Although what Solomon said sounded unreasonable at first, if one thought about it carefully, one would realize it truly made no sense at all.
But the problem was, this man looked far too confident.
If an ordinary person's confidence was a flame, then Solomon at this moment was a crackling bonfire.
His calm eyes, the faintly teasing curve of his lips, the slight lift of his brows...
If not for the fact that, under the lasgun's muzzle, his legs were shaking like a sieve, Horne might actually have believed his nonsense.
The furious Horne was just about to teach this man, who was encouraging cowardly flight, a lesson in order to demonstrate his loyalty to the Emperor.
Just as the two sides were about to begin a very intense exchange, Gaia's voice rang out:
"Actually, he has a point."
"The greenskins will actively seek out the locations of other living beings."
"If those Orks that fled earlier haven't been absorbed into another boss's mob, then they are very likely to launch attacks on the human settlements along the way."
"And the duties the Emperor gives His warriors are not limited to fighting the enemy. They also include protecting the weak among His subjects."
"We can clear out the remaining greenskins along the route first, then evacuate the civilians we find into the hive city. After that, it will not be too late to fight these damned Orks to the death."
Gaia's words threw Horne into inner conflict.
A soldier's duty was to obey orders, but what Gaia and Solomon suggested did make sense.
Still, when the governor gave the order, he had not specifically said they were only allowed to fight until death...
Thinking that through, Horne's gaze gradually became firm.
Their lives were the Emperor's currency.
In order to better serve the Emperor, they had to maximize their value.
Saving the civilians still in danger, and only then going to die, was not too late.
Having made up his mind, Commissar Horne immediately issued the command:
"All troops, move east!"
The conscripts looked at one another, then silently began acting in accordance with Horne's orders.
Seeing this, Solomon let out a long breath.
That was close. I almost got forced into loyalty...
No, the moment we reach the hive city, I'm making a run for it.
...
The Conscript Regiment advanced in silence. Although Commissar Horne kept loudly trying to raise morale, this nonstop forced march still left the conscripts utterly exhausted.
Fortunately, whether it was because of the Emperor's protection or not, they had not suffered a single greenskin attack so far.
But Gaia did not let her guard down because of that.
As she moved with the regiment, she kept using her sharpened senses to monitor the surrounding environment.
Overall, Klaurund was a mining world with a fairly decent environment. At the very least, some basic vegetation had been preserved.
Although yellow sand still filled the air here, it was far better than those overexploited worlds where hurricane-force winds and terrifying sandstorms raged all day without pause.
In fact, if one ignored the scattered corpses lying across the ground, this would have looked like a peaceful and tranquil place.
"Up ahead is Kaha Village, a small settlement with a low population. Most of the residents are miners not directly attached to the mining zones."
Solomon read from the notes on the map as he walked.
At that very moment, an extremely faint scraping sound of pebbles shifting came from the cliffside beside them.
The instant Gaia caught the sound, her pupils shrank and she shouted:
"Stay alert!"
Then she immediately charged toward the cliff where the strange sound had come from. Like a nimble leopard, she began climbing at an astonishing speed.
At the same time, several greenskin boyz with savage grins emerged from their hidden positions, carrying "snazzguns" welded together from all kinds of oversized firearms.
"Heh heh heh, I told ya, dumb humies could never find us up here."
"I fink you're right. My snazzgun's been itchin' ta blast!"
Orks loved charging straight in, but that did not mean they were stupid.
The smarter ones among them were extremely cunning, and often used bizarre tactics no one would expect.
In fact, sometimes these green monsters could even run circles around a certain blue group...
But this time, their plan failed.
As a swift figure suddenly sprang up from the cliff below them, the Orks' cackling laughter stopped abruptly.
Weird. Why'm I flyin'?
Gaia pulled the warhammer from behind her in midair, and the instant she landed atop the cliff, she swung it with full force, smashing those boyz waiting to ambush them straight off the edge.
With the sound of heavy bodies hitting the ground, the snazzguns and the boyz were all tangled together in a broken heap.
Commissar Horne was once again stunned by Gaia's horrifying speed at killing the enemy, but he quickly came back to himself:
"Move! All of you, move! The xenos have probably already entered the village!"
He roared, his eyes bloodshot with fury.
Seeing the Commissar advancing with his pistol raised, Solomon looked left and right, then gritted his teeth and followed behind him.
By the time they caught sight of the village buildings in the distance, a nauseatingly thick smell of blood rolled toward them from ahead, and a sinister feeling at once settled over the Conscript Regiment.
When they got closer and saw the crude bullet holes left on the ground, they immediately understood:
the people of this settlement were almost certainly dead.
Just as Gaia had said, fleeing greenskins had already attacked this place.
"Commissar... the square... the square."
Suddenly, a scout with a deathly pale face came running back from up ahead.
Extreme terror was written across his face, as though he had seen something horrifying enough to tear a soul apart.
Before he could finish speaking, a great mass of vomit burst from his mouth and nose.
Seeing that, Horne had no time to care for the scout and immediately headed for the square.
As the smell of blood grew stronger and stronger, a mounting dread rose in him like a tide.
And then, when he saw the tragic and hopeless sight in the square, that dread became towering rage.
The square was filled with mutilated human corpses. Revolting bite marks covered their bodies, and the blood splashed all around spoke silently of their pain and struggle...
Commissar Horne's face turned ashen.
In his eyes, this was his responsibility.
If he had realized earlier that Gaia's suspicion was possible, perhaps the people here would not have suffered this fate.
Some of the conscripts who saw the scene vomited on the spot. Others went deathly pale.
At the same time, the fire of hatred began to burn in their hearts.
Until now, they had not known what exactly they were fighting for.
But now, they understood.
They had to tear those damned xenos apart and make them pay in blood.
Gaia silently watched the scene. Though her heart was equally turbulent, she was not as visibly shaken as the others.
After all, she had seen similar sights during the Underhive uprising that had been no different from hell itself.
Just as she was about to check whether any Orks had been overlooked, a sudden sense of disgust rose from within her heart.
It was a disgust born from the soul itself, and even the unseen thing that often whispered in her ear let out a piercing shriek.
Frowning, she turned her head and looked toward a house not far away.
She could feel it.
The thing she loathed was in there...
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]