Warhammer: Emperor's Ravenbringer

Chapter 93 Psychic Races - Space Snowmen
The entire strategic hall fell silent because of Ryan's words.

The only sounds were the humming of machines and the sound of gears meshing with each other.

People looked at the Primarch and then at each other.

"My Lord Primarch, this is totally unnecessary."

A military adviser stood up and expressed his opinion.

"The other party has clearly refused to submit to the Empire. According to the expedition regulations, we should use force to enlighten them."

"We cannot delay too long for a world in the Steam Age. There are still many worlds waiting to be saved by the Empire."

The staff officer's statement was echoed by others.

"How can a world with only steam industry technology be qualified to bargain with the Empire?"

"Let them witness the might of the empire, and they will know how foolish it is to refuse to surrender."

Astelan and the others did not speak.

But from their expressions, it can be seen that they also tend to agree with what the staff officer said.

The Empire should use absolute force to let the residents of the planet Bale 04 know that they have no choice.

Either they join the empire with dignity, or the empire helps them to be decent.

The great ship of the Great Crusade will never stop because of a stone blocking it.

The stones along the way either become part of the giant wheel or are crushed into powder.

There is no third option.

Ryan stood up from his seat.

Just tap on the holographic screen and the projection will automatically expand.

Countless points of light emerged, revealing a vast and boundless sea of ​​stars.

"My father once said that ruling the stars is the innate right of mankind, and the empire was established for this purpose."

"But we must be clear about one thing: why do we want to rule the stars? Why do we launch the Great Crusade?"

"For power, for honor, or for medals? No, these are just gifts and rewards for achieving the ultimate goal."

"The real purpose of establishing an empire and launching a great expedition is for the well-being of all mankind, for the unity of human civilization, and for every world to have the happiness and freedom to enjoy French fries and ketchup."

Ryan's eyes slowly and powerfully swept over everyone participating in the meeting.

"A civilization that only possesses steam technology is unwilling to surrender to its compatriots who can cross the stars to come to them."

"Even if they could gain more powerful technology and a better living environment, they would not do so."

"Don't you think this behavior is unusual?"

“Has he been brainwashed by religious fanaticism, or has he been enslaved by a dictator for too long?”

"There must be some unknown secrets behind all the abnormalities. We must understand the truth before we can decide how to treat them."

“War should be a last resort, resorted to only when all other attempts to peacefully resolve disputes and differences have failed.”

"That would take too much time." Someone offered a different opinion. "There are too many of our compatriots suffering in the universe. Many worlds have become hell. The faster we go, the more people we can save."

"We can't sacrifice those we should be able to save for the sake of efficiency." Ryan raised his voice, "We can't abandon those precious things for the sake of victory."

"I will find out as quickly as possible why they are unwilling to join the Empire."

"When that happens, we can discuss how to deal with Planet Baler 04."

"Then let's postpone it for a week. If we still can't resolve it peacefully after a week, we will use force." Seran didn't want to spoil Ryan's fun.

If force is used, Planet Baler 04 will completely surrender within a day.

"It won't take a week." Ryan said confidently, "It only takes one day for me to figure out why Planet Baler 04 is unwilling to submit to the Empire."

"And I will set off in advance. Before the fleet reaches the low-Earth orbit of Planet Barer 04, I will be able to find the answer and bring the truth to you."

"My Lord Primarch, one day is too short." Astelan stepped forward and tried to persuade Lion, "Just a week."

Ryan looked at Astelan, who kept blinking to signal him not to act rashly.

If this problem cannot be solved within one day, it will be a heavy blow to the prestige of the Primarch.

"Then let's do it in a week at the latest." Seran stepped forward and made the final decision.

Ryan stopped being tough and accepted their kindness.

After the meeting,
A small ship accelerated and broke away from the Fourth Expeditionary Fleet, flying straight to the planet Bale 04.

After entering the planet's orbit, it established contact with the advance team sent by the expeditionary force.

The leader of the advance team was a female diplomat.

Upon learning that the Primarch was coming in person, she took the initiative to meet with Ryan to report the situation.

The meeting place for the two parties was chosen to be an external balcony.

The planet Bale 04 can be clearly seen from here.

The planet Bale 04 is currently moving away from its star, and its temperature is dropping as it moves away from the star.

The cold and the dark are coming.

Standing in space and looking down at the entire planet, you can see that many parts of the planet are covered with ice and snow and have turned white.

Rolling snow storms churned up the atmosphere, carried along by ocean currents, and moved across the world along the planet's equator.

"My Lord Primarch."

The advance team diplomat came over with her servants and saluted Ryan.

Ryan withdrew his gaze from the planet Baler 04 and turned to look at the newcomer.

