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“Yes,” Caul replied. “However, you can refuse. The ruins of the Dark Ages are fraught with danger, and because of those coordinates, I can't let you take too many people with you. At most, it can be Evelyn, plus…”
Kaul looked toward the gate, which then opened, and the Forged One strode in with steady steps.
“If you are willing to go, I will have the First Caster join your team.”
A three-person team, two of whom are Super Astartes with combat power comparable to or even surpassing the Imperial Guard, are struggling to explore the ruins of a dark age of technology...
Lin Qi hesitated for a moment. After all, no one knew what kind of bizarre things existed in the Dark Ages. During the Great Expedition ten thousand years ago, some complete legions had found relics from the Dark Ages, and then...
Generally speaking, these legions are either very lucky or very unlucky. Although they may successfully obtain some of the legacies from the Dark Ages of Technology, they are often beaten badly by the monsters and demons in those ruins.
Looking at Lynch's changing expression, Kaur couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Was it too hasty? Let him face real battle now and become a warrior...
"I go."
Kaul looked at Lynch and saw his expression suddenly become firm. Although he didn't know what made Lynch make this decision, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
Lynch looked at Caul, and after struggling internally, he made his decision.
There are already quite a few monsters and demons in this galaxy, and I'll have to face them sooner or later. A relic of a dark technological age may seem terrifying now, but compared to the enemies I'll truly have to contend with in the future, it's actually... well, it's a little bit terrifying too.
However, I'm not easily intimidated, and besides, many things are either done or not done; there's no third option.
Where is that ruin located?
Finally, Lin Qi asked his question, but he was also very curious about what kind of planet it was that only three people were exploring this ruin.
Under normal circumstances, if it were Lynch, he would have sent at least a thousand people from Star Claw to help explore the ruins.
"That planet is near the Eye of Fear."
Lin Qi's face stiffened.
“If we mobilize a large force, it will be very easy to attract the attention of Chaos. But if it’s just a few ships, tens of thousands of people, and almost no Astartes, then the target will be much smaller. In addition, that planet is also a wild planet, so it will be very difficult for Chaos to notice this operation.”
Kaul spoke, shaking his head at Lynch.
"You don't want to confront the Black Legion, or even that Chaos Warmaster, right now, do you?"
Horus started playing dead again.
Lin Qi's lips twitched, and then he sighed.
"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Great Sage Caul."
Meanwhile, the Eye of Fear.
On the Soul of Vengeance, Abaddon looked at the surging purple ocean before him, his face revealing his irritation without any attempt to hide it.
For some reason, he has been experiencing a strange and inexplicable feeling lately. This feeling is both familiar and strangely repulsive. More importantly, it's not just him; some of his Dark Legion members in the Chaos Astartes have also experienced this feeling.
Abaddon discovered that these people, including himself, had something in common.
They all came from ten thousand years ago, and were once under the command of that true war general, belonging to the son of Horus in the Sixteenth Legion.
He also discovered that this feeling would disappear when he was in the real universe outside of warp with the Soul of Vengeance, but would recur from time to time once he was in warp.
He ordered his Chaos Wizards to investigate the matter. Although he had a bold guess in his mind, he also knew clearly that the guess was impossible.
Just like ten thousand years ago, Loken would often tell the same jokes he and his brothers who were still alive at the time.
Now, Abaddon can also tell those souls a sad reality.
My brother Loken witnessed the Emperor kill Horus.
“My lord.” A slender woman walked over—Katarina Moriana—Abaddon’s advisor and wizard, and the one who helped him launch the Black Crusade against the Empire time and time again.
Abaddon had sent her with a group of people to help investigate the specific reasons for the strange feelings that were occurring to him and some of the veterans.
"Have there been any results from the investigation?"
“It’s hard to explain.” Moriana’s eyes flickered with an unreadable light. Her long black hair reached her hips, and she wore a white dress. Her body looked perfectly normal. Compared to the other crew members around her, she had no tentacles, no extra heads, and none of the other strange, indescribable mutations.
However, this is in subspace, where what is considered normal is actually the greatest abnormality.
"We've discovered something, but..."
"But what? Please speak freely."
"The highest heavens responded to us, and another color appeared in the boundless universe. On a planet, the sun and the sun rose at the same time, an angel tore off the wings of another angel, and the lonely souls that no longer exist will return in this era."
Ah, here we go again.
Abaddon was unwilling to ponder the riddles the wizards had seen, so he looked at Moriana and rose from his seated throne.
Ten thousand years ago, when Abaddon was still loyal to the Empire, he was one of the Astartes, Imperial heroes known as the "Three Heroes of the Great Crusade." This was a symbol of past glory, though his master now despises it. But it also shows that ten thousand years ago, Abaddon was one of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy, apart from the Primarchs.
After being empowered by the power of chaos for ten thousand years, how strong is Abaddon now?
Nobody knows for sure, but one thing is certain.
That is, in the past, he killed a monster cloned from the original's genes.
