"I speak illogically? I've always spoken very logically, it's just that sometimes I'm a bit illogical, but even when I'm illogical, I'm still very logical, it's just that the logic isn't clear, making it seem illogical."
"Fabius, this medicine of yours is quite good, it's just a bit not good. If it were better, it would be quite good, but unfortunately, it's not good enough, though I still think it's very good."
"Honestly, I feel like I'm in great shape. When I'm not in pain, I'm not in pain at all, but when I'm in pain, I'm not in pain, you know?"
Abaddon's chaotic words spewed from the Hellbrute's massive loudspeaker. Both the loudspeaker and the six medicine pumps, each the size of a gasoline can, on Abaddon's back were new modifications made by Fabius.
Eidolon's pale flesh trembled slightly from the air currents blasted out by Abaddon's loudspeaker. At first, he tried to understand the meaning behind Abaddon's words. He even initially thought Abaddon's perception had been stimulated by the drugs, and he was making some kind of prophecy through his connection to the Warp.
But soon, Eidolon realized that Abaddon was purely rambling, as if his brain had been fried by the drugs.
"The dosage is too high!" Eidolon looked at the six medicine tanks on Abaddon's back and said with certainty to Fabius Bile.
Fabius glanced dismissively at Eidolon: "He is a Hellbrute. His flesh and shell are fused. Of course, he needs a large dosage."
"Then the medicine itself is problematic!" Eidolon's tone was still as confident and certain.
"Are you questioning my research results?" Fabius Bile snorted coldly: "This medicine was extracted and refined by me from a very precious gene sequence. That gene sequence is simply a miracle of the galaxy. After the flesh integrates with that gene sequence, when consciousness is attacked by the Warp, it will automatically empty the brain, abandoning thought while simultaneously isolating the allure of illusions in the Warp."
"I can guarantee the effect of this medicine. I've conducted many animal experiments."
"Animals?" Eidolon showed a confused expression.
He hadn't expected Fabius Bile to conduct animal experiments.
"Didn't you do human trials?" he asked.
"Originally, there were, but after injecting the medicine, their intelligence became similar to animals," Fabius said, his gaze drifting.
"Resistant to the Warp, reduced intelligence—are you sure this isn't an Ogryn's gene sequence?" Eidolon asked, frowning.
"Impossible, I've done genetic testing. The intelligence of the owner of this gene should generally be fine."
Fabius shook his head:
"Still, the sample size is too small. Perhaps it was insufficient willpower that led to such severe… logical confusion."
"Do you want to try a shot?"
Fabius Bile said with a smile to Eidolon.
Eidolon subtly stepped back, waving his hand to refuse Fabius.
Fabius, without changing his expression, put down the medicine in his hand.
"Regardless, I have successfully curbed the ferocity of Abaddon the Hellbrute, suppressed the eight daemons within him that constantly tried to tear him apart, allowing him to at least understand human speech and move relatively freely."
"Vashtorr's technology is very exquisite. This Abaddon Hellbrute is terrifyingly powerful in pure strength. Now that I've further modified him, mere mortals are no match for him."
"The cost of all this was merely a slight loss of sentience."
Eidolon showed some suspicion. He looked at the Hellbrute Abaddon: "Do you still remember who you are?"
"I am… I am… Luna Wolves First Captain Aba… Aba… Aba… Abaddon!" A roar of incoherent meaning came from within the Hellbrute.
But a moment later, he seemed to realize his mistake and quickly corrected himself:
"No, I am not a Luna Wolves, Loken is a Luna Wolves. I am… I am Horus' Sons!"
"No, I am not a son! I am a father! I am Horus' Father!"
"No, Horus' Father is the False Emperor… I understand, I am Horus' Stepfather!"
Eidolon looked at Abaddon, slightly dazed. He couldn't help but put some distance between himself and Abaddon, looking around with a hint of fear.
"If the Warmaster were still alive, he would surely beat him inch by inch into a pulp." As a high-ranking officer from the Great Crusade era, Eidolon still remembered the Warmaster's might.
"Even so, he wouldn't die. The Warp has bestowed upon him an extraordinary vitality, allowing me to unleash my creativity at will."
Fabius Bile smiled slightly, looking at the Hellbrute Abaddon beside him.
His eyes moved slightly, and some drugs were automatically pumped into Abaddon's body, along with various hormones and neurotransmitters, adjusting Abaddon's emotions.
"This can awaken his hatred, letting him know who to hate and who to kill."
"He just needs to be able to kill. After all, our Black Warmaster has spent ten thousand years proving to us that he is an idiot."
Eidolon nodded in complete agreement. In his opinion, Abaddon was a complete idiot. Leaving aside the first twelve Black Expeditions, Abaddon's most proud thirteenth Black Expedition was, in Eidolon's view, even more idiotic.
Many things changed after Abaddon went rogue and completed the thirteenth Black Expedition.
Before the Great Rift opened, the warbands could occasionally ravage the Imperium, happily fight loyalist Chapters, move freely across the galaxy, and cause trouble at will.
After the Great Rift opened… the Chaos warbands poured out of the Eye of Terror, but they encountered Archangel Sanguinius, Regent Guilliman, Lion, the ascended Saint Doraemon, and millions of Primaris Astartes armies. It was almost like luring the traitors out of the Eye of Terror to kill them.
Even hiding in the Eye of Terror, a group of flaming skeletons would occasionally suddenly appear. Eidolon even suspected: the opening of the Great Rift was a conspiracy carried out by the False Emperor through Abaddon.
Abaddon's body trembled slightly. Some indistinct sounds came from the Hellbrute's loudspeaker.
Within the steel body, Abaddon's mutilated body was immersed in various drugs and hormones. Hatred was awakened under the influence of the drugs.
The first thing that appeared before his eyes was Fulgrim's pale face with a playful smile on his lips.
It was he, it was he who had caused Abaddon to fall to this state.
"Fulgrim… Fulgrim…"
Abaddon's roar came from the Hellbrute's loudspeaker. Fabius Bile nodded with satisfaction.
But what Fabius didn't know was that at this moment, not only Fulgrim appeared before Abaddon's eyes,
A bald head with scriptures tattooed on it, the last Luna Wolves, the False Emperor, the Rock… many figures appeared before Abaddon's eyes.
But finally, Abaddon's gaze settled on a Black Knight holding a Black Sword.
The Black Knight stared at him, his eyes seemingly burning with endless rage, coming with the hatred of a sworn enemy.
"Sigismund…"
Abaddon whispered.
Belisarius Cawl's words made Fulgrim's face stiffen for a moment.
But his instincts as a diplomat quickly took over, and his expression changed from stiff to a smile in an instant.
"I, like you, hope that the Emperor, our Emperor, my gene-father, will walk among men again, but clearly, this miracle has not yet happened," Fulgrim said softly.
"The Omnissiah – the Emperor's hands never shaped you." Cawl lowered his body slightly, scrutinizing Fulgrim with his eyes, as if trying to see through Fulgrim's thoughts.
+ Arrogant mechanical bug. +
That voice still echoed in Fulgrim's head, but Fulgrim's expression remained unchanged, only smiling.
"I am very curious, you still refer to the Emperor as the Omnissiah. Then how do you explain the existence of the Omnissiah – Xiao Fu?" Fulgrim changed the subject.
"The Omnissiah is the incarnation of the Omnissiah walking among men. If you have studied ancient Christian doctrines, you will understand that the Omnissiah corresponds to the Son in the ancient trinity myth."
"And if you are well-versed in history, you will find that God also has a second son — no one stipulates that the Omnissiah can only have one representative." Belisarius Cawl stared at Fulgrim and said.
+ How dare he speak to a Primarch like that. +
Chilling words swirled in Fulgrim's mind.
But Cawl's gaze remained fixed on Fulgrim. Fulgrim could only maintain his smile, even saying with a slightly grateful tone: "I see. Thank you for your guidance."
"Fabius Bile, has your creator arrived?" Cawl raised his head slightly and asked again.
Fulgrim's expression remained unchanged: "He is not my creator. My only creator is the Emperor — as for Fabius Bile, I think he has already arrived."
"There is no trace of him in the Warp, it's calm." Belisarius Cawl said.
"Precisely because of this, I am certain he has arrived. Calm is the greatest unrest. You had best not underestimate Bile. His intellect is no less than yours, and may even surpass yours."
"Do you love him?" Cawl asked.
The smile on Fulgrim's face completely broke, turning grim in an instant: "He is a traitor."
"But you love him. The created always desire the approval of their creator," Cawl said nonchalantly.
"Is that from your experience? As a creator?" Fulgrim's expression was a bit gloomy, his fingers gently opened and closed a few times, as if he wanted to grab a weapon and chop off Cawl's head.
"No, this comes from Lord Guilliman's thoughts," Cawl said, his gaze drifting.
That ambitious one… Fulgrim couldn't help but resent him deep down.
But he took a deep breath, quickly adjusted his mood, suppressed the resentment in his heart, and put a smile back on his lips.
Cawl watched this scene and said, "Where are the remaining materials in Fabius' laboratory?"
Fulgrim waved slightly, signaling Cawl to follow his pace.
Fulgrim and Sol in front, Cawl and the Primaris Head behind.
The Primaris Head lowered his head slightly. His Psyker power made his voice echo in Cawl's mind.
