40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 16 16. Dance on a Rainy Night (2-in-1 Extended Edition, Ended)

It's raining.

This incident made Khalil put on the hood of his cloak. Although he didn't really mind the burning pain caused by the acid rain, his eyes did. And if his eyes would mind, then he had to.

As his fingers stroked the surface of the cloak, he felt a texture that was much different from before.

This made him understand that the cloak he had found was about to reach the end of its life.

Thinking this, Khalil stood up and looked back in the direction of the old city. In his sight, everything was normal. Moreover, he did not hear any loud noises or harsh and noisy shouts.

This means that the ghost has either successfully completed its work or is still working.

Either way, whether he's exposed or not, Khalil hopes he doesn't get hurt.

He was impressed by the ghost's ability to heal himself, but also by his strength, agility, and speed of growth.

However, Khalil still believes that there is no such good thing in the world.

You can't have that much power without paying a price.

Huge strength will lead to bloated body shape and stacking of muscles. The pursuit of agility requires the removal of fat and muscle constraints. Superior explosive power will make you crave more energy intake every day, if you want to fly.

Take a look at birds. This species that does not exist on Nostramo has even evolved to have hollow bones in order to occupy the sky.

And ghost.

He has the most terrifying self-healing speed that Khalil has ever seen. In fact, it can hardly be called self-healing. It is more like flesh and blood spontaneously bonding to each other after being injured, trying to return to perfection.

They instinctively refuse to be broken.

So, what price does this power require for a creature like the Ghost that was clearly born in a laboratory?

Khalil had no answer, but he knew that no matter what, the ghost could not die in front of him.

He narrowed his eyes, and his thoughts were interrupted by the roar of an engine coming from the other end of the bell tower. The sound was very slight, but Khalil caught it anyway.

He turned his head and looked at the bright road. A huge black car was rushing straight from a distance. Its appearance did not have any so-called 'streamlined' design. The car had a rugged appearance and all the glass was pitch black.

Bulletproof car?

It’s really a familiar feeling of déjà vu.

Khalil stood up on his tiptoes nimbly, and after three light jumps on the spot, he jumped and left the clock tower. Then he started running wildly on the dark rooftops of the old city.

His eyes were always looking in the direction of the highway. The dazzling incandescent lights looked a little hazy in the gradually growing rain. The sentries in the distance became small dots. Only the car was still clear.

Acid rain made the air damp and smelly, but he ignored them.

Raindrops hit his cloak and hood, causing a continuous percussion that blocked hearing. Tiny and gradually accelerating, just like his heartbeat.

Then he bent his knees and jumped up, and the power he shouldn't have burst out in his body at this moment. Blue light bloomed in his eyes, his muscles bulged, and the masonry beneath his feet shattered, dissipating into powder and dust in the acid rain.

Just relying on himself - Khalil Lohars briefly reached the high sky.

I might be the high jump and long jump champion of Nostramo, if this star of eternal night held sports games

In the darkness, Khalil smiled slowly.

He doesn't like humor and hates telling jokes. But he smiles, if only to be polite.

——

"How long ago was it last we came to Quintus?"

Jando Skolevok asked, using a questioning tone, but his eyes were not focused on the two people sitting opposite him at all.

In fact, he was sitting in his luxurious leather chair, enjoying a glass of red wine from the car's wine cabinet.

No matter when or where, most nobles of Nostramo will put enjoyment first.

"We have not been to Quintus."

Lena Skolywock answered coldly. "If your big brain wasn't broken, Jando, you shouldn't have asked that stupid question."

"ha"

Hearing this, Jando chuckled: "Your definition of stupidity is still so shallow, my sister. Your words sound to me more like a self-righteous fool mumbling to himself. Do you think that we in my mouth are , who is referring to?”

Lena Skolevok narrowed her eyes, and the horrific scar across her entire cheek seemed to come alive at this moment and began to squirm.

"Sooner or later, I will skin you for your rude words, Jando." She said gloomily.

"It's up to you - but, I think we all know that among my father's three remaining children, you are the least likely to get the black mark."

