The Master Chief was deep in the ruins of a cathedral near the area he had recaptured with his life, and he was lucky enough to find a small side hall that remained untouched.

The triptych on stained glass is still intact, and the candles used for religious ceremonies stand on pedestals, as if waiting for a priest to light them, which the Master Chief sees as a sign and chooses to conduct his worship here.

Now his left hand has been completely replaced by a temporary prosthetic, such a disability is rare in Space Marine, Superhuman metabolism can allow them to repair many incorrigible losses for mortals, and when it really comes to the suffering of Star Marines who will be disabled, fearlessness and death are their normal choices.

A medical cold compress could have redeemed his body, but the subsequent raid on the Chaos Wizard worsened the wound and he had to contend with the apothecary's proposed cutting operation and the metal limb that he was not used to.

Luckily, he survived, and after only three days of the war, his eyes miraculously recovered, although the greatest help of the pharmacist was only 60 percent of his normal vision, which was still enough for the most part.

People in this day and age have always prayed for forgiveness and mercy, hoping that the emperor would free him from the sea of suffering, but now it seems that the emperor will only exert his busy power for the empire, so everyone thinks that the emperor is cold, sensible, ruthless and great, and it is honored to be favored by him.

The slightest miracle and reality can set off a frightening chain reaction, and in this age of religion, it's hard to gauge the value of that crazy reality.

It is also the same that being favored makes the Master Chief very confused, the silver sun that looks down on the Empire from the sky, the god of war in golden armor, the father of the Empire, the mentor of mankind or the powerful leader, his gentleness allows this warrior to survive.

But he didn't understand it, and the emotions it brought about were not the complicated gratitude or piety that people thought in their hearts, but a sense of responsibility.

He plunged the falcon's blade into the dirt and knelt on the ground, his head resting lightly against the hilt of his sword, where he had been kneeling for more than two hours in the form of a penitent, the first thing he had done as he had recovered.

He didn't want to reconnect with the Emperor, he didn't pray for great power, he just thought calmly, thinking about his life and everything that was going to come to him, and thinking about his hatred of himself and heresy.

He was ashamed to have done those hopeless deeds in the moments before, at the end of his life, he was forged for the prosperity of the Empire, and every nerve unit of his mind should think about how to do his best for the Empire!

He was ashamed that his desire to survive drove him to lose his cool, and he subconsciously wondered if he could optimize those things, and although it seemed like force majeure in many cases, this experience made him particularly afraid.

It turns out that he is so powerless and afraid of death, and when the darkness that belongs to him comes, there is no holiness and honor in his mind, but to live...

He had never thought of anything like this, his fate was in the hands of someone else and not the Emperor, and he found himself scrutinizing his every thought, deed, and word.

But now, he was so close to the emperor, at least the appearance of the emperor in the mortal world, the painting that survived the war, the solemn expression of the human lord made him calm in thought.

Eventually, he concentrates his thoughts and sinks into a meditative state, in the process dissecting every fragment of information he has gathered, analyzing it from all angles.

Now the Master Chief opened his eyes and raised his head, a strong determination on his noble countenance.

"Thank you for your guidance, Emperor." He groaned. "Thank you for your clarity, Primordial, I will no longer fail you."

He stood up his body, his bones and body were already clicking, the feeling that his body and his head were no longer connected was terrifying, but the Master Chief didn't care, it had nothing to do with his superhuman ability, but at this moment he was no longer confined to the slogan of living to die, but now he had really died.

An hour later, the Master Chief convened his war council in the lower front porch of the cathedral, in the dilapidated hall, where rainwater drips on ruined windows and fell through broken holes in the high ceiling.

The water turned into a filthy mist that drifted through the air, the pain that the heresy had inflicted on the city remained unresolved, and the obese flies, accustomed to the toxins and relying on corpses, lingered in the still air, its eyes bright red, as if it wanted to taste the flesh of a living man, but as it flew past the Space Marine, the loyal mortal minions quickly smashed the worm with the tools they could see everywhere, leaving brown stains on the dark Gothic bricks of the church.

