155 Terra (26)

"Who?"

Bjorn heard Sol Tarvitz ask.👤♩ 6➈ ♥👌

His smile quickly faded; he had something to say—not exactly polite words—but he ultimately resisted the urge.

It was clearly unwise to start a fight with an Emperor's Children in this situation, so he quickly turned around and pointed his left fist at another person in the darkness.

The man glanced at him, but his sword remained firmly pointed at Ahzek Ahriman on the ground, not a drop of blood visible on the blade.

"Sigismund," Bjorn whistled. "What day is it today? You're here too?"

"I have always been here," Sigismund said calmly. "And I will always be here."

Bjorn glanced at his breastplate, which was covered in claw marks and dents. With just one piece damaged to this extent, it wasn't hard for him to imagine the brutal battles the garrison had endured before they arrived in Terra.

"Put down your sword," Sol Tavitz said behind him. "What a Space Wolves! The Throne is on, what will happen next? Another ship crashes on Terra?"

"Don't call me that," Bjorn said, turning around. "It's a pack of wolves, not Space Wolves— "

"--It's Aett, not the Nest." Sol Tavitz finished his sentence with a soft laugh. "I remember that, Bjorn."

The lone wolf looked at him with a sense of unfamiliarity.

"I see," Bjorn said.

They sat together, a campfire burning in front of them. Setting up camp under the current circumstances was an unwise idea, but Bjorn agreed, because just moments before, Sol Tavetz had outlined their mission to him.

Bjorn decided to join them, needing no reason. After all, what reason could be more noble or honorable than fighting for humanity?

Furthermore, while it is unwise to establish a camp when the enemy's situation is unclear, it would be a different story if they were to protect Astronomican.

Since there weren't many of them, they might as well light a campfire in the dark and lure the enemies over. However, there was one thing that still bothered Bjorn.

He couldn't help but care.

He looked at the warrior named Thunder, who was leaning against a rock that had been moved there, half-lying on the ground, slowly sharpening the knife in his hand.

If anyone asked, Bjorn would readily admit that he really liked the knife the other person was holding.

The knife was a combat dagger, not a primary weapon, but its wide blade and brutal curve proved it possessed excellent slashing capabilities. Furthermore, its owner had maintained it very well.

Bjorn stared intently at Thunder Sharpening, as if he had completely forgotten what had happened not long ago. Of course, that was far from the truth.

"What are you looking at?" Thunder asked without looking up. "The wolves I know aren't the kind of animals that like to join in on things."

"I was watching you sharpen your knife," Bjorn decided to tell the truth. "At the same time, I was also thinking about how to take this knife from your hands."

Thunder finally looked up at him.

"Take it?" he asked softly.

"Yes." Bjorn nodded, his voice equally soft.

"I'm afraid you won't get your hands on it before I die," Thunder grinned. "Besides, if this is all the conversation you've come up with after all that thinking, then you're really not a very good conversationalist."

Sol Tavitz looked up from his monotonous task of counting bullets and took a moment to observe them. He eventually concluded that there was no need to care.

After all, in some ways, the Thunder and Bjorn are the same kind of people.

Despite their short time together, Tavitz believed the Thunder shared a survival philosophy similar to that of the Fenris wolves. He thought they were unlikely to fight, and even if they did, he could enjoy the spectacle.

Furthermore, he has another matter to attend to.

"What's the name of this book?" he asked Ahzek Ahriman, who was disabled and blind, without a trace of pity in his eyes.

Bjorn didn't hide what the Thousand Sons had done; in fact, they had nothing to hide from each other. Everyone except Thunder recounted their past.

Don't ask why; few can resist a Space Wolves, especially around a campfire. Bjorn then spoke for Ahzek Ahriman, who didn't want to, and gave his turn as well.

Thus, Ahzek Ahriman acquired a new nickname, which Thunder blurted out after hearing the story. Surprisingly, this nickname contained no insulting intent.

"It has no name," Ahzek Ahriman replied, looking down at his book.

A blind man bending down to turn the pages of a book—it was a truly bizarre thing, but Tavitz didn't want to complicate matters, even though the ancient book with its blade-like spine had been calling to him more than once.

He swore that he would be Vindicators, not Vengeance.

"I see." The Emperor's Children nodded with little interest, then looked at Sigismund, but his hands were still moving quickly, the explosives continuing to pass through his gauntlets one by one.

Have you been able to contact the company?

"No," Sigismund said.

He's wearing a helmet again now and is busy trying out the communication channels.

