Warhammer: Saving Humanity Begins with the Resurrection of Horus

Page 74

Stepping out of the meditation room, it was broad daylight. The Thorn Avenue was bustling with Astartes and mortals. However, unlike before, among the walking Astartes, besides the original Star Claws, there were two other Astartes with completely different paint schemes.

The first type of Astartes wore emerald green power armor with yellow shoulder armor, on the surface of which was painted a ferocious insect head symbol.

This is the insignia of the Mantis Warriors, the Astartes Chapter stationed in the Endinion Cluster near Badab. It, along with the Starclaws and the Lamenters, is a member of the Alliance known as the "Maelstrom Guardians," and is one of the Chapters to be investigated and interrogated after the Terra Expedition arrived.

As for the second type of Astartes...

Bell looked at them, his expression becoming somewhat subtle.

The second type of Astartes wears dark gray power armor, with deep black shoulder armor. The chapter emblem on the shoulder armor is a silver-white fish, which was called "shark" in ancient Terra. According to recorded texts, Bell knows it to be a ferocious beast, a predator lurking in the ocean.

Man-eating shark.

Bell pondered the name of the chapter. To be honest, the initial interactions between the two sides on the first day of the chapter's arrival weren't exactly friendly. The other side brought the Inquisitor, and their initial demeanor was practically that of a war. It wasn't until Gawain stood up from his office chair, appearing in his golden armor, that both sides calmed down.

However, Bell still felt a little smug thinking about how the somewhat arrogant judge had instantly deflated upon seeing the Imperial Guard. Not long after the arrival of the Man-Eating Shark, the Mantis Warriors also arrived, and the three factions of Astartes gathered on a planet, and soon, they would become four factions or even more.

The situation was complicated, which made Bell miss Lynch even more and wish for him to come back soon. After all, although the Imperial Guard was quick to handle political affairs, only Lynch, the true leader of the warband, could make decisions on the major matters of the warband.

Just then, an Astartes jogged toward Bell. Bell recognized the man's face—Cassio of the Sixth Company, a veteran of the battle group.

"What happened?" Bell asked. "Why did you call me?"

Casio didn't speak, but winked at the chief think tank, and then an indescribable helplessness appeared on his face.

Bell frowned immediately, realizing something was wrong. He inwardly cursed, and quickly started walking in a certain direction without Casio's guidance, as if he had a premonition.

After traversing the long streets, he and Casio soon arrived at a massive building—the training ground of Star Claw, where warriors regularly trained and practiced simulated battles against their combat servants. At other times, the dueling cages and sandpit served as spaces for communication and conflict resolution.

Bell and Casio entered the training ground, which, unsurprisingly, was already packed with people.

Star Claw, Mantis Warrior, and the Man-Eating Shark Warriors surrounded the arena, all staring intently at the battle unfolding within the Duel Cage.

The two giants were fighting in the dueling cage, and even a glance was enough to tell that they were both powerful warriors.

If an ordinary Astartes were to attempt to fight any one of them, they would most likely not last more than three rounds.

The longsword and battle axe clashed and tore at each other, sparking brilliant and dazzling flashes of light in the air under their masters' control. The larger giant's face was always filled with a ferocious smile, and even though he wasn't in the dueling cage, Bell could feel the powerful pressure emanating from him.

Tiberius, the leader of the Man-Eating Shark Chapter, is a powerful warrior, but also, in Bell's eyes, a bloodthirsty beast through and through.

The one who could fight a Chapter Master was naturally another Chapter Master—Coissan Nildra, the Chapter Master of the Mantis Warriors, a mature and steady man. According to Bell's understanding of him, he was not the kind of person who would choose to duel with others on a whim.

So, in other words, the origin of this duel should be the man-eating sharks.

Bell remained impassive as he spotted someone watching from below the dueling cage—Te Kahulangi, the chief strategist of the Man-Eating Shark Team, just like himself.

“Bell,” Casio whispered. “The man-eating sharks provoked the mantis warriors. At first, it was just the lower-ranking warriors fighting each other, but somehow it ended up like this.”

"I see."

Bell nodded, and then he strode toward Te Kahulangi.

The chief strategist of the Man-Eating Shark seemed oblivious to the person who had entered his vicinity, his head constantly raised, intently watching the battle within the dueling cage. Upon seeing his own chapter leader wounded by an enemy's blade, he shook his head and then abruptly spoke.

"what do you think?"

“They are both powerful warriors.”

"Really? I think so too."

