Erlwin emerged from the dueling pit with an expression that looked like he had lost a Battle Group brother, walking out step by step.
The power axe, a holy relic of their Battle Group, was taken by the Space Marine in the metallic blue power armor, and then vanished in the blink of an eye.
Dante raised an eyebrow slightly, a strange expression on his face.
Then he noticed that it wasn't just Erlwin; many battle brothers from different Battle Groups had similar expressions.
Hollow, desolate, wounded, and with a touch of apathetic sadness.
"My Codex Fist!!!!" Kang, the Chapter Master of the Crimson Blades, clutched his head and wailed from the side, "How can I face the Chapter Masters of generations past?!"
Dante noticed that the Battle Group's holy relic power fist, the "Codex Fist," was gone from his hand.
Including the mysteriously vanished "Blade of Haldros" earlier, Kang had now lost two Battle Group holy relics on Baal.
Dante's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Most Battle Group holy relics were not only powerful master-crafted weapons but also embodied the history of the Battle Group; each was a treasured item, used only by the most outstanding warriors. Examples include the Baal's Wrath used by Calian, First Captain of the Blood Angels, the Axe Mortalis in Dante's hand, and the soul-sword vita lars in Mephiston's hand.
Of course, the Spear of Accomplishment, once used by Sanguinius, was also a Blood Angels Battle Group holy relic, though its preciousness far surpassed that of conventional relics.
"Including Erlwin, this is the twelfth challenger. The Battle Group relics of eight or nine Battle Groups have been lost to that mysterious metallic Blue-Armored Warrior."
Just as Dante hadn't fully grasped the situation, Chief Blood Priest Corbulo walked up to Dante's side.
"Lost?" Dante was slightly taken aback. "Not stolen by a not-so-clean blue hand?"
Hearing Dante's words, Corbulo paused, seemingly not understanding what Dante was saying.
"No, although it's very upsetting, that Space Marine did indeed win over a dozen Battle Group holy relics through fair and just means."
Dante raised his eyebrows, signaling Corbulo to explain.
"This morning, Lord Mephiston brought this Space Marine. He claims to be from an Ultramarines Battle Group that prefers to remain anonymous."
At this point, Corbulo's mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly:
"He said he accidentally learned of the disaster facing Baal and came to support Baal in a personal capacity, and… and he brought a holy relic, a relic related to Sanguinius."
"The moment that holy relic was brought out, almost all the warriors with Sanguinius' blood resonated with it; it was a resonance from the depths of their souls."
"This Blue-Armored Warrior announced: he is willing to give this holy relic to the Sons of Sanguinius, but with so many Battle Groups present, he truly doesn't know who to give it to."
"He believes that only the most outstanding Sons of Sanguinius are worthy of receiving this holy relic."
"So, perhaps the disagreement should be resolved through combat. Whichever Battle Group can defeat him first, this holy relic will belong to them. Of course, if they lose, in return, the challenger must also present the Blue-Armored Warrior with a holy relic from their own Battle Group."
".." Dante looked at the Blue-Armored Warrior below the stands, then at the dejected warriors of various Battle Groups around him, and couldn't help but twitch his mouth: "So there have been no successful challengers yet, right?"
Corbulo nodded dejectedly: "All defeated."
"It started with Lord Kang of the Crimson Blades. They previously mistakenly believed Guilliman was their gene-father, and there were almost no Archangel-related holy relics in their Battle Group. The 'Codex Fist' is not a holy relic a Blood Angels successor chapter would possess, so Lord Kang wanted to win the holy relic in the Blue-Armored Warrior's hand for his Battle Group."
"And the battle?" Dante asked, his facial muscles twitching slightly.
"..To be honest, Lord Kang's strength is good, and his combat experience is clearly richer, but that Blue-Armored Warrior was faster, stronger, and reacted quicker than Lord Kang. Plus, he constantly used verbal taunts to lure Lord Kang into making mistakes. After a few exchanges, Lord Kang was defeated, and the Blue-Armored Warrior claimed the first blood."
Dante nodded slightly at this; Kang's defeat did not surprise him.
What truly made Dante curious was whether Kang's richer combat experience compared to the Blue-Armored Warrior was because the Blue-Armored Warrior had not yet fully adapted to his material universe body?
"After Lord Kang fell, that Blue-Armored Warrior said with a regretful expression that he thought the Sons of Sanguinius would be more outstanding."
As Corbulo spoke, his face also became somewhat grim; the sarcasm inherent in that statement was too strong.
Dante also understood that at this point, it was no longer just about the holy relics.
An Ultramarines Space Marine, carrying a holy relic related to Sanguinius, challenged over twenty Blood Angels successor chapters on Baal, and after defeating one Chapter Master, he still lamented that the Sons of Sanguinius were not outstanding enough.
Based on Dante's understanding of his blood brothers...
"Subsequently, Chapter Master Gorenn of the Sacred Angels became a bit anxious. He directly brought up the Crimson Blades' mistake in identifying their gene-father and explicitly declared that this was the reason for Kang's weakness..."
The more Corbulo spoke, the more exasperated his expression became:
"Then Chapter Master Gorenn lost a holy pistol, the 'Blood Hawk's Fire.'"
