Another Kill

Just as Lin Fan and Yukagel, captain of the 1st Company, had established trust and were preparing to exchange intelligence to determine what to do next, something changed.

The boltgun fire that terrified Yukagel rang out once more. Without anyone needing to warn him, he instantly threw himself to the ground, avoiding the threat of possible death. The remaining two hundred-odd soldiers of the 1st Company scattered like frightened rabbits, scrambling for any solid cover that might save their lives. They had truly been terrified by Pidat's massacre, so much so that not a single one dared fire toward the distant gunshots to vent the fear and rage in their hearts.

Beneath his helmet, Pidat wore a delighted expression. It had not taken him much time to find the coward who had fled earlier, and he had even come across more soldiers. That made things much more convenient, saving him from having to run back and forth between positions.

Lin Fan watched the Black Legion warrior in the distance slowly approach them with an arrogant, unstoppable presence. The powerful boltgun in his hands suppressed every soldier who tried to rise and flee, mercilessly blasting them into chunks of flesh.

That damned bastard. Lin Fan raised his Lasgun, using his special vision to take aim at the distant black figure.

A laser shot from the muzzle, carrying Lin Fan's fury as it viciously punched through the lens of Pidat's helmet. Struck with such precision, Pidat ignored the burning pain in his eye and immediately began running for cover, raising his heavy pauldron before him to block the incoming fire.

That was the power of a Lasgun. In theory, it could absolutely threaten Space Marines. The only problem was that experienced Space Marines would not give you the chance to shoot. Their speed, beyond what mortal eyes could track, and their heavy pauldrons gave them crushing combat superiority against mortals lacking heavy firepower.

Unfortunately, Lin Fan was no ordinary mortal. He was a mortal who had crossed over from a world outside the book. The black shadow that others found impossible to observe was as clear in his eyes as words and pictures printed directly in a book. Perhaps that was the all-encompassing visibility that higher dimensions possessed when facing lower ones. Though Lin Fan's lightweight body could still be sent flying by explosive shockwaves and violent impacts.

Lin Fan's steady, precise fire filled Pidat with confusion. By all reason, a mortal could not track a Space Marine without equipment, much less accurately strike any weak point on power armor while the target was sprinting and evading.

His thorough understanding of the weak points in Pidat's power armor was all thanks to the Adeptus Custodes' comprehensive instruction. Since the Horus Heresy, the Adeptus Custodes had remained wary of all Space Marines, even those of Loyalty. Throughout those long years, they had secretly gathered every piece of intelligence and data on both Loyalist and traitor Space Marines, so that they could swiftly eliminate such traitors with thunderous force in a future rebellion.

By the Emperor's command, the Adeptus Custodes had taught Lin Fan the weaknesses of every power armor pattern. Space Marines normally protected those weaknesses well, and some of them were not even aware of them themselves. With the Adeptus Custodes' knowledge and training, combined with Lin Fan's constitution, he could give any unprepared Space Marine a lesson they would never forget with a Lasgun in hand.

Lasgun Volley

During several seconds of charging, Pidat suffered dozens of precise hits. He could feel searing heat penetrating his leg armor, along with the stabbing pain of molten armor fragments. Although the mighty power of the Warp was constantly repairing his injured body, growing fresh flesh and all sorts of strange things, it still could not keep up with the damage Lin Fan was inflicting.

Humiliated and frustrated, Pidat roared in fury. He abandoned any thought of evasion, swiftly pulled a smoke grenade from his tactical belt, and hurled it in front of himself. Only fifty meters left! Once I charge through the smoke, I can carve that annoying fly into eight pieces with my chainsword. I'll have to eat him alive before I can vent the rage in my heart.

The smoke rapidly spread, forming a cloud that blocked vision and severely reduced the Lasgun's effectiveness. All of Lin Fan's attacks burst into beautiful points of light against the smoke, but could not penetrate any farther.

In an instant, Lin Fan viciously twisted the power pack in his hand. The durable pack immediately warped and snapped, then turned scorching hot and red. Just as Lin Fan barely managed to draw the dagger from his waist, Pidat charged out of the smoke. An unstoppable black chainsword, shrieking with the horrific noise of dark gods, swung toward Lin Fan's body.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"

The rapidly spinning chainsword collided with the monomolecular dagger in Lin Fan's hand, producing a teeth-grating sound. Pidat was astonished by Lin Fan's strength; he had actually managed to directly withstand his heavy downward blow. If an ordinary soldier took a strike like that, their arm would usually shatter from the impact, leaving them unable to hold their dagger before Pidat cleaved them in two.

"Something's wrong with this man!" No matter how enraged Pidat was, his long combat experience gave him the correct warning and response at that moment. Like the Black Legion warrior from before, he immediately drew the Chaos dagger at his waist when his first strike failed and stabbed at Lin Fan's head from another direction.

Under Pidat's superhuman strength, Lin Fan's feet left shallow, cracked pits in the road. He could only twist his body to the limit to evade Pidat's dagger, then press himself completely against Pidat's body and shove the damaged power pack against Pidat's chest.

The heat generated by the power pack burned the road smooth and gleaming like glass. With power comparable to a meltabomb, it exploded against Pidat's chest, instantly melting his Chaos breastplate. The molten metal also punched through his Chaos-corrupted body. Pidat did not even have a chance to scream in pain before his entire upper body was burned away, carrying him to his death.

Lin Fan's lightweight body was hurled dozens of meters away by the blast wave, crashing hard onto the solid road. Lin Fan did not feel the intense pain of burning; he only felt as though his entire body had been scraped raw. Deep drowsiness and exhaustion engulfed his mind, and without much thought, he closed his eyes and sank into a heavy sleep.

Yet in the eyes of the other mortal Guardsmen, this temporary squad leader of the assault squad had been the only one brave enough to stand up and fire at the black-armored giant. He had even survived fighting that creature in close combat, saving everyone's lives with a self-destruction that could only be called heroic.

As if waking from a dream, Yukagel stared at the black corpse lying motionless on the ground. The realization that he had survived the disaster flooded his heart, and he collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Only when he heard Damian shouting did he remember Lin Fan, who had been blasted away and whose fate was unknown.

"Oh, God-Emperor above!" Damian looked at Lin Fan's charred body, unable to suppress the grief in his heart. This brave and devout squad leader had fallen before his very eyes. Damian prayed devoutly to the Emperor, hoping that the God-Emperor would not take Damian's life so soon.

The surviving soldiers gathered in twos and threes. Listening to Damian's prayer, which sounded more like a lament, they too were infected by the sorrowful atmosphere and stared solemnly at what they believed was Lin Fan's corpse.

Delia was not idle either. She immediately jumped down from the transport vehicle, threw herself onto Lin Fan, and carefully began examining his injuries.

"Woohoo! By the Machine God, he's fine. He just passed out." Delia cried out joyfully. It suited the emotions a little girl her age ought to have, but such emotions should not have come from an Adeptus Mechanicus priest. Still, who present would care about such a minor detail?

Overjoyed, they carried the hero who had saved them onto the vehicle. When they got aboard and saw the second black-armored giant lying on the ground, their worship and respect for Lin Fan reached an incomparable height. If Lin Fan had stood up then and shouted that he was the Emperor's illegitimate son, someone would probably have believed it.

The remnants of the 1st Company, the remnants of the assault squad, and an apprentice priest boarded the vehicle and headed for the next place they needed to go.