Snippet #1739008

Valentine swum through the freezing water, yet felt no cold.

The warmth of the ever-shifting muscles of his Black Carapace surrounded him, making him perfectly comfortable, despite the near-zero temperature of the water around him.

A few seconds later, his feet touched rock. He stood up, and as he walked forward, his head emerged from the water, looking around at the dark shoreline of the lake. He saw no targets yet.

He looked around; the skull-visaged masks of his fellow Black Templars surrounded him, as they all stood up too, surveying the shoreline for signs of threats. They slowly advanced, swords drawn, the water slipping off them silently as they emerged from the inky blackness of the water.

Valentine breathed in the cool night air as he walked forward into the forest of rocks around the lake. His fellow Templars – a unit of twelve in all, six of whom were his bodyguards – spread out around him, looking around.

“Titus, targets?” Valentine asked the man who crouched atop one of the rocks.

“Movement up ahead. Hundred feet and closing. They’re fast. Looks like Tauras.” Titus replied.

Valentine nodded. “Black Templars, move out, fast and quiet. Kill anything you come across, but try not to initiate a struggle. We’re looking for our target, nothing more.”

His fellow warriors nodded and spread out around him, and they all walked forward in a broken line.

Valentine didn’t see the Taura until the man was right in front of him. He was a big one, alright; 6’8”, with a shaven head and carrying a battle axe.

The Taura literally walked into Valentine, then looked down.

“What the-” The Taura started, beginning to raise his axe, but he was cut off by Valentine’s blade entering his skull at high velocity.

Valentine pulled his sword out of the mixture of blood, bone and brain, and then kept walking.

He killed two more Tauras, more quietly this time, as he was remaining alert.

They quickly found the encampment. It was big; all sorts of different creatures lived there, based on the different styles of tents.

Valentine grouped up with another three Black Templars and the three of them moved towards the command tent.

They entered through the flaps silently, and Valentine drew one of his crossbows. They sighted their target; an Oni warlord, and a big one at that. But size did nothing against crossbow bolts, and one was promptly planted in the man’s brain.

“Target neutralised.” Valentine whispered. “All forces, retreat immediately.”

They walked out of the tent, and were more than a little surprised to see a veritable legion of creatures in front of them, carrying a range of weapons and all looking very, very angry.

“Oh.” Valentine said, more to himself than anyone else. “So, it’s going to be one of those days…”

His opponents charged.

He leapt into the air, then came down upon one, his sword plunging through the armour, before withdrawing it and cutting the throat of another. He heard footsteps and turned; a charging Taura stood there, running at him, too close for comfort. Unable to bring his sword to bear, Valentine drew a crossbow and discharged it directly into the man’s head.

He hit the deck as a blast of dark magic flew over his head, missing him by inches, before responding with a shot from his second crossbow, the Oni disappearing into the crowd below. He took a few steps backwards, stood up, and drew his halberd in his off hand.

He cut through one, two, three enemies with its long blade, then impaled another with his sword.

He looked around; his fellow Templars were doing similar damage. The mistake cost him, however, and an axe slammed over his back, cracking the plates of his Black Carapace and making the muscles writhe in pain.

He turned, dispatched the one holding the axe – a Uranus, by the looks of it – and grinned. This was too easy.

However, he was short of time, and the pleasures of war would have to wait for another time. He had to get back to base; his father had summoned him shortly before this operation, but Valentine had gone anyway, thinking that he’d be back before his father sent people to investigate. He did not want to invoke his father’s wrath, however, so it was time to get moving.

He called out to his fellow warriors. “All forces, time to get out of here! Back into the water!”

They broke their little blockade around the tent and ran, cutting down all those in their path without blinking.

Valentine jumped onto a rock and jumped from rock to rock as a method of mobility, reducing his speed slightly but also vastly reducing the number of targets on his tail.

A minute later and they were at the shoreline. Valentine’s team was already in the water, and he quickly followed. The Black Carapace adjusted its body heat to cope with the cold, and he swam away, but not before calling out to any Tiger Sharks in the area to charge.

He saw only black streaks in the gloom, but knew precisely what they were. The screams of those who foolishly entered the water filled the air behind him as the sharks launched into a killing frenzy.

------The Next Day------

Valentine walked through the chambers of the Imperial Citadel, flanked by his elite unit of Black Templars, and entered the throne room just on time – his honour guard waited at the door. He’d had to sprint the whole thirty kilometres from the outer city where he was stationed to here overnight in order to make it.

His father looked down at him from his throne. “Valentine. How good to know that you managed to make it, even though you decided to take a little jaunt in Gai before you came here.”

Valentine groaned. So his father knew. “My apologies, father. I felt that I could make it here on time even if I left to go perform an operation with my Black Templars. And, evidently, I did.”

His father nodded. “A good decision. A righteous commander always leads his men into battle, even if he is given orders from a higher power, but he can’t forget that he must still follow the orders of said higher power. You took a risk, but if you did not, then you would hardly be worthy of the title of Warrior Emperor.”

Valentine nodded. That was the closest his father ever got to giving him a compliment. “Thank you, father.”

“Now, to business,” his father said. “It is time for what may well be the most difficult assignment of your life.”

Valentine’s fist clenched. His father was always finding new and increasingly creative ways of killing him. Nonetheless, he was commander of the Black Templars, the most powerful unit of warriors in existence, those who knew no fear and crushed entire armies under their righteous fist. He would not show weakness here.

“I am ready, father.”

His father nodded. “Very well, my son. You are to leave for Elphanor immediately.”

Valentine’s eyes widened. “Elphanor? Father, is it… is it time? Time for our conquest?”

His father laughed, a deep, booming sound. “No, Valentine, it is not that. You think of war, as a Warrior Emperor should, but you mustn’t be so hasty. It will be some time yet as to when we can launch our conquest, but when we do, we shall not fail.”

Valentine felt both relieved and disappointed. He wished to be the one to conquer the land, not his father; but then, that was a common sentiment, and he couldn’t wait for the thrill of finally being able to unveil the Black Templars to the world in all their power. “Then what is my objective, father?”

“I am not quite sure, but we have also been instructed to send a commoner, and one has been selected. Whatever it is, though, it shall be diplomatic, not a matter of war, unfortunately.”

Valentine cursed. He was terrible at diplomatic things, and he despised commoners. His father was right – this would be the hardest mission he had ever faced, because it would take all his willpower not to simply slaughter everyone in the room. Nonetheless, he still served.

“Yes, father. I shall not fail you.”

With that, he left the throne room. One of his honour guards turned to him outside the door, looking at him quizzically.

“Pack your things,” Valentine told them. “We’re going to Elphanor for a diplomatic assignment. But if we’re lucky, we may be back here and back in the thick of war before too long.”

He couldn’t help but notice the Black Templars smile at the thought.