Harrus was a simple man. But a man who did not hesitate to launch himself into a war in which he was one among billions and battles for what he considered right.
This story is narrated by Harrus himself. Passages recorded directly from his personal...
I never thought that a withdrawal would be so agonizing. Once we were far enough away from the explosions of our own artillery, we rejoined the rest of the reserves. Or at least what was left of them.
My predictions were too accurate for my liking, and just as I thought, the entire left front had fallen before we even knew it. And as if they were dominoes falling one after the other, our forces were forced to withdraw in a staggered manner.
Now, we were marching back to the city. A colossal column of defeated people who were unable to look up. Whether it was out of pride or fear. The mud stuck to our boots. The last drops of rain fell on our heads, while the storm clouds ceased their insatiable punishment on us. But none of the Suns were willing to look out to look at the disastrous panorama.
The only thing we heard was our soles getting stuck in the mud, and the dozens of prayers to the Emperor that could be heard throughout the regiment. As commissioner, my duty was to silence their voices, but I don't think anyone was capable of such an act of helplessness. At least not on my part.
They needed it. I needed. I needed to hear his prayers, while I repeated them inside me. The only thing that kept our dying and weary bodies moving was our faith, and the hope that the Emperor's sacred light would illuminate our future.
We were marching towards the city. A last desperate attempt to defend what was left of Cantus' glory. However, the simple fact that we had to defend with all our being the last bastion that protected our homes terrified us. And to me more than anyone, along with the officers who moderately had some knowledge.
The capital city of Cantus is not prepared for such a defense. So many centuries of peace had turned the planet into a haven of apparent stability. The available anti-aircraft batteries were replaced six generations before I was born, and I was sure they would jam after several shots. I even had the feeling that we wouldn't have enough ammunition for a prolonged fight.
However, nothing was as terrifying as the fact that the city did not even have a defensive wall. The downtown area does have it. The first wall was built when the planet was just beginning to be colonized, but since then the city has only grown more and more, and I am sure that the old area will not be able to protect even ten percent of the total population. We were defenseless, and even more so having to withdraw our remaining forces along the entire perimeter around the city. I could only pray that I had enough time to at least dig a trench three feet deep.
However, my thoughts at that moment were interrupted, when an even march began to resonate in our vicinity. I was in the center of the group, and I couldn't really see what was happening, but my curiosity was too great to ignore. I was not the only one.
Little by little I moved to the left of the massive retreating column. I remember how many looked at me thinking I was crazy, but that didn't stop me. And only when I reached the end of the formation could I see them. And I will never be able to forget the impression they made on me.
Hundreds of thousands of Krieg Korps soldiers marched in unison in the opposite direction to ours. Despite the mud. Despite the fatigue. Their soles all fell at the same instant, and their formation was millimeter perfect. A level of martiality that I believe I would never be able to see in other Astra Militarum regiments.
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