Combat

Time trickled by, second by second.

Lu Jin stood on the hangar deck the entire time.

Huron had left alone, but he remained on the deck with the Space Marines, keeping an eye on Lu Jin.

This Space Marine was also a veteran. Based on his understanding of those he served and recent events, he could tell Lu Jin was acting strangely.

Yet, Lu Jin's current reaction showed no sign of anything amiss.

He simply stood in place, waiting, his gaze straight ahead.

Beneath Lu Jin's calm expression, his mind was meticulously working.

Huron's reaction earlier seemed to indicate he had learned the truth about Aels. His attitude was like facing an enemy, but the orders and words he gave made Lu Jin feel otherwise.

When Lu Jin first started waiting, he thought that if a large group of Space Marines attacked him within a few minutes, he could confirm Aels had awakened. If not, then the opposite would be true.

Half an hour passed, and Lu Jin grew increasingly composed.

Footsteps sounded.

They weren't the clatter of Space Marine magnetic boots on the deck.

Huron returned, his face grim. "Go interrogate those two idiots in the medbay. Ask them why they interfered with my deal with the Cunning Hounds."

The veteran saluted and quickly departed.

"What happened to Aels?" Lu Jin asked.

"He was almost turned into a corpse!" Huron suddenly became hysterical. "Botulism hates the Cunning Hounds! They came to disrupt the deal!"

Lu Jin remained collected, slowly closing his eyes and letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

Huron calmed down the next second, thinking carefully. "Get on the ship. I'll handle the deal myself. You can leave afterward, but the Fierce Angels Legion cannot. Ninos and I have an agreement: the Fierce Angels will be guests of the Red Corsairs, staying within their ranks."

Lu Jin recalled Huron's previous attitude—he must have been afraid Lu Jin would board the ship and escape.

He simply nodded.

It was the sixth day since the Chapter Master underwent the ritual.

"Angel of Salvation."

This was the name of the strike cruiser Huron had lent Lu Jin, given by the crew.

Since the Angel of Salvation was in good condition, the crew, possessing professional skills, quickly got the warship operational.

Carly wasn't a professional servant; within the Fierce Angels Legion, she was more responsible for logistics. She organized the personnel meticulously. Coupled with some crew members sent by Huron, the entire warship could sail and fire...

In the ship's core, a place called the command deck.

Lu Jin stood with his hands behind his back, before a holographic display.

A circle of Space Marines clad in black armor surrounded him.

Nearly a hundred of them—this was the warband Huron had lent Lu Jin.

They were called the "Slayers," a warband of Khorne worshippers and a subordinate of the Red Corsairs.

These warbands, which truly embraced Chaos, were at the bottom of the Red Corsairs. Those who had truly fallen to Chaos were not kept close by Huron unless absolutely necessary.

"Our leader is dead," one of them said to Lu Jin. "You'll give the orders from now on."

Lu Jin scanned the crowd. "But I don't have any combat command experience..."

"To hell with combat command!" someone growled at Lu Jin. "We only listen to the words of the strongest fighter! What if you're a better combat commander than Huron? If you're not strong enough, we'll cut you down!"

Lu Jin looked at the speaker and, from behind his back, pointed at him with his right hand in a sword-finger gesture. "Watch your tone, you servant of the skull collector of the weak and infirm."

"That's just how we talk! Bastard!" the man growled. "Are you going to command us to charge into battle or teach us manners? Also, you're not allowed to insult our Blood God! Even you... with such immense power, you must have been blessed by the Blood God!"

"Blessed by the Blood God?" A muffled laugh came from beneath Lu Jin's helmet. "I wouldn't stoop so low as to collect the skulls of the unarmed. I'll ask about the source of blood and skulls, proving I haven't been blessed by it."

"If you insult it again, your orders will be carried out by half!"

"..."

The Slayers gave Lu Jin the impression of: grumbling obedience.

Lu Jin's attitude was what he believed was necessary when dealing with followers of the Blood God. When facing those who revered strength, even verbally, one must not shy away, nor utter any words they could interpret as weakness.

Lu Jin was also puzzled as to why these people trusted him so much.

Until a few of them mentioned the situation in the arena previously.

Lu Jin also heard that the three Space Marines he had killed were members of the Slayers.

"Angel, the Lord of the Maelstrom requests a communication!" a mortal crew member reported from the command deck.

Lu Jin nodded, and then Huron's face appeared before him and the Space Marines.

"Prepare yourselves, you can move out now," Huron said.

"Your deal with the Hound Clan..."

"I'll switch to healing Aels. He woke up once and then told me the location of the trade goods."

Huron raised his hand.

"Communication complete."

After the communication window disappeared, Lu Jin scanned the hundred Space Marines present. He reached behind his back with both hands and drew his Power Hammer Chain Axe. Little Damian's mechanical arm also reached behind him, gripping the Chapter Master's staff.

