Setting off again in the early morning.
Following the direction where the starship parts were scattered, Feiyi no longer needed to frequently correct the course, and her speed increased significantly. Feiyi, the skilled veteran driver, maneuvered the motorcycle flexibly to avoid obstacles on the ground, appearing completely at ease.
The gale whipped across Fu Qinghai's face, making his face covering flap loudly. He held tightly onto Feiyi's waist, using the time on the road to contemplate the situations he might face next—
The Space Marines on the starship.
When the Space Marine Legions were first established, there were 20 Legions. Records for two of them were completely erased by the Imperium, and their whereabouts are unknown. Of the remaining 18 Legions, half, as far as Fu Qinghai knew, participated in the Rebellion.
Fu Qinghai did not know which Legion's Space Marines he would face. Since he had time now, he might as well let his thoughts wander and consider them.
Fu Qinghai ranked all the Space Marine Legions, considering the best-case and worst-case scenarios.
The best-case tier: the XIII Legion Ultramarines, and the XVIII Legion Salamanders.
Both of these Legions were known for their friendly attitude towards Mortals. Due to the genetic traits of their Primarch, the XVIII Legion Salamanders had dark skin and were jokingly called "Black Uncles" by Warhammer 40,000 enthusiasts. The Salamanders' Space Marines were compassionate and were very concerned about the casualties among the Mortal civilians during combat.
The XIII Legion Ultramarines were also Fu Qinghai's favorite Legion. They were renowned for their skill in governing and managing the planets under their control. Unlike other Legions, after conquering and reclaiming a former Human colony, the Ultramarines would quickly establish a strict and efficient administrative management system locally to restore production and life as soon as possible after the war. Benefiting from the vast manpower provided by the meticulous governance of the worlds controlled by the Ultramarines, they had the largest number of warriors among all Legions.
After learning the Ultramarines' operational methods, was the rest just F2 and then it’s over?
It wasn't that simple. The Ultramarines' combat style emphasized operational planning and tactical coordination, as well as information gathering before and during combat, which perfectly matched Fu Qinghai's definition of a modern army. This also made the Ultramarines one of the two Legions with the highest conquest efficiency during the Great Crusade.
Recalling Lazlo's last words, he mentioned white demons... Unfortunately, the armor color schemes of the two Legions above were not white; the Ultramarines had gold trim on their blue Battle Armor, and the Salamanders had Ink Green Battle Armor.
The next best, second tier: the I Legion Dark Angels, the Vth Legion White Scars, the 6th Legion Space Wolves, the VIIth Legion Imperial Fists, the IX Legion Blood Angels, the X Legion Iron Hands, and the XIX Legion Raven Guard.
The attitude of these Space Marine Legions towards Mortals was neither warm nor cold. After all, considering themselves as transhuman beings superior to ordinary Humans, the disdainful and scornful thoughts towards Mortals appeared in many Legion warriors. Fortunately, all these Legions were Loyalists during the Horus Heresy, belonging to the same Faction as the one randomly assigned to Fu Qinghai by the Reincarnation World.
If the surviving Space Marines on the starship belonged to the Loyalist Faction, then Fu Qinghai would temporarily not need to devise any tricky plans to feign loyalty while infiltrating the Traitors, increasing his chances of obtaining Reincarnation Points by one point.
Among them, the IX Legion Blood Angels were actually a Legion that was relatively friendly to Mortals. However, as far as Fu Qinghai knew, the Gene-seed of this Legion's Space Marines had defects; their genes were mutated by the radiation from their homeworld, and there was a certain chance they would suffer from a disease called "Black Rage." Blood Angels afflicted by this disease would be filled with bloodthirsty and murderous Berserker desires, even attacking friend and foe alike. During a sensitive period like the Horus Heresy, it was best not to encounter them, so the IX Legion was placed by Fu Qinghai in the second tier.
The less favorable third tier: the III Legion Emperor's Children, the IV Legion Iron Warriors, the XIV Legion Death Guard, the XV Legion Thousand Sons, the XVII Legion Word Bearers, the XX Legion Alpha, and the XVI Legion—the famous Lunar Wolves, renamed Sons of Horus late in the Great Crusade, the direct Legion of Warmaster Horus, the most famous Space Marine Legion of the Imperium of Man, also numerous, with conquest efficiency slightly surpassing the Ultramarines during the Great Crusade.
The Legions in the third tier were all those that chose the Warmaster's Faction and rebelled during the Horus Heresy. If the survivors were from these Legions, it would be very disadvantageous for Fu Qinghai. But at least in the early stages of the Rebellion, the Space Marines of these Legions were still normal people; the Warmaster, Primarch, or Chaos Powers they supported were the justice in their minds. Although called Traitors, they also believed they were fighting for the truth.
In the mid to late stages of the Horus Heresy, the Space Marines completely corrupted by Chaos Power would transform into Enchanted Warriors with horns sprouting from their heads, extra limbs from their armpits, and minds filled only with the desire for torture and slaughter.
However, there was the worst, fourth tier: the VIII Legion Night Lords and the XII Legion World Eaters.
If the Traitor Legions in the third tier still offered Fu Qinghai the possibility of Negotiation, compromise, and reluctantly blending in, the two Legions in the fourth tier were entities he would turn tail and run from upon sight. These were two Legions notorious for madness even during the Great Crusade.
The Night Lords Legion was famous for spreading Dread, torture, Assassination, and high-pressure rule.
