chsdbacks Chapter 5: Abaddon's astonishing wisdom had already seen through everything.
Chapter 5: Abaddon's astonishing wisdom had already seen through everything.
"A bunch of useless trash! They can't even stop a fly!"
An angry roar echoed through the bridge of the Great Tyrant, and the crew, including Astartes, dared not breathe loudly.
Standing in the center of the bridge was a giant with a traditional Kosonia topknot and wearing black Terminator power armor. His fleshy face looked even more ferocious and terrifying because of his rage.
It's no wonder that Azek'el Abaddon, the commander of the First Company of the Sons of Horus and one of the three heroes of the Great Crusade, lost control of his emotions.
Just minutes earlier, when all the warships in orbit had begun loading and preparing the virus bombs, a Thunderhawk gunboat suddenly departed from the Son of the Emperor's Beyonder, which was not part of the mission flight plan.
Due to the special nature of this operation, inter-fleet communications were strictly controlled, so commanders including Abaddon were unaware of the situation.
By the time Commander Edoron of the Beyond reported in an awkward tone that it was Sol Taviz, a remnant of the Loyalists, trying to send a message to the Loyalists on the surface, that damned Thunderhawk gunboat had already broken through the fleet's anti-aircraft fire and escaped into the atmosphere.
"Immediately calculate which nearby warships can intercept us in time!"
Abaddon's facial muscles twitched slightly. As one of the earliest participants in the Warlords' betrayal... cough cough, liberation plan, he knew very well that this great purge could not tolerate any mistakes.
If the loyalists below become wary and the initial Life Eater bombs fail to eliminate them quickly, these battle-hardened warriors could very well turn the extermination campaign into a protracted war of attrition.
This not only increases the consumption of ammunition and personnel, but also delays the timetable for attacking Terra.
This could allow the false emperor in Terra to learn of the rebellion and prepare accordingly, and the loyalist legions that were previously deliberately deployed to the borders of the empire might also return to defend it.
If various unfavorable factors create a domino effect...
"Report: Only the Death Guard's Eisenstein is in a position where it can be intercepted!"
USS Eisenstein? Abbotton immediately recalled his commander's name.
"Inform Gruulg, at all costs—"
"Report!"
Just as Abaddon was displeased that his words had been interrupted by a mortal, what he heard next made his anger vanish.
"The USS Eisenstein sent a communication claiming that they had successfully intercepted Saul Taviz."
"What? Go and verify if this is true immediately."
Abaddon raised an eyebrow; his impression of Gruulg was that of an arrogant and careless fellow.
His decisive and swift reaction this time made him look at him in a different light.
"The oracle could no longer detect the Thunderhawk gunboat that Sol Taviz was on... but visual inspection confirmed the smoke and debris from the explosions that followed the engagement, leading to the conclusion that it was shot down by another Thunderhawk gunboat."
Abaddon breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this. He knew, of course, that Thor Taviz was also an extremely skilled Astartes veteran, and that he was probably too hasty, which was why he was killed so easily.
Thinking of this, Abaddon's anger was reignited.
"Connect the Beyonder to me! I want to see what kind of useless commander can't even control his own flagship's hangar—"
"Report! The gunboat that took off from the USS Eisenstein and shot down Taviz does not bear the insignia of the Death Guard."
An Astartes crewman nervously reported to his commander, knowing Abaddon's character well enough to know that what he was about to do would only add fuel to the fire.
"But it belongs to us... the First Company of the Sixteenth Army Corps!"
-
The Great Tyrant, hangar, lower deck.
"You mean, that guy named Sun Qian just used a lame excuse to brazenly take one of my Thunderhawk gunboats away?"
"He... he said he had direct orders from the war commander—"
"You bastard!"
With a deafening roar, the Astartes warriors guarding the hangar were sent flying more than ten meters, smashing a dent into the adamantite wall of the Great Tyrant.
And this seems to be the result of Abaddon trying his best to control his emotions and show mercy.
"Are you saying the War Marshal would bypass his most loyal and outstanding son and issue an order to an ordinary sergeant? And even if it were the War Marshal's order, as my subordinate, have you forgotten the basic reporting procedures?!"
As a warrior who highly values discipline and strength, Abaddon cannot tolerate deception and betrayal.
Under normal circumstances, Abaddon would have executed the guard directly, as a warning to his other men, in accordance with Kosonia tradition.
