Warhammer: Start with a dog

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Preview Tip: There is no Typhons in this chapter-

The last time Vosko left his home world, the desolate surface of Medusa was still filled with black volcanic rocks, hard and special crystal rocks, huge, broken single mountains and magma that was constantly erupting in the high-speed movement of geological plates.

In the unstable geological movement and tides, the deep strata were melted by the core of the planet and rose up to form a new land, and more of the ground fell into the dark abyss and was swallowed by the ghosts in the depths of the planet. Its renewal speed can be regarded as "Why hasn't this planet fallen apart yet" in the geological concept measured in centimeters.

High-temperature geysers carrying sulfur and other toxic gases spewed out from the new plate cracks and craters. The only real living things on the flying sand and stone ground were the clan tribesmen who chased the fragments of ancient technological ruins that fell from the sky and made a living by scavenging.

Perhaps ten thousand years ago, there were some "giant kings", "ascended warlords" or "huge dragon monsters" that have become legends and sound incredible, but the arrival of Ferrus Manus and the beginning of his journey made everything simple.

The world of the living on Medusa is composed of clans and warbands, while the world of the ghostly dead is sealed in the shadow land and ancient mountains by Ferrus Manus's isolation and the ancient orders of the warband.

The lead-gray and carbon-black clouds, so thick that the radiation of the blue supergiant was weakened to the extent that the most tenacious Medusans could survive, covered everything in the sky.

Vosko Dofok still remembers that when he left, he could see the towering ancient holy mountain Karash from orbit. This holy mountain, which is said to be the place where Ferrus Manus descended, is covered with thick black snow formed by severe nuclear radiation, and the steel temples built by the Karagu clan, the watchers of the holy mountain. Its top has been emitting thick steam and volcanic smoke from ten thousand years ago to the present. The charged particles in the dense clouds under the black sky hit the top of the mountain, forming a magnificent scene of lightning and thunder.

Medusa's largest single mountain range, the Firgazer Mountains located at the equator, is so huge that it can be clearly observed in space. On its peak, there are the black iron faces of the first ten clan leaders, which have been carefully preserved for tens of thousands of years by various scientific and technological means and unimaginable static stand technology, overlooking every fight for the selection of new soldiers on this planet.

It was originally like this. This is the life of the Medusans, and it is also the home that the Medusa clan is accustomed to but loves.

But now, there is something very annoying, dirty, a glaring stain. Appearing above the clouds south of the planet's equator, an area in the dense black and leaden clouds has now turned into a yellow-green color like thick phlegm, like a vortex, like a tentacle, it twisted into a ball and began to spread around.

Although you can certainly say that it makes the clouds from cold black become bright and...seemingly "alive", just looking at it, the uncomfortable feeling of being stuck in the throat has worsened, almost making everyone who sees it breathless.

And there is a giant on the discolored cloud, exuding silent terror there.

The Terminus. The flagship of the first captain Typhons, its gun barrels killed cousins ​​in Isstvan and bombarded the palace on Terra. Now this huge plague meat is suspended in the planet's synchronous geostationary orbit there, and the symbol of chaos is clearly visible on it.

Rotten and swollen flesh and synovium replaced the steel armor, and rows of squirming sphincters grew out of the gun positions to replace the original gun barrels. Its hangar was like a huge bulging blister, with rusted storm birds and thunder eagles faintly visible inside, and zombie-like crew members plagued by diseases. In addition to the aircraft to be discharged, there were more corrupt juices of various colors in the hangar blisters.

The souls of those who had the misfortune to board this Chaos Plague Ship were all presented in this flying sanctuary of Nurgle: the slimy flesh walls and inorganic armor were integrated, countless rotten faces were distorted, and the wailing and screaming of human souls and the blessings of the Plague God were constantly transmitted from the depths of the cabin filled with plague zombies in an unnatural form to everyone who saw it.

