40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 521 39. A table and six people

Like a gust of wind, Yago Savitarion crashed into the conference room.

The gates made of Nostramo's demonized adamantine were useless to him. The two doors didn't even have any blocking effect, allowing him to pass through like undulating water curtains.

Such a scene that violated any laws of physics did not surprise the other four people in the room - this was not the first time they boarded the Nightshade, nor was it the first time they had a conversation in this 'conference room'.

In fact, things even more transcendent than this have happened to Yago Savitarion.
"Nice to meet you," Saiveta said.

When he spoke, he forcefully raised the muscles on both sides of his cheeks. His pale fangs protruded from his twisted lips, and his bright red gums were looming in them. This smile could not be called friendly in any way, but the other four people present had long been accustomed to it.

After all, that's the best 'smile' expression Iago Severtarion can give.

And you'd better not be too hard on him about this.

The last official who insisted on asking him to practice smiling before meeting Sanguinius is still working day and night in the Master's personal staff, and is said to have undergone three life-extending surgeries and thirteen rescue operations.

As a palace attendant in charge of etiquette, he should not have been qualified to join the Seal Bearer's staff, but he was personally recommended by Sevatar.

"But your brothers are just not up to par, and none of them are as good as you. Finally, I have never heard of a Chapter Master abandoning his Chapter and launching a Redemption Crusade."

The Scarlet Lord twitched his face and uttered a Nostramo phrase, meaning shameful betrayal.

The Lord of the Crimson Claw bowed slightly to show his 'respect'.

"But before we begin, I want to talk about something else."

"Listen, Maharaja, my good brother. If you continue to talk, I may not be happy. I may even do something irrational, do you understand?"

The blood vessels on his forehead were actually bulging at this moment, like long blue-gray snakes beating and twitching constantly on the surface of his skin, which was as pale as a drowned person, making his entire face look extremely terrifying.

"I have served for ten thousand years and have seen more strange things than your stone head can recognize, and I have never seen or heard of a Chapter Master doing anything like it."

It is said that Yago Sevitarion wrote a letter of ten thousand words specifically for this purpose. The words were sincere and the reasons for the recommendation were 'extreme bravery' and 'complete rigidity' - which sounds like exactly what the palmer needs. kind of people.

"Very good." Sevita nodded. "First of all, a Redemption Crusade involving only one person is the same as risking death. I don't care whether the opponent you choose is an alien, a traitor, or a bunch of idiot demons with no ass, it makes no difference."

"What kind of war?" Sevatar asked.

"I killed an innocent man."

"War." Scaladrick forced out one word through his teeth, and then another short sentence. "That's all."

Savita kept smiling and hugging her, looking at him motionless.

"It seems like you knew what I wanted to talk to you about early on, huh? Right? Rick?" he asked happily. "Did you make any plans on the way here? Did you also try to imagine what questions I would ask you?"

Next, his movements were more than five times slower than the speed of his words. This makes him look like a servitor with an error in programming, or a demon that has taken over a human body and is not yet familiar with how to manipulate the fresh flesh of the living.
In fact, the latter one is probably more consistent with the truth.

His staff doesn't need to think, it just needs to work.

"So, what were you thinking about while you were standing on the Batwing waiting to board the ship, you damn insubordinate wooden head?"

"Do you listen?" he asked.

The Maharaja let out a low growl from his throat.

Sevatar looked at him in great amazement, like a blind man who had regained his sight. Half a second later, he shook his head, sighed, and turned into a gentle smile. He even opened his arms toward Scaradrick as if he wanted to embrace the world.

"War of Atonement."

"I'll turn to the wisdom I gained from the teachings of Conrad Coates—something you don't have—to explain to you why I'm unhappy."

Sevatar grinned.

"What? My Lord, Yong Ye, what crime have you committed?"

He looked into Scaradrick's eyes, leaned closer again, and almost touched the Maharaja's forehead with his chin.

Sevatar put down his hands, suppressed his smile, and the muscles on his face became stiff again. All the gentleness was gone, leaving only a cruel coldness.

