40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 316 36. Blood of Calth (8.5, [-]k)

004.M31, Cous ground, eastern urban area of ​​​​Rude department.

Shen had many plans for death.A long time ago, he had thought about how to face death, as all night blades did.

Other Legions may teach their recruits how to achieve honor and courage on the battlefield, but the Nightblade teaches you how to experience death and return from it.

Sooner or later, all recruits will learn this at some point in their training, going through a series of extremely brutal near-death experiences and eventually being given a piece of advice.

Actually, it's a sentence.

"Death is just the beginning." - First Company Commander, Van Cleef.

Shen held his second sword, and the decomposition force field began to glow with blue light.

As he swung his sword through a group of Warp Daemons charging towards him, the thing named Samus realized their demise and began to smile. In fact, it didn't stop smiling at all.

The Ultramarines and Nightblades kept firing at it, with no success.It ignored all the hail of bullets from bolters to plasma equally, and then its voice began to be heard in the instant communication channel.

Cold and shivering, like a homeless man who died tragically on the street in the cold winter, but with a low, weird laugh.Shen could even smell the stench of fermented internal organs.

"Samus. This is the only name you will ever hear. Samus. It means end and death. Samus, I am Samus. Samus surrounds you. Samus is beside you. That guy, Samus will chew your bones. Watch out! Samus is coming!"

"Shut up!" Ventanus shouted loudly, and rushed forward, trying to get past the clinging demons summoned by Samus and attack it directly.

Shen admires his courage, but is not optimistic about the outcome.

Half a minute later, Ventanus was knocked back in great embarrassment, fell to the top of a stone pillar, and then fell.

He slashed Samus dozens of times in those 30 seconds, and the finely crafted power sword named 'Never Forgiveness' gave birth to a dance in his hands that was completely different from Shen's, but equally deadly.

But this was of no use to Samus. His flesh and blood were flying everywhere, but he was still laughing. He didn't even kill Ventanus immediately, but just waved him away with a gentle wave.From that ugly face, Shen Neng could read a joy that represented enjoyment.

He knew what Samus was doing.

At this moment, the demon turned his head and looked at him.

"Ah, ah, ah"

It smiled happily, its pupils burning like two exploding supernovae.

"Do you realize? Night Blade? Yes, I am enjoying this moment. It is not easy to come out. I must weave a suitable ending for the heroes, otherwise how can I match the death of this planet? Just take that Let me tell you as a company commander, I hope he can die in battle. But you..."

It took two steps towards Shen with a plasma hit in the face, and the thick black fog began to escape from the soles of its feet.Demons spilled from its blood.

Everyone is firing, whether they were here early in the morning or those who arrived later, but the wounds caused by each firing will only bring more demons.So they had to spend more bullets on these things, otherwise they would be scattered.

So, what about Samus?It bled so much, was it okay?

Nothing is happening to it, it's even getting bigger.

This scene is almost equivalent to some kind of cruel declaration.Namely, you can't defeat Samus.

really?
Holding the sword tightly in silence.

Samus stopped in front of him, bent down, and began to study him.Shen could clearly see every detail on its face, from the huge beast-like mouth and the horns at both ends of the face, to the eyes glowing with dark green death light - he could see everything clearly, and he could even see himself reflection.

"Someone go take him away!" Shen also heard Ventanus shouting not far away, his voice was unclear, maybe he was vomiting blood.

"What about you?" Samus asked seriously. "What ending do you want, Night Blade? What ending is worthy of something like you?"

"First of all, we are human beings. Secondly, I hope there will be your never-resurrected skull next to my body," Shen said.

Samus smiled and nodded.

Shen raised his sword - he knew it would have no consequences, but he raised it anyway.

This sword is also a finely crafted power sword, a masterpiece made by a famous artist. It is called 'Never Look Back', which is a slightly weird name compared to 'Never Forgive'.Savita asked this question many times, but Shen never explained the answer.

