Astartes Were Simply Not Human

Tyrennius acknowledged Lin En's abilities.

This ability was truly incredible.

"You're a talented person useful to the Imperium."

"...!!!" Lin En's face flushed red.

He desperately tried to maintain the composure an adult should have, though he most likely failed, because he saw the Battle Sister and Iron Hammer turning away to snicker. He could also feel the corners of his mouth stretching almost to his ears.

Hahahahaha, the Astartes he admired had praised him.

Tyrennius nodded and turned to Cecilia. "Battle Sister."

Then he turned to Iron Hammer. "Mechanicus Sage."

Finally, he turned to Lin En. "Early Warning."

"Thank you very much for your voluntary assistance. From this moment onward, we'll operate together. Mission objective: monitor the Chaos Cultists' movements, locate the central command node, and await further intelligence before deciding whether to strike."

"During the operation, everyone must maintain open communications and may not leave the formation alone. As for engagement authority, I'll handle the frontal assault, the Battle Sister will provide flank support, the Mechanicus Sage will provide ranged firepower and equipment maintenance, and the Early Warning officer will handle early warnings and tactical simulations. Any questions?"

"None!!!" Lin En and Iron Hammer raised their arms at the same time.

"Good." Tyrennius picked up his sword again. "Sorry for the trouble, everyone. The Imperium needs every person willing to fight for it."

********

After that, their squad moved together.

They prepared to monitor the Chaos Cultists' movements.

The formation had Tyrennius in front, Cecilia on the right flank, Iron Hammer in the middle, and Lin En at the rear.

They maintained a five-meter interval while moving and prioritized finding cover when encountering enemies.

Lin En's early-warning range covered the entire formation. Whenever any hostile signal appeared, he would immediately report its direction, distance, and numbers to Tyrennius.

Understood. Completely OK.

Lin En gave an OK sign.

Cecilia checked the ammunition in her Bolter, while Iron Hammer prepared his explosives. Lin En did not need to participate in combat; ensuring his own survival was his priority.

Tyrennius chose his route carefully. He avoided the main passage and specifically picked the side cracks and recesses in the rock walls carved out by the flowing water.

These places were wet and slippery, and the rock walls were covered in damp water trails and moss-like fungi.

Unless the Chaos Cultists were into self-abuse, they generally would not come here. The route also led toward the cave that served as their lair.

They followed the underground river deeper into the cave.

Tyrennius's footsteps were extremely light, and the sounds made by his Ceramite boots hitting the ground were reduced to a minimum.

This method of movement was practically against the laws of physics for a giant weighing as much as an elephant, but the Astartes managed it.

Amazing.

Astartes really weren't human.

After walking for roughly ten minutes, Lin En's Danger Sense began to react.

There was a large expanse of red mist in the distance.

Lin En: "?"

It took Lin En a while to make it out. The red mist was actually a dense mass of red dots.

How many of them were there?

They were about to reach the Chaos Cultists' lair.

This time, the Chaos Cultists gathered inside the lair numbered even more than the several thousand they had encountered last time.

Lin En said quietly over the communications channel, "Eleven o'clock direction, approximately two hundred and eighty meters away. Very, very many."

The dense red dots overlapped and connected into one mass, making them impossible to count.

Tyrennius stopped and raised his left fist in a signal to halt the advance.

He wanted the noncombatants to remain there while he and Cecilia advanced to scout.

But Lin En objected.

Not OK.

If they split up now and everything descended into chaos later, wouldn't the thousands upon thousands of Chaos Cultists rushing out scatter them?

That was far more dangerous than following them to scout.

At least they could be carried along when they ran.

Tyrennius realized that too. He pressed his fingers against his brow and humbly accepted his mistake.

Then they all crept toward the cave that served as the Chaos Cultists' lair.

Tyrennius was still in front.

Lin En crawled behind Tyrennius for a while before realizing something was wrong.

Wait.

...Why was Tyrennius leading the way?

...Weren't they the ones who had visited the Chaos Cultists' lair before?

Tyrennius didn't even have a map. Had he simply judged the route like this? And had he chosen the correct one?

...This was his first time in the cave.

This was the Astartes' tactical brain.

Lin En was utterly convinced. Truly, utterly convinced.

With this ability born for war, the Astartes were practically superhuman.

They followed the concealed passage all the way into the enormous lair cavern they had visited last time.

A distant, deep buzzing sound came from ahead.

The sound was difficult to describe. It resembled some kind of infrasound—distant and deep—and even the ground trembled along with it.

At the very front, Tyrennius knelt on one knee, bracing his left hand against his knee and gripping the hilt of his Chainsword with his right. He cautiously poked his head out.

He was the first to see what was happening inside the cave.

Then he remained in that position for roughly ten seconds without moving.

Lin En pressed himself against the rock wall beside Tyrennius and slowly edged forward, inch by inch, until he could see what lay beyond the bend.

...Wasn't there a stone platform in the center of the Chaos Cultists' huge cavern? When they had seen it before, they had thought it was an altar.

Now the stone platform was lit up.

It really was an altar.

Twisted patterns were carved into the stone platform, with dark-red light flowing through them. The ground was covered in densely packed Chaos runes arranged along concentric circles. Each ring rotated slowly in a different direction, making anyone who looked at them feel dizzy.

A huge Chaos Star lay on the ground.

At least eight Chaos Sorcerers in heavy armor stood around the altar, chanting an incomprehensible prayer in unison. Each one leaned on a staff resembling the one used by the red-robed priest before, with a palm-sized dark-red Warp Crystal embedded in its tip.

Bone-faced Cultists surrounded the outer perimeter. They all wore tattered dark-red robes. Their faces and bodies were covered in wounds, with runes of unclear meaning carved into them. Judging by their appearance, they had carved the runes themselves.

They were packed together in row after row, kneeling on the ground and chanting along with those incomprehensible incantations.

The chanting of thousands of people was extremely penetrating. The deep words repeatedly bounced off the cavern walls, overlapping into an intensely uncomfortable resonance.

Apart from the chanting, a strange rustling sound filled the cave.

It sounded like insects beating their wings, or like something crawling across the ground.

Lin En couldn't understand the words, but the syllables made his stomach churn again and again.

He was just about to retreat when he saw something strange beside the stone platform move.

Until it moved, Lin En had not even realized that thing was alive.

Even now, he still couldn't accurately describe what it looked like.

It was a little over two meters tall and roughly human in shape, but its joints bent the wrong way. Its elbows and knees were both reversed. Its skin was grayish-white, with the texture of a corpse rotting in water.

It had no face. Its neck held only a huge vertical slit, whose edges were lined with densely packed sharp teeth.

It stood beside the stone platform. The vertical slit opened and closed, as if it were breathing, or perhaps catching the scents in the air.

A chill instantly spread through Lin En's entire body.

He knew this thing.

He had seen it in the game.

Grayish-white skin, reversed joints, a faceless head—this was something summoned by a Chaos Cultist: a Lesser Daemon.

A servant of Chaos, a low-level creation of the Warp, a type of daemon.

These Chaos Cultists really had opened a Warp Rift!!!