A peaceful day?

Chapter 49 47. A Quiet Day... Right?

Endurance.

Day four of training.

"Clang~"

In the empty mess hall number four, the clear sound of metal on metal rang out especially loud.

An empty bowl crashed onto the metal table.

Hades smiled a little sheepishly at Vokes across from him, then expertly took the next bowl of white porridge from the servitor beside him.

It was less of a bowl and more of a soup pot-sized basin.

The white, high-protein porridge was so thick it resembled slime, and on its surface, large chunks of black matter slowly sank as if in a swamp.

Hades took his spoon and casually stirred the porridge, mixing the black, calcium-infused metal cubes evenly with the white porridge—

Then, he started eating!

On the first day, after getting beaten up, Hades excitedly rushed from the infirmary to the mess hall, only to find that the only food available was this bowl of white porridge.

He picked up a spoonful of the porridge, which was so thick that it even stretched like a string from the spoon.

This…

White, viscous, high-protein…

Ugh… um… ah…

Anyway, this was the only thing to eat! The Death Guard, not being particularly concerned with the cultural aspects of food, would naturally choose the most standard and simple recipe.

It can't kill me, Hades thought silently. Besides, feeding an entire legion puts a lot of pressure on logistics, so I shouldn't be picky.

Then he raised his spoon and bravely licked a bit of the white porridge—

So good!

Although it was just simple white porridge, a wheat-like aroma mixed with the scent of boiled milk bloomed on his tongue, sweet with a hint of grain.

Hades' pupils shrank, and he quickly scooped up a piece of the black metal to taste.

Pupil earthquake!

It was fruit-flavored?!

The seemingly hard metal block, under the powerful bite force and corrosive saliva of a Space Marine, became as soft as a strawberry, slowly deforming as his mouth squeezed it.

Sourness and astringency burst forth, but they complemented the sweet porridge, creating a flavor reminiscent of fresh fruit!

Holy crap!!! Hades felt like he could rip his clothes off in public right now!

Forgetting everything else, Hades, who was already dizzy with hunger, immediately began his happy rice-gobbling life.

In all fairness, Space Marines generally have dulled taste buds after their modifications.

But this white porridge was originally a sickeningly sweet food that could even make ordinary people gag, and the metal blocks inside were actually incredibly bitter.

However, the food on Barbarus naturally had a bitter taste, so Hades automatically filtered it out.

Vokes sat across from Hades, watching him devour the porridge in silence.

This was… the ninth bowl, wasn't it?

Even the larger Death Guard usually only had five bowls.

Vokes glanced again at the massive figure across from him. Hades, already close to the maximum height of the current Death Guard, gave the vague impression that he could still grow taller.

Hmm…

When Hades finished his thirteenth bowl, he finally put down his slightly deformed spoon.

"Want to go check out the dueling cages?"

Vokes looked at Hades, who had just finished eating.

It had been three days since he met Hades. From Hades, Vokes learned that he, like himself, was training against combat servitors.

And Hades was training even more frantically than he was.

Hades-senpai even actively extended his training time!

After the Death Guard's half-hour dinner time, there was a one-and-a-half-hour free time.

And after learning that both of these time slots were actually at the individual's disposal, Hades chose to combine the half-hour dinner time and one-hour free time with the afternoon sparring training.

Vokes, who had previously been following the schedule, was also dragged along by Hades, extending his training time with him.

And today, for some reason, Hades, who had been immersed in sparring, suddenly suggested eating early.

Vokes, whose head was spinning from being beaten in practice, naturally agreed.

So now they had forty minutes of free time left.

Generally speaking, the warriors in the legion did nothing more than a few things during their free time.

Most would head to the training cages or the dueling cages to continue their combat training. The former is for individual practice, while the latter is a competition between warriors within the legion.

Some Space Marines who prefer quiet would also choose to tidy and polish their weapons and armor during this time, or go to the archives to read and study.

Hades hasn't been to the dueling cages before, has he?

Before this, Vokes would spend his time in the dueling cages, aside from going to the archives to study High Gothic.

"Hmm? Alright."

Dueling cages? Never been, worth checking out.

In the spacious hall, the sounds of intense shouts and excited cheers echoed from time to time. The dazzling white light shone down from the high platforms, the figures of fighters flickering on the stage, afterimages flying.

Three identical high platforms were arranged side by side in the hall, like large wrestling rings, which served as dueling cages. Below the platforms, rows of spectator chairs were placed.

Many warriors surrounded the dueling cages, standing or sitting, intently watching every move of the people on the stage. When a particularly brilliant move was made, they would all clap and cheer.

However... the seemingly lively hall was clearly divided into two distinct sides. One side of the hall was filled with Barbarus curses, while the other side was filled with Low Gothic shouts.

