Chapter 420: Perturabo's Terrifying Warp Power

"The reason is very simple: they were never human to begin with; they are automata!"

"You must seek the demon born from the first murder committed by the automata."

Such was the word of Perturabo: Lord of Iron, Primarch of the Iron Warriors, the Unyielding King of the Great Crusade, the Weightlifting Champion of the Rebellion, and one of the top three on the Galactic Twisting Chart.

His words were deafening, his sense of humor strange and bizarre, leaving the figures of Caan and Abaddon within the light screen silent,

and causing Zhou Yun and Sanguinius, watching this scene from outside the screen, to fall silent as well.

Abaddon seemed to genuinely believe that as long as he possessed the demon sword Drani Koen, he would be invincible.

This was understandable; the vast majority of enemies Abaddon encountered were human, and this demon sword was naturally the bane of humanity. Even a Primarch or the Hua Di Huang would fear it.

This sword was like a wheelchair fitted with a Necron inertia-less engine; even a cripple could race at lightspeed upon it. Relying on this sword, Abaddon had defeated countless enemies he otherwise could not have beaten.

Slowly, Abaddon began to instinctively believe this sword was omnipotent; no matter what enemy he faced, he only needed to mindlessly swing Drani Koen to finish the job.

But here he hit a wall of iron with Perturabo. Perturabo's piles and piles of iron-ring robots contained not a single human; Drani Koen held no essential difference against these machines and other enchanted weapons.

In fact, the fact that Abaddon remained whole and unbroken was already great luck.

This entire planet was a slaughterhouse meticulously arranged by Perturabo.

If the task was to defend a planet, then among all the Primarchs, the one who held out the longest was undoubtedly Dorn; but if the task was to kill the most, it was undoubtedly Perturabo.

Abaddon had clearly been spared by Perturabo.

"We have not met for a long time, Ezekyle Abaddon. I even miss our cooperation during the Siege of Terra."

Perturabo's voice was interlaced with the clanging of steel, sounding as if a massive daemon engine were speaking.

Abaddon immediately ground his teeth, the veins on his face bulging out.

During the Siege of Terra, Dorn had personally left gaps in the defense lines on purpose, setting traps.

Yet Perturabo, knowing this clearly, still allowed Abaddon to lead the elite of the Sons of Horus into them, letting them step on the mines in his place, ultimately sacrificing many of Abaddon's brothers.

This was the "cooperation" Perturabo spoke of with nostalgia; in Abaddon's eyes, this was clearly pure humiliation.

"This is Perturabo's unique sense of humor," Sanguinius said, unable to stop the curve of his lips.

Zhou Yun nodded in agreement.

But Abaddon clearly did not understand this humor. His face turned bright red, anger accumulating in his skull, swelling and pressing as if it were about to shoot out from his topknot.

"You brought me before you just to humiliate me?!" Abaddon growled.

"You call it humiliation; I call it a lesson."

"Dorn may be detestable, but he is a smart man. Underestimating a smart man always comes with a price."

Perturabo evaluated coldly:

"Moreover, what you have received from me is not just a lesson, but help—the help of a man smarter than Dorn."

Upon hearing this, the fury on Abaddon's face subsided slightly, and his topknot was no longer so sharp.

"What can you give me?" Abaddon demanded.

Abaddon's question made Perturabo sneer twice.

"My brothers dismissed you with a pile of junk, yet you throw a tantrum at me, the only one who was generous?"

The sound of burning machine oil and the roar of daemons mixed together, forming Perturabo's cold words:

"You ask what I can give you? I can give you everything."

"All the daemon engines you can imagine and cannot imagine, all the war machines you know and do not know. New weapons forged from my furnace will arm your armies; sparks of technology bursting from my mind will bless your warriors. This is everything I can give you."

"Even when the fires of war are hindered, when the war machines jam, I will personally strike the hammer of steel."

A moment of wavering crossed Abaddon's face.

Perturabo was indeed, as he said, unparalleled in generosity.

He not only promised Abaddon a vast number of daemon engines and war machines, promising to gift him weapons forged from his latest technology, but was even willing to intervene personally when the Black Crusade stalled.

This made Abaddon feel a bit of fear.

"Then what is the price?" Abaddon asked in a low voice.

Perturabo laughed in a low voice.

"There is no price."

"I only require you to spread the new war machines I created and forged throughout the galaxy, to let my skill and creativity sow destruction and malice across the galaxy, or in Horus's words—let the galaxy burn."