Lena's face quickly turned livid after these words.

At this, Jando laughed heartily.

He raised his slender neck and drank all the wine in the glass. The liquid scarier than blood disappeared and slid across his lips and disappeared into his mouth. The explosion of taste on his taste buds made him sigh with satisfaction.

Then, he set his sights on Irene Skolywok.

His eldest sister.

"Dear sister, do you have an answer to my question?"

Yirena looked away from the dark window. There was a full five meters distance between her and Jando. The hugeness of the car could be seen from here. But the distance did not soften her gaze.

In fact, the look in her eyes at this moment made the smile on Jando's face slowly disappear, and his right hand was gradually placed on the side of the seat.

"If I were you, I wouldn't choose to shoot in the car, Jendo."

Irene said expressionlessly.

"There are reasons why my father lent us the Iron Pride. First, it can symbolize the glory of the Skelework family to a certain extent. Second, it can protect against many kinds of weapons. Even bullets from inside."

"Then, I still have a knife that can be used." Jando said calmly.

"You can give it a try." Irene Skolevok replied calmly. "But I won't guarantee whether your knife-wielding hand is still intact."

Zhan Duo narrowed his eyes, one second passed, two seconds passed, he suddenly smiled relaxedly, took his right hand up again, and then apologized.

"I offer you my apologies, dear sister. At the same time, I sincerely hope you can answer your stupid brother's little question."

"Twenty years ago."

Yirena turned her head, looked at the night scene outside the dark glass, and answered quietly. "We were here twenty years ago."

"Twenty years ago." Zhan Duo nodded thoughtfully. "That very famous purge, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"That was really fun."

Jando smiled again. "Seventy percent of the population of Quintus disappeared in that great purge. I still remember how I felt when I read this record in my family's library. I really hate that I wasn't there."

"Do you think you can survive?"

Lena Skelework sneered, her face full of disdain, she would never miss any opportunity that might hit Jando Skelework.

"Six families were permanently expelled in that great purge, and one of them was the Lohars. You don't really think you can surpass any of the Lohars in the art of wielding a blade, do you?"

"No, Lena. I have never thought of it that way. In fact, if I could have been there at that time, I would have been willing to die."

This time, Jando did not ridicule her again, but shook his head quite calmly.

He raised his head and looked at the sunroof on the roof of the car. Lena stared at him, completely unsure of what this damn blood relative, who had always been arrogant, was planning.

Then, she saw that Zhan Duo's expression was becoming more and more melancholy.

Suddenly, Lena felt a chill, and this was not the first time that she felt incomprehensible to Jando's behavior.

"You should really belong to Shivertooth, or Silver-Winged Wight. Zando, you are not worthy of being with us at all." Lena said with disgust.

"maybe."

Jando Skolevok looked at her and nodded noncommittally. "I'll allow you to be stupid, Lena."

"You-" Lena suddenly jumped up from her seat and rushed towards Jando. At this moment, Yirena turned her head.

Within her sight, a triumphant smile slowly bloomed on the corner of Jando's mouth, while Lena's anger was obvious on her face.

However, for some reason, in this tense situation that had occurred many times, Irene Skolevok felt a panic that came from nowhere for the first time.

The next second, she got an answer she didn't want.

"boom--!"

With a loud rumbling sound, the iron pride of the Skolevok family was forced to stop in place by some force. At this moment, it was still eight thousand meters away from the first sentry post of the Glory Warlord. .

Its heavy wheels were still turning, leaving dark marks on the road that workers had spent their lives repairing. But it was no longer possible to move even one meter further.

Irene Skolywok can attest to this. On the wrist of her left hand, something was buzzing with a low and urgent sound.

That was a warning of engine damage.

Inside the carriage, people were on their backs. Jando and Lena fell together, but they were not in a hurry to fight. Instead, they looked at their eldest sister who had fastened her seat belt and was sitting upright on the leather seat.

Irene ignored them. She unbuckled her seat belt gently but quickly, pressed the armrest on the right side of the seat, and the heavy metal door connecting the passenger compartment and the front compartment was opened.

