Acudona holds his boning saber.

"Go on." A cold voice gave the order from the high platform. "I want to see if the First Swordsman of the Emperor's Son is really that skilled."

As the words fell, the quadrangular iron gate slowly rose, and four Astartes walked out of it. There was no training armor, and they were all shirtless, with hideous wolf heads tattooed on their chests.

Accudona was no stranger to such tattoos, and the Sons of Horus were known for their thriving culture of warrior associations when they were just Shadowmoon Wolves. The four men have the same tattoos, which means they are from the same warrior association.

Doesn't matter.

He clenched his knife and slowly raised his right hand. The edge of the blade pressed against his face, and the coldness and the stickiness of blood bloomed in his perception at this moment. The warrior's braid was wrapped around his neck, as always.

He took a deep breath of air, and without any extra words, the bloody battle began immediately.

The first man, who lost his life the second second he charged, miscalculated the speed at which Acudona swung his knife – a price that many had paid dearly.

Enraged by his brother's death, the second man wielded his lightning claw to tear his face and entire head apart.

Acdonna didn't give him the chance, he took a slight step back, dodged the blow by a fraction of a second, and slashed off the right hand that had struck him with a backhand, followed by another one.

No mercy, no hesitation.

This is no longer the so-called warrior exchange or legion exchange, but a real death match.

The boning saber literally cut through the left shoulder, cutting the man in half, blood splattered, and the attack of the third man had arrived.

He chose to attack Acudona's free left hand and legs, and Acudona spotted the blow out of the corner of his eye, and even saw the trajectory of the sword in advance.

He understood that this blow, if implemented, would be quite cruel. Immediately after the man succeeds, he will spin his wrist and swing the next sword to behead him. The stride and the posture of the upper body speak for themselves.

Acudona then pulled out a second knife with a backhand and parried the blow.

He's a two-blader, but few people can make him hold two knives at the same time. This man did it, albeit a despicable sneak attack, but he did it.

"Your name?" In the moment of death's brushing by, Acudona asked the question gently.

His warrior braids fluttered in the air, already stained with blood, but still beautiful. Unfortunately, the man didn't answer, just smirked and chased after him.

The fourth man also slashed at him with a great axe, and the emperor's son narrowed his eyes, lifted his shoulders slightly, and the saber began to dance, turning into death itself in an instant.

With the first knife, he cut off the hands of the third man. The second knife, he beheaded him. In the third case, he slashed the knee of the fourth man. The giant fell with a bang, and before he could scream, Acudona's fourth sword had already arrived.

A skull rolled to the ground again.

"It's wonderful." Said the man on the high platform. "I confess, you do have what it takes to be called the First Swordsman, Acudona."

This name has nothing to do with you in the first place, traitor.

Acdonna silently recited the words and lowered his head.

He didn't want his hateful gaze to be seen by the man, and he didn't even want to call the man by name. The name he knew was the opposite of the man sitting on the high platform.

He held his knife and waited for the next battle to come. He knew very well that this deathmatch would not continue like this, and even if he didn't die today, more people would challenge him tomorrow.

"Go back and rest." The man on the high platform laughed, and his laughter sounded almost like an echo of darkness.

There was silence all around, with nothing to do with the battle arena that Acudona remembered. Even the sons of Horus did not choose to make any noise, as if they were afraid of the man who spoke.

Acudona still stood in place with his head bowed. After a few seconds, one of the four iron doors slowly opened. Only then did he raise his head to take a look, and there was a deep darkness inside, and a rancid smell came to his face.

Acdonna threw down his sword, found magnetic shackles from the sidelines, and put them on, and returned to his cell with his head held high. He was reluctant to let those so-called sons of Horus touch his body.

With his back against the cold steel, he sat down slowly, his naked upper body covered in blood and sweat, and at that moment, he remembered Voem.

To be precise, he remembered the battle between Vogrim and Horus Lupekar three days earlier on the Spirit of Vengeance.

It was that battle that brought the Emperor's Son to this point, and it was also that battle that brought the Emperor's Pride to great shame, and the first time he was jumped from the gang, he was completely defeated for the first time, just like them.