The Slayers breathed heavily, their engine-like breaths suppressing surging battle intent and bloodlust.

"Ready to slaughter! Cowards!"

Lu Jin raised his axe-hammer and asked sternly.

"Don't say that!"

"But we are ready... Enough talk!"

The Cunning Hounds' strike cruisers sailed towards the edge of the galaxy after the trade was completed.

The Red Corsairs fleet remained in place. A few minutes later, a strike cruiser bearing the mark of the Imperial Fists suddenly moved, slowly emerging from the Red Corsairs fleet.

The port-side gun deck and the prow lance batteries were crowded with gun crews.

The surviving gun crews of the Fierce Angels could only ensure one side of the gun deck operated normally. This was thanks to the Imperial Fists strike cruiser not requiring manual loading; otherwise, even twice the number of men could only ensure two or three weapons were effective.

On the gun decks, the loaders roared as they transported macro cannon shells into the barrels.

Macro cannons were ship-borne projectile weapons with astonishing power. A single shot during ground bombardment was enough to annihilate a city.

At the lance battery positions, beneath the tower-like giant weapons, people bustled back and forth, monitoring various weapon readouts.

Just like on the Ragefang, the lance battery positions were typically managed by a large family, with dozens or hundreds of blood-related individuals jointly responsible for a single lance.

These weapons were not projectile weapons, but they were more lethal to enemy ships than macro cannons.

When all weapons were ready, the gun crews first reported to the weapons officer, who then reported upwards.

Information was relayed through the command system, traditionally simplified by the Fierce Angels Legion, eventually reaching the command deck.

"Weapons are ready!" the ship's comms officer stood up and shouted at the person in front of the deck's viewport.

It wasn't Lu Jin commanding this naval battle; it was Carly.

Her naval command experience was, at best, superficial, far from the level of the deceased commanders. However, in this situation, no one else could fulfill this duty.

"Open fire on my mark," Carly said, trying to sound as composed as possible. "Launch boarding torpedoes after three volleys."

"Yes!" The comms officer sat back down.

The order was relayed down the chain.

Ten minutes later, the port-side gun deck and the prow lances fired simultaneously.

The Cunning Hounds clan cruiser was hit. After taking a macro cannon shell squarely to its stern, a device called a void shield was urgently activated by their slave crew.

Subsequent attacks were intercepted. Energy and shells erupted in a purple ripple in the void before disappearing.

This was because the principle of void shields was to transfer attacks into the Warp, and the disappearing shells and energy were transferred.

However, void shields typically could not intercept slow-moving objects.

The warships of both sides exchanged fire under the void shields. A void war could last for weeks or even over a month, but the characteristic that slow-moving objects could penetrate void shields, if properly utilized, allowed for personnel to board enemy warships and destroy the void shields.

This was the reason for the existence of boarding tactics.

Lu Jin, who was not on the command deck, was going to execute a boarding tactic.

The boarding torpedo contained thirty Space Marines, including Lu Jin.

Lu Jin stood at the very front. Although the Slayers, who always stayed at the front, objected, they merely grumbled and made way, as Lu Jin's performance in the arena had won them over.

It was pitch black inside the boarding torpedo.

Mechanical roaring sounded, the torpedo was lifted, and carried into the launch bay.

With a muffled thud, the launch bay closed, and the torpedo entered the launch sequence.

"I'll take the lead in a moment," Lu Jin said.

Another roar sounded, and the torpedo moved at high speed, traversing the engagement line in the void, darting between returning lances and macro cannon shells.

Finally, it lodged into the breach in the enemy ship's stern. It didn't stop, using its impact and the forward drilling device to continue charging forward, piercing layer after layer of the ship's structure.

With a boom, it stopped, and red light illuminated the torpedo's interior.

Lu Jin took a deep breath and smashed the torpedo's hatch open with a hammer before it could descend, then charged out.

"Blood to the Blood God, skulls to the Skull Throne!"

"Ahhhhhh!!!!"

Every Slayer ran past Lu Jin, charging in all directions.

"Greeting" the boarders were the Cunning Hounds clan's mortal auxiliary forces. They had predicted the landing point when the boarding torpedo flew in and had rushed to the landing zone to establish defensive positions.

Before Lu Jin could even notice them, the Slayers wielding Bolters precisely eliminated various heavy weapons.

The mortals nearby, arranged in tight, focused fire formations, were scattered and slaughtered by Slayers armed with melee weapons like chain axes.

After clearing out the mortal auxiliary troops, Lu Jin walked ahead, with the Slayers flanking him on both sides as they advanced deeper into the warship.

While moving through the corridors, occasional side passages needed clearing to prevent the enemy from forming an encirclement.

At these times, one or two Slayers would break off from the main group. Moments later, they would emerge from the side passage the group had just passed, their blood a testament to their elimination of all enemies encountered, without falling behind.

This was the combat effectiveness of a Space Marine.