I Knew the Inquisition Would Betray Us!

"But Brother Tyrennius, we're not civilians. I'm a Battle Sister. I fought in the Ophelia Crusade and faced daemons of Khorne. I can support you in frontal combat. Iron Hammer can repair Power Armor and weapons. If the battles ahead grow larger, your equipment will need to be serviced in the field. Besides, Iron Hammer is a tech-priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus. His bombs and traps effectively wiped out at least three hundred cultists in our previous engagements."

Iron Hammer took a step forward, and his mechanical limbs unfolded from his back. "Yes, my lord angel. I can do that."

Cecilia carefully considered her wording again, then delivered the crucial point: "Besides, you arrived on Iron Hammer's ship. If you need to evacuate, we're your fastest way out."

In the universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Astartes were so powerful that they barely seemed human anymore, but they couldn't fly. They still needed transportation.

Tyrennius had arrived aboard Iron Hammer's ship. If he wanted to leave the planet, he would need that ship.

If they left aboard the ship first, Tyrennius would have no way to leave the planet before the Blood Angels arrived.

Tyrennius fell silent for several seconds, his helmet hiding his expression.

His entire body remained motionless as well, his heavy crimson Power Armor standing like a statue.

The red glow of his lenses was steady and rock-solid.

After a while, he finally said, "Sister, what I need isn't an evacuation plan."

He had never expected to leave this planet in the first place.

He needed to determine the cultists' true intentions.

The size of the red-robed priests' and bone-faced followers' assembly indicated that an undisclosed command center lay behind the Chaos activity on this planet. He had to find its location and disrupt the ritual as much as possible.

The cultists had gathered on such a massive scale that no one knew what they had already accomplished. For all they knew, a powerful daemon had already appeared deep within the caves.

He had never considered leaving this planet at all.

"..." Cecilia understood and was left speechless.

When warriors were strong, they had to charge into battle.

Every warrior of the Imperium stood ready at any moment to give their life for the Emperor.

Urging them to flee was an insult to a warrior's honor.

She turned to look at Iron Hammer and Lin En.

Iron Hammer and Lin En looked up at her as well.

Then they saw the same thing in each other's eyes.

Cecilia turned back and spoke to Tyrennius. "Then we have one small problem. We don't know what the situation is like outside the planet's orbit. The cultists may have gathered in large numbers beyond the orbit."

Istvaan III was a dead planet where Exterminatus had been carried out. The Imperium had no permanent forces stationed there, and the orbital monitoring network had been withdrawn after the Exterminatus.

In other words, the planet's near orbit was currently a blind spot.

If the cultists had the ability to assemble forces of this size on the surface, why couldn't they also gather a fleet outside the orbit?

It might have been an excuse, but who could say it wasn't a valid one?

Iron Hammer also said, "Yes, my lord Blood Angel. Could we act alongside you from here on? When the Emperor's Angel forces arrive, we'll leave with you."

Three or four seconds passed, but Tyrennius still said nothing.

His helmet concealed his entire face, making it cold and hard. They couldn't see his expression.

But Tyrennius stared at them without moving, as though he had been stunned for a moment.

He probably hadn't expected to hear these words.

On a mission that was nearly certain to end in death, the hostages he had rescued had instead volunteered to stay and bear it with him.

Cecilia and Iron Hammer had both decided to stay, so Lin En definitely wouldn't leave either. He could only be overjoyed.

Really? He could actually act alongside the Blood Angels?

What difference was there between going to a concert by your favorite band and then suddenly being told by the organizers that they were short-handed backstage, you had been chosen, and you could go onstage to perform with the band?

He didn't even know how to play an instrument, yet he was already running toward the stage.

He would be fine. He could survive. With Thirty Days in hand, no one could kill him.

Besides, he now had more than just Thirty Days.

Fifteen days earlier, he had drawn [Tactical Rehearsal], which let him predict his enemies' movements. He also had Danger Sense.

If they acted alongside Tyrennius, they could know in advance which way the cultists would move, where they would set up ambushes, what methods they would use to attack, and what the outcome of the attack would be.

If they couldn't win, they could run ahead of time.

The Sister could help him fight, Iron Hammer could repair his equipment, and he could use Early Warning to alert them to danger.

With them there, Tyrennius might not be unable to survive.

Cecilia and Iron Hammer had actually known nothing about his Early Warning ability before this.

When they had fought guerrilla-style in the caves, he had always used it on his own. It had helped him evade countless cultist patrols. He had never told them about it. Perhaps Iron Hammer and the Sister had assumed he was simply lucky.

Lin En raised his hand and stepped forward.

The Astartes, the Sister, and Iron Hammer all looked at him.

Lin En said, "Well, actually, I'm not just some nameless guy."

The Sister: "?"

Iron Hammer: "?"

The Blood Angel: "?"

Lin En said, "Well, actually, I have Danger Sense. I can detect enemies within three hundred meters. The stronger their hostility, the stronger the sensation. For example, right now, two waves of reinforcements are coming this way from deep within the caves. There are two hundred and fifteen of them. I can sense them—"

Tyrennius's helmet tilted slightly.

The Astartes had extremely keen hearing. He heard the chaotic footsteps approaching, but they were still too far away for him to determine the exact number.

"You're certain?" he asked.

"One hundred percent." Lin En thumped his chest. "I relied on this ability to maneuver around the cultists in the caves for nearly two months. I'd have died long ago without it. I can sense which way they're going, how far they've gone, roughly how many there are, and whether there are any particularly powerful individuals."

Cecilia nodded, confirming that Lin En was telling the truth.

Then Tyrennius raised his chainsword and blocked the cave entrance.

After a cacophony of shouts and battle cries, Tyrennius returned covered in blood.

He had counted as he cut them down: two hundred and fifteen. Not one more, not one fewer.

"..." Tyrennius fell silent for two seconds.

A three-hundred-meter Early Warning range meant six hundred meters when surrounding an area. In complicated terrain, that was more than enough to cover a small squad's standard defensive perimeter.

Being able to distinguish hostility meant that in narrow, complicated terrain with obstructed vision—such as caves, Hive Cities, and landing ships—he could mark threatening targets in advance.

This kind of ability belonged to the ranks of scarce resources in any Astartes chapter's Librarium. Such a psyker would be treated like an adoptive father and worshiped. On missions, ensuring his survival would take top priority. Even if everyone else died, that Librarian could not.

What the hell was the Inquisition doing? Why had they thrown such a rare psyker onto Istvaan III?

Had the Inquisition betrayed the Imperium?

Were they giving Chaos a golden card????