Vosko, who witnessed all this behind the shadow of the Iron Moon, could hardly stop his anger: What was the star fortress of the Galaxy Watch Station doing? What was the defense force of the orbital defense platform doing? What about the Star Ring Guardians? And what about the powerful fleets of the Clan Company? How could this mobile seeding machine of the Plague God be allowed to penetrate so close to Medusa and commit such an unspeakable desecration on his home?

But the qualities in his innate talent that allowed him to think and consider others quickly neutralized his anger and calmed him down.

He re-examined his power armor and loyal bolter, as well as his newly issued power gear axe.

Although the weapons were good and the equipment provided by Clan Rakuan was brand new and fully loaded, when he saw the flagship of the First Plague Company, Vosko knew that his fate might not be good.

But this was already over Medusa.

This was his home.

He had no way out.

He had decided to abandon any idea of ​​retreat.

Even if the emotional side of his body desperately screamed at him, his knowledge completely overwhelmed his emotional fear on a rational level.

And these abnormal calmness against the evil god's infection are not the result of his emotional suppression module - because Wasco is too "new", so "new" that he has not yet accepted the installation of conventional suppression modules.

"What, recruit, are you scared?"

Someone came to the airborne cabin next to him and sat down.

The Bogus, who had not yet taken back his original clan name, glanced at him.

This was one of the members of the reinforcements who were suddenly informed before they set off. Although according to the commander, the addition of these people was said to increase the success rate of airdrop operations and opening landing points to a significant level, but Wasko was not convinced Take this with a grain of salt.

He didn't know that the company commander of the Basque Karagu clan of the Karagu clan also held the same opinion about the increase in personnel for this operation, and it was even more intense.

This patriarch, who can be considered a die-hard supporter of Saint Ferus and who has believed from the beginning that Ferus will return to lead the Iron Hands, made a rare comment that he did not agree with the decision of the Gene Father. Of course, Basque Karagu will not disobey Ferrus Manus's decision - as long as Ferrus Manus does not go down with them by himself - but if that happens, I am afraid that all the officers here will die immediately Remonstrance - but he can still complain in the Clan Council Siji channel.

His dissatisfaction with the fact that the Third Legion was temporarily mixed into this operation can be basically summarized as follows: "As we all know, when the factors of aliens and traitors are added to a calculation formula, even the most perfect calculation can get the best result. The perfect plan will eventually fail!"

"No. Fear is not the emotion of an Iron Hand, nor a Space Marine. Our bodies are forged by the great works of Ohm Messiah, and will be continuously strengthened by the mechanical spirit of Ohm Messiah. We have been with The fragile and sensitive mortal body is different.”

"Sensitive. A very good word." The pronunciation of the visitor's High Gothic words has a completely different feeling from the locals of Medusa. It is very standard, but the way of using certain auxiliary words and phrases is very ancient. , if Wasco's brainwashing operation hadn't instilled this in him, he doubted that he would understand what the other party was saying at all.

"Oh." He just answered, and then fell silent, focusing on buckling himself into the safety buckle of the landing compartment, but his helmet, disturbingly, started scrolling to display data links from just now. It showed that as a member of the non-Lakuan clan, the Loner, he had been integrated into the tactical team of reinforcements of this strange chapter, and now their tactical communication channel was including him.

It stands to reason that he shouldn't appear suspicious like this, but Vosco's distrust is essentially different from that of the Karagu clan captain. His doubts mainly come from the power armor painting and... temperament of the other party that are completely different from his own.

These newly joined warriors wear ancient Mark IV and Mark V power armor or Hades-style (Note 1) Terminator power armor with too rounded lines, but compared to these ancient and precious relic armors, their The painting was surprisingly random: the gray-white paint coating covered most of the body surface of these strange Astartes, almost as if it had been hastily splashed on.

Only the shoulder armor on the right side of each of them is still spray-painted with the colors and patterns to distinguish their chapter logo and squad logo according to the Holy Code convention-these yellow and black patterns are very delicate and very sloppy, and they look like they are temporarily occupied. Exquisite and detailed spray-painting molds were brought in, but the subsequent paintwork, which focused more on accuracy than beauty, came from the armor-painting servitors of the Iron Hands.

