The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Since this ship had been in service for two thousand years, the internal structure had changed considerably, and the original blueprints were not entirely applicable. Jacob led his squad through several passages, making a few turns before arriving at the location they needed to inspect.

The Patriarch was a large being and could not stay where there were many people and prying eyes.

Storage areas, lower decks, or certain maintenance zones were the most likely places for it to be.

Bakhram had already led a team to the bridge to control the ship. He needed all monitoring systems to remain active and had the accompanying Tech-Priest begin examining the genetic makeup of everyone on the bridge.

After thoroughly searching Storage Area E, Jacob found nothing except for a few warehouse managers who were scared out of their minds.

"Have you noticed anything unusual recently?"

Jacob suddenly thought that he might be able to get something out of these people, but seeing an Astartes for the first time, they were doing well just to stand, and couldn't answer at all.

Seeing them trembling, Jacob didn't waste time and prepared to go to the next location.

But as soon as he turned around, a boy who looked less than sixteen years old suddenly said:

"Angel! I I"

Jacob turned around, his black lenses staring at the boy, who immediately froze.

"Speak."

"It's just that some people I don't recognize often go in and out of the dispatch area below, and there's a strange smell"

"Oh? Dispatch area?"

Jacob thought for a moment and immediately realized they had overlooked something. This ship, like most Imperial merchant vessels, also moonlighted in smuggling! All its warehouses were actually connected. The shipowner had built a dispatch area under the storage area, specifically for transshipping various 'shady' goods to avoid inspections by the Adeptus Arbites. That place was definitely not on the ship's blueprints. It was actually a 'layer' between the storage area and the equipment area, so it certainly had no surveillance equipment!

So as soon as he heard the boy mention the dispatch area, the faces of the people around him instantly changed.

Suddenly, intense gunfire erupted, and then a dense barrage of bullets flew everywhere, covering the location of the squad. Jacob had already reacted, grabbing the boy and hiding him behind himself, but others were unfortunately hit. Accompanied by the sound of boiling and rupturing organs, several workers staggered and fell, crying out in agony.

The warriors counterattacked immediately. They came in front of Jacob, ignoring the bullets pounding on their armor, and used precise shots to kill the Genestealers climbing onto the containers one by one.

Jacob turned to look at the boy, who was already terrified.

"How do I get to the dispatch area?"

Seeing that the boy didn't react, he bent down and gently patted his face.

"Hey? Can you hear me?"

The boy blinked, then nodded, his face pale.

"How do I get to the dispatch area?"

"Ah uh the far right there, that green keypad area, press 1919810, and a downward slope will open under that red container."

Jacob glanced over and saw that it was hundreds of containers away, and he could vaguely see some things lurking nearby.

He looked at the boy.

"Go hide in a safe place until everything calms down. Don't be curious about any noises. There are very dangerous things on this ship."

The boy had wanted to run a long time ago. As soon as he heard this, he immediately ran away. Jacob also connected with Bakhram.

"Captain, we have discovered the area where the target is hiding. This ship has a smuggling black hold that connects to all storage areas."

"Roger, the bridge will immediately seal all storage area doors. Other squads will concentrate on your location immediately."

"The enemy has already discovered us. The target is likely to escape. There are many civilians on this ship. If it enters the passenger area, it could cause great casualties. I want to hold him back first."

Silence came from the other end of the communicator for a moment, then a response came.

"Okay, be careful. The closest squad can be there in five minutes."

"Roger."

Turning around, Jacob said to the others who were still shooting:

"I'll break through from the center. You split into two teams and flank from the left and right."

After speaking, Jacob put the melta pistol back in his holster and drew his bolt pistol, switching the pistol to his left hand holding the shield. With a snap, he drew his power sword with his right hand. As the bright blue energy field appeared on the blade, the Tenth Company Sergeant raised his shield and dashed forward. His squad members also immediately dispersed to the sides.

Passing through the containers, he could see many gnawed-off arms scattered around, along with filthy dark purple blood. Many had appearances indistinguishable from humans, but their souls and genes had been deeply corrupted by the alien.

It wasn't until he charged in that Jacob realized how numerous the enemy was. They were like cockroaches; seeing five or six meant there were already hundreds around.

Genestealers perfectly fit this pattern.

Dense bullets shot at him, and six sneaky figures appeared on top of the containers on both sides of the passageway to the keypad area. Those were Genestealers wearing crew uniforms, carrying only primitive ballistic weapons. Jacob used his armor to meet their wild barrage, occasionally using his pistol for precise and deadly shots.

In just a few seconds, he crossed hundreds of meters, and the corpses of Genestealers rained down from the containers around him.

At this time, realizing that this target was difficult to stop, the Genestealers still rushed at this giant with desperate fanaticism, wielding electric welders and chainsaws.

Jacob swung his blade, making an arc forward, cutting off the head of a Genestealer. The longsword passed through flesh and bone almost effortlessly.

Taking advantage of this swift strike, Jacob aimed his pistol at two other targets, hitting them in the chest and causing their entire upper bodies to disappear in a cloud of blood.

Even before the corpses had fallen to the deck, Jacob had already smashed the head of an ugly bald head with his elbow.

At this time, two squads also used crossfire from the sides to eliminate the Genestealers who were trying to resist with grenades and explosives. Jacob came to the location pointed out by the boy, entered the corresponding numbers, and then heard the sound of metal grinding.

Turning around, he saw that the huge container had actually 'split open', revealing a dark slope on the ground.

Jacob came to the top of the slope, staring into the darkness tens of meters away.

In an instant, he raised his combat shield with astonishing speed, blocking three high-caliber sniper bullets.

The armor-piercing rounds ricocheted with a crisp sound, occasionally scattering sparks, and quickly disappeared. At the end of the slope, a barricade had been built with various debris, and behind the barricade were three Genestealers holding modified sniper rifles. A large group of Genestealers and their enthralled mortals were gathered around them.