Chapter 1234: The Pilgrimage
In the void, a large number of Thunderhawks and Stormbirds were descending vertically along the side of the edge of the hulk, passing in front of the huge statue, and jumping from two bridge-sized piers Passing through, there is a tall window in front of you.
The next moment, a silent flash of light flashed across, the glass window sank inward, and was reduced to a puddle of debris by the hot melt. The plastic steel shutters inside the glass collapsed with white heat.
Air burst out of the breach, shaking the entire ship, and the vehicles continued to shoot behind the windows until a gap opened large enough for the formation to pass through.
Soon, the air leakage ended, and the drivers carefully drove the vehicles in.
Darkness surrounded the formation, and then the Thunderhawk shook violently.
“The artificial gravity field here is still working.”
Taros, who was sitting next to Soshyan, suddenly spoke.
Stormbird's searchlight was turned on, and the small lighting system lit up the silent stone statue - a church, huge.
The pilot then lowered the Stormbird near the church door, 200 meters deep into the church ship, and other aircraft bearing the insignia of the White Templars, Dark Angels, Ranger Warriors, Ascetics and Lamenters Chapters They also followed closely, landing one after another not far away.
After a loud bang, the Stormbird's ramp door opened, and with the heavy sound of metal and the start-up buzz of the Terminator's large power system, Soshyan strode out.
"Brothers, move forward."
The Terminators took action. From the light of the Storm Bird into the darkness of the church, the warriors of the Astral Knights, including those of other chapters, also Surge from their vehicles, rapidly and silently forming defensive formations in the vacuum, only the Terminator Armor's sensors detecting slight vibrations.
In an instant, the place was occupied by more than five hundred Astartes.
In fact, Soshiyang was bluffing when talking to the sages before. This time, the five battle groups combined did not have a thousand people, and the Deathwing Company of the Dark Angel only came with more than 60 people. The total number of warriors and the four battle groups of the Tribulation Alliance is less than 700. Among them, the Astral Knights account for 300. The ascetics and ranger warriors add up to more than 300. The Lamenters are the least, with a company of 100. people.
After everyone left the vehicle, Ezekiel, the Librarian of the Dark Angels, was the last to appear. His psychic halo was almost visible to the naked eye, and his scepter was hanging beside him.
The first time they entered, the Space Marines used all technical means to detect the church and sent brothers to various passages to expand the capture range.
Then the Mechanic Cults also entered the church, their loyal censers flashing with fire around their waists, symbolizing their undying fanaticism to bring the glory of the Mechanic God to darkness - even though the various forging worlds do not need to contribute , but some personnel still have to step in to reassure them.
When Soshyan asked them if they had any diagrams of the internal structure of the hulk, no one was willing to provide any information, but he was not surprised either.
Although Soshyan believed that someone must have sent someone into the hulk, since he was unwilling to cooperate, he did not force it.
In the darkness, the Terminator's searchlight shines brightest, dispelling the darkness around them.
“There are no signs of danger.”
Deathwing Grand Master Belial is near the side of the church. His green robe and bone-white paint look a bit eerie in the darkness. .
The floor had cracks under the weight of the Terminator. The walls were dark bronze and engraved with pious scriptures. The Grand Master of Deathwing turned his attention to the broken windows.
“I shall repent for thirteen days for the damage I have done to this sacred place.”
Belya chanted loudly in front of everyone:
"Because we have no choice but to destroy this holy place of the Emperor, may the Holy Light of Terra forgive our sins, even in the discharge of our duties. "
The words and deeds of the Deathwing Grand Master made Soshiyang a little confused, but this was someone else's business and he didn't bother to express his opinion. He just focused on the present. Judging from this magnificent church, Soshyan concluded that they were walking on a huge pilgrim ship.
The Pilgrim is a unique starship of the Empire. They have no class, designation or plan. Each one is unique and loyal to the divine and indescribable plan. A gorgeous display of Baroque style.
They were funded by the Ecclesiarchy, and their purpose was to carry hundreds of millions of pilgrims from one Holy Land to another, and to bring the Emperor's Light to other Imperial worlds.
To put it simply, it is a "shuttle bus" that travels back and forth among many holy places in the galaxy. Its routes are basically fixed.
Perhaps it was once full of religious glory, but now it is just a monument in a huge space cemetery. Along the way, Soshyan saw that the parapet was covered with tall statues of saints and heroes. There are also corridors hundreds of meters long decorated with sacred elephants.
But all this beauty turned into the desolate beauty of a dead body, silent and lifeless.
The huge protruding buildings and corridor portholes reflect the distant sunlight, but there is nothing inside. Darkness rolls between the jagged vertical baffles, and secrets are hidden in this grinning skeleton.
The gleaming ship built for the God-Emperor had become a mausoleum, not just architecturally dead—but also with the alien presence pointing toward its end.
Considering that the number of people that can be carried on this ship can often reach hundreds of millions or even billions, Soshyan has a new estimate of the number of aliens in the hulk.
According to the originally formulated tactics, the coalition forces of the Alliance of Suffering and the Dark Angels will choose to land at the same place, establish a safe forward base, and then separately enter the hulk to search.
The purpose of this is mainly to avoid the danger in the initial stage of landing and to facilitate subsequent support.
As for the other two battle groups, Soshyan ignored them and did not bother to communicate with their command.
On the one hand, he was really unfamiliar, and on the other hand, that malicious warrior had such a bad reputation.
The Malevolent Warriors are also an ancient Astartes Chapter, said to have been founded during the M32 period. They are a Chapter known for their brutality, aggressiveness, and disregard for life, as well as their collateral damage. Its name has always been synonymous with massacre and destruction.
Despite their enthusiasm for waging war against the enemies of the Imperium of Man and the Emperor, they have always been accused of excessive use of force against civilians, even being accused by other Astartes Chapters and asked to It denounces and investigates.
While the Malice Warriors can be considered paragons based on their combat record alone, many of their allies during the war have questioned the Chapter's conduct in battle, although none doubt it Despite their effectiveness in the war, several Chapters considered the Malevolent Warriors to be aggressive and hostile and lacked brotherhood with other Astartes, leading many factions in the Imperium to refuse to fight against the infamous warriors. The regiment fights side by side.
Soshiyang is not a person who listens to hearsay, but the reputation of this group of people is so bad. Even if there may be some misunderstandings, Soshiyang does not want to get into so much trouble in such an important operation—— Although the Blood Knights have a similar reputation, that is because of their gene-seed problems, while the Malevolent Warriors have never said anything about the gene-seed problems.
There is something wrong with their simple thinking.
No matter what the truth is, Soshyan's attitude towards the two war groups is very simple. If they don't meet, they will be in peace. If they bump into each other and there is a conflict, then he will never Will be soft-hearted.
His reasoning with the Mechanicus is out of respect and realistic considerations, but it does not mean that he is a very easy-to-talk person.
Therefore, Soshyan chose to enter from the direction of the pilgrim ship for two reasons. One is that it is far away from the landing points of the other two battle groups, and the other is because according to the scan results, the ship integrated into the hulk relatively late. It's still very new, maybe the energy system or something can still be activated.
If part of the system can be restored, then it is a very good base to move forward from.
(End of this chapter)