How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 368: You need emotional intelligence and swordsmanship (God knows, Akuldona is not mocking)
After a loud bang, Lidatore Kuven fell down in a dizzy spin. This was an upward attack that accurately hit the Phoenix Son Sword Champion's jawbone, so heavy that Kuven's entire skull seemed to be buzzing.

The champion lay dazed in the open-air duel arena that was temporarily built in the base. The gentle sunlight of Macragge fell on his eyes, dimming his vision in the instinctive reaction of the Primaris Space Marine. Kuven barely recovered and blinked his eyes, and found that the training sword was not in his hand. He thought that he didn't know where it was thrown when he was hit just now. The voice of his opponent's evaluation filled his ears dimly, as if it came from the bottom of the water:

"You have successfully made me realize the strength and speed advantages of the Primaris warriors. Not bad." The firstborn, whose long hair was simply braided and even let the ends of his hair fall to the ground, said this as he walked into the duel cage with his sword. "But each of you must realize that having an advantage in strength and speed is not a sufficient factor for you to win a sword fight."

Kuwen tried twice before he managed to get up from the ground with a dizzy head. The vibrations from the violent collision had subsided, and the burning pain on his chin clearly came to his senses - he was sure that his jaw must have been red and swollen. For a Space Marine, this was not a serious injury, but for Kuwen, it should be an obvious shame. But to his surprise, he was not as dissatisfied as he thought.

——His opponent was an arrogant firstborn, and he made no secret of this attitude. No one knew where this man came from. Including Kuven's master, Phoenix Sons Chapter Master Olada Thun, everyone only knew that this man suddenly appeared in the station assigned to them by the host a day ago wearing a training suit without any chapter marks, and threatened that it would not be difficult for him to overthrow the entire Phoenix Sons Chapter in a duel. The most hateful and terrifying thing was that, then, with the tacit consent of the Ultramarines, this incident really happened.

The first to accept the challenge was the captain of the 4th Company, Zadek Gradian. He preferred to use a finely crafted power short hammer on the battlefield, and depending on the situation, he would pair it with a ranged weapon or a shield, but his swordsmanship was indeed among the best among the Sons of the Phoenix. Having said that, this kind of provocation would not normally be his turn to be the first pioneer, but Gradian had always been particularly unable to tolerate the honor of his chapter being tarnished. Kuven did not quite understand. In his opinion, the Sons of the Phoenix had lost their honor after being denied by the Primarch, but Gradian's indomitable spirit was still worthy of praise.

The fourth captain was ready to teach this ignorant firstborn a serious lesson, but no one expected that after picking up the training sword, Gradian could not last more than fifty rounds against his opponent. He tried to treat it as a coincidence, or that he had made some careless mistakes in some critical situations, and his opponent allowed him to challenge again - obviously not out of courtesy, but out of another kind of disdainful indifference, because when Gradian picked up the sword again, his opponent knocked him down to the sidelines in just twenty rounds.

“Why don’t you call the servants near the Ultramarines and ask them to bring you a different hammer?” Gradian’s opponent, who called himself Akuldona, taunted him after he fell once again. “That’s not how you swing a sword.”

Undoubtedly, this aroused great excitement among the Sons of the Phoenix. More and more people came to watch the battle near the temporary open-air arena, partly because the brotherhood that still existed in the chapter made it impossible for them to allow their brothers to be insulted in this way, and partly because they really needed to focus on something else to divert their attention from the matter of being "denied by the Primarch".

Gladion challenged for the third time, but he lost even faster that time, so he had to give up his position to the champion of the second company, Canisius Gillian. There were not many people in the regiment who could beat Gladion in swordsmanship. Gillian was one of them, but he did not achieve a better record than Gladion. He lasted seventy-five rounds in the first round, only fifteen in the second, and in the third round, the opponent's sword pointed at his eyes within three moves. Then, Akuldona said:
"Are the Primaris warriors really stronger than us Firstborn in terms of basic qualities?"

The genuine confusion on his face instantly ignited Gillian's suppressed emotions. After that, the company champion almost forgot all the rules or honor, roaring like a beast and waving his training sword, thinking only of leaving a little wound on the opponent. No one stopped him - Akuldona came alone, and most of the Phoenix Sons held the same attitude as Gillian. Whether the former was willing or not, after the champion of the second company began to get angry, this duel was doomed and would only continue in this way.

