In the name of the Primarch, he would destroy hundreds of worlds, turning a tranquil and prosperous solar system into a dead land. Any world infected by aliens, regardless of its resource value, would have its ecosystem completely destroyed upon discovery to prevent the survival of any eggs.
The nine clan leaders trembled at the sight; just this decisiveness and spirit meant the Warrior King feared no criticism, nor did he fear his glory being tarnished.
The Imperium of Man used extermination orders with extreme caution, as the destruction of every habitable planet was a significant loss of property for the Imperium.
Destroying hundreds of worlds in one go, such a ruthless decision, no one dared to make it except the Emperor himself, not even a Primarch!
They turned their gaze to their Gene-Father, their eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
What an arrogant extermination plan!
Proposed by a Primarch, the Astartes dared not voice an opinion, only seeking help from their own Gene-Father.
"Hmph!" Ferrus snorted coldly, his gaze warning his sons, instantly sending shivers down the spines of the clan leaders.
"Brother, I fully support your plan," he said to Blazkowicz, turning his head without reprimanding his sons. "The Ganas Worms are too dangerous; their threat is no less than the Rangdan. Complete extermination is the only way to show respect."
"Before the extermination plan begins, we need to blockade the void, not letting a single alien escape, and completely wipe them out."
"I think," Ferrus's stern expression softened into a smile towards his brother, his rough voice gaining a gentle quality, "this is also the fundamental reason you sought external help."
"If it were just a clear-out war, merely destroying the alien regime, Argent Nur's strength could easily achieve it, without needing to seek outside military forces."
Ferrus's analysis was very clear, and it was also the reason he came from the void to help his brother. Upon receiving Argent Nur's astropathic broadcast in the Warp, he felt that things were not simple and immediately assembled his Legion, rushing to support without delay. As one of the Primarchs with keen strategic insight, Ferrus constantly monitored the void, collecting intelligence and focusing on information.
From the moment he learned that Argent Nur's fleet had once again departed from the Nur Stars to search for the Rangdan in the Ultima Orientis Segmentum, he could infer that his brother's fleet must be considerable in size.
The smoke of war between Blazkowicz and the Rangdan had not yet cleared, and both sides knew each other's strength. To dare to lead a fleet to actively attack and search for a powerful stellar empire, he must have sufficient confidence to gain the upper hand at the first contact.
Even leading a large-scale fleet, his brother still sent out a request for help, indicating that he must have encountered a difficult enemy.
Ferrus had a good impression of Blazkowicz; his brother was neither arrogant nor impetuous, a powerful warrior and a king, acting with great prudence.
Among his returning brothers, Blazkowicz had a very good reputation; though not liked by everyone, he was highly regarded.
The one who praised him most was Leman Russ. When they met in the Firepower Sector, that fanged and clawed brother couldn't stop talking about him.
Even the Lord of the Luna Wolves, the First Son Horus, gave a fair assessment of his brother after Blazkowicz took the Nineteenth Legion from his hands.
Horus did not hide the details of that unpleasant conflict, recounting the beginning and end to Ferrus.
Ferrus admired Horus's candor in revealing the inglorious past of his Legion and his own, and also respected Blazkowicz's benevolence and courage, his daring rejection of injustice, and his willingness to stand up and fight for the weak.
So he came, at the first moment he received the plea for help, abandoning many easily obtainable battle achievements, and bringing all his warships to support his brother.
His brother's heroic face was reflected in his eyes, and he finally added, "Eliminating the worms is urgent; this is the most efficient method."
Yes, efficient!
Ferrus carefully reviewed his brother's plan, and the conclusion he reached was efficiency. Only an extermination order could eliminate the Ganas Worms the fastest and end this war before it even began.
As a Primarch, Ferrus saw more clearly than most, understanding the immense threat behind the worm war.
The Imperium of Man must act quickly, eliminating the worms in the shortest possible time to avoid getting bogged down in a protracted war.
Because in the dark void, there was still a great enemy, the Rangdan, constantly watching the Imperium and stirring restlessly.
The terrifying aliens who mentally enslaved other races had spies embedded in the Imperium, observing the Imperium and paying even closer attention to the wars the Imperium encountered.
As an Old Terra saying goes—the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The Ganas Worms were not weak. If the Imperium could not eliminate them immediately and became mired in a long war of attrition, the Rangdan, hidden in the shadows, would inevitably act.
