Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 98: Restart

"Brother!"

Dadd was shouting something at Oscar, but his voice was drowned out by the shrieking.

A massive flying beast circled in mid-air, its gigantic form even blotting out the sun in the sky. Dreadful shrieks filled the ears of the students and servants, and the scorching, bitter smell was almost unbearable.

The powerful downdraft stripped leaves and bent branches, inflicting severe damage on the towering trees.

Dadd looked up, his gaze tracking the 'large bird'.

Suddenly, a bizarre blue light lit up the belly of the beast circling in mid-air, forcing him to close his eyes involuntarily. The roar was deafening, somewhat akin to the sound of grinding metal.

The scene was both noisy and chaotic, with howling winds and ear-piercing noise.

Only Oscar saw the arrivals' shapes clearly. From head to toe, they were clad in silver-gray, like stardust, fully armed, with flames spewing from their backs.

Shielding his eyes, he said:

"Great and terrible Angels, with wings of light and fire."The first Angel landed with a deafening crash, accompanied by flames. The massive commotion made Oscar's heart pound wildly.

This Angel was colossal in stature, clad in heavy armor, and fully armed.

However, the details of its various parts were obscured by the smoke kicked up during its landing, making it somewhat blurry.

The other Angels landed one after another. A total of eleven massive giants stood before the students.

The terrifying air turbulence spewed by the giant flying beast dissipated with the giants' arrival; it seemed to carry out its mission and then departed.

The clearing suddenly fell silent. Only the sound of the waterfall echoed.

An emotion of awe lingered over all the mortals. It felt as though what they previously refused to believe, what they dared not believe, had suddenly become a tangible reality, leaving them unable to control themselves.

The first giant was removing his helmet. Oscar noticed that the style of the giants' longswords was almost identical to the one in his own hand, only much, much larger in size.

To the hiss of venting atmospheric seals, the giant took off his helmet, revealing an astonishing human face.

His face was broader and larger than an ordinary person's, and could be called handsome and valiant. Only his eyes, pitch-black as ink, made one feel slightly unsettled.

When he looked at Oscar, he suddenly revealed an inscrutable smile.

Strangely, Oscar did not feel fear. Upon seeing the giant's visage, the doubts in his heart dissipated unknowingly.

"I am Soshyan Alexei."

The giant spoke first. His voice was deep and subtly magnetic. He then pointed to the giants behind him.

"We are the Astral Knights!"

"Astral Knights?"

Oscar murmured, as if in a trance:

"You are really the Astral Knights?"

Soshyan nodded meaningfully.

"Of course. We have returned."

The events that unfolded over the following weeks left those present overwhelmed and their eyes opened wide.

No matter what standard was used to describe it, this was the most unforgettable period in the entire history of Nathan IV.

Even a bizarre rebellion in the Segmentum Tempestus was not worth mentioning compared to the return of the Astral Knights.

Only an hour after the Astral Knights' Thunderhawk appeared in the skies of Soms, the news spread like wildfire throughout the entire Hive City.

Soon, everyone knew that the Angels they worshipped had returned, and the newly appointed Chapter Master had even originated from Soms.

Of course, accompanying the good news was terrible news.

However, this terrible news was only known to the upper echelons of the Hive City and a select few—the Astral Knights had indeed suffered heavy casualties in a war against Xenos; in fact, calling it a total annihilation would not have been an exaggeration.

Now, the entire Chapter had less than thirty warriors remaining.

But this news was destined to be kept hidden from the majority. They only knew one thing.

The screening for Space Marines had restarted.

Facts proved that Oscar was not the only one passionately anticipating the Angels' arrival.

Once the dates and standards for the screening were decided, the news detonated across the entire hive cluster, and even the entire planet.

Most crucially, the standards for screening were lowered. It was no longer restricted solely to the Soms Nobles Academy. In reality, graduate students from all nobles academies across the Hive Cities of Nathan IV could participate, as long as they were under the age of fifteen.

For most people, this was good news, especially considering the tradition of the Soms Nobles Academy monopolizing the quota of screening candidates for so long.

Many academies saw this as an opportunity. Once they could supply more outstanding candidates, they would have the chance to rise above this ancient academy in the future.

But for the graduates of the Soms Nobles Academy, their competitive pressure suddenly multiplied.

In the past, they only needed to compete with their classmates. But now, they had to face people from other academies.

Although on the surface they treated the other 'garbage' academies with contempt, no one truly let their guard down—there was only one chance to become an Astartes.

"Hah! Hyah!"

The Soms Nobles Academy's training grounds echoed with the clash of weapons every day. Under the supervision of their instructors, the graduates underwent grueling training.

Ever since the screening dates were finalized, the academy's leadership patrolled back and forth across the training grounds daily. Together with the academy's martial instructors, they measured and evaluated each person's military skills and physical fitness.

They were dead set on producing the most genuine candidates.

And the graduates, for the first time, realized what hell truly meant.

During this time, there was rarely a moment when their skin was dry.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Oscar panted violently. He had already fought three bouts today. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and the soreness in his muscles was excruciating.

He and his brother had completely finished today's training program, consuming more physical energy than they had in the past week combined. Their endurance had reached its limits.

"This training is too rushed, too difficult!"

Dadd complained incessantly.

"I even doubt if they're trying to kill us."

Oscar forcefully squeezed his lungs, then took a huge gulp of air. He used this deep breathing method to alleviate the burning sensation in his chest.

"If becoming an Astartes means experiencing all this, I'm not sure if I can survive."

"Then just give up."

After resting for a moment, Oscar straightened his body and did a few more stretching exercises.

"I'm going to run a few more laps. Want to race me?"

"Not a problem!"

Dadd hopped up.

Although the training grounds were packed with many graduates, Oscar noticed that most of them were very young. He and Dadd could already be considered part of the 'oldest' demographic in the crowd.

Evidently, the academy had brought some non-graduates in to increase their chances of selection. He did not know what kind of impact this would have on the results of the preliminary selection.

As days passed, the number of people qualified to participate in the preliminary selection dwindled. Only the strongest, most dedicated individuals were able to proceed to the next stage of selection.

Of course, the selection results were absolutely confidential. Many people believed they ranked highly in the competition.

Oscar massaged his thighs, soothing and stretching his sore muscles, attempting to shake off the fatigue from his previous training.

"Ready?"

Dadd asked in return, attempting to break his older brother's bravado.

But his brother did not let him have his way. He merely nodded, shaking the sweat from his hair.

"Let's begin."

Oscar adjusted his pace to a comfortable rhythm.

"Let's just do ten laps first."