Viewpoint

"Our Chapter Master believes, objectively speaking, that the Slayers, the warband you once belonged to, did us Fierce Angels a service."

"But the Slayers died in that annihilation battle against the Cunning Hounds, and the psyker who wiped them out was cleaved in two along with the planet by a giant axe that appeared out of nowhere."

"Regardless, the Slayers did us a service, and if we wish to repay them, it can only be to you, the sole surviving former Slayer."

In the rest area of the Tyrant's Gate arena.

Kao faced the World Eater who had tried to join the Fierce Angels yesterday but was rejected by Lu Jin.

Behind Kao were parts of Terminator Tactical Dreadnought armor.

"My... cough..." The World Eater's voice was deep and hoarse, filled with suppressed pain and anxiety. "My brothers, all they got in the end was this set of armor?"

"A set of armor is clearly not enough to compensate for the sacrifices made by you Slayers, but if there are other conditions, we can discuss them," Kao said.

The World Eater stared at Kao for a second, then turned and walked onto the stage.

Helpless, Kao had to take the Terminator armor back.

Upon returning to the Ragefang, Kao went directly to the Chapter's flagship's Hall of Honor.

Fierce Angels and mortal crew members gathered around the statue of the Primarch of the Fierce Angels, Guilliman, while their Chapter Master, Lu Jin, stood beneath the statue addressing the crowd.

"You all know about the matter between myself and Aels."

"And my assault on Vengar's fleet was to deal with this matter."

Lu Jin then recounted what he had done and experienced in Tyrant's Gate a few solar hours ago.

Including Huron's attitude at the time and how he handled the situation.

The crowd's emotions were stirred by Lu Jin's narrative. They learned that before they had managed to survive to this moment, there had been many times when annihilation could have befallen them.

Fortunately, Aels's problem had been resolved.

There likely wouldn't be any hidden crises brewing that could lead to everyone's demise.

"What we need to do next is very simple," Lu Jin raised one index finger. "We need to find ways to gather enough food and drink to last for one solar year. Compared to that, weapons and equipment are secondary, because we don't lack weapons and equipment, only sufficient food to embark on our journey."

Then, Kao saw some of the ship's traders offering Lu Jin suggestions.

They proposed exchanging weapons and equipment for food, but cautioned to be selective about trading partners, absolutely not doing business with Vengar's group.

Lu Jin agreed to all of these.

"And then, my Chapter Master," someone asked with heavy confusion and fear in their voice, "after we leave the Maelstrom, are we going to seek justice from the Imperium's Inquisitors? But we've already escaped, and the Imperial Inquisition has a blood feud with us."

"The former Chapter Master said that Inquisitor Bena could help us seek justice, but honestly, I don't think so. However, as the former Chapter Master's dying words, I have to try, cautiously."

"If things go wrong, I will lead you away."

Lu Jin's tone was firm.

"Ultimately, what we seek is to not stay in the Maelstrom. The Imperium does not accept us, so we can go outside the Imperium's borders."

"But the idea of staying in the Maelstrom is out of the question, and you all know why."

Not staying in the Maelstrom was indeed a consensus.

Lu Jin knew that Blackheart Huron once said that compared to Astartes, mortals' wills are almost twisted upon entering the Maelstrom. This boundary between the Warp and reality is too perilous for their feeble wills.

But the crew of the Ragefang had not been corrupted by the Warp.

There were many reasons. Perhaps the crew of this ship was very united; they helped each other, and everyone could be a spiritual pillar for others.

Or perhaps it was because of Lu Jin's portrait, which was now everywhere. It wasn't just a psychological placebo; it reduced supernatural phenomena.

But even so, the Maelstrom still had an impact on mortals.

According to Kao's knowledge, in the past week, twenty couples among the mortal crew had given birth to children. These children had one common characteristic: they could shock the midwives into numbness.

These monstrosities were not dealt with by the Space Marines, nor were they even reported to the Space Marines. The mortal couples themselves chose to kill the monstrosities by smashing them.

The inability to reproduce was despairing and terrifying for mortals. After the birth of these monstrosities, panic spread, which in turn led to an increase in the frequency of supernatural phenomena on the ship.

In short, the sooner they could leave this damned place, the better.

"Brother, what do you think?"

Carly walked to Kao's side and raised her arm to link her hand with her brother's.

Kao shook his head. "I believe the former Chapter Master's plan to seek justice is completely unfeasible. The Emperor on the Golden Throne has abandoned all of us. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have watched the Imperial Inquisition slaughter our Chapter until fewer than a hundred of us remained."

"But if we cannot clear our names..." Carly said, "how will we obtain supplies and replacements in the future?"

Kao fell silent.

Warships had no self-sustaining capabilities. To get replacements and supplies, they would either have to rely on Imperial supply or through plunder.

Were the Fierce Angels to become Space Pirates? To become those who existed solely for eating, drinking, shitting, and killing, pirates defined in the ancient texts of the Space Marines as vile excrement-producing machines?

That would be worse than death.

"But after the Emperor abandoned us, we had to find a way to survive, not all die." Kao's voice was low, "If we had realized this earlier, if other battle-brothers had realized this like I did, then we wouldn't have been lured into a trap by the Inquisitor."

Carly didn't know what to say, only gripping her brother's hand tightly for a sense of security.

