Van Cleef let out a rare long sigh, his back-to-back sigh finally drawing Morets' attention. The adjutant looked at his company commander in bewilderment and handed him a short knife.

Van Cleef reached out to take it and threw the short knife out with a sigh. It cut a deadly arc and hit a training target with precision.

Moletz's expression finally changed a little.

"Company commander, are you throwing a gun target with a combat dagger?" The adjutant raised his hands in shock. "It's not like you'd do it."

Van Cleef stared at him in silence, his expression looking like he was being slammed with a power fist.

His eyes were so complicated that Morets could barely comprehend them—and after a few seconds of silence, Van Cleef shook his head.

"You won't understand." He looked up and pulled out the blaster from his waist with lightning speed. Without looking at the target, he raised his hand and fired three shots.

The first shot hit the target, causing it to shake. The second shot hit the edge of the target, causing the vibration to cease abruptly. The third shot hit the edge of where the Battle Knife was located, allowing it to spin and fly back and land at the feet of the adjutant.

Morec bent down to pick it up, but his expression was not very good.

"How do you understand if you don't tell me?" Morec asked exasperatedly, and plunged the dagger back into his belt.

"Even if I say it, you won't believe it." Van Cleef said gloomily. "Who would have thought of such a thing? The Emperor is above."

Morets turned away in exasperation, not understanding what had happened to his company commander and why he had behaved so depressed on the day of the selection of new bloods.

Staring at his distant back, Van Cleef's eyes were very melancholy.

The company commander bowed his head bitterly, removed the magazine of the blaster, picked up another tarpaulin, and began to maintain his weapon.

At the same time, he also entered into meditation. Meditation is something that many Astartes highly value, as it helps to keep people focused. Van Cleef mechanically disassembles parts, wipes the surface, oils and assembles parts.

He can do it without even looking. However, the more he does it, the calmer his mind becomes. Inevitably, he remembered what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets again.

——

"I'm five years old." Conrad Coetzes said with a smile. He looked at the stunned expressions of the company commanders with satisfaction, and his smile did not change for the slightest. "What? Is there a problem? ”

"How long have you been here?" Sixth Company Commander Yarod asked.

"What do you think?" Coates asked rhetorically, expertly answering the question with a question. "How long do you think I've been here, Arrod?"

I don't know."

"Guess what." Coetzes said with a smile. "It's nothing, it's better than you secretly guessing my age."

"We—" Fell spoke in a high-pitched voice, leaning at his sword, in an almost mechanical tone. "-Didn't guess your age!"

"And what are you doing?" Coetzes raised an eyebrow. "I just listened to the whole process word for word, do you want to say that I have a hearing problem? By the way, Fell, it's kind of funny how you look when you angrily accuse the company commander of the wall grass. ”

"Uh, thank you?" Fell said dizzily that beside him, Van Cleef looked up in despair.

"Ah, ah, don't do that, company commander." Coetze looked at him softly. "Truth be told, your two guesses are already the closest to the right answer, in other words, you're a winner. So why are you so sad? The winner should have a smile. ”

Van Cleef tried to laugh, his face now giving Enric Barbatos a look of shock that bordered on awe.

"To be honest, I thought your bet was about something else." Coates sighed, clasped his hands and shook his head. "But I didn't expect you to care so much about my age, does it really matter to you?"

"Honestly, the original, it's not really important." Second Company Dar Vanolarus replied honestly.

"Really? Then why did you just yell the loudest? ”

Well, it's actually kind of important."

"Sort of?"

"It's important." Dahl Vanolaruth said with a dark face.

"Well, you've got the right answer now." Said the Lord of the Night.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth again, he had been taught so well that Carlil, still in the dark, couldn't see his true emotions right now—a rare but memorable event.

Carlil silently jotted down the expression and began to wait for the next development.

"So, why don't you celebrate with a round of applause?" Coetze gently persuaded. "Isn't this a time of consolation?"

