After the Dark Angels' fleet arrived in this star field, in order to avoid suspicion and as the war had entered its final stages, the Cerberus troops were transferred to the Prime star of Rust to assist the Mechanicus in resuming production here.
Although the Cerberus are the most inconspicuous mortal auxiliary troops and only play supporting roles on the battlefield, they are still allowed to know the overall direction of the war.
This war is almost over.
The Galapagos people, who participated in the first war in their lives, seemed to be relieved instantly. Although the tasks assigned to the Hellhounds were still completed on time or even ahead of schedule, people still tried to start finding fun in their lives.
Compared to the crude duel cages before, the Hellhounds were obviously more interested in those stories that had no beginning or end and became more and more fantastic as they were passed on. Having experienced two wars, they had many stories to review and share.
Among a series of rumors that sounded unreliable, there was one rumor that particularly attracted the curiosity of these mortals -
Pluto
In the spare time after finishing the construction work, people with dusty faces gathered together to chat and rest with nutritious porridge. When the atmosphere reached a climax, someone would suddenly lower his voice and say mysteriously,
"Have you heard of that, [Pluto]?"
If he was lucky, the people he worked with didn't know about it, so he could continue to tell the rumor with a smug look on his face.
If he is unlucky and someone else knows the rumor, he will have to rush to share the information with his companions.
"It is said. I mean, it is said that there is some special existence among the Death Guards."
"That's the one, the one we've all seen before. He was the commander who taught us how to drive a tank."
He raised his hand and waved it pointedly.
"Let me make it clear first, I believe in the Imperial Truth. Every Hellhound believes in the Imperial Truth. This is just a rumor, a rumor."
"Hey, just tell me now, stop pretending."
“Ahem—”
The man coughed again in a mysterious manner, lowering his voice to the lowest level.
"Actually, that adult is a god!"
“Ouch—”
The crowd made contemptuous noises and did not believe what the man said.
God? That's ridiculous. Although those Space Marines are indeed called angels by some ignorant people, the Cerberus who have been educated by the Death Guard know that Space Marines are also human beings.
"You might as well say that the legion commander is a god. That way I'll believe you a little more. You can't even make up a story."
Seeing that everyone refuted him, the man was not in a hurry. He continued to speak slowly and pinched his throat.
"I have evidence, and I can verify its authenticity for you now."
"Listen carefully, as long as you have no distracting thoughts in your heart and have reverence, and then silently recite [Praise to Hades] in your heart, there will really be a response!"
"Let me make it clear first. You must use your head and your heart to think about it, and you must think about that adult."
After the man finished speaking, he crossed his arms proudly, waiting for the crowd to try. You know, he was also shocked when he tried it, and the feeling of powerlessness and depression that seemed to penetrate into his bones
Compared to the confident man, his companions were skeptical. Questions such as "is this true?" were raised in the crowd. But since there was nothing to do now, many people began to try to pray to Pluto with curiosity and doubt.
Leisure is always the primary motivation for humans to try out stupid rumors.
In less than a minute, some people started screaming. They opened their eyes in fear and excitement, looked around at a loss, and became confused again after confirming that their surroundings were safe.
"See, it's real."
The man said proudly that this rumor could be verified immediately, which was why it could spread the farthest and was most easily shared.
"Wait. But if he is really God, why do I feel disgust? Shouldn't I be more joyful and healthy?"
"No. That adult is actually..."
"You don't know that."
The man continued to keep the secret,
"I've seen someone who actually believed him. It was a woman in the 037th Regiment. She said that this feeling of powerlessness could drive away the psychic control of aliens."
"And she said that the adult's name [Hades] has a corresponding god position in the ancient High Gothic language."
"[Pluto] controls the underworld and the power of death, so if we living people go to worship him, it will of course feel like we are dead!"
Then, seeing that everyone was staring at him with curiosity, the man couldn't help but start talking nonsense again, pouring out all the stories he had made up and what he had heard from other places.
