Strong Enough

The three warships sailed towards their target location, a star system named Manros, just outside the edge of the Maelstrom.

The Tyrant's Gate was not far from the edge of the Maelstrom.

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The Maelstrom was a Warp rift, a place where the Warp and realspace blurred. It was incredibly dangerous, and the closer one got to the center, the more perilous it became. Therefore, unless they were particularly devoted to Chaos, Chaos Space Marines generally didn't venture into the Maelstrom's core.

Upon arrival, the three warships scanned the star system, and the relevant situation was presented on the command deck.

"There's an Imperium world in the star system."

"The Botulism warband's ships are preparing to attack it."

"The strategic intelligence from the Red Corsairs indicates that Huron tricked the Botulism warband into raiding that Imperium world to create an opportunity for us to launch a surprise attack."

Carly reported the information.

A day prior, Lu Jin had promoted her to Head of Strategy, and she was no longer a mere servant.

"So, we... prepare to attack?" Vengar stood beside the holographic display, casting an inquiring glance at Lu Jin.

He acted like a sycophant and a born subordinate, but Lu Jin knew the guy was putting on an act.

Vengar was ambitious; he didn't even respect Huron.

He was powerful, skilled in combat, and an excellent commander, proficient in both ground and naval warfare. How could such a person appear as cowardly as he did on the surface?

"Kao," Lu Jin turned around. "Devise a strategic plan with the battle-brothers."

The Fierce Angels immediately gathered around, discussing strategy in a lively debate.

Vengar smiled, then in an instant, he conceived a meticulous and comprehensive plan. While listening to the Fierce Angels discuss, he subtly frowned in impatience, though he dared not show it directly.

Compared to Lu Jin, the Fierce Angels were experts in strategic planning.

However, they were still too amateurish compared to Vengar. This was because they only planned from a warrior's perspective, lacking a grander vision.

"Everything you're discussing is reasonable," Vengar interrupted. Despite not wanting to offend Lu Jin here, his tone still carried an undisguised contempt. "But... how about this: I and my men will be responsible for the main assault. We'll initiate a boarding action directly, with the objective of capturing the ships."

Vengar then elaborated on the importance of ships within the Maelstrom, noting that both sides had limited ammunition. Even with a three-to-one advantage, it would be difficult to guarantee the enemy wouldn't escape.

Finally, he detailed his specific strategic plan for the boarding phase.

After his explanation, Vengar looked at Lu Jin with restrained composure. "Chapter Master, do you approve of my suggestion?"

Lu Jin nodded.

Vengar immediately looked down at the holographic display and relayed orders to his subordinates: "We'll handle the main assault. The Fierce Angels are too few in number; try not to let them sacrifice themselves."

The latter half of the sentence was clearly spoken for others to hear.

The operation commenced.

The warships flanking the Ragefang launched their fighter craft, boarding torpedoes, and various auxiliary weapons and vehicles towards the enemy Botulism warships.

Vengar unleashed his talent like an artist performing a symphony.

Commands flowed from his mouth, and detailed plans were executed.

Before the enemy could mount an effective counterattack, the Botulism warband's ships had their engines crippled by a swift, precise, and ruthless tactical strike, rendering them immobile.

However, at this point, Vengar and his subordinates began to slow down.

"How were you intercepted by the enemy?"

"They only had three hundred men in total, spread across the entire ship to intercept boarding parties everywhere. How could they still manage to block you?"

"The Third and Fourth Companies were also intercepted?"

"Viral weapons?"

Vengar conversed with his subordinates via the communicator, then slammed his fist onto the holographic display device, uttering a few curses.

Lu Jin realized that Vengar and his subordinates were merely acting. The purpose of this act was to draw the Fierce Angels into the battle to deal with the most difficult targets within the enemy ships.

As expected, Vengar immediately pointed to an enemy warship on the holographic display, where a marked device was located at the stern.

It was a Void Shield.

"If we can disable the Void Shield, we can allow our warships' weapons to precisely target and destroy parts of the ship where numerous enemies are located, and then eliminate them, seizing this warship."

"This warship... considering you Fierce Angels don't have many crew members either, my suggestion is to sell it to the Black Heart King and split the profits."

"But the prerequisite is that the Fierce Angels must go and support the elite strike force I've dispatched."

As Vengar spoke, Kao and Lu Jin exchanged glances, both realizing the trick Vengar was playing.

However, Kao felt this might be a good opportunity to deepen the relationship between the new Chapter Master and the battle-brothers, as Lu Jin, from his time as a mortal until now, had only trained with many people but never fought alongside them.

"I will take my battle-brothers with me," Lu Jin approached Vengar. "Protect my crew. If any of them die, you know the consequences."

"Please allow me to go into battle with you," Vengar said. "Please believe me, I will guarantee with my life that the number of people on the ship when we leave together will be the same when we return."

Lu Jin pondered for a moment, then looked at Vengar's mouth.

Vengar, nicknamed "The Renegade," had two fangs, a characteristic of the Sons of Sanguinius.

Sanguinius is the Primarch of the Blood Angels. The Sons of Angels have a genetic defect called the Black Rage, which requires them to drink blood to suppress it.

Lu Jin nodded.

The crew immediately retrieved Lu Jin's armor.

