My father gave the Empire a vision and endowed it with unbreakable strength. Once this vision is applied to all social, cultural, and military organizations, it will surely inspire a cohesion that transcends individual ambitions.
[—Guilliman, On Loyalty, 45.22.xiv]
Hades stared at the lines in silence. The words were neatly placed on the paper and lay quietly in the gold-rimmed display book, looking down at him from the wall, looking down at a Death Guard.
Everything here was just as Hades had imagined the Ultramarines to be. But his mood was not particularly good.
Hades boarded Macragge's Glory with a heavy heart. Mortarion didn't know what had happened yet, and the Lord of Death was unwilling to board the mothership of other legions, but Hades was much more sad than before, and -
Mortarion realized that Hades seemed to want to communicate with the Ultramarines. Did he discover something? Was it a crack under the Ultramarines' glorious appearance, or was there something else about this planet, or both
After careful consideration, and after ensuring that the Ultramarines would not suddenly attack them, the Lord of Death was willing to let his commander go to Macragge's Glory to learn more information.
Whether it is the information from Abstuo or the information from the Ultramarines.
Compared to the dim Endurance, everything on the Macragge's Glory was immersed in a glittering light, neat and glorious, with pure blue and white spread across every corner, and bright gold dotted around them, symbolizing victory.
Led by the Ultramarines Gage, Hades and the Death Guards walked through the hall with many carvings of figures, through the showroom displaying Guilliman's works, through the ocean of blue and white, and finally arrived at the reception room.
The reception room continued the style of Macragge's Glory, with large tapestries hanging down. Woven on the sapphire blue were the glory of the Ultramarines. Quotations from Guilliman's works were also excerpted and hung on the pure white walls for display.
The light poured down, and everything in the living room was immersed in its transparent grandeur.
Roboute Guilliman, he just sat there, with an almost perfect affable smile.
Hades' gaze moved from Robert Quotations to Robert Guilliman. Well, he was now slightly guilty. After realizing the planet they were facing, he looked at Guilliman as a matter of course. It became a difficult thing to fall into the Macragge illusion.
Everything is fine, but it can't be this planet - it can't be this planet!!!
No, no, no, perhaps this planet is not the one Hades remembers. In fact, events have begun to shift, from the absence of the White Scars in the Battle of Druun, to the sudden appearance of the Ultramarines in the original extinction of Abstus, this place has begun to be different from what Hades knew.
Hades swallowed silently. He couldn't make a hasty decision. He needed to observe further, both for Abstuo and the Ultramarines.
Don’t let it be the RH line! Or any other weird lines! Hades shouted silently, at least don’t let it be the false god and evil son line!
Hades suddenly felt a chill on his neck. Wow! It must be the fake god's son! He didn't want to see it!
Robert Guilliman did not hear Hades' crazy complaints in his heart. Of course, with zero magic power, he naturally could not hear the voices of others.
He sat there, his neatly cut short golden hair shining in the light, the emerald green olive leaves symbolizing the status of the Lord of Macragge, his royal blue armor was smooth and meticulous, with a golden U-shaped badge embellished on the royal blue, as if smiling at Hades.
Hades suppressed the wild and divergent thoughts in his mind, and although he didn't know why reality had turned out like this, he still forced a perfect, politician-like smile on his face.
"Good day, Lord Guilliman. I am Hades, the commander of the Death Guard. The Lord of Death sent me to negotiate with the Thirteenth Legion on behalf of the Fourteenth Legion."
As Hades finished speaking, Guilliman seemed surprised for a moment, but his smile became more natural and kind.
"I never thought that my brother would send you to negotiate with the Ultramarines. I remember you at the banquet. Your behavior left a deep impression on me."
Guilliman remembered the figure standing in the Thousand Sons pile. This Death Guard commander obviously possessed extremely strong combat power.
But Guilliman originally thought that this Death Guard would have the same strange temper as his brother Mortarion, but judging from Hades's performance just now, it seems that this is not the case
Hades gave Guilliman the feeling of a politician, or a skilled diplomat, and such qualities made Guilliman feel slightly familiar.
Guilliman thought that Mortarion and his legion had never experienced a conquest without violence, and the Lord of Macragge wanted to let his brother experience such a return, without violence, without blood, but only mutual understanding and concessions between the two civilizations.
