40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 208 33. Conscription (End)

Felzalost tried hard to remain serious.

The chief think tank was dressed very formally today, and he took out the clothes he had only worn for a few days when the original body returned.

This is a black robe, embroidered with dull gold edges, not flashy, and not too detailed.But it's much better than the burqa or cloak he wears all year round over his training clothes.

The same cannot be said for his adjutant. Adebeman Basili was bored and leaning on the steel railing on the second floor of the training ground, staring down.Not to mention being serious, he was dressed the same as he was a few decades ago, not long after he came out of Terra prison.

Just as casual, just as undisciplined.The black sleeveless top and heavy boots made him look like a gang member standing at an intersection collecting money - as long as you ignored his overly large figure.

Feir tried hard to suppress his urge to sigh, and spoke softly: "Are you really not going to go back and change your clothes, Adebeman?"

"Do you really think it makes any difference what you wear to face them, my company commander?" The adjutant turned back with a half-smile. "How about I just change into the robes that the Word Bearers are used to wearing, and bring a tome with the Emperor's holy words that I personally copied?"

"I have no objection to you doing this." Feier smiled dangerously. "Actually, I'd love to see you do that, Adebeman."

"No, thank you, company commander." The adjutant shrugged. "I'm not that stupid yet"

"But you are already as unorganized as those Fenrisians." Feier said with a sneer, making no secret of his attitude. "Do you also want to get drunk every day, and even take the auxiliaries to eat and drink together after the battle until they have to accept disciplinary punishment?"

"I'm not averse to alcohol." Adebeman deliberately put on a confused expression. "But we don't seem to have much cooperation with them. How do you know so clearly, company commander?"

"Because I am the company commander." Fehr gestured to his adjutant with a slit-throat salute. "And you are just an adjutant - so go back now and change my clothes before coming back. Do you plan to let the recruits regard you as a gang member?"

Adebeman did as he was told with great reluctance. Seeing that he at least complied, Feir forced himself to ignore the two ancient Terran slangs that Adebeman said when he left.

He came to the front of the railing, straightened his clothes, and then stared down.

The phalanx composed of 220 and [-] people does not even occupy one-fifth of the space in the huge training room in the nest, and this is just a training ground in the nest.

They all wore loose black clothes with uniform hair and different expressions.Fehr took a moment to observe everyone and convinced himself that they were actually all children under the age of 16 - realizing this made the chief think tank suddenly feel stunned.

He didn't see any childishness in the demeanor of the reservists. In fact, some of them looked completely weathered.

Too much maturity usually means rapid growth, and rapid growth
Fair sighed.

"What's wrong, Chief Think Tank?" A voice sounded from behind him, very soft, almost like the sound of wind.

"It's nothing, Yarod." Feier told their sixth company commander without looking back, and was no exception to the sudden voice. "I just think that our recruits probably all have some kind of psychological problem or multiple problems."

The sixth company commander smiled silently, and his burned right cheek squirmed a little at this moment. The terrible scar slowly turned calm after a few seconds, and he spoke again.

"Don't make it sound like you don't have any psychological problems, Phil. Don't you know who we were in the past?"

"At least 70.00% of my psychological problems were acquired during the war." Feier finally turned his head. "And what about these reservists? The vast majority of them were already like this before the war started."

Yarod shook his head slowly.

"And these problems will only increase, and eventually, time will turn them into people like us."

"People like us? It's amazing how you sound like a messenger of justice when you talk. What's the matter, Yarod? Got a conscience after so many years as an executioner?"

"I don't have that kind of thing at all." The sixth company commander replied expressionlessly. "I'm just telling you a fact. Regardless of the type it is carried out or the method used, war is essentially a meat grinder that destroys humanity. Sooner or later, they will be broken like us."

Fel was silent for a moment, looking thoughtful, and Yarod waited patiently for his brother's next answer.But he didn't expect that Feier just laughed suddenly.

"So this is why you like writing poetry." The chief think tank spread his hands mockingly. "Can those sentimental words help you glue together what little humanity you have left, Yarod?"

Faced with his sarcasm, the sixth company commander nodded again.

"Very good," he said quietly. "Classic Eighth Legion style - to be honest, Phil, I'm not into writing poetry. I just want to find something to do for myself in my free time. The war will always end, and where do we go from here? ?”

Felzalost frowned.

He suppressed his smile and stared closely at his colleague.The expression on that face once made Yarod think that he would suddenly throw a punch, but the chief think tank did not do so after all.

