40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 336 56. Bathing in Fire (5, [-]k)

Gavir Loken climbed up from the ground with difficulty.

How many times has this happened?He asked himself this, but couldn't get an answer.The door was indeed opened by him and Acudona, but what happened after that... to be honest, the experience was not that good.

He was thrown directly into a river of blood, and that place was much weirder than the place he had been before.Fortunately, he came out successfully, although Loken actually didn't know how he left.

Anyway, he hoped Akudona was okay.

He bent down and tried to grasp the sword at his waist, but the power armor seemed to have malfunctioned and could no longer respond to his nerve signals immediately as before, and his fingers could not bend at all.

A real chill accompanied the cold air whizzing by, creating a bit of frost on his skin.He raised his head and saw the dissipating black mist, as well as the shadowy and hanging bodies in it.

He exhaled softly and began to back away slowly.

Loken will never step into this fog until the problem related to the nerve signals of the power armor is solved.Leaning against the wall of the corridor, he looked around where he was now, and an unlikely conclusion slowly emerged from his heart.
Loken lowered his head again and began to check his power armor, trying to figure out if there was anything else that had the same problem as his fingers, and at the same time, he went through this conclusion thoroughly in his mind.

In the end, that conclusion was confirmed by him very reluctantly.

This was really the eighth deck of the Vengeful Spirit, if those nightmares hadn't deliberately confused him and deceived him.

But the question is, where did those bodies come from?

He raised his head and looked at the hung corpses, and drew a second conclusion from the uniforms and body shapes they wore - the corners of Gavir Loken's eyes twitched faintly. He now finally knew about the missing crew members. Where have all the servants and servants gone?

Moreover, judging from the decomposition of the bodies, they had been dead for a long time.You know, this is not the first time Loken has been to the eighth deck. He has been here several times during the voyage, and every time it was normal.

If that's the case here, what about the rest of Vengeful Spirit?
Loken didn't dare to think about it anymore.

He patted the gauntlet on his right forearm, trying to manually remove the problem.I don’t know if it was just luck, but after a few taps, the malfunction of the fingers on my right hand actually recovered.

He took another half minute to make sure this wasn't a blip, then immediately drew his power sword and stepped into the fog.Loken was so familiar with the Vengeful Spirit that even with his eyes closed he could figure out which deck and which path he was taking.

It is true that the eighth deck is obscured by thick fog at the moment, but this does not hinder it.He cautiously slowed down his pace and walked through the forest of the dead.The coldness caused his breath to freeze into ice, freezing on his chin and lips, turning into tiny ice shards.

The deeper Loken went, the more serious his expression became.He found that the number of hanged people was increasing, and there were also signs of battles on the road.

For example, the bullet holes left by bolters, the special marks left by chain swords or chain axes on the wall - there are even some marks that look like claws, and they are definitely not lightning claws, but biological marks. Claws.
He suddenly stopped, and a huge black shadow not far ahead caught his attention.Loken slowed down his breathing and observed where he was for several minutes before continuing to move forward.

The thing didn't move even once during this period. He approached it and smelled an extremely strong smell of blood and stench.This is also very unusual. This intensity is already at a level that can cause physical discomfort to ordinary people. The place where he just stayed should not be unaware of this.

Can this dense fog mask the smell?

Loken took this discovery to heart and continued to observe the body.

It has recurved joints and an extremely strong body with tightly knitted muscles and thick bones.The skin is dark and downy, and there is a pair of ferocious twisted horns on the forehead.The face of this creature is a very typical monster image, but it is too real.

This is not a monster that humans can imagine. Every detail on its face is lifelike, especially the pair of eyes, which are like a pair of burning emeralds.
and many more.

Loken raised his sword sharply.

The creature roared and stood up, rushing towards him.Loken resisted with all his strength, and kept retreating at the same time - he immediately judged that he was no match for this thing through the few collisions just now, and the force shook his servo motor in protest.

If we don't evacuate quickly, something terrible may happen.At this moment, a burst of gunfire interrupted his retreat.It's not the noise that a single bolter can make, but the extreme density caused by dozens of them firing together.

Loken was so familiar with this sound that he could even tell where the person who fired the weapon was by feel alone.Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of Astartes wearing blue and white armor, and they noticed him as well.

This incident made Loken feel shocked - he knew about the arrival of the war dogs, but the war dogs did not know who he was.

But they didn't dedicate manpower to fire on him. In fact, they even stopped holding down fire.

Loken smiled bitterly in his heart: Well, this is reasonable.Let a monster kill what you consider a traitor
He gripped the sword tightly, not intending to just surrender.

If he survives, he will have one more chance to tell the truth.The sooner the changes between the Legion and the Primarch are known to others, the better. Only in this way can the Emperor and the Empire resolve the matter as soon as possible.