At that point, with the two strong forces uniting and attacking from both sides, the seemingly powerful Imperium of Man would be in danger.
"Yes," Blazkowicz nodded, gazing thoughtfully at the intelligence model before him. "The theme of this war is to eliminate the Ganas Worms with the fastest speed."
Blazkowicz was not surprised that his brother could see this point.
Ferrus excelled at multi-front attacks; he was a master who overlooked war from a high vantage point, and his strategic vision was extraordinary.
"This is the map provided by the worms," Blazkowicz opened the holographic image. "I conducted preliminary reconnaissance and found some hidden worlds."
While waiting for the fleet and reinforcements, Blazkowicz was not idle. He had Sophia send out messages, recalling many scout ships to conduct a systematic search of the "Ganas Solar System."
This was originally an unnamed solar system, but due to the presence of the Ganas Worms, it was named "Ganas Solar System." Such naming situations were common.
During the Great Crusade launched by the Imperium of Man, many star sectors were generally named according to local designations, or if unnamed, in commemoration of certain battles and events.
Within the Ganas System, Argent Nur's scout ships tracked the trajectories of Shaper Union vessels, using technical intrusion and other methods to locate dozens of hidden worlds.
These were the Ganas Worms' hidden reserves, meant to preserve the race's capital for a future resurgence in a potential war.
The darkness and ugliness of the galaxy instilled respect in any race that witnessed it; to survive, means of protecting one's race were indispensable.
Ferrus nodded slightly. Intelligence was the primary element of war, and his brother's preparations to completely eliminate the aliens were meticulous.
With a wave of his hand, he sent the intelligence to the clan leaders' information terminals.
It wasn't that Ferrus had any special abilities; he knew that with the means of a warship's AI, sending information to power armor was effortless.
The clan leaders received the intelligence, remaining motionless beside the two Primarchs. Inside their Terminator power armor, their consciousnesses began parsing the intelligence, selecting suitable tasks for their clans.
"What about the Xeno Homeworld?" Ferrus stretched out his iron hand and pointed towards the ground. Their homeworld was very prosperous, but he felt no pity, ready to pronounce its fate.
Blazkowicz was silent for a moment, with some apprehension in his heart.
Ferrus's arrival was indeed unexpected, disrupting his strategic deployment.
In the original plan, the supporting Legion would blockade the void, and the First Fleet would exterminate the alien worlds.
He himself would personally go to the Alien Homeworld to eliminate their "parents" and eradicate the source of the alien infection.
The father and mother, they exhibited psychic phenomena, possessing a certain symbolism that conformed to the characteristics of the Warp.
The Ganas Worms developed intelligence a millennium ago, then aggressively infected humans, spreading their symbolism to establish a civilization, proving that their intelligence appeared suddenly.
Any organism naturally acquiring intelligence requires hundreds or thousands of years of evolution, a long and painful process.
There are no low-probability events in the universe; natural evolution is a natural progression, with no shortcuts. So-called "sudden events" are inextricably linked to the great powers of the Warp.
The Emperor had repeatedly ordered Blazkowicz to conceal the existence of beings within the Warp from the other Primarchs. The time was not yet right, and it was not suitable to reveal the truth.
Entering the Alien Homeworld would inevitably lead to a battle with the Warp. How could the strange power of the Warp be concealed?
After a brief thought, Blazkowicz stared at his brother's stern, square face and said in a deep voice, "In the battle on the Xeno Homeworld, we might encounter unimaginable enemies."
"Unimaginable?" Ferrus was slightly puzzled, his face tightening in seriousness. "Do you have any specific description?"
He didn't understand what kind of entity could exist on the homeworld of a parasitic species that would make his brother give an early warning.
The brother before him was the Warrior King, the strongest warrior in the galaxy!
Ferrus still remembered the absolute martial prowess displayed by Blazkowicz and Fulgrim in their contest.
"Uh," Blazkowicz's face was conflicted, and he hesitated for a long time before formulating a suitable description: "Psychic beings, formed by psychic energy, twisted and terrifying, reflecting humanity's primal fears!"
"I am not afraid of them; I just find psychic beings very troublesome and defiling."
After several struggles, Blazkowicz used a suitable description, replacing terms like "demons" with "psychic beings."
"Then I must witness them!" Ferrus's expression relaxed, and he raised his hand, clenching his iron fist with a creaking sound, saying with a contemptuous tone, "Could it be that they can cut off my head?"
