Return to Manros

The Ragefang was preparing to enter the Warp.

During the preparations, Vengar's four ships came alongside the Ragefang. There was no communication between them, and Vengar himself didn't come aboard the Ragefang as he had when they fought the Botulism Gang.

Another ship arrived soon after. It delivered some "cargo" to the Ragefang's hangar deck, then left.

The cargo consisted of a hundred Chaos Space Marines who worshipped the Blood God.

"How is Onaas at the Navigator's Sanctuary...? Can she navigate normally?"

"I went to see her. She said she'd pull herself together and promised to complete the navigation."

Lu Jin and Kao entered the hangar deck side by side and saw the hundred Blood God worshippers.

All one hundred Space Marines wore crimson armor and had strings of skulls hanging from their bodies. Judging by their size, some belonged to Space Marines, while others were Mortal skulls.

"Onaas was terrified after she saw that Psyker blow up his own head," Lu Jin said. "But at least she can still navigate..."

After accepting Huron's mission, Lu Jin had gone to see Onaas.

But Onaas still refused to see anyone.

Then the Warp-jump preparations began. With no other choice, Lu Jin had asked Kao and his sister Carly to check on her.

Judging from what Kao had told him, Onaas had at least begun to recover.

"She's still just a little girl, after all." Kao shook his head helplessly. "Her family sent her here with her parents. When the Inquisitor ambushed us, her parents were cut in half, and she watched it happen... If her psychic powers hadn't awakened then, opening her third eye, we'd all have died at that Inquisitor's hands."

Lu Jin froze for a moment and looked at Kao.

Onaas had never told him about this, so he'd assumed she'd been sent here to be a Navigator and hadn't left her ship during the Inquisitor's ambush.

With a sigh, Lu Jin walked over to the Chaos Space Marines.

They stood in a tight formation.

They weren't World Eaters, just Space Marines who worshipped the Blood God, so they didn't have the Butcher's Nails.

Still, Lu Jin felt he had to keep them in line.

"My ship has its own rules."

Lu Jin stopped in front of the Space Marines.

The hangar deck was being sealed off. The slow rumble of its massive doors closing couldn't drown out Lu Jin's voice.

"First, you'll stay in the area we've assigned you: this hangar."

"Second, you will not kill any crew members or Astartes."

The men listened intently as Lu Jin spoke, because they'd been drawn to him by his feat in the Arena, where he'd fought three opponents at once.

But wanton slaughter of Mortals had become a habit for them. Even though they'd heard that Lu Jin cared about Mortals, they couldn't help wanting to protest.

"We've never followed rules like these!" one Chaos Space Marine roared.

Lu Jin approached the dissenter.

At two meters thirty, he was tall enough to meet any Space Marine's gaze.

"Then tell me what it'll take for you to follow them," Lu Jin said.

"Make one of us—or yourself—bleed," the Space Marine replied.

The Blood God worshippers had been drawn to Lu Jin, but that didn't mean they'd obediently accept orders or discipline from someone they admired. On the contrary, the more famous Lu Jin became, the more they wanted to challenge him.

"Then come on." Lu Jin reached behind his back.

He drew his Battle Axe and swung it in one fluid motion, shattering a Chainaxe and beheading three Chaos Space Marines.

The whole thing took less than a second. By the time it was over, the three bodies had dropped to their knees in perfect unison.

The deaths of their comrades stirred no hatred in the Blood God worshippers. Instead, they screamed and cheered, thrilled by the deaths.

"Now we're willing to follow the rules!"

"Only the strong can make the rules!"

"..."

Lu Jin returned the Battle Axe to his back. "If any of you want to break the rules, come to me first. I'll take your heads off and put an end to the idea before it can go any further."

Another round of cheers rang out.

Kao had watched the whole thing in silence. He was more convinced than ever: the Ninos brothers had always been remarkably insightful, especially when it came to choosing people.

There was just one thing Kao couldn't understand. How had a Mortal—Lu Jin's transformation had failed, after all—who had joined the Chapter only days ago figured out the temperaments of different Chaos Space Marines and found the best way to deal with them?

He could only describe Lu Jin as a genius. It was as if he'd been born with one hand raised and the other resting on his chest, saying to the people who delivered him and the one who gave birth to him, "Take me to the Fierce Angels. Don't waste my time, OK?"

