Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

Blood, smoke, fire, death.

Dorn walked among them, his golden boots stepping into the mud of flesh and blood like the surface of an ice lake that was about to melt in Inwett.

Artillery fire and explosions crumpled, torn, and destroyed the land, burying it as if suffocating it with a blanket of silent dust. The corpses of local people were crushed, exploded, pierced, and chopped. They were not piled up, but spread out in all directions, like the tombstones of the collapsed civilization here. They were burning along with the falling flaming drones and city defenses. The machine tumbles into the embers of the same life, the vitality in the world is devoured, and the possibility of survival is transformed into the necessity of death.

Buildings and bridges that existed in extremely fantastic forms that transcended the realm of imperial truth collapsed in front of Dorn's eyes, and together with dust and sparks, were transformed into the embodiment of the concept of collapse.

His boots crushed something, and a clear and long sound extended from the fracture of the broken object, like silk threads cutting through the dust on the battlefield, stripping away the temperature of the scorching steam and the remaining ashes of the fire, and replacing it with coldness. Got it.

Rogal Dorn doesn't need to bow his head. It was undoubtedly a human skull, unmutated, undistorted, without even a helmet or protection. A smooth skull, its muscles and skin melted by gunfire and ions, was split in half from the face by a giant axe.

He doesn't need to bow his head. Then he looked down.

The mixture of mud and brown-red sand on the surface of the planet obscured the specific shape of the bone. He could not see it clearly through this layer of dark black material, so he looked forward again. There was no expression on his face, no movement on his lips, his steps remained steady, and Dorn continued to move forward.

RA-124, this was the second day he named the planet.

The fleet tracked the escaped leader of the last planet to this point, and they speculated that the leader was protected by this world. They should go through a negotiation, a demand, a preaching, as they repeated every time during their expedition. The light they want to spread will be spread along with their actions, gradually permeating every corner of this cold universe.

But today, before any announcement or discussion, the World Eaters attacked the planet. Everything turns into the ashes and fire of the battlefield, causing the planet to burn in the wrong form, so in essence, it will continue to remain an eternal coldness and darkness. The icy remains of a settlement completely destroyed by Invet's blizzards are as meaningless in the dark death as the dusty cities after the war.

This is not the first time that the World Eaters have made such a decision, but it is the first time that Dorn has rashly launched a massive attack after suggesting peaceful communication with the ruler of this planet the day before.

They are two cooperating legions, each cannot be directly controlled by the other's commander, so Dorn cannot punish them - let alone slaughter and exterminate, which is the function and function given to them by the Lord of Mankind when he created the Twelfth Legion. mission.

The Legions, nicknamed the War Hounds for the controlled slaughter commanded by the Emperor, marched along, carrying out their violent conquest into every moment of their crusade, all the unspeakable bloodshed in the indelible traces of blood on their armor. and burning both emit the deepest screams all the time. The violence intensified after they came into contact with Nucerian culture. More than anyone else, they want to be close to their father by integrating into the same cultural environment.

Rogal Dorn did not accept their style. He believed Angron would not accept it either.

He thought of the golden skull hanging from his waist. He had carried this gift from Perturabo with him, but had been unable to use it recently. What came from the skull was a gentle voice, a beautiful voice softened and kindly tuned. He is not to use it in severe arguments.

He sent a message to Perturabo a few days ago, asking how to resolve this ideological disagreement between the legions. He has yet to hear back.

Dorn was not disappointed that his brother had been so busy recently. He was happy that Perturabo could gain more trust from the Emperor, so his second letter was no longer sent to the overly busy Iron Lord—— He delivered the letter directly to Angron, informing him of his offspring's excessive cruelty, and awaiting a response.

In fact, he believed that Angron should come here himself, take over and adjust his legions. Before that, everything he had done was an elder brother's interference in his brother's private affairs.

Even if Donne himself didn't care about this nominal derogation, he was still tired of this unwarranted redundancy. This should be a rare emotion, but he clearly realized from that day that he was far away from Inwit. Get up and stay away from him. When he spent time with Perturabo, his noble brother could unconsciously soothe his hidden emotions. However, when he returned to the war, some rolling brass fragments began to reappear in his mind. .

