Chapter 141: Genuine Sons of the Lion
Drizzle...
The sky over Optus was, at some point, raining.
The rain was continuous, slightly obscuring the vision, and it slid down the edges of their armor. Romulus controlled a body to move to Arthur's side.
"You go in first, and I'll teleport?"
"Not yet. Share your perspective with me."
Just as Romulus was rubbing his hands together, preparing to lead the Deathwing Terminators on a teleportation assault to drag all these stray cats who were still scratching each other back, Arthur tapped his own head, reminding him.
"Hmm?"
Romulus was confused, but he still followed Arthur's gaze down at the two forces below.
"?"
He turned his head and glanced at the black knight.
How did you manage to turn a few of the Fallen Angels so quickly?
"I didn't need to turn them," Arthur explained, then glanced at the group of bodies lying on the ground. "As long as I appropriately revealed my existence to some of them, as long as I proved that I am also a Fallen Angel, then there will simultaneously be those who come to kill me, those who watch, and those who try to establish contact with me."
He added at the end, "The Dark Angels are like that."
Especially when there is no leader.
"..."
What a divine Legion.
Romulus refocused his attention on the two forces below.
Hmm, now it should be several.
Not long after Cypher had just finished reading his pre-battle declaration, a combat knife was suddenly plunged into the body of a Fallen Angel from behind. As the Fallen Angel fell without a sound, the attacker pulled out his combat knife and lunged at Cypher.
But Cypher was also on guard. He took a step back to avoid the thrust, then used the end of his sword blade to block the downward cleave. His hand felt a heavy weight, his ankle sinking slightly into the mud. Cypher aimed for his opponent's weapon, flicked the combat knife away, and then, relying on the advantage of his body, which was taller than an ordinary Space Marine's, he kicked straight out.
THUMP!
The kick solidly sent the ambushing Fallen Angel flying, kicking up a large spray of mud.
"Traitor!" Cypher roared, charging forward. He was about to swing his sword and take the Fallen Angel's head.
Two hands grabbed his arm. A Space Marine in a red tabard was struggling to hold him back.
"Zahariel!" Cypher growled. He did not attack, because Zahariel had saved his life.
"Enough."
Knight-Sergeant Askelon dragged the fallen Fallen Angel out and took off his helmet. He was still breathing. The combat knife had only ended his ability to move.
CLANG—
Cypher silently sheathed his sword, then looked at the rioting troops.
About thirty or so men had already fallen into a melee. Cypher could barely distinguish that they were probably the moderates and the radicals, like himself. One side advocated for uniting all the Fallen Angels, the other for eliminating all Fallen Angels except themselves.
What they actually wanted to do, Cypher himself didn't understand.
Damn it...
Cypher subconsciously clenched his fists. It was never like this when they fought the Chaos warbands. He now knew where the Fallen Angels on the surface had gotten their battle preparation news.
The riot was still going on, but more people were just silently watching. Without firearms, it was still difficult to kill someone in such a brawl.
"...You guys stay and deal with it." Cypher looked at the centrists who were still undecided, and simply led a group of men away.
This group, centered around the relic-cruiser, had existed for many years. Their structure had been broken and rebuilt many times, and their composition was extremely complex. Not just the six Wings, but also the various Orders and the various Inner Circles. They were all holding on tightly to the hope of washing away their shame, and they had also learned something they had not cared about in the past.
That was restraint.
And on the other side, the situation was similar.
One side believed they should exterminate these troublemakers and then find a way to leave this planet. The other side believed they should pursue the hope of washing away their own shame; constantly running from the past was not a solution.
And this was just the two sides on the surface! It was not out of the question that there were others with other ideas, hoping to fish in troubled waters.
Everyone wanted to have the final say. Everyone wanted their comrades to do things their way.
A riot of a few people had set off several waves of people into a contest, and at the same time, had brought the two small squads to a standstill.
The rain gathered into a curtain. The chaotic shouts and the sound of blades clashing in the distance reached their ears.
Some continued to head for the battlefield, some quietly left, some mixed into the other's team, and a few faint gazes were cast over, making it impossible to tell who was spying.
"Brilliant," Romulus, who had successfully incorporated everything into his vision through the Fallen Angels' perspective, said with sincere admiration.
How was it that every single one of these Dark Angels was a divine being? Where in the hell did the Lion dig up these divine Astartes?
He then asked with confusion, "Was the Lion's gene-seed really mixed with something?"
This operation of 6 people having 11 small groups was too abstract.
"To be loyal to one's own choice is also a form of loyalty," Arthur said, telling a cold joke with a straight face, then stood up. "I will be responsible for the squad command. I will deal with these three here and that one high-level unit over there. The rest is up to you."
The situation had not yet escalated, but it was only a matter of time before someone died. It was impossible to expect this group of divine beings to stop when they couldn't win.
"Alright. Remember to plant the beacon first."
"Understood."
Arthur's eyes followed their movements. Just as Cypher's group of three had separated from the chaotic team by a few hundred meters, he took a sudden step forward.
Thump, thump, thump!
