Oumia III

Oumia III.

As the third moon of a gas giant named Oumia, Oumia III was too small to support much of a population.

So when a Sword-class Frigate plunged toward it trailing billowing smoke, almost every eye in its sole small hive city turned toward it.

Soon, across land as barren as that of any other hive world, a convoy raced toward the crash site, kicking up clouds of dust.

But when the convoy spotted the warship beneath the billowing smoke, before the delight of finding a treasure could even rise, it plummeted again as red brake lights flared in emergency stops.

A man in the lead off-road vehicle took out his binoculars and looked again, refusing to believe his eyes. Then his eyes suddenly widened, and he cried into his radio:

"Wait! How are there still people alive in there?!"

An explosive burst of startled, clamorous voices came through the radio. Quite a few people even opened their doors and stood up, looking over in equal disbelief.

After all, after such a violent crash, they simply could not imagine what sort of people could have survived.

And when they confirmed that a group of black figures really stood beneath the billowing smoke of the wrecked warship ahead, voices tinged with fear came over the radio:

"They're not Xenos, are they?!"

At those words, the once-noisy radio fell instantly silent.

After briefly freezing, everyone turned to look behind them at once.

In a specially modified armed vehicle, a young minor noblewoman gazed at the warship ahead, which very likely carried vast quantities of supplies, her expression equally conflicted.

Finally, under the eyes of everyone in the convoy, the noblewoman checked repeatedly before picking up her radio:

"Move closer. As far as I know, those Xenos aren't black."

The convoy relaxed slightly, but then everyone grew anxious again as they looked at the black figures, who had already turned toward them and had clearly noticed them.

After all, whether they were Xenos or not, or even human or not, a group that had survived something like this seemed far too uncanny no matter how they looked at it.

Soon, as the driver of the first vehicle gritted his teeth and roared forward, the convoy finally approached the black figures with extreme caution.

Upon noticing them, the black figures also rose to their feet one after another.

When a group of human soldiers wearing fully enclosed Imperial combat suits and carrying high-quality hot-shot rifles came into view.

A clamor broke out over the convoy's radios, and their earlier tension finally dissipated.

At the same time, the noblewoman's vehicle accelerated and moved to the front.

The vehicle stopped, and the noblewoman stepped out excitedly. But what met her eyes next were the unfamiliar insignia on the soldiers' shoulders, and the strange ash pouring continuously from the warship behind them like flowing sand.

The remains of Warp daemons had turned directly to ash upon entering realspace, and only now, with the warship's crash, did they spill onto this land.

And if a certain Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus could have stood here and witnessed this scene, the shock he received would probably have surpassed even that of his psychic prophecy.

After all, no one had ever heard of a warship killing so many Warp daemons that its entire interior became filled with their ashes.

Even a mere Sword-class Frigate measured its length in kilometers!

But the noblewoman knew none of this. She merely looked curiously at this unfamiliar, silent group of Astra Militarum soldiers, and at the ash gradually piling into a small hill behind them.

Maintaining her noble etiquette as best she could, the noblewoman spoke politely in High Gothic, demonstrating her noble birth:

"Honored lords, did you crash here while fighting the Xenos?"

She was filled with intense anticipation, as though merely hearing that Imperial forces were still fighting the Xenos would be tremendously heartening to them.

Looking at the warship that had clearly been through brutal fighting, the noblewoman's face flushed even further:

"Our local Adeptus Astra Telepathica sent out quite a few pleas for aid some time ago, asking the sector to send even just some Planetary Defence Forces from other worlds."

"But I never expected..."

The more the noblewoman spoke, the grimmer her face became, until her expression finally turned to astonishment and she could no longer continue.

After all, when she finished looking around and found barely two thousand people standing here, even if these were not defence forces but the more elite Astra Militarum, she truly could not muster the slightest happiness.

After struggling for a long while, perhaps afraid of an awkward silence or even provoking conflict, the noblewoman forced a smile:

"May I ask, are you a Planetary Defence Force sent from nearby to reinforce us?"

The noblewoman asked awkwardly, but the Black Watch did not respond. Instead, they glanced at her, confirmed that she posed no threat, and slowly stepped aside.

Seeing them make way, the noblewoman knew this force's true leader had arrived. She was just trying to put on a more sincere smile when the figure emerging from behind the ranks made her, and indeed every local present, gasp.

Quite a few people had even dropped to their knees.

Had they seen Sith? No, they had seen Daviro.

"The... the God-Emperor has finally sent his angel!"

The crowd was overjoyed and excited. Even the noblewoman was too shocked to speak. She tried to suppress her trembling body, wishing to show the utmost respect, but Daviro merely glanced at the mortals before him and, unexpectedly, silently stepped aside as well.

The noblewoman: "???"

Making way again?

The noblewoman looked over with wide eyes, then saw Sith behind Daviro, familiarizing himself with his new weapon, the Crimson Sword.

And upon seeing Sith, the noblewoman's expression grew even more astonished.

After all, even as an insignificant minor noble, she knew that Sith's gilded silver armor and crimson longsword were things she would never dare even dream of possessing.

Feeling the inexplicable frenzy emanating from the Crimson Sword and reaching straight into her soul, and realizing that this was also a legendary blessed weapon, the noblewoman felt the urge to kneel as well.

After all, this sword alone would have been enough to buy ten Oumia IIIs.

Of course, in the eyes of someone slightly more knowledgeable, that number would have jumped to a thousand.

And someone who fully understood its worth would have said...

"What sword? I've never seen it, and you should stop asking!"

"Oh, right, the Inquisition seemed to be looking for you just now!"

The noblewoman naturally knew none of this. She merely guessed wildly at Sith's true identity, while Sith approached, looked over the noblewoman and the other locals, thought for a moment, and smiled:

"Planetary Defence Force?"

"We... count as one, I suppose."

The noblewoman was bewildered, while Daviro rolled his eyes inwardly behind Sith.

Though what Sith said was not exactly wrong. After all, they had indeed started out in a Planetary Defence Force.

But the question was, what Planetary Defence Force could fight through the entire Vigilus campaign, then jump into the Vengeful Spirit, hack its way through, and jump back out?

And in the end, they had even spent two months hacking away in the Warp in the flesh, making Khorne so happy that he showered them with blessings!

Even when leaving the Warp, everyone else had to find their own way, while this brat had been personally sent out by the God-Emperor.

Of course, judging by these locals' reactions, the place His venerable Majesty the God-Emperor had sent them to might not be very good either.

But however bad it was, Daviro did not believe it could be worse than Vigilus!!

Yet at that thought, Daviro's expression stiffened slightly. He took a serious look at the oddly expressive crowd before him, and given his understanding of the God-Emperor, hesitation gradually surfaced in his eyes:

"Surely..."

"It couldn't be..."