The monster roared, flexed its muscles, and rushed towards him. There were countless wounds on its body, and black putrid blood was spurting out, but it showed no feeling at all.Loken observed its movements, determined to attack its eyes first.

He rotated his wrist, intending to let the power sword slash at it, but unexpectedly the monster suddenly flew out in mid-air.At this time, a huge, explosion-like sound reached his ears.

Loken looked intently and saw a giant slashing at the monster with two swords. Pieces of flesh were flying, and it whined and tried to fight back.The giant waved his right claw, and with a deep nasal sound, the giant cut off the entire right claw with his backhand.

Lightning flashed on his naked back, and strength and beauty were vividly interpreted at this moment.His right claw flew up, spraying blood. Before it landed, the giant closed his swords and instantly pierced the monster's head.

But this was still not the end. He closed his right hand and rotated the two sword blades together. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed one of the monster's horns with great force. Amid its thunderous screams, he forcibly smashed the monster into pieces. The head was pulled from the neck.

Loken stood there holding the sword. Before he could recover, a bloody head that was still steaming was thrown at his feet.

He raised his head and saw a blood-stained angry face looking at him thoughtfully through the mist. Veins popped up on his forehead, and his steel braid danced endlessly. He appeared from the mist like a devil, covered in blood. .

After a few seconds, he smiled, straightened up in a friendly manner, patted Lorcan on the shoulder, and the devil disappeared.

"I'm Angron," he introduced himself. "What's your name, brave one?"

"Gaviel Loken, my lord, I am—."

"——Tenth Captain of the Luna Wolves." A voice sounded from the other side. Loken turned his head and saw a familiar face.He breathed a sigh of relief and put down his sword. Before he could say anything, Kahn threw four magazines at him.

"Save it, Loken." Kahn raised his chin at him. "We don't have much ammunition left."

Loken was silent for a while before accepting the status quo.He didn't understand where the trust shown by the Warhounds and their Primarch came from, since nothing had been explained to him.However, since we can fight side by side, other things can naturally be discussed later.

He nodded, and while changing the magazine for himself, he asked about the current status of the war dogs - whether intentionally or unintentionally, he did not correct the name of the regiment used by Kahn.

"The situation is not good," Kahn said simply. "Shortly after we boarded the ship, we had a conflict with your original body. The battle started. It was supposed to be a breakout battle. A burst of black mist appeared from nowhere and sent us here."

"Our people...?" Loken used his words carefully, trying to figure out whether this was really all that was left of the war dogs.

Kahn shook his head at him and actually let out a dull laugh.

"Have some confidence in us, Moon Wolf. In fact, we have almost killed all the monsters here except for the one just now. You are lucky. If we arrive late, you may be cut into two pieces. "

"Maybe it was the one that broke into two pieces," Loken said.He still didn't correct Kahn's title.

"Indeed." Kahn nodded. "You are always brave in battle"

"Okay, Captain Loken." Angron's voice sounded from in front of them. "Please forgive my eighth company commander. He always has such a weird character and likes to tell jokes that are not even jokes to everyone. In short, I hope you can explain a problem for us." Here comes.

Loken's heart tightened and he immediately began to recall the draft he had prepared early in the morning.He wanted to tell the ins and outs of these things completely and quickly, but Angron did not ask the question he had prepared for.

In reality, the Primarch of the Warhounds simply stood by a door and waved to him.

"Excuse me, do you know how to open this door?" Angron asked, his brows slightly wrinkled, and his blood-stained face looked helpless. "We tried a lot of things, but it just wouldn't open."

Loken walked forward silently and saw the words "infirmary" in the number above the door.

He raised his hand, wiped his chin, and rubbed off all the hanging ice shards before speaking.

"Can't open it?" He looked at the door and then at Angron. "Is it a mechanical failure? It's easy to fix, the chain sword can-"

"——No, no, Captain Loken." Angron shook his head at him. He stood there and thought for a moment before speaking again.

"Actually, I believe you have sensed something through the scenes we just walked through and the enemy we fought, right?"

"These things do not come from the world we are familiar with. Their existence cannot be simply explained by physical laws or mathematical formulas, nor can they be summarized by common sense. They are supernatural monsters, originating from the chaos in subspace. And this door"

The leader of the No. 12 legion sighed, swung his right fist and hit it with a punch.There was a loud noise, but the metal didn't move at all, and the door didn't even tremble.

".I'm afraid I'm one of them."

Loken took an unbearable deep breath. He did not think about the words of the leader of the No. 12 Legion for the time being.He only knew that the Phoenix of Chemos was inside, as well as the crazy Emperor's Apothecary.
His and Acudona's mission was about to succeed, but now they encountered something like this?
Can't open?

Why can't it be opened?

