Interlude 46: Burning Kamas (2)

Karyl Lohars once practiced a principle he lived by: solve everything with a blade.

This is nothing to boast about, as this principle is simply too foolish. If stopping killing with killing could solve everything, then Kamas would never have been caught up in the flames of war.

But if someone were to investigate the reason why he so steadfastly adhered to this principle in the past, they would probably find a surprising answer after a long search: it was simply because Karyl Lohars had no other choice.

He lacked strategic depth, didn't understand how to manage people's hearts and minds, or how to control government affairs. He also didn't understand how to transform a wasteland into a thriving and progressive city from scratch.

So, the only option was to kill them. What other choice did they have? Did they have to learn everything from scratch? That was certainly an option, but they didn't have time then—too many things arose from this.

The phrase "lack of time" hung like a sharp sword over the heads of all those who could see through the fog during the Great Crusade, its boundless cold light gleaming at them. Under the threat of this sword, even the Emperor had to compromise in many areas.

But what about now?

Karyl pulled out his right hand.

The chest cavity of a wild beast was thus torn apart; it howled and struggled but could not muster any strength. Its limbs had been cut into pieces, clearly indicating that a butcher had patiently and meticulously dismembered it.

Its viscous blood and splattered flesh, scattered around the scorched earth, should have seeped into the ground, but were instead bound by shadows that resembled living creatures, preventing them from sinking.

Karyl bent down, looked at its only remaining eye, and suddenly plunged his right hand deep into its chest cavity again. He groped around, ignoring the struggles of the hairy, winged monster with the lion's head, and just kept doing his work.

Not long after, he pulled a cloudy, pale pink gem from his chest cavity. Karyl frowned, raised his right hand, and examined it closely for several seconds against the sky above Kamas, which was now filled with the sounds of gunfire.

A cold snort came from within his Shadow.

"That bastard is starting to place heavy bets, Karyl."

Karyl shook his head, held the gem in his palm, turned and jumped down the huge hill piled with corpses, sliding down into a trench filled with bodies at an inexplicable speed.

What? You have a different opinion?

"I don't think they were gambling. The fall of Kamas Konrad Curze is inevitable. Although Lion's pre-arranged fleet could easily destroy the enemy's warships, the Chaos Corruption has already spread across Kamas."

"Soon, the survivors of this world will be taken away from their homeland. Perhaps centuries later, after the purification is complete, Kamas may be redeveloped, but that will be irrelevant to them now."

Walking at an undetectable speed through the damp, soft trenches, Karyl spoke calmly, completely oblivious to the chill emanating from his Shadow —until he reached the end of the trench half a second later.

This place looks like it has been bombed; it's completely unrecognizable. The only way to tell that it was once part of a trench is by looking at the path behind it.

"But appropriate retaliation is also necessary," he added, his breath utterly cold. "How about cutting off their outstretched claws, Konrad Curze?"

"It's my pleasure, Father."

The chill subsided, and Karyl crouched down, beginning to dig into the ground with his hands. His movements were no longer fast compared to his previous killings; in fact, they appeared gentle.

The soil and rubble were removed, along with a significant portion of the inexpensive engineering artifacts unique to the Imperium. Soon, a half-destroyed Chimera chariot was brought back to life.

Karyl reached out and grasped the exposed steel beam at its front, his Shadow climbing up as if it were alive. Then, with a slight lift, he raised the chariot from the ground and placed it aside.

His movements were very gentle, but for the passengers inside, it was like experiencing an earthquake again, and several shouts came from within.

Karyl tilted his head and took a step to the left, narrowly dodging several beams of light that shot out from the gap inside the tank. He then politely tapped the hull.

"Cease fire, soldiers. This is Inquisitor Karyl Lohars. On behalf of the Inquisition, I hereby issue a call for the combatants inside this Chimera vehicle. Report to me within one minute, or face punishment."

He gave them a one-minute time limit, but the soldiers acted much faster. Twelve seconds after he finished speaking, the Chimera's already dented door was ripped apart by several knives.

A few soldiers emerged from inside, covered in blood and riddled with wounds. The leader was a bearded man who straightened up and saluted Karyl, but his face showed suspicion.

"Sir, you don't quite look like an Inquisitor. Where are your attendants? Where is everyone else? We've been buried for over an hour; you couldn't have dug us out all by yourself, could you?"

Karyl nodded to him, then pulled the Aquila Emblem and the Inquisition Emblem together from around his neck and showed them to the man, which initially dispelled his doubts.

