Warhammer 40k: Melee Warriors

After a long silence, when the atmosphere between Komi and Bennett grew increasingly cold, Ferren finally spoke. He first reminisced about the adorable little life within him, then embraced Antoine and Sharon, saying, "Although we were forcibly bound together by a curse of shared life and death, we also gained the ultimate friendship and brotherhood because of it, didn't we? We helped each other in every battle, something that the scum of other warbands could never do."

For the first time ever, Antoine didn't open the rusty gauntlets of Faerûn. Instead, he turned his head to one side and used his silver-plated hair, modeled after Primarch Fuggen's, to cover half of his face.

He hesitated for a moment, then turned back, his handsome face, which would make even women jealous, took on an unusual hue. “Brotherly love… all I know is that Markus is my master.”

This intense emotion emanated from Antoine's eyes; the last time anyone had witnessed such genuine emotion was when Bennett and Hela were together.

Dog was so shocked his jaw almost dropped. His devilish mind was completely confused because no matter how he looked at it, Antoine and Komi didn't seem like a good match.

Elaine, standing to the side, was alarmed and worried by Antoine's bold declaration of love. For a moment, she even forgot that Antoine was a man and looked at Koken with pleading eyes, hoping that he would not accept the white-haired beauty's advances.

Sharon kept his eyes down, his mind focused on his feelings. He silently reminded himself that these emotions were part of the divine authority, and he had no power to prevent or facilitate them.

Koji's lips twitched incessantly. He truly couldn't understand how their previously barbed exchange had suddenly become so vulgar with Antoine's involvement. He sneered at Antoine, "I'd rather see you die."

Antoine's face paled slightly, then his cheeks flushed slightly. He shifted his position closer to Komi, then tilted his head back and pleaded in a trembling voice, filled with happiness and anticipation, "Come, my master... wouldn't it be a kind of happiness to die in your hands?"

This time, not only did Komi take a few inches back, but Bennett, Ferren, and Sharon were also shocked by Antoine's words and actions and kept their distance from him.

Finally, Komi slapped him across the face, and Antoine shouted before ending his madness.

Bennett sighed, clearly understanding everyone's thoughts, and thus abandoned the plan to expel the demon from Markus's body.

Anyway, he wasn't familiar with Markus, and he was busy exorcising demons for that bloodthirsty World Eater just to protect his own life.

In retrospect, preserving the old ideas was actually a safer approach.

Just then, a servo skull, acting as a messenger, began to beep above everyone's heads.

Within Shattered Steel Fortress, attacking a Servant's skull is a far more serious offense than attacking an Iron Warrior, and the warbands that frequent Shattered Steel Fortress will warn their subordinates not to block the path of these skulls.

Bennett was well aware of this, so he patiently looked up and waited for the servo skull to finish its work.

Click click click...

The words were typed one by one onto parchment and then handed to Komi.

"Our warships have passed the evaluation, and they believe they are indeed very valuable." After reading the report, Komi gave everyone a reply, and he couldn't help but feel a little happy.

This means they will be able to receive supplies from the Shattered Steel Fortress, and the Iron Warriors will be able to properly repair Komi's armor and Bennett's Hela.

After delivering the good news, Komi continued, "But our warships might not be able to stay. Judging from the Steel Warriors' wording, they are quite interested in warships. So they might try to trade other warships with us, such as a new raider or destroyer."

"What?" Sharon was the first to object. He had always lived the life of an ascetic on the warship and was quite satisfied with the quiet, dead crew members. If he were to switch to a normal warship, wouldn't that mean he would have to tolerate the ignorant souls of those crew members polluting his devout faith?

“I won’t accept it! I absolutely won’t accept it! They can collect data, and they can make us do some work! But I will never accept the sale of the Blind Faith-class raider! You’ll be on my side, right?” Sharon slammed his hand on the table and stood up, looking at his brothers.

No one responded to Sharon's call; they all looked at Komi, indicating that he was the one who would make the final decision.

Sharon sat down reluctantly, and Komi comforted him, "It's not settled yet... This is just my guess based on the Iron Warriors' wording. We need to attend a gathering to see their true attitude. This paper is not just a notice, but also an invitation."

Elaine's mouth dropped open. "Wait... this is paper made of human skin? Why... why does it look so much like the paper in my hardcover copy of the Holy Word?"

“What do you think, my dear?” Bennett looked at Elaine with a playful smile, while Elaine’s face grew paler and paler as she recalled and pondered.

Chapter 134: The One-Armed War God - Marcus

Because the group arrived at the port too early, they still had some time before the grand gathering that the Steel Fortress Master was going to hold.

