40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 222 47. A Deserter (V)

Luther hid his thoughts rigidly. He hid his fear, hid his shame, and finally even pushed all his chaotic thoughts into his heart.

His heart rate was rising. A person can pretend to be calm, but the physiological reaction caused by emotions cannot be hidden.

His breathing began to fluctuate little by little, and a bitter taste with the smell of almonds permeated the tip of his tongue. The world in his eyes began to lose color gradually, and only the bloody face of the undead was still real.

His only remaining eye hung outside the eye socket and stared at Luther. His nose and chin had long disappeared, and the upper chest was broken to a limit. Swords cannot create such wounds unless the person holding the sword tries to blaspheme the dead.

"Lord Luther?" The corpse greeted softly. "What's wrong with you?"

"I--" Luther uttered a word, and then swallowed the rest of the words back into his stomach.

He heard his own voice at this moment, and that voice should not appear on him. The voice sounded extremely cowardly, and shame mixed with anger quietly rose up, breaking through the fence set by his fear.

The violent shock brought by witnessing the bizarre scene should have made him panic, but Luther controlled himself with reason.

Not only that, he even controlled other things. He took a breath of air, changed his voice, and when he spoke again, he sounded no different from a few minutes ago.

"-What do you mean?" Luther forced himself to look at the face and eyes of the corpse. He stared at, or rather, stared at the single eye, and spoke sternly.

"Is this an illusion or a threat? How can a guest who comes to visit do such a disrespectful thing to the host!"

The corpse laughed. Although Luther could not catch any smile from the fragmented face, he still "felt" it, and not only that, he even heard it later.

The corpse vibrated its throat and made a sound again in a way beyond reason, laughing. Its sound sounded vague and vague, like the sound of a venomous snake spitting out its tongue, or the sound of a promethium flame emitter preheating.

Then, in the next second, the pale giant that Luther had seen on the surveillance screen returned.

The bloody appearance disappeared quietly, like snow melted by the sun. In just a blink of an eye, they disappeared without a trace.

If you are lucky, you can still catch a little water. If you are unlucky, you must touch the ground with your hands to feel the evidence of the snow's existence.

And Luther is absolutely unwilling to touch the ground with his hands.

"None, Lord Luther." Khalil said. "Just a confirmation."

"Confirm? Confirm what?" Luther asked sharply.

"Confirm something that may have a great impact on the Dark Angels. Of course, it is completely understandable that you feel unhappy about this. My behavior is quite offensive. In fact, this matter may even lead to bloodshed. I apologize here, Lord Luther."

Luther's chest rose and fell rapidly a few times, and he restrained his emotions with reason. In addition, although he would not admit it, Khalil's words were actually another helper in restoring his sanity.

He began to think quickly about Khalil's actions and words, thinking about what was hidden behind them. This was not difficult for him. He was the Knight Commander and the Grand Master. Moreover, he had commanded many people long before joining the Dark Angels.

Political tricks and conspiracies were not unfamiliar to him. Luther frowned and quickly asked a question in a relatively calm voice.

"What is so offensive that it may lead to bloodshed that you are willing to take such a risk to cast that illusion on me?"

"It's not an illusion." Khalil said, but did not explain more about this matter.

"You are a man of dignity and principles, Lord Luther, and I admire such people. Therefore, I did not use a simpler way to determine these things. I am a stupid person, and I like to use some stupid old ways to do things. As far as the current situation is concerned, my old tricks still work."

Luther was silent for a while, and a complex emotion was blooming in his eyes. After a few seconds, he spoke again: "How important is this matter?"

"It's these things." Khalil corrected. "They are very important, Lord Luther. We are here with orders from Terra, and you should have known this a long time ago."

"To judge the criminals?" Luther asked slightly sharply.

"No." Khalil smiled and denied it neatly. "If that were the case, I would not be talking to you here. Things are not serious enough, but it cannot go on any further."

"Let's talk about it, Lord Luther. I know the duties and missions of the First Legion, so I will not ask about the things you are responsible for keeping, nor will I try to figure out some clues that I should know. This is a concession made by the Eighth Legion."

