Chapter 107: Next Stop, Baal
"It will take time," Ramesses said, not in a hurry. He then destroyed the daemonhost's right hand.
Arthur silently approached with the surgical instruments from his gauntlet.
"Right, I remember Arthur can insulate himself from the Warp's influence," Romulus said, having gone through the PowerPoint presentation twice more. "Would he be a suitable Apothecary?"
"You want to send Karna to do the recovery?" Ramesses couldn't help but retort.
"..." Romulus looked embarrassed.
"You can rest easy on that point," Ramesses said with a laugh. "I can still use my psychic powers when I'm next to him, and it's not like he cancels me out. As for the specific reason, you can just think of it as a father's love from your dear brother."
"If we're really going to split hairs, I'm definitely the dad of you three."
Hearing this, Romulus couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. He understood what Ramesses meant. The reason they didn't affect each other was because they had no defenses up against one another. Otherwise, the abilities of the four of them would definitely be clashing all the time.
"Once Arthur has completely taken over the biological research duties and can independently develop the Apothecarion for our future legion, I will step back from this and focus on the research of the 'Stormcast' and the extraction of knowledge from the Warp," Ramesses said. At the mention of this, he rubbed his head, a headache coming on. Tzeentch had been constantly searching for his "park" in the Warp. After he had stopped capturing Tzeentchian daemons, they had started to develop all sorts of disguises, desperately trying to sneak in. At first, he could tell them apart instantly. Now, he had to spend a bit of energy to check them one by one.
Without the Tzeentchian daemons, the daemons of the other three gods weren't very reliable. Ramesses felt that his Warp-search-engine was becoming a bit sluggish. The knowledge-organization mechanism he had established had had its most important component removed, thanks to Tzeentch's tireless efforts.
"This problem has indeed become quite serious," Romulus said with a frown after listening to Ramesses's account of his recent troubles. But what could you do? Tzeentch was the daemon who held the secrets of knowledge, and was also the Lord of Change. He was incredibly difficult to deal with. Romulus didn't know much about the Warp, but if even Ramesses thought it was a problem, then it was a real problem.
"Tzeentch isn't the only one in the Warp who possesses knowledge," Arthur said in a low voice, his head still bowed as he repaired the daemonhost's hand.
"?" Romulus tilted his head.
"Vashtorr."
"Oh—" Before Romulus could react, Ramesses slammed a fist into his palm. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have just been focused on the daemons of the Four Gods. There's a whole bunch of daemons of Chaos Undivided whose potential is just waiting to be tapped." He had subconsciously ignored these guys before, treating them as scraps and using them as overseers. It was only with Arthur's reminder that he remembered this group of Chaos Undivided could also be infinitely subdivided.
Sigh, what a waste. I've been letting those Undivided daemons have it too easy recently. The Four are just too much of a pain. I shouldn't have been biased. I ignored the fact that they're all pains in the ass.
"You guys carry on. I'm heading out."
Ramesses snapped his fingers, and his entire psychic projection vanished with a biu.
In his Warp-park, the Undivided daemons who were serving as overseers stared into the shadows, looked at the task indicators on their own panels, and all felt a sense of impending doom.
"He's quick on the uptake," Romulus remarked, looking at Arthur, who was packing up. "Aren't you going to continue?" He hadn't thought much of it at first, when Arthur had said he was trying to learn about medicine, but he hadn't expected it to be this stimulating.
"The Nemesis Chapter marines have arrived," Arthur replied.
After killing the daemon within the body, Arthur clasped his gauntlets, and the medical instruments attached to his left and right hands immediately detached and were stored in his backpack, which had been emptied by his micro-motors. The armor they were using now was all the most advanced technology. The equipment built into the "Armor of Fate" was even more advanced than the Custodes' armor. With Dantioch, they could design top-of-the-line gear without worrying about cost. Recently, Romulus had had Dantioch design a mass-production model. Once the improvements were complete, their future legion would have good armor to use.
"Alright then, let's go together."
After waiting for Arthur to push the surgical materials from this session into the incinerator for disposal, Romulus left the black site with him.
"My Lords!"
When they arrived at the bridge, Romulus and Arthur found that High Marshal Helbrecht had also come. Isn't he supposed to come in the morning?
"As the temporary representative of the joint crusade fleet, I have come personally to deliver a message from the Navigator's Sanctum," Helbrecht said, seeing Romulus's confusion. "In thirteen Terran hours, the fleet will depart. We will be proceeding to our first stop, Baal, to rendezvous with the Blood Angels."
The Baal system, in the Red Scar, was just to the galactic south of the Pierdra Sector. Since the crusade fleet was heading to Ultramar, it was on the way.
"Good." Romulus had no objections to this. It was a good thing to have more contact with these Founding Chapters. Necessary diplomatic relations were still needed. And theoretically, the transmigrators did have a way to solve the Black Rage.
"Then, my Lord, may the duel begin?" Helbrecht asked naturally, feeling the sharp gaze of the Nemesis Chapter Master at his back.
"..."
So the real reason a whole High Marshal had to come over to deliver a simple departure message was because you just wanted to fight?
Romulus decisively stepped aside. Better to let Arthur, the high-command-charmer, handle this.
"It may."
Arthur, facing the gazes that were converging on him, naturally walked into the dueling arena that had been set up during this time to handle such challenges.
In the Soul Forge of the Warp.
"Soon, soon," Vashtorr said, looking at another completed contract in his hand. He threw the soul within it into the forge and watched as countless war machines poured out. This was a shipment for the Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon.
Normally, he would have delayed this shipment for a while, but recently, some other warbands had also become active, placing a lot of orders with him, so there was no need to fleece the ever-victorious Warmaster any further.
A blue light flashed in Vashtorr's eyes as he watched the Soul Forge. Although he didn't know what the Lord of Change was up to, since a large number of souls were coming in, this demigod, who was constantly striving for a place among the Chaos Gods, didn't care too much about their dirty tricks. As long as he could fleece the Four Gods, it was fine.
Anyway, when these weapons were released, they would all become his power to stir the fate of the universe.
Vashtorr looked at the burning forge, his eyes filled with an immense pride.
See, this is my domain. An advantage that not even the Four Gods possess.
Fight. Let these gods fight. When I snatch the few grains of sand that fall from your great maws, when these grains of sand that you have never cared for become a rolling stone, it will give you an unprecedented surprise.
Vashtorr, the self-proclaimed god of machines, gazed at the cosmos, his eyes locked on the great rock floating in the endless void.
There, in the fortress-monastery of the Dark Angels, was stored the thing he had always dreamed of.
"Soon, soon," he whispered, as the great rock flashed and disappeared once more into the vastness of the cosmos, its trail lost.
Vashtorr was waiting for the day the galaxy was torn asunder. His chance to become a god would arrive at that moment.
The joy brought by this vision was so captivating that he ignored the daemons that had suddenly disappeared from within the Soul Forge.
(End of Chapter)