The Sapphire King (Part Two)

Weeks ago, when Expeditionary Fleet Number Two was still sailing through the stars.

"Lady Philus, the ground forces of Expeditionary Fleet 413 are dying every moment. We need your help! As soon as possible!"

"We understand your urgency, Wizard."

"But before we met you, we encountered a special guest during our Warp journey."

"It was one of the Terminator Bodyguard standing next to Iron Hands," said one of them.

"A ship from the Iron Hands. I personally oversee the construction of all the warships, but this one... I have never seen before."

"Could I have misread it?"

"That's not possible, but I believe I can still recognize the Iron Hands insignia on that ship."

The concept of time is not continuous in the Warp, but whether it is the past, present, or future, Philus will not stand idly by and watch her offspring perish.

"Enough talk. Get ready to board the gunship. Santo, Moen, Zanthes, you're with me."

Sitting on the enormous Iron Throne, Philus said impatiently.

"Wizard, you can come along if you wish."

The massive, rusty iron gate was pushed open by the immense force of Astartes.

Countless millennia later, the light from the flashlight shone into the dim room once again.

The ship is very well sealed, and even after losing the protection of the external force field, the internal facilities remain as clean and tidy as ever.

Various maintenance tools are still hanging on the steel hatch, and the precautions written in Gothic are still visible.

All kinds of weapons and equipment lay quietly in the cabinet.

Everything was intact, as if their owner had just left.

Several Legion warriors and Amar from the Thousand Sons Think Tank walked together to the final location of the derelict spaceship—the front hall of the main bridge.

In front of the bridge gate stands a withered identification Servitor.

It's not necessary to do that.

Philus thought to herself.

Like offering steel on an altar, the ship's control system is exaggerated and bizarre, like the product of some kind of mad Adeptus Mechanicus worship, rather than driven by reason.

No one is operating the machine.

It is the machines that are manipulating people.

"Father Zantien, please help us resolve this matter."

"Yes, sir."

From beneath his bright red Adeptus Mechanicus robes, a cluster of mechanical synapses emerged.

The mechanical gate was opened smoothly, revealing the main bridge to be completely empty, except for more Adeptus Mechanicus symbols and language; there was nothing there.

"Here."

Following the direction Philus pointed, an Astartes corpse lay in front of the control center on the bridge.

He was indeed an Iron Hands, and the emblem on his shoulder represented his clan.

But he seemed to have died a very gruesome death—all the "flesh and blood" or rather the machinery on his body had been sharply cut open and then reassembled.

A murder method full of morbid humor.

Although he still retained his human form, little flesh remained. Countless layers of steel modifications covered his entire body, which was also engraved with unknown symbols and totems.

"That's too extreme."

Philus was silent for a while before speaking.

If this is the future, then the Iron Hands will undoubtedly face an ugly and unbearable future.

"!"

A sudden sensation made her turn around to look at the legion warriors behind her.

It was an extremely bizarre-looking Xenos.

It leaped onto Gabriel Santo's shoulder from who knows where and began to frantically tear at his intact right arm.

The body is neither real nor illusory, as if it is undergoing endless transformations in a bizarre way.

Yet it still allows people to appreciate the beauty of its form.

What a strange thing.

"Fire!"

Almost the instant she gave the order, several Iron Hands swiftly raised their Boltgun and fired at the damned Xenos.

At such close range, even a slight miscalculation of the bullet's trajectory could easily result in Santo being accidentally injured.

But the mechanical brains of the Iron Hands will not err.

All the bullets flew towards the vital parts of the strange, alien Xenos.

As if the creature did not exist in the world, the Xenos Monster's form blurred and allowed the whistling bullets to pass through it.

With a playful laugh, the spikes in the creature's "hand" pierced through Santo's Power Armour as if they were nothing, easily tearing his right arm off.

"What kind of monster is this?!"

Philus shouted.

As a pioneer of the Great Crusade who had fought against countless Xenos, he had seen many kinds of Xenos.

But there has never been a creature in the world that could be pierced directly through a bullet.

This is not scientific at all.

After seeing Philus and letting out a terrifying laugh, the creature instantly vanished into the space behind it, disappearing without a trace.

