The Ultramarines finally left reluctantly, but before leaving, Robert Guilliman gave some small gifts to Mortarion and Hades in his personal name.
Mortarion didn't even open the gift box, but threw the small box wrapped in blue satin directly into the warehouse. He didn't have the necessary curiosity, and his good impression of Robert Guilliman was not enough to support him to open the gift box.
On the other hand, Hades was very satisfied with the large Macragge tapestry given to him by Guilliman, and he couldn't be more satisfied.
This is a purely hand-sewn tapestry. Hades guessed that it was probably the work of an Extreme Warrior. The stitches were tight and the fluffy texture was quite comfortable. The carpet, with a lake blue background, was embroidered with a full landscape. The warm sunshine sprinkled into the white square, and in the distance was a majestic fortress, with some birds dotted everywhere.
Hades determined that this should be the scenery on Macragge, but he was not sure where exactly.
This tapestry is perfect both from an ornamental and political perspective.
So Hades hung one of them in his office.
Although this caused some minor commotion that Hades himself didn't care about, when reporting on his work, Garo looked at the tapestry and seemed to be hesitant to speak, while Vox had a disillusioned expression on his face. The other Death Guards' first reaction after entering Hades' office was usually to be stunned.
The one who reacted the most was Mortarion. The Lord of Death walked into Hades' office and his eyes never left the huge tapestry. He stared at the painting as if he was staring at a witch who had not yet been hanged.
Mortarion walked over slowly and tried to poke the tapestry with his hand, then immediately withdrew his hand in disgust. He felt like he was about to vomit on the Macragge tapestry.
"Any questions?"
Hades said if you have something to say, just say it, otherwise get out.
[nothing.]
Mortarion slowly turned his gaze away
During that period, there were a lot of jokes among the Ultramarines within the Death Guard. Mortarion also held several mock battles against large-scale humanoid enemies.
The one who reacted the least was Enrique from the Foundry. This low-key old engineering man had already seen through Hades' true nature. Faced with the tapestry that appeared in Hades' office, he remained calm without a ripple and just reported his work to Hades as usual.
Just sent a message that the ship built for Hades was basically completed, and now they needed Hades' instructions on the interior decoration. If Hades did not make any special requirements, then these mechanical sages would have to install it themselves.
Hades waved his hand and let them install it themselves. He was not the kind of person who fretted over details. As long as the equipment and weapons were in place and the ship's firepower was strong enough, that would be enough.
Just let the wise guys decorate it according to the standard template; they won't really give him a pink fluffy carpet with a pink bunny style.
On the other hand, the second batch of technical soldiers sent to Mars have returned, and the fourth batch has also been dispatched.
As the first batch of technical talents returning from Mars, and the nominal and actual boss of the foundry department, Enrique asked Hades if he needed to go and see the new recruits, give a speech, and examine their professional qualities.
Hades looked at Enrique silently. The focus was actually on the last sentence. He still remembered that when he had just returned, the casting masters in the foundry hall took turns giving him technical problems, under the pretext of examining the professional qualities of newcomers.
To put it bluntly, it was a show of force, to make these new recruits who had just learned a lot of knowledge from Mars behave themselves. For these usually boring and dull foundry halls, this was an entertainment activity they loved to see.
But unfortunately, Hades' car flipped over all of them, which greatly reduced the entertainment value of that event.
It seems that because of the precedent of Hades, the Foundry Hall maintained a certain cautious attitude towards the second batch of newcomers.
So they decided to invite Hades, the strongest man in the Foundry, to give the new recruits a warning.
As for this kind of fun, no, request, as the boss of the foundry, Hades naturally agreed to them.
——————
Among the second group of Death Guard sent to Mars, Pasteur was clearly the most skilled one among them (main course only).
In the simulated battlefield, even though missiles kept exploding around him and the ground was shaking violently, he could still replace the 3mm No. 0 gear for the Stormbird without changing his expression or heartbeat.
Or in a high-pressure, high-temperature and high-radiation environment, when the display screen is completely damaged, they can rely on experience and broken radio waves to complete the system reinstallation of the large bird servant instrument.
