40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 290 10. Clay Doll

Angel Tai felt that he was suffocating, but he was not choked by anyone. What caused this feeling of death was just an indifferent gaze.

The air was cruelly taken away from his three lungs, and the chill began to invade and turned into the monster's sharp claws, grabbing his spine. Internal organs trembled, bones burst into pieces, and in Angel Tai's perception, the world fell apart in an instant.

Darkness took its place, replacing everything he had ever been able to see, except for Khalil Lohars, the man standing before him.

The pale man was covered with bones, and the cold light in his eyes was as dazzling as a shooting star, but it was not as illusory as a shooting star, but with an unstoppable chill.

The dead surged in the shadows behind him, and the cloak howled to reveal its true form to him. The darkness faded away and was replaced by scarlet color, surging like a river of blood. Endless corpses screamed among them, chanting the name of the enemy.

The Word Bearer opened his mouth while dying, trying to say something - he heard some kind of whimpering from his throat in the next second, and then, the world suddenly became bright.

One hand held his right hand.

"Hello," Khalil said. "No need to use honorifics, Angel Tai."

The Word Bearer was unable to speak for a moment, but his companions did not think so and did not want to remain silent temporarily like him. Then he heard the awe-inspiring chanting of Hermott La Cruz, and the heavy breathing of Battusa Narek.

After half a minute, Angel Tai was freed from the chill.

He lowered his head and realized that he was still holding the other person's hand. He pulled back his arm in embarrassment and lowered his head. Although he was still a little hesitant, he firmly chose to start the conversation.

"My primarch, Lorgar Aurelion, asked me to come to you. But perhaps you have noticed, Master Khalil. During yesterday's triumphal ceremony, we were very few in number. My primarch asked me to only Take away people I trust, so I did what he asked."

Angel Tai dropped the honorific politely and revealed what he wanted to say bit by bit, speaking at an unhurried pace.

This is not because he wants to take the initiative in the conversation, but simply because he cannot speak quickly for the time being, and his language ability has not yet been completely released from the chill. As he spoke, he raised his head and carefully observed the reactions of the people listening.

However, facing his words, Khalil just nodded noncommittally, and raised his right hand to make a gesture, indicating to Angel Tai to continue.

He didn't give any positive or negative answers, and was as silent as a statue in the middle of the night.

"Luojia has changed." Angel Tai took a deep breath before spitting out this word.

The word came out of his throat, his shaky breath turning into evidence of weakness. Only God knows how much Angel Tai hates himself at this moment, but he has no choice - just saying this will make him lose his mind.

He gritted his teeth and spoke the next words with a twisted expression.

"I know this matter should not be reported to you. In fact, if my original body can still maintain normal sanity, I will definitely persuade him to give up this idea. But he is no longer normal. He behaves like this most of the time. picture"

Angel Tai fell into silence involuntarily.

"Like what?" Khalil asked softly.

He gave the Word Bearers no time to breathe. Cruel, true, cold - but there was compassion in his eyes.

The old priest saw this scene, and the chanting suddenly became louder. He began to recite the hymn of the God Emperor and the Son of God continuously. The name of the Lord of Blades appeared in his short verse. five times.

Bartusa raised his hands in disgust and put on his helmet, trying to block out some noise. He could hardly stand Hemot anymore.

There are many among the Word Bearers who have lost their faith, and few believers can remain pious after being punished by the gods face to face, at least not Bartusa himself. But Hermot La Cruz was different; he was a different kind of person.

A man who is so pious that he thinks that even another destruction of the perfect city is just another test - he is undoubtedly crazy.

But who doesn’t? Inside the helmet, Battusa thought mockingly to himself.

".He is like a clay idol on an altar."

Angel Tai lowered his head and murmured.

At this moment, he is weak and blind. Rather than an armored Astartes, he looked more like a terminally ill rock climber. After all, he had been climbing upwards all his life, using his hands, feet, and piety. Then, one day, he suddenly became blind.

He could no longer feel any sunlight.

There is only darkness, only darkness.

He was trapped inside.

Angel Tai continued to tell the story without laughing or crying.

"He preaches faith and persuades people to believe in God. His face is full of enthusiasm. I have seen his enthusiasm before, but it is completely different from his current enthusiasm. He is changing, gradually becoming a stranger I don't know. "

"Stranger?" Khalil repeated the word. "That's the word you use to describe your primarch?"

"That's the truth, Instructor Khalil. He didn't even call us by our names, he just simply and distantly called us soldiers. He has spent more time with those believers than we have, and I have seen them more than once. Then he knelt down and shared the scriptures with them.”

Khalil nodded again.

