Well, things were beyond Hades' imagination.
But Hades seemed to have anticipated this situation to some extent.
They rode on a Stormbird, flew through the clouds, and landed at the temporary airport in the main city, where a small team of Ultramarines were waiting for them, ready to lead the way for them and avoid conflict with civilians.
And above the clouds, the Stormbird troops of the Death Guard were hovering in a tense posture, waiting for orders at any time.
At least Guilliman allowed the necessary air forces.
And above the atmosphere, unbeknownst to Guilliman, the Death Guard drop pods were ready.
Hades silently glanced at these blue-armored warriors and decisively chose the black domain invisibility. Although this trick was not so effective against those without psychic potential, he could still do it quietly next to the huge attention-grabber [Motarion].
"Very well," Mortarion looked at the blue Ultramarines, "lead the way."
The Death Guard marched in silence without saying a word.
At Mortarion's request, the Ultramarines will first take them to the Royal Palace, where there is a destroyed altar and their queen is waiting for them.
They passed through an industrial area full of low buildings. People greeted the Ultramarines with surprise and bowed to them, but when they saw the Death Guards, they avoided their gazes and hid in the old buildings in fear.
The Death Guard remained silent while the Ultramarines tried to comfort the frightened men.
Mortarion narrowed his eyes, staring at the narrow windows, where the uneasy shadows of people swayed on the walls.
They crossed the square where the Ultramarines were stationed. There were a lot of people and children running around from time to time. The humble and honorable Ultramarines were naturally welcomed by the natives. Mortarion could even see the Imperial historian taking a picture of an Ultramarines and a native girl.
Mortarion frowned, but he remained silent.
Everything here made him feel a little out of place, a little uneasy and restless, but the Lord of Death did not see the things he was familiar with, nor did he smell the stench of witchcraft.
Finally, they arrived at the tallest building in the arena, the Imperial Palace.
The Queen was waiting for them in the square in front of the main entrance of the palace.
He was an old man with snow-white hair and a wrinkled face. He was wearing a black robe decorated with gold thread. The edges of the robe were obviously worn, and it was obvious that he had been worn for a long time.
Her eyes were deep blue, revealing a sense of peace and tranquility beyond the ordinary. After seeing Mortarion, she did not show fear and surprise like ordinary people. She just looked at Mortarion deeply, and buried her body deeply.
"Good day, my lords."
The Queen said respectfully and calmly,
"Good day, Lady Circe."
The leading Ultramarines, Gage, acted as a bridge to introduce the two parties, talking to Ms. Circe politely and enthusiastically.
Mortarion listened carefully to their every word, but the witch did not pretend to be deaf and dumb. She expressed respect carefully and restrainedly, and was slightly concerned about her people.
The Ultramarines naturally patiently persuaded the hunchbacked queen that the Empire would not commit atrocities without reason, and as long as Absido surrendered and believed in the Imperial truth, they would not be punished.
Mortarion didn't want to hear nonsense, but he was also waiting, so the Lord of Death maintained a rare restrained patience, listening to the necessary nonsense while looking around the palace.
The palace was built of dark limestone, with fine materials and exquisite carvings, but under the erosion of acid rain, the figures, birds and animals carved on it have become something hideous.
At regular intervals, a tall spire would protrude from the palace. Those pointed figures reminded Mortarion of the treetops where pustular vultures would stay.
They were still talking, Mortarion narrowed his eyes, he looked around at the nine small towers surrounding a large tower, the nine large towers surrounding the main building. Numbers whispered in Mortarion's ears, Mortarion gradually realized that something was wrong, the Lord of Death fell into deep thought.
But... No, that's not right. This structure is asymmetrical. It destroys the beauty of the symmetry of numbers. Mortarion thought, it should be symmetrical, that's logical-
Gage's voice sounded abruptly, interrupting Mortarion's thoughts. Mortarion frowned somewhat unhappily, but in the end he said nothing and motioned for Gage to take them in.
But at the moment the Ultramarines turned around, the Queen looked deeply at Mortarion, beyond the Ultramarines among them.
The Lord of Death naturally responded to her with his gaze that was gloomy enough to kill.
Damn wizard, this is definitely a trick.
Mortarion thought with gritted teeth, but the problem was that he had no way to explain it. Even Hades advised him not to indulge in numerology anymore, and he didn't believe that Guilliman could understand his numerology.
Mortarion clenched his scythe once again. A crackling sound came from the private channel. He darkened his eyes, hoping that Hades could discover something.
Led by the queen, they entered the altar in the center of the circular palace, which was the main building surrounded by nine-story towers.
Mortarion would not allow the queen into the room, and had several Death Shrouds guard her. Everyone knew that a psyker should not be allowed to be in the same room with an altar, even an abandoned one.
This is a fairly symmetrical hall. Craftsmen applied geometry to create a dazzling visual effect. Everything here seems to be dynamic and constantly changing.
Silver runes were written all over the room, and Mortarion was keenly aware that they were the symbols on the queen's robes.
This is a very, very, very ominous place.
Even though this place had been destroyed, blue paint was splattered all over the runes, covering up the lines and designs, and the necessary sacrificial offerings were smashed, leaving only debris on the ground.
This place can no longer be used.
But Mortarion could still smell the stench of psionic energy in the air, passing through his gas mask and lingering around his nose.
Influenced by the Father of Genes, the guards behind Mortarion secretly grasped the switch of the flame launcher.
"Lord Mortarion, it was here that our father the Primarch proclaimed the Imperial Truth and accepted Absterdu's peace proposal."
Gage said proudly, "After reading the Imperial Truth, the Queen of Abstul ordered this place to be destroyed."
Mortarion glanced at Gage, and the Lord of Death was relieved to find that the altar here showed no signs of recent use and the stench was not strong enough, which at least showed that these blind men had not been ambushed by the enemy.
Robouti Guilliman, reading the Imperial Truth to a psyker beside an altar.
Ha ha.
"Yeah, it's really nice."
Mortarion muttered something under his breath, and then the Lord of Death maintained a cautious posture and carefully exited the hall.
Then, he saw Hades talking to the Queen.
Yay!
Good news, paint cleaning saved my life.
Bad news, I spilled the paint wash.
Holy shit!!! That’s all money!!!
(End of this chapter)