Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

"The Word Bearers' enemy ship sank." The flying messenger angel in the command hall dragged the metal tube along the edge of the hall, just like the needle of an ancient phonograph sliding fixedly across the cold surface of a disc.

Sigismund stared at the warship being torn into countless pieces in the blazing light through the depiction of the holographic image.

Inside, the plasma light burst along the pipes extending outward from the energy pool, and the rolling escaped liquid quickly froze into dark long strips like broken shrouds in the void. In and around it, the remains of many crew members slowly stopped like light spots, or drifted away to an infinitely far point without force. Under the light and shadow, large pieces of armor and torn shields were like pale skeleton fossils, reflecting light clumsily and dully, and dissipating into the dark void.

"They didn't detonate the last fortress, Sigismund," Eidolon said through the communication channel. In the silence of the room, the lord commander's tone with a hint of sarcasm was particularly noticeable, "Did the Luna Wolves realize that they couldn't go any deeper?"

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"No, it's just that the people who came to detonate the fortress died accidentally." Fafnir Lane muttered.

He wore a bright yellow Imperial Fist armor set with a pair of double-handed axes attached to his back, and walked around among the command team members who were quietly watching the screens around him, scanning their screens one by one, checking the real-time updated battle reports and the statistical damage ratio. According to the average number of crew members, the number of deaths of the auxiliary army may be around 700,000.

In contrast to Lane, several members of the Templars wore black specialized armor and stood in fixed positions. On their cold faces, there was nothing but the sharp murderous intent in their eyes.

"The Imperial Fists fought too hard..." Eidolon said softly.

Delerax, the adjutant commander of the World Eaters, appeared on the screen, occupying half of Eidolon's position. The flames of the void battle burned behind him, as if they were about to burst out of the screen.

"Captain Sigismund, the enemy has no follow-up ships to replenish. The damage to the Kotrimis Fortress is within 30%." Delerax made a downward gesture.

Sigismund closed his eyes and assessed the battlefield here.

They could not easily put the enemy into the surface of Isstvan III, but at the same time, the enemy must enter the pocket prepared by the Emperor's Children on the ground at some point in the future.

A long and narrow deep defense line piercing is an excellent plan for both sides to preserve their strength; and the Kotrimis Fortress is an excellent location choice in the galaxy map. Once it is broken through, the relatively vast void environment around it will welcome the Imperial Legion to march straight in.

But correspondingly, the enemy's command system may also slow down the offensive trend and choose a more conservative small-scale breakthrough without ensuring the rapid attack supply line and the stability of the situation - this is acceptable to the rebels, but it is not the best situation.

The best result is that the Empire's legion is willing to try to blow up the gap again.

"They have the intention to retreat," Lann said, "the frigate is turning - the signal of the Iron Hands is intercepted, and their commander must be considering switching from offense to defense and waiting for the front to be flattened as much as possible."

The Iron Hands Legion was broken, and Perturabo did not let them participate in the battle, and Fulgrim took out some things that might be useful from the arsenal of the Tenth Legion.

Wolves are excellent hunters, Sigismund thought, and be cautious.

"Contact the fast gunboats to launch torpedoes at the Luna Wolves fleet and use them to detonate the west side of the booby trap zone. At the same time, blow up the armored shield on the east side of the Cotrimis Fortress." Sigismund ordered softly. His adjutant glanced at him and quickly passed the order on his behalf. The order spread like ripples.

"Create a gap for the wolves?" Eidolon asked, "Will they believe it?"

Sigismund ignored him and just gave the rest of the order.

"Emperor's Children, send a fleet from the side close to the planet to sneak attack the Cotrimis Fortress, and then escape to the asteroid belt behind. The fortress garrison assigns a team to board the ship and chase, and evacuate the battlefield with the Third Legion. The other sector teams will suppress the Luna Wolves normally and continue to try to cut off the corresponding attack line."