Behind the door were forty private soldiers holding weapons and wearing pitch-black armor.

Irene stood up and looked at the leader of them.

With a gentle nod, the private soldiers untied their waist restraints one after another. The doors on both sides of the front carriage opened spontaneously, and they immediately walked out.

Then, the heavy doors closed again, as did the link between the passenger compartment and the front compartment.

The whole process was quiet, fast, and chilling.

Seeing this scene, Zhan Duo couldn't help but whistle, squinted his eyes and said, "Father didn't tell me that Iron Pride is so big. Can it actually seat so many people?"

"Some things require qualifications to know. For example, it doesn't even require a driver."

Yirena looked at her brother, her eyes had turned cold. "Stop talking nonsense and get ready, Jando. And you, Lena."

As she spoke, she lifted up the sleeve of her left hand. On that pale wrist was a small silver bracelet. Yirena pressed it a few times, and the four seats in the passenger compartment folded up spontaneously, revealing the weapons.

Jando whistled again, this time with a look of surprise on his face.

"So many automatic guns? Are they all high-end products from Prime?"

Lena snorted coldly, pushed him away, stood up, and came to the seat. While choosing a weapon, she said in a cold voice: "Shut up, Jando, and then start--"

"——Find the target, fire!"

Lena's words were interrupted by a sudden shout from outside the car, followed immediately by the roar of intensive gunfire.

Thirty automatic guns handmade by the craftsmen of Prime Nest City erupted at this moment with a sound that was almost unbearable for human eardrums. Both Jando and Lena frowned, but Irene remained indifferent.

However, only she knew how fast her heartbeat was at this moment.

what is happening? Why do I feel so flustered?

"Ceasefire, ceasefire!" shouted the commander of the private soldiers. "The reserve fire team is on alert while the rest reload! Find him!"

"he?"

Jando raised his eyebrows and joked. "We only have one attacker? I thought it was a rocket attack on Iron Pride."

"Shut your mouth, Zando." Irene said softly. "Pick up the gun."

"Why, eldest sister?"

"Get your gun and be quiet."

As Irena spoke, she raised her head and looked at the ceiling of the passenger compartment.

Although Jando asked for an explanation, his body picked up an automatic gun first.

He and Lena stood side by side, and both of them looked at the ceiling of the carriage along with Irena. They didn't know why Irene did what she did, but they wanted to know the answer.

Then, they found out.

Above the sunroof on the car roof, there was a dark figure staring coldly at the three people below.

Zhan Duo suddenly raised his gun - and the next second, the figure disappeared in an instant.

In the passenger compartment, no one spoke, only silence began to spread. Acid rain fell on the skylight, rapidly hitting the windows that could withstand powerful firearms at close range. They were smashed to pieces, but they continued on without any regrets.

Yirenai raised her hand, cold sweat streaking across her forehead.

She pressed the bracelet on her left hand, then raised it to her mouth, and whispered: "Pay attention to the surroundings and the roof of the car, Helmut. Is there only one attacker?"

"Honorable Irene Skolywok, ​​we see only a shadow."

"Continue to be on guard. I will contact the Glory Warlord and ask them to come quickly for support." Yirenai said, while pressing a scarlet button on the unfolded armrest of her seat.

The Scollewocks were never short of emergency measures.

"As you command, noble Irene Skolywok!"

Outside the car, Helmut's voice sounded again. He roared amidst the shrill rain and the rising wind: "You all heard it! Stay alert, stay vigilant——"

"--boom!"

The carriage shook violently.

"Fire! Fire!"

"He's got Commander Helmut!"

Jando's cheeks twitched, and he was sweating coldly as he murmured a curse amid this series of strange chaos.

"The Skolywok family will crush you to ashes, attacker! It doesn't matter who is standing behind you!"

Commander Helmut's voice sounded from Irene's bracelet, with obvious hatred and anger. But the attacker did not say a word, and allowed Helmut to continue threatening and cursing, and he maintained a strange silence.

Irene took a deep breath and planned to deal with it, using Helmut's life to test the attacker and get possible information. However, her plan failed completely before it even started.

