Warhammer: Saving Humanity Begins with the Resurrection of Horus

Page 31

However, amidst their fear, the Slaanesh followers also vaguely felt a strange, indescribable tingling sensation.

"You shouldn't have come to save me; the risk was too great..."

“Saving you will help my new plan, and besides, we should be considered partners by now, wouldn’t you say?”

Lin Qi emerged from the shadows, looked at Gao Wen who was hanging by chains, and sighed.

"Looks like you don't need to deal with this guy yourself to vent your anger. As expected of the Imperial Guard."

Shaking his head, Lin Qi raised his hand, and the invisible blade formed from psionic energy reappeared in his hand. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the blade flew from his hand, slicing through the air and piercing the heart of the Slaanesh cultist who was crawling on the ground towards the exit.

A sharp pain shot through him, and the Slaanesh follower felt his body twitch twice before blood slowly spread beneath him, forming a pool of blood. His eyes gradually dimmed, and he completely lost his life.

"I'll put you down now, but after I use my psionic energy to heal you, you'll need to work a little overtime."

Chapter 42 Chaos Begins (4,000 words, one more chapter to come)

The psionic energy stitched the torn flesh back together, and in just a few minutes, the body that was originally covered in bleeding wounds was left with only fresh scars.

Gao Wen stretched his sore shoulders, and with a crisp cracking sound from his joints, he let out a long breath, then looked at Lin Qi and spoke sincerely.

"my question."

"Let's not talk about that now. Besides, if you hadn't been captured, I wouldn't have discovered such a huge internal conflict within Star Claw. It's a blessing in disguise."

Lin Qi stopped Gao Wen from apologizing, even though he knew that even if he said that, the pride of the Imperial Guards would not easily forgive his failure.

However, in Lynch's view, this defeat cannot be blamed on Gawain in some respects.

After all, the Imperial Guards could indeed overwhelm most of the Astartes in terms of combat power, but according to Eric, the one who captured Gawain was an Astarte think tank, and a Grand Secretary whose strength was second only to the Chief Think Tank, and who is now very likely to have absorbed the power of Chaos.

Without the Silent Sisters' assistance, Gawain was only equipped with the most basic Imperial Guard gear. If he wanted to escape unscathed from both his opponent and the elite Astartes of the Star Claws, then it would depend on whether the Emperor would exert his full strength.

Judging from the results, Hakim didn't exert any effort.

It can be said that Lin Qi did not consider things thoroughly at the time. If Gao Wen really wants to blame himself, then he also needs to reflect on his actions.

Lin Qi sighed softly and shook his head. Then he snapped his fingers, and as his ability was activated, white light instantly illuminated every corner of the basement.

"I need you to create chaos, at least to make everyone in the Star Claws understand that an external enemy has infiltrated the Thorn Court, so that Huron can order the entire chapter to begin searching for the enemy."

Gawain nodded and took out a black robe and a power sword that gleamed with a cold white light even in the darkness from the white light.

Thanks to Horus's friendly support, Lynch was able to extract these moderately expensive pieces of equipment that met Gawain's current needs.

Gawain draped the black robe over his body, concealing his naked body from the interrogation. His left hand gripped the hilt of his sword, his fingers pressing the activation device in the center, producing a faint "click."

In an instant, the azure light replaced the dim and dissipated white light, illuminating the entire basement once again.

The decomposition force field is functioning well, and the machine spirit is in a stable state, which can support the next action.

"All you need to do is create chaos. Once you've achieved your goal, leave the Thorn Court immediately and head to Demore. I left intelligence at the Lower Nest's base; you can use that intelligence to find Lappland."

Gawain deactivated the disintegration field, and the blue light reflecting in the basement disappeared. He nodded to Lynch, indicating that he understood his plan.

"I understand. Your safety is the priority. Leave immediately after causing chaos."

Hearing Gawain's words, Lin Qi was slightly taken aback. He looked up and, with the aid of his psionic energy, he could clearly see the Imperial Guard's face in the darkness. It was an old face, looking exactly the same as when they first met, but the emotions brewing within it now truly showed sincerity towards a comrade, or rather, a fellow soldier.

Lin Qi's lips curled into a slight smile as he gave Gawain a salute, which Gawain returned. In the darkness, just before their actual operation, they spoke in unison, their words echoing in the oppressive basement.

"The Emperor's blessing."

－－－－－－－

Asford finished his patrol for the day and returned to his room.

The silver-white power armor had been removed, revealing the flesh beneath, which bore neural interfaces and crisscrossing old and new scars.

After hesitating for a moment, Asford finally chose a white robe from his wardrobe and put it on. This was probably the only decent outfit he owned besides his power armor. As a sergeant, he would sometimes accompany the chapter's high command to banquets. At some banquets, people would no longer wear power armor, but instead, formal attire like this would be worn.

However, he naturally had other clothes in his daily life, but for some reason, whenever he saw those clothes, Asford would have a strange thought.

If he sees me wearing clothes like this, will it leave a bad impression?

This idea led Asford to choose the white robe he had never worn outside of banquets, and he looked in the mirror and tidied his hair a little so that he could present his best self to the outside world after leaving the room.

However, such thoughts and behaviors also illustrate a problem, a problem that should not have arisen in the mind of an Astartes.

He started to care too much about someone's opinion, which was abnormal for Astartes. As war machines transformed from humans, they should only have anger towards the enemy and brotherhood between them.

Not to mention that he was just a mortal.

Asford's brow furrowed deeply, the wrinkles resembling a series of deep, parallel canyons. Within those canyons flowed rushing waters, and within those waters flowed the complex emotions of its master.

What happened to him?

