Vulkan: Man!

Vulkan's Expeditionary Fleet also needs to complete the Great Crusade KPIs and reclaim those planets that have long been lost in the galaxy.

How could he possibly receive a distress signal and immediately get to the mining planet in such a short time?

But that's exactly what happened.

Just as Kasgar was about to launch the newly acquired Dark Eldar warship toward the next moment of Nuceria.

Countless dark green warships emerged from the void, blocking the path of their Corsairs warships.

To be precise, they were warships of the Dark Eldar.

—Because it was just captured, the ship's paint scheme hadn't even been changed to something less in the style of the Dark Eldar.

"Run! Run!!!"

Now is not the time for explanations!

The person who came is Vulkan!

If it were any other Primarch, Vulkan, the Primarch of the 18th Legion, Kasgar could have fooled them with the Trade Charter at hand.

But Vulkan Vulkan had seen Kasgar!

At the Emperor's banquet that year, the other party must have known Kasgar's appearance and identity based on the Primarch's memories.

Moreover, they are now piloting the flagship of the Dark Eldar.

In an effort to expedite the landing of personnel, they just hacked into Nocturne's surface defense system.

This really doesn't make sense.

"Quick! Unfurl all camouflage and shields, escape from here at all costs!"

"Sir, we have discovered the presence of the Xenos -invading warship. They are fleeing at full speed after spotting us!"

"Our ships are catching up, but the enemy is much faster than us. Should we use the Lance weapons?"

"Attack."

Seeing the bizarre Xenos ship in the Holographic Projection with its black wings spread like a bat, Vulkan gave the order to attack without the slightest hesitation.

Vulkan has always harbored a deep-seated aversion to these pointy-eared Xenos.

When he landed on Nocturne, the planet was already suffering from attacks by these pointy-eared Xenos.

The people in his settlement were already used to these occasional natural disasters and had to devise various ways to escape the Xenos' pursuit in order to survive.

When Vulkan was about three years old, those damned pointy-eared Xenos attacked their settlement again, forcing the residents to flee.

But three-year-old Vulkan Dreadnought.

With an ordinary Blacksmith's Hammer, he single-handedly charged into the Dark Eldar's slave-hunting team, personally smashing hundreds of Eldar warriors to pieces. The remaining Xenos were so frightened that they fled in panic and never dared to attack again.

From then on, Vulkan was celebrated as a hero by the Nocturne, and members of other tribes flocked to join him.

He thus became the ruler of Nocturne, until the arrival of a stranger—but that's another story.

The current location of Vulkan is merely a mining planet that produces rare minerals, which is being passed by Expeditionary Fleet when they receive news that the planet is being invaded by Eldar Xenos.

He was furious.

Vulkan has not a shred of pity for these beasts that frequently invade human settlements and torture their fellow human beings with the most severe and cruel methods.

The massive Lance weapon of light slammed into the fragile shield of the Xenos Flagship.

Perhaps their speed alone would allow these slippery Xenos Warship to escape Vulkan's pursuit.

But no matter how fast you are, can you be faster than the Lance?

Even though the Xenos Warship was doing its best to dodge this fierce attack, it was to no avail.

It still stirred up ripples heavily on the Xenos's dark blue shield.

"Continue tracking and bombing, and send out fighter groups to flank and outflank."

"We will make these Xenos who dare to provoke humanity pay a bloody price."

"Damn it, friendly fire!"

Kasgar, regarded as an "Xenos who dares to provoke humanity," wanted to stick his head out right now and yell at Vulkan to stop.

Unfortunately, I can't shout it out.

How long can our shield last?

"Not long. You overloaded this ship's shield system once before, and it won't last much longer without energy replenishment."

"But—don't panic, I can handle it!"

Yriel's words were filled with confidence and excitement.

How to break through the heavy firepower of humans?

That's interesting.

Of all the naval battles Yriel has fought, this is still the most challenging and spectacular one she has ever encountered!

I, the Pirate Princess Yriel, accept this challenge!

The ship dodged the opponent's next Lance shot at an almost impossible angle.

"Don't panic! I can still operate it!"

The flagship of the Salamanders.

Vulkan straightened the Thunderstrike Great Hammer in his hand, staring intently at the Holographic Projection in the flagship command center.

Perhaps these Eldar warship operators do possess some skill, enabling them to withstand their intense firepower.

However, the maneuvering to dodge enemy fire also slowed the warships' advance, and they were about to be surrounded by their other Escort and Strike Cruiser.

"My lord, the garrison from the surface has sent us a new message."

"It seems we've made a mistake. These people aren't actually Xenos, but rather a fleet of Rogue Trader who helped us defeat the Xenos and rescue all the captured humans."

"Oh? Cease shelling."

Rogue Trader?

