40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 455 181. Terra (Forty, Wolf and Wolf, 7k)

Loken has read many books, some from their era, and some from earlier times, from a time when human beings had not yet stepped out of the star sea, and were even still in conflict between multiple countries.

He also let his mind wander, trying to imagine how the ancient sages wrote magnificent masterpieces in an era of material scarcity. The words in them can still shock readers even tens of thousands of years later, and their souls sing immortality in the words.

For example, Shakespeare's plays, and some poems. Comedy, tragedy, father and son fighting each other, brothers fighting each other. The final result was nothing more than a clash of swords. Looking back now, it seems that fate had foreshadowed something as early as that time, but he couldn't see it at the time.

Garviel Loken looked at Ezekiel Abaddon, staring from a distance.

His brother - his former brother - stood at the forefront of the elite Sons of Horus, the banner of the Eye flying high behind him.

There was no ash on their armor, no mud mixed with minced flesh on their boots. They had no wounds, no trauma, not even the slightest shake. Here they stood, standing in the place they had sworn to protect, above the burning remains of the Empire of Man.

Even proud.

Even, full of pride.

Loken saw Abaddon smiling.

He let go and dropped the Word Bearer he had strangled. He picked up his sword from the ground and ran towards the nearest enemy.

Judging from the appearance, it is probably a creature that is close to a cross between a demon and an Astartes. It is difficult to define which side it is on. The fleshy armor and crazy behavior pattern cannot distinguish the creature that was once an Astartes. The fact that it is unique has been erased from the creature, but it still possesses powerful characteristics of depravity.

It was fighting Harlankosen, and War Hound's captain didn't let it take any advantage. That's good, he creates space for Loken to sneak in.

The Luna Wolf ran toward it and swung a swift sword from behind. The decomposition force field wiped away the flesh and blood. Tens of thousands of muscle fibers disappeared in an instant, and unpleasant-smelling black blood burst out from the gap.

It roared in pain and turned around furiously, its hands that had become one with the weapon shone with cold light, and the two twisted blades stabbed Loken, and the war dog seized this opportunity to behead him.

Sometimes all you need to win is a slim chance.

"They're coming!" Loken roared at Harlan Corson. "We must be ready, Captain Harlan, we must!"

War Dog calmly retracted his decapitation sword. Half of his face, which had been replaced by bionic parts, was already covered in blood: "How many are there?"

Loken turned his head and smashed the viewing window with his fist, and the blood and soil on it flew together. He looked at the dark horizon and came to a rather credible conclusion.

"At least four companies." Luna Wolf said. "At least four, Captain Harlan."

"Dalian?"

"Dalian."

War Dog nodded: "It seems we can only retreat."

That's what he said, but his actions revealed another completely different idea. Loken caught up to him, still firing his bolter at another group of charging cultists.

He was already a little annoyed - he didn't know how to describe this emotion, but for him who was somewhat lacking in emotion these days, irritation might be the word that best expressed his emotions.

"Aren't you going to call in the troops?" shouted Lorcan.

The sound of explosive bombs failed to cover up his voice, and the roar of the cultists seemed harsh. An Imperial Fist charged past and smashed all the bastards into pieces with an assault shield.

"I think so." War Dog's company commander turned his head and looked at Loken. "No, let's put it this way, Luna Wolf - the best destination for a warrior should be to die fighting hard, do you agree?"

Loken gave his answer in silence, and a sadness rose from the bottom of his heart.

"We can indeed retreat, Lorcan," Harlancosen said, almost sneering. "But we will be overtaken by them on the way back and killed one by one. You should know better than me what four great companies of the Sons of Horus mean, don't you?"

"They are obviously well prepared. Although I don't know why they picked the position we are responsible for to attack, but..."

The war dog shouldered the sword nonchalantly, closed his mouth, made a gesture silently, and walked to the other side of the trench. Loken watched him leave and looked around. Every loyalist he saw was fighting to the death.

The sadness gradually turned into an extreme indignation.

