A desert map, huh

Evan stood in the middle of the vast desert, bored out of his mind.

Several members of the Imperialis Militia stood nearby, with water, food, and emergency medical supplies ready. To ensure fairness, they had even prepared an enormous multitiered screen showing surveillance feeds from across the desert.

Emergency air rescue units remained on standby overhead, jointly funded and organized by the noble families. After all... what if they could save their own children, right?

Otist had not come this time. Instead, a local official from the population administration bureau had arrived. Meticulous and conscientious at work, easygoing and humble in person-everything about the official was excellent, except that appearance... which was rather difficult to describe.

Put simply, the view from behind could captivate an army; the view from the front could send a million soldiers fleeing.

Evan silently turned his face away. Even he could not withstand this official's enchanting "beauty," so he was left staring idly at the surveillance screens.

The selection was about to begin. Nobody would likely arrive anytime soon; this desert was enormous, after all, and plenty of ferocious beasts lurked within it, though the daytime heat would limit their movements. Anyone who failed to find a suitable place to spend the night would be courting death, like setting peeled fruit before someone starving and thirsty.

"Ah, time to sleep. Probably won't be more than a handful arriving in the first two days anyway."

Meanwhile, a sea of people had gathered around the desert's perimeter. A rough estimate put their numbers at ten million, evenly distributed around the entire desert.

Although the Upper Hive nobles had largely settled on their expedition candidates and few had come to join the excitement, the people of the middle hive and the Underhive were brimming with determination. This was a golden opportunity to change their lives.

This challenge was difficult. Even among the most experienced trekkers traveling by starlight, very few could reach the center within three days, let alone children aged twelve to fourteen.

By now, Enke the calculator, Little William, and Frosa had all reached their assigned positions. They had been among the last passengers on the same vehicle, so their starting points were adjacent. They decided to regroup once the selection began, in case anyone tried to rob them of their water.

Meanwhile, Xiao Lan, who had eaten his fill for the first time in his life, had only just arrived at the selection grounds, looking thoroughly pitiful and panting for breath. He was about to begin the most important contest of his life, with only a little over ten minutes left to rest.

Here came your thoughtful author's introduction to the map. This desert had three main predators. The first was a species unique to this desert: the Sireka Bedrock Giant Scorpion. These scorpions were enormous, their entire bodies resembling black rock. They could be active by day or night, mainly depending on their mood, though their low energy during the day limited "activity" to biting. If you wanted somewhere to rest during the scorching daytime heat, you had to be careful. That enormous rock with a "hole" you had your eye on might actually be its mouth. At night, its twin pincers and enormous tail would show you just how vicious it was. Naturally, that tail was venomous, mainly to defend against another giant desert beast.

The second was the Sireka Giant Python. These nonvenomous pythons really did solve every problem through sheer size. Their feeding method closely resembled that of whales in Old Terra's oceans: they swallowed an enormous mouthful of sand, then filtered it out through their own sieves, leaving only their despairing prey behind. Generally, if you heard rumbling in the desert, you needed to be careful. It meant a giant python was moving nearby.

The third was the desert wolf pack. Wolves found in many other places had developed some mutations here. They were exceptionally clever and skilled at ambushes. If you spotted sand wolves on three sides of you, make no mistake: there were definitely wolves hiding beneath the sand on the fourth side. You had to flee toward rocky terrain, because walking on rock was extremely painful for their specially evolved paws, and they generally avoided it.

All right, that covered the carnivores. Now for the herbivores and plants that could serve as supplies.

First came the color-changing lizards. Whether because there were too few small creatures here or because they were too weak, these lizards had become entirely herbivorous. Their blood and meat were both good food, though you had to eat quickly, or things would get ugly when the desert wolves arrived. They were also difficult to spot, their ability to change color with their surroundings allowing them to evade many enemy attacks.

