40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 223 48. A Deserter ([-])

Houguin, one of the Six Wings of the Dark Angels, the Deathwing's lieutenant felt his stomach churn.

His sword hovered coldly on his belt, its weight comforting him countless times, but not this time.His winged helmet rested in the crook of his left arm, waiting patiently like him,
The reason is because of the actions of the master and original body he swore allegiance to at this moment.

The lion of Caliban stared at him, no wave in his face, no muscles working, no skin quivering.He could hardly be called 'expressive' now.With his hands behind his back, he stood at the front of the long table supported by steel pine wood and observed Houguin.

The table was made from one of the tallest trees on Caliban, as tall as his primarch among them.But now, the gaze projected from those superior eyes was completely studying him, and could even be said to be cutting him apart with a scalpel.

Houguyin endured all this and straightened his back obediently.He revealed his heart and his neck to the original body.

His attitude was almost pleading.

The lion did not miss this matter. He withdrew his unbearably sharp gaze and began to formally inquire.

This was not the first time he had done this. Many people had accepted his inquiry long before Huguyin.

There is a door open in the corner of the audience hall. The door is black, as if it is made of stone, and the lines on it are very delicate.There are six recording machine servants in dark green robes writing furiously behind the door. They are surrounded by piles of handwritten documents. This is one of the proofs of what the Lion has done before.

"You swore an oath, Houguyin." The lion narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly. "You are not Caliban. You come from the homeland of all humans, but this does not prevent you from entering the Knights. Raise your left hand."

Hou Guyin did as he was told.

His primarch came forward after this and took his left hand.The ceramic armor blocked more touches, but it didn't stop the Lion from lifting Houguin's left hand.

He stared at the lieutenant's face and said: "Your palm was cut open by a sword. You swore on your own blood that you would protect the people. You will abide by every rule and restriction in the legion and never reveal any secrets. Tell. To you, I, Houqu'in, do these two oaths still exist?"

Lieutenant Deathwing flushed - for the first time in his life, he lost his reticence and stoicism.

He is not yet a directly selected captain, but he already has enough prestige within Deathwing.His brothers trusted him, and so did the Primarch.However, just now the Lion insulted him with words.

"I swear they still exist! Primarch!" the Lieutenant roared back, his voice creating a storm of echoes in the audience hall.

He had no blame or resentment for what Leon El'Jonson had done, only an eagerness to prove himself.

"So, will you be honest with me, Lieutenant?"

"Unless I die." Houguyin looked at his primarch and repeated firmly. "Unless I die, Primarch."

"Very good." The lion nodded at him, and a smile finally appeared on his unprecedentedly serious face.

He nodded to Houguin, put his arms around his shoulders, and spoke again in a low but intimate tone: "The honor of a knight cannot be tarnished. Do you agree with this, little brother?"

Houguyin felt a little warm in his heart - his original body finally called him by this name again.

"I absolutely agree," the lieutenant said.

"Yes, but the honor of the Knights is being stripped away now." The Lion said in a low voice. "The honor we have earned with our own hands, the merits we have gained by crossing the corpses of our enemies with blood and death, are all fading away."

"It is shrouded in a veil, reddened and corrupted by the blood of the loyal. We are surrounded by shame, Houqu'in."

The lieutenant's face turned red again, this time with uneasiness and anger.He breathed heavily, awaiting his primarch's next words.

"And this shame was actually created by our own hands." The lion stared at him coldly, his green eyes like ruthless gems.

"We are the Emperor's angels of death. We kill and destroy far more than we save, and many loyalists die at our hands. They don't have to die, but we have no right to let them live."

"For the sake of all mankind, they must die. Sacrifice is necessary, even for ourselves. We definitely shed more blood than they did, but"

Little by little the lion let go of his hand and left the lieutenant.He turned around, turned his back to Houguin and shook his head.The blond hair fluttered, and a certain coldness flashed past.

"...However, we will never deprive others of their honor." The lion turned his head, his face as cold as ice, and said the last words to Houguyin.

"We can let our hands be stained with the blood of loyalists, and we can make them disappear, die in battle, and sacrifice for the sake of other ordinary people. But we will never let them become deserters, are you right, Houguyin?"

