Chapter 550: For the sake of being fellow countrymen, help a brother out

He is a Blood Angel, a scion of Sanguinius, and a member of the Angels of Penance.

Once, their name was the Radiant Angels, created during the Ninth Founding using the gene-seed of the Ninth Legion. Their homeworld, Maperte, was also located in the ninth world of a toxic star, and the essence of that toxic star was also nine.

Nine, what a sacred number. The Ninth Legion, the Ninth Son, the Ninth Planet, the Ninth Star. Perhaps this is the reason they received enlightenment.

Once, they fell into foolish painting, pleasure, art, and the calligraphy taught to them by the White Scars, using such methods to resist the Black Rage and the Red Thirst.

This almost made their Chapter the least affected by the Black Rage and Red Thirst among all the sons of Sanguinius.

But this was a mistake, this was a fall, this was folly, this was a betrayal of Sanguinius.

It was not until nearly a hundred years ago, when Chapter Master Valcival led the First Company, most of the Librarians, and the Captains on a crusade, leaving only the Chaplains to watch over the Chapter, that they were brought back to the right path.

The Prophet descended beside the Chapter monastery. Cold, toxic river water lapped at the banks, washing the Prophet up beside the monastery.

The Prophet was as thin as a withered corpse, yet almost as tall as an Astartes, with a deep scar on his abdomen. Despite soaking in the toxic river water for such a long time, his eyes remained bright and piercing.

This Prophet spoke with the Chaplains for nineteen days and nights, finally bringing the Styx enlightenment to the sinful Radiant Angels.

Just as the Prophet wrote in the 13th Psalm of the "Thorn Covenant": "Beauty will blind the observer, confusing their eyes with its elegant posture or glorious state, and deceiving their heart with the promise of hope. Both are forged by the Great Enemy. Those who cherish beauty are no different from flirting with corruption, and those who fabricate, spread, and display hope are the heads of heresy."

Precisely so, they are people of deep sin, they are filthy and base people. Fortunately, the Prophet gave them redemption.

They smashed the art pieces they had once forged with their own hands, burned the paintings with raging fire, smashed the artifacts, and painted their power armor black with burnt tar.

The Chief Librarian attempted to resist the Prophet's truth, but was eventually purged as a heretic.

In the end, the former Radiant Angels placed crowns of thorns upon themselves, becoming the Angels of Penance.

And now, their penance has finally received a response.

Sanguinius has returned. Another successor Chapter of the Blood Angels, the Crimson Angels, brought the news: Sanguinius has been resurrected in the blood pool of their homeworld, Corinal.

And the Angels of Penance are about to receive their summons to travel to Corinal to receive the Blood Blessing.

The only thing he regrets is those companies of the Angels of Penance that went to Baal; those poor fellows have likely already been devoured by the swarm and have no chance to witness the return of Sanguinius.

But just as they were about to travel to Corinal to receive the Blood Blessing, a fleet from an unknown source suddenly surrounded their homeworld, Maperte.

A group of terrifying, twisted monsters crawled out of their ships, ravaging their homeworld, and even their monastery was surrounded.

And the pleas for help the Angels of Penance sent to the Empire received no reply at all.

He roared and charged toward the largest monster.

How terrifying that monster was, as if condensed from rolling blood and pitch-black rage, hideous and terrifying, bearing ugly scars on its body, from which blasphemous evil power from the Warp constantly surged.

But he would not retreat, because behind him was the Prophet's dwelling. As the Chief Chaplain, he had to protect the Prophet——————

A silver cold light flashed on the Spear of Bigu, and the teardrop-shaped spearhead pierced into his chest.

Blood reeking of sulfur flowed from his chest.

The deception and mist covering his eyes vanished in the blink of an eye, and joyful mocking laughter rang in his ears.

Out of a perverse sense of humor, the evil god who had blinded him dispelled the mist before his eyes at the very last moment before he died.

Allowing him to see the truth, to see what kind of mistake he had made.

The Spear of Bigu was gently withdrawn. Under the headscarf woven from fine golden chains was hair more dazzling than gold, but the face beneath the hair held only sorrow.

"Father." The Chief Chaplain of the Angels of Penance let out a mournful cry, his body falling heavily to the ground.

Sanguinius lowered his eyes slightly, looking at the twisted face of the Chief Chaplain of the Angels of Penance.

He looked like an ugly, mutated bat, with upturned cheeks, protruding fangs, no eyelids, and eyes that had turned almost completely blood-red. On his narrow forehead, a circle of black thorns was coiled, piercing into his flesh.

"He has mutated even deeper than we were at the beginning," an Astartes wearing silver and red power armor standing beside Sanguinius remarked.

He was the last of the former Blood Knights Chapter, and after receiving Primaris reinforcements, he became the Chapter Master of the new Blood Knights Chapter. In this battle, he earned the honor of serving as Sanguinius's bodyguard, along with two other Astartes.

And beside him, an Astartes in black armor had a pale and ugly expression. He was the Reclusiarch of the Angels of Penance, Rerian, who was a Captain of the Angels of Penance. During the Battle of Baal, he was ordered to go to Baal to support Dante, and thus escaped the Chapter's terrible fate.

Even more ugly-faced than Rerian was Captain Finney of the Crimson Angels. His Chapter, the Crimson Angels, also belonged to that portion of successor Chapters that never responded to Sanguinius's summons, and judging from the information collected so far, the Crimson Angels were highly likely the core of the corruption.

"This mutation is not the effect of defects in our bloodline," Sanguinius sighed. "This comes from the blasphemous curse of the Warp, from shameful lies."

Sanguinius brandished the Spear of Bigu in his hand, and the heavy door in front of him was violently blown open by psychic power. Shattered iron fragments flew toward the room like meteors.

But the tall, thin-as-a-corpse man in the center of the room, with a hideous wound on his abdomen, remained unmoved, looking at Sanguinius, who had walked into the room, with a mocking smile on his lips.

He was the so-called Prophet who had deceived and toyed with the entire Angels of Penance Chapter.

Reclusiarch Rerian of the Angels of Penance gripped the power sword in his hand tightly, veins bulging on his face, and pitch-black rage constantly swirled in his eyes.

If Sanguinius were not present, Rerian would likely have been consumed by rage long ago, rushing forward to tear this liar who destroyed his Chapter into pieces.

Sanguinius's eyes reflected the figure of the so-called Prophet. Beneath the Prophet's mortal-like body, two colors flickered simultaneously: blood-red and constantly changing blue.

"Praise your arrival! Sanguinius! The Primarch who ultimately belongs to the two gods of blood and change in destiny!" ===== CHAPTER 551 =====