Chapter 50: Lucan the Living Saint
But having already dealt with one, how could Lucan just watch these two huge threats run off?
If they truly escaped back into the underhive, finding them again would be incredibly troublesome.
"Stop them! Don't let them escape!"
However, when several Astartes decided to disengage and retreat, stopping them was easier said than done.
And what happened next seemed to press the pause button on the entire battlefield.
The toppled holy icon of the Emperor was now soaked in the blood of loyalists and the devout. At this moment, the statue truly wept tears of blood.
Lucan suddenly felt a gaze from the Warp… Someone had noticed him!
And as the fleeing Possessed Marines passed the holy icon, a golden light instantly enveloped the Emperor's statue.
The two remaining Possessed Marines, under the illumination of the golden light, burst into raging flames. Beneath the golden fire, their flesh and their sinful souls were being incinerated. The surrounding Chaos cultists were also engulfed by the flames.
With the appearance of the fire, the surrounding Warp corruption was also burned away.
The less one was affected by Chaos, the less damage one suffered. And at this moment, these Possessed Marines were no different from daemons!
In but a few moments, those two Possessed Marines were burned to nothingness, leaving a large number of charred corpses on the battlefield.
Ordinary Chaos cultists fared even worse, melting away in an instant.
The other Word Bearers, further away from the holy icon, began their retreat the moment the sacred light shone.
The parchments made of human skin adorning their waists seemed to sense the impending terror even before the light appeared, and they began to smolder.
Witnessing this scene, the Word Bearers fled outwards with the greatest speed they had ever mustered in their lives.
"The Corpse-Emperor has manifested! Retreat! This offensive has failed!"
But even so, some Word Bearers were still caught by the God-Emperor's sacred light.
When the Word Bearers withdrew from the battlefield, only two of them managed to escape successfully.
Watching their brothers being consumed beside them, the surviving Word Bearers cursed internally.
"And you still say you're not a god! I cry injustice for my gene-father, Lorgar!"
Seeing the powerful Word Bearers retreat first, coupled with the appearance of the miracle, the morale of the Chaos cultists on all fronts collapsed. The God-Emperor's light seared their souls and stripped away the power granted to them by the Ruinous Powers. They no longer had any courage to fight.
Witnessing this sudden miracle, the Chaos cultists began to retreat back into the underhive. All the loyalists knew they had won. The uphive was saved, and this world had not fallen into the hands of Chaos.
And all this was because of the God-Emperor's miracle and Lucan, who stood there like a god of war.
Ian, staggering, climbed out of the rubble, coughing up blood. A full-force blow from a Possessed Marine was not something an ordinary person could endure. His Inquisitorial uniform was in tatters; his dual shields had saved his life. Having just crawled out of the ruins, he too had personally witnessed the legendary miracle.
He looked at the corpses of the Possessed Marines. Lucan became increasingly mysterious in his eyes.
Having seen much and read many secret archives, he understood the absurdity of this event far better than ordinary soldiers.
Even in more brutal battles, a manifestation of the God-Emperor was not guaranteed. Yet, a war on a mere Rogue Trader's planet had attracted the God-Emperor's attention?
"Lord Lucan is blessed by the God-Emperor… He must be blessed by the God-Emperor!"
It's unknown who said the first word, but at this moment, all the loyalists regarded Lucan as a new Living Saint.
Feeling everyone's expectant gazes, Lucan raised the power sword in his hand.
"Chaos is fragile! Under the God-Emperor's protection, we have once again defended human dignity! Glory to the Mongorte Dynasty!"
"Glory to the Mongorte Dynasty! Glory to the great Rogue Trader!"
Lucan chose not to have his troops pursue the remaining heretics.
Although they had won this time, the loyalists' losses were also not small. They had reached their limits, both physically and mentally.
Rushing headlong into the underhive, with its unknown conditions, who knew what might happen.
Everyone needed to regroup and rest. The losses suffered by these heretics were immense; it would be impossible for them to recover in a short time either.