Amid the cheers, the Ragefang entered the Warp.

Onaas guided the Warp-jump without a hitch.

Lu Jin returned to Kao's side, and together they patrolled the ship to make sure no one went mad from the supernatural phenomena of Warp travel.

"To be honest, we were worried you wouldn't want to become Chapter Master. Your attitude back then only confirmed our fears..."

Kao spoke up suddenly.

"I really don't want to."

Lu Jin looked helpless.

"It's not that I hate you, and I'm not being ungrateful. I'm just worried that being Chapter Master will make me do things I don't want to do."

"Like working for Huron... It's easy to imagine that once I've repaid my debt to him, he'll make us keep working for him. And he definitely has the means to do it."

After a week of travel, the fleet, including the Ragefang, entered Imperial space and arrived in the Manros system.

Vengar still didn't communicate. Lu Jin, on the command deck, was more than happy to let them keep quiet. He went straight to figuring out how to get his hands on the Power Armor Huron wanted.

By conventional logic, they should simply attack this Imperial world and steal the armor.

But Lu Jin remembered how Manros had come forward to do business when they were wiping out the Botulism Gang. That suggested this Imperial world wasn't particularly "steadfast in its faith."

There had to be a better way to get the armor.

As he weighed his options, a transport ship capable of taking off from and landing on the planet approached the fleet and requested a communications link.

Once the request was approved, a middle-aged man appeared before Lu Jin.

"So, what is it this time?" The man clasped his hands behind his back, looking utterly relaxed, without a trace of the wariness one might expect when facing the "archenemy of Chaos." "Are you buying supplies or information? You're here on behalf of the Maelstrom Lord, right? I've got some military intelligence about the Imperium..."

"We're here for a suit of armor." Lu Jin signaled the communications officer to send over an image of the Red Butcher Terminator.

After looking at the image, the man's face filled with confusion. "I don't know where this armor is, but if it exists, I'm sure I can get it for you... for the right price, of course."

He raised his right hand and rubbed his thumb, index finger, and middle finger together.

"I was just thinking about trading with Manros," Lu Jin said, struck by an idea. "I've got plenty of weapons and equipment aboard my ship. Do you have enough food reserves—and someone clever enough to find this suit of armor?"

"The Warp storms have cut off our transport routes, and Manros is suffering a famine. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I can't get it. I'm saying you'll have to pay more."

Cunning flickered in the man's eyes. His tone was flippant yet confident.

Lu Jin hesitated, then nodded.

"Looks like we've got a big customer." The man turned to give his slaves an order. "Same as always. Set up a market at the top of the hive spire, then invite our guests to the Governor's residence."

"Honored sir." The man turned back to Lu Jin, bowed, and gestured with one hand. "Would you and your distinguished guests care to join me at the Governor's residence?"

Manros was a hive world with a population of twelve billion.

A hive world would normally have far more people than that, but Manros had only one modestly sized hive, with a limited capacity for residents.

Lu Jin, the Fierce Angels, Carly, and several hundred crew members took a Transport Aircraft to the top of the hive.

Hive worlds all shared one trait: the farther one was from the ground, the cleaner the air, the greater the resources, and the higher the residents' status.

The Transport Aircraft landed on a pad in a garden at the Governor's residence.

As soon as he stepped off the Transport Aircraft, the first thing Lu Jin saw was a magnificent statue of the Emperor towering a hundred meters above the center of the garden.

Its armor and sword were forged from gold.

But Lu Jin noticed something strange about the statue: its eyes were closed.

Slaves came over to escort the guests to the Audience Hall in the Governor's residence.

As Lu Jin walked, he noticed that every symbol of the Ecclesiarchy's faith along the way—from statues of the Emperor to portraits of him—showed him with his eyes closed.

He thought back to when he'd worked as a loader slave. The Emperor he'd seen then had always had his eyes open.

But Lu Jin wasn't a missionary for the Ecclesiarchy, so he didn't dwell on it. He continued on to the Audience Hall.

The Governor of Manros had prepared a grand feast to entertain the distinguished guests from the Maelstrom, whose arrival could benefit Manros.

Slaves guided everyone to their seats.

