Vosotho gazed at Nareth, who resembled a marble statue. The rumors circulating within the Legion came to mind.
More than one noble of Macragge had mentioned that his father had erected statues of his five brothers in the Fortress of Hera.
Vosotho could still guess the identities of the five statues. When Lord Guilliman evaluated his Primarch brothers, he held five in particular esteem.
"Among my brothers, there are five who resolutely and reliably fulfill their duties. They are the Dauntless Few."
Vosotho recalled his father's obvious pause, lasting over a second.
He couldn't precisely gauge his father's thoughts, only inferring from his complex expression that he might have had reservations, found it hard to summarize simply, or even held mixed emotions.
The meritorious Lord Nareth had forced Lord Horus to abandon his diplomatic tact and accelerate the pace of conquest.
His father would surely be troubled that three key strategic centers in his blueprint for the Realm of Ultramar, Talassar to the west, Ganfall and Calth to the north, were already occupied by Lord Nareth in advance.
They were like three wedges driven into the core of his plan.
As the former Legion Master of the War-born, he understood the vital strategic importance of these three regions. They, along with over a dozen other systems of Lord Nareth, formed a contiguous block that split the Realm of Ultramar.
His father, the great strategist and politician, could not ignore such a flaw torn into his grand vision.
Vosotho remembered his father speaking the last name with a calm tone, "Nareth."
Then he spoke rapidly, as if to steer his sons' thoughts in a new direction.
"No matter the enemy, if I had any one of those five brothers at my side, I could win any war."
"Even in the direst, apocalyptic circumstances, if the Ultramarines allied with any one of those five, I could deduce a plan for practical victory."
"Nareth is the key among them. If you fight alongside him, victory will surely follow you."
Vosotho now profoundly agreed with his father's designation of Lord Nareth as the key to the Dauntless Few.
He united Astartes from different Legions, allowing them to leverage their respective advantages and win glory.
His own combat power was immense. Powerful xenos were instantly shattered.
As Vosotho pondered, a flash of green leaped into his vision.
It was the Emerald, a ship distinctly different from the many Gothic-style vessels of the expedition fleet.
Unlike the heavy warships, the Emerald, a converted Craftworld fragment, was like a void garden.
Lush trees grew thickly, like a green ocean.
After the Aquila shuttle landed, Vosotho followed Lord Nareth towards the biological laboratory.
He noticed that vines spread across the entire ship.
Entering the biological laboratory, Vosotho saw the vines almost seemed alive, swaying within a certain range.
The laboratory contained many bizarre creatures: some eagle-headed, lion-bodied, scorpion-tailed; others tiger-headed, python-bodied.
The Astartes intuitively sensed that the vines posed some threat to these creatures.
Vosotho and the others involuntarily stared intently at the vines.
They noticed the vines were pitch-black, enclosing a spherical object. Its surface was bumpy, somewhat resembling a human brain.
But it was covered in slime and traversed by a single red line.
As the vines spread closer, they all felt their thoughts momentarily stall.
Marlena smiled and reported to the Black Emperor, "My Lord, through my research, I have found a way to counter the Cerabvores' toxicity."
She noticed the many followers beside the Black Emperor.
Marlena had only interacted with some of them. Unable to ascertain their loyalty, she refrained from detailing the process and decided to let them experience it firsthand.
Another vine extended from the right, presenting a green bottle to the group.
"Who would like to try?"
"I will." During his time attending Nareth, Vosotho had noticed that those around him possessed various abilities.
He scrutinized the green bottle and decided to experience it himself.
The vine spread to Vosotho, depositing a drop on the tip of his nose.
The green fluid vanished rapidly, seeping into Vosotho's body.
His transhuman mind carefully discerned the bodily changes. His thoughts rapidly became clear.
"It works."
Vosotho looked at Marlena in astonishment. During the battle on the war-moon, he had fought Cerabvores firsthand.
Before the xenos' bizarre attack felled Cerabvores and other enemies indiscriminately, he had experienced how the neurotoxin clogged his transhuman body's thoughts, then stiffened his limbs.
Now, she had found a way to counter the Cerabvores' neurotoxin.
"I enlisted one hundred and four Auxilia soldiers, averaging fifty-two experiments per batch."
"Each drop of this fluid allows an ordinary soldier to be immune to the neurotoxin for one minute."
"Astartes have stronger wills. They should be able to resist it longer."
Nareth's eyes lit up. The Cerabvores were one of the two core Rangdan races, more numerous than the Osseivores, and often served as commanders.
Finding a way to counter the neurotoxin would be crucial.
He asked, "Can it be mass-produced?"
"My Lord, no problem."
"Truly a research achievement that can influence the course of the war, just as you said."
Nareth smiled and nodded. With Malena's discovery, ending the war with the Rangdan earlier was even more assured.
"I have prepared a gift for you on Forge-Steel Keep. It contains a Slaugth laboratory and research data."
"I believe you will benefit from it."
Marlena's eyes lit up. "My Lord, I will not disappoint Your expectations."
En route back to the Shadow Sovereignty aboard the Aquila Lander, Arsena reported to the Black Emperor.
"My Lord, the Word Bearers Legion fleet has arrived in the Puhlheim system."
Upon hearing this, Nareth thought silently.
'Thierry had already led the 8th Chapter back from the Eastern Galaxy. Even with the webway gate shortening the journey, it took longer than the Word Bearers.'
'The Word Bearers' numbers have grown as fast as Shadows of Order and the Ultramarines, yet their conquests are few and far between. No wonder the Golden Man punished them.'
He looked at his Aide. "Who is the commander?"
.....
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