He smiled and stretched out his hands, gently put them on Scarardrick's shoulders, and changed his face to a sincere one.

Then, he actually leaned close to the Maharaja's ear and began to apologize softly.

"Forgive me, brother. I'm very sorry for this. But if my actions or words hurt your young, pure heart that has not yet fully grown up, I will apologize twice for it."

"As long as you participate, you will die, and you will die worthless. Secondly, where the hell are you going to find a successor?"

"So—" He took a deep breath. "——I will look for a successor after returning to the Chapter, step down from my position, and start a redemption expedition in my own name."

"I beg you, Scaradrick. For the sake of our friendship over the years, please tell me what crime you think you have committed? Frankly speaking, I am extremely curious about this matter."

"Do you know why?" he repeated in a whisper. "Answer quickly, Scaradrick."

Sevatar turned his neck stiffly and directed his gaze in the direction of Scaradrick. During the whole process, his eyes were like gems embedded in them, stuck in their sockets without moving at all.

Scaradrick said.

"If you do this, you will betray the oath you swore when you became Chapter Master. You will betray your Chapter, your brothers, and everyone who has ever shed the blood of the Crimson Claws. You know why?"

"No, my lord, I beg you not to call me Rick, I have been saying this for one hundred and eighty-two years." The Maharaja replied expressionlessly. "In addition, I swear to Yongye, I have not thought about any of the above things."

Sevatar looked around, deliberately slowed down his speech, and spoke slowly.

"But, for the sake of you, an elm-headed fool, I am willing to temporarily put aside my natural desire for violence."

"Did this man grow from the ground or fall from the sky? Who among the Scarlet Claws can take your place now? Don't tell me about your second company commander or others. In my opinion, they are Not qualified.”

With a fake smile, Sevatar walked towards Scaladric, who was stiff and clenched his fists, and used his sharp right index finger to slide open the Maharaja's forehead. Blood flowed down, and soon his entire face was completely stained. red.

Sevatar burst out laughing, and then started clapping and praising him repeatedly.

"Yes! Because you abandoned them! You abandoned them and then turned to pursue your own personal honor!"

"Ah, what a great Chapter Master. No doubt the Emperor will be disappointed in you, no, not only Konrad Curze will be disappointed in you. And of course, I - in fact, I I'll be so fucking disappointed in you, Scaradrick."

"If you really dare to do this, I promise you, I will declare you a traitor and drive you from one end of the galaxy to the other. When I catch you, I will whip you hard with the Book of Night Your face, until all the blood vessels in your ugly face burst into tears."

Sevatar gently exhaled a breath, took a few steps back, and returned to the door. He put his hands behind his back and stared at the Maharaja without a smile.

"Okay, I'm done." He said calmly. "Now it's time for you to come up with your excuses. Tell them, Scaladrick. Let me hear them. I want to know if they are bad."

"."

"Why are you silent? This is the moment when you should say something, brother."

".I have nothing more to say," Scaradrick whispered. "But will he really be satisfied if I say nothing?"

"Who?" Sevatar asked, taking a step to the left, as if giving way. A man in a thick black robe walked out of the darkness in front of them. His hands reached out of his wide sleeves and were covered with bandages. The blood had completely stained them red.

"Him?" Savita asked again. "Is this the person who just completed a perfect stealth in front of you? Who is he? I beg you to tell me, Scaradrick, who is he?"

".Instructor."

"What I want is a name."

Scarardrick took a deep breath and said, "Khalil Lohars."

Savita smiled and nodded: "Thank you, Mr. Smart."

He turned his head, looked at Khalil, bent down to support his knees, and whispered in his ear: "So, instructor. If Lord Scaradrick does nothing, will you be satisfied with it?"

Khalil raised his head and looked at him for a while before giving his answer.

"You've gone a little too far, Yago," he said very calmly. "This drama of good guys and bad guys is outdated. I don't think you should use this method to integrate me into the current Legion. No, the command level between Chapters."

