40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 493 11. The Avenger

Horst raised his right hand and covered the face of an emperor statue with a clean rag.

He patiently and carefully rubbed the surface of the statue with his hands, wiping away dust or unlikely stains. The candlelight flickered behind him, and the dense rain hit the stained glass window above his head, creating a monotonous noise.

The vicinity of the church was extremely quiet, and there was no sound except the sound of rain, which was completely different from that cruel night of massacre.

For example, Horst's hands at this moment, who can connect these hands that devoutly wiped the statue with the bloody hands of the butcher?

If you don't see it with your own eyes, I'm afraid no one will believe that this priest can have such superb killing skills.

But facts are facts, and they cannot be changed. They are as ruthless as time-in the slow passage of time, Horst finished his work.

He wiped every statue clean, except the largest one. He didn't even try, but just collected the rags and buckets and carried them into the inner room.

Ten minutes later, when the midnight of Litatra came quietly in the rain, Horst also came out in black.

The statue had changed its appearance at this time. The closed-eyed emperor wearing a laurel wreath disappeared, leaving only a hooded and blurred ghost. Horst walked to the pulpit, put on his hood, and took out two silver-shining straight knives from his arms.

He slowly raised his hands, the blades pressed tightly together, sliding heavily due to his strength. Sparks burst, and the teeth-grinding metal friction sound continued.

Horst slowly closed his eyes, the veins on his hands bulged, but the blades were firmly pressed together and crossed.

In an instant, indescribable darkness enveloped the entire church, and the cold wind blew, and Horst's face was covered with frost in an instant. But he still closed his eyes and held the sharp blade in his hand high, as if holding a torch. It was unknown how long it took for the cold wind to disappear.

Then, a disembodied voice slowly sounded in the darkness.

"Nice to meet you, Horst."

Horst slowly opened his eyes and saw a shadowy figure wearing black clothes and a hood. He also had two sharp blades in his hands, but he didn't raise them. It was pitch black around them, and only the sharp blades in his hands emitted a little silver light, illuminating their surroundings and the road under their feet.

"Me too, Margaunt." Horst nodded at him and put down his hands. "How is Nostramo?"

"Same old, my friend. We are still fighting those endless revenge evil spirit cults, letting them go, and then transferring prisoners to other star regions. You know."

The man called Margaunt seemed to smile, but this smile was full of bitterness.

He sighed: ".To be honest, sometimes, I really want to tell them the truth."

Horst couldn't help but chuckle: "If you do that, I think Lord Sevitarion will peel your skin."

"Let him be, our respected Lord has been annoyed by bugs recently, and he is not happy with everyone. I have heard more than once that he was furious in the office."

"Why?"

"Because he is not happy with everyone, that's the reason. He even quarreled with a servitor a few days ago, and the poor machine was kicked hard by him and almost scrapped. As a result, our Lord took it to the technical sergeants."

"This is not like his style." Horst answered carefully.

In response, Margant just sneered.

"Come on, you haven't seen him at all. If it weren't for the connection between the fragment and the statue that allowed us to communicate across the galaxy at midnight, you wouldn't even know who he is. However, according to my subsequent investigation, the servitor is not wronged."

"What did it do?" Horst asked. Malgant replied coldly: "There is something wrong with its program. It judged a chair as industrial waste that needs to be destroyed."

Horst was silent for a moment and decided not to explore the story behind this matter.

He has been a vindicator for twenty years. He knows very well that some things are better not to be mentioned. This is good for everyone.

Malgant obviously understood this matter. He quickly changed the subject and started talking about an Astartes warband that is relatively unfamiliar to the current empire.

Well, let's call it a warband.

"The Ultramarines have been fighting well on the front line recently. They have recaptured eleven worlds from the worms-"

Malgant said, but suddenly shook his head, looking very sad.

"-They are still stubbornly using their original names, but to be honest, these worlds are dead. No, it's more thorough than dead. Nothing can be left in the worlds visited by the worms, even the stones are full of holes."

Horst listened silently without saying a word.

There are many horrors in the galaxy, no matter which one, they are not friendly to humans. However, even if we look at the whole picture, it may be difficult to find a more indescribable and terrifying race than the Zerg.