Eidolon fell silent quickly. He knew that in the agreement between Fulgrim and other primarchs, Sigismund had the right to temporarily command the Emperor's Children in this sector.

After the order was issued, his deputy completed the follow-up instructions, including the sparse sentinel machinery, faulty ships and a series of equipment, large-scale turbulence caused by torpedoes and rockets, and sporadic position signals generated by the weapon platforms and speedboats guarding the outer perimeter of the fortress.

If it were not for the safety considerations at the beginning of the design, the self-destruction reactors and detonators in various parts of the fortress would be directly connected to the remote control terminals in the hands of the Imperial Fists, rather than requiring the members inside the fortress to manually participate in the suicide explosion.

Huge plasma light balls and macro cannon shells exploded in circles around the fortress, and the suddenly lit red high-heat rays cut the formations and shells of the ships of both sides like peeling skin and cutting bones. The hot light of the nova cannon bloomed everywhere, and the fire brought by the shells continued to expand and become brighter, and then quickly and violently faded at the peak, waiting for the next ignition.

A few hours later, as he wished, the Shadow Moon Wolf side began to attack the fast gunboat fleet. This fragile screen was gradually demanding the last part of the sacrifice that the attacking fleet could bear.

Hundreds of ships and warship wreckage from fierce battles were dissolved into the deep void. With visible hope and controllable losses, the second force of the Luna Wolves finally followed up, trying to enter directly from the east side of the fortress defense line, cooperating with the first fleet advancing frontally, and in the Imperial Fist Breaking through the fortifications everywhere in the quagmire-like defensive position, they slowly approached the fortress.

"Mobilize the remaining defenders in the fortress, board the battleship, intercept the Luna Wolves, and defend the fortress with all your strength." He continued to order. "At the same time, secretly transfer ammunition stocks, defense equipment and troops to Istvan III."

Lann looked at him in surprise.

If the fleet were to block it with all its strength, with the combined efforts of the Iron Warriors and the Imperial Fists, it would be impossible for this branch of the Luna Wolves and the Word Bearers to break through the defense line head-on and blast the Cortelemis Fortress—that small distance away. The gap in the fortress armor plate will become an unattainable phantom of despair. This went against the tactical plans laid out by the Primarchs themselves.

"For Dorn's will." Lann simply read without asking any questions.

However, Sigismund's orders were faithfully carried out. The leader of the Templars stared at the holographic projection and fell into a long silence.

Combat ships set sail from the planetary fortress port one after another, like fish falling into the ocean, rushing towards the Luna Wolf fleet, and soon they were biting each other.

Countless conflicts are breaking out in the star field surrounding the planet Istvan III.

In the Nathan asteroid belt, the two ships were closely connected to each other, jumping to help each other, like a pair of iron stones attracting each other. They were the last two surviving ships in the entire radiation-filled area.

On the Probyers moon, a secondary bridge was built near another fortress near Isstvan III. A large amount of plasma was released, but the bridge was quickly dismantled and the attacking fleet was driven back by the Iron Warriors. Beyond the remains of the warriors, there was nothing left in the void behind, leaving only the ability to launch small-scale offensive operations intermittently.

The breakthrough point of Cortelimis Fortress is undoubtedly the top priority in the eyes of a qualified general. How many pairs of eyes are watching the war here, assessing and discussing next steps?

In Sigismund's peripheral vision, he realized that on the edge of the dome, the Empire's Sky Eagle was still imprinted on the ribs inside the command hall, perhaps considering the inconvenience caused by dismantling the indoor structure... From this, the golden double-headed eagle also stared at him.

Are the two emperors mentioned by the Primarchs - the stars on the crossroads and the false emperor on the throne, like the two heads of the eagle, watching this burning game from an infinite distance?

Sigismund felt the coldness on his forehead again. He gently pushed these thoughts away.

On this battlefield, he is called a commander, but he is just an eternal blade held in his hand.

