World Eaters

East front.

The Fierce Angels had already been "divided" by the Chaos Space Marines, scattered in small groups within the underground barracks of Fortress 12.

Previously defeated soldiers had all returned, but in Lu Jin's words, it was like "the Calabash Brothers saving their grandpa." Once they abandoned their positions and defenses, reclaiming them was not easy.

Furthermore, when facing Space Marines, even with the resolve to die together, it was difficult to bridge the various disadvantages.

Kao did not want to die at Manros; he wanted to live to see his sister again.

But as an elite warrior, what he thought was one thing, and what he did was another.

While not wanting to die, he charged the deepest. After a chaotic battle and getting separated from his allies, Kao found himself alone, cornered in a ruin.

Over a hundred Chaos Space Marines formed a circle, no one moving forward, simply preventing Kao from breaking out.

After a moment of stalemate, a Space Marine wielding a longsword walked from behind the circle.

Kao immediately looked over, noticing the Space Marine's armor was dark green, the hilt of his longsword had wings, and the blade shimmered with a blue, flowing light.

It was a Dark Angel.

Kao had seen the Dark Angels chapter before; they were well-equipped, numerous, and very powerful.

But the east front was all Chaos Space Marines... the ones surrounding him were also Chaos Space Marines, so how did a Dark Angel suddenly appear?

"Do they think the Red Corsairs have no strong individuals?"

The Dark Angel slowly advanced, signaling those around him to retreat a few more steps.

As the circle widened, the Dark Angel gestured for Kao to attack him.

Kao gripped his chainsword and charged, swinging his sword.

The movement was slow and labored.

The Dark Angel seized the opportunity, slicing Kao's sword in half with one strike. Then, with lightning speed, he drew his blade across the gorget of the Terminator's armor, finishing with a light flick that sent the helmet flying.

Seeing the face beneath the helmet, the Dark Angel showed disappointment: "Why isn't it Lu Jin..."

"Our Chapter Master is here; you're already scattered everywhere," Kao said through gritted teeth.

The other didn't speak further, quietly observing Kao for a second before realizing why this armor was worn by a mere Fierce Angel grunt.

It was to boost morale.

The mortal soldiers who had been previously terrified and killed, now returning to fight back with suicidal tactics everywhere, were a result of boosting morale, as was the spread of truth.

Kao also observed the Dark Angel, and something the previous Chapter Master had said suddenly came to mind...

Ninos had once spoken of his plan: after entering the Maelstrom, he would find a way to locate a Dark Angel. This Dark Angel would not be a spy or a prisoner, but someone who genuinely served the Lord of the Red Corsairs.

He was an outcast of the Legion, a traitor, one could call him a fallen... a fallen Dark Angel Legion warrior.

"Take him away," the Dark Angel ordered, turning around.

Kao suddenly had the thought that he absolutely could not be captured alive, so he charged towards a random Chaos Space Marine, roaring as he ran, putting on a desperate act.

The Chaos Space Marine Kao targeted instinctively opened fire. With a loud bang from his bolter, Kao, propelled by inertia, charged a few more steps before collapsing to the ground.

Half a sun-hour later.

Kao awoke from unconsciousness, instinctively touching his forehead. He found that the bolter round had only left a gash on his forehead that exposed bone – the bolter had grazed his forehead.

After catching his breath, Kao looked at himself again.

The Chapter Master's armor had been stripped off; he was only left in the tight black clothing he wore when putting on his power armor.

He then looked around.

There were seven new Fierce Angel recruits lying unconscious. They had been captured after getting separated from Kao earlier.

Everyone was locked in an iron cage.

Outside the cage were more iron cages, and more prisoners.

This makeshift POW camp was likely in an abandoned armory, with an extremely vast interior space.

Kao observed further, and what he saw next made his eyes split with rage.

Closer to the cages, people were impaled on objects that were clearly shaped for Chaos worship. Even the lighting fixtures were people. After being killed, people were arranged in a kneeling posture, and molten metal was poured from top to bottom, casting them in a kneeling position, and then a lamp was placed in their hands.

The people of Manros, whether civilians or soldiers, if captured alive by the enemy, would be gathered in an open area outside the cluster of iron cages.

The iron cages held Space Marine prisoners; mortals were not qualified to be in the cages.

