Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 934 Conflict Between Troop Deployment and Rebels

"I really didn't expect that after defeating the ghoul orc empire, we would still need to assemble our entire army and march to the same battlefield in the form of several legions."

Inside the command center, Luther, dressed in military uniform, gazed at the countless green dots flashing on the holographic display and sighed softly.

Each point of light represents a warship, and on board are tens of thousands of mortal crew members and the dark angel Astartes.

When these points of light come together, they will unleash an unparalleled power.

"Isn't this a good thing? The Caliban Battle Planet has only recently been completed, and she needs the most powerful enemy to prove her worth."

"It's like a finely crafted sword. If it can't be used to drink the enemy's blood on the battlefield, but is only displayed as an art piece to be played with in a museum, how pathetic would that be?"

"It seems I'm getting old, Astram. Compared to the bloody and brutal battlefield, I prefer to stay in the rear and coordinate all the war personnel and supplies."

Hearing Luther's answer, Astram the Dark Angel simply shook his head indifferently.

"In the entire legion, there is no one I can admire, but you are definitely one of the few I can treat as an equal."

"If I had to rank them, you, Luther, would definitely be in first place."

"Neither Coswayne nor Arachos are as important to me as you."

“In some respects, even the Primarch might not be able to defeat you.”

"As you know, our Primarch has very obvious strengths and weaknesses."

Luther's lips twitched. If it were the old Luther, hearing Astram, a veteran of the Dark Angels Legion, speak of him in this way would surely have filled him with pride.

After all, this is Astlan, a powerful warrior who fought alongside the Emperor during the War of Unification. In terms of seniority, even Ryan in the entire First Legion is not as good as him.

Astland's arrogance often led him to look down on Ryan Johnson.

But as for him now...

Luther no longer cares about the so-called knightly honor or the destiny of a warrior. These things that he had been so resentful about when Ryan banished him back to Caliban, and that he could never let go of, are now nothing more than that to Luther.

“The reason you’ve lost your former edge is because you’ve reconciled with Ryan. You no longer need to prove your abilities are worthy of that honor,” Astram said bluntly, seemingly seeing through the Legion Commander’s thoughts.

"Love makes you weak, and it makes you no longer the invincible commander on the battlefield."

Astland's words carried a hint of disappointment, but Luther was quite satisfied with the current situation.

After Ryan confessed his true feelings and apologized, Luther forgave him unconditionally.

After all, what father would stay angry with his son even after the son has given in?
Perhaps, but Luther is definitely not among them.

Genetically speaking, Ryan may indeed be Luthor's father, but in his heart, Luthor is the real father.

He was willing to unconditionally support and assist Ryan, even if it was just by doing logistical work for him.

“Asterland, you are not a father, you can’t understand how I feel.”

"When you become a father and see your son achieve greater things and build more brilliant achievements than you, you will never feel jealousy or competitiveness, but rather pride for him."

Astland looked at Luther with a hint of disgust as he appeared to be a loving father.

As one of the first emperors of the Astartes, Astram underwent genetic modification surgery in his youth.

After he became the Emperor's angel, his memories and emotions from his mortal days began to fade, so he naturally could not experience what fatherly love felt like.

“Ryan is lucky to have you as his father.”

“We are unfortunate; our genetic father is Ryan.”

Astland spoke from the bottom of his heart, and Luther's lips curled into an uneasy smile upon hearing this.

Is this a compliment or an insult?
"Alright, alright, you don't need to subtly hint at me like this. Although I no longer like war, it doesn't mean I'm incapable of it."

"This mobilization order was personally issued by the Lord of Mankind. The vast majority of the forces within the Dark Angels' territory will march with the Primarch to the Eye of Terror."

"More than 500,000 Dark Angels, billions of elite mortal auxiliary troops, and more than 2,000 main warships were redeployed, leaving only enough troops to maintain the basic defenses of the Dark Angels' fiefdom."

“Ryan has already gone to Kadia with the Emperor, while we will set off from the vassal state to meet up with him in Kadia.”

