Fierce Angels

The hatch slowly opened.

A dead Greenskin was the first to tumble into the chamber.

Lu Jin, wielding a heavy hammer and a heavy axe, his body covered in crimson, slowly stepped into the chamber.

Unlike during the battle just now, Lu Jin's eyes were very calm, even carrying a hint of the emptiness that comes with Sages' Time.

"Why are there Greenskins on the ship?"

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

"It's a tradition of our Fierce Angels," the Chapter Master replied calmly. "Parts of the ship are isolated to cultivate enemies. All practical combat training for the Chapter takes place in these isolated areas."

"You killed thirty Greenskins," one Space Marine said. "But they were weakened versions, specifically bred by the Apothecaries and mentally weakened by the Chapter Master using Psionics."

Lu Jin wasn't surprised.

Because any individual Greenskin was far stronger than a human, he had wondered during the battle why they were so weak.

"Do you feel right now... like you've accomplished something earth-shattering, and then someone comes along and tells you that what you did is no different from eating or drinking, and then you feel like a disabled person who can't even manage to eat or drink properly?"

The Space Marine who had carried Lu Jin onto the gunship earlier said.

Lu Jin ignored the speaker and asked the Chapter Master, "Is the ritual over?"

"There's only one final step: you kneel before me, signifying your willingness to become a recruit of the Fierce Angels. After familiarizing yourself with the Chapter's traditions, you will undergo augmentation and become a battle-brother to all of us."

The Chapter Master replied calmly.

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

"Then die!"

The Chapter Master suddenly roared, drawing a Chainsword from behind an Apothecary and planting his crozius on the wall.

The Space Marines simultaneously retreated, forming a circle around the Chapter Master and Lu Jin.

The Chapter Master, Chainsword in hand, stared at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin stared back at the Chapter Master.

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

At this moment, someone, whose mouth was perhaps too idle, started whistling.

A strong gust of wind blew into the chamber, sweeping over everyone.

A Greenskin's head, propelled by the wind, rolled into the chamber, passing by Lu Jin and the Chapter Master.

The Greenskin's head, not entirely devoid of life, let out a sound under the control of nerve reflexes.

"WA--WA--WA--"

After a few seconds of confrontation, Lu Jin remained motionless.

He realized that his reaction speed and reflexes were absolutely no match for a seasoned Space Marine, so initiating an attack would be a death sentence.

Two more seconds passed, and then the Chapter Master suddenly charged at Lu Jin.

Lu Jin dodged, and just as he was about to swing his hammer, he was knocked to the ground by the pommel of a sword.

"Why do you suddenly want to die?"

"Huh?"

The Chapter Master paced around Lu Jin.

Lu Jin's choice just now wasn't driven by bloodlust, but by a realization.

That is, once he was on this Space Marine ship, if he were to be closely monitored and regulated as a recruit, he would have absolutely no chance of escaping this warship.

He had traveled here and found himself on a ship, inexplicably becoming a slave, and plotting to find an opportunity to escape.

Then, because of his impulsive act of defiance, he was sold to this Space Marine cruiser.

Ultimately, even if he underwent augmentation and became a Space Marine, it would merely be exchanging one master for another.

Worse still, after augmentation, he wouldn't even have the thought of leaving; he would only fight for the Emperor until death under the influence of the Gene-seed.

Losing his sense of self was, in Lu Jin's view, more tragic than death.

Lu Jin did not voice these thoughts. After a moment, he got up and faced the Chapter Master, still tightly gripping his heavy hammer and heavy axe.

"The ritual is over," the Chapter Master said calmly, putting down his Chainsword. "Traditionally, there would be a segment where I defeat you. Now that this segment is complete, you can officially join the Fierce Angels."

Lu Jin did not respond.

The Chapter Master continued, "You can also choose to hold onto your will, which means refusing to join us. I promise you, if you can injure any one of us, even if it's a sneak attack, I will send you anywhere you wish to go."

