glass on the bricks of the city wall. Not a drop of wine spilled out of the cup. "From Fenris. With you. It is a pleasure to see, Perturabo, Magnus. Don't listen to Horus's pretense and see Terra with your own eyes."

Horus raised his eyebrows, "Then you can think of me as rehearsing how to welcome others to Terra, brothers. Today I am just a tour guide."

Ruth muttered a few words without meaning and put away her cheerful expression. In the blink of an eye, his demeanor completely changed, even though he didn't change anything from his clothes to his hairstyle.

He drank the wine in his glass, looked thoughtfully at Magnus's right eye, which had just recovered from his injury, and then noticed the simple but beautiful golden spiral trim on Perturabo's uniform, and A noble demeanor completely different from that of a tribal wild wolf.

"I finally understand why Horus thinks so highly of you, Perturabo. When he first met me, he started talking about you within three sentences."

"Don't be like this, Russ. If I don't think highly of you, you can't enter this communication now. Horus smiled, "Look at us, a wolf king who fights in winter and war, a wolf who rules the country. Lord, a scholar with astonishing intelligence, and a gangster. How can I not speak highly of you? "

"Well, I'm still a student," Magnus said. Horus's praise made him feel ashamed.

"We all have much to learn." Perturabo looked at Terra.

Looking down at this ancient planet from the universe, the orange-red and bright yellow lights are like scattered stars lighting up the contiguous continents in the dark night of half the planet. The remaining half of the planet is choked in the dark gray industrial smog, with forests and There is no trace of the ocean, and the human home seems to have been swallowed and chewed by a beast of steel and concrete, and then spit out beyond recognition.

Vast starships are lined up outside Terra, with different paint marks representing the surrender of many planets that have been included in the territory of the Human Empire. They come here to worship the victorious Lord of Humanity, but the endless queue is even more complicated. It's like participating in a pilgrimage climbing a holy mountain.

"As you get closer, you can see the crowds on the streets," Horus said, moving the projection device to include the bustling streets outside the city walls.

Countless people approached the palace walls by rail and on foot, even though this cold and hard exterior wall did not bring them any substantial benefits. They were simply chasing the Emperor's radiance, and the shadows of the palace walls blocked them from the murky gleam that penetrated the smoke and clouds.

Hundreds of aircraft and listening devices form a defensive network between the towering spiers, scanning for possible dangers.

"Ever since my father began his expedition, there have been more and more people on Terra." Horus concluded.

Ruth hummed a low song softly. Judging from the rhythm of the song, it might be a ditty that sailors hummed when they returned from hunting giant beasts.

"It seems that we are going to make Terra even more crowded." Perturabo frowned secretly at the chaotic city shown in the picture without leaving any trace, and he couldn't help but compare the Olympia he built with this place. "Has no one calculated the population limit here?"

He let his people live in orderly and glorious cities, with mountains and breezes singing outside the city, and stone mills and waterwheels turning in the farmlands. Many years ago, Morse described a beautiful vision of Terra to him. Before he knew that it was the Emperor's Terra, he began to yearn for it, but now that he was about to land, he missed Olympia again.

"Maybe the calculators didn't consider the livability issue." Horus said helplessly. "Anyway, my father said that after the Great Crusade, he would change these evils again."

Magnus patted his arm and signaled Perturabo not to be distracted: "Look, the palace."

A golden outline appeared from the dazzling white halo at the edge of the earth. The palace that gathered the wealth and wisdom accumulated by all mankind for tens of thousands of years seemed to lift a corner of the dark curtain of the world, shining a bright light into the dark reality. The cracks, and little by little, with difficulty but persistence, expanded the golden light that was bright enough to cool down.

Perturabo was silent at this moment. At this moment, he saw the shadow of the Lord of Mankind.

When he was free in the future, he hoped that he would remember to fulfill his promise to bring the ocean back to this dry land of steel for the Emperor. Becoming an architect, or even planning the landscape of a planet, seems to have always been his hobby, or dream.

When the time comes, he and Morse can review the most beautiful appearance that Terra has ever had, and give this gift to the emperor - yes, Pertura thought, he should prepare gifts for everyone, and a Better Terra should be dedicated to the Lord of Mankind.

Magnus, on the other hand, could not forget the runes hanging on Russ. Prospero taught him a good lesson. He was thinking about how to remind his brother that psychic powers were not safe, and he was worried that his hasty suggestions would cause offense.

"Magnus?" Russ suddenly called to his red brother.

The Wolf King pointed to the string of beast skins hanging on his breastplate and asked directly: "Were you looking at this just now?"

Magnus felt embarrassed. He didn't want to make his brother think that he was a prying person when they first met.

"These runes hold power," he said cryptically.

"Ha, of course." Russ picked up the bunch of animal skins as if proudly, "This is the amulet blessed by the storm by the rune priest of the tribe. Only the most brave and brave ones have the ability to dance with the storm of Fenris. Cautious wise man. But in your words, this is spiritual power."

Horus glanced at Leman Russ in surprise, who suddenly confessed. Magnus's affection for Russ deepened due to his brother's honesty, and Perturabo saw a man who far exceeded the limitations of his barbaric appearance.

The coldness of Fenris gave his brother a pair of piercing eyes, turning him into a spear in the Emperor's hand covered in wolf fur. He believed that Leman Russ would penetrate anyone's weak point if necessary.