Loken turned off the disintegration field, sheathed his sword, pulled out the magazine of the bolter, and looked at the ammunition. After doing this, he put the gun back on the holster on his right leg and jumped to the top of the trench.

Almost no one noticed what he was doing, they all had things to do, just like him.

Lorcan started running.

It took him two and a half minutes to cross a distance of more than a thousand meters. For an Astartes, this speed was surprisingly slow. But he needed time to think, and the dangerous environments on the battlefield also made it more difficult to move.

He turned himself into a living moving target. The group thousands of meters away must have noticed him long ago, but they did not fire. Lorcan didn't know the reason, and he didn't want to know the reason, he just ran.

In the process, he put aside all factors that might lead to an emotional outburst. Finally, he stood in front of Ezekiel Abaddon with complete calmness.

"What are you here for, Gavir?" Abaddon asked him, sword in hand.

Their reunion was not dramatic, had no foreshadowing, and was not as intense as imagined. It was just two people facing each other, and one of them asked in a normal tone, as if this was just another small conversation after sparring.

Although behind one there were only burning wreckage and ruins, behind the other there were majestic elite soldiers who looked as if they had already won.

Loken didn't answer his question, just drew his sword.

His two hearts began to beat faster in the process, and he was not worried that he would be shot. He knew these people and he understood they would give him the time to do it. But he was still worried because those who remained in the trenches did not know him as well as these people.

What an ironic contrast.

But there was nothing he could do. Now, he could only hope for Harlan Cosen's keen observation. He hoped that the company commander would discover his departure and where he was going early. Then, realize the time he bought for them. .

What a stupid solution, so stupid, so stupid, just as stupid as Ezekiel Abaddon.

Loken held his sword and stared at Abaddon.

"You want a fight?" Abaddon asked.

His tone didn't seem to care much about it.

"Maybe." Loken said, holding the sword. "But it's not just a fight. It's not just a fight. Ezekiel, what I want to do more is to kill you."

This statement was true. From Loken's eyes, Abaddon could see the weight of this statement. Those eyes were once full of passion and filled with the intimate understanding between brothers, but now there was only a void of calm.

"Really? What a shame," Abaddon said. "I thought you were here to rejoin the Warmaster's service."

Loken calmly took a breath of air. He needed this terrible air full of burnt smell to calm his emotions at the moment.

Ezekiel Abaddon was trying to provoke him, and he didn't even need to think about it to come to the conclusion. They knew each other too well, just as Abaddon knew exactly what to say to make Garviel Loken lose control.

How can the brotherhood that has lasted for decades be so easily erased? Although both parties have this intention, this matter will never be easily achieved.

Only blood for blood. Return the blood they once shed for each other.

"Raise your sword," Loken growled. "Raise your sword."

Abaddon actually raised the sword in his hand. The sword once belonged to Horus Ashmand and was named Ghost Seeing Sorrow.

Horus the Younger once said that he threw his sword in front of Abaddon. Loken had known about this for a long time, but now, seeing Abaddon's expressionless expression when holding the ghost, Loken felt a sting for some reason, and this pain forced him to take the lead in launching an attack.

That's when they started fighting.

The four descendants of the Wolf God of the Great Company stared at this scene in silence. No one wanted to interfere with this duel, but it had been activated before they opened fire.

But isn't this duel absurd?

Garviel Loken, wearing the white armor paint of the Luna Wolves era, fights Ezekiel Abaddon, wearing the black armor paint of the Sons of Horus era, on the burning ruins of Terra.

There was no foreshadowing, no long speeches, just a few short conversations, filled with the kind of connection that can only be born under extreme tacit understanding.

Garvill Loken came to die, determined to sacrifice himself in order to gain a few more hours of meaningless life for the doomed lackeys of the false emperor.

Ezekiel Abaddon knew this clearly, but he did not order them to capture him or execute him. Instead, he risked his life and dueled with him to fulfill his last wish.

