25. Return Journey (IV)

Navarro Ciunas struggled to push half of an Orks's corpse off him, shards of entrails and blood splattering all over his body, turning his coat into a stench even worse than the sailors' vomit.

His face darkened, and in that instant, he recalled a line from a book he had once read, "Don't make any plans that you think will be useful before the battle begins; they will all eventually be turned into a fog by swords and flesh."

"I agree," Tevaro muttered to himself. "Damn, so right. I wish I'd remembered that sooner."

He turned to look at his adjutant.

To be precise, it was three-quarters of his lieutenant's corpse. The pure-blooded Terra man Ma Yoen, died today after six years with him, killed by Orks who cleaved his skull open with a knife, along with half of his body.

Navarro glanced at the Xenos's corpse with lingering fear, unable to understand why these monsters possessed such terrifying power.

He crouched down, pulled up the adjutant's body, and began searching it. He had no time to mourn for Ma Yoen; his immediate priority was to find the diary and run with it.

His plans had changed. Navarro no longer expected his allies or disciplined Imperial Army to come to his aid; he now only wanted reinforcements, nothing more.

These Orks were completely different from what he had heard of; they were not a rabble, nor were they foolish wild beasts. They were even deliberately and gradually eroding his crew.

His personal guard and most of his crew had already been killed or wounded. Tevaro knew very well that he would probably die as well, but even if he did, he had to protect that diary.

That thing absolutely cannot be exposed, otherwise his family will be wiped out along with the names in the diary. Although he disliked, even hated, his family...

He gritted his teeth and continued to endure the tingling sensation of blood, searching the corpse for what he needed like a lowly rat.

Fortunately, his lucky charm eventually caught the attention of Lady Luck, and she smiled upon him once again.

This might be the last time.

With trembling fingers, Tevarro pulled a book with a brass cover from the adjutant's corpse. He removed his leather glove and ran his right index finger along the spine. Noticing the slight dent, he collapsed to the ground.

Fine.

He looked at his adjutant, a genuine smile appearing on his face, "Luckily you got the real thing, Ma Yoen, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have sent your family the pension."

With trembling legs, Tevarro leaned against the wall and stood up. He tucked the diary inside his coat, but then felt that wasn't safe enough, so he simply stuffed it inside the innermost layer of his shirt.

Having done this, he picked up his Autogun and walked toward the captain's cabin—which had served as his study, lounge, and occasional "place of indulgence" for the past decade.

At first, it was unremarkable, but now it has become the most heavily fortified place on the ship, apart from the engine room. Tevaro intends to go inside and hide there until he is discovered.

If it's Orks discover him, he'll give them a good beating. If it's the Imperium, he'll walk out of his office with his hands raised and then escape with a few sweet words.

He had even thought about what to do if the approaching fleet was the Imperial Navy.

Bribery never goes out of style; everyone has greed. And if the leading officer were a new recruit, he might just be able to save himself from this mess with a navy pistol.

He brought four of these treasures, each engraved with the name of an Imperium warship. These were rare collectibles that only the elite could possess.

He was lost in thought when he quickly reached the office door. There were no Orks there, only a scene of devastation and bloodshed on the ground. Tevaro approached the door, inserted his fingers into the bottom of the door, and skillfully made a hole in it.

After a slight sting, the wall to his right cracked open. Tevarro strode through the secret passage and entered a hidden chamber. This was his little treasure trove, filled with precious paintings and valuable hard currency he had smuggled over the years.

But he didn't even glance at those things; he simply walked quickly until he reached a wall.

After another round of finger exploration, a small hole appeared in the wall. He pressed it against his right eye and began to observe, his heart sinking suddenly.

The scene inside the office was not what he was used to. One wall had been blown open, and several Orks were plundering the Autogun and shotguns from his weapon rack.

Tevaro cursed under his breath, silently wishing that these bastards would be killed by a barrel explosion when they used those guns to kill their own crew. He silently withdrew his gaze and began to ponder what to do next.

Several unreliable ideas popped into his head, only to be quickly discarded by him—are you kidding me?

Tevarro raised his right hand and lightly slapped himself, his face full of anger: How could he have come up with the idea of going out with a gun and fighting them to the death? Your life is precious.

However, even as he said that, the faces of his crew members still appeared before his eyes. From the captain of the personal guard to the first mate, and then to the sailors.

Navarro Ciunas's face gradually contorted. He pressed his face against the wall, staring unblinkingly at the Orks, a surge of anger rising within him.

These Xenos robbed my ship and killed my men. Why should I tolerate them? The Imperial Truth says all Xenos bastards deserve to die.

His anger surged, and he instinctively pulled out two navy pistols, intending to find an opportunity to open the secret door, go out, and kill all these beasts—but he didn't get that chance.

Because someone has already gotten there first.

No, wait, is that a person? Tevarro stared in shock, his eyes wide.

At first, he only saw a cloud of black mist. It emanated from the burning wooden floor and blood, and quickly formed a tangible darkness.

Immediately afterwards, a huge shadow rose up from the center. Tevarro couldn't see its face clearly, only two faint blue lights and a blurry human shape.

The Orks spotted it, but before they could even draw their guns, they were swiftly decapitated. The eerie black shadow flashed by, and the Orks' heads fell to the ground one after another. Tevaro abruptly retreated, moving away from the wall.

He gritted his teeth, trying not to make his breathing too obvious, but his heart was still pounding—what on earth was that thing?!

He could swear to the damned del Kunas Family that he had never seen anything so terrifying in his life!

But the nightmare didn't seem to be going to end there. Just as Tevarro was quietly backing away, trying to get away from the wall with the peephole, he noticed a blue light shining through the peephole.

"Bang--!"

Tevarro's cheek twitched, and without hesitation, he fired a shot in that direction. The blue light didn't disappear, so he began to pull the trigger continuously, without stopping, until the twenty-round magazine was completely empty.

The intense muzzle flash blurred his vision, and the strange feeling brought on by the surge of fear caused his limbs to twitch and his vision to blur. He gasped for breath and began to shakily pick up the remaining two navy pistols.

But as soon as he lowered his head, he saw a skeletal hand emanating black mist, with his other two navy pistols lying on it.

Navarro Ciunas slowly raised his head and saw a skeletal face.

"Hello, Captain of the Storm Swift, Navarro Ciunas," the skeleton spoke slowly, its voice distorted like the last scream of the dead. "Finally found you. This has been a long time coming."

Tevarro's eyes rolled back, and he fainted quite decisively.

Update complete. Regular updates will resume tomorrow. First update at 5 PM, second update at 7 PM, 3k words per chapter. Extra chapters of 10k words each on Saturday and Sunday.