From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

"Huhu."

The Son of Man's sergeant's breathing was rapid and heavy, and it seemed that every breath he took was accompanied by a slight pain.

His heart and lungs were severely damaged in the previous battle, and even though his various functions as an Astartes had been activated into "crazy operation" mode, he could only barely maintain his current state.

If he wants to recover and get back to his peak form, he needs comprehensive treatment from his pharmacist brothers, followed by recuperation from a dedicated team and monitoring with precision instruments.

At this moment, he was in the corner of a small utility room, with a dozen shivering children behind him.

The sergeant looked down at the chainsword in his hand. The dried blood on the blade showed the fierce battle that had taken place before.

The reason why he retreated to this point was not out of cowardice, but out of helplessness.

Not long ago, the three tactical teams he led, together with the 2nd Assault Platoon Leader Rilano and other brothers, coordinated with a total of more than auxiliary troops, ODSTs and elite veterans, to garrison in this commercial district.

At that time, their goal was clear, which was to hold their ground and buy time for as many citizens as possible to evacuate.

However, the impact of the chaos wave was far more violent than expected.

The appearance of the main force of the Emperor's Sons quickly increased the pressure on the defense.

Having fallen into the minions of Chaos, not only are their strength and speed far greater than before, but even their fighting style is unspeakably blasphemous.

Along with the invasion of the main force of the Emperor's Children came wave after wave of frenzied attacks from Chaos creatures and heretics, which almost brought the defense line to the brink of collapse.

The most fatal turning point was when the figure of the "big devil" appeared in the drone's bird's-eye view.

It is huge in size, holding a scimitar-like sword in its hand, and is surrounded by a strange light of deep purple and scarlet. The evil aura it exudes seems to be mocking the fragility of mankind.

Everyone knows that if such a being is allowed to enter the defense line, it will mean total destruction.

Therefore, they were forced to shrink their positions, trying to concentrate their remaining forces and wait for the arrival of the main force led by the Primarch to launch a counterattack.

The good news is that under the desperate protection of countless brothers, most citizens have successfully evacuated to safe areas.

The sergeant witnessed with his own eyes the scenes of ordinary people evacuating from the rear of the defense line with tears in their eyes and full of gratitude towards them, which was one of the important reasons that kept him going until now.

But retreat always comes with a price.

In order to ensure the survival of more people, the sergeant personally led three tactical teams and nearly a thousand auxiliary troops to guard the rear.

They knew that this decision was tantamount to facing death, but they accepted the order without hesitation.

Three tactical teams and more than a thousand auxiliary troops were gradually swallowed up by the enemy's frenzy. The non-commissioned officers watched many familiar faces fall, without even a chance to recover their bodies.

Finally, after several rounds of desperate fighting and at the cost of the deaths of half of the brothers and auxiliary troops, they were able to retreat to the already consolidated position in the rear.

But at the most critical moment, the sergeant's eyes caught a glimpse of something strange at the main entrance on the west side of the mall.

Relying on his extraordinary visual ability and the various enhanced modes on the helmet screen, he quickly enlarged his field of vision and saw clearly the so-called traces of activity there.

There were no Chaos creatures or Emperor's children there, but a group of children no older than eleven or twelve years old.

They were wearing school uniforms soiled by dust and debris, their faces filled with fear and helplessness, and they were huddled in a corner of the main entrance.

It seems that these children did not evacuate with the main force due to panic and confusion when the chaos first broke out, and were eventually trapped in the area that had become a "purgatory" and lost the best evacuation window.

Those who remain in the mall are like lambs to be slaughtered, and may become "playthings" in the hands of the Emperor's Children or victims of Chaos rituals at any time.

The urgency of the situation at the time caused the NCO to quickly weigh possible courses of action in his mind.

He was faced with two completely different choices.

First, execute the original plan.

According to the retreat arrangement, the sergeant, his tactical team and the remaining auxiliary troops can safely withdraw from the area, preserve their strength, and accumulate chips for the counterattack in the near future.

This choice is undoubtedly rational and the most beneficial option for the overall situation.

After all, as an Astartes, he knew that meaningless sacrifice would only make the situation worse.

Second, go against the trend and launch a rescue.

Choosing this path means abandoning the established retreat route, actively breaking into the area occupied by the chaotic forces, and trying to rescue these helpless children.

