40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 183 8. The first order

Yago Severtarion didn't know how to answer for a moment.

He was silent, as silent as a dead man. A gloomy twilight began to spread on the boy's face, and Khalil waited patiently without urging.

He didn't intend to be too harsh on a child, even if the other person was a Nostramo.

However, if Sevatar agrees, then he will hear the most ambitious ideal he has ever heard in his life. He may be attracted by these words and nod his head in agreement.

However, he may also, after a brief hesitation, realize the real reason why this ideal allows him to stand on the top of a mountain and overlook everything else.

Tons of bones, endless blood.

"What exactly do you want to say?" Savita asked in an extremely soft voice.

"Do you want to hear it?"

".I want to hear it."

"Very good." Khalil leaned against the door and lowered his head to look down at him. The look in his eyes made Sevita feel almost breathless.

"You have read the pamphlet, which tells you about the Emperor's Eighth Legion. Do you know who the Emperor is?" he hissed.

The Nostramo word "Emperor" is a long string of compound words, with a soft first half and a heavy second half, without any legato. The combination of these conditions makes the word "Emperor" sound in Nostramo language in great contrast to its original meaning.

Sevatar said stiffly: "Emperor?"

"Yes, Emperor but we will not mention him today."

"But I have just learned this new word," Sevatar said boldly. Then, he discovered that Khalil was not smiling.

There was no smile in his eyes.

"We will not mention him today, Yago Savitarion," said Khalil. "Maybe in a year or two, there will be people on Nostramo who will publicize his great achievements and let the world know what he has done for mankind - but not today."

"Today, you don't need to know about his deeds. Why do you think we came to you, kid?"

"I don't know." Savita tried her best to remain calm. "I don't know why you came to me. I have never seen anyone as tall as you before, especially you, Instructor Khalil."

"I'm not your instructor yet," Khalil said. "So you don't have to call me that. Now, let's get down to business. You've seen gangs recruiting in the past, right?"

"I've seen it." Saiweita replied very quickly. He had unconsciously put his hands behind his back and stood up straight.

"How do they recruit new people?"

"kill."

"No, it's more than that. Go on, Yago Severtarion."

". Selling drugs, eating meat, stealing, robbing, or beating each other until only one person is left standing."

"It seems you've seen a lot." Khalil said in an emotionless tone.

"Yes, they will use many ways to recruit new people. These methods are different, but they actually have only one purpose - testing."

"They use these things to test the newcomers, to test whether they have the most basic courage to survive in the gang life that is coming for a few months. It only takes a few months. If these newcomers are not dead, they will immediately change Worse, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Khalil." The boy pursed his lips, and some familiar faces flashed through his mind.

They were once street children like him, seeking a living on the streets, but in just a few months, or even a few weeks, they would immediately change into something else.

Most people will turn into skinny monsters with gleaming eyes and high spirits. Others will disappear forever, never to be seen again.

"And we're going to recruit you now," Khalil said. "You are excellent. For the Astartes reserves, you are even considered the best group. Captain Fel Zalost and Jairzinho Guzman are waiting outside the door now. The chief medical officer was undergoing transformation and was not as strong as you before entering the corps."

Sevatar silently memorized the two names and compared them with the two faces he had just memorized.

His left hand held the wrist of his right hand, shaking constantly behind his back - he didn't know what the word Astartes actually meant, but this did not prevent him from capturing the 'legion' in Khalil's words. Character.

Legion.

The Emperor's Eighth Legion.

Astartes.

He keenly connected these words, and other guesses quickly began to take root in his mind - he began to recall the appearance of Fel and Guzman when they walked out of the room, their steps, speed, and gestures. The sense of power revealed.

Savita took a deep breath unconsciously, and her back was instantly soaked with cold sweat. He personally tore off the veil in front of his eyes and saw the truth. He began to realize something that no one in this room mentioned.

They are soldiers. Sevita thought. soldiers of the emperor

"So, what do I have to pay?" Savita asked after a period of silence deliberately left by Khalil.