All of this, including the deaths of his brothers, echoed in Acdona's mind, and then, once again, he thought of Fogrim.

——

"You're no longer my brother." Chermoth's phoenix said in despair. "You're just a shadow, a twisted monster"

He trembled but resolutely drew his flaming sword, and the masterwork forged by Ferus Manus burst into an unprecedented brilliance at this moment, almost illuminating the dark halls of the vengeful spirit.

Horus Lupecar, who was still seated on the throne, let out a dull chuckle from his greatly changed armor.

He stood up slowly, his pale face, and his eyes were no longer as friendly as they had been. It was a pair of scarlet eyes, and the light glance was enough to make people shudder.

"You don't understand, Fogen." He said in a gentle tone. "At least you still don't understand that the emperor and his lies are still at work in your heart, and he and it are influencing you so that you can't see the truth."

"Think about it, proud Phoenix, how many lies did he tell us? I should have understood, from the moment he did not hesitate to order the killing of our two brothers, that he was just a careerist, that he was not a 'father' at all. ”

"Their death was necessary." Fogrem suddenly changed to a cold tone.

"What they did led to their end. War is brutal, and the Great Expedition is a collection of countless brutal wars, and a father can be a father, but he must be an emperor. You're still trying to find love in Him as you did before. You can't get what you want, Horus. ”

"Really? So what do I get, in your opinion? ”

"Death." Phoenix said.

He raised his sword, his hands no longer trembling, only steady.

Horus laughed and rushed towards him, the cold glow of the lightning claws already surging.

——

Acudona slowly woke up from his memories and heard footsteps. He looked up and saw a familiar figure through the cold cell peep window.

"Fabius Bayer." The emperor's son pronounced the name in an aria-like tone, and between his lips and teeth escaped only cold hatred, and there was no former brotherhood.

"Acudona." Fabius Bayer, dressed in the apothecaryman's robes, bowed his head and greeted. "You played well today."

"You're doing a great job, Bayer, too. You betrayed us. ”

"I didn't."

"Really? How did Horus and his pack of mongrels get the boarding key within five minutes of the battle? Acudona sneered. Don't say it's not you, Bayer. I may be tired and hungry and full of hatred, but not so bad that I lose my mind. I know it's you, and we all know."

Fabius Bayer was silent for a few seconds and did not give any answer. He looked older, which would have been almost impossible for an Astarte, and the silver hair inherited from Forgrim now seemed to be more white.

And Acudona continues.

"I'll kill you." He said. "Everyone, everyone involved in this will die, Bayer. And I'll watch you die, I'll look into your eyes and tell you what you really are. ”

"Vogrim is not dead." Fabius Bayer said suddenly. "He's alive."

Before the words could be spoken, a violent collision sounded violently in the darkness, almost comparable to thunder. Acudona roared as he approached the cell door, staring into Bayer's eyes through the peep window, "You're not in a position to mention his name again!" ”

"You don't understand."

"Shut up! Traitor! ”

"Hear me out, Acdona, I-"

"-Shut your mouth full of lies, and go join the dogs of Horus!" Acudona sneered and cursed.

"Damn it, listen to me!" Fabius Bayer also roared and threw his left fist, which slammed into the cell door. The alarm was triggered, and strangely, no guards came.

The air aboard the Vengeful Spirit smelled of decay, and in the deepest depths of the darkness, something was looking at it.

"Fogrem is alive!" Fabius Bayer repeated. "He didn't die, Horus didn't kill him! He asked me to treat him, and he said he would persuade Vogrim to change his mind and be on the same side as him, and he said he had seen these things, you know? ”

"What the hell are you talking about? Seen it? Acudona took a few steps back, and the anger surging in his heart suddenly dissipated at least half of it. Are you crazy, Bayer? ”

"I didn't," Fabius Bayer took a deep breath. "The one who doesn't understand is you, you don't know what the commander can do. He revealed a future for me, and in that future, we—forget it. ”

He exhaled the cold air, took a few steps back, and opened the door to his cell.

"Come with me, and I'll take you to Voegrim." Fabius Bayer turned around and left.

There is one more chapter.

(End of chapter)