Chapter 373: Carcharodons: Sobs
With his comrade-in-arms of many battles standing beside him, Huron hid his suspicion—which was tantamount to offense—deep within his heart.
"I am truly sorry."
Facing Huron's sincere expression, Phoros, touched, looked even more ashamed.
Even though the Burning Angel, Karna, often consoled them, saying they were merely catalysts for problems that would have existed anyway, and that perhaps their presence prevented greater losses in the future... If they could just harness this 'curse' correctly, they might fulfill their duty to protect humanity even better.
But the Lamenters really did seem to bring death wherever they went. They consumed this and that, to the point where even a Chapter as powerful as the Carcharodons found it hard to cope.
In the end, their activities had caused a lot of trouble for others.
"Sigh, no need to mention these trifles. As if those threats wouldn't exist without you," Huron said open-mindedly. The Lamenters were like an alarm system; if there was movement, it meant something was happening.
Before that, besides preparing well, there was only running away to avoid it. There was no need to be too harsh on these good brothers.
Even in their current state, Phoros was organizing the Lamenters to help the Astral Claws handle basic administrative tasks. Even if they weren't skilled, their foundation as Astartes was there. They were obedient and willing to work, a breath of fresh air among the Blood Angels successors.
Plus, with that bad luck buff, investigating corruption, bribery, and heresy was incredibly accurate, saving Huron from having to intrigue against his subordinates.
Fortunately, Dante hadn't snatched them away.
"What exactly happened to you in the Ghoul Stars?"
Noticing Phoros falling into mental anguish again, Huron decisively changed the subject.
Huron himself was curious. After all, flying from beyond the Astronomican's light straight to the Maelstrom was bizarre.
And now there was a passage left in the Maelstrom, looking like a big ring nested with a small ring.
"The war was nearing its end then. Only a few years of clean-up were needed," Phoros sighed, recalling their incredibly cursed combat experience.
"We chose to escort a Chartist Fleet equipped with the latest engines from the Dawnstar Sector out of the conflict zone. When we reached the edge of the system and bid farewell to the Chartist Fleet, preparing to head to the nearest resupply point, a catastrophic warp navigation accident occurred."
Phoros carefully recalled the scene at that time.
"For some unknown reason, before we could enter the warp, a warp vortex appeared in realspace. Then the fleet was swallowed. When the ships could observe the outside world again, we and the Chartist Fleet had arrived in the Badab System."
"So the loss of ships wasn't due to this reason?"
"Mm."
Phoros nodded immediately.
"In fact, if we had gone through warp travel, I can't imagine how the people of the Chartist Fleet would have survived."
Now the personnel of the Chartist Fleet were settled on a frozen planet on the edge of the Badab System, quarantined in bio-domes for observation to prevent possible Chaos contamination.
As for what happened in the Ghoul Stars...
Huron tacitly didn't ask about that part.
The losses were terribly heavy, the participants tight-lipped about the enemy, and a Chapter not on the roster had appeared in the expedition fleet that was supposed to consist of only two Chapters.
The Ashen Claws...
Huron didn't rashly interact with this Chapter, nor did he want to inquire. Instead, he simply reported to the Primarch and waited for arrangements.
He continued to lean on the command panel, closely monitoring the situation in the Maelstrom Zone. He ordered Librarians and the Astropathic Choir to communicate with Astartes Chapters and Imperial Navy units that had established stable contact with the Astral Claws, recalling those wandering forces to join the anti-terrorist work within the Maelstrom.
Are you kidding? He is now the Guardian of the Maelstrom. In the days of Ultramar, he would have been at least one of the Tetrarchs. He'd be crazy to give anyone leverage against him.
Staring at the reply from the Dawnbreakers, anticipation shone in Huron's eyes.
Hurry up and come.
The voyage lasted over a year.
As the fleet, mainly composed of Dark Angels, entered the Maelstrom Zone, Arthur also paid attention to the changes in this sector.
