In Barbaros's grandest building, sunlight streamed through the windows, making the large carpet look bright and fluffy.
Its ruler had returned and was looking at the new building with a considering eye. Fortunately, it did not have the carvings that the Lord of Death hated, and its simple walls looked like the bulkheads of the Endurance.
The largest main hall was used for the first time. Mortarion personally ordered that he would greet the guests from afar here.
The news that the Death Guard had returned to Barbarus was already known to everyone. They were like stones thrown into boiling oil, and naturally caused the people's hearts to splash and boil.
The Lord of Death is the center of this grand stage. Even if he himself is unwilling to admit it, the crown of the Primarch has been worn and no one can escape.
Even though most of the policies that interest people are not his.
Mortarion stared thoughtfully out the window at Barbarus.
There is an endless stream of people on the main roads of Siping. People are talking and laughing as they walk on the streets. The sunlight makes the roads blindingly bright, but people seem to have gotten used to it.
There were even shops and bars on both sides of the street. Mortarion lowered his eyes. Not long ago, Barbarus was still an era of barter and rationing, but after the arrival of peace and technology, human civilization here was developing rapidly.
He chewed it all slowly, recalling the crowds that had just arrived, thanking him for bringing liberation, prosperity, and everything they had now.
Mortarion was unsure whether they were more grateful for liberation or for prosperity.
But when he looked at these people who had not been ravaged by poison gas and had not been crushed by suffering, he thought the latter was more likely.
If it's the latter, they're thanking the wrong person.
Mortarion turned around and glanced at Hades who was sitting at the long table reviewing documents, then turned his head again and continued to stare at the crowd.
Mortarion pondered, wondering whether all this was good or bad. One side of the Lord of Death told him that people had become weak, but another part of him realized that everything now was just a fantasy that his comrades had longed for.
Even though he had promised them only death and liberation.
The Lord of Death pondered, but ultimately did not come up with his answer. However, he was unwilling to let everything be destroyed, nor did he come up with any better answer than this, so he left it as it was.
However, next time when recruiting new soldiers for Barbarus, he needs to be more careful to screen out the cowards and the hedonists.
People have told Mortarion their choice and answer, they accepted Mortarion, they chose Mortarion, so Mortarion will naturally fulfill his promise.
Anyway, Mortarion slowly thought that the feeling of being surrounded and cheered by people was not so disgusting to him.
But being kind to the people of Barbarus does not mean that he will be kind to others. Barbarus has accepted too many other people, and Mortarion still needs to check them one by one.
When night falls, he will meet in person with the representatives from other worlds.
After spending some more time by the window, with nothing else in his mind, Mortarion let his thoughts drift away, and finally decided to go see what others were doing.
The Lord of Death strode up to Hades and squinted at the documents he was reviewing.
Seeing Mortarion coming over to join in the fun, Hades ignored him and continued to read the report submitted by Garro.
In the human settlement on Planet 5, Garo successfully led the gravekeepers to make a judgment. The tall warriors walked into the downtown area and pulled out the criminals like they were picking up chickens.
In front of the battle-hardened veterans, the guns and ammunition prepared by the thugs were nothing more than oversized toys.
Hades looked at the photos sent by Galao. Galao explained that since the other party tried to resist, he had to use a more violent method.
Blood and internal organs were scattered all over the ground, the head had its mouth wide open like a dead fish, the eyeballs emitted a strange light, bone fragments splattered on the muzzle of the grenade launcher, and chunks of flesh and blood slowly slid down from the power armor.
Hades swallowed.
After confirming the execution of each person, Garro read out loud to the gravekeepers' guard circle the crimes of these people and the judgment of the Death Guard on them.
Well. It's quite a warning to others. But Hades felt a chill on his neck as well.
We should pay more attention to the mental health of veterans. Fortunately, Jialuo did not use the skull to make a shape or anything, nor did he kill anyone, although the scene was indeed very shocking.
The most darkly humorous thing is that, perhaps because Hades told Garo to focus on the role of education, Garo finally thanked other law-abiding citizens and encouraged them not to cause trouble for the Death Guard.
Hades had a ferocious look on his face. He didn't know how to comment, so he could only give Gala's report a [pass].
Mortarion was watching with great interest, and seemed to have a higher opinion of Garro.
Let's not reach a consensus in such a strange place! Hades shouted silently.
Fortunately, Vox came over soon after and told the Lord of Death that everything was ready and he could meet the visitors at any time.
The tall middle-aged man took a deep breath and straightened his collar again. He stomped his feet unconsciously, and only felt a little relieved after feeling the pressure of the leather shoes on his heels.
He is a representative from a small death world. Their star field is remote and barren. No one knows which unfortunate human exploration ship their ancestor was, but it crashed into this desolate place and struggled to take root there.