Perhaps some of them among the rebels were still immersed in their past glory and hidden companionship, and were hesitant about the Primarch's decision...

But excessive philosophy and sensitive hesitation will never belong to a heart in the chest of a sharp blade.

It was not the honor or passion for facing the Emperor that shaped Sigismund, but the fire with which he was forged as a weapon.

That was his oath.

Time is still passing, and for a Space Marine, the day count period and their rest period need not coincide. Around Cortelimis, a number of small satellite platforms and outposts were captured by the Imperial forces. After a while, these platforms turned to fire on the fortress itself, tiny bright spots of flames splashing out, and in a very short time Within a short time, it was permanently extinguished by the Imperial Fists' fleet.

It shouldn't be long, Sigismund calculated in his mind. However, if the situation continues like this, he must consider the next tactical strategy to break the stalemate at this moment.

Suddenly, a new set of signals was sent to Sigismund.

Just inside Cortrimis, a mysterious and hostile shadow seems to be spreading rapidly within the Iron Fortress.

A series of electronic failures occurred in the internal equipment. In the air circulation system of the gargoyle gargoyle, the composition index of micro-particles exceeded the warning value. The detection coefficient of toxic neurological substances in the air rose rapidly. The purification system failed completely after a short period of time. In the entire fortress that was almost hollowed out by the Imperial Fist, the last few defenders and sentries leaned against the wall or fell on the spot one after another.

New, unpainted armor appeared in the blind spot of the hidden camera device, and destroyed the surveillance points one by one in the next moment. The red alert data rolled down from the side of the screen like a needle-shaped rainstorm, each signal symbolizing a complete destruction.

From the outside world, the Fortress of Cortelimis is still safe and sound compared to the ships that exploded one after another outside. But inside it, the number of instruments that are still sending signals is decreasing, the sensors have failed one after another, and various communication channels have gradually fallen into silence. After the traps are triggered, they are disconnected from the command hall.

"Alpha." Drelax said suddenly. Their commander did not leave the opportunity for invasion to the Luna Wolves, Sigismund simply ensured that the Imperial swarms had no intention of retreating.

All that's needed to blast a fortress is a successful infiltration. Regardless of how the Alpha Legion did it, it seems that they certainly followed through on their abilities.

When the invaders' attack signal reached an ammunition depot and found it empty, Fafnir couldn't help laughing. Since they were going to hand over a fortress, they would definitely not leave the fortress with the opportunity to attack their fleet from the rear.

Sigismund breathed quietly. Would an empty fortress planet be useful to the Alpha Legion? Would they faithfully implement the blasting plan formulated by Commander Horus?

The noise in the monitoring equipment was like a flood, the bright red danger signal stopped flowing, and the last message stayed at the bottom of the screen and kept flashing. The main control cabin was opened under the heat.

At the same time, the thrusters of the Imperial fleet around the fortress spewed flames, and the ships suddenly gave up the advantage they had gained and began to retreat.

Undoubtedly, the Alpha Legion obeyed Horus's military order.

Lan took a deep breath: "It's started, sir."

Sigismund nodded slightly. "Let our fleet evacuate."

In the imaginable range, data flows shuttled through the computing module, stimulating waves of high-energy reactions.

Until a flash of light flashed outward along the cracks in the armor on the surface of the planet.

As the Imperial Fist's warships moved away from the Cotrimis Fortress, the entire fortress had begun the process of self-destruction. Under the control of the Alpha Legion's infiltration team, unknown data flowed through countless huge machines that were only loyal to numbers. Waves of high-temperature-induced light burned fiercely inside the fortress. The entire planetary fortress was like an unstable old and decaying star. The power carried inside could be overloaded at any time, causing a complete explosion.

"Aim at the evacuation port." Sigismund issued the final finishing order.

Soon after, a blue-green ship retreating from the side of the fortress exploded into a short-lived meteor.

