Inside the pipe,
Kain looked at the bizarre situation before him and asked Amberly, "Is someone hiding up there?"
"Have you thought of anything?" Amberly asked quietly, hands behind her back, walking beside Kain.
Since she asked, Kain had to admit, "It's some ominous feeling, as if I've experienced similar terrifying scenes before. But which one exactly... I can't be sure."
He was about to press further, hoping to get some clues, when a voice from the communicator pulled his thoughts back.
"Political Commissar, can you hear me!" Kastin's voice was intermittent and unclear due to interference.
"Barely," Kain replied. The stone and concrete weakened the signal, and if they went deeper, even this faint connection might break.
"What is it?"
"The Gretchin are fiercely attacking the command platform! Lord Li Feng and several Chapter Masters are now surrounded, and we need to return to reinforce them. We may not be able to assist you during this time!"
Even with the interference, Kain could hear the urgency in Kastin's voice.
"Gretchin attacking the command platform... It seems this is their last desperate struggle."
Amberly calmly replied; her communication device was clearly better than Kain's, as Kastin could hear her clearly.
Kastin immediately said, "I suggest you withdraw towards our direction immediately. We are not far from you, and I will send out a combat team to pick you up right away..."
"No need, thank you for the Colonel's kindness..."
Amberly's tone was crisp and firm: "We, the Inquisition, have our own rules of conduct. Unless there's a major change in the situation, we will continue our operation. Thank you for the information. If anyone tries to stop us, it means they are opposing the Inquisition."
At this moment, Kain noticed Amberly's tone and expression when she said this. From the moment Kain and Amberly met, Amberly had always interacted with Kain with that 'girlish' demeanor. But just now, that girlishness instantly vanished from Amberly, replaced by a cold and ruthless demeanor.
This also made Kain inwardly adjust his attitude. That is, Amberly Veil was a beautiful, lovely, and somewhat mischievous young woman... but at the same time, she was also one of the most ruthless Inquisitors in the Imperium.
Kastin was silent for a moment, then spoke: "Understood."
"Colonel," Kain added before she hung up the communication, "How is the situation with Li Feng?"
Kastin replied concisely, "The situation is not good. Because our team has pushed too deep, air and fire support are not effective within the Hive City. The Gretchin have now surrounded the command platform. However, with the Battle Sisters and Astartes present, they should be able to hold out until we arrive."
Kain breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, I understand."
Amberly interjected, "Ah Kai, don't worry, your friend Li Feng will be fine. Two Chapter Masters and their Honor Guard, plus six elite Battle Sisters mixed from different Orders, and his own elite Solar Auxilia... Unless these Gretchin are all Hive Tyrants, he will be fine."
"Understood," Kastin replied. Although her voice was calm, Kain could still detect her tension.
After the call ended, Amberly calmly said, "This is good news, at least the truly noble people here won't have problems that could implicate us."
"Why are you so familiar with everything around Li Feng?"
Kain asked softly, because when he heard Amberly describe Li Feng's deployment, it meant Amberly knew the situation around Li Feng like the back of her hand.
Amberly replied, with a playful tone:
"Remember Inquisitor Grendyl from Frax? He's my senior. Ever since that incident on Frax, the name of 'friend of the emperor' Lord Li Feng has become well-known among the three Inquisitorial Orders."
"You mean..."
"A person who can be personally welcomed by a squad of Custodians, Sisters of Silence, and a Living Saint – we are all very curious about what kind of secrets he hides. And isn't uncovering secrets our duty as Inquisitors? Don't you agree, Ah Kai?"
As Amberly spoke, she gently poked Kain's cheek with her black-gloved finger, making Kain a little shy for a moment, but Kain still reminded her:
"I don't care about other Inquisitors, but I hope you don't investigate him."
Amberly put her hands on her hips, looking at Kain, who seemed to know something, and then said, "It seems Ah Kai, you know something... Never mind, digging up secrets yourself is the most interesting part. Oh, by the way... were you just worried about me?"
Suddenly being hit with such a direct question by Amberly made Kain a bit flustered. For the first time, the seasoned ladies' man felt such helplessness... Tai Chi master Yang Luchan had the 'bird cannot fly' technique, where sparrows couldn't fly from his hand because they had nowhere to push off... Inquisitors truly had profound skills... Kain was like that sparrow, this rogue Ah Kai... it seemed he was destined to fall for this 'bad woman.'
