40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 168 29. One-Day War ([-])
Marius Gage wished he knew a word for both fear and anger, so that he could free his frozen mind at the moment.

He needs to turn his attention to something other than lingering in fear and anger.

But
"Report, we found no trace of him."

A report came from the communication channel.Gail didn't answer immediately, the pain left by the toxin still remained on his pale face.

Those primitive aliens in the Sanha underground of Harkosus have barbarism that technology has never set foot in. They are primitive, but they are by no means without minions to protect themselves.

"Continue to search." Gage reluctantly replied. "It's impossible for him to leave the ground."

"Understood." The person on the other end of the channel passed away in a hurry, and before he left, Gage could still hear the hurried footsteps.And after he left, only the rustling busy tone remained in Gage's ears.

The comm system had just been rebuilt, like Gage woke up from a coma for three hours.The only difference is that these instruments themselves are new and have just been used, while Gage is covered in bruises, and he is no longer as calm and rational as before.

He was sitting in a camp made of rocks and composite materials. The auxiliary troops were walking around, and the logistics staff were the busiest among them.They were all wounded, but they used their mortal bodies to build a new command post underground as if they were tireless, non-stop.

They had just survived the attack and driven the enemy to death, and then they were back underground, doing these hard things under the orders of Gage.The head of the first battle couldn't help but sighed.

The Auxiliaries were not unaware of the Primarch's disappearance, but most of them continued to work.The men and women who had conscripted from Macragge had an attitude that would put Marius Gage to shame.

They are fearless.Gage thought bitterly.

And we.
"Sir."

A new voice came from the communication channel, interrupting his thinking.Although it seemed a little distorted due to the distance, Gage recognized the owner of the voice.

This is Turio Kronos of the [-]th Company, a non-commissioned officer, a seasoned battle-brother with—

"—sir?"

".Yes, I am. Go ahead, Turio."

"My team and I found no trace of the Primarch, but we found something else."

Turio paused for a moment, and there came something strange and shrill from the echo on his side.

"The xenomorphs are primitive, sir, but they still have some kind of mature religious belief. We found many hidden altars and murals in one of the caves where they lived. Those altars"

"What happened to those altars, Tullio?"

"."

"Tulio?"

"Those altars are rotting," said Tulio Kronos. "Stone and bone are... rotting, sir. Terra and Macragge, I don't know how to put them into words. I suspect I may be in some kind of hallucination."

"Did the rest of your team see it too?" Gage straightened up and asked in a manner that could be called ruthless.

"Yes, they saw it too."

"Then this is not a hallucination, there is no hallucination that can make thirteen Ultramarines see the same picture." Gage said firmly.

"So those altars are indeed rotting. Destroy them, Tullio. It's just witchcraft, you and I both know, and witchcraft itself is no more immune to bombs than their users. We've tested that before. , isn't it?"

There was a burst of gunfire over the com channel.

"Now tell me, what are those murals about?" Gage continued.

His lips were thirsty, and there was a wave of eagerness surging in his heart.Don't get me wrong, Marius Gage certainly didn't care about the possible historical significance behind these altars and frescoes - he was an Ultramarine, not a demented scholar in the No. 15 Legion.

He asked these because he believed in Tulio Kronos.The [-]th company sergeant had been in the Legion almost as long as Gage, he could have been a company commander or something important, but he himself turned down the promotion, no one knew why, but they all wanted to respect him.

Gage knew that Tulio Kronos was not a random man.Since he would report these altars and murals through the communication channel, they must be related to the Primarch's whereabouts to some extent.

Gage didn't know where the connection was, but he'd find it.

He clenched his right fist, metal rubbed and crunched—yes, he would find that connection, just as he would find Robert Guilliman.

"Those murals."

Tulio Kronos gasped hesitantly, evasively, and paused for more than a few seconds—finally, he didn't let Gage's wait be in vain, and he spoke.

"Those murals were all depicting a garden, a... a dark green garden, and a person."

"who?"

"...I don't know, sir," said Tullio, with an almost imperceptible subtlety of emotion in his tone.

Gage caught it and understood it.He realized that Tulio Kronos was terrified.

He was terrified and angry—like Marius Gage.

Like all Ultramarines.

"Describe him."

Gage ordered.He raised his head and looked forward.

A simple communicator was hung around his neck, and a long cable was laid out from the ground, extending to a position in front of him.The logistics personnel in the auxiliary army are busy there, and they know nothing about what is happening in this communication channel.

Gage couldn't help but have a thought in his mind - if they knew, would they be afraid?Will they be like us?

He has no answer.

"...he wears blue armor, but is shifting to green." Tulio gasped, each uttered word struggling. "He is very tall, and he is walking on a...stairway, which is very long, and at the end is a vague and huge shadow."

"continue."

"He—" Tulio stopped here, and then fell silent.This time, he was silent for a long time.When he spoke again, his voice had changed. "—I believe the figure in that mural is a Primarch, sir."

Gage closed his eyes, using superhuman willpower to ward off the sharp sting in his head.In this moment, the fear is gone, only the anger remains.He opened his eyes, and felt a strange tremor crawling up from the depths of his bones.

well.

The head of the first battle took a deep breath.

Now, he has nothing to fear.

"Very well, well done, Tullio, now continue the search." Gage said deadpan. "He must still be underground. He can't leave here. We will find him."

"But, sir, those pictures—"

"—those paintings are not important at all, Tullio." Marius Gage stood up slowly, and he began to check his armor belt.

He got a new bolter, fully loaded.Four magazines dangled from the side of the arming belt.He tapped the magazine with his fingers once, twice, three times, four times.Then he spoke again.

"Robert Guilliman is still underground, do you understand, Turio? So we will find him, we just need to find him. The call for help was sent on the surface early in the morning, Nightfall and Resolute Resolve We're coming fast, we've got backup, we've got help, there's only one thing we need to do. We just need to find Robert Guilliman, that's all. So get that damn mural and altar out of your head , Turio."

"We're going to find him," Gage said.

He stared ahead, staring at the group of mortals who were still busy.His eyes gradually moved away, and he saw the auxiliary army standing guard, and saw more Ultramarines descending from the surface of Harkosus III.
For a moment, he almost thought he was still in Macragge.

Gage wasn't from Macragge, but that didn't stop him from loving the place.

He has seen his Primarch and his Legion together turn it into one of the few treasures in this galaxy, Macragge is civilized and progressive, the citizens live in a good world, so they are full of courage , they have no fear.

They believed in Robert Guilliman.

Just like him.

"I see, sir," said Tulio Kronos, and he hung up.

　One more chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)