Because it can be verified in real time, the rumor about [Pluto] spread more and more among the Hades, although most people just treated it as gossip and threw it into the corners after hearing it.
But the number of Hades Hounds is huge. Some of the Hades Hounds that fought with Ran Dan and accidentally escaped from Ran Dan’s mind control did not treat this rumor in this way.
Some of them began to gather together spontaneously to discuss their experiences and share their speculations and hypotheses - until a sage noticed this group of Hades dogs.
The rest camp of the 037th Regiment.
The coarse cloth tent set up in the wasteland of the mining area was as dark as night, and the overly dry air diluted the smell of sweat inside.
Now is free time. Most people go outside to chat or do independent training. No one wants to stay in this tent soaked with sweat.
This was good, it provided her with a rare moment of quiet as she sat on her cot and processed the news she now knew.
At present, all the conjectures she constructed were based on a solid iron law, which was -
When you call upon that adult in the name of [Pluto], you will receive a response in your mind.
Beyond that, that was all she knew. She tried to borrow some books from the archives that the Death Guard had opened to the Hellhounds, but the poor High Gothic language made it difficult for her to make any progress.
What is certain is that the existence of [Pluto] and [Death] in the Death Guard, plus the various death cultures that have long been popular in the legion, made her think that her guess was not so abrupt.
She thought about it and tried to dig out more evidence from her memory.
That adult had appeared, but in her memory all that remained was that adult's figure that was obviously taller than the others; everything else became blurry.
The beam of light flickered on the ground next to the tent door.
"Hello, do you have at least 3.5 standard Terra hours now?"
A flash of scarlet flashed directly into her sight, and she almost stabbed the dagger in fright.
In fact, she did so, but the Sage easily pinned her arm with his mechanical arm and held it there.
"Let me briefly introduce myself. I'm Kirkland, the Martian sage of the Death Guard."
She blinked in surprise. Generally speaking, the Mechanicus's sages would never be polite to a mortal, but Sage Kirkland did show superhuman courtesy and patience.
So she said cautiously,
"037th Regiment, Margo of Galaspa."
"Okay, nice to meet you, Margot. Enough of the small talk. I need your guess about Pluto."
"Well?"
The question from Sage Kirkland confused Margo. She was not sure if the sage was joking or if she had misheard.
"Sir? This is just my own guess, and the Empire is not..."
"No."
The sage rejected her cleanly, the chain on his shoulder turned, and Kirkland pressed his face tightly against it, as if wanting Margo to stare into his metal eyes.
The metal eyes looked like dead objects, but they glowed with an eerie red light deep inside.
"I have seen the devil."
The sage's emotionless electronic voice sounded,
"If there are demons in this world, then there will naturally be angels and gods."
"That lord, He knows the existence of demons, He is familiar with them, and He kills them."
Margot turned her face away uncomfortably, almost breaking her waist backwards in her attempt to get away from the sage.
"But sir, a brave man can also slay a demon."
Sage Kirkland suddenly released the mechanical arm that was holding Margo captive.
"No, I was wrong."
"The correct statement is that He destroyed them in an instant. He knows the laws of the silent machinery. He fixes it, He uses it. He knows the rules, and He is the rules."
"He is a god. After my close observation, I confirmed my suspicion. He meets my narrow definition of a god."
"Whether it's the power to resist demons or the wisdom behind the appearance."
"After He chose me as the first observer, I recognized this fact and repented for my previous foolish behavior."
“So I began to delve more deeply into the path He had shown me.”
There was a strange red light in the eyes of the Kirkland Sage. As if to make Margot stare at his face, his neck twisted into a strange arc.
"Now, tell me, mortal, why did you also discover [Pluto]?"
The oppressive feeling from the Sage almost formed a physical wall. Margot felt that she could hardly breathe, but she felt a little angry at the Sage's behavior.
Margot squeezed out a few words from her tightly pursed lips.
“Because I prayed to Him and He answered me.”
The oppressive feeling disappeared instantly, and she only felt the faint smell of engine oil.
