Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 479: Meeting an old friend in a foreign land and starting to name dishes (4K4)
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"So, are you the Adalic Vanners I know?"

A moment later, the two strangers, who could be considered "old acquaintances" to some extent, were already sitting in two seats in the corner of the bar.

Around them sat drinkers of many different races, and plotting, dealing, promises, solicitation and threats were taking place at every table.

The huge corpse of the Emperor's Scythe, which was lost in blood and had just been killed by Hong Suo with a punch at the door, was quickly dragged into the shadows by the scavengers here, which also won Hong Suo a little courtesy towards the newcomers here.

For example, when he walked in next time intending to talk to someone, he successfully obtained two glasses of questionable wine from the pointy-eared bartender, two seats at a table, and a little space without being disturbed by the bisexual succubus and the orc waiter.

And sitting opposite him was the person to whom he asked this question.

As for why this question is asked.

Unlike Honso, who was wearing sophisticated equipment under disguise, Adalic Vannus looked very "local".

This means that the former fourth captain of the Raven Guard, who later had an "adventure" on the Destiny Steel, is now different from when he disappeared. He is wearing the midnight-black armor of the Raven Guard, and the once noble white raven emblem on his shoulder still shows signs of being painted over by a red "X". The power armor also shows the roughness of being repaired only with limited resources.

Vannas's face was still very handsome, with long black hair tied tightly on his scalp. Combined with his pale skin, purple eyes, high cheekbones, narrow skull and light and elegant posture, he almost gave people the illusion that he was an Eldar dressed in power armor.

But when Hong Suo was staring at the other person, he keenly noticed that the other person was looking at his power armor with a kind of examining thought, and there was a lot of surprise, but not at his armor, but at Hong Suo himself.

This means that Vannas either recognized that Hong Suo was not Hong Suo, or he had seen Hong Suo dressed like this.

Which one would it be? Although no matter which one it was, Honso would eventually "ask" Wanners to help him, it wouldn't hurt to find out at the beginning. If he was lucky, he could figure out how to find his way back and bring some gifts for his father.

“Yes and no.”

The former Raven Guard spoke, his voice and accent were exactly the same as the unfortunate guy who was hung in the interrogation room in Hong Suo's memory. Of course, his voice might be a little distorted when he screamed, and it was a bit too flattering when he called father.

I should have given him more tranquilizers and brainwashing drugs. Hong Suo thought of this unexpectedly, and then he began to think of his kind father, the delicious cafeteria, and his lovely apprentice - stop!
"Don't play dumb with me." Hong Suo narrowed his eyes and said abruptly, "Adalic, what color do you think God is?"

Wannas on the other side blinked his purple diamond eyes, "As the God of Steel, of course he is black and white." Then he asked Hong Suo, "Is Grox steak for dinner?"

"Thick cut, 50%, add more trace mineral salt and ground pepper."

A smile began to appear in the corner of Adalic's eyes. He raised the glass in front of him and let the inferior liquor with a chemical and fermentation smell slowly move along the edge of the glass.

"Good wine should be served with..."

“Rekha coffee.”

No matter how much he disliked Adalic Vannus, a living person appeared again in this place to prove that everything he had experienced was not an illusion or a daydream. Hong Suo still sighed deeply, the first time since he woke up.

Under his power armor, Hong Suo's shoulder and neck muscles unconsciously relaxed slightly.

The Shadow Master's purple eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was smiling.

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Later, at the Iron Warriors' Cape Camp
Hong Suo's private room and command room

"Take a seat. Feel free."

Hong Suo strode forward and kicked aside two boxes filled with human-skin scrolls, stirring up a cloud of dust. He then dragged the only table over and found an unopened box to sit on.

"What's there to drink? I haven't had a drink in a long time." Vannas sat down opposite him as he was told and glanced at the messy drawings that were pushed aside on the table.

"I only have this water here, which is not even good enough to wash the machine servants on the Iron Blood."