Bonewood was frequently bullied by the color-changing lizards. These trees, which resembled spinal columns, were extraordinarily drought-resistant. Why call them trees? Because a single bonewood could grow into a miniature grove spanning twenty meters. They bore tiny grayish-white fruit, the main fruit eaten by the color-changing lizards. Humans could eat it too, though it was rather sour.

Dig just a little beneath the desert sand and you could find a special fungus known as little sand mushrooms. These mushrooms were a desert delicacy. Even eaten straight after digging them up, they tasted incomparably delicious. Finding them was rather difficult, though. Searching for tiny bumps in a desert this vast was practically a pipe dream.

As for the little spiders, ants, and so on, there was no need to go into detail.

Shh~ Someone was coming.

Xiao Lan, who had come from the Underhive, slowly reached this patch of bonewood. He did not know whether these were plants, animal skeletons, or a trap, so he advanced very cautiously. Once he confirmed they were merely a type of plant, he tried breaking off plenty of bonewood and covered himself with it.

He planned to travel at night. He would sleep through this damned daytime heat.

Elsewhere, Little William, Enke, and Frosa decided to travel during the day. The reason was simple: they could not read the stars, so they could only use the sun to navigate while it was light.

A rumbling sound came from nearby.

"Everyone, keep quiet. It's a Sireka Giant Python."

Unlike Xiao Lan, fresh out of the Underhive and utterly ignorant, all three had received good educations. Little William in particular had received a proper elite education.

"Don't move your feet, Frosa. It locates prey through sounds in the sand."

The rumbling gradually faded into the distance. A few screams seemed to come from that direction too, but they were too far away to hear clearly.

Little William, Enke, and Frosa moved their feet cautiously. Only after waiting a few seconds and seeing no reaction beneath the sand did they pick up speed and flee.

"Hey, Little William, how about catching a giant python and having it swim us straight to the center?" Frosa could not resist sharing her brilliant idea.

"According to my calculations, that plan is nothing short of a pipe dream." Enke watched the sun to judge their direction, paying Frosa little attention.

"Hmph, you're just brushing me off. You didn't calculate anything. If you had, you'd give me numbers." Frosa knew Enke all too well.

Little William understood just how difficult this trial would be and wasted no words. As for why he did not plan to rest at night, he had decided to travel day and night, resting only during the second day before pushing straight through to the finish.

"Save your breath, teammates. We don't have enough water."

The three advanced in silence, like a pack of desert wolves.

For the participants, this selection was practically a casual stroll outside the gates of the King of Hell's palace-no, here it should be a stroll beneath Khorne's throne. But for the wolf packs living in the desert...

Th-they really... really couldn't eat another bite.

Although aircraft flew back and forth overhead, ready to rescue people at any moment, there were always times when help arrived too late. With tens of millions of people, nobody could guarantee that every single one would be rescued immediately.

Death by thirst, heatstroke, pack attacks-the ways to die were dazzlingly varied, and so were the flavors. Burp. Ah, they were stuffed.

Wolf packs? The humans were the real packs now, all right? Were there even five hundred thousand wolves in the entire desert? Hard to say, but there were tens of millions of humans.

Even the Sireka Bedrock Giant Scorpions, which normally only roamed the desert's interior, sensed something unusual and hurried toward its outskirts.

Obviously. If they did not run, they would die there. What was in the middle of the desert? A walking slaughterhouse.

Evan held roasted giant python meat in his left hand and a roasted Sireka Bedrock Giant Scorpion pincer in his right, eating with tremendous relish. What was that? Danger? Hadn't he split it open with one swing of his sword? What was wrong with a little outdoor barbecue?

"Come on, it's the first day of the trials. Thanks for all your hard work, everyone. Your Chapter Master is treating you to roasted meat. Uh, leave the scorpion alone. You can't digest that. Have the python."

The staff were moved to tears. What was this? An Astartes Chapter Master personally roasting meat for them? Surely this was treatment fit for a Primarch! They were overwhelmed and awestruck. Oh, good heavens, that smelled delicious!