Vulkan's puzzled gaze fell on the massive Eldar flagship in the center, and the Xenos Fleet escorting it.

Is this Rogue Trader?

Where are they?

Where is he/she? I'm asking you.

"That's not fair!!!"

The spacecraft's speed was significantly slowed down as it maneuvered to evade enemy fire in space.

Even though the shield was indeed preserved thanks to Yriel's manipulation, they had nowhere to escape from being surrounded by the Vulkan ship.

Yriel was very dissatisfied with this.

It was extremely despicable. If she hadn't had to dodge the artillery fire and thus been surrounded by these small ships, she would have left that clumsy human flagship far behind.

Among the Craftworld Aeldari, a legend will soon circulate about her successfully outmaneuvering a full-scale human fleet.

Unfortunately, they couldn't shake them off.

"I can't handle it now."

Yriel sighed, "Let your winged sister-in-law handle it."

In this situation, it is estimated that only Sanguinius could resolve it.

But once Sanguinius came forward and admitted that he was hanging out with the Xenos...

That's not a problem that's easy to solve.

"Wait a minute."

"The Salamanders' shelling seems to have stopped; it seems they are just surrounding them without attacking."

[Communication request from Lord of the Fire Dragons, Vulkan]

After the airdropped civilians rendezvoused with the surface troops, the troops from the planet's surface were the first to agree with the account of the rescued Salamanders Captain and transmitted the series of events and related data to [the relevant authorities/organizations].

"Honorable Rogue Trader, Mr. Sherlock, please allow me to express my sincerest apologies and gratitude to you, as the Salamanders."

Although this Rogue Trader's ship was rather Xenos.

But they remained heroes who were able to defeat the Xenos enemies that preyed on humans and rescue a large number of captured civilians and Salamanders Battle Brother from their clutches.

After learning the whole story, Vulkan was filled with gratitude towards him.

Using Xenos ships is such a trivial matter; compared to his heroic fight to stand up for the people, it is utterly insignificant!

As Rogue Trader whose trade scope covers the entire Imperium, especially since the Trade Charter is personally issued by the Emperor and bears Emperor own handwriting and blood.

As for why the ship is in the style of the Xenos, it's because this warship was captured from the Xenos during a previous battle.

The battle was so fierce that both sides suffered heavy losses, and Mr. Sherlock's ship, belonging to Rogue Trader, was also rendered unusable.

Therefore, he had to take action to use the captured Xenos to return these survivors to their homes.

Reasonable.

"These Rogue Trader and wandering ronin just like Xenos gadgets."

"Vulkan said to himself."

"It seems that this whole thing was a misunderstanding from the beginning."

"Then, sir, what should we do?"

"I'll go myself."

"I want to personally go and greet this hero who sacrificed everything for our soldiers and people and ultimately had to use the Xenos spaceship."

"Even under a misunderstanding, they insisted on releasing our people. And—didn't you notice that during the initial contact, they didn't launch a single counterattack against our ships?"

Actually, it was Kasgar who didn't dare.

If he dares to use his Xenos allies to attack the Primarch's Expeditionary Fleet, even the Emperor might not be able to protect him.

"Their actions have earned my respect."

Although he had never heard of any Rogue Trader dynasty Sherlock, the man's actions were enough to earn him a personal welcome from the Primarch himself.

With that, Vulkan, his gaze slightly approving, hoisted the heavy hammer onto his back and headed toward the tarmac.

"What! Vulkan is coming to personally escort me to the Salamanders's flagship?"

Broken.

Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!

Vulkan would recognize him!

Even if they can't recognize it, how are they going to explain this whole boatload of Bean Sprout to Vulkan?

The Emperor did allow Rogue Trader to interact with other races in the universe within certain limits.

But this level of Xenos concentration

Kasgar looked at the faint light emanating from the Salamanders flagship outside the screen and smiled with relief.

Ha ha!

This is terrible!

The Salamanders airship successfully landed on the deck of the Dark Eldar in Kasgar.

The hatch, painted with flame patterns in deep green, bright red, and orange-yellow, opened, and Vulkan peered into the interior of this Xenos Warship, which he had never set foot in before.

He had indeed previously joined some Eldar warships, and as the Primarch, he had also conducted research on the Eldar, Xenos of aliens who had once established powerful Imperium in the universe.

As the sworn enemy of the Dark Eldar, Vulkan has boarded countless Dark Eldar warships.

As a captured Dark Eldar warship, this place is a bit too clean.

It was so clean that there wasn't even a single Xenos.

There wasn't even a person there.

The expected welcome from the Rogue Trader, filled with gratitude and appreciation, did not arrive as anticipated.

Inside this empty flagship, there was nothing but the even emptier, completely cleaned-out ship walls.

"Mr. Sherlock?"

Vulkan was filled with doubt and uncertainty.

"Ahem. Hello, Lord Vulkan."

