Chapter 421 The Eightfold Way
"The way of the Ohm Messiah has left mankind hesitant to seek knowledge. Only by embracing ether and chaos can we know those technologies that the primitive people of Mars can hardly see in their dreams."
——A certain dark sage of the eighth level.
…………
Fu Qinghai came to the so-called "interrogation room".
This room is hidden deep, buried deep among the many pipes and forges of the Zerath space station. The road is winding and narrow, and it is surrounded by ancient cooling wells and vents. Fu Qinghai led the soldiers through and found that chiseled signs with eight arrows in a ring could be seen everywhere on the walls and inside the pipes.
The eight-pointed star of chaos.
Fu Qinghai frowned.
Each of the four gods of chaos has its own symbol, and the eight-pointed star of chaos is usually used to represent the belief in "chaos without distinction".
The Word Bearers, Iron Warriors, and the Dark Mechanicus all believe in undivided chaos, which means they do not believe in a specific evil god, but believe in chaos as a whole in a broad sense.
Just get close to that room.
Just listen to the laughter of "Jie Jie Jie" coming from inside:
"There is nothing you can do about it, bat. Stop these useless attempts. I am also a master of interrogation. There are countless technical priests who have revealed everything in my hands. Your methods are meaningless to me. They only serve Makes me feel good."
Fu Qinghai walked into the cabin door and took a look.
It was a gloomy and messy room, with light shining into the room from panels installed on the ceiling. The walls were decorated with star charts, data sheets and drawing boards, and there were many scientific research instruments that Fu Qinghai knew. But there was a three-foot-tall black glass pendulum among them, which he didn't recognize. This thing gave people a cold, greasy, creepy and weird feeling.
He was a little disappointed. There were no gags, shackles, blindfolds, whips, low-temperature candles, or even anything that looked like a toy...oh, not a torture device.
Not like an interrogation room.
More like a laboratory.
Kalamanda, Satfaran and No. 56 led a group of Space Marines to surround an extremely ugly black machine oil man. This tech-priest's face looks like a ball of rotten flesh wrapped in pipes and cables. Four large and small eyeballs and a three-toothed mouth hang on his face like melted and fallen tumors, shaking and still. Rotating and opening.
All eyes were fixed on Fu Qinghai.
Three mouths opened with a smile:
"Haha, finally here, Qingshan Khan."
Fu Qinghai raised his eyebrows and looked at his three subordinates.
No. 56 shook his head slightly.
Said they never revealed any names.
"You're surprised, aren't you?"
The black engine oil man said with a smile.
All the mechanical modification devices on his body had been dismantled and scattered into tattered metal parts. The dark technology priest, who had lost one-third of his body, was placed on a chair. Although he was behind bars, there was no trace of emotion in his tone. Fear, as if he was not the one being captured.
"Do you know me?"
Fu Qinghai narrowed his eyes and asked.
"I've never met you and I don't know you."
The black machine oil man pointed at the instrument and said:
"It was what told me of your coming, a very unique Chapter Master of the Astartes."
"Oh, what makes me unique?"
Fu Qinghai became even more curious after hearing this.
The black engine oil man said with profound meaning:
"An ordinary Chapter Master of the Astartes, the first moment he sees me, he should shoot me to death instead of having a conversation with me. Aren't you unique?"
It makes sense... Fu Qinghai looked at the twisted and blasphemous appearance of the oil guy and thought to himself.
"I smell the stench of the warp."
No. 56 whispered:
"It's inside that black device."
Kalamanda and Satfaran both awakened their psychic talents, and they nodded in agreement with No. 56.
"I found many corpses of loyal technical priests in the ventilation ducts under this room. Their deaths were extremely tragic. They must have suffered some kind of torture during their lifetimes."
Kalamanda leaned over and whispered.
Fu Qinghai glanced at him.
Do you think the words "tortured" can come out of your Kalamanda's mouth? It's rare.
