Arming Ceremony

After leaving the Navigator's Sanctum, Lu Jin ran into Kao, who had come to the Sanctum looking for him.

"Xenos and I are both somewhat skilled in technology. The medical bay's equipment can be repaired, and ten people can be augmented at the same time."

"Also, the local Manrosians have finished that set of Ironclad Terminator armor. They've sent someone to deliver the armor to the Hall of Honor."

"..."

Before Kao could finish reporting everything, Lu Jin interrupted him and informed him of Onaas's prophecy.

Kao was astonished after hearing the prophecy and said, "This is probably true!"

Lu Jin remained silent, listening intently.

"I heard Huron has a new Daemon advisor. This advisor can accurately predict the future with a hundred percent certainty and, through a single ritual, foresaw a great war between the Red Corsairs and the Imperium."

"Vengar's people told me this. They, like us, received orders from Huron."

"The order is to orbitally bombard Manros, flattening the planet's hive cities and surface hills so that the engineering fleets sent by the Red Corsairs can build defensive lines and anti-orbital weapons there."

"Huron has decided to make several star systems, including Manros, into battlefields... Xenos believes his strategy is a phased approach: to counterattack and go on the offensive before the flames of war reach the Maelstrom's interior, fighting on Imperial worlds. They plan to use the Imperial worlds to wear down the attackers as much as possible, then feign a strategic withdrawal to engage in a decisive battle with the attackers inside the Maelstrom."

Kao paused for a few seconds at this point, waiting for the Chapter Master to digest the information.

Seeing that Lu Jin understood, he continued, "Vengar has already notified Manros: he will bombard them. They informed us of this matter, rather than seeking our opinion."

Lu Jin took a deep breath, thinking that Manros was truly a land of misfortune.

All previous plans would be disrupted by the war.

"Alright."

Lu Jin devised a strategy.

"We will stay on Manros and recruit as many new soldiers and crew members as possible. Before that, we must ensure Manros is safe."

"According to Onaas's prophecy, Manros will be a key focus of Huron's strategy. He will definitely assign us the task of defending this place. We will defend Manros while also finding a way to seize the ships of the Mercy Emissaries Chapter, and by the way, find an opportunity to kill that Inquisitor and annihilate the Mercy Emissaries, then transport the locals away."

"Finally, we'll leave amidst the chaos and go wherever we need to go."

Upon hearing this strategy, Kao felt that transporting the Manrosians away was impossible.

This was a population of tens of billions, not millions.

Then, he thought about the war inevitably reaching Manros and instantly realized Lu Jin's pessimistic outlook—once the war reached Manros, perhaps not even one in a hundred of the locals would survive.

Kao then considered: what if they just left now? To hell with the Imperium, to hell with Huron, and just become a wandering Chapter that belonged to no faction.

But Kao immediately thought that Huron wouldn't be unaware that the Fierce Angels might choose to leave directly. Therefore, Huron must have other demands for Vengar.

Kao wasn't less intelligent than Lu Jin, but it was Lu Jin who had truly interacted with Huron multiple times. Lu Jin absolutely did not believe Huron would give them a chance to simply run away.

Ultimately, this strategy accounted for everything.

"I suspect Huron has played us again," Kao said with a mournful expression. "Is it possible that the Daemon advisor predicted everything earlier than Onaas, and having us come to retrieve a set of broken armor was Huron's trick, just to keep us on Manros to defend this strategic point?"

"It's meaningless, Kao," Lu Jin's voice was low. "Whether he had this idea earlier or not... we are few and weak. We can only take this path."

If the Fierce Angels weren't sixteen people now, but a thousand... Lu Jin sometimes thought this when he felt helpless.

Then he felt that if they were truly strong enough, they wouldn't have to get involved in the mess of the Maelstrom and the Imperium.

Kill the Inquisitor, annihilate the Mercy Emissaries, then hide and wait for Guilliman's resurrection. Then, at the node of his misfortune, they could jump out.

Something like "Loyally serve the King and earn merit." At that time, the Regent would clear the Chapter's grievances, and they wouldn't have to be Huron's pawns... But it was just a thought.

"I'll go choose new recruits right now." Kao realized that the only way for the Fierce Angels to control their own destiny was to become stronger.

He immediately turned to leave.

But after a few steps, he turned back: "Huron has played us, and we'll defend Manros for him. We'll keep the armor for ourselves. It's perfect timing, as you're missing an investiture ceremony!"

