The Olympia Unrest (V)

Karyl stepped out of the shuttle and stood firmly on the ground of Olympia.

Perturabo stood beside him, slowly removing his specially made gloves. Even the Astartes struggled to control the cockpit of a regular shuttle with finesse, let alone Primarch, and Perturabo clearly disagreed.

He used principles and technologies known only to him and the Emperor to create this glove, so that he could remotely control the shuttle as if it were his own arm.

But what is the reason?

Perhaps only a genius would know why he did this, Karyl naturally wouldn't ponder such a question. He was busy observing the scene below, and although he didn't know the name of this city-state of Olympia, he had already begun to like it.

Perturabo chose a high-altitude helipad that offers a perfect panoramic view of the area below.

The orderly arrangement of buildings, like layers of tarot cards, stands harmoniously nestled in the mountains and forests, surrounded by white stone walls. These walls are probably quite historical, with more symbolic significance than practical use, but this does not detract from their imposing presence.

The city's planning is even more remarkable, with various areas cleverly integrated together without appearing chaotic, instead revealing a beautiful sense of life.

Coupled with Olympia's azure skies, it's safe to say that this place is in no way inferior to Macragge.

At least that's how it appears.

"How is it?" Perturabo asked in a tone devoid of any discernible emotion.

"It's beautiful here," Karyl said. "It reminds me of Terra."

"Terra?" The Primarch raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Either you are different from the Terra I know, or you are Deceit or fooling me, Karyl Lohars. Terra and Lokos have nothing in common."

"I meant the sky," Karyl explained more gently. "This is a perfect place for eagles to soar."

He pointed to the sky, just as a flock of birds flew by in a line, flapping their wings. Perturabo followed their flight with his eyes, nodded, and reluctantly agreed with Karyl's statement.

A nobleman approached from the side, dressed in a dark gray robe with an intricate family crest on his chest. Perturabo glanced at him and immediately called out a name: "The Aristein Family?"

The nobleman nodded respectfully.

"I know Jefotali, the most distinguished general in your family," Perturabo continued. "Judging by his age, he should be your great-grandfather."

The nobleman nodded again, his awe now replaced by a mixture of shock and joy—he tried to introduce himself, but Perturabo coldly raised his hand, interrupting him.

"No need to introduce yourself. I don't have time to hear your name, young man. Now take your guards and leave. I have important business to attend to."

His words sounded nothing short of insulting, yet the young man from the Aristein Family bowed respectfully and left with his guards, clearly having already been told about the Olympia Lord's character.

They boarded another shuttle, which had a silver tail and a rather large overall design. Perturabo watched it take off and nodded slowly.

"The seventh-generation design iteration is progressing well." He stood next to Karyl and introduced it to him in a tone as if talking to himself. "The civilian shuttle I personally designed can travel between atmospheres, is inexpensive, highly reliable, and supports later modifications."

"Your salesmanship is quite impressive," Karyl replied with a smile. "It's making me want to buy some for the Legion."

His words undoubtedly made Perturabo's face darken even more. "Don't test my tolerance for you, Karyl Lohars."

"I'll try." Karyl maintained his smile and lowered his head in obedience.

Perturabo stared at him silently for a while before looking away.

He lowered his head, twisted a white bracelet on his right wrist, and a holographic screen was projected onto it. He then began to busily move his fingers.

Karyl observed his posture and easily concluded that Perturabo was probably not in a hurry to see his sister.

The Night Lords instructor turned away without a word and went to observe the city of Lokos on the other side. He looked at the magnificent and historic buildings with admiration, and once again found some phantoms of the past within them.

Like Macragge, Nostramo, and even Nuceria, Olympia also possessed a fragmented illusion belonging to his memory.

Realizing this brought him a small measure of comfort—even though the Water Star had vanished, at least something of hers remained.

These thoughts flowed like water through his heart, which he gradually closed off from everyone and stopped talking about, and ended with a violent explosion.

