Warhammer: In the Name of the Emperor

Have you been to Baal? No? Then you are in luck. This is not a place suitable for sightseeing. Although Sanguinius is the son of the Emperor, he is widely respected in the Empire and second only to the Emperor in terms of popularity. However, this is not a place of pilgrimage like other Primarchs.

Why? Wow, you see, Macragge can become a pilgrimage site because the environment of Macragge is indeed very suitable for travel. Even if it is not for pilgrimage, it is a good choice for tourism, especially in March every year. In the early spring, flowers bloom along the Tiber River, endless green meadows and forests extend to the horizon, and mirror-like lakes are located at the foot of every high mountain.

The weather is also good. The sun is neither glaring nor hot. Under the breeze, the whole world is like a paradise. Not to mention the excellent management ability of the Ultramarines, which makes the city of Macragge beautiful and perfect. All infrastructure is available and is being improved and upgraded at any time.

The prosperous market is also prospering day by day with Macragge as the first important trading port in the Far East and the strong productivity of the planet itself. You can buy anything you want on the street. All kinds of rare treasures can be found in Macragge, with abundant food and healthy and pure drinking water. The residents here are hospitable and morally noble. It is a literal paradise.

But as the home of the Primarch, Baal is the mirror image of Macragge. The barren red plains are so hot that people can be blinded by the sun at a glance, not to mention the high-intensity radiation that fills here. Only the Baal people who have lived here for a long time can survive under the poisonous sun. For others, believe me, your skin will start to burn and burn if you stand here for a few seconds.

This damn place is not suitable for visiting at all, let alone pilgrimage. As long as the pilgrims of the state religion land on the surface of Baal, I guess they will all become barbecue before they reach the gate of the monastery of the Angel Fortress, and they are full of harmful radiation and cannot be eaten.

Most places on Baal are not suitable for visiting. Anything in its red plains will want to kill you. Only here is the exception for the time being. The Angel Fortress, the headquarters of the monastery of the Holy Snow Angels, is surrounded by high walls and is home to countless magnificent sanctuaries and temples built in ancient times when Sanguinius was still alive.

They are all magnificent, holy and pure, full of beautiful stained windows, exquisite statues and wide chapels, and the ground is paved with white marble. Countless such gorgeous buildings make up the main body of the monastery, deeply showing Sanguinius's understanding of beauty.

It is said that even Fulgrim reluctantly praised it when he saw it. You know, considering Fulgrim's personality and his jealousy and competitiveness towards Sanguinius, it is a miracle that he can praise it.

So if you want to come to Baal, I suggest you take a boat to land here directly, come to the monastery, so that you can appreciate the statues and murals here safely. Ah, of course, not now.

Pastor Raphael walked along the street, looking around at everything. The once magnificent cathedral and monastery had become a ruin. The two sides of the street were filled with collapsed building rubble, and exquisite statues were buried in them. Only half of the beautiful female statue he passed by was left outside.

The rest of her body was also shattered, only her head and half of her shoulders were intact, and the rest had become part of the rubble. Her hair was tied up and her porcelain-like white face leaned against the pile of stones, leaning down.

Raphael passed by her. He was not wearing a helmet. After all, his helmet had fallen somewhere when he blew the horn before, so he faced the world with his face straight for the first time in his life.

It was a pure Baal face, with pale skin and lips and eyes with a red halo. Under the thin face, sharp fangs were faintly visible in the mouth, like some kind of bat or beast.

But this is one of the secrets of the Blood Angels. Don't look at me like that, okay? Do you know enough little secrets? Remember to stay away from the Dark Angels, the Space Wolves, and in fact all the Chapters.

Raphael stopped and looked at the Tyranid corpse lying on the ground. The beast's body was split in two. The conspicuous traces of the bomb tore its body apart, turning most of its body into a mess of blurred flesh, which was splashed on the stained windows on the roadside.

Only half of the window was intact, and most of it had been shattered. Raphael looked at the angel figure made of stained glass mosaics on the window. He spread his wings and flew into the sky with a sword with the Holy Blood symbol in his hand. The sword pointed directly at the sky. A vague sound was reflected on the silver-white glass of the sword.

Raphael looked to one side along the reflection, and he saw the war captain Dante standing at the collapsed wall at the end of the street. His armor was very recognizable, with a large number of beautiful gems inlaid on it, and the golden relief patterns were extremely gorgeous. It was a masterpiece created by the best armorers on Baal who spent many years of effort.

