Chaos Protector

Red Corsairs flagship.

Nearly ten thousand living people from the Fierce Angels Chapter's strike cruiser were all brought aboard the flagship.

Red Corsairs Mortal soldiers, carrying Laser Rifles, forcibly maintained order as they gathered the ten thousand people together, making sure they caused no trouble on the hangar deck.

Lu Jin boarded the hangar deck on the last Transport Aircraft and stepped out of the troop bay.

His weapons had been completely destroyed, and the Legion Relic Sceptre had been taken away by Mortal slaves from the warband for maintenance.

The Red Corsairs Apothecary carried the "Lone Wolf," who had been left in a vegetative state, and led the way ahead of Lu Jin.

As they passed through the crowd, everyone turned to look at Lu Jin and gradually made way for him.

Lu Jin saw his servant Carly pushing through the crowd. She came over and knelt before him on one knee.

Everyone else was kneeling too.

Amid the Red Corsairs Mortal soldiers' shouts, the people knelt on one knee, silently expressing their gratitude and reverence.

Lu Jin nodded to them, then followed the Apothecary down a corridor after leaving the crowd.

His heart was heavy.

The strike cruiser was not far from the Red Corsairs flagship, and the journey had taken only two days.

By now, the Fierce Angels Chapter Master had become ritual material.

But Lu Jin guessed the ritual would not happen that quickly. The Chapter Master would probably be turned into a puppet only on the ritual's final day.

Lu Jin's plan was not only to keep everyone safe, as he had promised the Chapter Master, but also to find a way to rescue the Fierce Angels.

If he could find out today who had raided the Fierce Angels and set out to rescue them, then he would still have four days.

Only four days.

If he couldn't set out and succeed in rescuing them within four days, the Chapter Master would become a puppet.

Everyone else would be turned into puppets over the remaining dozen or so solar weeks.

Anxious, Lu Jin quickened his pace without realizing it.

At last, the Apothecary led him into a cabin.

"Reply to Abaddon."

"Before he begins preparing for the Thirteenth Black Crusade, I can provide him with some supplies, but I can't directly intervene and help him during the crusade."

"The reason is simple: I don't think he'll win."

"Let him send someone to ask me again when the Fourteenth Black Crusade comes around, or an even later one."

A tall warrior stood with his back to Lu Jin, speaking to another Red Corsairs Space Marine beside him.

Only after a Mortal slave inside the cabin closed the hatch did the warrior turn around.

Lu Jin saw a fierce face and a body so heavily augmented with machinery that only scraps of flesh remained.

It was Luft Huron.

Maelstrom Lord, Red Corsairs Lord.

Lu Jin also recalled some of his other titles: Chaos Protector, Maelstrom's Timely Rain.

But in Lu Jin's eyes, Huron was absolutely no Song Jiang. Not only would Huron never accept the Imperium's offer of amnesty, but his way of doing things also lacked the "benevolence and generosity" Song Jiang had shown before his own amnesty.

Still, favors and self-interest could sway this man, who had not yet fallen completely into Chaos's embrace.

Huron first stared at his trusted lieutenant, who had been left in a vegetative state, then strode over.

The Apothecary lowered the Lone Wolf and held him in his arms.

After checking his breathing, Huron ordered the Apothecary, "Take Aels to the Medicae. I've already made a deal with the leader of the Botulism Gang: in exchange for a ship, he'll stay here and treat Aels."

"People from a Nurgle Clan?" The Apothecary frowned. "Chapter Master, you can't—"

"I promise you, they won't." Huron rested a hand on the Apothecary's shoulder and spoke gently. "Now take him to the Medicae."

The Apothecary nodded and left with the Lone Wolf.

Huron turned to Lu Jin, lifted his chin, and looked him up and down before speaking. "Since you saved Aels, I'll allow the Mortals who came with you to have a place here. They'll serve me aboard my ships, and they won't be slaves."

Lu Jin asked, "Which warband attacked my chapter?"

"The Cunning Hounds," Huron replied. "Someone told me that the symbol on the shoulder plate of the Astartes corpse aboard your ship was a many-headed hound. It matches the Cunning Hounds Clan's insignia perfectly."

Lu Jin nodded, then said, "I want you to take me to where that warband is. I have to rescue my Chapter Master and battle-brothers."

At that, admiration showed in Huron's eyes, followed by scrutiny.