The metal plates of Cotrimis twisted in the tremor, the transmission pipelines in the channel broke, and steel fragments burst out from the firelight, splashing around, and pieces of steel plates were forced to peel off. The crisscrossing cracks spewed out streams of molten metal, hot and deadly. Every tiny explosion seemed to push this once indestructible military fortress to the brink of destruction.

Within eighteen minutes, the reactor of the Kotrimis Fortress exploded completely. Amidst the flashes, large pieces of steel plates as big as mountains fell off the surface of the planet, the structural support collapsed, and the planet's core, which had been hollowed out by the Mechanicus, was shattered into pieces. In the flames and smoke, the remains of the huge outpost fortress floated in space and turned into cold fragments.

"The Kotrimis Fortress exploded." The Iron Warriors reported. "According to the order of Commander Perturabo, the surface of Isstvan III will welcome the arrival of the Imperial Army."

"Our mission is completed, sir." Delax said in a deep voice.

Sigismund nodded slightly, re-arranged the chain used to wrap the iron sword around his wrist, untied a loop that was locked by mistake, and let the chain wrap smoothly around his wrist again, colliding with the indestructible armor, making a series of crackling sounds like swords.

"Next, Isstvan III will burn." Sigismund replied calmly. "Prepare for ground combat."

--

"No matter how many honors and miracles we Space Marines have, and how many incredible military feats we have performed in the Great Crusade, we all know that fundamentally our armor is still wrapped in flesh and blood. This is true for us, and so are the enemies we face now. The densely packed buildings and towers of the hive city, the insurmountable high walls, the complex terrain environment of the lower nest, and the endless pipes and toxic mud of the bottom nest are all our natural trenches and shelters."

"Therefore, we must make full use of the underground railways and waterways. The impact of groundwater in the current season can be ignored, which is beneficial to the preparation work."

War blacksmith Guy said, showing the layered map of the capital of Isstvan III, the City of Hymns, in the holographic projection.

A red line went down from the golden spire that towered for miles in the thick gray clouds, passing through the magnificent and glorious parish and the vast residential area where countless civilians lived - there were layers of gradually filtered air and circulating water pipelines, which were used to transform the fragrant air enjoyed by the upper residents into polluted gases and send them to the dirty and dark below.

Continue down, passing through the overcrowded middle nest area that was full of explosions and sudden collapses, until the bright red arrow reached the polluted lower nest, turning into a red circle with uncertain edges, framing a large area. The rest of the map was blurred, leaving only a layer of frosted crystal-like phantom.

"Our new combat zone is in the Lower Hive and the Underhive," Guy said. "These are the duties assigned to us by Warmaster Perturabo."

"I have no objection. In terms of defending the city and ambushing, the Emperor's Children are willing to obey the call of the Iron Warriors. What about you?" said Sol Tarvitz, the captain of the 10th Company of the Emperor's Children, turning his head to look at Erron, the captain of the World Eaters.

"Of course." Erron replied simply.

"I appreciate your attitude, cousins," Guy said.

"Thank you for your praise, but did I show any attitude that is particularly worthy of praise?" Tarvitz asked.

"Don't worry about it." Guy passed the matter over. "Time is running out."

Inside the Iron Warriors, the senior commanders knew - and were not surprised to learn that not everyone was willing to participate in this war against the Imperial Legion. Among them, there are indeed a group of loyal people with noble character, hesitating to temporarily suppress their doubts and follow the steps of the Primarch...

After Perturabo received their report, he asked the commander not to change the tactical arrangements rashly. In the ever-changing battlefield, everyone will decide their own destiny. For the rest of the day, they continued to evaluate a new round of plans: multiple squads of Auxiliaries and Astartes, scattered deep within the hive city among hive-like dwellings, floating pipes with a colorful greasy sheen, and isolated Between the shafts, be ready to ambush and deal with enemy forces that infiltrate into the lower lair and underground areas. In addition, their current main tasks are logistical transportation and consolidating and expanding the defense area.