There were also many excellent gem carvers, pattern design masters and polishers involved in the process. Together, they created the most gorgeous armor, as well as the sword in Dante's hand.

Raphael looked at the bloody holy sword in the hands of the Chapter Master. The smooth blade was now covered in blood, the jet-black blood of Tyranids. Raphael knew where it came from. The contributors of that blood were lying on the streets, hanging on the rubble, alleys, and even broken street lamps at high places.

Raphael walked up. When he passed by the street, he glanced at a warrior who was walking towards him. He noticed him because he was not a Blood Angel, nor a brother of a sub-group, but a member of a chapter he had never seen before. He was wearing blue armor, and on his shoulder was a U surrounded by an olive leaf ring.

Ultramarines? Raphael couldn't help thinking so. As a Chapter Priest who might not be the most knowledgeable among the Blood Angels, he was one of them. He had read the entire monastery library once, or even more than once. He was familiar with a lot of knowledge in it, especially the knowledge of all Space Marine Chapters.

He remembered the marks, logos, armor paint, etc. of all the chapters, but the logo and armor model of this warrior were something Raphael had never seen before. He could not find the name, origin, or any information of his chapter in his memory.

Maybe it was a ship-based chapter? They had been out of sight of the people of the empire for many years, and many of them were forgotten and disappeared in the records and rosters of the empire. Many of them were even considered to have been extinct for a long time, and it was very common for them to suddenly reappear in a certain battle.

Raphael looked at the warrior who passed by. He was taller than Raphael. When he approached him, he found that this warrior seemed to be different from most Space Marines. Raphael was already considered tall in the chapter, but this warrior was a head taller than him.

And it was not just him, the other foreign warriors around were the same. They wore the same armor and logo paint, holding grenade guns and searching and looking for the escaped Tyranids in the surrounding ruins, and would fire one or two shots from time to time. With them were the warriors of the Blood Angels.

Comparing the two, you can clearly realize that these foreign warriors are generally tall. It's really strange. Raphael has never seen such a situation. He knows that some members of the Space Marines are much taller than others, but generally speaking, the heights of the Space Marines are similar, and the difference is not too big. After all, the gene seeds all come from the same kinship of the Emperor.

But these warriors are different. They are very tall, a whole head taller than all the Blood Angels, which makes many people have to look up when talking to them.

And not only that, their number is also very large. Just standing on this street, Raphael roughly counted that there are more than one company. Their number completely overwhelmed the original masters of this place, the Blood Angels, as if they were the residents of Baal.

Raphael walked between the foreigners who stepped on the ruins on both sides. He came to Dante with a vigilant look. The captain glanced at him and then looked at the panoramic view of the monastery below.

Raphael stood with Dante. In front of him was the top of the mountain where the main hall of the monastery was located. Below the collapsed wall was the rest of the fortress. Many outer temples and churches were located together, and the living area of ​​mortal servants stood together. Those marble buildings were lined up together, extending to the distance.

Standing in Raphael's position, you can have a panoramic view of the entire fortress, and the Bar Plain in the distance. The red plain glowed red under the sun, like blood.

Raphael looked down at the area below. Most of the buildings in the mortal residential area had collapsed, and debris and rubble were everywhere. The churches and temples that provided Sunday prayers, medical treatment and genetic stability tests for the servants were also similar.

Most of the gorgeous buildings were reduced to ruins. The roofs of the better buildings were also smashed with several large holes, or the outer walls collapsed. More foreign warriors walked on the ruins. They stepped on the rubble with grenade launchers and peeked into the church.

In addition, there were corpses of mortals. Incomplete corpses were everywhere on the streets below. Outsiders were carrying those corpses, but they were mainly the dead Blood Angels and their descendants. They respectfully arranged the dead Blood Angels in the square below.

Their regiment priest walked on the square that was cleared out to place the bodies of the dead warriors. The incense burner in his hand was shaking, and the holy water in his other hand was sprinkled on the passing bodies. He chanted scriptures and poems in his mouth. Servo skulls flew on one side. They landed in front of the dead warriors and quickly scanned and recorded the identity codes of the victims with mechanical eyes.

More warriors were being carried to the square. Looking at the damaged armor and dead brothers, Raphael felt extremely sad, but he still suppressed his sadness and just sighed.

"It looks like the Tyranids have been driven out of the monastery. I haven't seen any trace of them on the surrounding plains." Raphael looked around at the red plains, on which he saw the remains of a tall scarab beetle lying in the distance. It lay on its side on the ground, with its long abdomen bent and arched high on the ground.

