Emperor's Bane

Chapter 979 Interlude: Night in the Trench

"No no no!"

"You are all wrong!"

"Big mistake!"

"Shut up and listen to me."

……

Several hours had passed since the sun set.

When the starry sky casts down the purest black, and the pitch-black night begins to envelop the entire battlefield, even the most brutal carnage must take a brief respite.

Commanders on both sides withdrew their soldiers from the front lines with either regret or relief. The endless charges and mass artillery bombardment also paused briefly. The sharp whistles and ear-piercing sounds of gunfire ceased, and the brutal killing field of the daytime fell silent in an instant.

It was quiet, like a graveyard.

On the battlefield, filled with the stench of corpses, decay, and soil churned by acid rain, the exhausted mortal soldiers, weary from a long day, retreated into the trenches they had dug themselves a few days earlier, and then endured the next night in endless fatigue and cold.

They had to huddle together in a small pit that could barely accommodate them, trying to rest for a while before the next charge. Hunger, thirst, and illness were the norm at this time, but no one was willing to leave their positions.

Even if their bladders were bursting, they were willing to stay in place and lie there to relieve themselves, even if it would fill the entire trench with stench and malaria.

But compared to fleeing east and west at night, only to be pinned to the ground by friendly flares and enemy machine guns, or stepping into a waterlogged crater and being found as a bloated floating corpse, shivering in the icy rain at night is not unacceptable.

After all, nobody cares about them.

Their equipment was tattered, their morale was even lower than the trenches they had dug, and nothing paid any attention to these poor souls except for the occasional artillery blast from the distant horizon: they were not the protagonists of this war, but merely the pitiful souls who had been forcibly dragged into this meat grinder.

Just like the front they were stationed on: a remote place that didn't even have an official name and wasn't marked on the maps of the Primarchs or Astartes.

This place is thousands of miles away from the main battlefield, yet it cannot be considered a demilitarized zone. So, a group of poor souls were haphazardly dressed in military uniforms and became gifts from their governor or king to the Primarch. They were forced to stay in this godforsaken place, facing off against another group of similarly conscripted individuals, separated by a distance of several hundred meters.

Until they are all wiped out by cheaper shells, a massive plague that is destined to break out, or a recklessly commanded charge.

Then, another batch of the same pathetic creatures will be brought in from elsewhere to take their place.

They were thrown into a purgatory called Betangamon.

……

No, saying it's Betangamon isn't entirely accurate.

After all, the world they were in was still thousands of miles away from that famous gateway to the solar system.

This is merely a stepping stone: the Emperor's Sons attempt to conquer the entire world as a forward base for their next advance on Betangamon, while the Imperial Fist and the Space Wolves want to hold out longer, inflicting as much damage as possible on Vograim's forces to create more room for error in the final defensive war of the Betangamon system.

For months, the three legions have been fighting for their respective goals on this obscure world. Overall, the war is gradually turning in favor of the Third Legion. The Terran army, which is already outnumbered, is now only putting up a last-ditch resistance in its last stronghold.

They were waiting: waiting for their allied forces to repair the next line of defense before immediately retreating, leaving this utterly destroyed world to the rebels.

The Emperor's sons were well aware of this, and they were also making careful calculations. Although they could not completely drive the defending fleet out of near-Earth orbit, there was still much they could do in the siege: more and more elite forces and supplies were being mobilized, and it was said that the Phoenix Lord himself would be going to the front lines in a long time.

Of course, these grand narratives have nothing to do with the cannon fodder in the corners.

Their most direct feeling about this was that, along with the preparation for another large-scale offensive, the supplies allocated to them were further exploited: the logistical supplies, which were already replenished every ten days or so, could not even be guaranteed to be rotated twice a month.

This adjustment dealt a devastating blow to already low morale and troop quality. After the opposing defenders launched a probing counterattack, the reckless actions of just six Space Wolf soldiers caused the defensive line, defended by hundreds of thousands of soldiers, to collapse almost instantly.

If Acudona's patrol hadn't been nearby at the time and arrived in time to deter these audacious sons of Ruth, the situation might have been even worse: these cannon fodder troops were not from elite legions either, and once the chain reaction of the fleeing soldiers started, it would have been unstoppable.

Therefore, at Acudona's angry request, the Emperor's Son's command had no choice but to take a second look at this front, which was still somewhat significant.

Then, a large number of defeated soldiers from other battlefields were haphazardly woven together to form a so-called new legion and were assigned here.

Although these remnants were equally battered and broken, many of them had experienced several battles and had broadened their horizons within the Third Army Corps.