"No, that's not it, brother." He said softly and gently. "Before clocks were invented, there was a profession on Ancient Terra, bell ringers - or something else, I can't remember."

"They would bang one of their man-made sound-producing instruments at dawn and night to wake people from their sleep. Others may still have time to rest, but our war will only end with the invention of the clock. . We are the bell ringers, Yarod, we will only be abandoned by the times, and it is absolutely impossible for us to retire voluntarily."

The Sixth Company Commander nodded silently and said in a low voice: "You are so pessimistic that you look like a psychopath, Feir."

Think Tank smiled happily, agreed with his brother, and pointed down the railing.There, a grouping is beginning.

"Let's pick someone," Feier said softly. "I choose the No. 20 six in the third row, what about you?"

"I choose him too."

"Oh, no, don't even think about it - you're cheating."

"Who stipulates that you can't choose the same person?" Yarod smiled contemptuously. "That guy looks good. I'll choose him. If you don't think it's good, just find someone else."

Fehr narrowed his eyes, and half a second later, he threw the two ancient Terran slang words his adjutant had said to him a few minutes ago to the sixth company commander.The latter grinned and began to exchange these slang terms with the chief think tank in a low voice.
-
Nervous, extremely nervous.However, despite this tension, there is still a little bit of sanity remaining.The boy named Shen breathed slowly and suppressed his emotions, waiting to be grouped.

In fact, although he acted calm, his brain was still in chaos.He still felt uneasy and angry from the dream two hours ago.

Well, let's be honest here - there's not a single Nostramo left alive who doesn't hate the nobility.

No.Unless he has no memory.Therefore, Shen was actually unable to organize complete thoughts to deal with what was going to happen next.

He stood there, and the people in front of him were leaving one by one.The giants, who were wearing black robes and whose faces were so pale that they looked exactly like them, were assigning them dormitories and teams to which they would belong in the future.

Shen was in the third row, so everyone in front of him quickly disappeared.The two giants came to the far right of his row and began to speak to them one after another, in a soft voice that was hard to hear.

He lowered his head and began to keep telling himself that there was no need to be nervous.He took a deep breath, and when he raised his head again, the two giants were already in front of him.

At this moment, the boy's sanity was completely shattered.He had warned himself countless times not to be nervous, but now even his fingers began to tremble at a high frequency.One of the giants smiled, an unfriendly smile.

"Are you scared, boy?" he asked with a chuckle. "Are you going to cry or what?"

"No"

"Answer him louder." The giant standing in front of him said, his voice hoarse, no different from ice.

Shen felt a chill, his back shone, and cold sweat began to break out on his forehead and back. This was supposed to be a moment of collapse, but he somehow managed to hold on.

A sudden surge of calm made him raise his head and speak clearly in Nostramo: "No."

"Call me sir."

"No, sir."

"Very good." The giant nodded to him. Although he praised him, his face remained expressionless. "Your name is Shen? Interesting, but clear enough to remember. You have been assigned to the seventh team. Now, go over there. The servitor will tell you where to go." He raised his hand and pointed. A small door to the east of the training ground.Shen nodded to him and left quickly.His clothes swayed back and forth as he ran, and the cold wind blew past, making his sweaty back feel cold.

Shen felt a sense of relief in his heart, but it did not last long.As soon as he approached the small door, he was startled by something that looked like a human but not quite human.

The thing had a dull, pale face.That kind of white skin color is not something that humans can have, and even the Nostramo people cannot have the same skills in dressing up corpses.It has no eyelids and its eyes are blue. The color that should have been beautiful now looks like a pool of stagnant water.

It looked at Shen blankly, and Shen also looked at it blankly, feeling a chill coming from the soles of his feet straight to his forehead.

"You" Shen said with difficulty. "You, who are you?"

The thing didn't answer, but tilted its head in confusion, as if it didn't understand.The stalemate lasted for a while, until a sound of mechanical operation came from under its robe. After a while, it seemed to confirm something and actually nodded to him.

"Please follow me." It said dully, and immediately turned around and walked forward.

"What?" Shen was confused. He quickly followed up and reached out to grab its shoulders.The ensuing touch made Shen immediately let go of his hand like an electric shock - he did not feel the touch that a flesh and blood body should have, but a coldness as hard as steel.

It stopped, turned around slowly, and stared blankly at Shen with its eyelidless eyes: "Order?"

"."

Shen Ye stared at it blankly without saying a word.

"Order?" It asked again, but Shen still didn't answer.So, it turned around again.

