"So this is the Warp?"
Bruce sat in the command seat, lost in thought.
As a transmigrator, he had long heard that every Warp voyage was like taking a shortcut through the underworld. You never really knew what you might run into.
And after his previous clash with Tzeentch, Bruce had been especially worried that the Remilia might end up stranded in the Warp forever. After all, that damned bird was notorious for being petty—petty enough to rival certain other people whose minds were just as narrow.
But in the end, nothing happened.
Everything was normal.
Aside from the occasional strange noises whispering at the edge of his hearing, this wasn't all that different from ordinary interstellar travel.
Still… those sounds felt oddly familiar.
Bruce frowned and listened again and again, trying to identify them. It was a woman's voice—sometimes screaming, sometimes laughing like a madwoman—and yet somehow, it sounded incredibly familiar.
Who the hell is that?
Why does she sound so stupidly familiar?
"Acting Commander, you seem uneasy," Alfred said with some concern.
As the ship's Librarian, he observed everyone on board closely. If there were even the slightest sign of Chaos intrusion, he was supposed to serve as the fuse that blew first.
Yet for some reason, this voyage had been unbelievably stable. Normally, even on a good run, the ship would attract at least a few glances from the Warp, or some daemon would try to press close.
This time, though, it was as if the things in the Warp were actively afraid of something and were deliberately steering clear of the Remilia.
He had never seen anything like it.
"I'm just… not used to it yet, I suppose. It's been too long since I last made a Warp jump," Bruce replied.
Besides that strange woman's cries, he could also hear furious roaring from somewhere far away, along with faint rustling noises like insects crawling, and indistinct whispers he couldn't quite make out.
"I see."
Alfred nodded, immediately understanding—or so he thought. In his mind, Bruce's discomfort was simply the result of inexperience. It was a little surprising, but still understandable.
He really hadn't expected this Acting Commander to have so little Warp transit experience.
Emperor above—how exactly had someone like him been chosen by the Primarch?
"But there's no need to worry, Acting Commander. The route between Nostramo and the Davin system is a core passage. It's an established corridor, and the navigational data is complete."
"Unless the Geller Field malfunctions, there's nothing to be concerned about."
And even if something did go wrong, then so be it—they would just fight the daemons head-on. After all, they were traveling as part of a fleet, following the Invincible Reason. As long as they weathered the storm and dropped back into realspace, everything would be fine.
"So that's how it is…"
Bruce raised a brow, still not quite comfortable—especially with those weird voices echoing in his ears.
"You'll get used to it after a few more Warp voyages, Acting Commander," Alfred said, still trying to reassure him.
In Alfred's view, Bruce was simply suffering from classic "new recruit nerves." They were on a proper route, had an Astropath, and were being led by a Gloriana-class flagship. What could possibly go wrong?
Only some lunatic drifting off-course into a Warp storm would be in real danger.
To put it bluntly, even a slapped-together smuggler's vessel with nothing but an unregistered psyker at the helm could probably survive a route like this.
And they were the real thing.
An Imperial military fleet.
A joint task force.
"If Acting Commander is really feeling that bad, I could always give you an injection," Warfarin offered, raising a hand. "Sleep through it and you'll feel much better."
"No need. This is a rare experience, after all. Like Alfred said, I'll get used to it eventually."
After coming to the Warhammer universe, Warp travel was one of those things he absolutely had to experience at least once. How could he shrink back from it just because his body was a little uncomfortable?
"Come to think of it…"
Bruce looked around. Other than the Astropath and Navigator seeming slightly tense, everyone else appeared completely normal. So he couldn't help asking:
"None of you hear any strange voices?"
"Strange voices?" Alfred echoed, puzzled.
What voices?
If anything, this had been the quietest Warp voyage he had ever seen. No daemons shadowing the ship. No malicious attention pressing against the hull. No sign whatsoever of attempted intrusion.
The others felt the same. None of them had any idea what strange sounds their Acting Commander could possibly be talking about. To them, this was an extraordinarily smooth and silent passage.
"Forget it. Must just be my own problem."
Bruce shrugged it off, signaling for them not to worry.
Since no one else was acting strangely, there was only one conclusion—
the problem was probably him.
Still, Bruce found it odd, not alarming. He knew the Emperor's blessing was inside him.
And if something really did happen, he wasn't exactly going to die that easily. At worst, he would just fight whatever horrors the Warp threw at him.
Since the Warp had no fixed sense of time, Bruce had no idea how long the voyage lasted. All he knew was that when the voices in his ears finally began to fade, he realized they were about to leave the Warp corridor.
Then came the internal announcement:
the Remilia was preparing to re-enter realspace and arrive at its target.
And that, ironically, was often the most dangerous stage of all.
A great many things had to be confirmed during re-entry.
Transitioning from the Warp back into the material universe required time for self-checks, for verifying the date and location, and finally for re-establishing contact with the other ships in order to confirm overall status.
The Remilia completed all of that first.
Its inspections showed no hull damage, all systems functioning perfectly, and every mortal crew member on board in excellent condition, with no sign whatsoever of Chaos corruption.
Even on a regular route, crew mutations and corruption during Warp transit were still fairly common. For a ship like the Remilia to come through without a single loss was unusual, to say the least.
"Report, Acting Commander: the Remilia is completely intact. The transit was exceptionally smooth," Alfred said.
"Good. Send a summary report to the Invincible Reason and the Raven's Claw as well."
At the same time, Bruce took out his map tool and checked Erebus's position again.
And now the advantage of being closer to the Davin system finally came into play.
The Warp might have no objective time, but their route was based on actual navigation data. No matter how you looked at it, they had still arrived ahead of Erebus.
While the fleet was already in position around the Davin system, fully deployed and ready, Erebus was still drifting through the Warp.
That gave them the initiative.
And in the time it took Bruce to confirm the target's location, the status reports from the rest of the fleet began pouring in.
Most of the ships had taken some damage: system strain here, a few mutated crewmen there.
But those were all manageable problems.
Damaged equipment could be fixed as long as it wasn't completely destroyed.
As for the people warped by the Warp…
A quick death, then disposal. Simple enough.
All things considered, though, the voyage had not turned into one of those classic over-the-top disasters where half the fleet gets chewed apart by the Warp the moment the story begins.
"Report, Acting Commander! The Invincible Reason has issued orders!" the Astropath said respectfully.
"Speak."
"The Primarch orders us to spread out into formation. The coordinates have already been transmitted. She also requests to know whether you possess any intelligence on the target's arrival time."
"Execute the order."
Bruce paused, then added:
"Reply to the Invincible Reason: I only know that the target is still in transit. No exact arrival time."
"Yes, sir!"
As orders from the Invincible Reason rippled through the fleet, the joint task force began to disperse, each ship moving into its assigned position.
Together, they formed a great net.
The moment the target appeared, they would seize it.
And to be safe, part of the fleet was also moving toward the flagship of the Sons of Horus—the Vengeful Spirit—to serve as the final line of defense for the operation.
No matter what, Erebus could not be allowed to make contact with the Sons of Horus.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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