"I have to remind you."
The black engine oil guy interjected and said:
"It's not 'many', but eight, a full eight corpses of Martians. This number is very strict. One more or one less will not work. Do you understand?"
"Technological heresy?"
Fu Qinghai looked at the oil man and asked.
"No, I don't like that title. It's a scornful name given to me by the idiots on Mars and Terra. They are the heretics. I am not a heretic. I am a vortex technician."
"Vortex Technician?"
Fu Qinghai had heard of biological sages, super rational beings, and forge masters, but he had never heard of the title "Vortex Technician". It sounded very dark to the Mechanicus.
"That's right, Vortex Technician. Subspace, the Supreme Sky, the Ether Realm, the Immaterial Realm... different races have different names, but these terms all refer to the same thing. Yes, that new world that is indescribable to science and logic, It is so tempting, and the infinite knowledge and great wisdom contained in it is so generous. The trickle of data and the tide of logic are sent into the memory of those who are thirsty for knowledge with each power supply fluctuation of the Geller force field. In. Just a slight nod of the head, and the secrets of the heavens are already under my control. And all I need to pay is just a trivial price."
The black machine oil guy pointed at his face.
Disgusting flesh and blood mutation.
"Once again, we are not 'heresies', I am a Vortex Technician. We do not want to start a rebellion, and we do not care who rules the galaxy. We just want to study the warp quietly, and Mars and Terra do not allow it. So we were forced to take up arms to defend our homeland, and that was it.”
The black engine oil man said seriously.
Tech-priests who specialize in the warp.
They call themselves "Vortex Technicians".
I see. Fu Qinghai understood.
Seeing his strong desire to talk, Fu Qinghai couldn't help but want to chat with him, so he took the initiative to ask:
"So why do you know my name?"
"Because of that thing, I call it a fortune teller."
The black machine oil guy pointed at the device on the table.
Fu Qinghai looked at the strange device.
From the appearance point of view, the so-called "divination instrument" is a round instrument with an iron pendulum in the middle, covered with black glass, equipped with various seemingly meaningless mechanical devices on the inside, and twisted runes on the outside. Carve.
"The pendulum of the augur is extremely sensitive to the energy of the Warp and will swing with the ripples of the Warp. Through a ritual, the future direction can be revealed. This ritual requires the sacrifice of eight human lives, accompanied by strict regulations and The eight guided participants let blood splash on the instrument and prayed to the gods... If all goes well, at the climax of the ceremony, the divining instrument allows the user to ask eight questions, which are answered one by one with the movement of the pendulum. .”
The black engine oil man talks freely.
You really need to sacrifice, but you still say you are not a heretic?
After hearing this, Fu Qinghai felt that it was indeed evil and heretical.
The simplest way to judge whether a machine is a demon engine or an engine of destruction is to see if it eats people. If the machine needs to eat people (whether body or soul) to operate, it must be a demon engine.
A daemon engine in a narrow sense refers to a machine bound to a Chaos Daemon, just like an enchanted warrior. In a broad sense, the devil engine or the engine of destruction refers to all "man-eating machines". According to this definition, in a sense, the Star Torch, the Golden Throne and the Black Glaze also belong to an engine of destruction.
A digression: The world's first demon engine is said to have been invented by the Emperor's trumpet.
"I asked eight questions, exploring unknown mysteries, asking about my future, and asking if there is still hope for the Zerath Space Station. The fortune teller told me that there is a chapter leader named 'Qingshan Khan' who will Come here...hehe."
The black engine oil man smiled and said nothing.
Hearing what he said, Kalamanda and Satfaran were a little nervous. Their weapons immediately pointed at the device, waiting for Khan to give the order to completely destroy it.
"I wouldn't do this if I were you."
The black engine oil man said calmly:
"That would be unwise, unless you wish to open a rift into the Warp at the Zerath Station."
"So did it expect this?"