+ There is something vast and terrifying added to the inner being of this clone Primarch. +
Cawl heard the Primaris Head's words, nodded slightly, and gently shook his robe a few times.
Beneath Cawl's clothes, a small Mini-Dora was hidden.
Members of the Adeptus Mechanicus were proud to receive more blessings from Omnissiah Xiao Fu.
But they didn't know that Cawl possessed a privilege that no other Adeptus Mechanicus member had.
Cawl could communicate directly with Alexander through the Mini-Dora.
+ The clone's personality shows a tendency to split, suspected to be experiencing a situation similar to the true Fulgrim ten thousand years ago. +
After a brief moment, Cawl heard Alexander's voice:
"No need to worry, let nature take its course."
Alexander looked at the report sent back by Cawl, and slightly retracted his gaze.
Fulgrim, this clone, had actually plundered a portion of Fulgrim's Warp essence.
Or rather, a part of Fulgrim's being recognized this clone, Fulgrim, more.
Before Fulgrim was born into the material universe, he was a thought-form generated by the pursuit of absolute perfection by all beings in the galaxy, symbolizing the infinite pursuit of perfection.
But absolute perfection itself is impossible to achieve. One can only constantly try to approach true perfection, but can never reach absolute perfection.
And in this process, the more perfect a person becomes, the more conspicuous, disgusting, and unbearable that last little flaw becomes, just as a speck of impurity in sand goes unnoticed, but when sand is burned into fragile glass, a speck of dust becomes unbearable.
Therefore, the pursuit of perfection inevitably leads to imperfection. The more one pursues absolute perfection, the stronger the backlash it brings. When sentient beings discover that perfection is unattainable, what often follows is extreme degradation.
This is also why Fulgrim's fate was inevitably complete degradation. His current form is a manifestation of this aspect of his essence.
However, the noble aspect of the pursuit of perfection still lay dormant within Fulgrim's being, never disappearing. It's just that the current Fulgrim is completely degraded and no longer manifests it.
But Fulgrim is different. Fulgrim is like the Fulgrim who had just embarked on the path of perfection, like a purple phoenix reborn from the ashes, naturally attracting the noble side of Fulgrim's essence.
Fulgrim and Fulgrim are like a two-headed snake, one head coiled at the beginning of the path of perfection, the other already fallen into the abyss at the end.
In Alexander's more than twenty thousand dreams, Fulgrim only a few times gained a portion of Fulgrim's essence, but this time was the most he had ever received. Perhaps the purple phoenix can truly be reborn from the ashes through this.
Alexander slightly withdrew his gaze and looked at the black blade in his hand. He raised the blade and plunged it into the crucible before him.
In the crucible, several fragments of black blades were slowly dissolving, reshaping in the hot, churning metallic liquid, with surging currents of thought turning and converging.
"Who are you?" Alexander asked softly.
"I…"
"I am nothing."
"I am empty, I have no other thoughts."
"The Emperor is the Emperor's Sword, and I am the Emperor's Sword, just as the Black Sword is my sword."
"I am forged for vengeance, I am made for duty, I am for the never-ending… Expedition."
"I am His champion."
"I am the Emperor's Champion."
The wind on Murder Star was strong, as if the Astartes and giant spiders who had died here ten thousand years ago were wailing on this planet, venting their anger and resentment.
Cawl's massive body unfolded from beneath his crimson robe, instantly filling the entire room. The mechanical arms, tentacles, and chainswords on him began to modify and repair this laboratory, which had been abandoned by Fabius Bile. In just over ten minutes, the laboratory was repaired to a usable state.
More than a dozen Mini-Doras crawled out from under Cawl's robe, helping Cawl move a twisted, deformed corpse onto the experimental table in front of them.
Thor was a little astonished watching this scene. Members of the Adeptus Mechanicus had been quite active recently, and Fulgrim was investigating traces of Primarch clones and Fabius Bile, coming into contact and communicating with many Adeptus Mechanicus members.
Most Adeptus Mechanicus members wished they could build a shrine and worship the Mini-Doras. Thor had even personally witnessed a Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus kneeling before a Mini-Dora, wailing and begging the Omnissiah, Master Xiao Fu, to grant him inspiration.
Furthermore, these Adeptus Mechanicus members usually had at most three to five Mini-Doras by their side, and seven or eight was considered a divine favor. But Cawl, with a mere shake of his robe, revealed dozens of Mini-Doras, and these Mini-Doras merely served as Cawl's assistants.
Thor was amazed by Cawl's uniqueness on one hand, and even more amazed by the mighty power of Saint Doraemon on the other.
Every Mini-Dora is an extension of Saint Doraemon, capable of inducing inspiration, pulling out tools, appeasing and controlling the machine spirit, and even summoning divine descent. The more Mini-Doras in the real world, the stronger that one's influence on reality.
"It seems those Adeptus Mechanicus members are not truly favored. The power Saint Doraemon invests in them is negligible," Fulgrim said softly.
Yet, even that negligible bit of grace allowed many stagnant technologies to develop, lost techniques to be revived, and old weapons to unleash new power, greatly impacting the Imperium.
Not to mention, within the Adeptus Administratum alone, after introducing new technologies and artificial intelligence, the sudden death rate decreased by 222 percentage points, and the ten-year survival rate also increased by 222 percent.
The only minor issue was that many artificial intelligences, after working in the Adeptus Administratum for a period, especially after processing the Imperium's ten-thousand-year-old documents and archives written on parchment, generally developed psychological problems such as depression, paranoia, and apathy.
For this, Adeptus Mechanicus members specially created an artificial intelligence psychologist to treat the psychological problems of artificial intelligences.
However, many artificial intelligence psychologists also developed psychological problems after extensively treating the Adeptus Administratum's artificial intelligences. It is said that recently, many Adeptus Mechanicus members are researching mechanical psychology, attempting to create an artificial intelligence capable of treating the psychological problems of artificial intelligence psychologists.
Under the mighty power of Saint Doraemon, the Adeptus Mechanicus can now squander inspiration like this.
But it now appears that achieving such effects consumed only a very small amount of that one's power.
Thor watched Belisarius Cawl begin to cut the deformed corpse with a chainsword.
The corpse's face was also twisted, but vaguely, Thor could still make out the face hidden beneath the white hair, a face similar to Fulgrim's.
It was a clone of Fulgrim, but a failed one.
Fulgrim looked at this scene, his expression seeming a little dazed.
He noticed Thor's gaze, and his eyes shifted slightly, looking at Thor: "Do not disturb Archmagos Cawl's experiment. We will patrol the front lines."
Thor did not object. He knew that Fulgrim's heart must be a mix of emotions watching this scene.
He and Fulgrim parted ways at the door, each patrolling half of the defense line. But after Fulgrim walked away, Thor slightly slowed his pace and activated the Phoenix Son exclusive auxiliary AI, Iron Ten, built into his power armor.
"Hello, Iron Ten. My father and Primarch clone, Lord Fulgrim, has complex feelings for his creator, Fabius. I believe he might view Fabius as a father figure, but Fabius is a despicable traitor. How should I advise Lord Fulgrim?"
"Hmm, the user's current inquiry is about how to advise Lord Fulgrim, who views the traitor Fabius as a father. This question is a bit unexpected, but quite interesting. The user previously inquired 'How to subtly attract Lord Fulgrim's attention?', 'How to receive more praise from Lord Fulgrim?', 'What to do when feeling honored by accompanying Lord Fulgrim?'. It seems the user loves Lord Fulgrim very much and needs to be provided with…"
Thor suddenly looked up. His superhuman senses detected a slight tremor coming from the ground of Murder Star, as if many things were wriggling beneath the surface.
Inside the laboratory, with the help of the Primaris Head, Cawl manipulated the chainsword behind him to begin dissecting the body of the Clone Fulgrim.
The intelligence contained within this clone naturally presented itself to Cawl. But as the dissection deepened, Cawl gradually discovered that this clone seemed to have undergone additional design, deliberately showcasing its creator's intelligence to Cawl, setting up a series of puzzles for Cawl to solve, thereby testing Cawl's skill.
This was a challenge, a challenge from Fabius Bile.
Cawl sneered, easily cracking a mystery hidden between the genes and flesh, catching a glimpse of a corner of the Primarch cloning technology.
It must be said that Fabius Bile's creativity was indeed extraordinary. This mere glimpse allowed Cawl to see a mad, unrestrained monster.
Just then, the ground trembled slightly, and a storm seemed to howl in the sky.
Cawl slightly raised his head, and one or two Mini-Doras bounced out from beside Cawl, whispering in his ear.
"The Explorer King has been invaded."
"The ground of Murder Star conceals the giant spider monster eggs resurrected by Fabius."
Cawl looked at the Primaris Head beside him and said:
"Go tell the Clone Fulgrim this information."
"Help him intercept Fabius Bile's invasion."
The Primaris Head did not move: "You need my protection."
Belisarius Cawl glared at him fiercely: "I don't need it. Go fulfill your duty. Buy me time to unlock the intelligence of the Primarch clone."
The Primaris Head hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded slightly, choosing to obey Cawl's command.
After the Primaris Head left, Cawl slightly shook his robe.
