Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 894 The Abilities of the Immortals -
The Galenus is a specialized vehicle that is extremely rare ten thousand years from now, but could possibly have been created for some reason at least ten thousand years ago.

Its chassis was initially based on a "Samaritan" type tracked armored medical vehicle, but after several expansions and upgrades with high hopes and earnest blessings, it now has a chassis and protection that are in no way inferior to super-heavy tanks. Its interior space is more spacious than ordinary vehicles because it has eliminated combat features such as ammunition compartments.

It has an operating room equipped for field surgery and twenty beds—for ordinary people only, of course. It is a mobile supplement to the rear field hospital of the regiment that originally guarded the northern coastline on Moro.

In fact, the Empire's commanders originally expected the situation to be less dire, and the inspirational value of bringing this advanced medical vehicle outweighed its practical use.

But clearly, just as Ruth predicted, if you fail to kill the wolves before they land, you will face their encirclement and devouring.

Now the landing points and beaches on the northern coast are completely under the control of Horus's legions, and the garrison that fled from cities and defenses such as Avadon, the western steppes, or the eastern Great Wall have all begun to retreat to the camp north of Lupecalia.

The Galenus had ample promethium and was faster than any super-heavy tank, which allowed it and its crew to get ahead of the fleeing soldiers. However, it did not immediately leave the battlefield because its commander, Major Norma, the field medic, decided not to abandon any soldier she saw still alive.

The field medical vehicle is now fully loaded with beds. The dead and the living lie side by side and head to head on two close, blood-soaked beds, bouncing along as the driver continues his frantic southward journey.

Just now, her medical assistant, Lieutenant Sher, received a message from a soldier who was soon to die from his wounds: supposedly, an entire rebel Titan group with ground troops was chasing them at high speed, and those guys completely disregarded any rules or morality of war; they would fire on any of their kind, including but not limited to soldiers, medics, civilian men and women, the elderly, and children.

It sounds very disturbing, but Norma thinks it's more likely due to the poor wounded soldier's dying hallucinations.

Because before he died, the wounded soldier shouted in terror into the void, spewing even more disturbing nonsense such as "demons," "ghosts," "man-eating wolves," and "they ate the Ultramarines."

“We all know that demons and ghosts don’t exist, right, sir? Maybe you should get rid of the body quickly. We can definitely find a new patient to lie on this bed before it gets too cold. If there were ghosts, this place would be quite a mess.”

“Shut up, Sher.” Norma’s surgical gown hadn’t been changed in a long time, and bloodstains from at least dozens of people ran from her cheeks down to her calves, making her look more like a butcher than a surgeon.

Her stern attitude and decisive tone clearly reassured Lieutenant Sher and the driver, Anderson.

The Galenus is now traveling along a former field, attempting to bypass the highway and head straight for its destination. This way, the pursuing forces might not be able to expand their search area along the highway for a while, allowing them to escape with the wounded.

If they can escape to the outskirts of Lupecalia, according to Norma and his men who are treating the wounded, at least half of the Imperial army on the entire planet can be gathered there, and the number of troops assembled is still quite formidable.

As long as we can get there...

Major Norma pursed her lips. Despite her inner unease, she had to be the backbone of the Galenus in this war.

Although half of the wounded did not survive, due to the limited tools and medicines available in field hospitals, she was confident that most of them could be saved once they reached a major city with specialized medical pods.

"Sir."

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the driver Anderson's voice coming through her communicator.

"What's wrong, Anderson?"

"Uh. I'm not sure. Sir, there's a heavy tank ahead."

"Destroyed? Did anyone escape?"

"No, it looks intact, but it has no markings on it. And it doesn't look like it's from our area, but it's not painted in enemy colors either."

Norma ripped off the medical gloves from her hands, which were completely stained with blood, internal organs, and bone fragments, and threw them into the waste recycling bin. She hurriedly tucked the stray hairs behind her ears with her sweaty hands, and then strode over to the driver's seat.

"what happened?"

“That,” Anderson pointed to the driver’s observation window.

"What are they trying to do?" Norma muttered to herself.

