Charge in the Name of Heroism!

Lin En braced himself, took a deep breath, then pressed a hand against the stone wall and slowly squeezed out of the opening.

He switched on his flashlight, held the beam high, and shone it over himself and the cultists' supplies on his body, making sure the cultists across from him could see everything clearly.

"...?" The cultists standing in the passage outside all froze.

They had never seen prey with such nerve, actually coming out on its own.

Were ordinary people these days all this brave? He even looked like promising material for one of Khorne's chosen.

But what he was wearing—

Wasn't that leather armor from their storeroom?

Lin En took a deep breath and did something else that completely drove the cultists out of their minds.

He took the backpack off his back, raised it over his head, and gave it a shake.

The dry rations and protein-bar foil packets inside rustled softly against each other.

The cultists heard it all clearly, and their eyes slowly widened.

Lin En pulled out a protein bar, tore it open and took a bite, then slung the backpack back on. He flashed the cultists a dazzling smile.

This guy was begging for a beating. He had stolen their things and was even waving at them. "Hey, brothers, these protein bars taste pretty good. Got any more?"

"..." The cultists outside heard him too and turned their heads in unison.

Dark crimson light fell across Lin En's face, illuminating his wide grin.

They saw what Lin En was wearing...

Their leather armor, their backpack, the bags they used to store supplies, dry-ration packaging, and protein bars with bites taken out of them.

All their supplies had been stolen, and this place was far from any inhabited planet. Fresh supplies could not be delivered anytime soon. Other than the minor leaders and a small number of cultists who were used to carrying some provisions on them, most of the cultists had long since run out of food. Their stomachs were growling with hunger.

For however long Lin En had stolen their supplies, they had been starving for just as long.

—Now that they saw Lin En, their eyes were bloodshot.

Those were their supplies!

The supplies stolen from their warehouse!

The damn thief who had stolen them days ago, driven them mad with rage, and eluded their search for days—!!!!!

"It's him—!!!"

"Damn thief—!!!"

"Catch him!!! Catch him!!! Kill him!!!"

Dark crimson psychic light exploded in the cultists' eyes. Rage stripped them completely of reason, peeling back their lips to reveal teeth blackened with blood. Like a swarm of hornets whose nest had been kicked apart, they charged at Lin En.

Red light churned through the passage, and their screams shook the stone walls.

Lin En turned and ran.

The cultists had truly been enraged beyond reason.

Compared to psykers and sacrifices, they actually cared more about their stomachs.

The thief who had stolen their supplies was still standing there, grinning and flaunting it in their faces.

Provocation. This was provocation!

The cultists stared at the blinding light in Lin En's hand. Every cultist poured out of the caves, rounded corners in the passages, and sprang out from hidden nooks. One after another, like a dark crimson flood, they all chased after him, pursuing Lin En deeper into the tunnels.

More than ten seconds later, Cecilia crawled out of the cave.

The passage was empty.

The cultists' screams echoed through the tunnels, growing farther and fainter.

Lin En had lured every pursuer away. He had left Cecilia an empty passage with no cultists in it.

Cecilia stood in the passage and watched the mixed white and dark crimson glow recede for two seconds. Then she turned decisively and ran in the opposite direction, toward the exit on the other side of the Chaos cultists' caves.

Only by finding reinforcements as quickly as possible could she come back to save Lin En.

Every second she hesitated put Lin En in greater danger. Every time she looked back, Lin En lost another fraction of his chance to survive.

Emperor above, she swore on the honor of a Battle Sister that she would return. She would never break her oath.

*********

Lin En was afraid those crazed cultists would trap him in the hive, so he did not dare run back. He could only lead them in circles through the underground passages.

Help, his lungs were about to explode from running.

Still, there was one advantage. When he was alone, he was extremely nimble. He could hide in any tiny nook he found.

And he could use Thirty Days whenever he wanted, while any injuries would heal quickly.

The thunderous footsteps of the cultists rolled in behind him. The bag of supplies on his body was like a matador's red cape, while the cultists were a herd of red-eyed bulls. They ignored everything else and chased after him with single-minded fury.

Waaah, stop chasing me. I don't have cough syrup.

Lin En rounded one corner, then another. He had no idea where he had run to anymore, so he just kept running.

Other people's transmigrations were earthshaking. Why was his transmigration just getting chased around by Chaos cultists nonstop?

The cultists cursed behind him.

"Stop! You can't get away!"

"Catch him! I'm going to skin him alive!"

"Thief! Robber! Heretic!"

Lin En nearly laughed when he heard the word "heretic."

He was a heretic? These cultists had the nerve to call someone else heretics?

The passage grew narrower and lower. Lin En suddenly slammed into a hanging stalagmite, and the pain made his vision go black.

Luckily, it stopped hurting three seconds later.

Damn it!

Lin En swung back and smashed the huge stalactite with a steel bar. With a crash, the stalactite shattered and fell, instead giving the pursuing cultists behind him a thorough battering.

The cultists looked even angrier.

Waaah, Sister had left. Now all he could do was run.

Lin En turned and kept running.

Left turn, right turn, left turn again, right turn again.

He circled through the passages entirely on instinct and luck, trying to confuse the cultists and shake them off.

Thirty Days kept him from dying, but it did not keep him from getting tired.

This was insane, these cultists! He had only stolen a little food. Was this really necessary?!

The cultists kept chasing. Their stamina seemed endless.

But it was not truly endless. Their hatred for Lin En ran so deep that they could ignore their exhaustion and hunger, wanting only to kill him.

He made a huge loop through the passage and returned to a place that seemed vaguely familiar.

This was not far from the cultists' camp.

The underground network here formed a huge loop, with only one exit: the one at that cultist lair cave.

Now psychic cultists were guarding the lair cave. Those psychic cultists could not keep up with the brute-force maniacs, so they had stopped chasing halfway through and returned to guard the cave.

Lin En was practically about to burst into tears.

These cultists were not stupid, huh? Couldn't they just leave him an opening?

A pack of mad dogs!

Just wait! Wait until Sister comes back! Let's see how the Imperium judges you heretics!!!

Waaah.

Lin En kept running.

Sister had said she would come back, so she definitely would. All he needed to do now was stay alive, avoid getting caught, and wait for his sister to return with reinforcements.