He didn't have to explain, only a fool like Sevatar couldn't see it.

Never look back is the answer.

Samus looked at him expectantly.Shen read this emotion, so he swung his sword, and a bolt of lightning flashed through the air, and dark blood splashed out. Samus covered his face in pretending to be in pain and began to retreat.

Every step it took back made the earth tremble. It was obviously injured, but its wild laughter could not be heard.Shen tried to pursue, but was trapped in place by the spilled blood. Demons were breeding from it, and he had to devote his energy to dealing with them.

Something weird started to burn in the bottom of my heart, and it felt like ice was spreading in my blood vessels, which was quite consistent with the rumors inside Night Blade.

At the same time, the black mist emerging from Samus's feet began to continue to escape, raging like an ocean, the world was obscured, and the basic material structure that made up the ruins itself began to disintegrate.

This is not a sight that humans should endure, because humans cannot understand why rocks can burn, maggots can hatch from the air, rain starts falling heavily and then stops immediately, and something is barking in the darkness.

The shadow of Samus loomed in the darkness. It was more terrifying than the darkness. Its eyes were burning, like a barbaric sacrifice on a moonlit night in the ancient barbaric era. Thousands of people were tied together and set on fire.It's this light in its eyes, it's this thing.

It ran towards the Ultramarines and Night Blades.

They fought back, retreated, and acted heroically, but Samus was unmoved.

The bolt struck it in the eye, causing it to giggle.The plasma destroyed one of its muscles, and it scratched as someone was slashing it with a chainsword, so it gently reached out and grabbed the Ultramarine as if it were a rock.

It clenched its right claw, and pieces of meat and armor flew from between its fingers.Half a second later, it let go and dropped a completely twisted corpse.

Ventanus stood up again. The damaged helmet was now completely scrapped, sitting ridiculously on his head, with half of his face completely exposed.Shen Neng could clearly see the expression on his face, and he knew something was wrong.

Nered Ventanus had encountered many things today, each of which would have been the most horrific thing in the world to anyone else, and he had probably encountered a thousand such things today, including Samus.He should be crazy, this is in line with the normal development of things.

But he didn't. Why?

The reason is simple, because he was so angry that he forgot about it.

"You filthy beast!" the Ultramarine cursed, charging at Samus and beginning to swing his sword.

The demon covered his face with his hands and pretended to moan like a wounded beast, but there was an unmistakable joy in his voice.Black blood dripped from between the fingers, and as the storm arose, its shadow began to twist into something deeper and malicious.

In the chill, Shen knew that it was making things develop as it had predicted.The demon named Samus said that it would give Ventanus an ending of fighting to death, but Shen didn't think it would really be so kind.But Samus actually fell down the next second.

No one knew how heavy it was, but the movement sounded astonishing as if another piece of warship debris had fallen.It began to scream loudly, and Ventanus roared and chased after it, continuing to swing his sword at the head, and actually killed it with a sword a few seconds later.

With an explosion-like sound, black slime exploded all over Ventanus' body. Mud-like flesh and blood bloomed on the ground, and foul-smelling internal organs fell from the sky.

ended?
Do not.
Shen finally broke free, and the first thing he did was yell a retreat over the channel that was still filled with Samus' whispers.Ventanus heard his voice, and there was confusion on his face, but Shen had no time to explain for the time being, and just roared for everyone to retreat.

The Nightblades complied, but his blue-armored cousins ​​didn't listen, and things started to go from bad to worse.Within the third second after Samus' original body was decapitated, the Ultramarine killed by it stood up.

His eyes were burning, dark green death light, supernova explosions.

"Samus is here."

The daemon smiled within the Ultramarine's corpse and began to chant its whispers over the comms channel.

For the first time, its voice appeared so clearly in everyone's ears. It was no longer a whisper in the communication channel, no longer a movement that could be covered up by the sound of bolters and the roar of chain saws during battle.It really resonates in everyone's ears.

