Kingdom Come: Deliverance, but Warhammer 40k

"Hold!"

"Those stupid pigs who only know how to hoard their food... I should just stuff them all into torpedo tubes and launch them!"

The deck lighting system had been shut down when there were already thirty systems running.

But the lights in the deck command post were still on, shining on the metal desks piled high with documents.

Applications for reduction of food quotas, emergency allocation of medical supplies, statistics on ammunition losses along the defensive lines, and patrol route maps for the outer law enforcement teams.

There were also a few pages of newly arrived lists of the dead, stained with dark red blood.

Cass's quill pen swept across the sheets of paper, leaving behind one hasty signature after another.

He didn't put down his pen until he had signed the last document, and then raised his hand to rub his throbbing temples.

But reality won't give him time to rest.

The empire's subjects are constantly adding new tasks and troubles for him.

A knock came at the door.

"Enter."

The new adjutant entered the room and stopped at the table.

  

He's even stopped bothering to give his nominal superior a military salute.

"Lord Cass".

Cass did not look up.

"Don't tell me there's still no news from the boat owner today!"

"I'm sorry, sir."

"The search team still hasn't found the boat owner."

"They found the chamber where the lord had held a closed-door meeting with the sage of the Mechanical Order."

"There were signs of intense fighting at the scene, as well as large patches of dried blood."

"Apart from that... we found nothing."

Cass slowly put down the list of the dead.

"so."

"Our excellent soldiers have retreated in disgrace once again."

The adjutant dared not look up, avoiding his superior's gaze.

He didn't speak.

Cass let out a long breath.

This behemoth was never a standard warship of the Imperial Navy. No matter how many exotic technologies it was equipped with, it was ultimately just an armed merchant ship belonging to wandering merchants.

Sailors in the hold, mercenaries who do things for money, private soldiers of the merchant guild... these people carry guns, but have never experienced a real war.

Their only enemies used to be the weaker ones, but once they became the weaker ones, their true nature was revealed.

The only one on the entire ship that could be called elite.

Only the honor guard that always accompanies the ship's owner.

But now.

With the disappearance of the boat owner, they seemed to vanish into thin air as well.

What remains is nothing more than a mob driven by fear, huddling together for warmth.

But...

I can't leave on my own.

Cass clenched his fist.

He was a soldier, a genuine soldier who graduated from a military academy.

His bottom line, or rather, his last remaining pride, wouldn't allow him to abandon tens of thousands of civilians here and board the escape pod alone.

Perhaps sensing that his superior was in a bad mood, the adjutant cautiously spoke up:

"Sir, after discussion, we believe that the ship's owner should still be alive."

"Since no body has been found, if we continue to expand the search area to deeper areas—"

That's enough.

Cass interrupted.

The room fell silent again.

After a long while, Cass finally spoke again.

Tell me about your search and rescue operation today.

"How many more soldiers have died!"

The adjutant's lips moved, but his voice was dry.

"...Twenty-nine people confirmed dead."

"Six other people are missing, but they are presumably dead as well."

"But sir, our search team has sighted traces of fallen angels on the upper edge."

"Their activity area is getting closer and closer to our safe zone's perimeter."

"If we can't find the ship's owner and take charge of the situation as soon as possible..."

Cass closed his eyes.

After a long pause, he slowly uttered four words.

"Stop the search and rescue operation."

The adjutant looked up in surprise.

"Lord Cass!"

"The boat owner—"

"I said."

Cass opened his eyes, his gray pupils devoid of color.

"The boat owner is dead."

The adjutant's mouth was agape, his face filled with disbelief, yet he couldn't utter a single sound.

Cass cleared his throat and forced himself to turn the page.

"What happened to those death row inmates who were sent to the lower levels to find that so-called Chaos Relic?"

The adjutant snapped out of his daze and hurriedly opened the folder in his hand.

"A few of them came back one after another."

"but……"

"None of them passed the heretic detection in the quarantine area."

Cass leaned back in his chair.

The adjutant swallowed hard and continued his report.

"Someone peeled off their clothes, and hundreds or even thousands of fat white maggots crawled out from under their skin."

"Some people look perfectly fine on the outside, but their internal organs and bones have been dissolved into green liquid, leaving only a layer of human skin on the outside."