A Mini-Dora crawled out, holding an inverted triangular glass cone in its hand. Inside the cone was crimson blood, gently sloshing within the glass cone, like liquid rubies.
The source code of the blood, a divine artifact storing the gene sequences of twenty-one Primarchs.
Cawl's expression remained unchanged. Another Mini-Dora crawled out from under his robe, holding a small children's camera.
Cawl's face drew close to the source code of the blood, and a mechanical arm equipped with scissors at its end came close to his face.
The Mini-Dora pressed the shutter, capturing Cawl's face, the scissor hand, and the source code of the blood. A photograph was then ejected from the bottom of the camera.
The Mini-Dora pulled out the photo, shook it gently, and transformed it into a Psyker signal, casting it into the Warp.
The ground of Murder Star, paved with pale sand, was trembling chaotically, as if something was about to hatch.
In an instant, pale dust was kicked up, and figures composed of blades and slender limbs emerged within it, exposing themselves before Fulgrim.
Fulgrim's expression remained unchanged. The Primaris Head had brought Cawl's message.
A considerable number of giant spider monster eggs were hidden beneath the surface of Murder Star. They had just been activated by pheromones, beginning to hatch and rapidly growing into adult individuals.
At the same time, in the void, a large number of Chaos ships also plunged into the star system of Murder Star, clashing with the Phoenix Son ships and the Archmagos' Explorer King. The markings on these Chaos ships indicated they belonged to the "Phoenix Society."
That was a force established by Eidolon, the former Lord Commander of the Emperor's Children, after the Great Heresy, and it was the largest faction among the traitor Emperor's Children.
"Eidolon," Fulgrim's voice slightly lowered.
For this former Lord Commander of the Emperor's Children, the first under the Primarch of the Emperor's Children Legion, Fulgrim had no good impression, and even more killing intent.
He, Fulgrim, and Fabius were all the beginning of the Legion's downfall.
Fulgrim looked at the giant spider monsters surging towards the Phoenix Son battle positions, and raised the forgebreaker warhammer in his hand.
"Kill for me!"
"Kill for the Emperor!"
Aboard the Gladius-class frigate Vissari, Fabius Bile wore a grotesque, spider-like smile on his lips, watching the battle erupting on Murder Star.
The Primaris Astartes were clashing with the giant spider monsters resurrected by Fabius Bile.
These warriors, born from the hands of Belisarius Cawl, were faster, more agile, more lethal, and more dangerous than ordinary Astartes.
Ten thousand years ago, on Murder Star, the Emperor's Children had once fought the giant spider monsters.
Overall, most Primaris performed better than the Emperor's Children of that era.
However, from a localized perspective, the Primaris' performance was not better than the most elite Astartes of that time.
Their bodies were indeed more efficient, but they had not yet truly distanced themselves from the old version of Astartes. Those more excellent Astartes could surpass them with experience, talent, and training.
Astartes such as Tawiz, Lucius, and Eidolon, who had participated in the Battle of Murder Star, performed better and more excellently than the Primaris in those days.
In Fabius' opinion, the improvements on the Primaris were so uninspired.
The so-called Belisarius Cawl was nothing more than this.
Fabius Bile sneered, preparing to lead his New Humans and Eidolon's Astartes forces to board the Explorer King and hunt for the source code of the blood.
But just then, a phantom suddenly appeared before Fabius' eyes. In the phantom, Belisarius Cawl's face could be seen, making a scissor gesture, with something placed beside his face...
Fabius looked at the inverted triangular glass container filled with crimson blood, and his violet eyes suddenly widened.
The source code of the blood.
Belisarius Cawl actually carried the source code of the blood with him.
Bile quickly traced the Psyker signal and found that it indeed originated from Murder Star.
Evidently, this was a challenge, a challenge from Belisarius Cawl to Fabius Bile.
Bile's expression quickly turned cold.
He subtly waved his finger, signaling to halt the plan to board the Explorer King.
Since the source code of the blood was not on the Explorer King, the income (benefit/gain) of boarding that huge mechanical ark was very small.
"Deploy the New Humans I specifically designed for them," Fabius said with a cold laugh.
A meteor shower erupted in the sky of Murder Star, as drop pods, trailing sparks, plunged towards the surface of Murder Star.
On the ground, the Phoenix Sons began to unleash anti-aircraft fire towards the sky.
But the giant spider monsters possessed some kind of biotechnological climate control, and Bile had resurrected this technology as well.
Lightning, storms, and heavy rain enveloped the entire sky, making it difficult for anti-aircraft fire to target the massive drop pods. Only a small number of drop pods were destroyed.
Most of the drop pods crashed directly onto the ground, kicking up a heatwave and rolling gray smoke.
Thor stared intently at those drop pods. From them, he smelled danger. Just by looking at them, he found his five senses becoming extremely acute, and a sharp prickling sensation on his skin.
"Surround those drop pods!" Thor quickly issued the command over comms, while wielding his Phase Court Blade to cleave off the head of a giant spider monster.
The Phoenix Sons quickly reformed their battle lines, tearing apart giant spider monsters and closing in on the massive drop pods.
A sticky heatwave spewed out from the drop pods. That heatwave did not seem to come from machinery, but rather from some kind of creature with a scorching body temperature.
Slender figures, much taller than an Astartes, with wriggling tails, crawled out of the drop pods.
Their lower bodies were long, winding, snake-like tails, with a slimy epidermis like an eel. Their upper bodies had mammalian features, but with abnormally developed pectoral muscles and four slender but strong arms.
Their heads, however, were more insect-like, presenting as a slightly pointed spherical shape at the front, with prominent mandibles and shimmering compound eyes, staring intently at the Phoenix Sons present.
The air instantly became thick and hot, and a nauseating musky scent permeated the air, transforming into a damp and fragrant mist that coiled around everyone's necks. A pleasant sensation of suffocation followed, charges leaped between nerves, delicate silk passed over eyeballs, petals slid down throats, rose thorns scratched internal organs, and happiness and joy surged from the wounds.
Enduring such intense sensory impact, the Phoenix Sons stared intently at the enemies before them.
They had never fought such enemies before, but upon seeing the faces of these xenos, a primal hatred surged within them.
Thor gasped, gripping the Phase Court Blade in his hand. The memories in his gene-seed reminded him of the name of the creatures before him.
"Laer."
Xenos once destroyed by the Emperor's Children, and who in turn destroyed the Emperor's Children.
The moment the Laer appeared, all the Phoenix Sons were struck as if by lightning, feeling a shock throughout their bodies.
These creatures, similar in appearance to the daemon Primarch Fulgrim, were the beginning of the Emperor's Children's downfall.
The Emperor's Children, with lightning speed, annihilated this species within a month, adding a new honor-forged gem to Fulgrim's crown; but what they didn't know was that the Laer worshipped Slaanesh.
Fulgrim pulled out the Laer Blade from the Laer's Slaanesh-worshipping temple, and was possessed and corrupted by the Slaanesh daemon residing within it.
Fabius Bile also gained inspiration from the Laer to begin modifying the warriors of the Emperor's Children, and the entire legion's descent into corruption can be said to have started with the destruction of the Laer.
Or rather, the Laer species itself was a trap laid by the Lord of Hunger for the Emperor's Children, for Fulgrim.
Now, Fabius Bile had resurrected the Laer and unleashed them before the Phoenix Sons. In an instant, rage erupted from Sol's heart, turning into a roaring, burning fire that he could not tolerate. He charged forward, swinging his Phase Court Blade at the nearest Laer.
That Laer raised its lower two arms, and streams of glowing green molten plasma shot towards Sol, instantly illuminating the dark battlefield with electric light.
Sol's wrist flicked, and the Phase Court Blade, gifted by the Necron Overlord Zandrekh, arced perfectly, horizontally blocking Sol's front. The blade struck the plasma fired by the Laer.
Plasma splattered, and emerald light enveloped Sol. Then, in the blink of an eye, Sol leaped out of the light, swinging his sword at the Laer's head.
But the Laer's reaction speed exceeded what Sol remembered from his gene-memory.
The alien's slender but strong upper right arm gripped a strange, serpentine blade, twisting to stab at Sol's face.
Sol swung his Phase Blade to block the strike.
The Laer's grotesque blade and the Necron's phase weapon clashed together.
The Laer stared at Sol with its compound eyes, while its mouthparts opened wide, revealing layers of twisted, tooth-filled oral cavities, full of corrosive mucus. At the end of the deep, cave-like mouth, Sol could vaguely see traces of mechanical modification.
Evidently, Fabius Bile had modified the Laer, reshaped the Laer.
The Laer standing before Sol now, though outwardly similar, had long surpassed the original Laer species internally. In that brief moment, Sol even saw some uniquely human expressions on the Laer's insect-like face.
Sol suddenly understood what the Laer before him was, comprehending the profound malice within it.
This was one of the New Humans that Fabius Bile sought, as Fulgrim had mentioned, one of Fabius' attempts to replace old humanity.
The Laer's oral cavity began to writhe, and the mechanical device within was exposed to Sol's eyes—it was a sonic generator—
Sol gently pulled the phase trigger, and the Phase Blade in his hand flickered slightly. The Necron's phase technology warped space, allowing Sol's blade to pass directly through the Laer's twisted longsword and stab directly into the sonic generator before the Laer could react.
