The mechanical slaves worked silently, carefully placing the corpses into makeshift coffins welded from steel plates, then adding promethium fuel, carefully sealing, and filling cylinders filled with compressed air.

There were six such coffins, which were used to carry the bodies of sixty-three deceased people. Most of the corpses were mutilated, some even fragmented, and even the most careful finishing could not restore their countenances, and we could only distinguish their identities from their attire - fragments of chain mail, charred fur, and tattered battle axes, belonging to the Fenris, broken machetes and small pieces of red cloth among the ashes, belonging to the Katakchans, the damaged armor of the battle nuns had been removed, and they were wrapped in simple monk's robes full of scriptures, and there was a chastity seal affixed to them, and as for the soldiers of the navy, except for a fairly neat uniform, Nothing else.

"We bear witness to this sacrifice today and remember it in our hearts. There is no need for more praise, sacrifice itself is the greatest glory, it is the cornerstone of the empire, the spark of humanity. No matter how cruel and desperate this universe is, no matter how dark our eyes are, as long as there are people who fight and die for it, above the ruins and ashes, between the blood and the bones, humanity will not be destroyed, and the empire will live forever! ”

The voice of the young Fenris grew louder and louder, reflecting back and forth in the wide chamber in a multiplicity that even the steel floor and walls resonated.

All the bodies had been loaded, and the mechanical slaves checked the tightness of all the coffins one last time, checking the injection of fuel and air, and then, in a loud tremor, the huge and heavy gates slowly rose, revealing the dark and vast universe before us.

Outside, there was a cold and vacuum, a void world cut off from life, and there was only a force field that was so thin that it was barely thick. This is the air blocking force field I cast, and its effect is only to block the escape of air, not any solids.

The bodies of the slaves made a monotonous mechanical sound, slowly pushing the massive coffins, one by one, retreating them out of the hangar and silently sliding into the space outside. After leaving the hangar, the steel boxes lost their grip on gravity and drifted off into the distance.

Later, the coffins began to glow red, forming red stars in the dark starry sky, making the thousands of stars in the distance look dim in comparison. The stars grew brighter and brighter, and the steel became blazing and dazzling under the incineration of the high concentration of promethium fuel. Soon, the sealed steel cabinet was ablated by the heat, and even brighter flames were sprayed into the vast void, a vivid red color like blood erupting after the arteries had been cut. Eventually, even the steel itself burned in the oxygen-rich air, and the coffins burned into huge fireballs, whose incandescent light even obscured the nearest star to us, the sun of the galaxy.

"Let us remember the light of this moment, and when we are glorious, our bodies will burn in the same way. We will light the lamps and turn them into stars, bringing a moment of light to this eternal night. We declare to the world that in this eternal darkness, the flame of humanity will never be extinguished! ”

The Fenris raised their tomahawks to their chests, the nuns crossed their hands in eagle wing gestures, and the other soldiers—Katachan, the navy, and me—gave the normal military salute. To the burning stars, we offer our final salutes.

As if pre-agreed, in the deep night, more lights shone sporadically, densely revealing three huge silhouettes, which were the Silent Hall Fortress and the two cruisers Redemption of Heresy and Frost Fang. On the side of the heretical redemption, there were also stars that began to burn, as many as dozens, and it was another funeral going on at the same time. On the Redemption of Heresy, due to the passive defense and facing the most elite Chaos Space Marines, we have to pay far more casualties than on this side.

In just a few minutes, the stars dimmed one by one, and the steel coffin, along with a dozen or so corpses in it, were reduced to fine ashes under the blazing heat of the promethium fuel, scattered in the endless void. However, just as the lights from the portholes of the battleship and the fortress went out at the same time, and the space became dark again, more light suddenly appeared before our eyes. Thick pillars of light cut through the darkness like blazing blades, intersecting each other and slicing the endless and deep void to pieces. These are dozens of spears of light firing, these most powerful weapons that humans can forge, the highest crystallization of mechanical sorcery, are unscrupulously venting their strongest power towards the dark world that envelops us, proclaiming the existence of human beings with the most blazing light and heat. No sound can be heard in space, and this dazzling and silent salute is the most solemn tribute to the deceased.

Standing at the back of the crowd, I saw Sylvia's back grow taller and taller in the light, and the light of the cannon fire gave the young captain a strange glow. This brilliance was only for a moment, after all, the light spear could not shine for a long time, and in a short moment, the outer universe was dark again, but the light of that moment had already existed in my heart!

One day, if I can enjoy a funeral of this standard, it will be a complete one—even if I don't read the minds of others, I believe that I am not alone in this moment.

During my long military career, I have experienced more than 100 funerals, especially in recent years, as an officer and an elderly veteran, I have personally officiated at funerals for others. I have seen tens of thousands of corpses piled up in the mountains, and the smoke has formed dark clouds under the incineration of dozens of tons of promethium fuel, covering the sky for three days and three nights. The smell was enough to make recruits from any world - including me - gag up, but it wasn't long before everyone would inevitably love it, and the smell of promethium fuel mixed with corpses was what we call the smell of victory. Just as the loot is collected and distributed, the burning of corpses is a privilege reserved for the victors, whether they burn enemies or comrades.

It's been a long, long time since I remember the names of the dead, and I've deliberately forgotten the funerals. Many times, battles don't end in victory, and not every victory gives us the opportunity to clean up the battlefield and collect the corpses. Many more of the dead, who fell where they fought, rotted there, some were even horribly desecrated......

We all think that the deceased need a funeral to rest in peace, but I know that the deceased don't need anything. Death itself is rest, the final end. The deceased does not need to be comforted, and the funeral can really comfort us.

As now, even without the breath of victory that I am familiar with, even without the roar of the salute, the mere light that shines through the sky in the long night is enough to move many people.

――――――――――――――――――――――

This chapter is completely literate.

I used to want to try to be a popular writer for the market, but there are some things that I often do that are completely thankless once I get serious, such as writing this kind of text that seems to be completely unpleasant to read.

I know what readers are happy to see and will try to write about it. But if you blindly write those jokes that everyone likes to see, Warhammer will turn bad and lose her original charm, so whenever I have the opportunity, I will still spend a lot of pen and ink on this kind of oppressive and heavy rendering. This looks like ordering a dish of sauerkraut fish, but when you bring it up, you find that the fish accounts for less than a small half, and most of the others are piles of heavy condiments and vegetables, which has to be said to be a very infuriating thing. But I think that since you've been reading my book for so long, you should be able to put up with my problems, just like a diner who knows that the dish is not affordable at all but still orders it.

Anyway, I realized my mistake and decided to correct it slowly. Please continue to support me as always. Well, how to support it, in fact, everyone understands......

Anyway, this battle is finally over.

!