This time, Shen followed it silently. Ten minutes later, he stepped through the escaping mist and arrived at a room so wide that Shen could hardly open his eyes.

He raised his head and looked at the chandelier candles with burning candles on the ceiling in shock, feeling them burning silently, without even noticing the departure of the servitor.Then, he turned his neck to the left and saw fifteen huge bookshelves.

Thick books stared at Shen quietly on the shelf.In front of these bookshelves are five long tables arranged in sequence, and eight flags are hung on the surrounding walls.There were already many people discussing in low voices below them.

Shen was not a person who liked to join in the fun, so he did not go there.He continued to observe the room, and finally saw a huge stone door behind the long table.

A sigil gleamed on it, looking like a blade that had just pierced the heart.

Shen approached in awe and began to observe closely. He knew that this was the symbol of the Midnight Blades.He stared at this coat of arms for a long time, almost fascinated.This prevented him from noticing the disappearance of the sound in the room and the sound of an extra breath behind him.

It took Shen a few minutes to realize something was wrong - he immediately turned around and saw a man much taller and stronger than him.He was almost as tall as the giants, and the man was staring down at him.

Although the expression was not malicious, it was definitely not kind.A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm fascinated by it." The man spoke first. "Don't you know where this is, recruit?"

"I don't know." Shen answered honestly.

"This is the entrance to my room," the man said. "And you're blocking my way - do you know who I am?"

"do not know."

"I am your commander." The man chuckled. "Can't you see? Now call sir to listen."

Shen raised his head and frowned slightly.He glanced up and down at the little giant before giving a negative answer: "No, you're not them."

The smile froze, and Sevita raised his eyebrows, feeling a little surprised, but he still wanted to carry out this improvised trick: "You are so brave, recruit, how dare you say that?"

"Because you don't have their temperament." Shen replied calmly. "And you're not tall enough or strong enough."

Sevita waved his fist at him: "At least I'll give you a good beating. You're really brave. New soldier, what's your name?"

"What's your name?" Shen asked back. This person's performance made him more and more sure of his conjecture.Therefore, he now has no fear at all.

Sevita couldn't help but laugh: "You are really not afraid of being beaten, are you, recruit? Okay. My name is Yago Sevtalion, and everyone who knows me calls me Sevita."

"My name is Shen."

"That's it, gone?" Sevita frowned. "How come you have such a short name? Are you kidding me on purpose?"

"If you are unhappy, you can go to the Third Public Cemetery to find my father." Shen raised his head and said. "He's at No. 16."

"."

Savita narrowed her eyes, then stretched out her hand in annoyance, and quickly but gently pushed Shen away.He put his hand on the coat of arms, and the stone door slowly opened.Next, all the reservists present heard his voice.

"This will be your dormitory from now on. Your biometric data has been entered. Just do what I just did and you can open the door. My name is Yago Savitarion. I came here some time before you. I am the first reserve. "

He pointed at his dark eyes maliciously: "So I am the boss. Do any of you have any opinions?"

"I have an opinion." Shen said. "This is gang style and you shouldn't have brought it here."

Savita lowered his head silently, stared at Shen, and shook his head slowly.

"Is there something wrong with your brain?" he said. "Do you really think I won't do anything to you?"

"You can try." Shen puffed out his chest. "Unless you kill me on the spot, which I bet you wouldn't dare."

"What are you betting on? Your life?"

"Yes." Shen nodded. "The Midnight Blades are the Emperor's Eighth Legion. They are the judge, the punisher, the judge and the executioner. But only if they are not nobles or gangs. You can kill me, but you will be killed by them."

The boy who was younger and much shorter than Sevita suddenly sneered, and an emotion that seemed familiar to Sevita suddenly emerged on his face, making Shen's expression look extremely ferocious.

".I swore an oath, and so did they. So if you want to kill me, then do it."

Savita turned his head and happened to see the reservists quietly approaching.They are not as tall as him, nor as strong as him, nor do they know many ways to kill like he does now.But they surrounded Sevatar without fear.

One thousand 220 pairs of dark eyes were shining, staring at him wordlessly.

"They will avenge me." Shen said softly but firmly. "And what can you do, Yago Severtarion?"

Sevatar blinked, and half a minute later, he smiled.

"You guys are so damn funny," he sneered. "Come in, everyone. I'll show you around the dormitory. Tomorrow, you won't be so strong anymore. And you, Shen."

He lowered his head and looked into the latter's eyes.

"I remember you," Sevatar said softly.

"Me too." Shen replied seriously.

　update completed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)