The other party was wearing self-heating bionic skin to resist the bitter cold of the void.

Over it he wore a proper imperial diplomatic robe.

An exquisite double-headed eagle emblem is worn on the chest.

She also had a mechanical prosthetic eye implanted, and the azure electronic eye looked quite beautiful.

"I'm glad you came to see me, Afka. How's the situation on Baler 04? Are they still so stubborn?"

Afoka nodded. "Nothing has improved. We promised them better technology, a better life, but they were unmoved."

"As night fell, their attitude became increasingly harsh and tough, and they began to refuse to meet and communicate with us."

Ryan turned his head and looked down at the planet Baler 04.

"At the military meeting, everyone else proposed taking military measures against Planet Baler 04, but I was the only one who chose to oppose it. It seems that this is not a wise move."

"From the previous contacts, it seems that Planet Baler 04 is indeed a stubborn world that needs to be enlightened by force." Afka paused before continuing.

"But during another meeting a few days ago, I noticed something was wrong."

"Their tone was tough but also contained a hint of pleading. As long as we could leave, they were even willing to give us those precious ancestral creations as gifts."

Afuka pulled out a piece of paper from his arms.

"And, I got this."

Ryan glanced at the paper in Afka's hand.

From the gaps in the paper, it can be determined that it was torn from a book.

"This was stuffed into my pocket when I was visiting a local ruler. I didn't notice it at the time until I returned to the ship, and then I found the paper in my pocket."

"Why should I give you this?" Ryan took the paper and began to read.

The text on the paper tells a story about a snowman and a little boy.

A little boy with no family built an adorable snowman.

The snowman came back to life and helped the little boy kill those who bullied and looked down on him.

He also helped the little boy defeat the king's army and made him the new king.

A typical fairy tale ending.

Afoka said, "What do those people want to tell us? But they can't say it!"

"It should be some kind of curse that will bring revenge once the truth is revealed." Ryan thought of this at the first time.

He knew more about the Warp than any of his fellow Primarchs.

When he was on Caliban, he had sensed something was wrong.

Later, he learned some dark secrets through the documents and books of various knightly orders.

“From the protagonist’s perspective, this fairy tale is a fairy tale, but from another perspective, it is undoubtedly a horror story.”

"A resurrected snowman goes around killing people. In many worlds, this is a very standard horror story template."

"This story is supposed to tell us that there was once a man who lost his family and was a loner. He summoned a monster similar to a snowman, and with the help of the monster's power, he became the king of the planet Baler 04 and enslaved the entire planet."

Ryan's words made Afka look thoughtful.

"But if this is the interpretation, why would the local natives refuse to submit to the empire? Isn't it a good thing to rely on the empire to get rid of its control?"

Ryan frowned. "There are many speculations. The first is that they don't trust the Empire. The second is that they have vested interests. The third is that they are being controlled."

"I have to go and see it myself before I can draw a conclusion on which kind it is." "Will it be too dangerous?" Afcar didn't think there was anything wrong with landing on the planet Bale 04.

But after Ryan's analysis, she felt a little scared.

Behind the seemingly backward planet Baler 04, there seems to be a dark and terrifying secret hidden.

Ryan smiled and said, "I am the Lord of Caliban, the eldest son of the Emperor."

"Whatever enemies this planet hides, they are not my enemies."

Several gunboats detached from the ships suspended in low-Earth orbit, passed through the storm and clouds, and landed on the ground.

In order to keep warm, the settlements on Planet Bale 04 are all located underground or near volcanoes, relying on geothermal heat to survive the winter.

At this time, the planet Bale 04 had moved away from the star, the temperature began to drop, and snow was falling from the sky.

The earth was covered in white.

The ruler that Ryan and Averka are about to visit lives inside a hollowed-out mountain.

"Be careful, they might attack us." Afuka gave the team a warning.

"If we are attacked, should we fight back?" the driver asked in the communication.

Ryan shook his head. "If there is no fatal blow, just fire at the mountain to deter them."

The gunboat landed on a wide mountain platform without being attacked or seeing anyone.

This made Afuka a little confused, because before, those people would come out with primitive guns and cannons to threaten them.

Once he stepped out of the gunboat, Afuka's confusion was answered.

Several fortresses built on the surface have been destroyed and covered with snow.

The guards' broken bodies were scattered all over the place, frozen stiff.

"Someone attacked here." Afuka took out her pistol from her waist, and a red light flashed at the muzzle.

The soldiers of the First Legion also activated their bolters and chainswords and entered combat mode.

[Alert: Abnormal subspace energy detected]

[Subspace energy fluctuations are too small to lock onto the exact location]

The genetic engine in Ryan's body kept making prompt sounds.