All the unnecessary complex emotions on Astlan's face disappeared.

The fighting spirit, the raw fighting spirit, and the ultimate desire to establish merit and gain glory poured out from this dark angel.

"Not only the Dark Angels, but the Iron Hand, which is closest to the Eye of Terror, has also dispatched more than 250,000 Astartes."

"As you and I both know, after those steel hands obtained the living metal cells from the Sage of Loshi, the entire legion underwent an indescribable qualitative change."

"They stopped the previous unrestrained and crazy mechanization and integrated flesh and metal cells into one, thus achieving a significant increase in the speed of Astartes modification."

When Luther spoke about the Iron Hand Legion, even the proud Astranite wore an extremely solemn and serious expression.

It's hard to say whether the current Iron Hands can still be considered Astartes, since their modified organs all grew as a single unit after being implanted with living metal cells, while other Astartes legions still need to undergo implantation and modification.

Furthermore, according to the Dark Angels' estimates, these steel hands implanted with living metal cells may surpass the First Legion, which serves as the template for all legions, in terms of individual combat power and battlefield survivability.

Although the Steel Hands can only muster 250,000 Astartes due to the short timeframe, the strength of this legion is still enough to warrant serious attention from all legions.

“Don’t forget, although their Primarch, Felus Marus, has lost his physical body, in a special environment like the Eye of Terror, the Cursed Legion will almost certainly fight.” Astram was deeply impressed by that legion that appeared and disappeared without a trace and was always silent.

"With the Iron Ten Legion being significantly strengthened, plus their cursed Primarchs joining the battle, I can't even imagine the terrifying combat power these Medusas will unleash."

Luther looked at Astram's earnest expression and suddenly laughed.

"Asterland, times have changed. We no longer need to treat our brothers in other legions with the same wary and defensive methods we used to use."

"The Iron Hand has proven its loyalty during the Horus Rebellion. We stand on the same side, so there's no need to worry that they might suddenly turn against us."

"After all, if they had any ill intentions, they would not be able to be guided by the God-Emperor after death to enter the sacred home of humankind and enjoy eternal peace, nor would they be able to join the Cursed Legion and continue to fight alongside their Primarchs."

Since the descent of the God Emperor, and with the flourishing of the state religion, the cohesion of humanity as a whole has been continuously strengthening.

Even a weak mortal, unless he chooses to fall into chaos, will find it difficult to break through the influence of the God Emperor's faith and the human local network to forcibly corrupt humanity, even with the temptations and torments of the subspace.

Every person who is loyal to the God-Emperor has an invisible thread connecting them to the God-Emperor who is in charge of the local network. The audacious warp demons would better pray that the God-Emperor will not notice when they corrupt humans, so that he can directly output power in the opposite direction and completely annihilate the warp demons.

"And those wolves, the Fenris Wolf King has returned from the Web Path. He will lead his pack on a great hunt, and more than 300,000 space wolves will set off directly from the Fenris system and gather in Cardia."

After some deliberation, the two concluded that the three Astartes legions closest to the Eye of Terror alone could mobilize over a million Astartes.

It is no exaggeration to say that if these three legions were to return to the very beginning of the Great Rebellion, Horus's rebels would have been utterly crushed in their infancy.

The widespread adoption of original casting upgrade technology, along with the upgrading of naval warships, has led to a continuous increase in the combat power of human legions.

"The Primarch of the Imperial Fist, Rogue Dorn, also went to Cadia. In addition to continuing to garrison most of its forces in Terra, the Seventh Legion also sent the Black Knight Sigismund with a portion of its elite troops to follow in Dorn's footsteps."

"And then there's the Nirvana Steel of Danteok. I've heard they're extremely skilled at fighting alongside Iron Man, and they're a formidable force as well."

"Since the Lord of Humanity has personally gone to the battlefield, the Emperor's Claw, composed of the Imperial Guard and the Silent Sisters, will certainly follow. During the Great Rebellion, this force was always hampered by the Cyber ​​War and never had the chance to exert its full strength."

