Chapter 426: The Dragon of Mars: I Shall Be Whole — Zhou Yun: You Shall Not Be Whole

Leina lay sprawled against the viewport, her eyes fixed with rapt longing on the crimson planet outside.

More precisely, on the magnificent ring encircling that red star.

It was the Iron Ring, a colossal foundry encircling Mars's equator, vast as Saturn's rings, with twelve sharp ladders hanging from it like needles piercing the planet's scarlet soil.

Its furnaces burned day and night, sparks of electricity and flame illuminating this void structure, casting glimmers of light; countless starships were moored upon it.

It was one of the galaxy's grandest foundries and shipyards, and among the largest single artificial structures known in the galaxy.

Leina was so exhilarated, wearing a doting expression toward the grand shipyard, because.

"Zhou Yun, we've got a ship! Praise Saint Doraemon!" Leina prayed with fervent excitement.

Zhou Yun couldn't help laughing.

Leina had always been a space vessel enthusiast; back in Asford, he'd been obsessed with building a void ship to flee with everyone, even showing Zhou Yun a model of the Red Tear he'd collected as a child.

Now, moored in Mars's Iron Ring, lay a void ship destined to carry the Cadia 184th Regiment—a converted Retribution-class battleship.

Officially, according to Imperial records, this Retribution-class battleship did not belong to Leina's Cadia 184th Regiment, since the Astra Militarum was forbidden from possessing void capabilities.

It was, in truth, registered under the name of the Doraemon Warband, as part of a fleet-based warband composed of five hundred Blood Angels and five hundred Space Wolves.

This warband was essentially drawn from the parent and child chapters of the Space Wolves and Blood Angels, serving as Zhou Yun's personal guard, mostly stationed within his fourth-dimensional pocket.

The Retribution-class battleship's primary function was to provide a habitable environment within the void of Zhou Yun's fourth-dimensional pocket for both the Cadia 184th Regiment and the Doraemon Warband.

It rarely needed to cruise through space—yet this was enough to make Leina ecstatic.

"That Retribution-class battleship as your flagship is utterly inadequate," said Uwula, Mars's Forge General, visibly displeased.

The modifications to the Retribution-class battleship had begun before Uwula departed for Terra, when he still harbored ill will toward Zhou Yun; had it not been for Guilliman's firm orders, Mars would have tried to pawn Zhou Yun off with a Lunar-class cruiser.

Of course, the Retribution-class battleship itself was no slouch—in fact, even the Space Wolves' current flagship, Pride of Fenris, was a Retribution-class battleship.

But to Uwula's eyes now, assigning a Retribution-class battleship to carry the Great Primordial Power was an insult to the Primordial Power itself.

"Can you build me a Glorious Queen-class battleship right now?" Zhou Yun glanced at the buzzing Uwula beside him and shook his head half-jokingly.

Excluding the nearly impossible Glorious Queen-class, the Retribution-class was already among the Empire's top-tier void ships; even the Emperor-class was only roughly equal to it in many aspects.

Even if Uwula truly intended to pour all of Mars's industrial capacity into building one for Zhou Yun, it would still require an immense amount of forging time.

"Perhaps I could offer you my Mechanical Ark..." Uwula ventured tentatively.

"No need," Zhou Yun replied, half-laughing, half-exasperated.

Who knew what strange things lurked inside Uwula's Mechanical Ark? A Retribution-class battleship was far more reassuring.

Besides, Zhou Yun had no intention of spending much thought on the ship—after all, it wasn't him riding the ship; it was the ship riding inside his fourth-dimensional pocket.

Warp travel was too slow; Zhou Yun could simply use his Gate of Anywhere.

"Zhou Yun, Zhou Yun, what should we name our ship?" Leina turned from the viewport and asked: "How about Doraemon Dream?"

"Unlucky," Zhou Yun muttered, his lips twitching.

It was clearly mimicking the Emperor's former flagship, the Emperor Dream.

Beside Zhou Yun, the silent Wild Doraemon Emperor's eyelid twitched slightly.

But he offered no comment on Zhou Yun's words; instead, he turned his head imperceptibly, gazing out the viewport at Mars.

Zhou Yun noticed this and followed his gaze to the planet below.

As the void ship drew nearer, more details of the crimson world unfolded before Zhou Yun's eyes.

Countless factories, hive cities, mines, and mechanical installations blanketed the surface of the fourth planet of the solar system, like a spiderweb blooming across scarlet soil.

Looking at the planet, Zhou Yun faintly sensed billions of machines operating in unison, like a crimson, throbbing mechanical heart.

This made Zhou Yun momentarily dazed—and then.

"%#！@"

A buzzing sound flashed past Zhou Yun's ear, like the ambient noise of machinery in operation.