The reason they didn't do that was twofold: firstly, killing their own people at this critical juncture would severely damage the morale of the others; secondly...
[XVI-1-7 Thunderhawk, requesting landing procedures.]
Abaddon suddenly calmed down, but everyone present knew that this was just the calm before the storm.
"You should thank Sun Qian. If he hadn't obeyed orders to return to the ship, you would be space junk by now."
After giving a cold snort, Abaddon waved his power claw, signaling the others to drag the hangar guard, whose helmet was already dented, away.
"But unfortunately, I don't think you'll have the chance to thank him in person."
Abaddon stared coldly at Thunderhawk, who was slowly passing through the Void Shield, and faint arcs of electricity began to flicker on the power claws on his arms.
As the company commander of the First Company, Abaddon certainly knew the names of every one of his subordinates, but he didn't really know much about Sun Qian.
In Abaddon's memory, Sun Qian was a timid and unassuming guy who didn't have much of a presence.
Although he was a veteran who had served for many years, unlike the other sons of Horus who were eager to gain merit on the battlefield, he was more interested in errands and messengers.
The only thing that left a deep impression on Abaddon was that when he wanted to take the War Marshal to the Serpent Cave for treatment on Davenstar, Sun Qian was one of the Astartes who opposed him the most, and even risked his life to stand in front of him.
However, after being severely damaged by the somewhat out-of-control Abaddon, he resolutely pledged allegiance to the newly appointed Warmaster when he recovered and returned to the team, so Abaddon removed him from the purge list.
But how dare this guy forge the war commander's orders?
No, I guess he initially just planned to desert at the last minute.
Abbott's brilliant mind immediately analyzed the most likely cause.
This weakling must have been unable to withstand the pressure of overthrowing the false emperor with the Warmaster, and then colluded with the blindly loyalists like Thor Taviz to escape together; however, Taviz changed his mind at the last moment and decided to sacrifice himself to inform the blindly loyalists on the ground, only to be ambushed and shot down from behind by this cowardly bastard.
It can't be wrong.
This explains everything. Why would a hero like Taviz die at the hands of the unknown Sun Qian? His naivety led to his demise, which is consistent with the fate of these blindly loyal people.
As for that Sun Qian...
Abaddon's lips curved into a smile, but there was no hint of laughter, only a chilling killing intent.
If he thinks he can atone for his sins or even be rewarded by killing Taviz, he is sorely mistaken.
For Abaddon, those enemies who were misled by the false emperor and could not understand the Warmaster's ideals, although they had to be purged for the Warmaster's grand plan, were still, in Abaddon's heart, respectable warriors.
What's even more hateful are cowards like Sun Qian, whose stance wavers and who have no sense of honor, only concerned with surviving.
This reminded Abaddon of those mortal nobles who, despite accomplishing nothing, stole the spoils of the Great Crusade in Terra.
Horus's rebellion was to eliminate these despicable parasites!
The Thunderhawk landed smoothly in front of Abaddon. As the airlock opened with the sound of steam jets, Abaddon had already conceived at least dozens of torture methods to "reward" the sergeant who had just killed Tavitz, making him confess everything.
As for the secret order from the war commander that Sun Qian mentioned?
That's ridiculous. Anyone with a brain knows that General Horus would never bypass his most outstanding and trustworthy loyal son and entrust an important mission to a lowly sergeant.
bang.
Upon hearing the sound of the landing gear hitting the deck, Abaddon revealed a vicious grin.
"You've really made a name for yourself, Sergeant Sun Qian, but I need to be very careful about this so-called secret order from the war commander—"
Abaddon's eyes widened and his mouth opened, but the rest of the words got stuck in his throat.
Because what appeared in the gradually dissipating steam of the hatch was not the cowardly and sleazy Astartes he had imagined.
But even in Abaddon's eyes, he appeared incredibly tall and imposing...
At the same time, a familiar figure.
He wore Terminator armor as black as the night, inlaid with the Eye of Horus, a symbol of power and glory.
He wore a huge white wolf pelt, a trophy he had personally hunted in the land of Kryptonia.
"What's wrong? Don't you recognize me? I thought you knew it was me, that's why you came to greet me personally."
The deep, hoarse voice echoed across the lower deck, and Abaddon almost instinctively knelt down on one knee.
"War Commander!"