Soul of Manros

The Chaos and Imperium forces focused on a decisive battle on the plains.

The Manros forces gained breathing room and rested for a week.

The high command believed they shouldn't lose the first through twelfth underground barracks, as they provided strategic depth.

The Manros were fully armed, with no civilians, and two regiments of soldiers were mobilizing toward the front lines.

Just then.

Hundreds of former Manros noble guard members were in a corner of the planet, searching abandoned underground structures.

"This is an armory built during the World Eaters' occupation; we all know that."

"The nobles already sent people to search here, and there's nothing at all."

"If that young psychic from the former resistance is wrong about his prophecy, we'll be wasting our time on a pointless outing in this godforsaken place while all other Manros have rushed to the front lines."

The noble guard's officers were surrounded by their subordinates, listening to the rising complaints.

They were former guard members who had surrendered to the resistance during the "Purge of Grudges" and were now tasked with searching for weapons.

This mission was assigned because the grandson of the former resistance prophet, who was at the command center, had a prophecy that residual weapons could be found in an abandoned World Eaters armory in the northern part of the planet.

However, the guard members had searched for four days, even crawling into dog holes, and found nothing.

The officer felt his subordinates' complaints that it felt like an "outing" were valid.

The entire armory had been integrated into the natural ecosystem, with grass growing through the floor and gnarled vines and plant roots covering the abandoned facility.

They even saw some wild animals that had taken refuge there and survived the viral bomb.

"Let's retreat..."

As the officer gave the order, a white deer emerged from the bushes and looked at everyone.

The officer's gaze was immediately drawn to it. He recalled seeing this white deer before, but no one paid it any mind, as they weren't really on an outing.

Yet, as they were about to give up, the officer felt a sudden stirring in his heart.

"Do you have something you want to tell us?" he shouted at the white deer.

The guard members thought the officer had lost his mind.

"He's crazy!"

"Let's disperse and go to the front lines to defend our Manros."

"..."

The officer followed the white deer.

The guard members who had called for dispersal made to leave, but out of a simple moral obligation not to abandon a madman in this eerie place, they still followed.

The white deer fled as if startled.

Everyone followed the officer, and the officer followed the white deer through the corridor.

They finally arrived at a wall completely hidden by thick tree roots.

Just as everyone thought there was no way forward, the roots suddenly parted, revealing a hole in the wall. Inside the hole were neatly arranged shipping containers.

Everyone held their breath and cautiously entered the hole, then opened the containers.

"Herud Flintlocks!"

Inside the containers were rows of Xenos rifles.

Since Manros also acquired and modified some Xenos weapons, someone recognized them as "Herud Flintlocks."

When fired, Herud Flintlocks released beams that initially possessed temperatures exceeding that of a star's core.

There were over a thousand flintlocks in these containers.

"That psychic kid's prophecy was true..."

"There really are weapons here."

A moment later.

"The child's prophecy was true."

"There are Xenos weapons in the abandoned armory, about a thousand of them. According to the management logs, they were stored by the World Eaters when they were collecting armaments for their rebellion."

Lu Jin walked towards the command center.

The officer followed him, reporting the recent situation.

"Additionally, the artisans have designed a rifle that can penetrate armor, which they call the Gauss Rifle."

"This weapon has already entered production."

"At least when the next offensive begins, our people won't have to die with the enemy anymore."

Even with production at its absolute limit, we can only ensure one soldier per infantry squad has a Gauss Rifle...

Before entering the command center, Lu Jin stopped.

The officer looked at Lu Jin.

"Do your best," Lu Jin said.

"Yes, Lord of Valor," the officer saluted and turned to leave.

Lord of Valor was a new title.

It meant: the source of all valorous character and actions.

As the time for purging grudges ended and Manros entered the era of "Defending Manros," Lu Jin, who continued to lead the locals in battle, was inevitably given a new title.

He had become an essential element in uniting people's consensus.

Lu Jin walked into the command center.

The person in charge of military supplies came over to report, "A type of fungus has grown in the underground barracks and the lower nest. It's edible and contains protein. If we cultivate this fungus on a large scale before we run out of all our food, we can avoid famine."

"Even without wasting manpower and resources on artificial cultivation, we can still avoid famine with these mushrooms."

"Because it's a gift from the Soul of Manros, it can be found everywhere, all over the place."

Lu Jin looked at the person speaking.

It was the young psionic who had been making prophecies in the command center, the grandson of the psionic who had previously prophesied Lu Jin's arrival to purge all grudges on Manros.

"Soul of Manros? I've heard you mention it before," Lu Jin said, curious. "What is it?"

"Planet Manros, our home. It's not a dead planet; it's more vibrant than any other planet. It's a life form,"

the young man said.

"Just like how we damaged the ecosystem before, Manros will regulate the planet's ecosystem itself, making the nest cities and the northern continent affected by them part of the ecosystem."

"In the oceans and on land, countless creatures have evolved the ability to purify and break down the pollution we caused."

"And now, with the surface destroyed, it has introduced most of its creatures underground, while life on other parts of the planet continues to thrive."

"It's even willing to help us now, because it knows that if we fail to defend our home from the invaders, it will be defiled by Chaos."

Hearing this, Lu Jin felt it was a bit like Planet Gaia, the Gaia hypothesis.

"Lord of Valor," the young man came before Lu Jin and looked up at him. "Manros has prepared a gift for you. It... it previously revealed to me the enemy's next offensive, and this gift will be our only reliance in resisting the assault..."

Just as Lu Jin was about to ask what the gift was, the gate suddenly opened.