"First, I have no such intention. Second, there is no sin in Lord Scaladric. I have already explained this to him before setting off." "My mental state is not stable, so, Everything I say and do while in a state of madness should not be taken seriously. I will work hard to restrain myself and try my best not to let anything like this happen again.”

"In addition, Your Majesty, I want to apologize to you. It was my words that caused your reputation to be damaged, and I am very sorry for that. I will do my best to make amends to show my apology."

Sevatar raised his left hand, covered his forehead, and sighed softly.

"Are you serious?" He straightened up helplessly. "The drama of good guys and bad guys is outdated? Why do I think you are involved in it?"

Khalil glanced at him and suddenly raised his hand and hit him hard on the back.

A burst of ice instantly penetrated the power armor and penetrated deeply into Sevatar's flesh and blood, calming the pain caused by his resurrection from the dead and calming the twitching muscle fibers.

Savita couldn't help coughing, and a mouthful of sticky blood surpassed his control and spurted out, forming a crystal mist of blood in the air.

Sheikh Lenghun was stunned.

Kaiul Sahoura's eyes twitched, and he couldn't help but take a deep breath of cold air.

Scaradrick raised his trembling right hand and rubbed the center of his brow, his expression extremely indescribable.

Among the five Chapter Masters present, only the Hunter appeared completely calm. His cloudy white eyes were looking at Khalil unblinkingly. The scriptures hanging on the power armor moved automatically without any wind. The scarlet characters lit up for a moment, but then went out quickly.

"You can't have two bad guys in this scene at the same time," Khalil said slowly. "Now, I'm a bad guy too, Yago."

"What benefit does exposing me have to you?" Savita asked sincerely. "I was almost going to make Scarardrick realize his mistake, but now, how can I make him, a stubborn person, take the initiative to back down again?"

The Maharaja covered his face with his trembling right hand.

"It's no good. I just want to do this. Just like you obviously have a better and more peaceful solution, but you still insist on doing it this way."

Sevatar shook his head and dismissed the topic.

"Then - let's get down to business," he said with a sigh. "First of all, it's the problem of the Night Soul. I'm sorry for that, Kaiul. However, under the circumstances, I had no better way."

"What's the result?" asked the leader of the Shadow Knights.

He showed no emotion or thought, as if the familiar names on the list of dead were not from his warband, nor were they his brothers. There was only pure calm on his face, as if he already knew the answer.

Sevatar smiled at him.

"I'm sure you saw what kind of torture he was going through - so why do you ask, Caiul?"

"Because I'm afraid." Shadow Knight replied firmly and plainly. "I worry that the future I see will still have to wait."

"I promise you, it has come, just as I promised you one hundred and forty years ago. One day, the future you saw will become reality. Today is that 'someday', today is Erebus Time for comeuppance.”

"Then I have nothing to say," said Caiour. "The Night Soul died a worthy death. Not many battleships can retire with such honor as her. We will seal her name and find another battleship as the flagship."

"What kind?" Sheher Lenghun interrupted and asked, he seemed very concerned about this question. "If you need it, brother, I can contact some people here, I can at least make a list for you to choose from."

"No need, Grand Master. We act in the name of Talon, and it doesn't matter whether we have a flagship or not."

"What's more, we should use our own hands to fight for an honor that is enough to exchange for a powerful battleship. If this ship will replace the Night Soul as our new flagship, this must be done."

Kaiul said calmly, his tone as calm as if these matters had nothing to do with him.

Sheher was silent for a moment and then nodded. He would say no more, Kaiul had shown his resolve, and he could see clearly.

"Don't be so impatient yet, Caiul." Sevatar shook her head at him. "I must remind you one thing. The Night Soul and the Night Veil are both meritorious battleships with a service life of 10,000 years. Over the years, she has shared weal and woe with the Children of the Night."

Caiul looked at him, or rather stared at him. Like a servitor, the Shadow Knight shook out a short sentence heavily from his vocal cords.

"What do you mean?"

"It means that if you call, she will answer." Khalil answered on behalf of Sevita.

