Chapter 391

Valerian couldn't understand what had happened at all; even the extraordinary mind of a Custodian couldn't understand the battle situation before him.

Blood, blood flowed everywhere on the battlefield. The entire battlefield was filled with blood, even submerging Valerian's ankles.

He saw that Greater Daemon fall from the burning sky, spread its broken wings, open its broken single eye, and brandish two ferocious battle axes with scarred arms.

Its flesh was broken, head bleeding, skull exposed, horns broken, like a wounded daemon, like a punished person.

But in the next moment, it was as if the battlefield full of blood nourished it, as if the Blood God's blessing healed it.

The scars on its body disappeared instantly, and the broken wings were repaired accordingly.

Blood constantly flowed down from those wings that were enough to cover the sky. 8,800 burning planets were reflected on the pitch-black flesh wings, spilling a pouring rain of fire and blood over the entire battlefield.

Mortals turned into ashes in the flames, and even the Astartes wearing this ceramite power armor couldn't face this violent rain of blood and fire head-on.

Then, this giant beast launched a charge. The two ferocious axes like beast teeth tore through the blood rain and rushed into the battle line.

Whether human or daemon, as long as they blocked its steps, they would be deprived of their lives by those two axes.

The Sisters of Silence wanted to use their anti-psychic power to restrain this ferocious Greater Daemon, but instead, they had their skulls chopped off by the sharp blades brandished by the Greater Daemon.

A Contemptor Dreadnought, coordinated with eight Allarus Terminators, launched a charge, but this Greater Daemon split the Dreadnought's armor with only eight slashes, crushing the broken body inside, and the skulls of those eight Terminators were now hanging on the Greater Daemon's waist.

Even Shield-Captain Italeo fell under the roaring sharp axe of this Greater Daemon. In front of those two ferocious blood axes, their proud auramite power armor was as fragile as parchment.

The Greater Daemon roared and came. Grey Knight Alcuin roared its name: Skarbrand.

Khorne's former Chief Greater Daemon, now forgiven by Khorne, the bloody god of slaughter blessed by Khorne.

Skarbrand took a heavy step, and a flood rose in the sea of blood. The giant axe in its hand whistled along with the blood tide flood.

A Sister of Silence was only lightly grazed by the axe, and her whole body burned with flames, wailing as she was burned to ashes.

It was a terrifying slaughter engine. The lead water precipitated from the smoke of war flowed in its blood vessels. Its heart burned with fuel called slaughter, constantly emitting eternal malice toward its muscles. It was almost impossible to block.

But Valerian chose to face the impossible.

He was followed by three Sisters of Silence, and Grey Knight Alcuin launched an attack from his side.

The two, one gold and one gray, two of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's creations, launched an attack on Skarbrand at the same time.

After getting close, Valerian felt the terror of this giant beast more clearly.

He felt that he was not facing a material enemy, but a living volcano, a living volcano constantly erupting hellfire.

And Valerian was terrified to realize that this giant beast had no reason at all. Just by approaching him, Valerian could feel that every corner of his will was only thorough slaughter and anger.

The Blood God repaired its body, gave it its former power, and even gave it new blessings.

But it didn't give it back its sanity. The Blood God only left it with anger.

Perhaps it was an illusion, perhaps Valerian's spirit really saw the terrifying scene in the Warp.

He saw that overlapping on Skarbrand was a terrifying existence wearing blood-bathed brass armor, with a ferocious face like a bloodthirsty hound.

The Blood God's will was attached to Skarbrand's body; Skarbrand was just a vessel for the Blood God's will.

But, but Valerian and Grey Knight Alcuin still mustered the courage to charge forward.

Valerian couldn't know how Alcuin mustered the courage.

But Valerian felt that one reason he had the courage to brandish his spear was... this was too damn embarrassing.

He really couldn't accept that the first battle after the Custodes' return would end in such a tragic failure.

He could already imagine how the Astartes and mortals would view the Custodes after the war ended.

Disappointment? Disgust? Thinking the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's bodyguards were just this?

No! The Custodes must absolutely not become such a thing!

Valerian would rather choose to charge toward death than choose to face such a future.

Either he would protect the Custodes' honor, or let him die.

Valerian heard the sound of the sharp axe slashing ceramite. The axe named Slaughter slashed Grey Knight Alcuin's ceramite power armor.

But intense psychic power and blood surged out from the silver-gray power armor, turning into lightning that roared and raged, gathering on Alcuin's warhammer.

That roaring warhammer shot out heavily, smashing into Skarbrand's face. The banishment runes scorched Skarbrand's thick scarlet skin, but didn't really cause any damage to Skarbrand.

It just made the axe slashing toward Valerian slow down for a moment, just for a moment.

But strangely, despite never having communicated, Valerian miraculously understood Alcuin's purpose.

That Grey Knight used a desperate strike and all his psychic power to buy a brief opportunity for Valerian. Only this one moment.