Courage is meaningless at this point, this is not a battle that courage can solve.Samus is not a fight, Samus is so much more than that.

"Samus. This is the only name you will ever hear. Samus. It means end and death. Samus, I am Samus. Samus surrounds you. Samus is beside you. That guy, Samus will chew your bones. Watch out! Samus is coming!"

It pounced on an Ultramarine.Then there is a night blade, the third is an ultramarine, and the fourth becomes a night blade. Carefully selected and carefully designed, it turns killing into a childlike picking game.

Their flesh and blood flew in the air, their bones were shattered, and their lives passed by meaninglessly.Occasionally, Samus will suddenly give up, allow himself to be killed, and then rise from within another corpse.

It had only one purpose in doing this, and Shen saw it.He suddenly felt an extremely strong hatred. After a few seconds, this hatred began to transform into something else.The blood of the Night Blades shimmered on the ground and flowed towards his feet.

Samus finally started laughing again.

"Yes!" It opened its hands excitedly, relaxed its strong body, was willing to be killed by an Ultramarine, and stood up from another corpse.

It is everywhere, it is darkness itself.The cruel announcement that had appeared once before came back again, accompanied by the sound of flesh and blood mutating, and began to whisper in the darkness.

You can't beat Samus.

Unless it wants to.

"That's it!"

The corpse shouted, stumbling towards Shen, its eyes burning.

He used to be an Ultramarine, but now he's just a skin, possessed by demons and used as an opportunity to cause something to happen.Samus guided it carefully and had been guiding this matter since its emergence. It did it very carefully, so it guided it very successfully.

Because Shen realized that it had not chosen the Night Blade to occupy its physical body, not even once.

Why?Is it unwillingness or dare not?

"Yes, yes, yes!" Samus waved his arms excitedly. "That's it, Nightblade, that's it! Keep your hatred!"

Its voice began to get closer and closer to Shen, and its image at this moment finally began to appear.Black fur emerged from under the peeled skin, dark green eyes, like death rays, a stooped back, and horns so big that they were almost ferocious.

It stood in front of Shen, emerging from an eternal nightmare, and its smell was like burning internal organs.

"Hate me together!" it shouted with enjoyment. "I appreciate your courage, but I enjoy your hatred even more!" "

"Go to hell——!" Shen roared unbearably.

This should have been a memorable moment, because he briefly entered a new realm, and his sword began to burn with dark flames.Even though it was only a small wisp, it was enough for Samus' laughter to amplify like thunder and turn into a wail.

Next, his sword passed through Samus's head. The flames flashed away, and the demon roared with an unprecedented miserable voice: "It hurts! It hurts! It really hurts!"

Its body began to melt, which had never happened before. The darkness gradually faded away. Shen stood there like a hero, and the flame on the sword began to extinguish little by little.

A few seconds later, all that was left of Samus was his head.There was a kind of contentment on its face. Shen stared at it, and his otherworldly observation skills began to work again.

"what."

Samus' head blinked at him, and a voice suddenly appeared in his helmet.

"You realize it, Night Blade. But it doesn't matter. Just enjoy this heroic moment that belongs to you. We will meet again. Like I said, I will give you an ending worthy of you."

Shen stared into its eyes until it completely dissipated, with no head remaining and Shen not dead.

Ventanus bolted towards him.

"Shen!" he shouted eagerly. "You beat it!"

Inside the helmet, Shen began to smile bitterly.

"Why don't you say anything?" The Ultramarine took off his helmet and finally smiled sincerely. "Look at the good things you did, huh?" His tone made Shen feel like he sounded like a hero.

Yeah, look at the good things I've done.

Shen took off his helmet and sighed: "You know, Ventanus?"

"what?"

"I started hating myself."
-
004.M31, Cous ground, twelve kilometers east of the army assembly point in the Roude department.

There was a deafening thunder from the sky. Savita squinted his eyes for a while and nodded, confirming that this was really thunder.

