First Legion's First Battle

"Luna will be our final battle, Thunder Warriors never break their oath."

Ushotan gripped the broadsword in his hand tightly.

He looked up at the distant battlefield.

He muttered to himself in his heart.

He had long anticipated such an outcome.

Before this, he had heard some news.

The Emperor was creating new warriors in a secret laboratory in the Himalayas.

They would replace the unstable Thunder Warriors and become the main force of the Great Crusade.

He had held onto a fantasy, and now that pathetic fantasy had been shattered by cruel reality.

"For Unity."

"For Unity."

The roars of other Thunder Warriors echoed through the comms.

Ushotan shook the thoughts from his mind.

With his guards, he advanced rapidly under the cover of smoke and intense explosions, charging towards the enemy's next defensive line.

The booming artillery fire landed, kicking up clouds of scorched earth.

The vast battlefield was filled with a hail of gunfire, the torrent of bullets forming iron serpents that coiled in the air.

Straight beams of energy flashed past, and dense explosive rounds fell like a pervasive hail.

Warplanes streaked across the sky, stirring the slowly rising smoke.

Numerous war machines and infantry formations converged into an irresistible tidal wave that surged forward.

And the Thunder Warriors were the crest of this destructive wave.

Thousands of warriors clad in bronze armor charged at the forefront, tearing apart the monsters released by the Gene Cult and destroying the artillery emplacements and shield generators along the way.

The Thunder Warriors unleashed the rationality that restrained their savage nature.

They embraced eternal rage, unleashing their fury in this war.

Battle after battle erupted, bloody and brutal.

The Thunder Warriors attacked the Gene Cult with the most ferocious ferocity, destroying one defensive line after another.

Upon reaching the final defensive line, the Gene Cult unleashed even more terrifying monsters.

They were horrific killing machines that only a mad artist could conceive.

Massive in size, a fusion of machinery and flesh, grotesque and terrifying.

Vizula fell in battle.

Those dreadful monsters sliced through his armor with their sharp claws.

When Ushotan slew the enemies blocking his path and found Vizula, he was leaning against a ruined wall.

One hand was clamped tightly over his abdomen, preventing its contents from spilling out.

"Brother," Ushotan knelt beside Vizula, calling out to him.

Vizula opened his eyes and offered a smile.

"Sorry, I have to go first."

"You know, I've always been curious about one thing: did he ever care about us? Or has he just treated us as tools from beginning to end?"

Ushotan fell silent; he couldn't answer that question.

The Emperor had once fought alongside them, and had once painted for them a picture of a prosperous unified future.

And now, it was He who chose to abandon them.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter anymore."

Vizula bared his teeth in a smile of relief.

He took his last trembling breath.

Then, it was all over.

He closed his eyes forever.

Vizula had once questioned the Emperor, accusing His actions of being a betrayal of the Thunder Warriors.

However, he ultimately died for the Emperor.

Roar!

A terrifying sound echoed.

The monsters released by the Gene Cult swarmed towards the Thunder Warriors.

The surviving guards formed a defensive circle around Ushotan.

Ushotan stood up, gripping the broadsword in his hand, crackling arcs of electricity engulfing the heavy blade.

His mood was somber.

As the legion's leader, he knew how much harm the Thunder Warriors' loss of control would cause the Imperium.

From the ruler's perspective, abandoning them was a wise decision.

But Ushotan's emotions couldn't accept that the Emperor would cast them aside.

"For Unity."

Ushotan roared, directing his rage at the monsters.

He charged into the enemy like a maddened beast.

The Adeptus Custodes followed him, launching their charge.

Gene-mutants, composed of flesh and machine, also lunged at them.

They attacked using their claws and tails tipped with sharp spikes.

A brutal melee erupted.

Monsters were continuously slain, and the Adeptus Custodes beside Ushotan fell one after another.

In the end, only he remained.

Blood stained his robes and armor, and the battle sword in his hand dripped with gore.

Only a few of the strongest monsters were left.

They possessed eight mechanical legs like spiders, covered in thick steel carapaces.

Their myriad eyes flowed with red light, and their sharp limbs were as formidable as power weapons.

"Come, beasts."

Ushotan shouted.

The monsters made a skittering sound as they moved.

As they pounced, Ushotan let go of his last shred of reason.

Consumed by rage, he fell into his memories.

He saw the battle on the Antarctic plains.

Atomic weapons fell from the sky like raindrops.

Under the Emperor's leadership, they had charged at the enemy.

Next, he found himself at Mount Ararat, seeing fallen comrades raising the lightning banner and roaring with raised arms.

"Unity."

"Unity."

Ushotan was lost in illusory memories.

He couldn't distinguish which was real and which was false.

Only the desire for victory and honor drove him to keep swinging his weapon, cutting down everything around him.