However, this choice was almost doomed to come at a huge price. Perhaps even his own team and auxiliary forces would find it difficult to escape unscathed, not to mention whether those children could survive the Chaos frenzy.

But for him, this multiple-choice question did not leave any room for hesitation.

"Rescue those children."

The sergeant gave the order on the communication channel almost the moment he saw them.

There was no hesitation or retreat in his tone.

The sergeant's decision was like a call of faith, quickly conveyed to every brother and auxiliary soldier.

Moreover, no one, whether it was the Astartes brothers around him or the "mortal" auxiliary soldiers, questioned or resisted after hearing the order.

Although everyone understood that this order was almost asking them to fight for their lives, no one chose to back down.

As a result, the remaining tactical team members and auxiliary troops quickly dispersed into multiple groups and launched a decisive charge towards the area where the Chaos forces gathered.

Their goal was also clear, which was to draw the attention of the Emperor's Children and their minions with the highest possible fighting momentum, creating a window for the sergeant and the two Sons of Man to break through the blockade and rescue the child.

As they charged, the outside of the mall was suddenly filled with the sound of fierce fighting.

The roar of gunfire mixed with the loud noise of explosions completely broke the originally oppressive "dead silence".

The Sons of Mankind and the auxiliary forces charged in the opposite direction. Every shot and every charge was like a heroic war song, carving out a path to hope in the tide of chaos.

No matter what the final result is, at this moment, the Son of Man has demonstrated with his actions what selflessness and sacrifice are.

Their will is as firm as steel, and they will never allow those children to become sacrifices to Chaos, which is in stark contrast to the depravity and madness of the Emperor's Children.

Faced with the fierce charge of the Sons of Mankind and the auxiliary forces, the thousand-year-old veterans of the Emperor's Children showed some unexpected "delay" for a moment.

And a few seconds is enough for an Astartes to recall the events that have happened over the past ten thousand years.

These Chaos Astartes had seen countless acts of frantic and desperate resistance over the long years of desecration and corruption.

However, the unreserved and fearless sacrifice of the Sons of Man and the auxiliary forces seemed to have evoked certain memories buried deep in their corrupted souls.

For a moment, these Fallen Ones seemed to recall their past glory and loyalty, the glorious days before they became slaves of Chaos, when they were dubbed "Sons of the Emperor" and conquered all kinds of aliens.

However, just a few seconds of "sluggishness" was an unforgivable mistake for Astartes.

These corrupt veterans quickly emerged from the mist of memories and launched a counterattack with extremely powerful and extremely blasphemous means.

Chi——!

A corrupted chainsaw blade cut through the air, tearing an auxiliary soldier in two, including his armor.

Bang—boom—!

The impact fired by the heavy-duty "sonic cannon" directly disintegrated the energy shield of the Son of Man, and smashed his titanium-tank power armor into pieces, with blood and engine oil splashing everywhere.

Squeak—crack!

A thousand-year-old veteran equipped with a Terminator, with his unimaginable strength, twisted the head of a human son off his spine, and blood spurted out.

The brutal battle quickly turned into a one-sided massacre.

Although the tactical squads and auxiliary troops displayed unprecedented bravery, they were ultimately no match for these battle-hardened veterans strengthened by the power of Chaos.

In the end, almost all of the tactical team and more than a hundred auxiliary soldiers who charged were killed, and their blood dyed the ruins of the mall red.

But surprisingly, these thousand-year-old veterans did not choose to torture, ravage, or desecrate those warriors who were still alive, but instead used clean and efficient means to put an end to them quickly.

This is not out of pity, but because they see these warriors' tenacity and determination as opponents worthy of respect.

It was the fearless sacrifice of these brothers and auxiliary soldiers that bought precious time for the sergeant and the other two Sons of Man.

With superb tactics and indomitable will, they finally broke through the blockade of the Emperor's Children and successfully reached the main entrance on the west side of the mall, where they met up with the group of terrified children.

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But the dilemma facing them is even more severe.

As the forces of Chaos gather further on the battlefield, the corrupt power of the Warp is seeping into reality at an alarming rate.

The boundary of space became blurred, and thick black fog and distorted aura filled the sky above the mall, completely cutting off the officer's communication with the outside world.

They tried to contact the 2nd Assault Platoon, but received no response.

The influence of Chaos continued to spread, making all possibilities of evacuation impossible.