There are other worlds around their world, all of which are in a barren state, but after a careful comparison, he found that his world is the poorest.
They did not have the ability to sail out of the galaxy. When an exploration ship from the Empire arrived there, they immediately surrendered, begging this "Empire" to improve their environment and provide some local technology.
But unfortunately, a few robots in red robes came down from the exploration ship. After taking some measurements, they announced that there were not many resources there and that it was a "death world". The exploration ship threw them a notice to collect a tithe and left.
The locals stared at the tax list in amazement. According to those people, since they had few resources, their planet had the least tax rate and they only needed to pay the tax.
Faced with this situation, it would be a lie to say that you don’t want to curse.
Fortunately, those people from the Empire still had a bit of conscience and gave them a communication device that could contact more distant star regions. With no other choice, they sent people there every day to listen to the communications of other ships and learn High Gothic by the way.
Then they learned about Barbarus.
For a long time, the channel was boiling with news about it. Barbarus, Barbarus, this word that was not High Gothic was mentioned repeatedly by different people, in different tones, and on different radio waves.
From a few words, they learned that Barbarus was the home planet of the Death Guard and was now welcoming representatives from various worlds. The Death Guard hoped to unite this star region and establish a more stable environment.
The locals looked at each other, as if their barren land was defined as an "independent world" by the empire, which was the last thing they could do.
If no one helps them, the natural environment of the death world will cause them to become extinct.
So they discussed with the surrounding death worlds, pooled some resources, and began to bombard the nearby star fields with the communication equipment left by the Empire, and finally called in a merchant fleet.
So he just stood here.
After all, he had a world-famous reputation. After his name was confirmed on the list, he worked on a merchant ship to save up money for a ticket back home and was allowed to arrive in Barbarus.
To be honest, his companions were all nobles from wealthy worlds, most of whom had their own ships. It was impossible for him not to feel timid when mixed in with this group of people.
Barbarus's real master had not arrived yet, and time passed in waiting. His companions were either talking to the red-robed robot (he now knew that it was a sage), searching for talented people in human settlements, or discussing business with visitors from other worlds.
He? He originally planned to go to work. He had inquired and found that there were many jobs that needed labor. After all, he was a person who survived in the world of death. If nothing else, he still had strength.
But he was stopped by Lord Fowler.
Lord Fowler was a fat man with a smiling face. In the days before the Death Guard arrived, he and those silent Space Marines were responsible for connecting with them.
I heard that Lord Fowler was personally selected by the Death Guard management. He is a very capable person and often changes the subject when representatives from several hives are arguing.
He originally planned to ask Lord Fowler to apply for a temporary residence permit for Planet No. 5 so that he could go to work, but Fowler looked at him with a smile for a while and asked him why he wanted to go to Planet No. 5.
To make money, he answered truthfully. The money for the boat ticket was enough. He had his eyes on the rock water extraction technology sold by a mechanical sage. They needed it.
He licked his lips; they were really dry there.
“How do you make money?”
"work to earn a living."
As if he had heard a funny joke, Fowler opened his eyes wide and laughed out loud, and the flesh on his face was shaking.
"You're making me laugh to death, young man. You're from the world of death, right? Let me give you some advice."
Fowler lowered his voice.
"Have you seen those female representatives of the hive? Of course, male representatives are also fine. Just chat with them and make them happy. If you get a little bit of money from your hands, it's enough for you to buy a boat. If you go to work, you will never be able to save enough money."
That day, his three views were reshaped.
But the good news is that he had negotiated a deal with the sage and had also managed to get himself some presentable attire.
After that, he cut off those contacts. He had done the best he could for his world, so he decided to go work. He couldn't stand it anymore.
Although the money is little, he already has what his world needs most, and he can take his time with the rest.
But before he could leave, the Death Guard returned and the Lord of Death demanded to meet with representatives from each world.
He hesitated whether to run away. With him in this state and his planet in this state, the Lord of Death would not scold such low-class people, right
And I heard that the Death Guard is very strict, and the Lord of Death only favors true heroes.
He thought about what he had done to get to Barbarus and decided it would be best to run.
But Lord Fowler came to him again and whispered to him breathlessly.
"Listen carefully. The legion commander is here. You should say that you are from the Death World. Tell the truth and don't lie. But please note that there is usually a commander following the legion commander. When the legion commander leaves, if the commander asks you questions, tell him about your experience on Barbarus. But don't mention it in front of the legion commander."
He opened his eyes wide.
"Wait, why are you helping me, Lord Fowler?"
Fowler waved his sweaty handkerchief at him and said casually,
"People like you who come from small places have such brains. I know you have a whole world behind you, so why don't you learn to be smarter instead of just thinking about working."
"This isn't a rags to riches story. Let me tell you, the Lord of the Death Guard is far more powerful than anyone you've ever met. He's a monstrous being!"