This was the Thunder Warriors' greatest flaw: they were trapped in war memories, unable to distinguish reality from dreams.

Many innocent people had died because of it.

But now, Ushotan was alone on the battlefield, free to unleash his fury.

Deep in his dreams, he fought the terrifying monsters with madness.

When the last monster's head was severed and it fell to the ground, Ushotan, at his last breath, knelt powerlessly.

His armor was shattered, and his robes were soaked in blood.

The battle had inflicted extremely severe injuries upon him.

Even the most skilled physicians could not save him.

The roar of engines sounded.

Transports landed like raindrops.

With the hiss of high-pressure gas, the cargo bays slowly opened.

Warriors clad in gray armor stepped out in unison, standing in the swirling snow, silent, like statues.

Their breastplates bore the symbol "I," and their right pauldrons were emblazoned with the winged sword insignia.

These beings were harbingers of destruction, molded in human form and granted terrible and powerful weapons.

Ushotan looked up, watching the gray-armored warriors.

He knew these must be the new warriors the Emperor had created to replace the Thunder Warriors.

They were as tall as the Thunder Warriors, and far more deadly.

A golden shuttle landed beside Ushotan.

A golden figure emerged from the shuttle bay.

It was the Emperor.

He walked to Ushotan's side, placing a hand on his shoulder, his gaze unreadable.

"Do you care about us?" Ushotan looked up at the man he was loyal to, his life force rapidly fading. "Or were we just tools from the very beginning?"

"No." The Emperor said, "You are heroes of the Imperium of Man, not tools."

"It's just that you weren't suited for the Great Crusade, and there was no way to retire and return to civilian life. You were born for war, and to end in war, perhaps that is the best outcome."

"The Imperium will forever remember your sacrifices, and every citizen of the Imperium will know of the Thunder Warriors' past deeds and glory."

Hearing the Emperor's promise, Ushotan smiled and uttered his oath one last time.

"For Unity."

As the words fell, he breathed his last.

"Collect their bodies, and after the war, build a monument on Luna. We must let the citizens of the Imperium remember forever that the Thunder Warriors are heroes of the Imperium."

The Emperor instructed his retinue.

"This can be considered a good ending, at least they didn't die at the hands of the Adeptus Custodes and the First Legion."

The Raven, perched on the Emperor's shoulder, looked at the deceased Ushotan and sighed.

The Origin Power continued to surge into his body.

His talent was to alter the predetermined fate of the universe, allowing him to devour the overflowing Origin Power.

Changing the Super God Universe earned him Origin Power.

Changing the Warhammer Universe naturally did the same.

After dealing with Ushotan's affairs, the Emperor turned to face the last line of defense controlled by the Gene Cult.

Lining the defenses were rows of turrets, endless bunkers, crossfire heavy firepower, and an impenetrable shield, along with numerous terrifying monsters composed of machinery and flesh, forming an unbreakable front.

The Thunder Warriors, who had unified Terra, had failed to break through it, instead shattering themselves against the defenses, ending their honorable lives.

"Leave Luna, Tyrant, do not add to the needless casualties."

A female voice echoed.

A projection of the Gene Witch appeared before the Emperor.

The Emperor stated, "Your resistance is foolish. Humanity's rise is unstoppable. Either join, or be destroyed."

"You are too arrogant, Tyrant. If you insist on this path, then this new empire is destined to bleed its last drop on Luna. We will activate the celestial weapon and bring the ice and snow."

The moon was once the first extraterrestrial world humanity had set foot on.

To alter the frigid environment, its former inhabitants had constructed atmospheric controllers.

These advanced creations were originally meant to improve human life.

Now, they were being used as weapons by the Gene Witches against the nascent empire founded by the Emperor.

As beams of light shot towards the thin, airless sky.

The surrounding temperature plummeted, and snowflakes danced down from above.

"If you continue fighting, you will only bring about your own destruction. We still have enough trump cards to counter you."

The Gene Witch looked at the Emperor and issued a threat.

"You should consider yourselves honored." The Emperor extended his hand, and a snowflake landed on it, melting instantly.

"You will witness their first combat."

"Advance, and slaughter all who resist."

The moment the Emperor's command was issued, the visors of the grey-armored warriors lit up.

They advanced in perfect formation, unleashing a new wave of slaughter.

"Astartes?? Is it the First Legion?"

The Raven recognized the grey-armored warriors.

They were the Emperor's Angels of Death.

The trump card of the Imperium of Man's conquest of the galaxy.

Luna's fall was inevitable.

I hope everyone can use their little fingers to turn to the last page every day and increase the follow-up reading.

Follow-up reading is the most important, everyone.

Without follow-up reading, there are no recommendations, and no recommendations mean it's over.

Please, all big brothers.