Kao, wearing Lu Jin's armor, strode into the command center, removed his helmet, and reported, "The last scattered veteran has been found. He died defending a group of Manros people hiding in a shelter, and the people he defended ultimately died protecting his body."

Lu Jin took a deep breath and bowed his head in silent mourning.

Currently, there were seven veterans and ten new recruits left among the Fierce Angels.

Those new recruits had also become powerful warriors... the ones who learned slowly or weren't quick-witted had all perished.

"Go to the eastern front," Lu Jin said, looking up. "The people there need your encouragement."

Kao put on his helmet and left, wearing Lu Jin's armor.

He had worn Lu Jin's armor to boost morale before, and he was still doing so now.

When Lu Jin was busy with major affairs, Kao would go out to patrol the front lines and boost morale.

People knew that the person under this armor wasn't necessarily the Lord of Valor, but this armor had become a symbol of Lu Jin.

People had also given Kao, who had once worn armor and fought, a title – "Glory Bearer."

"Lord of Valor," the young man gestured for Lu Jin to follow him. "I know where the gift is."

Below the lower nest.

Manrosian artisans were supervising soldiers using thermal explosives to blast a passage in the floor.

When Lu Jin and the psionic youth arrived, the artisans looked at him.

At this moment, Lu Jin's hands were empty, and a mechanical arm on his right shoulder held the scepter, a relic of the Fierce Angels.

Seeing his appearance, the Manrosians knew that the one running around outside, carrying an axe and a hammer, loudly preaching and boosting morale, wasn't the Lord of Valor himself, but the armored Kao.

"A path has been blasted open," the construction artisan came forward and saluted. "The prophet was right; there is a secret chamber beneath the nest city."

Another elderly artisan came forward. "Sir, I saw legends of a secret chamber beneath the lower nest in the guild's history, but since no one could find it, it was considered just a legend... In any case, I hope you will allow members of our guild to enter as well."

"Of course," Lu Jin nodded.

The members of the Manrosian Artisan Guild, who had been waiting there, all stood up and followed behind Lu Jin.

The group entered the passage excavated by the thermal explosives and arrived beneath the lower nest.

No torches or lights were needed for illumination, as giant luminescent fungi on the walls lit the secret chamber as brightly as day.

In this five-hundred-square-meter space were a forging table, a furnace, and some furniture.

Judging by the oversized volume of these furnishings, they were definitely not meant for mortals.

The guild's history states that three thousand years after the World Eaters retreated, a son of the God-Emperor descended upon Manros.

The old craftsman followed beside Lu Jin, recounting history.

"That son of the God-Emperor was alone, clad in robes. He alone killed the remaining World Eaters on the planet and then liberated us slaves."

"He took two hundred and twenty-two of the brightest children as apprentices."

"He taught us how to build, how to forge, how to modify."

"This solitary son of the God-Emperor was named Vulcan."

Lu Jin glanced back at the old craftsman.

Vulcan, Master of the Forge, he was indeed a Primarch. He survived the Horus Heresy, assisted the Imperium during the Beast Arise, and then vanished somewhere.

Could he have truly come to Manros?

If Vulcan came to Manros after the Beast Arise, where did he go afterward?

The Manros craftsmen had modified the Herud Flintlock into a rapid-fire weapon, and before that, they had converted a Cataphract Terminator to be controllable even without its black carapace.

This kind of practical skill... Lu Jin felt that all the knowledge of the Manros Craftsmen's Guild might truly originate from the first batch of artisans Vulcan brought.

There was a door in the secret chamber.

The youth gently pushed the door open and walked in.

As Lu Jin also stepped inside, he discovered that the smaller secret chamber was filled with vines and tree roots.

As if welcoming him, the vines "lifted" like curtains.

The tree roots gradually retracted.

At the very front, a suit of armor appeared in Lu Jin's eyes.

That suit of armor had no color and was already covered in vines.

But Lu Jin recognized it at a glance as a Saturnine Terminator Tactical Dreadnought.

This Dreadnought model was once called the MKI.

It was manufactured by a lost Adeptus Mechanicus sect, and then Vulcan improved the design of this Terminator.

Lu Jin knew that it was now truly called a Saturnine Terminator.

It was an extremely tall and heavy suit of armor, and sufficiently powerful.

However, piloting it required immense willpower. Lu Jin felt his willpower was perhaps stronger than an ordinary person's, but the problem was he had no Psionics, and the Saturnine Terminator required a bit of Psionics.

Secondly, this suit of armor must have been further modified by Vulcan; it was even heavier than the original, but the joints seemed to have a wider range of motion... This modified model might require a psyker to pilot it.

"This shouldn't be a gift for me."

Lu Jin walked up to the Terminator and stroked its surface.

At this moment, a white light condensed from the scepter, then like a drop of water, it landed on the Terminator.

Lu Jin saw this and softly called out, "Chapter Master Ninos?"

He had known that the Chapter Relic scepter, because it stored a portion of Ninos's soul, could release psychic spells after Ninos's death.

But Lu Jin had tried to summon Ninos's soul for advice, yet no matter how he called, there was no response.

He thought the portion of Ninos's soul within the scepter had no consciousness.

But now, a portion of the soul within the scepter was flowing into that suit of Terminator armor.

Lu Jin stroked the armor's surface, his thoughts returning to the time when Ninos had personally taught him to shoot.

The scepter suddenly tapped Lu Jin's head lightly.

"It is a gift for you," the youth said. "The Soul of Manros told me that this ancient armor, modified several times by the Primarch, has its own machine spirit. It will make you invincible and unstoppable!"