Warhammer 30: The Second Legion's Expedition

Chapter 41 Humiliation

The advance of the assault force was not fast; the aliens set up numerous obstacles to delay their progress, forcing them into a deadly cycle of killing.

Moreover, as they get closer to their destination, they find that these ordinary soldiers become increasingly fearless and ruthless.

Even if the Dawnguards kill the second and last defenders, that last man will still pull the trigger and retaliate against these impenetrable giants.

At first, some Dawnguards admired them; soldiers who were not afraid of death and would not be defeated deserved respect.

But gradually, they discovered that something was wrong.

"They won't be afraid," Paris said, frowning.

Lestrade charged tirelessly into the deepest part of the city.

But the Salpedon he knew was not on his path.

"Don't stop, soldier." Sopa came to his side.

The chainsaw in his hand dripped blood onto the ground incessantly, as if showing off his achievements.

Paris was puzzled; he wasn't sure the veterans of the company hadn't noticed.

Things had already come to this point, and the defenders they killed hadn't even uttered a painful scream or a curse.

"I told you, don't stop, soldier!" Sopa roared in dissatisfaction.

The sound wasn't so clear amidst the weapons and the footsteps and battle cries of the Dawnguards charging forward, but it was enough for Paris to hear clearly.

Paris was startled. His unease quickly subsided, but soon, he felt annoyed by Sopa's attitude.

"I think this is a trap, sir!" he roared.

Sopa's face, visible beneath his power helmet, froze for a moment, but he didn't offer any explanation. Instead, he simply picked up Paris and continued charging forward.

There was no answer, only slaughter.

There were no screams or wails; both sides were immersed in bloodshed and fighting. Even the battle cries of the Dawnbringers began to fade and fall silent.

The war cry is meant to intimidate the enemy and boost one's own morale.

Since it has lost its most important function, the war cry becomes meaningless.

On the way to the last location on the coordinates, the entire army was finally able to get some time to rest and recuperate.

Instead of rushing to attack the last pass with its elevation difference, Lestrade began assigning the Minotaur heavy armor squad to lay powerful explosives.

He was not prepared to suffer greater casualties to achieve victory.

If this weren't the hive city, and if this place had been prepared in advance, Lestrade would have chosen to completely blast through the beautiful general-level Titans that were airdropped into the Ripper Legion.

"You hesitated on the battlefield, soldier!" Sopa took off his helmet and walked over to Paris.

He wiped his wet hair with his hands, only to find his hair stained with the bloody smell that his hands hadn't been able to wash off.

However, Sopa didn't care. The smell of blood wouldn't affect him; the cleaning device inside his helmet would purify the air for him.

"Can you tell me, soldier, what are you thinking about? Thinking about your..." Sopa was about to use the ancient taunts of Holy Terra to mock Paris, but he quickly swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Facing Paris's angry gaze, Sopa said dryly, "Idiot."

The words lacked impact and didn't have enough staying power.

"I know what you were thinking, sir," Paris said coldly. "But I will not tell my brother about this. I am an Imperial soldier, an Astartes, a low-ranking sergeant in the Eighth Company of the Second Legion, a Dawnbringer."

"I uphold honor and adhere to principles."

"Hmph," Sopa scoffed, "Perhaps you know what honor is, but you lack courage."

"You're humiliating me!" Paris growled.

Someone noticed the argument taking place, and Lestrade angrily turned to look.

With a major battle imminent, someone is still stirring up trouble. He must hang this person up and give him a good beating.

Then he saw someone who was not at all unexpected, Sopa.

And, he had high hopes for Paris, a soldier of high status.

"What are you doing!" Lestrade walked over.

He glared at Sopa fiercely. This wasn't the first time. In fact, Sopa's temper was even worse not only internally but also externally, especially towards other brother units.

In particular, before the Second Legion returned to the leadership of Hector, the Father of Genetics, it cooperated with a force from the Sixth Legion, which had not yet returned to the Empire and was now called the Space Wolves, to conquer a planet that did not want to return to the Empire.

To Sopa and many of the Legion's warriors, these people were nothing more than barbarians from a tribe, with whom they had a history of conflict.

"My brother asked me, 'Do people like you deserve to be warriors of the Great Expedition?'"

Sopa once said this.

The so-called barbarians of Space Wolf did not directly clash with Sopa. Instead, they ignored Sopa and chatted happily with Nico Aulas, who was still in the First Dalian at the time, exchanging fine wines.

Afterwards, Nico Aulas personally sent Sopa to the Legion's apothecary after the war.

Memories surfaced uncontrollably in Lestrade's mind, and then his gaze returned to Paris's face, who was so angry that he was about to clash with Sopa face to face.

Nicolas at that time was not much better than Paris is now.

This gave Lestrade a momentary hallucination; he hadn't seen anything like this in years, and for a moment he felt a masochistic longing.

"You said, soldier," Lestrade said to Paris, who was suppressing, restraining, and furious.

Paris clenched his fist and slammed it heavily against his chest, making a loud sound.

"Yes, sir!"

"If you could..." Sopa quipped halfway through his sentence, almost unconsciously.

Lestrade's deathly gaze fell upon him, causing Sopa to shut his mouth and swallow the rest of his words that were still uttered.

The old commander still deserves respect, especially since his family background is no worse than yours, his honors are greater, and he personally led the charge, earning you a reputation on the battlefield on many occasions.

Paris's gaze grew even colder: "I want to go into the duel cage with him, sir!"

"He has been humiliating me, all along!"

Paris, who valued honor above all else, could not tolerate this, especially after being defeated by Achilles in a nearly humiliating manner. Paris then desperately honed his martial skills.

This has garnered recognition and praise from many people.

"I look forward to this happening." Lestrade did not object; on the contrary, he was quite pleased about it.

Being able to enter the Duel Cage at this moment is a great blessing.

"But now, if you can't explain to me what happened, you'd all better get back to the ship and slink away with your tails between your legs!"

"I don't need warriors who fight amongst themselves!"

"Go tell the father of genetics that you were attacking each other before the battle, even preparing for a full-blown fight!"