What are you doing?You've been bombarded for almost nine hours and now you're going to start raining?Come on, Kos, learn from Nostramo, my hometown is the epitome of small-mindedness.

If Nostramo had been bombed for so long, it would have begun to sink by now. It might have been destroyed, but it would have dragged everyone along with it.

Sevatar grinned, he couldn't help it.Angel Tai glanced sideways at him and said nothing, but Savita could probably guess what he wanted to express.

"Don't worry, Son of Aurelion." He shrugged. "Aren't we about to enter the city? You see, everything is going well. We have contacted Chapter Commander Marius Gage and my company commander, and we have received orders to advance toward the city. We'll soon be able to kill a dozen or so Word Bearers at the beginning."

"I don't like the quantifier you used." Angel Tai replied coldly.

"Don't you have a sense of humor?" Sevita asked in disbelief. "I think that's a good joke!"

Angel Tai never paid attention to him again during the 41-minute march.

They crossed the burning plains and entered a forest.According to the map coordinates sent by Gage, there is an entrance to the underground cave system in Rude Province right here. They can enter through this entrance so that they do not have to face the possible Word Bearers.

This is good for launching an attack, and surprise is what makes an attack possible.Surprisingly, the forest is not burning.

This is unreasonable and everyone knows it.

Calth's starport and weapons array were completely destroyed before the war began, along with dozens or so battleships.Debris fell from the sky, turning the entire surface of Calth into a living hell for the past nine hours.

Then there was bombing. The Word Bearers' fleet dropped drop pods and began bombing areas that seemed intact after orbital scanning.

This forest would not have been spared unless...
Sevatar felt a little nauseous.

He stopped, his steel boots bending and trampling a patch of grass.He raised his head and looked at the sky. At this moment, the rain had stopped.The forest was silent and there was no sound in the distance.There were no explosions, no gunshots, not even the sound of wind.

"Prepare for battle," said Sevatar.

His orders and premonitions were correct. A thick fog swept in and enveloped everyone in an instant.This was not the first time that Sevatar had greeted the mist summoned by the Word Bearers, and it would certainly not be the last.

But this time the fog was different. It was black, a surging darkness that was far beyond the limits of ordinary people's rationality.At the same time, large areas of scarlet began to flash vaguely in the fog.

Savita didn't know who fired first, but it didn't matter because everyone started shooting.He also heard Angel Tai and the other sons of Aurelion roar, not to vent their anger, but to endure greater and more pain.

This is just the beginning, Angel Tai.Sevatar thought coldly.Sooner or later we will face Lorgar Aurelion, if we do not die.What are you going to do then?
He didn't ask the question, but Angel Tai gave some kind of answer first.Sevatar saw him and the Sons of Aurelion charging towards the other side of the thick fog, the other side where nothing could be seen.

"You undisciplined bastard!" shouted Sevatar. "Assemble! Come with me to support them!"

A few minutes later, they also rushed into the other side of the thick fog.This is still a forest, basically unchanged, except that there are corpses everywhere.Scarlet, off-white, and soon more midnight blue.

Sevatar shot the two Word Bearers who tried to cut him apart, and began searching for any sign of Angel Tai.He succeeded, which should have been good news, but he couldn't be happier.

"Hello, Night Blade." A voice said in the forest, and behind him was a half-human, half-demon thing. The armor was scarlet, and some of the demonic parts made him extremely terrifying.

His normal hand held an Astartes wearing gray-white armor. Judging from the shoulder armor emblem, it was Angel Tai.

What about the rest?What about the other Sons of Aurelion?

"Which damn Word Bearer bastard are you?" Sevatar greeted, looking behind the eyepiece at the surrounding forest.He saw some gray-white shadows.

The man smiled, and the scriptures were spread out in an orderly manner on his skin: "I am Erebus, Chief Priest of the Word Bearers, Apostle of Darkness, Hand of Fate."

"You have so many names." Sevatar showed his sword.