As the non-commissioned officer chief, and the fourth company commander, technical sergeant, pharmacist, and their senior sergeant gathered, the stained glass creaked underfoot. The two fearless mecha battle brothers, who are also the most precious ancestors of this company, were also present, and this was the most powerful mobilization of the Empire's dedicated men on the battlefield.

And the many honors of the Master Chief and this operation, so that he relied on the faith and outstanding exploits of the warband to be respected, although a little bit of merit, but in the Space Marine, the brothers are actually almost equal, but their personal ability leads to a distinction in command and combat, and each brother is crucial.

The Space Marines are small in size, dense in composition, concentrated in combat power and very united, so they form a combat force that surpasses the same number of people, just like they call each other, after the completion of Superman's surgery, they are physically extremely close brothers.

Master Chief pointed to his chest at the moment and said. "These two hearts were once stagnant, and the people who brought it back were the brethren and the loyalists of the Empire, and it was the heretical, the ignorant who abused witchcraft and subspace energy, and were contented."

"Honorable Imperial warriors." Master Chief shouted. "We have suffered at the hands of heretical invaders, but now that is over, we will defeat them in the name of the Emperor, and pledge to cleanse them of every ounce of filth from this world."

Several of his sergeants saluted by striking their breastplates with their fists, while one of the fearless brothers let out a near-explosive rumble and shouted "Good, good!" with the grid. ”

The man who had been put into the coffin by death was forced to sleep by the technical sergeant after a rough force of habit, and the anger was preserved before it had been discharged, and his hatred for many alien heretics began to ferment like an unacceptable wine full of anger or killing.

"The Emperor is with us, Master Chief, what are your plans?" The fourth company commander asked.

"They believe in the four gods, and we are sure that those filthy people, based on the current state of the war, have bombarded the city with a virus, and in doing so, they have strengthened their psionic powers, and according to my inference, the Lord of the Plague is the core of this force, so they represent what the cultists essentially need to provide."

The Dreadnought MechWarrior is well-informed, he said right away. "A devotional offering," he said with disgust. "They torment the planet and its inhabitants like a man lighting a candle in the holy land of the Empire."

"That's right, so they need the Star Whisperer as the core of the sacrifice, the carrier of the Emperor's great power, no matter how faint, it is a real light, and at the same time, the Star Whisperer is also the foundation to ensure that this world is isolated."

"So, they're like this," the company commander muttered. There is only one possibility! ”

"You say they want to summon demons?!" The apothecary shouted, and his fuss was not transitional, in the vast borders of the empire and in the tens of thousands of years of existence, there were only a handful of demonic invasions, and each success brought with it quite a bad situation.

"No, I'm not sure, what they're craving, maybe it's a demon." "Or some other evil that some sane mind can't guess, and it seems logical that the Starwhisperer will be the last offering anyway, and the blood of the heart will be stamped with the contract." ”

"In the name of the throne!" Dreadnought Brother said. If this is true, then the heretics are using the whole world as their sacrificial altar. The consequences of such a huge ritual would undoubtedly be catastrophic. ”

"Exactly," said the company commander. "Now you understand why we can't continue to fight a war of attrition with such an enemy, which is exactly the kind of war they want."

"We must resolve the battle quickly and decisively, and destroy them before they can use the souls of the Empire's people to complete their lives."

"I ask again," said the pharmacist. "What are I going to do? Impulsiveness has brought us close to defeat, and if it weren't for the self-sacrifice of Master Chief, we wouldn't even be able to take this Star Fortress, they outnumber us, even if the Empire's people join our troops. ”

"Our losses during the attack were quite large, and even with the Baptism to support us, I think there is a lot of pressure on us to defeat this enemy."

"Don't deny the suffering, we will cross, the problem is not this, I have the support of the natives during this time, the Loande Heavy Infantry Regiment, the Forty-fourth Regiment, they are good at local warfare and have a lot of information about what was once stronghold." Master Chief said.

"And they gave me information that there was a place in the old city area where the heavy light spear dissipated heat, and its battery to be exact."

