Chapter 1166 You Can't Escape, Traitor

Fulgrim stood on the bridge of the Everlasting Joy, his slender fingers unconsciously stroking his newly restored face.

The face that was once praised as perfect still bears the bruises left by Leman Russ, and the dull pain from the bridge of his nose is a constant reminder of his humiliating defeat.

"Is that... the Iron Fist?"

There was a rare wavering in his voice.

Through the observation window, a warship as huge as a mountain was slowly emerging from the warp rift.

The jet-black armor was covered with scars from thousands of years of battle, and the emblem of the Iron Hand Legion on the bow glowed coldly under the light of the stars.

What made Fulgrim's breath stop even more was the tall figure standing at the front of the bridge.

Ferrus Manus.

His iron hands tightly grasped the "Forge Buster", and his bare face was as cold and hard as a sculpture.

Those eyes - Fulgrim remembered that they were once full of trust and warmth, but now they only held cold murderous intent.

"No, this is impossible..."

Before Fulgrim had even finished his words, the battle began again.

Ferrus's gaze penetrated the void and locked directly on the "Eternal Joy".

His mechanical fingers tightened around the hammer's handle, and the servos hummed softly.

"The Emperor's Children fleet array has been detected." The voice of the Mechanical Priest came from the communicator, cold and without any emotion, as if this was just an ordinary daily report.

However, for Ferrus, this was a crucial moment.

He stood quietly on the bridge, staring at the screen in front of him, which showed the image of the enemy fleet.

It was a remarkable fleet, with seventy-three warships arranged neatly, their hulls decorated exceptionally gorgeously, their purple-gold paint shining brightly under the starlight, and their jewel-inlaid gun barrels and armor carved with obscene patterns even more astonishing.

A strong emotion surged in Ferrus' heart, all of which reminded him of the tragic battle on Isstvan V on this world, where his brothers burned and died, and the instigators of all this were these Emperor's Children in front of him.

"Revenge has come, traitor." His voice came through the ship-wide broadcasting system, and each syllable was as heavy as an anvil being hammered in a forge, carrying endless anger and determination.

As he spoke, he slowly raised the hammer in his hand, a huge and ancient weapon engraved with the emblem of his legion.

With his action, the gun array of the Iron Fist rotated simultaneously, making a low humming sound.

These turrets are unlike anything currently in service with the Empire; they are specially reinforced macro-cannons, with barrels custom-made in Martian forges, fully automated loading systems, and rates of fire several times that of standard models.

This is the pride of the Iron Fist and the tool of Ferrus' revenge.

"Open fire." He gave a simple but decisive order.

In an instant, the entire starry sky was illuminated by dazzling artillery fire, as bright as day.

Countless beams of light cut through the darkness and rained down on the Emperor's Children fleet.

The first round of salvos was like a hammer of divine punishment, with fifty giant shells hitting the void shields of the Emperor's Children vanguard fleet at the same time.

When those exquisite shield generators overloaded and exploded, the purple-gold energy ripples that burst out were strangely beautiful.

"Loading completed, second round ready." The mechanical voice of the Mechanical Priest was eerily calm.

Fulgrim watched helplessly as his beloved Amethyst Song was disintegrated by the second round of bombardment.

The warship that had once carried him to Ullanor to be cheered on was now torn into pieces like a toy that had been roughly disassembled by a child.

The huge portrait hanging on the bridge - depicting him fighting alongside Ferrus - slowly tore apart in the vacuum of space.

"All ships evade! Start the warp engines!" For the first time, panic appeared in Fulgrim's voice.

The Emperor's Children's counterattack seemed so weak. While their shells were still being manually reloaded, the Iron Fists' third salvo arrived.

One after another, ancient warships were transformed into brilliant fireballs in the explosion, and each expanding ball of plasma flame contained precious heritage from the Great Crusade.

Fulgrim felt a sharp pain in his Chaos-corrupted heart.

He watched the treasures he had carefully collected turn to ashes in the gunfire, and the destruction of each work of art was like tearing a piece of flesh from his soul.

"Sir! The void shield is about to overload!" The helmsman's scream brought him back to reality.

