131: Are they fighting out of hatred, or for honor?

(Two-in-One)

...Soon, Xi Hai arrived on the captured alien flagship aboard a Shuttle—for the mission concerning the “Time-Space Walker.”

The modified Shuttle docked directly with the hull, cut through the Bridge armor, and subsequently formed a simple boarding passage.

Even Xi Hai had to admit that the group of Mechanics under Gunnar were truly capable.

Although the concept was rough and simple, and the principle wasn't complicated, it was extremely effective.

Stepping onto the Bridge, the first thing he saw was two red refrigerators (dreadnoughts) stuffing a mushy lump of alien into a medical bay.

He then looked at the other Marines.

Most of the red and blue Boarding Shields were impaled with half-dead aliens—he even saw two refrigerator mechas hanging alien corpses with wriggling intestines.

Instantly, the anticipation he had felt upon arrival regarding the boxes and proxima centauri coin was greatly diminished—

How did his warriors become like followers of Khorne after just one battle?

He didn't care about the aliens, but the mental state of these Marines—

Xi Hai felt they were developing in the wrong direction,

becoming like the aliens, taking pride in their own violence and bloodshed.

This was not good.

“What... what are you doing?”

Xi Hai slowly walked into the middle of the crowd and stopped, looking at Gunnar.

The look in his eyes was not anger, nor shock, but disappointment—deep disappointment.

Looking into Xi Hai's eyes, Gunnar's body trembled. He didn't know why the usually approachable Commander was looking at him like this.

He quickly pulled back the Boarding Shield he was holding, which was still draped with alien remains, and explained:

“Well... when we boarded, we saw these aliens torturing our comrades using incredibly cruel methods,”

“Everyone was furious, so we returned their methods... back onto them.”

Xi Hai slowly nodded. He looked around, gazing at every blood-stained warrior.

“Is that so, everyone?”

Hesitant “Yes” sounds echoed intermittently throughout the area.

“I see...”

Xi Hai slowly continued forward. His figure, dressed in a black military uniform, appeared very small among the crowd of powered armor.

Yet, every warrior he passed instinctively stepped back a few paces, clearing a path for him.

He stopped when he reached a red refrigerator mecha, the only one on the field that could still be called “clean.”

Xi Hai stopped in front of it, and it did not flinch. The pilot inside looked back at him silently through the observation port—

“I ask you, loyal pilot, did you participate?”

“No.”—A cold mechanical voice replied.

“Then, may I ask, are you willing to lift me up?”

“Gladly.”

Subsequently, the mecha extended its red right arm, holding it out in front.

Xi Hai nodded, stepped onto the mechanical arm, and then climbed to the very top.

Then—he turned to face the people assembled.

The atmosphere in the area was terrifyingly low.

The blue Marines recognized Xi Hai, while the red ones recognized the uniform representing the Supreme Director he wore.

No one dared to speak easily.

“Warriors—my brothers,”

Standing atop the mecha, he looked down at the Marines of various appearances and broke the silence.

“Just now, we conducted a successful raid,”

“We rescued our captured comrades, we apprehended the shameless traitors, and we purged the aliens that have ravaged this place for three whole years!”

“We achieved a great victory!”

Suddenly, his voice paused, and his previously rising tone abruptly dropped—

“But...”

“As I stand here, looking at you—on one side, the bravest and most loyal warriors under my command, and on the other, the successors of the heroic Legion that has watched over Tianjin Seat V89 for over seven hundred years!”

“I feel not a single shred of victorious joy. In my heart, there is only cold, heavy disappointment.”

“Firstly, disappointment in myself.”

“Yes, it is me.”

“Ultramarines, it was I who brought you to this hellish starscape; it was I who placed you on the front lines against these cruel aliens without providing any mental conditioning;”

“Guardian Angels, it was I who failed to appear when you needed it most; it was I who failed to strike promptly after discovering these aliens, which allowed you—our comrades...”

“To suffer such inhuman torment.”

As he spoke, his voice became slightly choked, but he suppressed his surging emotions and continued—

“When I saw the reports you submitted, I could understand,”

“I understand why the roar of destruction boiled up in your chests! I understand your desire to return everything back onto these filthy, disgusting, damned aliens!”

“If I had personally seen my brothers treated this way, the beast in my heart called Hatred would grow just as wildly!”