A massive, dusty tank, clearly belonging to the Astartes Legion, was parked in their path. Judging from its posture and position, it was almost certain that it was waiting for them.

Just as the crew of the Galenus were filled with doubt and uncertainty, the hatch of the tank opened, and out stepped one—no, three—terrifying giants.

The gruesome remains of mortals and Astartes hung beside the two, swaying precariously, pale and bruised. Norma, as a doctor, could tell at a glance that they were real, ravaged human fragments, not some amusing Day of the Dead decorations.

"Oh no, Terra, please help us..."

The words of the dead soldier suddenly flashed into Norma Culver's mind: They are all man-eating demons!
The leader stepped forward, and Norma and Anderson looked at his face, half-covered by a breathing mask under his hood, with an instinctive fear that arose from their very souls.

Pale death, its eyes are fixed on you, smiling at you.

The driver let out a scream as if pushed to the limit, then slammed the accelerator to the floor.

The engines of the Galenus roared angrily and loudly, charging straight at the towering figure that resembled the Grim Reaper like a maddened iron beast.

"Tsk."

The two people standing behind Mortalian, dressed in their death clothes, heard a displeased sound coming from the person in front of them.

[I told him not to put on such an air! The way he's acting here is already enough to give ordinary people a run for their money; they'll be terrified!]

Should we help him stop this vehicle?

He can handle it... right?

As they spoke, the medical vehicle had already rushed up to Mortalian.

He sighed.

"That's a nice car. A Gallen from Pergamon."

With a collision, neither too loud nor too soft, the roar of the engine was deafening, the metal structure made a teeth-grinding creaking sound, and the high-speed rotating tracks dug out a large amount of soft mud, which was scattered in a flurry behind the Gallenas.

"Oh my god... Terra... this, this..."

Norma and Anderson watched in horror as a foot clad in combat boots lifted and effortlessly held back the terrifying giant as the 168-ton vehicle charged at full speed.

"This is impossible... No human could do this... Not even Astartes could!!"

Anderson trembled violently, collapsing desperately into his seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel with a crushing force.

"A demon... Death... This is Death...!"

For the first time, a hint of doubt arose in her meticulous mind, honed by imperial truth and medicine over so many years of medical practice: In this galaxy illuminated by the Emperor's imperial truth, is there really a place for gods and demons?

———————— “I told you they’d be terrified.”

A few minutes later, Ruth, who had to resort to using a Titan pilot—the older of the twins, Uta-Dagon—to replace the driver who was temporarily unable to drive the medical vehicle, sat in the front of the cockpit and grumbled.

He was sitting there because the temporary link was pulled over by Pallas in the order of him—Uta-Dagon—driver's seat.

Caleb Allin led fourteen relatively less seriously injured men, who had been injected with anesthesia and painkillers, to the Spartan tank following behind them, while watching another Mechanicus priest, whom they had dragged along with Uta-Dagon and awakened, drive the Spartan tank.

So, next to the remaining six completely immobile, heavily wounded soldiers, squeezed in a Pale King, a Wolf King, a young Phoenix, and another Titan pilot, along with the three natives (?): the commander of the Galenus—Medical Major Norma, her second-in-command Lieutenant Sher, and the pilot Anderson, who had also been given a sedative due to a panic attack.

After learning the original route of the medical vehicle, Uta-Dagon was instructed to proceed as planned, which brought Major Norma a little comfort, but a greater fear still lingered in her heart.

Yes, as a knowledgeable technical officer, after calming down and getting a close look, she had already guessed the identity of Mortarion, such an extraordinary giant, but she still couldn't believe it.

—And if it really is as she thinks, then what earth-shattering scheme could someone of such status possibly have, humbling themselves to hide in their small medical vehicle under such circumstances of battle?!
Should she fight back? But for the wounded here, leaving her would basically mean certain death for them all.

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Norma's forehead.

-------

"...I think I know what they're planning. They might as well modify their Spartan tanks and intercept the Immortal Guardian themselves."

Ramizane, standing by the crystal ball, blurted out.

Peturabo BC scoffed at this.