It was as if it were part of this Warp.

Moreover, many more similar creations emerged from all directions of the spaceship.

But she is not alarmed by this.

Seeing that the bullets were ineffective, she immediately switched to a short knife and dismembered the monster at an extremely fast speed.

They cannot be hit by bullets, but can be destroyed in close combat.

Strange thing.

"Prepare for evacuation."

"My Psychic Power can affect them!"

As he spoke, the Thousand Sons Sorcerer Amar activated Force Shield, protecting everyone from the sneak attacks of those monstrous Xenos.

With a casual Psychic Lightning, he shattered a shrieking monster into ashes.

In the end, they returned to the flagship Iron Fist without any major incident.

The severely injured Santo was taken to the Apothecary and fitted with a new Mechanical Bionic Arm. Everyone else was unharmed.

"Sir, what should we do with this wrecked ship?"

Father Zantien cautiously stepped forward and suggested, "Perhaps they can bring us advanced knowledge from two, three, or even more years into the future!"

(It's actually not advanced)

"No, Father."

"Their presence tarnishes the Legion's honor."

"As long as I am alive, this tragedy will not happen."

"Destroy it."

Philus frowned, recalling the corpse of the Iron Hands she had seen earlier.

This is the legion after losing you.

You must be strong; you must lead them.

A legion that is constantly splitting and breaking apart, a clan that is shattered, and a twisted desire.

They need you to come back, take charge, and get them back on track.

"The Iron Hands will not fail."

The Iron Hands Never Fails

"For my children"

"I must do so."

What a story of a grand flag hanging high in the sky.

After listening to Amar's words, Kasgar couldn't help but sigh.

This is going to be difficult.

A demon from the future has affected the present.

The ability to exert such a profound influence on the Primarch fueled its hatred of flesh and blood, fueling its quest for greater power.

Besides the Sapphire King, Kasgar couldn't think of anyone else.

But the Sapphire King was born from the death of the Iron Hands, so how could he have traveled through time and space to affect him in the past?

Actually, it really is possible.

Just as Loken would encounter Samus in the Imperial Capital Terra, demons, once born, will exist in all timelines and exert influence.

Samus also comes from the death of Lunar Wolves Loken; demons will never tell you about grandfather paradoxes.

And once the [The Sapphire King] is born on all timelines...

This means that Philus's dark and desperate fate is already sealed; she will be sacrificed as a death offering, a victim at the gambling table of the Dark Gods.

Is all of this really something that Kasgar can change?

However, we can't be so absolute.

Who knows if the other person is really the one?

It's not impossible that it might just be a nameless, insignificant Slaaneshi Daemon that somehow managed to parasitize Philus, who has limited knowledge of the Warp.

Fulgrim's Laerda was a case in point.

Who knows if it's the "The Sapphire King"?

If it's not true, then his current state of fear is ridiculous.

Kasgar still harbored a sliver of hope regarding this.

"Kasgar?"

Seeing that the other person was lost in thought for a long time, Amar reminded him somewhat awkwardly.

"Did this remind you of anything? Also, you mentioned that Lady Philus encountered something strange; could it be related to this Space Hulk?"

That's very relevant.

Kasgar was somewhat undecided.

On the one hand, due to the promotion of Imperial Truth during the Great Crusade, the only ones who truly possessed knowledge and abilities about the other's warp creatures were Amar, the Thousand Sons' think tank.

But on the other hand, that's Thousand Sons!

If Kasgar dared to tell them about the existence of the Chaos Gods, he had no doubt that Magnus would lead his offspring to explore the Eye of Terror in the next second.

These bastards are really asking for trouble!

Okay, I'll just reveal a tiny bit.

"Then I'll just get straight to the point—as members of the Thousand Sons Legion, you must have encountered and come into contact with some intelligent beings from the Warp, right?"

Have you ever encountered this before?

Kasgar: "."

The air is thick with the smell of lies.

"Uh, I have indeed encountered it, but I must state: the Thousand Sons Legion's contact with it was absolutely within a reasonable range and in accordance with the Imperial Truth— "

"Enough! Just tell me if you've encountered it or not!"