The investiture ceremony was a mandatory ritual for Space Marines after joining a Chapter. Because the armor held special significance, completing the investiture ceremony meant truly becoming a member of the Chapter.

Lu Jin initially thought it was meaningless, but after a moment's thought...

"Fine."

"We will conduct the investiture ceremony first, on the surface of Manros."

The audience hall of the Manros Governor's Mansion.

The leaders of the local resistance, the reserve cadre for the future new order of Manros, were all gathered in the hall, standing at attention on both sides.

Vengar had already conveyed the news that he would be orbitally bombarding Manros to the Manrosians.

At this time, the high officials of Manros were in a state of panic.

Some even speculated: the Fierce Angels, the Lords of Retribution, would leave this world together and never return, because they had completed their mission of avenging the Manrosians and no longer needed to stay on Manros.

There were also some voices saying: Lu Jin was not a Manrosian at all, and neither were the Fierce Angels. How could they bleed for Manros?

Until Lu Jin and the Fierce Angels arrived, preceding the orbital bombardment, these voices were suppressed. Although the people were still in a panic, they were not as terrified as before.

"The Angels have arrived."

Someone whispered, and those who had been murmuring immediately fell silent.

The doors of the audience hall opened, and Lu Jin, clad only in a pair of briefs, strode into the hall, walked across the crimson carpet, and stopped beneath the wall where the ancient banner of the Fierce Angels Legion hung.

People could see Lu Jin and the banner behind him—a large letter "U" with a skull beneath it, pierced through both by a chain-axe.

Then, the Fierce Angels Space Marines marched into the hall in formation.

There were also some of the more senior mortal crew members, two mortals carrying a piece of armor each.

This suit of Ironclad Terminator armor, which had belonged to a World Eaters Red Butcher ten thousand years ago, had been refitted by Manros's most skilled artisans over that time.

Manros imported weapons and equipment, then refitted them before exporting them.

Throughout the Maelstrom region, Manros artisans' refitted weapons and equipment were the most sought after.

These armor pieces were identical to the ones in the images Huron had provided.

The surface of all armor pieces, including the pauldrons and breastplate, was inlaid with tiny skulls. These skulls were carved from bone fragments taken from the corpses of those who died in the "Manros Incident." The artisans would investigate the identity of the deceased, then meticulously research the ornate symbols of status and lineage they wore in life, and finally engrave these symbols onto the miniature skulls.

The skulls covering the armor's surface were all painstakingly crafted in this manner.

However, this did not make the armor look terrifying, as the skulls were so small that from about a meter away, they appeared as mere flecks of white "paint" shimmering with golden light.

The right pauldron was inlaid with a crimson cape, not to cover the back, but to shield the front and back of the right side of the body.

The cape was embroidered with an exquisite gold-thread pattern of people kneeling before the armor.

Other improvements were made to the interior of the armor.

For instance, it was adapted for operation by those without the black carapace, and there was an Iron Halo, unique to Manros, which could refract and deflect ranged fire.

"The ritual begins," Kao announced loudly.

Lu Jin knelt on one knee.

Two Fierce Angels took the armor's inner lining from the mortals. These two pieces, resembling thin breastplates, automatically adhered to Lu Jin's chest and back when they touched him, fitting perfectly with no gaps at the seams.

Next came the breastplate and pauldrons.

Since the Legion's Adeptus Mechanicus personnel were long gone, these installation tasks could only be performed by the Space Marines themselves.

The mortals watched as piece after meticulously crafted piece of armor was fitted onto Lu Jin, thinking the Space Marine's investiture ceremony was quite impressive. However, to Kao and the others who had actually participated in investiture ceremonies, this one was so simple it would need to be redone later.

Originally, there would have been battle-brothers and Captains surrounding Lu Jin.

There would have been a choir of finely featured youths singing hymns to the God-Emperor.

There would even have been winged cherubs circling and dancing in the sky.

Even due to the death of the officiant, according to the Legion's ancient texts and regulations, processes requiring large numbers of personnel had been streamlined, leaving only the declaration of investiture and the sequential fitting of the parts.

In these special times, a simple investiture ceremony was not the only thing that was rudimentary.

Lu Jin, however, felt it was fine.

On one hand, there was this investiture ceremony. On the other hand, this suit of Ironclad Terminator armor was not only precious but would absolutely ensure he wasn't left with just his underpants after a battle.

