A Rising Star

Following Lu Jin and the others, Vengar and his troops also surged forward, crushing everything in their path.

They had been holding back on Vengar's orders, but now that Vengar was leading the charge behind Lu Jin, they gave it their all. They quickly broke through the passage, fought their way into the area where the Void Shield was located, and entered the network of narrow corridors.

Fighting in tight spaces suited the Fierce Angels even better.

At that moment, Lu Jin realized that the name Fierce Angels was quite apt. This Chapter's fighting style was simply savage.

All the Fierce Angels preferred close combat. Weapons like Chainswords and Chainaxes were their favorites, followed by explosives and heavy-caliber weapons.

Jenos belonged to that second category.

While the others relied on their combat skills and agility to slaughter their way through the nearby chambers, Jenos strode down the middle of the corridor and took two weapons he had modified himself from his back.

The two weapons looked much like Bolters, but had large magazines.

Each time he fired, a large bolt shot from the barrel. Once accelerated by its propellant, the bolt split open, releasing five miniature bolts.

They were essentially shotguns.

With a modified Bolter in each hand, Jenos strode forward, bellowing as he went. The Botulism Gang members were either blasted down in droves or pinned down at corners and inside chambers.

By the time Lu Jin and the other Fierce Angels caught up, every enemy at the corners and in the chambers had been slaughtered.

"No Honor!"

Jenos used the two-handed reloading technique he had developed to change magazines. A Mechanical Arm on his back helped him reload.

The words he shouted were the Fierce Angels Legion's battle cry.

(There is) no honor (in battle)—the words on the cover of the Chapter's codex.

For the Fierce Angels, battle was merely one way to earn honor, as well as a form of medical treatment for venting negative emotions.

Under normal circumstances, the Fierce Angels seemed fairly composed. But on the battlefield, they howled and roared like beasts, their savage fighting truly terrifying.

Once Jenos had fired all his ammunition, Lu Jin took over and blazed a bloody path at the front.

Even before this battle, Lu Jin had already earned the others' regard, respect, and even admiration. But even if none of what had happened before had taken place, they would still have admired him after seeing him in action now.

Lu Jin charged head-on at ten times his number of Chaos Space Marines, his heavy weapon held high. He swept through them like a storm through fallen leaves, like a tiger among sheep.

Ordinary Space Marines were so weak compared to him that merely dodging his two-handed Battle Axe and Warhammer in time was a remarkable feat. Fragments of armor and flesh flew through the corridors.

He put the combat techniques the Apothecary had once taught him to practical use, but most of the time, he only needed to swing his weapons.

One enemy tried to block with a Power Hammer and was split in half, armor and weapon along with him.

Among them was an enemy wearing the heavy Power Armor known as a Terminator.

The enemy wielded a scythe.

The Terminator slowed him down, but did little to improve his strength or defense—at least, not enough to matter to Lu Jin.

One strike was all it took. The Power Hammer swung sideways, shattering the scythe and caving in the Terminator's chest by ten centimeters. Before the enemy could hit the ground, his reinforced organs all crushed, a Chainaxe smashed his head apart.

"No Honor!" Lu Jin raised his two-handed weapons high and roared at the sky.

"No Honor!" The Fierce Angels surged out from behind Lu Jin, fighting alongside the Chapter Master appointed by Ninos.

They had allies behind them, too.

But as they approached the Void Shield device, Vengar's men only watched from a distance.

It wasn't that Vengar had ordered them to hold back. They were simply afraid that if they got too close, these utterly savage-looking warriors might chop them up as well.

They hacked their way through, fighting and slaughtering as they went.

Only after entering the facility that housed the Void Shield did Lu Jin and the Fierce Angels stop to replenish their ammunition from the logistics personnel Vengar had sent.

"Look at these cowards."

Kao eyed the Space Marine standing before him with an ammunition crate in his hands.

"Dressed in bright colors, like beasts in heat on my homeworld. They roll around in all sorts of natural pigments so they can mate with more females. The nobles on my homeworld raise them, help them fend off their natural predators, and then pet them after killing those predators."

As he spoke, Kao raised a hand and patted the Space Marine in front of him on the shoulder.

The Space Marine said nothing, still holding the ammunition crate.

"Brother Chapter Master." Jenos finished replenishing his ammunition and looked at Lu Jin. "If this ship's going to be sold to Huron, they absolutely don't deserve half of it. I suggest we take all the gunships and tanks and whatever else we can. I can operate anything that moves on the ground or flies in the sky, but you'll have to give me some time. I can't be in two places at once."

Lu Jin had no ranged weapons. He was sitting in a corner, waiting, but when he heard the suggestion, he looked up warily.

After considering it and deciding that it was still a suggestion related to combat, he nodded in agreement.

"There's no need to trouble this Fierce Angel. My men have already driven the captured vehicles onto your ship."

Vengar arrived late.

As the apostate walked over, he held a Botulism Gang Mortal soldier by the throat. Blood stained his two fangs.

Lu Jin knew at a glance that Vengar had used that Mortal to sate his Black Rage.

"You're braver than anyone I've ever met, including those who like to shout, 'Blood for the Blood God!'"

