81st Dark Crusade (11, Shipwreck)

The destroyer Sword quietly passed by the Macragge's Honour, its engine barely making a sound, yet its speed was still astonishing.

It is a member of the Macragge's Honour Combined Fleet, and a small boat only two kilometers long. Like all destroyers, it has insufficient firepower but is fast enough.

Although it has never been statistically recorded, many captains believe that destroyers like it are probably the most frequently destroyed in void naval battles.

Indeed, their speed advantage did not help them escape the deadly salvos of larger warships.

In reality, if it were even slightly grazed, the Sword or any similar destroyer would instantly turn into a dazzling ball of fire, then turn into worthless cosmic dust along with its crew.

Of course, the fact that they are still being manufactured despite such disadvantages proves that they still have value.

Moreover, this is of great value. In the naval warfare case studies at the Imperial Army, many practical examples specifically mention how the flexible use of destroyers can help the overall situation.

Somehow, these small warships always seem to be able to make the decisive move at crucial moments, or to obtain a wealth of information in the early stages of a war, thus laying the foundation for victory.

For this reason, Captain Viteria of the Sword never looked down on herself because of the Sword's size.

At parties reserved for captains, she could always proudly raise her glass and drink it down in one gulp. She knew what she could and could not do, and that was the source of her courage and integrity.

These two qualities helped her achieve numerous honors in just four years after taking office, and the Sword has benefited greatly from them, qualifying for a complete overhaul.

Soon, this destroyer will have some things it could only look at with envy in the past, such as harder armor plates and more advanced engine systems.

However, none of this has anything to do with Karyl now.

He was now standing on the bridge of the Sword, which had not yet been refitted. It was forty meters long and crowded with skilled crew members and various instruments, arranged in a stepped pattern. It was cramped, but it made quite successful use of every bit of space. It was a design that was quite practical and disregarded the captain's dignity.

Yes, even as captain, Viteria didn't have a command chair. She could only stand at the top of the steps, holding a bronze-tipped cane, motionless like a statue, glaring coldly at her crew, silently urging them to speed up their work.

They accepted a special mission, the cause of which can be traced back to a near-argumentative conversation in the Primarch's office of the Radiance of Macragge's Honour.

This conversation made the Victrix Guard in the corridor outside wish they could turn off their hearing systems in their helmets; deep down, they would consider it a special kind of argument.

The Primarch takes on the role of roaring, while the other simply keeps explaining and persuading, arguing back and forth in a calm tone that can drive you crazy.

Of course, Karyl wouldn't call it an argument, but he felt he did have to use some persuasion to get Roboute Guilliman to reluctantly agree to the proposal.

To be honest, it is extremely difficult to do this, because the Primarch of the Ultramarines have long since severed ties with their past.

Before experiencing all this nightmare, he was a naive idealist who firmly believed in humanity, hope, and truth. Now, however, he is extreme and irritable, stubborn and short-tempered, often roaring and frowning.

If he were to unleash all the anger that had been building up in his heart over the years, it could potentially engulf hundreds of worlds.

However, after losing so much blood, his heart miraculously retained some rationality.

It's hard to say whether this was a blessing or a curse for him, because, throughout such a long period of time, Roboute Guilliman remained an idealist precisely because of this rationality.

He accepted the changes in the world, but he didn't let himself be changed too much.

Karyl didn't know exactly how he did it, but he knew that Roboute Guilliman must have suffered terribly over the years.

Just like when he made this decision.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile—everyone in this galaxy who still knew him probably had some strange illness; they would do everything in their power to avoid associating "Karyl Lohars" with "lone wolf."

Karyl had no objection to this; in fact, he felt it was entirely reasonable for them to do it this way, since he always ran into problems whenever he decided to do something alone.

This strange misfortune first appeared while they were still on Nostramo, and later it intensified.

"Grown ups."

The female captain's voice pulled him back to reality. She spoke respectfully and seriously, beginning to describe in an extremely professional manner what the Sword's scan had captured, using language that didn't involve any captains' slang or terminology, but rather was quite straightforward.

She presented the intelligence obtained by the Sword in the simplest and most direct way, and then provided supporting evidence. Karyl listened attentively, nodding occasionally, and finally gave his own conclusion based on her words.

He could actually understand what the data displayed on the scanner meant, but he wouldn't undermine the captain's authority; that would be unwise, nor was it something he should do.

He said slowly, "Captain Viteria, are you saying that there's likely a ship that's stopped near Sotha?"

The female captain gave a serious affirmation, and then added her own explanation.

"Yes, sir. A normal ship could not remain motionless in a vacuum with such signal fluctuations, and judging from its size, I fear it is a ship belonging to the Astartes — Battle Barge."

"I remember, Sotha has its guardians."

"Yes, the Scythes of the Emperor," Viteria replied softly. "But here's the problem: the loyal Scythes possess two Battle Barge. These two ships have always operated together, never separated."

Karyl readily picked up where she left off. "In other words, if this ship truly is a Battle Barge belonging to the Emperor's Scythes, then they have most likely been attacked."

The female captain frowned deeply, pondered for a moment, and then offered another possibility.

