With the last trace of sunlight gone, the dreadful night descended upon the now-ruined lands of the underhive.
Within the endless darkness, deadly threats lurked in wait, ready at any moment to take the lives of any fools bold enough to venture out during an underhive night.
Night, in the underhive, was another word for death.
Of course, if you happened to be over a thousand heavily built brutes carrying modified firearms, then perhaps the night should be afraid of you instead.
A blazing bonfire burned fiercely in the center of the stronghold, and the animal carcasses roasting beside it sizzled with dripping grease while releasing an enticing aroma.
These were all carnivorous beasts that had failed to run fast enough after nightfall.
It was a feast. The "underhive special brew" that scum once treated like treasure was now being hauled out in barrels.
Cups clinked, liquor splashed, and fighters from the five warbands threw their arms over each other's shoulders as they drank with wild enthusiasm.
They were so excited that they had completely forgotten that tomorrow they would be marching onto a battlefield filled with blood and slaughter.
"Come on, let me toast you! The new leader of the First Warband!"
A rough-bearded Weeper raised his cup high and shouted at Gavo.
Gavo had originally wanted to refuse, but the drinking culture that had somehow survived for tens of thousands of years was simply too powerful. Under the relentless bombardment of the other four warband leaders, she had no choice but to drink cup after cup.
After three cups of strong liquor, her head was already spinning.
Seeing Gavo's internal gyroscope clearly losing balance, the other leaders came to one conclusion.
This girl truly could not hold her drink at all.
Normally they would not have cared about such details, but considering that Gavo still had to command the battle tomorrow, they finally stopped forcing drinks on her.
The leader of the Third Warband, who had started the toasting in the first place, shook his head.
"Ah, young people just lack experience. Fine then, the four of us can keep drinking."
The meaning was obvious.
Go sit with the kids.
Seeing that, Gavo quickly tossed out a few polite words, then got to her feet and slipped away.
If she did not leave now, she would end up sleeping through tomorrow's operation.
She rubbed her slightly swollen head and planned to check in with the First Warband's soldiers tonight, to make sure tomorrow's breakthrough operation would not run into any problems.
...
Sharkteeth and Medic sat silently in a corner, back to back, drinking their wine in silence and looking equally downcast.
"What is it with you two?"
Gavo wandered over and asked.
"It's nothing. Just missing Ironarm Boss a little. Usually at times like this, he'd be telling us dirty jokes."
Medic, who was usually stingy with words, unexpectedly said a full sentence.
Sharkteeth also looked up and added,
"Come to think of it, the last time we had a banquet like this was the one when you joined up."
"That time, you got drunk and passed out on the spot. Everyone was wondering whether we should take your mask off and see what you actually looked like."
At those words, Gavo's heart skipped.
"But Ironarm Boss wouldn't let us."
That immediately confused Gavo.
"Why?"
"Uh... let's just say, don't get mad, alright?"
Sharkteeth hesitated for a moment, then slowly said,
"He said you looked just like your father... not much worth seeing."
The moment those words came out, the whole place fell into awkward silence.
After a long pause, Gavo let out a long sigh.
"I see..."
"Forget it. Tomorrow, make sure you both keep control of the squads under your command."
"As veteran gunmen, I trust you."
After throwing out those words, she turned and left, leaving the two of them staring at each other.
"See? I told you she'd get mad..."
...
After finishing the pre-battle mobilization for the remaining soldiers of the First Warband, the alcohol Gavo had drunk earlier started hitting her properly.
Her mind became increasingly hazy, so she held her aching head and slowly made her way to the edge of the banquet, intending to find a quiet place to rest.
As she passed around a corner, she saw a massive figure sitting against the wall.
It was Raven, who had vanished as soon as the feast began.
The place he had chosen gave him a broad view of the entire banquet, while also making it hard for anyone to disturb him.
He held a strangely shaped can in one hand and used a huge spoon to shovel some sticky paste-like food beneath his hood.
Gavo could not help becoming curious.
She had noticed that Raven never ate the same food as them, and he ate very rarely. Every long while, he would take out his own food from a bundle he always carried with him.
Perhaps it was the effect of the alcohol, but an odd thought appeared in her head.
Was this bastard secretly eating good food behind everyone's backs?
That was one of the gravest crimes possible.
"Raven, can you share some of that with me?"
Gavo stepped up to the giant and pointed at the can in his left hand.
Raven did not answer. His emotions barely changed at all. He just kept eating in silence like some kind of food-processing machine.
Watching Raven eat with such focus, Gavo, whose thoughts were already a mess, immediately became convinced that her guess was probably right.
No. This could not be tolerated.
Using the astonishing wisdom granted by drunkenness, Gavo reached a decision in a very short amount of time.
She was going to snatch some and try it herself.
In the next instant, the muscles in her long frame exploded with force, and she scooped out a lump of the mush from Raven's can in a flash.
Raven looked up in surprise and stared at Gavo as she stuffed the lump into her mouth.
Though his instinct to retaliate had been forcibly suppressed and that had slowed his reaction, the fact that Gavo could still snatch food from him at that speed was enough to prove that she was no ordinary person.
Gavo had barely chewed twice before her face twisted into a knot.
She had never eaten shit before, but this thing definitely tasted worse than shit.
And there were hard bits inside like shards of glass. It nearly cracked her teeth.
"Brother Raven, your life is way too bitter. There's no need to torment yourself like this. You should just come eat proper food with us."
Gavo pressed a hand against Raven's shoulder and spoke loudly with great emotion.
The usually still waters of Raven's mind showed a rare ripple.
He looked at Gavo in silence.
Was this girl drunk?
The moment that thought appeared in his head, the alcohol in Gavo's body finally finished the job.
Thunk.
Her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground, entering the sleep of a baby.
...
Gavo stood blankly in a field of ruins, surrounded by broken walls and shattered bricks.
She did not recognize this place, but the intense sense of familiarity made her memorize the surrounding scenery on the spot.
Where was she?
The moment that question rose, the previously pitch-black environment began changing in a horrifying way.
In the distance, a red pillar of light rose into the sky, illuminating the heavens, and then a wave of psychic energy filled with bloody violence swept through the area.
Amid the screams and howls of countless souls in her ears, Gavo's chest was pierced through by a spear thrust from behind.
Blood burst out, and her body collapsed onto the ruins.
In the final instant before her consciousness faded, she saw the direction from which that spear had been thrown.
Above and to one side of her, a totem overflowing with savage power floated into view.
It was the same profane sigil formed from eight blood paths.
(End of Chapter)
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