They appeared 2,100 years ago at the far end of the Ghoul Sector and the edge of the 500 Worlds of Ultramar, and once they appeared, they shocked the Empire. Even if it was Chaos pollution, it would never cause such serious damage to the planet like these terrible bugs.

However, for most people in the Empire, they have never heard of this monster. Although Horst had heard of it, he had never seen it, and most of this credit must go to the Ultramarines.

Under the leadership of Robert Guilliman, they turned the five hundred worlds of Ultramar into an impregnable united fortress, and they resisted more than two thousand Zerg when the light of the Star Torch weakened to the point where it could no longer illuminate them. Year

This is an absolute feat.

After all, their support was pitiful compared to other war zones. But there is nothing we can do about it. Who makes the brilliance of the Star Torch keep weakening? Navigating subspace where the brilliance of the Star Torch cannot be seen is a complete fantasy.

The Empire sent troops to support them countless times over the past two thousand years. In the first three hundred years, not a single fleet successfully arrived. In desperation, Markado, the master of the seal, had to find another way. It was at that time that the non-existent organization the Vengeful People was established.

Based on the pieces of black armor that were lost among the stars, a rudimentary but still stable inter-galactic communication network was established. Since then, according to the wishes of the holder of the seal, many factions have quietly emerged within the state religion that should not have existed in the first place.

They are well-read in classics and have devout beliefs, but the most pious among them usually do not enter the public eye. They either went to serve as priests in some unknown world, or they set off with the support fleet on a long voyage.

One of the more interesting things is that they often serve as priests in the slightly strange position of deputy navigator.

"What's new with you?" asked Margant.

He gave Horst a long moment to think, which, given his nature, didn't happen often. Horst was grateful for this, so he decided to tell a good thing.

"The fragment I was guarding became active," the priest said slowly.

Margunt's hands shook violently, and a few seconds later, when he spoke again, his voice had become very strange.

".What did you say?"

"The fragment I am guarding has become active."

The priest repeated again, but his companion still stood there as if he didn't understand, without giving any reaction.

"Do you understand Gothic, Margant?" Horst smiled triumphantly. "Or do I have to switch to Nostramo to talk to you?"

Margant finally breathed a sigh of relief.

".You'd better not." He said slowly, with a very clear warning in his voice.

"Nostramo people are not allowed to use it now. This is a death order from Lord Severtalion. You'd better not violate it, otherwise I guarantee that he will let people go over and hang you on the statue."

Horst smiled, clearly.

"I have no objection, Margunt. Besides, if he comes too, maybe he can meet the respected Shen. A small team of the Shadow Knights is stationed on Litatra. They have just arrived a few days ago. I have heard that The story between them, the reunion between brothers after a long separation, is so beautiful, what do you think?”

Margant was silent for half a minute before asking the next question: "Have you read those books?"

"No."

"Then do you know Sigismund?"

"I've never heard of this guy." Horst replied quickly. "I don't know anything, Margant. Those are banned books. How could I have read them?"

"Come on, you bastard, where are the others? Why aren't they here yet?"

"Because of the time difference, Margant." Horst sighed. "You don't need to bring up such a topic if you want to change the subject, right? It makes you look very uneducated, do you understand?"

"You bastard!" Margunt cursed and raised the knife in his hand. This was not to threaten Horst or decide to beat him up, but simply to brighten the surroundings.

Horst accepted the curse with a clear conscience and raised the knife in his hand. Together they walked deeper into the darkness, and there were dots of silver light floating in the distance of their sight.

Horst knew that the others would be arriving soon, so he decided to do something with this time.

He said softly: "You know, I have found a successor."

"Who?" Margant asked in the same soft voice.

"An investigator," Horst said. "He is very talented. Also, what should be done after the fragment becomes active?"

"I don't know." Margunt, who had served as the avenger for two hundred and twenty-four years, sighed and replied.

"you do not know?"

"Of course I don't know. This is the first revitalized fragment, Horst. How did you do it? You have confirmed all the signs left in Konrad Coze's Book of Prophecies. ?"

"I've confirmed it all," Horst said. "It all matches."

"Then all we have to do is wait," Margant said.

They stopped talking, just held up the sharp knives in their hands and moved forward slowly in the darkness.