Many Sons of Horus felt uneasy. They did not like this scene. Even if this duel had not shed a drop of blood so far, it was already too cruel for them.

"Have you ever thought about today?" Loken asked in a low voice.

The blade of the sword collided with Eichmand's 'Ghost Seeing Sorrow', and the arcs of the decomposition force field began to beat and entwine with each other. New radiance burst out between the collision and friction of the blade one after another, illuminating the faces of the two. They were as white as two ghosts that had long since died.

Abaddon remained silent and suddenly attacked with his sword.

Guijianchou is different from most power swords. It is a sword that even a two-handed giant sword seems a bit short of words to describe. There was a time when Loken thought that only Eichmand could wield it freely. But now, he found that he was wrong - in fact, Abaddon could do it too.

But Abaddon has never been revealed before.

This caused him trouble.

Loken began to back away, his steel boots digging into the mud. Abaddon pursued the victory, and he did not hold back. His intention was very obvious - to seize this opportunity and kill Loken completely.

If you want to win, you must seize every opportunity that can turn the result into a 'victory'. No matter how insignificant it is, you must hold it tightly in your hands.

The teachings of Horus Luperkar were faithfully followed by Ezekiel Abaddon.

He caught up with Loken, struck three times in a row and even blocked it perfectly, without giving Loken a chance to counterattack.

His attack was so swift that the ghostly fear spread lightning-like colors and tracks in the air, lingering around the dark armor.

The Sons of Horus, who had changed their paint along with the Warmaster's new armor, suddenly realized who would win from the two fast-moving opposing color blocks.

Some people were happy about this, because in this way, they didn't have to watch this disturbing duel anymore. Others were horrified and finally realized something.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Too late is the most helpless word in the world.

Loken blocked with his sword, cleverly predicted Abaddon's sword path, and killed him one by one. For Astartes, all sword fights are inevitable. If the two swordsmen are close in level, the battle will be stretched to a certain extent.

It took Loken only a second to reverse his situation, and his efforts made the original dead end burst into life again. Abaddon showed a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, as if appreciating.

He suddenly stepped back, the blade sank deep into the mud, cutting through the dried blood and broken armor, and raised dust with the short stop of less than half a second.

Loken's vision was not blocked, but the ghost was blocked. The huge sword suddenly disappeared in the mud and turned into an invisible sword.

At the same time, Loken heard a heavy roar in his ears, which was not like the sound of a blade about to fall, but like a cannonball about to fall.

At this moment, there was nothing in his mind, only one sentence from Tariq Torgadon.

"You always pay too much attention to how to kill your opponent when you swing your sword, dear Ezekel." Torgadon said patiently. "Why not lower your speed requirements for winning and achieve a certain degree of flexibility first."

It seems that he didn't listen, Tariq.

The dazzling white stream of light roared and cut through the air, reaching Loken's face. Without any hesitation, the Shadow Moon Wolf raised his head to dodge. The blade chased him closely, like a hungry wolf that didn't know what retreat was.

Loken blocked the sword again with his backhand, and seized the small gap that Abaddon exposed due to his eagerness for quick success. He pounced forward and began to chisel Abaddon's thick armor with the tip of the sword.

The first place to hit was naturally the abdomen, and then the small connection between the armpit and the neck. Ezekyle Abaddon was not wearing a helmet, just like Gaviel Loken at this moment.

Both of them could see each other's face naturally, and Loken found that Abaddon's expression became a little gloomy.

He suddenly smiled. He did not hide this smile, and Abaddon probably noticed it.

A few seconds later, accompanied by a muffled bang, they separated from each other.

There was a small dent on Abaddon's forehead left by a fist, and blood flowed out, crossing his entire face, staining him with blood.

Loken looked unharmed, but if you look closely, you will find that there is a deep sword mark on his armor, located on the right shoulder.

After all, he could not be completely unscathed, just like Abaddon. They had practiced against each other too many times before. This deep understanding transcended time and affected this battle.