As he spoke, he clenched his right hand into a fist and fiercely pounded his chest, making a “bang, bang, bang” sound.

His tone also softened slightly, becoming mournful.

“Therefore,”

“When I saw you deal with those aliens using the same, or even worse, methods, I was not angry.”

“I was just sad.”

Suddenly, Xi Hai paused, and his right hand abruptly pointed at an alien corpse on the ground.

“Perhaps some of you might be thinking,”

“‘Didn't I just kill a few aliens? Why make such a big fuss?’”

Immediately, he drew both hands back, his right hand forming a finger-sword pointing upward. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his voice suddenly grew louder,

”But!“

“Do you realize!”

“Children! I don't care about those filthy aliens! Never!”

“I don't care about their culture, I don't care if they live or die, I don't care if they suffer!”

“In my eyes, they are merely targets that need to be purged!”

Speaking, he looked back at the crowd, at Gunnar, at the Guardian Angels Squad Leader, and at the thousands of silent warriors.

He slowly opened his arms, and his deafening voice rang out—

“But you! You are the most important in my eyes!”

“Whether you are the Ultramarines who first followed me, or the Guardian Angels who joined later,”

“You are all warriors under my command! To me, you are like my own children!”

“My duty! Is to guide you through confusion, to point you toward your goals! It is to lead you to purge all aliens, exterminate all heretics, and together create an era of prosperity belonging only to humanity!”

“All my care, all my emotions, are poured into you!”

“You are the meaning of my fight!”

“But!”

Below, some people had already silently dropped the Boarding Shields still impaled with aliens, and started wiping away the meaningless blood-painted symbols they had drawn on themselves to intimidate the enemy.

More people removed their helmets, staring guiltily at the floor, looking at their “masterpieces.”

Seeing the reaction below, Xi Hai felt a slight sense of satisfaction.

He continued—

“Precisely because of this, precisely because you are so important to me,”

“When I see you finding pleasure and pride in acts of cruelty,”

“How heartbreakingly agonizing my disappointment is!”

He bent slightly, waving both hands in front of his chest, making a tearing gesture.

“Have you ever considered, what exactly are we fighting for?”

“Are we fighting merely to see who is crueler, who can inflict more fear and pain upon their opponent?”

“If the answer is yes—”

He took a deep breath and roared loudly—

“Then what difference is there between everything we did today and the appalling alien atrocities we witnessed in those ship compartments!”

The people below paused sharply upon hearing this, but Xi Hai did not stop.

“The aliens tortured our comrades to destroy their iron will, to satisfy their savage bestiality, or because of some evil logic we cannot comprehend!”

“But you, my warriors, what was the purpose of your actions today?”

“For justice? Or for revenge? Or, like the aliens, to intimidate the enemy through your own bloodshed?”

“No matter the reason,”

“When you chose to gain pleasure through bloody torment and violent slaughter, just like those damned aliens,”

“No matter how evil those aliens are, you were essentially aligning yourselves with them—being assimilated by them!”

“In that moment, you let anger consume reason! You let desire defile honor!”

“In that moment, you chose to use the same language as your most despised enemy—the aliens—the language of tyranny and cruelty!”

“This is what pains me!”

“Alien Warships can be destroyed, alien armies can be annihilated, alien existence can be exterminated,”

“But—the alien spirit is constantly attacking us!"

"If our fortress is breached from within, if we become the very monsters we seek to destroy,”

“Then, even if we win this war, it will be no different from losing!”

As he spoke, Xi Hai's tone lowered again, becoming heavy and firm.

“I see the scars on your souls, which are harder to heal than any physical wound.”

“It is my fault for not only exposing your bodies to danger but also subjecting your souls to direct impact—I failed to establish strong enough spiritual guidance for you, failed to make your hearts strong enough to resist the desire to rationalize your own bestiality.”

Suddenly, Gunnar's deep voice rang out,

“No—Commander! It's not you! It's us!!”

“It was me—!”

“It was I, Gunnar, who incited everyone, telling them to unleash their bestiality and let loose completely!”

“It is... my fault.”

At the same time, a chorus of self-reproachful voices rose from below.

Xi Hai breathed a sigh of relief—

If his subordinates had turned into monsters just by fighting them, he would truly have to start over.

But he continued,

“No, do not blame yourselves. Look at me, brothers,”

“The responsibility for today lies with me—listen carefully, the fault is all mine!”