So, when some lucky ones were allowed to rotate behind the lines, a discussion naturally began about the Astartes warriors overhead.

"Your views are all those of a frog in a well."

Beside the crackling campfire, the most authoritative voice came from a scruffy old soldier with a gleaming medal from the end of the Great Crusade hanging on his chest and the insignia of his former unit on his shoulder: a unit that had been completely annihilated by the Imperial Fist three months earlier.

"If you ask me, the good and bad qualities of these sons of emperors are actually quite obvious."

“Especially those company commanders and lords.”

"Who are the good people, and who are the bastards?"

"Who are willing to care about our lives? And who don't even consider us human beings?"

"If you figure this out, find an opportunity to attach yourself to a more reliable name: you'll have an 80% chance of surviving."

"Just like me."

At this point, the veteran proudly pointed to himself.

“I was originally under Lord Edoron, but I thought that guy was unreliable, so I took an opportunity to secretly go to another lord, Vespasian: anyway, the military organization is a mess right now, so if you give the officer some benefits, he won’t mind having one more person in his team.”

"I was planning to run away with a few of my old buddies, but they were all reluctant to spend money, and I heard they're all dead now."

"See? That's what fate is."

Around the campfire sat a dozen or so soldiers from different units. Most of them remained numbly silent, simply keeping their hands as close to the fire as possible to keep warm. But a few of them still had a glimmer in their eyes; they were the ones most interested in the stories the veterans told.

"Hey, old man."

In the flickering light, a soldier who looked exceptionally young raised his head.

"Can you tell us: which company commander or lord would make it easier to get by?"

"This will give us a reference point in the future."

"Yes... yes, it is possible."

Upon hearing this, the veteran immediately puffed out his chest, as if he were talking about his proudest achievement, and at the same time, his tone became hesitant and drawn-out.

“But you see, speaking is just a matter of touching the lips, but this thing is something I earned with my life: it would be too much of a loss to just say it out loud.”

Before he finished speaking, several low jeers and boos came from the darkness.

The veteran felt no remorse and just stood there.

Soon after, from another direction, someone suddenly threw out a shiny object.

"Is this enough?"

The veteran took it and looked at it: it was a can.

"Beans...tsk tsk tsk!"

After seeing the name clearly, he even showed some disdain.

"Isn't there any meat in it?"

The boos and jeers seemed to grow louder, and even some of the previously indifferent people quietly turned to look.

"It would be nice to have it."

Someone complained in the darkness.

"You know how we're treated. Those emperors' sons have long forgotten about us."

"This canned food is still the freshest."

"Is it?"

The old soldier rummaged around in his pocket and finally pulled out a pocket watch, which he held in his hand like a treasure.

"Let me take a look..."

Shelf life: 20 years.

"Production date... Holy crap! Tomorrow!"

He grinned, but quickly calmed down.

The veteran glanced again at the incredibly young recruit by the campfire, looked into his bright, gleaming eyes, and finally shook his head, putting the can away.

"Alright, alright: listen up, everyone."

……

"If you ask me, if given the chance, having three companies would be the top priority."

"The Second Company, the Tenth Company, and the Twelfth Company."

"How to say?"

Immediately someone followed up with another question.

“I have served in all three of these companies.”

The veteran patted his chest.

"The company commander of the Second Company is Akudona, a real man. Although he is not very good at commanding, he would not do anything despicable, and he would not send his men to their deaths for no reason. He is not particularly good to ordinary people, but he is not particularly bad either. When he can take care of them, he is willing to do so."

"At least under his management, you don't have to worry about being sent away one day without even knowing why."

"Moreover, he provided ample supplies and military pay."

"As for the 10th Company, their company commander is a veteran soldier named Tavitz. Among all the sons of the Emperor, he has the best character. He truly treats us mortals as comrades-in-arms. There aren't many company commanders in the Third Army like him. He even considered the casualties of our mortal troops before the battle." "His troops have the best treatment, even having a mess hall and a hospital. Moreover, he is not greedy for credit and doesn't go to the most critical front lines for no reason."

"The chances of survival are very high."

"Honestly, if I hadn't made a mistake, I wouldn't have wanted to leave that unit."

"As for the company commander of the 12th Company, his name is Solomon."

"I heard that he used to be Acudona's deputy, but was later sent out to lead troops on his own. He was a bit reckless in his work, just like Acudona, but he wasn't a bad person. He also wouldn't make decisions to send his subordinates to their deaths. However, he was much better at managing things than Acudona, so his treatment in the company was much better than that of the Second Company."

"Anyway, if you can get under the command of these three companies, your chances of survival will greatly increase."

