The Swordsman's fingers lightly touched his waist, his figure swift yet elegant.
His steps were incredibly light, making no sound at all on the steel floor, which was highly incongruous with his tall stature.
He moved like an incredibly graceful assassin, weaving through the ship's compartments as if taking a stroll.
Trazyn watched this scene with interest, saying in a voice so cold it was almost devoid of emotion: "I thought stealth and infiltration were the specialties of your other brothers."
"When my Father shaped me and my brothers, he wished for us to achieve perfection, to be flawless, possessing abilities beyond mortals in every aspect."
The Swordsman's voice was clear and bright, like the words of the most excellent singer:
"Theoretically, we are capable of learning all knowledge and skills in this world; it's just that our respective areas of expertise and preference differ."
"And you? What are you good at?" Trazyn seemed very interested in this, his tone even carrying a slight hint of emotion.
"I am good at bringing everything to perfection," the Swordsman replied as a matter of course. "It's just that I truly dislike being a thief; that is Corax's specialty."
"I am merely taking back what is mine." Trazyn let out a sharp, grating metallic grunt, seemingly quite displeased.
"Then we could use other means. We could first go see my beautiful brother; I believe I can persuade him to order his descendants to return your things to you." The Swordsman shook his head, seemingly displeased with Trazyn's request to infiltrate the All-Knowing Mystery.
"More likely, your brother would simply kill you," Trazyn said with a hint of sarcasm. "Though you are just a clone, your original body is too repulsive. I imagine your brothers wouldn't mind taking their anger out on you first."
"..He and I are not the same." The Swordsman's voice dropped slightly. "He was not perfect enough, which is why he fell. But I will not; I will be even more perfect. Sanguinius will understand this."
"Even if he could understand you, these thieves—the Blood Ravens Chapter—might not obey his orders."
Trazyn grunted:
"I understand the history of the galaxy better than you. These Blood Ravens are absolutely not Sanguinius' descendants."
"I am listening." The Swordsman seemed quite interested in history and knowledge, even giving Trazyn a slight bow, adopting a posture ready to listen to Trazyn lecture on history.
The relationship between the Swordsman and Trazyn was actually quite good, partly because Trazyn indeed possessed extensive knowledge and was willing to share it, while the Swordsman happened to crave knowledge to perfect himself and was eager to learn from Trazyn.
"..This matter must begin with a secret army formation after the Great Heresy—" Trazyn was very pleased by the Swordsman's respect, even adopting a lecturing posture, seemingly completely forgetting that he was on an enemy ship.
"You two, shut up!" Anrakyr the Traveller finally couldn't take it anymore and interrupted Trazyn with an angry roar.
Anrakyr had already experienced Trazyn's history lessons too many times; he didn't want to experience them again.
Their slow progress was largely due to Trazyn's pathological desire to lecture and the Swordsman's excessive thirst for knowledge.
"We are currently in someone else's territory, and I hope you two can be more serious." Anrakyr pointed his scythe at them and scolded.
"In terms of arrogance, Anrakyr, you surpass me a hundredfold, yet now you accuse me?"
Trazyn retorted coldly:
"Are you worried we'll be discovered, Anrakyr?"
"Don't worry, when it comes to theft... oh no, cultural relic recovery and protection, I am the true expert."
"The Blood Ravens—these shameless thieves—are nothing to me."
"The shielding field I deployed uses Harlequin technology. These idiots will absolutely not detect our presence before we reach their reliquary."
Trazyn was confident in this.
In his long career, he had infiltrated countless Necron tomb worlds, Aeldari Craftworlds, Astartes fortress-monasteries, Adeptus Mechanicus forge worlds, daemon worlds... Could he possibly fail on the flagship of a mere Chapter of Space Marines?
It was a joke; if he failed, he would give the title of protector of all history, cultural relics, and events in the galaxy to the Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens!
It seemed to be exactly as Trazyn claimed; they encountered no resistance along the way, arriving almost seamlessly before the Blood Ravens' reliquary.
Only two Blood Ravens Astartes were guarding the reliquary's entrance, a relatively weak defense.
However, this was precisely as Trazyn had anticipated.
He chose this time to infiltrate because the Blood Ravens' high command had gone to the Red Tears, leaving the All-Knowing Mystery's defenses empty. Even if they were discovered, the elites of the All-Knowing Mystery wouldn't have time to return, allowing them to steal and escape directly.
"Hmph, such crude preservation measures. I can already hear those precious artifacts weeping. No, I must protect those artifacts—"
"We agreed, only take what is yours; do not touch anything else." The Swordsman warned in a low voice.
This made Trazyn hum with displeasure, but he did not refute the Swordsman.