The armor worn by the Fierce Angels was previously sent by Huron, painted in the red and blue colors of the Fierce Angels. As for Lu Jin, due to his special physique, his power armor had to be personally crafted by the Red Corsairs' Forge Master, Amanius.

Vengar saw as Lu Jin was being armored by the crew that Lu Jin had no black carapace, and the power armor he was wearing had no connection points for one.

As for how Lu Jin controlled the heavy power armor—a bit of ingenuity from Amanius, plus a little brute force.

Inside the Botulism warband's warship.

The path leading to the Void Shield device was a straight and vast corridor, one kilometer in length.

Because the path was not as narrow as ordinary warship corridors, many heavy weapons, even tanks and fighter craft, could assist the defenders within the corridor.

When Lu Jin arrived behind the attacking force via transport, gunfire and artillery roared, and the fighting was fierce.

A boarding action had turned into a positional battle.

Both sides had established positions within the corridor and had deployed heavy weapons and armored vehicles as the struggle for the corridor intensified.

When Lu Jin and sixteen Fierce Angels disembarked from the transport and observed the front from behind their own lines, several other transports disgorged mortal troops.

"Do you feel like I deliberately forced you to act?" Vengar stood in front of Lu Jin. "Now look here, do you still feel that way?"

Kao asked, "Why are we so determined to fight for this corridor? Can't boarding torpedoes blast open another path?"

Vengar said to Kao again, "We can't. The warship's structure in the area where the Void Shield device is located has been heavily reinforced, so we have to fight for it."

Then he said to Lu Jin, "I don't know where your hostility towards me comes from... I also didn't expect one of my subordinates to offend you because of a mortal. But unlike the Black Heart King, I at least didn't throw you into an arena and force you to lead a hundred unarmed people, did I?"

Lu Jin looked coldly at Vengar, his gaze even colder than when he looked at Huron.

What the renegade did not know was that Lu Jin's hostility did not stem from the past or present, but from the future—he knew what kind of person Vengar truly was.

"For Space Marines, there is no conflict that cannot be resolved by fighting side-by-side," Vengar turned to face forward. "Come, let's fight side-by-side."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Jin had already led the Fierce Angels around Vengar.

Xenos scorned those who were fighting and left Vengar with a parting remark: "If they talk as much nonsense as you do, then that's why they're fighting poorly."

Including Lu Jin, a total of seventeen people approached the very front of the position to face the enemy's artillery fire.

Shells occasionally landed around them.

Splinter fragments and incoming bullets were blocked by the Fierce Angels' relic scepter, which released a psychic barrier from the mechanical arm on Lu Jin's shoulder.

A white barrier shielded the seventeen of them.

Even after Ninos's death, his psionics continued to protect the chapter's members.

The Fierce Angels exchanged glances, and a battle plan was conceived between their gazes.

Except for Lu Jin, everyone else had fought side-by-side for a long time; with just a look, they could understand each other's intentions.

However, considering Lu Jin, they still communicated the battle plan over the comms channel.

The entire plan could be summarized as: the Fierce Angels would be the spearhead, piercing the defensive line and opening up the situation.

Lu Jin, however, occupied the most central position in this plan, tasked with what he did best and the combat role he would have been responsible for if he had joined the Fierce Angels and Ninos had survived.

This combat role was known as "Breaker of Formations" in the chapter's codex.

A gunship swooped down and strafed the seventeen men.

Xenos drew the bolt pistol at his waist and opened fire, his jetpack roaring to life behind him.

After the gunship's cockpit was pierced by bolts and the Botulism warband's mortal pilot inside was blown to bits, Xenos leaped into the air with the aid of his jetpack and charged into the gunship's cockpit, controlling the gunship to ascend and, in turn, strafe the enemy's heavy weapon emplacements.

Lu Jin and the others stepped forward, gradually increasing their speed, and broke into a run.

A Venom Tank aimed at them.

Xenos leaped out of the cockpit, landed on the tank, casually pulled out an explosive and tossed it onto the hatch. He then turned around, using his power armor's back to block shrapnel and flames, before leaping into the now-blasted-open hatch.

This tank was then captured by Xenos. Its turret rotated, destroying another tank that was slowly advancing and aiming at the battle-brothers.

Xenos was undoubtedly an all-around combat talent.

He was as inept when being swindled in business until he was left with nothing but his underpants as he was adept and brave on the battlefield.

Under Vengar's gaze, the Fierce Angels charged into the enemy positions.

Each of them was equivalent to a combat squad, able to flexibly deal with any situation using their various equipment. Their charge towards the enemy's firing positions could be described as entering an unresisted territory.

Lu Jin, however, was even more ferocious.

He charged towards a hastily constructed bunker, smashing aside debris like wrecked armored vehicles with his Power Hammer as he sped forward. He burst into the bunker and, wielding a chain axe, instantly turned four Botulism warriors into pieces.

It was only then that Vengar realized why this guy was using two heavy weapons simultaneously.

Lu Jin burst out of the bunker, and the Fierce Angels converged from all directions, slaughtering the dozens of Botulism warriors who were blocking them before dispersing again.

From their combat style, Vengar could see that they were very united; trying to turn any one of them would be wishful thinking.

They were also very powerful. A chapter of over a thousand men had been reduced to these seventeen... it proved they weren't lucky, but strong.