After solving his doubts, Fu Qinghai took out his plasma pistol, pointed it at the oil man's head, and asked.
"Of course, of course..."
The black engine oil man smiled and said:
"Once the doubts in your mind are resolved, once you are convinced that I am no longer of use, you will immediately kill me, completely kill me, and wipe me out, leaving no trace. These fortune tellers have told me, and I have already Expected.”
The black engine oil man pointed at the table and said:
"That is my humble work. I dare not claim to be comprehensive. You can read it in your spare time, just to kill the boring time. I have a hunch that we will meet again, Qingshan Khan, you are an interesting person. People, hehe...that's all, I'm done, you can shoot."
Fu Qinghai turned his head and looked.
There is a thick book on the table.
The cover reads: "Rituals and Psalms."
The following line of small print is written by: Protess.
"Proteus?"
Fu Qinghai asked.
"Yes, my name."
The black engine oil guy nodded and admitted.
It sounds a little familiar.
Fu Qinghai nodded, then pulled the trigger.
A blue beam of light flashed, and the extremely ugly and deformed head of the black machine oil man disappeared in the plasma beam. Without Fu Qinghai's instructions, Satflan quickly took out the melt weapon and quickly burned the corpse together with the rotten clothes and metal parts.
Just like he said.
Gone to ashes, leaving no trace.
"Search this place thoroughly and pack away everything of value, including the heretical device."
Fu Qinghai pointed at the fortune teller and said.
"Yes, Khan."
The men started to move one after another.
Fu Qinghai picked up the book on the table, but did not read it. Instead, he put it into a white suitcase.
…
Zerath Space Station, Forge Core.
The battle has progressed to this point. The Space Marines spread out in all directions from the breach. After sweeping and clearing the surrounding areas, they gradually converged towards one place.
"Boom, boom, boom... crackle!"
Explosive bombs flew across the sky and arcs of electricity crisscrossed.
"Damn it...retreat! Retreat!"
the Bloodthirsty Techmarine swore angrily.
Another wave of attacks was repelled.
The Intelligent Robots have powerful firepower, excellent defense, and are not afraid of death. They are not the fragile things like Skitarii Vanguards and Skitarii Rangers that can be broken in a single blow. The Bloodthirsty's attack has been thwarted again and cannot be retreated. Rest at the entrance of the passage.
"We need heavy fire support!"
A battle brother gritted his teeth and said:
"Wait for the plasma or heavy bombs to come."
"Listen to me, brothers."
The technical sergeant said:
"According to my observation and analysis, although the bipedal intelligent control robots have strong firepower, their body turning capabilities are limited. We are more flexible than them and can kill them when we get close. In this way, we will provide another wave of fire cover, and then I and I Mandel, Edwin and Victor rushed to them..."
The words are not finished yet.
The technical sergeant suddenly saw a group of space warriors wearing black gold power armor and holding strange weapons silently moving into the passage diagonally below him.
"Why are they so quiet?"
Techmarine thought to himself.
A closer look shows that the breathing valve of the helmet is not beak-shaped, so it is not the MK6 Raven-type power armor specially designed for Raven Guard and stealth combat. But why is their power armor so quiet with almost no unnecessary noise?
As the person in charge of the equipment in the Chapter, the technical sergeant is particularly sensitive to these details - as we all know, the power armor is very noisy, the sound of the servo motor running, the sound of the two nozzles when the waste heat exhaust gas is discharged, and the occasional collision of armor plates. In short, in most cases, it is difficult for a Space Marine to cover his whereabouts while moving quickly.
But they were so quiet.
"It's really strange..."
Techmarine muttered.
Both groups of space warriors saw each other's presence, but there was no communication - because the communication channel had been hijacked by the oil guys. And they don’t seem to be planning on communicating much. Standing high in the building, the technical sergeant saw that this group of black gold space warriors briefly signed a few words, and then rushed towards the intelligent control robots.
Is that so? How reckless!
"careful……"
The words just came out.
