Chapter 132 The Wind Rises

Imperial calendar 743.M39, Storm Star Region, Fedman 9, on the plain outside the planetary fortress.

On the edge of the empty wilderness, there was no vegetation except gravel on the cold and desolate open ground.

In the layers of heavy dark clouds above the atmosphere, the light of the artificial moon occasionally passed through the gap, illuminating the place not far in front of Calvin.

"One against three." Calvin thought as he looked at the three Astartes who walked out slowly from the darkness at the edge of the moonlight.

Under the cold white moonlight, water molecules in the windless air slowly condensed on the armor.

The four people who were approaching each other slowly stopped at the subtle distance of 30 meters. Like the instinct of beasts, they all knew that one more step forward would be the beginning of war.

The moonlight still shone quietly on the four metal statues. Except for the four long breathing sounds, no movement could be seen.

Sand... Sand... Sand...

A sand lizard crawled out of the cave. It was so frightened by the killing intent that it forgot its original intention of hunting. The sound of its desperate escape broke the originally weak balance.

Boom!

Two Astartes raised their swords and rushed towards Calvin from both sides. The remaining man behind raised his storm bolter with a grim smile and shot the explosive bullet in his hand at Calvin.

Outflanking on both wings, suppressing in the center.

The inverted triangle formation approached Calvin in the blink of an eye. Only then did he turn his eyes away from the moon above his head.

There, a dark cloud just touched the edge of the moonlight.

Now! The silver figure suddenly rose up at the moment of light and darkness, charging to the left!

The sand and soil brought up by the huge force had not yet landed, and the bullets following were still chasing the figure in front in vain.

Calvin had already arrived in front of the Astarte.

"Here!"

The body, which was a full head taller than the opponent, swung the war hammer with the huge force of the charge and smashed the opponent's parry.

Facing the empty goal, Calvin leaned forward and leaned against it. Under the impact of the heavy shoulder armor, the Asart groaned and lost his center of gravity. Under the even greater force, the heavy body retreated to the back irresistibly.

The bombs in the distance hit the body in front of him like raindrops, and the sound of puffing into the flesh could not stop Calvin's pace.

The second person who came later saw this and glared at him. He simply raised the big sword in his hand and swung his arms in a circle, intending to cut the two of them in half.

But the opposite happened. Calvin, who had fought countless times, knew the other party's choice clearly.

Once again, he burst out with power and threw the heavy body in front of him to the other party. Taking advantage of the moment when the other party cleared his view, Calvin's eyes lit up silver!

Punishment!

With his right hand pointing to the distance, the psychic lightning was directed, and the Astartes holding the Bolter Gun was knocked down!

At this time, the last survivor in front of him had just cut off the remains of his comrade.

I With only the last person left in front of him, Calvin's pressure suddenly decreased. He hooked his hand provocatively to the other party, indicating that he should quickly end this one-sided killing.

"For The Emperor!!!"

The only remaining Astartes did not lose his fighting spirit. He raised his long sword and bravely charged towards his own death under the bright moonlight.

Bang!

The clash between the scepter and the greatsword was simple and plain. The first sword under the blessing of the charge was resisted by Calvin on the spot, and the following collisions were closely connected, as if it was just the echo of a collision.

The Astartes warrior's long sword was still swinging at high speed and forcefully, but after losing the initial kinetic energy, the victory or defeat was no longer in his control.

The disadvantage of long-handled weapons in close combat is clumsiness, which can't be seen on Calvin.

The delicate steps concealed a nearly perfect center of gravity control; the martial arts that had improved greatly allowed Calvin to rely on the weapon's own inertia to resist the opponent's attacks, except for the first three blocks.

The attack from the head-on was blocked by the lightly raised staff;

The slash from the shoulder and neck was blocked by the shoulder armor that turned and stepped forward:

The slash from the waist that swept back a step was knocked away by the rotating staff;

After three swords, Calvin, who had finally seen all the opponent's martial arts, lost his patience.

