Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 434: An Accidental Strike
What Kadan Stounus was actually thinking before deciding on this attack on the Lacuan Clan's Hall of Conquest is unknown.

The attack missed the suspiciously-looking Rakuan Clan's Conquest Hall, which had suddenly and impossiblely made a warp jump.

But they did type out...something.

It was completely unexpected for them and each other.

All I can say is that the description of a blind cat catching a dead mouse is most appropriate here.

But what follows is a life-and-death battle.
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Dozens of luminous spears hit the void shield and a small part of the hull in turn in the left front of the Lakuan Conquest Hall. The ionized light they aroused was as dazzling as the lightning that occasionally flashed in the dark night, illuminating the plastic steel concrete, adamantium skeletons and hulls that began to fly out like fragments scattered in a tornado, as well as the smaller gravel-like equipment, debris and the quickly frozen bodies of the unfortunate crew members.

"Latest damage control report! The first to third decks of the fortress were attacked by planetary-level light spears at an angle of 82 degrees. The source is estimated to be Sennos. The safety sealed hatch lowering operation has been initiated. The countdown is 10 seconds. The Beta-211-A to Epsilon-003-C damage control team has completed the verification of the extravehicular equipment and is heading for repair and recovery through the emergency passage..."

Neat rows of servitors inserted into gleaming brass and steel panels had hideous faces, as they outputted columns of data from their own Thinkers or stiffly and loudly reported self-inspections of damage in various places. The vacant bridge of the throne now had a slightly chaotic scene that was rare in the Iron Hands' expeditions.

Leaving the others to guard the ship without opening the door of the throne room or summoning their Gene-Father, Malkan Ferros, who had hurried over alone, rushed into the bridge deck and angrily shouted at the technical officers, demanding that they immediately contact any other clan captains and Iron Fathers who were above Medusa or in the Antarctic Fortress to inquire about the situation.

Because no one would have thought that the Lakuan clan would be attacked from within the galaxy after jumping out of Mandeville Point and sending their identity code to the Iron Hands' own watch station at the outermost part of the Stenelos galaxy.

The ancient machine soul of the Lakuan Conquest Hall roared in anger, and just before the first wave of attacks touched its metal shell, the machine soul immediately notified the commander with the highest security authority in the fortress.

Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim Ishtar reacted identically almost at the same time: they used their authority to draw all non-life-sustaining energy sources to focus on the emergency activation of the void shield on the attacked side, and began a series of takeover equipment to prepare this super-flying-brick fortress-monastery with two hundred pairs of road wheels, one wheel twelve stories high, and that can be driven on the ground, to begin the extreme operation of drifting outside the galaxy.

It turns out that apart from some specialized Primarchs whose nature is similar to "technology" or "computing" and who can independently perform real-time combat calculations at such moments, only when the thought circuits of two Primarchs with rich combat experience are connected in the same metal body can they instantly control a behemoth like the Hall of Conquest to complete such a temporary action that even its driver and technical officer group cannot accomplish.

All the occupants in this Hall of Conquest had not yet reacted or had just had a moment of confusion, doubt, rage or other thoughts flashing through their minds.

The void shield that was urgently activated on the side of the fortress facing the galaxy has suffered an attack from the direction of their home galaxy, and although the flying fortress was shaking very violently, it was at least able to defend itself with the precisely reinforced void shield.

Then, as they desperately tried to figure out what was happening in this chaotic moment, the pilots and bridge officers were horrified to find that the machine spirits and thinker instruments in front of them were no longer under their control, and even entering the highest-security code at hand was of no avail.

Therefore, Malkan Ferros's request could not even be met for a while: all auspicious instruments and sensor array equipment joined in this silent but terrifying machine-talking action.

All of these machines seemed to boil over in an instant, as if the originally dormant circuit metal statues were suddenly injected with some unknown and terrifying vitality. The stiff metal and dead flesh jaws of the servitors opened and closed, automatically and loudly beginning to announce the working conclusions of their equipment outputs. The equipment that usually required the collaboration of multiple people and careful maintenance all began to work actively as if they were directed by the same person's will, and their efficiency was even faster than at any time before.