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

Lu Jin pondered for a moment and slowly nodded.

The Chapter Master seemed certain that Lu Jin would be unable to injure anyone, so he continued to treat him as a recruit and began introducing the Chapter's situation.

"The people in this chamber are all the members of the Fierce Angels Chapter."

"A total of twenty-one."

The Chapter's tradition is battle, slaughter. The rigorous selection process ensures that everyone you see is a brave and fearless warrior.

As he said this, the Chapter Master's eyes flashed, and he teleported everyone out of the chamber.

This was a hall.

Hanging on the walls were the Chapter's banners—a crimson flag bearing a chain-axe.

Mortal servants in red robes stood bowed against the wall.

In the center of the hall was something covered by a large piece of red cloth, its identity unknown.

Then, the Chapter Master began to introduce the various details of the hall.

Lu Jin didn't hear a word, thinking to himself: Twenty-one people in total, this is just a combat squad! After one more battle, this Chapter might as well be wiped out!

"The Hall of Honor is where we hold meetings, gatherings, and practice our martial arts."

The Chapter Master's gaze fell upon the center of the hall, the object wrapped in red cloth.

"And this... is the source of our Chapter's gene-seed, a magnificent statue of an ancient Primarch, meant to remind us of where we come from and whose glory we inherit."

All the Space Marines knelt on one knee, facing the red cloth.

Mortal servants stepped forward and attached the red cloth to a machine, which began to hum as it gradually pulled the cloth away.

Before the magnificent statue was revealed, the Chapter Master spoke of the Primarch.

"He was a warrior skilled in combat."

"He enjoyed fighting personally and experienced countless battles."

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

"He is..."

The red cloth was completely pulled away, revealing the magnificent sculpture: a short-haired man raising a long sword, standing atop a giant rock, pointing directly at the ceiling of the Hall of Honor.

"Roboute Guilliman! The Emperor's thirteenth son, Lord of Ultramar, the gene-sire of our Fierce Angels' mother Chapter, the Ultramarines!"

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

"..."

Lu Jin felt speechless.

The gene-seed of the Fierce Angels Chapter came from Guilliman?

The most civilized Primarch, skilled in elite operations, strategy, and planning?

The Space Marines slowly rose.

"Before you undergo augmentation, you must adapt to the Chapter's environment. Your servants will help you."

As the Chapter Master spoke, a mortal servant standing against the wall walked over, removed his crimson hood, revealing golden hair, and offered Lu Jin a kind and gentle smile. "Sir, please tell me if you need anything."

Lu Jin looked at the servant, was silent for a second, then looked back at the Chapter Master. "What about the previous offer of harm..."

"It stands, provided you can do it," the Chapter Master said, tilting his head. "You may withdraw now, recruit, and my new battle-brother."

Unlike his previous situation.

Lu Jin, forcibly inducted into the Fierce Angels, was given a spacious private residence.

His daily meals were no longer the tasteless food called dry bread but were actually synthetic starch, replaced by balanced meals of meat and vegetables.

On the first day, Lu Jin followed the Chapter's tradition, bathing and eating at 8 PM on an evening of a solar day.

Lu Jin sat in the bath in the room adjacent to his private residence.

The blonde maid used a cloth to wash Lu Jin's arms and neck.

On a plate floating in the bath were bread and various dishes.

This bath was the only trace Lu Jin could find of the Fierce Angels Chapter's connection to Guilliman.

"Sir, I heard you were unwilling to join the Chapter? Why? Don't you yearn to become an angel of the God-Emperor? What an honorable thing that is!"

"We all see you as an angel now, even though you haven't undergone augmentation yet."

Listening to the maid's words, Lu Jin remained silent. After a moment, he suddenly spoke.

"What's your name?"

"Carly."

"Carly, if one day you were to undergo augmentation, you would lose yourself, you would become a warrior who only shouts 'For the Emperor!' and charges at the enemy. How would you feel?"

