After all, I have left my hometown and my future is unknown. Although there are various promises, it is still uncertain.
Uncertainty leads to insecurity, and it is understandable for Randall that people are nervous, so he handles these matters with the utmost tolerance and often goes out in person to comfort them.
Usually when the public sees the appearance of the Chapter Master Astartes, their emotions will quickly stabilize. Only once or twice does it develop to the point of needing to be suppressed, but Randall will try to reduce bloodshed and casualties as much as possible.
This time it seemed to him the same as before.
Soon, Randall, who was well prepared, took the Snow Lotus Blade, the symbol of the Chapter Master, and took a Thunder Eagle to accompany ten veterans of the First Company to the Black Hornet, while the fleet continued to sail.
The entire fleet has a total of 31 transport ships of different sizes and 12 escort warships. Among them, 3 capital ships headed by the Heart of Light are deployed in front of the fleet, and the other 5 are placed at the top, bottom, left and right of the fleet, and 2 more.
One ship was placed at the rear of the fleet to take care of strayers or rescue damaged ships, and the other two were performing free alert missions about 315 kilometers away from the fleet.
Therefore, it didn't take much time to get from the Heart of Light to the transport fleet. Randall even entered the Black Hornet 2 minutes early.
As soon as he stepped out of the Thunderhawk and entered the flight deck, Randall realized that the atmosphere was not right. Not only was there no one around, but there were also many damaged servitors on the ground.
"Did the situation escalate?"
Randall immediately tried to contact the bridge by radio, but only a few garbled words came back.
"...Chapter Master...Emergency...Chaos..."
He frowned slightly, thought for a while and decided to go to the bridge to understand the situation first.
So the team began to move towards the bridge. Along the way, Randall saw a lot of panicked people. They seemed to be frightened and avoided them when they saw them. Although it was very tempting to ask them what happened, but
Randall did not stop.
The flight deck was not far from the bridge, and Randall quickly arrived at the entrance of the bridge. At this time, not only was the door tightly closed, but there was blood all around, and the muzzle of the automatic turret near the door was still smoking.
Randall smelled the pungent smell of blood and felt a little angry. He concluded that the captain must have used force out of control, causing the commotion to turn into a riot.
Perhaps, he should change his captain.
At this moment, the bridge door opened, Randall led ten veterans into the bridge, and immediately saw the trembling captain, who was guarded by several bodyguards.
"Sir, you came just in time! Just now——"
"Didn't I say no to the use of deadly force?"
Randall interrupted the other party with a loud shout.
"But what have you done!"
"Sir, please listen to my explanation! A group of cultists appeared among the residents! They incited the people to oppose the emperor! They also summoned demons!"
"Um!?"
Hearing this, Randall immediately became alert, but he turned around and said that when he walked in front of the gate, he did not feel any subspace breath - the implanter of gray marrow would not be able to detect the traces of the devil.
.
"Are you sure it was a demon that just attacked the bridge?"
"Without a doubt, my lord!"
Just when Randall was about to cross-examine him carefully, there was a sudden violent crash from the closed bridge door, and the captain's shoulders immediately trembled.
"Sir, they are here again!"
In an instant, all the Astartes were on alert, their weapons aimed at the door that was constantly being hit, and Randall slowly drew out the Snow Lotus Blade.
But for some reason, he still couldn't feel the breath of subspace.
This is a bit abnormal -
Suddenly, a strange feeling came from behind. This was undoubtedly the aura of the devil. Randall reacted within half a second.
He turned around suddenly, and the snow lotus blade flashed like a stream of light, pointing the gun at his back and cutting the captain in two before he could pull the trigger. He could see clearly that the captain's eyes had become as dark as ink -
—
"This is a trap! Everyone, be careful!"
The next moment, everyone in the bridge launched an attack on the Space Marines, firing all kinds of firearms, and the Space Marines quickly formed a circle, protecting Randall in the middle.
At the moment when the gunshots were fired, a laser shot exploded on Randall's helmet, whether due to accurate shooting or pure luck, causing his head to tilt to one side, and then another laser shot hit the right side.
The shoulder armor, the third and fourth rounds grazed from the left and right sides.
In response, the Space Marines' bolters continued to let out dull roars, and one blast after another tore apart those fragile and crazy bodies.
Randall did not participate in the counterattack. He was thinking quickly. It was obvious that this was a long-planned ambush. The enemy had so boldly launched a conspiracy in the center of the entire fleet. Their courage and strategy were quite astonishing. What was even more frightening was that the enemy actually
Was he lurking on the ship from the beginning, or did he sneak in in the middle?
But the most important thing now is to contact the flagship quickly. Randall turned on the remote communication, only to find that it had been interfered with, so he looked at the communication station on the bridge.
"Move to 6 o'clock and alternate cover."
Under Randall's calm command, the soldiers dispersed and began to run towards the communication tower.
If it were just a mortal rebellion, Randall would not be too worried, but he had a vague feeling in his heart that this matter might not be as simple as just a mortal cultist——
Soon, the communication station was in sight. The rebel communication officer had been killed by a bomb, and his body was radiating residual heat on the chair.
Just when Randall was about to step forward to operate, he vaguely heard a slight ticking sound, and some instinct made him yell immediately:
"Get out of the way!"
The next moment, the communication station exploded from within.
The strong shock wave pushed Randall to the other side of the bridge. Although the servo system absorbed most of the impact, the force of the fall still left a dent on the metal ground, and a drizzle of metal splashed up.
.
In a daze, he heard screaming, and through the cracked eyepiece, there seemed to be shapes swimming and laughing in the smoke.
When he got up from the ground, he saw rows of fangs solidified in the hallway, and claws and demonic faces frozen on the wall, making the bridge that gradually grew bone spurs and flesh look like the belly of some hellish beast.
At that moment, Randall already felt that something else had taken over the ship, a blasphemous heart beating in the cabin, foul-smelling pus seeping out from the deck, and even the metal was breaking and spasming under the painful transformation.
The flesh and blood of the killed mortals gradually merged into one, unrealistic energy swept through the air like a plague, and the demons who had been rejected also embedded their claws into the door. At the same time, the pipes on the ceiling burst one by one, steam, filth,
Weird and erratic beings filled the bridge, their screams and laughter so real.