Contradiction

Tyrant's Gate.

The four warships returned to the Red Corsairs' lair.

The supplies bought on Manros weren't enough for a long Warp voyage, so the Ragefang had no choice but to turn back.

As they arrived at the port, Lu Jin stepped off the Transport Aircraft and spotted Vengar standing on the adjacent landing pad.

The latter stared at him, his expression and gaze ice-cold.

Some Space Marines loyal to Vengar came to the port and carried a Mortal's corpse out of the Transport Aircraft.

Only then did Vengar look away and turn to his subordinates.

One of them approached Vengar and whispered something to him.

After listening for a few moments, Vengar's expression changed dramatically.

A crewman who had disembarked with Lu Jin looked at the Mortal's corpse nearby and cried out, "That's Jory! He just went to do business with Vengar's people. How could this have happened..."

Lu Jin frowned.

Before the ships docked, a few Transport Aircraft had been going back and forth between them. Vengar's Mortal crewmen came aboard the Ragefang to sell things, and some people from the Ragefang went over to sell things as well.

It was trade between Mortals, with no Space Marines involved.

Yet someone had died during this ordinary exchange of goods.

Lu Jin walked toward Vengar.

Vengar and his subordinates all turned to face him.

"Your men stole something from my ship."

"Mate, I don't want to offend you, but my ship has rules. Thieves die."

Vengar stood in Lu Jin's way.

"What did he steal?" Lu Jin asked.

Vengar didn't know either, so he turned to look at his subordinates.

One of them stepped forward. "A Laser Rifle. My men caught him outside the armory. He had a Laser Rifle in his hands."

Lu Jin looked at the corpse and saw the rifle lying against its chest.

"The serial number on the rifle will prove he didn't bring it aboard. You can have your men check if you don't believe me," the Space Marine said.

"Were there any other witnesses?" Lu Jin asked.

Vengar and the others fell silent.

"Something's wrong here, Chapter Master!" The crewman approached Lu Jin. "Jory often traded in goods. He was able to build his business because he was honest and trustworthy. You can ask the crew. Jory would never stoop to petty theft."

"How can you expect me not to suspect that you set him up and killed him?" Lu Jin stared at Vengar. "There isn't even a single witness. Does that mean this happened exactly as you say it did?"

Vengar stood still as his Space Marines began to surround Lu Jin and the crewman.

"What do you want to do about it?" Vengar retorted.

"My people have rules: murder must be repaid with death," Lu Jin said. "Whoever killed this crewman will pay with their life. I'll get a Psyker to verify what you've told me..."

Laughter cut him off.

Vengar suppressed a laugh, while his men burst out laughing.

"One of my battle-brothers killed him. You want him to pay with his life for this crewman?" A Space Marine stepped forward. "Chapter Master of the Fierce Angels, you fight well, but how many people can you kill? Ten? A hundred? We could wipe you out with ease."

The Fierce Angels arrived at the port in Transport Aircraft. Seeing what was happening, they rushed over.

Lu Jin reached for the weapon on his back.

Vengar pointed at his helmet. "You're going to..."

Lu Jin swung his hammer without warning.

Vengar instinctively dodged to the side. When he realized what had happened, Lu Jin's figure overlapped with that of the man who had stopped him from betraying the Crimson Angels. Only then did Vengar understand that Lu Jin had actually tried to kill him.

Even the berserk warriors who worshipped the Blood God didn't take a killing blow at the slightest provocation like Lu Jin had.

Just as the two sides were about to break into a bloody clash, a familiar voice rang out.

"You're going to fight each other to the death over one Mortal?"

Huron approached, surrounded by Star-Claw Veterans.

Vengar signaled to his men to back down, then looked at Huron.

Once he was close, Huron said, "I came to welcome you. The Botulism Gang was wiped out... Honestly, I never expected you to achieve such a victory."

Lu Jin stared at Vengar without saying a word.

"Is this the dead man?" Huron looked down at the Mortal's corpse, then at Vengar, a smile appearing on his face.

The smile made Vengar shudder. It meant Huron had already guessed what had happened.

Just then, a beast appeared from who knew where.

It had no fixed shape. At times it looked like a crawling ape; at others, like a skinned dog.

The beast climbed onto Huron's shoulder and affectionately rubbed its face against its master's.

"Hadris." Huron gently stroked the beast's head. "Read the minds of everyone here and find out what really happened."

The beast called Hadris immediately fixed its gaze on everyone, including Lu Jin.

Lu Jin knew Hadris was Huron's pet and possessed Psionic Power. He knew about it, but Huron had never summoned Hadris in front of him before.

"Hiss..."

Hadris nudged Huron with its head, conveying a message through the gesture.

Huron smiled again.

He looked at Lu Jin, then at Vengar, who was openly at odds with him. He was very pleased with their relationship.

"Pay with your life," Huron said to Vengar. "Have your man pay with his life for this Mortal. He was killed by one of your subordinates who couldn't stand the Fierce Angels. That's what Hadris told me."

"My lord..."

"What? Do you want to pay with your life in your subordinate's place?"

Huron walked up to Vengar.

The Black Heart King wore no armor, and he wasn't particularly tall.

The heretic Vengar looked down at the Black Heart King, but to anyone watching, it seemed like a child standing before a Space Marine.

Vengar lowered his head. "My lord, I pledged my loyalty to you before he did..."

"I know. So what?" Huron shrugged, still wearing that friendly smile.

"If word of this gets out, the Black Heart King will have done all this for a newcomer..."

Huron raised a hand slightly. "No, of course not. Vengar, this isn't about what I'd do for a newcomer. It's about punishing you for robbing one of my ships."

Vengar froze. His subordinates lowered their heads.