The Empire's conquests are not always accompanied by blood and tears. Depending on the preferences of the Primarchs, quite a few legions would choose civilized peace negotiations just before throwing their war spears. Without bloodshed, human civilizations were well preserved and integrated into the rhythm of the Empire.
Guilliman from Macragge obviously prefers this approach. Unlike most of his brothers, Guilliman does not gain satisfaction or honor from war. He only feels joy from the execution of plans and the achievement of goals.
Of course, Guilliman also hopes to share this joy, so that more people can see the content behind this joy, and civilization can be preserved instead of being burned by the flames of war.
The Fourteenth Legion had never experienced this before. Most of the worlds they were sent to were not human worlds, so they rarely felt or were familiar with this process.
And from what Guilliman had learned, the only human world to which the Death Guard had been sent was Galasper. Snippets of rumors proved that unimaginable massacres had taken place there.
Perhaps they should feel the joy of being welcomed instead of just submitting to the scythe, Guilliman thought. Let the Death Guards feel the charm of civilization. They belong to the same great race, human beings. Understanding and tolerance are obviously better choices.
But so far, the Lord of Death had shown little interest in the Ultramarines' achievements on Abstul, and Guilliman had the uneasily felt that perhaps his brother, like most Primarchs, had some unique obsession with war.
Guilliman thought back to what had happened at the feast, and the disturbing qualities that Mortarion had displayed, but the Lord of Death had also shown signs of a desire to talk - which meant that there was still hope.
Although Guilliman was unclear as to why Mortarion held such a strong grudge against psykers, the Lord of Macragge attempted to understand this behavior, and ultimately concluded that Mortarion hated sorcerers who used blasphemous sorcery, and that his brother also adhered to the Imperial Truth.
To Guilliman's relief, although the rulers of Absterdu also used psionic magic, after Guilliman carefully explained the Imperial Truth to them, their queen was willing to give up sorcery, altars, and other things prohibited by the Imperial Truth.
Guilliman rarely encountered a civilization that was so cooperative in surrendering. In his analysis and classification, the more different a human civilization was from the Empire, the greater the resistance it would have to surrendering. The Imperial Truth had even overturned the logical foundation of these civilizations that originally used psychic energy.
But they were still willing to surrender and vowed to act in accordance with the doctrine of the Imperial Truth.
The surrender plan was successfully completed. Although Guilliman was disappointed for a while because the backup plan was not activated, it was a miracle that was difficult to replicate. It took the Ultramarines less than a week to complete the surrender of a human world and make them obey the Imperial truth.
Guilliman had also worried about the undercurrent beneath the surface calm, perhaps this planet was just pretending to surrender, but after surrendering, Abstus' army did not take any other actions. They stayed there quietly and obeyed the command of the Ultramarines.
Everything went well, and in nine days the Ultramarines would represent the Empire and accept the formal allegiance of this civilization in the square of Abstuo.
Guilliman certainly hoped that the Death Guard would be able to participate and witness the ceremony.
Lord Macragge was making precise calculations in his mind. At the same time, he was also talking to Hades, the representative of the Death Guard. The image of the Death Guard commander was quickly constructed in the Primarch's mind.
Compared to Mortarion, this commander obviously understands and knows some of the rules of social situations better, has an amazing grasp of the art of language, is logical, and has a good sense of propriety.
Guilliman even had an illusion for a moment, that this Death Guard named Hades... Or maybe not, he suppressed the slightly absurd and bad-taste speculation in time.
Opposite Guilliman, while Hades was praising him loudly in his heart, Hades was taking a rather cautious attitude.
The two were still in the long greeting session, introducing each other to the customs and practices of the two legions, and other random things. There was information, but very little and insignificant.
Hades likes to call it the "Markula-style greeting", which is just like when grandpas and aunts chat about daily life, the first sentence they say is "Have you eaten?"
Rather than what the Ultramarines ate, Hades was more concerned about the current situation of Abstus and the Ultramarines.
Although he had been practicing Tai Chi with Guilliman reflexively.
Finally, Guilliman finished his long greetings and got down to business.
"The Queen of Abstul warmly welcomed the Ultramarines. They are willing to submit to the Empire and strictly abide by the Imperial Truth."