“.”

The company commanders looked at each other, but no one answered—but someone had already slowly raised their hands and involuntarily began to respond to the original body's words. Although he was quickly stopped, Coetzes did not ignore him.

"Ah, isn't this my fourth company commander, Carl Drassock?" The Lord of the Night waved happily at him. "Are you going to applaud me?"

"Me"

"Huh?"

Carl Drasak put down his chainsaw sword and applauded. Not slow, neither fast, neither light nor heavy. It's the kind of applause that can be used in a social setting.

Coates smiled and nodded at him, "Thank you, thank you so let's get down to business now, shall we?" ”

As the words fell, Coz's face changed instantly. The smile is gone, and only pure seriousness remains. He frowned, and the fingers of his right hand tapped lightly on his left arm.

"During this time, a total of fourteen thousand three hundred and twenty-one new blood joined us." The Lord of the Night spoke slowly. "That's a lot more than I expected, and I salute you, Raquel."

The Commander of the Seventh Company, whose name was called, nodded unnaturally with an unnatural expression, his name was Raquel Zarowek - yes, he was one of those unlucky people who stayed behind in Nostramo.

"Eight companies can be the first to select new blood, but I don't plan to cancel the formation of hunting squads. Our tactics are inherently flexible, and the presence of a squad allows the infiltration tactics to work better. ”

"We still have the last two years to prepare, and the blessings of Torakir, the new bloods have completed the transformation, but that doesn't mean that they are qualified fighters."

"During this time, you are to test them as much as you can—by any means, by any means. If someone fails these tests and has psychological problems, report the list to me as soon as possible. ”

"They won't, Primitive." Raquel Zarulek said softly. "As early as the moment they made their vows, they had already passed the most difficult hurdle."

Other than that, it's just death. Raquel whispered in his mind.

The Lord of the Night nodded slightly, still serious.

"The recruitment of new recruits can continue. Once the Great Expedition begins, we will return every eight calendar months to replenish our troops. Also, a Mechonia fleet from Mars is heading for Nostramo, have any of us dealt with them? ”

The company commanders looked at one of them—it was the fifth company commander, Tolan Katorific, who had the most technical sergeants under him. This has nothing to do with his own personality, and he has always been interested in mechanics.

Especially those that can cause violent explosions.

"Tolan?" Coetze looked at him. "How?"

"Primordial, I'm not sure if I can communicate well with them." The commander of the fifth company replied cautiously.

"There are many factions within the Mechanical, and there may be countless differences between even the same technocratic priest who has created a world. You say they're from Mars, but I can't guarantee that there won't be any priests who happen to have trained my technical sergeants. ”

"It's fine."

Coates smiled comfortingly at him, and then immediately handed over the matter to him.

"It's up to you to take full responsibility for this matter, and keep me informed of the progress. Don't worry, Tolan, even for the sake of the Adamantites, they'll try their best to learn Nostramo. ”

"Uh-" The fifth company commander nodded reluctantly as if someone had punched him in the jaw. "—Yes, Proto."

"Well, that's the business done." The Lord of the Night smiled again. "Is there anything else you would like to say to me?"

The company commanders looked at each other again.

Koz looked at this scene, deliberately threw out a disappointed expression and sighed: "Well, it seems that age is a problem after all"

"No, not what you think, Primor." Fell hurriedly spoke. "Age is just an illusion for the genoplasm, it doesn't mean anything. You've proven yourself many times. ”

"So you bet privately, open the market, and even have people bet on both ends, all just for fun?" Conrad Coetzes asked lightly.

Fell Zaloster's face was shut, and the company commanders glanced at him dangerously.

"Doesn't anyone refute it? All right. Van Cleef. ”

The commander of the company whose name was called was so serious that he responded to his original body as if he was receiving an order from the front of the battle formation: "Yes, I am, original body." ”

"What do you usually use to place bets?"

