Captain Finnie slightly raised his head, looking at the Blue-Armored Warrior standing in the sand pit.
On the way here, he had already heard some of what happened in the Angel's Well.
A Blue-Armored Warrior, claiming to be an Ultramarine, brought a relic imbued with Sanguinius' aura and challenged all Sons of Sanguinius.
He even declared that while the Sons of Sanguinius were excellent, they were not as good as the Ultramarines.
If Finnie could defeat him, he could both retrieve a relic for the Sons of Sanguinius and, to some extent, save the honor of all Sons of Sanguinius.
Finnie clenched his fists slightly. Perhaps the Crimson Angels' reputation was beyond salvaging, but at least he could make Commander Dante acknowledge them.
"You won't succeed," Commander Dante said calmly, as if seeing through Finnie's thoughts.
Finnie lowered his head.
"In the name of Sanguinius, in the name of blood, we defend ourselves."
"I know no one likes our Chapter now, but I think I still have the right to defend my honor through battle."
"If I fail, then death."
Dante silently watched Finnie, then turned his gaze to the Blue-Armored Warrior in the sand pit.
Alexander slowly turned his head. He heard Sanguinius at the corner of his eye let out a faint, indistinct sigh.
The Crimson Angels were still his Sons. Alexander discerned this meaning from the sigh.
"As long as you are a Son of Sanguinius and willing to wager a relic, I don't mind," Alexander said lightly.
Finnie nodded heavily and walked down from the high platform step by step.
Yor glanced at him and conscientiously exited the sand pit. The two brushed past each other at the edge of the pit.
"Satisfying Bloodthirst won't suppress him," Yor said in a low voice. "The scent of blood on you is very strong, deeply hidden but very strong."
Finnie's body trembled slightly, looking at Yor beside him with some panic.
He seemed to smell the nerve-wracking scent of blood emanating from Yor, and Finnie felt his fangs lightly pressing against his lips.
Yor turned his head and glanced at the more than one hundred Crimson Angels standing on the high platform.
"But the scent on them is faint. Most of them can still be saved."
Finnie nodded slightly: "Many of them haven't participated in the Rite of Repentance, or only once."
"I often advise the members of my company to consume as little blood as possible."
Yor glanced at Finnie, nodded slightly, and then left the sand pit.
Captain Finnie walked in front of Alexander. He drew his weapon, a power axe that shimmered with flickering blue light.
"Shroud," Finnie said, looking at Alexander. "The name of this axe is Shroud. It is a Chapter relic, once belonging to Night Lords Captain Kellen Ophion."
"Ten thousand years ago, Kellen Ophion's battleship, the Evening Shroud, crashed, and he was believed to have died in it. The Crimson Angels recovered the Evening Shroud and found this power axe within, believing it to have been used by Kellen Ophion himself."
"If you win, you can take him from my corpse."
Hearing this, Alexander narrowed his eyes slightly: "Deathmatch?"
"Deathmatch!" Finnie said firmly. "I heard you have already defeated several Sons of Sanguinius in the First Blood battles."
"Perhaps Ultramarines are better at sparring, but the Sons of Sanguinius are better at fighting to the death."
A battle that only ends when one side surrenders or is killed.
Finnie did not intend to harm the Blue-Armored Warrior in front of him, but if he didn't fight to the death with his life on the line, Finnie believed his chances of winning were not great.
Whether this Blue-Armored Warrior surrendered or not, Finnie would not take his life.
But Finnie himself had made up his mind that if he was at a disadvantage, he would not surrender even if it meant death.
Perhaps his death could sway Commander Dante.
"Good." Alexander nodded slightly, stepped back a few paces, and created distance from Finnie.
Finnie did the same, gently holding the power axe, once used by a Night Lords Captain and originating from 30K, upright before his chest.
"Roar!!!!" Finnie let out a nearly bestial roar. The scent of blood on him suddenly surged and churned.
That bloody scent was almost on par with Yor's. Although he appeared unaffected, Finnie was actually deeply consumed by Bloodthirst.
Finnie roared and launched an attack on Alexander from the side.
The power axe, which once belonged to the Night Lords, had been modified; the bat carvings were replaced with symbols of sacred blood and wings, but Alexander could still feel the chilling blood aura swirling within the power axe.
Kellen Ophion, Captain of the Night Lords' 39th Company, was once a member of the Night Lords' ruling body, the Night Bat Council.
He had a completely different personality from other Night Lords; this rebellious Night Lord actually possessed a stubborn courage.
Even after ten thousand years, his influence remained in this power axe, even affecting Finnie and making Finnie's charge even more fearless of death.
But Finnie's speed disappointed Alexander.
Even under the influence of Bloodthirst, Finnie's speed was only slightly faster than an average Captain's, far from Yor's.
Not to mention Alexander's speed was an entire level faster than Yor's.