Asford sighed, his expression softening. He extended his right hand and gently massaged his forehead with the knuckle of his thumb, gradually calming himself down.

Perhaps he was just too tired, or perhaps the mortal looked a lot like one of his relatives before he joined the battle, which is why he had such thoughts.

Yes, that should be it.

Asford let out a long breath, walked out of his room, and strode steadily toward the cafeteria.

As Astartes, they don't have much to do with food, but that doesn't mean they don't need to eat. In fact, Astartes have a rich and sophisticated diet, and many different chapters have even developed their own unique food culture over the long years.

Of course, there is no such culture in Star Claw. What it provides its warriors with are the most basic rations, such as nutrient porridge that is so thick that it can only be stirred with a special spoon, black and hard lumps that are impossible for mortals to bite, and nutrient solutions that are unnamed but do not taste very good.

Asford entered the dining hall. At this moment, the dining area on the first floor was empty. The mortals' mealtime had passed, and all the food windows were closed. It was deserted, except for a few servo skulls floating in mid-air.

Asford strode toward a staircase not far away. Unlike the Lamenters and the legendary Salamanders, the Astartes of the Starclaw did not have the custom of dining in a separate area on the second floor, rather than on the first floor with the mortals who were servants of the chapter.

But as soon as he stepped onto the first step of the stairs, Asford stopped and turned his gaze to the bathroom located in the corner.

His eyes narrowed slightly. His keen senses told him that there had been footsteps there just now, and according to common sense, there shouldn't be anyone other than himself there.

who?

Asford stared at the bathroom door, and after waiting for a full minute, the sound of flushing water filled the air. Footsteps grew clearer and clearer until finally, a clear figure appeared at the bathroom door.

That is........

Asford's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the figure that had appeared.

The figure had obviously seen him too, and immediately stopped wiping the water stains off his hands on his clothes.

"Lord Asford."

Their attitude was respectful, seemingly no different from how other chapter servants in this Thorn Court treated Astartes.

But deep down, Asford was saying something to himself.

This shouldn't be happening. He shouldn't have treated me like that, and he shouldn't have addressed me as "adult."

It was an absurd idea, so Asford quickly suppressed it. He walked up to the figure and uttered the person's name in a slow, low voice.

"Lin Qi, why are you still here? It should be past lunchtime."

"Ah, this? Haha... I have diarrhea, Lord Asford."

A perfectly timed awkward smile appeared on Lynch's face, as if he really had been stuck there for so long because of diarrhea. But secretly, he had already begun to summon Horus, preparing the other to possess him.

Lynch never expected that he would see an Astartes as soon as he came out of the bathroom, and that the Astartes would recognize him.

I didn't see anyone in the canteen when I went in, and Astartes' meal time should still be two Terra hours.

Surprising? An annoying word.

Asford didn't see anything wrong in Lynch's words, but for some reason, he still vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

But something inexplicable was preventing him from delving deeper into this matter. It was as if, to him, continuing to think about it and thus revealing certain truths would be a grave act of rebellion.

Never mind, what could be wrong? I must just be too tired lately.

"Hurry back, lunch break is about to end. As a servant, your duties still..."

boom! ! !

It was the sound of an explosion, which made Asford turn his head sharply and look in horror in the direction from which it came.

An enemy attack? How could that be? Who on Badab would dare to attack Star Claw?

Asford suddenly remembered the recent rumor that an assassin from the Empire had infiltrated Star Claw to kill the Chapter Master, but was ultimately killed by the Think Tank in conjunction with the First and Third Company.

After that incident, a great deal of opposition arose within the Chapter against Terra, who believed that Terra was not only being unreasonable but also desperate and trying to gain control of the entire Starclaw by killing the Chapter Master in order to achieve their ulterior motives.

"All non-combatants, all non-combatants........"

The servo skull's loudspeaker began broadcasting an alarm, ordering all non-combat personnel currently outside to immediately return to their quarters and remain there without leaving.

"This is...an attack?!"

Lynch's face was also filled with shock, as if he was even more incredulous than Asford himself at the attack on Star Claw.

Asford looked at Lynch beside him, and the slight unease he had sensed earlier resurfaced in his mind, telling him that there must be something wrong with this extraordinary mortal.

Even... this sudden explosion was closely related to the other party.

Should I capture him? I am Astartes of the Star Claws, it is my duty to eliminate all threats the Chapter may face, to eliminate all aliens, heretics, traitors...

"Sergeant Asford."

Asford suddenly woke up, looked at the servo skull that had flown in front of him at some unknown time, and let out a long breath.

"The Huron Warband Commander issued an order for all Astartes to don their gear and conduct a thorough search of the surrounding Thorn Court and its vicinity."

"...I understand, I'll go put on my gear right away."

Asford responded in this way, then lowered his head and looked at Lynch standing beside him.

"Hurry back to the dormitory. The enemy who dares to attack the royal court must be no ordinary person. As a mortal, you cannot get involved in such matters. Only in the dormitory will you be as safe as possible."

After saying this, he immediately strode out of the cafeteria without looking back.

Lin Qi breathed a slight sigh of relief. Just now, he clearly felt a trace of hostility emanating from the other party, which almost made him possess Horus and log in to the account to play the game ahead of time.

Fortunately, it seems the outcome is good. This Astartes named Asford may have had some doubts, but with the Primarch's aura supporting him, he ultimately chose not to take action and forcibly detained Lynch.

"Horus, thank you for your help. That was really close."

"...No trouble at all. What's next? Are you going back to your dorm?"

“How could that be? Eric has already arranged a place for me to meet with your loyal offspring. The speech will be up to you then, my War Commander.”

"You should call me Lord of Macurag."