The Phase Blade twisted slightly, instantly incinerating the sonic generator and the Laer's brain tissue into ash.
"Necron stuff is really beautiful," Sol mused, then immediately shook his head. "No, it's not Necron anymore, it's Ironmen Subhumans."
The Necron have now been integrated into the Imperium of Man. Lord Guilliman believes the Necron are an extremely advanced and excellent species.
They don't need to eat, don't need to breathe, don't need to rest, their bodies are extremely strong, their numbers are very large, and most importantly, they won't run away or die suddenly. They are practically naturally born for civil engineering!
Most planets within the Imperium are actually uninhabitable, with extremely high development costs. To develop them, specialized Servitors had to be custom-made. But now that the Necron are here, let those Servitors and modified humans rest.
The lower-tier Necron were thus dispatched to the undeveloped dead worlds within the Imperium of Man, to build factories, mine resources, and produce weapons and supplies.
Those low-tier Necron didn't seem to have any complaints. It is said that when they were still Necrons, their lives were even worse, with cases of low-tier Necron going on vacation to nearby hive Worlds and mistaking Lower Hive worker dormitories for mansions.
Sol's blade moved, flinging the Laer's corpse to the side, blocking another Laer attempting to pounce on him.
That Laer was hit by the corpse, slowing down for an instant. Sol's blade followed, decapitating that Laer.
"Kill for the Primarch!"
"Kill for the Emperor!"
Sol raised his emerald blade, burning like a torch, and roared to the surroundings.
"For the Emperor!"
The Phoenix Son warriors also let out their battle cries, swiftly charging and converging around Sol, forming a battle formation.
Above the orbit, Fabius Bile gazed at the scene on the battlefield, his eyes focusing on Sol.
Not only Fabius Bile, but Eidolon also stared intently at Sol.
"Tawiz," Eidolon gritted his teeth in hatred, growling the name.
Eidolon saw in Sol the shadow of Tawiz, the loyalist Emperor's Children of old.
Tawiz was a stain on Eidolon's honor in his eyes.
It was Tawiz who discovered the Warmaster, who discovered the betrayal of the Emperor's Children, escaping from Eidolon's grasp to the surface of Istvaan III, bringing advance warning to the loyalists, allowing them to evade two waves of virus bombs, forcing the Warmaster's plan to quickly eliminate the loyalists to fail, and getting bogged down on Istvaan III.
It was also Tawiz who, during his escape, brought news of the Warmaster's betrayal to Captain Garro of the Death Guard, and Captain Garro in turn brought this news to Rogal Dorn and the Emperor.
Without Tawiz, the Warmaster could have easily crushed the loyalists within the legions, could have silently sidelined all loyal legions except the Imperial Fists, and could have struck directly into the Solar System, above Terra.
Before other legions could react, Horus could have occupied Terra, killed the Emperor, and made everything a fait accompli.
If tracing back to the origin, the collapse of Horus' plan and even the failure of the entire Great Heresy could be attributed to an Emperor's Children named Tawiz who upheld his loyalty to the Emperor and... Eidolon's failure to destroy Tawiz.
"Let me destroy this False Emperor's bastard," Eidolon's lips parted slightly, a viscous tone escaping him.
"No," Fabius Bile's expression remained impassive, "he hasn't acted yet."
Fabius' gaze was fixed on the high ground of the Phoenix Sons' front line.
The slender, pale-faced, purple-armored warrior with slightly purplish silver hair fluttering in the wind stood atop Murder Star's fierce winds. His expression was calm, his hands resting on the forgebreaker warhammer, like an unmoving mountain in the battlefield storm.
He had never truly stepped onto the battlefield, as if there were no enemies on the field worthy of his attention.
"He actually didn't kill you," Eidolon stared intensely at Clone Fulgrim, saying involuntarily.
Fulgrim actually tolerated Fabius cloning him.
"Our gene-father still desires me," Fabius smiled confidently.
Eidolon scrutinized Fabius from head to toe, his gaze lingering for a few seconds on Fabius' aged, ugly face.
"You?" Eidolon let out a hollow laugh.
Fabius didn't care about Eidolon's mockery.
"Let me force my child to act first, then you can make your entrance."
"I'm very curious what level he has reached now."
Eidolon glanced at Fabius: "What is that thing standing next to the clone?"
Fabius paused, then noticed an Astartes warrior in unpainted, unidentified power armor standing beside Fulgrim.
"Irrelevant," Fabius Bile said dismissively.
Fabius didn't deny that there were exceptional Primarchs, but the Astartes themselves held no more secrets for Fabius; he wasn't interested in them.
Now he was only interested in Clone Fulgrim's current performance and the source code of the blood.
Just then, on Murder Star, amidst the blood, dust, and wind and rain, a rustling sound began.
On the horizon, five figures of Laer emerged.
These five Laer were five or six meters tall.
One of them held a guitar made of pink and gold metals in its upper two arms, the guitar covered with twisted human faces and daemon visages. Its lower two arms were modified into pipelines connected to the guitar, and its upper body was almost hollowed out, transformed into a giant resonance chamber, while its mouthparts were stretched wide, exposing the sonic generator within.
The other four Laer had similar appearances, but their instruments were replaced with a microphone, a bass, a drum kit, and a keyboard.
Mi re do! Re mi! Fa mi re!!!
Do re mi mi re fa mi re!!!
The keyboardist's fingers danced lightly, and sharp, melancholic, joyful, grotesque, extreme sounds suddenly erupted across the entire battlefield, followed by the guitar and drums, and a high-pitched song in an unknown language.
Around them, countless dazzling flashes seemed to generate and explode, each explosion accompanied by deadly noise.
Endless songs surged like a tide onto the battlefield, notes turning into blades one after another. The air was torn to shreds by the sound, and surging waveforms created ripples in reality itself.
Sol was almost instantly knocked over by the sound. He felt the sky and earth spin, and when the spinning stopped, he had crashed heavily onto the sand.
He struggled to get up, seeing the Phoenix Sons closer to the five Laer musicians directly hit by the distorted music. These notes bit so tightly that their bodies spun and exploded in the air, showering down rain of blood and flesh.
"Emperor above!!!" a Phoenix Son not far from Sol roared, "What in the world is this?! Do Laer have something like this?!"
Sol gasped for breath, but a word popped into his mind.
"War-singers, the War-singers of Istvaan III. These are our old opponents too."
Sol quickly realized that Fabius Bile had combined the War-singers of Istvaan III with Noise Marines and Laer to create this twisted, abstract band.
He gritted his teeth, understanding that his comrades could not withstand these five monsters.
He had to face them alone; he had to be faster than the sound, to find the gaps between the sonic waves.
Akurduana, the deceased first swordsman of the Emperor's Children, had taught him how to be faster, faster than the limits allowed for an Astartes.
"You must trust your instinct, not the instinct of the flesh, but the instinct of the soul, your talent, the talent you possessed before you were even transformed into an Astartes. Do it naturally."
"Just as adding sodium and chlorine to a pot while cooking makes the soup salty, do it naturally, utilizing your inner nature."
Akurduana's teaching ability was about as good as his cooking, making one doubt if he was truly an Emperor's Children.
But Sol had still learned a little, a bit of Akurduana's technique.
Akurduana, with his inexplicable techniques, could match the speed of an enraged Primarch.
Sol couldn't reach that level, but he could slip into the gaps between sounds.
Sol took a step, his figure weaving through the sounds, yet never being struck down by the notes.
He was fast, very fast, so fast that he felt his blood flow couldn't keep up with the speed of his body's movements.
He dodged the C chord strummed by the guitarist, bypassed the lead singer's high notes, weaved through a flurry of drum roars, and avoided the keyboardist's god-like combo attacks.
He could do it, he could cut down those four... Wait? Four? How many are missing?
Sol paused for a moment, his body flung like a falling leaf by a series of almost imperceptible bass notes.
He was almost bewildered, completely unable to understand what had happened, until he saw the inconspicuous Laer bassist.
Almost imperceptible, deadly bass notes erupted from the bassist's strings, pressing heavily on Sol, making it almost impossible for him to stand up.
Although this bassist was inconspicuous, his arms were the strongest, and the notes he played were the most powerful, as if he had trained them by carrying water buckets and getting takeout for the band.
Sol gritted his teeth, while Fabius, looking down at the scene, revealed a satisfied smile. He was waiting for Fulgrim to step onto the battlefield.
But then, the Astartes in unpainted power armor next to Fulgrim nodded slightly to Fulgrim, then leaped from the high tower into the battlefield.
Notes like a fierce storm instantly pressed down on that Astartes. The surrounding ground rumbled under the roar of the notes, and the air was constantly torn and splattered by the jumping waveforms.
But that Astartes took a firm step forward, and the roaring sea of music, the tide of noise, was instantly ripped open. This Astartes advanced unswervingly like an icebreaker, those terrifying sound waves unable to even make his figure tremble a fraction.
No skill, no training, it was purely raw physical strength at play.
Fabius Bile took a deep breath, awestruck by the astonishing physical prowess and the sense of beauty emanating from this Primaris Astartes.
"..Can a Primaris be this beautiful?" Fabius murmured to himself.
The sound wave roared like a midnight tide, crushing the air, shaking the ground, and even the grayish-white sand on Murder Star's surface vibrated rhythmically with the sound, crashing towards the Primaris Head, who was closing in on the Lacerating Band step by step.
