40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 685 67. Interlude: Call for Revenge

Hunting wild beasts is no easy task.

Russ has lost count of how many wild beasts he has hunted in his life, but according to his standards, there are only a dozen or so species that can be called ferocious beasts, and they can't even be counted in two hands.

He is very good at dealing with these enemies who are equipped with sharp teeth and claws, thick skin and flesh, and are extremely powerful. He knows when to evade and when to provoke—and most importantly, he knows how to act with the consequences in mind.

This valuable philosophy has been flowing in his heart since he was very young. It originated from an old hunter in the tribe who once led Russ to learn hunting skills.

One morning, when the snow stopped, they walked into the forest and tried to hunt one or two mountain deer to bring back to the tribe for enjoyment. The old hunter even promised that if it was a male deer, its horns would belong to Ruth. But that morning they saw no deer. On the contrary, they saw two bears.

A cub looked at them confusedly. There was also a female bear, very thin, with fur draped over her like a shriveled tapestry.

Russ thought this was a good opportunity, so he drew an arrow. Just as he was about to bend his bow, the old hunter suddenly raised his hand and grabbed his arrow.

"Don't," he said softly. "Let them go."

Russ wanted to move. In fact, if he insisted on disobedience, his strength at that time was enough to tear the old hunter into pieces in an instant. However, he did not do this, and his intuition quietly reminded him.

In the end, the mother bear and her cub looked at the spot for a long time, then turned and left. They disappeared into the depths of the bush, making very soft sounds as they moved.

"Why don't you let me draw the bow?" Russ asked. "Are you pitying them?"

"No." The old hunter said seriously. "I promise you, Leman Russ, I have no mercy for them. All the bears near the tribe have eaten people."

"But if you dare to shoot an arrow, the female beast with her cubs will charge at us at all costs. You can win, I absolutely believe this, and I can also shoot her blind before she charges over."

"But remember, all the bears in this forest know what we are doing in the forest. If we kill them, who can guarantee that they will not attack the territory next time when the soldiers are out? Abduct children?"

"They will retaliate, Leman Russ. I have seen this with my own eyes. Shooting arrows without considering the consequences is not the style of our tribe. I want you to remember this and think about what it will bring before you do anything." ”

I do remember, old man, I have lived up to your teachings, so you'd better not speak ill of me to others in the Kingdom of the Dead. Otherwise I would be very angry, as angry as I am now.

Russ coughed up a mouthful of blood, holding the Dionysian Spear tightly, his ice blue eyes shining brightly.

If I get angry, I don't know what I'll do. You'd better remember that, old man -

He growled and held out the spear, his face as ferocious as a moon-roaring giant wolf. The spear blade cruelly tore open a piece of dark and tough skin, piercing the flesh and blood behind it.

It should have burst out with light like the sun at this moment, completely burning this filthy evil into nothingness, but that was what the former Dionysus Spear could do. Now, it is no longer the spear made by the Emperor. A divine weapon forged by the emperor himself.

Ruth's entry, stay and departure changed it forever. As far as 10,000 years ago, its essence was alienated by the power of the forger, and then formed the nourishing residence of Leman Russ's soul - so it can only be used as a sharp weapon now.

Blood spattered, and Leman Russ turned his wrist with a grin.

Hot blood splashed out and covered his face. The ornaments and fur hanging on the armor were stained wet and red, but his eyes were still shining with a thin light like the frozen sea layer, and that kind of blue was enough to make a monster take a few steps back.

Yes, the reason why it retreated was not because it was hurt, but because of some kind of will hidden behind these eyes.

But that was all. It raised its hand, or rather raised its claws, to grab the Spear of Dionysus, and with a slight twist, it flew backwards. If Ruth hadn't let go of his hands as expected, he might not be able to fight anymore.

But despite this, the smile on his face never weakened. An ax slipped heavily into his hand, and the evil-exorcism talisman bloomed furiously.

Willpower. Rogal Dorn's voice came from far, far away. I believe humans can do anything with it.

