Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 254 Blood Rain

The battle situation on the ground quickly became complicated. After struggling to adapt to this sudden warp attack at the cost of a lot of blood, the Eldar began to organize a counterattack against the daemon wave.

Fierce firefights broke out in every deep alley and damp corridor. Some particularly brave warriors wielded the Kleve Blade to kill warp entities, while others retreated, abandoning their armor. Their street fighting has determined that the overall outcome of this battle will not be advanced by them.

The real battle took place between the two fleet commanders at the top of Comoros, Perturabo and Vastor - if Konrad Curzina was sitting on the throne, he would not even wear weapons and watch the spirit quietly. How the clan suffered in the face of disaster was enough to kick them out of the ranks of generals.

This is an unusual battle, Pertura thought. Through the unique vision analysis equipment of the Eldar ships, thousands of dark green airships full of curved arcs, spikes and etheric sails became part of his senses.

He sat cross-legged quietly in the control room on the top of the tower that bound the black sun on the top of Comoros. More than a dozen cables above his head were further split into nearly three-digit black wires, and each one was connected to different panels in the control room.

When Perturabo needed to prepare for this battle, he first set his sights on this ancient Eldar Empire technology tower that itself had powerful data processing capabilities.

Followers of the Laughing God, members of the Black Heart Cabal, and Morse himself worked together to assist him in completing all the tower transformation processes, temporarily interrupting the tower's ability to control the black sun. After all the computing cores were liberated, the tower became the absolute center of the entire temporary ship dispatching system.

Nowadays, any Eldar airship that enters the capture range of the tower will be instantly taken away by Perturabo; and in Perturabo's completely liberal thinking circuit, the energy supply design and shipboard design of each airship The loading level of the gun, the completeness of the armor plate, and even all numerical values, large or small, are all filled into his mechanical brain.

The battlefield against the demon fleet was quickly broken down and reorganized into a three-dimensional checkerboard that could be analyzed in inches. The ship's attack, the inclination of the Void Crow or Blade Wing, and even the Shinsei squad that was ordered to jump out of the deck were all affected. for precise and flawless control.

Perturabo carried out all his offensive and defensive instructions in an orderly manner, calculating the number of demons that each cannonball or torpedo could fight, and watched the marked cross points extinguish instantly in the mechanical senses.

He felt that the long-standing dissatisfaction in Comoros was being relieved through all manipulation and destruction, but he also felt a sense of disappointment. The airship design of the Eldar was too different from that of the Imperial fleet. He first compared the differences between the two according to his memory, and then inevitably thought about how far he had developed his own fleet and technology in the Empire.

No matter what, these numerous and distracting thoughts, which are like sparks of electricity, are just small waves in his grand thinking network at this moment, not enough to attract attention.

Most of the Lord of Steel's parallel thoughts are used to obtain signals from the video system, accurately calculate each angular vector, and input his on-the-spot tactics. His personal emotions were weakened to the greatest extent, and all that remained were assessments and instructions for the battlefield itself.

As the battle progressed, and through summarizing massive amounts of data, he increasingly came to the realization that the Chaos Demigod he was playing against had a similar fighting style to him. Every calculation they made was like two spears clashing against each other, trying to launch a more calculated and measured offensive than the other.

In this way, the power that determines victory or defeat no longer depends on the general, but falls on the hard power of the race itself.

As for the overall quality of the Commorragh Eldar fleet, unfortunately, it cannot objectively compete with the Chaos Demon army.

The ship's fragile protection was at a disadvantage against the demon's subspace energy strafing, and its artillery fire, which was not strong enough to attack the enemy, was blocked by the enemy's shield. , and it is often difficult to cause effective damage.

In this annoying comparison of basic qualities, Perturabo compared the values ​​​​of both sides and found that the fragile winged flying unit Scourge Messenger was actually a rare and usable high-quality combat unit.

In addition, from another regrettable perspective, the Eldar of Commorragh, who claim to be able to resurrect from the dead, must pay a certain price and time in order to go through all the hard work and return from death; while the demons on the opposite side are completely Show the characteristics of being brave and not afraid of death.

