Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 740 The Bizarre Battle Oath Ceremony and the Headache-Provoking Mortals
This should have been something that made him even happier and more solemn.

What could be more gratifying than having three other members of the Council of Four Kings and two company commanders witness your oath of allegiance to the war?
Although he did believe that a small-scale Astartes operation like a regional counterinsurgency didn't require so many comrades to take the time to witness his oath, it would be self-deception to say that Gavial Loken wasn't secretly pleased about it.

He and three hundred soldiers and adjutants drawn from his tenth company had just lined up on the hangar deck where the Stormbirds were parked.

They then wrote their battle oaths on parchment scrolls under their company's battle flag, sealed them with sealing wax, and affixed them to the edges of their shoulder armor or breastplate.

Just as Locken was about to finish writing his own, he was surprised to find that five of his comrades, company commanders, were coming to the hangar door together: Second Company Commander Torgarden, Fifth Company Commander Asimand, Seventh Company Commander Targost, and Thirteenth Company Commander Seredi, and even Chief Company Commander Abaddon, whose face was as sour as if someone had defeated him in a gladiator cage.

They claimed they wanted to make his departure a grand affair.

"Really? But I feel that such a small-scale operation with a single objective doesn't need this..."

Although Loken said this, his body language betrayed him as he knelt down on one knee, preparing to take the oath.

"Uh, would you feel better if I told you we came here specifically to cheer you up?"

Togarden blinked and spoke in a deliberately casual tone.

The blond-haired 13th Company Commander, Luke Seredy, managed to maintain a serious expression, holding a scroll inscribed with his oath of allegiance to the enemy. "We have come to hear your oath."

"Then you'd better tell me the truth, Tarik."

Loken bowed his head to accept the oath, but at the same time he continued to speak to Togarden in a low voice.

“I saw the expressions on Abaddon’s and the others’ faces. It was a bit strange to begin with. You guys made it seem like I was leading the 10th Company down not to wipe out the remaining guerrillas, but to my death.”

Seredi was still reciting the oath before battle.

"...Bearing this heavy responsibility, no matter how fierce the battle or how cunning the enemy, are you willing to swear to wipe out the 63-19 rebels, even if they resist to the last moment? Are you willing to swear to honor the Sixteenth Legion and the Emperor with your deeds?"

Loken nodded, placed his hand on Targost's weapon lying flat, and raised his voice to a volume that everyone around could hear, replying, "It is my duty, as this bears witness."

Seredi nodded slightly, and a group of servants came over with heated sealing wax and seals. With an expressionless face, Seredi used a brass seal with an eagle emblem to stick the oath scroll onto Loken's shoulder armor.

"Kill the living, avenge the dead. Good luck, Gavial."

Then the two company commanders solemnly dispersed to the sides, but unusually, they did not leave.

"What exactly happened?" Despite standing up solemnly, Loken couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

“Well,” Togarden told him in a barely audible voice under Abaddon’s increasingly displeased gaze, “we did intend to come and see you off, but we’ve made such a fuss because we’re responsible for standing here and having some reporters take pictures. So the chief platoon leader is particularly unhappy; he thinks he’s become some kind of clown being watched and made fun of.”

"It's not that serious. At most, they're just subjects being filmed. Such filming as official documentation is rare, but it does happen."

"Humph!"

The chief platoon leader's cold snort was deafening, echoing through the corridors above the hangar, causing some timid onlookers to shrink back.

Loken turned his gaze to Horus Asimand the younger, who sighed and explained softly.

"Because this was a personal order from the war commander, who told us all to come here, 'You must hold the pre-battle oath ceremony according to the positions I have calculated for you, with the light and angles, so that my newly appointed team of chroniclers can leave you with more images that will go down in history.'"

"He really said that?" Loken asked incredulously.

“Otherwise, why would Abaddon come despite being so unhappy?” Torgarton said. “Who but the Commander could make him do this against his will?”

"Hmph!!!" The chief platoon leader's upright braid looked like it had bulged an inch in anger, but he still stood there gloomily, forming a beautiful composition with his comrades dressed in pearl white robes—it has to be said that when you notice it, you will find that such an arrangement does have a certain aesthetic appeal.

This is a scene resembling a classical mural, with at least three light sources on each person's face. The flag of the 10th Company is perfectly blurred into a mid-ground by the Tyndall effect of the star, and further away, reflecting a faint light, are rows of Stormbirds, symbolically ready to set off.

Clearly, the person who designed this had a deep understanding of the stars outside the window, the hangar lights, and the shadowy wolves, and possessed a great deal of artistic taste.

—But Horus is not a warrior. This thought suddenly popped into Loken's mind, but he quickly suppressed this disrespectful idea.

Only then did Loken realize what the soft clicking sounds he had been hearing were – the sound of a handheld camera shutter and some kind of recorder.

As the shutter clicked and several different voices began to chatter, a few mortals stepped down from the hangar platform. They stood there for a moment, seemingly discussing something in hushed tones, before walking together toward Loken and his group.

“Aizekel,” Horus Asimand Jr. said in a voice that was both soothing and slightly tense. “If you’re unhappy, don’t say anything. The Warmaster will never like to see any conflict ruin his carefully laid plans.”

"snort!!!!!!!"

Loken then sized up the mortals.

The woman at the head of the group was tall and attractive, with blonde hair that complemented her pale skin. The oversized civilian clothes worn by the male trainee officer only enhanced her femininity. She was indeed a beauty, and Loken knew her.

Euphrates Kira, the photographer who captured the famous survival photos and events of the war squire Malhohorst, successfully laid the foundation for a certain sentiment surrounding the Legion's counterattack and for Malhohorst's instant fame. She was indeed a very skilled documentary photographer.

Beside her stood Messadi Oriton, whom he had met before. The dark-skinned woman was slightly shorter and seemed a little embarrassed by their unpleasant interview earlier, offering a polite smile when he looked at her.

The third person was a mortal whom Loken had never seen before. He was tall but not well-trained, with more fat than muscle on his thick neck and shoulders. The subtle features on his round face led Loken to believe that this person was likely suffering from an alcoholism.

The fourth person...

The fourth person made it difficult for Loken to make a judgment, because although he appeared to be just an ordinary person, Loken sensed something different about him compared to any ordinary person he had met in over a century...

He racked his brains trying to find a suitable adjective.

Relaxed? No, not at all. Leisurely? It's getting closer, a sense of relaxation...?
It was like a rancher inspecting his flock or a collector admiring his collection... but before him stood hundreds of fully armed Shadowmoon Wolves Astartes, along with several of the most powerful company commanders, especially the chief company commander.

Loken suddenly realized where the incongruity lay.

This mortal's attitude contained only curiosity, surprise, admiration, and even something like regret; there was absolutely no fear.

Not at all.

Just as he was lost in thought, the group of people had already walked up to him.

"Hello, Company Commander Locken." The fourth man spoke with a smile, but his voice was surprisingly ordinary, leaving no impression on anyone who heard it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you and your great comrades. I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration in the future."

What? Gavial Locken blinked, turning in shock to his colleagues who were beginning to look away.

“This is an order personally signed by the War Marshal,” the mortal said, handing a thick piece of parchment to Loken. “Our group will be following you to the ground for battlefield research. So, it’s a pleasure to work with you.”

A sense of impending trouble settled over Company Commander Locken.

(End of this chapter)