Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 587 Communication Blockage
Feralus Manus did not even use her deadly "Gorgon Skin".

She ignored those who knelt; she retaliated with thunderous force against those who attacked her.

With just a power axe he casually snatched and precise, deadly close-quarters combat skills, he turned several Valan warriors into twitching wreckage on the ground in the blink of an eye.

The bomb was deflected by her heavy shoulder armor, leaving only faint white scratches.

Her movements were efficient and ruthless, each step carrying immense weight, and every strike containing the power to shatter stars.

She ignored the flashing red alarm lights around her, the servo skulls that were trying to crash into her, and the overturned, burning control console.

Her gaze, like two cold searchlights, pierced through the chaotic smoke and fluttering data tapes.

It accurately pinpointed the area behind the main tactical command post.

The man, Valantief, was trying to connect to a hidden data port, his figure almost completely obscured by the frantically flashing screen and dangling data cables.

Sensing the approaching shadow of death, Vilidian whirled around.

The highly mechanized arm rose, the built-in explosive gun in the wrist attempting to aim, emitting a rapid charging sound.

“Asking for help is not betrayal!” Vilidian’s synthesized voice was severely distorted by the rapid data flow and the fear growing deep within his core, making it hoarse and grating.

"Medusa is undergoing a dramatic change! The core logic has determined that the internal stability has fallen below the threshold!"

"I am merely requesting technical arbitration and necessary support from the Mars Forging Temple in accordance with the Mars-Medusa Technical Assistance Agreement!"

"What's wrong with this?! Your regression itself is the biggest variable and anomaly!"

Felus's movements were faster than the limits of visual capture!

Her "Gorgon Skin" suddenly came to life, shooting out like a silver-gray lightning bolt.

It hardened and shaped instantly, precisely gripping Vilidian's power gloves.

The liquid metal, like a living, dense fluid, relentlessly seeped into the joints crafted from refined gold.

With a sickening metallic writhing and snapping sound, the heavy power gauntlet was forcibly removed and ripped off Vilidian's arm.

It exposes the pale artificial muscle tissue underneath, which is covered with neural interfaces, mechanical connectors, and slightly trembling.

“When your ‘cry for help’ signal came,” Feralus’s voice was deep and thunderous, containing a fury powerful enough to freeze the soul.

Each word struck the core of Vilidian's logic like a heavy hammer blow.

"With priority above all else, they forcibly covered and blocked all legion tactical command channels in the star system surrounding the Karada Fortress."

"This caused the 7th and 9th Combat Companies, who were engaged in a bloody battle with the remnants of the Octarius orcs in the Lakras Abyss, to be unable to receive crucial retreat and regrouping orders, resulting in a delay of a full seventeen minutes and forty-two seconds—"

She casually tossed the twisted and deformed power gauntlets to the ground as if they were a pile of real scrap metal.

It produced a heavy and shameful thud.

"—This is no longer a plea for help, but the most despicable betrayal, putting your own blood relatives to death!"

"Thirty-seven Iron Hand warriors were isolated and helpless because of your 'logic' and this damned communication blockade, and ultimately perished in battle!"

"Is their sacrifice the price you pay for your loyalty to Mars?!"

"Is this the cold-blooded 'efficiency' that your twisted beliefs uphold?!"

Vilidian's electronic eyes were flashing wildly, and the overloaded data stream was almost burning out his vision processor.

"...Calculations show...the priority of introducing the highest level of external arbitration to resolve irreconcilable internal conflicts..."

"...far exceeding the temporary losses of local tactical units..." "...losses...are an acceptable price to be paid to ensure the long-term logical purity of the legion..."

"...The logical chain...is complete..."

"The price?" Felus interrupted him, the Primarch's majesty pressing down like a physical weight, causing Viridian's servo joints to groan under the strain.

"The sacred duty of the Astartes is to protect the Empire and humanity!"

"Instead of treating them as chips to be discarded at will on your cold, calculating scale!"

"You have tarnished the name of 'Logic,' you have betrayed the oath of protection!"

Her liquid metal arm writhed again, instantly transforming into a massive blade radiating extreme cold light, which approached Vilidian's head.

The light stung all his optical sensors.

“I, Feralus Manus, Primarch of the Steel Hand, hereby declare: Veridian, your sins shall be washed away with blood and fire.”

"You are sentenced to a hundred-year atonement expedition!"

"Your sentence will be spent on the most dangerous and desperate front in the galaxy."

"Use your hands, which only know how to calculate 'acceptable costs,' to personally save the lives of those mortal soldiers you once despised as ants!"

"Until the core of your logic is completely crushed and reshaped by cruel reality, and you truly understand the essence of 'support' and 'protect'."

"Or, your empty shell, along with the rotten thoughts within, will be utterly annihilated in the cannon fire of the Emperor's enemies!"

……

Like an ancient whale carrying its prey, the "Iron Will" slowly docked in the battered yet still magnificent orbital dock of the Karada Fortress.

The heavy traction beam locked onto the ship's hull, emitting a low hum.

Beneath the ship's hull, the massive "Skarskrap" mechanical scrapyard continued to devour metal debris as always.

The slave laborers were as small as ants.

The flames from the smelting furnace stained the ever-present ochre-red storm clouds with an even deeper, murky hue.

But this time, the gazes fixed on her held not only the usual coldness, but also an indescribable awe, fear, and deep-seated restlessness.

Ferrus Manus did not linger for a moment.

Escorting the now-prisoned Vilidian and his core followers, she handed them over, along with detailed records of their crimes, to Judge Chen Xi and his subordinate Inquisitors from the Anti-Foreign Order.

“Their path to redemption will be overseen by the court,” Felus told Chen Xi, his voice leaving no room for doubt.

"Until their sins are paid, or their bodies return to dust."

Chen Xi nodded slightly, his cold glasses sweeping over the dejected prisoners.

The stormtroopers behind them immediately stepped forward and used a special restraint device to firmly lock them up, then escorted them to the waiting black prison ship.

Their final destination will be the bloodiest battlefield in the galaxy, where they will wash away the stain of betrayal with endless slaughter.

After completing the handover, Feralus boarded a transport vehicle inside the fortress and descended into the depths of Medusa's core via a massive elevator shaft buried deep within the rock.

Outside the elevator car, there was almost eternal darkness.

Only occasionally, the massive plasma conduits that power the ancient gears would flash by, casting a fleeting, breathtaking blue-white light that illuminated her resolute and icy profile.

(End of this chapter)