Karyl squinted and looked up. He saw a shuttle falling from the horizon.

"That was your seventh-generation design, Perturabo," Karyl said softly. "And it was shot down."

"The aircraft was not completely destroyed, and the emergency landing system has begun to function."

Perturabo answered quickly, his voice so calm it was almost uncharacteristic of him. In fact, this explanation was the least like him.

"Based on the speed of the forced landing, as long as he wasn't directly hit, all the descendants of the Aristein Family should survive."

"So—" Karyl turned his head. "What's going on?"

"The attack was launched from a defensive cannon located on the southeast wall," Perturabo said coldly.

Countless streams of data surged past the screen before him at a terrifying speed. The Primarch, however, precisely intercepted a few numbers and transformed them into tangible, helpful intelligence.

He didn't involve Karyl in the discussion, but chose to analyze it himself. He revealed all the useful information.

"Eighty percent of the city's defensive cannons have been abandoned and are no longer capable of firing; they are obsolete. Only the remaining twenty percent retain their firing function and practical utility as part of the exhibits displayed to students every November. These cannons are kept by the Korenmar Family of Lokos."

"They just submitted a complete overhaul report this year, and all the city defense cannons on display are capable of firing normally. However, they are only authorized to use them in November; they cannot be activated at other times. It could be a programming error, but considering I only landed recently..."

Perturabo twisted the bracelet, deactivating the light barrier; his expression had turned grim. He raised his hand and pressed a button on his collar, and the voice of the Citybreaker Forrix, immediately rang out. "Primarch! Are you alright?!"

"That's not my shuttle," the Lord of Iron told his company commander slowly but firmly. "That shuttle belongs to the descendants of the Aristein Family; they just took off, shortly after we landed."

"You mean...?" Forrix paused for a moment before speaking again, his voice now carrying a hidden meaning.

"I'll send you some data, Forrix. Take it to those people. I need to see the complete account and conclusions within four hours at the latest. I'm giving you the authority to fire; you can exercise that authority within Lokos if necessary."

"Understood, Primarch."

Perturabo pressed the button again and hung up the call. Karyl then perfectly filled the void left by Forrix.

"So, your conclusion is that this is unlikely to be a mere coincidence?" he asked cautiously.

"There are no coincidences in this world, Karyl Lohars. Even those flashes of inspiration that only appear in a few scientific experiments are the natural result of scientists' long-term efforts."

Perturabo explained somberly as he walked to a corner of the tarmac and pressed a button that had been specially painted a bright red.

Its level of use is on a completely different level from the other buttons; it's shiny and new, showing no signs of wear and appearing as if it's been regularly maintained.

A few seconds later, a mechanical roar rang in Karyl's ears, and a huge vehicle, which could probably hold four Primarch, was transported up from below the helipad by a robotic arm.

Its appearance is not particularly special, with black and gray as the main colors, but its structure is quite unique.

It has no roof and no tires. Its overall shape is quite bizarre, yet it possesses a natural beauty. The various details combined make it look as if it were carved from a single piece of stone.

"Did you design this car too?" Karyl asked.

"Yes." Perturabo opened the car door and got into the driver's seat. "Or do you think anyone could design a car like this?"

Karyl didn't answer the Lord of Iron's question, but simply got into the car and sat in the passenger seat. Perturabo started it, and with the roar of the engine, the car immediately took flight, carrying them at low altitude towards the city below.

The airflow, which should have been chaotic, was perfectly cut off by the overall shape of the vehicle, causing no disturbance to the two people inside. Even the blowing of their hair was within an acceptable range.

Karyl sat upright, tapping his knees with his index fingers, his eyes narrowed into slits.

He began to feel more and more that coming back with Company Commander Dantioch was not the right decision.

Now, the situation is becoming increasingly complicated and unpredictable. And, regardless of the truth, Karyl is confident that Perturabo will find a reason to vent his anger.

--The veins on the Lord of Iron's right hand, resting on the circular control stick, were bulging.

There should be one more chapter.