Chaos corruption is insidious and omnipresent. A single misstep in handling it can lead to catastrophic casualties. The infamous and messy affair known as the Months of Shame was a prime example. Therefore, when encountering ordinary humans in a place thoroughly steeped in Chaos—especially the Warp—drawing a pistol and executing them on the spot was, without question, the most efficient course of action.
This was even more true now, inside a Space Hulk crawling with who-knows-what.
Forget mortals; even an Astartes had no guarantee of survival. Rather than letting these mortals suffer a painful death and inevitable corruption, a clean bolter round was a mercy.
As expected, seeing the Flesh Tearers' actions, the nearby Inquisitor and Ultramarine veteran remained silent.
As for the Black Templars... who knew where those fanatics, who were on par with the Dark Angels for sheer zealotry, had charged off to.
But...
"Stand down!!!"
At that moment, Mario, clad in Centurion armor and leading his Terminator squad, stepped directly in front of Seth. At the same time, the squad of little yellow-clad warriors behind him turned to face the Flesh Tearers.
The origins of these Lamenters were different from those of the Emperor's Children. They had been selected by Zhou Ye from a group of young adults. The majority of them were the very survivors they had fought tooth and nail to save from the front lines back on Tillius.
When they heard the Lamenters needed to replenish their numbers, every single one of them had fought desperately for the chance to join.
These were men in their twenties and thirties. Although Astartes transformation is best started at a young age, many historical candidates have been older. Even with Zhou Ye equipping their dedicated Tech-Priest with a small-scale creation device that increased the surgery's success rate by several hundred times, a third of them still died during the transformation process.
Yet, despite such a high mortality rate, they had no complaints.
The families of these men had mostly perished in Nurgle's corruption. Now, all they wanted was to follow the angels who had died protecting them, to wage an endless war of vengeance against Chaos, and to prevent their tragedy from befalling others.
So...
K-chak!
"You...!!!"
Seth was both shocked and enraged by this defiance. The Flesh Tearers all raised their weapons in response.
Truth be told, they felt a little unnerved. The equipment on the other side was just too damn luxurious.
"Everyone, calm down!!!"
Seeing this, Chris couldn't help but intervene. The last thing he wanted right now was to experience the Imperium's time-honored tradition of infighting. Especially with their main forces. The Lamenters had the best gear, and the Flesh Tearers had the most men. If they weren't here, his own Storm Troopers and the few Victrix Guard veterans wouldn't be enough. Their own deaths were a small matter; failing to recover the artifact would be the real disaster.
"Malakim!!!"
At that moment, Mario removed his helmet and shouted to the group across from them.
Hearing his name, the other group of Lamenters looked stunned. Brother, why are you so tall? And even if you are tall, where did you get all those Terminators and Centurions?
With that kind of gear, forget about the unloved, unwanted Lamenters; even their parent Chapter, the Blood Angels, would have trouble fielding so much advanced wargear at once.
Are you really a Lamenter?
Looking at his own sergeant and the opulent retinue, Malakim honestly didn't dare to recognize them.
Especially after seeing the actions of the Flesh Tearers and the silence of the Inquisitor and Victrix Guard. He knew they considered the mortals behind him a liability. Malakim didn't blame them. In this situation, he knew what these civilians represented.
But... so what?!
Years ago, facing an Ork Warlord's attack, they had abandoned millions of lives and detonated their last stronghold. They had succeeded in annihilating the Orks, but for them, it was an unbearable shame. They had even refused the Iron Halo offered to them by Marneus Calgar. In the eyes of others, it was a glorious victory. With the loss of only a few million, they had eradicated an Ork menace that threatened to engulf an entire sector. The civilians had even wept and begged them to leave, volunteering to detonate the explosives themselves.
But so what? For every Lamenter present that day, it was a moment of profound dishonor. They had refused the Iron Halo and did not consider it something to be proud of.
So... watching the newborn Lamenters confront the Flesh Tearers, Malakim hesitated. He did not go to join Mario, because he did not want his new battle-brothers to be stained with such a disgrace, especially if it meant clashing with another Chapter.
"See? You have no idea what those mortals are. We don't know if they are corrupted by Chaos. Bringing them along could get us all killed." Seth wasn't insane, but he knew the situation his own battle-brothers were in. They had nearly been branded traitors and had even been attacked by the Space Wolves because of the Red Thirst.
"You...!!!"
Mario didn't care about any of that and squared off against Seth. But just at that moment...
BOOM!!!
With a loud crash, something else slammed down onto the deck.
"Ugh..."
"What the..."
"You are..."
A commotion erupted from the rear, but Seth, still locked in the standoff, paid it no mind. As long as no one fired, it wasn't a big deal. From the sound of it, the Lamenters had just dropped in a Dreadnought. He wasn't concerned... until...
A black shadow fell over him. Seth looked up and saw a Contemptor Dreadnought.
A Contemptor Dreadnought painted in a bright yellow, radiating an ancient aura. Nearby, Chris and Metaurus's eyes widened.
They recognized this Dreadnought. Although its livery had been changed to the Lamenters' colors, it was the very same ancient Blood Angels Dreadnought from the video recording, the one that had fought alongside the Space Wolves. No wonder these paupers were suddenly so wealthy.
It all made sense... if it was that Lord, then this was to be expected. After all, that Lord was the kind of being who would hand over millennia-old veteran Gene-seed from the Ultramarines as a tithe payment. Providing them with new equipment was perfectly normal for him.
"Mario, why has my livery been changed?"
"Our Lord... had me change it."
Mario's eyes darted nervously. He knew that Lord didn't want his existence to be widely known. But look who was here: the Inquisition, Ultramarines, and the Flesh Tearers.