Kain coughed and composed himself: "Just a friendly reminder between friends."
"Friends, huh? If so, I think it's not bad for us to be friends for life... A beautiful Inquisitor and a heroic Political Commissar, that's a great combination."
Amberly's words touched Kain, and out of human instinct, he also smiled. Amberly then took Kain's hand: "Then it's settled."
Meanwhile, the scouts ahead heard the conversation between the Political Commissar and the Inquisitor behind them and were dumbfounded... inwardly complaining:
"Please, can you two not flirt in this kind of situation? We're risking our lives with you... Can't you two find a coffee shop or a bar and chat slowly?"
---
Command platform,
The Gretchin had broken through the first line of defense and were charging towards the platform. The massive bridge connecting to the platform was now piled high with Gretchin corpses. On the defensive positions on both sides of the bridge, two ZU-23-2 twin-barreled anti-aircraft guns were firing horizontally.
The immense lethality of the anti-aircraft guns firing horizontally tore through the endless tide of Gretchin. Corpses gradually piled up into small mountains near the bridge. On the platform walls, countless Gretchin used their mutated, twisted four arms to try and climb upwards.
The Battle Sisters formed a line, continuously firing their Bolters at the surging Gretchin, preventing them from getting close to Li Feng. The Nuns of the Order of the Ebony Chalice, in particular, were using flamers to spray downwards from above.
The Gretchin quickly set up a makeshift cannon in the rear. They loaded gas canisters with fuses and fired them directly. The huge gas canister shells directly hit the anti-aircraft guns on both sides of the bridge.
The massive explosion directly overturned the two anti-aircraft guns, and the gunners and nearby defending Soldiers were torn apart by the blast. Deprived of heavy firepower suppression, the Gretchin quickly used the piled bodies of their comrades to form a "bulletproof passage," rapidly crossing the bridge and rushing into the command platform.
Calgar and Huron, with their Honor Guard, formed two arrowhead formations, blocking the breach and cutting down the Gretchin that poured in.
Reinhard, armed with a bolter pistol and Chainsword, rushed to the edge of the bridge to reorganize the defense, while Siegfried, carrying a radio, called for reinforcements. Yang Wen-li operated drones and a mortar team, searching for the Gretchin's gas canister cannons.
Li Feng was restless in his tent, impatiently shaking his leg. He wanted to go out and kill, kill, kill, but they wouldn't let him, saying he should just "command from the center as a general."
Fides had pushed Li Feng into the tent, and then she went out to fight with her Sisters. Li Feng, stuck in the tent, could only look at the deployment data. Almost all the advancing troops were now falling back to reinforce, which was not good!
Li Feng immediately picked up the radio: "Attention all, this is Li Feng. You don't all need to come back; only the closest few should return. The rest, continue to push deeper and expand the gains!"
At this moment, Yang Wen-li of the mortar team located the gas cannon with a drone: "Bearing 220, distance 1100 meters!"
The mortar team immediately picked up 120mm mortar shells and loaded them into the breech. With a pull of the lanyard, two shells flew out of the barrel. Just then, Yang Wen-li saw through the drone that the gas cannon had fired another gas canister.
A Gretchin Bishop (a Gretchin Psyker), observing Li Feng's command tent through psychic powers, immediately ordered another shot from the gas cannon.
"Attention! Artillery! Take cover! Take cover!"
Li Feng now poked his head out of the tent, looking at the battle outside and the endless tide of Gretchin. He still decided to go out and join the fight; staying in the tent was too boring, and he wouldn't die anyway.
Thinking this, he retreated into the tent, walked to the table, and picked up a lasgun... Just then, everyone heard the buzzing sound of the gas canister shell falling from the sky. Calgar roared, "Take cover!"
When Fides looked up... she saw a blue gas canister flying over her head, smashing directly into Li Feng's tent... "No, no, no, no, no!"
Fides dropped her weapon, wanting to rush into the tent to save Li Feng, but... it was too late.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion directly engulfed the tent, and the flames from the gas canister explosion shot into the sky. The blast wave from the explosion directly knocked Fides and several Battle Sisters who tried to rescue him to the ground. Several Ultramarines and Claws of the Stars who were close by also staggered from the blast wave.
