Nimrod: Urian, keep the secret for Luther and me

867. M30.

Shadow of the Throne, bridge.

"At the holographic strategy table, "Zadkiel asked incredulously.

"My lord, are you really entrusting me with command of the Void War?"

He glanced around at the people around him: the Knight Lord of the 8th Legion of "Shadow of Order," and three commanders of other legions, whose status and prestige far surpassed his.

Luther, the vice commander of the Dark Angels; Glenn Worsotto, the former legion commander of the Ultramarines and now the Chapter Master of the First Chapter; Akurduana, the Second Company Captain of the Emperor's Children.

"I have decided to adopt your plan for the Void War," Nimrod, staring at Zadkiel and seeing ambition and desire in his burning grey eyes.

[Zadkiel, you've been waiting for your chance, and the first chance you got resulted in the destruction of your ship and the loss of your life.]

Now, I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself.

Zadkiel looked around again.

Thierry smiled kindly, Luther looked at him encouragingly.

Worsotto frowned slightly, but still nodded slightly to himself, a questioning of the Ultramarines' dogma level.

Akurduana remains enthusiastic, and he is even more interested in challenging strong opponents.

Lord Nimrod's order was surprisingly accepted by commanders of different legions.

With the support of the adults, I can take on the role of commander in this massive void naval battle.

Having thought this through, Zadkiel had no further hesitation and knelt on one knee.

"My lord, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I will certainly not let you down."

Zadkiel immediately got into character, commanding the fleet to cross into the real world and mobilizing the Scions of the Quill to join the fleets of various legions.

The Scions of the Quill thrived in the cramped structure of the starship, conveying Zadkiel's will to each ship.

Zadkiel reveled in the power of authority; words from his pen transformed into runes governing various operational processes, which in turn became the fleet's course plan.

The northwestern frontier of the Imperium, Bastion Fortress.

Black, iron-black, blue, Purple, and gray warships, one after another, leaped from the real world.

The smallest of the gray warships was commanded not by its flagship, but by the entire mixed fleet from the Shadow of the Throne.

Zadkiel's methodical command, especially his skillful handling of the Squats iron-black fortress ships, which differed from the Imperium's navigation style, successfully completed the journey, allaying many of Worsotto's doubts.

However, he still had doubts about Zadkiel's ability to handle the big battle.

Worsotto reviewed the combat briefing received by the Cogitator and spoke up to provide a reminder.

"The Xenos have set a trap at the Bastion Fortress; they've deployed two Artificial War Satellite."

"The endless stream of drones has severely damaged the Abominable Exemplar, forcing Ulian Bendregg to abandon the flagship, overload its Plasma Reactor, and destroy it."

Nimrod turned his gaze to the Artificial War Satellite in the void, which was as hot as the star.

The Abominable Exemplar ultimately could not escape its fate of destruction. From this day forward, the legion with the most Gloriana-class Battleship will only have two, which is only half of my legion's total.

Well, the destruction of the Abominable Exemplar is actually a good thing for me.

Even if I could "Corrosion" Bendregg, and I dislike the Terran-born Lion, I wouldn't keep giving him the Abominable Exemplar. Now, this wreckage is mine.

In Nimrod's memory, after the "First Rangdan War," the "Dark Angels" built a Fortress-Monastery on the wreckage of the extinct star— the Abominable Exemplar —and the Artificial War Satellite.

He wouldn't leave the wreckage behind at the Bastion Fortress; Rian Ramirez, who possessed some technology for Artificial War Satellite, should be able to tow it away.

The League of Votann can even trade stars, but using them comes at a price.

Nimrod withdrew his gaze and saw that Worsotto's expression was stern.

"Now, they have fewer than forty capital ships left..."

"Just as we were speaking, another warship's identification signal disappeared."

Zadkiel turned to Worsotto and said confidently.

We have two tasks.

"Defeat the Xenos, especially the evil Artificial War Satellite."

"Rescue the Dark Angels's severely damaged fleet."

Zadkiel's gaze returned to the holographic strategy table, his grey-rock-colored gauntlets moving rapidly as he articulated his tactical intentions.

"The air defense firepower of Artificial War Satellite has been reduced to 56.13%, and the number of drones has been reduced to 14.8%."

"Two Squat Fortress ships can knock on its doors."

He tapped the winged Angel rune three times. "The remaining three fortress ships, inserted into these three positions respectively, will form an incomplete circular defensive ring."

"The 'Dark Angels' fleet can utilize the defenses of the fortress ships and launch a fire attack as it enters the circular gap."

Worsotto stares at the holographic image, deducing the thought process taught by his father.

Thirteen seconds later, he exclaimed in admiration.

"The best tactic for the current situation."

"Inner line maneuvers cover shorter distances and allow for proactive deployment of power, choosing the timing to appear at the gap."

"The Xenos fleet is unpredictable; striking it reduces the risk of damage while allowing us to continue fighting."

Worsotto glanced at Lord Nimrod again, now convinced that the lord had once again placed the right person in the position of commander.

Zadkiel swung his arm forcefully, as if writing a line of victory mantra with a quill pen.

"Action!"

Nimrod stared at the holographic strategy table, where blue and Purple fighter jets took off from the deck.

Unlike before, they no longer fight their own battles.

The blue and purple colors are mixed together, with the blue runes neatly arranged and the Purple runes perfectly filling the gaps.

