Farzad's desire and impulsiveness for battle occasionally turned into recklessness that caused headaches for a leader, but Soshyan believed that this was also a necessary quality for a good warrior in the early stage, so he still decided to follow the temptation.
"We are still very unfamiliar with this world and cannot let go of any clue, even a living person."
He explained patiently:
"You need to understand what's going on here so you can act better. There will be no problems in Ustad."
"I'm not worried about him, it's just that it's boring."
Farzad muttered, kicking away a piece of charred wood from the fire.
"Farzad, focus."
After speaking, Soshyan quickly used battle gestures to signal the team to spread out on both sides of him.
"This is a settlement."
Soshyan gave them instructions on the communication channel through text and combat gestures, which was actually training their execution ability.
"Be prepared to encounter resistance, Farzad, go to the front to conduct reconnaissance, provide possible attack points, stay hidden, brothers, don't let the enemy notice."
Farzad gestured to indicate receipt and moved forward, the slender orange grass making a sound as he moved.
Although he was wearing heavy armor, his concealment skills were still very good, and the sound of footsteps made by his heavy boots could almost be ignored.
A wall made of vines appeared in the woods. The leaves swayed as the warm wind blew. Occasionally, the reflection of metal could be seen in front of it.
"A wall."
Farzad approached the city wall covered with vegetation and pulled down the vines, and many lumps of soil fell down along with it - the roots of these plants had penetrated deep into the wall.
The metal fence five meters away has long since collapsed, and its rusty frame has become a scaffolding for plants to climb on.
The Space Marine grabbed a broken piece of wall with his hands.
From the damaged parts of the fortifications, he saw that the buildings inside were also covered by vegetation.
It's very quiet here. The surroundings are full of life.
Farzad heard the sound of small animals moving among the vegetation in his ears, and his breathing mask turned on the external circulation mode, sending healthy air from this rich ecosystem into his lungs.
The gentle wind blew through his armor, and the surrounding temperature was 23.3°C - these were what he saw from the display runes on the visor, but he did not really feel them.
Farzad wanted to take off his helmet to feel the surrounding environment in person, but Soshyan asked them to wear their helmets at all times on the battlefield - although ordinary weapons are nothing against Astartes power armor, they are enough to penetrate it.
His unprotected head was gone.
He then walked to the gate. Through the gate was a path made of stone concrete, which extended into a bush. Its once flat surface was now broken by tree roots and weeds.
If it weren't for this gate, they would never have realized the existence of this road.
"I have reached the gate, Chapter Master."
He said on the communicator.
"Moving forward."
"Minimize long-distance communications as much as possible. I didn't detect any electronic signals, but sail with caution."
The voice on the communicator stopped.
He moved forward along the edge of the road. Birds screamed from the nests they built in the settlement buildings. A transport truck blocked the middle of the road.
There are Astra Militarum logos on the hull, as well as explosion scars.
Soon, he found a place that exuded a strong smell of blood and was located by the augury.
A small country church.
It looked so shabby and unremarkable, but when Farzad carefully pushed open the church door, he saw a horrifying scene.
The place that once praised the honor of the emperor has now become a hell. The eagle emblem is covered with corpses. On the floor paved with bricks, nearly a hundred female corpses have been beheaded, stripped of their clothes, and put in the most obscene manner.
Obscene gestures pieced together into a huge heretical symbol.
And the heads they lost——
Looking around, the surrounding walls seemed to be smeared with a layer of flesh-colored mud, with countless faces wailing under torture.
They struggled, trying in vain to gain freedom, crying out an endless curse movement, and the tortured voices formed a song of suffering that was hard to hear.
When Farzad walked in, the faces on the wall screamed even louder, reaching a desperate peak in volume and beginning to melt, sliding down to the floor at a sickeningly slow pace.
Farzad stared at the entrance to the slaughterhouse, trying not to imagine the horrors that had happened in this dim, bone-yellow hell.
Strong nausea and anger surged in his heart.
But anger will not help him at this time, he must think calmly.
Suddenly, he felt a cold hand grabbing his foot hard, so he lowered his head and saw a barely human creature crawling on the ground - his skin was peeled off, his legs were cut off, and even
The spine has been pulled out, as if only a scarlet sky is left
A swaying body.
The man was staring wildly, with incomparable hatred flashing under his empty right eye socket.
"Angel - hope -"
He made harsh sounds intermittently, and the gradual disappearance of his organs gave his voice a mechanical quality.
Only then did Farzad realize that this person might be the only life in the auspicious device - the survivor of this massacre.
Seeing that Farzad noticed him, the man's hand tightened.
Two fingers on his right hand were missing, and only a stump of his other wrist remained.
"—Kill them—for us—for the Emperor."
He roared, eyes wide open.
"I will."
Then the man pointed to a broken tile on the ground with trembling fingers.
"There--"
The anger in his eyes disappeared, leaving only prayer.
"I see."
Farzad murmured lowly, then let out a sharp roar filled with anger, swung his fist, and penetrated the tortured chest, shattering the man's heart and ending his pain.
The remaining ones deserve final mercy.
He then walked to the floor tiles, broke them into pieces, and took out a letter of accusation and a religious book called "The Perfect Word."
The signatory of the report letter was Jacques, the pastor of the local church and the person who had just been freed by Farzad.
After flipping through the diary for a while, Farzad opened the communication.
"Chapter Commander, I discovered... something."
Soon, Soshyan led the team to arrive here, and they were also shocked by this man-made hell.
With great anger, Yazdan set the entire church on fire, and while he was setting the fire, Soshyan read the report letter.
The content is very simple: Pastor Jacques suspected that the bishop of his diocese had heretical tendencies, based on the book "Perfect Holy Word".
According to him, this book, which is widely circulated in the diocese and is mandatory for every priest to preach to the believers every day, has many problems at its roots. It not only distorts many doctrines of the state religion, but also describes the emperor's throne as a
A garden that can accommodate unlimited desires, this is perfect
Totally illogical.
The restraint and introspection in the teachings of the state religion have been erased, leaving only boundless devotion and excessive liberation of the self.
There is no doubt that this is heresy no matter from which angle you look at it.
But Jacques wrote on the back of the report letter that not long after he sent the report letter to the archbishop, he was beaten back and scolded that he could no longer confront his superiors.
From this moment on, Pastor Jacques realized that the matter was not as simple as he thought, so he entrusted a friend of many years to secretly send the prosecution letter and evidence to a nearby tribunal institution.
But judging from the results, it seems that he is still a step too late.