Since the opening of Fortress Cortemis and after a long period of low-Earth orbit fleet operations, about 50% of the main force of the Imperial Legion has arrived within the range of the Isstvan III airborne operations.

In the next three days, the Word Bearers first continuously bombed the outer areas of the capital city and the other two hive cities. Thousands of large and small bombers stepped up their bombing activities under the escort of heavy fighters, and carried out long-range attacks with insignificant effects. Interrupt. This was a hard-fought move, but unfortunately their attempts were constantly crushed by the Iron Warriors' automatic interception system. No matter what, they at least provided some cover for their own landing.

The assault teams of the Word Bearers' Ember Circle and the Luna Wolves descended quickly, and the first battle began around the Concerto Palace, an important landmark in the City of Anthem - a small palace that once belonged to the native religious activity environment before the empire. , was transformed by the Iron Warriors into a landing ground for trade a few years ago. Now, after removing the signs and lights installed around the long straight road on the surface, it has been directly converted into one of the bases for aviation takeoffs and landings.

It took the two battalions of the Iron Warriors a week to conclude the first minor battle, crushing the enemy forces that landed in the process without even leaving any intel on the location of the Emperor's Children. There is no need to take the initiative to present the latter to the Imperial Legion. Warmaster Perturabo is obviously happy to see the enemy struggling to explore within the defense lines he has laid.

Subsequent battles broke out in different areas. The Imperial tank army struggled to move in the overcrowded terrain of the hive, and mechanized motorcycles and airborne troops searched for a breakthrough. The advance detachment tried to carve out small gaps in the defense line every day and night, and the Alpha Legion could appear in chaos at any time.

The main battlefield moved from outside to inside, entering the territory of the hive city where Anthem City is located. Several regiments of the imperial army lost their combat capabilities in a short period of time. Correspondingly, part of the defense line built by the Iron Warriors also retreated. The Imperial Fists were withdrawn from the universe in large numbers, and more than ten companies returned to the ground from the void to fight. A new round of air-to-air shooting is always organized on the ground. The biggest goal is to intercept as many enemy airdrop pods as possible and shoot at the hovering Storm Bird transport craft.

The World Eaters and the Emperor's Children were still required to remain on hold for the time being, awaiting collective orders from the Commander-in-Chief. But this situation did not last long. On the day when a secondary nest city was captured as the enemy's first base, an order came from the Cantor's Palace - the former governor's palace of Chant City and now the Warmaster's headquarters - came quickly.

"Earlen, you need to lead the team by train to the Ferguson Canyon area in the European Southern Wasteland outside the nest city, and cut off the connection between the newly landed troops and the main enemy group." Guy said in a consultative tone.

"Who is involved?" Erron asked.

"There are also five squads from your 14th company. They are currently preparing for battle at the front of the battle line. As well as an adjutant commander of the Imperial Fists."

Erron sneered: "I have been waiting for a long time. I am very willing to get the first drop of blood that belongs to us as the World Eater. Or the second drop."

"What about us?" Thor knocked on the table, "Now that the World Eaters have taken action, in the eyes of our enemies, the loyalty of the Emperor's Children may also be worthy of scrutiny."

"Of course." Guy nodded approvingly, "Thor Tarvitz, the Warmaster needs the Emperor's Children to participate in the raid on the temporary command center initially established by the enemy. Before the enemy Primarch descends to the ground."

Tavitz patted the power sword beside him with his gauntlet and stood up, his purple and gold armor flashing slightly: "Of course."

"Then, I will organize an assault in the corridor of the West City to assist the defense of the counterattack line. There we need to occupy another area to restore depth... However, be careful, Thor, even if I am willing to trust your troops, but Perhaps you should still pay attention to whether each of your warriors is willing to call the Imperial Army 'our enemy'," Guy reminded based on the latest instructions Perturabo left in the communication.

