Perturabo, You Wouldn't Want This...

Extreme Star Zone.

Olympia, the capital of the Iron Empire.

As a "country within a country" existing in the human world, the rebellious and disloyal acts here should, in theory, have been swiftly annihilated by the Imperium of Man after the Horus Heresy.

Unfortunately, this small world is guarded by the Iron Lord, Perturabo, and his Iron Warriors.

The Defensive Fortifications designed by the Iron Warriors Primarch blocked all the fleets that came to quell the rebellion.

Every world is protected by endless steel fortifications. Even worlds that are worthless and don't need any construction are required by the fanatical Perturabo to have base Defensive Fortifications built that cover the entire terrain.

With such a high density of buildings, even though the Imperium of Man had organized several annihilation fleets, they ultimately returned empty-handed after paying a thousand times the price.

Even when Lord Regent Roboute Guilliman and his Ultramarines tried to "persuade" Perturabo to repent and return to the Imperium, he was still rejected.

According to the Iron Lord, Perturabo is confident that he can die here alongside Guilliman.

Even if Guilliman were to destroy his Iron Empire at great cost, Perturabo would never allow the other side and its five hundred star systems to live in peace.

He no longer cares about anything, but Guilliman still needs to save the dying Imperium of Man.

Barefoot people aren't afraid of those wearing shoes.

If you don't dare, then don't bother him anymore.

He would no longer serve his hypocritical Emperor father in the slightest, nor would he have any further dealings with the pathetic Imperium under his rule.

It's set up.

For the past ten thousand years, even during the three thousand years when Guilliman fell into slumber and all the Primarch of the Imperium departed, the Iron Empire truly did not launch a single attack, just as Perturabo had said.

Even within the Iron Empire, Primarch Perturabo is rarely seen anymore.

After that, the relationship between the Imperium of Man and the Iron Empire continued uneventfully.

Even the Martian Adeptus Mechanicus secretly engaged in some clandestine exchanges with the Iron Empire due to technical reasons.

Olympia, under Perturabo's transformation, has become a complete steel world.

Unimaginable steel structures stretch upwards from the planet's surface, layer upon layer.

Under Perturabo's meticulous construction, this eternal steel jungle will ceaselessly produce more processed building materials and finished metal products, further strengthening his already heavily armed Iron Empire.

"My lord, I have a message to convey to you."

Accompanied by the clanging of steel footsteps, Perturabo's most trusted subordinate, the Warsmith Hongsuo, opened the secure door to the secret chamber.

The steel-constructed passageway had no windows—just like the design Perturabo had used on the Iron Blood. Hongsuo strode forward, approaching one of the Iron Circle Automated Mecha.

Only a handful of Trident members knew Perturabo's location, and only Warsmith like Hongsuo, who were deeply trusted by the enemy, knew which Iron Circle Automated Mecha was transmitting information to the Primarch.

In fact, Hongsuo himself didn't know why this happened—

In fact, his origins were not honorable— Hongsuo did not remember his origins; he was born in a mysterious underground laboratory and possessed pre-loaded Space Marine knowledge.

He knew that one of his Gene-father was Perturabo. In order to return to his father's side, Hongsuo hid in the Middle East of the Imperium of Man for more than half a year, and finally managed to escape to the Iron Empire by sneaking into a corpse transport ship.

And then he finally met Perturabo, one of the Gene-father whom he had never met before.

Of course, this was practically a declaration of his own death.

Perturabo doesn't like being disturbed—some brave souls tried to go up and were thrown out as corpses by the Iron Circle Automata and into the incinerator.

However, to everyone's surprise, Perturabo did not kill the ungrateful fellow outright.

Even after Hongsuo made some rude remarks, the Iron Lord was not angry at all. Instead, he asked Hongsuo to play chess with him with great interest.

It is clear that Hongsuo is no match for Plankton – after losing five games in a row, Perturabo said that Hongsuo is just a mediocre and incompetent guy.

If he can't come up with something that interests him, he might end up like those other useless guys before him, getting scooped out by the Iron Circle Automata.

But at the start of the sixth and final game, Pi, like a true father, patiently guided Hongsuo to break free from his fixed mindset. "Don't fight like Iron Warriors, Hongsuo. I want you to fight like yourself. Fight like Hongsuo."

—Is this something Perturabo would say?

Perturabo only showed a relieved smile after Hongsuo finally won.

She's so gentle and thoughtful.

He was completely different from the cold-blooded and ruthless the Iron Lord in the rumors.

Even Hongsuo himself didn't know why he was being treated so kindly by Hong Su alone.

"What's up?"

Perturabo's question pulled him out of his previous thoughts.

"Abaddon of the Black Legion —he is plotting his thirteenth expedition to Cadia. Once it is accomplished, the Eye of Terror will expand smoothly, and the False Emperor's pathetic Imperium will collapse afterward."

Abaddon claimed that all twelve of his expeditions were preparations for this final blow.

It's easy to imagine just how important this 13th Black Crusade was to Abaddon.

"He is willing to offer you Blackstone Fortress as a gift in exchange for your help."

The Warsmith Hongsuo stepped forward and reported to the Iron Circle Automated Mecha.

