I'll Die Before You Do!

Then the Red Titan lost patience.

It let out a deafening roar, and its entire body erupted with blood-red energy waves.

The surrounding air became viscous, gravity increased, Earl felt his movements slowed tenfold.

The giant charged, this time no longer a playful attack, but a true killing intent.

Carl parried the first axe blow with all his might, but the Power Sword was knocked away, both his arms were broken, and he fell to his knees.

The Earl parried the second axe blow with his Chainsword, which shattered, splitting his hand and drawing blood.

With the third axe, the Earl was unarmed, but he did not retreat. He clenched his fist, and the knuckles of his Power Armour sprang out power claw —his last weapon.

"Come on, monster," he said hoarsely.

A flash of axe light.

Earl Albert von Habsburg, a nobleman of Terra, did the most un-aristocratic thing he ever did in his final moments:

He died on the battlefield like the lowest of soldiers, not in a conspiracy, not in a sickbed, but in the fight to defend his homeland.

His Power Armour was cleaved open, his body was cut into several pieces, but his head was deliberately preserved.

The red-armored giant seized it and added it to a prominent position on the Skull Throne.

"Father!!!" Carl's scream was heart-wrenching.

He struggled to his feet, his arms hanging limply at his sides, but he managed to bite the hilt of the Power Sword that had fallen to the ground.

He charged at the giant, his eyes filled not with fear, but with pure, boiling rage.

The giant looked at him, not attacking immediately, seemingly admiring his desperate courage.

Carl turned to face the few survivors: several seriously wounded guards, a commoner girl hiding behind the ruins, and several nobles peeking from nearby buildings.

He spat out the sword hilt and used the remaining muscles in his legs to steady himself.

"I am Carl von Habsburg!" His voice echoed across the battlefield. "My father died, died like a warrior! Now it's my turn!"

He looked around at the crowd, his gaze settling on the nobles.

Those who usually socialized with him at banquets, schemed against each other, and compared their family backgrounds.

At this moment, their eyes were filled with fear and despair, but there was also a glimmer of something that had been ignited within them.

"The nobles of Terra!"

With his last breath, Carl shouted, "We are born to enjoy privileges, we exploit the people, we spend our lives buried in piles of documents, and we waste our time at banquets!"

He took a deep breath, and blood gushed from the corner of his mouth.

"But in this distorted world, we also have our responsibilities! Our ancestors once stood shoulder to shoulder with Emperor!"

The blood of the Unifier of Terra flows in our veins! Now, the demons have come to destroy everything we have!

He looked at the red-armored giant and gave a contemptuous smile:

"Listen up, commoners!"

As noble as I am, I will surely face death before you.

I will charge ahead of you!

He gripped the sword hilt again with his teeth, lowered his head, and charged at the giant like a raging bull.

His posture was clumsy, ridiculous, and hopeless, but at that moment, he represented the most contradictory essence of the human aristocracy.

They were the most corrupt rulers, but also the most steadfast guardians; they were the termites of the Imperium, but also Imperium backbone.

The giant swung his axe.

Carl von Habsburg, 32 years old, Terra nobleman and heir to the Habsburg family, died 30 seconds after his father was killed in action.

His head was added to the Skull Throne, next to his father's head.

But as he collapsed, something strange happened.

In the surrounding aristocratic district, doors opened one by one.

Those nobles, who were used to a life of luxury and were usually powerless, stepped forward. They wore magnificent robes but carried ancestral weapons; their faces were pale, but their eyes were resolute.

A fat nobleman raises his pistol and fires. An old noblewoman holds her husband's ceremonial sword.

A young nobleman started his hovercar, accelerating towards the horde of demons, shouting "For Terra!" before the explosion.

They have no chance of winning.

The Red Giant and its demonic legion were too powerful; it was a massacre.

But in the next half hour, the Hive Seven's noble district turned into a meat grinder, with each noble family using their last bit of courage to buy time for the evacuation of the deeper civilian population.

These are the nobles of Terra.

They were greedy, draining the Imperium of every drop of blood; they were tyrannical, treating the common people like dirt; they were corrupt, playing the game of power to its extreme.

They are the embodiment of the dark side of humanity, monsters born from this twisted system.

But similarly, in this distorted world, they also possess a strange kind of nobility.

When true destruction came, when all power, wealth, and status would vanish, many of them chose the least "noble" way to die—to die in battle like soldiers.

Some of them found a sense of existence they had never felt before in the battle.

Some people understood the true meaning of "responsibility" at the last minute.

Some people even feel that dying like this is much better than slowly rotting in piles of documents, at a banquet, or on a hospital bed.

Is it pathetic? Is it pitiful? Perhaps.

But that's human nature—complex and contradictory.

In Terra, during the darkest hour of the universe, even the most corrupt elements can shine with unexpected brilliance.

This massacre was merely the beginning of the Siege of Terra.

In the distance, towards the imperial palace, golden light began to shimmer— the Adeptus Custodes were being mobilized.

Further away, the bells of the Sisters of Battle Convent rang out—bells that summon prayer and battle.

Beneath the Hive City, the legendary ancient weapon of the Emperor is awakening.

But Hassan could not see any of this.

After witnessing the fall of the noble district, the miner fled deeper into the underworld with his daughter.

He survived and later recounted his experience to a historian.

"That day I saw hell."

He concluded by saying, "But I also saw... human beings. Real humans, the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, everything."

May the Emperor protect me; I hope I never see such a sight again.

But the Emperor's protection is limited.

The Great Rift has torn the Milky Way apart; Terra's suffering is beyond repair...

Unless, an unparalleled king comes to turn the tide!