40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 194 19. Winning is not the only purpose

"You have performed a very terrible feat," Van Cleef said. "At least I have no idea how to include this in the post-event report."

"Just report it truthfully." Khalil replied gently.

"That you assaulted a Primarch in public?"

"Do not."

"But you asked me to report it truthfully."

"You can change the wording slightly, such as education, teaching, teaching - or just go straight and write the beating. I think now that this is okay."

The first company commander sighed helplessly.

This mission was personally issued by the Markmaster Malcador. Whether before or after the name change, this was the first time the Night Blades received a direct order from him.Considering the position of the Seal Bearer, it is not an exaggeration to say that this task is the Emperor's intention to some extent.

But Van Cleef could always see more.

First of all, why would Malcador issue such an order?
He allowed the Night Blades from Nostramo to cross a small half of the galaxy and arrive at the planet called Coldibo.Why didn't he let other legions come who were closer?

Secondly, even in their heyday, it was impossible for the Night Blades to compare with the Iron Warriors in terms of numbers, not to mention that they only have 6000 people now.Although their fighting style is indeed an alternative and tactical reinforcement to the Iron Warriors.

However, everyone knows that Perturabo, the primarch of the Iron Warriors, is not a person who will listen to anyone's advice.He turned a deaf ear to the advice of members of the Trident Council he had formed, let alone advice from other legions.

With so many clues stacked up, Van Cleef could no longer regard this mission as so-called 'support'.

"Perhaps we should go back to the ground directly, instructor." After a short silence, the first company commander spoke in his unique tone without any pauses or fluctuations in his tone.

"Why?" Khalil asked.

"We should end this war quickly," Van Cleef said. "To be honest, I don't know what you did in the medical room just now, and I don't really want to know. But, in my opinion, Lord Perturabo will probably fight you again after waking up."

"You know him well, Van Cleef."

"The only use of living long." Van Cleef shrugged, showing a rare self-deprecating sense of humor. "Although I haven't seen many original bodies, I have heard many rumors."

"Rumor?" Khalil raised his eyebrows. "Would you mind telling me a few things?"

"Now?"

"Now."

".All right."

Van Cleef thought for a moment and then spoke again.It still had the same tone of voice with no pauses or fluctuations, but it didn't make people feel sleepy.

"The angels of the Ninth Legion will exchange and collect their father's paintings in private, some of them are drawn by themselves, and some are from some outstanding painters. They regard this matter as a kind of responsibility."

"It is said that they worked so hard just to create a work of art that better expresses the charm of Sanguinius. I don't know the real reason, but the painter who mentioned this to me said that he didn't think anyone could Touch with your paintbrush one-tenth of the Archangel's face."

"Yeah" Khalil nodded. "You're not doing this too, are you?"

"Of course not." Van Cleef replied calmly. "We just kill, we have no interest in painting or sculpture."

Khalil chuckled and said nothing more.

The Blood of Steel is truly astonishingly large - this kind of size is different from the maze-like width of the Night Veil. Its size is reflected in the wide corridors and long walking stairs that are everywhere.

Yes, it may seem paradoxical, but there aren't many elevators or fast-moving devices on this Queen of Glory ship.The only ones are placed in the gun deck or hangar. Areas like this used for main body passage do not have any elevators at all.

Also, there are no windows.

Paired with the iron-grey minimalist style, it looks no different from a prison.

"So, let's go on, who is the next rumor about?" Khalil asked with interest. "I'd really like to know more about this."

"Do you still want to listen?" Van Cleef asked slightly surprised. "I thought only Siani or Jairzinho would be interested in something like this."

"Of course I want to hear it." Khalil smiled. "But does Jairzinho like to hear this too?"

"He is the chief medical officer after all." Van Cleef said, emphasizing the word chief.Other than that, he didn't say much more.The first company commander stopped and frowned suddenly: "Instructor."

"It's okay," Khalil said. "You go to the landing deck first, Van Cleef, and take them back to the Nightfall."

"But."

"It's okay." Khalil turned his head and looked at the limping figure, his smile disappearing from his face.Van Cleef was silent for a few seconds, no longer hesitated, and immediately turned around and left.

The person coming was none other than Perturabo.

He came alone, still wearing the hospital gown.His forehead was swollen and his fingers were wrapped in thick bandages.He didn't walk very smoothly and seemed to be limping, but this was not because of something wrong with his legs and feet, but because of difficulty breathing.

Khalil broke some of his bones, some of which made breathing an agonizing ordeal.

