Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 502 The Fearless Stone Coffin (Third Update)
Next to the operating room is the intensive care unit for critically ill patients.

When Hail was brought here, he caught a glimpse of several familiar figures.

Those were his brothers who charged towards Warboss with him, and the two warriors who were severely injured by Warboss's power claws.

They lay in separate life support pods, their bodies covered in tubes, immersed in a pale green nutrient solution.

The powerful physical regenerative abilities granted by Belisarius's furnace were still in effect; the wounds were visibly and slowly undulating and healing, but the process was clearly extremely painful.

Apart from the ticking of instruments, the only sounds in the air were the suppressed, heavy breathing of the injured, filtered through their breathing masks.

To allow Mikhail to rest and recover better, a medical servant injected him with a sleep-inducing agent.

Mikhail soon fell into a deep sleep.
-
When Mikhail regained consciousness from his drug-induced stupor, he was informed to participate in a ceremony.

His injuries have stabilized thanks to his superhuman healing abilities and the pharmacist's advanced skills. Although he still needs to recuperate, he is now able to move around.

Supported by a silent warband servant, he walked through the warship's cold and solemn corridors and arrived at the Sanctuary, located in the heart of the warship.

The atmosphere here is completely different from the tense and busy medical area.

Solemn and heavy, filled with the smells of oil, wax, incense, and refined gold coolant.

The light was dim, with only the ever-burning candles burning in front of the enormous imperial statue and around the central platform.

In the center of the sanctuary, a huge metal coffin, engraved with divine verses and the insignia of the chapter, stood silently; it was a pure black Redeemer's Dauntless.

The Dauntless's frontal armor was not yet fully closed, revealing a dazzling array of neural interfaces and life support tubing, as well as a massive recess for mounting a life-sustaining sarcophagus.

Around the Dreadnought, a Tech Priest, assisted by several Mechanicus acolytes clad in red robes and chanting binary hymns, was performing the final mechanical preparations and blessings.

A pharmacist focused on checking the life support interfaces and spraying holy oil and burning incense on the sarcophagus.

Placed next to the Dreadnought, on a mobile platform connected to complex life support equipment, was Mikhail's sergeant, Vasily.

Next to the mobile platform for life support equipment was an open sarcophagus for life support.

He was a far cry from the valiant figure Mikhail had last seen on the battlefield; his body had suffered a devastating blow.

Sergeant Vasily's lower body was almost completely destroyed, crushed by the Orc heavy armor leader's power weapon; the remaining upper body was also covered with terrible lacerations and burns, multiple bone fractures, and severe damage to internal organs.

Even with the vitality of the Astartes and the miracle of Belisarius's furnace, this injury far exceeded the limits of natural regeneration.

His remaining limbs were further cut to ensure they could be placed in the life-sustaining sarcophagus.

His face was hidden behind a breathing mask, but his eyes, which were once as sharp as a hawk's, were now exceptionally bright, burning with an indomitable will and a dedication to his imperial duties.

Battle Commander Shi Dong personally attended the event; his imposing figure appeared like a moving mountain in the candlelight.

Several company commanders and think tank members stood behind him, all of them silent.

The apothecary approached Vasily, bent down, and said in a deep, clear voice, "Sergeant Vasily, your body has served the Emperor to the utmost. But your will, your fury, your experience—the Chapter still needs to rely on you."

Would you be willing to continue fighting for the Emperor in another form? To become an eternal bastion of the Chapter within the sacred, fearless sarcophagus, a monument to which new blood looks up?

Vasily let out a faint hissing sound. He couldn't speak, but his gaze was fixed on the apothecary. Then, with great difficulty but with unwavering determination, he nodded.

The light in those eyes was a pure desire to continue fighting, a commitment to duty until death.

"In the name of the Emperor and Dorne, I carry out your will!" the apothecary proclaimed.

The binary hymns of the tech priests and acolytes grew even higher, like the whispers of mechanical souls.

Under the joint command of the apothecary and the technical priest, the chapter servants carefully disconnected Vasily from the mobile life support platform and slowly lifted his battered body, as if it were the most precious relic, and placed it inside the cold, flashing life support sarcophagus.

Countless fine neural probes and life-sustaining tubing extended automatically, as if they were alive, and under the precise operation of the pharmacist and the technical priest, they pierced the neural interfaces and major blood vessels left in Vasily's remains.

"Neural bundle connections are secure... vital signs are stable... secondary power core is starting preheating..." The technical priest's report was particularly clear in the hymn.

The life-sustaining sarcophagus began to close, and at the same time, two chapter servants lifted the sarcophagus and, under the guidance of the technical priest, placed it into the groove on the chest of the Dreadnought and connected it to the Dreadnought.

As the Dreadnought was activated, the previously open frontal armor began to close.

In the final moment before the armor was fully closed, Mikhail seemed to see the sergeant's burning eyes again through the gap.

Then, the heavy adamantite armor locked completely with a clang.

The entire sanctuary fell into absolute silence, broken only by the crackling of the burning candles and the low hum of the life support system.

A few seconds later, it was as if a sleeping ancient giant had awakened.

Om-!
A deep, resonant roar, with a metallic scraping texture, yet containing unparalleled power and fury, resounded from inside the stone coffin!

The indicator lights on the outside of the stone coffin instantly changed from a standby pale blue to a dazzling blood red, representing activation and combat status!
The Dreadnought's massive, cannon-like twin-arm weapon servo systems emitted a series of heart-pounding calibration hums, and its heavy metal feet also made slight adjustments to their posture.

"System fully activated! Neural links stable! Vital signs stable! Praise be to Omnisiah! Praise be to the Emperor!" The Tech Priest's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible excitement.

A voice, synthesized mechanically and amplified countless times, yet still unmistakably that of Sergeant Vasily—a voice filled with indomitable spirit and fighting will—reverberated like thunder throughout the sanctuary, shaking the souls of everyone present: "For the Emperor! To ashes!!"

This is no longer the voice of an ordinary being; it is a vow forged in steel and fury, the roar of an immortal warrior!
The newly born fearless mech, Vasily, has officially become a living relic of the Ash Knights, an eternal war machine.

Mikhail stood in the crowd, his heart surging with indescribable emotions.

There is a profound respect for Sergeant Vasily, a deep awe for death and transformation, and a heavy sense of mission.

He looked down at the black and white Maltese cross emblem on his chest, which had been cleaned and was now shining brightly again in the medical bay.

Warriors' lives are the Emperor's currency, but the Ash Knight's flame will never be extinguished, for the living and the fearless alike.

(End of this chapter)