Over the past few days, everyone has been busy satisfying their curiosity in the areas of Broken Steel Castle that they can explore. Occasionally, they get into some trouble, but Komi can easily resolve it with one hand.

Because Komi's one arm was quite distinctive, and because he dealt with the troublesome soldiers cleanly and efficiently, a nickname quickly spread.

One-Armed - Marcus.

Komi disliked the title intensely, feeling that these people were subtly mocking him for being disabled. Therefore, he would inflict even more brutal beatings on those idiots who called him one-armed to his face.

Because they only beat people up and rarely killed them, Komi and the Losers' War Gang didn't have many enemies.

Even if there were warlords who wanted to stand up for their subordinates, they would still engage in a respectful exchange with Komi because of the terrifyingly large cannons in the Broken Steel Fortress.

Komi mingled in the arena, breaking the legs of those who dared to cause him trouble amidst the cheers of the audience, making them crawl out on their feet after entering.

The warbands were also keen to bet on the two sides of the competition, often gambling on slaves, supplies, and ammunition. This did not mean that they would lose everything or become rich overnight, but it could be a enough point of interest to tempt their decadent hearts.

Komi also earned a lot through his many victories, which he sold to the Iron Warriors. With these so-called credit points, he took Elaine and the dog shopping, looking for things that interested him.

Elaine carefully licked a piece of hard candy. The Iron Warriors' factory certainly didn't produce this kind of thing. It must have been some warband that plundered the Empire's world and ships, and their enslaved Chaos minions carried all these scraps onto the ships.

Space Marines don't have much of a sweet tooth, but it's quite rare that Elaine's box of hard candies was lucky enough to remain uncorrupted, so Komi spent a lot of credits to buy it.

Elaine happily used sugar to soothe her tongue, which was used to eating nutritious porridge and dry food sticks, while Komi gazed at the extremely menacing skyline of the shattered steel fortress, decorated with cannon barrels and barbed wire.

The Iron Warriors would love to use every inch of the shattered steel fortress to produce more cement, steel, gunpowder, and other materials.

The territory managed by the Iron Warriors is like a militarized fortress that focuses solely on heavy industry while completely neglecting light industry. There are trenches every five steps and bunkers every ten steps. This design can serve the war efficiently, but it also seems boring and rigid. People who live there for a long time will only feel endless resentment.

If Koken stayed in a place like this for too long, he would feel like he was going to have psychological problems. If he were to stay there for a year, he would definitely become like the Iron Warrior, constantly cynical and hating anything that could make them weak.

For example, a fresh flower, a pool of clear water, a ray of natural sunlight... or even the box of hard candy with childlike pictures in Elaine's hand.

Silently shielding Elaine behind him, Koji coldly watched a patrol of steel warriors pass by him. These law enforcers were no good people; they mechanically and coldly interpreted the laws of Broken Steel Fortress and tried their best to find the problems of the passing guests.

The majority of the people in the Shattered Steel Fortress are not the Space Marines from the various warbands, but rather the mutants, Chaos cultists, and traitorous soldiers enslaved by the powerful warriors.

Two sets of laws operate here: one for Space Marines, granting them ample freedom and dignity in the face of punishment.

The other set of laws targets ordinary humans and mutants. Iron Warriors don't bother to consider whether these weaklings are willing to be loyal to their destructive cause; they simply use cold logic to measure the value of each individual.

If Elaine were to leave Komi's side, she would surely be cornered by these steel warriors under some pretext, subjected to a brief interrogation, convicted, and beaten to death with a stick, her body dumped in the morgue on either side of the port gate.

The master of the Broken Steel Fortress created a class-based order in which superhumans rightfully ruled over all humans and things that were once human. Komi became a beneficiary of this system but could not be happy at all; in fact, he even found it somewhat ironic.

Space Marines weren't created by some damned Primarch Father and Primarch Mother scrubbing them in the bath; they originated from humans and underwent surgical modifications to become Space Marines.

This always gave him the feeling that he had forgotten his roots after becoming successful.

“Master…” Elaine gently placed her small hand on Komi’s armor, her face showing some self-reproach. She could also see the hostility of those steel warriors towards her.

Koji wouldn't blame Elaine for this. After spending so much time together, he felt like he had gained another daughter, and it was quite nice to experience a life he hadn't experienced before his transmigration.

As for romance...

For some reason, the first thing that came to Komi's mind was the shy and timid Antoine. His face stiffened, and then he disgustedly spat out the image of Antoine from the tip of his tongue.

Back at the hotel, which was clearly converted from a military camp, Komi and Elaine carried a lot of food into their spacious rented room.

Having drunk quite a bit of blood wine, Bennett squatted in the corner looking at a photo of himself and Hela, occasionally letting out strange exclamations of admiration.