An unsettling silence lasted two minutes before Huron spoke again. "Why didn't they take you too, to use as material for a puppet?"

"I was unconscious at the time. The others in the chapter—"

"Why were you unconscious?" Huron raised a hand to interrupt him.

Lu Jin realized that Huron was staring at his body.

He concluded that Huron had noticed he lacked some features essential to Space Marines.

Thinking of an answer in an instant, Lu Jin said, "I was undergoing the transformation at the time, but it hadn't been completed. The others thought I was dead."

"No wonder you don't have a Black Carapace," Huron said with a smile.

The Black Carapace was essential for Space Marines. It wrapped around their bodies beneath the skin and interfaced with their Power Armor, transmitting sensations... In short, it had many functions.

Yet beneath Lu Jin's battered armor, his body had none of the ports or other structures that should have been part of a subcutaneous Black Carapace. There wasn't a trace of augmentation.

"I can't wear a Black Carapace. It can't be helped," Lu Jin said.

Huron nodded, recalling an unlucky fellow from the chapter back in the days of the Astral Claws.

That poor bastard had made it all the way to the final step of the augmentation surgery, yet could not wear a Black Carapace no matter what. In the end, he died too.

He'd been one step away from becoming an angel. What a pity.

Huron then recalled the Apothecary's report: when this surviving Fierce Angel had been found, he had been injured protecting the Lone Wolf. An arm had been chopped off by a Greenskin, but had later grown back.

Huron thought only a Chaos blessing could explain it, and the Fierce Angels resisted Chaos's corruption.

"Two hundred years ago, your Chapter Master fought alongside me. I was weak back then, and he saved my life."

"But two centuries have passed, and I've even forgotten his name..."

"What was his name?"

Huron gave a cold laugh.

Lu Jin was taken aback.

He really hadn't asked what the other members of the Fierce Angels were called.

But when Mortals like him talked about Space Marines, they usually mentioned the Chapter Master's name.

"Ninos," Lu Jin replied.

"Wrong. That's an alias." Huron's smile vanished. "That fool thought himself clever. He never told people his real name lightly. He told it only to his battle-brothers and me."

Lu Jin was puzzled, but suspected Huron was trying to trick him, so he did his best not to let his guilt show.

"You're just a recruit who's never been in a real battle, and your augmentation surgery failed too. It's only natural you don't know the Chapter Master's real name."

Huron's manner was no longer so aggressive, but he stopped asking questions and lowered his head in thought.

Whatever he was thinking, Huron's expression gradually turned cold. When he looked up again, his gaze was vicious.

The atmosphere in the cabin suddenly grew oppressive.

As Huron pressed a button on the desk behind him, the hatch opened. A squad of Astartes in Terminator Tactical Dreadnoughts entered the cabin and surrounded Lu Jin.

"You can't prove that you're really one of the Fierce Angels."

"Someone has been spying on the Red Corsairs recently. Even if you came carrying the chapter's Sceptre, how do I know the person who sent you here didn't simply hand it to you..."

"There are too many things you can't explain."

Huron walked toward Lu Jin.

Lu Jin clenched his fists, preparing to fight to the death.

Huron held up two fingers. "You have two choices. One: go fight in the Arena until you die. Two: resist, and the Mortals you brought with you will be killed."

At that, Lu Jin gradually unclenched his fists.

Huron saw this, glanced aside, and considered it for a moment. Then he suddenly asked, "I can tell you aren't afraid at all, but you're a little too kind and naive. You've made people who have nothing to do with you into your weakness. Why do you care about those Mortals? Are you just naturally kind?"

"If I only cared about them, I would've had your men take them somewhere else and put them up when we arrived."

Lu Jin said.

"But these people are crew. Even if all the Space Marines die, we can rebuild the chapter as long as we still have the Gene-seed. If the ship is lost, we can risk our lives boarding another one, and still have a chance. But if we lose the crew who can operate the ship, it's all over."

"As long as I don't lose them, I still have plenty of choices and possibilities. If I do lose them, I'll be trapped on your ship with no way out."

Huron showed no reaction to the answer. He simply thought that whatever Lu Jin's true identity, at least he wasn't some uncouth brute.

"You're a Fierce Angel by nature," Huron suddenly said. "Also, I suspected you were a follower of Chaos earlier, but now I think you reason things out pretty well. You don't seem like one of those red-armored brutes who are only good for cannon fodder."