The crowd of spectators fell silent from then on. They did realize that this was dishonorable, but they did want to see Akuldona bleed. It was somewhat unexpected, but it seemed reasonable. The Firstborn did not object. As time passed, the sun in Macragge gradually set in the west, and the whispers among the spectators gradually disappeared, replaced by dumbfounded silence: no matter how Gillian attacked, even using some inferior methods similar to street fighting, he could not successfully make Akuldona bleed - in fact, the latter's footsteps never left the small space of two meters square.

Perhaps, except for Gillian himself who was completely immersed in frustration, everyone who came to watch the fight realized one fact: Akurdona was not here to "challenge". The first-born son stood in the duel cage and was completely patient in accompanying Gillian in one coaching battle after another.

The one who called a halt to this increasingly ugly "guidance battle" was Chapter Master Olada Thun, who reappeared after disappearing for a few hours. He dismissed Gillian with a tough attitude and called on Third Captain Nikola Dukukius, another swordsmanship master in the Chapter, to come on stage. Afterwards, the Chapter Master also conducted the first reorganization of the Chapter in recent days, and dug out all the brothers in the Tenth Company Reserve from the barracks and asked them to watch the battle.

When these things happened, Kuven stood aside as the champion of the Chapter Master's Honor Guard. The night in Macragge was no different from the night in most worlds. The many torches lit near the open-air duel cage easily dispelled the darkness, allowing the heavy figures around to clearly see the every move of the two opponents on the field. Dukukius's performance was not much better than Gillian's. It seemed that in front of Akuldona, the leading swordsman among the Sons of the Phoenix was just an ordinary private soldier. Although there were slight differences in style, there was no distance between them.

When things progressed to this point, the anger of the audience had been gradually replaced by numbness. The voices of the spectators became normal again, and a little further away, under the cover of night, Kuven could not hold back his curiosity and asked the leader of the regiment: "Do you know where this Akuldona came from?"

"I know no more than you do." Chapter Master Thun said with a bitter look on his face.

"But I thought you had gone to question the Ultramarines about this matter in the last few hours."

“True. But that doesn’t mean I got any meaningful answers—you can’t get anything out of the Ultramarines when they’re trying to beat around the bush.”

Thun did ask: Who is this "Akuldona"? Which chapter does he belong to? Who sent him? The Ultramarines stationed near the base did talk to him for a long time, but in the end, they could only say four words: no comment. Thun also tried to ask for an audience with the highest-ranking commander of the Ultramarines left in the Hera Fortress, the think tank director Digris, but perhaps because he had previously asked almost crazy times to meet Rogal Dorn again, this request was also rejected. In the end, he only met Uriel Ventress, the fourth captain of the Ultramarines. In the past, Thun would certainly think that arranging the reception staff in this way was a contempt for his identity as the head of the chapter, but now, after the entire chapter was denied by the Primarch in person at the ceremony, he was even somewhat grateful that Captain Ventress was willing to meet him.

"Even if I wanted to, Master Thune, there is nothing I can tell you," Ventress said. "I have only recently heard of the name 'Akuldona'. But I am sure that Master Digris knows him, and the Master Primarch is also aware of this man's background. So far, everything he has done in the Hera Fortress has been permitted."

"What does he mean?" Thun was almost crazy, "and who instructed him to do this? I already know that he is an extremely outstanding swordsman, there is no doubt about that, but-" Lord Rogal Dorn denied our existence. The Phoenix Sons Chapter no longer has any glory to speak of. Is it necessary for Akuldona - or anyone else who instructed him to do this, to trample all the honor and merits of him and his brother in the past into the mud so thoroughly?
As a fellow Primaris warrior, Thun was slightly taller than him, but Ventress still managed to put her hands on his shoulders:
"I know you are going through a very difficult time, Master." He seemed to want to offer some comfort, "I don't know who 'Akuldona' is, and what his purpose is in going to your base to do these things. But if you want to seek some advice from others, as 'others', the advice I can give is: take advantage of his behavior."

Thune's almost dead mind did not react to these words. He heard these words, but that was all: "You don't understand, Captain Ventress. The Primarch said he didn't need us, and that would almost turn the entire Empire against us. This is not the kind of advice I need right now."

“I know how it feels, like the universe has abandoned you and you’re all alone with each other,” Ventress said.

