40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 581 99. Dark Crusade (Twenty-four, Robert Guilliman in their mouths)

Hector Calgio didn't like the planet they were walking on. There are many reasons. If you ask him to give an example, he can talk about it for several minutes, but he also knows in his heart that this is just to vent his anger.

Forced to leave Calth, extinguish the sun, and then crash-land in this primitive and backward world.
All this weighed heavily on his chest like a boulder. Moreover, before the icy warship named Night Soul dissipated, remote sensing mapping and orbital observations showed that this was just a place still in the Middle Ages.

This means that the early colonists who arrived here most likely did not complete their mission, otherwise the world would never have become so wild.

Calgio understood that this was not good news. They would most likely have to stay here longer to build a signal transmitter that could contact the surrounding world, otherwise they would not be able to leave this world at all.

And this matter is worthy of scrutiny - how could a world controlled by colonizers degenerate into what it is now?

He strode out of the camp. They arrived early yesterday morning. Only one day had passed, and the surroundings of the camp had already undergone earth-shaking changes.

There are people busy in the trenches, automatic gun positions, and the initially established transportation lines. Auxiliary troops and civilians have participated. They are working in the sun wearing the goggles that were urgently manufactured and distributed, continuing to dig trenches, and transporting the newly cut pieces. wood.
The machinery inside the camp is rumbling, and various facilities are being initially set up. Soon, this camp will become a fully-equipped combat center.

Calgio isn't worried about the problems they'll run into here.

The Mechanic-Priests of Calth have encountered all kinds of strange things in the past ten thousand years, including cogitators who automatically made errors, servitors who suddenly turned into demons in their clone slots, and who checked without any problems but turned around to find something missing. Safety example of mechanical failure caused by falling out of a screw
If anything, the Chapter Master of the Sons of Calth has only one thing to worry about right now.

He walked toward the outer edge of the camp, where a giant stood brooding. The scarlet armor was reflecting the sunlight, making it particularly dazzling. Two giant axes were placed at an angle at the feet. The ax surfaces were dull and dull, with a faint red glow gleaming on the edges.

Calgio stopped a few steps away from him and did not get any closer. Over the past few days, he has become very familiar with the Children of the Night. They are very similar in some places, but there are also huge differences in others.

Scaradrick stopped speaking and his expression became even more sinister. Calgio understood him. He had read a lot of information about aliens, including the orcs.

Take the person in front of him, the Chapter Master of the Crimson Claws, Skaradric. Most civilians would not even think that the Maharaja was human the first time they saw his appearance. He was too pale and had looming fangs.
Those two things alone are enough to be intimidating, not to mention the ruthless wildness he possesses. Even Calgio often felt that the Maharaja was more like a dangerous and bloodthirsty beast.

He briefly fell into thought, and the idea of ​​war had firmly occupied his mind at the moment - the Sons of Calth had never fought against the orcs, and they needed to accumulate experience in this area, so they must take this matter seriously, and He must lead by example.
His thinking was so focused that he failed to immediately notice a Thunderhawk gunship flying back from the distant skyline. Unlike him, Scaradrick immediately noticed the obviously abnormal flight arc. Wire.

Shadow Knights usually maintain absolute silence in battle and do not make any war cries. Their blades pierce from the darkness, and most enemies won't even notice they're coming before being killed with a single blow.

"Your Highness." He said seriously. "I would like to ask about your reconnaissance."

Scaradrick glanced at them and did not speak. Instead, he first went to inspect the engine of the Thunderhawk belonging to the Sons of Calth.

The Crimson Claws are different. They are extremely ferocious in battle, and roaring is commonplace. Calgio even saw them deliberately maiming enemies without killing them immediately. Instead, they dragged them to continue running in the dark, using their helmets. The internal loudspeaker spread the sound throughout most of the battlefield.
Of course, these are all differences in details. If asked to choose the most obvious difference, Calgio would say it is appearance.

It's embarrassing to say, but the Sons of Calth have indeed never fought against such aliens.

Scarardrick noticed him. He wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back when he reached his mouth. He gestured impatiently to his team, then turned sideways and let the rush The civilians who came to Calgio were obscured by his figure.

For example, the Crimson Claws, they are completely different from the Shadow Knights.

Orcs.

There is no doubt that they are extremely dangerous aliens, with large numbers, strong combat effectiveness, and strong self-healing capabilities. At the same time, they can complete technological leaps in incomprehensible ways at extremely fast speeds. There is no doubt that these are not good things.

They collapsed to the ground in fear, and the men and women in dirty cloth hugged each other in panic. Only a half-year-old child was calm, or in other words, did not know fear.

After inspection, he found that one of the Thunderhawk's three engines had completely failed. This incident made his face even more gloomy - after all, this Thunderhawk was also borrowed.
But he didn't say anything, he just turned his attention to the leader of the team. They began to communicate in the dialect of Cainliel, their home world, and the short and cold syllables fell in the ears of those civilians, almost sounding like a precursor to an imminent murder.

Calgio coughed lightly, threw all these irrelevant thoughts out of his mind, and nodded to Scaladric, who had already looked over quietly.

"There's not much to say, it's just a few cities captured by the greenskins. However, judging from the traces, the orcs on the continent we are on have begun to merge, which means that once our gunships track With them, the war will begin. Considering their numbers, this war will not be easy, and sooner or later they will evolve in the war."