"Oh, Om Messiah! What's going on?!" Iron Father's voice rumbled through the metal breathing grille that replaced his nose and mouth. "Have the bridge officers tried to take back control of this place?! I need to communicate with Medusa immediately! What is this? Is the attack on us and the loss of control of these machine spirits a sign of rebellion or the aftermath of the invaders?! I must find out immediately!"

"I don't know, sir!" the desperate bridge technician shouted back, "They... they are controlled by another powerful will, and we can't control them! I can't even..."
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Stay calm. My sons, my warriors. It's me.

A thought like a loud bell descended on the bridge, and its sound spread throughout the receiver's channel through the resonance of the mechanical module. Everyone immediately quieted down, except for those devices that were still working on their own. People looked at these inanimate objects around them anxiously, watching them work in an orderly and spontaneous manner - without any human controlling them.

Many believers quietly recited the exorcism prayer of Om Messiah.

The void shield outside the porthole was occasionally brushed by fierce long-range attacks, which triggered colorful, disorderly and dazzling high-speed strobe lights. If a person looked directly at them without wearing protection, he would even feel physiological dizziness and nausea.

Malkan Ferros took a tentative half step forward.

"Is that you, father? Please forgive me for not staying by your side. I think I should have been the one to drive your car for you when the attack happened."

A pulse of impatient clarity entered Malkan's receiver.
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Malkan. Although I do have a bad temper, I think I am reasonable with my children, unlike some of my brothers.

"Forgive me, father. I made assumptions about you."

Another pulse from the same source once again conveyed to Markan a "Okay, it's okay, don't talk any more" sentiment.

The Forge Master blinked behind his iron breathing mask.
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No more nonsense. Everyone, prepare to resist the impact of acceleration and space jump.

"Father……?"
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We must make a subspace jump and leave here immediately. The void shield is a makeshift one and will not last long. There are still about 58 seconds before the next attacking warhead cluster arrives. We must jump.

"But even the warp engine of the Lakuan Hall can only be prepared 65% at most in such a short time... and we must activate the new Geller Stand and Navigator. Great Ferrus! If we jump into the warp like this, the probability of getting lost is higher than 50%, and the probability of damage is..."
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Shut up. I know what I'm doing. You chant Holy and Great in my name all day long, and build countless temples on Mount Karash to pray for my return. And at a time when great power and miracles are especially needed, do you think that I, a Primarch, one of the miracles of the galaxy, your genetic father who returned from death like lightning ten thousand years ago, have only the abilities of a mortal?

"..."

The magnetic boots of the Astartes pinned the sons of Ferrus to the deck, while the mortal auxiliary officers immediately lay down and grabbed something or stuffed themselves into any large enough gap. Before they could completely dodge, they heard the great voice swearing in a language they could not understand, followed by a high-pitched roar in the native language of Medusa.
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This bunch of bastards!

Then the same voice sounded more calmly.
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Navigator, sense according to the coordinates I provided. - No more nonsense, immediately.

The invisible, huge but real pressure was pressing down on everyone like a giant mountain. The mechanical arms of the Iron Hands made subtle noises of metal being compressed and rubbed. Some people even had difficulty breathing as the air was being forced out of their collapsed lungs. Fortunately, although their navigator was not very willing to accept guidance from people who were not from the navigator's family as always, it was obvious that there was something real at that coordinate.

Because the data transmitted from the navigator's cockpit showed that he was taking over the driving and engine power of the Lakuan Conquest Hall according to the will of Ferrus Manus, preparing to take them into the warp.

As the navigator obeyed and executed the tense order, the pressure eased. The next batch of intensive bombardment passed through the colorful plasma gas belt and the annihilation trail of the subspace energy that had just begun to dissipate, and continued to fly in the empty void until it lost power...