"I know," Sol Tavitz sighed inwardly. He could understand why this sentence had to be said to him alone, after all, the Emperor's Children even still use the name of the Legion that was once a supreme honor.

——

"There's something a little strange," Togaton said, his voice reaching Loken's ears through the internal channel.

The second company commander is currently leading the team to attack the neighborhood that the infiltration team explored the day before, scanning the surrounding crowded and narrow closed environment, detonating the discovered improvised explosive devices, so that their explosion impact is within a controllable range. From time to time there were several gunshots, followed by a curse and the sound of hurried footsteps.

Accordingly, Gavier Loken guarded the newly built fortress. This was an old church that had been converted into a residential shelter. Now it has been converted into one of the temporary ground command offices. The internal structure is extremely complicated. This is the result of the Iron Warriors and the local aborigines working together to contribute to the design of the church.

Through the empty space left by the demolished stained glass window, he could look out over the open highland environment around him. The residential buildings below were neat and square, with many houses decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, and a green park with an artificial lake in the middle.

The architectural environment here made one imagine the image of the former residents. Compared with the defense platform that had caused them so much suffering in orbit, the interior of Isstvan III even had a peaceful beauty, but it was now in decay.

Over the long years, the Iron Warriors were the impression that the Iron Warriors had brought to the entire empire. The consolidation of the friendship between this legion and other legions was completely imperceptible. Compared with the radiant charm of their original masters, Perturabo's way of gaining the trust of others was more silent and imperceptible, and the impact it brought was more difficult to erase.

Loken knew that among them - mainly among those mortals, there were small groups who silently missed the old days. Of course, this would not affect their determination to fight to the death with Warmaster Perturabo.

Loken placed his hand on the rosewood window frame bitterly. Was he one of them?

Abaddon and Aximander might not have such doubts. After Sejanus left them, hatred had already fermented under the urging of death, and deepened with the death of each battle brother. This is quite reflected in the two of them.

However, the first ones sent to the ground by their Primarch Horus were Torgaddon and Loken. Presumably, the other two members of the Council of Four Kings still need to command the fleet battle, after all, the enemy's space fleet has never given up on their entanglement.

In a sense, this success made the Word Bearers lose the opportunity to release extinction weapons. The Iron Warriors will not give those madmen a chance to lose both sides.

"What's strange?" Loken pulled his thoughts out and listened to his friend's latest analysis.

"Residents." Torgaddon replied.

"Have you met real local residents? Not their mortal servants in disguise?" The latter brought them unexpected casualties.

"No, of course not - but that's the problem... I'll tell you later."

There was a burst of bullets ricocheting in all directions, and the strong whistling that broke through the air made the combat team members all raise their weapons. The huge recoil caused a series of earth-shaking collapses. Loken seemed to see their team hiding, aiming and firing wildly in the alleys.

Torgadon was wrong, Loken thought. He had seen many corpses of local residents, most of them concentrated in various squares or factory open areas, and some in front of their homes, with blood spurting from their necks drying on large areas of the wall. There were at least hundreds...

Too few.

His heart beat with a premonition of danger.

Yes, they could not control the affairs of the Word Bearers, but the Shadow Moon Wolves would still avoid the main residential areas a little - but, still, the number of residents they had seen was too few. Even with the dead bodies, this nest city was still too empty; especially for the city-state once ruled by the Iron Warriors, this was not a normal population density.

The residents were in a location they did not know at the moment? Evacuated? Who has this ability, Iron Warriors? Why? Do they need this population?

In any case, they, the enemy and themselves, are using the bones of their own army to fill this gap. Soon, the underground river of Isstvan III will be surging with blood...

The premonition of danger became stronger and stronger. After a few seconds, Gavial Loken squatted suddenly, and a bullet flew over his head.

"Attack!" Loken thought it was his own voice for a moment, and then found that it was Torgadon. His friend shouted angrily in the channel, sounding surprised.