The seats were arranged in a circle, with the guests on the left and the local nobility on the right. Lu Jin sat beside the Governor.

Everything ran like a well-rehearsed routine, orderly and smooth. It was clear that Manros had hosted countless guests this way.

The Governor didn't bother with any pleasantries. The beautiful, white-haired middle-aged woman simply sat upright, not even glancing at her guests as she waited for the banquet to begin.

Only after everyone was seated did the entertainers arrive in the Audience Hall.

Various rare and exotic beasts native to Manros entered the center of the hall and began a circus-like performance.

Lu Jin watched the strange beasts... They looked much like creatures from Terra, or Earth, though by this era they would have counted as ancient life-forms.

Chickens, seals, dogs... These ancient creatures all had one thing in common: they were enormous. Even a chicken was as big as an adult human.

"You don't look like the usual heretical Space Marines." The Governor raised her glass. "You used to fight for the Imperium, didn't you? Which Chapter?"

"The Fierce Angels." Lu Jin raised his glass in return, then set it down without drinking.

Kao took a sip and complained, "This wine tastes like someone spent a whole day and night traveling in a padded coat, then finally got to rest by a campfire and took off their underwear and socks to dry them... The two smells are exactly the same."

Lu Jin thought Kao seemed to have plenty of life experience.

The Governor ignored Kao's harsh judgment of the local wine. She drained her glass and murmured, "Oh, the Fierce Angels... I believe my grandfather met you once."

"Our main reason for coming here is this suit of armor." Lu Jin took out a drawing of the Red Butcher armor. "Please help us find it."

The Governor leaned in to study it, moving closer and closer to Lu Jin. She took a deep sniff, then gazed at him with dreamy eyes. "I know where this armor is. What are you willing to give me for it?"

Just then, Carly came over. "Chapter Master, a child on the ship is sick. There's no doctor aboard. If Manros's local medical facilities—"

"I'll send my personal physician to treat the child." The Governor turned to give the order to the slave behind her.

After giving the order, the Governor languidly rested her chin on Lu Jin's arm. "Go on."

"Just as my people will trade weapons and equipment here for food, I'll trade weapons, equipment, and the like for the armor," Lu Jin replied.

"You're a rather stiff man." The Governor smiled. "Then we'll trade as usual."

She then issued several orders in quick succession.

Noble guards escorted the crew members Lu Jin had brought down from the ship out of the Audience Hall and to the market at the top of the hive.

The sick child and his mother had come down with Lu Jin, too. The Governor's slaves took them away for treatment.

The entertainment changed. The circus ended, and the ancient creatures—beasts one would only have seen on prehistoric Earth—were led away.

Carly remained standing behind Lu Jin, watching the beasts for a long time.

Even after they were led behind a curtain at the back of the Audience Hall, she kept watching until they disappeared from view.

Then the chicken at the very back turned and looked at Carly.

Carly froze.

She'd never seen so many emotions in an animal's eyes: fear, hope, confusion...

When no one was looking at her, Carly glanced around, then silently followed the beasts.

The animals were led away by their handlers and stopped behind the curtain.

When the handlers heard the sound of vehicles, they went out to guide the transport vehicle bringing the animals to the rear entrance of the Audience Hall.

Carly walked over.

The animals were just lying on the ground and didn't notice her. Only the chicken did.

As Carly approached, the chicken's eyes widened, terror filling its gaze.

It pecked at the ground again and again until its beak broke and its mouth filled with blood.

But the animal wasn't going mad. Carly saw that after the chicken had bloodied its beak, it wrote a word on the ground: "Run."

"Y-you're human..." Carly drew a deep breath. Her face was as pale as snow.

The chicken raised its head and looked behind Carly.

Carly sensed something and spun around. A Space Marine stood there.

He wasn't one of the Fierce Angels. He belonged to a Chapter whose name Carly didn't know, and his armor was black.

"Shh." The Space Marine covered Carly's mouth and held it there until she slowly stopped struggling. Only then did he let go.

The Space Marine stepped over Carly and went out through the rear door.

A hundred fully armed Space Marines stood in orderly formation, holding Bolters.

The handler who had gone out to guide the vehicle stared in confusion. When he'd gone outside, the ones who had stepped down from the vehicle were angels of the God-Emperor.