Chapter 101 Terra

"This is Terra," Horus said, his three-dimensional image appeared in the center of the table in the ship's command room, "the pearl of the galaxy, the center of miracles. The glory of mankind gathers here, and no gold, diamond, or jewel shines brighter than Terra..."

His introduction was interrupted by someone approaching.

Horus made way for another brand-new face to squeeze into the projection area. His rough golden hair was combed into a mixture of braids and loose hair. His armor was covered with rough long-haired animal skins and hanging bone-white animal teeth. His hands, which were not often washed, grasped the primitive brown wooden cup. The priceless Amasek wine in this wooden cup was just a sweet and sour juice that could be drunk in one gulp, not worth mentioning.

His mouth, which was grinning because of his wild laughter, hid sharp canine teeth that hinted at ferocity. The whole person was almost no different from a barbarian living in the ice and snow wilderness - if Magnus and Perturabo could ignore the deep scrutiny hidden in his sharp wolf eyes.

"These two are our new brothers, huh? "The wolf king reached down and grabbed the head of a gray wolf. He scratched the shiny hair on the wolf's neck and patted it gently, causing the wolf to lie down again.

"Father obviously wants all of us to become friends. What are your names?"

He deliberately retained a unique ambiguity in his voice, which made his Gothic language closer to the low growls and rolling roars that ancient tribes developed when taming wild beasts than a means of communication between civilized people. The noble status of the Primarch only proved that he was using this rough method to test the two new heirs of the emperor, observing their logic and thoughts in judging others.

"Magnus, from Prospero." Magnus' eyes fell on the Fenris rune on the beast skin hanging in front of the wolf king's breastplate in the three-dimensional projection, and frowned slightly. There is no doubt that it was a symbol of the use of psychic power in the tribal life of this wild wolf.

"I believe Horus introduced our name to you, Leman Russ. "Perturabo said, "Master of the Sixth Legion, Primarch of the Space Wolves."

Russ laughed cheerfully, "Riemann of the Russ clan." He emphasized his origins, and put down the wine glass on the masonry of the city wall, without spilling a drop of wine outside the glass, "From Fenris. It's a pleasure to meet you, Perturabo, Magnus. Don't listen to Horus's show-off, use your eyes to see what Terra looks like. "

Horus raised his eyebrows, "Then you can think of me as rehearsing how to welcome others to Terra, brothers. Today I am just a tour guide. "

Russ muttered something incomprehensible and stopped laughing. In the blink of an eye, his behavior changed completely, even though his clothes and hairstyle remained the same.

He drank the wine in his glass and looked thoughtfully at Magnus's right eye, which had just recovered from his injury. Then he noticed the simple but elegant golden spiral edging on Perturabo's uniform and his noble demeanor, which was completely different from that of a tribal wolf.

"I understand why Horus thinks highly of you, Perturabo. When he first met me, he talked about you within three sentences. "

"Don't be like this, Russ. If I didn't think highly of you, you wouldn't be able to enter this communication now. Horus smiled, "Look at us, a wolf king of winter and war, a lord who commands a country, a scholar with amazing intelligence, and a gangster. How can I think less of you?"

"Well, I'm still a student." Magnus said. Horus's praise made him feel unworthy.

"We all have a lot to learn." Perturabo looked towards Terra.

Looking down at this ancient planet from the universe, the orange-red and bright yellow lights lit up the continents in the dark night of half of the planet like scattered stars, while the remaining half of the planet was choking in the dark gray industrial smoke. The forests and oceans were gone, and the human home seemed to be swallowed and chewed by a beast of steel and rock, and then spit out in a completely unrecognizable state.

The vast number of starships were arranged outside Terra, and the different painted signs represented the surrender of many planets that had been incorporated into the territory of the human empire. They came here to worship the victorious Lord of Humanity, but the endless long team was more like participating in a pilgrimage to climb the holy mountain.

"When you get closer, you can see the crowds on the street." Horus said, moving the projection equipment to include the bustling streets outside the city wall in the image.

Countless people approached the palace wall by rail and on foot, although this cold and hard outer wall could not bring them any substantial benefits. They were merely chasing the glory of the Emperor, and the shadow of the palace walls blocked the turbid light that penetrated the smoke.

Hundreds of aircraft and listening devices formed a defensive network between the towering spires, scanning for possible dangers.

"Since my father began his expedition, there have been more and more people on Terra." Horus concluded.

Russ hummed a low song softly. Judging from the rhythm of the song, it might be a tune sung by sailors who hunted monsters and returned with a full load.

"It seems that we are going to make Terra more crowded." Perturabo frowned at the chaotic city shown in the picture without leaving a trace, and couldn't help comparing the Olympia he built with this place in his heart. "Has no one calculated the population limit here?"

He let his people live in a well-organized and glorious city, with mountains and breezes singing outside the city, and millstones and water wheels turning in the farmland. Many years ago, Morse described a beautiful Terra vision to him. He began to yearn for it before he knew it was the Emperor's Terra, but now that he was about to land, he missed Olympia again.

"Maybe the calculator didn't consider the issue of habitability." Horus said helplessly. "Anyway, my father said that after the Great Crusade, he would change these drawbacks again."

Magnus patted his arm, signaling Perturabo not to be distracted: "Look, the palace."

The golden outline appeared from the bright white halo at the edge of the earth. The palace that gathered the wealth and wisdom accumulated by all mankind for tens of thousands of years seemed to lift a corner of the universe's black curtain, shining the transparent light into the cracks of the dark reality, and little by little, with difficulty but persistence, expanding the cold but bright enough golden light.

Perturabo was silent at this moment. In this moment, he saw the shadow of the Lord of Mankind.

When he is free in the future, he hopes that he can still remember to fulfill his promise and bring the ocean back to this dry steel land for the Emperor. Becoming an architect, or even planning the scenery of a planet, seems to have always been his hobby, or dream.

At that time, he can review the most beautiful appearance Terra has ever had with Morse, and present this gift to the Emperor - yes, Perturabo thought, he should prepare gifts for everyone, and a better Terra should be used to dedicate to the Lord of Mankind.

Magnus could not forget the runes hanging on Russ. Prospero taught him a good lesson. He thought about how to remind his brother that psychic power is not safe, and he was worried that his rash suggestion would cause offense.

"Magnus?" Russ suddenly called his red brother.

The wolf king pointed to a string of animal skins hanging on his breastplate and asked directly, "What were you looking at just now?"

Magnus suddenly felt embarrassed. He didn't want to let his brother think that he was used to prying into privacy when they first met.

"These runes contain power." He said cryptically.

"Ha, of course." Russ picked up the string of animal skins with pride. "This is an amulet blessed by the rune priests of the tribe. Only the most brave and cautious wise men have the ability to dance with the storms of Fenris. But in your words, this is psychic power."

Horus looked at Leman Russ in surprise. Magnus's liking for Russ deepened because of his brother's honesty, while Perturabo saw a man who was far beyond the limitations of his barbaric appearance.

The cold of Fenris gave his brother a pair of cold eyes that saw through everything, turning him into a spear covered with wolf fur in the hands of the Emperor. He believed that when necessary, Leman Russ would pierce anyone's weakness.