Fierce Angels

The hatch slowly opened.

An Ork corpse toppled into the compartment.

Lu Jin, covered in red and holding a Heavy Hammer and Heavy Axe, slowly stepped inside.

Unlike during the fight just now, Lu Jin's eyes were very calm. They even held a hint of the emptiness that came after a bout of Sages' Time.

"Why are there Orks on this ship?"

Lu Jin's gaze slowly shifted to the Chapter Master's face.

"This is a tradition of the Fierce Angels," the Chapter Master replied solemnly. "Some sections of the ship are isolated and used to breed enemies. All of the Chapter's live-fire training takes place in those sections."

"You killed thirty Orks," a Space Marine said, "but they were an inferior strain, selectively bred by the Apothecary and weakened with the Chapter Master's psychic powers."

Lu Jin wasn't surprised.

Any Ork was far stronger than a human, and during the fight, he'd wondered why those Orks were so weak.

"Do you feel... like you've just done something earth-shattering, only for someone to come along and tell you it was as ordinary as eating and drinking? Then you feel like some cripple who can't even manage to eat and drink properly?"

The Space Marine who had hauled Lu Jin aboard the gunship earlier spoke up.

Lu Jin ignored him and asked the Chapter Master, "Is the ceremony over?"

"There's one last step. You kneel before me to show that you're willing to become a new recruit of the Fierce Angels. Once you've familiarized yourself with the Chapter's traditions, you'll undergo the transformation and become our battle-brother."

The Chapter Master replied solemnly.

Lu Jin fell silent for two seconds, then shook his head. "I don't want to become a recruit of your Chapter."

"Then you can die!"

The Chapter Master suddenly roared. He pulled the Chainsword from the Apothecary standing beside him and planted his Sceptre against the wall.

The Space Marines retreated in unison, forming a ring around the Chapter Master and Lu Jin.

The Chapter Master gripped the Chainsword and stared at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin stared back.

They stood two meters apart, neither moving an inch, like two statues.

Someone with nothing better to do whistled.

A strong gust swept into the compartment, rushing over everyone.

An Ork's head rolled into the compartment on the wind, passing between Lu Jin and the Chapter Master.

The Ork head hadn't completely lost its vitality. Its reflexes made it speak.

"WA—WA—WA—"

After several seconds of facing off, Lu Jin still hadn't moved.

He realized that his reactions and speed couldn't possibly match those of a battle-hardened Space Marine. If he attacked first, he'd be dead.

Two seconds later, the Chapter Master suddenly charged at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin dodged and was just about to swing his hammer when the sword's hilt smashed him to the floor.

"Why have you suddenly decided to throw your life away?"

"Hm?"

The Chapter Master paced around Lu Jin.

Lu Jin hadn't made his choice because he'd lost himself to bloodlust. He'd realized something.

Now that he was aboard a Space Marine ship, if he became a recruit under their watchful eyes, he'd have no chance of escaping the vessel.

When he'd crossed over, he'd found himself aboard a ship and, for no apparent reason, had become a slave. He'd been plotting to escape.

Then, in a fit of rage, he'd fought back—and ended up sold to this Space Marine Cruiser.

Even if he underwent the transformation and became a Space Marine, all that would mean was having a different master.

After the transformation, he might not even want to leave. The influence of his Gene-seed would make him fight for the Emperor until he died.

To Lu Jin, losing himself was worse than death.

He didn't voice any of these thoughts. After catching his breath, he got up and faced the Chapter Master, still gripping the Heavy Hammer and Heavy Axe tightly.

"The ceremony is over." The Chapter Master lowered his Chainsword and spoke solemnly. "By tradition, there was always going to be a part where I defeated you. Now that it's done, you can officially join the Fierce Angels."

Lu Jin didn't respond.

The Chapter Master continued, "You can also choose to hold fast to your resolve and refuse to join us. I promise that if you can wound any one of us—even if you do it by attacking from behind—I'll send you anywhere you want to go."

