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As for these things..."
"This is a new design that Belisarius added based on the Astartes entries, at my suggestion."
"Lord of Iron, what do you think?"
"...A very unique design."
Peturabo spoke after a moment of silence.
"That's your style."
Belisarius was not the only one who possessed mechanical skills.
He, Kasgar, was also a highly skilled individual—a fellow who had received multiple training sessions from the Primarchs Vorgrim and Filus at the Ugal Foundry.
......
Discussions on the technical aspects continued for some time.
Perturabo pressed for details on some points—some of which Kasga could answer, while the parts he couldn't answer were filled in by Perturabo, who was laughing dismissively.
"Your entire ship has a lot more ore. If you can really build suitable pipeline resources in the Forge World, it would be more than enough to build 10,000 power armor suits."
"Isn't this all for our long-term cooperation in the future..."
"No. I don't want to have anything to do with my hypocritical father's empire anymore."
Peturabo quickly put away the parchment scroll in his hand, his expression instantly becoming extremely serious.
"If possible, this will be our last collaboration—I will help you smelt all of these ores into power armor."
"No matter what happens in the future, don't come looking for me."
"I have no further connection with you."
Peturabo was resolute.
He did not want to, nor was he willing to, undertake another foolish expedition.
For the Iron Lord, being a free and undisturbed engineer nestled within this steel empire is infinitely more enjoyable than being a Primarch of any human empire.
"If you can accept my conditions, this design will be handed over to the [Civil Codex] for the next step—what was that sound?"
The data pipeline behind his head made his senses extremely sharp—he could receive all the status reports from this area through the data connection.
Peturabo sensed the discordant bass that permeated the steel bastion.
But he did not expect that a meticulously planned attack would also be launched in his direction at the same time.
Knowledge, carrying with it countless pieces of discarded data and chaotic, obsolete code, was simultaneously over-transmitted to Peturabo's link pathways and the internal defense facilities of the [Steel Bastion].
Under the premeditated attack, even the lights above their heads flickered.
"Damn data virus!"
Peturabo roared, trying his best to clear the chaotic junk code flooding into his mind from the internal facilities.
Normally, this wouldn't have been a big deal given his Primarch's computational abilities, but the influence of the chaotic forces caused unpredictable instability in the data, greatly increasing the difficulty of his decoding work.
"internal."
Sensing the increasingly intense aura of chaos, Kasgar quickly turned to Melusin and said, "The technical priests and Titan Order here seem... very likely to be traitors to chaos."
Just as Peturabo was attacked from within.
The sonic array devices within the steel bastion simultaneously unleashed a rhythmic, high-volume blast capable of shattering mortal eardrums.
According to Casca's psionic detection, within the Steel Bastion, three dedicated Apostolic Support Regiments appeared to be roused by the sound of the Steel Legion's war horns, while the remaining troops were suppressed by the deafening noise.
It is speculated that this high-pitched bombardment served a similar purpose to a war cry.
"Roar!!!"
As the sound array broadcasts from all over the world resounded together, a frenzied roar erupted from the core of the machine soul.
The Titan with the steel skull, an Emperor-class vessel, that was parked there, opened its eyes once more.
This Titan legion had sided with the Chaos Warmaster since the Great Rebellion.
Despite having served the Iron Empire for millennia, they still chose to join the Great Crusade of Chaos, thanks to the connections and promises of the current Chaos Warmaster, Abaddon, and to contribute their strength to overthrowing the evil false emperor.
For the thirteenth Black Crusade of the Chaos Warlord, the Imperial Titan, who had lingered in the Iron Bastion for countless years, rose to his feet.
"It seems things aren't looking good."
"Casca said helplessly."
He lit the golden-red flame in his hand and slowly approached Peturabo, who was frowning with his head down.
"Don't come any closer! I can handle this myself—"
In that instant the flames scorched, the chaotic code that the Dark Mechanic had specifically designed for invading Perturabo was restored and decoded by this mysterious and unpredictable psionic flame.
"Lord of Iron".
"It's too early to say that we have no connection whatsoever."
"At least regarding Hong Suo's mother—"
"Shut up!!!"
Chapter 243 Abaddon: Kayan, you split your forces and attack Terra.
The Soul of Vengeance.
Guided by the Chaos Gods, the power from the warp allowed numerous ships to pass through the veil of the Eye of Terror and arrive in this star system adjacent to the Iron Empire.
The instant they emerged from the warp into the real world, a dense warp storm began to brew in the surrounding star sector.
That was thanks to the assistance of the Chaos Wizards—under the cover of the warp storms they summoned, the Black Legion was able to win every battle and be invincible.
No one can stop the Black Legion's expeditionary advance!
"The thirteenth time..."
Standing on the black deck of the Vengeance Soul, Abaddon, filled with ambition, gazed into the distance with his golden eyes.
Finally, he returned to the real world, which he hadn't been back in for a long time.
It's been since his last Black Crusade.
After being away from the world for so long, he spent many years in the warp.
If it weren't for that damned false emperor, how could he have been driven into the Eye of Fear like a stray dog, forced to hide and bow his head for thousands of years, not daring to appear in the real world for even a moment?