Chaos Space Marines would walk into the open area to scrutinize every mortal. These experienced individuals, entrusted with important tasks, could tell at a glance who among the mortals were couples, lovers, fathers and sons, or mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters.

Under the guidance of a Space Marine, Red Corsair mortal soldiers would go and separate the people.

Tens of thousands of people were forcibly divided into two teams. The team on the left consisted of wives, younger sisters, sons, or daughters... while the team on the right consisted of their husbands, fathers, elder brothers, or mothers, elder sisters.

Under the supervision of the Space Marines, Red Corsair mortal soldiers would take the team on the left away, forcing them into a warehouse. Every resister or obstructer would be beaten down, but not killed.

Blue flames ignited outside the warehouse, and those inside who saw them would believe they were going to be burned alive.

Meanwhile, those outside were roaring and fighting the Red Corsairs' mortal soldiers, only to be brutally beaten to death with fists and feet right before the eyes of everyone inside the warehouse.

Only then did the blue flames begin to spread.

The purpose of the ritual was not to kill anyone, but to generate sufficiently intense emotions.

Mere slaughter would not even allow Khorne's ritual to proceed successfully; only the intense emotions of mortals were the core of all Warp rituals.

Slaughter and torture were merely means to the ritual.

"Come at me!"

"Cowards! Fight me!"

Kao roared incessantly.

The anger he felt towards everything before him had overshadowed his desire for survival.

No one paid him any attention.

Ten thousand people were subjected to the ritual.

The next wave of ten thousand people was then escorted in.

After half a solar cycle, the iron cage doors were opened, and the Fierce Angels, including Kao, were dragged out. They passed through the open space where horrific acts were taking place and entered an arena surrounded by corpses.

Kao suddenly noticed Xenos was there too.

The veteran, the most versatile among the Fierce Angels, was also missing his armor. His body was covered in wounds, and the tendons in his right foot had been severed.

The ground was littered with Chaos Space Marines killed by Xenos.

Compared to mortals who could be used for rituals, Space Marines were merely for the amusement of Chaos cultists.

"Xenos has won again!"

"As a reward, ten children will be protected by him!"

Words filled with bloodlust echoed from outside the arena.

Subsequently, ten children, strung together by ropes by Chaos Space Marines, were pushed into the arena.

Kao helped Xenos up, supporting him by the shoulder. "Are the other battle-brothers still alive?"

"I don't know," Xenos shook his head. "Perhaps our people are at other ritual sites, perhaps not..."

"Other ritual sites?" Kao blinked in surprise.

"You came from a ritual site too, didn't you?" Xenos's face was pale. "There are ninety-nine ritual sites like this one, and each is performing the same rituals you are witnessing."

Kao gasped.

"But here in the arena, we can still protect some people." Xenos beckoned to the children brought into the arena, who immediately hid behind him.

Kao glanced at the new recruits.

Six new recruits were scattered around Xenos, protecting the children.

Two minutes later, another Space Marine was brought into the arena. He wielded twin axes and looked somewhat familiar to Kao and Xenos.

It was that veteran World Eater.

The one who wanted to join the Fierce Angels but was rejected by Lu Jin.

Kao thought: If this guy is in the arena, it means he was captured. But he didn't join the Fierce Angels, so how was he captured?

"New orders."

On the corpse-mountain wall surrounding the arena, a Space Marine with a jetpack on his back descended from the sky and landed beside the veteran Red Corsair responsible for planning the entire event.

"The locals are quite fond of the Fierce Angels. Watching them die one by one will stir their emotions even more."

"These are the orders."

The orders were immediately carried out.

One hundred thousand mortals were escorted to the perimeter of the arena by Red Corsair mortal soldiers.

The corpse-mountain walls were pushed aside, allowing the mortals to see the desperate Fierce Angels within the arena, as well as that veteran World Eater.

"Fight quickly, or we'll use Gatling Cannons on you!" the Red Corsair Space Marine yelled, urging them on.

The World Eater, carrying his twin axes, slowly walked towards the Fierce Angels.

Kao, holding a chainsword, and Xenos, holding a chainaxe, stared intently at the World Eater.

"How were you captured?" Kao couldn't help but ask.

Mentioning this made the World Eater feel even more tormented by the Butcher's Nails. He ran a hand through his wire-like dreadlocks and let out an impatient grunt, or perhaps a groan of pain from his torment.