The Luna Wolf raised his foot angrily and kicked the door hard.The war dogs seemed a little surprised by his actions, and he himself immediately noticed the change in his emotions.He wanted to apologize, but Angron laughed instead.

"Don't be angry, Captain Loken," he said. "I'm just asking. After all, your identity is here. I want to know if you have a more convenient solution. It's best if you do. If not, don't worry."

"You don't understand, behind this door" Loken suppressed his emotions and kept his voice calm. ".It's Fulgrim."

"I know." Angron suppressed his smile and nodded calmly to him.

The impressive metal torture instrument was still twisting behind his head, which was quite frightening and formed a rather strange contrast with his calm face at the moment.

"You know?"

"Of course I know, otherwise how do you think I can accurately find everyone in this maze-like place?" Angron raised his right hand and tapped the Butcher's Nail. His smile appeared again, and it was very gentle.

His faintly twitching facial muscles did not ruin the smile, and Loken was stunned for a moment - it was not his fault, too many things happened today that he could not understand.

The tenth company commander closed his eyes, shook his head and took a few steps back.He began to take deep breaths at a steady pace, and in just a few seconds, his heartbeat completely calmed down.

He temporarily put aside the affairs of the Legion and the original body, temporarily put aside the life and death of Acudona and his brothers, and moved all his attention to the matter in front of him.

After a moment, under Angron's admiring eyes, Loken opened his eyes seriously and gave a suggestion.

"Each deck of Vengeful Spirit has a main control center, which can manually open each door of the current deck and the power of each room by entering a key. You said that this door has become There's some kind of supernatural being out there, but it's still aboard the Vengeful Spirit. I thought maybe we could give this a try."

"You're so smart, Moon Wolf." Kahn grinned at him and raised his hand like the right hand of a winner in a duel cage.

The war dogs laughed and began to cheer for him. Loken put on a deliberately weird and proud smile, lowered his head, and a sourness rose in his heart.

Once upon a time, his legion was like this. Why did everything change in such a short time?
"Cheer up," Angron said with concern, interrupting his moment of melancholy. "We still count on you to lead the way for us, Captain Loken."

"I will." Shadow Moon Wolf replied solemnly.
-
Corvus Corax transformed his thoughts into a gloomy calm, and closed his eyes, a hint of melancholy flashing across his pale face.The main bridge of the Emperor's Shadow was extremely quiet, with only the sounds of footsteps and the hum of the Thinker array constantly ringing.

After a long time, the Lord of Crows opened his eyes silently, and there was no other emotion in his dark, ink-like eyes.

At this time, his company commander Bran Neff also spoke appropriately.

He once followed Corax in the uprising on the Savior Star to save innocent people.He had known the war for exactly as long as Corax, and both sides knew each other to the point where they could no longer understand each other.

"Attack?" Bran Neff spit out a word.

“Not yet”

The Lord of Crows thought about an answer with a serious expression.

"The Vengeful Spirit is not a good candidate for gang-hopping. Try to approach at high speed first and prepare the artillery positions. Then issue an order. I want all ships in the fleet to be ready for battle. On the premise of protecting ourselves, we will do our best. Contain and weaken the Vengeful Spirit and associated vessels.”

He paused for a moment, frowned, and added: "At the same time, multiple groups of Jump Gang combatants were sent, targeting the Emperor's Pride."

"Primarch?" Bran Neff expressed his doubts in surprise. "us--"

"——Don't worry, Bran." Corax said with narrowed eyes, his expression was quite similar to that of a brother who was also pale, and he didn't know who was learning from whom.

"We cannot withstand the firepower output of two Glory Queen-class ships. Although the Unwavering Resolve will help us, why not do it since it can weaken the opponent? Furthermore, if we can really recapture the Emperor's Pride, or It was totally worth it to briefly control part of its artillery positions.”

"Inform Sukahunu and let him do this. I believe in his attainments in guerrilla warfare and rapid response operations."

"clear."

"Then you, me, us." Corax continued to issue orders without stopping.

"Prepare assault boats, gunships and shuttles, prepare heavy firepower and rapid strike teams. Once the assault on the Emperor's Pride begins, we will immediately focus our fire on the engine area of ​​the Vengeful Spirit and immediately jump in. Also, connect me to communications with the Resolute."

"Joint operations?"

"Of course, Bran." The Lord of Crows smiled at him. "There is strength in numbers. Didn't we already verify this during the uprising?"

Bran Neff nodded and left the bridge.At this moment, silence returned here again.Corus Corax reached out and took out a bag of dried sand eels from his arms.He took out one and stared at it for a moment, but did not choose to eat it.

Outside the porthole, the stars were extinguished.

　update completed.

　　There may be more, but I don’t recommend waiting.If you are stuck updating at night like this in the future, you should go to bed early.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)