"Thank you for your generosity, great lord Astartes." The bureau's special commissioner respectfully thanked Evan, then began eating with such refinement that the normally uncouth Evan felt a little embarrassed to maintain his own barbaric table manners.

As the desert's greatest overlords, the first batch of beasts too blind to recognize danger had challenged an Astartes and paid with their lives. The scent of their flesh drew in the desert wolves living near the center. Still unaware of the "vast quantities of food" entering at the outskirts, they remained ravenous.

And so-oh, these wolf pelts were soft. Sleeping on them would surely be comfortable. Evan acquired himself some lovely wolfskin cushions.

An immense stench of blood spread through the desert's center, and every creature tried to flee. If a faint smell of blood suggested wounded prey, then bloodlust so thick it seemed almost tangible signaled a terrifying catastrophe or the arrival of a ruler of the animal kingdom.

Never mind anything else. With so many things dying in the middle, something horrifying had to be there.

The poor candidates on the outskirts encountered a terrifying number of savage beasts on their very first day. Of course, Xiao Lan, asleep beneath sand and bonewood, did not count.

Little William, Enke, and Frosa were now trembling behind a dune, with stampeding herds on both sides. Even Little William was baffled.

They never covered this in class. Or rather, there's never been a scientific record of anything this strange happening. Were those scientists too cowardly to venture deep into the desert? Impossible. These things can't do anything against human machinery. What would scientists have to fear?

Think about it another way. They're running outward. What's inside? The trial center. There must be an Astartes there. If he caused this, then perhaps it's a test for us.

As expected of an Astartes selection. Even the first hurdle is this demanding.

During the daylight hours of the first day alone, many, many candidates from the middle hive and the Underhive failed to endure. The hospitals filled with people suffering from dehydration and all sorts of injuries, with quite a few left disabled. Things might have been better if Astartes had been stationed throughout the desert to watch over them, but with Evan alone, there was simply more than he could handle.

Evan was eating roasted meat and watching the screens when a fleeting black shadow suddenly caught his attention.

Interesting. A rat has slipped in.

With a casual beckon from Evan, an Astartes transport swiftly descended.

Then let's go meet this little rat.

At that moment, Chi Wei Ding was racing through the desert. He had carelessly lost the William family's heir, and if he failed to find the boy, he might as well kill himself. Now the matriarch had sent a group of experts: either he brought Little William back, or he died here and they brought Little William back themselves.

Damn it, where am I supposed to look in a desert this big? Maybe I should lie in wait near the center. Chi Wei Ding knew that the candidates transported to the desert by vehicles departing from near where Little William had vanished had mostly entered from this direction.

Therefore, heading toward the center from here gave him a good chance of finding Little William, and the closer he got, the better his chances would be.

With that thought, Chi Wei Ding accelerated, crossing dunes and bonewood as though they were level ground and making straight for the center.

Sound asleep, Xiao Lan suddenly got stepped on. He climbed up groggily and saw a black-clad figure racing away. Good thing I covered myself with enough bonewood. Otherwise, wouldn't that step have killed me?

"Beep~ Beep~ (A harmonious society starts with me)." Forget it. Looking up, he saw that it was almost dark. He had rested enough, so it was time to set off.

Evan looked around the desert from aboard the transport.

I've spotted plenty of candidates, but not that shadow... Oh, there you are. You've got some nerve, huh? Practically floating across the desert?

A missile shot out, its intense heat instantly engulfing Chi Wei Ding. Startled, Chi Wei Ding hurriedly dodged.

By the Emperor's dentures, what the hell? Why did a shell come flying at me while I was running?

Chi Wei Ding looked back at the enormous crater left by the blast. The sand at its center had melted and was gradually cooling into a glasslike substance.

Suddenly, a fierce gust roared down from above. Chi Wei Ding rolled away, and a white metal giant slammed into the ground.

Chapter Master Evan made his grand entrance!