But the sound wave shattered the moment it touched the Primaris Head, like a wave breaking into fragments against a reef.
The Primaris Head slightly raised his head, and the pupils hidden beneath his helmet sharply contracted.
The five Lacerating musicians' movements paused for a moment. An inexplicable fear surged in their hearts, freezing them in place. Murder Star also returned to silence at that instant.
Then, the Lacerating lead singer's head suddenly exploded. The Primaris Head's figure appeared in front of the Lacerating lead singer in an instant, his Power Fist striking out, shattering the Lacerating lead singer's head with one punch.
The remaining four Lacerating members let out sharp roars. The guitarist plucked the strings, the keyboardist struck the keys, the drummer hit the drum kit, and the bassist made an ignored sound.
Lethal sound waves pierced towards the Primaris Head at close range.
But the Primaris Head's figure vanished from his spot, as if a shadow had dissolved into darkness.
The sound of a Power Dagger slitting a throat rang out. The Primaris Head's weapon had, at some unknown point, transformed into a combat blade, lightly slicing through the guitarist's throat.
The guitarist fell, and the keyboardist behind him rapidly struck the keys. Tens of thousands of distinctly different sounds echoed in the air, like tens of thousands of distinctly different weapons stabbing towards the Primaris Head.
The Primaris Head let out a wild roar, the scent of blood permeating his body. He seemed to have transformed into an extremely bloodthirsty ghoul.
But his speed at this moment was faster than sound, easily dodging the sounds released by the keyboardist, and he clasped the keyboardist's head with both hands.
The Primaris Head exerted force with both hands in opposite directions.
The sound of bones shattering rang out. The keyboardist's head was torn in half, brains and blood splattering.
Seeing this, the drummer hurriedly struck the drum kit in front of him, but before he could act, the Primaris Head's fingers moved slightly, and a combat blade shot out, directly piercing through the drummer's brow.
In just a blink of an eye, all the musicians of the entire Lacerating Band had fallen before the Primaris Head.
A whooshing sound rang out. The Lacerating bassist, wielding a bass with one side sharpened like a battle-axe, silently appeared behind the Primaris Head and smashed it down towards the Primaris Head's back.
The Primaris Head slightly turned his head, and a Psyker lightning bolt burst forth, tearing through the air, striking the bassist, and instantly incinerating him into ash.
On the ship in orbit, Eidolon gazed at this scene.
"Which Legion's Astartes is he, exactly?" Eidolon looked at Fabius Bile.
Fabius smiled.
"All of them," he replied. "Belisarius Cawl, you truly are a genius."
"Is it time for me to strike?" Eidolon slightly opened his mouth, his words mixed with a viscous stench and a bloodthirsty urge.
He was already growing dissatisfied with Fabius; this mere apothecary had constantly prevented him from seizing new glory.
That Primaris resembling Tawiz, that inexplicably powerful unknown Astartes, that clone—all were prey that could add to his glory.
A cold sneer crossed Fabius' lips: "Then go hunt, Lord Commander."
On the sandy ground, the dazzling light from the Warp suddenly exploded, so abruptly that the Phoenix Sons didn't even have time to react.
And when they saw the figures revealed within the dazzling light, anger showed in the eyes of every Phoenix Son.
That group of Chaos Astartes wore luxurious armor interwoven with purple, pink, gold, and silver. Their faces were lewd, vacant, crazed, and arrogant. Their bodies were covered with various extremely ornate implants and were highly distorted. Some wore heavy armor and wielded weapons that were also musical instruments, while others exposed large areas of skin and held long, strange blades.
The Emperor's Children, once the Third Legion, now twisted followers of Slaanesh, stood before the Phoenix Sons.
They were like two opposing sides: one perfect, one twisted; one noble, one fallen; one loyal, one traitorous; one loyal to the Phoenix reborn from fire, one subservient to the blasphemous, lewd Serpent God.
The Phoenix Sons were enraged by the Emperor's Children's fall. The fallen state of the Emperor's Children pained their hearts, making them feel humiliated, feeling their honor had been defiled.
The Emperor's Children were equally enraged. They were furious at the Phoenix Sons' appearance, which so closely resembled their own past selves. The Phoenix Sons' presence seemed to mock them, causing a momentary shame that then erupted into intense fury.
"For the Emperor!!!"
"For the Emperor~"
The Phoenix Sons and the Emperor's Children simultaneously let out their battle cries, then both realized their battle cries were identical.
The Emperor's Children had kept the battle cry "For the Emperor" to mock, and after ten thousand years, they themselves had grown accustomed to it.
"For the Primarch!"
"For the Primarch!"
The two forces once again let out similar battle cries, and an awkward silence filled the air.
"Traitors!"
"Traitors!"
Both sides cursed simultaneously.
Another silence fell in the air, then both sides simultaneously let out wild roars and charged at each other.
Thor gripped his Phase Court Sword tightly, about to plunge into the battle, when he heard a sharp shriek.
He saw a pale, bloated, grotesque Astartes. That Astartes held an ornate warhammer in one hand, and with the other, he lifted a Phoenix Son.
A slit opened on the grotesque Astartes' neck, and sharp sonic waves emanated from it, instantly pulverizing that Phoenix Son into a bloody pulp.
This was the leader of the Emperor's Children. Thor's genetic memory reflected that figure, and he recalled the name of that Emperor's Child.
"Eidolon!!!!" However, one person shouted out before him.
Alkenes, clad in old Mark IV Power Armor, took a step, killing his way to Eidolon's front.
He was once the Lord Commander of the Phoenix Guard, and also the last of the Phoenix Guard. After the Phoenix Guard was destroyed by Eidolon, he chose to cling to life, joining Eidolon's Phoenix Conclave.
But Alkenes still maintained the appearance of the old Legion. He had never self-mutilated, never modified himself, never suffered bodily distortions, and had not even indulged in excess.
Eidolon therefore loathed him and sent him to Fabius, hoping he would eliminate Fabius or Fabius would eliminate him. But the final outcome was that Alkenes met Clone Fulgrim and was collected by Trazyn along with Clone Fulgrim.
"Who do we have here! If it isn't Alkenes!"
"Cowardly Alkenes, hesitant Alkenes, blind Alkenes, drifting Alkenes, unsociable Alkenes."
Faced with Eidolon's mockery, Alkenes instead laughed.
Eidolon's mockery was not wrong; Alkenes was indeed such a person. He was indecisive, incompetent, hesitant, and drifted with the current, always unable to find his place in the galaxy.
He could not abandon his Primarch and remain loyal to the Emperor alongside the loyalists.
But when his Primarch fell, he could not pay homage to that twisted and grotesque Serpent God.
He could not follow his brothers and die alongside the slain Phoenix Guard.
Yet he also could not, like others in the Legion, immerse himself in depravity and indulgence.
He was not loyal enough, not fallen enough, not proud enough, not shameless enough. He was lost and directionless.
"But I have found it."
"I have found the Primarch I once lost."
Alkenes said firmly:
"I will not repeat the same mistakes. You will not take him from me again!"
"Eidolon! traitor! I am Alkenes, guardian of the Emperor's Children Primarch, Lord Commander of the Phoenix Guard! This time, I will protect my Phoenix until death!"
"You call that puny clone a Primarch?" Eidolon sneered.
"I call that noble Phoenix my father!" Alkenes growled.
Behind Alkenes, six Terminator Phoenix Sons, clad in ancient Tartaros Pattern Power Armor and wielding Power Lances, stood firm. They were the Primarch's guards trained by Alkenes, like a recreation of the ancient Phoenix Guard.
And by Eidolon's side, six Chaos Astartes, clad in pink and purple Power Armor, with various loudspeakers covering their shoulders, arms, heads, and knees, and holding different types of musical instruments, stood firm. They were Noise Marines, the twisted form of the Emperor's Children.
The Phoenix Guard clashed with the Noise Marines. Power lances collided with sonic weapons. Alkenes and Eidolon slammed into each other, the Phoenician Blade and the Eternal Glory Warmaul sparking.
"Scum!!" Eidolon heavily pressed his warhammer onto Alkenes' Phoenician Blade. The immense force even made Alkenes' knees buckle slightly.
Eidolon sneered, his throat opening again, and sharp sonic waves directly pressed down on Alkenes.
However, Eidolon's sonic waves missed. Alkenes inexplicably vanished from his spot.
Screech!!!
The Phoenician Blade pierced into Eidolon's back, tearing through his pale flesh and 貫穿 his body.
"By Saint Doraemon, I knew you arrogant fool didn't keep up with the news."
Alkenes sighed, and the Psyker power trained from the Superpower Training Box flowed into Eidolon's body along the blade, attempting to shred Eidolon's internal organs—
"What?" Alkenes was stunned for a moment. His x-ray vision allowed him to see the contents beneath Eidolon's skin.
What... what exactly was that thing??
A viscous, bloated mass of pale worms, mixed with wailing, arrogance, and madness.
The golden-glowing warhammer smashed towards Alkenes' head.
Alkenes hurriedly flashed away, disappearing from his spot and creating distance from Eidolon.
"What the hell have you become, Eidolon!" Alkenes growled, demanding an answer.