However, none of this seemed to have any impact on Perturabo himself. There was no so-called expression on his face.In fact, at this moment, if the eyes that were staring at Khalil were covered, some people might think that he was dead.

Khalil stood there and waited for a while.When Perturabo came to him, he spoke again: "Is there anything else, my dear Perturabo?"

"."

"Son of Olympia?"

"."

"Ah, are these still not enough?" Khalil nodded. "So, what do you want me to call you?"

"As you wish." Perturabo gasped and spoke gloomily. "Foolish Perturabo, cruel Perturabo you may call them whatever you like, I will not deny them."

"But it's an insult."

"There is no insult in the face of facts," said the Primarch, straightening his back. "You can call me what you want, I will not deny the facts. I may be incompetent, but I am not shameless."

His body was still in pain, and Khalil could tell something was wrong from the frequency of his heartbeat.However, what really interested him was Perturabo's unconcealable torrent of emotions at this moment.

They invaded from the depths of his eyes like a tsunami. Although they were not really revealed, for Khalil who was looking at him, Perturabo's emotions could not be hidden at all.

Perhaps Perturabo had no intention of hiding it either.

Sad?Maybe.

Regret?There should be.

But the more overwhelming emotions are anger and disgust.His cheeks twitched, as did his lips.His teeth were clearly visible behind his lips, looking like a wolf trying to draw blood with its fangs.But his pinched nostrils and widened eyes made him look non-hostile.

After staring at each other in silence for five minutes, Perturabo finally spoke again.His voice was low and calm, forming an extreme contrast with his appearance.

"I'll prove it," he said. "I will prove it to Eltros."

"But he's dead."

"He didn't."

Perturabo twitched his cheek nervously. "I am his primarch, and I will not allow him to die, do you understand, Khalil Loharth? I don't know what hex you just did to me in the infirmary, and I don't care, but You listen to me. I will prove to Eltros that I am not who he says I am. I join the war because I am far better than ordinary people. They need my protection and my leadership. Not for gain. What damn recognition!”

"Even if it's from your father's approval?"

"He has recognized me a long time ago!" Perturabo growled. "He gave me his legion."

"Then, you led your legion to fight high-casualty, low-efficiency wars over and over again. Three recapture battles in sixteen months may sound bluffing, but the Iron Warriors have lost so far How many brothers do you have?"

Khalil twitched the corners of his mouth and smiled.This expression, used to express goodwill or malice, now fell into Perturabo's eyes, but it became pure nothingness.

He couldn't see any 'emotion' on Khalil Lohars' face. The smile seemed to be just a mask, but only those words were true.

"In other words, how many sergeants of Elteros have died on your orders, Perturabo?"

"I'll figure it out."

"Does it work? They're dead."

"I'll compile the statistics," Perturabo repeated.

"and then?"

Khalil put his hands behind his back and shook his head: "Then, what are you going to do, Perturabo?"

"You don't have to worry about this matter," Perturabo said coldly. "Now, have your men wait on deck. You and I."

"I remember I said, you have no right to order me, right?"

"This is not an order." Perturabo gritted his teeth and his eyes widened to the limit. "Come with me, Khalil Lohars."

After saying that, he turned and left.Khalil stood there, thinking for a moment, and finally informed Fel Zalost on the deck through psychic communication, asking him to bring the unfortunate news to his brothers.
-
"The Cordibo have a lot of forts, a lot of heavy firepower, and are very fanatical about it. I'm not interested in why they have such a tradition. I'm not a historian. I'm here to conquer."

"So they had only two choices, surrender or die. They initially sent a diplomatic envoy to try to communicate with me, but the envoy said something they shouldn't have said."

"You killed him?"

"No, I gave him two extra prosthetic legs." Perturabo said. "But that's not the point. Look here, Khalil Lohars."

He raised his hand and pointed at the screen in front of him.The holographic projection rippled along his fingers, showing a hint that it could be dragged.This is not an effect that can be achieved by common tactical sandboxes in the empire. There is no doubt that it is Perturabo's own modification.

In fact, all the machinery in this private tactical deduction room was made by Perturabo himself.In his words a few minutes ago, he 'dislikes junk full of stupidity and poor design'.

Whether they are garbage or not, Khalil is naturally opposed to it.But it was an irrefutable fact that Perturabo's creations were much better than those that Khalil was familiar with.

"Did you see it?" Perturabo asked breathlessly, his left hand still covering his chest and abdomen.

"This is my tactic with the Cordibo forts. They have made many forts along their shattered lands and planets, but these are in difficult places. Weapons, ammunition, and even basic food depend on a few of the largest fortresses to deliver to the planet."

