Perturabo: Nimrod's Descendants, Quite Good

Perturabo's jaw tilted forward, and the long cables stuck in his head looked like dreadlocks, clattering and rattling against each other.

"Your basis?"

Kion felt the pressure from Perturabo; he knew that if he couldn't provide a satisfactory answer, he would surely incur the Primarch's punishment.

He had already prepared his explanation. "Sir, my basis comes from my father."

Perturabo's icy blue eyes softened slightly, but he remained fixed on Kion.

"The Xenos we face are controlled and driven by a race called the Slaugth."

"Slaugth is able to parasitize the body of the Iron Warriors with a special, Blood Red, insect-like creature."

"Is this your answer?" Perturabo said impatiently.

"Frix understands Kael-Kez; he wasn't parasitized."

"My lord, he has been parasitized. The talent bestowed upon me by the Primarch, along with the special Psionic Energy power I possess, allows me to see things that ordinary people cannot."

Kion disguises the abilities of "Spirit Medium" as Psionic Energy, a common explanation used by those in the Shadow of Order.

He noticed that Perturabo remained silent, seemingly analyzing his words.

"If you don't believe me, you can verify it."

"How do we verify it?" Perturabo's rock-hard voice softened slightly.

"An individual parasitized by flesh and blood, although possessing intelligence beyond that of ordinary people."

"But he cannot retain your offspring's calculation and analytical abilities. He is not a true Iron Warriors; he will immediately reveal his true colors if you test him."

Kion always kept in mind the Black Emperor's instructions: his responsibility was to remind, not to expose, and his mission was to help Lord Perturabo discover the truth.

Perturabo didn't say anything more. He deactivated the Damping Field and walked back to the holographic table.

Seeing his father's gloomy expression, Trident, who was waiting, couldn't help but wonder what Kion and his father had talked about.

Perturabo stared intently at Kael-Kez with his icy blue eyes and said in a deep voice.

"Mark the detailed findings of the investigation on the holographic image."

"Yes, Father." "Kael-Kez" immediately sprang into action, picking up his Control Staff and beginning to mark the outline of the mountains.

Perturabo watched every move of "Kael-Kez". Normally, he wouldn't waste time waiting; he would have enough time to finish formulating the logistics dispatch plan.

But he didn't leave the holographic table, staring intently at Kael-Kez.

His Trident stood to the side, waiting quietly.

As the timer in the command center ticked past a standard hour, Perturabo's brow furrowed slightly.

Kael-Kez moved a little slower than usual; he would occasionally stop, think for a few seconds, and then continue.

[His movements are too slow; the Automatic Perception System will assist him in recording, so he doesn't need to spend so much time recalling.]

"Attack marker number one," Perturabo pointed to the hologram and asked Kael-Kez, "Your plan."

"Kael-Kez" paused for a moment, and remained silent for two minutes before speaking.

"A company of ten Malcador Heavy Tank, after capturing the target area, deploy Scorpion Turret, and then establish a defensive Fortress..."

Perturabo's voice grew increasingly cold and hard, "How many Fortress to build? Fortress size? Standard construction time? Guard strength? Firepower? Supplies?"

"Kael-Kez" remained silent for another three minutes, then Fortress, "Four Fortress, each of equal size..."

Warsmith Frix frowned at his adjutant, noting that the terrain around marker number one was rugged and uneven, as marked by Kael-Kez.

At critical junctures, it is clearly not appropriate to build Fortress of the same size. Instead, fortresses should be built specifically to suit the terrain characteristics in order to maximize the firepower of each Fortress.

As he was pondering, Perturabo moved. He went up to "Kael-Kez" and ripped off his helmet.

The Primarch's icy blue eyes immediately caught sight of the unhealed, one-millimeter-wide, finger-length gash on Kael-Kez's head.

Without further doubt, amidst Trident's terrified screams, he plunged his finger into the top of Kael-Kez's head and pulled out a Blood Red worm.

As the insect was pulled out, Kael-Kez's corpse crashed to the ground.

Perturabo slammed the Blood Red parasite, which was writhing between his fingers, onto the holographic table. With a crisp impact, the corpse of the fleshy parasite slapped against the surface.

He's been parasitized.

The Trident's Blade of the Spear... Frix thought of the heavy casualties he would suffer after being misled by Kael-Kez and walking into the ambush, and he knelt on the ground in shame.

"Father, I didn't realize that Kael-Kez was parasitized, which almost led us into the Xenos's trap."

"Please be more careful in the future."

Frix, who was waiting for the Primarch to punish him, was stunned. He thought he would be Deprivation of the Trident's honor, but he didn't expect that his strict father would not punish him.

Perturabo's eyes were icy blue. "The Xenos have laid an ambush in the mountains, hoping to catch us off guard."

"Now, they're going to pay the price."

"What he just said was a lie, but it provided me with intelligence: every strategically critical node must have a Xenos fortress, and they'll be lying in ambush around it..."

Kion listened to Perturabo's rapid analysis, the Primarch, with almost no need to think, deduced the Xenos' deployment based on Kael-Kez's lies and formulated a corresponding battle plan.

Four minutes later, his name was called.

"Kion, your mission is to find Slaugth."

Frix looked at Kion thoughtfully.

