The Whispers of Mortals

Cisrain became the target of a siege.

Enemies surged toward him from all directions, an endless tide.

Mortal cultists, mechanical Servitors, corrupted mortal auxiliaries, and even some Xenos.

They threw everything they had into trying to kill Cisrain.

But the Emperor had just given Cisrain a fresh buff. His blood was boiling, his energy inexhaustible. He swung his weapon like a god of war, and Chaos's whispers could not penetrate his mind.

Even alone, he could slaughter every Chaos creature before him without feeling the slightest fatigue.

He could even sense every movement on the battlefield with perfect clarity.

Cisrain's axe crashed into the shoulder of a Chaos Space Marine, smashing him hard into the ground. When another Chaos Space Marine tried to close in, Cisrain grabbed his helmet and tore him bodily out of his Power Armor, head and all.

Before he could even throw the head in his hand, he struck again, smashing it into another Chaos Space Marine's head. Blood sprayed across the other warrior's face.

Cisrain pulled the axe from the fallen warrior and looked at the revolting mutation. They could have been decent people, but instead they'd become Chaos's lapdogs. In his eyes, it was one thing to stop being human—but they still had to look human!

He shook the blood dripping from his axe.

Sensing four figures approaching, he reached out and caught a Chaos thrall as it sprang at him.

Crack!

He crushed it in his fist.

Cisrain was like someone with a cheat code enabled.

He could pinpoint his mission targets with perfect clarity. They seemed to radiate the Chaos taint he found so repulsive.

Four targets marked by the mission.

And a Psyker.

Cisrain had never fought a Psyker.

But he knew they were not easy to deal with.

"The mission is to decapitate the enemy Psyker. Out of my way." Cisrain casually swatted aside a Chaos Servitor that came close, then strode toward his target, axe in hand. Bolter rounds slammed into him, but left not even a mark.

A Chaos Cultist with a broken leg raised his gun and fired at Cisrain.

But the bullets bounced right off him.

All the cultist got in return was the cold sole of Cisrain's boot—and eternal darkness.

Cisrain couldn't keep track of every front.

He could only locate the most important targets and strike them down first. That was his mission.

"Governor, the enemy are about to break through the rear defenses!"

Cisrain glanced over his shoulder.

Once the Chaos Space Marines had tested the Gauss Rifle's power and rate of fire, they immediately changed tactics.

They stopped charging headlong. Instead, they used the heavier Ceramite on their Power Armor's shoulders as cover, then relied on their speed to close in on the city's defenses.

The heavy turrets couldn't hit them, and ordinary armor-piercing rounds couldn't hurt them unless they struck the same spot repeatedly.

But as Cisrain glanced back, the area they had just cleared was already packed with Chaos again. Even the four hidden Chaos Space Marines were charging straight at him.

"Governor, don't worry. Leave the rear to me." Brown wanted to protect Governor Cisrain.

But if the city fell, the governor would be in an even worse position. If he had to worry about threats on both sides, both fronts could collapse—and then Governor Cisrain might face an even greater crisis.

Damn it.

He'd been slacking lately.

If his research had yielded powerful enough technology, the governor would never have had to go to the battlefield.

His helplessness was all because he was too weak.

And this was only a war on one planet. How much more brutal must the wars in space be?

I need bigger, stronger, more efficient weapons.

"You've angered a scientist!"

[Resurrection Protocol initiated]

[Loading]

[Holy Baptism.]

Brown used the most advanced scanner to continually track the enemy.

But the enemy had gotten smarter. They no longer charged mindlessly, and with the terrain so open and their speed increased, the Gauss Rifles were less likely to hit. On top of that, Drop Pods had begun descending behind their defensive lines.

He glanced in the direction Cisrain had gone.

To create an opportunity for the governor, Brown knew he had to step forward.

"You cowards, is hiding all you can do? Come on! Fight me one-on-one! Or are you afraid?!"

"Lord Brown! It's dangerous!"

Green light poured from Brown's Power Armor.

He was like a walking gun platform.

He advanced relentlessly on the enemy, forcing back the Chaos Space Marines trying to break through the defense line.

"Don't hide! Come out and fight an ordinary old man like me!"

"Picking on the weak is all you're good for."

"Look at you—you're a bunch of cowards. I hear you've got one real big coward, too. Why doesn't he come out? The big coward sends the little cowards, and the little cowards hide because they're afraid to fight an old man?"

"When the soldiers are cowards, they're cowards one by one. When the general's a coward, the whole army's a coward."

"You cowards, your grandpa's here!"

"Lord Brown, stop insulting them! Please, stop!"

"They're all coming your way!"

"Cover Lord Brown!"

"Hold the line!"

Brown gave his orders. "Have them all gather around me. It'll make them easier for you to shoot!"

"Fire on my position!"

"You cowards, come on! Your grandpa Brown's right here!!!"

Nobody noticed the metal skeleton holding a staff atop a nearby hill, apparently speaking to someone in the void.

Drop Pods kept descending from the sky.

Some landed right behind their defensive line.

The Astra Militarum soldiers fighting at the front saw the Drop Pods coming down behind them, and Brown drawing the enemy's fire at the front. They made their decision at once.

The pressure at the front was already immense. They couldn't let the pressure at the rear grow any worse.

Someone had to stop them.

And so, in an instant, one Astra Militarum soldier made his decision. He threw away the weapon that couldn't kill the enemy, turned around, strapped several Frag Grenades inside his clothes, and ran toward a newly landed Drop Pod.

A soldier from Gamma World who knew him cried out, "W-what are you doing? You don't have any backup data. If you charge in there, you'll die."

"I know."

The Astra Militarum soldier gave him one last look but said nothing more. Without hesitation, he turned and charged toward the Drop Pod.

As soon as he started running, three more Astra Militarum soldiers appeared, each carrying Frag Grenades. As if by unspoken agreement, they ran toward the same Drop Pod.

Once, I thought that under the Imperium, prosperity and flourishing would never come.

I didn't even know what I was fighting for.

But after talking with you, I learned how you lived.

You built Utopia. You built a prosperous Gamma World. You built a future for humanity. You gave us a beautiful dream of life beyond the war, and showed us that our sacrifices meant something—that we were fighting to forge that future.

Now I finally understand why he fired without hesitation. Perhaps he saw that day coming.

So until that day arrives, please don't stop.

Treat your fellow human beings well. For the Emperor—for humanity above all!!!

A Dragon Warrior had just stepped out of a Drop Pod when a short mortal rushed at him.

He merely reached out and casually snapped the man's neck.

But the Frag Grenades carried by the Astra Militarum soldiers running in from other directions went off in his hands.

"You bastards! You're all dead—Aaaaaaagh!!!!"

They say there are only two unavoidable things in this world:

Death and taxes.