"This is the price you need to pay: let my superior designs ravage this world."

Zhou Yun watched the light screen, his expression unable to help but shift.

So, Perturabo provided help to Abaddon, generously giving him so many war machines, with the purpose

simply being to promote those new weapons and new daemon engines he himself invented and created?

Was Perturabo this pure?

Caring nothing for Chaos, completely immersed in his own artistic creation?

But Zhou Yun still felt something was wrong.

He was a competitor in the Warp's domain of Vile Arts.

As he occupied more and more of the domain of Vile Arts, he gained greater understanding of this domain.

The domain of Vile Arts was essentially the desire of all beings to create new things, the drive of invention and creation, constantly refined skills and increasingly efficient machines,

and also the terrible distortion of creativity and craftsmanship, extreme creations constantly sowing malice and destruction, a mad desire to proclaim the superiority of one's designs, an arms race escalating in intensity, and war machines becoming ever more cruel.

Spreading those terrible weapons one created throughout the galaxy, stimulating the arms race to escalate, and dragging the entire galaxy into the vicious gears of war machines would undoubtedly increase Perturabo's influence in the domain of Vile Arts.

Just as the more props Zhou Yun produced and the greater the impact those props had on this galaxy, the more of the domain of Vile Arts he occupied—so it seemed the Warp recognized the secret props as Zhou Yun's own creations.

Theoretically, the more destruction and malice the war machines manufactured by Perturabo spread, and the more intense the arms race they triggered, the more power he would gain from the domain of Vile Arts.

Zhou Yun told Sanguinius of this guess.

But at the same time, Zhou Yun could not help but say, "I cannot understand why Perturabo does this. He does not seem like someone who desires ascension to godhood."

"Indeed, he always holds contempt for Ascension and the Chaos." Sanguinius agreed with Zhou Yun's assessment.

Zhou Yun frowned slightly; this was strange. Could it be...

He thought of another competitor in the domain of Malefic Arts: the Demiurge in the Warp, Master of the Soul Furnace, the Creator, Vashtorr.

Could Vashtorr and Perturabo have reached some kind of alliance? Vashtorr, through Perturabo, indirectly expands his influence across the Galaxy and the Warp via Abaddon, while hiding in the shadows...

After all, Vashtorr truly desires godhood; expanding the domain of Malefic Arts aligns with his interests.

"The Penitent, the Envious, the Avenger, the Primordial Evil..." Zhou Yun muttered the four entities from the Emperor's Prophecy that would influence the Galaxy's fate in the coming times and were intimately tied to Zhou Yun himself.

Yet Vashtorr seemed to fit none of them; he neither repents, nor is envious, nor has any grudge to avenge.

As for Vashtorr's pursuit of godhood, although their domains overlap, Zhou Yun has no real conflict with him.

After all, although Zhou Yun is a competitor in the domain of Malefic Arts, he never intended to strive for Ascension to godhood.

Even if he wanted to, it would be useless.

Although he does not know why Vashtorr believes he has a way to achieve godhood,

Zhou Yun has confirmed with Hua Di Huang that achieving godhood in the current Warp requires a sacrifice.

This sacrifice must be a race like humanity or the ancient Aeldari, one that can be considered a Galactic hegemon in the past, present, or future.

Only by devouring countless souls of the dead amidst the echo generated by the fall or destruction of an entire race can one complete the Ascension.

And the Eldar's pit has already been taken by Slaanesh, while humanity's has been taken by Hua Di Huang.

The remaining... the Necrons do meet the requirements, but they have no souls, and from the perspective of the Warp, they have long since been destroyed.

It cannot be that Zhou Yun cultivates the T'au into Galactic hegemon, only to use the T'au as a sacrifice for Ascension?

So Zhou Yun is not currently worried about a conflict with Vashtorr.

"My Lord." Cleopatra Cleopatra Cleopatra Er Si suddenly spoke softly: "The Fortress Master says he has retrieved the materials you require."

"Coincidentally, I have learned almost everything I wished to know." Sanguinius said while pondering something.

Zhou Yun nodded slightly, signaling Cleopatra Cleopatra Cleopatra Er Si to arrange for Kael to be escorted back to the prison—Kael knew many things about the Black Legion, and who knows when they might come in handy.

Then, Cleopatra Cleopatra Cleopatra Er Si led Zhou Yun and Sanguinius deeper into the Inquisition Fortress.