“No, you don’t.” Thune stepped back, trying to shake off Ventress’s hands. “You’re an Ultramarines—how can you possibly understand?”

"I understand." The captain of the fourth company let the other party throw him away, and mentioned his own history which was by no means glorious in a very calm tone without caring, "I was excommunicated, but after completing the expedition of atonement, I am standing here again."

Thune's eyes focused on Ventress's face again with incredible confusion: "This is impossible."

“Why not?” Ventress smiled. “By the way, the crime for which I was excommunicated was ‘disobedience to the holy code’, which is why I am talking to you here now. Lord Digris forbids the Ultramarines from contacting you, but he did not say that we cannot reply when you come to us.”

The Phoenix Sons Chapter Master looked even more confused.

"Please think about this question more, Chapter Master Thune." After a brief silence, Ventress sighed and spoke again, deliberately emphasizing the phrase "Chapter Master". "Although my past situation is similar to yours now, it is fundamentally different. The only reminder I can make is: sins can be washed away, and honor can be earned. No matter which primarch we raise the sword in the name of, the one we ultimately serve is only the Emperor. When you are in a trough, the last thing you should do is to stop moving forward, which will only make you and your companions completely sink into the mire, and there will be no day to turn around. The road ahead is certainly difficult, but there will always be a glimmer of hope in it."

Thun admitted that this passage convinced him. None of the problems he held in his mind were solved, but he still returned to the base and forced himself to fulfill his duties as the head of the chapter again: it might be fine if he continued to be depressed, but as the head of the chapter, he was not qualified to allow his brothers in the chapter to fall into depravity together.

The Sons of the Phoenix is ​​an aid regiment formed by the Untold Sons of the Grey Shields during the Extreme Founding. He was not appointed as the head of the regiment because of his seniority or experience. They have no veterans, no real mentors, and everything in the regiment is learned from studying the scriptures and summed up in actual combat. They have relied on each other's support to go through the hundred years since the Indomitable Crusade. They have overcome many difficulties together. This is just another more severe challenge. The Sons of the Phoenix really shouldn't just sink quietly in denial. They must face the difficulties and then rise from the ashes.

"If he wants to fight a coaching battle, let him fight." Under the night sky, Thun stared at Akuldona and said to his champion, "Kuwen, you are the best swordsman in the regiment. I ask you to leave tonight and get enough rest. I will send you into battle tomorrow morning."

"I'm sure I won't be able to win by then," Kuven said at the time. This was not cowardice, but an objective evaluation. "Although he is a first-born, he is really strong. He has been fighting since just after noon, and he doesn't show any signs of fatigue."

"I didn't say I would definitely let you win." Tuen bit his lip unwillingly, "But since he is fighting a tutorial battle openly, you should learn all his sword skills openly - it's not every day that the regiment encounters a sword teacher of this level!"

——That's why Kuven is now in the duel cage and being beaten. At first, he was somewhat reluctant to follow the orders given by his chapter leader. After all, this firstborn who suddenly appeared did not leave a good impression on them. But after climbing onto the duel cage and feeling the elegance and oppression of Akuldona's swordsmanship up close, all the negative feelings before quickly disappeared. He didn't know how many times he had been hit to the ground by a blunt sword. After more than five times, he no longer paid attention to such details. All he was chasing was the movement of Akuldona's shoulder and the trajectory of the sword tip in his hand. But even so, under his very serious observation, he often couldn't predict the opponent's movements and the direction of the attack.

The ground beside him shook slightly, and Akuldona picked up Kuven's training sword that had been knocked down and put it next to him: "Can you continue?"

"Of course." Kuven grabbed the hilt of the sword and stood up again. He was sure that he had memorized the upward thrust that had knocked him down just now, and decided to practice it in this round of attack and defense. He adjusted his breathing, got into position, and locked his eyes on Akultona again - but found that the other party showed a look that could be called "satisfied":

"That's right, don't let your eyes wander." The head of the palace swordsmen from ten thousand years ago held the training sword in his hand horizontally in a defensive posture, almost admonishing, "Aim at the torso and shoulder of the person you want to chop, don't look at the weapon - you can't rely too much on your speed and reflexes, you must read where his attack is going to go before his sword starts to move, so that you can really have a chance of winning."

Kuven suddenly had an absurd idea: This Akultona...

Is he really here to be a swordsmanship teacher?
(End of this chapter)