There was an eye-catching burning hole on its body. Even from such a distance, Raphael could clearly see the smoking hole in it. The flesh and blood in it had been evaporated, and a faint smoke was emitting outwards. Around it, There were also more huge war beasts lying on the plain, with obvious signs of attack on their bodies.

And Raphael also knew who hit them. He raised his head and looked at the sky above. Four Thunderhawks roared past. They flew from the top of the monastery to the earth in the distance. Three of them came from the tall sky. The scarab carcass passed over the carcass, and the other one turned and flew to the ground, landing in the specially cleared ruins in front of the cliff below Raphael.

The fighter plane spit out a stream of fiery air and landed on the ground. The foreign warriors holding bolt guns all around looked at the Thunder Eagle. They walked up and communicated with the people in the cockpit. Raphael couldn't hear them. voice, but another outsider's voice sounded behind him.

"Master Dante, you are here." The man said and walked up. Raphael turned around and saw the soldier wearing blue armor. The armor on his body was also the same as Dante's. Uniquely, there is a huge golden chapter emblem carved on its chest, surrounded by an olive leaf head made of emerald stones.

A red war robe was draped over his shoulders. The robe was draped over his left shoulder. The exquisite velvet cloak hanging down just covered the sword worn on his waist. The hilt of the sword was engraved with a circular U letter. Golden silk threads surround the hilt of the sword, and the scabbard is embedded with numerous gems arranged along a straight line.

Raphael looked at the warrior in front of him. There was a golden osmanthus crown surrounding the top of his battle helmet. Golden branches and leaves spread out in all directions, and green leaves grew on the branches. His eyes looked behind the rose-red glass window under his battle helmet. Looking at Raphael and Dante in front of him.

Raphael cleared his throat and nodded in salute with courtesy and respect. "You must be the leader of these noble warriors. Please accept my highest and sincere gratitude for your support. Without you, I'm afraid Barr would have lost his life." It has already fallen.”

"This is what we should do, respected priest." He said and took off the helmet on his head. The blue helmet was pressed down and then taken off. Raphael looked at the man who shook his head. With long blond hair, he raised his blue eyes to look at the two of them. The concave and convex faces were typical of Macragge residents. This further confirmed Raphael's conjecture that they were the ultimate A member of a sub-group of warriors.

"May I ask your name? Dear Chapter Master." "Bell Julius Cassius Guilliman." "Hello, respected Chapter Master Bell, may I ask what the name of your Chapter is? "What? Please forgive my ignorance, I have never seen your battle group logo." "Don't worry, we are just formed, called the Warriors of Truth."

After Raphael was stunned for a moment, he just formed it? He remembered that since the Cursed Founding, the Empire had rarely formed new Space Marine Chapters. The failed founding had left an indelible bad memory for everyone, whether it was the Space Marines or the High Lords. For mortals

But he said that they were a newly formed battle group? This couldn't help but make Raphael feel an instinctive suspicion. It sounded like a deceptive lie, but the priest hid his thoughts well and did not reveal any obvious suspicion.

"I'm sorry, Chapter Master, I was not aware that the Empire had launched a new army."

"Normally, Baal is surrounded by the shadow of subspace. You haven't received the news of the birth of the Primaris Chapter yet, but now you know it. You also suffered heavy casualties, but I believe there will be Primaris warriors to supplement your group soon. ”

Raphael was even more puzzled now. These new words were beyond his understanding. He looked at Bell in surprise, "Primaris Warrior? Please forgive Chapter Leader, I don't understand what you mean."

"You will understand. I will be happy to brief you and the remaining warriors later, but now I have been ordered to inform Chapter Master Dante." Bell said and turned to Dante, who said He looked at Bell silently, and Bell nodded respectfully. He lowered his iron fist to his chest in salute.

"Dante Chapter Commander, the Supreme Marshal is waiting for you. He has summoned you." Bell lowered his head and said respectfully. The respect he showed as Chapter Leader surprised Raphael, but it is no wonder that Bell, after all, He looked very young, even younger than Raphael. He must have heard the legend of Dante.

Any Space Marine will show the same respect to Dante. He, Calgar, and Logan are the oldest and most decorated Chapter Masters in the Empire. They all lead their own battles. The regiment has accomplished many feats, achievements that would impress any honor-conscious Space Marine.