"There are a few more, and they all tested normal in the previous rounds."

"But as soon as he was placed in the quarantine area, his body began to swell and mutate rapidly."

"The creatures of Nurgle have been lurking within them, trying to infiltrate the settlement through these vessels."

"However, we all saw through their plot."

Cass didn't speak, he just listened quietly.

The adjutant added:

"So far."

"There was one person who successfully passed all the tests."

"Finally, there's a lucky guy."

Cass's voice was completely flat.

The adjutant's expression turned strangely odd.

"But that person... has already been thrown back into solitary confinement."

"He's completely insane."

He kept muttering incoherent words over and over again.

"Because the content was too horrifying, the officer in charge of the interrogation did not allow the recording to continue, fearing it would pollute the surrounding area."

Cass asked:

"What did he say?"

He said, "The loving Father is choosing His warriors."

"The rest of the words..."

The adjutant shook his head.

"I think it's better not to repeat it in the command center."

Cass remained silent for a moment.

"That's it. Get rid of that madman and don't leave any future problems."

Then.

He seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Where is that knight of unknown origin?"

"The one who volunteered to go to the lower level, Henry?"

"There is no news, and no sign of returning."

He hesitated for a moment.

Or perhaps he should have spoken his suspicions:

"Maybe……"

"That monster got tired of the game and went back to the warp."

"This should be considered a good thing given the current pressure on our defenses."

Cass did not agree.

He just waved wearily.

"Go out."

The adjutant saluted again.

The heavy metal door closed again.

Cass slowly leaned back against the cold chair.

His gaze fell upon the holographic structure of the ship that occupied the entire wall.

The surface is covered with densely packed color blocks of various colors.

Red indicates areas that can still be monitored and have a chance of being reclaimed.

Black represents the blind spot that has been completely occupied and lost by monsters.

Blue represents the survivor settlements where order can still be barely maintained.

Almost every twelve standard hours.

The red area will shrink inwards by one ring.

And that pitiful bit of blue is being constantly eroded and cut away.

however.

Cass knew very well that what truly broke down this defense line was not even the relentless attacks from the lower decks.

It is people.

In the overcrowded settlements, despair is brewing.

In order to survive and to cure the strange rashes on their family members, more and more people began to secretly perform sacrifices in dark corners.

Some people naively believe that as long as they open their arms to accept chaos, they will no longer go hungry or feel pain.

Almost every day, new riots would break out on the deck, forcing him to send soldiers to suppress them.

at the same time.

The already fragile balance between nobles and commoners was also broken; 1.

Corpse starch, recycled water, antibiotics.

All resources used to sustain life have been exhausted.

And each time supplies are distributed.

This will all trigger new bloodshed.

Hatred towards other races is also spreading wildly.

The fact that some people were spreading rumors that the people on the ship were aliens attracted the attention of the Warp.

Some people incited a mob to smash the tents of the foreign tribes and advocated driving them all out.

Taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

Using public office to settle personal scores.

They even kill people in the street.

The real demons have not yet launched their full-scale attack.

This group of refugees was hastily assembled.

They had already fallen apart in the process of tearing each other apart.

Thinking about this...

Cass slowly closed his eyes.

He had received intelligence from his confidants.

Those nobles had long since abandoned him as their nominal commander.

Those well-dressed vampires used their accumulated wealth to bribe a large number of officers and elite soldiers.

They secretly assembled a private armed force that obeyed only the family's orders.

I heard.

They bribed a priest from the Cult of Mechanics and are secretly repairing a small transport ship that can still be started.

Wait until the engine is repaired.

These people will bring their own people with them.

Without hesitation, they abandoned the dead ship and fled into space.

They were not afraid of punishment under imperial law at all...

The tens of thousands of worthless lives left on the ship... could not possibly leave alive to report their crimes.

Cass wasn't very angry.

I just feel tired.

A bottomless exhaustion.

After all.

This was ultimately just a makeshift, temporary setup.

No one owes a stranger a life.

Even the emperor sitting on the golden throne.

He never forced His people to give their lives for a meaningless death.

Cass reopened his eyes.

He stared intently at the edge of the desk, at the statue of the saint.

He remained silent for a long time.