32. Before departure

The full moon hung in the center of the night sky, and a undulating mountain range bowed its back and knelt before its deadly magic, submitting to its power.

The raging summer has ended, and the deathly winter is slowly approaching. Gale-force winds, carrying icy chill, sweep across the clearing in the center of the valley, creating howls that sound like the wailing of ghosts...

Is this really the case? No one knows the answer, but the Fenris are superstitious, so those mortals who are fortunate enough to attend this farewell ceremony put on their most solemn clothes, bathed and burned incense before setting off, and wore the amulets of Mokai.

They stood silently, watching the wolves lay the coffins across the center of the valley. Few of the dead lay intact, quietly awaiting the flames.

Fenris has no custom of burial; even the greatest heroes are burned to ashes and scattered into the sea or carried away by the wind—people firmly believe that only in this way can they find peace after death and not be bound by their decaying bodies.

The wolf pack inherited this trait.

Flames quickly ignited, the scent of titanium wafting in the wind, mingling with the crackling sounds of corpses and coffins. Hundreds of solemn wolf faces were illuminated by the firelight, silently listening to the sound of death. No one spoke; memories of the dead were brewing in their hearts, but now was not the time for stories. Now belonged to the dead; they had finally returned to their homeland and deserved true freedom and rest as soon as possible.

Olde looked up and glanced at the moonlight.

He wore no armor, nor any heavy clothing to protect him from the cold; he wore only a single layer of clothing and a fur cloak. Like everyone else, his face was bathed in the pure white light of the iron flames, even his signature crimson eyes were dimmed.

How many people died? Someone will always ask that question, and this event will surely be remembered by the wolf pack... So, how many people actually died?

The answer is 598.

After removing the wolves whose injuries were too severe to be transferred to the Dreadnoughts, the wolf pack lost a total of 598 people.

This is a tragic number. The sons of Ruth have never recovered since the end of the Great Rebellion. Their numbers have never been large—partly because they can only select new recruits from Fenris, and partly because they do not evade any call to arms... Moreover, in the past ten thousand years, the wolf pack has never truly had a chance to rest and recuperate.

They are indeed warlike and skilled in warfare, but how can they grow stronger through war? War only devours lives, it does not nourish them.

Therefore, the wolf pack now has only 1,120 members left.

The loss was considerable. Even though they did not follow the number of people limited by the seemingly unpopular Astartes Codex, the death toll of nearly six hundred people was still terrifying... especially since most of them actually died in the sudden orbital bombardment, making it even more unacceptable.

The funeral ended just before dawn, and the wolves returned to their den.

Food was prepared early in Ete's kitchen, but almost no one went to sit in the long hall. Most people chose to vent their frustrations on the training field, while Old headed towards the small library. Logan Grimner had previously half-jokingly called him the librarian, which was an accurate nickname, since he spent most of his day there.

Everyone knew that if you didn't see the Dragon Slayer in his room, he was definitely in the library. Interestingly, Logan seemed quite pleased with this, even mentioning to the old priest that he wanted to entrust the task of binding the books to Ald.

Of course, he got nothing but a barrage of angry words.

Alder walked among the bookshelves and picked up a book made of animal hide.

He knew the layout of every book here like the back of his hand, and he had read this one many times, but he would still continue to flip through it whenever he had time... This is a work by Kasper Ansbach Hauser, which records many of his observations.

As a scholar whose footprints have covered most of the Milky Way, Hauser has a very broad perspective and unique insights into many things. For example, he believes that the exorcism charms widely circulated on Fenris actually originated from ancient Terra, and he had seen its original version during an archaeological expedition. Moreover, he believes that there have been many symbols and patterns related to eyes throughout human history.

For example, he believed that the future of the empire was not optimistic.

"...What the wolf pack did on Prospero was just the beginning, but I only realized now that it was part of some grand conspiracy to tether the Sons of Fenris, keeping them busy and unable to participate in the truly important war."

"For a mortal like me, this is simply unbelievable. Only a god could accomplish such a terrifying feat. Can you imagine how many lives, how many worlds, have been passively and unknowingly become part of this conspiracy? I certainly can't, but I'm not a complete idiot either; I've learned one thing from it."

"God, evil spirit, lord of the underworld—whatever you call it, it doesn't matter, because it truly exists and is toying with us."

"Therefore, I believe the future of the empire will not be bright. Just consider this the ramblings of a foolish and stubborn old man, but if you decide to read on, then I will have to pour these churning thoughts of mine into your mind..."

"I believe that darkness will prevail. Corrupt bureaucracy will regain its dominance, and people will live in a hell of exploitation and being exploited every day... I am not a prophet, nor do I possess extraordinary wisdom, but I am a historian, and I know that these things have been repeated time and time again in human history."

"But no matter what, I hope these things don't happen."

"I'm afraid they've all happened," thought Kasper Ansbach Hauser, closing the book.

At this moment, everything that had happened on Amegiddton flashed before his eyes: the chaotic, nightmarish structure of the hive city, its pitifully small residential areas and unbelievably large factories, the emaciated civilians before they were killed...

And the courtroom.

This institution, which held the power of life and death over the vast majority of people in the empire, was riddled with factions and cliques. Besides, he had heard many things from Inquisitor Annika that explained why the Inquisitors seemed so ruthless and indiscriminate in their killings—ultimately, it was simply because they dared not gamble.

If the gamble goes wrong, it could mean the deaths of hundreds of billions, trillions, or even trillions. Ald had no real sense of these astronomical figures; at its peak, his civilization had only a population of ten billion. But he had seen the countless corpses in the ruins of Amegiddon's hive, and he could imagine the demonic tide sweeping across several worlds or even several star sectors—a sight no one wanted to witness.