But that wasn't enough, so he raised his right hand and, recalling the expressions of the priests on Lion El-Jonson's ship during their prayers, imitated them.

He closed his eyes, grasped the Aquila Emblem in his right hand, and seemingly offered a fervent praise to the Emperor: "May His Radiance soothe your hearts and minds, and restore your courage, soldiers."

A burst of golden light—or rather, a disguised golden light—burst from the eagle's eyes and fell upon the soldiers' shoulders, healing their wounds before they could kneel, weep, and tremble.

Soon, a wave of fervor swept through the remaining soldiers. The soldier who had previously doubted Karyl was the first to stand at attention, salute, and announce his name and rank.

"Gerhart, sir, corporal of the 11th Company, 6th Armored Regiment Kamas Defense Force."

"Nice to meet you, Corporal, but don't get too excited. Our primary objective isn't to return to the battlefield, soldiers. Is there anything else you need in the vehicle? No? Good, come with me. In the name of the Emperor, we have important business to attend to."

With those words spoken, he turned and led his small group on a path completely opposite to the front lines of the war. To the entirety of the war in Kamas, this group was insignificant, but things soon changed.

Just two hours later, the number of men in the group had increased from eight to four hundred and sixty-nine, and at the same time, their route had quietly reversed. Four and a half hours later, as dusk approached, the number of conscripted soldiers was enough to be reorganized into an entire infantry regiment and two armored companies, but this was still not the end.

At 11:53 p. m., the war command on the Kamas space station received a communication signal from a position that had been identified as "lost" three hours after the start of the war.

Pral Farin, then Supreme Commander of the Kamas Defense Force, answered the signal himself before anyone else, without even giving it time to connect to the public channel. He learned the news from this and was greatly excited about it.

After hanging up the communication, the marshal, his eyes bloodshot, immediately roared in his temporary command post.

"Send all our fighter jets! Bring all our ammunition and head to this location for a bombing raid!"

"But, sir?"

His adjutant immediately raised questions, and other senior officers showed the same expression. Prall ignored them and rushed to the command console, starting to issue orders manually with his highest authority. He even called up the last remaining ammunition in the space station's weapon array.

Just then, cannon fire flashed outside the window, illuminating the vacuum as if it were daytime. Several gunboats sped past, and a colossal aircraft belonging to the Dark Angels menacingly headed toward the other side of the space station, chasing after some fleeing Thousand Eyes Warband.

The marshal's face was revealed to be incredibly ferocious amidst the flames of war.

"Our troops, which were scattered during the day, have been reorganized, and we have even recaptured four positions east of the Dutton River."

He issued the orders while explaining them in a low voice, appearing both focused and agitated.

"It was an Inquisitor who did it. By the Emperor's grace, whatever his purpose was in coming to Kamas before, I will award him a medal, regardless of whether he lives or dies after the war. Lieutenant, come here!"

His adjutant arrived at his side with perfect understanding and took over the operation of the control console.

"Pass on my order: dispatch the 3rd Armored Regiment, the 5th Armored Regiment, the 2nd Artillery Regiment, and the 11th and 14th Infantry Regiments, sending them from the western front to the coordinates to support the position."

"I'm only giving them two hours. Get to the coordinates by any means necessary, understand? Until reinforcements arrive, the airstrikes must continue! We must contain those Chaos scum at both ends of the Dutton River!"

"Understood, sir."

The adjutant carried out all his orders methodically. The communication network, built by the warship cluster and the Kamas underground facilities, was indestructible and even the arrival of Chaos could not completely destroy it.

The Marshal's orders were clearly transmitted to the ground, but this was not the end, as the adjutant knew perfectly well. He looked up at Prall and found that the old Marshal, who had worked with him for twenty years and was already white-haired, was actually smiling.

"I know what you want to ask, Fix," the old marshal said in a low voice. "But don't rush things now. Those traitors haven't even reached the ground yet. Tell the lords of the Order, I swear on my life, now is still not the right time for them to land."

Are you still planning to keep them on standby?

"This is my right."

The old marshal narrowed his eyes and answered, his expression suddenly becoming extremely cold and stern.

His adjutant raised his left hand and gestured, indicating that he had connected the marshal to a new communication channel—at the same time, on the bridge of the Reason's Edge, the Chapter Master Raphael heard his voice clearly and distinctly.

