bookbashuk Page 410
Page 410
No, Macardo thought to himself, long ago in prison, the "Dead Man" had already determined that Magnus had no freedom left to resist.
Since the Crimson Sinner's every word and action is being monitored by the Lord of Change, Macado does not believe that Magnus's initiative will have any positive impact.
Then... it can only be Riemann Russ.
Macardo frowned as he thought that he hoped this good boy would suffer less. Ruth had always been the most understanding of Macardo among all the Primarchs.
I hope everything is alright on Fenris.
I hope everything is alright on Terra.
Makado realized that this was no longer a battlefield he could enter; often, you can only observe the beginning and end of a war from the sidelines.
So... is all of this a trap?
Did the Lord of Change lead them back to Kadia's trap?
Macado gazed at the sky, the stars reflecting their light on his aged retinas as he stared at the slowly flowing, scattering, shimmering fragments.
Whether it's a trap or not, they must head towards the Eye of Fear.
Holding out will only allow chaos to slowly bleed the world to death.
The man holding the seal gleamed with a sinister light from the shadows of his hood, and he spoke in a hoarse voice,
“...Magnus...your former brother.”
Mortarian raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to listen to Makado's words.
But the one who held the seal simply shook his head.
"Prepare to fight him, Mortarian—we can set sail now."
The old man silently departed, drawing away into the darkness. The Pale Lord stood still, watching Macado leave before turning back to stare at the starry sky in his eyes.
【……one way or another,】
Mortarian said softly,
At least for now, I will thank you, Magnus.
----------
The harsh winter of Fenris has passed.
Overnight, the wolf moon lost its sharpness, the wind and snow ceased to howl, and the wolf pack whimpered as they disappeared into the melting mud, while the Fenris people stared blankly at the continent where the plates were gradually solidifying.
Anyone who can understand the wind knows that Fenris's winter has passed forever.
But there is one place where the blizzard never stops.
That was the place where the wolf king Leman Russ ran.
The blizzard there never stopped; instead, it intensified. Even though the other plains were as hot as summer with the sun blazing overhead, once you set foot on that land, you were quickly transported to a dark and gloomy place where the wind and snow howled.
Of all those who trespassed, only the bravest, those who truly revered nature, managed to find their way out after getting lost; the rest perished in that blizzard-swept landscape.
No one knows what happened.
When the Space Wolves made their twenty-third attempt to organize heroes to venture into the snowy landscape in search of the Wolf King, Leman Russ, covered in snow and with white hair and beard, appeared before his offspring.
The bloodstains on his body had dried in the wind and snow, leaving only an aura of sorrow.
【go back!】
The wolf king then addressed his offspring.
[Go back! In the name of Riemann Russ—none of you are allowed to set foot on this land! You must not even look upon this land!]
The wolf pack maintained absolute obedience to their alpha wolf. Having lost their leader for many days, they whimpered and huddled around their king, who seemed to have endured too much, remaining silent and unlike the man he once was.
His aged, weary gaze occasionally flickered from his deep-set eyes.
After returning to his people, the still-wounded Leman Ruth spent nine months meticulously searching every corner of Fenris, leading his trusted followers and rune mages who were still capable of fighting.
No one knew what the wolf king was doing, but occasionally, the oblivious wolf cubs would see a necklace, seemingly made of broken eyeballs, shimmering with a faint red light around the wolf king's neck.
Nine months later, the wolf king, who had been buried in the earth, turned his gaze back to the sky. After looking directly at the red and white starry river that shone on Fenris day and night for the first time, the Lord of Winter let out a broken and painful whimper.
He didn't understand.
Riemann Russ realized he didn't understand.
He doesn't understand!
Magnus… the Wolf King thought painfully. Every step he took in deep thought felt like a slow, agonizing torture of his soul. For Riemann Russ at this moment, how difficult it was to think!
If the Primarch were observant, he would have discovered that beneath Lehman Ruth's rough exterior lay a meticulous and loyal individual.
Riemann Russ was not incapable of thinking.
But as the Emperor's executioner, as someone who participated in eradicating the vanquished Primarchs, and as his most loyal sword, Leman Ruth did not allow him to think too much.
Sometimes, thinking brings pain, doubt, and... betrayal.
Fenris taught Lehmann Ruth that as long as you can survive on this cruel land, you don't need to delve into the meaning behind things.
You don't need to understand why Fenris's winters are so long, you don't need to understand why the earth constantly devours the creatures that live on it, you don't need to understand why those cruel beasts take pleasure in cannibalism—
You don't need to know these things, you just need to survive.
Lehman Russ didn't need to know those things; he only needed to be loyal to the Emperor and carry out his orders.
The wolf king knew that Quan's father was right.
But now, his brother's blood splattered on his armor, the excruciating pain gnawing at him, and the curse of Magnus still echoed in Lehmann Russ's ears.
The wolf king gradually understood what Magnus had done back then.
What exactly did Magnus face at that time?
What decision did Magnus make at that time?
What exactly was the decision Magnus made at that time?
In Magnus's eyes, what role did he play at that time?
Lehman Ruth knew that the intergalactic war was still going on, but the motivation that had once guided his actions had been shattered, and his hand holding the sword was no longer firm.
He was unsure whether his next step was ultimately right or wrong.
Finally, the Wolf King, seated on his throne in Wolf Fang Fortress, issued an order to his legion: Space Wolves, proceed immediately to the Eye of Terror.