The Nightblades stood guard behind him with their guns raised - the Word Bearers remained calm and unfazed.The man who called himself Erebus smiled again, or rather, his smile never stopped.

"Choosing to start a war at this time is not a rational move, Night Blade. But since you are already here, I think I'd better not say this anymore. You should be a legion that needs rationality the most, especially the Ultramarines, but you Never seems to be able to stay rational.”

He turned sideways gracefully, and the thing behind him threw Angel Tai at his feet.The latter was lying on the ground, not knowing whether he was alive or dead.Erebus approached him, bent down slightly, and was instantly stabbed between his jaws with a combat dagger.

Angel Tai stood up ferociously, and the second attack began in an instant.From the surrounding forest, more Sons of Aurelion surged forth, and the Nightblades pulled the triggers and fired with them.

This should have been a moment of possible victory, had Erebus not let out that sigh.

Deadly winds blew from the far side of the black mist, followed by supernatural fire, lightning, and more surging darkness, where demons roared hungrily.

Erebas got up from the ground. His jaw should have been stabbed by Angel Tai. To ensure his death, Angel Tai even hit the handle of the dagger once with his left fist.The whole thing sank into Erebus's head.

But now he was standing as if nothing was wrong, even reaching out to try to pull it out.

The storm of bullets was blocked by the strong wind, the flames blocked the Night Blade and the Sons of Aurelion from approaching the Word Bearers, lightning brewed in the air, and the situation was reversed again.

"You have learned something new, my boy," Erebus said, his tone gentle.

He threw the dagger back to Angel Tai.The knife passed through blazing flames filled with screaming faces.Angel Tai reached out and took the knife, the handle creaking in his gauntlet.

"To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in you." Erebus continued. "I have walked through a hundred thousand futures, and you should have stood by my side in these futures, sacrificing and killing for the gods together with Karn, the war dog. But you actually abandoned us and your father. "

Angel Tai smiled, and Savita had no doubt that if the flames had not stopped them, Angel Tai would have rushed in immediately and hammered Anrebas' head into the chest.

"He is not my father," the son of Aurelion said in a low voice. "My father is Lorgar Aurelion, not the counterfeit that caused this. He would do no such thing."

"Really?" Erebus asked with a smile. "Why are you so sure about this? How about thinking back to the Perfect City?"

"That's where I came back from."

"It seems that you have experienced something that I didn't expect." Erebus said hypocritically. "However, hatred can drive people to do many things that they could not do in the past. For example, see the truth, which is what your father did."

"He was painfully aware of the Emperor's lies, and how implausible they all were. Think of Angel Tai. A man who despised religion and allowed only one of his religions to spread within the borders of the Empire. , doesn’t this sound strange?”

"What you did was all lies, conspiracy, and betrayal. You are a poisonous snake, Erebus." Angel Tai looked at him coldly. "You may try, but I will not waver in the slightest. I am loyal to my true father, and he will never turn his back on the Emperor, the Imperium, or all of humanity."

Erebus sighed regretfully.

"Have you forgotten how the Ultramarines and the Midnight Blade brutally murdered our world? And now you are actually working with them." He asked seemingly heartbroken. "Why is this so important, Angel Tai?"

The son of Aurelion dropped the combat dagger and picked up a chainsword from the ground.

"It's no use talking, Erebus. Your words are of no use to me. Your words are bone-gnawing poison. I have only one question for you."

"Is that you?" he asked slowly.

Erebus smiled and nodded.

After the flames dissipated, he opened his hands towards Angel Tai.The son of Aurelion jumped up, let out an inhuman roar in the air, and drove the chainsword straight towards Erebus' neck.

He hit, and Erebus's head was just a hair away from being completely severed, just that close, but Angel Tai's chain sword couldn't make any more progress.At the same time, the flames ignited again, blocking the way for all those who tried to help Angel Tai.

Erebus let out a sigh and pushed the immobile Angel Tai away little by little.He reached out and took down the chainsword, and turned his head, his eyes filled with boredom that came from nowhere.