However, he was met with silence.

"Okay, is there anything else?"

The Iron Lord remained noncommittal about his nephew, who was plotting to destroy the Imperium.

"Furthermore, Belisarius Cawl, the Archmagos the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Imperium of Man, sent us a message in his capacity as Chapter Master of the Sons of the Phoenix— "

Hongsuo frowned.

"My dear friend, I'm back to see you again."

"Perturabo, you don't want your activities at the Thaliakron Grand Theatre to be exposed, do you?"

"We await your arrival in your Forge World, the Iron Citadel."

"Ha ha ha ha."

(Reading in a monotone)

Smack

At this very moment,

The steel gate in front of Hongsuo, which had been closed for countless years, was now open once again.

"Take me to see him."

Perturabo said calmly.

The Iron Empire was heavily guarded.

However, this Adeptus Mechanicus transport ship carrying a large amount of minerals was able to pass smoothly through Mandeville Point, which was guarded by numerous Iron Imperial Fleet.

This is a mining vessel provided by the Adeptus Mechanicus in accordance with the agreement.

In order to meet the needs of construction, the Iron Empire requires a large amount of minerals, stone and energy. Obviously, the current output of the mining world within the Iron Empire is far from meeting its strong demand.

In this situation, it would be necessary to obtain the minerals that the Imperium of Man urgently needs through trade.

Despite repeated emphasis from within the Adeptus Mechanicus that those who sided with the Iron Empire were impure mechanical heretics and that their actions would not be blessed by Omnissiah, the Machine God.

But this still couldn't stop many Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus —such as Cawl —from secretly using various means to bypass the Inquisition fleet and exchange the Adeptus Mechanicus's mineral resources for Perturabo's construction technology.

Although the two sides appear to be mortal enemies, they have always been secretly exchanging glances and hints.

But to be honest, there was no real hatred between the Imperium of Man and Perturabo.

Even if there were any, people would have calmed down by today, ten thousand years from now.

Unfortunately, the stubborn Perturabo never had the concept of calming down.

"The Iron Citadel is on the third planet in this star system, over there."

The main bridge of the Adeptus Mechanicus transport ship.

The one directing the ore-laden transport ship into the Iron Empire beside Kasgar was the Iron Warriors had suggested seeking help from Perturabo.

Now, having completed the Primaris transformation, the former Space Marine Little Potato has suddenly grown into an extremely tall...

Although it is still square, the sense of oppression it gives people is completely different from the past.

Under his command, the ships that Kasgar had obtained from Cawl flew the flags of mineral trading and evaded the patrols and inspections of the Iron Empire, sailing towards the space port of the Iron Citadel.

A single transport ship poses little threat to a fully armed Iron Empire.

Nevertheless, Iron Citadel has not placed any new ore orders recently.

"It is me, Kardan, formerly the company commander of the 32nd Company of the Fourth Iron Warriors."

"By order of the Iron Lord, we need to carry out a classified mission on the Iron Citadel."

However, this record is not in our data.

Furthermore, according to the database, Captain Kardan, the ship you last appeared on before your disappearance was attacked by the Dark Eldar.

"Enough! I'm back now!"

"This is a surprise inspection by the Primarch. Do you really intend to question the Iron Lord?"

"You should all leave for now and not tell anyone what happened today."

Just as the Iron Warriors guards were preparing to board the ship to investigate the situation, the Iron Warriors next to Kasgar completed his identity verification.

That's it.

"In the decades I spent with the Iron Warriors, I never experienced war. You can see for yourself, no one could remain happy under Perturabo's command."

The Iron Warriors Kardan Cardan let out a heavy sigh.

Perturabo always has a variety of ways to cause trouble.

"Or perhaps we never need the emotion of happiness at all; I recall reading about the Iron Warriors in the literature."

"Alright, now we need to break in here."

Having already swapped his Psychic Power for the Iron Man Power Armour shell, Kasgar promptly interrupted the opponent's endless chatter.

Over these ten thousand years, Perturabo's modifications to Power Armour seem to have taken a completely different path from those of the Imperium of Man.

Wider, thicker, and heavier. This comes at the cost of reduced flexibility, allowing the Power Armour to carry more and larger long-range weapons.

It's more like a variant of the Centurion Power Armour.

If the Primaris Power Armour modification plan were given to Perturabo, the Sons of the Phoenix might actually be able to be armed to the teeth.

"I hope the Astropath of Perturabo have received my inquiry correctly."

Kasgar slowly stepped off the ship.

This time, he only brought Melusin and the former Iron Warrior Cardan with him.

Kardan was their guide on this trip, while Melusine was interested in the bioscience of the Iron Empire.

Meanwhile, because this infiltration might be dangerous, and because Titus's Psychic Power insulator status prevented Kasgar from teleporting him away immediately, he arranged for him to wait on the Sons of the Phoenix's Strike Cruiser to train new recruits.

The entire Iron Citadel was filled with heat and the clanging of steel clashing—the entire steel world could be seen through Holographic Projection on both sides of the passageway, amidst a complex array of defensive mechanical installations.