He put the book back on the shelf, pondered for a moment, found a wall, sat down against it, slowly closed his eyes, and let his thoughts sink into his heart.

The next day, he found Logan.

"I understand." The alpha wolf glanced at him, then spoke first as if it were divine intervention. "You're planning to leave Fenris and explore other parts of the empire, aren't you?"

Old frowned, remained silent for a long while before answering, "...Is it that easy to guess?"

Logan shrugged and gave a strange smile.

"You're usually expressionless, so once you have a thought, it's written all over your face. Don't you know that?"

Ald took a deep breath and said seriously, "Now I understand, and I will improve."

Logan quickly waved his hand: "Let's not change it. Now listen to me, where are you planning to go?"

"Aren't you going to stop me?" Ald asked.

"Why should I stop you?" Logan asked, bewildered. "Didn't I say from the beginning that you're just traveling with wolves? What right do I have to restrict your freedom? Now tell me, where are you going?"

"Macurag in the 500 Worlds of Otrama".

Logan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Interesting, but why?"

"A soldier from the Armageddon Steel Legion told me that he had once read a travelogue about Macragge in the newspaper. The journalist said it was different from most of the Empire's world, prosperous and thriving. I have seen the necessary evils of your time, Logan, and now I want to see a place that is said to be second to none."

The alpha wolf laughed, then shook its head.

"I think you probably won't be disappointed. Although I don't like our blue and gold cousins, they are indeed very good at governance and development, which is quite different from us... However, I'm afraid the more you see, the more disappointed you will be."

Why?

"Because Macragge is an exceptional case among exceptional cases," the alpha wolf replied calmly. "It provides its people with many luxuries that most people in the world cannot afford. And once you've seen the light, how can you endure the darkness?"

Olde smiled, a rare occurrence for him.

"You're worried," he said in a declarative tone. "You think I won't be able to tolerate the Empire's political system and might do something that could lead to us turning against each other in the future."

Logan looked at him silently. Wolf eyes and red eyes met, but Ald simply smiled.

“Don’t worry, Logan,” he said calmly. “You seem to have forgotten that I am the orphan of an ancient civilization. It made a ridiculous mistake, which led to its destruction, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have its glorious and beautiful moments… I have already seen the light, my friend.”

The alpha wolf chuckled silently.

"You old fogey," he said, shaking his head with a laugh. "Before you became a soldier, did you do any kind of academic work? You sound like an old scholar to me."

"No, but I do read whenever I have free time."

Logan scoffed. "No wonder you're always there..."

He was about to say something more when a wolf guard walked in from outside the stone chamber and reported in a deep voice, "The two wolf lords are fighting on the arena. Lord Krom started it."

Logan frowned. "What did he do now?"

"Lord Krom said that whoever could defeat him would receive ten barrels of his treasured mead, even in close combat. Lord Thunderfist won, but he refuses to acknowledge the victory."

"That damned scourge..." Logan's face twitched. "Ruth, let him drink himself to death."

The Wolf Guard ignored this and continued his story—he also brought up the aftermath of the Battle of Amegiddon: Annika Jastutier sent an encrypted message saying that the Kisnaros case would be reviewed a second time within a calendar month by the disgruntled Highlord Council, who were also very unhappy with the time they had wasted on Amegiddon.

The Grey Knights, through psionic means, submitted fragments of Grandmaster Joros's final memories before his death. Several High Inquisitors have already reviewed the records, but most have chosen to remain silent. However, it is said that a representative of the Inquisition within the High Council has decided to personally handle the matter.

"What's this representative's name?" Logan asked.

"Judge Annika didn't reveal anything," the Wolf Guard replied. "She only said that she is a trustworthy and respectable person."

The alpha wolf smiled meaningfully, offered no comment on the statement, and then waved his hand, signaling that the wolf guards could leave.

As the heavy door slowly closed, he turned his gaze to Alder and said, "You're going to Macragge, but we can't send you there directly. The wolf pack's warships approaching our cousins' small empire without any orders or requests for support will cause some political misunderstandings that I don't want to hear..."

He emphasized the word "politics" when he said it. Older didn't understand, so Logan had to explain with a long sigh.

“They’re very different from us, really, brother, very different.” Logan held up a finger seriously. “These Robert Guilliman clerks are all about politics…! They’ll link everything to it.”

"Clerk?"

"Hey, it was just a joke," Logan said, then quickly added, "Don't yell that when you see them."

Old nodded: "Of course, I'm not stupid."

The alpha wolf looked at him strangely, then coughed.

"...In short, I will arrange for someone to take you to the nearby Imperial transit station, where you can use my name to charter a ship bound for Macragge and then board it. If anyone asks why you left the pack, just say you are a lone wolf*(1). But before that, I want you to promise me one thing, Ald."

"What is it?" Ald asked. "Shouldn't you only change forms as a last resort? I promise—"

"—No." Logan interrupted him softly. "I want you to come back alive."

Olde paused visibly for a moment, then nodded.

"I promise you, I will come back alive."

"Very good." Logan smiled slightly. "Remember, Fenris will always welcome you back, after all, it is your home... your former home."

Upon hearing this, Ald looked down at the ground, as if trying to see through the layers of Et, the thousands of meters of soil and rock, and then see the deserted city. Of course, he couldn't see it, even with the power to destroy the world... and even if he could see it, not a single lamp would be lit in that dead city anymore.

But Ete will.

There will always be someone waiting by the fireplace inside the wolf's den.

(Volume 1, End)