Chapter 484 "Dull" "Gold"

"Hoo-hoo."

The Son of Man's sergeant's breathing was rapid and heavy, and it seemed that every breath he took was accompanied by a faint sting.

His heart and lungs were severely damaged by the previous battle. Even though his various functions as an Astartes had started the "crazy operation" mode, he could only barely maintain the current state.

If he wanted to recover as before and return to his peak, he needed comprehensive treatment from his pharmacist brothers, and then he would need the convalescence of his exclusive team and the monitoring of precision instruments.

At this moment, he was in the corner of a small utility room, with a dozen shivering children behind him.

The sergeant looked down at the chainsaw sword in his hand, and the dried blood on the blade indicated the previous fierce battle.

The reason why he retreated to this point was not out of cowardice, but out of helplessness.

Not long ago, the three tactical teams he led, together with the platoon leader of the 2nd assault platoon, Rilano, and other brothers, coordinated with a total of about 20,000 auxiliary troops, ODSTs and elite veterans, to garrison in this commercial district.

At that time, their goal was clear, that is, to hold their ground and buy time for as many citizens as possible to evacuate.

However, the impact of the Chaos wave was far more violent than expected.

The appearance of the main force of the Emperor's Children quickly increased the pressure on the defense.

They have fallen into the minions of Chaos, not only are their strength and speed far superior to before, but even their fighting methods are unspeakably blasphemous.

Accompanying the invasion of the main force of the Emperor's Children is the crazy attack of wave after wave of Chaos creatures and heretics, which almost put the defense line on the verge of collapse.

The most fatal turning point was the figure of the "big demon", which appeared in the bird's-eye view of the drone.

It was huge in size, holding a sharp sword similar to a scimitar, and surrounded by a strange light of deep purple and scarlet, and the evil breath it exuded seemed to mock the fragility of human beings.

Everyone knew that once such a being stepped into the defense line, it would mean complete destruction.

Therefore, they were forced to choose to shrink their positions, trying to concentrate the remaining forces and wait for the arrival of the main force led by the Primarch to launch a counterattack.

What is gratifying is that under the desperate cover of countless brothers, most citizens have successfully evacuated to a safe area.

The sergeant witnessed the ordinary people evacuating from the rear of the defense line with tears and gratitude to them, which is also one of the important reasons that supported him to persist until now.

But retreat always comes with a price.

In order to allow more people to survive, the sergeant personally led three tactical teams and nearly a thousand auxiliary soldiers to be responsible for the rear.

They knew that this decision was tantamount to facing death, but they accepted the order without hesitation.

The three tactical teams and more than a thousand auxiliary soldiers were gradually swallowed up by the enemy's frenzy. The sergeant watched many familiar faces fall down, and there was no chance to even recover the bodies.

In the end, after several rounds of desperate fighting and at the cost of the death of half of the brothers and auxiliary soldiers, they were finally able to retreat to the stable position in the rear.

But at the most critical node, the sergeant's eyes caught a hint of something strange at the main entrance on the west side of the mall.

Relying on his extraordinary visual ability and the various enhanced modes on the helmet screen, he quickly enlarged his field of vision and saw the so-called traces of activity there.

There were no Chaos creatures or Emperor's children there, but a group of children no older than eleven or twelve years old.

They were wearing school uniforms stained with dust and debris, their faces full of fear and helplessness, and they were huddled in a corner of the main gate.

It seemed that these children did not evacuate with the main force due to panic and confusion when the chaos first started, and were eventually trapped in the area that had become "purgatory" and lost the best evacuation window.

They who stayed in the mall were like lambs to be slaughtered, and could become "playthings" in the hands of the Emperor's children or victims of Chaos rituals at any time.

The urgency of the situation at the time made the sergeant quickly weigh possible courses of action in his mind.

He faced two completely different choices.

One was to execute the original plan.

According to the retreat arrangement, the sergeant, his tactical team and the remaining auxiliary troops can safely withdraw from this area, preserve their strength, and accumulate chips for the counterattack in the near future.

This choice is undoubtedly rational and the most favorable plan for the overall situation.

After all, as an Astartes, he knows that meaningless sacrifices will only make the situation worse.

Second, go against the trend and launch a rescue.

Choosing this path means abandoning the established retreat route, actively breaking into the area occupied by the Chaos forces, and trying to rescue these helpless children.

