On the gloomy mountain road, thick poisonous gas surrounded them, and these damp droplets adhered to their hair, clothes, and breathing hoses.
An Tai raised his hand and numbly wiped his breathing hose again. The originally resilient tube had already become brittle and soft under the corrosion of the poisonous gas.
Barbaros's experience told him that his gas mask was about to fail.
There may not be much time left for him to retreat.
If we go any further, there will be no way back.
As early as the beginning, the flow of people going up the mountain was constantly decreasing.
They were not knocked down by the poisonous gas. At lower altitudes, the gas masks would not be corroded so easily.
But the breathing mask that is becoming more fragile every moment, the breathing mask that creaks with every breath, strikes everyone's heart.
Some wise people realized that this gas mask would not last long, so they returned early.
But most people did not realize this, or they were hoping for a lucky break, or they really wanted to become a Death Guard, so a huge crowd began to climb to the top of the mountain.
But by now, most of the crowd realized they had reached a point.
Death was staring at them, silent and heartless.
If you return here, you will just be able to reach the bottom of the mountain before your gas mask breaks.
If they go higher, their gas masks will be damaged before they reach the summit, and they will then face the thick poisonous gas at high altitudes.
Antaeus took as steady a breath as he could, his respirator whining.
However, the child in front of him suddenly stopped and An Tai almost hit him.
The child gave Antaeus a gloomy look, then began to move downwards, trembling.
They passed each other side by side and almost collided.
This was like a call, and more and more people began to turn around.
Many of the children who were rushing in the front at the beginning, those who were obviously stronger than An Tai and who were rushing in the front, also began to turn around.
An Tai was stunned for a moment, he turned his head and looked at the small dots going down the mountain.
Their gray figures quickly disappeared among the dimly flowing poisonous gas.
The originally huge crowd suddenly became two-thirds smaller, and the remaining children continued to stagger upwards.
The sense of security that had previously enveloped An Tai and followed the crowd disappeared.
An Tai also stopped. He hesitated whether to continue going up or return the same way.
The food they received earlier was enough for their family to survive for a week.
If he went any higher, he might actually die—
A thin and slender boy passed by An Tai from behind, interrupting An Tai's thoughts.
An Tai was surprised to see tear marks on the boy's face.
But the boy did not stop for a moment.
The boy glanced at him and smiled.
Antai paused.
I want to go up, An Tai thought.
You must move forward, Antai said to himself, move forward and become a Death Guard, then your younger brothers and sisters will not have to work as hard as their parents, they can do other things, as long as Antai becomes a Death Guard.
You have to climb for your brothers and sisters.
But does An Tai really think so
Is he using the name of his family to cover up his true desires and impulses
Is he ashamed to admit that, in a hidden corner of his heart, he wishes to become a Death Guard
Even though Antaeus knew nothing about the Death Guard, the majestic figures of those giants were deeply imprinted in his mind.
They awakened another spark in An Tai's heart.
That was a completely different path from his previous life, and An Tai knew that he despised his previous life.
It would be unwise to move forward now, as he would most likely die and the burden of life would then fall on his younger brothers and sisters.
But he had had enough, enough of all the gloom.
He is not actually that selfless, on the contrary, he is selfish.
He just wanted to save his life and climb up.
Even death was more attractive to him than the dull and bleak rest of his life.
He didn't want to just live.
An Tai wants to make a choice for his life, he wants to prove himself, he wants to leave here.
I wish I were tough enough.
He thought.
So he started climbing again.
A sneer sounded in Hades' ears, and then a hoarse voice, accompanied by the sound of electricity, came from the communication channel.
"I knew it would happen. You don't have to set up a pharmacist."
Hades stared helplessly at the picture coming from the helmet, where a huge crowd of people were coming down the mountain.
He knew that Mortarion was definitely mocking him.
Hades sighed softly, making sure the sigh did not reach Mortarion over the comms channel.
"But, at the beginning, the purpose of screening will be weakened, right?"
There is no more talk on the channel.
So Hades blinked and refocused his attention on the group of people walking up the mountain.
Mortarion simply told these men that the mountaintop was the final destination.
But in fact, as long as they reach a sufficient height, they will be automatically judged as qualified.
But Hades didn't think anyone could actually reach the top of the mountain. He talked to the legion's pharmacist, and he knew that it was physiologically impossible.
The concentration of poison gas on the top of the mountain is enough to suffocate a Space Marine.