Dante glanced at Chapter Master Gorenn of the Sacred Angels, who sat beside Kang, looking bewildered.
Gorenn and Kang's relationship was not originally good because the Sacred Angels Battle Group, to which Gorenn belonged, believed that those who fell into the Black Rage were not worthy of sympathy, that they fell into it due to their own weakness.
And the Crimson Blades, where Kang belonged, had no prior experience in dealing with the Black Rage, which led to many within their Battle Group succumbing to it. Coupled with the undeniable fact that their Battle Group had mistakenly identified their father, the relationship between the two had always been somewhat strained.
"Honestly, I used to have prejudices against you," Gorenn said, his lips trembling slightly as he looked at the empty holster on his waist. "You actually fought quite well. Very experienced, very formidable."
"No, no, no, you fought very well too… What a pity, what a pity." Kang patted Gorenn's back, comforting him.
After truly facing that Blue-Armored Warrior, Gorenn seemed to understand that Kang's defeat was not due to his own lack of strength, but because the opponent's speed and strength were eerily powerful, and he would occasionally unleash strange attacks. Coupled with that maddening mouth, Gorenn's performance was actually not as good as Kang's.
Thus, Gorenn acknowledged the strength of the Crimson Blades, and Kang, with high emotional intelligence, comforted Gorenn. The relationship between the two instantly improved.
In fact, it wasn't just them; all the Blood Angels successor chapters in the Angel's Well began to unite against a common enemy.
They stared at the Blue-Armored Warrior with anger. All previous conflicts instantly gave way for the collective honor of Sanguinius, and their mutual resentments were transferred to the Ultramarines, who were far away.
"Although your Battle Group is obsessed with art, you're still better than the Ultramarines."
"Even if you despise mortals, you're still stronger than those pretentious guys from the Ultramarines, right?!"
"We are all blood brothers; let's put our differences aside for now. Protecting the honor of the Sons of Sanguinius is paramount. What do you say about letting the Librarians go up? Will psychic powers be effective?"
Dante looked at this scene, a little dumbfounded for a moment.
Warriors from various Battle Groups were gathered, exchanging tactics and discussing how to defeat the Blue-Armored Warrior below.
Then a Librarian from the Tomb Guard Battle Group stepped into the arena.
The first Chapter Master of the Tomb Guard was the famous Zephen, the Harbinger. This Son of Sanguinius from the Great Crusade era had his legs and arms severed by xenos and had to undergo extensive bionic implantation, but due to rejection reactions, he couldn't participate in combat. However, this warrior eventually overcame the rejection through some means and even participated in the Webway War.
However, the reason the Tomb Guard became the representative of various Battle Groups to test Librarian psychic tactics was not because of the legend of their first Chapter Master, but because...
The Tomb Guards possessed a large number of holy relics, many of which could be traced back to the Great Crusade era, making them among the wealthiest of the successor chapters.
In fact, according to Corbulo, this was already the Tomb Guard's third time in the arena.
That Librarian of the Tomb Guard raised his voice, attempting to suppress the Blue-Armored Warrior with psychic powers of the telepathic discipline, or at least create a momentary opportunity.
But the Blue-Armored Warrior seemed completely unaffected. His speed was incredibly fast, as if his power armor was fake, not made of ceramite, but molded from light clay.
The Blue-Armored Warrior arrived in front of the Librarian in the blink of an eye. The Librarian hurriedly put up a psychic shield to block him.
However, the Blue-Armored Warrior effortlessly shattered the Librarian's psychic shield with a light punch, his fist stopping right in front of the Librarian's face.
"You yield." The Blue-Armored Warrior said cheerfully, extending his hand to the Tomb Guard Librarian.
That Librarian sighed, took a small instrument from his waist, and handed it to the Blue-Armored Warrior.
"The Battle Group holy relic, 'Cage of the Harbinger,' which can release a Static Field about two meters in diameter."
With that, the Librarian nodded to the Blue-Armored Warrior. There was no sadness on the Librarian's face over the loss of the holy relic, only the regret of defeat.
Then this Librarian immediately joined the warriors' discussion, trying to find the Blue-Armored Warrior's weakness.
The Blue-Armored Warrior glanced around, his gaze lingering on Dante for a moment, then chuckled twice and said:
"I've long heard that the Sons of Sanguinius are excellent warriors, and this battle today certainly lives up to their reputation!"
"They're only a little bit worse than the Ultramarines… Hmm, just a little bit."
Instantly, the arena was filled with uproar, and the faces of the Sons of Sanguinius were filled with anger.
Dante sighed, not expecting the various successor chapters to unite so completely.
"Let me see that holy relic!!!" Before Dante could speak, he heard a roar full of bloodlust coming from the entrance not far away.
Yor, the helmeted Chapter Master of the Blood Cavaliers Battle Group, entered the Angel's Well, his body seething with bloodlust, seemingly filled with rage.
The Blue-Armored Warrior smiled lightly, and his finger moved...
Dante instantly felt his soul leaping; the item that appeared in the Blue-Armored Warrior's hand was filled with the sacred aura of Sanguinius.