The moment the neat formation of fighter jets collided with the sea of red, blue fighter jets leaped up, unleashing their firepower runes and tearing off a whole chunk of red.

The blue-purple runes swept across the red ocean like knives, and the fish-like red remnants quickly disappeared under the attack of the Purple runes.

The proud Emperor's Children, perfectly piloting his fighter jet, fills in the gaps in meticulous simulations for the Ultramarines, addressing unforeseen accidents that even the most precise calculations cannot account for.

The established tacit understanding continued to manifest itself; the Purple warship, slowing its pace, ran its engines at full power, tearing at the fish that slipped through the blue warship's fire net.

Silent explosions filled the void, tearing apart the spikes and flails of the Xenos ship.

The terracotta-colored battleship, the bridge of the Glory of Terra.

Bendregg stared at the green holographic image, three ships circling his fleet.

Based on the communications officer's report, he understood Nimrod's fleet's tactical intentions.

His fleet had been saved, but he saw no hope for the future.

He failed; he couldn't prove himself to the Lion.

Having lost the Abominable Exemplar, and seventy percent of its fleet, the four Chapter deployed to Bastion Fortress support also suffered heavy losses in the protracted war of attrition.

Bendregg sighed almost imperceptibly, his gaze sharpening again as he gave an order to his adjutant.

"Execute according to the received plan."

Abandoning his desire to prove himself to his father, Bendregg cautiously commanded his fleet, and three days later, under the cover of Squats warships, landed on the surface of the Artificial War Satellite.

He led his 8th Regiment in an attack, but it was not the decisive battle he had imagined.

After carefully studying the intelligence provided by "Shadow of Order" and the battle reports of the four regiments Bastion Fortress, Bendregg had already formulated a suitable tactic.

He issued orders to the six companies equipped with heavy vehicles, "Third Company... Eighth Company, deploy a 100-kilometer front."

He then ordered the two companies equipped with hovercraft, "9th Company and Tenth Company, harass the Xenos lines from both flanks."

"First Company and Second Company, follow me into battle!"

Bendregg examined the Tactical Network on his helmet and, once he confirmed that the Xenos slave army had entered the battle line, immediately issued the attack order.

Bendregg charged ahead, sword in hand, into the enemy ranks.

He cleaved the enemy's head in two with a single sword stroke, then let out a cathartic roar.

The Honor Guard roared and strode forward, following their commander.

Bendregg's sword pierced the human slave along with his Neural Collar, freeing him from his fate.

He smashed the Xenos' heads like a bat, delivering their death as punishment.

Bendregg strode forward, a sense of calm emanating from the carnage that dispelled some of the gloom weighing on his heart.

Until he saw the enormous, spherical head, his thoughts suddenly went blank.

The Xenos commander.

Bendregg locked onto the enemy's position, swung his arm violently, and spun his sword to tear through the Xenos Overlord's personal energy shield, charging towards the tall, silver figure.

As he walked forward, he felt as if layers of silk netting were covering him.

When he was about a hundred meters away from the Xenos, he stopped in his tracks.

At fifty meters, he paused in his sword swing, and the Overlord's claws slashed a wound in the Power Armor.

When the longsword clashed with the Crystal Longsword, a boil appeared on Bendregg's neck.

He rolled to avoid the white lightning, his pustules burst, and his armor was splattered with slime.

Ignoring the poison wounds, Bendregg's eyes were fixed on the Xenos commander's bent arm.

He dodged the lightning bolt to the side and swung his sword at the Xenos.

The Xenos swung its Crystal Longsword down, the two swords clashed, and energy exploded.

In a series of bursts of energy, a series of pustules burst on Bendregg's forehead, chin, and neck.

Pus enters the eye, causing a burning and stinging sensation, followed by a stinging and astringent feeling.

Bendregg was breathing heavily, and as he arched his back, he felt a sharp pain in his armpit.

Without stopping, he leaped up, his sword flashing, and severed the Xenos's head.

After Bendregg killed the Brain-Eaters, the Xenos army collapsed.

Apothecary used a scalpel to remove the remaining pus from the abscess and clean his wound, the adjutant suddenly appeared beside him.

"Lord Nimrod has arrived," the adjutant paused for a few seconds before continuing, "And Lord Luther as well."

Bendregg's still somewhat muddled thoughts suddenly cleared.

"What?"

He suddenly stood up and walked out of the camp.

Before Bendregg could even speak after seeing the black-armored, golden-winged giant, Nimrod pulled out a bottle of green liquid, instantly appeared in front of him, and dripped it onto his nose.

He felt the remaining pustules disappear rapidly within seconds, and all the poison wounds on his body were healed.

Bendregg in astonishment at the small green vial. The Neurotoxin that had poisoned Superman Astartes' body had been eliminated just like that.

As he stood there in a daze, the Primarch's large hand patted his shoulder, and a voice echoed in his mind, affectionately calling him by his first name, not his surname.

"Ulian, keep this a secret for me and Luther."

Bendregg looked at Luther approaching, and remembering the opportunity Lord Nimrod had given him, he nodded.

Nimrod smiled as he looked at Bendregg.

A shared secret will bring us closer.

If you choose to keep this a secret, you're not far from being "Corrosion" by me.

Zahariel once held Lion in the highest esteem, but betrayed him for keeping Luther's secrets.