"That's all?"
The wise man stood there stupidly.
"For me, that's enough."
She said coldly, and withdrew her hand. A deep mark had been left on her arm.
Kirkland Sage wonders, why the prayers of the sages have never been answered
Were they not devout enough? Kirkland needed more details.
The sage soon spoke again.
"Margo, tell me what you prayed for."
"For Hades, that's it."
"No more?"
“No, but you must be pious.”
The sage fell silent, and Margo knew that Kirkland had begun to pray—
The sage suddenly shuddered, as if a power outage had occurred.
"That's it! That's it! This feeling! It's Him!"
He rushed forward and squeezed Margo's hand, shaking it up and down. "You have found the way to Him."
Why were the previous prayers of the Mechanicus ineffective? Kirkland seemed to realize something. The subject of their prayers was not [Pluto], but [God of All Machines], or [Om Messiah].
That is to say, behind the surface of ecstasy, Sage Kirkland pondered the possibility of this fact.
It is better not to reveal this news to other sages for the time being.
Half an hour later, Kirkland and Margot were sitting on her bed, and Kirkland began to show her his collection of Pluto videos, Pluto quotes, and why Pluto was a god.
When dealing with the dark angel, Hades always felt weird. Some tiny sensations kept disturbing him, as if catkins were sliding across his skin in the darkness, then disappearing lightly into the air.
This feeling is very strange. I can't concentrate on it, but once I calm down, these tiny feelings disappear.
Only when you are unconscious can you vaguely feel that something is wrong.
What on earth is going on
Hades thought about it, but he could not find a reasonable explanation, so he had to give up. He checked the places where he usually stayed, and asked the lamplighter to come and see if it was psychic power, but in the end he found nothing.
Hades could only think in despair, could he be cursed or stabbed by someone
But after careful observation for a while, Hades found that apart from the thing that made him feel uneasy, there were no other ominous summons at present, so Hades put the matter on hold for the time being.
Sometimes when he was reviewing documents, he suddenly felt someone calling him, but when he looked up, there was no one in the room.
If Hades wasn't a tough guy who could blow up seven female ghosts with one punch, he would really be scared.
This kind of nonsense went on for a while until a document was handed to Hades' desk.
Hades looked at the latest intelligence reported by the gravekeeper and raised his eyebrows. This was the gravekeeper's report on the ideological guidance of the Hades Hound. There was a big stamp on it, which meant that it was directly approved by Hades.
He turned the first page silently.
".The overall mental state of the Hellhounds who joined the production mission has recovered well. The troops spontaneously began to entertain themselves, which to a certain extent alleviated the post-war anxiety of some personnel, but some rumors began to spread in the name of entertainment."
"In response to this, the gravekeeper has suppressed the rumors and changed the form of entertainment to a reward-based duel cage."
Well. You've done a good job. It's better to channel than to block. But rumors and the like are just idle chat. As long as the legion is stable and the supplies are sufficient, you can just talk about it.
Hades thought silently, picked up the cup to drink water, and continued reading -
".The most widely circulated opinion is [Pluto]."
Hades choked on a mouthful of water. Wait, what
He frowned and quickly turned to the next page. Words popped out, such blasphemous words as "God", "response" and "prayer" appeared before his eyes.
In short, I was very panicked.
The good news is that this is just a rumor and not many people take it seriously.
But some of the contents inside made Hades very concerned.
Countless thoughts and speculations flashed through Hades' mind. As the owner of the Black Domain, he really didn't know how the Black Domain responded to other people.
Is it really so outrageous that prayers can be answered? Then why didn't Hades see the sages mention "responses" in the previous prayers in the Mechanicus
Hades continued to flip through the report. On the last page of the report, there was a warrant for his arrest. Among the targets was a guy who needed authority, and the gravekeeper applied for Hades' approval.
Hades blinked and signed his name on the paper without hesitation.
The most stressful exams are over, and I will resume updating as normal :)
Make up for the summer vacation
(End of this chapter)