"This is why I will extend the battle line so long. They like to defend the city and are proficient in defending the city, so let them defend it. We only need to cut off the transportation routes and occupy some key transportation hub fortresses to easily let them defend the city. They surrender!"

His eyes widened: "——Do you understand now?! They have no chance of winning!"

Khalil nodded slightly.

"Indeed." He folded his hands and said, standing next to the holographic projection. "But how many sacrifices will your Legion have? The Cordibo love heavy firepower, some of which even us find a little tricky."

"According to your tactical style, you can indeed win by facing them head-on and capturing the transportation routes and those fortresses, but how many people will you have to sacrifice?"

"."

Perturabo was silent, and there was a special look on his face that only a downtrodden person would have.He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but when he reached his mouth, he held back the words and spit out another sentence.

"This is none of your business." He forced himself to look proud. "There's nothing wrong with my strategy."

"So, is there something wrong with the Iron Warriors?"

"...they have no problem."

"Oh, that's strange." Khalil smiled. "A war destined to suffer heavy casualties, a commander who believes that he is right and his soldiers are also right - then, who is responsible for this destined heavy casualties?"

"I can win!" Perturabo clenched his right fist. "Are you going to deny this?"

"Of course I won't deny it, but what do you think of war, Perturabo?" Khalil wiped the smile from his face, and the emptiness that made Perturabo feel scared and angry at the same time Back again.

He raised his head slightly, as if looking at Perturabo, but also as if he wasn't.His eyes focused on Perturabo's shoulders, not his face.There was no longer any emotion in his words when he spoke, as if he was simply expounding a mathematical theory that everyone knew.

For example, 1+1 is equal to 2.

"You pulled me into your private tactical deduction room, and told me about your strategic direction, and the reason why you have drawn such a long line of battle. So, Perturabo?"

"I just want to prove to you that there is nothing wrong with my strategy!"

"You don't have to prove these things to me, and I never said there was a problem with your strategy. The purpose of war is to win, and I will not deny this. But winning cannot be the only purpose."

"If you keep fighting like this, you will indeed win, but it will only reduce the number of your legions by 40.00% or more. You have already seen the artillery fire fired from those fortresses. The terrain of Cordibo is mostly plains, and ours Heavy vehicles cannot be deployed at all.”

"Air raids can cause some problems for the fortress, as long as you are willing to send out ten Storm Eagles at the same time and endure that six of them may be shot down. The temporary defenses you built will not allow your legion to advance at all. , and there is no point in even advancing. The Cordibo people simply do not come out of their fortresses."

Khalil paused for a moment and saw with satisfaction that Perturabo's expression changed little by little.The imaginary pride disappeared, replaced by shocking whiteness.His breathing was rapid, and the hands covering his chest and abdomen began to sink deeper and deeper.

Khalil waited for a moment, and after a few seconds, he launched a long-planned attack.

"Since the beginning of the war, how many members of your legion have died under artillery fire without even seeing the enemy's face?"

Perturabo's body shook violently, and he suddenly felt a strong urge to nausea and vomit.He raised his right hand and pressed it on the projection sand table. The huge force caused the precious machine to be damaged immediately, and an electric spark burst out.

Broken pipes and cables were exposed between the twisted metal, his face and heart were burned between the beating arcs, and every cell in his body rioted.In a daze, Perturabo felt extremely weak.

He lowered his head to look at the sand table, which was strong enough to withstand bolters, and saw its embarrassed appearance at the moment. A confused and confused smile appeared on his face.

Steel, invulnerable steel.

After a long time, he spoke again.This time, he sounded nothing like Perturabo.

"So." the original body asked in a low voice. "What do you think should be done?"

"Does the great son of Olympia actually want to listen to my advice?"

Perturabo raised his head and glanced at Khalil.His face was pale, and there was a pungent burnt smell coming from the hand that was in contact with the iron table.

"Yes." he said. "There is nothing wrong with my strategy and tactics, that's what you said. So, how are you going to achieve my tactical goals without relying on frontal attacks? Do you rely on the 6000 people you brought to carry out airborne raids or stealth tactics? ?”

"No." Khalil shook his head calmly. "We have a better way, an old way. Can the Ironblood take over the Coldibo communications channel and broadcast?"

"can."

"That's enough," Khalil said. "But, like I said, Perturabo, what are you doing this for?"

The proud man from Olympia slowly gritted his teeth and refused to answer.

　There are three chapters left, 5k each
　　
　
(End of this chapter)