In this comparison, Chapter Leader Caiul Sahora of the Shadow Knights seems to have nothing to fear except for the gloominess caused by his frequent frowns.

Scaradrick nodded calmly, with the corners of his mouth slightly curved downward, looking a little gloomy.

He stepped forward and quickly arrived at the planned landing pad. Fifteen Scarlet Claw veterans wearing Terminator armor walked out while protecting a few terrified civilians. The smell of blood hit their faces. It was obvious that they had just experienced a killing.

"What's going on?" Calgio asked seriously. "Are these civilians?"

"Yes." Scaladrick replied slightly helplessly. "My team discovered them during the reconnaissance. It is said that they are a group of refugees hiding in the wild, planning to go to a city called Namath. When they were discovered, they had been almost killed by a group of greenskins. These are The last survivor."

Calgio lowered his head and looked at them. Like Scaradrick, his attention was drawn to the child who was still barely keeping his composure. So he knelt down on one knee, intending to communicate with him in a more peaceful manner.

"Do you understand me, child?"

"I understand." The child answered him in Gothic with a strange accent.

This incident made Calgio reveal a rare smile. He softened his tone and asked again: "So, what is your name?"

"Al." The child spit out a word that was so simple that it was more like a nickname or a nickname. "My mother calls me that."

"So, the city you are going to - Namas, right? Do you know where it is?" As if encouraged by Calgio's smile, Arna's trembling that he thought was well hidden subsided. many.

Children are like this, they always have more courage than adults who have already set their minds.

He answered Calgio loudly: "I know, it's on the east side! That's what the bearded uncle said!"

"Uncle Beard?"

Al wanted to say more, but a pair of hands covered his head, protecting him.

A thin man with a sallow face smiled at Calgio with fear and humility: "Sir, sir, he is just talking nonsense, he doesn't know anything."

"I know!" Al struggled to say. "That uncle with the beard said that he was a seller and that he had been to Namas! He said that the lord there was tall, strong, generous and kind!"

The man held him tighter, the smile on his face almost unbearable: "Master, this kid doesn't know anything. That businessman. Rather than saying that he is a businessman, it is better to say that he is a tramp. Everything he sells is... It’s something shady.”

"We really had no choice but to follow the direction he told us to go towards Namath, and we ran into the greenskins. If it hadn't been for the rescue by the gentlemen, we would have all died, so please don't listen to this kid. Yes, he is still young and he doesn’t understand anything.”

"I understand!" Al screamed in his arms. "I know my mother is dead!"

Calgio was silent for a few seconds and turned the question to the man: "Who are you?"

"I'm Al's teacher." The man apologized hastily. "My name is Darvill."

Calgio nodded noncommittally. He could see that the man was not telling the truth - at least not the complete truth. His Gothic was very fluent and his articulation was very clear, and he wanted to protect himself even in this situation. student.

This kind of person is very rare in a wild world, so he cannot be just a simple teacher. But now was not the time to dwell on this matter, so he continued to ask.

"What do you know about the city of Namath?"

This time, it was the man's turn to be silent. Facing Calgio's serious gaze, he lowered his head slowly, appearing very hesitant.

At this moment, Scaradrick threw a small sparkling ball, which fell into the arms of the crying boy, impartially and cleverly.

To Scaradrick it was a small ball, but to the boy it was as big as his fist. It was hard not to have Al's attention drawn to it.

The boy reached out and picked it up, tried to squeeze it, and found a small raised corner. Then he pressed it lightly, and the ball suddenly opened a small corner at this moment.

Then, a fragrance that neither he nor Calgio had ever smelled slowly rose from it.

"Eat," Scaladrick said curtly, making a leaning gesture.

Al looked at him blankly, and after a while he followed the instructions. A brown ball rolled out of the gap and fell into the boy's hand.

He tried to look at it, smell it, and then licked it gently, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He couldn't wait to eat it, and his teacher was shocked: "Al——!"

"—Let him eat it," said Scaradrick coldly. "That thing is called chocolate. It won't hurt him to eat some."

"But, sir"

"Don't call me Master." The king said, and then he walked away from here. Calgio watched helplessly as he led fifteen Crimson Claws away, and started the conversation again.

"Tell me, Darvill, what do you know about the city of Namath?"

The man muttered a few syllables, as if he was thinking, but also as if he was afraid. Calgio noticed the hairs that stood up on the backs of his hands, which meant he was actually afraid—so, why?
The son of Calth narrowed his eyes. Why did just talking about a city scare him? He began to wait patiently, observing Darvill's behavior more and more carefully.

The latter obviously noticed this, as a thin layer of cold sweat slowly fell from his forehead, and the trembling of his thin body became more obvious.
Until a small hand pushed a brown ball to his lips.

Darvill let out a helpless breath, smiled nervously, and then handed the chocolate back to the boy's hand. He licked his cracked and dry lips and began to answer Calgio's words.

"It's like this, sir. We heard from the businessman that a miracle happened in Namas. What he said was vivid and true. Although all tramps have this ability, if what he said is Really, then we are saved.”

"Hope is the most terrible thing, especially when one is in desperate situations. Anyway, he said, a son of the God-Emperor came in Namath."

God Emperor? Wasn't the colony separated from the empire?
Calgio suppressed the shock in his heart, remained calm, and made a gesture to indicate to Darvill to continue.

"They say the man coming is the Lord of Macragge, the great Robert Guilliman."

A thunder exploded in Calgio's mind.

(End of this chapter)