Chapter 3: This Is the Starrealm Army!

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“We are currently aboard a Deathwatch strike cruiser. The hull looks like this because the Deathwatch was ambushed by Chaos Space Marines while pursuing Dark Eldar pirates at Mandeville Point, and then collided with a freshly jumped-in Ork scrapheap.”
“As for the crew inside, they were killed by Chaos cultists who took over the ship. They activated the navigator and started the warp drive, conducting a cult ritual right inside. This particular Chaos cult is indiscriminate in its allegiance, which is why the ship is all kinds of twisted colors now, and it also stirred up some lurking scavengers.”
Standing calmly before a sealed iron door, Romulus succinctly outlined the ship’s current state.
Arthur shrugged as if he had anticipated this, though inside he felt as miserable as if he had swallowed something foul.
The situation was perfectly chaotic, a veritable gathering of all the heroes and villains.
“What’s our next move?”
Not bothering to wait for any possible viral response from the contemplator, Arthur swung his sword and cut through the iron door blocking their way.
“First, we head to the central elevator to rendezvous with the Cadian 43rd Regiment. Together, we’ll make our way to the Geller Field generator. Chaos Space Marines have invaded there; we need to assist the Deathwatch squad stationed to purge the invaders. Then we’ll check the navigator’s sanctuary to see if we can jump out of the warp.”
Romulus tossed a thermite charge behind him, the molten plastic steel sealing the path and trapping the cultists along with the frenzied Orks.
“There’s a Cadian Blitz Regiment, the 43rd, and some Battle Sisters aboard. The combat situation is still manageable. Oh, and spend some points to record High and Low Gothic from me so we don’t have communication issues later.”
“How do I exchange for that?”
Arthur looked utterly confused.
“You have hacks and don’t even explore them? All those years of web novels wasted on you,” Romulus paused his actions and couldn’t help but jab at him again.
Then he shook his head and explained.
“As long as you’re willing to spend points to acquire these two languages, the exchange system allows you to edit it yourself—though strictly speaking, it’s not really a system, more like an adaptive mode that fits our acceptance. But there’s not much time for you to study it now.”
“Oh, oh, oh.”
Following his comrade’s guidance, Arthur immediately summoned a panel from his consciousness and started inputting the languages.
There were many things he’d seen and many he hadn’t; to use them efficiently, he’d need to spend time studying.
Arthur scrutinized the tangled data and the items sorted according to his subjective thoughts, hesitating briefly before abandoning the idea of exchanging the language.
“By the way, who else came with us?”
Moving cautiously down the corridor, Arthur kept an eye out for any lurking enemies.
The enemy presence here was much lighter, with many corpses bearing signs of explosive impacts—precise shots to vital points, definitely the work of Space Marines.
“Two more,” Romulus recalled a headache-inducing comrade.
“Let me guess.”
Arthur pulled out a flame pistol from his back and, while roasting a large Ork, tested, “Garner and Ramesses?”
The four of them were old Moon veterans; their names were all legendary heroes from history, and they usually gamed together. Since Romulus had come, the other two were easy to guess.
“Yeah.”
Romulus didn’t deny it.

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“BYD conscription even drags comrades down with you?”
Arthur looked annoyed, but honestly, his mood was much better than when he first crossed over.
Though they’d stepped in it, having three good friends was far better than struggling alone.
“Maybe our IDs seem more human. It’d be better to just go with whatever Emperor’s nickname you give me—I’d never dare use ‘Emperor’ myself.”
Romulus sighed again but harbored little negativity—after all, it was better to have three unlucky souls with him than to be alone.
Eating shit alone is misery, but sharing it with a group you know makes it psychologically bearable.
“Where are the others?”
Arthur asked with curiosity.
“One’s holding position at the navigator’s sanctuary, the other…”
Romulus glanced at the time.
“Should be fighting his way here any moment now.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a horde of green-skinned Orks surged ahead. Just as Arthur was about to charge in with unmatched skill, Romulus grabbed him.
Romulus watched the time and muttered:
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
“Horus!”
A crimson silhouette flashed by so fast Arthur barely caught it; only the furious roar echoed down the corridor.
Ssshh!!!
The scarlet warrior touched down, his power spear radiating a dazzling blue disintegration field. Propelled by the jump pack’s mighty thrust, he carved a bloody swath across the battlefield.
Whoosh!!!
Relentless slashes swept back and forth until everything before them was pulverized into shards. Below, a Blood Angel glanced up at the two, then toward the allied Space Marines providing covering fire from above, and let out a roar. The jump pack ignited again, and he charged, crashing through the ship’s bulkhead.
Only that terrifying roar lingered in the ears of the two, long and unyielding.
“Horus!”
“…You’re actually a bit better than him.”
“…Indeed.”
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With the aid of a Blood Angel who only shouted ‘Horus’ and then bit the heads off cultists, Arthur’s group quickly reached the Geller Field generator.
As Space Marines—superhumans with two hearts and three lungs—though exchanging much information on the way, to the mortal heretics, they appeared as just two blurry figures in black and blue flashing down corridors, and then their heads would fly off.
It was hard to imagine such enormous, heavy beings could move so swiftly.

