Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 259 Emergency Decoration

Like her king said, the remains of Lilia Ender could speak.

To be more precise, she spoke Nostramor as fluently as Eldar. Because Ms. Valkyra Uris, the Haemonculi deputy under the king, immediately took the initiative to invent a language indoctrination device for the king when she arrived in this human world that the king paid special attention to.

Just insert the probe into the cerebral cortex, and complex biotechnology will push the needle and burn a complete set of language modules in a healthy or defective brain.

After that, they only need to endure the sweet pain of dizziness for a few days - which symbolizes the king's care for them, and they can use the indoctrinated language as proficiently as their native tongue.

Through the second layer of skin that was close to the flesh and blood of her face, the iron fence mask she had been given by Blood Hou Kezi, Lilia Ande saw another human holding a box of gifts requested by the king, tremblingly coming to her Report in front of you.

Why do they always look so scared?

"This is a used gas lamp. There are fragments from twenty years ago, a cover from eighteen years ago, and one that was just produced in the past two years and is still usable..."

"Buried in the backyard." Lilia Ander followed the king's order and buried household waste in the backyard of this temporary manor. "Any more?"

"This... these are children's clothes sewn by Gemel Tailoring Shop more than ten years ago, and there are also teenagers' clothes from the same batch..."

Lilia Ander's critical eyes told her that her king would not wear such gaudy, tasteless and outdated clothes, with lace, onyx and spinel all over his body.

But this was the first recent gift that could be disguised as the king's childhood clothes. Did she need to refuse?

"Take it away, throw it away. Go now." A familiar voice sounded at the door of the hall, and Lilia Ander immediately knelt down on one knee and saluted her king excitedly. No matter how many times she had the pleasure of meeting Konrad Curze, she could never resist the urge to pay homage to the Lord of the Court whom she respected so much.

"And you, Relic." Curze noticed his loyal Relic servant, and his busy brain took a few seconds to think about the arrangements for her and the other Eldar, "You all... go back to the ship. Enter the webway. . Before you get my call, don’t return to the real universe, especially if you run into the fleet of the Imperial Expeditionary Force..."

Lilia Ande silently nodded her head covered by the iron mask, and went to carry out Konrad Curze's order without hesitation.

She was at the newly repaired iron gate of the courtyard and almost bumped into the man in black robe who was striding inward.

The man in black robe patted her shoulder in a friendly manner, passed her by, and at the same time asked Conrad Coates in the hall with exaggerated surprise: "Your pseudo-emperor, is it really necessary?" Are you going to turn this place into a happy nest where you have lived for twenty years overnight?"

Kurtz gently pushed away the person who brought him children's clothes with one finger, and grabbed the list of gifts Lilia Ander had listed for him on the table.

Produced at different times in these two decades, everything from pens, vases, and heck of a local educational toy for children; to half-moon scimitars, ceremonial daggers, claw gloves, and lasguns are now available. All are reasonably distributed in every corner of the entire building.

Sprinkling a little artificial dust and adding a few scratches of time, in just a few days, the life trajectory of a Primarch in this house for twenty years has been basically laid out.

Coates put down the list and did not answer Morse's question directly.

"Have they reached orbit?" he asked.

"Yes, yes." Morse pointed towards the sky, "The airborne capsule may hit the ground at any time and penetrate into the fine gold... Speaking of this, is your nursery capsule still there? Comoros?"

Coze's face was condensed, and it was difficult to tell whether the already large black eyes had dilated again. "...No, it doesn't matter. My nursery cabin must have sunk into the deep core of Nostramo, living on the same level as the lava. It was destroyed in the fire of the earth's crust, and it is difficult to re-excavate..."

"Okay, okay. It seems that you really don't want others to know that you grew up in Comoros." Morse smiled, "I hope you won't reveal your secret."

"Just like you never spoke out about the existence of the mechanical Perturabo; I don't know what the three people's minds are like in this world."

Coates walked into the house, checking the circuit in the corridor, using a handkerchief to wipe away the inappropriate dust that outsiders brought to the old house when they came and went.