To be honest, compared to Dante, who had stood the test of time, Calgar, who was recognized by history, and the former T'au Empire territories now listed as new development zones jointly developed by the Dawnstar Sector and Ultramar, the one the Dawnbreakers worried about most was Huron.
Mainly because his criminal record was too severe; the trouble his rebellion caused the Imperium was no less than that of a Primarch's rebellion.
So both Romulus and Arthur paid extreme attention to Huron.
The fleet immediately entered areas slightly chaotic due to Chaos, pirate, and xenos threats. While assisting local military forces in dealing with traitors, they observed the state of the Imperial side.
The equipment of the Astra Militarum and Astartes units far exceeded the average level, and the logistics system configuration was also eye-catching.
Sisters Hospitaller dispatched by various Orders and medical units organized by the Maelstrom government were integrated into almost every regiment's logistics system. In addition to being equipped with ample medical instruments, each medical team was also equipped with small casting furnaces.
These small furnaces, usually from Forge Worlds, could consume a series of metals and other materials easily found in a battlefield environment to quickly smelt prosthetics matching amputees.
Although the quality was certainly inferior to those from production lines, they were things that could save lives on the battlefield.
Moreover, the allocation of a large number of Chartist Fleets made transportation and interaction between nearby star systems frequent, bringing ample supplies.
Reliable medical conditions and ample supplies kept the morale of the troops in these areas at a very high level.
It was evident that Huron was very dedicated to all aspects of the Maelstrom's construction.
"Capable people just lack a stage," Ramesses sighed on the Silent Vow, which had completed the purification of a planet a month ago and was now en route.
"Honestly, not inferior to Dante and Calgar at all."
Worthy of an existence who raised an army of over a hundred thousand in ninety years of rebellion.
"Provided someone keeps them in check," Arthur lowered his head to review a series of reports he had copied from the local planetary government. The Dark Angels beside him were obviously used to the chat between the Lord of Knights and Ramesses.
It contained data on planetary material allocation and fleet entry.
Through massive data analysis, quantifying information such as transport units, transport time, and capital flow, and building a model, one could roughly calculate the loss.
With Romulus absent, he could barely do this too.
The more loss, the lower the efficiency, and the more serious the corruption.
And Huron's tax investigation efforts were obviously terrifying.
Ramesses wasn't proficient in this, but he could still understand those numbers.
Using Astartes to check taxes was something Huron would do.
"The dragon slayer eventually becomes the dragon, I guess—"
He teased.
Before, he evaded taxes in the Maelstrom; now that he was the boss of the Maelstrom, no one under him could escape.
It was said he even set up an Efficiency Department, checking not only taxes but also government efficiency. If efficiency wasn't up to standard, he sent Astartes to restructure, making planetary governors want to die.
Sigh, forgetting his roots.
"This example is not quite appropriate," Arthur corrected: "You also have to look at the effect of the tax revenue."
These planetary governors hadn't failed to sue to Terra through connections. Anyway, the Maelstrom Zone's administrative division was half in Ultima Segmentum and half in Solar Segmentum.
But the High Lords, having tasted the sweetness, didn't care about that and instead encouraged Huron to increase his efforts.
It was a case of suffering in the Battle Royale themselves and not wanting to see peace and quiet outside.
"So no problem?"
Ramesses was still trying to communicate with Kahurangi.
The person seemed really dead, but the soul didn't seem to have entered the warp.
It seemed the experimental Stormcast technology he arranged before leaving had kicked in.
"Of course no problem."
Arthur finally put down the document, happy with such changes.
Not long after he sorted out what happened in the Maelstrom Zone, the detached fleet arrived at its destination.
Badab Prime.
784.M41.
Huron, who had been hoping for the stars and the moon, sending Librarians to communicate with Ramesses almost every day, finally waited for the Dawnbreaker Fleet in trepidation.
Because of the Lamenters' presence, he didn't mobilize too many civilians but gathered Astartes and Astra Militarum to prepare a welcome ceremony at the Badab military port.
Behind him were the Carcharodon veterans who had just completed the task of forming a scout company of a thousand men.
Eyes brimming with tears.
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