Over a hundred Astartes warriors walked into the Angel's Well through the tunnel, their expressions weary, as if they had just come from battle.
A Captain, a Priest, and three Blood Priests led them.
The more than one hundred Astartes warriors formed a battle formation. Most of their Power Armor was damaged, and even the least damaged ones had large areas of their paint corroded away by acid, exposing the bare metal.
However, Alexander still recognized the paint on those Power Armor: dark red Power Armor, inlaid with the white skull Blood Angels symbol of the Crimson Angel Chapter, one of the Sons of Sanguinius.
Alexander's eyes narrowed slightly; things were getting interesting now.
The Captain leading the Crimson Angel Chapter slowly raised his hand as he approached Dante.
The warriors behind him lowered their heads, all kneeling on one knee. Even the injured followed suit, despite the extreme pain it caused them.
Then, the Captain also knelt before Dante, bowing his head and saying in a low voice:
"I am Captain Finnie," Captain Finnie of the Crimson Angel Chapter said with pain. "We have come a long way to pledge allegiance to you, Commander Dante, Lord of Baal, and the current King of a myriad of armies, eager to assist you."
Dante stood still, his golden mask making him seem like a golden statue.
A statue burning with rage, as if about to explode in fury and roar.
"I did not summon you," Dante's voice was deep and powerful, but rougher than usual due to anger.
"What does this mean?" Yor, standing beside Alexander in the sandpit, asked with some surprise.
Commander Dante was actually refusing the support of the Crimson Angels; this was too strange.
Even their Blood Cavaliers, who had been labeled a renegade Battle Group, had been accepted by Dante.
After the Red Council, Yor had even privately revealed his Battle Group's secret to Dante, but Dante still granted Yor and his Battle Group the honor of participating in the battle and dying in it.
"..The Crimson Angels are not welcome," Alexander whispered to Yor.
Yor was somewhat astonished, seemingly not expecting Alexander to answer.
"Five hundred years ago, Chapter Master Dante issued a ban to the Crimson Angels, severing all ties with them forever."
Alexander glanced at Yor and continued to speak in a low voice; Dante did not stop Alexander either.
"The Blood Angels will never accept aid from the Crimson Angels, nor will they ever aid the Crimson Angels."
"Only Dante and a few high-ranking Blood Priests know about this matter."
Upon hearing this, the Sons of Sanguinius present were all stunned.
Such a harsh ban, almost equivalent to declaring the two Battle Groups enemies... Why had the Blood Angels and Crimson Angels, both Sons of Sanguinius, blood relatives, come to this point?
Captain Finnie's face showed some bewilderment, seemingly not understanding why this Blue-Armored Warrior in the sandpit knew these things.
On his way here, he had heard some things about the Angel's Well, knowing that there was an Ultramarines warrior who had brought an Archangel's holy relic and challenged all Sons of Sanguinius.
But why would he, an Ultramarines warrior, know all of this?
"Why?" Blood Cavaliers Chapter Master Yor asked. "The Crimson Angels... they could almost be called a model Battle Group, couldn't they?"
"We Blood Cavaliers, labeled as renegades by the High Lords, are quite different, aren't we?"
What Yor said was known by all Battle Group brothers.
The Crimson Angels were exemplary among the Sons of Sanguinius; they had resistance to Bloodthirst and Black Rage. It was just that they always remained somewhat mysterious, rarely communicating with other Battle Group brothers.
Captain Finnie of the Crimson Angels suddenly looked up, staring intently at Yor in the sandpit.
His eyes showed wavering, as if he couldn't believe Dante had even accepted the Blood Cavaliers...
Yet was unwilling to accept the Crimson Angels. He gritted his teeth.
"The Crimson Angels have passed down a ritual through generations, called the Ritual of Repentance."
Seeing that Dante did not stop him, Alexander continued.
"No!" Captain Finnie cried out in horror, not understanding why such a secret would be—
Then Finnie noticed two gazes on him.
One was the gaze of the Blue-Armored Warrior in the sandpit, and the other was Dante's gaze. Dante's gaze was filled with fury.
Captain Finnie lowered his head.
"The Ritual of Repentance... Honestly, I don't know where you got such a dark and blasphemous ritual."
Alexander glanced at Captain Finnie and continued:
"Every fifty years, the Crimson Angels massacre the population of their homeworld, draining the blood of those innocent civilians, stripping their flesh, and burying their remains... Then the Crimson Angels bathe in the blood of these sacrifices."
"And then, they bleed a Blood Priest to death, injecting his blood into it as well."
The moment these words fell, everyone present trembled.
Blood Priests are special Apothecary units of the Blood Angels and their successor Battle Groups, but unlike other Battle Groups, Blood Priests are not only doctors and protectors of the gene-seed; they are also guardians of the Sanguine Chalice, mentors who guide their Battle Group brothers in resisting Bloodthirst and Black Rage.