"If there are those who regard me and the aliens as fellow creatures and dirty creatures, wouldn't it mean that conflict has arisen and disputes have arisen? They are the golden jade that has been around the emperor for several years. I am nothing more than the bloody one who just returned today. Weird people..."

"Do you also know that you are bloody and grotesque, dear Night Ghost Blood Marquis?" Morse smiled.

"Of course!" Conrad Coates said, adjusting his breathing and holding back more convoluted words back to his throat, "I don't plan to change, this is exactly what I like... Can you help me use your spirit again?" Can we screen it and see if there are any obvious flaws in this house?"

Morse looked at the sky and murmured: "This is your preference, I don't intend to participate."

"Then I'll ask Pettu..."

Cozz looked at a corner of the city, where the airborne capsule crossed the sky, and the fire and smoke brought by its crash to the ground were billowing into the dark sky.

-

The banner of his Legion flutters in the hands of one of his warriors, a veteran of the Arvini clan from Terra. A steely silver hand was embroidered on black velvet, and the edges of the flag were repeatedly broken and sewn together to match the battles over the years.

Beside him, within his reach, Fulgrim's eagle banner was held by his most beloved Terran sword master, and the golden eagle spread its wings in the deep purple.

Ever since the two met in Terravat, he was so familiar with this banner, second only to his own legion's banner, and even slightly higher than his own personal banner against the silver dragon Athinoth.

A little further away from him, the bright yellow flag of the Imperial Fists fell into the hands of the chief templar wearing yellow armor and black robes without any surprise.

Rogal Dorn's face was as serious as a rock as always, and the severity of his character was completely reflected in his every move, without any hidden intention.

The stubbornness of the Primarch of the Imperial Fists is well known among those who have returned. On one occasion, he and Dorne almost had an irreconcilable conflict over the strategy of a battle. Horus Luperkar, who happened to be present at the time, intervened and cleverly eased the intensity of the conflict.

However, that conflict did not affect the relationship between the Iron Hands and the Imperial Fists at all, and Ferrus Manus was not even surprised by Rogal Dorn's stubborn character.

After all, Rogal Dorn and Perturabo have always been close to each other, and Perturabo is a well-known weirdo.

"Is the signal tower that sent that signal really here?" Fulgrim's beautiful and doubtful voice floated in Ferrus's ears.

Ferus listened to Phoenix's words attentively, recalling Fulgrim's bright and joyful face when the signal was sent from the communications room a few days ago.

"Do we really have a brother... who grew up here?" "We can explore forward." Ferrus answered his brother.

Fulgrim's eyes reflected the empty and silent old streets around him, and he frowned at the corpse in rich clothes hanging from the top of the rusty, dim street lamp.

As the three primarchs and their ten-man guard were temporarily selected, advancing on the surface of the planet called Nostramo, they became increasingly puzzled by the strangeness of this planet.

No matter where they went, the streets were deserted, and every house—or shack with rotten tiles that could barely be called home—had all the doors and windows that might exist closed.

Even if they could clearly hear human breathing within these houses, gasping weakly, no one could overcome the fear in their hearts, break the curfew-like silence, and appear in front of them.

In addition, every street seems to have been rigorously and thoroughly swept and washed, more than once, to remove filth and sweep away debris. The current ruler of this place seems to have an almost paranoid emphasis on cleanliness.

If placed on an ordinary planet, this would certainly not be a problem, or even a commendable habit.

However, when corpses and human skins were hung in the spotless long street every few tens of meters, allowing the drizzle to fall into the drainage ditch along with these fresh corpses, things became very delicate.

In comparison, the permanently dark sky here and the seemingly endless drizzle are simply the most insignificant environmental factors.

In the middle of the empty long street, a soft whisper suddenly came from a hidden electronic speaker on the street. Donn immediately accurately marked the location of the speaker with his sight.

"Primarchs from all over the galaxy," Nostramo and Medusa are both multi-consonant languages, but the accent of this speaker is more sophisticated and cohesive, as if the language is in his mind. The tip of your tongue is a precious thing worth savoring slowly, "As the second communication we sent you said, I am the eighth Primarch, Konrad Curze."

"I am very happy that after such a long time has passed so quickly, I can have such an honor to witness several respectable brothers visiting my little night planet..."

