Chapter 417: You Fought Well
"You did well."
As Typhus expected, the resistance of the Angels of Vigilance had reached its limit.
On the almost shattered hive city, the Angels of Vigilance, bathed in the twilight, gradually fell silent.
Kamael, head covered in blood, looked around.
The sounds of battle were fading, heavy footsteps approaching. Before him was an insurmountable mountain.
A Chaos Chosen, the pinnacle of almost all Chaos traitors. In terms of strength, this one was an insurmountable mountain. Just the feeling he gave off far exceeded any Astartes champion.
This time, the Imperium's boasted numbers couldn't make up for the combat power difference. The Plague Legion far outnumbered them.
Broken corpses littered the cracked ground. Only twelve people were still breathing.
Four neophytes, three Angels of Vigilance, two guards, one adjutant, one Librarian, one Chapter Master.
The adjutant slumped against the wall.
His lower body was gone, viscera thrown far away.
His still-movable arm continued to fire his lasgun. Blurred roars still transmitted from that broken body through blessed comms to the ears of every resisting Imperial Guard in the hive.
The young guard was trying to crawl.
His bones and armor were equally shattered, helmet missing, face covered in blood. He grabbed a chainsword dropped by a huge impact, secretly marveling at the Black Templars' tradition of chaining arms and weapons as a good one.
Have to learn it later.
Then he supported his companion's leg armor to half-squat up, revealing a wound on his lower abdomen that was almost completely cut open.
Every trembling movement required all his strength. Every centimeter crawled in his own pool of blood was a victory of will.
At this moment, facing the approaching Chaos Chosen, Kamael smiled instead:
"No, we fought very well."
He retorted, supporting his body with his sword.
"We defended this place in a way beyond your expectations."
"Perhaps."
Maybe seeing the tenacity of this Chapter, Typhus replied in a deep voice.
His pace didn't slow, his movements didn't hesitate.
While dealing with the Librarian's psychic counter, he effortlessly cut down another person under the siege of the Angels of Vigilance.
The Grandfather's great sons had completely broken through the dome area. Drop pods no longer fell; instead, large batches of Death Guard and their Auxilia were transported via space elevators, slaughtering any defenders still resisting under the wide dome of Hive Gryhne.
More troops entered through the gap in the void shield via heavy transports.
Then the siege engine that blasted open the void shield at close range collapsed in the firelight illuminating the dome instantly. The losses brought by this fierce resistance were regrettable, but these losses and sacrifices had completed their mission.
The XIV Legion had stepped onto the land of this hive, and he was about to destroy the Angels of Vigilance who had led the resistance.
Kamael was about to make his final stand.
Another series of footsteps approached.
Kamael thought it was enemy reinforcements and ignored it.
There would be no more reinforcements now. Everyone was dealing with enemies several times their number.
But the sound of bullets entering rotten flesh made him look sideways.
It was a man in white robes.
This man had twin pistols at his waist and carried a broken sword on his back that looked unusually broad even compared to an Astartes body.
He wore a suit of armor with indistinguishable details but belonging to the Dark Angels of the 30k era.
Kamael recognized who this person was almost instantly.
"Cypher!"
Typhus exclaimed, forced back by the fierce sudden attack.
Whoosh—
A string of burning flames spread, shooting out a large number of sparks. Any walking corpses touched were turned to ashes on the spot. A woman with spreading wings held a flaming greatsword, isolating the attacking Plague Chosen.
This female warrior seemed quite deterrent. The eternally burning longsword in her hand forced those rotten monsters not to approach for a while.
At this moment, Cypher stood inside the firing line, his back becoming the second wall between that terrifying Plague Chosen and this broken command team.
Information about the other party quickly surfaced in Kamael's mind.
Frequently dealing with Chaos, even often counterattacking the Eye of Terror, the Angels of Vigilance had provided much information about Lord Cypher to the parent Chapter in the past.
Lord Cypher was a traitor to the Dark Angels, at least the current Inner Circle thought so, and they couldn't figure out whether this elusive warrior was friend or foe.
Sometimes he would suddenly appear on the battlefield to assist the enemy against the Imperium, and sometimes he would assist the Imperium against the enemy on another battlefield.
Kamael looked up at the broken blade wrapped in grey cloth on the other's back.
Legend had it that what Lord Cypher carried on his back was the Lion Sword.
"I can save you, save all of you."
Cypher said: "But you must promise me one thing."
Kamael swallowed bloody saliva and said: "Speak."
This was not the time to fight.
"I need you to take me to the Rock to meet the Lord of Knights."
Lord of Knights?
For Kamael, this was not an unfamiliar title.
After all, the homeworld of the Angels of Vigilance, Pervigilium, was right next to the Eye of Terror. Naturally, they participated in the Primarch War that swept half of the Obscurus Segmentum back then.
