Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

"Cerbos..." Calvin repeated the name of the boy, and the boy, whose face was immature but already beginning to show his strength, still refused to give up and tried to correct Calvin's pronunciation with his Macragge accent:

"It's Kerberth Ancelotti Charles..."

"Okay, okay..." Calvin interrupted the child and continued to talk to him:

"You are from a noble family, aren't you?"

"Of course!" The young man looked at the giant in front of him without fear, but instead was full of interest.

"I have seen you! Angels of the Emperor! My father also talked about your existence! He said that he would find the best mentor for me. Sooner or later, I will become one of you!"

"Oh? That's not easy..." Calvin smiled, keeping his voice as low as possible so as not to scare the child.

He carefully examined the thin body of the young man in front of him, and then asked his first question:

"Then do you know what a noble is?"

"certainly!"

"tell me the story?"

"Nobles, they are of noble blood!"

"Why show your dignity?"

"Loyalty! Protection! Sacrifice!" The young man looked at Calvin's loud reply. He looked directly into Calvin's eyes and expressed his understanding and pride of his own bloodline as if taking an oath:

"My ancestors protected the people of the empire with their lives and proved their loyalty with their blood! They proved the nobility of this bloodline with their sacrifices for generations, and I will follow in their footsteps and continue to spend the rest of my life defending Austria. Stability and prosperity in the five hundred worlds of Trama!”

Oh... This is a typical idea of ​​a military aristocrat. Calvin's own body also comes from the same family, and this idea seems to be also spread in the world of the Ultramarines. It is from the Five Hundred World of Ultramar. mainstream thinking.

Calvin heard the answer he wanted with satisfaction. He pointed to the large book mark on his chest. The wings of the imperial eagle emblem were unfolding, surrounding the curve of Calvin's neck armor. The wings were moving along the corridor. The golden light is reflected under the light.

"See it? We are the Emperor's emissaries, and we need your help now."

"Of course! What an honor!" The young man stood up straight, put his hands on his chest and made a sky eagle salute, and then said excitedly:

"Are you looking for the person who just passed by? Come with me!"

Looking at the back of Cerbos running forward, Golden and Nicholas looked at each other, and then asked the original body with their spiritual power:

+Do you believe him? A child that would be impossible in a place like this? +

"Otherwise?" Calvin turned back to look at the two of them, his eyes slightly amused.

Could it be that he didn't know how abnormal Appius's appearance and disappearance was in this strange environment?

Or maybe he didn't know how abrupt and conspicuous Cerbos's appearance was at this time?

But he did not ask about the origin of this young man, because that would only lead to meaningless lies. He just wanted to see what kind of drama this stage could perform with the prelude already laid.

"He is already standing here, isn't he? Rather than ignoring his existence, I would rather put the danger where I can see it."

After saying this, Calvin raised his feet and walked forward. The Gray Knights and Imperial Guards also understood Calvin's thoughts, and took heavy steps to chase the young man in front of them.

The corridor is still made of bricks and stones, and the light and shadow are still intertwined with pale and yellow. Except for the footsteps of giants and children, the air is extremely quiet, and this boring forward movement in the background of constant repetition once made Calvin feel original. The illusion of stepping on the ground.

The original body looked at the young man in front of him who seemed to have endless physical strength, his eyes full of thinking and scrutiny. The surrounding area was like an endless corridor, which made some clues of thoughts vaguely pass through his mind.

what is it then?

Calvin tried to search the ocean of his subconscious mind and took the initiative to capture the fleeting inspiration.

However, the moment the bits and pieces of sensibility were lifted ashore from the deep sea of ​​consciousness, they melted into fragmented perceptions without logic in the air of reason...

"We're here! It's right here!" The boy named Cerbus stopped in front of a wall and said to behind him.

Before Calvin, who was not far away, could answer, the figure had disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

Calvin, who had caught up in a few steps, passed through this turn, and at the end of the corridor in the distance, another huge space was already revealed.

"Are you sure he's here?"

Calvin asked the young man who stopped next to him. Although his intuition told him that the distance to Appius was indeed getting closer, but looking at the unfamiliar space in the distance, he still wanted to hear what this child had to say. idea.

.........However, there was no response from Calvin. He suddenly realized that this young man had quietly disappeared from under his nose.

"Sir?" Several Gray Knights and Imperial Guards finally caught up with Calvin, but when they saw him standing alone in the open space in the corridor, they also guessed the disappearance of Cerbus.

"That kid?" Golden asked.

"Gone..." Calvin raised his head to meet everyone's gaze, and then looked towards the end of the corridor in the distance. Although there were no traces of the same battlefield there, it was obviously different from their current corridor.

"Come on, let's see why he led us here..."

It was another square similar to before, with the same circular layout and the same debris on the ground.

What is different from before is that the battle here is obviously ongoing, or it can be said that the war that has ended in the long river of time is being reproduced here in some form.

Nearly a hundred Sons of Guilliman have built solid fortifications here, and light and heavy weapons are arranged in a deep and three-dimensional structure; professional tactical teams in groups of five are placed in accordance with the tactical division of labor of the battle group. The flanks and rear of the main force.

After arriving at the wide passage ahead, the field of vision suddenly narrowed. The special architectural structure and the depth that is enough to place the entire company's position are probably the reasons why the Sons of Guilliman chose the battlefield here.

Tide-like roars and shouts came from the distant passage. After the echo and reflection in the corridor, the noise of the journey made the Astartes warriors frown.

The huge momentum of the Daemon Legion arrived on the battlefield before their homeland, and after hearing this hellish sound that could make the mortal troops instantly lose their courage, the Sons of Guilliman did not waver at all, just following the instructions of the Master Chiefs. , automatically blocking the hearing in the helmet and limiting it to the internal tactical channel.

The Astartes in the trenches all bent slightly in unison, and the dim eyepieces on their helmets lit up with scarlet eyes as the battlefield perception system was activated;

The two five-man Terminator teams on the second line put their heavy storm bolters on the bunker. They must always pay attention to the commander's orders. While acting as a firepower node in an environment where heavy equipment is lacking, they must also Be ready to activate the teleportation beacon behind you at any time and launch a counterattack towards the positions that may be lost in the front.

On a high point deep in the circular position, two tactical Dreadnought mechas also completed the last weapon self-check amidst the "click" sound of heavy weapons before the battle came, under the command of the commander, and then turned their field of view. The medium red crosshair aims at the open space in the distance...

"Cerbus!" The white helmets standing on the front line of the position shouted to the flank positions.

"Here!" A young Astartes stood up immediately.

"Take your team to position C5! Execute immediately!" The white-helmeted company commander gave the order without explanation and continued to focus on the battlefield in front of him.

"Why!" Upon hearing the order to be transferred to the rear on the eve of the war, the new soldier Cerbers asked his commander angrily.

"No reason! Execute the order!"

"Yes!" The recruit lowered his head in frustration. He felt that there was no clearer denial than this. The veteran beside him turned his head and patted his shoulder, then turned away wordlessly.

"Let's go!" Cerbers picked up his weapon and walked to the back of the position with a few recruits around him.

And just when he was about to leave the front, the silent veteran's voice sounded from behind him again:

"If we die, don't avenge us. It is your greatest responsibility to pass on our bloodline!"

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