After hearing this, Lu Jin saw Huron extend a hand toward him.

The Space Marines around them stopped preparing to seize Lu Jin. When they saw the Black Heart King offer his hand in goodwill, they all retreated to the walls.

Lu Jin hesitated, but still shook Huron's hand.

"Ninos was a warrior worthy of respect. He and I were enemies and friends, and when he fell into trouble, I was the first person he thought of."

"The Hound Clan isn't just an enemy of the Fierce Angels. They're my enemy too."

Hearing these words from Huron, Lu Jin realized that he might actually be able to rescue the Fierce Angels.

He wasn't asking Huron to send troops. He only wanted Huron to take him to the Hound Clan, by whatever means necessary.

"Then you'll help me," Lu Jin said.

"Of course not."

Lu Jin was taken aback.

"The Hound Clan is useful to me... Besides, I've helped Ninos more than once before. Now I've also helped him by sheltering all the survivors, including you, according to his chapter's traditions."

"Get into the Arena, or I'll sweep those ten thousand people with an Avenger Gatling Cannon."

Two days passed in a flash.

For two days, Lu Jin and nearly ten thousand crew members had been locked up in a warehouse.

Space Marines brought them food at regular intervals, but no one came to tell them what would happen next.

Lu Jin had been trying to find a way out of the warehouse. He observed and studied the movements of everyone who entered, as well as ways to break open the extremely heavy hatch.

Carly and Onaas spent their days calming the others.

Lu Jin couldn't understand why Onaas, a Navigator, had been locked up with them too.

Navigators were valuable. That was why the Star-Claw Veteran nicknamed the Lone Wolf had initially wanted the Navigator and Lu Jin to go with him.

"That door can't be opened from the inside."

Onaas said this to Lu Jin, who was examining the hatch.

Lu Jin didn't reply and continued studying it.

He knew the door wouldn't open either, but still wanted to do something.

A month and four days had now passed since the Fierce Angels were captured.

By the most optimistic estimate, the Chapter Master would be turned into a puppet in two more days... He was the fifth. Four had already been made into puppets.

Two things burned inside Lu Jin, filling him with anxiety.

One of them was the fate of the Fierce Angels Chapter Master and the others.

"I used my psychic powers to observe the Lone Wolf. He's still receiving treatment. I directly damaged his nerves before, so he won't recover that easily," Onaas said.

That was the second of the two things burning inside Lu Jin.

The Lone Wolf could wake up at any moment, and once he did, he'd tell Huron the truth. Then everyone would die.

He was a ticking time bomb.

"Huron said the Chapter Master thought himself clever. I did too," Lu Jin muttered. "I never should've used..."

Carly came over. "Then we'll either be blown to pieces by the Red Corsairs or killed by the steadily evolving xenos."

Lu Jin fell silent.

"You protected us and kept us alive," Carly continued.

Lu Jin didn't answer. He turned around and sat down against the wall.

"If someone had started navigating right away back then, we could've left." Carly shot Onaas a sidelong glance.

Onaas stared at her. "Throne above! Do you think a ship can just take off in an instant? With the strike cruiser in the state it was in, we'd have been lucky to get underway in a solar week!"

Carly sat down helplessly and handed Lu Jin a cup of water.

Lu Jin took it and held it in both hands, thinking about his current strength.

He sensed that his strength was now 11. Slightly above the standard level for a Space Marine.

The hatch suddenly opened.

Heavy footsteps approached. A warrior, almost reduced to a semicircular ball by his thick Power Armor, lumbered in and slowly looked around.

"Lu Jin, get in the arena and fight."

"And you Mortals, a hundred of you, step out and go with him."

As he spoke, the warrior raised an artillery cannon capable of blasting everyone to pieces, aimed it at the Mortals, and looked over at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin stepped forward, and another hundred people volunteered.

They lined up and walked through the passage connecting the Arena to the warehouse.

But before they entered the vast Arena, thick with the smell of blood, only two weapons were thrown in front of Lu Jin.

A Two-handed Chainaxe and a two-handed Power Hammer.

Both were heavy melee weapons used by Space Marines.

Lu Jin gripped the gravity hammer in one hand, and the Chainaxe in the other, holding it together with the mechanical arm on his shoulder. He tested the weight and decided he could make it work.

The hatch in front of him began to open slowly.