With that, the Chapter Master returned the Chainsword to his subordinate and picked up his Sceptre. "I swear it by the Golden Throne."

Lu Jin considered it, then slowly nodded.

The Chapter Master seemed certain Lu Jin couldn't wound anyone, so he continued treating him like a recruit and began explaining the Chapter's situation.

"Everyone in this compartment is a member of the Fierce Angels."

"There are twenty-one of us in total."

"Our Chapter reveres combat and slaughter. Our rigorous selection traditions ensure that every person you see is a fearless warrior."

As he spoke, the Chapter Master's eyes glinted, and he teleported everyone out of the compartment.

They were in a hall.

The Chapter's banner hung on the walls: a crimson flag bearing the image of a Chainsword Axe.

Mortals in red robes stood bent over against the walls.

In the center of the hall stood something covered by a vast piece of red cloth. It was impossible to tell what it was.

The Chapter Master began explaining the hall's various features.

Lu Jin didn't hear a word. There are only twenty-one of them. This is basically a squad! One more battle and the whole Chapter might have to shut down!

"The Hall of Honor is where we hold meetings, gather, and train in the martial arts."

The Chapter Master looked toward the red-shrouded object in the middle of the hall.

"And that... is the source of our Chapter's Gene-seed: a magnificent statue of an ancient Primarch. It reminds us where we come from and whose glory we inherit."

Every Space Marine knelt on one knee, facing the red cloth.

The mortal servants came forward and attached the cloth to a machine. With a roar, the machine began pulling it away.

Before the magnificent statue was revealed, the Chapter Master introduced the Primarch.

"He was a warrior skilled in combat."

"He loved to fight in person and had fought countless battles."

"Ten thousand years ago, he personally slew many enemies of humanity."

"He was..."

The cloth came all the way off, revealing a magnificent statue: a short-haired man held a longsword aloft, standing atop a boulder and pointing it toward the ceiling of the Hall of Honor.

"Roboute Guilliman! The Emperor's thirteenth son, Master of Ultramar, and the Primarch of the Ultramarines, the parent Chapter of our Fierce Angels!"

The Chapter Master also faced the Primarch's statue and knelt on one knee.

"..."

Lu Jin was at a loss for words.

The Gene-seed of the Fierce Angels came from Guilliman?

The most civilized Primarch, the one best known for elite forces, planning, and strategy?

The Space Marines slowly rose to their feet.

"Before you undergo the transformation, you'll need to get used to life in the Chapter. Your servant will help you adjust."

As the Chapter Master spoke, a mortal servant who'd been standing against the wall approached. She removed her crimson hood, revealing golden hair, and gave Lu Jin a warm, friendly smile. "My lord, please let me know if you need anything."

Lu Jin looked at the servant, fell silent for a second, then turned back to the Chapter Master. "Does your promise about anyone I wound still—"

"It stands, provided you can do it." The Chapter Master lifted his chin. "You may go, recruit—and my new battle-brother."

His circumstances were different now.

Though he'd been forced to join the Fierce Angels, Lu Jin was given a spacious private room.

His daily meals were no longer tasteless food called hardtack that was actually synthetic starch. Now he ate proper meals with both meat and vegetables.

On the first day, Lu Jin followed the Chapter's traditions, bathing and eating at eight in the evening, by the ship's clock.

Lu Jin sat in the bath in a room adjoining his private quarters.

The blonde servant used a cloth to wash his arms and shoulders.

Bread and various dishes sat on a tray floating in the bath.

This bath was the only trace Lu Jin could find connecting the Fierce Angels to Guilliman.

"My lord, I heard you didn't want to join the Chapter. Why? Don't you yearn to become an angel of the God-Emperor? What an honor that would be!"

"We already consider you one of the Emperor's angels, even though you haven't undergone the transformation yet."

Listening to the servant, Lu Jin could only stay silent. After a moment, he suddenly asked,

"What's your name?"

"Carly."

