Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 224 Return
"Those lords and generals of the War Council, those damned bureaucrats, they're so shrewd!"

In the holographic image, Ruth spits as she berates the War Council, denouncing the mortal staff: "They stare at casualty figures, using cold arithmetic to calculate the limit of when we will be thrown back into war."

"Next time I'm going to Terra, I'll capture them and put them on the ship, so the officials can see the true cruelty of the battlefield."

"A soldier's life is not a number, but a bloody loss right before our eyes!"

Ruth gritted his teeth and kept cursing the War Council.

He has changed a lot since his last study with Horus and his in-depth conversation with Doom.

The Great Wolf knew the cruelty of war; the essence of war was to exchange precious lives for victory.

His cursing and complaining were an outlet for his inner frustration.

Doom remained silent, but after listening to Ruth's various complaints, the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched, revealing a slight smile.

The fleet stayed in the Morse system for a month, finally completing its initial repairs and ready to leave.

A dedicated communications ship also delivered war-related documents to Terra for review by the War Council.

After confirming that everything was correct, Terra sent a message.

The War Council supported the Warrior King's decision, and the First Legion went to the Forging World Shana to enforce discipline and repair ships. They were not allowed to leave without permission for a year.

The Space Wolf Fleet received numerous commendations and honors for its timely support and valiant combat.

They were also given a year to freely choose to forge the world, repair warships, and replenish personnel.

Doom did not respond to Russ's outburst, but instead said to the hologram, "Prepare to leave. We'll head to Nur together."

Ruth's eyes lit up, his bitterness and resentment vanished instantly, replaced by joy and anticipation, making him a completely different person from before.

He rubbed his hands together eagerly and said, "The wolf pack is ready and can leave at any time."

While waiting, Russ was getting bored out of his mind. After finishing his duties with the legion, he kept looking for things to do.

Doom trained the Night Guards, and he trained his offspring in martial arts; Doom practiced warfare with mortal officers, and he also learned combat skills.

An interesting thing happened during that time.

With nothing better to do, Ruth decided to test his wrestling skills against Doom. He won once at first, but then kept losing.

The wolf king was not satisfied and demanded a genetic contest between the offspring of both sides, which resulted in an even more direct defeat.

Losing twice in a row made Russ feel ashamed, and he vowed to regain his honor.

After discussing with Doom, they arranged for the Space Wolves and the Night Guard to compete, and even set up a traditional Fenris betting game.

In the end, after a best-of-nine round, Russ lost the Fenris Sea Monster's tooth.

The Great Wolf was enraged and severely trained his wolf cubs, plotting revenge in the future.

Feeling stifled, Ruth led his elite wolf pack to wipe out numerous alien civilizations in the nearby star sector.

Despite some aliens being in the early stages of technological enlightenment, or even in the agricultural feudal era, they were hunted by space wolves.

The ruthless wolf pack wiped out all the aliens they found, and incidentally, allowed the Imperial Ministry of the Interior to take over the habitable world.

He had long wanted to leave the Morse system and visit his brother's home in Nur.

Now that my wish has come true, I am naturally filled with excitement and can't wait to set off.

"I'm informing the fleet to prepare for departure," Ruth said hastily, then cut off the communication and went down to prepare for the long voyage.

Doom shook his head. Ruth was quite patient with war, like a pack of wolves hunting, constantly driving and consuming its prey.

However, he was somewhat impatient and lacked careful consideration in handling certain matters.

Perhaps it was an emotion that the brother was deliberately feigning; this apparent impatience never led to any mistakes.

The holographic image dissipated, and Doom looked down to see Urian Bendreg kneeling respectfully below him.

He composed himself, his expression gradually turning serious, and asked Urian in a calm voice, "Grand Master, have you made the necessary arrangements for the aftermath?"

“Great Primarch, I have stepped down from the position of High Master.” Urian bowed his head and answered respectfully in a deep voice, “Now I am the Watcher.”

"The Watcher, Urian Bendreg".

Doom nodded in response and remained silent in reply to Urian.

Urian Bendreg, having relinquished his title of Grand Master, has settled in the Morse system as a Watcher, constantly on guard against Randan's return.

"Who will now serve as the Grand Instructor of the First Legion?" The question floated down from the throne, sending a shiver down the Watcher's spine.