“No one will pursue your actions, nor will anyone question your choices!”

“I just want you to remember next time! I want each of you to ask yourselves honestly!”

“When the next battle comes, when rage tries to consume you again, what kind of existence will you choose to be?”

“A monster twisted by hatred, indistinguishable from the aliens, or a Human warrior who adheres to their original heart?”

“Answer me!”

“Warrior...”

Xi Hai leaned forward slightly again.

After a brief pause, everyone shouted again—

“Warrior!”

“Good!”

“Then—remember!”

“Do not pay heed to those damned aliens!”

“They are never creatures you need to treat as equal enemies! They are merely numbers that need to be justly purged!”

“Do not lose your dignity and honor as humans because of what they do!”

“Reclaim your will!”

“The aliens will receive the punishment they deserve! But not at the cost of scarring and twisting you!”

“Remember! Exterminate the aliens, in my name! All the shamelessness, all the ruthlessness—these are my orders!”

“We are locked in a death feud with the aliens! But that distortion, that infamy, belongs to me! To your leader! Not to you!”

“What we seek is to eliminate all threats to the survival and prosperity of future generations, not to vent our anger through bloodshed and violence!”

“Remember!”

“Extermination is my command, and you are merely the followers!”

“I! Am the butcher of life whose hands are stained with alien blood!”

“And you—will forever be great champions for humanity!”

“The reason we are different from the aliens is precisely because we have our own faith, our own honor!”

“We are a civilization!”

“If anyone henceforth still chooses to abandon the nobility in their hearts for twisted pleasure, choosing to submit to desire and willingly degenerate,”

“Then—”

“I will give you the punishment you deserve!!!”

The people below shouted in unison—

“Yes!!!!”

Watching the mobilized crowd below, Xi Hai sighed in relief—

Thankfully, this was only the first time.

(To protect the book, I won't write anything too dark, cruel, or profound, sorry.)

He still preferred his subordinates to be warriors fighting for humanity and honor, rather than beasts jumping into the mud to compete in ruthlessness with crocodiles.

He looked at Gunnar—

“Gunnar, since it was your order, you will be noted for one demerit this time, and your military rank will be temporarily reduced by half a level.”

“You are forbidden from participating in the next Boarding Action—just once, of course.”

Seeing the Commander call his name, Gunnar looked up and immediately heard his “punishment.”

Thankfully, it wasn't severe.

He replied: “Yes!”

Xi Hai nodded and continued:

“All Ultramarines begin sweeping the battlefield—Gunnar, lead a team to search for anything here resembling ancient human artifacts.”

“The people of the 9-89th Legion stay behind,”

“I have something I want to discuss with you alone.”

...In Xi Hai's eyes, although the 9-89th Legion were undoubtedly heroes,

their disobedience, impatience, and habit of stealing equipment from friendly forces,

were also very serious problems.

This could not become standard practice.

They were a powerful army, one that had forged its own military soul, but this did not mean they could be allowed to grow wild.

A powerful army that disobeys orders is worse than obedient cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Piloting a Landing Craft stolen from friendly forces and arbitrarily charging toward the alien fleet—this spoke volumes.

Thus, Xi Hai looked at the group of warriors clad in red armor, and he walked among them.

He talked with them, asked them questions, sought to understand their needs and difficulties, and soothed their emotions,

—especially the couple who were tortured, crippled, and then interred within a dreadnought—

The conversation lasted over ten hours.

(In the future, two of the three oldest Sacred Dreadnoughts of the Holy Multitude Stars Empire would be immensely grateful to their Emperor, who was then the Naval Chief Administrator.)

(They both believed that conversation not only dragged them out of endless hatred but also helped them rediscover their life's purpose.)

(It also saved the Guardian Angels, who were then only a Legion on the verge of losing control.)

(Meanwhile, Xi Hai, having experienced that day, also began to prioritize the mental health education of the soldiers.)

(He extracted a large amount of philosophy from his previous life's Stellar Era and compiled it into a Moral Education Textbook—the “struggle of humanity.”)

(That textbook later became required reading for every person in the forces gathered under Chusiro. Soldiers held it in one hand and a sword in the other, reclaiming the Holy Multitude Stars that belonged to humanity.)

(Of course, that is a story for another time.)