Guilliman said proudly,
"It is a rare act, willing to give up most of one's own civilization and instead adhere to the doctrine of the Empire. This is something that is worth encouraging and promoting."
This civilization had made remarkable concessions, which needed encouragement, and the witness of the two legions was certainly appropriate.
Guilliman continued his impassioned speech, the olive laurel wreath on his head gleaming at different angles under the light as the Primarch moved.
"Hades, I know my brother's hatred for psykers, but the psykers on this planet are willing to abandon their psyker traditions and abide by the Imperial Truth. I think he would be more pleased to see this behavior. Psykers are not completely hopeless. They also radiate the light of human rationality."
Guilliman spoke passionately, and the primarch's talent for statesmanship was fully demonstrated at this moment.
The other Ultramarines and Death Guard who were watching were already absorbed in Lord Macragge's speech. Their trust in humanity and the beautiful hope that humans would eventually understand each other were inflating like balloons in their hearts.
Except Hades, of course.
The more Guilliman spoke, the more panicked Hades became. The smile on his lips was almost twitching, but he still had to maintain the image of being inspired by Guilliman's speech.
To be honest, Hades is very panicked now.
In fact, in the original novel, Abstuo also surrendered, and Mortarion, who was criticized for tyranny in Galaspar, accepted the surrender of these psykers and told them to abide by the Imperial Truth.
Just like now, the psykers chose to prostrate themselves and pledged the Imperial Truth in front of the Lord of Death.
but
Because of Barbarus's childhood life, under the influence of his adoptive father Nakre, Mortarion has always been extremely sensitive to psychic witchcraft. Coupled with the Primarch's own suspicious character, the Death Guard did not leave immediately after accepting Abstus' surrender.
Instead, Mortarion chose to wander the streets of Abstau himself.
You won’t know until you visit, and you’ll be surprised when you do.
In fact, regardless of whether the management of this planet is psychics, the influence of psychic energy has begun to penetrate every corner of this civilization. Ominous spells disguised as nursery rhymes sung by mothers to coax their babies are crawling on the ground in a trivial manner.
After encountering a half-crazy old woman with signs of corruption, Mortarion immediately had PTSD. At this time, the Lord of Death's extremely high sensitivity to psychic energy began to take effect, and he keenly realized that the swaying shadow of psychic energy was buried in everything that was ordinary before.
This planet is beyond salvation. This is no ordinary psychic kingdom. They are on the brink of corruption and are teetering on the edge of collapse.
So, what else is there to say, the Death Guard dropped their first extinction-destroying cyclone torpedo.
Of course, all of this is based on one thing, that is, Mortarion sees through the gentle lies on the surface of this civilization. For the think tank, this is not an easy thing to do.
But now.
Hades stared at Guilliman who was still continuing his speech. He had already begun to imagine future expeditions and how to deal with the surrendered human civilization.
Hades felt his scalp tingling for the first time.
There is nothing wrong with Guilliman, he is very good, he is the best Hades has ever seen, he is compassionate and merciful, he tries his best to avoid war, he has a very high liking and bottom line for human civilization, and he tries his best to avoid extinction weapons, radiation weapons and phosphide weapons.
For human civilization, peace talks are the right thing to do, and humans should not kill each other. To some extent, Hades agrees with Guilliman's point of view.
But the thing is - it can't be this planet. Guilliman is good, but not here. Not on Abstuo!
Hades realized absurdly that all the good qualities that Guilliman had previously praised would, at this moment, become high walls to block the Death Guard.
md, why.
Hades thought with great sorrow that even Perturabo, even Lion Jonson, on Abstuo, would allow, or even not care, that the Death Guard would issue the extermination order.
Why, it has to be the nmd Ultramarines.
How should he explain psychic power to Guilliman, or break through Guilliman's bottom line, which is thicker than the Imperial Fists fortress, and make Guilliman understand the necessity of going to war
Hades felt as if fate was playing a joke on him. He met the right person at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
Perhaps he should be more cautious.
This one has 4.4k words, hahaha.
Don't wait after half past ten, just get up early and see if there is any ()
The reference to Guilliman and the Ultramarines comes from "Lord of Macragge". Interestingly, the author of this book is also the author of Mortarion's "Pale King". David is responsible for the 30k story of Mortarion and Guilliman.
(End of this chapter)