He looked around and saw no threat, so he lowered his head to observe the dead.

The bodies of the deceased were generally torn and tattered.

Judging from the wounds, the attacker must have been some kind of terrifying beast.

"What is this emblem?"

Ryan held a broken arm, pointed at the snowflake mark on it, and asked Afuka.

"It should be their tradition. Everyone has it." Afuka replied.

"Tradition?" Ryan looked at the mark with a slightly fixed gaze.

I'm afraid this thing is not just as simple as tradition.

They walked along the road and saw many snowmen piled on both sides of the road. Their snow-white bodies were stained with blood, which looked very creepy.

At the end of the road is a magnificent arch.

After walking in, you will see the palace of the ruler.

The interior of the mountain has been hollowed out and extends underground.

These buildings are very majestic and could not have been built with the technology of the Steam Age. They must be masterpieces of the Golden Age of mankind.

Intricate corridors lead to various places, and at regular intervals there is a vaulted hall serving as the intersection of the corridors.

There is not a single living person to be seen in this city located inside the mountains.

There were bodies lying on the ground everywhere.

The blood that flowed from them had frozen, and there was fear on their faces, as if they had seen something horrific before they died.

"What a terrible crime." Luther's tone was filled with suppressed anger.

"We will find the answer and punish the murderer," said Astelan.

Ryan said nothing, but just walked forward in silence.

When they arrived at the palace at the deepest part of the mountain, they had an unexpected gain.

A five-meter-tall terrifying figure lingered in front of the palace gate full of corpses, chewing on the bodies of the dead.

The sound made by Ryan and others when they arrived attracted its attention.

When the figure turned around, everyone saw its appearance clearly and they all gasped.

It was a snowman with tawny eyes and sharp claws.

Blood flowed from the corners of its mouth.

When the mouth is opened, you can see minced meat mixed in the gaps between the sharp teeth.

[Psychic fluctuations detected, hostile targets detected, database opened, hostile target information retrieved]

[The target belongs to the space snowman, a psychic species, whose home planet is unknown. It has appeared in human colonies many times and caused many killings.]

[Abilities: instant movement, damage recovery, invisibility, super strength (far beyond the strength of ordinary people), energy absorption, subspace shuttle, mental bewitching, mental induction]

Information about the other party automatically appeared in Ryan's eyes.

He looked at Afuka and said, "It seems that this is how the fairy tale is interpreted."

"My Lord, now is not the right time to talk about this," Afuka said.

"shooting."

Astralan was a veteran indeed. He pulled the trigger immediately and shot at the monster.

The other fighters followed closely behind.

The bombs were fired, but were blocked by an invisible shield barrier and all missed.

"Humans, humans."

The corners of the snowman's mouth turned up, revealing a creepy smile.

The sound it made was a disgusting, parody of a child's.

The figure blurred, and when it reappeared, it was in front of Ryan.

The claws waved, making a sound of breaking through the air.

Zheng!
Ryan swung his sword to block the snowman's attack, then punched him and knocked him away.

Then he held out a hand.

[Start Dark Judgment]

[The target has been locked, constructing a strike concept, building a void barrier, and isolating the flow of energy]

The snowman, who was about to get up, was suppressed by an inexplicable force and fell down again.

【Start space cutting】

An invisible sharp blade fell towards the motionless snowman and instantly chopped off its head.

The head rolled for several meters and finally came to rest in a pool of blood left by the humans it had slaughtered.

Those eyes were still staring at Ryan and his group with indescribable hatred and evil.

[The target has been obliterated, the concept has returned to its natural state]

Ryan was about to check the enemy's body when he suddenly heard a slight groan.

There are still people alive.

He walked over and found it was an old man in fancy clothes.

The old man was the ruler of this city, and the piece of paper torn from the fairy tale book was given to Afuka by him.

His throat had been pierced by the sharp claws and blood was constantly gushing out. He was no longer able to survive.

"What happened here?" Ryan knelt on one knee, bent down and asked the dying man.

"The curse is back." The old man spat out blood foam as he spoke, "Stranger, go to the deepest part of the palace. There you will find the answer you want."

PS: The AI ​​mapping feels average and doesn’t have that kind of atmosphere.

　Thanks to Cao丨Mei, Pawnshop Merchant, Xiaoshi Tomoyu, Wuxing Wangyaojie, Quiet Night, and Later Reading the Genuine Version for their tips

　　I have typed 7,800 words today, and hopefully I can write over 10,000 words a day.

　　Rush.

　　Try to tell a story in three to five chapters.

　　Keep asking for votes, hoping to break 4,000.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)