“The Sage of Loshi has also gone to Cadia, so the sages of the Advanced Technology Community and the Cult of Mechanics will surely send their treasured Titan Legion and Knight Families to the battlefield.”

"After all, no believer could refuse the honor of fighting alongside Om Messiah."

The two high-ranking commanders of the Dark Angels listed out the forces that humanity had gathered, but the more detailed the list, the more alarmed they became.

When the emperor issued the order to assemble them, he did not clearly state the purpose of the assembly or who the enemy was.

But in the Eye of Fear, what other enemies could there be besides those damned traitors and the warp-space malicious entities behind them?
"Optimistically speaking, this war may be the last battle between us and our enemies in the warp."

"In the real universe, the only ones who can be our enemies are those slumbering space undead."

After Luther finished speaking, he fell into a brief silence.

After a long silence, Astran slowly spoke.

“I don’t care about these things. I was born for war, and the will of the Lord of Mankind is my will.”

"I will fight my way out with guns and swords for the future and destiny of mankind."

“Yes,” Luther smiled, his bearded chin creased with a grin, “we will succeed, for humanity.”

“For humanity,” Astram replied in kind.

……

"Everything we do is for the sake of humanity."

"Only the Lord of Darkness can truly redeem humanity; only by embracing death can one be reborn."

"Since the Empire is so stubborn, and they firmly believe that what they are doing is also saving humanity, let time tell."

“We leave, we give this universe to them, and we will go and find a suitable universe where we can put our ideas into practice.”

Looking at the various rebel leaders gathered before him, Hydra said this.

Just as the human empire's massive war machine was gathering on an unprecedented scale toward Kadia and the edge of the Eye of Terror.

Deep within the Eye of Fear, in that bizarre and chaotic place where the laws of physics and the rules of the subspace are intertwined, a sense of impending doom is rapidly spreading among the rebel leadership.

The news reached them almost simultaneously through different channels.

During the blasphemous ritual, the Great Speaker Luojia saw a terrifying illusion through prophecy: the curtain of reality was forcibly closed by golden light.

In a brief exchange of fire with Imperial reconnaissance fleets at the edge of the Eye of Terror, the Black Legion's scout fleets captured fragmented information about the "Imperial presence" and the "assembly of multiple Primarchs and their Legions." Even some demons serving specific Chaos Gods brought vague warnings from their masters—an unprecedented storm was brewing.

Inside the sinister and magnificent command hall of the Black Legion's flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed to freeze the air completely.

Chaos Warmaster Abaddon is currently standing in front of the enormous star map, lost in thought.

He did not use the power of chaos, but instead had two priests of the Dark Mechanicus control the equipment and the machine servants to create projections.

At the height of the Second Comorian War, Vashtor, in order to defeat Loshi, did not hesitate to completely drain his own faith power, devouring all those who believed in him.

The original Dark Mechanicus Forging General, Keiber Hal, died directly from Vashtor's exploitation, and more than 99% of the Dark Mechanicus members died on the spot.

However, there are always exceptions, and a small number of members of the Dark Mechanicus survived.

Most of them were originally marginal figures in the Dark Mechanicus, and their betrayal of the Empire was also due to being coerced, which makes their faith in Vashtor not entirely pure.

However, it was precisely this group of people whose faith was not pure that survived the devastation brought by Vashtor and even became trusted technical priests by Abaddon's side.

Abaddon valued these mechanical priests highly, since most of the usable ones were dead, and even if the remaining ones were technically incompetent, he had to grit his teeth and continue using them.

On the star map, golden dots representing the imperial power are surrounding the outline of the Eye of Fear with unprecedented density, almost using their own light to completely dispel this scar.

The Great Raider's face was so gloomy it could drip water, and his eyes, filled with ambition and restraint, swept over the leaders of the various factions gathered there.

"They've all come: the False Emperor, Ryan Johnson, Rogdorn... The Empire has piled up every force they can find at our doorstep."

This is not a routine purge; it is a war of annihilation. Their objective is clear: to completely eradicate the Eye of Fear from this universe, leaving not a single survivor!