Dante looked at Raphael at the side, and then looked at Bell, but it was Raphael who spoke first, "You mean Lord Vito is here too? On Baal?"

"Yes, it was he who led us here. He is waiting for you, sir. I suggest you not to keep him waiting for too long." Bell raised his head and did not look at Raphael, but looked directly at Dante and said, although He still respected Dante, but as the marshal's messenger, Bell also showed absolute authority and majesty.

As if what he said was what the Emperor said, he stood in front of Dante and Raphael with his head held high, one hand on the hilt of his sword, looking at them solemnly, waiting for Chapter Master Dante response.

The latter nodded without much hesitation. After receiving the affirmative answer, Bell also nodded with satisfaction. He then took a step back and waved his arms to the exit of the mountain road aside, "Please follow me, sir, this way. welcome."

Dante nodded slightly, and then followed, and Raphael naturally started to follow behind the chapter leader. They followed Bell and entered the mountain path, which is a winding passage winding around the mountain side of the main body of the monastery. Raphael I walked past it and looked to the side at the residential area below.

He was soon attracted by a dull roar. He raised his head and looked at the mountain road to the side. On the uneven mountain ground, a Chimera transport truck drove past, its tracks crushing On the ground, a truck was dragged towards the foot of the mountain. Raphael looked at the contents of the truck, which was filled with Tyran's body.

The war beasts were piled up in a mess, and the blood flew up as the tires of the trailer hit the rocks on the ground and then swayed. The blood flew out of the truck bed and splashed on the ground.

Raphael looked at the armored vehicle moving forward. In front of him, Bell was leading the way. He walked down the mountain road in a curved way. In front of him, a group of foreign warriors came towards him. They were carrying explosive bombs. The guns marched in formation, and the leading officer turned to salute him. The soldiers behind him also paid attention to Bell.

Bell looked at them and saluted in response, and then the large group of soldiers passed by him. They passed by Raphael in neat steps, their tall bodies passing by his side, and their heavy footsteps on the ground. Extremely loud.

Raphael's eyes followed a soldier at the end of the team and looked back. He watched the soldiers passing by with vigilance. They were heading towards the monastery above. There were more outsiders there now, far away. More than the Blood Angels.

This made Raphael begin to wonder whether they were preparing to take over the monastery and take everything here as their own, in addition to helping them drive away Tyron. Raphael's worry was not unreasonable, because now he had another problem on his head. Several Thunderhawks were lowered.

They flew out from above the mountain path, spiraled downwards, and then landed in the open space among the ruins below. Raphael followed Bell out of the sloping mountain path. He walked onto the ground below and looked at the few. The Thunderhawks that had just landed had their landing gear lowered, shaking up and down for a while as they landed.

The Thunder Eagle quickly landed smoothly. Its hatch slowly opened outwards and several groups of foreign Astartes warriors walked out of it. They stepped down neatly from it, fully armed, and their burly bodies stood shoulder to shoulder. They stood close together, and the neat queue walked down under the leadership of the sergeant at the head.

The leading sergeant stood at attention and saluted Bell, and after the latter nodded, he immediately moved to one side. The soldiers behind him who walked down the transport plane and marched to both sides also stopped at the same time. They stood neatly at attention on both sides, all of them. Everyone raised their bolt guns and saluted amidst the neat sounds of armor and arms clashing.

Raphael looked at them warily, his eyes under the helmet couldn't help but frown. He stared at the warriors lined up on both sides in front of him. Their team faced each other at an oblique angle from the fallen Thunderhawk hatch directly in front. They lined up at the corners, and the two Thunder Shadows behind them were also parked on both sides, guarding the Thunder Eagle in the center.

The cabin door of the fighter plane was open, and the lights illuminated the empty cabins on both sides. Bell stood in front of the cabin door and turned around to signal Dante to come in, "Please come up, Lord Dante, this aircraft The Thunderhawk will lead you to the Marshal's location, where he will be waiting for you."

Dante looked at the Thunderhawk and said nothing, but Raphael behind him spoke first. He raised his finger and pointed at the teams and Thunderhawk gunships lined up on both sides, "What are these for? Escort?"

"Escort, although the Tyranid Hive Fleet has been destroyed and expelled, and the insect swarms on the ground are also being swept away by our troops, many of them have escaped into the vast plains and mountains of Baal and are still attacking us. Troops, so Lord Dante’s transport plane needs to be escorted.”

"Can't we let our people come? This is our home world, and it should be like this, right?" Raphael still said in a humble tone, but he was already worried. Everything seemed wrong. It was not so much an interview. , rather, it is seizure and control.