No extreme circumstances could cause any fluctuations in his heart; he was like a well-oiled machine, completing every maintenance perfectly.
However, in some more niche courses, such as the norms of religious etiquette of the Mechanicus, the standard procedures for purchasing materials in the Forge World, and an introduction to the Sage Language of different worlds, Pasteur was completely defeated.
(By the way, Hades holds the best score in all the above-mentioned niche courses.)
But since Mars advocates quality education, they do not require graduation certificates, so Pasteur, who failed many courses, was sent back in a daze.
Pasteur's understanding of this is that he doesn't understand it, but now that he is back, he will contribute his part to the Death Guard.
By the way, find that senior H.
In fact, Pasteur's own academic achievements have earned him enough reputation in the technical base on Mars. The Iron Warriors and Iron Hands warriors all praised this Death Guard who seemed to be missing a string in his brain. Some even said that he had the academic style of H.
But Pasteur himself knew that this was just false praise. Only those who had carefully studied H's masterpiece would know that the gap between them was as huge as heaven and earth.
And their praise would only deepen Pasteur's obsession, which was to find that predecessor!
Unfortunately, even in a place like the Foundry, there is formalism. When they just got off the spaceship, they first received the baptism of the God of All Machines, and then they were called to listen to the speech of Hades, the leader of the Foundry.
Pasteur stood expressionlessly in the front row of the new recruits. The words flowed into his left ear like running water and then flowed out smoothly from his right ear.
He has never cared about, paid any attention to, or liked this kind of activity.
Rather than these, he would rather find the foundry master and ask if there is anyone in the foundry with the initials H.
Or is there anyone whose last name starts with H, or is there anyone who particularly likes the letter "H"
Pasteur was thinking about how to talk to this powerful senior, and then he was worried that this senior might have died in the battle. And then he was thinking about what mechanical components he should give to the senior if he died in the battle.
Hades, who was chatting briefly above, had no idea that he had been thought of as dead by this expressionless recruit.
Being Hades, he also only cared about the entertainment that followed.
It was obvious that no one in the foundry hall liked formalism or preaching. After a brief chat, Hades asked those technical sergeants who were eager to try to take the recruits to examine their professional qualities.
He was also very curious whether these newcomers could handle the difficult questions he set. Because of the experience of Hades last time, this year's casting masters had finally brought out their best skills, and the questions they set were more bizarre than ever.
From the grumpy and fearless old man awakened by the repair [temporarily], to the limited-time limited parts manufacturing universal mortal rations assembly line, Hades was born when he saw it.
Although he himself was not a human, the task Hades asked this time was to manually control the landing coordinates and repair the extravehicular emergency landing system while in an airdrop chamber that was falling and out of control.
Enrique said that you are the newborn Winter Xi. It’s okay if you lose control, but you are repairing the [outside cabin] system while falling. Are you trying to create a miracle
In response, Hades blinked innocently. Isn't this an inspection
Although no one thought that any new recruits could reach the final level set by Hades.
So that day, the foundry masters sat together, drinking tea and watching the fearless old men who had colluded with each other beat up the new recruits, and they all said that this is what youth is all about.
Who hasn't been beaten by Fearless
—Everyone’s attention suddenly shifted to Hades, who was among them.
Hades, who was happily drinking tea and eating snacks, was kicked out for patrol and was responsible for rescuing the technical soldiers who were knocked down.
Soon, amidst a chorus of wailing, the new recruits fell to the ground one after another, unable to fight any more. The casting masters walked over with a smile on their faces, and while chatting, they loudly lamented that the quality of this batch of recruits was not good.
"I'm done. What's the next trial?"
A voice suddenly sounded, interrupting the conversation of the casting masters.
Pasteur looked at the assembly line he had just built and recalculated his design in his mind. There was no problem, he thought -
A figure suddenly broke into his thoughts.
"So soon, you finished?"
Pasteur looked up silently and saw that the person who had just spoken was staring at him with interest, as if he was very interested in him, but he had forgotten the other person's name.
Pasteur nodded reservedly.