"Especially the 10th Company: that's a unit that many people would do anything to get into."

"If you want to be dropped into the ten-pull, then you really have some serious skills."

"Of course, if all else fails, you can go find a lord commander named Vespasian and see if his mortal troops can infiltrate. He's a good man, a very heroic fellow. However, as a lord commander, he's higher in rank than a company commander and has more responsibilities. He rarely has time to look after his mortal troops, so his treatment isn't as good as the first three."

"That depends on your fate."

"However, all four of them are great people: that's for sure."

While the veteran was still talking non-stop, many people had already quietly pricked up their ears.

"So, according to you..."

The recruit shuffled forward a little.

"These are all good people."

Are there bad guys there?

"Have!"

The veteran nodded immediately.

His expression turned serious.

"Remember two names."

“Lucius, the company commander of the 13th Company.”

“There is also an Aidoron, who is also a lord commander.”

"Neither of them treats us like human beings. The mortality rate of their ordinary troops is extremely high."

"Especially Adoron, who was said to have been the chief lord and commander of the Legion. Later, he made a huge mistake during the Great Crusade and was demoted. It is said that in order to regain Forgrim's favor, he would do anything and he didn't care how many people died under his command in order to make great contributions."

"I heard that almost none of the mortal troops under his command could last three months."

"Anymore?"

"And then there's Kaiseron, the company commander."

"He's a bit odd, but compared to Lucius and Edoron, he's much better. He's a decent choice."

"If you're thrown into his hands and can't escape, be careful. If you're lucky, you won't die."

"Also, we must be wary of Marius."

"He was from the Third Company, and he wasn't a bad guy on a regular basis."

"But this guy is a perfectionist on the battlefield. Even if you win a battle, if you don't meet his standards, he can still sentence your entire unit to expulsion, or even send you on a suicide charge: that's really bastard."

“…That’s right!”

At this point, the veteran seemed to remember something.

"There's one more thing you need to pay attention to."

He leaned forward, his deeply lined face appearing somewhat ferocious in the firelight.

"No matter which company you're in."

"If you see your company commander arguing with other company commanders, especially about issues such as the upcoming tactical arrangements."

"Then don't hesitate: run!"

“These guys don’t settle things with a private duel once they get into a fight.”

"They will directly lose lives on the battlefield."

"Whoever wins is right."

"Whoever is right will receive more favor from their Primarch, Forgrim."

"Apart from the few company commanders I mentioned, the rest of the company commanders don't care how many people will die."

"In their eyes."

“Even if a million of us die, it wouldn’t be worth a single compliment from Fogrem.”

"hiss……"

The atmosphere around the campfire seemed a bit subdued.

"So...are they all like that?"

"Not at all."

The veteran shook his head.

"The good company commanders I was talking about, and the officers who were close to them on a regular basis."

“These guys have some conscience; they won’t gamble with people’s lives.”

"But those few bastard company commanders, they're the kind of law-abiding like Kethoron and Marius."

“Once it involves Primarchs and internal competition, they turn into a completely different beast.”

"They are more ruthless than aliens."

"Furthermore, if you are serving under Vespasian or Tavitz, then don't let your troops get too close to Lucius or Edoron's men."

"why?"

"They don't get along: those two bastards will deliberately send your team on suicide missions to annoy others."

"no……"

The recruits stared in surprise.

"Them? I remember they were comrades-in-arms."

"Comrade?"

The veteran smiled.

"Yes, they are comrades-in-arms: these guys are all sons of the Emperor, sons of Primarch Grimm, and they all fought in the Great Crusade, and they fought side by side more than a hundred years ago."

"But don't forget, they've been separated for almost fifty years now. In those fifty years, they've not only not cooperated, but have been fighting each other for the Primarch Vorgrim's favor: even if they had some friendship during the Great Crusade, they now see each other as enemies."

"Especially that guy Aidoron, he sees almost every lord, commander, and company commander as an opponent. He'll do anything to climb over their heads to get to the top."

"He has more than once deliberately sent Solomon's or Tavitz's troops to their deaths, and then turned around and blamed them for poor command."

"In the eyes of people like them."

“These officers in the Emperor’s Sons may not be as pleasing to the eye as the guys on the other side of the trenches.”

"Anyway, be careful, kid,"

The veteran shook his head helplessly.

"I've been with the Third Army for over fifty years."

"This unit is becoming increasingly unhealthy."

"You should be more careful in your daily life."

"Don't get involved with them."

"And don't get too close to those people."

"I've only heard about it..."

The veteran suddenly lowered his voice and mysteriously approached the campfire.