Along with Helmut's sudden scream, a subtle sound of tearing flesh and blood began to sound in the passenger compartment, continuously.

On the ring road at midnight, there was a miserable howl hovering above the heads of everyone from the Skolywock family.

"Damn it." Jando's cheek twitched again. "What is going on, my eldest sister?"

Yirena did not answer, and the next minute was a minute that made all of them feel difficult and tortured.

Time passed slowly, but no one spoke anymore. Jando and Lena could hear the subtle breathing of the private soldiers outside the carriage, and could hear the sound of raindrops falling on their heads, but Irene never said a word, staring at her bracelet in silence.

Then--

A burst of singing sounded from the other end of the bracelet.

Low, long, and obviously gloomy. The melody is soft, but it feels like a blade rubbing against the delicate skin of the neck.

"Your Excellency." Irene spoke slowly. "No matter how much money other families pay, Skelewerk can pay you ten times."

The singing continues.

"In Nostramo, we are the richest. Our relationships are spread across all five hives. Your Excellency, it is not too late for you to stop now."

The singing stopped.

However, the voice on the other end of the bracelet's communication channel had no words and just laughed in a low voice. The rain curtain rustled and the wind blew by. He smiled and his voice gradually faded from the distance.

Lena, who was stiff all over, asked after a short silence: ".Is he gone?"

"boom!"

A heavy knocking sound suddenly sounded, causing cracks on the solid window glass behind Yu Lena, which also made her tremble and fall to the ground. Zhan Duo did not take the opportunity to laugh at her, but looked over there with a pale face.

Just now, he saw a dark ghost flash past.

Then, outside the passenger compartment, the roar of the private soldiers broke out again.

"He's at the car! Fire!"

"Damn it, where are the people?!"

"Keep firing, keep firing! The reserve fire team remains on alert!"

"Got you, bastard! Taste. What?! No, no!"

"He's there! He killed A-7! He, he, he cut him open—!"

"No, he's here with me!"

Chaos came quietly and exploded without warning. Madness spread, and gunfire roared, even from the reserve fire team. Everyone is pulling the trigger crazily, but this cannot hide the fact.

The gunshots were getting weaker and weaker, but the screams were getting louder and louder.

The wind and rain roared past, and a dead silence began to crawl inside the carriage.

Jando's hands began to tremble, and he stared at the nearly broken window glass. Under the soft yellow light in the passenger compartment, he could clearly see the turbid rain spreading on the cracked glass.

But there was blood, spreading from above the window.

Jando slowly raised his head and saw a body. It appeared above the skylight without warning, and no one noticed when it appeared.

All its arms and legs disappeared, and its bullet-proof helmet was removed. Its face was pressed tightly against the skylight, its dark and dull eyes fixed on Jando.

He stared at it.

Three seconds later, Jando fell to the ground with trembling legs.

"Sister." He called tremblingly.

"I saw it."

Irene answered slowly, her face paler than ever since she was born. Then, she raised her left hand: "Commander Helmut is confirmed to have died in action. Soldiers from Skolaywok, ​​report the casualties to me."

Breathing - a heavy breathing came from the other end of the bracelet: "Soldier A-1 inherits the position of commander, the distinguished Irene Skolevok. We have suffered heavy casualties, and there are only nine of us left."

"How is this possible?!" Lena, who had been lying on the ground for a while, yelled. "How could forty soldiers of the Skolaywock family-"

"-Shut your mouth, Lena."

Yirena looked back with a gloomy expression. She turned around and finally took out an automatic gun from the small weapons arsenal under the seat.

She deftly checked and removed the magazine, inspected the inside of the magazine, and then immediately loaded the gun. She raised it in a standard posture, and then slowly backed away until she reached the heavy door connecting the passenger compartment and the front compartment. She stopped just now.

"Listen carefully to every word I say next, soldiers of the Skolywok family. There are only nine of you left, and you have suffered heavy casualties, yes."

"However, the Skolaywock family will not forget your sacrifice. The families of all victims will be properly taken care of, and your children will be qualified to become private soldiers, so you know what to do."