The spectators were confused and did not understand how Abaddon's advantage was reversed in an instant. Only the two of them knew that this battle was destined to last for a long time.

They began to walk slowly, moving skillfully, their eyes always fixed on each other, swords raised or lowered, and the breeze blew past, bringing messages of destruction. The power of chaos barked loudly, bringing dim light and terrifying torture beyond reason in the darkness.

The sound in the trench was transmitted to their ears, spanning thousands of meters, but it was as clear as being there.

Abaddon's face showed a trace of disgust, and Loken caught it.

"It seems that you know very well what you are dealing with." Shadow Moon Wolf taunted. "You know its greedy nature and how it desires our flesh and souls, Abaddon, but you still insist on deceiving yourself."

"Traitor." Abaddon spat out a word coldly. "You are the one who deceived yourself, Gavial. You returned to the false emperor, but you can't see what a hypocritical liar he is. Can't you feel the difference in Terra now? Do I need to remind you, great Moon Wolf? Look at what you look like now, with your old livery." He sneered and drew a circle on the ground with the Ghost. Loken smiled sarcastically in response: "Return? I never really left him, and my loyalty has been unshakable from the beginning." "What about Horus?!" Abaddon growled, and the roar sounded very similar to Loken not long ago. "You betrayed him!" "He is not Horus." Loken said softly. "Horus Lupercal will not torture mortals to death, hang a whole ship of vengeful spirits, and will not disappear at this moment. Where did he go, Abaddon? Do you know?" "He is winning for us." Abaddon answered in a low voice, his face looked a little hideous. "And you - Gavial, why are you still so calm?"

"You really don't know the reason?" Shadow Moon Wolf asked back.

They stared at each other, and half a second later, the two began to charge face to face, and the blades collided with each other again.

This should have been the horn announcing the start of another close combat, but a whistling bullet shot directly at the unprepared Ezekyle Abaddon - even Loken did not find out where the bullet came from.

But it failed to hit the target. It had everything, time, place, and people. The sniper behind it must have carefully calculated before pulling the trigger, but it still failed to hit the target.

It suddenly broke only nine centimeters away from Abaddon's head, and was easily crushed into slag by the surging power of chaos.

Abaddon's pupils shrank sharply, and he swung his sword while retreating again and again until he retreated to a safe distance. He wiped his face, took a deep breath, and looked at Loken gloomily.

"Despicable--!" he cursed. "You are tarnishing our honor!"

Loken smiled. He didn't know who was interfering with the duel, but he really didn't care. He even nodded and put the blame on himself.

"Do you really think you and I have any honor to speak of?"

Abaddon roared and stopped talking, and the Sons of Horus who responded to the gunshots also raised their guns and aimed at Loken.

Abaddon continued to roar without looking back: "Put down your gun, let me do it--"

Before he could finish his words, another bullet continued to whistle, accurately interrupting what he was about to say.

The burning, bloody sky was suddenly covered by dark clouds at this moment, and the thick fog surged from behind the Sons of Horus, with shadows in it. The attack of the Midnight Blade was without any signs, but it was very effective.

The elite warriors of the Wolf God were immediately dragged into the quagmire. One of them was well-known in the galaxy and was so powerful that it did not need too much explanation. The other had only a gloomy and terrifying reputation. Even if the relevant books had been popular for many years, they could not cover up the terrible fact that they were killers.

However, when the two armies collided, the result that Loken saw was a stalemate.

"You have really changed, Gaviel Loken." Standing opposite him, Abaddon said sincerely.

"Shut up, traitor." Loken said contemptuously, and rushed towards him with his sword raised.

In the fog and the roar of gunfire, they started fighting again, this time, it was hundreds of times more intense than every time before.

Because there was no reason or excuse to stop them from treating each other in a hateful way, only hatred and the desire to kill each other. Everything else was thrown away, even the original tactical purpose.

Loken no longer cared whether Captain Harlan Kosen could escape with the remaining people in the trench, just as Abaddon didn't care that the four companies he brought were fighting a bloody and unusual tug-of-war with the Night Blades.