"I... well... I also have someone I want to protect." The World Eater looked outside the arena.

A young girl knelt on the ground, a purple-armored Space Marine holding a knife to her throat with his left hand.

The girl was clearly this Space Marine's slave. Her face bore the same mark as the Space Marine's armor—a purple rose.

Kao, with his keen observation skills, could tell that the relationship between the two was very complicated.

"Come, I'll let you have three moves." The World Eaters pointed its chainaxe at Kao.

Xenos gently pushed Kao aside, gritting his teeth against the searing pain, and charged forward, swinging.

Kao did the same.

The two swung and slashed three times in succession, but the World Eaters easily dodged them all.

After letting them have their three moves, the World Eaters turned and swung its axe.

Kao and Xenos raised their weapons simultaneously to block, but the opponent's seemingly full-powered, earth-shattering attack suddenly changed, bypassing their defenses at an impossible angle and with an impossible stance.

Before they could react, deep, bone-revealing wounds appeared on both Kao and Xenos' chests simultaneously, and they were both cleaved to the ground.

As Xenos was knocked down, he thought about the World Eaters' attack... Kao's melee weapon skills were only passable among the Fierce Angels, and he himself was second only to the late Apothecary when using his chainaxe... The two of them could handle ten Mercy Emissaries in close-quarters combat with ease.

But facing this World Eaters... Xenos felt utterly powerless... as powerless as a three-year-old child facing a Space Marine.

The World Eaters slowly advanced, first reaching Kao.

After the Fierce Angel recruits arrived, it clearly hesitated whether to deal with these Space Marines, who could be seen at a glance as having not even undergone training.

The Manros people, forced to watch, began to plead for the Fierce Angels, or stood up and charged at the surrounding soldiers, resisting forcefully...

Nearby Chaos Space Marines moved forward and began a massacre, slaughtering the mortals until they submitted once more.

Even at this point, some mortals secretly kept portraits of Lu Jin. While the Chaos Space Marines were slaughtering, they were powerless to resist and held the portraits to their chests.

This was, of course, meaningless. The Chaos Space Marines glanced at the portraits, tore them to the ground, and stomped on them, then backhanded a mortal's head off with their chainsword.

Some had their minds shattered by what they saw and heard, completely collapsing, wailing pleas or roaring accusations.

"Stop killing! Stop killing! I dare not resist again!"

"Kill us all! The Lord of Retribution will avenge us! We'll wait for you bastards in hell!"

"Please, just let me go..."

"..."

Kao and Xenos had already gotten back up and were facing the World Eaters together.

They shouted a few words at the Chaos Space Marines, but their voices were immediately drowned out by the chaos.

As the chaos reached its peak, the mortals' cries suddenly fell silent.

The Chaos Space Marines stopped their slaughter and, along with the mortals, looked in one direction.

On a high platform about twenty meters away, a magnificent set of Ironclad Terminator Armour stood.

It looked down upon the scene below.

A familiar voice from the Manros people came from the helmet: "I have arrived."

It was the Lord of Retribution.

Kao also looked over, but felt it wasn't Lu Jin at all, as the armor in its hands held no chainaxe or power hammer.

BOOM!

A rocket, fired from who knew where, struck the armour.

When the smoke cleared, people saw the armor's components scattered on the ground. Only then did they realize the armor was moving on its own. Lu Jin hadn't come, and no one was even wearing the armor to impersonate him...

The mortals fell into complete despair.

But a few seconds later, just as the Chaos Space Marines were about to begin their slaughter again, a Space Marine without armor appeared on the platform.

He held a blood-stained chainsword and a power hammer in one hand.

Under everyone's gaze, Lu Jin glanced at the scattered armor parts on the ground... When he had just arrived and saw the armor standing there, he thought Kao was wearing it, but it was empty inside.

Half a second later, Lu Jin looked up and slowly lowered his body.

"The Imperium's Western Offensive has been halted!"

His chainsword was held horizontally across his chest, and his power hammer was raised high above his head.

Words of hope came from Lu Jin's mouth.

The magnificent components of the Ironclad Terminator Armour seemed to gain a soul, and in the blink of an eye, they floated up from the ground and attached themselves to Lu Jin's body one by one.

"The 'Man-Eater' Mino-tau, two Chapter Masters have been slain by my hand!"