Undoubtedly, this helmet was salvaged from the body of a fallen soldier. Such occurrences are common on the battlefield, both throughout history. However, for the Astartes, this predicament remains extremely rare.

In other words, just how brutal must a war be to put the Astartes in such a predicament?

A few minutes later, Imperial Fists took off the helmet he had picked up, turned it around, and placed it on the ground facing him. He had already activated the recording function of the goggles. Tavitz knew what he was going to do, so he quietly shut his mouth and didn't say anything more.

"This is Sigismund," he said. "I don't want to mention my titles or ranks; that's meaningless. I'm a member of the Imperial Fists, nothing more. I want anyone who receives this video or audio to head towards Astronomican immediately. We need support. Any form of support is acceptable. Civilians or soldiers, armed or just courage— Astronomican needs you, the Imperium needs you. If you can't tell which way to go, close your eyes in the darkness for a moment, and you will see Astronomican, believe me."

He picked up the helmet, put it on again, and began sending.

"What a terrible speaker," Tavitz heard the disabled Thousand Sons say. "But what he said is true."

"What's real?" Tavitz asked.

"The matter of Astronomican."

Ahzek Ahriman slightly raised his head, his empty eyelids quite unsettling. He located Tavitz by sound; he was now facing him directly.

"I have no eyes, but I can still feel its Radiance. It's right behind us, isn't it?"

"Yes," Tavitz said.

He closed his eyes. In the silent darkness, the crackling of the fire was still very clear, along with the breathing of four other creatures that bore no resemblance.

Sigismund's breathing came from inside his helmet, sounding muffled and serious. Ahzek Ahriman breathed cautiously, like a falling leaf. Bjorn Thunder's breathing was as his name suggested, each breath being the most distinct, sometimes even loud.

Tavitz held his breath, and gradually, he heard a sound different from his breathing and his own heartbeat.

It was an extremely faint buzzing sound, one that shouldn't have been detected by anyone, yet it reached his ears. At the same time, along with the appearance of this sound, a blazing golden pillar of fire suddenly rose from the darkness, illuminating the world behind his closed eyes.

Sol Tavitz opened his eyes.

"Yes," he told Ahzek Ahriman. "It's right behind us, which means that unless other reinforcements arrive, we're the last defenders."

After finishing his sentence, he counted the last explosive round, tucked it into the magazine, hung it on his belt, and slowly stood up.

This small, battered squad, barely worthy of being called an army, consisted of only five men, one of whom was blind. Yet, at that moment, all their eyes were fixed on Sol Tavitz.

"I think we'll hold it," Sol Tavitz said. "After all, we have Imperial Fists, Space Wolves, Emperor's Children, and Thousand Sons— "

"--And me," Thunder said. "Thunder Warriors."

"So we will hold this place, and die here," Sol Tavitz continued. "But this isn't really a speech, after all, I'm not good with words. But I just want to say that if death really comes, I would be honored to die alongside you."

"Are you sure you want to include him?" Bjorn asked pointedly.

Sol Tavitz nodded solemnly. No one understood why he was so certain that Ahzek Ahriman would fight alongside them to the very end—in fact, if Bjorn were to give this speech, he wouldn't even include Thousand Sons among the combatants.

"I thank you, Company Commander Tavitz," Ahzek Ahriman took a deep breath. "But I cannot tarnish your honor. What I have done deserves my death ten thousand times over. I am a man without honor; if you really want to be honest, I could even be classified as a traitor. Besides, I am utterly incapable of fighting."

"So, are you willing to die with us?" Sigismund suddenly asked.

Ahzek Ahriman froze, and for a few seconds, he made a strange sound with his throat. Then, he nodded vigorously.

"That's enough," Tavitz said.

He closed his eyes and continued to gaze at the burning Astronomican. Deep down, he already knew the outcome of the battle, but he wouldn't accept it.

He didn't know how long the war would last, whether reinforcements would arrive, or what the situation was like outside. But, to be honest, he didn't care about any of these things.

Just as Sigismund didn't care why he could rise again and again from the Daemon's siege, just as Thunder didn't care why he could summon black flames, just as Bjorn didn't care how many enemies there might be, just as Ahzek Ahriman didn't care about his disability and still stood here.

--And Lion Alderson cares.

Sorry I'm late. I had a meal and my tooth hurts, so I'm writing slowly.

Furthermore, the length of the Siege of Siege of Terra was unavoidable. Of course, I wouldn't say I wanted to divide the story into many novels like the main series (I would try if I could, but I obviously can't), but I at least wanted to explain all aspects clearly. That's about it. Sweet dreams.