Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 256 Reinforcements

Because the Sky Lion Squadron had already committed a company of troops and also had to undertake combat missions in several other star sectors, although they were nominally committing the entire squadron to the battle this time, they could only actually mobilize six full-strength companies.

Including the half-company that was decimated in the previous battle, these six hundred-plus Astartes are all the forces that the Sky Lion Squadron can contribute to this expedition.

At a strategic meeting, the commander of the Yolandil campaign admitted that this was the maximum force they could muster without affecting the defense of other theaters of operations.

In contrast, the Black Templars have a much larger troop strength.

As a warband that does not adhere to the Codex Astartes, one of their expeditionary forces is equivalent to a company-level unit in other warbands, but the actual strength of each expeditionary force is far greater than that of a company of a hundred men.

For example, the expeditionary force that came to support Chen Xi this time had a size of 800 people, comparable to a full-strength battle group.

Moreover, these eight hundred men were all veterans with extensive combat experience, and they held an almost fanatical faith and devotion to the emperor.

Speaking of the Black Templars, Chen Xi suddenly remembered the special connection between this chapter and the Fist of the Empire.

They are the Imperial Fist Brotherhood, which originated in the 30k era.

When Robert Guilliman implemented the Legion splitting policy, Primarch Rogue Dorn made a far-reaching decision—he ordered Sigismund to gather all the most radical and fanatical warriors of the Imperial Fist to form this special Chapter.

This historical background also explains why the Black Templars became the most aggressive branch of the Dornish descendants.

Sigismund led his most fanatical Sons of Dorne in a thousand-year war for the Empire, until the First Black Crusade, when this legendary warrior faced his final, fateful battle.

The aging Sigismund knew perfectly well that he could no longer confront Abaddon, who was blessed by the Chaos Gods, as he had in his youth.

In the final showdown, he resolutely chose to face Abaddon's blade head-on, piercing his nemesis's heart with the black sword in a gesture of mutual destruction.

Sigismund's fall caused immeasurable damage to the Black Templars, but the spiritual legacy he left behind gave birth to a unique tradition within the Chapter—the Emperor Champions system.

The black power sword that pierced Abaddon's heart was the infamous "Black Sword".

It is worth mentioning that, after the war, Abaddon made a rare effort to clean up Sigismund's remains and solemnly returned the Black Sword and Sigismund's body to the Black Temple.

This legendary weapon was later reforged into ten new black swords, each kept by one of the Black Templar's expeditionary forces.

Whenever a battle group faces an invincible foe, there will always be warriors who receive the Emperor's revelation and realize their mission to become the Emperor's champion.

These chosen warriors will don special black power armor and wield black swords into battle.

Although the battles often result in these Imperial Champions dying in the end while fulfilling their mission, the vast majority of the Black Templar Imperial Champions have completed their mission.

Unlike the champions of other chapters who are simply good at fighting, the Imperial Champion of the Black Templar truly receives revelation and a power boost. The Imperial Champion wielding the Black Sword can even briefly fight Abaddon.

Among the expeditionary force that came to provide support was a black sword and a matching set of black armor. Although no warriors have yet received the revelation, everyone knows that in the most critical moment, the chapter could produce a powerful warrior capable of turning the tide of battle.

This also made the Black Sanctuary Expeditionary Force the most strategically valuable ace force in Chen Xi's hands.

As for how to command this special force, Chen Xi made a decision almost without hesitation—to hand it over to Sigismund for personal command.

This is not only because he is very familiar with the Black Templar's fighting style, but also because this chapter is essentially the same force he personally led back then.

In Chen Xi's view, no one knew better than Sigismund how to unleash the full potential of these fanatic warriors.

If the reinforcements sent by the Earth Fist were otherwise alright, aside from being a bit stubborn, the two battlebands of the Holy Blood Angels were somewhat... well, they had that serious problem.

Because the two warbands that came were called the Flesh Rippers and the Blood Knights.

(The Flesh Tearer)
(Blood Knight)

Among the Blood Angels' offspring, the two chapters most obsessed with Blackfury and Bloodthirst are...

The Flesh Rippers were already deeply troubled by Black Fury long before the Second Reorganization. Their first Chapter Leader, Nasir Amit the Flesh Ripper, was not only the origin of the Chapter's name but also a direct reflection of the Chapter's combat style.

As early as the Great Crusade, Nasir Amit was known for his bloody and brutal warfare. He and his company committed numerous cruel killings and atrocities during the Great Crusade, but the Terra Highlords at the time only reviewed Nasir's company's combat records and then deemed the casualties to be within acceptable limits.

After Robert Guilliman split the chapter, Nasir and his chapter made a dead world called Coretasia their home and identified a primitive tribe on the planet as pure and qualified recruits.

This exacerbated the dire situation faced by the Flesh-Tearers to the point that they became increasingly afflicted by the influence of Black Fury.

Space Marines in the chapter rarely live past two hundred years old; most eventually succumb to Black Fury and cannot escape it, resulting in a far smaller number of Space Marines in the Flesh Ripper Chapter compared to other chapters.

During the M41 era, the Flesh Ripper Chapter had only four companies of Space Marines available for combat, relying heavily on new recruits to maintain the Chapter's survival.

Even so, most of the Space Marines in the Flesh Ripper Chapter were on the verge of Black Fury, and the entire chapter was highly self-destructive. They also deduced that if the Black Fury problem could not be solved, the chapter would soon perish.

This has made the Flesh-Tearers increasingly inclined to self-destruction, as they yearn to die in a glorious war to defend the empire.

This has made them increasingly disgusted with the chapter's once infamous reputation, and they are trying to defend the Empire with sacrifices in order to wash away the chapter's past reputation and allow the Flesh Ripper Chapter to leave behind some glorious and illustrious legacy.

According to the original storyline, the Flesh Rippers would have made huge sacrifices in the Battle of Baal in order to gain the glory they craved.

But this time, thanks to the sudden appearance of the Blessed Wine, the fate of this chapter was rewritten, and they found a way to free the chapter from Blackfury.

Even though the problem of gene seed degeneration in the Warband still exists, and even though the warriors of the Warband are still engulfed in Black Fury, at least the Warband can be passed down and will not be wiped out because of the Black Fury problem.

(End of this chapter)