"I've encountered that before."

"Okay, let's continue."

"You mean to say that the Primarch of the Iron Hands is very likely entangled by beings from the Warp, and that this is constantly affecting his mind?"

"Yes."

With Kasgar's careful explanation, Thousand Sons finally understood that Warp Entity could affect humans.

This is very rare.

"But the Warp Entity we encountered were all very friendly—"

"Um?"

Never mind what I said.

"Friendly? Hmph, next time you Thousand Sons enter the Warp, you should turn off the Geller Field and then experience the 'friendliness' of Warp Entity!"

"Kasgar said irritably."

It's one thing for Old Man Huang to have been fooled by ghosts when he was young, but where do you guys with your Geller Field get the confidence to say that the Warp is friendly, huh?

Isn't this a bit too ridiculous?

If you love playing Pokémon, why don't you turn off the field and play with them to your heart's content?

Say!

Are you still playing Pokémon?!

"I wouldn't dare."

He who eats another's food is bound to him; he who takes another's money is bound to him.

Amar, who desperately needed Kasgar to lift the Legion's Flesh Curse, dared not refute Kasgar's words.

"Forget it. Remember, be more wary of these things in the future, and don't believe everything you hear, understand?!"

". clear."

"Commander Kasgar, would you be willing to accept our Gene-father's invitation to Prospero— "

"What kind of situation is this? The Primarch are already affected by the Warp, and you're still talking about this!"

Kasgar was getting a little impatient.

Thousand Sons might think that even if the Primarch changes his mind, it won't cause much of a problem thanks to his excellent judgment.

Only Kasgar knew that this was a matter of life and death that could burn the galaxy!

"Alright then, Amar."

"Help me deal with the interference from Warp Entity with Philus. If it goes well, I'll go to Prospero to check on your Primarch."

"Really!? Then how can we help Philus deal with the threat from Warp Entity?"

"That's easy."

As he spoke, Kasgar raised his right hand, which was on fire.

"Just burn it with fire."

The Primarch of the Iron Hands walked on the bridge.

After their long-planned assassination attempt failed, the Gardinalians were plunged into a state of absolute panic.

Arrogant and conceited, they could never have imagined that a human could catch High-Energy Particle Cannon with his bare hands and emerge unscathed.

A beam of light that could easily slice through even the toughest Ceramite Armor couldn't cut through human flesh?

Is this Philus Manus even human?!

They were unaware of the Primarch's combat capabilities.

Death will be the price they pay for their arrogance.

After carrying out the assassination, they pleaded and tried to express their willingness to surrender to Philus through the previously agreed broadcast network.

But it seems that Philus, who is not in a good mood at the moment, is not going to give these fools another chance to provoke her.

Direct bombing.

They had previously occupied some cities on the Gardinal Prime as fortresses and destroyed the planet's surface defense system.

The Gardinalians' shields could no longer protect the entire planet.

Under the intense and relentless orbital bombardment of the 52nd Expeditionary Fleet, most of the defensive facilities on the planet Gardinal were completely destroyed.

However, Philus still most likely preserved those industrial facilities from the Dark Age of Technology.

Today, apart from a few small fortresses still standing guard over the cities, almost the entire planet of Gardinal Prime is under the control of the Iron Hands.

Now, all that's left is to target those foolish core members and give them a complete and utter annihilation.

This will serve as a complete demonstration for all those in the world who dare to challenge the authority of the Iron Hands.

Let all the Xenos and Pocket Imperium in the entire galaxy remember this lesson forever.

"Lady Philus!"

Upon seeing the Primarch appear, Kasgar, who had been hiding in the corner for a long time, quickly stepped forward.

The final battle for Gardinal is about to begin, and if you want to exorcise demons, now is the best opportunity!

Once the Gardinar Campaign is over, if Fulgrim still expresses a desire to remain on the Iron Hands...

Kasgar shuddered at the thought of the expression the other person would make.

That's terrifying.

Honestly, Kasgar felt that even without the Laerda, Fulgrim would have chopped off his head.

Cut it down hard.

"I request to challenge you!"

"In the Dueling Cage where you defeated our Sons of the Emperor, the Second Captain!"