However, this choice is almost destined to pay a huge price. Perhaps even his own team and auxiliary troops will find it difficult to retreat, not to mention whether those children can survive the Chaos frenzy.

But this choice question does not leave any room for hesitation for him.

"Rescue those children."

The sergeant issued this order in the communication channel almost the moment he saw them.

There was no hesitation or retreat in his tone.

The sergeant's decision was like a call of faith, which was quickly conveyed to every brother and auxiliary soldier.

Moreover, no one questioned or resisted the order, whether it was the Astartes brothers around him or the auxiliary soldiers of the "mortals".

Although everyone understood that this order was almost asking them to fight for their lives, no one chose to back down.

So, the remaining tactical team members and auxiliary troops quickly dispersed into multiple groups and launched a decisive charge towards the area where the Chaos forces gathered.

Their goal was also very clear, that is, to attract the attention of the Emperor's Children and their minions with the highest possible fighting momentum, to create a window for the sergeant and the two Sons of Man to break through the blockade and rescue the children.

Under their charge, the sound of fierce fighting suddenly echoed outside the mall.

The roar of guns and cannons mixed with the loud noise of explosions completely broke the originally suppressed "dead silence".

Under the reverse charge, the Sons of Man and the auxiliary troops, every shot and every advance of theirs was like a heroic war song, opening a path to hope in the tide of Chaos.

No matter what the final result is, at this moment, the Sons of Man have interpreted what selflessness and sacrifice are with their actions.

Their will is as firm as steel, and they will never allow those children to become sacrifices of Chaos, which is in sharp contrast to the depravity and madness of the Emperor's Children.

Faced with the reckless charge of the Sons of Man and the Auxiliary Army, the thousand-year-old veterans of the Emperor's Sons showed some unexpected "delay" for a moment.

And a few seconds is enough for an Astartes to recall all the events that have happened in the past ten thousand years.

These Chaos Astartes have long been accustomed to countless crazy and desperate resistances in the long years of blasphemy and corruption.

However, the unreserved and fearless sacrifice of the Sons of Man and the Auxiliary Army seemed to evoke some memories buried deep in their corrupted souls.

For a moment, these fallen ones seemed to have their former glory and loyalty emerging in their minds. That was the glorious years when they were crowned with the name of "Emperor's Sons" and conquered various aliens before becoming Chaos slaves.

However, the "delay" of just a few seconds was an unforgivable mistake for the Astartes.

These corrupted veterans quickly pulled themselves out of the mist of memories and then launched a counterattack with extremely powerful and extremely blasphemous means.

Chi——!

A corrupted chain saw blade cut through the air, tearing an auxiliary soldier into two pieces, including his body and armor.

Bang-boom-boom!

The impact fired by the heavy-loaded "sound cannon" directly disintegrated the energy shield of the Son of Man, and smashed his Titanium Tank Power Armor into pieces, splashing blood and oil.

Squeak-squeak!

A thousand-year-old veteran equipped with a Terminator, with his unimaginable strength, twisted the head of a Son of Man from his spine, and blood gushed out.

The brutal battle soon turned into a one-sided massacre.

Although the tactical team and the auxiliary army showed unprecedented bravery, they were ultimately no match for these veterans who had experienced thousands of battles and were strengthened by the power of chaos.

In the end, the charging tactical team and more than a hundred auxiliary soldiers were almost all killed, and blood dyed the ruins of the mall red.

But surprisingly, these ten-thousand-year-old veterans did not choose to torture, ravage, or blaspheme those warriors who were still alive, but used a clean and tidy method to give them a quick end.

This was not out of pity, but they regarded the tenacity and determination of these warriors as opponents worthy of respect.

It was the fearless sacrifice of these brothers and auxiliary soldiers that bought precious time for the sergeant and the other two sons of mankind.

With superb tactics and unyielding will, they finally broke through the blockade of the Emperor's Children and successfully arrived at the main entrance on the west side of the mall to meet with the group of terrified children.

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But the dilemma before them was even more severe.

As the chaos forces on the battlefield gathered further, the corrupt power of the subspace was infiltrating into reality at an alarming speed.

The boundaries of space became blurred, and heavy black fog and distorted breath filled the sky above the mall, completely cutting off the sergeant's communication with the outside world.