"I find it hard not to think that way, sir. And if my guess is right, things could get even worse."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Because the ship was docked not far from Sotha's orbital space station, the Scythes had been using it as a fortress monastery. At that distance, there was no reason they wouldn't have spotted the ship."

"I see." Karyl nodded to her again, then said something that took her by surprise. "Then, may I ask that you allow the Sword to continue its voyage?"

"Uh, sir?"

"I need to board the ship, I mean, get on that ship. Please, Captain Viteria."

"But... is this... not so wise?" the female captain said, unusually hesitant.

A genuine look of astonishment crossed her stern and serious face, just as she had when she was a child at the Loyal Heirs Academy and her instructor told her that her parents had left her a destroyer.

At that time, she was still a child with an innocent mind that could not comprehend what the rightful succession to a destroyer meant to most of the Imperial Navy.

Now, even with her incredibly mature and steely mind, she couldn't understand what Karyl meant by boarding the ship; in her view, it was clearly not the wisest decision.

"Shouldn't we report this to the Macragge's Honour first?"

Karyl smiled at her, took off his hood, and began to explain, telling a little joke with his own unique sense of humor—at least in his opinion, it was a joke.

"That's within your job scope, Captain, so I don't think you need to consult me. You're the professional; you should trust your own judgment, not seek the inadequate advice of someone like me who's not in the field."

"Of course, Lord Roboute Guilliman did indeed put me on the Sword with an official document, but I was merely a hitchhiker. And now, I've reached my destination, so I should get off. I mean, get off alone."

Viteria remained silent for a full half minute before taking a deep breath, then turned around and gave the order to her first mate, who had only one fleshy leg, in a resolute tone.

"Full speed ahead, approach that ship. I need its full profile in two minutes. Tell the gunners to prepare for a salvo, and tell the engine room to give it their all. If nothing goes wrong and we've accomplished our mission, they'll have drinks tonight."

"Thank you, Captain Viteria," Karyl said sincerely.

The female captain sighed, her tone anything but obvious, and replied rudely, "Come on, sir, take your thanks back. I've never seen anyone as reckless as you. Where did you come from?"

"Um, I'm sorry I can't answer that," Karyl said apologetically.

Two minutes later, the complete profile was handed to him and the female captain from the crew, thus confirming her guess—it really was a Battle Barge.

This conclusion caused deep wrinkles to appear between Viteria's brows, as if a stonemason were pounding granite with a carving hammer.

A few minutes later, when the Sword silently drifted to within six kilometers of the ship, its appearance came into everyone's view.

More than thirty well-trained sailors gasped in unison at that moment, and even Lady Granite's eyes twitched. She never imagined that this was not just a Battle Barge, but a Battle Barge that was completely destroyed.

From her perspective, the ship was beyond any possibility of moving again. Its deck was riddled with holes of all sizes and bore the marks of bombing. The cannons on the stern had been completely destroyed, and even the figurehead was gone.

Its engine compartment and the entire rear half of the ship were faintly glowing with a deep red Radiance, indicating that the engine had also been destroyed, and destroyed very thoroughly, because the energy in the reactor was in some kind of intimate contact with the metal inside.

That red light was produced for this reason.

At this point, Karyl pointed out something else.

"Is that the emblem of the Scythes of the Emperor?" he asked, pointing to the porthole on the left.

Following his directions, Viteria spotted two bright yellow scythes crossing each other between the Aquila and the skeleton with remarkable ease.

This discovery made her heart sink, and then the first mate's hoarse voice dealt her an even heavier blow.

"Captain, the vessel identification has been verified. The database shows that this is one of the Scythes' Battle Barge, the Power of Honour."

Viteria cursed, but the shocking news did not stop her in her tracks. Instead, she quickly turned to Karyl.

"I can provide you with a shuttle so you can accomplish what you need to do, sir. However, out of a captain's sense of responsibility and the most basic human conscience, I must warn you that doing so could very well mean you never return."

She raised her hand with a grim expression, pointing to the huge piece of burning metal.

"That ship is completely finished. In another dozen or so hours, its reactor will give you an ultimatum. It might explode, disintegrate, and turn into burning Mars, or it might just become a Space Hulk sitting here. Either way, there's a high chance it will take you with it if you insist on going aboard."

Karyl looked at her in surprise, only to receive a stern stare in return. A few seconds later, he chuckled and took a step back, bowing slightly.

"Thank you for your kindness, but my mind is made up; I am determined to die—and I assure you, my mission or my life will not implicate you in any way. Please return immediately and continue to fulfill your duties. Good luck, Captain."

"You're such an idiot," the female captain cursed angrily, then summoned the first mate and ordered him to take Karyl to the hangar.

Three minutes later, a shuttle slowly emerged from the tiny Sword and approached the burning Battle Barge like a speck of dust. Behind it, the Sword sailed without looking back toward the main fleet, preparing to report the incident.

Its captain still couldn't figure out what kind of freak this tall stranger who had suddenly appeared on her ship was, that he could be so audacious.

However, out of conscience, she still prayed to the God-Emperor for him. Whether the God-Emperor heard her prayer or not, no one knows the answer, but she later believed that the God-Emperor must have heard her prayer.

She also felt that He not only heard her, but He even blessed her.

Otherwise, it's impossible to explain what this man named Karyl Lohars did in the following five hours.