Although Trazyn had left a Lockheart Scarab inside the Swordsman to control him, the Swordsman's extraordinary immunity had surprisingly allowed his immune cells to suppress the Lockheart Scarab's nanite swarm. It was hard to say whether those Lockheart Scarabs could still control the Swordsman.
Secondly, Trazyn considered the Swordsman a more precious collection than all the relics on this ship combined, and he never wanted to harm the Swordsman.
Seeing that Trazyn did not object, the Swordsman nodded slightly and darted out from the shadows.
The two warriors guarding the reliquary door displayed a reaction speed that would earn the Swordsman's approval.
They reacted the very instant the Swordsman emerged from the shadows and raised their weapons...
But that was all.
The next moment, the two Blood Ravens grunted and fell to the ground, with two small wounds on their necks.
The Swordsman stood beside them, holding his blade.
He had not killed the two warriors, merely skillfully severed a few nerves in their necks, which would only temporarily incapacitate them. With the Astartes' regenerative abilities, they would recover quickly.
"Go, Anrakyr." Trazyn nodded to Anrakyr.
Anrakyr grunted and struck the ground hard with his scythe.
The reliquary doors, which incorporated numerous ancient and Psyker technologies, actually opened by themselves.
All the various defensive measures within the reliquary were also cut off by Anrakyr.
This was one of Anrakyr's specialties; his will was incomparably strong, allowing him to control all surrounding machinery with it alone.
However, the fact that his talent was being used for such petty thievery made Anrakyr feel intensely displeased.
Anrakyr rarely acted for his own benefit; his heart was only for the Necron Empire's vast territories. All battles he participated in were to protect Necron property.
If Trazyn hadn't promised that he would only retrieve property belonging to the Necrons, Anrakyr would truly have been unwilling to assist Trazyn.
Trazyn smiled slightly, then stepped into the Blood Ravens' reliquary, leading the Swordsman and Anrakyr.
Anrakyr and the Swordsman exchanged glances, shaking their heads with a hint of helplessness.
They followed Trazyn into the reliquary, and then they found Trazyn frozen in place, unsure of what had happened.
This immediately made Anrakyr and the Swordsman tense up, and then—
"Terminator Psyker teleportation beacon from the Human Great Crusade era, Saint Celestine's belt, Emperor's Custodian armor, Rogal Dorn's Power Fist, Flesh Tearers' sacred Chainsword, Aeldari star-lance..."
Trazyn's eyes glowed with an intense green light.
"Only take what was stolen from you," the Swordsman said in a low voice.
The green light bursting from Trazyn's eyes immediately dimmed significantly, as if he felt a bit bored.
He did not refute the Swordsman but began to search for his own belongings within the reliquary.
"Damn it, these fools released the Void Dragon! I demand compensation!" Trazyn quickly discovered that the fragment of the C'tan Void Dragon he had collected had been released.
That fragment was not small; it even possessed a certain degree of intelligence and sentience, which was why Trazyn had only ever kept it as a collection for a long time, never releasing it.
After all, Trazyn was well aware of the Void Dragon's dangers.
"No." The Swordsman shook his head, rejecting Trazyn's demand for compensation.
But he himself couldn't help but curiously examine the Blood Ravens' reliquary.
The collection here was indeed surprisingly extensive to the Swordsman. Are Astartes Chapters so wealthy now?
He even noticed that certain artifacts emanated a strong Warp evil, at least the weapons of Greater daemons or even Chief Greater daemons. How exactly did this Blood Ravens Chapter acquire these items?
His gaze swept over the Custodian armor, over Dorn's Fist, over a very exquisitely crafted but unfinished female robot, and then slowly settled on the deepest part of the reliquary...
There lay an overly massive warhammer, which even an Astartes would likely struggle to wield with two hands. But the craftsmanship of that warhammer was so exquisite, as if it were the most perfect weapon in the world. The handle was slender yet strong, the hammerhead heavy but not bulky, gleaming with a bright silver cold light. It also had various complex mechanical devices, obscuring the original Aquila symbol...
Although it had been modified beyond recognition, the Swordsman instinctively recognized that hammer; it seemed to be a memory etched into his genes.
"Ferrus—forgebreaker... How is it here? So this is where—"
The Swordsman almost lost control, instinctively reaching out his hand towards the warhammer, gently gripping the handle with his slender fingers—
"Xenos!!! Take your filthy hands off our ancestral Blood Ravens relic!!!!"
A booming roar erupted, and the Great Crusade Terminator Psyker teleportation beacon in the reliquary suddenly burst with light.
Gabriel Angelos appeared in the reliquary amidst roaring teleportation light, wielding the relic thunder hammer, Godsplitter.
Among the Blood Ravens' ancestral relics was a Terminator Psyker teleportation beacon from the Great Crusade era, along with some matching teleporters. If these teleporters were installed on a Terminator, they could instantly return to the beacon's location, no matter where the Terminator was, as long as they were within the same star system as the beacon.