Urian's heart tightened. He dared not guess the Primarch's meaning and could only reply in a trembling voice, "It is the Lord of the Void Legion. Due to his outstanding military achievements, he has received considerable recommendations." Doom's mind flashed with the image of the Lord of the Void Legion, that daring and fearless warrior, and he murmured softly, "So it was him..."

Urian tensed even more, unsure how to respond to the Primarch.

Is the Primarch dissatisfied with the selection? Does he want to interfere with the First Legion, or is there some other intention?
"No need to be nervous." Doom saw through Urian's thoughts and dispelled his worries with his words: "I don't want to get involved in how the First Legion chooses its Grand Mentor. You can decide for yourselves."

There are many troubles between legions, and Doom doesn't want to get involved.

Even as a Primarch, one must think twice before interfering in the affairs of another Legion.

If not handled properly in the slightest, it could lead to trouble.

The punishment of the First Legion has been arranged, and who will serve as the Grand Instructor is not within his purview.

Upon hearing this, Urian breathed a sigh of relief. He was indeed very worried about the Primarch's involvement in the Legion's internal affairs.

Because once the Primarch speaks, he cannot refuse, nor can the First Legion.

"Go down," Doom waved, indicating that he could leave.

With the final task completed, it was time to depart from Mors and head to Nur to reorganize the troops.

A look of nostalgia flickered in Dum's eyes. It had been several years since he left Nur, and it was time to go back.

This return mission is not only to repair the damaged warships, but also to strengthen armaments in preparation for the next attack by Ran Dan.

He knew all too well that if Randan were to launch another attack, or if the Empire were to find Randan's territory, the intensity of the war would escalate to an unprecedented level, so he had to be prepared.

"Farewell, King of Warriors and Great Wolf." Urian bowed and withdrew.

He will leave the Great Expedition and remain on the old battlefield to oversee the "fortification" of the Morse system.

The real universe lit up with the glow of the subspace, and the Nur First Fleet activated its subspace engines and entered the subspace.

Space Wolves immediately followed, and the two massive space fleets disappeared into the real universe.

The Eastern End Starfield is vast, being the largest region within the starfields planned by the Empire.

The journey from the edge of the star field to the Nur constellation takes at least three months.

If it were the First Fleet, with its advanced navigation technology, it could arrive in half the time.

However, Doom slowed down the fleet's speed due to concerns about the Space Wolves, which naturally took longer.

The two cannot be too far apart and must take care of each other.

Space Wolf and the First Fleet, their warships riddled with damage, were in no condition to withstand a second high-intensity battle.

If a hostile alien is encountered in the warp, the seemingly large fleet will actually have a severely reduced combat effectiveness.

Ruth grew even more bored during the fleet's voyage.

In the real universe, he could find other things to do; navigating in the subspace, he could only wait for time to pass.

Finally, after a long voyage, the fleet, scarred and wounded like a battered metal behemoth, staggered into the Nur star system.

At the Nur Star Portal World and the Mandeville Stargate, numerous warships sailed out of the warp and into the real universe.

The ships waiting to enter or exit the stargate were startled by the massive fleet that emerged, and secretly wondered what kind of fleet had arrived.

They did not suspect the possibility of enemy forces, and the fact that the Nur government did not issue any warnings indicated that they were not the enemy.

All forces within the galaxy immediately adjusted their ship telescopes, aiming them at the approaching fleet to ascertain its identity.

After a long period of development, the Gateway Galaxy has attracted a large number of human forces to establish strongholds here, resulting in a complex web of various factions.

When they saw the images transmitted through the telescope, they all gasped in shock.

The imperial warships, made of steel, were covered in all sorts of battle scars, crisscrossing and grotesquely menacing.

There are laser melting phenomena, plasma-induced cavities, and scars left by unknown weapons.

The fleet was exceptionally large, with all its ships, large and small, damaged; it was truly terrifying.

They all speculated about the ferocity and scale of the battle that had caused the fleet to suffer such heavy losses.

Then, the observing forces saw the massive warship emerge from the stargate, its side adorned with wolf head reliefs.

Space Wolf flagship—Hrafinkel!
Those with discerning eyes immediately recognized the giant ship; it was the pride of the Empire, the flagship of a Primarch.

(End of this chapter)