Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 23: Destruction

On the Ultramarines' battle barge, the high command of all the Chapters participating in this campaign gathered on the bridge, curiously examining this "recruit" who had been dragged out of the Warp.

Beside them, the Ultramarines' Librarian was panting heavily, his face as pale as paper.

Dragging Soshyan out that short distance had nearly cost him his life. However, the fact that Soshyan could emerge alive surprised him even more, as he understood the dangers of the Warp better than any Space Marine present.

Even with the protection of power armor, traversing the Warp in the flesh was no different from suicide.

But he had actually survived, and didn't seem to have any major problems. The Librarian silently noted Soshyan's name in his heart; he needed to report this matter to the Chief Librarian upon returning to Macragge.

"It's not too late!"

Soshyan's first action after climbing off the floor was to roar at Ventilius.

"We can attack immediately!"

"We might be able to."

Ventilius nodded expressionlessly."But we won't do that."

"There are a full 771 Space Marines up there!"

"Yes."

"Those are my blood kin! My brothers! My commanders! Our entire Chapter is up there! And you just stand by and watch while we fight a bloody battle!"

Soshyan's words immediately rose to the level of interrogation and were directed at all the Chapter high echelons present, so someone immediately expressed dissatisfaction.

"You'd better watch your words, soldier!"

The Chapter Master of the Aurora Chapter stepped forward, pointing his right arm at Soshyan's head, his presence imposing.

"If only you could show such bravado in your battles against the xenos."

Soshyan fearlessly fired back at the other's words. Provoked, the Honour Guard of the Aurora Chapter immediately drew their swords, looking ready for a firefight.

As the situation grew tense, Ventilius raised his arm. Seeing this, the Aurora Chapter Master also gestured for his Honour Guard to put away their weapons.

"If you truly cared about the lives of those warriors in the first place, you wouldn't have come up with such a crazy plan when everyone was discussing the situation."

"Do you think we made you lose face?"

Soshyan's words were still laden with barbs. No matter how good Ventilius's self-restraint was, veins could not help but bulge on his forehead, and his hand gripping his sword hilt gradually tightened.

Seeing the situation getting worse and worse, the Chapter Master of the Invaders Chapter stepped out. Not only because both Chapters originated from the Imperial Fists, but he personally had some friendship with Amulad as well.

"Soshyan."

He spoke in a calm tone,

"Losing your temper at the Seventh Company Commander won't change the situation."

Soshyan turned his body, covered in blood and battle scars, and approached the other.

"My Lord, those are 771 Space Marines! Our entire Chapter, except for the recruits left behind to guard Obsidian, are all up there!"

"But we cannot continue to expend the lives of more warriors just for a possibility... The World Engine must be terminated immediately. If it were to recover, the blood you've paid would be thoroughly wasted."

Hearing these words, Soshyan's anger rushed to his heart. He pulled off his helmet, revealing his bloodstained face.

"As long as we get a little closer and launch a few Thunderhawks, we can save some lives."

"The World Engine is not completely dead; it is still a dangerous thing. We cannot risk the fleet."

"So this is it. This is your style."

Soshyan clenched his jaw tight and let out a cold laugh.

"You'd rather turn tail and run than take a slight risk to save the people who ended this disaster. So it's not your first time doing something like this, is it, huh? Just like when you were going to abandon the Vidar System."

Soshyan's latter words were clearly directed at Ventilius, but the other simply looked at him indifferently without saying a word.

Suddenly, Soshyan raised his bolter. In that instant, everyone else also pulled out their weapons and aimed at him.

And Soshyan aimed at Ventilius.

"Don't fire!"

The Librarian who had dragged Soshyan out of the Warp hurriedly raised his hands and said loudly,

"Don't be foolish! Enough blood has been shed today!"

The others slowly lowered their weapons, except for Soshyan, who still aimed at Ventilius.

"Don't think this can scare me! My Chapter is about to be annihilated! My brothers have all died in battle! There is nothing left for me to fear!"

His hands were trembling slightly, but the Librarian was trying to force his muzzle down with psychic power, and wrestling with this force made Soshyan's angry expression even more ferocious.

Ventilius suddenly sighed and said calmly,

"We won't get any closer, Soshyan. I can't do that. You definitely know better than I do what happened up there. If there was even the slightest chance of saving your Chapter, I would absolutely be the first to board, even if it meant sacrificing all our warships and everyone... But the battle is over. The life auras my Librarian can sense are very few, and the Librarians of the other Chapters, including the Chief Librarian, say the same."

The Librarians nodded one after another, confirming Ventilius's statement.

"At least we can try! Even just one—"

Soshyan was still making a final struggle.

"Although we are far stronger than mortals."

Ventilius walked to Soshyan's side and said softly,

"But we... are not gods."

Cruel reality was the most powerful argument. The bridge began to tremble, the entire warship began to tremble; that was the resonance that would only be produced when all weapons fired simultaneously—the fleet began projecting devastating firepower toward the World Engine.

Soshyan looked ahead, his gaze unfocused, then turned and walked away from Ventilius without saying another word.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the last survivor of the Chapter dragged his feet to the thick porthole, pressing his bloodstained hands against the reinforced glass.

In the distance, the giant flickering cube suddenly erupted with a violent flash, shattering instantly like broken glassware, spewing a massive turbulent flow of debris into the endless void...

The World Engine was destroyed.

His Chapter was destroyed as well.

Soshyan closed his eyes in agony, continually smashing his forehead heavily against the glass, as if only doing so could alleviate the piercing pain in his heart.

The heavy impacts caused blood to spurt from his forehead, running down his cheeks and dripping from his chin onto the floor, intermingled with teardrops rolling from the corners of his eyes—mortals always believed Astartes were bloodless and tearless angels, but the truth was otherwise.

Very few things could cause such super-soldiers to feel pain, but witnessing the destruction of their own Chapter and the fall of their blood brothers was not among them. Very unfortunately, Soshyan had become part of the "minority" to experience this agony.

Accompanied by the dull thuds, everyone on the bridge silently lowered their heads in a moment of silence for those 771 warriors who had died in battle.