"You didn't know?" Huron studied Vengar's expression.

"I didn't..."

"Then do you want to die alongside your men for the robbery, or what?"

Huron spoke in a kind tone throughout.

But in his mind, he was coldly weighing the benefits.

Neither Lu Jin nor Vengar was especially close to him, but both were members of the Red Corsairs, and the former was particularly troublesome.

The Fierce Angels had fewer than twenty people, while Vengar had more than a thousand—if only Space Marines were counted.

But numbers meant nothing to Huron. He knew all too well how those Space Marines had been gathered under Vengar—or under the other warlords among the Red Corsairs.

Huron was confident that if he chose to help Lu Jin, and Lu Jin brought even a little of his own ability to bear, he would have more men than Vengar and could serve as a counterweight to the other Red Corsair forces.

Before Vengar could answer, Huron gave a signal with his eyes.

Behind him, Amanius raised his arm. The cannon mounted on his armor blasted the upper half of the Space Marine who had killed the crewman to pieces.

The corpse dropped to its knees with a thud.

Amanius looked at the Chapter Master he had once served.

The latter said nothing and didn't react. He simply maintained his poised, gracious smile.

The long years between fighting for the Imperium and fighting against it had forged an understanding between them.

Amanius raised his arm and fired again.

A second man fell, then a third.

Only when Amanius took aim at the fourth man did his Chapter Master speak.

"Heretic. As your master, I have a question... Namely..." Huron stopped halfway through. His smile vanished, his brows furrowed, and deep confusion entered his voice. "What exactly did I do to give you the impression that I'm so patient?"

"Forgive me, my lord. I shouldn't have tried to bargain." Vengar knelt on one knee. "I'm grateful for your mercy..."

Huron nodded in satisfaction and gently patted Vengar's helmet. Then silence fell.

The sudden silence made Vengar and his followers uneasy.

As Huron remained silent, his eyes taking on a thoughtful look, their unease crashed over them like a flood, and the atmosphere grew heavier by the moment.

They couldn't help wondering what the mercurial Black Heart King was thinking.

Perhaps he'd suddenly changed his mind and no longer planned to maintain the appearance of unity and hierarchy with Vengar. Maybe he was about to order Vengar and the chief figures among his followers killed.

Or perhaps the opposite was true. Maybe he thought he should offer some compensation and would give Vengar a warship or a warband that had just joined the Red Corsairs.

Experience had taught them that after a sudden silence, the Black Heart King might tell them all to die—or give them something they'd dreamed of obtaining.

His thoughts were unfathomable, his will impossible to predict.

But,

in truth, Huron wasn't thinking about anything. He had simply fallen silent and was enjoying their unease, one of the ways he amused himself.

"Come with me." Once he'd enjoyed the moment enough, Huron patted Vengar's helmet again and turned to say something to Lu Jin.

Vengar and his followers let out a long, relieved breath.

Lu Jin put his Power Hammer back on his back. "Fine."

"You should say, 'Yes, my lord,'" Huron said with a smile. "Maybe when you're willing to say it, you won't mean it sincerely, but that's all right. I'll get the sincerity I'm owed from you."

First, they went to see Aels.

Aels had recovered memories of fighting alongside Huron in the Maelstrom and uniting the various warbands.

Soon, he would remember what had happened to him aboard the Ragefang.

Huron then took Lu Jin to the Arena.

In the place where they had once fought, Lu Jin and Huron stood side by side in the stands, looking down at the battle taking place below.

A Space Marine with a skull tattoo was wielding a Chainaxe in a melee.

"This is the only survivor of the Slayers."

Huron pointed below.

The survivor and three other Space Marines formed one arena team. Ten Mortal soldiers stood behind them. Their opponents had the same number of fighters.

The survivor was highly skilled. After leading his team to victory, his teammates urged him to collect the skulls of the enemy Mortals.

"Mm..." The survivor groaned impatiently, as if something were tormenting him. "I won't pad my count with Mortal skulls."

"The Blood God doesn't care where the skulls come from! If you won't do it, you can forget about joining us."

"Then I won't join you. I'll kill you instead!"

The Slayers' survivor suddenly went berserk and swung his Chainaxe at his teammates.

"He's a World Eater," Huron said. "A warrior who wandered from the Eye of Terror to the Maelstrom. Ten thousand years ago, he fought in the defense of Terra alongside his Primarch, Angron."

Lu Jin finally took an interest.

Angron was the twelfth Primarch, the polar opposite of Guilliman, the thirteenth.

And the World Eaters, the sons of Angron, were especially bloodthirsty and cruel.

They also implanted a device known as the Butcher's Nails. When the Butcher's Nails activated, they caused pain that could only be relieved through killing.

"Guess why I brought you here."

"I don't know."

Lu Jin had no interest in watching the fight. He was thinking about Aels.

"My Apothecary examined your Gene-seed..." Huron said. "It has seventy percent in common with the World Eaters'."

Lu Jin abruptly turned to look at the World Eater in the Arena.

"What about the other thirty percent?" Lu Jin asked.

"It's identical to the Ultramarines' Gene-seed." Huron suddenly laughed. "Whoever came up with the idea of creating the Fierce Angels was a genius..."

The World Eater who had once joined the Slayers killed his teammates, raised his Chainaxe high, and looked toward the stands amid the cheering.

He met Lu Jin's gaze and raised both arms.

Lu Jin had no idea what the other man was thinking, and didn't bother trying to guess.

He'd already figured out how to deal with Aels, the time bomb that kept going off with a tick.

And Vengar too.

Huron had settled the score over the crewman's death, but Lu Jin still wanted to deal with Vengar. He knew all too well that, for a warband, pride and grudges were what held people together. Vengar would inevitably retaliate against him.