Only a burst of gunfire was heard.
Then there was a rumbling explosion.
The group of Space Marines disappeared into the passage.
They shouldn't die so soon, right?
Techmarine thought.
That's too cowardly.
"Come over with me and have a look."
said the tech sergeant.
The bloodthirsty ones got up and left the corner, and came to the passage they had just fought in. They were horrified to find that the space warriors in black gold armor had long disappeared. There were only broken parts left in the passage, and the intellectuals who had just been unleashing their firepower wantonly The machine control soldiers have been turned into piles of smoking ruins.
"Your Majesty, how did they do it?"
one of the battle brothers said in surprise.
"Their weapons."
Techmarine frowned and whispered.
"What kind of weapon is that, Ayu?"
Someone asked next to him.
"I have no idea."
The technical sergeant shook his head and said:
"I've never seen that kind of weapon."
One seems to be some kind of bolt gun, but why is the gun body so long and why is the barrel so big?
One looks like a grenade launcher, but what are those rows of black, round bombs?
As various battle groups gathered in this area, the strong fighting power of the Iron Buddha Battle Group undoubtedly aroused the surprise and even admiration of other battle groups.
They use a special bolter.
Compared with the short and powerful traditional bolt guns, the bolt guns used by the Iron Buddha Chapter have a longer barrel, a larger and thicker barrel, and three bulges around the barrel. When shooting, there is often a strange discharge from the barrel. The sound was like a scream that broke through the sky.
It's obviously the caliber of an ordinary explosive bomb.
The power is comparable to heavy explosive bombs.
They use a strange type of rifle grenade.
A melon-sized bomb, coupled with a simple hydraulic slide ejection device, can burst out with eye-popping power. Each bomb can explode a mushroom cloud, and weapons of this level are equipped to everyone. A team!
That's right, not the battle group level, not the company level, but the squad level heavy firepower. Is it such a luxury?
The standard weapons for individual soldiers of the Iron Buddha Chapter are the pulse bolter and the Fat Man launcher. The former has extremely strong penetrating power, longer range and stable ballistics. Although the latter does not have a long range, its power is extremely impressive - the key lies in its low cost. If you highlight one of the advantages, the energy tube will be full, and the firepower will be covered if you are cheap.
In the radiation universe, atomic energy technology is a low-maintenance technology. A single widower sitting at home can make a small nuclear bomb with his own hands. On the eve of the outbreak of the nuclear war, almost every household in the Magnesium Country had a car with a small controllable nuclear fusion reactor as the engine. Others were trying to connect every village with electricity, water, and the Internet. In the radiation universe, it was nuclear communication.
Nuclear energy has entered tens of millions of households.
One word to describe the fat launcher.
It's a "cheap explosion".
Of course, the Astartes Chapter also has a dedicated heavy firepower team called the "Destroyer" team. They usually use plasma cannons and melta guns as company-level heavy firepower.
However, both weapons have some shortcomings. The plasma cannon has a long cooling time and the melta gun has a short range. Moreover, both are directed energy weapons and cannot be ejected or rebounded. They are not as flexible as the Fat Man launcher in twisty and complex pipes and passages. .
It should be noted that heavy explosive bombs are not the standard force configuration of the Destroyer team, because the recoil of heavy explosive bombs is too great and can only be used by Terminators.
………
The Flesh Tearers Chapter and the Iron Buddha Chapter worked together to break through the last line of defense of an orbital station.
"call……"
Nasir Amit gasped softly.
The Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers wears an Indomitable Terminator and a pair of chainsaw gloves - a combination of a chainsword and a power fist. There is no blood on the saw teeth, only specks of black engine oil, which comes from him Killed intelligent control robots.
Nasir turned to look at Joestar, looking up and down at the Cyan Mountain Heavy Power Armor he was wearing. He had never seen this type of Terminator before, so he asked:
"Is this a set of sophisticated tactical dreadnought armor?"
