"This is what Father specifically ordered me to bring back from the Far East—these bears. Over there, they are known as 'Iron-Eating Beasts,'" said Leman Russ, the Primarch of the Space Wolves, as he approached Ryan. "Father said these creatures have existed for over eight million years. They've been extinct on Holy Terra, which he deeply regrets. But this world still has them, so he commanded me to bring a pair back. He's figuring out how to send them to Terra."
"Father likes pandas that much?" Ryan crossed his arms, feeling a rare warmth in his heart upon seeing the pandas. "Is he planning to change the Imperial Aquila emblem to this panda instead? Hmm? And for the Custodes, their helmets can be panda heads, and Vulkan's chest Aquila can turn into a panda face too."
"You brat, what right do you have to comment on Father's decisions? Just do your job," Russ retorted with a mocking tone, clearly unimpressed.
Ryan shot him a sidelong glance but decided to ignore him entirely.
Russ, annoyed and on the verge of snapping, remembered how the Emperor had berated him in a dream, and his fiery demeanor deflated somewhat. He grudgingly continued, "In the Far East, these creatures are revered as divine beasts. They typically live up to six centuries, with some even reaching a thousand years. They're incredibly intelligent. Don't be fooled by how cute and roly-poly they look. When I found these two in the high mountains, do you know what they were doing?"
"What?" Ryan asked casually.
"They were munching on a chimera's corpse," Russ replied with exasperation. "And one of them even spat a fireball at me!"
"So how did you get them to follow you?"
"The Iron-Eating Beasts are widely worshipped by the Cathayans and Nipponese. They're considered symbols of strength and longevity. Although they rarely harm people, they have a strong inclination to hunt down and kill vile beasts. They're exceptionally sensitive to Chaos and utterly hostile to it. Over time, humans came to love these bears because they protect the forests. People started offering them food as tribute, and the bears grew accustomed to humans, recognizing their goodwill."
Russ shook his head as he explained, "When I demonstrated my strength and proved I could provide enough food, two young ones from the group agreed to leave with me."
"But... pandas are supposed to eat bamboo, aren't they?" Ryan said, puzzled.
"Bamboo? Are you joking?" Russ huffed indignantly. "Iron-Eating Beasts love honey and fresh milk the most, followed by meat and all kinds of sweet fruits. They'll only resort to eating plants if they're absolutely desperate."
"Oh, right!" Ryan slapped his forehead, realizing his mistake. Pandas were bears, after all, and bears were omnivorous by nature.
In his previous life, pandas had evolved to primarily eat bamboo because they were lazy, sedentary, and inefficient hunters. But even then, they wouldn't pass up a chance to eat meat—especially bamboo rats, which were essentially large rodents that ate bamboo roots.
In this world, pandas had mutated under the influence of Chaos Winds. They were massive creatures, standing over two meters tall when upright. They were long-lived, powerful, and could even breathe fire. Naturally, there was no need for them to stick to a bamboo diet anymore.
"Look at this! My favorite Icefield Wolf! I found her on the Kurgan steppes!" Russ said excitedly, pointing at a large wolf nearby. "Isn't her fur magnificent? Her outer coat is gray, but the fur along her neck and belly is pure silver. I named her 'Texas.' This wolf is my greatest find in the Far East!"
"Alright, Texas it is," Ryan said with an eye-roll. "Next thing you'll tell me you've got wolves named SilverAsh, Lappland, and Blaze. Anyway, I'm going to inspect the spoils of this war now. You said you'd compensate me, so be ready."
"Sure. When you're done, come find me in the dwarven refuge mine. I've stored everything there," Russ replied, his irritation evident as Ryan brushed him off. "If you don't care to listen, I'll just talk to Vulkan about it later."
"Davout, Raymond, where's Bertrand?" Ryan asked, noticing his two officers among the crowd watching the pandas.
"The Marshal is attending a meeting inside Bull Fort. Lord Regent Louen and Lady Morgiana are also present," Davout replied. The deputy commander of the Old Guard reluctantly tore his gaze from the pandas. He was holding a chicken drumstick.
"Alright, you two gather a few men and follow me," Ryan instructed with a smile. "And just give the drumstick to the panda."
Davout and Raymond saluted and acknowledged the order. Carefully approaching one of the pandas, Davout extended the drumstick. The panda sniffed it, took it in its mouth, and then used its paw to pat Davout on the head in what seemed like a gesture of thanks. With a single bite, the panda crushed the drumstick, meat and bone alike, and swallowed it whole.
"Delicious!"
Five minutes later, the heavy doors to Bull Fort's central meeting hall were pushed open.