But contrary to Zhou Yun's expectations, Cleopatra Cleopatra Cleopatra Er Si did not lead him to a specific prison, but to a vast archive room piled high with countless scrolls. As far as the eye could see, this archive room seemed like a city made of parchment, making one wonder if the Inquisition's records for ten thousand years were all stored here.

Dozens of acolytes, accompanied by servitors, moved through the archives, their faces hurried and weary. Among these acolytes was the Inquisition Fortress Master, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

It seemed that during the time Zhou Yun, Sanguinius, and Cleopatra Cleopatra Cleopatra Er Si interrogated Kael, he had undergone an extremely high-intensity work session.

This left Zhou Yun slightly stunned.

"My Lord." The Inquisition Fortress Master stiffly raised his body, bowed to Zhou Yun, and said: "I have checked the prison lists. The private prisons of Inquisitor Jerome Sykes within the fortress have all been cleared; there is no prisoner named Titus among them."

"But rest assured, I have just used the fastest speed to query records concerning the Ultramarines and Inquisitor Jerome from the last century, and finally found some clues—"

"You want to say Titus is currently with the Deathwatch, correct?" Zhou Yun said with a hint of helplessness.

The Inquisition Fortress Master's expression froze.

"Yes, My Lord." He said, somewhat at a loss: "After Inquisitor Jerome was possessed by a daemon, the Adeptus Sororitas conducted an internal review. They found a monitoring station under his jurisdiction on the southern edge of the Galaxy, where nearly twenty Astartes were held in stasis cells."

"The Deathwatch was responsible for receiving this monitoring station at the time. Logically, that Titus should have regained his freedom and likely remained with the Deathwatch, becoming a Black Shield."

Although the Inquisition Fortress Master's work ethic was commendable, Zhou Yun hoped that upon discovering Titus was not imprisoned on Terra, he would have reported it to him immediately.

That way, Zhou Yun could have deduced that Titus was currently in the period of serving as a Black Shield with the Deathwatch, and the Inquisition Fortress Master could have spared himself this tedious and soul-draining data query work.

"Damn it, why is overtime becoming the trend on Terra recently? Everyone's work is becoming more and more arduous." Zhou Yun couldn't help but mutter.

Then Zhou Yun suddenly remembered the information about Ji Li Man he had seen while Ji Li Man was in the fourth-dimensional pocket.

Zhou Yun's expression changed slightly, and he murmured softly: "Affected by Ji Li Man's Warp nature, people near Ji Li Man inexplicably face increased workloads and become long-term trapped in overtime."

This was the judgment of the fourth-dimensional pocket.

Could it truly be that Ji Li Man's Warp abilities are unconsciously influencing the entire Terra?

What a terrifying ability! Could it be that Ji Li Man's psychic talent is actually very high?

"My Lord, with the Warp tides raging and astropathic communications faltering, we are afraid it will be very difficult to contact a specific Deathwatch squad."

Before Zhou Yun could ponder further, the Inquisition Fortress Master spoke:

"And since Titus joined the Deathwatch as a Black Shield, hiding his original identity, he is likely even harder to find."

Zhou Yun nodded in understanding, but this was not difficult for Zhou Yun himself.

He could just have Hua Di Huang use the Anywhere Door and the Search Staff to make a trip.

"By the way, my lord." The Inquisition Fortress Master continued: "Should the news of your appointment as Inquisition Steward be conveyed to all Inquisitors across the Galaxy as soon as possible?"

"Should we hold a Grand Inquisitor-level meeting? Or should representatives be selected by the major Orders? How should the Grey Knights be notified?"

"There are also many documents, archives, and materials that need your reception; some documents theoretically must be handled by you."

"Furthermore, should the position of High Lord of Terra, represented by the Inquisition, be transferred to you? Related matters may require Cleopatra Cleopatra Cleopatra Er Si to coordinate with you."

Hearing the Inquisition Fortress Master's words, Zhou Yun's expression suddenly froze.

The phrase "people near Ji Li Man inexplicably face increased workloads and become long-term trapped in overtime" popped back into Zhou Yun's mind.

"We must get Ji Li Man to leave Terra as soon as possible."

Zhou Yun looked at Sanguinius with a serious face:

"I must stay at least half a galaxy away from him."

(This chapter is four thousand characters. I am feeling dizzy and faint today; I really cannot type the next chapter. Please forgive me.)

(End of this chapter)