"As you command!"

Soldier A-1, who took over the position of commander, roared: "You all heard the words of the noble Irena Skelework! We will die for Skelework!"

"Yeah, I heard it too."

A low voice sounded in the rain curtain. It penetrated the rain curtain and penetrated the car, carrying an infinite chill, as if it had crossed the boundary between life and death, which sent chills down the spine.

"Then, I will give you the death you desire, Commander A-1."

"He's in front! Drive--"

"No! Commander!"

"No, please—!"

The last shrill scream cut through the night, and it hadn't even been more than six minutes since the attack. In the carriage, the three people had different expressions, but their faces were all equally pale.

"Your Excellency." Yirena spoke with difficulty again, trying to make a last attempt. However, the attacker did not let her have her wish.

"boom!"

A loud bang sounded again, and the right side of the carriage was hit by a huge force, so strong that they could hardly stand.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Five consecutive sounds came from the right side of the passenger compartment. One after another, one after another, one after another. The solid surface of this long-standing vehicle, which had been with the Skolaywock family for more than two hundred years, began to gradually bulge inward.

Then on the raised metal, a blade penetrated gently and slowly. The sound of metal friction sounded slowly, and the blade rotated easily like cutting butter, but in just a few seconds, a huge circle appeared.

Jando's breathing began to tremble. As Yirenai said, he didn't know many secrets of Iron Pride, but he knew one thing.

The outer shell of Iron Pride is made of mixed with a small amount of fine gold.

"Stab it."

With a harsh sound, the metal circle cut out of the metal carriage was slowly pushed away. The heavy metal circle fell on the expensive carpet, causing a dull sound. echo.

The incandescent light from outside the highway suddenly broke in, and along with it came the stench of acid rain and the smell of blood that was so strong that it almost drowned people alive.

Then - they saw a cloaked figure standing among the corpses on the ground, staring here.

Under the hood, a faint blue light was blooming.

"Crack."

"Ah!" Lena screamed nervously.

She didn't know that the sound was coming from former Commander Helmut in the skylight above her. His mutilated body slipped from the skylight due to the erosion of the heavy rain. If it were ten minutes ago, Lena would have noticed this very well.

But now, she is not Lena Skolywok, ​​she is just a prisoner whose mind has been consumed by fear.

At this moment, she was far from the only one captured by fear in the car.

Otherwise, why didn't anyone shoot?

"Shhh, you are supposed to keep quiet when others are about to say something."

A soft and long hissing sound penetrated the rain curtain, the strong wind howled, and a soft voice sounded.

"Then, run away, scions of the Skolywok family."

"Get out of that precious car and run under the dirty acid rain. I want your noble lungs to breathe the stinking air of the lower nest, and I want your pale skin to be burned by the acid rain."

"I want you to feel pain."

"I will kill you, but not now. Torture is always fun, scions of the Skolywok family."

He laughed lowly, the incandescent lamp dimmed in the rain and fog.

"The support you called is almost here. Within the next twelve hours, you can run, you can hide, or you can try to resist. However, I hope you remember one thing."

The black shadow slowly took a step forward, and with just this step, Lena's screams became more intense, and Zando raised her head in shock, while Irena could barely keep herself standing.

Then, he slowly raised his right hand, and a tattoo loomed under the silver blade close to his wrist.

"The evil spirit of vengeance is coming for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared.

In the carriage, silence began to spread. The smell of blood assaulted his nostrils, mixed with the stench and the cold air blown in by the strong wind. However, Jando took a deep breath, which he needed to do to restore his mood.

He turned his head and glanced at Lena, who was still in fear. He instinctively wanted to ease his fear by laughing at her and exude the joy of surviving the disaster.

However, at this moment, there was a cold breath in his ears.

"Run." A cold voice ordered.

Five seconds later, three screams rang out in the carriage, and three figures rushed out, running imagelessly through the filthy acid rain they had created.

Behind them, a low roar of laughter echoed through the night.

Sudden update.

Adjust the update time, it should be earlier tomorrow.

In addition, this chapter is based on the author's personal experience.