The Wolf King himself, along with the 13th Company of Space Wolves, disappeared into a tunnel deep within the Fenris land the day before the fleet set sail.
Great!
Chapter 482 Extra: The Fool's Confession
Would you like to listen to the story of a sinner?
The wind and snow howled, and boundless darkness enveloped the surrounding area. The only campfire crackled and flickered, illuminating peaceful faces.
At the very edge of darkness, those brilliant blue lights drifted like the aurora borealis.
Hades sat expressionlessly by the campfire, the only source of light, his back against a fallen giant tree that had groaned as it collapsed behind him.
He didn't care about the story of this giant tree, nor its past. At this very moment, billions of beings older and more magnificent than this tree were falling—but Hades didn't care at all.
He waited by the campfire, expressionless, in silence.
Until the crunching sound of footsteps on the snow rose behind him.
Hades ignored him. A ragged, red-haired man sat down opposite him, as if he had finally found a place to stay. He let out a long sigh of relief, untied the blood-stained bandage from his eyes, and the dirty bandage fell onto the snow.
Magnus blinked his single eye, and the campfire shone in his eye, its crimson glow overshadowing his original eyes.
The two remained silent. Hades was like a towering ancient tree growing in the forest; he simply stood there quietly, growing silently.
Magnus took a deep breath, a wry smile playing on his lips. He scratched his spiky hair and casually picked up a wine bottle that had fallen into the snow beside the campfire.
It was a flat-bottomed wine bottle, the perfect size for the Primarch to hold in one hand. Magnus's hand was covered in grime and grease. The Scarlet King curiously lifted the bottle and, sure enough, saw a line of small Barbarus writing on the bottom.
I'm definitely not the first one.
The Red Man muttered to himself as he uncorked the wine. A foul, pungent odor assaulted his senses. Magnus coughed violently a few times and fanned the air in front of him. "I'd rather drink Ruth's mead."
As he spoke, Magnus turned around and looked around at his surroundings, as if he were looking for something, but it seemed he hadn't found what he was looking for.
You can do it!
Magnus consoled himself, at least there was something here. He comforted himself with this thought, hesitantly raised the bottle, and drank the rubbish brewed by Mortarian.
【--vomit--】
Magnus regretted his actions; his tongue had touched the antennae of at least three different beetles. He cursed the damned Mortarion and promptly slammed the cap back on.
He would rather drink diesel fuel directly than this would be less agonizing to his tongue.
The damn liquid waste was like a sticky fire, slowly trickling down his esophagus in a thin stream. Magnus gagged, almost wishing he could vomit his stomach out.
The toxins eroded the Primarch's defense system, crawling densely onto his flesh like insects. Magnus shivered; the internal damage caused by the toxins made the Crimson King appear dazed and his skin red.
"Damn you, Mortalian," Magnus cursed inwardly. "Internal bleeding and organ corrosion are a form of drunkenness, aren't they?"
However, it must be said that the wine brewed by the Pale Lord did indeed put Magnus into a state "similar to being drunk".
Magnus burped, expelling the gas from his stomach. He paused, then looked around with hazy, drunken eyes. The night remained dark.
【All right,】
Magnus said in despair,
I have no regrets.
【only……】
He nervously gripped the bottle in his hand, and subconsciously opened it again.
Magnus stared at Hades, who stood silently opposite him, like a contemplative thinker.
[He still managed to get a part of me, didn't he?]
Magnus took a deep breath, feeling a chill creep up his spine. The thought plunged him into an icy abyss, and instinctively, he took another sip of the poisoned wine.
The Red One coughed violently and began to curse Mortarian loudly, sharply criticizing what he had brewed as something even worse than shit.
[He used this thing to force confessions from criminals?!]
Magnus shouted, "He doesn't even need to force them to drink it; just open the cork and let them sniff it—I swear on Prospero! This stuff will be in the top three most disgusting things in the galaxy!"
Magnus cursed for a long time, but then he felt uncomfortable, so he took a few more sips of water and fell silent.
【All right,】
Magnus muttered to himself, shaking the half-full bottle in his hand, the liquid gurgling as it flowed.
Magnus carefully placed the bottle back beside the campfire, then raised his hands in an innocent gesture.
[Leave something for those who come after—I wonder if I'll be the last one, the most unlucky one?]
Hades naturally did not respond to him. Magnus knew that the "Hades" in front of him was nothing more than a boring, symbolic representation, while the real Hades was this endless darkness.
I have no regrets!
Magnus suddenly called out again. Realizing that he was, in a sense, the only intelligent being present, Magnus felt rather pleased.
I—do—not—regret—it!
The crimson king spoke loudly, his face glistening with sweat, his crimson skin reflecting the firelight.
I just... I just...
He scratched his disheveled hair in vain. What could he say? He had nothing to say. What could he do when Magnus stood there, before the giant tree of Fenris?
He was simply dragged out again, abruptly thrown from the fate he had been accepting and into cruel reality.
but……
Magnus thought that at least this time he was mentally prepared, unlike the first time—he stared at Hades, raised an eyebrow, and crossed his arms, as if recalling the scene at the Nicaea Conference.
Magnus sighed deeply.
Well, at least that prevented him from doing anything stupid again.
What could he possibly do? Faced with a naive planetary soul, a barbarian who had pretended to be a barbarian so much that he had actually become one.