Vengar tossed aside the Mortal's corpse and smacked his lips.

"The Black Heart King ordered me to keep an eye on you. I don't know if I could stop you if you really decided to do something else."

Hearing that Huron had sent the Chapter to deal with someone while also asking Vengar to spy on them, Jenos seethed with anger and glared at Vengar.

Kao returned to Lu Jin's side, folded his arms, and said coldly, "If you're willing to tell us that Huron asked you to spy on us, then Huron wouldn't have asked you to spy on us in the first place."

Vengar smiled. "You know the Black Heart King pretty well... But you've never worked with him, so you're a little naive."

Lu Jin had already guessed what Vengar was about to say.

He was going to try to recruit them. Nothing more.

Vengar coveted Huron's position and would become his rival one day.

From the Fierce Angels' perspective, Vengar was no match for Huron. This so-called Apostate was a complete piece of shit.

"Shut up."

Vengar parted his lips slightly, revealing his two fangs, and was about to speak when Lu Jin cut him off with a single icy word.

The Apostate froze for a moment, then realized Lu Jin had guessed what he was trying to do and had already chosen between him and Huron.

He smiled and asked, "If you can't be the Imperium's dog anymore, will you be Huron's instead?"

"Enough with the dog talk," Kao said. "Your brain seems about as big as a dog's. The rest is dog shit that's been smeared inside your skull. That dog-shit-stirred brain of yours can only understand who's whose dog and who's whose master, just like Huron used to be yours."

"Can you provide what the Fierce Angels need?"

"You think you can make us your pawns and cannon fodder with a few words? What makes you think you can?"

As Kao spoke, he paced around Vengar, his Chainsword pointed straight at the Apostate.

"Because you've got more heads?"

"I don't see how you've got enough heads for us to chop until we're satisfied!"

As he spoke, Kao's fierce expression emerged. His powerful body trembled slightly, as if barely restrained bloodlust and the urge to fight were coursing through his veins.

This wasn't anger. It was a physical reaction that could seize the Fierce Angels at any moment.

Ninos had once said that the Fierce Angels' Gene-seed wouldn't affect their minds... But the truth proved that was only what he had believed.

This string of scathing rebukes was Kao's way of making it up to himself. After all, killing Vengar outright wasn't appropriate under the circumstances, and his words left Vengar with no response.

"Vengar." Lu Jin rose to his feet. "You and your people can't help me at all, and you won't be able to in the future either. You're a clever man, but not very clever; you're stupid, but not completely stupid."

Lu Jin suspected that the Black Rage had left Vengar too muddled to think straight.

Looking at the broad arc of this man's life, he wasn't particularly clever or particularly strong.

At first, Vengar had still been able to play the fool, but now he had dropped the act. The Fierce Angels' refusal to become his pawns had infuriated him.

Perhaps he thought he was more generous and charismatic as a leader than Huron, and that the Fierce Angels—seventeen people including Lu Jin—had no choice but to submit to him.

"You..."

"Shh—"

Lu Jin held a finger to his lips, signaling for Vengar, who had just started to speak, to be quiet.

After Vengar swallowed his words, Lu Jin said softly, "I've been very patient with you, for the sake of having fought alongside you... Say one more word and I'll smash your head into your chest."

Vengar raised both hands, turned away with a cold expression, and directed the others to destroy the Botulism Gang warship's Void Shield.

The Botulism Gang was wiped out.

As agreed beforehand, the Fierce Angels could take half the spoils, including the Mortal crew.

But the Mortal crew showed clear signs of Chaos corruption, so Lu Jin refused them.

A total of four warships remained in Manros, an Imperial system.

"The supplies Huron gave us earlier aren't even enough to support a single long-distance journey through the Warp."

"I suggest we trade with the local Imperial world."

On the command deck, Carly made her suggestion to Lu Jin.

Onaas had also come from the Navigator's Sanctuary to the command deck. It was her idea.

"This is an Imperial world. I can sell some of the jewelry and clothes my family gave me when I left to the local nobles," Onaas added.

"But..." Lu Jin was worried that Onaas, a pampered Navigator, might feel uncomfortable after selling her jewelry and clothes.

Onaas saw his concern and smiled. "We'll get through this together, Chapter Master."

"Thank you." Lu Jin leaned down and whispered, "Once we get out of the Maelstrom, I'll find a way to get you even better things."

Onaas thought it over seriously, then said, "If we can get out... As long as we make it back to my family, we can have anything we want... My family owns an entire star system."

"Is that so?" Carly glanced sidelong at Onaas. "We've been branded as traitors. Your family would be doing well just to give us two meals."

"Ahaha... I didn't think that through. I didn't think that through," Onaas said with an awkward smile.

The communications officer stood and reported, "Vengar is urging us to leave."

"Tell them to wait or get lost," Lu Jin said.

Jenos entered the command deck and saluted Lu Jin. "Brother, I inspected all the armed vehicles. Vengar's men haven't tampered with them. They're safe to use."

"When we do business with the locals later, you're not allowed to get involved," Lu Jin said with a smile.

Remembering how he'd been conned down to his last pair of trousers, Jenos grumbled his agreement. "Yes... Yes."