Evacuating civilians was a difficult task.
Even though the people knew enemies were ravaging the area outside, persuading them to leave the homes they had lived in for so long was still a tremendous challenge.
Fortunately, under the relentless verbal assault of Commissar Horne and Solomon, most of the civilians chose to withdraw with them.
As for those who absolutely refused to leave, all they could do was respect their fate.
At one point, Gaia had wondered whether sending these civilians into the hive city occupied by those cultists was the same as throwing meat buns to a dog.
But after thinking it through again, she realized something.
Inside the hive city were many Imperial institutions, which meant those people would not dare act too blatantly.
On the contrary, it was exactly these lawless outskirts where tragedies like the one in Kaha Village were most likely to happen.
By the God-Emperor's grace, they had not encountered too many hardships along the way. The only greenskin attack they faced had quickly been crushed under Gaia's lead.
When the colossal structure, towering like an endless wall, finally appeared at the edge of their vision, Commissar Horne let out a breath of relief.
It had been difficult, but they had succeeded in bringing the civilians here.
Yet what confused him was that when the Planetary Defense Force guarding the hive city's gates saw them, they did not open the barrier.
"I am Commissar Horne of the 72nd Conscript Regiment. We have escorted the civilians from the outskirts of the hive city here."
"We will not enter. Open the gates and let the civilians through."
Commissar Horne shouted beneath the soaring metal walls.
The deputy commander of the Planetary Defense Force standing atop the gate felt his eyes twitch.
He did not want to make things difficult for these refugees.
But the governor had issued an order.
The gates were not to be opened lightly.
After taking a deep breath, he shouted back:
"Commissar Horne, you have done well. I have already sent word to the governor. Once a reply arrives, the gates will be opened."
Yet when the governor's response finally came, he was stunned.
"Do not admit a single one of those lowborn wretches."
"Those are the governor's exact words, sir."
Looking at the messenger's helpless face, the deputy commander clenched his fists.
Ever since the green tide erupted, he had been dissatisfied with the decisions of the meat-eaters.
The Planetary Defense Force had more than enough artillery and armored units, yet they had been ordered to remain inside the hive city and hold their position.
The Astra Militarum that had come from afar and the conscripts from the lower levels, meanwhile, had been sent out to die with barely any support at all.
He gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot with fury.
What kind of justice was that?
Though nominally they were the governor's private army, they were also warriors defending the planet for the Emperor.
And now they were not only being forced to cower inside the hive city like cowards, but also being made to keep their own unarmed countrymen outside the safe zone.
He slammed his fist hard against the railing beside him, blood immediately running from his palm.
Looking down at the weathered conscripts, and at the civilians they escorted below, faces filled with confusion and a faint glimmer of hope, he finally gritted his teeth and shouted:
"By my order, the gate's hydraulic system will malfunction for ten minutes!"
The soldiers responsible for controlling the mechanisms immediately cooperated by "accidentally" opening the gates.
"Move! You have ten minutes! Run, all of you!"
he shouted down below.
The civilians instantly began rushing forward, scrambling to enter, vanishing one after another through the gate that now looked like the line between life and death.
Some of the conscripts tried to slip inside along with them, but the precise lasfire Horne put into the ground in front of them immediately killed that idea.
At the same time, Solomon started walking forward as well.
"What are you doing?" Horne asked in surprise, instinctively raising his laspistol.
"Commissar Horne, don't forget. I'm not a soldier. I'm a free captain."
He looked back and smiled teasingly.
"Captain Harlock isn't going to stay on the ground and die with you people."
"So, good luck."
"Come on, Nia. Let's go."
Holding Nia's little hand, he smiled lightly and walked toward the gate.
Gaia watched in silence. She knew Solomon was not wrong.
He truly was not a soldier, and he had no duty to fight beside them.
And yet Gaia still felt something complicated rising inside her.
It was a strange emotion rooted in disappointment.
Standing behind the gate, Solomon rubbed his little mustache and grinned mischievously at Gaia and Commissar Horne.
"See you later."
The ten minutes quickly ran out, and as the gate slowly descended, Solomon's smug face was about to disappear behind the falling metal barrier.
But in the next instant, his smile froze.
Nia suddenly made a nimble jump forward, rolled once, and slipped back out through the gate.
Everything happened so suddenly that everyone stared at her in shock.
Then she ran all the way back, clutching her little bear with determined eyes, and hugged Gaia's leg.
Gaia was left both dizzy and stunned.
"Nia?"
The deputy commander above the gate went blank.
How had one last person gone back out at the final moment?
"Sir, should we have another hydraulic malfunction?"
one of the Planetary Defense Force soldiers asked cautiously.
The deputy commander's mouth twitched. That excuse definitely could not be used twice.
And so, Nia ended up following Gaia and the others onto the road toward the front line.
In Commissar Horne's words:
"Damn it, by the God-Emperor, that slippery bastard doesn't even have as much courage as a little girl!"
...
Inside a palace at the very top of the hive city, an old man clad in a purple robe embroidered with golden heather patterns was weeping in agony.
Just moments ago, his son's life-sign had vanished completely.
That had been his only heir.
And now, with that single bloodline cut off, he realized that the power held by his branch of the family was about to be handed over to someone else.
"Damn you, you murderous bastard!"
"What kind of cruel monster would take the life of my lovely child!"
He howled hysterically, his sunken eye sockets brimming with hatred.
He was already too old. Perhaps his family line would end here...
No. His bloodline would never be extinguished.
That was right. Absolutely never.
He raised his head and stared at a statue in the corner.
It was a grotesque figure with a ram's head and a human body, and that human body possessed the sexual characteristics of both sexes at once.
He gritted his teeth, then muttered toward the darkness as if speaking to himself:
"You said earlier that a Conscript Regiment came from the direction where Paulus died?"
In the shadows, a figure could be seen only faintly.
It gave a slight nod, as if confirming the old man's words.
"Have one of our Planetary Defense Force units follow them. Bring artillery. Kill them at all costs!"
"Better to kill the wrong people than let a single one escape!"
"I will use their blood to honor the wrongly slain soul of my child!"
The figure in the shadows nodded, then merged with the darkness and disappeared.
After giving those orders, the old man slowly walked toward the statue that radiated an eerie presence.
...
At the hive city's gate, a well-equipped PDF force stood ready to march.
Until now, they had hidden inside the hive city.
Now, under the orders of the Upper Hive nobles, they were mobilizing.
But the enemy they were about to fight was not the greenskins currently butchering their way across the planet.
It was their own countrymen, who were preparing to head to the front line to resist those xenos.
(End of Chapter)
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