"That's right."
Qiao Shida nodded:
"This is a Terminator built by our Chapter Master himself. He is a Mars-certified master forger."
There was a lot of pride in his tone.
It is rare for a White Scars group to have a Forge Master as the leader...Nasir Amit thought to himself.
Generally speaking, a Techmarine cannot become a high-ranking officer, let alone a Chapter Master. It is difficult for a Company Commander, because the brothers of the Chapter are not sure whether he is more inclined to the Adeptus Mechanicus or the Adeptus Astartes - except for the Steel The Hand and Iron Warriors, the technical sergeants of these two legions have a high status, but their forging masters have other names——
The Iron Father and the War Blacksmith.
"What are you doing?"
Nasir Amit suddenly saw an Iron Buddha warrior checking his pulse bolter - the name of this weapon was something he had just learned. He patted the barrel of the gun, complained in annoyance, raised his hand and took out a square box from the gun case, then twisted and unscrewed the barrel, and stuffed both the square box and the thick barrel into the weapon bag on his waist.
"The battery is low."
Qiao Shida glanced at it and explained casually.
The structure of the pulse bolt gun is very complex. In addition to the drum magazine, a battery needs to be added. As the energy source of the electromagnetic coil, it is the square box.
The huge power of electromagnetic weapons comes at a price. The rail rifle developed by the Tu clan of the Tau Empire uses up one pack of power for three shots. The battery must be replaced every three shots. The pulse bolter is not much better. It usually fires. Finishing a drum will drain a battery. Shilan had considered this situation at the beginning of the design, so he adopted a modular design. Just remove the battery and electromagnetic coil barrel, and the pulse bolter will become an ordinary bolter and can still function normally. emission.
"Quite interesting..."
Nasir Amit commented calmly.
But what I was thinking was: Sanguinius, why don't our Blood Angels technical sergeants have this ability?
The technical sergeants of the Blood Angels have developed a special explosive bomb - the blood fragmentation bomb, which uses a bolt-shaped built-in warhead and has a strong armor-breaking ability. It is used exclusively by the Blood Angels and their sub-groups. Of course there is also the Meatman Chapter. But the biggest fear in everything is comparison. Compared with the new bolt rifle, the new bolt rifle doesn't seem to be so... fragrant.
In addition to firearms, the Iron Buddha Chapter has.
Their power armor is also weird.
Nasir Amit saw with his own eyes that a soldier of the Iron Buddha was hit from the side by a large-caliber assault gun. The leader of the Flesh Tearers thought that the soldier should be dead, but he did not expect that the soldier's power pack was broken and exposed. Despite the precise mechanical structure, servo motors and small nuclear fusion reactor inside, the person was still intact.
Nasir Amit thought at that time:
The power backpack has been damaged, and even if no one is injured, they have no choice but to withdraw from the battle. Eighty percent of a Space Marine's combat effectiveness comes from powered armor. The ratio of power provided by electronic muscle fibers and self-reinforced muscles is about nine to one. There is no power backpack to provide energy to drive electronic muscle fiber bundles and servo motors unless the power is taken off. Armor, otherwise it would be difficult for a Space Marine to move.
Nasir Amit thought that he had experienced the Great Crusade and the Great Rebellion, and was experienced in many battles. But immediately, a scene that he would never forget appeared:
No technical sergeant came to repair it. The precision mechanical parts in the Space Marine's power backpack began to repair and heal automatically. Those charred and broken parts were still emitting sparks and arcs one second, and seemed to be the next. Come to life, the metal began to "liquefy" and began to wriggle on its own, quickly forming a new mechanical structure... Then, the space warrior patted his butt and stood up.
Just keep fighting as if nothing is wrong.
Your Majesty, what kind of miracle is this?
Nasir Amit was stunned.
If seen by the Tech-Priest.
Not allowed to shout "The God of All Machines Appears"?