Fuck you, Donne, you stubborn stupid stone - why are you always right? Are you stupid, or are we stupid?

Ruth spat at this inappropriate thought, blood gushed from his lips and tongue, but he felt overjoyed. He raised his right hand high, and the monster retreated again. More and more fragments of light shone from above their heads, and the shape of this thing became clearer and clearer.

Unlike the demon that the boy was forced to transform into, it is not thin, and it does not have a human body - its so-called body is made up of countless twisted human faces, stacked one on top of another, gradually being destroyed around it. The darkness was wet with putrid blood.

Every face is clearly visible, and every face seems to be a familiar person. Countless voices spit out from these hollow-faced mouths, which are questions, curses, hatred, numbness, suffering, destruction and all the madness that should only exist in the dark side of human nature.

And here they are, in full reality.

Russ put down his hand and heard the hunter and the king taking deep breaths at exactly the same frequency. It was weird because they were not the same person, even though they had the same blood, the same face and the same name, they were definitely not the same person.

The hunter was shaped by his past experiences into a killing machine driven by boundless hatred. The gods left him here to appreciate his resistance and to laugh at his doomed foolishness at any time.

They don't know that the hunter actually no longer wants to save his race and country, because both of them have been destroyed long ago, and he will spend the rest of his life killing every demon or traitor.

The king is different. His arrogance does not allow him to admit his failure, but his reason will whisper to him every time he is alone: ​​You have failed. So, I don’t know when, the king accepted this matter.

He began to take out his failures one by one and put them bloody in front of a child who had not yet had time to grow up. He wanted to teach the child in this way so that he would not have to suffer such despair, but he made a mistake.

Ruth laughed loudly.

"You shouldn't be chasing illusory things in this hopeless place!" the Fenrisian said loudly, waving his arms, and the light above his head became brighter and brighter.

The king looked at him painfully, accepting the ridicule completely, but he still held up his chest and walked to his side. While warning of the monster's possible attack, he asked in a low voice, with a tone similar to pleading.

"Is there any other way...?"

"No!"

Russ answered categorically, his hair fluttering, his wolf eyes widening, and genuine rage flashing in his eyes, bringing up large chunks of dead ice. He turned around, grabbed the king's cloak with his free left hand, grabbed him and sneered.

"You think" he gasped, exhaling blood. "At this point, is there anything else that can help you? Wake up, great king, the kid you knew is so fucking dead that there is no trace left. This thing you see now is blocking our way. This thing—"

He suddenly turned around, raised his axe, and slashed down hard on the slender arm stretching out from the darkness. The iron tool penetrates the flesh, the evil-dispelling talisman crackles, and the black flame burns blazingly.

The arm retracted quickly.

"—Come on!" Russ roared at it. "I will devour you, and I will kill you and the child until nothing is left!"

He shouted and howled at it in a rage that bordered on madness.

The retribution brought about by the winter snow in Fenris is emerging. Russ's words are true, and even he himself cannot escape the price.

The king took two steps back in despair, covering his face, his shoulders shaking. There may have been a moment when he tried to continue crying, but when he put his hands down, there was only one emotion left on his face.

"Kill it."

The last king of mankind in a certain timeline said this, his voice as hard as iron.

"We have to find a way to kill it, Leman Russ. Just like you said, we have to kill it down to nothing. The story you told about the pot-bellied man is the pot-bellied man's belly. The belly is almost bursting, right? We can't let it out. It doesn't have digestive organs or stomach acid, so it's up to us."

He picked up his dagger, held it tightly, tore off his cloak and threw it to the ground. He raised his hand and without hesitation carved a bloody evil-dispelling talisman on the side of his cheek.

A blood line spreads out from the small prism, dividing it into two, like a cold eye. The lines are straight and sharp, silently telling the extraordinary calmness of the person holding the sword when he carved them.

The extremely dark fire rolled from the tide of chaos, completely igniting the king. The armor melted, the badges cracked, and the skin, flesh, and bones turned to charcoal.

The sacrifice began.

