Someone Had to Do It

The battlefield had descended into a bloody, desperate melee. Soldiers' dying screams echoed everywhere across the vast gate. The once-mighty volleys of lasfire had become scattered and sparse, unable to raise even the slightest ripple against the tide of daemons.

Lin Fan held a standard-issue mortal Chainsword in one hand and a laspistol in the other, battling the grotesque daemons that had climbed into the cover.

His rapidly swinging Chainsword severed a daemon's tentacle as it tried to attack him. He then raised his pistol and fired, vaporizing its head. Leaving behind a cluster of purple sparks, it vanished.

"This isn't going to work. We have to close that damned rift."

Lin Fan watched as the soldiers around him were swallowed one after another by daemons, torn into pieces by bony fangs and claws. He felt both boundless rage and helplessness. Even he could never carve his way through such an immense horde of daemons to reach that place.

An explosion erupted beside Lin Fan, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"What are you doing? Daydreaming at a time like this? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Old Jock's curse reached him. He held a grenade launcher and fired at those blasphemous things, or fired a shell into the bodies of boys who could no longer be saved, blasting both them and the feasting daemons into pulp.

"Old Jock, where is Tech-Priest Delia?!"

Lin Fan needed to ask Delia whether there was a shortcut that could take him directly near the D1347 passage. Then he could use his special ability to force his way through. That was the fastest option.

"The Tech-Priest is at the position where Colonel Mark and Commissar Aude are. It's about three hundred meters from here. Just follow the temporary trench, and you'll see them."

Lin Fan looked in the direction Old Jock was pointing and spotted Commissar Aude's distinctive black-and-red greatcoat, along with his gleaming Chainsword.

Once he had confirmed the location, Lin Fan looked over the position held by his 3rd Company. Captain Biyue had long since been disemboweled by a lesser daemon. The remaining soldiers' morale was low, and they kept glancing behind them, hoping to see reinforcements that could save them.

What was he supposed to do? Seeing the dreadful state of the position, Lin Fan felt that if he left, it would fall immediately afterward, and every soldier in the 3rd Company would die here. Just as he hesitated, several armored vehicles bearing the mark of the Inquisition charged straight toward his position. Amid the displeased creaking of their Machine Spirits, the vehicles executed a beautiful drift and rammed several daemons that had failed to evade in time.

Lin Fan stared blankly as the armored vehicle hatches opened. Several Tempestus Scions in elite armor swiftly leaped out. Protected by reinforced plasteel and ceramic armor plates, these elite soldiers wielded Hellguns and quickly swept the daemons from around the position.

A man with a terrible scar across his face, wearing a beret and holding a plasma pistol, led the Tempestus Scions. There was not the slightest trace of fear or hesitation on his rather unattractive face. To them, these horrifying, bizarrely shaped daemons seemed no more threatening than common rats.

Head of the Storm

The huge, bloated, decaying bodies rapidly disintegrated under the high-energy volleys of Hellguns, turning into clusters of sparks across the battlefield. The troublesome daemons that had been so difficult for the Astra Militarum to handle were nothing more than lumps of butter about to melt beneath a blowtorch under the Hellguns' precise fire.

"It looks like you're not doing too well."

A familiar, cool voice reached Lin Fan's ears. Fully armed in power armor, Vissi watched him with a meaningful expression.

"Greetings, Inquisitor Vissi! Thank you for your support!"

"Do you have a plan?"

"Me?"

Although he did not understand why an Inquisitor would ask an ordinary trooper like him about his plan, perhaps it was because he had killed two Chaos Space Marines on Karmaklan World and earned her favor? Lin Fan instinctively ducked at an explosion behind him and quickly told Inquisitor Vissi what he had in mind.

"I'm going to ask Tech-Priest Delia for a structural map of the Flame, then head to the D1347 passage and destroy the ritual. If we keep wearing each other down with the daemons like this, our destruction is only a matter of time."

"Very good. But you don't need to look for Delia." Vissi tossed Lin Fan an Auspex and a holographic projector. "If you have a plan, go now. We'll hold this position."

Lin Fan gave Vissi a grateful look, tightened his grip on the Chainsword in his hand, and followed the holographic projection's guidance as he ran toward an inconspicuous corner.

"My lady, sending him alone... isn't that just sending him to his death?" The Tempestus Scion officer in the red beret raised his hand and drove off another lesser daemon before voicing his doubts to Vissi.

Vissi did not even glance at the Tempestus Scion officer. She silently drew the power sword at her waist and checked the twin-linked Storm Bolter mounted on her arm. "I don't need to explain myself to you, do I? Don't forget the Inquisition's rules."

Hearing the chill in Vissi's tone, the Tempestus Scion officer dared not say another word. He silently gave an Aquila Salute, grabbed his plasma pistol, and joined the battle.

Watching Lin Fan's retreating figure, Vissi thought, Let me see whether you can create another miracle.

Old Jock looked at Inquisitor Vissi's expression, then at Lin Fan's running figure. He had long since been utterly convinced of Lin Fan's greatness. "Well, well. Soap, you little bastard, I never thought you had a thing going with such a beautiful Inquisitor." Old Jock was grinning foolishly, already thinking about how to tease Lin Fan after they survived, when he saw Inquisitor Vissi's narrowed, dangerous gaze sweep over him. He shuddered all over, then nervously fiddled with his grenade launcher, pretending he had been reloading it just now.

Lin Fan moved through the chaotic battlefield like a god of war, wiping out every daemon in his path. After stepping over countless dead soldiers and the wreckage left by exploded vehicles, Lin Fan found the shortcut he wanted in front of a hatch covered layer upon layer with pipes.

According to the structural display on the holographic projection, ten meters behind this wall was an extremely long pipe that led directly to the lower decks. This was a secondary pipe used to discharge waste from the upper decks to the lower levels for recycling. Its diameter was much narrower than the main pipes that could accommodate aircraft, but it was still wide enough for an adult's shoulders to fit through completely.

Lin Fan intended to use his power to disintegrate everything, punch through the wall, then leap down that pipe and charge straight toward the ritual site in the D1347 passage.

At first, Lin Fan had worried about what would happen if his ability were exposed. But all he had seen along the way were daemons and mangled flesh, which dispelled that concern. There was not a single living person around, so what was there to fear about being exposed?

Lin Fan did not want to reveal his identity too early. Who knew how the Ecclesiarchy, the Inquisition, and the fallen would deal with someone immune to corruption and harm if they learned of him? His experiences on Karmaklan World had also thoroughly proven that although he was strong, he still fell short of those truly chosen by the gods. Under severe mental exhaustion, he could still be injured—or even die.

But seeing his comrades die one after another made it impossible for Lin Fan to keep enduring such painful emotions. So what if Inquisitor Vissi found out? So what if the Inquisition marked him as a priority target?

"When prosperous, aid the world; when poor, cultivate oneself."

Listening to the occasional screams and daemon shrieks from afar, Lin Fan silently made up his mind. He would change this dark universe. He would ensure that all humanity could live freely and happily.

Lin Fan seized the alloy pipes and tore them apart as though pulling noodles. His fist punched deep into the wall, and he tossed aside one heavy chunk of twisted metal after another. As he excavated, a pipe embedded within the wall appeared before him.

Lin Fan casually pried the pipe open, carefully checked the structural map again, then nodded and leaped inside.