Classification of Evil

All the Fierce Angels veterans and recruits watched the battle footage in the command center.

The next offensive had yet to begin, so this was footage from before Lu Jin faced the two Chapter Masters.

The Space Marines of the Great White Shark and Minotaur Chapters revealed their respective tactical characteristics as they slaughtered Mortals.

Genos noticed that the Great White Shark Chapter could clearly have used its armored forces to break through the Manrosans' defenses, yet they refused to do so.

They insisted on charging into the buildings and going on a killing spree.

At first, Genos thought they might have been worried that the Manrosans possessed anti-tank weapons, or that the armored forces which had fought on the plains earlier were lying in ambush.

But that was not the case.

The Great White Shark tactical squads had completely abandoned their armored forces.

Only when Lu Jin began employing guerrilla assault tactics did some of them attempt to organize their tactics around armored vehicles.

In the footage, Genos saw a Dreadnought. "A Contemptor Dreadnought... an ancient Dreadnought from ten thousand years ago. Forget ordinary Chapters—even some founding Chapters no longer have relics like this. Just where did this Chapter come from?"

Among the Fierce Angels, no one besides Genos knew what a Contemptor Dreadnought was.

But they understood what Genos meant.

"Because the Great White Sharks are an extremely ancient Chapter."

"Besides being ancient, they are also very unique."

Lu Jin explained what he knew.

"They roam the dark void all year round and possess beliefs completely different from those of other Chapters."

"For example, you call the Emperor the God-Emperor because you grew up under the Ecclesiarchy's rule over the Empire's lower classes."

"But Space Marines from founding Chapters generally do not call him the God-Emperor. It is not that they completely reject the Ecclesiarchy's teachings; their attitude toward the Ecclesiarchy is simply ambiguous."

"The Great White Sharks are even more different. They call the Emperor the Void Father."

"In short, from the perspectives of faith and equipment, they are ancient and unique."

Lu Jin then spoke of the Red Tithe and the Grey Tithe.

These two tithes were among the Great White Shark Chapter's defining traits.

The Grey Tithe was a means of obtaining supplies, while the Red Tithe was a means of obtaining manpower.

The Red Tithe was also known as the Blood Tithe. When paying it, the Great White Sharks would take an entire generation of young people from a planet to serve as slaves or recruits.

Those abducted would fight each other, and the victors would become recruits.

"How is that any different from Chaos?" Kao pointed at the screen. "When I was young, I heard that the system next to my home system was attacked by a heretic warband. All the young people on the planet were taken away, leaving only the elderly to slowly die there... If the Great White Sharks did that on the planet next to my homeworld, I would consider them a Chaos warband too!"

"The difference is that they fight for the Emperor." Genos spoke helplessly. "And they do not kill because they enjoy it. Maybe not because they enjoy it... I am not sure."

Lu Jin nodded. "Genos is right. The Great White Sharks differ from Chaos followers in those two respects. Their actions are pure evil—not evil for evil's sake, but because committing evil is necessary to achieve a certain goal."

"Their actions are predictable. Unlike Chaos warbands, they do not suddenly decide to massacre you. Nor can they only be stopped with an even greater evil."

Lu Jin thought of those Blood God Cultists.

More than thirty of them were still alive, now managed by Kais, who had joined the Chapter.

Those people had no purpose. They simply wanted to fight and kill alongside the Fierce Angels.

"What about the Minotaur Chapter?" Kao asked. "Are they more righteous than the Great White Sharks?"

"Hard to say." Lu Jin shook his head. "They do not care about civilians either, and they often do things I consider bad. Still, they may be just slightly more merciful than the Great White Sharks. Their evil is the evil of servants."

Kao quickly understood.

Evil came in different kinds as well.

Chaotic evil, pure evil, servile evil.

"Compared to them, you are far too kind," Kao said. "We..."

"Actually, I am a kind of evil too." Lu Jin interrupted him, lowering his head in thought. "Violence against violence, evil against evil. To those we slaughter, we are the most vicious and brutal evil of all."

"Would the Manrosans consider you vicious and brutal?" a veteran asked.

"Of course not. But such judgments should come from all others, not from people fixed within a single standpoint," Lu Jin said.

Kao thought about it and realized that was indeed true.

As for Genos, while he remained silent, he thought: most Imperial bureaucrats and some Chapters might not be as extreme as the Great White Sharks, but from the perspective of Mortals, they were certainly no good either.

Chapters like the Fierce Angels, whose battle cry was "No Honor," were quite rare.

But in Genos's view, the Fierce Angels were fairly kind in the eyes of most Mortals because the Chapter lived off the goodwill of countless people.

Under the first Chapter Master's leadership, the Fierce Angels had been more like space rangers, putting out fires everywhere and then accepting the Mortals' humble offerings. Because this reliance on the goodwill of many became tradition, it gradually evolved into everything contained in the battle cry, "No Honor."

"The Great White Sharks have a full company of Terminators called the Crimson Brotherhood."

Lu Jin brought up something relevant to the coming battle.

"Be especially careful."

"That company is anything but ordinary."

Only upon hearing of the Crimson Brotherhood did Genos realize that the Great White Sharks, like other powerful Chapters, also had typical "Astartes Codex behavior," such as equipping the First Company with Terminator Armour for assaults.

But one thing puzzled Genos. "Could their so-called Crimson Brotherhood be made up entirely of mature and steady people? Why have we not seen them before?"