Naturally, this beacon was placed in the most important location for the Blood Ravens: their reliquary.
As soon as the reliquary was invaded, the Blood Ravens' Chapter Master and Terminator squads could instantly teleport back to it.
Gabriel Angelos and the Terminators behind him let out terrifying war cries simultaneously.
Gabriel Angelos charged first, like a crimson war engine, pouncing on the closest Necron Overlord—Anrakyr the Traveller.
Anrakyr snorted, his glowing blue war scythe arcing to strike at Gabriel's exposed head.
The Necron energy field on the war scythe roared; this scythe, exclusive to Anrakyr, could instantly cleave ceramite, cut adamantium, and even glorious gold.
But Anrakyr's war scythe was parried.
Anrakyr watched in surprise as a thick force field enveloped Gabriel, blocking Anrakyr's war scythe head-on.
That force field came from the ancient iron halo behind Gabriel's head, which was surprisingly large, seemingly not meant for an Astartes.
Human technology actually blocked a Necron war scythe, which made Anrakyr pause for a moment.
Gabriel Angelos did not miss this fleeting opportunity, smashing the Godsplitter hammer directly into Anrakyr's chest.
An energy burst like lightning instantly forced Anrakyr back several steps, even tearing his silvery body, leaving ugly cracks.
But the wounds on Anrakyr's body were healed by living metal almost in the blink of an eye.
"Human! I have no intention of stealing your things; I am merely helping Trazyn retrieve his things. If you have a grudge, go find — — — — — — Hmm? Trazyn!! You The Deceiver-spawn!! Where did you run off to!!!"
Anrakyr suddenly realized that Trazyn had vanished without a trace, leaving only him and the swordsman in the reliquary.
Gabriel didn't give Anrakyr a chance to explain. He threw down the Godsplitter hammer and grabbed a rather worn, triangular, rusted blade from the Blood Ravens' collection nearby.
He moved swiftly, using the blade in his hand to slash a gash across Anrakyr's body.
"Useless, human. My body is made of living metal; it is not so easily damaged."
"I have cooperated with Dante, Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, we — — — — — — Damn it!!"
Before Anrakyr could finish, he found that not only were the wounds on his body not healing, but the living metal around them was actually decaying and rusting.
That seemingly old and rusted sword was clearly problematic!!!
"Move aside, Anrakyr!" The swordsman's voice suddenly rang out, and he came forward, wielding his sharp blade.
The Blood Ravens' Terminators instantly raised their weapons, unleashing a torrent of fire at the swordsman.
But the swordsman's speed was beyond common sense; he moved like a wisp of feather through the hail of bullets, yet remained untouched by a single shot.
Even if a bullet miraculously managed to hit him, he would lightly cut it or deflect it with the sharp blade in his hand.
In the blink of an eye, the swordsman bypassed Anrakyr and arrived before Gabriel.
Gabriel barely reacted before the sharp blade swung down directly at him — — — — — —
Boom!!!!
The energy field generated by the iron halo behind Gabriel roared and shook, almost making Gabriel think the force field would collapse, but it eventually managed to block the strike.
This surprised even the swordsman; he hadn't expected the iron halo Gabriel used to be powerful enough to block his sword. His gaze fell upon the iron halo behind Gabriel, and he vaguely felt he had seen that iron halo before.
He saw that iron halo in his not-so-clear, somewhat fragmented memories.
"Is this the iron halo forged by Vulkan himself? How did it end up in your hands? Are you a son of Vulkan? No, the skin color is wrong!" The swordsman said with a hint of surprise.
"It's an ancestral relic of us Blood Ravens!!" Gabriel roared, swinging the rusted blade in his hand at the swordsman.
The iron halo behind Gabriel was an ancestral relic of the Blood Ravens, originating from the technology of an unknown Primarch. Perhaps, as this fellow in front of him said, it came from Vulkan, the Salamanders' Primarch?
The swordsman lightly swung the sharp blade in his hand, deflecting Gabriel's full-force attack.
But after that, the swordsman noticed that the blade in his hand was rapidly rusting and corroding.
"A weapon imbued with the power of the Lord of Stagnation. It is very dangerous to casually pick up and use enemy weapons." The swordsman said in a warning tone.
This rotting blade came from a Nurgle Greater Daemon, and what the swordsman said was not without reason; using this weapon was indeed very dangerous.
Because it would not only corrode anything the blade touched, but the user themselves would also be plagued by the diseases it contained. Even the strongest Astartes would reach their limit after seven minutes of use, and using it longer carried a high risk of corruption.
However, the Blood Ravens had unique utilization technology; their reliquary stored some degraded versions of the panacea.