"Oh, it will guide you. Come, dear children of the Emperor. Follow it. Unfortunately, my residence is very ordinary and I cannot entertain you as much as I want. In any case, I look forward to... meeting you. "

The whispers gradually merged into the drizzle in a burst of laughter, returning to the depths of silence.

A mechanical gadget attached to the street lamp suddenly grew blade-like legs and feet, and crawled to the soles of the Primarchs as lightly and nimbly as a small spider. A kind of green energy thread wandered on its surface, providing it with energy. able.

Donne's attention was strangely attracted to this little machine, and he seemed to be thinking about some possibility.

Phoenix's alabaster-white face was tinged with a hint of sadness.

"Why did he act like this?" the third primarch asked, with more confusion than displeasure on his face. "Have we ever annoyed him before? He wants to compete with us like this, without being honest, and playing tricks?"

Ferrus drew his attention away from the exquisite blade-legged spider machine, unsure of how he should comfort Fulgrim.

Many times, Fulgrim didn't really need comfort. He just made some careless complaints. The accumulated emotions were fleeting, but Ferus would try to figure out his psychology every time.

"Perhaps Konrad Curze has a point," said the Primarch of the Iron Hands. "Perhaps he saw their first encounter as an implicit competition."

Fulgrim smiled and tapped the hilt of the flaming sword at his waist.

"I will not be dissatisfied with your explanation for a brother I have never met, Ferrus. But I would like to ask him, since he has such control over his streets, he must know that the body before us is What's going on?"

Fulgrim turned to look at Dorne: "Dorn, are you leaving?"

Donn's eyes moved along the small machine. "Let's go," he answered in one syllable.

In this small march led by the small machine, the three primarchs soon realized that the instructions received by the machine were actually to lead them on a tour within the area of ​​​​Nostramo.

They walked past luxury towers and luxurious estates that were like independent behemoths, and also passed by sleepy suburban industrial factories, looking at the mines with their lights on in the distance.

Near the newly formed ruins of many large buildings, around the toppled statues, broken fountains and burnt ornate birdhouses, there is often a dense and chaotic pile of buildings separated by a wall, made of simple wooden boards, iron sheets and bricks. Blocks are pieced together to form a layered three-dimensional structure.

The buildings in this area were built spontaneously, without planning or block structure. The alleys are criss-crossed, narrow and winding, and the distance between houses is only a few palms wide.

The appearance of the building is equally diverse, patchworked from a variety of materials, with makeshift cables and water purifiers clustered on the roof, making it chaotic and unmanaged. The population density living in this area is simply lamentable.

Under the dim light cast by the dim yellow flickering street lights, visitors to the empire had to become familiar with the human skins and dead bodies hanging everywhere, and found some commonality among these dead people.

Most of the victims were very wealthy during their lifetime. Even if this is not the case, it is probably located at some apex of force or the underlying power system.

"I feel..." A touch of solemnity flashed across the surface of Fulgrim's nearly flawless cheek, "I understand something."

He lowered his head, and the acidic raindrops from Nostramo accumulated on the concave and convex surface of his golden eagle emblem. He blinked several times, wiped away a few drops of acid rain with his fingers, placed it between his fingers and rubbed it quietly, as if feeling the non-existent burning.

"This is a world full of shadows." He said, following the small machine crawling forward quickly, raising his gaze.

In front of him, a newly restored manor stood impressively.

The exterior walls of the house are covered with colorful paint, as if a madman has been painting here for years, forming a strange landscape. The mottled brick walls reveal the erosion of the years. A small children's ride-on toy fell in the courtyard, with sprinkles sprinkled on it. With a pool of blood.

Inside the building, the lights were dim and there were many ghosts. The newly built iron gate inconsistently blocks visitors from entering. A rather huge statue was placed on the roof, covered with a dark cloth.

The next moment, the statue suddenly came back to life, its cloak rolled up, and it jumped down from the top of the building, landing right in front of the three original bodies and their guards.

He raised his head, his pale face smiling strangely and paranoidly under the dim light.

"Welcome to visit here, friends of the empire."

(End of this chapter)