Even without an Iron Halo, after the Manros people dedicated their best—both material and technological—to this armor, it would possess defensive capabilities far exceeding those of other Ironclad Terminators.

This was because it was a universe where spirit triumphed over matter, where craftsmanship surpassed mass production, and where antiquity was superior to modernity.

Even if this armor were to directly take a rocket blast without the Iron Halo, it would not only remain intact but wouldn't even show a scorch mark, and the cape wouldn't be riddled with holes.

After putting it on, Lu Jin found that his movements were linked to the inner lining, which transmitted his movement trajectories to the drive system.

And in order to allow someone without the black carapace to wear Terminator armor, the artisans had completely redesigned the method of wearing the armor and even its structural components.

This was a unique Ironclad.

While the investiture ceremony was underway, some uninvited guests entered the audience hall.

Vengar arrived with two hundred of his "personal guards." He did not disrupt the investiture ceremony, merely standing in a corner with a displeased expression, watching silently.

Vengar had no opinion on this extremely simple investiture ceremony and no desire to comment. His mind was occupied with more important matters.

That is, strategy.

In Huron's strategy, Manros was of paramount importance.

Huron wanted to level Manros and build fortresses and anti-orbital facilities because he was unaware of what was happening on Manros—Vengar deliberately kept him in the dark, and that rumored Daemon strategist might not have noticed that corner of the grand war prophecy.

Had Huron known what was occurring here, he would not have ordered Vengar to level Manros. This was because if the local population did not support the Imperium, they would be an indispensable defensive force, not an obstacle that had to be eliminated.

Vengar's thinking was the exact opposite.

He wished the Imperium would directly attack the Maelstrom and beat up the Red Corsairs.

If the Maelstrom were not in chaos, wouldn't Huron remain the unshakable Lord of the Maelstrom forever?

Manros could not be a place to achieve Huron's strategic objectives; it was better for Manros to be conquered by the Imperium quickly in the future.

However, directly bombing the Fierce Angels and Lu Jin was out of the question. They had to find a way to make them leave. It would be best if the Fierce Angels and the Ragefang could directly retreat into the Maelstrom.

Vengar's idea was to use force to compel Lu Jin to leave Manros.

Vengar, lost in thought, didn't notice Lu Jin glance at him.

Lu Jin had already guessed the purpose of Vengar's visit.

He didn't understand grand strategy well, but the intricate relationship between Vengar, Huron, and the Red Corsairs was transparent to him, making it easy to guess.

Lu Jin holding the investiture ceremony on Manros was precisely to prevent Vengar from bombarding the surface directly, forcing him instead to come down and compel Lu Jin to leave.

As for how to proceed... it was enough to understand the nature of the Red Corsairs.

The Red Corsairs weren't a single super-large Chapter, but a conglomerate of many groups whose goal was to survive, and thrive, within the Maelstrom.

"The servant of my servant is not my servant" was a very common situation among the Red Corsairs.

Despite the vast difference in numbers, one was fragmented while the other was a solid block, creating room for maneuver.

Lu Jin pondered this.

Vengar was also pondering.

As the investiture ceremony concluded, both men looked at each other.

Vengar approached with his retinue, while Lu Jin suddenly had a fleeting thought—wasn't Vengar a formidable opponent?

The answer was, of course, yes.

The renegade Vengar, a powerful Space Marine, a genius tactician and strategist, would inevitably become the military leader posing the greatest threat to Huron within the Red Corsairs, even while being manipulated and suppressed by Huron currently.

But one incident revealed the man's character and weaknesses:

In the future, after the Red Corsairs captured Guilliman, they seized the battle barge Macragge's Honour, the flagship of the Ultramarines.

Huron himself dared not keep the warship, so he gave it to Vengar... and Vengar actually dared to accept it!

"Vengar..."

"No matter how intelligent a person is, even if they reach near-demonic levels of cleverness, they are still a fool if they become muddled when facing major events."

These two sentences appeared in Lu Jin's mind.

"Is the ceremony over?" Vengar arrived at the center of the red carpet in the hall, looking at Lu Jin twenty meters away. "Leave these mortals here and let's withdraw."

As soon as he spoke, the Manrosians present exchanged whispers for a few seconds before holding their breath, awaiting Lu Jin's choice.

The investiture ceremony had just ended, and two Fierce Angels came to Lu Jin's sides, one carrying an axe in both hands, the other a hammer.