Joestar also knew that the living metal of the Necron was more shocking than the pulse bolter and the Fat Man launcher, but faced Nasir Amit's constant questioning.
He could only explain it this way:
"Our chapter leader is the master of forging..."
Fuck you.
Nasir Amit thought.
You have said this sentence a thousand times.
Have you ever seen a foundry master?
Master Forges are rare, but in the era of legions, there were still four or five in an Iron Hands legion. They were all the favorite sons of Faenus Manus, but we had never seen them develop such a powerful one. Powered armor.
It can restore blood and heal itself.
The MK4 extreme power armor and most other power armors are made of ceramite-plastic-steel composite armor, while the MK8 anti-rebellion power armor is made of ceramite-plastic-steel titanium alloy triple composite armor. Nasir did not pay attention to this detail.
…
The battle is still fierce.
Since Qiao Shida doesn't want to say more.
Nasir couldn't get to the bottom of it either.
The two warbands continued to fight side by side.
Until they came to a fork in the road.
Nasir said:
"I think we should go to the left, Captain Joestar."
Qiao Shida said:
"We are going to the right, Chapter Master Amit."
Originally, it was just a simple road disagreement, and everyone went their own way, but when thinking about this journey, Qiao Shida's politeness always had a sense of distance and alienation.
Nasir Amit suddenly narrowed his eyes:
"Captain Joestar, I feel like you...are not willing to fight with the Flesh Tearers?"
Although Lao Qiao is brave, he is not a fool.
Calmly replied:
"No, Chapter Commander Amit."
What I was thinking about was:
Who among the Space Marines who came from the Legion era doesn’t know about your Blood Angels’ nonsense?
The Black Rage is a genetic disease that only appeared after the death of Sanguinius. Because there were not enough gene seeds of the Blood Angels after the war, they could not replenish the number of members of the parent group and expand the child group, so they took the father's genes and cloned them. This genetic disease occurs.
Most people don't know Black Rage exists.
But blood thirst, many legions have heard of it.
On the battlefields that the Blood Angels have been to, mummies that have been drained of blood often appear inexplicably, both from enemy and friendly forces. Joe Star thinks that the Flesh Tearers are not sick yet, just because the Zerath Space Station is a forge world, and the oil guys are all machines and have no flesh and blood, which has not stimulated the Flesh Tearers, so the blood thirst has not yet occurred.
But I don’t want to fight alongside them either.
"All right."
at last.
Nasir gave Joestar a deep look.
Then lead the team to leave through the left channel.
…
Space warriors from five different battle groups surrounded the core foundry city of the Gerath Space Station. The space warriors advanced with great success, and finally encountered stubborn resistance here. The Intelligent Control Corps of the Gerath Space Station sent out their last Those two powerful intelligent control robots.
Death-type intelligent control robot.
Fortress type intelligent control robot.
During the battle on the space hulk, Fu Qinghai once encountered a Dom Tower-type intelligent robot, which was developed on the basis of the Fortress-type intelligent robot. Six intelligent robots fought to the limit. A company of soldiers scurried away holding their heads.
Now we have not only encountered the Bastion-type intelligent control robot, which is the basic version of the Domitor-type intelligent control robot, but we have also encountered the Death-type intelligent control robot, which is larger than the Domitor-type and Fort-Star type intelligent control robot!
Two types of intelligent control robots defeated the offensive of the Space Marines. Facing these robots that were often more than ten meters tall, each war group had to dispatch their ancient relics——
Dreadnought mecha!
At this time, each war group finally discovered that they had something that the Iron Buddha War Group did not have.
The Iron Buddha Chapter does not have a Dreadnought.
Fu Qinghai doesn't feel anything ashamed.
The Iron Buddha Chapter does not have iron coffins, but so far there has never been a Space Marine who died of serious injuries and had to be sent into a Dreadnought. This is a medical achievement.
Technology from other Chapters unseen.
Desperate Virus.
…………
One chapter counts as two chapters