He still tried his best to keep his posture stable, holding his head high and staring at the giant beside the door. This gesture is very interesting. It does not seem like resistance, but rather like some expectation of what will happen next.

However, Khalil stared into the boy's eyes, spoke softly, and asked another question.

"Do you hate gangs and nobles?"

Sevatar was startled.

He originally expected to hear words like 'Are you willing to serve the Emperor', or 'Are you willing to give your life for the Legion'. That's what the gangs ask, loyalty, life.

If you agree, you will get guns, status, and enough food. If you refuse, you will die.

He didn't think these people would kill him because he refused. They were obviously different from the nobles and gangs.

but

"I hate them," Sevatar said. "I wish they would die dozens more times."

"reason?"

"Do you need a reason?" Savita's cheeks turned red. This was the first time he showed such obvious mood swings.

His breathing was stagnant, as if something was blocking his nose. His eyes felt dry and he started blinking rapidly. After a brief pause, his tone became very sharp.

"I don't think there's any reason for that, Mr. Khalil. I hate them, everyone who's alive hates them. Don't you hate them?" he asked slightly defiantly. "You're a Nostramo too, aren't you?"

"Of course I hate them."

"So me too, sir, so am I."

"very good."

Khalil nodded at him and smiled, but the smile was not gentle. Half a second later, he returned to his expressionless look again.

"This matter is essentially a conscription. We draft you and select you to join the army, but you do not have the right to choose. In fact, most people will not choose to refuse at all. But now the situation is special, so I want to give you a chance to choose , Yago Savitarion."

"I have given you many choices, and this time is the most important and the last. You can choose to join the legion, or you can choose to refuse and go back to being an ordinary miner."

"If you choose the latter, we will erase this memory of yours and block your talent. You can be a completely ordinary person from now on, no longer sleepless nights, plagued by nightmares, and no longer see inexplicable things. Ghosts."

"What if I choose the former?"

"You will be in pain for the rest of your life," Khalil said slowly. "First, you will learn how the world beneath our feet is connected to the sky. Then, you will understand the true responsibilities of the Eighth Legion."

"You're going to go through surgery after surgery over the next few years, in other words, you're going to be cut open again and again and new things are put in. You're going to suffer from a lot of complications, and On top of all that stuff, you have to go through a lot of training.”

"These trainings will not be as easy and natural as if I were standing here talking to you. They will be very cruel, even extremely cruel. If you can't survive it, or are careless, then you will die, extremely dead. Painful. No one will help you in this process. The only person you can rely on is yourself."

Sevatar nodded silently. He looked like he was thinking, but he was not. He was just listening, that's all.

He couldn't understand what Khalil's words meant, but he could separate some information that he could understand.

die.

pain.

torture.

".So," Savita took a deep breath and spoke again.

His complexion had turned pale - a pallor that went beyond the natural skin color of the Nostramos. The words of Khalil being cut open again and again had some impact on him after all.

"What happens if I succeed?"

"What? Are you still expecting a reward?" Khalil laughed again, very coldly.

"There is no reward, Yago Savitarion. All you get are new responsibilities and endless tasks, that's all. You will be trained by us to become a killing machine, killing nobles, gangs, or more, world after world." Bad stuff. You might die, but you might not. That's it, kid. You're not getting what you're giving for, so it's not too late to give up."

"No," said Sevita. "I'm joining."

He let go of his hands and they returned to his sides. He began to take a deep breath and repeated his words: "I'm in."

"So, what's the reason?" Khalil asked. "What is the reason, Sevatar?"

"I have no fucking reason to give you," Seveta said. "In fact, I don't even think I should be standing here talking to you."

"I think I must have gone crazy today, otherwise I wouldn't have seen so many unexplainable things. I don't understand a word of what you just said, sir, but I am still a little smarter than others. "

He grinned palely and smiled: "I just know that I want to join, that's it, sir, believe it or not."

"Very good." Khalil also smiled. "Then, the first order, reserve Iago Severtarion"

"What, sir?"

"Call me instructor." Khalil said. He turned around and opened the door and walked out.

Yes, code