Those degraded panaceas were failed products of a group of Tech-Priests attempting to create panaceas without an STC. They possessed most of the effects of regular panaceas, including immunity to disease, toxins, and poisons, and astonishing regenerative abilities, but their effects were weaker than true panaceas, their duration was limited, and if a mortal injected them, they would die directly from being unable to withstand the potency.
However, Gabriel currently had no opportunity to use that degraded panacea.
He endured the corrosion of the rotting blade, swinging it at the tall, unidentified figure before him.
The swordsman had lost his weapon but showed no panic. He moved nimbly, retreating and dodging Gabriel's attacks repeatedly.
His movements were truly elegant to the extreme; Gabriel's flurry of sword swings didn't even touch the edge of his cloak.
In fact, each time Gabriel's sword came down, it passed within a hair's breadth of the swordsman's cloak, as if the swordsman had precisely calculated it.
It was practically toying with Gabriel — — — — — — — —
"My lord! Use this hammer!" A Blood Raven Terminator roared, grabbing a massive crimson hammer and throwing it to Gabriel.
The swordsman did not interfere, but rather watched the scene with interest.
Gabriel discarded the rotting blade and caught the crimson war hammer with both hands.
The moment he grasped the brass handle of the war hammer, fierce flames ignited in Gabriel's eyes.
Rage, uncontrollable rage, surged from within the hammer, almost overwhelming Gabriel.
"The Emperor's enemies still live, and we shall never know peace!" A roar filled with fury emanated from Gabriel's mouth.
This war hammer came from the former Khorne Chief Greater Daemon, Skarbrand, and contained Skarbrand's unending wrath.
Gabriel, relying on his loyalty to the Emperor, barely managed to control it and swung the war hammer at the hooded man before him.
The swordsman once again nimbly dodged, but the war hammer struck the ground, stirring up a wave of air mixed with sulfurous sparks, engulfing the swordsman as well.
The swordsman had to extend his hand to barely prevent his cloak from being flung off.
"I told you, don't use enemy weapons." The swordsman gently stopped, his steps having retreated him to the wall, next to forgebreaker.
The swordsman gently placed his hand on forgebreaker.
"Take your filthy hands off it!" Gabriel Angelos' face twisted grotesquely, roaring with full of anger: "Do not defile the ancestral relic of our Chapter!"
"Ancestral relic? Is forgebreaker your ancestral relic?"
The swordsman's tone was slightly raised, as if he found it amusing:
"Are you a son of my loyalist side? No, it doesn't feel like it."
"..Or a son of Ferrus? Doesn't seem like it either."
"..Could it be the Iron Warriors? A son of Perturabo?"
"We Blood Ravens have been the pure sons of Sanguinius since ancient times!!!"
Gabriel Angelos, facing this baseless slander against the Blood Ravens, directly retorted with a furious roar, smashing Skarbrand's Hammer towards the swordsman's head.
The swordsman dodged, simultaneously taking the forgebreaker hammer hanging on the wall.
With a crackling sound, the forgebreaker hammer instantly activated in the swordsman's hand.
This war hammer, once forged by the Primarch Fulgrim and gifted to Ferrus Manus, roared and heavily struck Gabriel Angelos.
That iron halo from Vulkan roared fiercely, fully activating its force field to block, but — — — — — —
Boom!!!!!
For the first time in the Blood Ravens' recorded history, the defense of that iron halo was shattered in a single blow. Even after the iron halo dissipated most of its power, the forgebreaker hammer was still unstoppable, heavily knocking Gabriel Angelos flying.
Gabriel Angelos fell to the ground, creating a deep crater. The ceramite on his chest was pulverized, along with his ribs.
He spat out a mouthful of blood. Skarbrand's Hammer lay in the distance. After being separated from the hammer, the anger quickly receded, and Gabriel's mind gradually cleared a bit.
"He… he can activate forgebreaker…" Gabriel muttered in disbelief. That was a war hammer personally forged by one Primarch and gifted to another Primarch as a primary weapon, like the Spear of Accomplishment for Sanguinius, the Spear of the Wine God for Leman Russ, or the Fist of Dominion for Guilliman. How could it be so easily activated?
In the decades since the Blood Ravens acquired this war hammer, they had never been able to tame its raging machine spirit. Yet, the swordsman merely picked up forgebreaker, and forgebreaker submissively yielded.
Connecting this to what the swordsman had just said, a terrifying guess formed in Gabriel's mind.
"..You are… you are…" Gabriel gasped, looking at the swordsman walking towards him, holding forgebreaker: "You are Ful—"
"Shh!" The swordsman gently raised a finger to his lips, whispering: "Don't say that name, he will hear it."
Gabriel stared at him with wide eyes, but the swordsman merely smiled gently — — — — — —
"Then may I say your name?"
Just then, a door opened, and a voice clear as a sacred bell rang out:
"Fulgrim, Fulgrim, my brother… or rather, a clone of my brother."