"Carly, if one day you had to undergo a transformation that made you lose yourself—if you became a warrior who could only shout about fighting for the Emperor before charging at the enemy—how would you feel?"

"It would be the greatest honor!"

"..."

Lu Jin could guess Carly's answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.

What was an honor to others would be worse than death to him.

He would try to do as the Chapter Master had said. The oath he'd sworn by the Emperor would surely be honored. And if he couldn't wound anyone, then death was still his only way out.

The door opened, and an Apothecary in white armor entered.

"Battle-brother." The Apothecary placed a set of close-fitting mortal clothes beside the bath. "By tradition, you should already be in the Hall of Honor receiving combat training."

Lu Jin climbed out of the bath, put on the clothes, and followed the Apothecary to the Hall of Honor.

The clanging of weapons reached his ears. The warriors of the Chapter were practicing with all kinds of melee weapons.

Lu Jin really was late, but no one scolded him. Before their transformations, the others had also dragged their feet, and besides, it was only his first day.

"Here." The Apothecary went to the weapon rack, took down the Heavy Hammer and Heavy Axe, and tossed them to Lu Jin one by one.

Lu Jin caught them and looked at the Apothecary.

"The Chapter Master ordered me to train you in using the warhammer and battle axe." The Apothecary took a Chainsword from the rack. "After the last Apothecary died, I became the only person in the Chapter who knew how to give injections, so I had to take his place. That meant I couldn't use a battle axe or warhammer anymore."

Lu Jin took up his stance.

The Apothecary gestured for him to attack.

When Lu Jin charged, the Apothecary knocked him aside with a shoulder, spun around three hundred and sixty degrees, and smashed him to the floor with the sword's hilt.

"Get up."

The Apothecary walked over to Lu Jin, bent down, and held out a hand.

Lu Jin got up by himself, then suddenly asked, "Is Guilliman really the Gene-Father of the Fierce Angels?"

The Apothecary first adjusted Lu Jin's stance, getting him to lower his body and hold the Heavy Axe and Heavy Hammer upright in front of him. Only then did he answer.

"We were born in the Cursed Founding."

"That is... the Adeptus Mechanicus figured out how to alter Gene-seed, then created a bunch of freaks..."

"Some people suspect our Gene-seed is a fusion. It's no secret. Just don't say it in front of an Inquisitor."

Lu Jin figured the Fierce Angels' Gene-seed had definitely been fused.

Guilliman and Angron's.

The latter was a berserk warrior, and Angron's World Eaters were a traitor Legion. The Legion was known for its belligerence and bloodlust, the exact opposite of the Ultramarines.

He wondered which genius had come up with this wild modification.

"The Ragefang is about to enter the Warp! Prepare yourselves!"

"The Ragefang is about to enter the Warp! Prepare yourselves!"

An alarm suddenly blared over the broadcast.

The Space Marines in the Hall of Honor continued training as usual.

The armor plating gradually covered every porthole in the hall.

It was a sign that Warp travel was beginning.

Next, the Fierce Angels' only Strike Cruiser would open a passage into the Warp and plunge into it to travel.

The Warp was a realm of consciousness. With its help, one could do many things that were impossible or extremely difficult in reality, such as traveling faster than light.

"Don't get distracted. Keep training."

After adjusting Lu Jin's stance, the Apothecary began explaining how to use the muscles when wielding a warhammer and battle axe.

Drawing on his knowledge of physiology, he explained which muscles to use and when to relax them while swinging a heavy weapon, so Lu Jin could launch his next attack more quickly.

"What year is it now?"

Lu Jin suddenly asked another question.

"The nine hundred and ninety-ninth year of the forty-first millennium has just begun," the Apothecary replied.

999.M41.

Lu Jin searched his mind for what he knew about that year.

The Chaos Lord Abaddon was about to launch the Thirteenth Black Crusade. It would destroy a critically important Imperial world, and then a Warp Rift known as the Great Rift would tear across the galaxy.

Lu Jin wondered if the Fierce Angels were heading to the front lines to fight Abaddon.