Some demons who obey the Blood God can be judged from their appearance, and will even actively pursue violent deaths to quickly accumulate blood pool thickness and pay blood tax to the Chaos God they serve in exchange for the reward of the entire army's combat effectiveness.

Perturabo could only command the fleet to destroy several prism engines that controlled the birth of subspace rifts, trying to prevent a new batch of demons from rushing out of the gaps and replenishing the enemy's fleet with an endless stream of demons.

He urgently needed a more destructive military assistance to destroy Vastor's demon army and infernal machinery in one fell swoop, so that he could personally use the combined power of half a Primarch and half a C'tan fragment to face Vastor directly. Myself.

Otherwise, if the fallen God Craftsman is allowed to continue to consume his limited power, he will not be able to obtain any worthwhile benefits from it except for a hearty fleet battle that unfortunately ends in failure.

A term gradually emerged in his mind. A thing that was controlled by the former Church of the Sun, an ultimate weapon that even though it has declined extremely, it still has terrifying power.

This will destroy many things. thought Pertura. Fortunately, Konrad Curze had no sympathy for the Eldar...at least, he hoped not.

A piece of data was injected into the console of the Black Sun Tower along the cable. In the first inquiry, a synchronization data packet combined with the initial sequence number sent a signal requesting to establish a connection to the response injection end of the bondage network.

Black Sun's bondage network system quickly fed back a signal acknowledging receipt, confirming the successful establishment of the connection in the form of the initial sequence number plus one.

Immediately afterwards, Perturabo's next data packet was sent to the control console, marking the Black Sun Tower regaining control over the half-extinct stars that fell silent over Commorragh. He analyzed the many signals sent by Black Sun to the center and began to gradually crack the restrictive procedures that maintained Black Sun's normal operation.

He decided to tear open the limited cracks in the pocket space and shine all the light of the dying star onto the heads of the demon army at close range; if possible, he would not mind letting the entire star escape directly from the confines of the mesh structure and smash directly into Vastor On an ugly face with two horns.

-

In the banquet hall, the noise caused by fighting could be seen everywhere, replacing the previously pleasant music. The Eldar drew their weapons and swung them at each other.

At first, the target of these weapons was the bloody Marquis on the high platform.

Although they couldn't believe it, they still had to accept a terrible fact, that is, the long-abandoned craftsman god Val also fell into the abyss, and was even lured to Commorragh by the Blood Marquis on unknown terms. By doing something that goes against the interests of the entire Youdu, the Blood Marquis is naturally a great evil that everyone can defeat.

Soon, when they discovered that they could not harm even a single hair of Konrad Kurtz, and once they approached the edge of the hall, they would be attacked by Mandela wandering in the shadows and Talos rushing towards him. The engine, and even Curze himself, who was lurking in the shadows of the hall, laughed and killed them. The Eldar could only retreat and do the next best thing, and prioritize the weapons they had drawn, aiming at the clan that had hatred towards them. of enemies. "Conrad Curze!" Victor shouted the name of the Haemonculi hidden in the darkness, "What are you doing!"

Coze's deep laughter floated in every phantom in the hall. His odorless body could not be located at all, and the special clothes he wore could not be displayed in the thermal imaging system.

As for direct vision and hearing, they are useless detection methods for such a Primarch who is good at concealment.

"I'm... watching you die." Curze whispered softly, "I'm watching Commorragh be destroyed as much as possible by the demons, which saves me the trouble and danger of doing it myself..."

"This is not what you promised, Conrad!" Victor could not hide his anger, "What you want is dominance, not destruction!"

Konrad Coates amplified his laughter, letting the sound waves approach a penetrating cacophony: "Think about it, what did I promise you, Asdubal? I said I was going to bring Come with a force powerful enough to destroy Comoros. I also said we can't stop at maintaining rule... Where did you think, friend?"

"Oh, legitimacy, you mentioned this ridiculous word, you think I want to behave like a good child in front of my blood relatives, not daring to kill people, not daring to touch blood on my hands... Oh my God, Victor , why do you think of me like this! Am I going to go against my mind, abandon the meaning of my birth, and pursue some upright and bright path? No, no no... That is the path of our beloved Archangel , instead of the dark life I will choose!"