A sharp blade cut through the air, severing the rain.
Heavy footsteps made the mud tremble. Zahariel grabbed Cypher and Askelon at the front of the team, narrowly dodging the first wave of attacks. Then, the Red Sorcerer raised his long spear and sent a bolt round into the phantom in the rain.
BOOM!
The sound of the gunshot covered the sound of the blade entering flesh. The body was thrown back a step by the recoil of the heavy weapon. The metal, propelled by the electromagnetic force, was embedded in the wreckage of a xenos building, leaving a huge gash.
Cypher immediately got into a stance. When his dark eyes scanned the surroundings, he was slightly taken aback. He saw no sign of the enemy, only the blood spreading in the mud, and several Fallen Angels, like cold steel statues, falling straight to the ground.
"Dead?"
An iron boot crushed an animal bone that had been washed out by the mud. Cypher felt an instinctual discomfort. It was the suffocating feeling that came from being seen as prey by a higher being, emanating from the genetic level.
"Still alive," Askelon quickly replied. The bio-signs of the squad members hadn't gone offline, which meant they were still alive, just had lost their ability to move.
Under the guard of his partners, Askelon quickly bent down to check the bodies of the injured members. "It's a sword wound. All in one move. Cypher, you're the best with a sword."
"It's not Corswain," Cypher said through gritted teeth. "He's not that strong."
To take down four Dark Angels in the blink of an eye, and for the three of them to not even be able to track him... if such a monster were in the Legion, it would be impossible for them not to be impressed.
"Then who—" Zahariel couldn't help but lose his voice.
Although Cypher always liked to brag that he was the best with a sword besides the Legion Master, there were really not many in the Legion who could beat him.
Corswain was one.
"I don't know!" Cypher replied in frustration. In their impression, after the Rangdan Xenocides, there was only one person stronger than Corswain.
"What about the others? Quick, contact them!" Zahariel quickly said to Askelon.
"I'm trying. All channels are silent," Askelon said sharply. He had already switched through more than twenty private channels. None of them were connecting.
Weren't you guys usually so chatty? You have enough codebooks to fill a warehouse. And now you can't even make a peep.
"Can't reach Zabriel either!"
"No communication? Not even a distress call?" Cypher asked, not giving up.
"None."
The three of them fell silent. They could be certain now that they probably weren't getting out of this.
"...My fault," Cypher said in a low voice.
"Now is not the time to discuss who's right and who's wrong," Zahariel said, looking at the rain screen in front of them.
The three of them tacitly went back-to-back, with the remaining members of their small squad quickly forming a circle, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.
The rain was getting heavier. Everything before them was hazy, making it impossible to see clearly.
The second wave of attacks did not come.
WHOOSH—
The sound of a blade cutting through the rain came to their ears again. The body instinctively retreated a step. A Fallen Angel accurately defended against the attack. Only then did he have a chance to look at the Terminator in front of him.
THUMP!
This Terminator was unusually fast. After grabbing the Fallen Angel's chainsword, it smashed its fist into his face. The Fallen Angel wanted to resist, but was immediately grabbed by another Deathwing Terminator. The power system of the Armor of Fate erupted with a strong force, tearing the power pack from his back.
Then they disappeared in a flash of teleportation.
'Deathwing!'
The pupils of the crowd all dilated in tension, trying to capture the fuzzy figure in the bright light completely.
The bone-white armor was unfamiliar, but they all recognized the insignia on the shoulder.
"What do we do?" Zahariel lowered his gun. The rain slid down the barrel, constantly emitting a hissing steam.
To have a man forcibly captured under their fire... a sense of powerlessness against the current situation filled his heart.
"What do we do?" Askelon repeated, then muttered, "How should I know?"
They were veterans of a hundred battles. It wasn't like they hadn't encountered enemies more bizarre than this. They had experience, but they didn't have the conditions they had in the past.
The support of the fleet, the technical support of the Ironwing, the aid of the relic-technology, and the Primarch as a safety net—none of it!
The group fell into a high state of tension. The sound of footsteps at their side made them quickly look up.
The light was faint. They could barely see a figure approaching.
Far taller than an ordinary Space Marine.
"!"
Cypher, without thinking, charged with his sword.
CLANG!
Greatsword met greatsword.
SQUELCH!
A sharp pain in his side made his eyes widen.
When?
The shield transmitted all the force to the enemy's chest. The inertia pushed the "embracing" two backwards, pulled by gravity to fall.
It all happened in an instant. The rain, mixed with the wind, pattered in his ears. Cypher could only watch as the tall knight brought him down. Before he could do anything, his back had already made heavy contact with the ground.
BOOM!
The iron body slammed a large crater in the ground. Mud splattered everywhere. Cypher vomited a large amount of blood. The crushed armor was like paper. The plate-like ribs were directly crushed into pieces. The internal organs and the heart were severely damaged, sending the brain into a state of blankness.
The figure, like a predator strolling in the rain, had easily brought him down, hunted him.
In the rain screen, an uncountable number of Deathwing Terminators surrounded them.
This was the last scene Cypher saw.
(End of Chapter)