"Your efforts are meaningless, my child," Erebus said softly. "I have been chosen by the gods. I cannot die before my deeds are completely completed. You can try as much as you like, a thousand times, ten thousand times, whatever you want, you won't get the result you want."

Angel Tai didn't answer, he couldn't answer.

Erebus walked towards him with a smile. The Word Bearers behind him did not move, absolutely still, like puppets.He came to Angel Tai, took off his helmet, and carefully looked at the golden blood stain between the latter's eyebrows.

"As expected," he murmured, a smile beginning to spread across his face. "Luojia needs you, Angel Tai."

From his waist, he pulled out a dagger, curved like a viper's fang, with a gleaming obsidian handle.He raised it, and black mist swept in, instantly gathering into the dagger.The forest and light came back, Sevatar narrowed his eyes, and he slowly tightened his grip on the chain halberd.

"What do you want to do, Erebus?" he suddenly asked.

"This has nothing to do with you, Night Blade." Erebus stopped and looked at him with a smile. "You should worry about yourself first. A greater misfortune will befall you soon. The gods have carefully weaved an ending for each of you. Otherwise, how can you be worthy of all the heroes?"

"Oh, is it?"

Erebus remained silent, his smile still bright.He raised his hand and pointed at the sky.Sevatar suddenly saw a star. It was already night and the clouds were dark.It was an intense white color, as bright as if it was about to explode.

Sevita felt a sting in his eyes, he looked away, and at this moment he realized what it was.

"The sun." Erebus answered for him.

"There are many ways to please the gods, sacrifice sons in front of fathers, kill husbands in front of wives, feed their children to bloodthirsty wolves in front of parents. The gods prefer drama, but they prefer big scenes, Like the explosion of a star. Calth was in the Veridian system, and it had a really good sun. But not anymore, now, it's a disaster star."

A satisfied and joyful smile emerged from Erebus's face. He gripped the dagger tightly and began to pierce it into Angel Tai's forehead. Blood gurgled out, and a faint golden light suddenly appeared from it.

Sevatar heard him whisper.

"It's a sign of doom."

Heavy rain began to fall in the sky, not the previous rain, not natural rain, but another kind of rain.It was dark and twisted blood, strong winds overflowing, demonic tides surged in, and the roars of demons escaped in the wind.

Sevatar took a deep breath, dropped his helmet, and activated his chainsaw.A blue light began to appear in his eyes. The original body had asked him to block his talent, and he did so.But now he needs a way to break the situation, and he can't think of any other way besides psychic powers.

"You'd better keep that dagger away from him," Sevatar said seriously.At the same time, his bones began to scream.

The psychic energy that had been blocked for decades had changed in a sense, not the kind of change he wanted.Sevatar felt like he was about to break - in a physical sense, the psychic powers were oppressing him. And they were changing, towards another kind of power.

"Oh, otherwise?" Erebus asked casually while continuing to turn the dagger carefully. "What else are you going to do?"

Half a second later, he got his answer.He suddenly stopped moving and suddenly raised his head to look at Savita, but the latter was no longer where he was.

The roar of the chain halberd flashed by, and a severed hand holding a dagger flew into the sky. Blood spattered and fell on Sevatar's eyepiece.The heavy rain fell and washed it away instantly.Erebus looked at this scene in shock, the boredom disappearing from his face, followed by a burst of ecstasy.

"You!" he shouted, and the black mist began to surround him. "What a surprise, Nightblade! What's your name?"

"The death of Erebus," Sevatar said.

Erebus laughed wildly and disappeared into the black mist, and the Word Bearers began to move.Their forms began to become more and more distorted, and bullets were completely ineffective, but they still had blades.

Sevetar pulled Angel Tai off the ground, who gasped violently, and seconds later, he finally finished his joke as a Word Bearer lunged toward them. sentence.

"Good name," he said.

Sevatar laughed in response, and the chainsaw began to roar.

　update completed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)