[Did the father entrust Slaugth, who designed everything, to Kion?]

He just spoke with his father alone, and his father did not punish me for my dereliction of duty.

Could it be that Kion reminded his father?

"As you command, but I need that."

Kion pointed to the fleshy parasite's body on the holographic table, and after receiving permission, he picked up the Blood Red worm with his gauntlet.

Kion then remembered the duty the Black Emperor had given him. "My lord, Slaugth is difficult to kill. Please allow me to find him and report to you."

"I will authorize you a dedicated communication channel, and you will be able to contact me at any time." Perturabo sent Kion a series of communication codes.

Frix looked at Kion with envy, thinking to himself.

He has already won his father's trust.

After confirming the connection of the helmet Communicator, Kion left the command center.

He assembled the Royal Court Friar within his company, each possessing different powers bestowed upon him by his father.

Kion did not select any Psyker, nor did he allow any prophetic Psyker to foresee the future.

The Black Emperor had instructed him about some of the characteristics of the Slaugth, which were similar to those of the Pariah.

None of the Slaugth can be perceived by Psyker; their terrifying minds can also inflict varying degrees of punishment on Psyker.

Six hours later, Kion led his team to the outskirts of marker point five on the mountain.

Beside Kion is a "Seer," whose Divination Staff is tipped with Blood Red parasites.

He looked up into the distance; the Iron Warriors had already launched a surprise attack on the mountains.

They were like a precisely operating war machine, with each squad acting simultaneously, arriving at their designated locations at the same time, and launching precise firepower strikes against the Xenos.

The deployed Scorpion Turret did not fire laser beams; instead, they fired energy beams personally designed by Lord Perturabo.

The tarantulas, along with the energy weapons mounted on the Malcador Heavy Tank, fired together at the towering, tree-like Bone-Eater.

Each attack by the Bone-Eater wipes out a tarantula or a vehicle, but the Iron Warriors do not back down. They form an iron torrent and continue to attack the Bone-Eater relentlessly.

The overwhelming attack drowned out the Bone-Eater's firepower.

With a tremendous roar, the Titan- sized Bone-Eater's body collapsed.

"Set off!"

Amidst the violent tremors of the earth, Kion led his team through the thirty-four Malcador Heavy Tank destroyed by the Bone-Eater and into the mountains.

The group continued on their journey, with the "Seer" constantly using his "Dowsing for Objects" to correct their course until they finally arrived at the foot of a mountain peak that was a thousand meters high.

After the "Spirit Medium" gave the order to stop, he activated the "Eye of Death," entered the Spirituality world, and examined the Fortress from a higher perspective.

The Fortress grayish-white, with countless dark green Wraith howling and coiling around it.

After observing for a while, the "Spirit Medium" closed the "Eye of Death," having found his target.

Kion immediately switched the communication channel to the channel reserved for Lord Perturabo and sent the location coordinates captured by the Divination Box.

A second later, Perturabo's cold, hard voice came through the communication channel.

"I see."

Kion led his team, hiding behind the rocks, and waited quietly.

They didn't have to wait long; the helmet timer had just ticked past thirty-six standard marks.

Amidst the roar of engines, a flock of iron-gray Stormbird pierced through the clouds and flew swiftly in.

The heavy Stormbird, handcrafted by Perturabo, led the way in the iron-grey formation.

The guardian Bone-Eater shot beams of light into the air, striking Perturabo's chariot.

The iron-gray Stormbird was struck by the jet of sparks, sending a blinding trail of Mars through its body.

Within seconds, the Stormbird formed an arrow-like formation and launched a series of attacks on the Bone-Eater.

"Ignore the airborne threat; Slaugth might use it to escape. Keep a close eye on him."

The Royal Court Friar immediately shifted their gaze from the sky, each using their own abilities to focus on the mountain.

The "Spectator" beside Kion, with their dark eyes gleaming, searched the mountains.

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed across his eyes.

The "Spectator's" eyes lit up, and he suddenly shouted into the communication channel.

"I found it."

He immediately uploaded the captured shadowy figure to the Tactical Network.

Amidst the deafening crash of the Bone-Eater, Kion immediately shared Slaugth's location with Lord Perturabo.

The iron-gray Stormbird that was flying toward the fortress immediately changed direction and flew toward Slaugth.

Dominic kept changing direction, but the Stormbird stayed close behind him.

Perturabo stood at the hatch, tactical data flashing through his Superhuman Brain, which he used to predict Slaugth's trajectory.

While directing the pilot, he raised the Plasma Gun he had created and fired beams of light at Slaugth.

With a series of pattering sounds, worms fell among the rocks.

As the iron-grey Stormbird shielded Slaugth's body, Perturabo leaped down.

A massive, unparalleled broadsword pierced deeply into Slaugth's body, and with a piercing scream, the Slaugth-kin's body was torn apart in all directions.

Perturabo swung his sword repeatedly, slashing at Dominic's limbs.

"No!" Dominic roared in despair, "How did he find me?"

After Perturabo killed Slaugth with a series of slashes, he thought to himself.

"Nimrod's offspring are quite good."

He asked Kion, who was approaching, "What reward do you want?"

"My lord, it is my honor to serve you."

"If I could, I'd want Slaugth's body."