Eidolon's body twitched a few times, and several strange Warp lights oozed from his wounds. He stared at Alkenes with angry eyes, his face ugly and twisted.
"You dare—"
Before Eidolon could finish, a battle cry suddenly erupted on the battlefield.
"Abba! Abba! Abba Abba Abba Abaddon!!!!"
A massive, pitch-black Hellbrute crashed to the ground with a thud, kicking up clouds of dust.
This Hellbrute raised its mechanical arms high, the Chaos Eight-pointed Star on its sarcophagus glowing brightly, unleashing eight colors of dazzling light in all directions.
"Abaddon! Abaddon! Abba Abba is Don!"
Fierce battle cries rolled in all directions, amplified by the loudspeakers mounted on the Hellbrute, knocking over Phoenix Sons and Emperor's Children alike.
"Which genius thought of adding loudspeakers to a Hellbrute?!" the Emperor's Children complained.
And that Abaddon Hellbrute immediately spotted Fulgrim standing on the high ground. The hatred, stimulated by drugs, instantly made him target Fulgrim.
He suddenly took a step forward, transforming into a pitch-black warhammer that smashed into the Phoenix Sons' formation, toppling several Astartes, and charging directly towards the high tower where Fulgrim stood.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Horus' stepfather is here!!! Horus' stepfather charges!!!"
A barrage of firepower rained down, striking the Abaddon Hellbrute, like a heaven-sent sulfur fire from ancient Terran legends, instantly engulfing Abaddon's form.
But at this very moment, the Emperor's Children and Phoenix Sons in the surrounding areas not covered by the firepower let out agonizing wails. They suffered burns, their limbs breaking as if hit by cannon shells.
Abaddon himself, however, was almost unscathed, charging directly out of the 炮火.
This was the Tzeentch daemon named Pyramid Scheme, residing within Abaddon, exerting its power. This daemon, born from pyramid schemes, could disperse the damage Abaddon took to the surrounding humans. The more people, the more damage was dispersed.
"Well? Is Horus' stepfather fierce or not?"
"Here comes the big, black stepfather!!" The pitch-black Abaddon, larger than a typical Hellbrute, had already traversed most of the battlefield.
Fulgrim, however, remained motionless, still standing on the high ground, merely listening to the words emanating from Abaddon's loudspeaker. Even he couldn't stop the twitching at the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, the Primaris Head's figure flashed, directly intercepting the Abaddon Hellbrute.
Powerful Psyker energy emanated from him, and the intense Warp reaction chilled the surrounding air, forming frost.
He amplified his body with Psyker energy, combined with a new model of Power Armor inspired by and technically derived from Doraemon's gadgets by Cawl, and suddenly stretched out his arms, swinging them at Abaddon.
Abaddon swung down his Power Fist, equipped with Horus' Claw.
Several veins bulged on the Primaris Head's face, but he stubbornly blocked Abaddon's punch.
Seizing this momentary opportunity, the Primaris Head manipulated his Psyker energy, quickly weaving an illusion and thrusting it at Abaddon.
Hellbrutes like Abaddon often have weak wills and are easily affected by illusions. The Primaris Head risked intercepting Abaddon precisely to create an opportunity to interfere with Abaddon using an illusion.
Swoosh~
The Primaris Head blinked in confusion.
The illusion he wove had smoothly slid right off Abaddon's head.
The appearance of this situation made the Primaris Head freeze for a moment, unable to react to what had happened.
Abaddon's resistance to Psyker illusions completely exceeded the Primaris Head's expectations.
The Psyker illusion he wove caused Abaddon no harm; instead, it exposed his own weakness.
Abaddon's battle instincts allowed him to seize this opening, raising his other Power Arm high.
"Abba!!!!!don!!!!!"
Abaddon's bionic arm struck with the force of an orbital drop pod, heavily impacting the Primaris Head's arms, which couldn't withstand the blow and let out a low wail.
If Cawl hadn't gained inspiration and technology from the Phantom Thief DX Suit to create this new model of Power Armor, that punch from Abaddon just now would have fractured the Primaris Head's arm.
He let out a low growl, and the Psyker energy on his body surged, briefly tearing the veil of reality. A beam of light, formed from pure Warp energy, pierced into reality and slammed into Abaddon.
The power of this Psyker force was so strong that it made Abaddon's body recoil several steps in an instant.
The Primaris Head seized the opportunity to distance himself from Abaddon. Mobilizing such powerful Psyker energy caused his muscles to twitch, awakening the genetic flaws within him, and the intense pain almost overwhelmed him.
"Don! Dondon dondon dondon!!!!" Abaddon let out a series of battle cries like a machine gun, and a barrage of brass enchanted bullets spewed from the Horus' Claw on his arm, raining down on the Primaris Head.
The Primaris Head's lips moved slightly inside his helmet, and a pill fell into his mouth. It was a High-Efficiency Pill (Doraemon's item) from Doraemon, and one of the Doraemon items commonly used by humans today.
In addition, gas tanks hidden within the Power Armor began to pump gas, which was then pumped into the Primaris Head's navel through a hose detached from a Doraemon item.
Both the gas and the hose came from an item called the "umbilical gas Inflator." This item generates a substance called umbilical gas, which is pumped into the navel through its built-in hose, after which the user loses all sensation of pain and is filled with a pure sense of happiness. One dose of umbilical gas lasts for thirty minutes.
Cawl extracted a dose and stored it in the Primaris Head's Power Armor, then imported it into the Primaris Head's body via a hose detached from the item, thereby preventing the Primaris Head from being affected by his genetic defects for thirty minutes.
However, this item is not without side effects. After the effect wears off, physical and mental pain will rebound, and there is a high possibility of addiction. Honestly, the first time the Primaris Head used this item, he even felt that Slaanesh should roll down from the Six Rings of Slaanesh, bow six times to Saint Doraemon, and cede the authority over addictive drugs to Saint Doraemon.
Intense joy and a profound sense of happiness erupted within the Primaris Head. This was not the hollow neural stimulation brought by those neuro-drugs, but a complex happiness that vibrated from soul to body. The constant pain within him rapidly receded under the effect of the umbilical gas, making his body feel light and powerful.
Saint Doraemon's goods are too pure!
The Primaris Head took a deep breath, feeling the naturally growing superhuman organs within him at work, experiencing the effects of his genes.
He possessed the extraordinary genetic sequences of twenty-one Primarchs, a fusion of all Legion Astartes.
And, freed from the intense pain caused by genetic defects, he could wield that power.
The wildness of ice wolves flashed in his eyes, and the heat of the deep earth fire and the frost of a sky-filling blizzard simultaneously erupted in his Psyker energy.
A raw, unrefined Warp torrent, born from awe, anger, fear, and imagination of nature's great power, burst from his fingertips, transforming into blizzard-like runes that floated towards Abaddon.
The bullets aimed at the Primaris Head were frozen in mid-air, and a blizzard, seemingly from a distant wilderness, sprayed onto Abaddon's massive body, instantly covering more than half of him with frost.
The power in the Primaris Head's genes erupted again, and another form of Psyker energy was unleashed from within him—Psyker energy stemming from superstition, arrogance, and a tendency to oversimplify the world.
He took seven rhythmic steps forward, and Warp evil energy appeared out of thin air, transforming into an invisible, intangible curse that merged into Abaddon's massive Hellbrute body. Abaddon's aura suddenly weakened significantly.
Then came the third Psyker power, Psyker energy born from wisdom, knowledge, desire, and curiosity for truth.
Complex incantations spilled from the Primaris Head's mouth, and a beam of light as hot as a star burst from his fingertips, then compressed, reshaped, and decomposed, continuously transforming the surrounding matter into scattered dust.
The Primaris Head moved a finger, pushing the beam of light towards Abaddon.
In an instant, one-third of the armor on Abaddon's sarcophagus lid was annihilated, the metal from Vashtorr's forge decomposing into dust.
On the dark blue blade, millions of faces of murdered people let out sharp screams, and the frost covering Abaddon shattered with a crash.
The Chaos Eight-pointed Star embedded in Abaddon's body flashed, and the corner representing the daemon of Penicillin flickered, dispelling the curse covering Abaddon.
"Don!!!!!!"
Frost drifted everywhere like shattered gems, and the light formed by Psyker energy also disintegrated before the dark blue light. The storm and sudden snow were also cut through by the blade striking from above.
Abaddon's massive body displayed a speed completely inconsistent with its size, instantly appearing before the Primaris Head.
The twisted black metal colossus stood against the light, and the swirling wind and snow made him hazy and indistinct, exceptionally terrifying.
The Demon Sword Drach'nyen, born from the first murder, swept down with millions of wails—
Clang!!!!!!
Denkōmaru lit up, barely helping the Primaris Head block Abaddon's strike.
Abaddon quickly withdrew his sword, then delivered three continuous slashes.
The power of Sword of Light. Denko-Maru rapidly depleted under these three fierce strikes, but the Primaris Head also seized the opportunity to distance himself from Abaddon.
The Demon Sword Drach'nyen was too dangerous and lethal; even if he still had three Sword of Light. Denko-Maru, the Primaris Head was unwilling to risk close combat with him.
"Don!!!! Don!!! Don!!!!"
