Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 295 The Source of Filth
The deaths of both the loving father and mother, and the complete destruction of their home planet, are a devastating blow to the Shaping Union.

The fleet that had fought the Steel Hand turned around and began to retreat. The fleet had suffered heavy losses and its target for support had disappeared.

There is no need to continue fighting; preserve our strength and plan our next move.

Felus ordered his forces to split up and pursue the retreating remnants of the Allied Fleet, preventing them from reaching other worlds and attacking Nur's scattered ships.

He himself boarded the Iron Fist and reunited with the Royal Majesty to inquire about the specific reasons from his brother.

He had too many doubts in his heart, like clouds of gloom hanging over his mind, and he couldn't let them go until he found out the answers.

Ferrus sat upright on the bridge of the Ironfist, his face serious as he stared straight ahead, awaiting the arrival of the Nur delegation.

When the bridge opened, five Imperial Guards and five Night Watchers entered, following behind the delegation representatives with solemn and dignified bearing.

Upon seeing the team members, Felus frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes, along with a touch of remorse.

The emergence of the Imperial Guard represented a completely different meaning, sending a signal of power and obedience.

"Greetings to the original body." The leading representative bowed slightly, a smile playing on his thin face, expressing respect for the imperial offspring.

“Atum,” Firus called out his name, brother’s son, ground commander of the Battle of Randan.

"Why is my brother making such a grand gesture by sending a messenger to invite me?" he said, rising from his throne to head for the Royal Majesty.

“It wasn’t an invitation.” Atum was very polite, looking up at the Primarch and saying, “The Father of Genesis encountered an emergency and left on another ship. He left a message for me to pass on to you…”

Bang! !

A violent collision rang out as the golden armor and the ship's structure clashed together, producing a resounding clang.

After everyone on the bridge reacted, they looked in the direction from which the sound came. Atum was being held down by Feralas, his entire body embedded in the steel.

The atmosphere instantly became tense. The Imperial Guards aimed their weapons at Felus, while the Night Guards and Morlock Guards aimed at each other.

Feralus narrowed his eyes, lifted the Doom Warrior in his golden armor, and brought him in front of him, saying with an extremely imposing aura, "You dare to lie to me!"

"I may not delve into why Doom left, but you cannot fob me off with lies."

"No need to be nervous." Atum remained calm, raising his hand with a polite smile to his side to prevent the conflict from escalating: "Put down your weapons."

The Royal Guard and the Night Guard put away their weapons, and Feralus turned around, signaling his offspring to lay down their weapons.

"A white lie, used to cover up the truth that I cannot let you know, without any intention of fooling or evading you."

Atum remained composed and smiling throughout, showing no panic in the face of pressure. He admitted to lying and calmly explained to the Primarch, "There was a reason for it."

"Humph!"

Feralus snorted coldly, pulled Atum off the wall, and let go to look down at his brother and offspring.

He keenly noticed that although Atum appeared the same as before, his aura had become more profound after a period of absence.

This is not an illusion, but the original gene's keen intuition about organisms, which is infallible.

Based on his intuition, he could tell that, apart from himself, no one on the Ironfist bridge could subdue the seemingly polite Atum.

“Speak,” Feralus said, walking back to his throne and looking down at the delegation. “What does my brother have to say?”

He didn't investigate where his brother went or when he left.

As Atum said, some secrets are not to be known by oneself and need to be covered up with white lies.

The Imperial Guards came together to explain that the Emperor's bodyguards knew the truth and agreed to this approach.

Having received authorization from his father and brother, Feralus knew that if he pressed for details, not only would the Doom Warrior refuse to reveal anything, but it would also damage their relationship.

"Please take a look at this." Atum took the projection device off his belt, placed it on the ground, and projected a battle plan.

"Before the father of genetics passed away, he asked me to forward this to you, and he requested that you continue to implement this plan."

Ferrus did not reply, but instead examined the holographic projection closely, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

After reading it, his serious expression tightened, his sharp eyes staring directly at Atum, and he asked in a heavy voice, "Do you know the price of doing this?"

“I know.” Atum nodded, his brow furrowing without hesitation. “I also know the cost.”

He had long seen the legacy of the Father of Genetics: an extinction order to destroy all filarial worlds. Not just surface extinction, but the use of various extinction weapons to destroy hundreds of worlds.