"Utterly glorious!"

"..."

Lu Jin had expected Carly's answer, but he still wanted to hear it.

What was glorious to others was worse than death to him.

He would first try to do as the Chapter Master said. The oath he made to the Emperor would surely be fulfilled, and if he couldn't harm anyone, then death was his only path.

The door was pushed open, and an Apothecary in white armor walked in.

"Battle-brother," the Apothecary placed a set of close-fitting mortal clothes by the basin, "traditionally, you should have already entered the Hall of Honor for combat training."

Lu Jin stood up from the basin, put on the clothes, and followed the Apothecary to the Hall of Honor.

The clanging of metal against metal reached his ears. The Chapter's battle-brothers were sparring with various melee weapons.

Lu Jin was indeed late, but no one reprimanded him. Before their own transformations, the others had also been slow and sluggish. Moreover, this was only the first day.

"Here," the Apothecary walked to the weapon rack, took down a heavy hammer and a heavy axe, and threw them to Lu Jin one by one.

Lu Jin caught them and looked at the Apothecary.

"The Chapter Master ordered me to train you with the hammer and axe," the Apothecary took down a Chainsword. "After the previous Apothecary died, and I, as the only one in the Chapter capable of giving injections, had to take his place, I could no longer use the axe and hammer."

Lu Jin assumed a stance.

The Apothecary signaled Lu Jin to attack.

As Lu Jin charged forward, the Apothecary knocked him aside with his shoulder, spun 360 degrees, and smashed Lu Jin down with his sword hilt.

"Get up."

The Apothecary walked up to Lu Jin, bent down, and extended a hand.

Lu Jin stood up on his own and suddenly asked, "Is the gene-father of the Fierce Angels truly the Thirteenth Primarch?"

The Apothecary first stepped forward to adjust Lu Jin's posture, making him crouch low with the heavy axe and hammer held vertically in front of him, before answering the question.

"We were born from a cursed founding."

"That is... the Adeptus Mechanicus found a way to modify the Gene-seed and then created a group of freaks..."

"Some suspect our Gene-seed is a fusion, and that's not a secret. Just don't say it in front of an Inquisitor."

Lu Jin thought that the Fierce Angels' Gene-seed was definitely a fusion.

A fusion of Guilliman and Angron.

The latter was a berserk warrior. Angron's World Eaters Legion was a traitor legion, characterized by their warlike and bloodthirsty nature, the complete opposite of the Ultramarines.

He wondered what kind of genius came up with this radical idea.

"Ragefang is about to deep-dive. Prepare yourselves!"

"Ragefang is about to deep-dive. Prepare yourselves!"

An alarm suddenly blared from the broadcast.

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

The armored plating gradually covered every porthole in the hall.

This was the sign that Warp travel was about to begin.

Next, the Fierce Angels' only strike cruiser would open a passage to the Warp and travel within it.

The Warp was a realm of consciousness, allowing many things that were impossible or extremely difficult in reality to be achieved, such as faster-than-light travel.

"Don't get distracted, continue training."

After adjusting Lu Jin's posture, the Apothecary began to explain the details of muscle engagement when wielding a hammer and axe.

He also combined physiological knowledge to explain to Lu Jin which muscles to engage and at what stage when swinging heavy weapons, so that the next move could be executed faster.

"What year is it now?"

Lu Jin suddenly asked another question.

"It's the beginning of the 999th year of the 41st Millennium," the Apothecary replied.

999.M41.

Lu Jin searched his mind for knowledge pertaining to this year.

Chaos Lord Abaddon was about to launch the Thirteenth Black Crusade. This crusade would destroy a vital Imperial world, and then a Warp rift called the Great Rift would tear across the galaxy.

Thinking of this, Lu Jin wondered if the Fierce Angels were heading to the front lines to fight Abaddon.