"Where do doctors come from?"

"If Pallas changed into camouflage, he might be able to pass for someone fairly well..."

“That’s definitely not feasible.” The pigeon hummed in his hand. “Once Alivia uses her abilities to influence them, she will immediately realize something is wrong, and things will start to spiral out of control. The Pale King’s choice to do so is a prudent and correct one, considering the need to maintain the timeline.”

"Alivia?"

"Uh."

"You left the name of the immortal guardian in Moro, I remember. I also remember she knew Or Persson and John?"

"How could you even..." The pigeon's eyes widened suddenly, then it sighed as if deflated, "Ah, yes. Ah, these are all names that remind me of the past..."

"So since you left her there alone as a guard, what exactly is her ability?" Perturabo BC frowned. "She needs to see a doctor, so it can't be an ability that's strong in defense or self-protection."

"Well, actually, she is connected to the creation I left in the underground cave to seal my memories. As long as that guardian creation is destroyed, she will sense it and immediately rush to the 'door' to seal it according to the method I taught her back then."

"...Since you were capable of teaching on the spot, why didn't you just have her go down and seal it before you left, and then the two of you could have left together? These troops could have been used to garrison Terra and the Solar System, and Moro wouldn't have suffered such an undeserved disaster, right?"

Ramizam pointed out, puzzled.

“Uh…uh…I can’t reason with people from a country like yours!” the pigeon cried. “I can’t explain it to you!”

"He just thinks that if he can make money once, he can make it again," Peturabo BC coldly exposed. "He thinks that maybe one day he will gain the power to suppress it and go back to make even more money. Why would he be willing to shut it down?"

"...That's really incomprehensible."

“On the point of greed,” Peturabo BC said, “He is indeed very approachable.”

Different, low, suppressed laughs echoed in the office.

"Unfilial sons! They're all unfilial sons!"

"So what exactly is her ability?"

--------

Alivia Sureka was taken to a place filled with the smell of disinfectant and a lot of blood, but the place was still very bumpy, and she felt her life force gradually leaving her along with the blood.

Ah, that familiar feeling. Her time is running out, but if a surgeon can be found in time...

She was dizzy and confused. Damn it, she thought, I almost succeeded. How could it be such a coincidence that a stray bullet exploded right next to the driver's cab...

She heard a man weeping and talking to a more composed and professional woman.

"Please, save her! God, look at what she suffered to save us..."

She felt dizzy for a moment, then remembered who it was.

Jeff is a mild-mannered man, but hardworking and honest. He has a reliable and stable job, is a widower with two lovely daughters, and has a permanent residence.

All these factors greatly helped her quickly establish her new identity, so she used her abilities to influence Jeffrey Parthers's emotions, planting feelings of love, care, consideration, and obedience in his heart, and successfully joined the family. Everyone believed she was Jeffrey's wife and the mother of two children, and she also used this to find herself a new job at Harbor.

Everything was fine, but damn it.

In her excruciating pain, she felt the doctor cut open her clothes and begin fitting her with medical devices. This was good; if she survived the surgery, she should be able to make it to "close the door." Part of her unconsciousness was also due to the shock of the destruction of the guardian creation—clearly, Horus had found what he was looking for, and he would soon know where the man had found the door.

The feelings she had planted in Jeffrey's heart would make him do everything he could to ensure her safety, but she estimated that her heart condition and the amount of bleeding left her with little time, so she needed to take another layer of insurance.

She struggled to open her eyes while unconscious and saw the female doctor working busily above her.

She gripped the other person's arm tightly, and amidst their comforting words, managed to squeeze out a few words: "The book says...take us...to...Lupecalia, you...must......"

It was as if a surge of courage and unwavering faith had suddenly entered the female doctor's body. Her eyes became bright and resolute as she stared intently at Alivia, who had fainted after uttering those words.

“I will. I definitely will. I will definitely get you all to Lupecalia. Nothing is more important than that. I will.”

She swore an oath so sacredly to the unconscious Alivia.

The three special spectators who had been silently watching for a while exchanged frantic glances, some understanding and some shocked.

(End of this chapter)