A tone modified by the Sound Array system came to his ears, emanating from the central Holographic Projection in the landing hall.

Even the projections are blurred images with extra processing.

"I'm sorry that for some reason I can't officially greet you, please understand."

What does this mean?

The Salamanders Terminator guards following behind Vulkan were extremely angry at Kasgar's disrespect.

Did your ships become so damaged that they were completely abandoned, forcing you to replace them with Xenos Warship, while all your servants and humans disappeared?

As the Primarch was welcoming the human hero, the Rogue Trader should have treated him with the highest level of courtesy.

Who knew this guy would be so arrogant and self-important that he wouldn't even come out to greet the Primarch!

Really

Ambitious!

"I need an explanation, Sherlock the Rogue Trader Ronin."

Vulkan was a kind-hearted man, but he was never the kind of person who would let anyone bully him.

This extreme disrespect for the Primarch left him feeling not only dissatisfied but also confused.

The fact that this Rogue Trader was willing to step forward and sacrifice everything to save the Salamanders and other human captives shows that he was not an arrogant or cold-hearted person.

However, he still chose to refuse to meet with Vulkan himself.

Does this Rogue Trader really not like my Vulkan?

Did I do something wrong that offended this noble person?

He thought to himself with a sense of disappointment.

Fortunately, Kasgar encountered Vulkan.

If anyone dares to treat a certain lion like that, forget about self-reflection. They'll rip your entire Xenos Warship to shreds on the spot!

"Oh well, never mind."

Seeing that it was impossible to hide it any longer, Kasgar sighed.

I don't want to go anymore!

"Lord Vulkan, please come to the cabin on the right side ahead."

"Alright. If you are indeed a human hero, I'm willing to make some concessions for you."

"However, if you try anything funny, my giant hammer will not tolerate it in the slightest."

"Sir, but—"

No need to say more, you wait here, I'll be back soon.

After saying that, Vulkan picked up the giant hammer beside him and walked toward the direction indicated by the other party.

"Kasgar!?"

When Vulkan first looked at Kasgar, he couldn't believe that he knew this mysterious fellow!

"Kasgar, what are you doing here?"

Isn't he the Chief Lord Commander of the Third Legion 'Sons of the Emperor?

How did you end up here as a Rogue Trader? What kind of behavior is this?!

"It might be a bit complicated, but well, it is indeed very complicated."

"Then I have another question—as a Space Marine, why do you avoid communicating with our ships and deceive them with a false identity?"

"Kasgar, what are you doing? Have you deserted the Emperor's Children Legion and betrayed the Emperor and the Imperium?"

Looking at this Xenos- style warship, and the fact that it was completely empty, coupled with the fact that this guy had repeatedly declined to meet with the Primarch,

Vulkan astutely identified the problem.

Could this guy have already betrayed the legion?

"Lord Vulkan is joking. As Fulgrim's husband, how could I betray the Emperor or the Legion?"

"If I had truly betrayed you, why would I have gone to such lengths to send these captured human civilians and Salamander back, thus allowing you, sir, to capture me?"

Kasgar's explanation is not wrong.

Even Vulkan couldn't find a flaw in the logic behind it.

"But I still don't believe you—"

"After all, that Xenos- style shrine still has your portrait on it."

As he spoke, Vulkan pointed to a portrait painted on the wall that was in the style of the Asuryan believers.

That was after Yriel seized control of the ship in Kasgar. She said that in order to eradicate the ancient vengeful spirit on the ship, she had this kind of image pasted all over the hull.

"It is also clearly written above: [Phoenix King (in the language of the Eldar)].

As he spoke, Vulkan slowly raised the Thunder Hammer in his hand.

His eyes were filled with vigilance.

Is there anything else you'd like to say?

Have.

That's amazing!

Damn it, Yriel!

May the Phoenix King! I should feed you to Slaanesh right now!

Now you're dead, it's all your fault.

But no matter how much Kasgar cursed Yriel in his heart, Vulkan's wary gaze never left him.

There were no people on the warship, only pointed-eared Xenos!

"Kasgar, who exactly are you?"

"Well."

"Alright, brother, put down your weapons. We are not traitors."

Just as tensions were rising, another familiar voice from Vulkan came from the room behind Kasgar.

A pair of pure white wings came into his view the moment he opened the door.

This is--

Looking at the Auramite armor covering her, which was almost as tall as him, and her soft, wavy golden hair, he knew that she was one of the most beautiful beings among the Primarch.

Sanguinius.

"Sanguinius? What are you doing here?"

If it was possible to deduce Kasgar's potential betrayal through words and intelligence analysis, Angel here was simply an act devoid of any logic.

Where did Sanguinius come from?

Vulkan couldn't fathom why she would be there.

