Is This Can of Yours Authentic?

As Romulus stepped into the chamber, all he saw were scattered, blood-spraying chunks of flesh across the floor.

Chaos Space Marine.

Judging by the skull decorations on the armor and the bright red paint job, it was highly likely a Chaos warband that worshipped Khorne, one of the four Chaos God.

After efficiently slaughtering the enemy, Arthur pulled his blade free and lifted a fallen black-armored warrior from the ground. After confirming the Crimson Fists insignia on the shoulder pad and carefully inspecting the armor, he couldn't help but frown.

The members of the kill team were not yet Primaris Space Marine; it seemed Guilliman, the Imperial Regent, had not yet awakened.

He then tilted his head to listen.

Aside from the war cries of "Blood for the Blood God" and the sound of axes biting into flesh, there were no other signs of combat in the chamber. Combined with the Deathwatch corpses on the ground and the Chaos Space Marine that had attacked him, it was clear that the resistance force within the compartment had been wiped out.

"It seems we are late?"

A thick, metallic scent of blood assaulted his nostrils. Arthur knew clearly that this was definitely some form of Warp influence.

Because his armor's internal circulation system had never once made contact with the outside environment.

"Still in time."

Romulus's gaze fell upon the neck and chest cavity of the dead warrior. Two gruesome holes remained there, as if some sharp instrument had violently gouged out certain organs.

"Chaos Space Marine and daemons are not on the same side. Before they are full, they won't let those daemons snatch their spoils."

"...That is true."

Arthur recalled this fact and lowered the body of the Deathwatch warrior.

As super-soldiers modified through nineteen surgical procedures, every Space Marine possessed a Gene-seed, which was used to cultivate the organs required for Space Marine augmentation.

Following the completion of the eighteenth surgery, the implantation of the Progenoid Gland, the Space Marine's Gene-seed would develop alongside the body. After five years, the seed in the neck would mature and could be extracted; after ten years, the seed in the chest cavity would mature and could be extracted.

The former was usually extracted periodically to pay the Gene-seed tithe and serve as chapter reserves, while the latter was typically recovered by an Apothecary after a Space Marine fell in battle.

The Gene-seed could be said to be the foundation of a chapter. If malignant mutations or massive losses occurred, one could basically declare the death of a chapter, unless they could receive aid from their parent chapter and the Imperium to continue their existence.

For Chaos Space Marine who had turned to Chaos, suffered severe physical mutations, and lost Imperial supply lines, plundering the Gene-seed of loyalist Space Marines was one of their few ways to replenish their numbers.

Likewise, because of a certain big guy who resisted the Warp but heavily mixed in Warp-tainted "hardcore" techniques when creating the Space Marines, the Gene-seed was also a hot commodity among the vast Warp daemons, and could be listed as a super-rare, top-tier item in various profane rituals.

Therefore, it was understandable why these Chaos Space Marine, who were primarily attacking the Geller Field Generator, did not destroy the Geller Field immediately. After all, why would a cheetah share its prey with a hyena?

Perhaps after the fighting was done, they might just seize the ship and sail away, leaving the daemons outside to stare in frustration.

Based on his knowledge of the various secrets of this world, Arthur quickly grasped the key to the situation.

However—

"Are two people enough?"

Arthur asked, signaling whether they should wait a moment for the Sisters of Battle.

According to the projected speed, they should arrive in a minute. These female warriors, clad in Power Armor, having undergone high-end physical augmentation, and protected by Emperor due to their fanatical faith, had always been ideal helpers for Space Marines.

His superhuman brain told him that the combat traces in this section alone were caused by a sixteen-man squad. What they were about to face were Space Marines, not the small-fry who couldn't even react to their movements.

"Two?"

Romulus let out a scoff.

"Who said we only have two people?"

"?"

Arthur tilted his head, but as he glanced aside, a pile of blue-armored Ultramarines sprouted from the shadows behind him.

"Hiss, it actually works, but why are the souls so expensive?"

Romulus muttered a complaint under his breath.

"Huh?"

As Arthur watched these Ultramarines who seemed to have been pulled out of Romulus's crotch, he felt as if a galaxy had appeared in his mind.

"I scanned this one and used a split-off; since we're aiming for speed, we might as well go all the way."

Seeing Arthur's confusion, Romulus pointed to a Space Marine on the ground with a skull insignia beneath the Ω on his shoulder pad, then patted the shoulder armor of the Ultramarine beside him.

"Standard physical stats of a Firstborn Space Marine, but the soul was so abstractly expensive to write that I didn't install one, so I have to operate them manually. Still, it's enough."

"I am almost certain that we aren't being watched by the Chaos God."

Arthur examined these mechanical-like Ultramarines and shook his head slightly, his suspicion that their anomaly was a "blessing" from Warp power wavering.

If the Chaos God could do this—directly popping out Space Marine bodies for daemons to inhabit—why would they bother going to the ears of the High Lords to nag and trick them into launching penitent crusades just to feed Chaos?

Of course, one couldn't rule out the possibility that Chaos was providing a subsidy, hoping to earn back even more from them. After all, looking at the process by which Tzeentch lured the Primarch Magnus, the four masters of Immaterium were not lacking in investment capital or patience.

Even a Primarch with superhuman wisdom could be bewitched, and Arthur was merely a young man raised in a greenhouse in the 3k era. He didn't believe he had the wisdom to discern these irregularities, nor the guts to gamble.

In any case, until they left the Warp and found a Blank to verify whether their anomaly was truly related to the Warp, he would remain skeptical.

"Indeed."

Nodding, Romulus pushed Arthur forward.

"You go up and draw the fire; my boys have a dozen gun lines waiting for the other side."

The interior of a warship offers little room to maneuver; combat here is a race to pull the trigger first, a contest of whose firepower can obliterate the enemy before they return the favor.

Consequently, ship-to-ship skirmishes favor the side with superior firepower, and it is not uncommon for an Astartes to be traded for a mere mortal.

With a dozen Bolter and Melta weapons backing him, crushing these undersupplied heretics is a simple matter.

"Alright, move quickly."

Twisting his neck to focus on the path ahead, Arthur braced his shield and advanced through the corridor in a low, crouched sprint to clear the area.

There were certainly more Chaos Space Marine lurkers than just the one they had just dispatched.

However, these heretics, having already secured victory in the skirmish, were naturally caught off guard by a force that had no business being here; many a Chaos Space Marine who lunged at Arthur found only disbelief in their eyes when they saw the line of blue giants standing behind him.

Chaos had granted them formidable physiques and combat instincts, but such instincts were no match for the saturation fire of Bolters in such confined quarters.

Arthur remained fully focused, maintaining a perfect defensive posture as he pushed forward.

They reached the base of the generator, a space that opened up slightly.

The nauseating stench of blood reached its peak at this very moment.