The 18th Legion Inherits Vulkan's Kindness

Commander Cassian Vaughn of the 18th Legion stepped onto the surface of the planet Stevenage III. He looked around and found it to be a green world.

The forest stretched as far as the eye could see, with no end in sight.

The identification runes on Vaughn's helmet Eyepiece flickered erratically as he spoke to Lucas beside him:

"The report from the Auger Matrix Master indicates that there are no large settlements in this world."

"But this world has many areas with abnormal signals, and the area ahead is where the abnormal readings are the highest."

"Abnormal signal interference with the Auger Matrix also interferes with the automatic sensing system. I think you're better at finding the enemy than we are in this environment."

The Shadow of Order perceive things more acutely than they do.

"Lord Vaughn," Lucas looked around and pointed to three o'clock, "That direction."

"Forward!" Vaughn commanded, and the 18th Legion Warrior, clad in green armor, marched in the direction Lucas had indicated.

Ten squads of Astartes entered the dense forest.

As the group moved forward, the signal interference became stronger.

The helmet's communication channels were filled with static.

After traveling several kilometers, the Shadow of Order suddenly spoke, whispering, "Xenos."

Vaughn slowed his pace and led his team forward. A moment later, he saw a dozen or so Xenos.

Their upper bodies were humanoid, wielding weapons, while their lower bodies resembled scorpions, with their raised barbs gleaming with a blinding light.

Vaughn's pupils contracted, and he whispered, "Andres."

The Second Legion encountered the Xenos in previous battles and named it Andres after the Xenos's cry.

They relayed the Xenos's physiological characteristics to their allies, and Vaughn recognized it the moment he saw Xenos.

"And then there are the humans, enslaved and tormented by the Xenos," Lucas said in a low voice, suppressing his anger.

Vaughn gestured for his men to stop, and he followed Lucas forward.

A moment later, he saw several humans ahead.

They were working under the Supervision of an Andres, one of the women picking a huge, colorful mushroom with her hands.

She picked an umbrella-shaped, fist-sized mushroom covered in sharp thorns that pricked her hand, drawing blood.

She carefully placed the mushrooms into a jar and continued picking.

Vaughn's eyes were filled with rage, and the woman's face was pale from blood loss.

Blood dripped onto the ground, like drops of water creating ripples on a calm lake.

Vaughn slowly backed away, intending to return to the group and assign tasks.

Vaughn saw that when the woman picked the mushroom again, she accidentally crushed it.

The Supervision, Andres, roared in anger, snatched the jar, and at the same time, his Scorpion Tail lashed out from behind, piercing the woman's body.

Vaughn raised his Bolt Pistol and fired furious bullets at the Xenos while giving the order.

"Attack!"

Lucas donned the "War Mask," channeling his anger into power, and swung his Power Blade, delivering a vicious slash that severed Andres's crab claw blade.

He moved among the Xenos, his swirling blades creating Disruption Field that emitted a dazzling blue light.

Astartes, clad in green armor, raised his Bolter and fired a bomb at the Xenos.

The bombs exploded, and several Xenos, unable to react in time, were blasted into a pool of blood mist.

Andres realized what was happening and they brandished their strange weapons, charging towards the Astartes.

An Andres swung a crab-claw-shaped weapon that shimmered with an eerie light, slashing at the Power Armor.

A crackling energy field exploded, and the crab claw-like blades tore through the Power Armor.

Lucas smelled a burnt odor and stared at the crab claw-shaped blade.

[Energy weapon.]

As he pondered, he parried Andres's crab claw-like blade.

With a clang, Lucas twisted his body, swung his sword, and struck Andres on the head.

Vaughn roared in fury, shaking the forest, and swung his Power Hammer, smashing it down on Andres.

The pulsating energy waves tore Andres to shreds, which, along with the surrounding dust, transformed into countless drifting clouds.

Vaughn strode forward, his massive body unleashing its immense power upon the Xenos.

After killing dozens of Xenos, there were no more enemies in his sight, but his eyes were still full of rage.

He watched as the rescued humans scattered and fled, and said to the Tech Sergeant, "Tell them we are the Warriors of the Master of Mankind."

The Tech Sergeant's mechanical tentacles tapped rapidly on the Vox Skull, causing runes to flash.

The Vox Skull hovered and flew, its loudspeakers emitting booming sounds in the Low Gothic of the various races of Terra:

"Fellow human beings, we come from our Homeworld..."

The Vox Skull plays a recording set by the Sage of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Unlike communication networks, which are subject to signal interference, the electronic mechanical sound plays normally.

When the Vox Skull was played for the fifth time, someone hesitated and stopped, asking in broken, strange Low Gothic.