Honso placed a half-full brass kettle and another cup in front of him. "Drink it if you want."

Vannus poured out most of the water from it, sniffed it, then drank it in one gulp, made a face at the taste of the water, and put the cup back on the table.

"When did you do that?" Hong Suo didn't ask the next word, but Vannus knew what he wanted to ask.

"I arrived here several days earlier than you." The former Raven Guard shook his head. "But I didn't dare to stay in the camp most of the time. Besides, I've been here before and I'm quite familiar with it. It's safer for me to stay in the mountain city. So I claimed that I was going to go out and spy on the information about the Skull Harvest Feast. So when I was hiding in the shadows above the bar, I saw you striding over, and then I watched the whole thing. You know what? Even though you were disguised, you still shine here, much stronger and more eye-catching than 'that you', and with a kind of calmness that is very rare here. In fact, it's not difficult to distinguish you from 'the original Hong Suo'."

"But none of my subordinates raised any questions about my presence."

"If your boss has always really only treated you as a number, an object, a necessary weapon and a handy tool, even if one day he suddenly changes his temper and seems to be a little kinder, but seems to be more energetic and powerful than ever before, then you will only think that this may be a cold trap of a moody tyrant rather than a miracle from heaven."

"I suspect you are implying something, but I have no evidence." Hong Suo narrowed his eyes and looked at the former Raven Guard who was walking leisurely in front of him.

"I don't have any. If I do, you're just overthinking it, Hong Suo."

"Okay." The former potion master changed his posture. "Now you know it's me. There are too many eyes and ears in the bar. Can you explain what 'both is and are not' means?"

"What I mean is," Vannus thought for a moment, "my memory or maybe my soul, anyway, not my body, but the Vannus who knew you and...my kind and great father. - Could you please not point your special Eradicator at me under the table? I know that your Eradicator can really eradicate me immediately."

"Then don't be so vague. I really want to blow this place and everyone in it up and walk away."

"Okay, okay," the son of Clarks sat up straight and spoke faster, "I mean, I'm on the same side as you, but my body seems to be original, not like yours." Hong Suo looked at Wannas suspiciously. The other party immediately swore, "It's true! Otherwise, how can I answer those three questions?!"

"Okay, let's assume that's the case. What about the original soul in this body? Why didn't you bring your body with you?"

"How should I know?" The black-armored Astartes crossed his arms. "If I knew, I might also know why we were thrown into this place despite having such good food, drink and shelter."

"It's just as you said. Maybe your body is still where we started." With the sound of a very light slide moving, the "Gene Eradicator" was stuck back into the holster. Hong Suo frowned. "If they can find that your body has lost its soul, they may be able to trace it back to you from this point."

"That's usually the case." Adalic looked a little uneasy.

"What do you mean normally?"

"Well, I was doing some little hobby in the shadows... No, lurking, you know, I was lurking in the shadows... So..." The Shadow Master looked very embarrassed.

"… so there's a good chance you won't be discovered until the next person with shadow stealth skills bumps into you by sheer luck."

"uh-huh."

"I'm suddenly craving some roasted small bird, like a roasted raven stuffed with glocks and mushrooms."

"Oh, you won't," Vanners said immediately. "I told you that I've been here before, and I've learned a lot of information and details in the past few days, which is exactly what you need now that you've just arrived."

Hong Suo stared at him for a long time with his cold eyes.

"Okay, now you can tell me everything you know."

"First of all, the Skull Harvest Feast that is currently being prepared is... a truly bloody, life-and-death carnival in a vortex. Although it is called a feast, it is not as gentle as the word describes. After each competition, only the champion and his team will still survive, but even so, it is still held continuously, and there are always teams that come to participate. This is because of the good reputation of the Tyrant Badab who keeps his promises and the generous rewards for the champion. But let me remind you at the beginning: only the strongest, most evil and most cunning people can survive to the end of this game."

"go on."

"First of all, you need some strong helpers, and you must participate in the Skull Harvest Competition as a team, not as an individual."