Their veins even flow with the blood of Sanguinius himself, preserving the blood of their gene-father within their own bodies.
To bleed a Blood Priest to death, to inject a Blood Priest's blood into a pool of blood, is equivalent to...
"You dare..." Yor roared in anger, pointing his Chainsword at Captain Finnie. "You dare to defile the Blood of Sanguinius!!!"
Captain Finnie's body trembled slightly, speechless for a moment.
"Then, you make that blood, infused with the Blood of Sanguinius, into liquid food, loaded into Power Armor ration dispensers, to nourish yourselves. One massacre and the sacrifice of one Blood Priest can satisfy a half-century's supply."
Alexander ignored Yor's roar and continued.
The scene instantly fell silent; they all seemed to doubt if they had misheard. Liquid food?
Liquid food infused with the Blood of Sanguinius?
Even Yor, the one most deeply fallen into Bloodthirst among those present, was somewhat bewildered.
"So can you tell me, who exactly taught you this ritual? Don't you think it's very strange?"
In the silence, only Alexander spoke with a peculiar tone:
"Are you sure this ritual isn't tainted by the Warp or something? And when you drank the blood-food infused with Sanguinius' blood, did you really not feel anything strange?"
The Sons of Sanguinius present were all in a deathly silence, looking at Captain Finnie with blank confusion, even at a loss for how to accuse him.
Among these Sons of Sanguinius, there were those who would madly slaughter civilians, those who viewed mortals as food, and also those like the Crimson Angels who institutionalized massacres.
But to use the Blood of Sanguinius for some blasphemous dark ritual, and to consume liquid food infused with the Blood of Sanguinius... This was unimaginable for any Son of Sanguinius.
If Alexander were to say it, the Crimson Angels were also a group of 'talented' individuals; their Bloodthirst had actually extended to the Primarch himself. Was it because the Blood of Sanguinius was potent? They were essentially treating Sanguinius as a blood slave.
The most outrageous thing was the Ritual of Repentance itself; this ritual was clearly problematic, making it hard for Alexander not to suspect that some Warp entity was toying with the Crimson Angels.
"The Chapter Master said... this is a necessary sacrifice..."
Finnie said with a trembling voice, sensing the anger in the eyes of his other brothers present:
"We found that as long as we satisfy the Bloodthirst, we can suppress it... and also suppress the Black Rage."
"No, satisfying it will only make you fall deeper," Blood Cavaliers Chapter Master Yor said.
He stared intently at Finnie, his voice becoming hoarse: "You'd best pray with me."
"Pray that the Blood Cavaliers sacrifice themselves in the coming battle."
"Otherwise, as long as one Blood Knight is still alive, they will hunt down the Crimson Angels."
Yor had previously thought Dante's complete break with the Crimson Angels was a bit extreme.
Now he felt that Dante was actually too merciful; he should have just annihilated the Crimson Angels.
However, Yor was also somewhat puzzled as to why Dante hadn't done so.
"This matter isn't really Dante's fault either."
Alexander shook his head and said:
"This matter is actually mainly because of Chapter Master Chaud of the Crimson Angels. After High-ranking Blood Priest Helion discovered this, that Chapter Master—"
"That Chapter Master Chaud stated: if the Blood Angels took action against the Crimson Angels, then the Crimson Angels would reveal the curse in Sanguinius' bloodline to the world, bringing the matters of Bloodthirst and Black Rage to the Inquisition."
"At that time, not only the Crimson Angels, but the Blood Angels and all Blood Knights would be scrutinized, and the former title of the Perfect Angel would become a synonym for terror."
"Yes, his meaning was that if Dante dared to interfere with the Crimson Angels, the Crimson Angels would drag everyone down with them."
The Angel's Well was filled with a deathly silence; all the Astartes of the Blood Knights listened to these words, dumbfounded.
Finnie hung his head without refuting, and Dante stood still without refuting.
This meant that everything the Blue-Armored Warrior said was true.
"Crimson Angels? Chaud? I curse your eight generations of Chapter Masters!"
Gorenn, Chapter Master of the Sacred Angels Battle Group, roared and grabbed the Power Axe from his waist, about to strike Finnie.
Kang, Chapter Master of the Crimson Blades, quickly stopped him: "Gorenn, my friend! Calm down! Calm down!"
"What good will it do to cut down one of his Captains! Calm down!" Kang stopped Gorenn and said, "After the Battle of Baal ends, I will personally lead the Crimson Blades with you to Corinal, directly to their homeworld to settle accounts!"
Finnie's body trembled slightly; he knew that the Crimson Angels had probably directly incurred the wrath of all Blood Knights.
He had defied his Chapter Master's orders, left his homeworld, and endured hardships to come to Baal. He must, he must...
Finnie pondered how he could make the Crimson Angels be accepted by Dante again.
Then Finnie's gaze fell upon Alexander in the sandpit.