"Oh... Hela... your silhouette is so full and powerful, but the circuitry hidden beneath your armor is so delicate and adorable, so rich it drives me crazy..."

Bennett held a torsion bar that smelled of lubricant to his nose and inhaled it deeply, as if a nobleman had received a handkerchief from a noblewoman that was imbued with her fragrance.

Everyone was used to Bennett's pursuit, and even Elaine could make a few comments, saying that if Bennett ever ran into a warehouse storing Siren's Claw drop pods, he would definitely be so lost that he wouldn't be able to find his way out.

Komi could sense the change in everyone's attitude towards Elaine. After the battle at the palace, people were more tolerant of Elaine and no longer regarded her as just a precious object called a navigator.

Elaine's actions—interfering with Shaga's impending defeat, guiding Bennett and Hela into the palace, and even tricking the Shapeshifter into lowering his defenses—demonstrate a courage and resourcefulness that would impress even the Space Marines.

They only despise the weak... they despise the weak who hold them back and cannot help them in any way.

However, this tolerance is very limited. At present, Koji only noticed that Bennett had an unusually friendly attitude towards Elaine's cold words.

It's like an overly older brother looking at a younger sister?

Koken wasn't quite sure, but he could clearly see the other person's gaze.

That was Antoine.

The emperor's son looked at Elaine as if she were a vixen, wishing he could drive her away from Komi so he could be with Komi all the time.

Koji is now at his wit's end with Antoine; beatings and scoldings have no effect whatsoever.

Pouring various well-sealed cans onto a huge round table, most people would pray that the contents of these cans, which have been stored in the warp for too long, wouldn't turn into living beings and kill them.

It's like opening a blind box; you never know if what's sealed inside is a piece of cured meat from an alien creature, or some chaotic thing covered in eyeballs, with eyeballs growing on top of eyeballs.

However, Komi has a dog with a very sensitive sense of smell, which allows him to pick out the canned food that is safe and without problems.

Chapter 135: Prove to Me You Deserve It

The writing on the can was faded and illegible, making it impossible to decipher what it said.

Antoine took over the task of opening the cans one by one, while Sharon and Ferren helped the drunken Bennett onto a stool.

“The first can… let’s see how lucky we are.” Antoine swiftly sliced ​​open the can with his longsword, and the smell of the long-sealed food wafted out.

To be honest, it wasn't a pleasant smell, but everyone could tolerate it. The former Faerun could also tolerate this stench that had been simmering for so long.

Elaine sniffed the air, catching the scents. Accustomed to a life of luxury, she had never tasted canned food meant for soldiers and the poor.

Antoine plucked the contents out, and the sight of that yellowish, gooey mess made him frown.

"Is this poop?" Sharon asked, completely lacking in emotional intelligence, to which Ferren immediately gave him a scientifically rigorous answer.

"Judging from the smell, this is not poop."

“But he looks too much like it, I’d rather eat those tasteless, nutritious porridges.”

"How about letting the dog have a taste first?" Antoine suggested.

The dog raised its head, quite dissatisfied with these people's act of testing the poison, but still slowly walked over under Komi's gaze and reluctantly opened its mouth.

"It tastes alright...it tastes like beans and fish paste stewed together," the dog replied after taking a bite.

Now that the dog is tasting it, everything is much easier to discuss.

Antoine quickened his pace in opening the cans, and when he opened the ninth can, a small, square creature covered in teeth suddenly jumped out of the sealed jar.

Koji killed the thing with one finger, then tore it in half and threw it to the dog. He licked the other half with his tongue to taste it.

"It tastes alright, like stewed meat with chili peppers." Koji broke off his upper teeth one by one, then swallowed the thing in a few bites.

The group didn't bother to comment on Bennett's machine fetish or Komi's cannibalistic tendencies, so they opened all the cans and enjoyed a delicious meal, celebrating that they hadn't died because of this damned curse, and that their souls and wills still belonged to themselves, not the gods.

Gu Jian sighed inwardly, fearing that his soul had long been targeted by something.

There are just no tasks assigned yet.

After the hellish factory, which is not open to the public, let out a deflated sigh, the Shattered Steel Fortress entered a brief cooling-off period. The industrial equipment, which was running at high intensity, was taken care of by another group of people who would do their best to repair the fatigue and wear in the machines.

Those laborers who survived another day of arduous work lined up in neat rows to collect their food and numbly made their way toward the orderly beehive huts.

The grand assembly began at this moment. After coordinating the entry and exit of countless ports and the output of factories, Demas rose from the data throne in the control room. He and his Iron Guard came to the Hall of Forged Iron and sat down heavily under the iron-faced skull emblem of the Iron Warrior.