"Thank you."
"No, I should be thanking you."
Dovell saluted a transport driver, thanking him for bringing him here from the field hospital.
Watching the transport driver depart, Dovell turned around and looked at the sign erected by the hive city gates—New Heglas Hive.
Dovell clutched the bundle in his hands and headed deeper into the hive city.
The clanging of construction filled the air. On both sides of the road, people were rebuilding their homes amid the ruins. Most were original residents of Heglas Hive, conscripts, or Planetary Defense Force troops who had come to help.
Ever since the Orks had been trapped in the Equatorial Forest, the large number of trained Defense Force soldiers had lost their purpose. The military decided not to waste the mobilized manpower, so they turned soldiers into workers on the spot, helping rebuild the hive cities and factory districts heavily damaged by the Orks.
Looking at the bustling reconstruction within, Dovell felt somewhat lost. Having grown up in Hades Hive, he had never left its streets. If not for the war, he would never even have entered the labyrinthine underground waterways.
Even though he had filed a request with his superiors, he still felt deeply anxious about setting out on an unknown journey.
Would there be any Orks hiding along the road?
Would the wilderness monsters from those stories appear?
Dovell let his thoughts wander as he traveled, just as they did whenever he closed his eyes before sleep. Yet he felt that, having witnessed mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and monsters beyond all terror, there was really nothing left to fear.
He still had his lasgun... and the chainsword the old veteran had left him.
In a daze, Dovell touched the hilt of the chainsword hanging at his waist. He could