Loken had no time to take care of Torgadon for the time being. He quickly evacuated from the overly empty corridor area. There was a fire somewhere under the cathedral. It should not be their arsenal, so it must be the original large wooden furnishings...

The light flickered in the diffuse smoke, and the shrill alarms came one after another, echoing between the steel skeletons of the building complex. Loken walked through a sloping passage, the metal walls around him trembled due to the explosion, and debris kept falling from above.

He ran, his throat tightened, and shouted loudly through the communicator: "The Luna Wolves will assemble and counterattack immediately! The first team will guard the east side passage and set up fire suppression points. The second and third teams will immediately block the defense nodes of the west wing and be sure to stop the enemy from advancing!"

The thick black smoke from the burning floated in the intricate buildings, and the pungent smell was suffocating. Loken buckled his helmet, quickly pulled out his grenade launcher, and turned sideways to avoid a burning wreckage. His arms were splashed with oil from the broken pipes. His steps were hurried, his heartbeat was pounding violently in his chest, and chaotic calls from all over the communication channel came from time to time.

"Loken?" Torgadon also heard his roar.

"We each have our own battles--" Loken's sight passed through the vibrating firelight, and on the spiral staircase below, a team of Luna Wolves was gathering rapidly, and the sound of close combat between metal and iron came from not far away.

Locke raised his gun, then put it down again, gritted his teeth and ran around the battle zone. He wanted to return to the monitoring wing used as the command room, where there was an internal network monitoring the church and the surrounding area, as well as a mobile terminal to contact the Spirit of Vengeance.

At the same time, the radio array reported the attack situation reported by other teams. The logistics point, independent detachment and various communication command stations had similar situations. The enemy organized a large number of assault teams, and sparks filled with the smell of oil mist bloomed all over the line.

…Do the Iron Warriors or the Imperial Fists have additional detachments to carry out so many raids? This does not conform to the Alpha Legion's detection expectations of the enemy's frontline force distribution.

There is a smaller window on the left, located on the inner side of the church structure, and until they arrived here, as a repair part of the church, this place was not even completed.

Loken had already memorized the scanning map here, where he could quickly climb up with a short ladder.

He ran to the window, climbed over the fence to the other half of the adjacent building, and the house was still a square shell made of red bricks and concrete, with scattered piles of broken soil. The ground structure was not complete, and many horizontal frames were empty in the air. He did not encounter raiders here, which gave him some breathing space. Is it because this new temporary repair structure is unknown to the Iron Warriors?

"Report the identity of the enemy." He said to the channel, turned around, returned to the spiral staircase inside the church bell tower, and climbed up between floors. The monitoring room is on the upper floor.

"Damn it, Gavial," Torgadun said, and Loken recalled that he was also on the internal channel, "I can't believe that those people are..."

At the same time, his own officers also spoke in panic: "Report to the commander..."

"...World Eaters." Torgadun said painfully, "I'm afraid our enemies are more than we thought-"

"The attackers are the Emperor's children!" His officers gritted their teeth and roared.

A broad-bladed sword fell from above, and Loken immediately let go, descended to the next level, and flipped heavily back into the spiral staircase, opening fire at the first time.

The next moment, a hot pain rubbed the edge of the heavy shoulder armor and penetrated his shoulder diagonally. Cinnabar-like blood overflowed from his body and quickly coagulated under the action of the corresponding organs, but his grenade gun had already fallen out of his hand. He didn't care about the loss of the long-range weapon, pulled out the power sword, and dragged out the gold and silver ornaments in the niche as a temporary barrier to block the enemy's next sword swing.

The armor looked very familiar to him, and Loken seemed to understand the source of Torgaddon's anger.

"Thor," he roared, "Thor Tarvitz!"

"Garvir," the captain of the 10th Company of the Emperor's Children answered him. "I'm sorry."

The old friend he had known in the past battles was looking down at him now, and behind the purple and gold armor were heavy gray clouds and flying dust outside the window. That was the burning sky created by this battle.

