Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes.

Chapter 132
Imperial Calendar 743.M39, Storm Starfield, Feldman 9, on the plain outside the planetary fortress.

On the edge of the empty wilderness, there is no vegetation on the cold open land except sand and gravel.

In the heavy dark clouds in the upper atmosphere, the light of the artificial moon occasionally passed through the gaps, illuminating the place not far in front of Calvin.

"One-on-three." Calvin thought as he watched the three Astartes walking slowly out of the darkness at the edge of the moonlight.

Under the cold white moonlight, the water molecules in the windless air slowly condensed on the armor.

The four people approaching each other while walking slowly stopped at the subtle distance of 30 meters, like the instinct of a beast, they all knew each other, and one step forward was the beginning of the war.

The moonlight still quietly shone on the four metal statues, except for the four long breathing sounds, no movement could be seen.

sand...sand...sand...

A sand lizard crawled out of the hole. It was so frightened by the killing intent that it forgot its original intention of preying, and the sound of running away broke the weak balance.

boom!
The two Astartes raised their great swords and rushed towards Calvin from both sides. The remaining man directly behind raised the storm bolt gun in his hand and shot at Calvin in a grinning grin. Bomb.

The two wings outflank and the center suppresses.

The inverted triangle formation approached Calvin in the blink of an eye, and only then did he look away from the moon above his head.

There, a dark cloud will touch the edge of the moonlight.

It's now!The silver figure rose suddenly at the moment of the light and dark change, charging towards the left!

The sand brought up by the huge force has not yet landed, and the trailing bullets are still chasing the figure in front in vain.

Calvin had already come first and arrived in front of the Astarte.

"Go!"

With a body that is a full head taller than the opponent, the raised warhammer smashed the opponent's parry with the huge force from the charge.

Facing the empty door, Calvin leaned back, and the heavy shoulder armor collided, and the Asate lost his center of gravity after a muffled grunt, and his heavy body retreated irresistibly to the back under the greater force.

The explosive bombs in the distance hit the body in front of him like raindrops, and the sound of puffing into the flesh could not stop Calvin from moving forward.

Seeing this, the second person who rushed over opened his eyes angrily, simply raised the big sword in his hand, and swung his arms in circles, intending to chop the two of them off at the waist.

But things backfired. Calvin, who had dealt with him countless times, clearly knew the other party's choice.

Another burst of strength threw the heavy body in front of him towards the opponent.Taking advantage of the moment when the opposite side cleared his perspective, Calvin's eyes lit up with silver light!

discipline!

The right hand pointed to the distance, where the psychic lightning was directed, and Astarte, who was holding a storm bolt gun, was knocked down in response!
At this time, the last survivor in front of him had just chopped off the remnant body of his comrade.

With only the last person left in front of me, Calvin's pressure dropped sharply.He ticked the opponent provocatively with one hand, signaling to end this unilateral killing quickly.

"For The Emperor!!!"

The only remaining Astartes did not lose their fighting spirit because of this, he erected his long sword, and bravely charged towards his own death under the bright moonlight again.

boom!
The confrontation between the scepter and the great sword was simple and unadorned. Calvin resisted the first sword under the blessing of the charge, and the sound of the subsequent clashes was closely connected, as if it was just a collision. echo.

The Astartes warrior's longsword was still swinging at high speed and forcefully, but after losing the initial momentum, the outcome was no longer in his grasp.

The disadvantage of polearms in melee combat is clumsiness, which can't be seen in Calvin's body.

The exquisite pace conceals the near-perfect control of the center of gravity; the huge improvement in martial arts allows Calvin to resist the opponent's attack only by the inertia of the weapon itself, except for the first three blocks.

The attack that was slashed head-on with the sword was blocked by the body of the stick that was raised lightly;
Taking advantage of the opportunity to slash the shoulders and necks, the shoulder armor that turned and stepped in resisted:

Taking a step back, the slash that swept across the waist was knocked away by the rotating stick tail;

After the three strikes, Calvin, who had finally seen all the opponent's martial arts, lost his patience.