The lieutenant was silent for a few seconds, and his face quickly turned pale. "You-you mean-" He began to gasp. "——Is there someone?"

"Yes." said the lion. "So, go there and report all relevant events that passed your hands to the recorder."

He raised his hand and pointed at the stone door.

"Grandmaster Luther will be listening, as will my brother Konrad Curze and the Instructor of the Eighth Legion, Khalil Lohars. They represent the Terran side, so you know what to do. of."

".I understand." Hou Guyin bowed his head in salute, turned around, and walked behind the stone door without fear.

He introduced himself to the three people present. Luther already knew him, with a relieved smile on his face, seeming to encourage him to tell the truth.

His self-introduction was mainly directed at the other two people, who looked almost identical in Houguyin's eyes.The same paleness, the same black hair and eyes, the same tall and thin figure.

The only difference is that one is taller and seems to be more ruthless.

Houguyin took half a second to decide where he should start, and then he started talking - he recounted these things without any pause, as if he had already made plans, or talked about them with others every day. Pass.In fact, this is indeed the case.

Each Dark Angel who carried out these deeds was asked to remember all those they executed.

As time passed, names were mentioned one after another without interruption, and the consequences of missing, dying in battle or being sacrificed were heard one after another in his cold voice.

Luther stopped smiling a long time ago, and Houguyin's posture did not allow him to observe the reactions of the other two people with the corner of his eye.He just continued speaking, and the recording servitors were waving their arms as they wrote, recording his words.

He spoke like this without interruption for a full seventeen minutes before he ended.And at this time, he immediately saluted them and left.

Luther sighed in his heart, forced himself to put on a smile, and spoke to Conrad Coates: "Sir, please forgive Brother Houguin for being taciturn. He has always been like this, and has never been a lively person. "

"I understand." Kurtz replied softly, his pale fingers tapping the armrest of the seat. "But you seem nervous, Knight Commander Luther."

"I am indeed a little nervous, sir." Luther nodded, acknowledging his emotions at the moment.Of course, how could he not be nervous?
Leon El'Jonson trusted him and knew his abilities.Therefore, a large part of the Lion General's operations was handed over to Luther.

According to the process, the officers of the Legion can decide on their own which loyalists need to be forced to sacrifice to mankind.However, after that, they all had to report the whole thing to Luther.

In other words, the first person responsible for this matter is actually him, Luther himself, and not anyone else.

But the Lion did not do this. He decided to let the officers report before doing so.Luther wasn't sure what he meant, but he was even more worried about it.

What he worried about was not that the Lion would be angry with him, but that the honor of the Knights would be diminished and Leon El'Jonson himself would be humiliated.

Although, at present, it seems that this shame has actually formed.

Luther smiled bitterly secretly and added: "I have no intention of hiding this. I am indeed nervous, Lord Curze. This is not something I can control. After all, as you can see, I am not a complete Asta." special."

He shrugged, smiled to himself, waved his arms, gestured up and down, pointing out something in a clever way.Kurtz nodded gently without saying a word and stopped talking. Instead, the person behind him spoke.

"However, this does not affect your honor." Kalil said in a soft but serious tone. "I don't know much about the First Legion, but you obviously value ability and honor extremely. There is an inevitable connection between the two. If you can take on this position, it means that you are no worse than the Astartes. "

"All the knights who have come to this room have looked at you at least once. There is a kind of earnestness in their eyes. They hope that you can show some support for them. This means that they respect you, so there is no need to belittle yourself, Lu Master Se."

Luther nodded and smiled slightly gratefully - but although he was grateful for Khalil's comfort, he was also sincerely frightened by his insight.

"Next!" The lion's voice came from outside the stone door. In the audience hall, his figure was still upright and his armor was shining.The door was opened, the sound of iron boots colliding with the ground was heard, and a hoarse voice followed: "Primary body, here I come."

"Very well, Coswayne, I have something to ask you."

Luther lowered his head and sighed softly in his heart.Combining what his lion had said many times and these reports, he almost understood why Terra sent people here.

There is no airtight wall under the sky, and Luther does not think that what the Legion has done can be covered up forever.But what he really doesn't understand is
Why could an internal matter of the Legion that even he didn't know about be transmitted to Terra?
　One more chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)