Sailing Toward New Routes!

"..."

Tyberos struggled to control his expression. His dim eyes lowered as he tried to determine whether Romulus was mocking him.

Watching the three men below get knocked down again in seconds, he suppressed the urge to join the fight and said,

"This is an unparalleled Blade Guard."

"Of course."

Romulus answered with certainty.

What a joke. He had sent Arthur out there to win, after all. How else could he earn the respect of these proud Sharks without giving them a proper demonstration?

As for whether Arthur could lose.

That concern was simply impossible.

See that whole circle of lavish Mk.II Crusade Terminators around the plaza?

Without using heavy weapons, even if Romulus personally took them all on in succession, he could not beat Arthur. Arthur would even send him flying along with his armor.

Other than Karna, who could completely disrupt Arthur's rhythm and claim victory after entering the Black Rage, Arthur could easily beat the other two senseless.

But Karna, once he entered the Black Rage and lost his mind, would be toyed with like a monkey by Romulus and Ramesses.

Still, Karna was too unstable. The Black Rage and Red Thirst were talents suited for the battlefield; if he lost control during a duel and killed someone, it would be difficult to clean up afterward.

Romulus considered this even as he kept chatting with Tyberos.

Usually, Romulus spoke while the Carcharodons' Chapter Master chose either silence or a quiet grunt in response. He had the air of a socially anxious teenager.

The battle below gradually drew to a close amid their exchange.

To the cheers of the Astra Militarum, who had thoroughly embraced their role as the atmosphere crew, Arthur had already defeated every member of the 3rd Company.

The Astra Militarum, who had remained on guard ever since the Sharks' sudden attack, began to see these rough and destitute warriors differently as the strangely comical duels unfolded.

These warriors did not seem particularly concerned with winning or losing. At most, after losing, they regretted failing to win a suit of Power Armor for the Chapter. Then they happily hugged their brand-new Chainaxes and returned to the ranks.

The scene gave the Astra Militarum an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

It looked remarkably like the time during the victory parade on the ocean world, when the Colonel had told them to bring their worst, most battered equipment and ask their superiors for supplies.

Back then, they had not cared if their commanders looked down on them. As long as they got equipment, that was all that mattered.

Aside from Cadia, it seemed they had done this at every parade.

"Akia."

The Apothecary's shout roused the Third Company Captain, who had been immersed in his food.

He raised his head and looked around, only to find that everyone, including the Apothecary, had received a new weapon of their own.

"Heh."

Akia's bloodthirsty eyes, inherited from another Primarch and wholly unlike those of the other Sharks, widened as he let out a sneer.

"Shar!"

He called to a warrior in the ranks who looked somewhat like him.

"How many blows did you take?"

"One."

The young warrior held his axe in his arms and answered in a muffled voice.

One strike had sent his weapon flying and left a wound across his cheek.

Over a hundred men had lost in a succession of duels.

Logically speaking, it was an extremely embarrassing matter, yet the Sharks did not seem too upset.

"Now it's your turn," they said, clearly delighted to see their own Third Company Captain suffer.

"Fine. Let me have a try."

Akia wiped the scraps from the corner of his mouth, drove away the fury rising in his mind from the World Eaters gene-line, picked up his "Ynnead" Chainaxe, and leapt into the arena.

He then pointed his weapon at the Blade Guard.

"Hey, if this weapon breaks, will you compensate me?"

That was truly blunt—so blunt that it was hard not to laugh.

And Arthur was certain that if he answered no, this guy would absolutely jump back and fetch an older axe.

"I can replace it with an identical one."

Akia suddenly felt a chill. His instincts sounded a warning, driving him to raise the heavy blade of his axe.

Clang!

The crisscrossing killing intent made even the air turn icy.

Akia's battle-honed instincts saved him. The thick haft of his axe blocked the sharp blade.

"But you have to answer one question."

Arthur drew back his blade and thrust again.

This strike was much slower, as though the previous succession of duels had exhausted his stamina.

But only Akia knew that his opponent was merely giving him a chance to answer.

"Blood Tax. Why are you so obsessed with becoming stronger?"

"Do you care that much?"

Akia forced the words out through clenched teeth.

"Yes. I care very much."

The Blade Guard easily pinned down Akia's axe haft.

"Just as a person must expend physical strength to train their body if they want to become stronger, why do you collect Blood Tax in pursuit of collective strength?"

There had to be a reason to pursue power at the cost of harming one's own kind.

Just as his companions had chosen to explore danger in pursuit of strength for everyone's future, while Arthur, as the final safeguard, was the trump card to be played after everything collapsed.

So he had to be strong as well.

And this body was truly extraordinarily gifted.

Watching every movement of Akia's muscles, Arthur relied on the techniques forged through nonstop sparring with Romulus, along with Ramesses's knowledge of Space Marine anatomy gained through his research, to easily suppress a battle-hardened veteran with equal strength.

He absolutely could not be weak.

But what were the Carcharodons fighting for?

They could have done as their brethren, the Ashen Claws, had done—found a planet beyond the borders and become local tyrants. Or they could return to the Imperium and find a good place to settle down. After all, even the Raven King himself was no longer within the Imperium, and the secret order had long since lost its force.

"Hmph!"

Akia snorted coldly without answering at once.

Yet his gaze shifted toward the Astra Militarum standing alongside the Space Marines, cheering for the duel.

"For humanity."

For the first time, Arthur finally heard those words spoken by a human in this world.

"This is the mission bestowed upon us by the Void Forefather."

Well, it was still for the Emperor.

"To protect humanity from powerful enemies on every side, you are willing to become beasts?"

Arthur sighed.

Sweeping away an entire generation from one planet just to protect humanity on more planets?

It was rather tragic. In this universe, the trolley problem was a simple multiple-choice question.

"You never considered changing?"

The Blade Guard boldly stepped forward, knocking aside the Chainaxe and forcing Akia back.

"Change? You mean, become like these mortals?"

He had already realized who had provided these mortals with their equipment. He had also realized how a ship that had suffered such severe damage could end up in this condition.

"The kindness and humanity you hope for—I do not believe they can last for long."

Akia spoke honestly.

"We are trying."

His muscles swelled. His blade, precise as a hawk, pressed against a weak point in the Chainaxe. As steel bore down against steel, the axe blade began to deform.

Clang!

With a crisp ring, their contest of strength ended.

"But how much can you change? You do not even have as many people as we do."

Akia was knocked flat by the impact, a cut appearing on his cheek.

Propping himself up on one arm, he spoke without any hint of mockery.

Trying to shake a tree with a mayfly—within this universe, pursuing the beauty of humanity was a fixed equation that would inevitably bring a painful price.

Had those Chapters that cared for mortals not suffered one worse than the next?

"What if you count yourselves among us?"

At some point, the cheering around them had stopped.

Akia looked back toward the platform. The spectators were rising one after another, beginning to pack up their military supplies.

He looked at Tyberos. The Chapter Master said nothing, merely putting on his helmet in silence.

"...We only know how to fight. We can only do this."

"We will try. That is enough."

Having received an answer, the Blade Guard merely shrugged and smiled.

A Servo-skull flew over with a Power Axe clamped in its jaws. Arthur extended a hand to Akia.

"It is yours now, War Hound."

The Stormbird's engines roared once, as though answering him.

"And we—"

"It is time to depart."