It was eerily quiet here, with only the sound of the river flowing quietly in the distance. The highly acidic liquid hit the shore, splashing out little beads.
The woman was still sobbing softly. She sat on the ground, swaying, and wiping away her tears due to the combined stimulation of fear and excitement.
Hades took a deep breath, squatted down, and looked at the woman as straight as possible. The woman shrank back in surprise, but ultimately did not dodge away.
"You said you wanted us to take you away."
Hades said calmly,
"Then what?"
The gray-haired woman stared at Hades blankly, which allowed Hades to see her gray eyes clearly, which were turbid and clear at the same time, like glass beads mixed with impurities.
Hades looked at her silently, waiting for her answer. The woman seemed to realize that she had been silent for too long and might have annoyed the lord, so she spoke hastily, her voice weak and trembling.
"Sir, I used to be a digger, responsible for taking out useful things from the wastewater. I can do it."
The digger spoke quickly and quietly. She knew what the lord was going to do. He wanted her to prove her worth.
She was a digger, always had been, and that was all she knew how to do.
"Then you can do this here too, you don't have to follow us away."
Hades interrupted her.
"Do you know what this selection is for?"
"I know, sir, your legion is recruiting warriors. I don't mean to break your rules. I just want to see you. I'm not..."
The digger began to get scared, and she trembled as she tried to explain her "illegal" behavior. Hades sighed inwardly, that was not what he meant.
"actually,"
Hades spoke seriously.
"When the Death Guard arrived here, in addition to recruiting Space Marines, they were also recruiting mortal auxiliary troops."
The digger shuddered violently, and Hades felt her trembling getting worse and worse, her gray and fluffy hair like a bunch of weeds struggling to take root in the strong wind.
"Thank you, sir."
She took her hands away from her face. Calluses and corrosive scars covered her hands with abnormally swollen joints. The excavator stared at her hands, and a flash of fanaticism suddenly flashed in his gray eyes.
"My Lord, I was the first one to pounce on Supervisor Fen Si. I was the first. You may not remember me, but I was the first."
"I smashed his disgusting head with a sharp rock and tore his flesh with my nails."
What is going on
As if to answer Hades's doubts, Garo's voice sounded in the private channel in time.
[The Legion Commander did not hang all the administrators. Lord Mortarion left behind an administrator of the Knights, and then gathered the people of the main hive together and released the administrator in front of them. ]
Hades took a breath.
[Then, there will be a massacre.]
[Yes, Commander.]
Mortarion was giving these people the meaning of resistance with his simple ideas.
As the last criminal ran in a panic from under the gallows of his companions, the silent crowd would make way for him, but after the first perpetrator pounced on him and bit him, the crowd would be ignited.
Those who are as weak as lambs in normal days will burst into amazing anger. Everyone is tearing apart his "enemy" with his own hands, the person who is high above them, tearing him with his hands, biting him with his teeth, and spitting at him.
Hades could imagine the Lord of Death standing on the platform, watching the rebellion with satisfaction.
The first thing Mortarion did in Galasper, and so far the only thing he did, was to liberate, and teach them how to liberate.
Hades blinked and looked at the digger, who was immersed in the memory of killing the administrator with her own hands, with a fanatical light of conversion in her eyes.
"We can take you."
"You will pick up a gun and struggle on the battlefield that is like hell on earth. You will be crushed into pieces by shells, crushed into mud by tanks, and burned into gas by the high temperature of electric melting."
"I do, my Lord, I do, I am already living in hell."
Hades was silent. However, he couldn't say that the war she might face would be a war of liberation, because he knew it was not the case.
"Sir, take me away, take me away. I don't want to live here anymore. 'Liberation', I am willing to convert to you and your army. My life is given by you and your army."
The word 'liberation' that the diggers spoke of was the Babarus language.
Hades sighed.
"I can take you away, but I didn't make this decision. You need to thank someone else for liberating Galaspa."
Mortarion, is this the picture you were thinking of when we were all trying to dissuade you from liberating Galasper
Are you really thinking about the people above
War is sometimes very simple, just the stacking, analysis, and calculation of data. Both sides try their best to obtain the opponent's data and hide and cover up their own data. The one who is good at math will win the game. But sometimes it is very complicated, and those inexplicable emotions and thoughts are twisted and mixed together, roaring with the firing of each bullet.
Hades didn't know which one was the main one.
The digger was stunned. She looked at Hades in confusion, like a believer who suddenly realized that she had worshipped the wrong god.
"Go ahead, I'll take you to find him."
After hearing Hades' words, the digger was overjoyed and nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice.
Hades stood up, [Pharmacist, heal. ]
What she needs first is treatment. If these injuries are left untreated, there is a high probability that the woman will die.