"That's what Te Kahulangi said. He turned his head, his face as calm as a lake under a gentle breeze and bright sunshine."

"Teh Kahulangi, chief think tank of the man-eating sharks."

“Bell, the chief think tank of Star Claws.” Bell began, exchanging names with Te Kahulangi. “I didn’t come here to stop this battle, but I hope that as the chief think tank, you can restrain yourself a little and not go too far.”

"Too much?" Te Kahulangi suddenly laughed, a chilling laugh on his gaunt face where bones were almost visible. "What level would be considered too much?"

Bell glanced silently at the mantis warrior being given emergency treatment by medics on the ground, and at a man-eating shark with a bruised face and a clear fracture in its left arm not far away, and fell silent.

Three seconds later, he slowly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of questioning.

"Do you think this isn't going too far? Even though you're using your own pharmacists, your wounded are now occupying our hospital beds."

Te Kahulangi shrugged, his face filled with an indifferent attitude.

"I believe you will provide medical supplies for our wounded. After all, Star Claw has always been very generous to its allies, hasn't it?"

Are we allies?

Bell asked himself the question, but in the end, he didn't voice it. He looked up; the battle in the Duel Cage was slowly drawing to a close. Although both were Chapter Leaders, it was a definite fact that the Mantis Warrior was inferior to the Man-Eating Shark in terms of combat power.

Tiberius grinned maliciously, brandishing his battle axe fiercely. The sharp blade sliced ​​through the air, pounding against Koisan's longsword like a warhammer. A trail of crimson blood forced his opponent to retreat, and when he had nowhere left to run, he charged forward, launching his final attack.

The mantis warrior gritted his teeth, his hands gripping the sword constantly sending back a numbing sensation, making it difficult for him to hold the weapon firmly for a moment.

But he did not retreat, facing the enemy who swung his battle axe at him. He roared, then with both hands, he swung his sword for the last time in this duel.

"boom!"

The blades of the sword and the axe clashed, tearing at each other's throats like wild beasts. But the shark's teeth were far sharper than the mantis's double-edged sword. Cracks began to appear on the longsword, and then, to Koisan's astonishment, the longsword transformed into a short sword, while the battle axe sliced ​​through the air, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound on his left shoulder blade.

"Three lives, it's over."

Tiberius pulled out his battle axe, and Coisan's face contorted in pain for a moment as he used his intact right arm to cover the wound on his left shoulder, trying to slow the bleeding.

The Mantis Warriors' apothecaries immediately rushed into the dueling cage to heal their chapter leader. In contrast, the Man-eating Sharks reacted much less strongly when Tiberius emerged from the cage; not a single apothecary approached to inquire whether his wounds needed treatment.

It was as if they had known all along that this would be the outcome.

Te Kahulangi stepped forward and stopped his battle commander.

“This is Bell,” he said succinctly. “He is the chief think tank of Star Claw. He just contacted me. Although he didn’t say it explicitly, I feel that he probably wants to talk to you.”

Tiberius stood rooted to the spot, his pale skin framed by black eyes that gazed upon the chief think tank of Star Claw. Those black eyes gave the impression of the deep sea, silent and still, yet containing countless dangers and a probing intent.

Bell calmly met his gaze. Five seconds later, the Astartes warrior, nicknamed the Lord of Shadows, spoke, his voice hoarse and monotonous.

“I respect you,” Tiberius began. “You are the head of the think tank, so I respect you. But I must also state one thing: regarding the Star Claws, aside from that member of the Imperial Guard, if they wish to have any formal discussions with me, then…”

His tone was flat, and the content of his words left Bell unable to find a rebuttal for a moment after listening.

"Summon the true leader of the chapter to come out and see me."

After speaking, the Lord of Shadows led his men out of the training ground. Bell watched their retreating figures and sighed helplessly.

Just then, Casio, who had suddenly left for some unknown reason, reappeared. Unlike his frowning face when he first appeared, the sergeant of the Sixth Company was now filled with an indescribable excitement.

“Bell!” he exclaimed. “Good news! We just received a message from the stars—Lord Lynch is back!”

"what!"

Bell's face showed the same excitement as Casio's, but he quickly calmed down and immediately began to prepare.

"Does the Imperial Guard know?"

"I understand. He's already heading towards the shutdown scale."

"Go and inform the others immediately, and tell each company commander to prepare their troops. Also, don't forget the Mantis Warriors. Take them with you to welcome Lord Lynch."

"Okay...wait a minute, Belle, aren't you coming with me? What are you going to do?"

