Chapter 444: Kharne: That explains it, that explains it

Steam hummed, ten thousand mechanisms trembled like thunder—this colossal void-ship proclaimed its existence in just such a manner, telling the tiny humans within that they were inside the body of the Explorer King, the Mechanical Ark,

and seemed also like a burly Tibetan Mastiff, leaping ceaselessly in the void, showing off its lithe frame to its master.

In theory its master was Belisarius Cawl, but Zhou Yun could feel the Explorer's King exaggerated yet not unpleasant deference,

a deference very much in Cawl's style,

Zhou Yun did not know whether the machine-spirit simply resembled its master, or whether Cawl had earned some Abominable Intelligence tech the Imperium did not permit—lately he had sent Zhou Yun, Ji Li Man, and Sanguinius each a so-called degraded Cawl,

Cawl claimed this little tech-construct that mimicked his own thinking was merely an automatic answering device, possessing no true intelligence, and did not count as Abominable Intelligence,

but all three unanimously agreed the thing was pure Abominable Intelligence.

Boom-boom-boom!!

Knight-mechs sounded the horn of war—twenty-two massive Fury-class Questoris Knights stood tall beneath the Explorer's King's soaring mechanical dome, painted red and metallic blue, their enormous weapons raised high in a martial war-posture,

as one of the largest vessels in the entire galaxy, the Mechanical Ark could fit an entire Knight Household inside, plus countless factories, servitors, Adeptus Custodes, and Skitarii,

and Cawl's renown, together with his need to receive the Primarch Doraemon and the Primarch, let him wrangle these fully twenty-two Fury-class Questoris Knights from the Taranis Knight Household—nearly half of what the Taranis Household possessed.

Cawl had always been an extravagant, boisterous sort, but his taste made him hard to fault; Zhou Yun watched these stalwart Knight-mechs with keen interest,

in his past life, when he was still a greenhorn hammer-fan, he had agonized over whether to get into Titans, World Eaters, or Knights—mainly because World Eaters and Knights were cheaper.

But Cawl's welcome stirred a little tension in some.

"If Belisarius Cawl wished, he could activate his weapons and attack us right now," said Flesh Tearers Chapter Master, current Eighth Company Captain of the Doraemon Chapter, and one of the twenty-two personally chosen by Doraemon—Gabriel Seth—in a grim tone.

Zhou Yun had requisitioned this Chapter Master of the Sanguinian successor Chapter from Sanguinius, made him concurrently Eighth Company Captain of the Doraemon Chapter, and brought in the surviving veterans of the Flesh Tearers Chapter after the Battle of Baal to join it; Seth also served as Zhou Yun's bodyguard, one of the twenty-two personally chosen by Doraemon.

Zhou Yun had specifically requested Seth, not simply because of Seth's combat prowess,

but mainly because of Seth's mouth—Seth was very good at dropping classic lines without realizing it,

and the funniest part was that many of Seth's classics were actually true,

every time he heard Seth drop a classic, Zhou Yun felt his own mouth seemed a bit deliberate by comparison.

His power armour was still the same dark red as before, only the left pauldron had been painted metallic blue.

"He could kill us all, to the last man," Seth frowned, looking at the twenty-two Knights as he spoke.

". Your gene-father once wrecked an Emperor-class Titan during the Siege of Terra."

Standing on Zhou Yun's other side, an Astartes in red power armour with a similar paint scheme to Seth's, the left pauldron likewise painted metallic blue, spoke up.

This Astartes wore a heavy, strange hood, face and helmet both completely hidden beneath it, his appearance impossible to make out.

He was in fact the Chosen of Khorne, the Traitor Kharne,

not long ago, in order to find Erebus and take revenge on him, he had secretly infiltrated Terra,

but the Alpha Legion member Nessor who had helped him infiltrate Terra sold him out without a moment's hesitation,

and now he had sworn to serve Zhou Yun, so long as Zhou Yun could lead him to take revenge on Erebus.

Zhou Yun did not trust Kharne's loyalty—after all, he was Keshitangtang a Traitor,

but Zhou Yun trusted Kharne's hatred—after all, Erebus had killed his sworn-brother Angr Tal.

Now he hid his identity and had also become one of Zhou Yun's guards, one of the twenty-two personally chosen by Doraemon,

today happened to be Kharne and Seth's shift together.

"And Saint Doraemon, he is called the Primordial Motive Force, the source of all mechanical motive power—Knights are clearly mechanical." Kharne glanced at Seth and continued his reminder.

"Isn't Robert Ji Li Man still there?" Seth said almost without thinking.

"." Kharne went blank, silent, unable to speak.

Zhou Yun's expression couldn't help but twitch.

And in the distance, Ji Li Man's mouth corners drooped for an instant—Seth's voice wasn't loud, mortals and Astartes at that distance certainly couldn't have heard, but Ji Li Man was a Primarch.

After a stretch of silence, Kharne broke the awkward atmosphere in the air, though Seth himself had not noticed this awkwardness,

"Do you know Nasir Amit? Company Captain of the Fifth Company of the Sanguinary Guard Chapter." Kharne glanced at Seth and asked.