"Pretty bold of you, barging into an Astartes recruit selection." Evan lifted the Bolter in his hand. Unless this black-clad man offered a reasonable explanation, he would end up hanging from a communications pole outside the desert.

Chi Wei Ding looked at Evan bitterly. Damn it. These angels of the Emperor aren't easy to talk to.

"I... our family's eldest son ran away to take part in the selection. We're anxious to bring him back..."

"He chose to participate of his own free will. Now that he's joined this selection, no one outside the desert is allowed to interfere."

"My lord, he is the grand duke's heir... If there really is no other way..." Chi Wei Ding moved swiftly, drawing a tactical knife and thrusting it at Evan.

If I can't find Little William, my own people will dispose of me the moment I leave the desert. I might as well take a chance.

His specially enhanced body could withstand strains far beyond those of an ordinary human, allowing him to explode into tremendous speed. At the same time, several small smoke grenades popped from Chi Wei Ding's waist, releasing intersecting clouds of red and black smoke.

His hands did not stop either. Holding the knife in his right hand, Chi Wei Ding scattered a spray of small throwing darts with the other, sending them straight at Evan.

Bang~

The Bolter answered him. A corpse slowly toppled, blood soaking into the sand. The thrown projectiles clattered against the Power Armour without leaving so much as a scratch.

"All flash and no substance. Aren't you brave? Hey, you idiots watching back there, what's your plan?"

Four black-clad men rose from behind the dunes. They appeared to belong to the same organization as the man lying on the ground.

"Do you realize that if you offend us, you won't receive any ammunition supplies?"

Four bolter rounds answered him.

"I don't know who's backing you or how high their position is, but it certainly isn't higher than mine." Evan maintained his excellent habit of winning first and talking afterward. What a joke. Who do you think you're threatening? There may not even be a thousand Space Marine Chapter Masters in the entire Imperium. How many planets like yours are there? A conservative estimate would be a million. Never mind killing one guard—even wiping out a hundred of your noble families might not affect the Imperium at all.

"Hang these bodies beneath that 'No cheating' sign outside the desert. Put a wooden board above them, and write: 'I came here for three things: fairness, fairness, and, by the Emperor's toilet plunger, fairness!'"

The mortal soldiers behind him quickly got to work, taking care of the bodies. Ah, working for a big shot felt great. This job was tiring, certainly, but it was incredibly satisfying.

Night fell. Xiao Lan moved swiftly through the desert, full of energy after his daytime feast and sleep. Meanwhile, in an unprecedented turn of events, the desert wolves had eaten so much during the day that they had gone to sleep, leaving only the rumbling of moving giant pythons echoing across the sand.

Xiao Lan kept moving. He encountered plenty of remains along the way, but no danger himself, leaving him thoroughly confused. Do the ferocious beasts only come out during the day?

Never mind that. The desert was very cold at night, and Xiao Lan had to keep moving to avoid being frozen stiff by the biting wind.

Elsewhere, Little William had no idea that Evan had slaughtered his family's guards. He continued through the desert with his two companions. They could not navigate by the stars, but during the day they had accidentally discovered that the broken edges of bonewood could indicate direction. Now they broke off pieces to check their bearings before moving on to the next patch. Though their route zigzagged, they were still drawing closer to the center.

"Little William, I'm out of water." Running out of water in this environment was terrifying. It meant death was not far away.

Fortunately, William had shown foresight and collected some water remaining in bottles on the corpses they passed.

"I'll give you half of mine, but nobody knows whether we can survive the next two damned days. It isn't hot yet. You can only drink a little tomorrow, when the heat becomes unbearable. We need a proper strategy if we're going to win. I suggest we keep walking until tomorrow morning, then find somewhere to sleep before noon and avoid the hottest part of the day."

"According to my calculations, that gives us a sixty-seven percent chance of reaching the desert's center alive, but only a four percent chance of arriving within the time limit."

"Four percent is enough. That slim chance is exactly what we're gambling on."