"Fire will burn the weak minions, Victor, I told you. Cities will be torn apart, fate will lash the dark sun, and the dying will cry out for mercy. I told you too. And I will stand, Stand, stand and watch all this happen...I have already made it clear to you, Victor, why don't you listen?"

At the end of the story, Xuehou seemed to have gone from being full of high-spirited passion to falling into the trough of sadness and melancholy. He emerged from the shadows, leaned down quietly, and almost gently, pinched Asdúbal Victor's neck from behind.

"Do you also refuse to listen to a sincere statement, thinking that it is all the ravings of a fanatic, not worth taking a word to heart, my friend?"

The curtain wall of the hall was shattered by a deflected energy laser, exposing the outside world.

Many Eldar temporarily stopped fighting and spent a few moments observing the fierce fleet conflict that was breaking out in the sky, wondering where the person who commanded the dense clouds of ships from different families at the same time came from.

Victor did not turn around to look. He did not doubt that Conrad Coates' heart, immersed in excessive emotions at this moment, would prompt him to break his spine. In fact, he relaxed.

"I actually took your word for it, Konrad," he said. "I remember you saying that you wanted to unleash the Black Sun over Ilmea and let it slam down on the upper levels of Commorragh. You weren't joke."

Curze was shaking with laughter, and the Eldar in his palm was having difficulty breathing. "Come, friend, let me hear what else you have to say, let me hear what sweet words you are going to rely on to save your poor life?"

"I have a question, friend," said the Eldar, "Why are you so determined to destroy this city? I have watched you build the royal court and gain power, and I support all your choices so far; but if you are determined to embark on this journey, Admiral's path to the destruction of Commorragh, then the many efforts you have made so far are meaningless and redundant. What made you make the final decision, Konrad?"

Curze's trembling stopped, and there was a lot of irritation in his words.

"What is it?" he murmured to himself. "What is it? What makes me unable to find even an excuse to forgive this city of sin?"

His tone turned cold: "Because there are not ten innocent people in the entire Comoros."

"Where are your Haemonculi subordinates?" Victor asked calmly, "Where is Lilia Ander, the red-handed remains you created? What about me? Do you want us all to die?"

"I will take those who are useful away. Lilia Ander is a successful example, and she has temporarily washed away her sins with her own hands, so she can be considered a semi-innocent person. As for you - why are you looking for it privately? Hexakeris, my friend! What deception and betrayal do you wish to perpetrate?"

He shouted the last question, his anger becoming bitter enough and uncontrollable.

"You also said something, Conrad." Victor said softly, "That is, you will share the blood. If you really think that those who drink your blood can be regarded as innocent, then, Como There may be more innocent people in Ronai than you think.”

Outside the hole in the curtain wall of the banquet hall, under the strong radiation of the Ilmea Black Sun that far exceeded the normal limit, the air shimmered like heat mist, and the temperature rose rapidly.

The Ring of the Black Sun continued to approach the demon fleet, and the engines began to burn. The fire spread and formed a huge vortex. Matter endures unimaginable energy impacts in the atomic storm. No matter how delicate the structure is, it collapses under this energy. It is swallowed up, melted, and poured downward by the expanding sun.

The demon quickly withered in the fierce flames, burned like a piece of paper under a torch, reduced to ashes by the cruel dying star. Some survivors began to retreat, and the temporarily assembled troops of the Fallen Craftsman God had to flee and collapse under the power of an entire star.

Along with the daemon fleet, countless spiers of the upper levels of Commorragh, and the ships of the Eldar were also destroyed in the terrible fatal black sun, and were broken into billions of burning fragments.

This bound star finally returned to this sinful city in the most violent form at the last moment of its life.

And in the hole left after the black sun fell, dripping blood gradually seeped out.

At first, it was just drop after drop of blood falling to the ground of Comoros. Then, the small flow of blood quickly turned into a straight column of blood falling from the dark circular hole that emitted blood-red light from the edge of the sky.

Finally, the blood pillar expanded, forming a majestic river with the dark sky as the background. From the sun-shaped disc gap in the dark sky, it fell to the half-ruined broken earth, scattering into a torrential rain of blood that covered most of the Youdu. .

The rain of blood is sweet and fragrant, washing away the sin and filth of Commorragh.

(End of this chapter)