"You... are... humans too?"

After the Tech Sergeant located the local Low Gothic, he followed standard procedure and played the standard audio file used to gain trust during the recapture of the human colony.

Its contents include the Emperor unifying humanity's Homeworld Terra, the Expeditionary Force responsible for reclaiming humanity's colonies, and the Astartes being the army of the Master of Mankind.

Nearly a thousand Stevenage people were stopped by the green-armored Warriors and forced to listen to the Sonic Array broadcast.

A pale-faced young man mustered his courage and walked up to the giants.

"You... are Astartes... and also humans..."

After listening to the Tech Sergeant's translation, Vaughn walked up to him. The young man looked at his large face and took two steps back in fear.

Vaughn said in a deep voice, "That's right, we are the Warriors of the Master of Mankind."

"From now on, you will be under our protection."

The Tech Sergeant translated the legion commander's words to the Stevenage people.

The young man was skeptical, but with a sliver of hope, he pleaded, "Please... save us..."

Upon hearing the request from the locals, as translated by the Tech Sergeant, Vaughn made a decision immediately.

"We will protect you and take you to a safe place."

Vaughn granted their request, and the soldiers of the 18th Legion escorted the rescued humans on their retreat.

While Vaughn was talking to the rescued Stevenage people, Lucas picked up a jar.

[The Andresian are forcing humans to harvest mushrooms, and the area also has unusual signal activity, indicating that they are special.]

Lucas recalled that the 12th Chapter was ordered to attack Tanith and bring back the Nalwood Tree for the Primarch.

[Perhaps the Primarch would be interested in this mushroom.]

He hung the jar on his waist and led the group back along the route they had come from.

The Stevenage people were initially frightened when they found themselves surrounded by green-armored Warriors.

They couldn't help but think that the Xenos who enslaved them walked around their ranks to prevent them from escaping.

Some people trembled, and a thought popped into their minds.

These Astartes don't look like humans.

They won't use the guise of saving us to lure us away and then take us somewhere else to be enslaved.

Just as they were looking for a chance to escape, Lucas spoke to Vaughn.

"The Andresian have arrived."

Vaughn shouted, "Guard!"

The Warrior of the 18th Legion immediately raised their Bolter and fired explosives at the Andresian.

Lucas noticed that the Warrior of the 18th Legion were strictly following Vaughn's orders and establishing a defense.

No one made any tactical maneuvers; they held their positions firmly, like a city wall, blocking the surging Xenos.

Lucas saw, at the eight o'clock position, a green-armored Warrior facing an attack from the Andresians.

He used Power Hammer to smash down several Xenos in succession.

But the Andresian were the most numerous in that direction, and they attacked him wielding strange crab-claw blades.

He followed Vaughn's orders, holding the line and not moving an inch.

As he smashed down yet another Xenos with his Thunder Hammer, the Crab Claw Blade slashed at him.

He fell, but his massive body still stood in front of the Xenos.

As the Andresian grinned and tore his body apart with his crab-claw blades, the 18th Legion Warrior on both sides expanded their defenses to block the Andresian attack.

[Vorn and his legion, by providing shelter to the Andresian, inevitably sacrificed the lives of their Warriors.]

They care more about the lives of ordinary people than most Legiones Astartes.

Vaughn, upon hearing in Cepra Mundy that a "Bastion-class Energy Shield" could protect the entire Hive City, also showed particular interest.

As Lucas pondered, he saw Vaughn swing his Power Hammer and charge towards the densest part of the Andresian.

He immediately grabbed his Power Sword and charged forward to fight alongside Vaughn.

The 18th Legion paid the price of ten Warriors' deaths to escort the Stevenage people out of the woods.

Vaughn called for a transport ship, and the Stevenage people only believed they had been rescued when they saw the Auxilia soldiers.

As the Stevenage people shed tears, Lucas also reported to the Primarch.

Nimrod was not surprised to receive the briefing forwarded by the Vox Master.

He knew that the 18th Legion, even before its return to Vulkan, cared more about the lives of ordinary people than most other corps.

Vorn led his legions in a defensive battle against the Ork on a planetary cluster near Taras, facing an overwhelming Ork offensive.

The Legion paid a heavy price to evacuate the population of the three planets to safety.

Even Vaughn himself was killed in action; before he died, he handed over command to Vulkan, who had arrived on his way.

Of course, he was later buried in Dreadnought after his death.

[Vulkan's kindness was undoubtedly passed down to his descendants.]

Nimrod then saw the colorful mushrooms presented in the holographic imagery of the briefing.

[The main ingredient for the potion "Trickmaster," the follow-up to "Apprentice" Sequence 8: Colorful Mushroom.]