Lu Jin said some encouraging words at this time, but his eloquence was truly poor, lacking any real public speaking ability.

However, he could realize that it was his turn to speak now. As the one who shouldered the responsibility after the Cunning Hounds attack, ensuring everyone survived, and who was entrusted with a crucial mission by the former Chapter Master before his death, simply hearing his words would bring psychological comfort.

"He will lead us out of this," Kao said, looking at Lu Jin, "I trust him."

Afternoon.

Lu Jin was training in the Hall of Honor.

Although training was a Chapter tradition, Lu Jin wasn't there for tradition but to improve his combat skills.

The former Apothecary was dead, and the person most skilled with a Thunder Hammer and Battle Axe now was Xenos.

Xenos was sparring with this new Chapter Master.

"Even I, the Chapter Master, have to learn combat techniques from a warrior." Lu Jin circled Xenos, wielding his Thunder Hammer and Battle Axe, "Why did Ninos choose me before he died?"

"Because after all the battle-brothers were captured, you ensured the others survived." Xenos's eyes searched for Lu Jin's openings, "Brother Ninos was the worst at combat skills in the Chapter before he became Chapter Master, but his predecessor Chapter Master designated him because he could lead people to survive."

Lu Jin fell silent.

Xenos suddenly found an opening, stepped forward, and swung his hammer.

Lu Jin was slow to react and lacked many combat techniques, but fortunately, his strength was sufficient. He easily raised his chain axe and blocked the hammer head that was smashing down from above.

"Don't block by holding it flat, angle it. Deflect in the direction the next attack will come from. The best defense is offense; don't get caught on the defensive."

Lu Jin took in all of Xenos's teaching, while also thinking about Ninos's last words.

To summarize, his last words were essentially: it would be best if Lu Jin could be Chapter Master, but if he was unwilling, then they should choose one themselves.

The Fierce Angels could still elect a new Chapter Master to carry out this dying wish, but the problem was that the current Fierce Angels, let alone a Chapter Master, couldn't even field an Apothecary or a Combat Master.

"Brother Xenos, you're like those mediocre teachers on my homeworld who know nothing but knowledge."

Kao, who was training nearby, noticed their sparring match and walked over, leaning on his chainsword as he pontificated.

"Although the Chapter Master brother is inferior to you in both experience and skill, if you were truly enemies in a real battle, you would still be killed because he has his own advantages."

"You need to utilize this advantage for teaching; you can't just cram everything you know into him."

Lu Jin listened to these words and felt that Kao made a lot of sense.

Xenos, however, was displeased, "Then why not ask Brother Kao, the best teacher in our Chapter, to be the Combat Master? Is it that you don't want to, or have you never even touched the haft of a battle axe or hammer in your life?"

"Brother Kao, I'm just giving you some advice."

"Brother Kao, I don't need advice from someone who can't even properly use a chainsword."

"Oh really? You do need it. If you had listened to my advice when we went to sell that Navigator girl's treasures, you wouldn't have been tricked into having nothing but your underwear left."

"..."

Seeing that the two were about to fight, Lu Jin remembered the Chapter's scriptures on how to handle conflicts between battle-brothers.

The answer was to have the two opposing battle-brothers hold hands, chests pressed together, and maintain this position for ten seconds, after which both would awkwardly laugh and decide it was best not to cause trouble to avoid such a shameful punishment next time.

Just as Lu Jin was about to speak, the Hall of Honor's broadcast suddenly announced, "Transferring communication from the command deck."

Immediately, a holographic communication window popped up beneath the statue of Guilliman in the Hall of Honor, and Huron's face appeared in it.

"You don't need to accompany me to meet those who worship the Blood God; you will form a warband with them directly."

"Don't rush to object. You do need them, because you will be going on a mission with Vengar."

A suit of armor appeared in the communication window.

It was a Cataphractii pattern Terminator armor from the 30K Great Crusade era. Based on various features, Lu Jin recognized it at a glance as a model used by the World Eaters Legion's "Red Butchers" ten thousand years ago.

However, strangely, this Cataphractii armor had numerous decorations on its surface that would have been considered unnecessarily complex by the World Eaters.

For example, a red cloak – embroidered on the cloak was a scene of people kneeling before the wearer of this armor.

The armor's surface was inlaid with countless small skulls, but these skull decorations were not simple skull images; they were crowned, inlaid with gold studs, or other ornate decorations.

According to the "older is stronger" principle, Lu Jin immediately realized that this armor held immense value.

And Huron's desire to obtain it was likely to appease someone.

"You will go to that Imperial world together, seize this armor, and then I will give it to Solax."

"Solax is the leader of a Blood God warband. You will take the armor there and forge an alliance."

After Huron finished speaking, a star map popped up next to the communication window.

The star map pointed to a location outside the southern edge of the Maelstrom, an Imperial world named "Manros."

"Isn't this the place where Vengar and I annihilated the Botulism Gang?" Lu Jin said.

"This is the place." Huron nodded, "If everything goes smoothly, I can grant you any request."

With that, the Black Heart King cut off the communication.

"He's deliberately trying to disgust us!" Xenos growled, "He knows Vengar and we don't get along, yet he insists on..."

Kao interrupted his battle-brother's growl, "He might want to use us to deal with Vengar."

Lu Jin, who thought the same, immediately turned to look at Kao, feeling that Kao indeed possessed some necessary qualities of a Chapter leader.