It was just that because of the awkward environment of the Dark Angels Inner Circle, few responded to the commendation later.
"Then you found the wrong person."
Kamael replied decisively: "I can make a promise, but do you dare to believe my promise? I am just a Chapter Master. Can I command others in the Inner Circle?"
"And the Lord of Knights is not at the Rock. Aphkar is currently in control of the Rock. I bet if you choose to go there, the fleet protecting the Rock will definitely open fire before Aphkar issues an order."
Cypher stared at him for a while, waited until a bolt round flying towards him was blocked by Saint Celestine, and looked at her.
The Living Saint shook her head in confusion. She just accepted the Emperor's order to save people again, and then was intercepted by Cypher halfway.
Whoosh—
Swinging the blade.
The edge cut a Death Guard in half like cutting a cake.
This plague pig wailed on the spot, turning into a burning torch instantly, scaring the surrounding Plague Marines away for a moment.
As the Emperor's state stabilized, she and more loyal souls could go to the material universe at some cost. The Emperor, who had been unable to respond to sacrifices, finally began to act.
As for the outcome of a battle.
Celestine shook her head.
It was not something she could influence. The Imperium screwing over teammates in joint operations was common. In past history, some Ecclesiarchy factions even tried to execute her.
Celestine only needed to obey orders and then fulfill her due duties.
Of course, the Living Saint sincerely hoped that these Astartes and mortals still spilling blood on the battlefield could survive.
Do good people deserve to be pointed at with guns?
There is no such reason.
Cypher spoke then.
"I'll take it as you promised."
Then he delayed no more.
A Death Guard breaking through the Living Saint's blockade just raised his gun, only to have his upper body vaporized by plasma weapons in an instant.
A group of agile Dark Angels appeared behind the enemy. They all wore ancient armor, relying on exquisite and deadly skills to kill the surrounding Death Guard one by one.
"We will cover your retreat."
Damn it, Interrogator-Chaplains and Ravenwing caught nothing for so many years.
Kamael looked at the number of these 'Fallen Angels', his eyelids twitching.
"We can fight the enemy together."
He said hoarsely: "I won't leave. Defending this place is our duty."
If even they couldn't persist, no other Chapter would defend this place. Resistance in other areas would probably collapse. After all, the various Dark Angels Chapters now had no unified voice, with the majority watching from the sidelines.
Although if they were wiped out here, the number of Chapters choosing to obey the Rock's orders would still be greatly reduced, at least it was much better than the negative effects brought by fleeing battle.
Panting for a while, Kamael struggled to prop up his body.
Perhaps accustomed to facing threats more deadly than so-called component problems, the Angels of Vigilance, who must always keep companies at the Fortress-Monastery to resist Chaos invasion, still retained respect for their own duties.
Ironically, in the past, this behavior of the Angels of Vigilance led to them being questioned by the High Lords for never responding to the High Lords' summons with the full Chapter.
Then why not question other Dark Angels?
Because they didn't dare.
Other Dark Angels were forever loyal.
Really funny. Their home is right in the face of the Eye of Terror, and they aren't allowed to keep garrison troops?
"Resistance continues."
Kamael said.
Silence in the comms.
He turned his head and saw a neophyte vox-operator under his command, faceplate gone somewhere, facial features covered in blood, leaning against cover pouring ammunition forward, glancing at the Chapter Master in confusion.
He made a hand signal, indicating the other party to restore audio.
"Resistance continues."
Then he repeated.
Voices sounded again one after another.
Now almost all friendly forces who could still reply could hear his words.
"You should know this is an unwinnable war."
Cypher said again.
"Mm, I know."
Kamael pressed a switch. At this moment, he finally had the chance to remove the helmet damaged by the failure of the Iron Halo, snapping back a dislocated and broken section of his jawbone.
Then he stood up and roared.
"Resistance continues."
Responses rose from all sides.
Sparse but firm.
Such warriors should not die in obscurity like this. Whether it is the god who engraved the protection of humanity into the marrow, the Astartes who underwent the same modifications as them, or the leaders who sent them here to die, there should be a response.
Instead of watching them die coldly.
"..."
Exchanging a glance with the Living Saint he just met in the warp not long ago, Cypher knew in an instant he had chosen the right target.
Those figures clad in black armor swung their swords even faster.
This was not a Chapter questioning its own loyalty due to the passage of time, but an army that still remembered the duties long forgotten in action, undoubtedly fighting for duty.
This makes one want to lament the history of this Chapter.
For ten thousand years, a Dark Angels splinter stationed in front of the Eye of Terror, focusing on fighting Chaos, resisting twelve Black Crusades, from Pervigilium to the Eye of Terror, from Cadia to Port Maw, experiencing thousands of bloody battles—
Without absence!
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