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Clang!
Arthur didn’t wait for the door to slide open; he sliced through the panel and, before the enemies could react, blasted their faces with his flame pistol. Within moments, having killed those he couldn’t handle in melee, he raised his shield to block the swing of a chainsaw axe.
“Waaagh!”
Before Arthur could counterattack, a hail of gunfire from behind the Ork instantly converged on him.
Blazing laser beams pierced his tough skin, tearing at the alien body. To Arthur’s astonishment, after passing through flesh, they skillfully avoided him as he wrestled with the alien.
He had just raised his arm to strike the alien’s head when he lowered his longsword in disbelief and glanced at the soldiers clad in red carapace armor and dark camo combat suits opening fire on other aliens.
At the front line, the fewer but heavily armored shield bearers guarded key choke points with sturdy tower shields. The corpses of traitors and aliens were torn apart by myriad unknown attacks, blood and debris mixing into a sticky carpet beneath the shield bearers’ feet.
In the center, fire teams precisely suppressed the corridors. Gene-stealers that had just breached the ceiling were incinerated mid-emerge by successive laser blasts.
At the flanks, heavy explosive machine guns fired in short bursts, with comrades dragging off half-destroyed bodies to replace gunners, maintaining the reassuring dull roar of battle.
At the rear, transport squads carried box after box of ammunition and power cells through firing points, ensuring an unbroken stream of firepower.
Everyone had their role. Countless flesh-and-blood soldiers, relying on their formidable skills, forged this defensive line into an impregnable fortress against hordes of demons, cultists, and scavengers.
“This is the Cadian Blitz Regiment.”
Romulus seemed well acquainted with the fighting prowess of these stellar warriors, sweeping away enemies without surprise as he led the way into the position.
Indeed, though in many Warhammer tales the stellar warriors are trampled by countless monsters and serve as mere footnotes, in the real universe they are elite soldiers selected from the best of a planet’s population.
Moreover, these warriors in bright crimson uniforms hail from Cadia, a world where children as young as six can accurately wield laser rifles. Even among the stellar warriors, they are elite. Such performance was no surprise.
Compared to the Space Marines, who after the implementation of the Astartes Codex gradually shifted toward special operations due to scale limitations, these vast numbers of mortal soldiers are the Empire’s main force against heretics and xenos today.
Arthur silently surveyed the surroundings, recording all information and listening intently to the soldiers’ exchanges before following Romulus.
This was the warship’s transport elevator guarded by the Cadian 43rd. As they entered the position, barely thirty seconds of quiet passed before another wave of Orks charged in.
Yet beneath this elite unit’s fire network, these Orks, filtered through demons, cultists, and scavengers, had little strength left and faced only death under such precise, dense fire.
The stellar warriors formed a tight line here. Aside from those still handling aliens on the front line, some even had the energy to salute the Empire’s angels.
Amidst the renewed clamor of exploding guns, lasers, grenades, and flamethrowers, Arthur gave a slight nod in response.
“For the Emperor!”
Low Gothic, a blend of various symbolic languages, bore many similarities to languages Arthur knew. Coupled with his post-transcendence superhuman intellect, he quickly grasped many terms.
Perhaps due to his superhuman body, when Arthur focused on something, his learning speed became extraordinary—just like when he had cut down those monsters before.
“For the Emperor, sir!”
The stellar warriors, honored, shouted their slogans and resumed guarding their line.
Visibly, the exhausted soldiers were much more spirited.