"I don't want to hurt you, respected priest, but the current strength of your regiment cannot bear this task. If I remember correctly, your transport planes have been destroyed, so we are responsible for it."

Bell still explained patiently, and it seemed that he did not have any bad intentions. Raphael also wanted to believe him, but under the current situation, the Blood Angels Chapter suffered heavy casualties and was almost extinct. At this moment, a huge new Astartes warband suddenly arrived on Baal and deployed all its forces to Baal.

Although they said it was to eliminate the Tyranid threat, regardless of whether they had this idea, from a practical point of view, the result was that the entire Blood Angels Chapter was isolated and they were controlled within their own monastery. And now, these The outsiders also asked the Blood Angels Chapter Master to leave with them.

"Then let our soldiers take your transport plane? Or I can take a few soldiers to accompany the chapter leader." Raphael suggested again, but Bell shook his head without hesitation, "Sorry, respected priest, The marshal’s order was very clear, Chapter Commander Dante must go alone, and he only summoned the Chapter Commander.”

After Bell finished speaking, he looked at Dante. He raised his hand again to signal the Chapter Leader's invitation. The soldiers on both sides all stood at attention. The steel guns on their chests collided with their breastplates, making a neat roar.

Raphael frowned and looked at Dante, who also looked at him and then looked at Bell. He nodded to him and then walked towards the Thunder Eagle's cabin. Behind him, Raphael wanted to say But Dante raised his hand to stop something, and reluctantly chose to remain quiet.

Dante walked from Bell's side to the door of the transport plane. After he entered, Bell waved to the cockpit at the nose of the aircraft. The pilot nodded and sat back in the driver's seat. He swung rapidly After the switch in front of him, the hatch that Dante had just walked up rose and finally closed.

The jet engines on both sides of the Raikage roared, and the jet blades at the end flapped to both sides and rose up. The entire Thunderhawk soared into the sky, and the engines on both sides sprayed in opposite directions to make it turn around the fuselage. Raphael looked at the soldiers lined up on both sides and nodded, then turned around and stepped into the cabin. They were neatly buried in the cabin. As the leading officer entered, the Raikage quickly closed the cabin and took off.

Bell and Raphael stood on the ground and looked up at the formation of Thunderhawks that took off. After they flew up, they turned their engines and instantly rushed towards the side of the collapsed wall of the monastery. The Thunderhawk headed by them roared out from the gap in the wall. Rushing straight from the red plain to the distant horizon.

Three Thunderhawks flew out behind him. They formed an inverted triangle formation and followed behind, escorting the leading Thunderhawk from behind to the end of the horizon.

Raphael stared in that direction, and then he looked at Bell in front of him. The latter turned to Raphael and tilted his head to signal him to follow, "Come on, as the highest member of your war group currently present, It’s up to you to communicate with us on behalf of your regiment. Follow us, the captains of several other regiments are waiting for us.”

Bell said that he walked down the open space between the ruins and walked towards a building in the distance. Raphael turned his head and looked around, and he saw the Gothic steeple church standing among the ruins. It is the symbol of this street and the entire The only relatively complete building in the area.

Although the wall on one side of the church door collapsed, several low walls also collapsed, the glass was almost completely shattered, and there was a big hole in the roof, but at least it had not collapsed yet. There was a big hole in the door leaf on the side of the church. The streets were cleared and rubble was piled on both sides.

Raphael looked at the small circular square that had been cleared in front of the church. There were more foreign warriors standing there, and many of the armor markings and coatings were different from what he had seen before. Standing in front of the church and talking, everyone saluted Bell when he arrived.

Bell returned the salute to them, and then he stood in front of the church door. Looking at several military flags held by the foreign soldiers on both sides, he looked at Raphael and said, "Follow me, pastor."

Raphael looked at the foreign warriors and let out a long sigh. He looked towards the main monastery high behind him and prayed silently, "Bless with the holy blood."

After that, he walked in the direction of Bell, and walked towards the church. Behind the door, above the smashed ceiling, and in the prayer hall illuminated by the sun, there were several soldiers wearing armor different from the soldiers around them. The group leaders all turned to look at Raphael.

The priest walked towards them, towards the outsiders, like a young lamb walking into a wolf's den alone. Before entering the street, he looked at the direction of the Thunderhawks in the distance for the last time. Several Thunderhawks were flying in the sky like blood. In the same sunset.