Chapter 227

The figure of the Genestealer Warmaster Horus appeared within this crude "Vengeful Spirit."

Its physique seemed to have grown even more massive, the chitinous carapace on its body had become thick and heavy, its triangular head had shrunk slightly, its bald scalp was more prominent, and the expression on its face looked more human.

Looking from a distance, Zhou Yun almost mistook it for a truly noble Primarch clad in power armor.

Clearly, this Genestealer Patriarch-to-be had grown further; Zhou Yun could feel that it was almost just a hair's breadth away from becoming a true Patriarch.

Perhaps the next battle, hunting down another Genestealer Patriarch-to-be, would be enough.

And then it should grow into the host for the Dark Angels, the shell of the Black Rage in the material universe.

Zhou Yun narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the two people beside "Horus."

One was "Loken," and the other was...

Zhou Yun's gaze fell slightly onto the person on the other side of "Horus."

That fellow had a distorted, massive skull, with brain tissue bulging out, radiating an eerie psychic glow. In his hand, he held a strange scepter, twisted and grotesque, with a somewhat deformed pair of wings at the top.

Judging by the breed, this should be a Genestealer Magus.

Zhou Yun pondered for a moment on the role it might correspond to, and soon had a guess.

"Loken." Zhou Yun smiled slightly, reached out to pick up a glass of strong liquor, and walked toward Loken.

Loken had by now left Horus's side and was standing with the other Captains of the Sons of Horus, admiring the gladiatorial combat in the training cage.

One of the participants was that Genestealer Magus, who was clashing with "Little Horus Aximand" of the Four-King Council while wielding a broadsword.

Among the Luna Wolves, a portion of the Astartes resembled Horus himself in appearance, and "Little Horus Aximand" was the one who looked the most like him.

But in terms of swordsmanship, he clearly hadn't inherited Horus's skills and was being suppressed by that Genestealer Magus.

"Loken, care for a drink?" Zhou Yun asked, holding up the strong liquor in his glass.

Loken turned his head from his conversation with the Captains.

Although he wore the appearance of a Genestealer, he still calmly and rigidly clinked glasses with Zhou Yun according to the etiquette between warriors.

There was no fault to be found, but it inevitably seemed stiff and rigid.

"I heard Baal's wine is very famous," Loken said, as if making small talk.

Zhou Yun's expression, however, stiffened slightly.

In the long time since arriving in the Warhammer world, not many things had managed to attack Zhou Yun.

Khârn the Betrayer was one, and Baal's wine was another.

The damage Baal wine caused to Zhou Yun was far more severe than Khârn.

That stuff was too bitter, bitter enough to make one recall the most painful years of their life.

Zhou Yun couldn't help but reach into his four-dimensional pocket and, without changing his expression, took out a bottle of Baal red wine.

He had been waiting for this moment for a long time; he had always wanted to share this bitterness with others.

He had originally intended to share it with Old One-Eye or Lage.

But Old One-Eye had been heavily wounded in the Battle of Baal, and Lage was too old; Zhou Yun was afraid he would drink them to death.

Since this Genestealer Loken had just mentioned it, Zhou Yun shared the bottle with him without hesitation.

"Here." Zhou Yun's voice was flat but carried a hint of a smile.

Loken reached out his hand holding the power sword, somewhat bewildered, and took the bottle of red wine from Zhou Yun.

He had only mentioned it out of politeness, yet this member of the Sanguinary Guard had actually pulled a bottle out of his crotch to give to him.

Do you Sanguinary Guard all hide red wine in your crotches? Is this some kind of Ninth Legion custom?

Zhou Yun, meanwhile, was examining Loken's claws with great interest; he was very curious about what these claws looked like in Loken's eyes.

"Is there a problem with my power sword?" Loken looked at his power sword strangely.

There was no problem with the sword itself; the energy field was running stably, just like the days and nights that had accompanied Loken in the past.

Loken always kept the sword gripped in his hand, never letting go.

"A power sword, huh... Have you ever tried letting go of it?" Zhou Yun asked with a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, looking intrigued.

Loken was stunned for a moment.

Let go?

He recalled carefully; ever since his power sword had grown out, he had never let go of it.

Wait, why did he say "grown out"?

Loken's expression went into a trance; the power sword in his hand vaguely turned into some kind of alien claw.

He couldn't help but take a step back, yet this claw was inherently a part of his own body, so it naturally moved along with him.

Loken looked at the claw before him, feeling as if his sanity and spirit were about to be torn apart by it.

"No..." Loken let out a low moan, and the other Luna Wolf officers around them turned their gazes toward him.

"It's alright, Loken."

Zhou Yun remained calm, reaching out to pat Loken on the shoulder, his tone carrying a thick sense of reassurance.

His fingertips brushed lightly over the Robot Director & Hot-Acting Clapperboard.

"Tell me, what have you seen?"

Zhou Yun's voice carried a gentleness.

This seemed to effortlessly control Loken's heart, making him speak involuntarily.

"I saw... I saw the claws, my claws..." Loken's voice was filled with confusion and haziness, as if immersed between the boundary of reality and hallucination.

