Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 15: Ambush

Having finished dealing with the enemies on the terrace, Forlo led the team and began moving toward their true objective—the World Engine's master energy control chamber.

According to the fragmented signals they received, Chapter Master Amulad had already led his team to arrive there a step ahead, and had been engaging in a bitter battle with the defending Necrons for a long time. They were in dire need of support.

The team left the terrace and proceeded all the way along the passage. Not only were they not descending, but rather, they were gradually ascending. It seemed the entire main body of the World Engine took the shape of a pyramid, and its core resided exactly at the pyramid's apex.

Along the way, the dim tunnels they passed through seemed to have all been abandoned; not a single guard could be seen.

"Spread formation."

Forlo seemingly sensed something from this silence, signaling the formation to spread out. Yet they continued walking for another few hundred meters without encountering any sudden situations.

It wasn't until they entered a vaulted chamber filled with Xenos statues. As they passed through, its curved dome abruptly exploded. A massive amount of razor-sharp obsidian fragments instantly battered several Space Marines into a mangled mess.

Boom——

Forlo only had a fleeting instant of opportunity to react to this sudden foresight. He swiftly grabbed Soshyan and pulled him toward his left side, using his body to shield him.

At the same time, a Xenos statue hidden at the far end of the right wall also exploded. A terrifying wave composed of smoke, dust, and rock crashed against the seven closest Space Marines, striking their armor, contorting their muscles, and smashing them into the wall on the opposite side.Throughout the entire process, only Forlo locked his Servo-motors in time, relying on his own weight to stand tall and firm amidst the impact.

But before Forlo even had the time to check whether Soshyan was alive, before his equipment suite even had the time to do anything other than raise his fist, a horde of stumbling Necron Warriors charged toward them through the wall of smoke and debris.

The leading Necron fired directly at Forlo at close range. The Gauss beam, set to maximum output, embedded itself deeply straight into the Terminator Sergeant's right pauldron, biting into his Black Carapace, tearing through flesh and bone, and ablating a massive hole.

Subsequently, the second and third strikes were deflected into the ceiling by the Deflector Field. Enduring the intense agony, Forlo raised his right arm and activated the mounted Bolter to intercept the assailants.

Before that Necron could react, a clustered volley of bullets sent its head snapping backward. Its metallic face completely shattered, and it subsequently planted face-first into the ground.

But the other ambushers swiftly swarmed in to attack.

Carrying a morbid apathy, they charged toward the Space Marines. Gauss Flayers, Phase Swords, and even the wreckage of their own kind were brandished in their hands.

Under the impact of an explosion at such close range, Mortal opponents would, for the most part, only be able to collapse to the ground and await death. But what they faced were Space Marines. Even bearing wounds, they had not been deterred in the slightest.

The veterans immediately counterattacked with ferocious power.

The savage, throbbing howls of Chainswords drowned out the Necrons' fragmented footsteps. The ear-splitting roars of Bolters constituted the Astral Knights' icy, silent counterpoint notes.

Without the need for any words, they launched a merciless slaughter upon their attackers.

And the most violent of all was none other than Soshyan.

The impact just prior had cracked his helmet, shattering one black occulari and ruining the faceplate.

Even though he was deeply embroiled in battle, Forlo could still smell the monster-like fury of this recruit, who was currently doing his utmost to control this frenzy.

Hatred and fury converged into an ocean of black. The thirst for slaughter was akin to a towering cliff standing upon it, currently beckoning to him.

Meanwhile, the scent of blood permeated the air; that was the only "body odor" emitted by wounded Space Marines.

Soshyan's thumb brushed across his Chainsword's activation rune. Subsequently, he crashed into the horde of enemies, brandishing a string of short and swift strikes within the confined space, roaring as he sliced open the constructs comprised of metal.

The spatial constraints only served to make his slaughter even more brutal. His silver-white armor became even brighter in an instant, utterly covered in flowing liquid metal.

Before him, not a single one who stood in his path survived.

And Forlo also had his own combat style. Between the rising and falling of his fists, sternums were snapped and skulls were pulverized.

The moment the Terminator Sergeant knocked down one of its own kind, an assailant struck him with a Gauss Flayer. The beam sliced through his right arm armor. The agonizing sensation of the wound transmitted alongside the warning signal throbbing within his helmet's visor, and was swiftly suppressed once again.

Forlo activated his Bolter once more, focusing the targeting reticule upon that Necron's forehead. The assailant's skull was instantly shattered, and it planted into the ground.

The conclusion was just as sudden as the beginning.

The vaulted chamber blown into ruins was quickly cleared. One after another, the Space Marines stowed their weapons. Viscous streams of clotted blood slowly dripped from their armor.

The vox system maintained its silence from start to finish, with only harsh sounds of breathing echoing about.

This encounter sacrificed a total of six Battle Brothers, including a member of Soshyan's squad. Now, only Ned, Axel, and Occam remained by his side.

After confirming there were absolutely no enemies, Soshyan slightly loosened the fingers tightly gripping his Chainsword, feeling his secondary heart gradually decelerate.

He was still alive. It was Forlo who saved him.

Although he didn't understand why the Terminator specifically wanted to protect him alone, many things he encountered today made him feel things were abnormal; this was merely one of them.

Perhaps he would be able to obtain answers, perhaps he would take his questions with him into an icy grave. Regardless of what may be, now was not a reasonable time to ponder over these matters.

"Such an ambush is very rare."

A veteran beside Forlo opened his mouth and spoke.

"Yes, extremely rare."

The Terminator nodded in agreement, but his gaze was staring right at Soshyan's exposed head.

Because the helmet was damaged, Soshyan's ashen facial features were completely revealed. Streaks of gray bloodlines meandered up along his throat and jaw, and then parted at his eyes. Those eyes of his were pitch-black and bottomless, just like the occulari upon a helmet.

When Soshyan opened his mouth to speak, a set of perfectly aligned teeth was revealed from that angular, resolute jaw.

The World Engine was a completely oxygen-free zone. Even Space Marines couldn't survive for too long without their helmets. Therefore, Soshyan temporarily utilized the helmet of a fallen squad member.

He was completely unaware of what sort of impact his appearance at this moment inflicted upon Forlo.

Forlo took a deep breath, stabilizing his mind and purging the shock from his consciousness.

"Everyone, perform damage assessments. We will continue advancing in two minutes."

After Forlo's order was issued, Soshyan reviewed his own status.

His backpack had taken a heavy hit during the explosion. There were wounds upon his chest, right forearm, and left thigh left by scraping Gauss beams. Other than that, everything was normal.

The other members of the squad were in roughly the same shape as him. Each bore damages but nothing serious.

They were all very lucky, but although several Battle Brothers hadn't sustained lethal injuries, they suffered destruction to their limbs.

However, falling behind was not permitted here. They could only drag their mutilated bodies and continue following the team.

"Move out!"

At Forlo's command, the team pressed forward once more toward the unknown regions. And precisely at the other end of the passage, a massive roaring akin to a heartbeat was growing ever more intense...

(End of Chapter)