"That's not it!" Blazkowicz quickly replied. "It's just that they are elusive and difficult to deal with. You need certain Psychic means to handle Psychic Beings."
Although Warp Beings are troublesome, they are still no match for a Primarch.
Under the suppression of the physical universe, even the Four Gods' Greater Daemons or demigods would struggle against a Primarch, let alone kill one.
If a Primarch had the means to kill those lowly things, they wouldn't even dare to appear before him.
Blazkowicz explained to Ferrus, wanting to plant the concept in his brother's mind early to avoid him being caught off guard by the demons: "Their forms are ever-changing, without fixed existence, entirely composed of the terrifying impressions of creatures or races."
"Firearms are generally ineffective against them, while blades, fire, and Psychic powers are most effective."
Ferrus listened intently. As a pragmatist, he subconsciously asked, "What is their scale?"
Such bizarre enemies, which even his brother had to be wary of, naturally made Ferrus focus, wanting to understand more about them.
"The scale depends on the Psychic intensity." Blazkowicz tapped his finger on the table, his brain working rapidly to translate the Warp's laws into suitable language: "The stronger the Psychic ritual performed, the more Psychic Beings will appear."
"Among them will be powerful individuals, lesser entities, and some mental corruption—"
Ferrus listened with utmost seriousness. The beings his brother described were creatures of wondrous and ephemeral forms, their shapes derived from impressions, and their strength determined by the intensity of the Psychic ritual.
He quickly gestured for the clan leaders to record it, to be archived in the Legion's database, to prepare for future encounters with Psychic adversaries.
"How do you know about them?" Ferrus couldn't help but voice his confusion as his brother spoke eloquently.
"I have fought them before," Blazkowicz did not hide the truth, but merely provided a euphemistic account: "Some things do not appear in combat records."
"Oh?" Ferrus suddenly understood. He remembered his brother's combat records, those Psychneueins that wielded Psychic powers.
That makes sense!
It must have been in that battle that the Psychneueins used powerful Psychic powers to create Psychic Beings and fight against Blazkowicz's forces.
As beings that cause mental corruption, it was possible that no written records were kept after the battle, and even memories might have been erased through means like brainwashing.
"We will launch a joint surprise attack, fighting side-by-side to eliminate the Ganas Worm."
To prevent his brother from refusing, Ferrus extended his iron hand and offered an invitation: "I want to witness those creatures firsthand."
Blazkowicz, of course, could not refuse Ferrus, even though he knew it was a trap of camaraderie.
He gave a helpless smile, extending his hand to grasp his brother's iron hand: "We will fight side-by-side. Do you need me to provide you with any weapons?"
This was not a joke. If Ferrus needed them, Blazkowicz would provide him with weapons.
Once demons appear, their scale is either small or immense.
A small scale means that the great power behind the worms is isolated in the Warp, with limited supernatural power at its disposal.
The worst-case scenario is that the "parents" of the Ganas Worm, who have deep ties to the Warp, choose to sacrifice mortals to gain Chaos's help.
If, in a short time, the parasitic worms devour a large number of mortal brains and sacrifice mortal souls, it will be a terrifying Warp invasion. The consciousness of billions of mortals on the entire planet will perish, and their souls will be sacrificed. This is a heavy gift sufficient to move any Warp evil!
The Warp is not only home to the Four Gods; while they might remain unmoved, other demigods and Warp Beings are different.
They crave souls, wanting to devour them to gain power and secure a place in the Warp.
Billions of mortal souls are enough to tempt even the most timid ambitious individual to cross the veil and feast.
Then, a large number of Warp Beings will trigger a series of chain reactions, Warp-ifying the territories of the physical universe, leading to a chaotic free-for-all!
Therefore, he needed to arm his allies to cope with a potential Warp outbreak.
The Iron Hands Legion, with its eighty thousand Space Marines, is an incredibly powerful force; armed, it could make demons tremble.
Ferrus, of course, was unaware of the gravity of the situation. He merely took it as his brother's joke and disdainfully said, "Brother, you underestimate me a little!"
He pointed to a clan leader and said to the void, "Lady Sophia, please read the Legion's armament information within his armor and display it graphically."
On Terra, Ferrus had met the artificial intelligence called Sophia, and he had even conversed with her.
The void remained silent, but on their desktop, a holographic data display appeared, clearly outlining the Iron Hands Legion's armaments.
Blazkowicz's gaze swept over it. With the Primarch's powerful memory and analytical abilities, he processed the data in seconds. The sheer volume of data contained within astonished him.