Lu Jin silently took the weapons from the two men beside him before looking up, his arms crossed and hanging down, the two weapons crossed before his legs.

"Why didn't you just tell me what would happen if I didn't leave?" he asked.

"Don't play these games. The only reason I didn't blow you up was because I knew you were important enough to Huron," Vengar drew his weapon. "I only need to do one thing: ensure you don't die on Manros. It's not that I need to seek your opinion, understand?"

The Space Marines behind him also drew their weapons.

The Fierce Angels did the same, then spread out to Lu Jin's sides, shielding the mortals.

But just as the two sides faced off, Vengar, seeing Lu Jin standing motionless, suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Not good!" the renegade exclaimed inwardly.

Because Xenos had disappeared.

Looking at Lu Jin's resolute expression, Vengar slowly began to realize what he was about to do.

Then, a hopeful thought emerged—could he really be about to make a move?

And then came the regret for having focused solely on strategizing against Huron, not considering the bizarre actions Lu Jin might take... he deeply regretted coming down himself.

"It's good that you're here."

A deep voice emanated from under Lu Jin's helmet as he charged forward rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Jin covered the twenty meters.

This was while wearing Terminator armor.

Vengar realized Lu Jin's speed and reaction time were more than double what they had been.

Someone had already opened fire on Lu Jin; the bolter rounds were intercepted by the Iron Halo, and the shooter was cleaved in two by a chainaxe.

Lu Jin's forward momentum didn't slow at all due to his attack, because for him now, killing a Space Marine was as simple as a casual swing.

Vengar had just had the thought of dodging when Lu Jin grazed past him.

"His target isn't me!" After this thought surfaced, the heads of ten men behind Vengar flew into the air amid the roaring of sawteeth.

The other Space Marines had already lowered their weapons.

The most loyal to Vengar, wielding power fists capable of piercing armor, was about to swing when Lu Jin severed one of his arms.

As the severed arm flew and then fell, the chainaxe, a gift from Khorne, was slammed into the ground. Lu Jin's free left hand caught the severed arm and swung it with all its might at Vengar's head.

This series of movements was complex but executed with extreme speed.

The renegade was sent flying back a meter by the blow from the severed arm, crashing into his subordinates who had already sheathed their weapons.

"What good will it do if you just leave? Why must you come down and bother me?"

Lu Jin spoke, closing in on the traitor.

The nearby Chaos Space Marines all scattered. The moment these individuals abandoned honor and conviction, even if they weren't as cowardly as ordinary people, mere survival became their "basic mindset."

"You can't leave now either." Lu Jin approached Vengar and kicked him, shattering his chest plate and sending his helmet flying.

He then grabbed Vengar by his hair, dragging him out of the audience hall and forcing him to look at the several warships outside orbit.

A few seconds later, the Ragefang's port side flashed with light.

Eight thin beams streaked across the sky into view, striking Vengar's ships.

All hit, striking the ships' engines.

This was undoubtedly Xenos's doing; as poor as the Fierce Angel was at giving advice, he was just as omnipotent and brilliant in combat-related matters.

"I won't kill you."

"Because you have a value: using your name to issue my commands."

Lu Jin pressed the traitor's head down and slammed it hard into the ground.

Stones flew, and some Chaos Space Marines turned their heads away in disgust.

Lu Jin released his grip and turned to face the other Chaos Space Marines.

These individuals were all contemplating...

"Stay on this world with me and prepare for the coming war."

"Aside from people, and what my battle-brothers and I possess, you can take anything you want, anything you can carry."

The Fierce Angels, who were ready to charge into battle at the Chapter Master's command, noticed all the Chaos Space Marines disengage their weapon safeties, fold their arms, or nod.

They were like Lu Jin; they truly had no choice, but fortunately, the only choice available was a decent one.

"If I wanted to, I could replace you." Lu Jin turned, took two quick steps, and kicked the crawling Vengar hard.

The traitor rolled a dozen times on the ground before stopping, groaning and clutching his spine, unable to feel his lower body anymore.

Lu Jin recalled the recent battle.

He felt this Ironclad Terminator wasn't as cumbersome as he imagined, nor did it require learning how to use it as he'd thought... perhaps it was just this particular suit that didn't require learning and wasn't cumbersome.

When moving, it felt as if someone was pushing every part, lighter than the standard Power Armor customized by Amanius.