This is our Warhammer journey

Chapter 16 Death and Responsibility

"."

Everyone looked at each other with serious expressions.

It came into contact with Chaos and was severely mutated. Next, it will come into contact with other imperial forces.

Given the empire's level of madness, it goes without saying what the fate of the "Broken Sword" will be.

"lead the way!"

Arthur stood up.

The empire may not need to be saved, but it is necessary to save the empire's soldiers and civilians.

rustling --

The tip of the pen slid across the manuscript paper, making a slight sound.

In a clean and tidy little room, the political commissar was holding a pen, writing something with his head down, using the light of a phlogiston lamp removed from the wall of the passage.

After Arthur and his men completed the elimination of the heretics and led the crumbling ship out of the warp, the Commissar was finally able to lead the Astra Militarum to complete the sealing of the compartment and spend his limited energy on writing a mission report for the operation.

Political commissar, this profession not only serves as the morale guarantor of each legion, but also as the monitor of the Military Affairs Department.

Every action of the Astra Militarum will eventually be submitted to the Military Affairs Department for decision-making after the Political Commissar makes a detailed report. The quality of the report is related to the future of this Astra Militarum Legion.

"I just hope the Military Affairs Department will consider my nearly three hundred years of service and not hold me accountable for my absence this time."

After carefully checking the galaxies in the report and confirming that there were no omissions in his report, the political commissar skillfully copied the draft report onto the official paper used for reporting, and then took out a piece of solidified sealing wax from his robe that was stuck with gunpowder.

Snap——

He broke off the sealing wax, opened the lampshade of the phlogiston lamp, and inserted the sealing wax spoon into the core of the blazing white flame.

The pale light fell on the political commissar's face at the same time, leaving deep scars and reflecting the white hair on his temples.

In the past, he could fight on the front lines for seven consecutive days without changing his expression, and even spit on the faces of officers during his report to the Military Affairs Department to get better supplies for the legion, but now...
The commissar turned his eyes away from the flames.

The shrill buzzing sound gnawed at the cerebral cortex, and the sound of the burning wax was like thunder.

If the drugs were not still stimulating his nerves, he was sure that he would have passed out.

He took back the spoon, poured sealing wax on the seal of the report, and then stamped it with the seal on the ring. The political commissar raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, and his ink-stained fingers added a black mark on his forehead.

There was a voice in his mind that kept reminding him.

You are already very old.

This is really sad, but we have to admit it is a fact.

I am finally old.

The face that was not yet covered by the metal looked a little dazed. The political commissar let out a long sigh, as if he was finally able to let go of something, and then signed his name on the envelope.

Alex Kane.

After spreading the remaining sealing wax over the name, Alex picked up the letter and stood up, obviously having made some kind of decision.

He had served the empire for more than two hundred years and had experienced countless separations, but now, he didn't want to experience it again.

When the door opened, Colonel Kovek of the Broken Sword had been waiting there for a long time.

"Commissar Alex."

The colonel held out a lighted cigarette.

"Thank you."

Alex reached out and took it, biting the cigarette holder.

"How many more people are there?"

He asked vaguely.

"One hundred and sixty-nine."

Colonel Kovek blew out a stream of smoke.

"Count you and me, and Ogryn."

"One hundred and sixty-nine people." After repeating the number, Alex leaned heavily against the cold wall.

"How many people are still alive?"

"Twenty-six hundred people, no more, no less."

Colonel Kovek looked puzzled.

"Thanks to the Emperor's angels, our raid went exceptionally smoothly, with virtually no casualties."

"Haha, I'd rather they died on the battlefield."

Alex took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"Yeah, it would be great to die."

The Colonel looked up and blinked.

"If they were all dead, like those Zafra chem dogs on the lower deck, I don't think the Military Affairs Department would have to check each family's pension one by one. We wouldn't have to be like this now, clearly winning another victory for the Empire, but only to have to face an inglorious end—"

"The Girl on Titanic Ocean Planet"

The colonel lowered his head and whispered, "Jack likes her very much."

"This is the mission report for this time."

Alex handed the envelope to the Colonel.

The usually strict political commissar paid no attention to the colonel's outrageous words.

"Go to the Military Affairs Department in the Maelstrom. I heard they are very efficient there."

The colonel reached out and pressed the letter back into Araxes' arms.

"Kovek?"

Alex asked.

"You go."

The colonel threw the cigarette butt on the ground.

"I'll stay with them."

The colonel was very strong, and Alex held out for a short while before he clearly felt overwhelmed.

"Haha, good, very good."

Alex's hands began to tremble. He subconsciously wanted to clench his fists, but was afraid of ruining the report, so he stuffed the report into the lining of his clothes. Then he clenched his fists and cursed angrily.

"You say this every time, from Armageddon to Cadia, to the Maelstrom, to Overwatch, you say this every time, and you leave me alone every time."

It is hard to imagine that a political commissar who is always known for his serious expression has such a face.

"I'm three hundred years old, kid. Can't you fulfill the wish of an old man who should have been buried long ago? I shouldn't have had any rejuvenation surgery for that damn pension. My grandson is now dead of old age."

"I want to die. I need to die. Do you understand? Even if I die in the void, I don't want to abandon a group of people and go back in disgrace again."

".I don't trust those bureaucrats."

Seeing Alex acting like an ordinary old man who was angry because of a dispute in a family, the colonel was a little at a loss.

"I grew up listening to your stories. My father served in the unit you once led. I have no choice but to trust you."

"It's the same again. Three centuries have passed, and it's always the same. You don't even bother to change your rhetoric."

Hearing this reply, Alex looked as if he knew it, as if he had experienced this kind of conversation countless times.

"."

Kovek didn't answer, just stared at him stubbornly.

"Okay, very good! I promise you, this is the last time."

After a brief struggle between dying with the soldiers and putting an end to it all, or helping these soldiers with their funeral arrangements, Alex had to give up his long-cherished death again.

If they don't trust themselves, who can they trust?

(End of this chapter)