"I will clear the way." Leon El'Jonson said. "Kill it clean."

Ruth bared her teeth in a sad but approving smile.

The ancient Fenrisian language bloomed from his throat. It was an ancient song, low, long, and with a soft melody, just like before. This time, however, he didn't just hum a tune, he added words.

The king could no longer hear clearly, but the hunter could still hear. He clearly didn't understand any dialect on Fenris, but he could completely understand what Russ was singing.

"Come, come, come - with blood as the price, with the blade as the contract, we call! We call the black snow of winter, we call the angry thunder, we call you, the master of the angry flames, the sharp blade of revenge . When you come, there will be people at both ends of the scale for you to judge!”

The veins on Ruth's forehead popped out, and his hands were shaking, as if every word he uttered was a great torture to him. The king walked past him in silence, and every step he took was causing the darkness around him to fall apart.

The monster that originally focused all its attention on them suddenly looked above its head. The light from the outside world was white and soft, like the morning sunlight that passed through the forest and leaves and sprinkled on the soil.

It was so fascinated by the sight that it did not even hear the roar of Russ and the roar of the king.

Can't blame it, it has been looking forward to these real things for endless years. The promise from the Creator will never be taken back, so it can barely endure until today. However, these lights - how can it continue to endure?

The hunter didn't know the answer. He just silently grasped the ceremonial sword he got from the king and rushed forward.

Angry flames surged, and sword blades and axes entered the body one after another, like cutting down iron trees in winter, colliding with human faces. Endless darkness gushes out of its body, stirring up old wounds and causing the hunter to gnash his teeth.

He is a tombstone, carrying the death of everyone in the world, and what this monster is doing now is to lift the tombstone, smash the coffin, and expose the miserable face of the deceased.

The hunter soon fell into an uncontrollable situation. The past was like a cold wind blowing on his face, and he was naked, unable to escape or resist. He could only let the cold wind cut his flesh, blow his bones, and blow him away. Memories and hearts are frozen to pieces one by one

While his sense was still barely there, he raised his hand and followed the king's example during the killing break, carving the evil-dispelling talisman on his forehead.

The force was so strong that it was deep enough to see the bones.

The words of Leman Russ slipped painfully into his heart—the oath grafted with a price—and the true voice of the Fenrisians rang in his ears. With sorrow, mercy and blessings.

"See you in winter, good hunter."

Leon El'Jonson closed his eyes and let madness take over. However, whether it was luck or misfortune, his last moment of clarity gave him a glimpse of the truth that he should not have seen.

A dull thunder flashed by, and the hunter gritted his teeth, raised his hands like a madman, and shouted wildly.

If you listen carefully, you can hear that he seems to be calling names - many names.

Angry flames surged out of his body.

Russ closed his eyes and took a step back, taking a moment away from the endless killing field. Two sacrifices and two contracts, thanks to the power of hatred, the king and the hunter could barely gain the upper hand temporarily, but this was only temporary.

He still had to do something.

The giant wolf carrying the corpse came slowly and whimpered at him. The Fenrisian smiled slightly and raised his hand to wipe his face, blood staining his gauntlets red.

"I said I would take him back." He lowered his head and said to the wolf. "You can't ask me to break my promise, can you?"

The wolf stared at him, then suddenly raised his head and let out a howl. Russ immediately frowned and looked up with emotion, only to see a dark shadow faintly flashing through the light crack.

Before he could distinguish it carefully, a ferocious giant sword wrapped with black lightning suddenly penetrated from it, followed by two huge sharp claws. They penetrated the edge of the crack, pinching it until it creaked. A demonic face loomed behind it, with huge spiral-shaped horns on its head and a head full of white hair dancing in the strong wind.

It opened its mouth, its fangs and sharp teeth opened tightly, and then it uttered human words.

"We are here as promised," said the devil. "The blade of vengeance needs to be cut down."

Countless black shadows poured out from the crack it opened, landed, and glowed with fire.

And Ruth didn't laugh.

"What have I done?" he muttered. "Who did I make pay the price?"