"Collect the remains of the fallen! Consolidate positions! Burn the bodies of those traitors to prevent the spread of Chaos corruption!"
Lucan issued his commands. Even those Dynasty soldiers seeing Lucan for the first time now had their loyalty to him maxed out.
"Damn it… I haven't drawn the attention of the Big Golden Guy, have I?"
For others, winning this battle with the help of the God-Emperor's miracle was a tremendous blessing, but for Lucan, it wasn't necessarily so. He was not from this world, and the powers he displayed were inexplicable. He couldn't be sure what the "Big Golden Guy's" attitude towards him would be.
Moreover, Lucan was heartbroken; after these Chaos cultists were smitten by the God-Emperor, he hadn't managed to snag a single drop of Psy-crystals!
And Norris's voice also came through Lucan's comm-bead.
"Captain! The battlefield was too chaotic back then, and those individuals' senses are terrifyingly acute! But I've managed to tail the fleeing Word Bearers. I request permission to continue tracking them to find their base in the underhive!"
"Permission granted. But do not engage recklessly. We will soon retake the underhive. Gather as much intelligence as you can!"
"Understood, Captain!"
After disconnecting the communication, Lucan, surrounded by soldiers, headed towards his palace.
Rebecca was already waiting at the main gate, flanked by important members of families still loyal to the Dynasty.
"My Lord, on behalf of all the people of this planet, Rebecca thanks you. Without you, our lives would have ended today."
"Isn't protecting my own Dynasty the responsibility of a Rogue Trader? At least you held the uphive while I was away, giving me a chance to provide support."
"Similarly, it is also our responsibility. And there is one more thing… all of us wish to ask you!"
"Speak your mind."
"Are you… truly blessed by the God-Emperor? The way you killed those daemons earlier was simply too incredible…"
"Perhaps? At least my faith in the God-Emperor gave me the courage to fight them!"
However, Lucan said internally, "I believe, but what I believe in is not the God-Emperor, but the Emperor's Imperial Truth."
"I understand. You must also be tired. Allow me to take you to your palace to rest. It is time it welcomed its new master."
"Lead the way!"
Following Rebecca, Lucan walked into the Dynasty palace at the highest, most central point of the Spire District.
Being at the apex of the hive, it hadn't suffered much damage. However, many rooms and corridors in the palace were now being used to house the wounded.
And the sheer number of casualties meant the Medics were overwhelmed.
The faces of the wounded still bore expressions of having survived a great ordeal, and they looked at Lucan with reverence. They too knew it was the Rogue Trader's return that had saved them from death or from becoming sacrifices for heretics.
"My Lord, please forgive me for using your palace to accommodate these wounded."
"No matter. They are all loyal warriors of the Dynasty. Rebecca, do you know where the Dynasty's treasury is?"
"Of course. Would you like to go there now?"
"Yes! Take me there now!"
Lucan was very curious about what both the Word Bearers and the Dark Mechanicum wanted to obtain.
"I will take you there at once!"
The Dynasty's treasury was located within this very palace.
They arrived at a heavily defended great door in the depths of the palace, protected by various defensive installations.
"My Lord, the treasury can be opened via the Cogitator to the side. However, you will first need to transmit your Rogue Trader succession information from the flagship's Cogitator. Then, you can open it through the Cogitator's authentication.
Dynasty regulations stipulate that only the current Rogue Trader may enter. I shall wait for you outside!"
Rebecca tactfully withdrew.
And Lucan did as Rebecca instructed.
When the Cogitator completed its authentication and collected Lucan's biological sample, a massive adamantium-laced alloy door in the room swung open.
Lucan walked into the treasury. Various xenos artifacts from different civilizations were displayed within.
These were all precious trophies of past Rogue Traders – not necessarily incredibly expensive, but they symbolized the Dynasty's former glory. And in the very center, a single item was encased within a small stasis field.
Without needing to guess, Lucan knew this was probably what the Chaos traitors wanted to obtain.
(End of Chapter)