Fortunately, he finally, finally, in the Warp, witnessed the moment when all the Primarchs had vanished from the world, leaving only him, the second Primarch, still alive!
—The era of the Primarchs has ended!!!
But... he seems to be only the second person below the Primarch...
Upon learning of Guilliman's disappearance, Abaddon, who was about to launch the First Black Crusade, fell into deep thought.
.......
It's finally done!
With the help of certain informants, Abaddon successfully raided the Fortress Monastery of the Emperor's Sons during an expedition, intercepting Casgar Sherlock, the first person under the Primarch (in every sense of the word), before he was about to awaken.
He originally intended to resolve the problem on the spot, but the reminder from the Chaos Gods made him abandon the idea.
Destroying his physical body would only unleash an even more terrifying energy storm and destroy everyone.
His better option would be to keep it in a static field and then seal it away forever in a demon world where no one can find it.
—Now, he, Abaddon, is the number one person below the Primarch!
Then......
Then why is it that the Chaos Warmaster, who should have slain the false emperor and burned the galaxy, couldn't even take down this small city of Cardia?
The fortress world of Kadia, which Abaddon desperately wanted to destroy, has always stood in the way of the Eye of Fear's expansion.
Like a local sentry tower piercing the heart of the Chaos Space Marines' territory, if the battle lines and time drag on, the troops stationed on the Cardia could cut off the Black Legion's supply lines and retreat routes, thus leaving Abaddon's expeditionary force vulnerable to attacks from both sides.
In this situation, even though Abaddon was an outstanding general with a perfect record of victories, the geographical requirements meant that his Black Legion could only complete their raids in a short period of time, and then, under the cover of the warp storm, quickly retreat to the Eye of Terror before the Smurfs could regroup.
If we don't leave now, we won't be able to leave once hundreds of thousands of Ultra Warriors and their subgroups arrive.
No matter how wasteful the Highlord Council may be, and no matter how valiant Abaddon may be, the millennia of accumulated power of Regent Guilliman is enough for a group of Space Marines to crush Abaddon hundreds of times over.
Although twelve expeditions were launched, the presence of Kadia meant that each expedition had to be a quick attack followed by a swift retreat to the Eye of Terror, with no time to linger in the real world.
Launching an attack that was comparable to a major rebellion would have been virtually impossible before.
But now—if he could persuade Perturabo to join their expedition, they would have an entire legion of Space Marines, the Iron Warriors, accompanied by their invincible siege firepower...
Cardia, and indeed the entire world, is within easy reach.
This was also his long-planned true scheme—to take this opportunity to destroy Cardia and its anti-subspace equipment in one fell swoop, and let the power of chaos accompany them to destroy this corrupt and pathetic human empire!
"If we can gain their trust on this trip, Kadia, and even the entire galaxy, will crumble in our hands!"
Who is Abaddon? A veteran of countless battles, he rendered outstanding service to the entire human empire during the Great Crusade, and can be considered the second most powerful being after the Primarch.
His experience of repeatedly seeking help from Peturabo told him that his fourth uncle was an extremely arrogant person.
Although Peturabo kept saying no, his desire for Blackrock Fortress never diminished.
Peturabo couldn't possibly be uninterested in such a mysterious ancient creation.
Abbotton's purpose was actually quite simple—
Even though Perturab still refused to send troops in the end, the stubborn man could not simply watch Abaddon, who had given him such a great gift, leave empty-handed.
"As for you, Kayan."
Abaddon turned to look at Senko beside him, his golden eyes filled with unwavering confidence.
"If our plan goes smoothly, you will infiltrate the heart of the Empire alone, land on Terra, and reach the Inquisition before those fools even realize what's happening."
"You need me to cause a ruckus in Holy Terra to get their attention?"
"No. You can simply raise your arms and surrender when the time comes—that's also part of my plan."
"?"
"So you mean I should feign surrender and infiltrate Terra's underground prison, thereby launching a coordinated attack from within and without to defeat Terra's garrison?"
"Do not."
Abaddon certainly didn't expect Kayan to be able to break through Holy Terra alone.
He went to Terra for one reason only: to personally tell all the followers of the false emperor the obvious and tragic reality that the empire was doomed to fail.
"......?"
"Never mind that, Kayan, just do it."
Don't say things like you don't want to go!
Don't you think this is mysterious, oppressive, and cool?
rest assured.
When the Black Legion's expeditionary fleet reaches Holy Terra, Brother Dun will definitely go to the prison to rescue you.
Yes, it definitely will.
.......
The Steel Empire.
The world is forged in the underground laboratory of the "Steel Bastion".
"You don't need to worry about it!!!"
During his millennia of solitude, Peturabo had believed that his stubborn, suspicious, and irritable temperament, which had developed for various reasons, had been greatly improved.
Once he was no longer working under the emperor and had his own territory and a peaceful life undisturbed, he would no longer frequently take his anger out on others as he used to, and he became more tolerant of his subordinates who made mistakes.
really!
This is what a Lord of Steel should look like.
Cold-blooded, calm, and ruthless.