If there was anything Finnie was stronger at than Yor... it was only that relic power axe.
As the Chapter Master of the Blood Knights, Yor's weapon was actually a somewhat worn Chainsword.
Alexander had examined the relic dagger Yor gave him after stuffing it into his four-dimensional pocket; it was the cheapest item of the lot, several times less expensive than the relics given by the Tomb Guard. It was truly heartbreaking how poor they were.
After even fighting Yor, Alexander felt he was at a bit of a loss; the income simply didn't match the effort.
After Alexander, with his thoughts accelerated by the Speed-up Clockwork, finished complaining about the Blood Knights' poverty, Finnie finally approached Alexander.
The roaring power axe was raised high and swung down at Alexander.
Then, *Damn*, *boom*, *clack*... the power field on the power axe flickered and suddenly dimmed considerably.
Finnie was momentarily stunned. He felt a strong resistance from the power axe, which he could barely suppress.
The First Blood battles were normal sparring, while the Deathmatch was almost a fight to the death.
Alexander's affinity with the machine spirit therefore came into play, and the power axe named "Shroud" resisted Finnie's swing.
Alexander seized Finnie's moment of surprise, and his fist, seemingly light, slammed heavily into Finnie's chest.
Instantly, the ceramite surface caved in as if struck by heavy artillery, and Finnie himself flew backward, crashing heavily into the wall of the sand pit.
The entire Angel's Well trembled slightly.
"By Sanguinius' Blood! Is this a miniaturized Dreadnought developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus?" Kang, Chapter Master of the Crimson Blades, blurted out in near disbelief.
The power of those power fists was actually that strong? And this Blue-Armored Warrior's own strength could wield these power fists?
In the previous First Blood battles, Alexander had almost only touched upon his strength.
The Sons of Sanguinius only knew Alexander was very strong, but they didn't know he was *that* strong.
"Are all Ultramarines like this?" Gorenn, Chapter Master of the Sacred Angels, looked at Kang somewhat blankly.
Kang had once mingled in Ultramarine circles, but he also looked bewildered: "I only knew that Chapter Master Calgar could swing a ten-meter-tall Necron anti-aircraft tower with both hands, but I've never heard of a person like this."
Finnie's power armor was dented and almost shattered, and he was embedded in the wall. Blood flowed from him but was quickly controlled by his hemostatic organs.
He struggled to extend an arm from the shattered ceramite, letting out a low growl at Alexander, his entire body radiating angry blood aura.
"You lost," Alexander said, casually picking up the power axe named "Shroud" from the ground.
"No!!" Finnie struggled to extend his arm, tearing off his helmet to reveal his blood-red face and terrifying fangs, all characteristics influenced by Bloodthirst.
"This is a Deathmatch! I'm not dead! And I haven't surrendered!"
Alexander couldn't help but shake his head at this.
Why are these Astartes all such stubborn space-nuts? The Emperor should have prepared a Legion of psychological doctors back then. Oh, or maybe he did, but the Primarch of that Legion was knocked out.
"Finnie, you defied Chapter Master Mor's orders to come here, only to die here?" Alexander said, standing in front of Finnie.
Finnie's face showed surprise: "How do you even know that..."
"Mor?" Dante, standing on the high platform, slightly raised his voice: "Defied the Chapter Master's orders?"
Alexander nodded slightly, glancing at Finnie and saying, "Chapter Master Chaud died forty years ago, killed by Necrons."
As Alexander said this, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, making it hard to doubt that this wasn't the Silent King helping his deceased wife clean up rebellious children.
Alexander could guess the Silent King's feelings when he learned that the Crimson Angels were having a party with Sanguinius' blood.
"Mor became the new Chapter Master of the Crimson Angels, but he is even more extreme and twisted than Chaud."
"Some Captains recognized the Chapter's problems. They began to resist blood consumption and the Rite of Repentance to some extent, doing their best to immerse themselves in battle, yearning for death to bring them salvation."
Hearing this, Yor slightly raised his head, and his gaze towards Finnie seemed to soften a little.
"When the news from Baal arrived, Mor refused any Crimson Angel to provide aid to Baal."
"But three Captains, including Finnie, still wanted to support Baal. They defied Mor's orders."
Alexander said slowly.
The Sons of Sanguinius were slightly stunned, then understood why Finnie wanted to conceal this.
The Crimson Angels had already earned the disgust of all Sons of Sanguinius, but at least they would remember: the Crimson Angels still sent aid to Baal.
If everyone knew Finnie came against the Chapter Master's orders, knew that the Crimson Angels Chapter was unwilling to provide aid to Baal, unwilling to protect the homeland of their genetic father...
Finnie still hoped to protect the Chapter's honor.
"Three companies..." Dante's voice became slightly lower. He stared at Finnie for a moment.
Only just over a hundred people followed Finnie into the Angel's Well, clearly not enough for three companies.