40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 74 73. The Eighth Legion (8, 4k)

In the room, Khalil was signing a document.

He did this with ease - even though the document actually came with a full 170 pages of materials that he needed to confirm one by one.

His expression was relaxed and natural, even filled with a sense of relief that came from nowhere.

He spent fifteen minutes on the document, not missing a minute, not missing a minute. Finally, he wrote his name with a quill dipped in ink at the end of the document.

Khalil Lohars.

Two lines, one in High Gothic and one in Nostramo.

Then, he raised his hand and handed the document to the waiting servitor. The latter reached out and took it, making a short and urgent confirmation from his throat.

Without receiving any other commands, it just held the file and left.

The legs replaced by metal made a crisp collision sound on the ground. Its body was not heavy. This was not a fighter servitor, so there were no steel plates or other bulletproof materials embedded in its body. Its internal organs were completely hollowed out, and its brain It is only one-third the size of an ordinary person.

A laboratory embryo, born to be driven to do these simple tasks.

Khalil pursed his lips and said nothing.

He knew where it was going, and in just two days, he knew the Nightshade as well as he knew every dark alley in Quintus. However, he did not know where the documents would go.

The logistics fleet will arrive in 58 days - technically speaking, 57 days. It's already one forty-five in the morning in Terra.

Regarding this time, if you want to know, then you have to ask the clocks hanging in every corridor on the Nightfall. I don’t know who set this tradition.

It's a little weird, but it's interesting.

These traditional Terran twenty-four hour clocks will remind everyone who sees them of the passage of time time and time again during the voyage.

For Khalil, the incident had another meaning.

Terra time.

Hour.

He chuckled and cut off all these thoughts - after signing the document, he officially became an instructor of the Eighth Army, specializing in teaching combat and close combat with cold weapons.

And Konrad Coze gave him another surprise. The Lord of the Eighth Legion used a 700-word narrative in the document to describe in detail the responsibilities of his legion instructor.

In short, he not only has to teach the recruits of the Eighth Legion various skills they want to learn on weekdays, but he even has to conduct 'actual combat exercises'.

What is a practical exercise?

It is to let him act with the Eighth Army in the future, test the results of daily training on the battlefield, and witness with his own eyes whether the sharp blades in the darkness he forged are sharp in war.

You're a quick learner, Conrad. Khalil thought.

However, it is still too early to think about this now.

With a gentle sigh, Khalil adjusted his expression and adapted to his new identity in an instant.

He walked out of the room and started walking somewhere. Then, at two o'clock in the morning on Terra, above the orbit of Nostramo, he walked into the training room gladiatorial cage on the upper deck of the Nightfall anchored here.

The Astartes of the Eighth Legion fell silent at his arrival.

But Khalil just slowly took off his upper body clothes and slowly moved his shoulders and wrists.

"Who comes first?" He chuckled and asked below the ring.

——

"There are seven hundred and thirteen people in total." Captain Van Cleef said seriously. "Please take a look. The names of every sinner have been recorded."

"You guys learned Nostramo so quickly?"

"Not at the moment."

The first company commander wearing blood-stained armor said so.

"We just understand the most basic pronunciation methods and how to use some common vocabulary. Conservative estimates suggest that it will take us another four days to master this language to the extent that we can simply communicate with the Nostramo people."

"Then how did you write their names on it?"

"We let them write it themselves," Van Cleef said. "There are always more solutions than problems, Primarch."

Konrad Curze scratched his head, and then wrote this sentence down in his notebook - yes, he planned to look towards Fulgrim.

The company commander who was standing by the table and witnessed all his actions suddenly widened his eyes.

"Primarch?!"

"ah?"

"You--you? Why is that?"

"Because that sentence helped me," Conrad Coates said airily. "So I'm going to write it down, and I'm going to put your name at the end. What do you think, Van Cleef?"

"I don't think this is appropriate."

"What's wrong?"

"That's your notebook."

"Yeah, it's my notebook, so whatever I write on it is my freedom, isn't it?"

"But my words shouldn't be taken so seriously by you."

The leader of the Eighth Legion sighed.

"Van Cleef, tell me, is there any rule or regulation that states that the Primarch should not record the words of his First Captain in his own notes? Especially if he feels that these words have greatly benefited him?"

".No, Primarch."

"Then why do you feel it's inappropriate?"

"."

The first company commander raised his head in embarrassment and whispered: "They will find me in the duel cage."

".ah?"

Now it was Conrad Coates' turn to be confused.

"Dueling cage, primarch," Van Cleef said with difficulty. "This matter will definitely spread, and many people will come to me about this matter."

The expression of the leader of the Eighth Legion began to change little by little. Half a minute later, he pondered and asked: "If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, how will they know?"

VanCleef looked away, not answering his primarch's words. Conrad Coates raised his eyebrows and suddenly felt a strong smile.

"I understand." He said slowly. "You're going to show off, aren't you?"

"It's not to show off." The fierce-looking company commander replied with difficulty, his voice as terrifying as if there was a razor blade stuck in his throat.

"Huh." Conrad Coates chuckled and let him go for the time being.

He lowered his head, signed the materials handed over by the company commander, and put them on the other side.

The seal that belongs to him will arrive with the logistics fleet. At that time, all the documents he has signed in the past two months will even need to be read by himself again, and then printed on top of the signatures with the seal one by one, so that they can be counted. It really has legal effect.