Mortarion didn't think so. When the selection began, the Primarch excitedly climbed to the top of the mountain and waited for his warriors.
Hades did not follow the Primarch to the top of the mountain. Instead, he went to where the Black Stone Obelisk was placed to prevent any accidents.
He stared at the crowd going up the mountain. Compared to the beginning, the crowd was much thinner.
There was another voice on the channel.
"Which one do you like?"
However, Mortarion is probably very free now and in a good mood.
The Principal stayed up late to finish today's approval task, just so that he could focus on screening new people today.
Hades thought about it briefly. In his imagination, Mortarion was standing on the top of the mountain, bored and in a daze.
I hope someone can still reach the top of the mountain, otherwise Hades can guess that in the next few days, Mortarion will have a look of rage on his face again.
Hades naturally ignored Mortarion's jumping topic and turned the picture in his helmet.
"I see this kid looks good."
A thin figure appeared in the picture.
The child was traveling slowly at first, but when he reached an area filled with poisonous gas, he immediately sped up without any hesitation.
His goal is very clear.
Hades sighed.
He accumulated strength at the beginning, and when he reached a place with dense poisonous gas, he began to accelerate to reduce the damage caused by the high-altitude poisonous gas to him.
Although Mortarion's goal is to screen for resilient individuals, wisdom and strategy are essential.
He may not be the toughest, but he can clearly reach the highest point he can reach.
"Fleming, from the northern village."
Mortarion's voice came, and the Primarch who was previously responsible for registration and recruitment memorized the information of all the children.
"You do have a preference for such people, Hades."
"If it were you, I think you would do the same."
Mortarion said half-jokingly.
Hades burst out laughing. It was true.
It's just a clever trick.
"You should expect him to meet the qualifying standards. The boy's statistics are average."
“I can see that.”
Hades nodded.
"Which one do you like?"
He threw back the question.
Mortarion pointed out a few people, and Hades took a quick look and found that they were indeed good candidates who could sprint to the top of the mountain.
It would probably take a long time for the kids to reach the top, so the two of them started chatting idly.
Up, Up, Up
Despair, regret, and fear gripped him tightly.
An Tai's vision began to blur, the poison gas stung him, and his exposed skin began to become soft and could fall off with a slight wipe.
He covered his gas mask in vain, but the tattered gas mask could no longer provide any effective defense.
The hand holding the gas mask had already been scratched and peeled, and blood was flowing out from there, and quickly changed color and coagulated under the effect of the poison gas.
My lungs were twitching violently and unbearable pain was coming from there.
He is dying.
The Grim Reaper's scythe was cutting his throat again and again.
The brain, tired and paralyzed by the poison gas, was no longer able to think too much.
Only the obsession remains.
Changing his life upward
Leave him here and do not till the land any more.
"Bang!"
The person in front of An Tai fell to the ground.
An Tai ignored him and continued to move forward numbly.
There were not as many "corpses" lying in front as An Tai had imagined. It seemed that they were all moving forward.
An Tai continued to climb, almost there. Almost there.
There was no one in front of him, and the thick poisonous gas even made it impossible for him to distinguish the ground in the distance.
Not yet. Up, up.
The pain in his lungs has subsided. He is just very tired.
"Bang!"
An Tai's knees went weak and he fell to the cold ground.
His eyes went dark—
No! Can't die!
An Tai bit the tip of his tongue directly, and the slight pain from his mouth made him a little more sober.
The straps that bound the gas mask had long been broken by the toxic gas, and the fall directly exposed An Tai's mouth and nose to the poisonous gas.
There was a warmth around his mouth and nose. Was that blood
Subconsciously, An Tai buried his face in the ground, pressing against the ground, which made him feel better.
So he stretched out his hand and dragged his body slowly upwards.
He was crawling.
Up and Up
An Tai's nails broke, some of them were broken in two, with dirt mixed in.
But he continued upward.
Spots of red were dragged behind him and his ears began to bleed.
up
A large hand gently lifted him up, and a cold cloth fell over his mouth and nose.
An Tai tried hard to see the person in front of him with his bleeding eyes.
Those eyes that sparkled like stars were looking at him.
"My child, you are tough enough."
So An Tai finally fainted.
Mortarion looked at the first candidate to reach the top of the mountain, and began to give Antaeus emergency treatment in a good mood.
He had done similar things thousands of times when he established the resistance army.
And now, he can wait patiently for the second brave man to reach the top of the mountain.
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(End of this chapter)