The middle platform served as a dividing line, separating the two sides.

Hades raised an eyebrow. This kind of scene was expected, wasn't it?

Seeing Vokes naturally heading towards the Barbarus platform, Hades thought for a moment, then turned his footsteps and walked towards the Terra-born veterans' dueling cage instead.

"...Hades, sir?"

Vokes called out to Hades softly.

Hades turned his head, smiled, and indicated that he wanted to go over there to take a look.

Vokes was visibly startled, but quickly returned to normal. He didn't say much, and the two separated.

Hades walked to the dueling platform where all the Terra-born veterans were. Seeing him approach, these veterans seemed to ignore Hades, still focusing on the fight on the stage.

Good.

Hades thought, silently finding a seat and beginning to watch and analyze the fight on the stage.

Hades knew that his sparring had reached a stalemate.

For the first three days, he had been passively taking a beating, still adapting to his newly modified body.

But after that, Hades felt that even if he had adapted almost completely, he still couldn't perform at his best.

The reason was that Hades' previous fighting style was simply not suited to the potential and abilities of this body.

His strikes were too stingy, his footwork too cautious, his chopping motions still trying to exploit leverage, and his defensive posture still too careful and reassuring.

But Hades was no longer the kind of physique that would die if the opponent landed a heavy blow on a vital point.

His strong body could withstand fierce attacks, and his strengthened vital points allowed him to take a gamble and exchange for the opponent's weakness.

So Hades now urgently needed to see how others - those who possessed the same physique as him and had been fighting for years - fought.

The fighting style on the Barbarus side was probably still the same old stuff, at best incorporating new tactics with slight variations, while the Terra-born side, for the current Hades, was a truly high-quality match.

Every game, every move, every action was worth analyzing and studying!

Unnoticed, Hades sat in a dark corner under the stage, the red light in his left eye flickering...

Endurance, a hidden conference room.

At the same time.

First Company Captain Barasyn looked at Fernando across from him with a complex expression.

Fernando - the current Chief Librarian of the Death Guard.

"...If you have any objections, I can help you apply for a meeting proposal with the Primarch."

The old Librarian's deep eyes looked at Barasyn, "Thank you for your kindness, Barasyn."

"But I know that Primarch Mortarion's decision is correct."

This...

Barasyn was still a little incredulous.

Since Primarch Mortarion's return, the Librarians of the former Dusk Raiders had been treated coldly.

The Primarch explicitly stated that the Death Guard did not need the existence of "witchcraft players."

Existing Librarians would not be allowed to expand further, nor would they occupy an important position on the future battlefield.

When the last Librarian died, the Death Guard would disband the special unit of Librarians.

Although Barasyn hoped that the process of the Primarch taking over the army would be as smooth as possible, he knew the importance of Librarians to a legion. After failing to persuade the Primarch, he came to the current Chief Librarian, Fernando -

Seeking help, but also hoping that the old Librarian would not harbor resentment towards the Primarch because of this.

However, Fernando's reaction far exceeded Barasyn's expectations.

"...Why?"

Why, as Chief Librarian, did he not only not find the Primarch's actions repulsive but even supported them?

Fernando closed his eyes.

"The Primarch's decision is correct. The entire Librarius is of one mind on this."

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the conference room burst open! A man in power armor decorated with incantations glared angrily at Fernando.

"Why are you betraying us?! Betraying the entire Librarius?!"

"Stand down!"

Barasyn, who had just looked utterly exhausted, suddenly roared, and Ugo, who had barged in, instantly fell silent.

Fernando opened his eyes, and his calm voice rang out.

"You have no right to question me, Ugo."

"Go find Torres and receive your punishment."

Ugo looked utterly disgruntled and resentful, but the Psychic Power that the Chief Librarian quietly released forced him to reluctantly close the door and leave.

Before he left, the two men inside heard a Low Gothic curse, muttered under his breath.

"I apologize for that."

Barasyn turned back to Fernando, his face once again etched with weariness and apology.

"I anticipated this kind of reaction."

He smiled.

"But I didn't expect your reaction."

Fernando smiled wearily as well. Yes, why indeed?

He remembered that day, on the space hulk, the twisted and floating flesh.

I took a day off yesterday, so here's a 3k-word chapter today. Happy reading!

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Book recommendation!

A super hardcore Warhammer-esque writing style, a missing Primarch watched by Tzeentch and Slaanesh, one link tightly connected to another, black and white, good and evil, difficult to distinguish, how will the protagonist, caught between good, evil, and chaos, ultimately decide the fate of the Imperium?

Come and read Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

Quietly, with this kind of writing and conception, this guy can actually update daily!!

...A role model for us all (:з」∠)