Flesh Tearer Nasir Amit, one of the original members of the Ninth Legion, and like many early Ninth Legion members, he was reforged from a quasi-mutant on Terra, and like the other ghoul-members of the Ninth Legion, he was savage, cruel, bloodthirsty, and often gnawed on flesh,

even after Sanguinius's return, Nasir Amit remained one of the few warriors who kept the old savage ways, living much like a World Eater who had taken the Butcher's Nails,

in fact, during the Great Crusade, he was one of the famous champions of the World Eaters' fighting pits, and had built friendships in the pits with Kharne, Sigismund, Angr Tal, and Loken, and even formed a sworn-brother bond with Kharne's apothecary Kargos,

only after the Heresy, Nasir Amit's attitude toward former friends like Kharne, Kargos, and Angr Tal was reduced to nothing but "eat shit, traitor."

Apart from his savagery, Nasir Amit was most famous for his mouth,

he had once, before Horus openly rebelled, accused Horus to his face of deceiving Sanguinius,

during the Siege of Terra, he had only one phrase for former friends-turned-traitors like Kharne and Kargos: "eat shit, traitor,"

after Ji Li Man broke up the Astartes Legions, he said there was no difference between Ji Li Man and Horus, and called Ji Li Man a butcher.

The most maddening part was that, though Nasir Amit's mouth was annoying, what he said was basically all true.

Seth gave Kharne a strange look—he didn't know who this fellow who had suddenly popped up was, but hoped he wasn't some kind of traitor or turncoat.

"Nasir Amit was the first Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers, our forefather."

Seth still answered:

"My gene-seed can be traced back to Chapter Master Nasir Amit."

"No wonder, then it's not strange at all, not strange at all." Kharne nodded, as if he understood why Seth's mouth was so heaven-defying.

Seth, whether in that mouth of his or in his overt dislike of Ji Li Man, was exactly the same as Nasir Amit,

Kharne's gaze toward Seth softened for an instant, as if he had seen an old friend of yesteryear.

Although Nasir Amit was savage and his mouth was very annoying,

Kharne admitted he was an extremely outstanding warrior, and fighting him could be called a rare pleasure—the two had once, on a desert planet, fought a death-duel under the pretext of sparring until they were both heavily wounded, which was exhilarating,

Kharne even felt that Nasir Amit was more suited than he to be the Chosen of Khorne and champion,

why wasn't he? Could it be that the Blood God had failed to corrupt him again?

If He had corrupted Angron, Sigismund, Loken, even Dorn and Sanguinius during the Great Heresy, then Khârn and the others would not have been so difficult to fight.

Recently, with Zhou Yun and Roum's help, Khârn could suppress the rage brought by the Butcher's Nails; with his mind clear for once, he idly began to review the reasons for the failure of the Great Heresy in the past.

Oh Blood God, oh Blood God, why can you not try a little harder?

Khârn thought with a touch of annoyance.

Just then, the Knights, taking earth-shaking steps, made way for the Imperial delegation.

The caliber of this delegation was extraordinary.

Besides Zhou Yun and his two guards,

all twelve High Lords were present, even including Trajan, the Captain-General of the Custodes. They looked around in confusion, not understanding the purpose of this journey. Except for Trajan, Mo Wen Varr, and Fadix, the other nine High Lords even showed some fear, after all, the environment of the Mechanical Ark was truly quite harsh.

Furthermore, the Order of Rational History had also arrived; they would be responsible for recording everything that was about to happen. This was their first important mission.

Then came the two Primarchs, along with their numerous sons, including important Chapter Masters, Captains, and Librarians from various successor and founding Chapters.

This display was equivalent to the entire Empire's highest leadership; no wonder Seth was worried about security—after all, the fall of the Iron Circle had happened on Mars not long ago.

But Zhou Yun was actually hoping that Abaddon would come to attack. He had come along this time with the thought of luring Abaddon, after all, the power aboard the King of Explorers was now incomparably strong.

Cawl's Titans, war machines, and Knights accumulated over ten thousand years were all here; the two Primarchs were here, the Captain-General of the Custodes, the Mother Superior of the Adepta Sororitas, and the Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum were all here, and the elites of every Chapter were here as well.

Moreover, this place was also stuffed with...

"Who are these supplies for?" Seth suddenly spoke.

At this moment, the delegation was passing by a large number of supplies specifically displayed for them.

Fighters, tanks, ground mechs, small void ships, and a vast array of war machines lay before their eyes; all were brand new, and many were even rare new designs.

There were also power armors—thousands of power armors were presented before everyone's eyes. All were models for Astartes, and all were brand new, enough to equip several Chapters.

"Who are these power armors for?" Seth's tone was a bit anxious; he seemed to have keenly sensed something.

"My friends, my brothers, my sons, my nephews, and the other comrades of the Empire."

Just then, Guilliman slowly spoke, his face bearing a sacred solemnity:

"The moment of revelation is about to arrive."

"This is the thing I have always hidden from you; please do not blame me for it."

"Anyway, this isn't the first time you've hidden and deceived us," Seth muttered very quietly.

(End of this chapter)