It's like a dream where characters that shouldn't be there suddenly appear on your face—that inexplicable feeling.

"It might be a bit complicated to explain."

Sanguinius gave an extremely awkward smile, "But I can assure you that Kasgar Sherlock has never betrayed the Imperium, nor have I."

"We are just carrying out some more covert mission."

To carry out some more covert mission?

Hiss. Something's not right.

Something's not right.

The Angel's anxiety about Kasgar's impending accusation by Vulkan suggests that the two had a close relationship.

(Because he was needed to treat his Black Rage)

Then he thought about how Kasgar and the Angel were both alone, without any of their other Space Marine squires or lieutenants accompanying them.

Furthermore, Fulgrim is not here either.

In other words, they are doing this—

An affair?

Upon realizing this, Vulkan's body trembled.

Isn't it obvious?

Both of them were from legions, but neither of them was actually in their own legion. Instead, they were doing some strange things on this Eldar warship!

But what could a man like Vulkan say?

"If there's a secret plan involved, then I won't pry."

"But Kasgar, before I leave, there's one more thing I want to ask you—"

"Was Fulgrim aware of your mission?"

"Well, she knows that."

Kasgar nodded.

Of course, Fulgrim knew that Kasgar had gone to rescue Angron.

But the appearance of Sanguinius beside him was completely unexpected.

But this isn't Kasgar's fault!

However, to Vulkan, these words seemed to carry a different meaning.

Vulkan: "?"

Know?

Kasgar said that Fulgrim knew he and the Angel had gone off to spend time alone together, but Fulgrim had not been invited.

Ah?

As an honest man, Vulkan was once again slightly shocked.

He was unsure what to do with the Thunder Hammer in his hand.

Or does Fulgrim actually prefer this style of play?

No, this is too chaotic.

This is not something that an honest man who only likes blacksmithing should concern himself with.

"I wish you good luck."

Finally, having received an overload of information, Vulkan could only slowly utter this sentence as he turned to leave.

Honestly, this guy is quite lucky with women; two of the most beautiful Primarch in the universe have both taken a liking to him.

There are even special ways to play!

Hopefully, this child can balance all of this.

Don't let it be that when you meet again, all that's left is your head.

"Set sail, prepare for the return journey."

As Vulkan stepped out of the room, he spoke to the two Terminator waiting outside.

"Lord of the Fire Dragons, what exactly happened inside?"

"Why should we go back now? Shouldn't we rescue them from the Xenos wreckage?"

"I don't know either, my mind is a mess right now."

Several days later.

The brief encounter with Vulkan quickly passed by during my Webway journey.

After Vulkan left, Kasgar had Yriel complete the Webway jump at an extremely fast speed.

Finally, in the vast and boundless starry sky, the Red Sand star, which resembled a scorching wasteland, gradually came into view.

"We've finally arrived in Nuceria."

Kasgar couldn't help but sigh.

"Yriel, where is that gladiator you investigated last time? I need his information."

Hopefully, I'm not too late.

"That's easy to say."

The relatively simple Spirit Web that had just been set up around Yriel emitted faint glows.

"At that time, I also set up some information gathering devices in the center of the city's Gladiator Arena."

"If nothing unexpected happens, activating these devices will allow local information to be transmitted here in real time."

A tool used by the Eldar to gather intelligence.

Some Eldar who are Cain's Followers are masters of using such assassination tools.

Just as Yriel responded, a scene of a Gladiator Arena suddenly appeared in the Holographic Projection in front of everyone.

In the center of the stage, surrounded by countless people, two gladiators, one old and one young, were fighting.

The older man seemed to have lost the duel, but the extremely tall young man seemed unwilling to end the fight.

Angron!

If Kasgar is not mistaken, that young gladiator is Angron!

"Yriel, where are their voices?"

"Initiating... The Spirit Web hasn't been set up in the new warships yet; many things haven't been implemented in time."

"Okay, I'll relay this to you: they're discussing whether or not to give it to Angron— "

"Butcher's Nails? What's that?"

"Quick!!!"

The moment he heard that name, Kasgar rushed towards the spaceship's landing platform without looking back.

The good news is that we made it!

But the bad news didn't arrive very quickly!

Time is of the essence; they must immediately descend to the surface and stop this from happening!

"Kasgar, you—"

"There's no time to slowly log in and gather intelligence now! We need to complete the rappelling immediately!!!"

Urgent!

The King of Chopping is about to drive in the nails, and you're still not in a hurry!

"Drop pod, now!!!"

Now, Kasgar no longer has time to slowly gather intelligence and complete preliminary preparations.

Even small landing craft are not suitable; the fastest Drop pod must be used to complete the landing!

"Quick, Angel!"

As he spoke, Kasgar hurriedly waved to Sanguinius was rushing behind him.

"Let's land directly in the Gladiator Arena together!"