The sword in Loken's hand became difficult to hold tightly, and his mind raced, and he blurted out in an instant: "It's a hoax! You were not attacked by the Iron Warriors at all - the Iron Hands were also involved in the conspiracy?"

Tarvitz's broadsword had already stabbed in front of him. The swordsmanship master of the Emperor's Children did not hold back at all, and Loken knew that he could not delay with him. Behind Thor were the members of the team he brought with him. For some unknown reason, they did not besiege him alone, but watched Tarvitz fight him alone. Maybe it was because the stairs were too narrow?

But no matter what the reason, even if he could win over his old friend in swordsmanship by chance, the remaining four warriors would never continue to maintain the etiquette of watching the battle at the last moment.

A wave of sad pain rose in his heart, and in a moment he couldn't help but question why the Shadow Moon Wolf had to suffer such deception and betrayal for no reason. What did they do wrong?

Soon, this emotion was covered by the hormones aroused by the battle. Loken swung his sword and looked for gaps under Thor's continuous attacks. The dangerous omen of death was always hanging over his head.

"You can say that. It's not difficult to guess." Thor answered him in the gap between the confrontation. His voice sounded very far away and could not cover the buzzing in Loken's ears.

"Why, Thor? You betrayed us, you killed the warriors who were friends with you... Why should the Emperor's children stand on the side of the traitors?"

Thor pressed forward step by step, forcing Loken to retreat continuously on the steps. Being on top, this fight was naturally disadvantageous to Loken.

"Because you are wrong. The emperor you are loyal to has long-" Thor said, with a deep emotion in his tone.

"What did we do wrong? What did the Luna Wolves do wrong? What did Horus do wrong? Why was our father assassinated by Perturabo's conspiracy? Why did Cyjanus disappear?"

The hatred between them was piled up layer by layer, and it was already a pile of bones...

Loken pounced on Sol Tarvitz, who dodged quickly, and his broadsword brushed against Loken's sword, deflecting his power lightly. The next moment, Thor's sword cut through his flank, cutting a few inches of cracks, and the broken fragments of the armor pierced Loken's ribs, causing a sharp pain.

There was no need for the armor to inject any painkillers, and Loken's rising anger offset the warning of physiological reactions. His helmet rang with cold words from his companions reporting the death of the battle, and a spicy metallic smell burned in his mouth. A few seconds later, he sprayed a blood mist in his mask.

"Why didn't you answer the letter your father sent you? Is it because of the guilt of the rebellion?"

"Gaviel--"

"Don't call me by my name, traitor. No matter what your reasons are, we can only end in blood!"

They kept retreating in the battle, and the second serious injury Loken suffered landed in the middle of his left forearm, where Sol Tarvitz almost cut it off. No new raiders appeared under the stairs. Loken looked at the stone steps under his feet, which extended down step by step with blood stains and metal scratches. Rage drove him to think like a flame.

He wanted to leave with his news, life and hatred... He had to find a way to survive.

He slowed down, slightly turned sideways, and avoided Tarvitz's next attack. Tarvitz quickly adjusted, and the blade followed. At the moment when the two blades crossed, Loken suddenly turned around, threw the sword out of his hand, and slammed into Tarvitz with all his strength.

Tarvitz was disrupted by this attack, and the long sword was seriously deflected under the heavy pressure, and was forced to drop out of his hand after cutting through Loken's breastplate. In the short gap, Loken quickly turned around, jumped down across the steps, and jumped directly out of the window sill at the edge of the stairs. He hung on the window sill and dropped twice, returned to the temporary construction passage where he came from, and found a way to escape.

...Tavitz's last order was still echoing in his ears, and the sound of the bolt gun from the Emperor's Children followed.

Loken ran, the pain of the wound was temporarily suppressed by the effect of adrenaline, and only the salty blood kept dripping from the corner of his mouth.