The Everlasting Joy was shaking violently, and the lights on the bridge were flickering. Fulgrim's tail was wrapped around the command console, and his four arms were operating the navigation system at the same time. His eyes unconsciously looked towards the observation window again -

Ferrus still stood there, cold as steel, hot as a forge.

The moment their eyes met across the sea of ​​fire, Fulgrim suddenly understood that for him this was not a tactical retreat, but a shameful rout.

"Initiate emergency jump!" he screamed, his nails scratching the metal surface of the console.

The last thing Fulgrim saw as the Warp rift opened was the blinding light of the Iron Fist's main battery charging.

The light illuminated his broken fleet, his scarred face, and the fear that he had not dared to face for ten thousand years.

Just as Fulgrim had just escaped into the Warp, the ram of the Iron Fist tore through the Warp veil, like a burning holy sword piercing into the abyss of Chaos.

Ferrus Manus stood on the bridge, his mechanical eyes flashing with cold blue light as he stared at the fleeing purple-gold battleship in front of him.

The engine nozzles of the Everlasting Joy flickered with unstable psychic flames, like a wounded peacock dragging broken tail feathers.

"Target locked." The voice of the Mechanical Priest sounded in the communicator, the binary prayer interweaving with the roar of the battleship's engine, "Subspace turbulence level: fatal."

“Ignore the turbulence.” Ferrus’ voice was as deep as a hammer. “Full speed ahead.”

The Iron Fist's engines overloaded, the hull trembled, and the sacred purifying flames burned on the ram, dispelling the evil fog of the warp that was swirling around.

Fulgrim's serpent tail was wrapped around the bridge's steering wheel, and the psychic energy released by his four arms quickly operated the navigation system, trying to find a way to escape in the chaos tide.

"My lord! The Iron Fist is approaching!" The helmsman's voice was distorted with fear.

The fallen primarch's perfect face finally showed a hint of panic.

He turned his head to look at the observation window, his pupils suddenly contracted - the ram of the Iron Fist had occupied his entire field of vision, and the huge Iron Fist emblem was flashing a dazzling blue light in the chaos storm of the warp.

The ramming horn of the Iron Fist hit like a heavy punch, slamming into the engine array of the Everlasting Joy.

Time loses its meaning in the subspace, but at the moment of impact, a horrific explosion spreads through it.

Holy fire clashed violently with chaotic energy, and the burst of psychic flashes instantly blinded the mortal crew on the bridge, and their eyeballs exploded in their sockets.

The ramming adamantium knuckles crushed the void shield generator, and the tormented soul embedded in it let out a final wail, and then fell into silence.

The engine core of the Everlasting Joy was like fragile glass, completely shattered under the impact of the Iron Fist and turned into powder in the warp.

Ferrus Manus's mechanical hand slowly clenched, and the servo system emitted a low hum.

A cold blue light flowed between his knuckles, the force field of the Crucible Destroyer awakening, and the tip of the hammer flickered with arcs, as if thirsting for the blood of the traitor.

"Get ready to board!"

His voice was like a hammer striking from a forge, echoing off every inch of the Iron Fist's deck.

The next second, the response from tens of thousands of Iron Hands warriors exploded like thunder.

“Steel is immortal!”

Their voices were in unison, as if a sophisticated war machine had been activated.

A cold blue light flashed in the helmet's eyepiece, the servo muscles were tensed, and the mechanical sounds of the bolt guns being loaded formed a melody of death.

Hundreds of drop pods detached from the belly of the Iron Fist and smashed into the hull of the Everlasting Joy like a hammer of divine punishment.

The hatch of each drop pod is engraved with ancient runes, a new oath coined by the Iron Hands after learning of the events of Isstvan on this world: "Vengeance will come."

When the first drop pod hit the enemy ship's armor, the melta bomb exploded instantly.

The purple-gold heretic emblem twisted and melted in the high temperature, turning into molten iron dripping.

The moment the hatch exploded, three Iron Hands warriors stepped out, and the roar of their bolters tore through the darkness within the ship.

"Leave no one alive." The leading sergeant said coldly. His voice was processed by a voice changer and was as cold as a machine.

"The false emperor's servants are coming!"

The scream of a Noise Warrior echoed in the corridor, his helmet transformed into a megaphone, his sonic weapon causing the air to distort and vibrate.