Moriana bowed her head respectfully, letting the giant's shadow envelop her. She could feel the pressure pressing down on her, as if a thousand swords were rushing towards her from all directions, trying to pierce her with countless holes.
Abaddon looked down at his wizard, holding his cursed sword Draconion in his hand.
"To put it simply, you understand."
“Things that should not exist have reappeared in this world,” Moriana said. “This is the only conclusion; everything else can be ignored. Only this sentence comes directly from the revelation of the High Heaven.”
Abaddon remained silent, dragging his massive body back to his throne.
"Is there anything else? Like a coordinate, or a name?"
"Nothing."
A sense of disappointment arose within Abaddon, though he didn't know where it came from, but it still arose and disturbed him.
"By the way, sir, the Dark Mechanicus has returned. They hope we can help them..."
"Send a Terminator squad over there. By the way, the situation in Badab is settled, right? Huron is dead, and those Word Bearers in the Maelstrom, they really extended an invitation to us?"
"Yes."
"...Let Kayan go, just consider it revenge for our collaborator."
Chapter 114 The Era of the Primarchs...beared sweet fruit.
Two months in reality are like an unknown number of years in the subspace.
Lynch took a deep breath, looked at Horus in front of him, and frowned.
"How is this going?"
Horus was silent, then shook his head.
"I do not know either."
"Where's the Emperor?"
"He made no comment."
The silence between the two men mirrored the silence in the room. Lin Qi felt the air around him thicken, making it difficult for him to breathe. He stood up and paced back and forth in the small space, deep in thought.
He encountered a problem, or rather, he and Horus encountered a problem together.
A problem that may not seem that serious, or... a very serious problem.
That is, just now, his ability suddenly stopped working.
Lynch looked at Horus in front of him, his eyes flashing with an unreadable color.
This failure is not the same as that failure; it doesn't mean Lynch has lost his abilities. The laser pistols on the table at this moment prove this fact. His failure refers to the moment when, while extracting the last piece of the puzzle for Horus's soul, the white light suddenly exploded at the last moment, and he only brought out a void.
What does this represent?
Lynch didn't know, nor did Horus. They were helpless in the face of the situation and were filled with an indescribable emotion.
Especially for Lin Qi, the current situation is like Pinduoduo for him. He finally reached 99.9999999%, but at the last bit, his phone suddenly shut down and the charger failed.
What is this? Were we set up by the warp?
Forget it, I'll stop thinking about it for now.
Lin Qi took a deep breath, filling his lungs, and then exhaled after calming down.
The soul of Horus is now only a tiny fragment remaining. This fragment is small, but without it, the soul and essence are completely different.
However, Horus is already very strong now. When combined with Lynch's body, the two can probably unleash about 30% of Horus's power during his peak during the Great Expedition.
Thirty percent of his power may not sound like much, but that was thirty percent of Horus's power at his peak during the Great Crusade—the power of someone who ranked among the top of the twenty-one Primarchs in every aspect, including martial prowess.
In Lynch's view, putting everything else aside, it's not impossible, even highly likely, for him to take down that filial son Abaddon with 30% of his strength.
After all, the Primarch's era... bore sweet fruit.
“You should go back to the Warp first,” Lynch said, looking at Horus. “See if the Emperor has any indication of what’s going on. He can’t possibly be completely unaware of this situation. I reckon we should be heading there soon. If possible, I want to face the problems on my own.”
"Don't you need my advice?" Horus lowered his head, his soul now appearing incredibly large, not to mention he was actually suspended in mid-air. "We are essentially one now, and my advice is, in fact, your own idea."
"You will be resurrected someday, and I can't rely on your advice then."
Lynch spoke up helplessly, and Horus nodded after thinking for a moment.
“I understand,” he said, a hint of relief in his voice. “However, when faced with an insurmountable crisis, do not hesitate. The ruins of the Dark Ages contain many unknown dangers. Those technologies and iron men that are as unreasonable as psionic energy are extremely dangerous. Even for me at my peak, some of them were quite troublesome.”
"I'm not stupid," Lin Qi shrugged. "I'll call you if I'm in danger."
The door to the room opened, and a servo skull slowly flew in. Its loudspeaker emitted a message instructing Lynch to first don his armor, then proceed to the bridge to rendezvous with the other two members of the exploration team and Sage Caul.
Lynch took a deep breath, then strode forward, following the servo skull toward the compartment where the power armor was stored.
Two hours later, on the bridge.
Lin Qi wore the Moon Wolf Armor and held a master-grade, finely crafted power spear given to him by Kaul. The spearhead had been specially modified to resemble a sword blade. In addition, a bomb gun of the same quality as the power spear hung at his waist, its magazine already fully loaded with explosive rounds. His machine spirit remained silent, like a seasoned, taciturn veteran.
Neither the power spear nor the bomb gun had a name. Kaul probably meant that Lynch should name them himself, just like with the power armor, but the latter thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a suitable name.
In the end, Horus stepped in and helped him decide on a name.
The name of the musket is "Atonement".
The explosive gun is called "Judgment".