Faced with Casio's question, Bell smiled faintly, looked in the direction the man-eating sharks had just left, and let out a long breath.

“I will take that Shadow Lord to meet the true Chapter Leader.”

Chapter 98 The Net and Comoros

The cargo hold door opened, and the dry air of Badabuna once again filled the lungs of everyone inside, accompanied by orderly shouts and loud string music.

Outside the cabin were neatly arranged square formations—divided into three, or rather four, sections. There were three Astartes belonging to their respective warbands, and a mortal band holding orchestral instruments, methodically playing music.

There were no cheers from the common people, nor the maidens and wreaths that greet heroes in stories. The only thing related to welcoming the victorious heroes was that band of ordinary people. But judging from their attire, it was clear they had been hastily recruited and had not undergone any professional training.

However, the person being greeted clearly didn't care much about such things.

As the team emerged from the hatch, the appearance of the Hades-type Terminator power armor drew slight glances from the members of the two chapters other than Starclaw. Especially after seeing that there were not just a few or a dozen, but nearly a hundred, even the usually cold-faced leader of the Man-Eating Shark chapter couldn't help but show a hint of shock.

“They are very wealthy.” Beside him, Te Kahulangi transmitted a message to him using psionic energy. “This is abnormal. I know that Starclaw, under Huron’s leadership, did develop a sophisticated internal system, but this number of Hades Terminators…”

“I know.” The Lord of Shadows drew his thoughts in his mind. He knew his knowledge base could be read, so to outsiders, he remained just that silent, cold behemoth. “To be able to subdue a group of Astartes, even if that mortal was a chosen one, is a bit too bizarre.”

“They show no signs of chaotic contamination; I've checked.”

"...Do you think it would be a better option if we cooperated with Star Claw?"

"Don't forget, although the target isn't the Star Claw, we have an Inquisitor in our team this time."

"He's just a judge."

"...Don't make a decision lightly. Let's wait a while. Only after we actually see the 'Lord Lynch' mentioned by the Star Claw can we make a decision about everything that follows."

The Chief Think Tank's words were acknowledged by the Lord of Shadows, and the two fell silent once more. They watched the ranks continuously emerging from the transport pods, seeing the Glory Guard, composed entirely of Hades Terminators, elite veterans of the First Company, warriors exuding powerful auras, and the Lamenters clad in yellow power armor, but they still couldn't spot that, logically speaking, conspicuous, short, mortal figure.

Could it be that he was unfortunately killed in this battle?

Tiberius frowned. He glanced at the guard in the Starclaws' ranks. If that was the case, then there was no reason for the guard to remain there and help a warband with a criminal record manage affairs.

So he didn't come down with the main group. Why, the judge still said... himself?

If that's really the case, then Lin Qi might not be a tough character, meaning I have an opportunity to use that to gain more benefits for the battle group...

"You are Tiberius?"

The leader of the Man-Eating Shark was stunned, but soon he heard the sound of the Honor Guards following behind him cocking their explosive guns, as well as the sound of other people around him cocking their explosive guns.

Damn.

Tiberius cursed under his breath, raised his hand to signal his Honor Guard to cease their movements. Then he took a deep breath, lowered his head, looked at the short, mortal man before him, and tentatively began to speak.

"You... no, you, you are the chosen one, Lin Qi?"

"Yes, you must be the infamous Crimson Blood Road Tiberius, the leader of the Man-Eating Shark Guild."

He received an affirmative answer, but this did little to alleviate Tiberius's wariness and shock. If his earlier shock stemmed from the extraordinary wealth displayed by the Star Claws, far exceeding that of ordinary Astartes chapters, then his current shock came from the fact that a mortal had just appeared before him without his or anyone else's knowledge.

“It’s psionic energy,” Te Kahulangi said, helping his chapter leader clear up some of his confusion. “This mortal… Lynch’s Chosen possesses very strong psionic energy; I just tried to probe it…”

The chief think tank suddenly fell silent, forcing Tiberius, who was curious about what the other man had seen, to suppress his own confusion. He took a deep breath; after all, there were more important things to do right now than what the other man had witnessed.

"Nice to meet you, good day," the mortal with long black hair said, nodding to the mantis warriors on the other side. "Warriors of the man-eating sharks and mantis warriors, son of the Khan, and..."

If the previous reactions were shock, this one was utter horror. Not only Tiberius, but also all the high-ranking members of the chapters behind him wore expressions of disbelief.

"Guardians of the Darkness Beyond the Realm".