The Glorious Death

Valko did not fly in a fighter jet.

He walked towards the end of the hangar and towards the sealed door leading to the outside world.

Behind the door is emptiness.

It's a swarm of insects.

It's death.

He stretched out his hand and pressed the door button.

"My lord!"

A young soldier rushed over, his voice full of urgency, "Without Power Armour, you can't survive in a vacuum!"

Valko turned his head and glanced at him.

There was no fear in those gray-blue eyes, only the calmness of "I'm sixty years old and I don't need you to tell me what I can and cannot do."

"Boy, I have lived on this planet for sixty years. I know what a vacuum is like. I also know what it is like to be dead. But today, I don't care."

He pressed the button.

The sealed door slowly opened.

The coldness of the void rushed in, making his military uniform rustle.

His breathing stopped in the vacuum, and his blood boiled in the vacuum.

His body began to twitch, which was a symptom of hypoxia.

But his steps didn't stop.

He stepped into the void.

No Power Armour, no oxygen mask, no protection.

There was only a sixty-year-old man, wearing a gray military uniform, holding a Power Sword and a Bolter, and rushed towards the dark green insect swarm.

He fired.

The bomb exploded in the swarm of insects, blowing several Termagant into pieces.

He swung his sword, and the blade cut off the sickle limb of Hormagaunt, and split the head of one Tyranid Warrior in half.

His blood boiled in the vacuum and condensed into tiny red crystals, dragging a long trail behind him like a comet's tail.

His warriors followed.

Those who climbed out of the wreckage of the battleship, rushed out of the ruins, and stood up from the pile of dead people, wearing tattered Power Armour, holding old light guns and holding rusty Chainsword, followed behind him.

They roared, roared, chanted the prayer Emperor, and launched the final charge towards the dark green tide.

They have no chance of winning.

They know.

But they don't care.

On the battlefield, the sky was filled with smoke and dust.

It's not sand and dust, it's the dark green mist after Tyranids's body fluids evaporate, it's the red ice crystals where the blood of Emperor's soldiers boils in the vacuum, it's the burnt smell left after the explosion mixed with the smell of blood, a smell that makes people sick, makes people crazy, and makes people want to continue fighting.

On that scorched earth, a man wearing a black military uniform and a gray cape, holding Power Sword and Bolter, was leading his soldiers to charge.

His cloak does not flutter in a vacuum, but it spreads out behind him like angel wings.

There was no fear on his face, only a calmness of "I have completed my mission, and now I just want to die."

"For Emperor!"

His voice could not travel in a vacuum, but his warriors heard it - from the communication channel, from the Psionic Energy waves, and from each other's eyes.

They roared at the same time, and the roar exploded in the communication channel like thunder.

He killed a Hive Tyrant.

The sharp claws of the Hive Tyrant pierced his left shoulder, and he cut off its head with a backhand sword.

He killed an executioner.

The executioner's giant pliers severed his right leg. He knelt down on one knee, Bolter pressed against its eye, and pulled the trigger.

He killed countless Termagant, countless Hormagaunt, and countless Tyranid Warrior.

His Power Sword had a curled blade and was replaced with a Tyranids sickle limb picked up from the ground.

His Bolter was empty and replaced with a light gun picked up from a corpse.

His body was penetrated countless times.

Left shoulder, right leg, abdomen, chest, back.

Those wounds won't bleed in a vacuum because the blood has been frozen.

But his consciousness is blurring bit by bit.

He heard the adjutant's voice coming from the communication channel intermittently.

"Governor... Governor... where are you..."

Valko's mouth corners rose slightly.

That's a laugh.

He hasn't smiled for a long time.

"I'm being loyal."

His voice was hoarse, "Brother, are you here?"

"I... arrived... but... you were... I couldn't see you..."

Valko tried hard to open his eyes.

In front of him was a patch of dark green, and in the center of that patch of dark green was a figure that was larger and more ferocious than the surrounding insect swarms.

That's Swarm Prince.

It stood on a pile of corpses, its blue-white eye slits looking at him coldly.

"No need to look for it."

Valko's voice was very soft, "I'll go to your side right away."

He struggled to stand up.

His right leg was broken and he could only stand on one leg.

His left arm could no longer be lifted, and he could only hold the Tyranids sickle limb he picked up from the ground with his right hand.

His Power Armour had long been taken off, his military uniform had been torn into strips, his face was covered in blood, and his eyes could no longer see clearly.

But he still stood.

"Brother, continue to send distress signals. There are civilians who can be saved. They can still be saved."

His voice was very soft, almost inaudible, "I've been procrastinating for a long time. I'm so tired. I want to sleep."

His body began to lean forward.

Not falling, but charging.

He jumped on one leg, waving the sickle limb, and rushed in the direction of Swarm Prince.

The speed is not fast, the posture is not beautiful, and the power is not strong.

But he rushed.

Toward the dark green, toward the monster three times taller than him, toward the enemy he knew he couldn't kill.

"Brother, please. Protect the people of Emperor. May his eyes always watch. May he always be as loving to his people as he was in the beginning. May my warrior soul return to the throne."

His body disappeared among the insects.

The dark green tide submerged him, just like the sea swallowing up a drop of rain.

Deep in Warp, the sound spread in the void along the Psionic Energy ripples of Astropaths.

It passed through the Psionic Energy interference of the insect swarm, passed through the Warp Storm of Chaos, passed through countless star fields of Imperium of Man, and landed on a blue-gold battleship.

Titus stood on the bridge, listening to the communication recording played by the adjutant.

That old, hoarse, smiling voice repeatedly struck his eardrums.

"Brother, please protect the people of Emperor."

The adjutant's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turned white, and he was extremely angry.

There was a golden flame burning in his eyes. It was not Psionic Energy, but anger - an anger that had been suppressed for too long and finally found an outlet.

"Damn bugs."

His voice came out from between his teeth, "How dare you devour Imperium's loyal and brave men like this."

Titus said nothing.

His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest twice, the rhythm was slow and steady.

His gaze passed through the porthole, passed through the star field that was being swallowed by the swarm of insects, passed through the dark green curtain that blocked the sky, and landed on the slowly pulsing Hive Ship.

"Yes, give the order..."

He raised his head, his blue-gold eyes burning with blazing fire.

He stretched out his hand, his fingers spread wide, and faced the star field that was being devoured by the swarm of insects.

"Then now - the whole army attacks!"

He waved his big hand violently, as if he was waving an invisible sword.

"In the name of Guilliman, crush these insects!"