Hades stared at her broken leg that was beginning to fester and wondered, because she knew she would definitely not pass the selection, so she chose to trade injury for speed? After all, other contestants would definitely consider not crippling themselves because of the "health" factor.
While the pharmacist was treating the digger, the digger spoke timidly. She seemed to realize that although Hades' tone was fierce, he was actually easy to talk to.
"My Lord, please take me to see another master. What should I pay attention to?"
Hades looked into the distance, and the figures of the second group of selectors appeared faintly at the edge of his sight.
".You don't need to pay attention to anything, you've done well."
"May the Lord of Death admire your tenacity."
The trial selection went smoothly, and other selections were also carried out in turn. However, the difference was that the rules were changed, and those who did not meet the standard of [Healthy Male of Appropriate Age] could still participate in the selection. These people would be incorporated into the Death Guard's Mortal Auxiliary Army. At the same time, the Death Guard promised to give these people higher military ranks and certain educational resources.
The administrators of Galaspa will also be selected from among those incorporated into the Mortal Auxiliary Army.
Those who do not want to participate but still hope to join the Mortal Auxiliary Army can also wait for the special conscription later, but they will be the most ordinary grassroots after being incorporated.
Hades has other things on his mind right now, and this is most likely for his own selfish desires, but he still did it.
Mortarion hadn't come out yet, so Hades took a deep breath, gave up the communication request, and started knocking on the door.
Perhaps it would be more appropriate to describe it as smashing the door.
The Digger hid timidly behind Hades. Her left calf had been replaced with a prosthetic limb with a black metallic luster. The silent and depressing environment on the Endurance obviously frightened her.
Hades refused to admit that she was frightened by her own knocking.
"What on earth are you going to do?"
The door was slammed open and Mortarion strode out with a stern look on his face. The Primarch had light dark circles under his eyes. Hades was sure that he smelled the kind of stench that could only be emitted by the villain wizard in the cartoons when his porridge was burnt.
Mortarion has been working in the potion room recently. Seeing that Mortarion has developed several potions specifically for the environment of Galasper, Hades decided not to delve into whether Mortarion is slacking off.
Although with the Primarch's ability, these potions might not take long.
Mortarion also did not allow Hades to enter the potion room. Hades was even listed at the top of the banned list. Mortarion's explanation for this was that he was afraid that Hades would enter his potion room and eat something randomly.
Hades smiled kindly at this and said, "Mortarion, if you don't know how to explain, you don't have to."
Hard, the fist is hard.
"You are not in charge of the recruitment of Galaspar?"
Mortarion glanced at Hades indifferently and asked dissatisfiedly. Hades felt that he could not hold it any longer and asked, "Please look at our identities before you talk."
But considering that Hades is now followed by a mortal woman, Hades decided to let Mortarion go this time.
"The recruitment process is going smoothly."
"I came across a mortal who I thought you might need to meet."
Mortarion frowned in dissatisfaction.
"Hades, I know you like to be whimsical, and I understand that, but this is not an excuse for you to interrupt my work."
"If you're okay, I'd be happy to give you some more work."
Hades tactfully stepped back to prevent his and Mortarion's size from causing any oppression to the lady.
"Say what you want to say, ma'am, and the Lord of Death will understand you."
Hades added considerately.
The digger was trembling. Perhaps the sense of oppression that Mortarion brought with him was too strong. It was a solemn atmosphere that would make even the Space Marines tremble, not to mention a mortal who was facing Mortarion directly.
She was in a trembling posture, with her knees half bent, and she was trying hard not to kneel down.
".grown ups."
The digger spoke in a distorted and hoarse voice, and she stretched her hands forward in vain, as if trying to grab the corner of Mortarion's gray cloak, but in the end she caught nothing.
Mortarion frowned and stared down at the mortal, what was she going to do
If it was something boring, Mortarion would be happy to give Hades some strength.
".Thank you for the liberation you brought to Galaspa."
Hades saw it clearly. After the digger said that, Mortarion was completely still, like a corpse that had been dried for a thousand years.
The digger was unaware of Mortarion's change. She bowed her head and sobbed.
"You liberated us, you destroyed the Knights, thank you, thank you."
"Before this, no one had spoken for us. We were just bugs that they could easily crush. My friend was executed three days before you arrived because the toilet paper produced by the factory where she worked was not soft enough."
"She died just like that because of something the Knights said. I wanted to go over and fight them, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it."
"Lord, thank you for avenging us. You are the divine punishment sent down from heaven. Thank you, I am willing to give you everything."
"I can pick up a gun, you can instruct me to kill anyone, I can be a rusty knife in your hands, please take me in, I don't want to go back."