He didn't understand why he had such a complicated psychological phenomenon, but there were always many things he didn't understand about human emotions.

The scorching air trembled, and several World Eaters walked quickly from behind the ruins, with blood remaining on their blue and white armor. No doubt the World Eaters noticed his drop pod and came from clearing the battlefield.

He did not distinguish who each of these warriors wearing similar ceramic armor was, a pharmacist, a centurion, and several warriors. Dorn lowered his head and watched as these warriors approached him, stopped a few meters away, looked at the golden skull on his waist, and then looked up at him.

"Who's here?" Dawn asked.

"The first company, the seventh company, the sixteenth company." The centurion said, low and urgent, and the sound of the breathing grid and the blood mist were close to each other, "Lord Primarch, what are your instructions? The war is urgent. We still have one last bastion to conquer."

Behind the centurion, the most complete and largest building on the entire planet stood at the end of the ruins and blood mist. Copper, iron and transparent crystal materials build a vague fortress. The cables and optical fibers extending from the fortress have been cut, split, and equipped with weapons and defense systems. Dorn can distinguish some remnants from the dark technological age. Features; The flowing red light proves the existence of psychic energy. This strong and standing castle is protected by both technology and psychic energy. This is why the Twelfth Legion has not yet swallowed it.

"Before you annihilated the planet," Dorn said, "did they reject us?"

"This planet has undoubtedly rejected the Emperor's majesty," the World Eaters' apothecary said, a folded medical servo arm extending from behind. "They refuse to surrender the rulers of other worlds who have fled here."

"How many times did you refuse?"

"Once, Lord Primarch." There was confusion in the apothecary's voice, and his manner made Rogal Dorn recognize him.

Garland Sulak, a researcher who once had a good relationship with Fabius Bayer, a pharmacist of the Third Legion whose father has not yet been found. He was impressed by the use of certain black injections on a planet that truly refused to surrender. Once these drugs penetrated the skin of a carbon-based creature, they could easily dissolve the inner flesh of a creature.

"Once?" Dawn said lowly. "You think that's good enough reason for massacre?"

Garland was silent. He knew when to keep his mouth shut and would have been appreciated had he been in the imperial administration.

"Tell me." Donne said, his expression no longer calm. His brow furrowed, sending a disturbing signal.

The pharmacist spoke. "It is our only mission to rid the galaxy of the enemies of the Imperium of Man, and their foolish refusal has made them our enemies. Human compassion and superfluous conscience are worthless in the face of our enemies. Our crusade cannot be slowed down , is that so, my lord?”

"Why are we marching?" Dorn asked. "Why did the Emperor launch the Great Crusade, and why did your Genefather wish to follow the Emperor's banner?"

"In order for humanity to rise again and let the light shine across the galaxy again." The pharmacist answered quickly. Each of them had heard the Emperor's speeches countless times under various circumstances, and they were each skilled in promoting the Emperor's ideas. Legionnaires.

"The glory of the Emperor is not blood and tyranny, nor slavery and extermination." Dorn said, and the bloody smell around him began to clearly make him feel unhappy. There were bursts of coldness coming from the waist with the golden skull hanging on it. "Peace, light, truth. This is the purpose of our expedition, this is the creed of our empire."

"I am willing to tell anyone that your father launched an effective attack without hesitation at the first sight of me, just because he thought I was a member of the oppressors. I am proud of my brother for having such a noble idea And proud. And I regret to see today that his descendants are not consistent with him."

Donne did not leave any emotion in his words. Once he spoke, he did not tact, pretend, or lie.

"Our Great Crusade is different from the atrocities of evil aliens and fallen humans. They slaughtered and plundered the planets along the way without mercy or respect, just to satisfy their greed and cruelty. And our expedition is only to make them the empire's People and brothers, let them enjoy the civilization and prosperity of the empire. This is a lobbying with the theme of peace and glory, and force is only the last resort."