Ryan strode in, followed by a formation of twenty Old Guard soldiers.
Seated inside were Elector Count Vamir von Zhukov, Elector Count Boris Todbringer, Reiksmarshal Kurt Helborg, Butcher King Agrim Ironfist, the Fay Enchantress Morgiana, Kingdom Regent Louen Leoncoeur, and Old Guard Marshal Bertrand.
The council was discussing two main issues:
First, how to proceed with the war. Though Chaos forces were in disarray after the death of their Everchosen, eradicating or driving them out of the Empire would still require many battles.
Second, how to distribute the spoils of war.
"We've tallied the loot from the Chaos camp," Boris began. "It amounts to 83,000 Kislevite gold ducats, 156,000 silver dengas, twelve large chests of assorted gemstones and precious metals, and over 10,000 Imperial coins. After much deliberation, we propose the following distribution plan."
"Let's hear it," Ryan said, nodding slightly.
"Ostland has suffered the greatest losses in this war," Boris continued. "Preliminary estimates suggest that 65% of its adult male population has perished. Were it not for their sacrifice, the Chaos forces might have penetrated deep into the Empire's heartlands. Therefore, we propose allocating 30% of the spoils to Ostland for the relief of the bereaved, care of the wounded, and reconstruction efforts. Any objections?"
"None," the council members agreed unanimously.
"Next, Nordland and Ostermark will receive 20%. Nordland held back the Chaos armies from the Brass Keep, while Ostermark's Bekafen fought valiantly against both Nurgle and Tzeentch forces, preventing them from breaching Imperial territory."
Boris then turned his attention to Ryan. "Bretonnia's contributions have been invaluable. Your forces relieved Erengrad, spearheaded Operation Bagration with Kislev's troops, and defeated Norsca's High King Asvar Kul. Then you led your knights across the Empire, from the Battle of the Swamp of Sorrows to the Siege of Wolfenburg. For this, we propose allocating 30% of the spoils to Bretonnia."
The final 20% would go to Middenland, Hochland, and the southern Imperial reinforcements. A small portion, around 3,000 gold coins, would be returned to Tsarina Katarin of Kislev as a gesture of integrity.
By these calculations, Ryan's share came to approximately 25,000 Kislevite gold ducats, 46,000 silver dengas, three chests of treasure, and assorted precious metals—a total value of roughly 36,000 Imperial gold crowns.
While this was not an insignificant sum, it seemed modest given Bretonnia's outsized contributions. Ryan had personally led the expedition, committing nearly all of the kingdom's elite forces. However, Bretonnia's chivalric ethos and alliance with the Empire necessitated some level of restraint. Moreover, all provisions and wages had been supplied by the Empire, and Ryan was keenly aware of the political optics.
The council reached a consensus, and Ryan nodded in agreement.
With the meeting concluded, Ryan signaled Bertrand and Morgiana to follow him.
Ryan led them to the hidden dwarven refuge mines, where Russ was waiting.
Inside a secluded mine shaft, dozens of large chests lay neatly stacked.
"Here! Over here, Ryan!" Russ called out, standing beside the treasure.
As Ryan opened the first chest, a blinding golden light spilled forth, illuminating the room.
A mountain of gold coins lay within, each bearing the distinctive chrysanthemum and diamond patterns of Nippon's famed Kōshūkin.
"Eight thousand Kōshūkin! High-purity gold!" Russ declared proudly. "These coins alone are worth around 120,000 Imperial gold marks. Not bad, huh?"
"And there's more!" Russ continued, opening more chests. Inside were gold ingots, silver bars, and other treasures from the Far East.
By the end, Ryan was looking at a total of:
8,000 Nipponese gold coins (Kōshūkin) **1,100 gold ing
ots (17,000 taels)**
64,800 silver taels
"Where did you get all this?" Ryan asked, dumbfounded.
"Oh, I robbed a couple of military payroll caravans heading to Cathay's Western Protectorate," Russ said nonchalantly. "And a few major merchants' treasuries along the border. Just the rich ones, of course."
Ryan: "..."
This money felt a bit… tainted. He resolved to exchange and circulate it discreetly.
But as he stared at the treasure, Ryan's annoyance with Russ began to dissipate.
After all, we're brothers. No need to hold grudges, right? Especially when the compensation is this generous.
Later that day, Ryan announced that Bretonnia's share of the spoils—25,000 gold ducats and 46,000 silver dengas—would be distributed in full to the troops.
His generosity won the hearts of every soldier.
"Long live the King! Long live Bretonnia!"
"Long live Lady of the Lake!"
"Glory to Bretonnia!"
______
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