In just a few years, under Ferrus's leadership, the Iron Hands had been forged into a heavily mechanized Legion.
Various heavy and super-heavy vehicles were countless, and the degree of mechanization far surpassed that of an average Legion. The technology unearthed during the Great Crusade was not shelved but invested in enhancing the Legion's combat power.
Leaving aside other armaments, there were five thousand elites wearing Terminator armor, and the number of Legion Dreadnoughts was also extraordinary.
Boltguns and other standard Astartes weapons were not mentioned; half of the Legion's soldiers were armed with power weapons!
After analyzing the data, Blazkowicz's gaze towards Ferrus changed, filled with deep admiration.
The armor and firepower possessed by the Iron Hands were unmatched among the Imperium's Legions; their individual firepower was only slightly inferior to the Space Wolves.
The Space Wolves had acquired individual equipment from Argent Nur, greatly enhancing the Legion's armaments, allowing them to surpass the Iron Hands, but their armored firepower couldn't compare.
Russ appeared wild but dared not act recklessly.
Ship modifications and individual weapons were the Adeptus Mechanicus's limit of tolerance; he could not cross the Adeptus Mechanicus's bottom line.
Argent Nur Stars' technology is powerful and indeed very useful, but Argent Nur is far away, and the Adeptus Mechanicus is right here.
If the Space Wolves were only responsible for the Halo Stars, Russ could immediately kick the Adeptus Mechanicus aside and establish full cooperation with Argent Nur.
Unfortunately, his sphere of activity was the vast Milky Way.
The Legion's weapons and equipment required Adeptus Mechanicus supply and maintenance; he could not fall out with them—
And for the Iron Hands Legion, behind the impressive data, Ferrus's dedication to it was visible, almost entirely invested.
In this regard, Horus, who cherished his sons, was inferior to Ferrus. Horus preserved the lives of his sons by sacrificing other Legions, never thinking of solving problems from the root. He was accustomed to enlisting allies to provide him with help and acquiring armaments from the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Ferrus, through technological means, increased the proportion of war machines in the Legion, not relying on others, yet better protected the lives of his sons.
"You are truly remarkable!" Blazkowicz was stunned by the impressive data and gave his brother a thumbs-up, expressing sincere admiration: "Your talent benefits the entire Legion."
He could see that many technological applications and improvements had Ferrus's guidance behind them, or even his personal involvement in forging.
This was praise, and a highly valuable affirmation, causing the Primarch's guards and clan leaders to puff out their chests. His brother's heartfelt praise caught Ferrus off guard. He had never been praised like this before and felt a bit embarrassed, even awkwardly scratching his head.
His father, the Emperor, had always only praised his conquests, never affirmed his talent.
And the praises of the Legion's sons were based on the belief that a Gene-Father should be so, that as a son of the Emperor, he should be great.
He truly should be so, dedicating himself silently, giving everything for the Imperium of Man, and he had no complaints about it.
But this praise, unmixed with any ulterior motive, pure to the extreme, struck Ferrus's heart like a heavy hammer.
Suddenly, he felt like a mortal at this moment, no longer a ruthless conqueror, nor a demigod in the eyes of mortals and his sons.
"Thank you." Ferrus wanted to say it but didn't.
He was a Primarch; he couldn't show his weak side, with the Legion's soldiers watching.
"Our talents should serve humanity." Ferrus lowered his hand and picked up a fruit from the fruit bowl on his lap, masking his emotions.
Blazkowicz deeply agreed with his brother's words. They were created by the Emperor for the revival of humanity; using their talents for humanity was a fundamental responsibility.
"Since there are no problems, let's begin deploying the troops and prepare to eliminate the Ganas Worm!"
"My Legion is here for this!"
The two Primarchs rose and went to the bridge terminal, putting the plan on paper into action.
In the extermination plan, the ships would break down into smaller units, heading into the void to blockade various star systems, cutting off the Alien's escape routes.
The Doom Slayer and the Iron Hands Legion would attack the Alien Homeworld, first drawing the Ganas Worm back for reinforcements, consuming most of the enemy forces, and then extensively using the Exterminatus after destroying the Alien Homeworld.
"Besiege the point to strike the reinforcements?" Ferrus said softly. "You like to use such tactics to wear down the enemy's main force."
(T/N : I'm sick so all I did this weekend was watch a lighthearted anime to cheer me up, Re:Zero)