The sergeant and his two brothers soon realized that their hope of covering the children's evacuation through the main gate had completely vanished.

They were completely isolated and helpless, and the platoon leaders and brothers outside also believed that they were completely killed while performing the covering mission and were included in the list of victims.

Seeing that there was no hope of escape, the non-commissioned officer and the two human sons faced all this without flinching or wavering.

Instead of despairing, they made the final decision firmly, which was to protect these innocent children and retreat deeper into the mall.

Gunshots continued to echo in the mall. The sergeant and two brothers formed a barrier to distance themselves from the pursuing troops of the Emperor's Children.

While covering the children's evacuation to a safer area, they used the little ammunition and melee weapons they had left to desperately resist the approach of "darkness" and "blasphemy".

However, no matter how brave and fearless the sergeant and his two brothers were, they were still unable to confront the huge number of Emperor's Children, heretics and Chaos creatures head-on.

Every second of their time is a race against time, and every movement carries with it extreme pressure.

In just a moment, they were all injured to varying degrees, and their survival was purely due to luck and fortune.

Moreover, their equipment was almost completely destroyed and they had very little ammunition left.

Faced with such a situation, the two brothers knew that if they dragged on like this, all the children would die.

The final choice does not allow any hesitation.

In order to buy more time for the children to survive, the two brothers chose to take the initiative to launch a final attack on the first floor of the mall where the Emperor's children gathered.

They used all their strength and pushed every attack to the extreme.

A violent explosion rocked the mall as the two brothers overloaded the cold fusion reactors of their respective power packs.

The explosion not only destroyed part of the mall's structure, but also reduced countless Chaos believers and Emperor's children, as well as the surrounding heretic creatures, to ashes.

The gust of wind swept through, tearing the air and shaking the ground, and the flames engulfed everything around them, while also causing the Emperor's Children to lose their vision.

Taking advantage of the brief chaos caused by the explosion, the already wounded sergeant led the children and ran quickly towards the parking lot.

Even though we hid in the relatively safe storage room, it was only a temporary shelter.

When the aftermath of the explosion faded, those veteran soldiers left the mall one after another, seemingly losing interest in the group of children and non-commissioned officers.

But the chaotic creatures, heretics and some "new recruits" are still relentless and are determined to continue the blasphemy and sacrifice.

Driven by corruption and madness, they wander around constantly.

Among them, three experienced Emperor's sons, with their keen perception and rich battlefield experience, quickly locked onto the location of the parking lot and headed straight towards the utility room.

"."

A hoarse, blasphemous voice came from outside the door, mixed with nasal ridicule and arrogance, making the utility room seem even more depressing and desperate.

Every word was like a sharp knife piercing the children's hearts, making them feel extremely terrified.

The faces of these children in school uniforms were already covered with tears and their eyes were full of despair, but they were trying hard to suppress their emotional breakdown.

No one dared to make a sound; even sobs were forced back into the throat.

Some people trembled and covered their mouths tightly with their hands. They knew that even the slightest sound of breathing might expose their position.

At this moment, they knew that maintaining absolute silence was the only way to survive, even if the hope was slim, and it could also avoid interfering with the non-commissioned officer's judgment.

The sergeant's chest was heaving violently, and his heavy breathing was mixed with fatigue and pain that could not be ignored.

The severe pain that penetrated the wound almost made him unable to move, but his eyes remained firm, without a trace of retreat or despair.

He knew that his body was reaching its limit, and every drop of sweat was reminding him that "the end is near."

Even so, the sergeant still forced himself to remain calm and held the chainsword and shock dagger tightly in his hands.

This is his only remaining weapon and the last barrier to protect these children.

He knew in his heart that if he fell, these helpless children would have no chance of survival.

They will become victims of the Emperor's Son's wanton trampling, and suffer inhumane blasphemy and torture, and this is absolutely not an outcome he can accept.

'Emperor, at least let me walk ahead of them, so that I can make my final contribution to humanity and the Empire.'

He murmured inwardly, as if making a final vow to himself.

His eyes swept across these young faces, his heart was filled with complicated emotions——

Pity, pain, and endless rage.

Even though death was inevitable, the sergeant was still prepared to die with the enemy in order to give these children even the slightest chance of survival.

Little did they know that a faint "golden light" appeared in the sergeant's eyes at this moment.