Abaddon's voice was extremely loud, like a raging Leman Rustanke unleashing its noise.

His striking, spiky ponytail swayed constantly, making it impossible to ignore.

Abaddon's gaze was piercing, fixed on everyone present.

An overwhelming aura of ferocity emanated from the Drachnien in his hand, and even the two Primarchs present were extremely wary of this power that naturally restrained humans.

"And I warned you long ago, I told you, the era of clinging to life is over, we must leave this prison that is about to be completely suffocated by the imperial order, and go to a new universe to carve out our own territory! But what about you?!"

His anger was first directed at Fabius Bayer, the de facto leader of the Third Army.

According to rumors, during the previous Primarch escape incident, the Ascended Primarch of the Emperor's Sons, Forgrim, suffered an irreparable and fatal blow.

He has been unable to be resurrected to this day, and is suspected to have died completely. Even the Prince of Pleasure was unable to bring his beloved toy back to life.

Ascended Forgrim is the Third Legion's biggest backer. Although he doesn't interfere in affairs, his very existence is a deterrent.

Now, that deterrent has disappeared, and Abaddon is much more powerful.

"Chief Pharmacist, great genetic biologist, creator comparable to the Emperor." Abaddon's voice was filled with endless sarcasm.

"How's your genetic archive coming along? Have you packed up all your endless supply of precious experimental subjects and sample materials? Or are you planning to use those half-finished monsters to fight against the False Emperor's Imperial Guard and Primarchs?"

Fabius Bayer looks much thinner and more weathered than before, as if he has aged hundreds of years in a short period of time.

His hair on the top of his head was even thinner, having completely transformed into a Mediterranean hairstyle, while the rest of his pale hair hung down on his power armor, giving him an air of obsession and vexation.

"Commander, you know how much damage the accident caused to my experiment last time!"

"I must make up for the losses, is that wrong?"

Bayer was referring to the previous mass escape of the Primarch clones, which nearly destroyed several of his most important laboratories.

“Some samples are unique, and replication takes time, not to mention those sophisticated devices that require special stabilization during subspace travel…”

“Time?” Abaddon interrupted him, his voice rising eight octaves. “The Empire’s blade won’t give you time!”

"Once Ryan Johnson's offspring join your crew, all your bottles and jars, along with you, will become garbage floating in space! Do you even understand the situation we're in right now?!"

Fabius remained silent, knowing that Abaddon was right.

"It seems I must make a clean break now; it won't do me any good to really anger Abaddon."

The chief apothecary of the Emperor's Sons already knows the situation of the Primarch. Forgrim's fragments are scattered everywhere across various timelines, and their biggest backer is gone.

Then, Abaddon looked at Loka Aurelion, who had remained silent.

The Chaos War General's rage was so intense that even Luo Jia's status as a demonic primordial body couldn't suppress it; he was furious.

"And you, Luojia!"

"You must give me an explanation! Why hasn't your legion shown any sign of withdrawal?"

Abaddon's tone carried an barely suppressed impatience.

"What are you waiting for? A chance to catch up with Guilliman? I understand your hatred, but this is not the time to settle personal scores! Your stubbornness will kill us all!"

Luo Jia slowly lowered his head, and on his enormous head with five horns, a pair of demonic eyes burning with obsessive flames stared straight at Abaddon.

“Hatred is not stubbornness, Abaddon. It is a trial of faith, a mission given to me by the Dark Lord.” His voice was calm but contained an undeniable firmness.

"Robert Guilliman, that hypocrite who prides himself on reason, if fate brings him before me, I will offer his blood and failures as the richest sacrifice for our expedition."

"Only in this way can we go more smoothly and receive more blessings and help."

"Sacrifice?" Abaddon almost laughed in anger.

"When the Emperor himself takes you back to repent, see if your god will come to save you. The Dark Lord is suppressed on the Golden Throne, and you are still fanatically worshipping Him. What we need now is survival, not a hopeless martyrdom!"

In stark contrast to the procrastination of these two are Angeltai and Omega.