It vanished instantly, almost like an illusion.

"Dragon," whispered the Wild Doraemon Emperor beside Zhou Yun—his voice audible only to Zhou Yun.

Had that been the voice of the Dragon of Mars?

Zhou Yun froze, then reached into his fourth-dimensional pocket and pulled out a Translation Tuber, shoving it into his mouth.

The tuber slid down his throat—and then he heard the noise again.

This time, the sound was no longer gibberish; it had become words he could understand.

"Lagging. Star. Ride. Mess. Scum." The voice fragmented, fleeting.

Zhou Yun frowned slightly—these fragmented words made no coherent sentence.

But didn't they sound like insults?

He wasn't sure—but he sensed that if he drew closer to Mars, he'd hear more clearly.

He turned to the Wild Doraemon Emperor—but noticed the Emperor's will had already receded, no longer present in the body.

As the Emperor had said, he could only project fragments of his will when he was strong and rested, and the timing was entirely random.

The void ship docked at the Iron Ring's starport.

At Guilliman's request, a vast fleet was assembling near the Iron Ring, so crowded the starport was packed; yet thanks to Uwula's authority as Mars's Forge General, Zhou Yun's vessel docked swiftly.

Leina and the Cadia 184th Regiment remained on the Iron Ring; his mission was to receive the Retribution-class battleship moored there.

Zhou Yun and Uwula descended to Mars's surface via the twelve ladders linking the Iron Ring to the ground.

As they plummeted through the ladder, filled with the scent of phaeton gas, the buzzing sound in Zhou Yun's ear grew slightly clearer.

"I shall... complete."

"... o longer broken."

"Aggregate... soul."

Complete? The hell you will! Zhou Yun cursed inwardly.

These fragmented words made him frown tightly.

Broken, complete, aggregate—these terms inevitably evoked the current state of most Star Gods.

Except the Outer Ones, all Star Gods had been shattered by the Necrons in the War in Heaven, their spirits, bodies, and powers reduced to scattered fragments.

Zhou Yun had previously suspected that the Dragon of Mars, sealed beneath Mars's surface by the Emperor, was in truth Magh-Radros, the Void Dragon, as named by the Eldar.

He was the Lord of the Material Realm, the Star God most skilled in machinery and technology, the forger of Blackstone, whose very existence could sever the connection between reality and the Warp.

He was also one of the three most powerful Star Gods, stronger than the Scytheless Nightbringer and the Outer Ones before they were incited by Slaanesh to devour countless Star Gods.

Of course, he too was shattered; the Dragon of Mars was almost certainly one of his fragments.

This theory had been confirmed by the Wild Doraemon Emperor, who also believed it to be the Void Dragon.

But when he sealed the Dragon of Mars, the Emperor had not yet known of the Star Gods' existence—he had deduced it later from new information.

One of Zhou Yun's main reasons for coming to this crimson planet was that the Wild Doraemon Emperor wanted him to verify the Dragon of Mars's condition.

But what did "I shall complete" mean? Could it heal itself?

God damn it—would Mars suddenly explode one day and give birth to a whole Star God?

A complete Void Dragon—even Sanguinius and Guilliman together couldn't defeat him.

And the Void Dragon was the Lord of Blackstone; the Blackstone, which could sever Warp power, had fused with him. He stood there as an unbreakable wall between reality and the Warp.

If the Void Dragon ever reached Terra and accidentally overturned the Golden Throne, the Four Merchants wouldn't even have time to respond.

As Zhou Yun pondered, the ladder shuddered violently.

"My lord, we have reached Mars," said Forge General Uwula, bowing with reverence.

Zhou Yun sensed Uwula's excitement and fervor—visit of one of the Three Will of the Machine God to Mars spoke volumes.

For the Adeptus Mechanicus, it was no less momentous than the Emperor's first landing on Mars, perhaps even greater.

For while debate still raged over whether the Emperor was Omnissiah, Zhou Yun was unquestionably the Primordial Power in Uwula's eyes.

Zhou Yun sighed, then warned Uwula: "I hope you haven't broadcasted my visit to Mars. This is not an official visit."

Zhou Yun didn't want to be surrounded by a horde of red mechanical beetles chanting "111001101000000110101001'111001101000001110000101."

So he had instructed Uwula to notify only Belisarius Cawl, the Grand Archmagos.

Uwula immediately swore he hadn't uttered a word.

Zhou Yun nodded in satisfaction—and the ladder's door slowly opened with a hum.

Zhou Yun looked up and saw a colossal metallic Doraemon statue blocking the doorway, its round hand extended upward.

(Next chapter later—I'm not feeling well.)

(End of Chapter)