Bahram stood up. The air was filled with the putrid smell of green-skinned blood, like a corpse that had deteriorated.
After taking a breath, he stepped back, pulled out his knife from the corpse with difficulty, walked towards the struggling Callistarius, and carried him on his back again.
"Come on, sir, we have to keep moving forward."
The new recruits of the Astral Knights helped guide the Librarians of the Blood Angels through the labyrinthine network of tunnels. Everywhere they went they saw the corpses of civilians, and the Greenskins began to systematically exterminate the hive's inhabitants.
Hundreds of millions of people were dead, and some of the bones they saw still bore marks from slashes and axes, as well as marks left by green-skinned beasts gnawing on the bodies.
boom----!
Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and the hive city was shaken by the explosion. The mountainous city was shaken by this tiny movement.
Bahram worried that the buildings above him might collapse at any time, but in the end they remained standing.
At the same time, his call for help still received no response.
"We're too deep... they can't hear us."
Callistarius was out of breath, but his condition improved slightly.
"Put me down, I can do it myself."
Bahram didn't want to listen at all.
"We have to walk to the lift shaft in this area, through which we can reach the rendezvous point, where my comrades should be waiting for me."
Not long after walking, they came to a deep well, which was thousands of meters deep in darkness, and the sound of distant gunfire came from above.
But they didn't see the lift.
"Which way?"
In desperation, Bahram had to seek advice from more experienced think tanks.
Callistarius leaned against the wall, almost as much blood as engine oil leaking from his armor, and the damaged areas in his armor were covered with thick anti-collision mucus.
He was gasping for air in pain, and Bahram suspected that at least one of his lungs had been punctured.
"Ask her."
Callistarius said, raising his finger.
Bahram turned sharply, his bolter trained on a scrawny little girl wearing a dirty gray shirt.
Then he put down his gun.
"Little one, we are the Emperor's Angels and we are looking for a lift, can you help us?"
She walked over fearlessly. According to the standard age, she was about twelve years old.
Bahram hoped she was mature enough to tell their identities.
"food."
The little girl is very realistic,
Bahram nodded and squatted down. In order not to scare the other party, he slowly took off a ration bar from his belt.
"What we brought with us is for you, so that you will not go hungry."
The girl grabbed the ration bar, tore open the package with her teeth, and ate it hungrily.
The wind blew her skirt close to her body, revealing her ribs exposed by long periods of hunger.
"You know we are here to save you, right?"
She nodded.
"You are angels. Dad said you are good people. Come this way."
Bahram stood up with relief.
"Sir, we are lucky."
"That's right...that's right."
While holding Callistarius' shoulders, Bahram suddenly noticed that the other person's tone had become very low and unfamiliar, as if he was another person.
"...We must trust those we protect, and with her help, we can rendezvous with the Legion."
Bahram was stunned, wondering if he had heard something wrong.
"Sir, you just said... Legion?"
"The battle group...."
Callistarius answered vaguely.
"That's right...it's the Chapter...the Codex...Brother Guilliman..."
The think tank's voice became increasingly vague. Bahram didn't know what was going on. He guessed that it might be caused by pain.
But for some reason, he felt a terrible uneasiness in his heart——
They passed through the uninhabited production block. The dormitory of the factory was as quiet as death, and the bones of the dead had already been covered with a layer of dust.
During this process, Callistarius actually recovered some strength. He was able to walk on his own without the help of Bahram. However, his consciousness seemed to be getting blurry and he was always whispering something alone.
.
The road ahead led to a passage that had not been used for a long time. The little girl led them to a newly repaired door. On both sides of the door were two guards. They were also extremely thin due to hunger, and their bodies were covered with blood.
The clothes are dirty and worn.
Despite this, they remained alert and immediately knelt down when they saw the angel appear.
"grown ups!"
"Get up quickly, no need to be polite."
The two men nodded, and one of them shouted in the direction of the door.
"Open the door! Open the door!"
The door opened to both sides. In front was another corridor with many barricades placed in the middle. Not far away was another door on the right. The ragged people stood up from their defensive positions and looked at them walking in surprise.
Demigods among.
Bahram ignored them and walked forward with the unconscious Callistarius.
Behind the second door was a cathedral, which was crowded with people. The sidewalks were all civilians, and there were many people sitting on the balconies. There were people everywhere he could see.
There are at least more than two thousand people here.
"Who's in charge here?"
Bahram asked angrily.
Many knelt before him and made the aquila salute, but they still made way so that the Space Marines could move forward.
"dad!"
The girl said and ran towards a bearded man. Like the others, his cheeks were sunken and his eyes were sunken into their sockets due to lack of food.
He hugged his daughter and walked towards the Space Marines.
"I am the foreman here. Everyone elected me as the representative here. We are very happy to see you. The Emperor is indeed protecting us, right, brothers and sisters?"
He shouted into the room, and people shouted back:
"That's right!"
"The war is not over yet. This officer is injured. We need an elevator to get to it."
"lift--"
The man thought for a while and then clapped his hands.
"There is one, but it has not been used for a long time. It needs to be repaired. Sir, you have to wait for a while."
"fine."
"Sir, we have just cleared out a room, which is a little shabby."
"Very good, thank you."
Taking Callistarius with him, Bahram walked into the bishop's room in the church. Most of the decorations inside were destroyed, but the eagle statue was still shining like new.
"Sir, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
After taking a few deep breaths, when Callistarius opened his eyes again, the previous confusion had been replaced by clarity.
He smiled slightly and said:
"I didn't scare you just now, did I?"
"Uh...not really."
Seeing the other person like this, Bahram guessed that he was fine and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But he didn't notice that in the depths of Callistarius's pupils, a ray of red light was slowly spreading——