However, before his taunting could end, a loud charging sound was heard.

"boom!"

A blue plasma beam shot out from the end of the dark corridor and pierced his throat accurately.

The Noise Warrior's head vaporized in the high temperature, and the headless body shook for a moment, before being trampled under the feet of the subsequent charging Iron Hands warriors.

"Advance." The Space Marine holding a plasma pistol roared, and the superheated steam from his weapon filled the corridor like the breath of death.

The Iron Hands warriors advanced in a tight tactical formation, and the promethium flames spewed out by flamethrowers burned the Slaanesh totems along the way to ashes.

Every time the blue-white beam of the melta gun flashed, it would melt a huge hole in the enemy ship's bulkhead. The flesh and blood of the traitors would be directly vaporized in the high temperature, without them even having time to scream.

Warriors of the Emperor's Children leapt from the shadows, their power swords coiled with unholy energies, their blades twisting like serpents.

"For the Dark Prince!" A Chaos Lord rushed out with a wild laugh, his armor inlaid with painful faces, each face screaming silently.

The Iron Hands Terminator didn't waste any time, and a volley of storm bolters forced the Chaos Lord back, before smashing down with a powerful power fist.

"Crack!" The adamantium knuckles pierced through the breastplate and crushed the heart inside. The Chaos Lord's smile froze on his face, and his body was thrown against the wall, smashing a Slaanesh statue.

In another passage, five noise warriors formed a killing team. Their sonic weapons ruptured the eardrums of the Iron Hands warriors and blood oozed from the gaps in their helmets.

However, they underestimated the power of iron will.

“Fearless! Forward!”

An Iron Hand dreadnought mech came forward with heavy steps. Its fists were huge power claws, and every swing brought up a rain of blood.

One Noise Warrior was torn in half, and another had his head crushed. A mechanized war cry rang out from the Dauntless's loudspeaker.

"You have betrayed Iron! Now Iron will destroy you!"

The hull of the Everlasting Joy groaned under the impact of the boarding battle.

More and more airdrop pods crashed into the enemy ships, some even penetrated multiple decks directly, turning the entire area into ruins.

Ferrus Manus personally led the Terminator squad to the bridge.

Each blow of his Crucible Destroyer reduced an Emperor's Children warrior to a charred wreck, the force of the hammer tearing through the air with a thunderous crack.

Fulgrim stood in the center of the bridge, his four arms each holding a magic blade, his serpent tail taut with rage.

"Ferus..." His voice was still elegant, but with a barely perceptible tremor, "Do you really think this will end perfection?"

Ferrus did not answer. His cybernetic eye locked onto Fulgrim's throat, Forgebreaker raised high.

"This strike is for me and Istvaan in this world."

As Ferrus' voice fell, the heavy blow of the Furnace Destroyer fell like a forging hammer, and Fulgrim's body, which had just been repaired by purple psionic energy, was twisted and deformed in an instant.

His breastplate was dented, and the ornate guard plate with purple and gold trim shattered like fragile glass. Light golden blood oozed from the cracks, evaporating into a sweet mist in the air.

The Fallen Primarch stumbled back, his snake tail leaving messy marks on the ground, and finally he fell heavily to his knees.

His flawless face was now covered with cracks, and the crystal pupil of his left eye flickered with an unstable light, as if it would go out at any time.

"traitor……"

Ferrus' voice was like the friction of cold iron, and his mechanical prosthetic eye locked onto Fulgrim's throat.

Drops of lavender blood dripped from the tip of his hammer, and each drop corroded tiny holes as it fell on the ground, making a hissing sound.

Fulgrim's four arms grasped convulsively at the air, trying to summon the scattered demon blades.

His snake tail suddenly straightened, and the stinger at the end of the tail flashed a cold purple light, aiming at Ferrus' knee.

"You think... this is the end?" The Fallen Primarch's voice still had that twisted elegance, but the ending tone was trembling.

Golden blood foam gushed out of his throat and dripped from the corners of his mouth onto the adamantine floor.

Ferrus did not answer.

He simply raised the warhammer slowly, the force field of the hammer head humming, arcs of electricity jumping in the air, reflecting his cold, iron-like metallic face.

That gesture was not a defense, but the most naked provocation—"Come on, try again."