"Those remnants of humanity who were scattered all over the world, who were scattered like stars on immigrant ships in the era of strife and lost in the dim galaxy with no way back. They were once our compatriots and will be our compatriots in the future. Their beliefs They may be bullied and erased, their homes may be invaded and destroyed, we must save them, protect them, and lead them, instead of covering the entire land with their blood and bones after a formal announcement.”

Hidden anger flashed through his words, and more World Eaters emerged from the ruins and broken walls, approaching Rogal Dorn and falling silent under his impromptu preaching.

"We must be considerate of our blood relatives, the World Eaters, who we have never met." said the Primarch. "For thousands of years, human beings have been divided and separated on countless disconnected islands. The long time has almost made them They believe that human beings have not known each other and been separated from each other since birth. They can no longer believe that the long suffering is about to end. They are accustomed to darkness and suffering, and their hope and confidence are lost in the long exile and separation, just like a homeless person. The prisoner trapped alone at the bottom of the well cannot hope that the light above his head will one day truly fall within reach, and we understand.”

"Use actions and words to let humans see our sincerity and goodwill, hear our calls and invitations, and feel our warmth and care. Use strength and wisdom to defeat the enemies that hinder us, eliminate the lies that mislead them, and lift those The shackles that bind them. With faith and loyalty, we prove our glory and justice, convey our minds and souls, we win trust and respect, inspire passion and courage, and awaken reason and conscience in this expedition. Destiny, worlds, and life. This is what the Emperor's Crusade is about, not blindly waging war on the galaxy."

The armor of several World Eaters made the sound of air flow brought by the energy supply system when moving, and Dorn waited.

"Our brothers' blood is shed on this planet," another World Eater said in a cryptic reply. Dorn heard the second half of what he wanted to say, because the fortress in the distance was being disintegrated, from the smallest bricks to the collapse of the entire tower. The World Eaters bite, swallow, and gnaw.

"And you will achieve final victory," Dorn said, knowing that this could not be changed and should no longer be changed.

War is a whirlpool. Once involved, everyone will engage in offense and counterattack, attack and revenge. The end of the war can only be the collapse and destruction of one side; there is no other way to victory, surrender or death.

"That's it. The only outcome for this planet is war. Keep fighting." Dorn said, walking forward. Fire rained down from the sky in the distance, city walls collapsed, and fortresses crumbled. There was a faint sound of the sad roar that erupted in the battle to the death from thousands of miles away. Burning char and melted copper stretched beneath his boots.

In his estimation, by the time he walked to the fortress, the castle would have been captured by the World Eaters, and the leader's head might have been hanging on the high wall.

It's too late to try to undo anything at this point. The current situation was undoubtedly due to his unclear command and instructions, his failure to fully express his views, and his failure to discover the error as early as possible.

His fingers were stiff in his gauntlets, and in the bloody aura surrounding him, he felt guilty for damaging the glory of the Imperial Sky Eagle.

Dorn decided to suspend the pace of leading the World Eaters Legion to participate in the Great Crusade after the end of this battle, waiting for Angron's response.

——

"The meaning of war is not the war itself. There is no glory in pure conquest. The starting point of showing mercy is the consideration of the overall strategy of the Human Empire. And your descendants are confusing tolerance and weakness, and every battle they have fought for the Emperor in the past The experience of extermination wars applies to every dialogue where the possibility of peace lies.”

"This is my mistake. I did not and could not fulfill my duty of guiding them to transform from killers to liberators. You can no longer allow them to act independently. I hope that you will correct them and increase your influence and control over the legion instead of Let your offspring follow your shadow blindly."

Angron ran his fingers across the surface of the dataslate, amazed by the sharpness and straightforwardness of the words, and the clear meaning they conveyed. He looked out the window. It was still late at night in Nuceria, and the stars were burning silently in the sky.

This was supposed to be his moment of rest, but after a small event held to celebrate the successful completion of the operation by the new batch of little soldiers, he couldn't fall asleep yet. Therefore, he saw Donne's letter for the first time.