"The Lion El'Jonson himself entrusted this heavy responsibility to me; I am the commander-in-chief—I will take full responsibility for it, but anyone who dares to disobey will be immediately declared a traitor."

"I respect your will, Marshal Prall."

The Chapter Master answered calmly, slightly raising his left hand to stop the restless Dark Angels. They were all fully armed and exuding murderous intent, eager to set foot on Kamas immediately. Only Raphael himself remained unmoved and unusually calm.

He turned to his brothers and said, word by word, "We will wait, sir, until you deem the time right."

The old marshal laughed loudly and then hung up the communication.

--

Karyl reached out and, in a mortal manner, lifted himself to the top of the trench. He changed his clothes, taking a short-sleeved uniform from a crate. The insignia of the Inquisition still hung on his chest, while the Aquila insignia was wrapped around his right hand.

The blood that had once stained his entire body was gone, replaced by a raw, deathly white. His face was blurred, but his eyes shone brightly, allowing everyone crowded in the trenches, on the battlefield, and in all directions to see him clearly.

Karyl glanced around, then raised his right hand high, a flash of golden light appearing. Compared to the oppressive darkness above them, this Radiance was insignificant, but what about those gazing upon it?

They stared intently at it, their eyes glued to it.

Karyl spoke slowly.

"The Emperor is with us."

He uttered only this one sentence, his voice exceptionally clear, reaching everyone's ears with perfect clarity. But, whether by coincidence or not, immediately after uttering these words, the pitch-black sky was torn apart by a sudden burst of light.

A massive beam of light, reaching to the heavens and the earth, descended from the sky and landed precisely at the far end of the position, in the turbid Shadow surging across the Dutton River, which was already submerged and piled high with corpses.

In an instant, the night became as bright as day. Countless demons and monsters disintegrated in the beams of light, emitting inaudible screams. Having just crossed the Chaos waves to reach the mortal world, they were about to return to those waves once more.

This was merely the beginning of the destruction against them. Soon, even before the beam of light disappeared, hundreds of fighter jets, bombers, and gunboats tore through the dark shreds of the curtain and descended from the light of day, bringing more destruction to the opposite bank of the river.

The surging crowd erupted with an unparalleled roar. The gunner, overjoyed, began loading ammunition; the machine gunner took a deep breath, gripped his rifle, and his assistant loaded the belts, instructing him which rounds were tracer rounds. Inside the tanks or armored vehicles, the crew, sworn to live and die with the machine, donned their helmets, and the engines roared to life. The infantrymen, filled with courage and a thirst for Vengeance, gripped their weapons and charged towards the firing ports.

Karyl jumped off the top of the trench and did something he had never done before—he picked up a light gun, loaded a new magazine, and then waited for the demonic tide to approach.

Kamas was destined to fall, yes, without a doubt, but he was capable of doing far more than just killing.

From a macro perspective, from this day forward, wherever the Kamas Defense Force are deployed according to orders, the memory of fighting alongside an "Inquisitor possessed by the Emperor" on the battlefield will follow each and every one of them. From this day forward, the "The Emperor" will truly be with them.

This was what he did for the defense forces, and behind this front at the Dutton River, more civilians who, because of his decision to forgo going to other positions to kill, instead resisted the demonic tide here and gained more time to retreat, were able to survive.

"An old dog growing new teeth? "Karyl thought with a touch of wistfulness.

He raised his gun and began aiming at the Daemon whose numbers showed no signs of decreasing.

On a macro level, he has done all he could, but on a micro level, from his subjective perspective, there is still something left undone—the main force of the Thousand Eyes Warband has not yet landed in Kamas.

They did not teleport, airdrop, or arrive here using Chaos magic. Since the start of the war, they have only done two things: first, they have sent numerous small ships to break into the encirclement of the Dark Angels.

This action has been determined to be intentional, as all the warship wreckage that fell into the atmosphere of Kamas created a continuous and unending surge of Chaos energy at the crash site.

The second thing was to evade. Their main force, the looted and corrupted warships that had disappeared, did not engage the Dark Angels in direct combat, and remained unmoved no matter how the Order mocked and insulted them through communications.

The scale of the void naval battle is unprecedented. Considering their past actions, it's hard not to suspect that they have much more to do.

But that's alright, Karyl thought, and pulled the trigger. A beam of light shot from the muzzle, hitting a bird precisely and burning it to ashes.

When they can no longer contain themselves and reach the surface of Kamas, they will find me here.

He smiled and pulled the trigger.