They tried to contact the 2nd assault platoon, but could no longer receive any response.

The influence of Chaos continued to spread, making all possibilities of evacuation empty talk.

The sergeant and his two brothers soon realized that the hope of covering the children's evacuation from the main gate had completely vanished.

They were completely isolated and helpless, and the platoon leader and brothers outside also believed that they were completely dead and included in the list of victims for performing the task of covering the rear guard.

Seeing that there was no hope of escape, the sergeant and the two sons of humanity still did not retreat or waver in the face of all this.

They did not choose despair, but made a firm final decision, that is, to protect these innocent children and retreat to the depths of the mall.

Gunshots continued to echo in the mall, and the sergeant led his two brothers to form a barrier and distance themselves from the pursuit troops of the Emperor's Children.

While covering the children's evacuation to a safer area, they used the few remaining ammunition and melee weapons in their hands to desperately resist the approach of "darkness" and "blasphemy".

However, no matter how brave and fearless the sergeant and his two brothers were, they still could not fight against the huge number of Emperor's Children, heretics and Chaos creatures.

Every second of their time was a race against time, and every action was under extreme pressure.

In just a moment, they were all injured in different ways, and they survived purely by luck and fluke.

And their equipment was almost completely damaged, and there was little ammunition left.

Faced with such a situation, the two brothers knew that if they dragged on like this, all the children would not survive.

The final choice did not allow any hesitation.

In order to buy more time for the children to survive, the two brothers chose to take the initiative to launch the final attack on the first floor of the mall where the Emperor's Children gathered.

They tried their best to exert every attack to the extreme.

As the two brothers overloaded the cold fusion reactors of their power backpacks, the violent explosion shook the entire mall.

The explosion not only destroyed part of the mall's structure, but also turned countless Chaos believers and Emperor's Children, as well as the surrounding heretic creatures, into ashes.

The air wave swept through, tearing the air and shaking the ground, and the flames engulfed everything around, while also causing the Emperor's Children to lose their vision.

Taking advantage of the brief chaos caused by the explosion, the already wounded sergeant led the children to run quickly towards the parking lot.

Even if they hid in a relatively safe utility room, it was only a temporary shelter.

When the aftermath of the explosion dissipated, those ten thousand year old veterans left the mall one after another, seemingly losing interest in the group of children and sergeants.

But the Chaos creatures, heretics and some "new recruits" were still relentless and were determined to continue the blasphemy and sacrifice.

Driven by corruption and madness, they kept wandering.

And three of the experienced Emperor's children, with their keen perception and rich battlefield experience, quickly locked the location of the parking lot and approached the utility room directly.

"."

A hoarse and blasphemous voice came from outside the door, mixed with nasal ridicule and arrogance, making the utility room seem more depressed and desperate.

Every word pierced the children's hearts like a sharp blade, making them feel extremely scared.

These children in school uniforms had tears on their faces and their eyes were full of despair, but they resisted the collapse of their emotions.

No one dared to make a sound, and even sobs were forced back into their throats.

Some people trembled and covered their mouths tightly with both hands. They knew that even the slightest breath sound might expose their position.

At this moment, they knew that keeping absolute silence was the only way to survive, even if there was little hope, and it would also avoid interfering with the officer's judgment.

The officer's chest rose and fell violently, and his heavy breathing was mixed with fatigue and pain that could not be ignored.

The severe pain that penetrated the wound almost made him unable to move, but his eyes were still firm, without a trace of retreat or despair.

He knew that his body was close to the limit, and every drop of sweat reminded him that "the end is coming."

Even so, the officer still forced himself to calm down and clenched the chainsaw sword and shock dagger in his hands.

This was his only remaining weapon and the last barrier to protect these children.

He knew in his heart that once he fell, these helpless children would have no chance of survival.

They would become victims of the Emperor's children's wanton trampling, and suffer inhumane blasphemy and torture, and this was definitely not an ending he could accept.

‘Emperor, at least let me walk in front of them, let me make the final contribution to humanity and the Empire’

He murmured in his heart, as if he was making a final vow to himself.

His eyes swept across these young faces, and his heart was full of complex emotions -

pity, pain, and endless anger.

Even if death was inevitable, the sergeant was still ready to die with the enemy, fighting for even a slight chance of survival for these children.

Little did he know that the sergeant's eyes at this time actually showed a faint "golden light".