—Although it has become extremely fragmented under countless layers of division, in the center of the spiraling tunnel of the Forge World that is bottomless, in the center of the central pit thousands of meters deep, there is a divine machine that stands quietly.

That is...

"Emperor-class Titan with a steel skull, from the Titan Cult of ten thousand years ago."

Kardan explained.

Ever since this Forge World swore allegiance to Perturabo, the towering Emperor-class Titan has remained here, unmoved.

If it weren't for Kardan as a guide, Kasgar might have been trapped in this world and unable to find a way out if he had gone alone.

"Take the left turn at the next corner – we have two options."

Having once been one of the guardians of this Forge World, he knew perfectly well what treasures lay buried beneath this steel jungle.

In the unfathomable Forge World, at the very center of the massive central crater thousands of meters deep, just beneath his Emperor Titan, there seemed to be another realm.

"If possible, we hope to get personal help from Perturabo himself—if we can get his help, we will not only have no shortage of suitable Power Armour, but we will also have an excess of other equipment and ammunition."

This is the best-case scenario.

As the assault regiment in the Great Crusade, Tie Yong always had more weapons and ammunition than he could ever use.

If they can gain Perturabo's support, the Sons of the Phoenix will never have to worry about weapons and ammunition again.

"But of course, if the negotiations break down—there is a powerful artifact that we can use hidden in the underground region of this Forge World."

Enter the interior of the Forge World through a hidden door at the very bottom.

Kardan led the group into the iron-gray elevator. Under his instructions, Kasgar felt a rapid descent that lasted for several minutes.

"What kind of divine artifact is that?"

"The Tech-Priest here call it the 'Codex Mechanicus.' Legend has it that it is an ancient relic unearthed by the Iron Lord during one of his excavations into the Daemon World of the Maelstrom."

In short, it can use advanced technology from the Dark Age of Technology to help users optimize and iterate their designs. Even if the other party does not understand the reason, the "Codex Mechanicus" can help them complete the rearrangement and design of the production pipeline.

In other words

While it can't simply throw in the product and get a finished product like STC, this powerful tool can help them arrange their production pipelines independently, providing reasonable suggestions and improvement plans based on database data for producing the products required in the design drawings.

What? Sounds like Abominable Intelligence, a specialization of industrial design databases?

No, no, no!

This is a divine artifact! Do you understand? A divine artifact from the Dark Age of Technology!

Hiss.

This is Perturabo's Iron Empire.

It seems the Iron Lord didn't restrict the use of artificial intelligence?

"Well, Cawl would definitely be interested in this kind of product," Kasgar replied with a smile.

"However, we may not be able to easily bring this thing back."

"Aren't you right, Perturabo?"

When.

As a notification tone sounded, the sealed elevator doors opened, revealing the mechanical structure deep underground.

There were also many Iron Circle Automated Mecha who were pointing their cannons at Kasgar and the others.

Surrounded by the Iron Circle Automated Mecha, appearing before Kasgar and the others was none other than the Primarch of the Iron Warriors.

The Iron Lord, Perturabo.

"Old friend, it's been a long time."

Rather than stealing the artifact and turning against Perturabo, Kasgar would rather have a proper discussion with him about the matter.

After all, Kasgar didn't want Chaos to gain another powerful general.

"I have no interest in meeting you, and I have never acknowledged you as my brother-in-law."

"But you still came, didn't you?"

His arrogance remains as strong as ever, just like it was a thousand years ago, Plankton.

"That's enough. I know why you came here, but I have no interest in it."

"Your threat of the Grand Theatre is outdated. I have long since let go of those obsessions."

Over these ten thousand years, Perturabo gradually calmed down in solitude.

Since he stopped working overtime every day during the Emperor's Great Crusade, his energy and spirit are now far better than during the Great Crusade, and he no longer crushes the other party's head at the slightest disagreement.

And during those ten thousand years, his need for affirmation from others also diminished considerably.

Even his older sister was the same—human lifespan is ultimately short, and even though Perturabo had frantically built similar robots in an attempt to keep her, he still could not achieve a 100% replica of a person.

Over time, the former the Iron Lord has become peaceful.

I've let it go.

He has let go of everything, and no matter what Kasgar tries to Perturabo him with now, he will remain unmoved.

Have you really let go of everything?

"But I have an even better testing opportunity, the Iron Lord."

Kasgar glanced at Melusine beside him, then looked at Hongsuo beside Perturabo with a half-smile in his eyes.

"Hongsuo!!!"

A sudden shout startled Hongsuo, who was standing next to Perturabo, and he looked completely bewildered.

"Don't you wonder why the Iron Lord cares about you so much and treats you so gently?"

"Aren't you curious about your own true identity?!"

"!"

"?"

"Shut up, Kasgar, you bastard!!"

Finally, at this moment.

Perturabo, who hadn't shown any signs of temper for many years, suddenly became extremely agitated.

He rushed forward, about to order the Iron Circle Automated Mecha to open fire.

That's because—

Kasgar paused, and then a Psychic Power communication was transmitted into Perturabo's mind.

Perturabo

You wouldn't want Hongsuo to know that his mother is actually Rogal Dorn, would you?