"Ancient...?"
Staring dumbfounded at the Dreadnought, Seth was in disbelief. The Lamenters hadn't been founded that long ago. How could they possess such an ancient Dreadnought?
And that unique feeling of shared bloodline told him that this Dreadnought was definitely a Blood Angel, and a very ancient one at that. He was even older than the Dreadnoughts in their parent Chapter. When did the Blood Angels have such an ancient being?
But at that moment...
"Worthy of the sons of Sanguinius. Bring those people over here, quickly."
Aslot, clearly still grumpy from being woken up, hadn't quite grasped the situation yet. The Dreadnoughts modified by Zhou Ye didn't have such extreme waking-up anger. They weren't so far gone that they'd wake up and immediately start performing the Aruba on the attending Techmarine, but they still had some grumpiness.
Right now, his brain hadn't fully booted up. He saw the faith-based barrier maintained by the Ecclesiarchy priest and the little yellow figures guarding them, and enthusiastically waved them over.
He also dragged over a huge crate. These were the thirty sets of power armor Zhou Ye had originally given them. But later, Zhou Ye had upgraded them all to Primaris, so this armor became redundant. Zhou Ye had intended to melt it down, but the Lamenters, accustomed to poverty, couldn't bear to part with it. So he just gave it to them. Now, upon seeing their Chapter Master, Mario had his men drop the crate over immediately.
He had also dropped in the recently awakened Aslot. After all, if he didn't wake the Ancient for a battle like this, he had a feeling the Ancient would be furious when he found out later. He had seen the ancient sage Rylanor stomping around New Aestia looking for trouble with our Lord, though he could never find him. Zhou Ye could make himself untraceable to a Dreadnought; Mario had no such ability.
But soon...
"What are you all doing?"
Aslot finally noticed the surrounding problem and looked at Seth, who was shifting uncomfortably. He had been happy to see fellow sons of Sanguinius. But looking at the situation, he was confused.
"Ancient, they want to execute all those mortals!" Seeing his chance, Mario immediately tattled. It was clear that Aslot's appearance had stunned the entire crowd. Even the Inquisitor and the few Victrix Guard veterans behind him didn't dare to breathe too loudly.
"Huh?" Aslot was stunned again, still not fully awake from his stasis-slumber. He instinctively scanned the area and saw a group of little blue men.
"Aren't you from Guilliman's household? How's your Second Empire doing? Our Lord mentioned it to me. You even made Sanguinius the Emperor of the Second Empire, with Guilliman as his regent."
"Hssss..."
A collective sharp intake of breath was heard. No one expected this Contemptor Dreadnought to be so ruthless.
"Ancient, that was a desperate measure by the Gene-father. As soon as we heard that Terra still stood, it was disbanded."
Under the strange gazes of everyone around, Metaurus gritted his teeth and explained. Thankfully, everyone here was either a son of Sanguinius or an Ultramarine. It wasn't a huge problem... Now he finally understood why the prophecy had mentioned the Second Empire. They had originally intended to destroy all records of it. But now, it seemed they wouldn't dare to, even if they had the nerve. Destroying the records of a ten-thousand-year-old Dreadnought? If word of that got out, unless Guilliman himself woke up right now, they could expect their entire Chapter to be purged.
"Wait, what is the meaning of this? As sons of Sanguinius, what are you doing?"
Aslot finally came to his senses. Seeing the Flesh Tearers' weapons pointed at the civilians, he flew into a rage.
"Ancient... they may be harboring corruption..." Seth gritted his teeth and tried to explain to his own Chapter's Contemptor Dreadnought.
But before he could finish his sentence, he found himself snatched up by the Dreadnought's massive hand. He was then proceeded to be given a brutal Aruba against a nearby iron pillar. For a moment, sparks flew.
The group of Flesh Tearers stared dumbfounded at the scene. They looked at their Chapter Master being ground against a pillar with a shower of sparks, then looked at the bolters in their own hands.
Not a single one of them dared to raise their weapon. They just stared blankly as their Chapter Master got the Aruba treatment.
As for the Ultramarines and the Inquisitor, they didn't dare to breathe. Although they had all been looking for the ancient Dreadnoughts, actually seeing one in a rage was another matter entirely.
"Sob..."
Malakim was also stunned. Seeing the ten-thousand-year-old Contemptor Dreadnought appear, bearing his own Chapter's livery and praising them as sons of Sanguinius, he truly wanted to cry.
For how many years... had someone finally understood them? They finally had someone to whom they could voice their grievances. He knew all too well what it meant for this ancient Contemptor, adorned in their colors, to be here.
This Dreadnought could directly command even Chapter Master Dante of the Blood Angels, that living legend. He was that ancient... But such a being had not returned to the Blood Angels to enjoy the honor he deserved. Instead, he had chosen to remain with the Lamenters. They knew exactly what that meant.
At the very least, with this Ancient present, no one would dare bully them anymore.
"Brother, the transport is ready. We can take these people to the Battle Barge. There will be people there to check for corruption. We also have new sets of power armor. You should change your livery quickly."
At that moment, Mario immediately had his men take the civilians away. Hearing this, the other group of Lamenters was stunned.
"The situation here is so complicated. How did you get a transport here?"
"We were fortunate enough to acquire a special teleport homer that can send people back." Malakim said. Of course, this was all a product of Zhou Ye.
Because he didn't know the complete tech tree of Warhammer or the exact parameters of the equipment, and since Zhou Ye was no lore master, many of his creations were the result of him just "thinking it so." They might look the same, but their parameters could be off by a million miles.
"You all go ahead. I have received a revelation. I must remain on this Space Hulk."
Just then, the female Ecclesiarchy priest stepped forward and spoke to them.
---o---