It seems to be slashed with a stick, but in an understatement, it is actually a release of the inertia accumulated before.

The opponent's resistance seemed so weak at this moment, as the long sword shattered, the wrist holding the sword was also broken by a huge force.

On the yellow-painted Terminator power armor, the cracked helmet and the heavy body flew towards the direction they came from.

Calvin walked slowly towards the fallen body of the opponent, looking down at the strange yet familiar face of this Astartes.

"Commander Uttas, is there anything else you want to say?"

"Fight for... the emperor...! Even if you die... don't regret it!"

Supported by one arm, the soldier was still trying to stand up.With lifeless eyes, he replied dully according to the last will of his life.

"Then, go all the way!"

Calvin slapped the scepter in his hand, and made the final journey for this afterimage in his consciousness.

"call!"

Calvin opened his eyes, savoring the aftertaste of the battle just now.

He was the only one in the huge metal hall with silver-gray as the main color.

The door behind him was opened at some unknown time, and a gray knight walked in with standard steps:
"Master, Terra's envoy has arrived."

That's right, since 713.M39 Imperial Calendar, this has been Calvin's tenth year as Warden of the Gray Knights' fortress in the Feldman system.

30 years, for ordinary people, means the aging of a generation.Even for the Astartes, known for their longevity, this also meant time for a long war.

The same is true for Calvin. In his original plan, he never imagined that he would stay here for such a long time.

The finishing work on Feldman's planet 4 took him 10 years.

Since 715, screening, memory cleansing procedures, and subsequent repeated contamination and rebellion have consumed too much of his energy.

In 718 alone, under his leadership, a full 400 of the 60 million Star Militia Army were judged as traitors and then subjected to purification procedures.

The subsequent three rebellions, although slightly smaller in scale, also involved at least 10 people identified as sources of pollution.In the final cleanup process, as many as 50 people eventually buried the contaminated people.

As of 723, there were less than 280 million Star Militia members who were finally judged to be pure and allowed to return to their home planet.

This was the case with the war against Chaos. Bloodshed was never limited to the battle. The cleanup after the war was often more painful than the battle itself. This was his personal experience.

But this does not make Calvin despair, after all, from the perspective of the race as a whole, this kind of casualty is far from being called traumatic.

This is where humans have the advantage as ephemeral species. Their ability to reproduce makes them naturally have great stamina.

Even under the internal and external troubles of evil gods and aliens, human beings who often suffer heavy casualties still use their unparalleled numbers to firmly occupy the position of the largest race in the galaxy.

Here's what he's learned in his long time as Commander of the Gray Knights:
If he wants to create value for the empire for a longer period of time, he must learn to focus on the overall situation instead of one person.

The metal door at the end of the hall was opened again, and the golden figure who was walking caught Calvin's attention.

Behind him is the representative from the Tribunal.

After paying his respects to Calvin, the envoy from the throne room stated his purpose:

"In the name of the emperor, a relic that is extremely important to the empire has been discovered in this star field, and the Throne Court has sent people here. But there are signs that Chaos is also aware of its existence. We need your help .”

Calvin frowned. The main force of the Gray Knights in his hands had been dispatched to carry out the mission, and a small number of garrison troops were guarding the fortress under construction at the edge of the galaxy.

At this moment, the only remaining reserve force in his hands is his own team, which has less than 20 people.

He turned towards the emissary of the imperial army.

"How many people do you want?"

"At least 30, the more the better."

"I only have 15 people, I will go with you."

The envoy of the Forbidden Army hesitated. He was not sure about the safety of this trip, so he was even more uncertain whether it was necessary to involve the person in front of him.

"Your duty is more important, please send the troops in your hands."

This was a suggestion from a representative of the Inquisition, and the Custodian Herald agreed in a rare silence.

But Calvin already had his own decision. He looked at the two of them and smiled slightly. Under his white teeth were his firm words:
"Fight for the empire, even if you die, you will not regret it!"

　One more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)