As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings suddenly became quiet. His voice began to echo in the conference room and gradually spread out, forming a dull echo in the darkness.

Savita stood under the pale incandescent light and turned to look at the vast darkness, with no sadness or joy on his face.

The Nightshade has undergone many modifications due to various needs over the years. Although there have been many objections, Sevatar still insisted on completing all these things. That includes here.

This is not just a simple conference room, but a cemetery. In the darkness, tens of thousands of blood-stained flags were waving.

Not all of these flags are from the Nightborne, nor are they no longer in use, but those who once waved them have disappeared in the long river of history.

They may be military flags, ship flags or flags of a certain small company. Some are still intact, while others have been burned, torn to pieces, and beyond recognition.
Sevatar stared into the darkness. At this moment, his gaze passed through the cemetery and went straight to a certain flag. Its first and last flag bearer was the same man, named Bellows von Sharp.

If you call out, will you get an answer?

Sevatar smiled self-deprecatingly and looked at the other flags. The ancient relics from the legionary period were clearly visible to him. They all stayed quietly on the walls, making no sound in the darkness.

The living should not call the dead.

"I, I don't understand, instructor." Kaiour stammered. "Reply, respond? How to respond?"

"We will discuss this later, Caiul. As for now, Yago has not finished his work."

"I have nothing more to say." Saiveta said with a smirk. "At best, there are only two things. The first is to announce that Erebus is dead, and the second is to announce the return of the instructor. That's it."

"Allow me to make some suggestions." Sheikh Lenghun raised a finger seriously. "These are two very important events. Dear Lord Yago Severtalion, are you going to skip them like this?"

"Otherwise?" Savita rolled her eyes at him and asked impatiently. "Raise an army and announce that Erebus has been executed?"

"Go to hell, as long as we and some of our cousins ​​know the news that this bastard is dead, it's best that the general public doesn't even hear his name, even just once."

"What about the instructor's return?" Sheher asked in confusion. "This should be a mobilization of troops, right?"

"Okay, then, how to announce it?" Sevita stared at him and shrugged. "Even ten thousand years ago, the existence of instructors was not widely known. We do not deliberately pursue secrecy, but it is the fact."

He stretched out his fingers and began to count his brother's fingers, as if he were a toddler who was babbling.

"Except for the Emperor, the Sealbearers, the Custodes, the Primarchs and some of their personal guards, not many people really know him. Do you understand?"

"And now, you want me to spread the news to everyone in the Ghoul Star Region and the Extreme Star Region, and tell them that an antique from ten thousand years ago has returned? What do you think their first reaction will be?"

"They will wonder who this old antique is." Khalil added.

With a smile, he patted Savita on the back again, but this time he was much gentler: "Then, they will turn around and forget about this matter, because this old antique has no reputation at all."

Sevatar turned around, smiled at him, and said boldly but quietly: "Why don't you tell all the originals?"

"Okay." Khalil said. "But I would tell them, this is your suggestion."

".Let's forget it." Sevatar turned around and looked at his brothers. "Anyway, I've finished what I said. Who has any objections?"

No one answered.

"Then let's adjourn the meeting for now. Clean the battlefield, gather the troops, and then send a request for help to the troops stationed nearby. It is best to find a group of Ultramarines. Come to me when you are ready. We all need to go back to Novo. Stramore.”

He said this, and walked out of the conference room with Khalil without looking back, and the demonized fine gold door once again fluctuated like a water curtain.

Sheikh Lenghun walked over without belief and pushed the door hard with both hands, but could not make it move at all. He frowned and stared at the door, tapping his breastplate silently.

At this moment, another person stepped past him, and the door fluctuated again, allowing him to pass in a completely abnormal way.

Half a second later, the hunter's voice slowly came from the communication channel, hoarse and low, but very polite.

".I'll take the first step, everyone."

"How did you do that?" Scheher roared towards the door. "Come back! Explain it to me!"

All he heard was a rustling sound coming from inside the communication channel.

(End of this chapter)