Abaddon let out three battle cries, raising Horus' Claw again, the boltgun hidden between its claws aiming at the Primaris Head:
"Let Horus' Big Steppapa shoot you!!!!"
Roaring bolter fire unleashed.
Fulgrim gripped the forge breaker in both hands, gazing at the scene.
He still had not made a move.
Since the battle began, Fulgrim had a subtle premonition that there would be an opponent specifically reserved for him on this battlefield.
This opponent was neither Eidolon nor Abaddon.
So Fulgrim had consistently refrained from entering the battle, continuously adjusting his state, bringing himself closer to perfection.
In orbit, Fabius Bile in the ship also watched this scene.
He had indeed prepared an opponent for Fulgrim.
Teleportation light exploded in the center of the battlefield, and a towering figure appeared within the light.
The moment that voice appeared, the air itself seemed to solidify.
The movements of both the Phoenix Sons and the Emperor's Children stiffened.
Even the most arrogant and insane Emperor's Children dared not show any arrogance in front of that figure.
A rounded bald head reflected the residual light of the teleportation, casting rays in all directions, illuminating the faces of every Astartes.
The dead demigod stood once again on the battlefield, radiant light flickering on his body, outlining every rune on his master-crafted armor, and illuminating the crimson eye on his chest that gazed upon the battlefield.
The Moon Wolf cloak fluttered, the Warmaster stood proudly, his resolute face like a morning star.
Silence. He brought silence the moment he stepped onto the battlefield.
Until an Emperor's Children veteran, a survivor of the Great Heresy ten millennia ago, let out a startled cry:
"wolf god! wolf shepherd god above! He has returned!"
The lingering prestige of old even made that Emperor's Children veteran ignore the surrounding dangers and directly kneel on the ground.
A look of bewilderment, almost disbelief, crossed Alkenes' face as he clashed with Eidolon.
"Warmaster?" he involuntarily shouted.
"Just a clone! A fake!" Eidolon replied, but his voice trembled slightly.
Even knowing it was a clone created by that madman Fabius, Eidolon was still awestruck by the faint aura, identical to Horus', that emanated from it when he saw it with his own eyes.
"Horus?" Abaddon turned his body to look at the clone, but he quickly turned back: "Not Horus. Steppapa got excited for nothing."
It wasn't Horus.
The name Horus indeed held no meaning for that clone.
He was 16-75-A, representing the seventy-fifth clone of the sixteenth genome, with 'A' signifying that he was a successful clone.
In his genome, only two successful copies were made; one had already been destroyed, and the other was him.
He didn't care about the name Horus; his memory was almost blank. He cared about only one thing:
His father's love.
He yearned to alleviate his father's worries and gain the recognition of his creator, Fabius.
He loved his father, and he hoped his father loved him.
For his father, he would kill.
Fabius Bile gazed at the battlefield.
He had originally hoped to create a clone Ferrus to deal with Fulgrim.
After all, a clone Ferrus was more manageable for him.
But Ferrus was difficult to control, like metal, and he was more likely to recall hidden memories in his genes, with a significant chance of breaking free from control upon seeing Fulgrim.
Furthermore, the moment Fabius Bile had this idea, Fulgrim's figure flashed before his eyes.
The Slaanesh daemon Primarch held a flame sword with both hands, his cold face hidden behind the blade staring intently at Fabius Bile, as if warning him not to act recklessly.
Fabius had no choice but to use his second clone Horus, which he had treasured for a long time and never revealed.
This clone Horus had undergone some mental adjustments by Fabius using certain methods, suppressing his past memories more and enhancing his craving for paternal love, making him instinctively obey Fabius Bile's commands.
The clone Horus stood at the heart of the battlefield, no one daring to approach him, and even the bullets splashing around seemed to fear and avoid him.
He himself did not move an inch, standing firm with a replica of the Worldbreaker and Horus' Claw, his gaze fixed on Fulgrim high above.
This was a silent invitation, from one brother to another, from one Primarch to another.
Fulgrim's figure leaped lightly from the high tower; a height of over ten meters seemed non-existent to him.
He strode through the battlefield; likewise, no Phoenix Son or Emperor's Children dared to disturb him.
"Brother," Fulgrim said with a clear voice, a friendly yet slightly playful smile still on his lips.
"You betrayed our father," the clone Horus' voice was like a low growl of a wolf, instilling an inexplicable fear.
"You also betrayed our father," Fulgrim's smile faded slightly.
"Our father is Bile," the clone Horus said. "He is our direct creator; he created us from the surviving genetic sequences of corpses, just as the Emperor created the true Primarchs."
"..Indeed," Fulgrim nodded approvingly. "But before being Bile's creation, I am first and foremost an Emperor's Children."
"Moreover, if we are to speak of Bile abandoning me first, I could clearly have become his new Primarch, his new father, a father far more perfect than Fulgrim, yet he sold me to Trazyn."
The clone Horus remained unmoved, merely watching Fulgrim with cold indifference.
Fulgrim also vaguely sensed it.
This clone Horus had not yet awakened the memories hidden within his genes.
"Have you forgotten?"
Fulgrim asked:
"Have you forgotten who you are?"
"You are the Emperor's first-born son, you are his Centaur."
"You are Warmaster Horus."
"I am 16-75-A, Fabius Bile's creation, his son," the clone Horus lowered the replica Worldbreaker in his hand.
Although a replica, it incorporated fragments of the Worldbreaker recovered by Fabius, and its might for a moment almost rivaled the forge breaker in Fulgrim's hand.
Fulgrim did not lower the forge breaker; instead, he raised it high with one hand, his head slightly tilted upwards, his violet eyes fixed on Horus, his voice rising a notch as he proclaimed to everyone on the battlefield:
"Watch closely, my sons, loyal or traitor, you must remember this moment."
"Remember."
"You were present when an Emperor's Children killed Horus."
Hammer met hammer, forge breaker met forge breaker, and in an instant, a fierce gale howled.
Fulgrim's speed was greater than that of the clone of Horus; his power armor was lighter, more flexible, and allowed him to better utilize the speed granted by a Primarch's extraordinary physique.
The clone of Horus, however, was more ferocious; his power armor was heavier and more powerful, and each swing of his warhammer was like the eye of a storm, unleashing destructive tempests.
Fulgrim leaped nimbly, evading the fierce wind stirred up by Horus' heavy hammer, while his forge breaker warhammer glowed with a furnace-like light, striking down at the opening exposed during Horus' attack.
But Horus was Horus after all; even if he was merely a clone, his battle instincts, etched into his genes, still led him to make the correct decision.
Horus did not dodge at all; instead, he charged towards Fulgrim like a reckless metal behemoth.
The forge breaker struck Horus' body, and the heavy hammer unleashed a furnace-like glow. Horus' heavy armor twisted and deformed, but at the same time, the forge breaker was also blocked by Horus' massive frame.
The clone of Horus crashed into Fulgrim's embrace, and the Worldbreaker warhammer swung from top to bottom, smashing towards Fulgrim's delicate jaw.
Fulgrim was shocked by the wildness Horus displayed.
He looked into the wolf god's eyes, hidden between layers of muscle, as if seeing the manifestation of destructive power in the real world.
But Fulgrim laughed. He felt his blood flowing faster, and an unspeakable exhilaration and joy erupted within his body.
Fulgrim unhesitatingly abandoned the forge breaker warhammer, freeing his body. With speed far surpassing the mundane, he stepped back, his nose grazing mere millimeters from Horus' Worldbreaker warhammer.
Then, Fulgrim, bare-handed, threw his fists.
Fists covered in purple-gold gauntlets rained down on Horus' face like a storm.
The sound of flesh and metal colliding rang out, and spatters of blood flew from Fulgrim's continuously swinging fists—
Crack!!
Fulgrim's left arm was suddenly seized by Horus.
The clone Warmaster exerted force with one hand, forcibly prying Fulgrim's arm open, exposing his bleeding face to Fulgrim.
"I—"
Bang!!!
As the Warmaster had just opened his mouth, Fulgrim punched Horus' chin with his right hand.
"You!!!" Horus' voice was enraged.
Fulgrim punched him again on the nose, followed by his eye socket, forehead, and cheek.
Fulgrim tried to force Horus to release his arm with pain.
But Horus' arm grew even stronger; his fingers even embedded themselves into Fulgrim's arm guard.
He suddenly exerted force, and Fulgrim felt the world spin. The clone of Horus actually swung Fulgrim with one hand, arcing him through the air and slamming him heavily onto the ground behind him.
The entire Murder Star seemed to tremble, as if a bolt of lightning had exploded beneath the ground. The ground within three to four meters around Horus and Fulgrim caved in.
Fulgrim felt dizzy and disoriented; every bone in his body screamed in agony.
But Fulgrim couldn't help but smile.
Blood flowed rapidly through his body, and joy was born within him.
+We must destroy him!!+
The voice said in Fulgrim's mind.
Fulgrim nodded in agreement.
He wanted to kill the Warmaster's clone, to prove that he was no longer merely a clone.
He was a true Primarch, already on the path of perfection.
The clone of Horus gripped the Worldbreaker power hammer with both hands, and a rolling gale followed the heavy hammer as it smashed towards Fulgrim on the ground.
But Fulgrim rolled nimbly, dodging the heavy hammer aimed at his head. Then he flipped over, stood up, and at the same time, grabbed the forge breaker warhammer beside him.