"It sounds like he is simply acting as a priest. Hasn't he done this before? Lorgar Aurelion's devotion and fanaticism for his faith is no secret throughout the empire, Angor Tay. The way you describe your primarch is derogatory, which is not a good sign."

The Word Bearer's face turned red. Of course he understood what Khalil Lohars was playing, but he couldn't help but feel angry about it - in front of this matter, his heart didn't even offer anger or not. Options.

His inheritance from Lorgar Aurelion did not allow him to remain indifferent to this matter.

"If you see him with your own eyes, you will understand what I am talking about." Angel Tai retorted very quickly, but his voice was extremely small. The scarlet armor was silent and there was no scripture on it. Even the shoulder armor was empty.

He is angry. Khalil thought. But his anger had no real meaning, it was just the last cry of a desperate man

I need to cheer him up first.

"The Primarchs are inspiring beings, even a fleeting glimpse of them is enough to make courage surge from within. All of them are like that, Horus, Jaghatai Khan, Dorn. I've seen them all, I've seen them all. I just feel in awe.”

"But it's another thing to stand in the presence of my own genetic father, Khalil Loharth. Lorgar Aurelion was once a warm-hearted creature, not what he is now."

"How are you now?" Khalil asked him calmly. "You need to carefully consider what you are about to say next, Angel Tai."

Of course I knew I had to be cautious.

The Word Bearer spoke in a cold voice: "Now, he is broken."

The chanting stopped suddenly, and Hermott La Cruz moved his gaze over little by little. He looked at Angel Tai while Battusa Narek stared at him, his hands clenched as he had no weapons.

The moment Angel Tai's words fell, there was a moment when Batusa was sure that he saw an undisguised murderous intent on the old priest's face. However, just half a second later, it disappeared.

"It's not him who wants to be broken, Angel Tai." Hemot shook his head and entered their conversation skillfully, as smoothly and naturally as breathing, and the previous emotions had completely disappeared.

His face is not engraved with scriptures, only a short passage from the opening of the Book of Sacred Words written by Luojia is engraved under his right eye. His facial features were not similar to those of Lorgar Aurelion, but he now spoke with enthusiasm.

This is a passion that makes people want to trust, and this was one of the most obvious signs of Lorgar Aurelion in the past. Luojia is a speaker, a natural speaker, brilliant, and extremely good at it.

The Word Bearers conquered not many worlds, but many of them surrendered to the Empire. Luojia played a major role in this. He could always spread the gospel to everyone's ears through debates and preaching.

"You got one thing wrong. His brokenness was not created by himself, but someone was behind it."

said the old priest slowly. He slowed down and emphasized his tone to make his words sound more convincing: "No one can break Lorgar Aurelion's faith in the God-Emperor. No one can, unless someone is up to something."

"Hermott!" Angel Tai turned to stare at him angrily, angry that he had revealed part of the truth they had investigated in advance.

But the old priest ignored his anger at all. He took a step forward, raised his black gauntlet suddenly, and struck his own chest with a hammer. The sound was not loud, but very deep and muffled, like thunder in the distance.

"As a follower of the God-Emperor, and as a devout ascetic, I must report this to you, Khalil Lohars."

"What's up?"

"That's enough, Hermott, I swear to Colchis, if you dare—"

"-Beliefs within the Word Bearers have changed."

With a cruel smile, the old priest Hermott La Cruz, known as the 'hermit', spoke softly, ignoring Angel Tai's obstruction.

"Heretical beliefs are prevalent on the once sacred Rhythm of Loyalty. The abominable pagans live in the shadows cast by the clay dolls and loudly sing the name of the blasphemous god. This is not what I want to see. All the world can do is There is a god, and if this god is not the God Emperor, then it can only be a false god."

Battusa Narek slowly closed his eyes, not wanting to know what would happen next. Angel Tai looked at Hemot with his fists clenched, completely confused as to why he had to hand over all his cards at the beginning of the conversation.

The old priest didn't look at them at all. His bright and passionate eyes had only one focus at the moment, and that was Khalil's dark eyes that were shining with cold light.

"I understand." Khalil nodded slightly. "I roughly understand what you have suffered, Angel Tai. You said that the changes in Lorgar Aurelion began after the Perfect City was destroyed?"

"Yes." The Word Bearer replied quickly. "Only this one node is important enough to make him change so much."

"Then let's go to the Perfect City again." Kalil said calmly. "The accusations you are leveling are appalling."

"Do you also need evidence like those crappy hive guards?" The old priest looked at him with hidden longing.

"I don't need evidence, Hermot La Cruz, but I need traces." Khalil uttered his name without any instruction and smiled softly. "Enough to find someone's trace"

This was the first time he smiled at the three Word Bearers. It was not gentle, and it could even be called cold. However, Angel Tai felt a sense of relief in his heart for no reason.

Yes, code.