He was already prepared for this. However, although he didn't find it difficult, he could still feel a subtle tiredness.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head.

There are still some nobles on Nostramo who have slipped through the net, and the Eighth Legion is tracking their whereabouts. The ultimate goal is to leave no one behind.

Judging from the current efficiency, Coze knew that it would take at most a week before the Eighth Legion could completely eradicate the gangs and nobles.

But, after that, comes the main event. This is also the point that he really needs to pay attention to, but before that.

He narrowed his eyes, moved the legion list in front of him to the center of the table, and then spoke gently.

"Well, go back and get some rest, Van Cleef—and if you want to show off, wait until tomorrow. What do you think of that?"

"I"

"Okay." He chuckled and lowered his head. Coze waved to him and said goodbye in Nostramo language.

The first company commander was startled for a moment, and then he replied in a hissing voice. Although it was still very raw, it was clearly Nostramo.

The door slid open, then closed again.

Now, Conrad Coates was sitting in the office where he was alone, smiling slightly, feeling a subtle sense of joy in his heart.

"I must speak Nostramo," he muttered. "Why can't you speak it? You can speak High Gothic, but not Nostramo?"

He lowered his head and began to read the list.

——

"There are quite a few of them, almost one-third." Conrad Coates said with a sigh. "What do I do, Khalil? Or rather, Legion Instructor?"

"I'm only responsible for teaching fighting techniques. You shouldn't ask me this kind of question." Khalil said.

He lowered his head and roughly flipped through the document brought by the servitor in front of him. It was a petition signed by all companies and squads requesting the expansion of the training room.

The news that he was serving as an instructor in the legion had spread like wildfire, and this matter, which was obviously related to his responsibilities, naturally required him to review it.

It's really troublesome. Khalil thought. Why do I need to decide how large the expansion should be?

"That's not necessarily the case." Coze said seriously. "You will receive a new material tomorrow. I have updated the definition of instructor."

".Conrad, what do you want to do?"

"It's nothing, instructor, I just expanded the scope of your work." The leader of the Eighth Legion raised his head and looked at the ceiling. "Anyway, those who can do more work."

".I won't argue with you about this for now."

Khalil sighed, having mixed feelings about the performance displayed by Conrad Coates. On the one hand, he appreciates this attitude. As a judge and defender of rules, it is impossible not to be good at using rules. but.

Conrad, you are learning too quickly.

"So, let's talk about them," Khalil said. "This list is quite interesting, one third?"

"one third."

Conrad Coates nodded and pursed his lips.

"I took a quick look at it. Some people just act aggressively in battle, but there are others who are focused on I don't know how to describe their behavior, Khalil. They seem to have gone astray in a certain way. ”

"Going astray?"

"They are obsessed with using fear tactics," Conrad Coates whispered. "While the Eighth Army did have this tactic in their playbook, they took it too far."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. I read through many past battle reports in the afternoon and found that most of the people on the list would first use cruel means to execute the people around the target, even when dealing with targets that can be easily killed."

Khalil nodded thoughtfully. "Use fear to gradually disintegrate the enemy's fighting spirit and reason, causing them to collapse. Aren't we all good at using this tactic?"

"But they"

"But they put the cart before the horse." Khalil chuckled. "You want to say this, right?"

Conrad Curze nodded worriedly.

In fact, the situation is much more than what he said.

The people on the list are not just persistent - they actually show a kind of disregard for civilians.

They only have eyes for sinners who need to be judged. If the need to use weapons of mass destruction within cities could strike fear into sinners, Coates believed, they would use them without hesitation.

They no longer care much about the life and death of civilians. If this momentum continues, Coz can almost foresee what they will become in the future.

When people step into the abyss, they are often unaware of their situation. Someone must help them to understand how dangerous they are at this moment.

Moreover, the most critical point is that most of these people are veterans.

"So, how do you want to handle this?" Khalil asked softly.

He just waited for a while before continuing to speak. As before, he could naturally see that Conrad Coates was thinking about this matter. Although Khalil already had speculations and answers, he did not intend to say them out.

Let him understand these things for himself - about the fact that war will destroy human nature

".I'm going to talk to them."

"Then what?"

"Based on the outcome of the conversation, I will decide what to do with them."

Conrad Coates said calmly and firmly. "I hope they can understand why the Eighth Army was established and why it fights. Fear tactics are always just a means, and we should not be obsessed with them."

Fascinated.

That's an interesting adjective, Conrad.

Khalil narrowed his eyes calmly, still not telling all his thoughts. However, Conrad Coates’s words actually point to something essential.

"But." The leader of the Eighth Legion shook his head. "I still think you should deal with them first."

"Me?" Khalil raised his eyebrows. "I'm just an instructor."

"I will assign some of the people on the list to fight on the ground tomorrow. You can follow, Khalil. Practice in actual combat! Then, you can teach them."

Conrad Coates smiled slightly: "Just like you taught me."

"I never taught you to put so much work into one person, Konrad Coates."

"He who can do it should work harder." Coz blinked and tilted his head.

Khalil sighed helplessly, but did not refuse.

After a moment, he calmly moved his neck and nodded.

"However, this is just a practical training session at most." He said softly.

There is still 10,000. This chapter is to make up for the 3K owed last night. I will add 1k more as an apology.

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