Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 71: Within Faith

"The smell in this place is truly peculiar."

Armin's complaining voice sounded over the vox.

"Soldier, focus. You are on a mission."

Soshyan immediately cut off the other's chatter. However, Armin was indeed correct; the odor of this place was truly unpleasant, something even the helmet's filters struggled to eliminate.

It was a scent of mud mixed with rotting vegetation and the accumulated stench of sweat. Even when Soshyan was still a mortal, he had rarely experienced such a smell.

After he became a Space Marine, the scent he inhaled most every day was the sacred oils used to maintain equipment.

In their daily lives, the servitors would also clean the Astartes' spaces until they were spotless, let alone allowing rotting garbage to accumulate.

But right now, they felt as if they were walking through a massive garbage dump.

On the way from the plaza to the cathedral, they had to pass through a residential district where the city's ordinary residents lived, including artisans and various personnel who served the landowners.

Yet, even for such a group of people, their living conditions were terrifying.The paved roads vanished upon reaching this area, replaced by soft mud paths.

It might not be a big deal for an ordinary person to step on them, but if a heavy Astartes did, it was highly likely their whole foot would sink in.

However, West had been very considerate. He had long since ordered the guards to tear down nearby houses and lay their massive wooden support beams across the ground to form an artificial path, allowing the Astartes to pass through smoothly.

As they passed, they also took note of the demolished houses and the bewildered residents.

Soshyan heard a faint sigh, but he didn't know who had uttered it.

"Emperor above!"

As the Astartes walked by, the city residents knelt and bowed on both sides of the path. Some lit candles, some brought out treasured religious pendants from their homes, and some even took out all their worldly possessions. Had the guards not kept them separated by the roadside, they might have even hung those precious metals and jewelry onto the exalted Angels.

This was a relatively backward world, and the residents of such worlds were mostly devout and simple. They were willing to give everything for a miracle.

Offering their own property as tribute was their most common form of expressing their faith.

"M-My apologies for letting you witness this. Th-They are just country folk who don't know proper etiquette."

Beside the procession of Astartes was West, his face piled with smiles as he hopped along the wooden beams.

The path that the Angels walked so steadily upon was not so easy beneath his feet. However, that didn't stop him from following alongside the entire way.

From beginning to end, Soshyan didn't utter a single word to him.

Passing through the residential district, the cathedral was already visible.

Clang~ Clang~

Suddenly, the brass bells in the spires began to ring to welcome the descent of the Emperor's Angels.

The road leading to the cathedral was still a very clean stone pavement, flanked by greenery and flowerbeds. In the gaps between the landscaping, many emaciated, haggard people could be seen gathering.

They were the refugees who had been driven out of the cathedral and made completely homeless.

"Ah! The Angels have come!"

"Emperor above! May I kiss Their boots..."

The sight of the towering warriors made these people gasp or scream. Most of them appeared unkempt, with layers of sweat stains and dirt soilng the scraps of cloth that could hardly be called clothing anymore. Some didn't even have those scraps, their exposed bodies caked in grime.

In the middle of the night, the temperature here was less than ten degrees. Many shivered in the cold wind, yet they did not take a single step away.

Similarly, when the Astartes passed before them, these poor souls also knelt and prostrated themselves. Some even took out the last meager belongings they had on them, struggling to throw them toward where the Astartes walked.

Considering their current condition, this was very likely their final property.

The hardships of this life caused many to treat religion as their only spiritual solace, and for this, they were willing to give everything.

Suddenly, Soshyan halted his steps.

All sounds vanished at the exact same moment. The mortals stared wide-eyed at the giants, who stood motionless as statues.

Then, Soshyan bent down and gently pinched a greyish lump from near his foot with his fingers.

He didn't know what it was, but he noticed a poor, thinly-dressed woman with disheveled hair on his right, exhibiting an expression of terror as she tightly clutched a six- or seven-year-old boy.

The boy was so frail there was barely any meat on him, his grimy skin clinging tightly to his bones.

Soshyan turned his head again and looked at the landowners and city council members trailing behind on the left side of the road—their faces shiny with grease, dressed in ornate clothing, and adorned in jewels.

Did these two groups truly belong to the same species?

"I am incredibly sorry! Incredibly sorry!"

West immediately began nodding frantically at Soshyan like a frightened chick, then waved his hands forcefully at the guards, bellowing:

"I told you to clear out all this trash! Are you all blind!?"

Knowing they had caused trouble, the guards immediately turned around and shouted harshly at the refugees. Although very reluctant, the people began to rise one after another, intending to leave. The woman did the same, though the child in her arms kept staring at the object in Soshyan's hand.

"Mom, I'm still hungry..."

Bang!

A loud blast rang out, and everyone froze in their actions, like a paused image.

Soshyan then holstered the bolt pistol he had held high back onto his thigh and turned to walk toward the woman.

The approach of a demigod terrified the woman, but she didn't dare to move. The child in her arms also stifled the urge to cry. Fear enveloped the mother and son.

Many closed their eyes, not daring to watch the bloody scene that would follow.

But then, everyone was stunned.

The demigod bent down and opened his palm; the greyish lump rested quietly upon it.

The woman was scared silly, not daring to move a muscle. She was short and frail, reaching only up to the Astartes' waist. When the demigod leaned down, she felt as if a mountain was collapsing upon her.

But the boy in her arms, seemingly allowing hunger to conquer fear, lunged forward with extreme speed to snatch the object from Soshyan's hand, then began to gnaw on it with relish.

"Is this... food."

The demigod spoke, his voice rolling over the eardrums of the surrounding crowd like thunder.

"Yes..."

"Supremely exalted Lord, this is the relief ration we distribute to them."

Before the woman could utter a second word, West interjected.

"It's chaotic outside, and they've lost their livelihoods. The Emperor teaches us to love our fellow kin, so we provide them with minimum sustenance relief free of charge. This is called charity grain; it contains grain and some plants. We often eat this staple food as well. The taste is not bad at all, very special..."

"I wasn't asking you."

Soshyan snapped at him in a low voice, cutting the man off, then turned to the woman.

She stammered for a long while before finally getting a sentence out.

"By the- by the Emperor's blessing, it's... it's alright..."

She thought for another moment, then said in a hushed voice:

"We can eat anything, we're... we're used to anything. We can eat it. It's just that some people still want to make a fuss. People's hearts have gone bad..."

West immediately burst into laughter. However, Soshyan's next sentence froze his expression.

The demigod pointed at the object in the boy's arms and said deeply:

"That thing is clearly mostly dirt."