The blade itself has no mind. It is a murder weapon, one of the symbols of killing and violence, it was made to commit murder, but it has no mind in itself, and the blade is always just a tool held in the hand.

Man is a murderer, but a knife is not.

"Executioner!" The man tied to the ground roared in despair. "You're all going to hell!"

A hoarse laugh answered his words, and Yago Sevitalyon's voice rang out: "Keep your eyes open and look around, sir, aren't we already in hell together?" ”

With a chuckle, Sevita pulled his chainsaw from the mud with a rough motion. Yes, once again he thrust his chainsaw head down into some of the places that the technical sergeants would never recommend.

There is no doubt that he will be scolded by them again afterwards. But, that was after the war, and for now, Sevita just wanted to say a few words to the man in front of him.

And kill him after this.

"Can't you see the color of the sky?"

Sevita grabbed the chainsaw with her fingers, tapping her index finger against its metal grip. Monotonous sounds followed, echoing with their voices in the echoing gunfire, forming a kind of deathly repertoire.

His tone was thoughtful, softened and soft, but the breathing grille had turned it into a dull chirp, twisted like a monster.

"Raise your head and look, sir, look at this blood-red sky. Look at the executed soldiers and the burning city, how can you say that we are not already in hell at this moment? ”

The man's lips trembled, and he tried to refute something, but he couldn't. His anger quickly faded, and Sevita fell silent, staring at him quietly through the eyepiece and slowly raising her chainsaw.

The man's head then fell to the ground, and the reconquest of the planet reached a certain point.

Wars are usually divided into two parts, the first part is when it is going on and the second part is after it ends. For Sevita, he would prefer to use this person's death as a node.

Staring at the frightened skull, Sevita bent down and picked it up. Scarlet blood was still gushing down the arteries of the headless corpse, winding its way through the mud.

Sevita thrust her chainsaw head down into the dirt again, and took off her helmet. He scrutinized the man's face with unhindered eyes, and finally came to a conclusion.

"He could have surrendered." Sevita said. "But he doesn't want to."

"Not everyone will immediately choose to surrender when they hear our name, there are always those who are willing to give their lives for their ideals or something." A voice said behind him.

"Don't you think that's stupid, Shen?"

"Do you think that's stupid, Sai?"

With a rare sigh, Sevita bent down and placed his head next to the man's corpse.

"Don't call me that." He said coldly. "You know I don't like to be called that."

Shen smiled slightly happily, and the laughter was obvious. Sevita squinted and turned her head slightly unpleasantly.

Shen's armor has changed drastically, and he is wearing an MK4 power armor. Midnight blue is the main body, gold is not common, only the shoulder armor on both sides is embellished with gold thread, and scarlet has become the second main color after blue. It can be seen everywhere, much dimmer than blood.

There is a special inscription on his right shoulder armor, which is two criss-crossing cold light blades, which means that he has been promoted to the fourth company and is no longer a member of the hunting team.

But this is not a promotion, and the leader of the hunting team enjoys no less power than a company commander in some ways, and the responsibility is naturally the same.

Sevita understood Shen's reason for doing this, but he naturally wouldn't have anything like that in words. He was like that, and no Nightblade could expect to hear a word of praise or kindness from Sevita.

So, as a matter of course, he began to taunt.

"You left your squad, you dropped Casati Nuang, you dropped Sommers, you dropped Colrentani. How can you still laugh, Shen? Don't you have a heart? ”

Shen immediately restrained his smile and frowned.

"You're always good at poking scars." The sergeant of the fourth company squinted his eyes and said. "How many times have I had to explain to you that I was thrown by them together. Do you think I'd love to leave my fellow soldiers and go to the 4th Company as a non-commissioned officer? ”

Sevita scoffed, "If you don't want to, you can say no." ”

"Yes, the refusal and the instructor signed the 'agreed' letter of rank promotion and position change?" Shen shook his head expressionlessly. "You're still the same as before, Sevita, in order to gain some upper hand in words, you don't even hesitate to ignore some common sense, and even reverse black and white."

"Then why did I refuse?" Sevita spread her hands and shrugged. "Why can I decline a job change letter?"

"You didn't refuse, you just put it away and refused to report to Company Commander Van Cleef, that's all."

Shen smiled coldly, a smile that didn't look like it should have appeared on his face. It was so ruthless and terrifying that it made him himself look almost like a ruthless serial killer.

Is he? Perhaps, in a way, Shen is indeed a serial killer, but he is not cruel.

Although he is still continuing.

"The Original, the Instructor, and even Company Commander Van Cleef have put up with your petty willfulness, but how long can this tolerance last, Sevita? You've postponed your reporting for eleven months of Terra, and soon a full year will pass. ”

Sevita didn't answer Shen's words, but the corners of her eyes twitched faintly.

"It looks like you're trying to say something to contradict me, well, so I'll just say everything I need to say to avoid you bringing it up again."

Shen's smile gradually became pleasant: "How many planets is enough time for us to recover and how many wars can we recover?" Time passes, Sevita. ”

"Macurag has been turned into the center of a galactic alliance by the Ultramarines over the years, the war hounds have passed by the Ghoul Star Zone several times, and we have gradually become monsters that have emerged from the shadows and tore people alive and drank blood in those rumors, how long do you think you can escape?"

"You'd better take those two words back." Sevita squeezed a word out between her teeth. "It's not an escape, I'm just not cold-blooded like you. I'm not going to leave my squad behind. ”

"Do you really think they still need you right now?" Shen asked softly.