"So, what do you need?" Luther asked cautiously, maintaining a serious posture and expression, with his arms crossed and hanging in front of his chest, his chest straight. His voice at this moment is as strong and calm as he is.

He has completely gotten rid of his previous emotions.

Khalil did not answer him immediately, but turned his perspective to the bottom of the tower. There was no doubt that he could not see anything here, but he was staring at the wooden platform with great concentration. After a few seconds, Luther got an answer.

"Maybe we should go out and talk about this," Khalil said. "It would be better to talk under the watchful eye of the Primarch of the Dark Angels Legion. What do you think, Lord Luther?"

Luther inevitably felt a twinge of worry.

——

The lion's footsteps were particularly loud in the corridors of the Indomitable Truth. He was still wearing that gorgeous armor, but his robe had long since disappeared.

The beast gleamed on his armor and roared silently. The winged knights bowed their heads in silent salute to their primarch.

Conrad Coates followed the ship owner, walking with a calm expression.

The corridor is not very bright, and the only lighting comes from the brilliant light refracted in through the porthole windows. The light captured by the universe itself is hazy enough, but it becomes even more dizzying after being reflected by the glass.

They were on their way to the Audience Hall, which was not normally open aboard the Indomitable Truth. If the soldiers within the legion need to report to the Lion, they can go to see him directly instead of having the attendant tell them and then ask the Lion to go to the audience hall to see them.

Imperial officials may have used the facility to meet the lions, but only a handful of visitors came to visit. But regardless of what happened before, it has now been reactivated.

Under the will of Leon El'Jonson, it will become the center of a storm of defense and questioning. However, when they arrived at the audience hall, Curze found that there were already people here.

It was Khalil, and an old knight. They stood under the stained glass window and in front of the conference table, looking like they had been waiting for a long time.

Curze focused his attention on the old knight. Frankly speaking, he was not actually old, at most he could only be considered a middle-aged man.

Although his face was weathered, it was by no means called 'old'. The reason why Coz ​​called him that in his heart was just because of his eyes.

Those eyes were very tired and depressed at the moment, as if they had foreseen something.

"Luthor!" The lion raised his hand, he was greeting, but his voice sounded full of power and authority.

"I have something to ask you-" He came to Luther and put his hand on his shoulder. He glanced at Khalil, his expression not very good, and then lowered his head emphatically to look at Luther's face.

The latter felt uncomfortable with his obvious concern on such an occasion, and his eyes evaded, but the Lion did not let Luther leave. He didn't let go, but pressed harder.

"——Are you okay?" the lion asked with a frown.

"I'm fine, Leon," Luther said. "I just don't understand why we need to re-activate the audience hall. Is there anything worth saying here? This should not be a place for you and Lord Curze to talk to each other."

"I need a solemn and serious occasion." The lion replied simply. "This is the perfect place. It holds the power of the oath, and its floor tiles are from Caliban. I want to wash away the shame here."

Luther's heart trembled, and his worry became even greater - he raised his head and looked at Leon El'Jonson, but the latter did not notice what was contained in this look. The lion had already turned his head and exchanged glances with his brother.

Luther began to chew on those four words in his heart: Wash away the shame?

What shame?

He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Khalil Lohars, who was standing under the stained glass with his hands behind his back. The distorted light failed to change him. He looked at Luther thoughtfully and nodded.

"Anyway, I have something to ask you." After a period of silent communication, the lion spoke, his voice still filled with strong confidence. "This matter is important and involves many people. Considering these two points, I think you are the most suitable person."

"What's the matter?" Luther asked again. "What's the matter, Leon?"

"There's no rush. Let's find the instructors, lieutenants, and non-commissioned officers of the Six Wings first. I have a lot to ask them first."

Luther concealed his true thoughts with an expression of surprise, and worries began to expand and proliferate, spreading in his heart like cancer cells.

He didn't understand why the lion behaved so abnormally today, even doing such an unprecedented thing in front of the people who came on behalf of Terra. He could read people's minds, always could, but he had never been able to read Leon El'Jonson's mind.

Just like before, just like this now.

Luther took a deep breath and nodded: "I'll notify you and I'll call them all."

"As fast as you can," the lion said majestically. "This matter must be resolved as soon as possible."

Also, three chapters today.