Feralus leaned back slowly on the throne, his silver-gray steel arm lightly touching the cold steel with a clicking sound.

He was pondering. Why did his brother leave a message for him before he left, telling him to completely destroy the filarial world?

This not only requires a lot of resources, but also faces accountability from multiple parties, and is misunderstood by the soldiers.

The extermination order destroyed not only the world, but also the medals of the Space Marines and Auxiliary Forces.

They spread biological agents to eliminate the aliens that infested the land, reclaiming habitable worlds for the Empire. Then, the fleet used an extermination order to destroy the world. How could the military accept that?
After deep thought, Felus spoke slowly, his voice hoarse from the immense pressure: "I need a reason, not to convince everyone, but just to convince myself."

"Thank you." Atum bowed deeply to the Primarch with a solemn expression.

A reason to convince the Primarch, proving that the Primarch of the Steel Hand is willing to take all the blame and gossip for the right reasons.

Feralas made no comment, quietly waiting for Doom to speak, waiting for the reason that was close to the truth.

“The source.” Atum pondered for two seconds and came up with a suitable explanation: “Everything has a source.”

"It is like a clear spring in the mountains, whose source has been tainted by filth and cannot be cleansed, spreading like a curse throughout the entire spring."

As Atum spoke, he looked at the Primarch, who seemed lost in thought, and said somewhat offensively, "It may be offensive, but let me use a metaphor..."

"Like the Primarch and the Legion, like the Emperor and humanity, if the source is corrupted, the curse will spread to everything in the race!"

After saying this, Atum fell silent, knowing full well that his words were treasonous.

But there was no other way; the existence of chaos could not be known to the Primarch. He could only use such stern words to make the Primarch aware of the seriousness of the matter.

The symbol of the filarial worm—the loving mother—has sided with the warp demons and become a servant of the shadows.

Although she perished, the curse mark was imprinted on the silkworm race, ingrained in their bloodline, and a connection was established between the demon and the silkworms.

Unlike humans, Ghanaian filarial worms, while having independent racial consciousness, are closely connected and spread extremely quickly after being contaminated in the subspace.

Furthermore, since filarial worms live deep underground, any omissions in the cleaning process could lead to their resurgence.

At that time, humanity will not only face filarial worms, but also the shadow demons closely associated with them.

After hearing Atum's example, Felus was so shocked by his audacity that his face changed drastically. He glanced at the Imperial Guards without making it obvious and whispered, "How dare you!"

The Primarch's shouts drowned out the Doomsday Warriors' blasphemous words, interrupting the Legion's uproar and silencing the bridge instantly.

Ferrus straightened up, his gaze fixed on his brothers and children, realizing the gravity of the situation.

His bold and outspoken words were not a form of blame, but rather a form of protection.

"What will you do if my legion doesn't cooperate?" The Primarch didn't pursue blasphemous words and casually changed the subject.

Atum answered firmly, "We will carry out the Father of Genetics' orders and utterly destroy all worlds of the Filarial."

“You may leave.” Felus nodded and waved, signaling the brotherhood delegation to depart. “My legion will carry out the extermination plan as scheduled.”

He simply sighed, "It is a great pity that I have to destroy the soldiers' achievements with my own hands and turn the prosperous Star Bay into a shattered constellation."

“To prevent a crisis.” Atum bowed in a warrior’s salute and slowly withdrew from the bridge of the Ironfist.

He heard a deep voice come from the throne: "Tell my brother, he owes me the truth, he owes my legion an explanation."

"I will convey your message the moment the Father of Genetics returns." Atum nodded solemnly, then turned and left.

Seeing his brothers and offspring leave, Feralus's eyes darted around thoughtfully, and he murmured, "The first time?"

His eyes showed worry. This unexpected answer meant that even the Doom Slayer didn't know when Doom would return to the fleet, but he was certain that Doom would return.

Feralus shook off his fantasies and shouted, "Messenger!"

"Send orders to the Legion fleet to destroy the alien fleet and completely annihilate all enemy planets."

"Pass on your will!"

Meanwhile, in the warp, Doom, leading a group of his offspring, traversed the Aberrant Continent...

(End of this chapter)