The digger wanted to kneel down. She wanted to kneel down devoutly and kiss the feet of the god, but she was not allowed to kneel down, so she could only support herself tremblingly and tremblingly.
Mortarion looked down at the digger and was silent for a long time.
Unpleasant memories of the past came back to him, he was accused of being childish, he was accused of being reckless, he was accused of being cruel.
He may have made mistakes, but they scolded him to pieces.
Those guys who fight wars with abacus, those guys whose minds are full of selfishness.
After going through so much, when he was about to bury this memory in the corner of his memory, a witness who proved his original intention appeared.
Mortarion lowered his eyes and squatted down.
"Your name, mortal."
"The Knights gave me a number."
"That number no longer exists. I don't want to hear it."
The gray-haired woman was still sobbing. "Others call me Digger."
"Would you like to use that name?"
She trembled but shook her head firmly.
"It's not worth my service."
"It is not worthy," said Mortarion. "But you are. Therefore, I call you Xenith, and I accept your allegiance."
Xinisi began to cry, she covered her face and cried bitterly. After going through all this, she was broken, but she could still start another life of her own.
Mortarion stared at Xinis in silence, the rebukes of Finus and Vulkan faintly ringing in his ears, "What on earth are you doing?"
That's what I'm doing, Mortarion thought sarcastically, but that was all he would stop at.
After the destruction comes another new beginning. Now the beginning of Galaspar has not really been realized, but Mortarion believes that it will all begin eventually. The Death Guard has planted the seeds in Galaspar, and it will sprout.
The Lord of Death received the message from Hades, and Mortarion spoke as gently as possible.
"Do you want to stay in Galaspa and build this place, or would you rather fight with the Legion?"
"I will follow you, my Lord."
Mortarion shook his head, then nodded.
"I understand. I appoint you as the manager of the First Company of the Death Guard Mortal Auxiliary Army. You need to grow up as quickly as possible and bring death to the enemy."
"One day, you will bring liberation to others."
"Until then, live tenaciously."
"Yes, my Lord."
Mortarion stood up, and the Primarch's armor made a dull sound, which was particularly abrupt.
"You need to rest now, Synice."
They watched in silence as the servitor led the lady away limping away. Only when the two figures became a blur in the corridor did Mortarion speak again.
"Did I do it wrong? Did I do it right?"
Hades was unusually silent, and Mortarion realized that Hades had also fallen silent.
Hades spoke dully,
"From her perspective, you did the right thing."
“If we want to make further changes, is there enough time?”
"At least we can keep a copy of the guidelines and plans and hand them over to the Mechanicus and the administrators here."
That's enough.
The Lord of Death stared silently at the direction where Xinis disappeared. She was a tough enough individual, and Mortarion admired her toughness, but she worshiped Mortarion as a god. Was this another kind of slavery? Mortarion didn't know.
But at least she knew the weight of resistance. The next war would teach her the truth. Under the ignorant rule of the Knights, such awareness was rare. He could not ask for anything else.
"I'm in a good mood now."
After a long pause, Mortarion spoke, "I am happy for those who have awakened voluntarily."
“She proved that I am not alone on this journey.”
Hades makes no comment on the stupidity of ideals and the selfishness of reality.
"After leaving Barbarus, this may be the last dream."
Mortarion whispered, then he turned around and reentered the potion room, and Hades threw a ball of dried medicine residue through the crack in the door.
"It's poisonous, but you can eat it, you won't die, and you can't waste it."
“This is the product you just interrupted and caused me to fail.”
Mortarion closed the door again, Hades sighed, and took a bite of the dregs of the medicine that had just been boiled.
Then he began to retch violently. Ugh—it was poisonous.
Some of the dialogues between Mortarion and the Digger were taken directly from The Pale King. Yes, that's how they talked in the original book, but Mortarion didn't squat.
No more for today, thanks for subscribing and happy reading.
The college entrance examination will be held tomorrow. I wish all the candidates success in the exam.
The Lord of Change wishes you all the luck to get all your guesses right.
The Blood God of the Skull Seat grants you unstoppable courage.
The Garden Father promises you a healthy life.
The Lord of Desire rewards you for your meticulous research.
Everyone who strives hard for his or her future will receive the Emperor's blessing. Even if the fate of mankind is uncertain, individuals can still use themselves as swords to tear open a corner of the dark sky and reveal a golden glow.
Even though hope is small, it is still burning. The struggle between individuals and reality has never left the era, this is true for 3k and 40k as well.
(I have a few words of emotion. I just finished the college entrance examination last year. Two of my friends went to Hengzhong to repeat their studies. I hope they can pass the exam this year. It was too torturous. One of my friends lost more than 20 pounds in half a year. The pressure was too great.)
(End of this chapter)