Chapter 180: The Surviving Salamander
"Lord Jalidus! They've entered the deep pits of the lower levels! Should we still pursue?"
"Pursue? Do they think they can survive in the lower levels with just those few people? That's impossible! That is the territory of the Haemonculi. They will be eaten clean by the Forsaken. The terrifying wraiths and mutated creatures there will take care of them for us. And the Haemonculi's out-of-control modified monsters are not something they can contend with."
Even Jalidus himself would not easily set foot in the terrifying lower levels of Commorragh. In this city-state, the territorial awareness of the different factions was exceptionally strong. The same was true for the lower levels; that was the domain of mutated creatures and the Haemonculi. In the past, they had only ever simply thrown the bodies of dead creatures into the portal.
Jalidus's face was filled with pain. This was perhaps the worst deal he had ever made. The loss of a large number of slaves would be a blow he wouldn't recover from for a long time. Most importantly, an incident like this would make him a laughingstock among the others.
As Burns and the others passed through the portal, they immediately looked back nervously. The portal was still shimmering. And it wasn't just this one; from a multitude of portals, bodies were being thrown out from time to time.
The pursuing enemy they had expected did not appear. And the sight before them left everyone stunned.
Crystals on the broken ruins emitted a faint light, illuminating their surroundings. Beneath some of the completely shattered ground, the unknown void was visible. The group looked down at their feet; what seemed like a mountain of white bones was spread all around them. The thick, putrid smell was suffocating.
The searchlights of the combat suits shone in all directions.
Scattered around them were a number of creatures, and they even saw some humans among them. And what they were doing at this moment was getting food from the not-yet-decomposed corpses. What that "food" was could be seen at a glance.
At this moment, Burns had not yet realized what kind of place he had come to. His situation in the depths of Commorragh was perhaps not much safer than before. The majestic buildings around them were piled together in a chaotic and disorderly manner. Although dilapidated, one could still see that these buildings were extremely artistic. This place seemed to have been abandoned, but it was once a prosperous part of the important Eldar city of Commorragh.
The servo-systems on the combat suits were running at full power. The terrain of the nearby area began to be detected and scanned on their tactical visors. The thermal imaging was what allowed them to see their surroundings clearly.
"No matter what, we can't just stay here. Let's move, everyone," Burns said, seeing the dazed crowd.
Their direction of advance was toward the humans who had quickly fled upon seeing them. It was human nature to gather together; a single individual would find it difficult to survive in such a harsh environment. If they could find a human settlement here, perhaps they could finally get a clear picture of their situation.
The foul air was maddening. As they went deeper into this unknown area, more and more mutated creatures began to appear on the road. Fortunately, the weapons in their hands were still effective. Even after their ammunition was exhausted, they could still pose a threat to these monsters in close combat.
The team was like a lamp in the darkness, attracting the nearby mutated creatures. And as they went deeper, these mutated monsters clearly became stronger. Some of the xenos were even after their equipment. This area felt like the hunting ground of those monsters, and the reason they were still alive was only because the real hunters had not yet found them.
The group stumbled around like a headless fly. Any hollowed-out building could be a monster's lair. And without a supply of food, their stamina had almost reached its limit.
"Sir! It's a dead end!"
Their path forward was blocked by a collapsed building. Burns, still not giving up, tried to use the power of the SCV to force open a passage. But the noise also attracted more monsters, and the roars of the creatures behind them were getting closer and denser.
Along the way, the team had suffered more casualties. Many of the soldiers without combat suits had been dragged away by monsters in the darkness. They could not protect everyone; enemies could appear from any direction. Some of the wandering abominations could even drain a person's life force. Burns had personally seen two of his comrades visibly age and wither after being attacked.
"Brothers, we might really not be able to escape this time. Let's just kill as many as we can!"
Low prayers echoed around them. Everyone was trying to use their prayers to the God-Emperor to give them the courage for one last fight.
Just as everyone had resigned themselves to their fate, a familiar Low Gothic voice called out to them from the distance. In an inconspicuous building ruin, several ragged humans were waving at them.
"By the Emperor! Quick, over here! Those monsters are heading this way!"
Everyone looked at them in surprise. Although they had seen one or two humans along the way, this was the first time anyone had actively approached them.
"We have no choice! Let's go!"
As if grasping at a life-saving straw, the group rushed toward the location of the few humans. Under their guidance, Burns and the others arrived at a human settlement hidden in these lower levels.
Burns looked at everything before him in disbelief. The entire settlement was built on a huge piece of building debris floating in the void. It was like a small human town. He saw simple weapon forges, among which were even some Tech-priests who had undergone extensive physical modifications, though they no longer had the conditions to wear their iconic red robes. And in the clearly militarized settlement, many people were still conducting combat training.
Burns even saw a statue of the God-Emperor carved from stone. If this were in the Imperium, such a crude statue might be declared heretical by the Ecclesiarchy. But here, from time to time, people would kneel before it and pray.
Just as the group was in a daze, a man with skin as black as ink, wearing a battered suit of power armor, walked toward them.
"An Astartes? There's an Astartes here?!"
Burns also opened the cockpit of the SCV and jumped down. He looked up at the Astartes he had to crane his neck to see.
"Soldier, state your designation. Why have you come here? And what's with all this equipment?"
"We are all from the Mongorte Dynasty in the Koronus Expanse. We are led by the great Rogue Trader, Lucan Drex Aurelian. This equipment is the standard issue of our Dynasty. May I ask who you are! Why are you here!"
"I am Techmarine Argus of the Salamanders Chapter, Third Company! Welcome, soldiers. We have found new comrades!"
Argus did not have the arrogance of other Astartes when facing mortals. The Salamanders were the most affable of all the First Founding Chapters. They saw it as their duty to protect mortals; they were the "kind black uncles." But their hatred for xenos was exceptionally great.
From Argus's words, Burns also learned why he was here, and why such a settlement existed. The famous Salamanders raid on Commorragh had been to rescue captured members of their Chapter. A total of five hundred Astartes had participated in the operation. Although the joint invasion with other Chapters had successfully rescued the captured warship Forgehammer and the battle-brothers within, a portion of the Astartes had not been able to escape during the rescue operation. Some were killed on the spot, and some died later in the fighting pits.
But some had managed to escape and had come to this darkest corner of Commorragh. Using his superhuman body, he had constantly attacked the Dark Eldar, searching for and rescuing humans who had also fallen here. For nearly three hundred years, the settlement had grown larger and larger. This was a long time even for an Astartes. In a normal Chapter, there were very few warriors who had served for so long, not because their lifespan couldn't reach it, but because it was very difficult to live to that age.
But at the same time, resources had become increasingly scarce. Argus united all the humans here, gathered intelligence, and made plans for raids and escapes. With his strength and the addition of more and more humans, he had managed to gain a foothold in this area. Besides Argus, there were two other Astartes: one from the Silver Skulls and one from the Howling Griffons. And at this moment, those two were in the other two backup settlements.
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