Fides stared blankly at the smoking tent... There was nothing left, only a pile of burning ruins... In the sky, Li Feng's cowboy hat slowly drifted down to the ground... Huron looked back... then continued to kill enemies... Why? Because Li Feng had demonstrated taking a bolter round to the head in front of him, so he knew Li Feng couldn't die.
But Calgar didn't think that way! With a Chapter Master and Honor Guard present, to allow a friend of the emperor and Imperial Prince to die an unnatural death, the honor of the Ultramarines and Ultramar would truly be damned.
Calgar's head suddenly heated up... He was tired, let it all be destroyed. He directly charged into the horde of Gretchin, once again fighting desperately. Li Feng's death, to him, was no different than Guilliman dying in the stasis field.
The Battle Sisters, Astra Militarum, and Space Marine watched this scene. The Imperial Saint they were supposed to protect had died, just like that, before their eyes... Suddenly, an unnamed rage burned within them. (Black Rage!) They immediately charged at the Gretchin, intending to chop every enemy before them into pieces.
Fides and several High Sisters immediately rushed into the crater, hoping to find a glimmer of... hope. When Fides arrived at the smoke-shrouded blast zone, she collapsed to her knees, powerless... In the ruins of the tent, in the crater... Li Feng and several pieces of his body lay quietly in the ruins. Half of his skull was shattered, and his head was now only connected to half of his chest cavity.
"No, no, no... it shouldn't be like this... no..."
She crawled on her knees to Li Feng's body, trying to piece together the fragments of his body, but it was useless... She looked at Li Feng's enlarged, lifeless pupils, and she held Li Feng's remaining half-head... and kissed Li Feng's now bloodless lips.
A golden light flashed, and Celestine instantly appeared. Celestine flapped her wings, looking at Fides, who was holding Li Feng's corpse and performing a "farewell kiss" after his death. She sighed helplessly.
Why? Because she saw one of Li Feng's hands reach behind Fides and give Celestine a thumbs-up... In fact, at the moment of the explosion, Li Feng died instantly, just like in that plane crash... But when Fides rushed over, held his head, and forcibly kissed him, Li Feng had just regained consciousness, and his body tissues were rapidly re-healing.
And at this moment, all the Nuns saw Li Feng's severed limbs rapidly healing, even the parts that had been blown to pieces were regrowing. Combined with Living Saint Celestine being right here... it must be the Living Saint demonstrating the Emperor's mighty power! It must be the Emperor's mighty power!
(Khan, who was reading documents: Achoo!)
"Li Feng's alive! Li Feng's alive!"
Hearing this, Fides moved her lips from Li Feng's, immediately hearing Li Feng gasping for air. This girl's lung capacity was too good... Fides watched Li Feng's body begin to regrow. In just a short while, half of his chest cavity had grown back. Fides looked at Celestine, who was slowly descending, flapping her wings,
"Living Saint! Was it you who brought Li Feng's soul back from the God-Emperor's side...?"
Celestine wanted to say that Li Feng was immortal, but seeing Li Feng's gaze, she reluctantly said, "Yes, the God-Emperor just asked me to bring his soul back. His work is not yet finished."
Celestine now held a set of clothes and placed them next to Li Feng: "So you won't be without clothes later, I specially brought you some..."
Li Feng's upper body had now fully regrown. He looked at Celestine: "My butt hurts."
Celestine pointed to Sister Lucia, who was holding Li Feng's lower body over there: "Your butt doesn't hurt, your butt is over there."
As Li Feng's waist began to grow, the lower half of Li Feng's body in Lucia's hands instantly turned into a handful of dust, dissipating... The next second, all the Nuns stared at Li Feng, their eyes wide open. Many Nuns even covered their eyes, then peered through the gaps in their fingers, continuing to stare at Li Feng.
Li Feng looked puzzled: "Why are you looking at me? Haven't you seen someone get blown to bits and then resurrected?"
Celestine crossed her arms, her face full of playful mockery: "No, they haven't seen your newly grown lower half. Oh, it's so white..."
Fides, blushing, immediately picked up the clothes nearby and covered Li Feng: "No! You are not allowed to look!!"
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