They hit something in the "void" and exploded.

The original camouflage peeled off, and the flames burned on the damp and rotten fleshy shell of the ship, and were quickly extinguished by some secreted yellow pus.

"This is……"

The Iron Council, assembled for other matters, immediately entered a state of emergency war.

All soldiers and vehicles present were mobilized.

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About three hours later.

The Rakuan Hall of Conquest floats quietly in orbit above the Death World of Coinbril.

It was quiet and desolate here. Because it was worthless, there were no imperial colonies or garrisons. They jumped out from Mandeville Point in this galaxy, which was only a few light hours away from Medusa, and then went into orbit for rest after scanning.

"What happened?"

Summoned to Ferrus' throne room, Malkan respectfully questioned the Gene-Father on behalf of the Iron Hands officers.

The huge silver metal figure of "Ferrus Manus" sat on his mechanical throne, and the Iron Hands were almost fascinated - watching with longing and reverence as the silver metal flowed into the cracks of the throne as if it had life, connecting with the shining data points deep inside.

Their genetic father who returned to the world opened his eyes, and his eyeballs, which were also shining silver, stared at them like melted mercury balls.

"The attack was directed at us, without a doubt, from Medusa. The sender of the verification code was Cardan Sturnus."

"What the hell! Is there a verification error somewhere? Father, Cardan Sternus can't possibly be--"

"If I died like that on Isstvan V, don't mention the impossibility. When you educate new recruits, don't you say calmly, 'Don't trust anyone'? Well, Malkan, when it comes to someone you know and are close to, you think he can't betray you. It seems that this commandment is not very useful even if you memorize it by heart."

Such powerful evidence from the parties involved made it impossible for the Master of the Forge to form a suitable rebuttal.

In the end he could only ask the Primarch bitterly whether his most proud disciple was suspected of betrayal and corruption, or whether while they were away, had the Iron Hands once again fallen into the curse of strife and civil war?

"No." Their gene father answered him, with a subtle tone, "According to analysis, his original intention was to test you, but..." Ferrus seemed to smile. Was the curve of his mouth mocking? Malkan was not sure.

"But I didn't expect to find the real invader ahead of time. It was an unexpected gain."

"So we need to warp immediately because...?"

"Because I found that our position was the worst at that moment: there was a barrage of probing bullets in front of us - although it was a probing, he used the real stuff, and I must punish him later. And behind and around us were the enemy's originally invisible and lurking warships. At that time, the sensor readings transmitted to me by the Lakuan Conquest Hall made me not want to stay for even a second longer."

"I don't know about you... maybe our tactical thinking over the past ten thousand years should have considered strategic retreat more..."

"Ferus" waved his hand, and the golden mechanical bird on his shoulder spread its wings and chirped.

"This is not running away, Malkan. If you knew what kind of Chaos enemy you were about to face, you would also choose to distance yourself immediately."

"You seem to be very familiar with them. You can tell what kind of enemy it is without even confirming it with your naked eyes."

"If you have fought them many times, you will be familiar with them, Malkan. Don't always test me." "Ferus" stared at the Master of the Forge with his silver eyes, "They are the followers of the Lord of Corruption and the Lord of Plague. Even if you have the ability to burn them, you will not choose to fight them in close combat."

"But the Black Legion of the Great Betrayer Abaddon has only recently..."

"Yes, it is written in Laquan's records that Abaddon's army left not long ago. Your defensive battle was difficult but tenacious, Malkan."

"In such a short time..."

"Yes." Ferrus' jawline became harder and squarer. "The enemies of Chaos are here again. This time they are the followers of the evil god. Their target is undoubtedly Medusa and the treasures on it. We have become a force that has successfully escaped. Now, we have to find a way to reconnect with them and send them back to help."

“Does it feel familiar?” He smiled, but there was no warmth in his smile. “Broken Legion, Broken Legion, my children. This time, we cannot let the tragedy happen again.”

(End of this chapter)