All who had seen the sight within the living cans could not endure the psychological shock.
Even if one ignored the soul assault rising under the influence of dark magic, just witnessing that scene alone, anyone with the slightest bit of empathy would feel discomfort.
Specific intelligence had already been reported up the chain.
Upon receiving the message, Matins didn’t say much on the communication channel, just remarked, “The fourth reinforcement will arrive soon.”
The so-called fourth reinforcement meant Matins was leading the team himself.
After sending down three batches of people, these brave mortal warriors had not only stabilized the situation at the landing field but had also pierced through the entire cluster of buildings on the sea level, creating a direct route to the core building.
They had established several defensive nodes along the way, and the monsters lurking in various other areas, as well as the Cult followers, had no way to cut off this path.
With such a situation at hand, what was there to hesitate about?
To be honest, Matins even felt a bit ashamed, like he was stealing the glory of victory.
During the Atonement Expedition in the past, when had they fought such a battle? Those Imperial commanders didn’t treat the star warriors of the Atonement Expedition like people, just airdropping them into enemy clusters and that’s it.
Even after the mission was completed and it was time to retreat, they had to carve out a bloody path themselves, then clear the enemies at the evacuation point and ensure safety before the allies responsible for their retreat would descend.
And now?
The alliance’s special forces at the landing field cleared it for you, the route to the target was open, your escape corridor was guarded, and the evacuation aircraft circled in the sky, ready to be summoned on command…
At one point, Matins even considered ordering Lacroix to lead his team straight into the central tower’s sealed downward gate and solve the problem himself. When reporting back, he wouldn’t discredit the warriors’ efforts; all the glory would belong to them.
However, he ultimately chose not to do so.
Achievements were secondary. Who knew what lay beneath the central tower?
Encountering some difficult demon or god was one concern. Even if it could be dealt with, Matins was not pleased with the idea of more casualties.
He knew that his Lord Governor had also put a lot of effort into this special operations team.
Moreover, the likelihood of such a possibility had significantly increased when those below discovered the despair-filled living cans.
After landing, he and Priest Rizzo went to take a look at the opened can warehouse.
With their mental willpower, such a trifle wasn’t much. Even if there was a spiritual assault from the dark magic, neither of them so much as twitched an eyebrow.
Their superhuman mental willpower wasn’t something that could be affected by a bit of spillover dark magic.
As for the psychological impact of the scene itself, it wasn’t that the star warriors lacked empathy, but they were widely experienced and somewhat numb.
In the fight against the Chaos Cult, they had seen too many gruesome things, many atrocities that pushed boundaries. This was just one more incident on the list.
They were still able to analyze the situation with a calm attitude.
“This is Chaotic Sorcery,” Priest Rizzo provided a definite answer, “Our previous speculations weren’t wrong.”
Then, he lifted the holy emblem hanging at his waist, closed his eyes, and began to recite prayers silently.
It was miraculous, as he started to recite, the surrounding special operation soldiers all felt the previously faint and nauseating sense of spiritual assault dissipate considerably. When the prayer finished, that feeling was gone altogether.
At the same time, the wailing noises inside the can warehouse gradually subsided.
Then someone brave enough took another look.
“All the people are dead,” said the soldier looking back. Discover more stories at empire
Rizzo opened his eyes and explained, “They should have died long ago. The Chaos Cult tormented them and placed them here, using dark magic to forcibly sustain their lives, in order to amplify and absorb their agony of wishing for death but unable to achieve it, achieving their evil goals. I merely prayed to The Emperor, dispelling the dark magic.
Free from its influence, these people could finally be liberated and rest in peace.”
All those around instantly accepted Priest Rizzo’s explanation.
It matched the reality they had seen.
The people in those cans indeed had no hope, trapped in an insufferable state. Death was not a horror but a release for them.
After giving a brief explanation, Rizzo then said to Matins, “We might be in trouble. If all of these…”
He gestured around at the numerous can warehouses of all sizes, “are the same, then so much despair, fermenting, combined with the intelligence indicating that there’s a Spiritualized Gas Field below with ample Spiritual Energy, we can’t estimate what might be waiting for us behind that door.”
He gave a serious warning to Matins.
And of course, Matins wouldn’t ignore the warning from the priest with four hundred years of combat experience.
He thought it over carefully and decided to act nonetheless.
“We cannot shrink back because of an unknown enemy.”
“I know, I’m just reminding you to be careful.” At this point, Priest Rizzo paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but add, “The battle group’s new blood still needs your leadership.”