"The front end of the assembly line disassembled the commonly used 3-type design, while the back end borrowed and improved the Mars design."
"No, that's not the point."
After Pasteur finished his brief introduction, the man said softly, the red light in his left eye scanning Pasteur's assembly line,
"You used a completely new wheel structure, didn't you? I haven't seen it before."
Pasteur looked at Hades cautiously and agreed with this statement.
Pasteur thought to himself that he was the leader of the foundry hall, so he should know Senior H. Although this made Pasteur a little embarrassed to talk about it, Pasteur believed that such an outstanding person should be able to stand out in the foundry hall.
The premise is that you must not die.
Then Pasteur only needs to make a good impression on the leader and then take the opportunity to ask him about his predecessors.
For the first time, Pasteur felt that he had made a major breakthrough in interpersonal communication.
While Pasteur was still thinking about how to ask, he saw that the child was silent again, so Hades had to speak for himself.
"I know you, Pasteur, don't I?"
Pasteur nodded and said nothing.
Hades can't hold it anymore, at least give him a reaction.
Forget it, Hades was used to it, so he tried again.
"You have a great talent for casting. Which department do you plan to study in?"
Then Hades saw Pasteur shook his head firmly at him.
For the first time, Hades had a screen full of question marks in his mind.
"My lord, I don't need it."
Wait, what on earth did this new soldier understand? What did he think of what Hades said? ?
"grown ups,"
Pasteur swallowed his saliva.
"I was hoping to find someone, a Tech-Sergeant of the Death Guard."
Hades was confused, but he agreed anyway.
"Tell me, I'll try to help you. What's his name, or what he looks like."
Pasteur shook his head slowly. He suddenly found it difficult to speak. He didn't know the name of the dog senior, nor did he know what he looked like, so he rashly went to ask the leader of the foundry hall.
"I don't know, but the senior left a book on Mars, a book that can be edited by everyone, and the senior's signature is H."
Then Pasteur saw the leader staring at him helplessly, as if he was holding back something to say.
Pasteur knew that he had chosen the wrong person and made the wrong choice again, and he was finished.
He recalled the time when he was chased and scolded by the Martian Sage because he had violated the religious rituals. He was then forced into the church to reflect on his actions for a month. If it weren't for the "How to Pretend to Be Pious" left by Senior H, he would never have been able to escape from that church in his lifetime.
"What do you want with him?"
Hades asked, trying to hold himself together as best as possible, and then he saw Pasteur's face full of righteousness, as if he had risked everything.
"I hope to become his apprentice, or to thank him. The words left by Mr. H taught me a lot and made me realize the meaning of life."
"I'm grateful to be a Death Guard, and I'm grateful to be a technical sergeant of the Death Guard, and the thing I regret least in my life is going to Mars and seeing and understanding those words."
Pasteur said profoundly,
"So, sir, please at least let me see the senior once."
Hades couldn't hold back again. Wait, before, he could understand the meaning of life? What on earth did this new soldier named Pasteur understand?!
"I know who you're looking for."
"You've already met him."
Hades continued to hold on, trying to keep his face as expressionless as possible, and then he saw Pasteur's surprised and disappointed expression.
"Sir, I didn't recognize him, can you tell me who he is?! I won't fail to recognize him again!"
Hades was silent, staring at him with his head down, while Pasteur stared at Hades nervously.
Hades slowly reached out his hand and pointed at himself.
"Um. My name is Hades."
"H."
Then Hades saw Pasteur's slow, sudden realization on his face, and then he slowly fell back, backward—
Pasteur felt his head buzzing, and the last thing he heard was the voice of Senior H, no, now it should be called Hades, shouting pharmacist.
Now, Pasteur thought, since he didn't recognize the other party in front of his senior, he should just go and carry out the death mission.
————
As expected, no one made it to Hades' level, and the most promising recruit was taken down by Hades himself.
Enrique announced that this year's activity to examine the professional qualities of new recruits was the most entertaining one to date, and it also made up for the lack of entertainment in the previous one.
Two chapters in one!
No more today
(End of this chapter)