Chapter 11: The Power of Faith
Turbines whined as the five Reapers ignited their twin tail flames, launching themselves into the air and effortlessly leaping onto a nearby structure.
The goggles worn by the Reapers provided them with infrared vision, and they quickly locked onto the hiding Nurgle psykers. Terrain sensors instantly scanned the vicinity, plotting an optimal route for them.
"Targets locked! Take them down!"
Seeing the Reapers rapidly approaching, the Nurgle psykers roared in fury!
"Stop them! Don't let them near me!!" Although he didn't know who these soldiers were, he felt the threat of death.
The carrion flies changed targets, heading towards the Reapers, but their speed was no match for the fast-moving units.
The Reapers continuously leaped between buildings, across open ground, and back again.
If even the flying carrion flies couldn't keep up, the Poxwalkers stood no chance.
A few heretics tried to operate the autocannon and hellgun, but before they could traverse their weapons, the P-45 electromagnetic pistols in the Reapers' hands began to fire.
"Strafe! Damn it, strafe hard!"
Every pause a Reaper made was for a precise shot, and after each shot, they immediately repositioned with rapid maneuvers.
A single Reaper might not have the firepower to instantly eliminate a Nurgle-blessed cultist, but five Reapers working together could achieve an instant kill.
These Nurgle cultists capable of casting Nurgle sorcery weren't particularly strong; they were essentially still just rioters, unskilled with their newfound powers. Any Imperial battle psyker could probably kill them.
One Reaper used its jump jets to soar directly over the autocannon and hellgun emplacement. As it passed, it tossed a KD-8 grenade towards the position.
After a short delay, the exploding grenade sent nearby enemies flying and destroyed the emplacement.
Whenever the Reapers sensed they were about to be surrounded, they would throw these grenades, which could knock back and damage enemies, to help them break out.
"Nice work! Reform! Attack!!"
The enemy's attention was heavily drawn to the front. Without the constraint of the carrion flies, Damon led his warriors in a renewed assault.
The few remaining Nurgle cultists panicked; they had lost their greatest advantage.
The moment they stopped summoning carrion flies and tried to sneak away, their death sentences were sealed.
No longer needing to extensively maneuver to dodge flies, the Reapers each rushed towards their targets.
A burst of bullets, a grenade – all executed in one smooth motion.
By the time the Reapers' jump jet turbines powered down, all the Nurgle cultists who had been summoning the carrion flies were eliminated.
"As expected, the more deeply someone is affected by Chaos, the more crystals I get when they're killed."
Lucan discovered that a single heretic capable of using Nurgle psychic abilities could provide him with at least 50 Psy-crystals.
"Clear out the remaining Poxwalkers! Firebats, burn every corpse you can! The rest of you, establish a defensive line to prevent any possible counter-attack!"
Damon was furious. In the recent battle, they had lost eleven Marines, and one Firebat had taken a direct hit to its fuel tank from an autocannon, dying in the subsequent explosion.
Fortunately, the Reapers' intervention prevented further losses. Damon's face was grim; this was the first time he had experienced such heavy casualties since arriving in this world. What he didn't know was that in the Warhammer universe, such a casualty rate, especially against psykers, could almost be considered an epic victory.
His own side, apart from their equipment advantage, still consisted of mere mortals. In this universe, human life was not highly valued.
C-14 rifle in hand, Damon led his men into the chapel.
The interior of the chapel could almost be described as a hell on earth.
When the chapel's outer walls were breached and the soldiers had fired their last rounds, they had been forced to engage the Nurgle cultists with melee weapons. If even soldiers in combat suits fought so hard, it was far worse for the survivors in the chapel.
The once crowded chapel was now a scene of devastation. Almost all the soldiers were dead, bodies piled high – crewmen and Poxwalkers alike.
The chapel's Priest and a few church personnel were slumped on the ground, exhausted, their chainswords caked with gore. Behind them, a number of laborers shivered in terror.
The Priest's robes were torn and tattered, and the body beneath bore countless wounds; the plague had already entered their systems.
When they saw Damon enter the chapel, the Priest, surprisingly, forced himself to his feet, roared "For the God-Emperor!" and charged at Damon.
"We're here to rescue you! We are soldiers of the Rogue Trader!!! Stand down!!"
Hearing Damon's voice, the Priest struggled to wipe away the blood blurring his vision. When he saw that the newcomers were not those physically mutated creatures, he could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.
"Connie! Quick, bring the other two Medics to save them!!"
Damon reached the Priest's side, recognized his face, and cross-referenced it with the database. He confirmed that the Priest before him was the one who had sent the distress call and offered intelligence.
"Elias Barnes?"
"Yes… it is I… Praise the God-Emperor… you really came to save us…"
Connie quickly examined his injuries. She genuinely didn't know how this man was still alive. Logically, the blood loss alone should have killed him, yet he had somehow remained conscious.
"You held off their attack with just this many people?" Damon asked.
"Cough, cough… I only became a Priest later in life… Before coming to this voidship, I was an officer in the Imperial Navy…"
Moreover, the plague that should have been instantly fatal to ordinary soldiers seemed weakened in his system.
Could this be what the Commander called the "power of faith" in this world?
Fortunately, as long as he wasn't directly dead, the Medics could bring his health back to full.
Under the healing of the nanites, Elias's body recovered.
However, while physical wounds could be healed, his mental trauma was something Elias would have to overcome himself.
One by one, the wounded were carried out of the chapel. It had to be said, these priests, empowered by their faith, had fought with astonishing ferocity. Thirty-odd church members, along with some steadfastly faithful shipwrights, had held the breach until Damon's reinforcements arrived. However, only five church members survived, and few of the shipwrights who had fought were left.
The only ones who survived in greater numbers were those who had timidly avoided the fight.
An Enforcer in CMC armor angrily walked up to the group of non-combatant survivors and berated them loudly.
"You cowards! You have failed the expectations of the Rogue Trader and the Dynasty! Every one of you has received the Rogue Trader's benevolence! If it weren't for the fact that you are still needed to contribute your lives to the Dynasty, you would all be hanged! After this riot is over, you and your clans will be punished!"
Damon merely observed from the side. To him, these shipwrights were just pitiful civilians. He didn't understand why they were being treated so harshly, but Lucan had told him not to interfere with the Enforcers' affairs, so he said no more.
"Elias! You said you had important intelligence to report? What is it?" Damon asked, turning back to the recovering Priest.
"I… I saw Lord Ludwig. His condition wasn't good, but he still took his personal guard down to the lower decks! They seemed to be looking for something."
"We already know this. Is this the important intelligence you mentioned?"
"No… also… I saw the Master of Discipline with Ludwig. My intuition tells me this is not normal."
"The Master of Discipline?!"
(End of Chapter)