As for the World Eaters, this Legion, whose warriors were afflicted with the Butcher's Nails, from the Primarch down to the ordinary Space Marine, were a bunch of homicidal, paranoid maniacs who frequently committed needless planetary massacres and extinctions during the Great Crusade.
Fu Qinghai did not have the courage to become a Turncoat in either of these two Legions.
Among so many Legions listed above, quite a few wore Battle Armor schemes similar to white, so Fu Qinghai couldn't judge for the moment.
"Tsk..." Fu Qinghai narrowed his eyes. Although he had thought of many things, he still had to assess the situation when the moment arrived.
Fu Qinghai just took a gulp of clean water from his canteen.
"Screee—" Grinding against the Gravel, Feiyi brought the motorcycle to a stop with a drift and a tail-slide.
Feiyi pointed towards a small black hill in the distance, "Alo, look!"
Fu Qinghai wiped away the splashed water and looked into the distance. The wreckage of the starship, resembling a small hill, stood silently in the distance. Although he couldn't see clearly due to the great distance, its straight and rigid lines indicated that it was definitely an artificial structure and not a naturally formed hill.
Fu Qinghai picked up his binoculars and looked closely. A massive starship lay horizontally in the middle of the plain. The dark, thick Cannon barrels on its Broadside showed that this was definitely a Warship, or at least an armed merchant vessel. A huge crack split the hull in the middle, and debris scattered from the crack formed a slope of Ruins.
The Bridge had tilted to one side, and the massive Sublight Engine Nozzles at the stern of the ship were scattered here and there on the ground.
Fu Qinghai estimated the Warship to be about two kilometers long. According to the organization of the Imperium Expeditionary Fleet, this should be a medium-sized Frigate.
Model unknown.
With the Warship disintegrated to this extent, it was hard to tell if it was a forced landing or a crash.
"The motorcycle engine is too loud; let's walk over." Fu Qinghai and the girl parked the vehicle behind a waist-high Rock and stealthily crept towards the Ship Wreckage.
As they got closer to the Warship, the intense battle sounds they expected did not materialize. The Warship and the surrounding scattered wreckage were completely silent. Apart from the whooshing sound of the wind blowing across the steel structure, there was no other sound.
The two reached the bottom of the slope of Ruins. With other hatches either suspended in mid-air or buried underground, this huge crack seemed to be the only way to enter the Warship.
Given the previous lesson of Cedric's small group being completely wiped out, the two cautiously moved to the side of the slope of Ruins, leaning against the tall steel hull.
Feiyi whispered close to Fu Qinghai's ear, "Still no people in sight. What should we do, Alo? Should we go in?"
Fu Qinghai glanced at the dark, gaping crack. Broken Cable lines and twisted steel beams were everywhere, resembling a gaping mouth ready to devour people.
"No, Feiyi, wait for me outside. I'll go in," Fu Qinghai whispered softly.
"I don't want to..." Before she could finish speaking, Fu Qinghai covered her mouth.
He looked at the girl with determination, "Listen to me."
The girl softened under his gaze. She nodded and released the hand that was clutching Fu Qinghai's clothes.
Fu Qinghai untied his obstructive veil and headscarf, and slowly began to climb the slope of Ruins using his hands and feet.
Under the girl's concerned gaze, Fu Qinghai moved carefully, trying not to make any noise. His palm gripped a protrusion, and the tip of his foot rested on a finely carved piece of marble debris.
"Crash!" The loosened marble slid down along with a piece of wreckage.
This... Fu Qinghai froze, remaining still and not daring to move.
The Warship remained quiet, showing no reaction.
Fu Qinghai took a breath and continued climbing upwards.
Soon, Fu Qinghai climbed into the crack. After his eyes adjusted to the dim environment, he began to observe the surroundings.
The high dome of the Warship appeared very empty. Thick Cable lines were severed, steel Skybridges had collapsed, and electrical sparks occasionally sputtered from the corners, illuminating the dim environment along with the light shining in from outside.
There were large patches of dried blood on the floor, scorched bullet marks on the walls—signs of battle were everywhere.
Then, Fu Qinghai saw a Corpse.
A Corpse missing its lower half. Its face was twisted in the final moments of Pain, its body facing out of the crack, its hands pressed against the ground as if trying to crawl out. Its lower body dragged behind it shriveled Organs and intestines, leaving a trail of thick, semi-coagulated blood.
Fu Qinghai recognized this Corpse.
Peppo, a member of Cedric's small gang of thugs, and one of those most enthusiastic about bullying Locke.
Seeing his wide-open eyes and the frozen expression of Dread on his face, Fu Qinghai didn't know whether to feel happy or terrified.
The stench in the air was pervasive. Fu Qinghai carefully stepped over Peppo's Corpse, trying not to step on the sticky blood on the ground.
Regardless, Fu Qinghai certainly would not explore in the direction Peppo had crawled from; he decided to change direction and move towards another area.
Just as Fu Qinghai held his breath and tiptoed towards the back of a half-open hatch.
A cold voice suddenly echoed in the empty interior of the Warship:
"I see you, kid."
In an instant, Fu Qinghai's hair stood on end.
He stood frozen on the spot, his neck stiffly turning inch by inch to the right.
Among a pile of shattered glass fragments in the corner of the floor, Fu Qinghai saw an eye, staring coldly at him.
…………
PS: There are so many Astartes Legions; if everyone can't remember them, you can simply memorize them based on their visual style: Space Romans: Ultramarines; Space Egyptians: Thousand Sons; Space Vikings: Space Wolves; Space Mongols: White Scars; Space Gays （ not really.