"The Crimson Brotherhood..." Lu Jin considered how to explain it, then suddenly thought of the Blood God Cultists. "They are somewhat like the Manros constabulary. They disperse to different places, but I think they will gather together in the coming battle."

Genos nodded. "I will keep an eye on them from the gunship."

"The enemy is preparing another attack."

A communications officer rose to report.

"Are those two Chapters preparing to attack, or are the Red Corsairs?" Genos asked.

"All of them," the Mortal replied.

"Prepare for battle," Lu Jin said. "Kao, same as before. Wear my armour."

"What about you?"

"I have new armour."

Before the Fierce Angels could finish saluting and prepare to leave, fresh news arrived in the command center.

The communications officer froze in disbelief for half a second before shouting the message. "The Ragefang... has returned!"

Lu Jin smiled, assuming the man had misspoken.

But the screen immediately displayed the situation beyond orbit.

A warship had suddenly appeared beyond Manros orbit.

"I have a new plan," Lu Jin said, staring at the warship.

Imperial flagship.

Tiberius had just left the command deck.

Moro was not at his side, but down on the ground.

The great battle between the Red Corsairs and the Empire on the plains was still ongoing. The Knights drawn from that war had already prepared to join the attack on the local forces, so Moro was overseeing the overall situation.

Tiberius, meanwhile, had made a pre-battle report according to the regulations of the grand fleet.

"Lord Tiberius!"

The Chapter Master heard a call from behind him. Turning around, he saw an Inquisitor.

"Morris," Tiberius said, speaking the man's name. "Why did I not see you or the Mercy Emissaries during the earlier battle?"

The two had known each other before.

Morris was an Inquisitor much to Tiberius's liking, because unlike those rigid Inquisitors, he never lectured the Great White Sharks with rules and empty words. He only used his authority to provide the Great White Sharks with conveniences.

Tiberius also knew of the grudge between Morris, the Mercy Emissaries Chapter, and the Fierce Angels.

As the only person who understood the Fierce Angels, Morris had also been ordered by That Person, who commanded this war, to provide pre-battle intelligence.

Morris had said in his intelligence report:

The Fierce Angels were few and weak. The reason the Mercy Emissaries had lost an entire company in the ground war before was because of the armored battle; it had nothing to do with the Fierce Angels.

Furthermore, the Manrosans had only one hive city, and virtually no industries of any kind.

The locals were cowardly and stupid. Any noble could frighten them by throwing his weight around, and they would kneel and beg forgiveness. They would not dare resist even if beaten to death.

During the report on the command deck just now, Morris had received a slap because of that pre-battle intelligence.

But he felt wronged, because everything he said had been true.

"The First Company and its Command Vehicle were wiped out in the armored battle. They had to rest and recover, didn't they?"

Inquisitor Morris smiled as he stepped forward.

A Space Marine of the Mercy Emissaries Chapter emerged from a branching corridor. Draped in a dark purple cloak, he appeared to have only just been crowned the new Chapter Master.

"Could you let the Mercy Emissaries participate in the next battle?" Morris stroked Tiberius's armoured gauntlet. "I heard you are sending the Second and Third Companies into battle. Bring the Mercy Emissaries along."

Tiberius barely restrained the urge to tear Morris into bloody scraps. He forced himself to recall the pleasant period when Tiberius and the Great White Sharks had briefly worked together—such as how Morris never interfered in military matters, and how he proposed using his authority to offer assistance at the proper moments, like a loyal subordinate.

Then Tiberius asked, "Are they on the hangar deck?"

"Of course." Morris nodded.

Tiberius was about to respond when an alarm suddenly sounded.

The bulkheads along the entire corridor sealed shut layer by layer, while alarm lights on the walls flashed red.

"Warning! Warning!"

"Warp teleportation signal detected!"

"Warning! Warning!"

"..."

Tiberius instinctively glanced through the viewport... but he saw no warship approaching the flagship.

Logically, a teleport beacon should have been sent over first, followed by a boarding action...

The space at the end of the corridor suddenly folded.

When Tiberius, the Inquisitor, and the Mercy Emissaries' new Chapter Master looked over, a squad of Space Marines emerged from the distorted space.

There were fewer than ten of them, all Fierce Angels veterans.

The leader wore the most ornate suit of Ironclad Terminator Armour.

"So you are wearing armour this time." Tiberius stepped forward and raised his arms, blue light flickering over his claw-like weapons. "But I can still—"

A flash of light erupted behind the Ironclad Terminator Armour.

A Terminator nearly two-point-seven meters tall emerged from the light, its head pressed close to the corridor ceiling.

All the Fierce Angels stepped aside.

That Terminator had curved shoulder plates, unpainted and exceedingly plain.

Mounted atop its helmet was a cannon. Beside the cannon was a Mechanical Arm holding a Sceptre. Together with the Warhammer and Battle Axe in its hands... it was now painfully obvious which suit of armour Lu Jin was inside.

It was not slow. Every step it took made the entire corridor tremble.

Tiberius looked up at the Terminator's head, his arms falling naturally to his sides.

Not out of fear, but because he needed to draw a weapon that would actually work against the Terminator before him.

"Before I have time to deal with you, go find your people and have them prepare an iron head for you," Lu Jin said, his gaze falling upon Morris.

Morris took out a strange white object and teleported away with the Mercy Emissaries' new Chapter Master.

Lu Jin stopped walking. The teleportation device implanted within his left shoulder plate began operating, and amid flashing light, everyone was transported out of the corridor again.

Only Tiberius remained in the corridor, holding a grenade powerful enough to annihilate everyone, analyzing the situation in confusion.