A force suddenly surged in Valerian's body for some reason, a force of fury and courage.

He let out a roar, seized the brief opportunity created by Grey Knight Alcuin, and leaped toward Skarbrand's head.

Valerian aimed at the piece of skin on Skarbrand that had been thinned by the Grey Knight's psychic power. The spear named Wisdom stabbed into it fiercely.

Blood flowed out. The spearhead pierced Skarbrand's skin and flesh, but hit the harder skull. The intense recoil almost made Valerian lose his grip.

Then, he felt a bone-chilling pain in his left rib and heard the sound of Wisdom's spearhead breaking.

The axe named Carnage shattered the auramite armor, making Valerian, who was holding the broken spear, fall out like a rag, slamming heavily into the blood pool on the ground.

Not far from him was Grey Knight Alcuin.

What made Valerian grateful to the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang was that although Alcuin had his skull cracked, his power armor slashed in two, and his internal organs exposed to the air, he was still alive.

Just at this moment, the shadow of death shrouded Valerian, but his severely wounded body almost became very slow.

The long training Valerian had undergone made him certain: he couldn't dodge this axe.

Bang!!

A psychic warhammer smashed heavily onto Skarbrand's head, smashing onto the wound Valerian had just caused.

The Wisdom spearhead broken in Skarbrand's head tore open Skarbrand's scalp, exposing the pale skull to the air.

Skarbrand let out a furious roar, and its movements slowed down a little bit.

But Valerian seized the opportunity, grabbed the severely wounded Grey Knight Alcuin, and dodged Skarbrand's axe.

Then Valerian saw who had launched the attack.

Xiang Xiang Leina panted heavily, standing in front of Skarbrand in that gray-green Cadian military uniform...

Xiang Xiang Leina was dizzy. She couldn't explain where she had squeezed out that powerful psychic power again.

That psychic power full of fury, killing intent, and courage seemed to have suddenly surged out from her body.

Just at the moment Xiang Xiang Leina mustered her courage, intending to face Skarbrand with her mortal body that could be called frail.

Xiang Xiang Leina could only think this was the blessing of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang and Saint Doraemon.

Khorne blessed Valerian, Alcuin, and Xiang Xiang Leina, giving them power.

The Blood God admired courage, admired fury, and admired the will to fight.

He loved Grey Knight Alcuin, a desperate strike, blood for blood. He gave her power.

He loved Custodian Valerian, angry at his lack of excitement, protecting honor with death. He gave him power.

He even loved that psyker Xiang Xiang Leina.

As a mortal, her psychic power was exhausted, yet she was still angry, still full of hatred for daemons, still full of courage.

And Khorne liked her understanding of psychic power, so Khorne gave her power.

Even though they were all the Blood God's enemies, the Blood God still admired their courage, gave them blessings, and...

And gave them death in battle.

The Blood God would not feel pity; the Blood God just regretted why such souls did not belong to him.

Skarbrand raised the double axes named Carnage and Slaughter.

Her military uniform soaked in blood, Xiang Xiang Leina, with a dirty face, watched this scene silently.

She didn't feel fear, only felt calm, a gentle calm, as if it were a summoning, as if it were a destined end.

She just suddenly remembered her mother, that devout believer of the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang.

She definitely couldn't have expected that her daughter, born in a hive city, would one day die under the axe of a Greater Daemon to protect the Imperial Palace on Terra.

If she knew, "Would you be proud of me?" Xiang Xiang Leina asked softly.

No one answered, but Xiang Xiang Leina lifted her head.

She remembered the question she had once discussed with Zhou Yun in the hive city: "Can maternal love be greater than faith?"

Xiang Xiang Leina suddenly understood: the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang loves humanity, just as humanity loves the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang.

The Hua Hua Hua Di Huang is humanity; the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang's love for humanity is humanity's love for humanity. Devout faith and sincere maternal love are one, because all living beings will return to the Hua Hua Hua Di Huang...

Xiang Xiang Leina looked at Skarbrand... looked at the axe rushing toward her.

"Hua Hua Hua Di Huang above..."

Xiang Xiang Leina whispered, prayed softly:

"Saint Doraemon above..."

"Please save us..."

Deep within the Imperial Palace, the brown-haired boy raised his head somewhat confusedly. He perceived that the portion of power he had split to Zhou Yun was flowing.

He vaguely heard a voice, a voice coming from Zhou Yun's four-dimensional pocket...

"Parenting material added."

"Parenting program: Child behavior correction and re-education progress: 88%."

"Child behavior correction and re-education, initially completed."

It was as if the wind from the western wilderness blew across the battlefield full of blood. In the distance, the sound of cowbells rang out vaguely.

The scarf moved with the wind, and the cowboy hat was pressed onto the top of his head by fingers wrapped in flower ropes.

Between Skarbrand and Xiang Xiang Leina, the sound of a revolver rotating rang out suddenly.

(End of chapter)