At the same time, the Chapter background spray-painted on the shoulder armor made Wasco, who inherited the ancient Iron Hands gene-seed, instinctively disgusted: the right shoulder armor was purple with a newly painted gold trim. The Imperial Skyhawk on their chests is equally shining but seems very incongruous with the old armor.

"It's too new." While waiting, he stared at the other person's golden eagle and said unconsciously.

"What?" asked the soldier who sat down next to him and began to skillfully fasten the safety buckle of the landing module. Wasco noticed that his movements were so smooth and natural, as if he had done this kind of raid before. So natural a thousand times.

"...yours, yours, some of your armor pieces. Incongruous. Why does your power armor look so old, but your helmet and Imperial Skyhawk look so new?"

"Oh, oh." The other party shook his head wearing a red helmet as if he suddenly understood, "That's because we have just retrieved them and haven't had time to make flat repairs. They will be repaired harmoniously after the battle is over. "

As a result, armor repairs prioritize repairs on the Imperial Skyhawk and some non-routine parts? …maybe they are very religious cousins ​​like my genetic clan?

"Your weapons don't seem to be very common. There are so many ancient models and classifications that I can't even recognize them all. It's rare to see such inconsistent bullets within a battle group. And why are they all the color of raw steel?"

"Oh, oh, you said this." The other party shook the two weapons in his hand nonchalantly. One of them was a beautiful stance sword, but the decoration was not in the style of the Human Empire, and the surface of the bolt gun was It was polished smoothly and concisely, revealing the true color of the metal. A brand-new Holy Word parchment roll was stuck on the gun body. The red wax seal was smooth and complete, as if it was still steaming. "It's too hasty, not enough time... This is our battle group." The relics from the past, well, some of them have been passed down for thousands of years, and some are the trophies of our...attacks on the aliens."

"A relic of ten thousand years." Vosko was in awe of the ancient inheritance but also felt that it was not appropriate. "It is okay to use captured weapons, but transforming alien weapons into your own does not comply with the regulations of the Holy Scriptures. Moreover, it is also Put them together with these sacred weapons."

"We use them with the permission of...the noble person," the other party replied in a lowered voice, seeming a little mysterious (or subconsciously not wanting anyone to hear), "We have someone from the throne second only to...the throne himself. ...with the permission of the noble man." At the same time, he intentionally or unintentionally showed the parchment scroll on his body, which was full of oaths to go to war and poems praising victory.

"That's it." The Iron Hand recruits nodded slightly, "Are you here to join us on the way? I don't think I have seen any of your people in this fortress of the Lacuan clan before."

The opponent's helmeted head tilted to one side. For some reason, Wasco felt that the soldier blinked or smiled inside the helmet, "Yes, we joined in the middle, so our recruits usually don't He doesn’t move around much on the upper and middle decks, so he hasn’t seen us and doesn’t know about our visit.”

"Yes. We usually help the technical sergeant brothers or the mechanical priests to maintain the lower floors, reactors and mechanical cabins. This allows us to better understand the spirits of steel and machinery, communicate with them, and try to integrate with them. "

"This is very Son of Gorgon." The other party seemed to smile again, "Our dear cousins, you have always loved doing this. Don't you find it boring?"

Regarding this seemingly unintentional question, Wasco's mind carefully raised its own defenses due to the experience on Medusa, just like he had been doing in his childhood, "flesh and flesh are weak." He used war The regimental war cry answered simply.

The landing module began to seal all the door fixing screws, and the preparation light came on.

They all felt that the ground of the hangar began to rumble and vibrate, indicating that they were about to start dropping on the ground of Medusa. The doubts in Wasco's heart gradually began to disappear. This was a good sign. After all, they were going to be on the ground later. Fight side by side and leave your back to the opponent.

He asked his final question over the growing cacophony in the background. "So, cousin, whose noble genetic bloodline will I defend my homeland with next? What is the name of your war group?"

The opponent turned his head, the eyepiece lit up, and a name and chapter serial number were transmitted to the Iron Hands' voice receiver.

"We are... the Sons of the Phoenix (Note 2)."