"That one word from a great man can determine the fate of a planet."
"As long as you match their preferences and provide them with value, they can completely change your world!"
Fowler gave him a pointed look and walked away.
What a stupid guy, Fowler thought. That man represents the most recent circle of death worlds of Barbarus. If the legion commander doesn't like him, who else can he like
It's a pity that this guy didn't even ask about the legion commander's preferences, and didn't know how to make use of his identity at all. Tsk tsk tsk, people from the world of death are stupid.
To be disrespectful, the Death Guard are also quite stubborn, but fortunately Lord Hades is not that kind of person.
He entered the hall.
Representatives from all the planets seen in the past were gathered here, but there was no loud boasting. Everyone was whispering in a kind of swaying anxiety, exchanging as much information as possible.
Two tall Death Guards stood at the door of the inner room connecting to the hall. From time to time, someone came out from there and was called in. They called people according to the name of the planet.
Some people walked out of the door almost exhausted, while others walked out trembling violently and could hardly utter a complete sentence.
The remaining survivors looked at them in fear, imagining what they would face next. Some even wanted to leave directly, but were politely stopped by Fowler at the hall door.
People stared at the door leading to the inner room, as if blood plasma was oozing out from the other side of the door.
He quietly took a glass of wine and sat in a secluded corner, anxiously waiting for the upcoming trial.
"Eunice Tri."
Finally it was his turn. He took another deep breath, stepped through the door, and passed by the sobbing people who were leaving.
"Hello, don't be nervous, you are the representative from Unistree, right?"
Unexpectedly, there was a long corridor at the other end of the door. A warrior taller than the other Death Guards was looking at him with a smile. Half of this adult's head was covered with hideous metal and scars.
"Yes, yes sir."
He answered hastily, and then followed the adults along the corridor.
"I see that you are from the world of death, and you also represent the three human worlds around you, is that right?"
He nodded frantically, afraid that if he was a little late, what Lord Fowler had said to him would have been thrown out of his mind.
"I am the commander of the Death Guard, Hades. Relax, relax, my friends, you are all a little too nervous."
The footsteps of the two people echoed slowly in the corridor.
"Can you tell me what you hope to do by coming to Barbarus on behalf of these four worlds?"
This question stumped him.
Until now, coming to Barbaros was just a vague concept. His people sent him on board the ship and didn't tell him what to do. It seemed that once he arrived in Barbaros, he had come up with the idea on his own.
In fact, when he arrived at Barbarus and saw the equipment of the sages, the idea did come to him, but after that
"I have not thought of it, my Lord."
Hades raised his eyebrows. This was the first representative from the Death World that they had met. Would he not give him a trump card right at the beginning
Mortarion's mood had been exhausted in the conversation with the representative of the hive city, so Hades called in a representative of the Death World to ease the atmosphere.
"So when you came to Barbarus, what did you do?"
". Save money to buy the boat ticket back home and the technology to squeeze water out of rocks."
That’s interesting, Hades thought.
"Rocks squeeze water. Is your world a planet full of rocks?"
"Yes, sir, we are there."
Hades slowly coaxed the nervous representative into speaking. Compared to those hive representatives, this man's words were obviously more straightforward and less concealed.
Of course, no matter how much the hive representatives polished their language, they would have to tell everything in front of Mortarion.
Then they were led out by Hades who were frightened and took the opportunity to question them and guide their thoughts.
Despicable Babarus.jpg
Today we are just testing the waters, and then based on today’s intelligence, we will classify and negotiate with these representatives.
Hades was thinking about the conversation between the previous representatives while calmly inducing the man to speak. This representative of Unistri would probably be classified as a conscription negotiator by the Death Guard.
Compared to the despicable Hades, he answered the adults' questions haltingly and told the commander everything about the situation there.
It is very difficult to survive there, and he wants to say more to make the adults aware of the difficulties they are facing. Maybe they will be kind enough to provide some support to his planet.
But he couldn't help but boast about the wisdom and tenacity of their people. In that shitty place, they survived and made some achievements of their own, even though in the eyes of these people, it might be just a fortress made of mud.
He talked and talked, and even felt a little lost, as if he was homesick, but Lord Hades suddenly stopped and stared at him with shining eyes.
In front of them was another door.
"You are about to face the Legion Commander. Relax. He will be pleased with you."
Hades smiled warmly at him and opened the door for him.
Behind the door is a turning point in his life and the fate of his hometown.
The Lord of Death stared at him with interest.
Lord Fowler was right, but Lord Fowler was also wrong.
His past, the past of his home planet, and their courage to persist in living are the greatest confidence that has made them what they are today.
Yes, code.
This chapter costs 5k!
Damn it, I need to finish farming quickly. Ugh, why do I keep writing more and more
(End of this chapter)