It seemed that he chopped down with a staff casually, but in fact, he released the inertia accumulated before.

The opponent's resistance seemed so fragile at this moment. When the long sword shattered, the wrist holding the sword was also broken by the huge force.

On the yellow-painted Terminator power armor, the broken helmet and the heavy body flew in the direction they came from.

Calvin walked slowly towards the fallen body of the opponent, looking down at the strange and familiar face of this Astarte.

"Captain Yutas, is there anything else to say?"

"Fight for... the Emperor...! Even if I die... I will not regret it!"

Supported by one arm, the warrior was still trying to stand up. With lifeless eyes, he answered stiffly according to his last will before his death.

"Then, have a good journey!"

Calvin paused the scepter in his hand, sending this afterimage in his consciousness on its last journey.

"Huh!"

Calvin opened his eyes and recalled the afterglow of the battle just now.

In the huge metal hall with silver-gray as the main color, he was the only one.

The door behind him was opened at some point, and a gray knight walked in with a standard pace:

"Lord, the envoy of Terra has arrived."

That's right, since 713.M39 of the Imperial Calendar, this is already the tenth year that Calvin has served as the fortress garrison commander of the Gray Knights Chapter in the Federman System.

Thirty years, for mortals, means the aging of a generation. Even for the Astartes, who are known for their longevity, this still means a long war.

The same is true for Calvin. In his original plan, he never imagined that he would stay here for such a long time.

It took Federman 10 years to complete the finishing work on Planet 4.

Since 715, the screening and memory cleansing procedures, as well as the repeated contaminations and rebellions since then, have consumed too much of his energy.

In 718 alone, under his leadership, a full 600,000 of the 4 million Astra Militarum were judged as traitors and were subsequently subjected to purification procedures.

Although the scale of the three subsequent rebellions was slightly smaller, at least 100,000 people were identified as sources of pollution. During the final cleanup process, as many as 500,000 people were buried with these contaminated people.

As of the year 723, there were less than 2.8 million Astra Militarum members who were finally judged to be pure and allowed to return to their home planet.

The war with Chaos was like this. The bloodshed was never limited to the battle. The cleanup after the war was often more painful than the battle itself. This was his personal experience.

But this cannot make Calvin despair. After all, from the perspective of the entire race, this kind of casualty is far from being called a trauma.

This is the advantage of humans as a short-lived species. Their ability to reproduce gives them naturally great endurance.

Even under the internal and external troubles of evil gods and aliens, humans, who often suffered heavy casualties, still used their unparalleled numbers to firmly occupy the position of the largest race in the galaxy.

This is what he learned over a long period of time as a Gray Knight commander:

If he wants to create value for the empire in the longer term, he must learn to focus on the overall situation rather than one individual.

The metal door at the end of the hall opened again, and the golden figure stepping forward caught Calvin's attention.

Behind him were representatives from the Inquisition.

After paying tribute to Calvin, the envoy from the throne room stated his purpose:

"In the name of the Emperor, a ruin of great importance to the Empire has been discovered in this star field. The Throne Court has sent people to rush here. But there are signs that Chaos is also aware of its existence. We need your help. "

Calvin frowned. The main force of the Gray Knights in his hands had been sent out to perform the mission, and a small number of garrison troops were guarding the fortress under construction at the edge of the galaxy.

At this moment, the only reserve force he has left is his direct team, less than 20 people.

He turned towards the envoy of the Imperial Guard.

"How many people are needed?"

"At least 30, the more the better."

"I only have 15 people, I'll go with you."

The envoy of the Forbidden Army hesitated. He was not sure about the safety of this trip, so he was even more unsure whether it was necessary to involve the person in front of him.

"Your responsibilities are more important. Please send the troops you have."

This was the suggestion from the representatives of the Inquisition, and the Adeptus Custodes emissaries agreed in rare silence.

But Calvin had already made his own decision. He looked at the two of them and smiled slightly. Under his white teeth were his firm words:

"Fight for the empire, even if you die, you will never regret it!"

One update.