Angeltai, the perfect blessed son, remained as calm and quiet as ever, his gentle aura completely out of place with the Soul of Vengeance.

Kahn stood silently behind Angortai, like an extension of himself; their Chaos Legion was already prepared to leave the Warhammer universe.

All members of the Chaos Legion have completed the enchanting ritual under Angortai's leadership.

This is a legion composed entirely of blessed sons.

For these beings who are a combination of humans and warp creatures, weapons, armor, and even supplies are no longer necessities.

They vowed to follow Angelthai, to practice his ideal of harmony between humanity and the warp, and to fight for it for the rest of their lives.

Hydra's voice was calm and even: "The Alpha Legion's intelligence network has once again confirmed the scale of the Empire's mobilization. Resistance is futile; the necessary knowledge and technology I acquired previously have been backed up."

“I support the immediate implementation of the escape plan; survival is paramount.” Omega stood firmly behind Abaddon, which made the Chaos Warmaster, who was troubled by the dissent of his subordinates, feel somewhat better.

That damned Luo Jia, if he had half the decisiveness and wisdom of Omega, I wouldn't be so worried.

In addition to these two groups, Azak Ahriman and Chaos Space Marines such as Typhons also gathered on the Soul of Vengeance.

The number of members in the Prodigal Warband led by Ahriman is extremely small. These children of a thousand wounds who have fallen into chaos cherish their lives very much. Unless they encounter something related to the mutation of their flesh and blood, they usually do not clearly express their stance.

Typhons, the Chaos Space Marine who was promoted to Demon Prince, was further targeted by other Great Impures because of the burning of the Plague Gardens.

Typhons couldn't understand why the native demons of Nurgle Gardens would suddenly become hostile to him and the Ascended, and even the Chaos Astartes of the Death Guard were being ostracized.

The harmonious and inclusive atmosphere of the Plague Garden was reversed in a very short time.

Some of the most unclean even clamored that the children of these cursed ones should be kicked out of the warp, out of the plague garden, and back to that damned human empire, for they would surely betray their benevolent father in the future.

So he had no choice but to leave the Plague Gardens, taking with him the last of his Death Guards to answer Abaddon's call and see if he could do anything to get the Father to forgive them.

The hall of Vengeance was still in chaos; these warlords under Abaddon were not so easily persuaded.

Unless their interests are met, or they are subdued by pure violence, they will continue to wrangle endlessly here.

"Enough!" Abaddon slammed his fist on the star map control panel, the loud sound of Horus's claws rubbing against each other temporarily silencing the argument.

He glanced around at the crowd, his eyes flashing with a dangerous signal that had reached the extreme of tolerance.

"I've had enough of your shortsightedness and selfish scheming!"

"I am not begging you, I am commanding you! I am the Chaos Warmaster, the commander appointed by the Dark Gods! Our time is not measured in years or months, but in days and hours!"

"You think I'm just urging you on? No, I've already found a way to leave."

Abaddon raised his hand, and a dark energy gathered in his palm, vaguely forming a distorted and unstable illusion of a passage.

"The gods have given me a revelation; they have shown me an ancient tunnel that connects to other universes."

"It lies in the deepest part of the eye of fear, in the gap between reality and illusion. It was once the path through which some ancient beings departed, and now it will open itself to us."

Abaddon's voice was full of seductive power: "We will make a strategic shift and march into the infinite multiverse, where we will spread the glory of the gods to new worlds."

“There, we will build a truly eternal chaotic kingdom, while staying here means certain death, becoming a laughingstock of a loser in the Imperial Museum.”

Finally, Abaddon's gaze swept over everyone present.

"Listen, this is an ultimatum, 72 hours! I'm only giving you 72 hours to make final preparations! Once the time is up, the Vengeful Spirit will be the first to sail to the tunnel entrance."

"Those who are willing to follow, I, Abaddon, welcome; those who hesitate, stay and face the wrath of the false emperor!"

Abaddon no longer tried to persuade, but instead used absolute authority and the imminent threat of death to force all parties to make a final choice.

(End of this chapter)