The former potion master shrugged, and the gray, dry skeleton tapped its chin on his mechanical arm, as if keeping the rhythm of their conversation.

"In fact, if Huron can really maintain the good order of the competition venue and rules as he said and as the legend goes, I and you can kill the opponent's team or a champion. The soldiers in the camp are in very bad condition in all aspects, and I mean in all aspects! Nutritional status, medication and hormone supplementation levels are almost non-existent, and there is no regular brainwashing and hypnosis adjustment! The only problem is your power armor - it's a pity that it is not produced by the regiment but left here by you."

"You can do it with this equipment." Adalic nodded in agreement, "And this is what I've been wearing since I was expelled from the Raven Guard. Although it's old and scarred, it's an old friend after all, so it's not a big problem. But you need a team not for strength, but for an invitation."

"Invitation card?"

"The organizer of the Skull Harvest Feast, the Black-Hearted King Huron, will send messengers from his palace before the competition officially begins to issue Skull Harvest invitations to any team he hears is qualified or has taken qualified actions to enter. Only with an invitation can the team be considered an official participant and be able to participate in the competition and have their results counted."

"He has a rigorous style that he does not forget even if he becomes a traitor and a pirate. He might really be Guilliman's son. Hmm... maybe one day I will have the opportunity to dig out his gene seed to verify it."

"Ha! Ha! Your sense of humor is really great! - As for why it must be in the form of a team, it is because one of the most tempting and generous rewards of the Skull Harvest Feast is that the winner takes all the soldiers, resources and ships of all teams. As for whether the ships left by the opponent are willing to continue to work for you and how to convince the remaining subordinates of the opponent to serve you, that is another matter, but at least the rules stipulate this, and as long as they are still within the range of New Badab, Huron will definitely try his best to make this reward stand. Therefore, single people generally will not receive invitations. The stakes of only one person participating in the competition are too small, and usually no one will be willing to bet against you, which will greatly damage the prestige of the Blackheart King."

"I see. So what do I need to do to get an invitation?"

"Are you really going to continue to participate in the Skull Harvest Feast?" Wannas looked at Hong Suo who was thinking seriously with a little surprise. "We can actually leave here before you receive the invitation letter. It's not a big problem. I can help you control the people on the ship. We just need to find an excuse. When the invitation letter is sent to your camp, you will only have to participate in the competition and win the last one. You can't leave New Badab."

"I haven't received the invitation yet. Are you so sure that I can get it?"

The Shadow Master nodded. "You should have noticed that there was a special eight-pointed star mark on the Emperor's Scythe, the Blood God-believing Emperor you killed at the entrance of the bar, Vosok Dar, right?"

"I noticed that, but I thought it was his personal stamp."

Vanas nodded. "That is the mark of Pushtok Uluvent. He has a very powerful warband of Blood God followers, one of the participating teams this year. He is also a believer in the God of War. And Dahl is the champion of his warband."

Hong Suo burst into laughter when he heard this.

"If every warband champion is of this level, then I really want to participate in this competition!"

"You have just slain the champion of Uluwenta's warband with ease, so once this is reported to Huron and confirmed, an invitation will be sent to you from Huron's palace."

“It sounds like he’s really acting like an emperor ruling his little world here,” Honso said sarcastically. “If I hadn’t served on my father’s great flagship, I might have thought he was a bit like an ancient emperor who would grant a little country knight lord to a little boy like me!”

"So, if you really intend to participate in this competition, you must set off immediately to the palace above to 'meet' the Blackheart King when the invitation arrives."

"I don't like to use the word 'audience'. Only our father can make me bow down to him."

Vannus nodded in understanding. "But we should always be under the same roof... And, I was just thinking that if you want to participate in the competition, you should go to a place with me first. There is someone you should meet."

"Are we going to have new companions so soon?" Hong Suo grinned, "It seems that my father's favor has not left me yet."

"Probably."

(End of this chapter)