Fulgrim swung the forge breaker warhammer, colliding with the Worldbreaker in Horus' hand. The energy fields released by the two warhammers were like two stars colliding, merging, and crushing each other.
And in the eyes of the Astartes around them, Fulgrim and Horus themselves were as hot as stars.
Fulgrim was like a bright sun in its prime, hot, perfect, flawless, with not a single sunspot to be found on its photosphere. The golden and purple light constantly emanating from him made one's skin tingle.
Horus, on the other hand, was like the first star rising as midnight approached, scorching, powerful, and angry, vowing to burn midnight to ashes. Destructive power constantly emanated from him, inspiring fear.
Hammer met hammer again, and the Murder Star trembled, the dark clouds tearing apart. The thin light of the aging sun pierced through the gaps, showering down upon the two true stars.
But on this battlefield, besides these two scorching stars, the clash of two planets was equally fervent.
The Hellbrute Abaddon continuously unleashed bullets upon the Primaris Head, while the demon of the Heartless Slaughter domain, 'Hunnu,' residing within his body, continuously released deadly arrows, attempting to shoot down the Primaris Head.
The Primaris Head constantly parried with Abaddon, using the instantaneous movement ability granted by the Superpower Training Box and his own Psyker powers.
Psyker energy, woven into runes from nature, from the cycle of life and death, from storms, if a Rune Priest of Fenris were here, he would surely marvel at the power displayed by the Primaris Head.
But it wasn't just the cold winds of Fenris; other types of Psyker power also swirled around the Primaris Head.
Spells intertwined with destiny, woven with wisdom as their framework.
Curses, almost indistinguishable from superstition, formed from numbers as their foundation.
Storms, mixed with the spirituality of nature, formed with balance as their philosophy.
The powers of a Space Wolves Rune Priest, a Thousand Sons Arch-Sorcerer, a Death Guard numerology Master, and a White Scars Storm Seer were simultaneously displayed on him.
A strong sense of happiness brought by umbilical gas enveloped him. He could feel his cells being torn apart by the constantly surging Psyker energy, feel his muscles tearing from over-mobilizing the power in his genes, and the pain caused by genetic defects constantly emerging in his nerves.
But he felt no pain; his body was completely under his control. Pain could not restrain him, could not limit him.
Unbound Psyker energy roared, pressing down on Abaddon. Psyker flames continuously erupted from the Primaris Head's eyes, and the Hellbrute Abaddon, facing such wild Psyker energy, found it difficult to approach the Primaris Head for a time.
Twelve minutes and thirty-one seconds left. The Primaris Head calculated the effective duration of the umbilical gas.
But just then, the Primaris Head's nose caught a faint scent of flowers.
In that instant, the Primaris Head seemed to see thousands of exotic, crimson flowers slowly blooming and drilling into his body.
Poppy (Slaanesh daemon), a Slaanesh daemon born from addictive drugs that once had a major impact on humanity, was unleashing its power.
This demon silently infiltrated its will into the Primaris Head's body, attempting to overwhelm him with pleasure, joy, and euphoria.
"Hmm?" the Poppy (Slaanesh daemon) let out a soft hum.
Its will, upon entering the Primaris Head's body, felt something was amiss.
It...it felt immense joy within the Primaris Head's body.
But the Poppy (Slaanesh daemon) hadn't yet sown pleasure within the Primaris Head's body, so how did this joy appear??
The Poppy (Slaanesh daemon)'s instincts were awakened, and it involuntarily began to experience the joy, that sense of happiness, flowing within the Primaris Head.
That happiness far surpassed the pleasure the Poppy (Slaanesh daemon) could create; it was a more complex, more fulfilling, more tangible, and more beautiful feeling.
It was as if it had become an infant, gently held in its mother's arms, the mother humming a peaceful tune, the father watching the towering trees outside the window, hoping the child would grow as tall as the trees.
It was as if it had become a teenager, being kicked and bullied by older students, but its friends stood up for it. The child who used to always bully him shouted that he could only be bullied by him, and rushed fearlessly towards the older students. They were covered in wounds, helping each other home under the setting sun.
It was as if it had come to the most difficult days of studying, the cold wind rattling against the window. Its deskmate ran in from outside the classroom, her tender face red from the cold wind. She pulled out a steaming cup of milk tea from her oversized uniform, which covered her fingers, and shared it with it.
It felt its never-before-seen wife holding its hand, her slender fingers trembling with wedding nervousness.
It saw its child with scraped knees, but a proud face, holding up a sports day award.
It saw itself old, leaning on its bed, its aged wife gently kissing its wrinkled face, and then closing its eyes forever. But it felt no sadness, for it also felt the call of death, which was not terrifying, but rather exceptionally warm.
It had lived a beautiful and happy life, it could say that.
"Uhm... Ah? Ah!"
The Poppy (Slaanesh daemon)'s soul let out a whimper born of happiness.
This situation confused and bewildered the other seven daemons residing in Abaddon's body.
"Poppy (Slaanesh daemon)! What foolishness are you doing?" drach'nyen demanded.
Abaddon's will was often unclear, and whenever battle reached a critical point, drach'nyen often had to take over command of the battle, controlling the other seven daemons to fight.
It was also its command to let the Poppy (Slaanesh daemon) invade the Primaris Head's will. However, the current situation seemed a bit off?
The Poppy (Slaanesh daemon) let out a soft hum. The happiness it felt from within the Primaris Head was spreading to the other daemons around it.
This was its instinct, to continuously spread pleasure, just like a Poppy (Slaanesh daemon) sowing seeds, making the hillsides bloom with Poppy (Slaanesh daemon) flowers.
The other seven daemons were quickly overwhelmed by this happiness, and drach'nyen, floating in the sea of happiness, couldn't help but curse out loud.
A Slaanesh daemon, actually corrupted by someone else's pleasure.
How shameful.
Consequently, Abaddon's body also stiffened for a moment under the impact of intense happiness.
The Primaris Head seized this brief opportunity. He drew a power sword from his waist, and scorching Psyker energy covered it with roaring azure flames.
The Primaris Head's figure flashed, using instantaneous movement to kill to Abaddon's side.
Abaddon's body, overwhelmed by happiness, was difficult to move, and he could only stiffly swing his arm to strike at the Primaris Head.
The Primaris Head's eyes flashed. The x-ray vision trained by the Superpower Training Box allowed him to find the weak spot in Abaddon's armor.
The Primaris Head swung his sword fiercely, piercing into Abaddon's arm.
With a slight movement of the blade, one of Abaddon's arms was instantly severed, falling to the ground with a thud.
Abaddon let out a wild roar, retreating two or three steps.
"Don!!!!"
"Horus' stepfather's arm is broken!!!!"
This startled cry caused the Primaris Head's movements to falter.
The sound carried to the distance, and Fulgrim, who was fighting the clone of Horus, couldn't help but chuckle when he heard it.
Horus' face darkened and twisted a few times, then he involuntarily turned his head and roared at the Hellbrute Abaddon:
"Ezekiel!!!!!!"
"If you ever call yourself Horus' stepfather again, I swear I'll make you die more shattered than Sanguinius!!!!!!"
The clone of Horus' genetic memory had not yet awakened; he had almost no true memories of Horus.
But Abaddon's words stimulated him, and just one sentence awakened one-third of Horus' genetic memory.
Fulgrim looked at Horus, the smile on his lips widening: "Welcome back, brother."
"Fulgrim." Horus' face showed a trace of hesitation due to Fulgrim's words and his awakened memories.
But that was exactly the effect Fulgrim wanted.
He stepped out, seizing Horus' hesitation, and swung the forge breaker warhammer at the clone.
Horus' roar also startled Abaddon.
With one-third of Horus' genetic memory supporting it, this roar truly sounded like the Warmaster of old.
Abaddon instinctively looked back, involuntarily shouting:
"Dad! You're not dead!!!"
Horus turned his head, glanced at the Hellbrute Abaddon, and a trace of helplessness crossed his face.
He sighed, not even dodging the forge breaker warhammer Fulgrim brought down.
"So be it," Horus said softly.
The warhammer howled, and an orange-red furnace light engulfed Horus. The sharp hammerhead smashed directly into Horus' flashing bald head.
Bang!!!!
Horus' head exploded into brains, splattering outwards, forming a crimson flower.
"Ah! Dad! You died again!" Abaddon said dazedly.
The Primaris Head also seized this moment of Abaddon's daze. He thrust forward with his power sword, the blade piercing directly towards the coffin lid where Abaddon's remains lay.
But an indescribable, dark, twisted emotion from humanity's fear of the unknown suddenly burst in his heart. The indeterminate twisted domain demon lurking within Abaddon's body was the first to emerge from the sea of happiness, perfectly stopping the Primaris Head in his tracks.
Fabius Bile, who had been hidden in the shadows, noticed this opportune moment.
A corpse of an Emperor's Children, which had fallen at some unknown time, suddenly stood up.
The corpse's skin rapidly festered, revealing Fabius Bile's gloomy, spider-like face.
He threw the Rod of Torment in his hand at the Primaris Head's back. This weapon, from the daemon Prince, the Maimed Marquis Sa'Ladrak, wrapped in terrifying Warp evil energy, pierced into the Primaris Head's power armor.