"An anti-ship light spear? There's only one place in the whole world that has that thing..."The company commander's mind flashed back to the places he hadn't conquered, and although he could put the blame on the Master Chief's death, he knew that only 50 Space Marines couldn't take anything.

"That's right, that passage can reach the underground of the Reverse Orbit Fortress, we only need to find a way to open the ground to infiltrate the interior, close the Void Shield, and at the same time, the Imperial Guard can also bombard the opposite side with the Earth-shaking Cannon we captured, as long as the Space Marines can act as front-line personnel to resist the enemy's initial attack and attract the attention of large forces, a small number of elite soldiers can infiltrate the enemy and wreak havoc." Master Chief emphasized.

"According to the standard Terra Day, through the pipeline that links the entire city, the Dreadnought mech can't, then." The technical sergeant calculated.

"72 hours...", he reported an accurate, zero-round number, 72 hours on the standard Terra day, which is the time that the peripheral troops need to bear, during this time to contain the enemy's attack with all their might...

The Dreadnought said. "It's not easy, but we've seen harder ones."

"To live to die is very much in line with our will." The Master Chief naturally began to plan to infiltrate the operation, but the fourth company commander suddenly interrupted his movements.

"Why, do you think you can hold such an important position now? Give me your squad and I'll go. ”

The Master Chief subconsciously replied. "But you're the commander!"

The company commander replied. "You have shown your greatness and responsibility, proven your will to victory, and now, you are also a commander, and secondly, don't you have a clear account with that mortal heretical general?"

Master Chief's eyes instantly glanced at his arm. "I..."

"I'll go, needless to say, what you need is revenge on the frontal battlefield, with explosive orders, with honor, with command." The company commander has changed a lot during this time, and some people even think that he is gentle, but many people don't realize that his feelings for his brothers have always existed, on the contrary, it is because of Skady's experience that he now shows his emotions so directly, and it also makes the veteran more attractive.

With the Emperor above, Master Chief looked at the cracked rotten wood seat and turned on his communicator.

"The 154th Infantry Regiment of Loand, the 44th Heavy Infantry Regiment of Loander, in the name of the Emperor, I, the Destruction Eagle Regiment, Brother Astarte, a non-commissioned officer of the rank, as the acting commander temporarily dispatched you to participate in the defense of Loand, can you obey the transfer?"

"Are you ready to serve the Emperor?"

The radio answered quickly. "Always, sir, always!" That's the answer of Captain Tesk and the officer of the infantry regiment, and they have always been, because Loander never falls!

"Very good. What I ask you to do will not be easy, Captain, but it must be so, that you mobilize all your remaining forces and carry out a diligent attack with the main force before we launch a surprise attack. Lure them in and do what you can to contain most of their forces. ”

"That will cost us dearly, my lord," Tesker said. "Many of my soldiers are sick or wounded, and our ammunition reserves are low, and if the enemy responds on a large scale, we will not be able to withstand their wrath for long."

"I understand," he replied. "While your troops engage the enemy, we'll quickly move into position and capture the fortress's shield generators, and they'll lose their ability to defend themselves against bombardment, and you can give them a taste of being bombed."

"Yes, sir."

The Master Chief heard something in the captain's voice, maybe courage, maybe cowardice, but the victory here was too important, and as long as the Loanders did their part in the name of the Emperor, it was what really mattered.

"Sergeant." He said. "How visible is the enemy on our prophet?"

"It's still interfering." The sergeant replied. "And theoretically, they're able to hide themselves as they did during the previous high-altitude reconnaissance, but we've seen Scout squads in areas where the enemy is moving, and the traitors seem to have tightened their blockade around the low-Earth orbit fortress after the Star Fortress War."

Master Chief nodded, then spoke to Tesker's channel again.

"Captain Tesk, prepare your troops to attack in 6 hours from Standard Terra Time, Second Company Commander, I wish you good luck!"

"Yes, brother," the company commander said lightly, raising his hand in salute.

Be ready for everything, Master Chief muttered silently. "Then get ready, brothers, we will enter the battle again, and this time, if we don't succeed, we will be benevolent."

(End of chapter)