Sevita didn't answer, just put on her helmet. An hour later, the Midnight Blade left the planet. The Second Expeditionary Fleet, led by the Tridesia set sail again and headed for Nostramo. They will return home again.

How many more times?

——

Carlil closed his eyes and removed the blade. With just a thought, it instantly overturned and fell into the shadows. In the blink of an eye, the white skeleton with twisted bones turned into a human form.

He opened his eyes again, and through a mirror he saw a pale man, and everything was as usual. The flesh itself has not changed, it is not weak, but it has never been stronger again.

Carlil stared at it with a blank face, his eyes lit up with a blue glow. His vision was changed at this moment, the limit of the mortal eye was crossed in an instant, and something extraordinary crept in and came as promised.

At this moment, the man in the mirror has a broken crown on his head.

It was hideous, wrapped in scarlet surging light in pitch black. It was still broken, several drifting fragments that made it what it is today, blood filaments connecting them and providing traction.

Carlil frowned, and withdrew the psionic energy. He didn't like the crown, but it didn't matter if he liked it or not. Some things don't change just because you like them or not.

Silent, the Nightblades' instructor slowly stood up and left his room for the bridge.

Old Captain Gisbir Hasil was still working here, and it was 3:24 a.m. on Terra time, but he had to stay here, just like the rest of the crew.

Unlike the defense forces stationed on the planet's ground, the Imperial troops on ships have much more routine than ordinary people know. Three shifts, or even four shifts, are common.

As he had done many times, the old man was the first to notice Carlil's arrival, but he didn't shout a greeting or inform the others of Carlil's arrival. He did nothing but give him a greeting with his eyes.

These years of war have given Gisbiel a good understanding of the Nightblades, and in fact, he knows every Nightblade aboard the Tridesia Sideblade.

This memory is simply otherworldly for a mortal, and the old captain is not a man with a very good memory. Carlil can only attribute the incident to the stubbornness of Gisbir Hasir.

He guessed that the captain probably had a notebook with his name written down in it, and like the narrator who was still on their ship, the old-school people always preferred to write with pen and paper.

Kalil walked over to him—he wanted someone to talk to at the moment, and Gisbiel Hasir couldn't have been more suitable.

"Good evening, or rather, good morning, Captain Gisbill."

The old captain, who had been greeted, looked up and glanced at Carlil with a little surprise.

"You seem to be a little different today." He said slightly tactfully. "Is there something going on, Instructor Carlil?"

"It would be hypocritical for me to say no." Carlil said. "But I can't explain to you what happened."

Gisbil Hasir nodded calmly: "I see, so you came to me, an old man, just to make small talk and relax. I'm honored, but I have to tell you one thing in advance, I'm not very good at talking. ”

"Do I seem to be very good at the art of using language?" Carlil winked at him and made a joke that wasn't painful or funny.

He was silent for a while, and Gisbiel patiently joined him in silence.

The old captain's workbench was located on the side of the bridge, away from all the crew, but still had a vantage point for viewing them all, as well as the Tridesia through its six large viewing windows.

The starlit corners of the Milky Way were divided by portholes, and the straight back and turret of the Tridesia rose and fell at a slightly lower angle. The sight is always fascinating, but it's also always monotonous.

The six destroyers of the escort fleet were moving ahead, and every two hours, they sent a radar exploration report. This information and data is aggregated and uploaded to Tridesia's Ponderor Array.

The mechanical priests from Mars replaced it, making it the latest model. Data aggregation that used to take a long time to get results can now be completed in just two to five minutes, which is far more than twice as fast.

Everything has changed.

"Anyway." It was a long time before Carlil spoke again. "I did want to say something, Captain Gisbill. However, these words have reached my lips, and I cannot say them. They're getting a little ridiculous, can you get it, Captain? ”

"I don't understand." The old man replied solemnly. "I don't have great thinking skills, in fact, my colleagues often ridicule me as 'tin head'. So I don't know what you're alluding to, but I can somewhat understand your emotions at the moment. ”

Carlil looked at him, waiting for his answer. The old captain shrugged, and the thick scar on his face writhed at this moment, which was terrible, but it also looked a little funny.

"If you want me to say, you're just fighting too many battles, and I've seen a lot of them. The years of war have completely changed their bodies and minds, and it is only in war that they look like individuals. In their free time, they don't even talk much. ”

"Don't even talk much?"

"yes." Gisbier said. "It's just endlessly devoted to all kinds of pre-war preparations, such as sharpening knives, maintaining guns, and daily training. It's no different from a madman. ”

Carlil laughed, and it was hard for him not to put the old captain's description on Astarte for comparison—then, was Gisbiel deliberately making a slightly offensive joke?

Carlil didn't derive an answer from the scarred face, and he didn't want to dig deeper, just silently jotted down the joke.

"I really think it's time for you to take a break, and this return might be an opportunity. You can spend some time in Nostramo or visit Maculag. I've heard that the Ultramarines have developed a tour, but I'm too old, otherwise I'd love to see it."

"Thanks for the suggestion, Ghisbill." Carlil said. "I'll seriously consider it."

He turned to leave, and the old captain watched his back disappear completely, before he lowered his head and continued to devote himself to his work. He didn't speak, but was attentive and never-ending about the affairs of the Tridesia ship.

The war has changed far more people than the soldiers in his mouth.

This chapter is 4k, and there is one more chapter.

(End of chapter)