“.”

"Huh?"

"The loser has to divide his time on duty to the winner."

"Ah, well, then, where do you usually do this entertainment? Are the recruits involved too? ”

"Generally in the second artillery position on the lower deck, there are a dozen empty rooms behind there where the recruits are not involved, and they don't know about it."

"Thank you, Van Cleef." Konrad Coetzes said sincerely. "Now, then, you can continue the duel."

In front of the company commanders, he smiled and opened the door of the secret room and walked out. There was a dead silence in the room for a moment.

The company commanders looked at each other hesitantly, some were ready to continue the duel, others wondered if they had a brain problem just now, why their words sounded so stupid.

They communicated in silence, not noticing that a tall figure was rising in the darkness.

"Ahem." Carlil coughed softly, breaking the dead silence. "Good evening, everyone?"

He was dressed in a rather serious gown, with his hands behind his back, and his expression was very serious.

The company commanders looked at him, their expressions changing from shock to non-shock, and Phil Zaloster even burst out laughing after an awkward silence.

"Haha, you were there just now? But it's nine o'clock in the morning when Terra," Ferr asked dryly.

"Yes." Carlil nodded. "I know it's nine o'clock in the morning when Terra is tella, and that's the first joke I've prepared. Plus, I came much earlier than Conrad. ”

Fell looked at him and slammed his mouth shut.

"So you've watched it all?" Yarod asked with difficulty.

"It's pretty much the same." Carlil said. "Your daily anti-stealth assessment has failed again, but this time it is understandable, after all, you don't have any extra attention to allocate to this matter from beginning to end, I have a few jokes, do you want to hear them?"

"Laughs, jokes?" Enric Barbatos opened his mouth again and again. "Is this some kind of hint, instructor?"

"What? No, of course not. I've been preparing jokes just to say on this occasion. If you don't believe me, you can ask Jaylziño. Carlil frowned and began to explain patiently.

"I know you're probably going to get into this situation, so I've put together a few jokes to liven up the atmosphere. Conrad wouldn't be mad at your actions, in fact, I think he even had some appreciation for your behavior in making this gamble. Am I talking too much? Well, anyway, I'm going to get started. ”

He coughed lightly and was silent for a few seconds. The eight company commanders had different thoughts for a few seconds, but Van Cleef really realized one thing—the jokes prepared by their instructors were probably not very funny.

Because he's even really explaining to them why he wants to tell jokes.

"Okay, first joke - Jack is a fledgling killer who likes to use the shroud as a disguise for himself, but his face quickly rots, why is that?"

"Because the shroud he uses is used by the dead!" Carlil smiled and held up his finger. "How?"

The company commanders struggled to use the kind of applause that Carl Delasock had demonstrated for them before.

"Thank you, thank you." Carlil nodded happily at them. "Now it's the second, ahem - a killer, a murderer, and a surgeon stayed in the same hotel, and they talked to each other while they waited for the food to be served in the hotel's dining room."

——

Van Cleef slowly raised his hand and covered his face.

He couldn't think about it anymore, absolutely not. He didn't want to recall those awkward jokes anymore. Something more embarrassing than an embarrassing joke is that the person telling the joke is not aware of it.

Not only was Carlil unaware, but he even spoke a dozen with great interest before stopping. Frankly, Van Cleef would rather hear Siani laugh for two hours than remember half a word of those jokes.

After all, what joke would cost 600 words to tell you the difference between a killer, a murderer, and a surgeon's knife technique? What exactly do these three things have to do with jokes?

The commander of the first company sighed with a dead face, turned his head, and saw his adjutant also come over with a dead face.

"Company, company commander." Morec's lips trembled. "Primordial, primordial, he-"

"—I know." Van Cleef smiled mildly. "It's okay, Moletz Hey, I have a few jokes here, do you want to hear them?"

After the update, these two chapters are relatively relaxed. I did it on purpose.

(End of chapter)