"The truth... we only have the truth," Loken whispered almost to himself.

Then his body jerked, he shook his head fiercely, and clarity returned to his eyes.

"Apologies." Loken said in a low voice, rubbing his temples slightly: "An old ailment of mine, I have hallucinations occasionally."

Zhou Yun examined Loken with great interest.

This Genestealer Loken was actually able to see through the hallucination before him to a certain extent.

Could it be because the impression the real Loken left on people in normal history was that he was obsessed with the truth and skilled at discovering it?

In essence, this Genestealer Loken before him was the echo produced in the Warp by people's impressions and emotions regarding Loken from ten thousand years ago.

Zhou Yun chuckled softly: "We Blood Angels also occasionally face similar stability issues, being in hallucinations and unable to tell which era we are living in."

Hearing Zhou Yun's words, Loken was slightly taken aback.

Zhou Yun had actually spoken of his own Legion's genetic flaw, which was private for any Chapter.

"However, the Blood Angels know of a good medicine that can treat these hallucinations." Zhou Yun continued, ignoring Loken's astonishment: "Do you know what it is?"

Loken shook his head in confusion.

"It is the truth, Loken."

"We only have the truth; only the truth can break the illusion."

Loken's eyes widened slightly, and just as he was about to say something, he saw Zhou Yun push down the brim of his cap, a smile curling at his lips, as he changed the subject: "Introduce me to the other one in the training cage."

"Erebus, First Chaplain of the Word Bearers, his status is equivalent to the throat and tongue of Lorgar."

"He originally had matters to report to the Warmaster, requesting a favor, but after arriving, he realized the pressure the Warmaster was facing and silently suppressed his own affairs, unwilling to add trouble to the Warmaster, playing the role of a steadfast and reliable advisor."

Loken hesitated for a moment and said:

"We trust Erebus now and admire him greatly; the Warmaster is the same."

"I actually think a melta shot to burn his head off would be more appropriate." A smile curled at the corner of Zhou Yun's mouth.

His fingers couldn't help but brush over the melta pistol at his waist.

I really want to shoot him dead... Loken felt the emotions surging from Zhou Yun almost instantly.

He was greatly alarmed, because Loken knew of Zhou Yun's capabilities.

At this distance, in this position, his marksmanship could indeed take out Erebus in one shot.

He wasn't the real Erebus, just an echo projected onto a Genestealer, a splash caused by a stone falling into a pool, not the stone itself.

Zhou Yun felt it was a pity; if the real Erebus were standing before him, he would take dozens of melta pistols and burn him to ash.

After all, Erebus was essentially the biggest beast in the cesspit that was the Warhammer universe, which was filled with all kinds of beasts.

The evil deeds he had committed were too numerous to record, from tricking Lorgar into falling to Chaos to Horus being filled by the Four Gods, from planning the Battle of Calth to ambush the Ultramarines to plotting the death of the Word Bearers' most excellent Blessed Son, Argel Tal.

He was the mastermind behind the Great Heresy, the direct pusher of humanity's civilization and even the entire galaxy into the cesspit.

Whether it was the Chaos side or the Loyalists, or even aliens, they couldn't help but spit on Erebus when they saw him.

Anyone who had a bolter and two rounds would choose to shoot Erebus twice and then smash his face with the butt of the gun.

However, if it weren't for the fact that this guy still had great use in Zhou Yun's plan,

Zhou Yun wouldn't mind shooting him dead; after all, his behavior and spirit weren't much different from Erebus's.

Erebus's sword was fast; even Zhou Yun had to admit that in the training cage battle, Erebus indeed had some skill.

Erebus was wielding a massive, heavy broadsword, and it was a broadsword by Astartes standards.

But its blade was almost suppressing Little Horus's sickle claws, striking at least three or four times per second, almost catching up to the speed of the Astra Militarum elite airborne troops, who were doubled in rations, striking six times a second.

In an instant, the clash of sword against sword resounded in the gladiatorial cage, turning into a whistling gale; the warriors present couldn't help but marvel.

Ten minutes later, Erebus struck the winning blow, leaving a bloody scratch on Little Horus's face.

Little Horus sighed in defeat and walked out of the training cage.

"Who will challenge the victor!" Abaddon suddenly shouted loudly: "Is it Loken, whom we are about to promote as a member of the Four-King Council?"

"Or..." As he spoke, Abaddon's gaze fell on Zhou Yun: "Or this member of the Sanguinary Guard who has newly become the Warmaster's bodyguard?"

Everyone's gaze turned toward Zhou Yun; everyone wanted to know if this Sanguinary Guard member truly had real strength.

This was a provocation, and also a test.

"Me?"

Zhou Yun reached out a finger to point at himself, his tone exceeding the expectations of Abaddon and all the Genestealer Luna Wolves present.

"I'm fighting Erebus?! Really? That's great!"

His tone carried a sense of joy, a sense of cheerfulness, a sense of gratitude toward Abaddon, and a thick sense of pleasant surprise.

(End of chapter)