They were very focused and very eager to kill each other. This was the top priority, and this was the only thing they cared about now.

Abaddon roared and swung his sword, cutting Loken down: "You betrayed us!"

Loken rolled back quickly, stood up in the mud, and stabbed with a backhanded sword, his voice was equally fierce: "Really? Think of Eichmand and Tariq! Don't make yourself sound abandoned, Ezekel Abaddon!"

Blades collided, feet spun, wolves stared at each other, with incomparable resentment in their eyes. The only difference was their expressions, one was cold as ice, the other was manic as fire.

"You bewitched them!"

Loken almost laughed: "Listen to yourself, this is ridiculous. You can't accept that all the members of the Council of Four Kings left, so you started to deceive yourself, right? Don't be so absurd, traitor, maybe I will give you more respect this way."

"Only I am still standing by his side!"

"Only you are so stupid that you can't see everything!" Loken suddenly roared. "You are the only one who still thinks he is the father after all the terrible things he did, and still thinks he is Horus Lupercal!"

"He is." Abaddon said stubbornly. "No one can lead us except him."

"Talk to the Emperor, traitor." Loken cursed. "Talk to your original creator."

"We only have--"

Abaddon took a deep breath and found a possible weakness between Loken's intensive offensive. He grabbed it and penetrated the Ghost Sorrow deeply into it, successfully forcing back Loken who had briefly gained the upper hand.

"--A Gene Father!"

"But what if he is wrong?" Loken took a few steps back, stood still, and asked softly. "What if he is wrong, Abaddon? What is the original intention of the establishment of the Council of Four Kings? What's more, he is not him at all! Horus Eichmand saw his death with his own eyes and heard his last words with his own ears!"

Abaddon no longer answered, but roared and rushed forward again. He didn't dare to ask any more.

However, a beheading giant sword played the sonata of another battle with a whistling sound. Captain Harlan Kosen of the War Hounds slashed into Abaddon's armor with a sword, and even knocked him away with the remaining force.

The adamantium frame of the Terminator Armor saved his life. Otherwise, he would have been completely cut in half by the beheading giant sword on the spot.

This should have been the moment to pursue the victory, but Loken was stunned for a moment. He was too focused on this duel. Before the war hounds reappeared, he even forgot everything else.

And at this moment, those forgotten responsibilities suddenly rose from the corner of his heart, deeply hit his thoughts, and tore everything apart.

Why did I - no - now is not the time to think about these things -

There will be no next time.

The Shadow Moon Wolf raised his sword angrily and strode towards Abaddon. The captain of the War Dogs stopped him with one hand. His strength was amazing, and his left fist even collided with Locke's chest, making a terrifying dull sound.

The next second, just opposite them, the dirt in front of Ezekiel Abaddon's seemingly empty body suddenly erupted, and several long and thick dark purple tentacles smashed into the ground, revealing the appearance. As if to protect him.

"Is this how you prepare for a duel, traitor?!" Loken growled and asked. "What a noble member of the Council of Four Kings, the great First Captain Ezekiel Abaddon!"

Abaddon didn't answer, he couldn't answer anymore. There was only incredible shame and anger on his face, and his hands were trembling in the mud, but the power of chaos ignored his struggle.

Darkness fell from the sky and enveloped him and the son of the Wolf God. The night blades followed closely and tracked away. The fog dissipated and the darkness faded. Only corpses were left on the ground, as well as a group of midnight soldiers who had deliberately stayed behind. Blade, the leader's hands were equipped with lightning claws, his body was covered in blood, and he had achieved great results in battle.

"Fortunately, there are still them." Harlan Kesen laughed ferociously, pointing the beheading sword at the tentacle and the group of evil monsters that were continuously pouring out from the ground. "Hold your sword, Luna Wolf, we have another battle to fight."

Yeah, there's another battle to fight.

Loken held on to the blade as he said.

There is always another battle to fight.

7k for this chapter, and another chapter later.