[Above Nikaea Orbit]
"Get ready, Angron,"
Hades took a deep breath.
"It's time for us to land at Nikaea."
————
[Nikaia Landing Point]
The Death Guard's Stormbird landing ship landed in a gloomy ashes. The Lord of Death hid himself under a hood and poisonous gas. His deep eyes quickly swept across the land. As he thought, he saw the ostentatious and useless magnificent buildings built on a volcano.
Nikea is a still active planet with frequent geological activities. The planet's magnetic field is broken, which means that most instruments that use geomagnetism cannot operate normally, and it also means that the psychic field here is not very stable.
Mortarion took note of this as he strode towards the circular volcanic theatre built by the Emperor, followed by his silent son and the Kirkran Magus.
————
[Main Hall of Nikaea Theater]
Mortarion was the first Primarch to arrive. He stood at the bottom of the bright stage, deep in thought. In front of the stage, thousands of seats were divided into two sides, extending layer by layer into the darkness. Bureaucrats, lords, admirals, mechanical sages, and mortals were crowded and chattering.
This trial is not only about the primarchs and legions, mortals also have their own rights. In a private room that is more secretive and higher up, the head of the Astronomical Court, the Casting General of Mars, the head of the navy... those in high positions and positions of power have also arrived.
They were even allowed to keep their identities secret.
But without exception, these mortals remained silent as the Lord of Death entered the scene, and Mortarion was satisfied with this.
And at the back of the stage, darkness rose until it reached the highest point, where it shone brightly. The Lord of Mankind was sitting quietly and majestically on his golden throne. It was so bright that Mortarion squinted and stared at him, with faint tears sliding down his eyes.
A puff of poisonous gas spurted out from under the mask of the Lord of Death. Mortarion took a step forward and bowed slightly to his father, which was considered as completing his courtesy. Malcador beside the Emperor nodded at him, so Mortarion took his children to the position of the Death Guard without any reluctance and sat down.
The seats surrounding the front of the stage were completely empty and divided into several areas. Each area had the logo of a legion. The Death Guard were assigned to the position on the right side of the podium in the center of the stage.
Mortarion looked around, his gaze particularly lingering on the area directly in front of the stage. There was no sign there, but standing around the main seat were a Sister of Silence and a Great Sage of Machinery.
They are all acquaintances, Heifa and Jin.
As if aware of the gaze of the Lord of Death, Jin's huge body turned around. He looked at Mortarion, or perhaps at Kirkland beside Mortarion, and smiled.
"Good day, sir :)"
Mortarion heard Kirkran's short circuit, but it didn't matter, it only meant one thing, Hades was here.
This made him happy, the joy of knowing victory was in his grasp. Hades' presence only meant one thing, that he would never lose.
Mortarion raised his hand, signaling Kirkran to calm down. He looked at the seat and frowned slightly. The seat was too big and looked like it was given to a Primarch.
Mortarion mentally spit on the Emperor and Malcador for a second, but then the second Primarch arrived, the door slammed open, and hearty laughter burst in.
Wolf King Leman Russ shouted gruffly,
[Okay, little ones! ]
He led his wolf cubs in through the door at the end of the theater, behind the seats for mortals, and walked down the middle path where the seats were separated.
The mortals were startled, and there were waves of exclamations, welcomes, and applause. The silence just caused by Mortarion's entry was instantly broken, and the crowd became chaotic and noisy.
Leman Russ strode to the front of the stage, and the Wolf King instantly became serious. He breathed steadily and inserted his sword into the ground. With a bang, Leman Russ knelt down, and his wolf cubs also knelt down.
[My highest regards to you, All-Father.]
He stopped talking now, and Mortarion looked away with disdain.
The Emperor tilted his head slightly, Malcador slammed his scepter, a bang sound was heard, Leman Russ stood up, and he grinned with his teeth bared.
The Wolf King? Just a dog wagging its tail at the Emperor, Mortarion muttered to himself, but he stood up anyway, as the Wolf King was walking towards him.
[Yes, my brother! ]
Ruth sniffed roughly as he spoke. His teeth were bared all the time, as if in a threat.
[I still like you in the communication channel, you stink. ]
Without blinking, Mortarion stared calmly at Russ and held out his hand.
[Same here.]
Russ laughed, and he grabbed Mortarion's hand and swung it up and down with enough force to break the Space Marine's bones.
[I didn't expect you to be so civilized. ]
The wolf king laughed loudly, then he stopped, sniffed hard, and howled like a wolf.
[woman!]
Mortarion was startled, but then realized what the Wolf King was talking about. A group of silent sisters walked towards them, led by an unusually tall Custodian, and Jin followed beside the group.
The wolf king reached behind him and pulled out a mortal like a chicken. He yelled at the poor mortal in a rough and angry voice,
[Hauser, you will go with them later. Wild Bear will follow you. Don't worry, just follow them and tell them everything you know. If they want to check your backdoor, you have to stick your butt up.]
"grown ups."
The leader of the Imperial Guards, Valdor, spoke calmly, trying to stop the Wolf King's joke.
The wolf king turned his eyes and stared at the imperial guards.
[Golden little fellow, has no one ever taught you not to interrupt the Primarch? Do you want me to rip your mouth off and stuff it into my brother's gas pipe right now?]
Before Valdor could speak, Mortarion spoke.
I refuse.
Russ looked at Mortarion in wonder, but then he laughed again, and he put the shivering mortal down and patted Hawser, who felt like he was about to fall.
Hawser stood there hesitantly. The wolf king whistled, and a wild wolf stepped out of the team and followed Hawser like a wolf. Mortarion thought that it was probably the wild bear that the wolf king mentioned.
Mortarion raised his hand, and his captain, Vorcus, walked out silently, potion bottles and full ammunition making clinking sounds as he walked.
Kirkland also came out. Without even looking, Mortarion knew that the great sage had probably activated some forced calming mechanism again.
Valdor, the leader of the Imperial Guards who escaped from the Wolf King, looked at Mortarion in confusion. Just now, the Wolf King was patting the Imperial Guards' shoulder armor, and Mortarion clearly saw a noticeable dent on it.
[The Great Sage Kirkland, a sage accompanying the Death Guard, mainly studies psychic power and anti-psychic power, and may provide help for the following proof. ]
Mortarion said calmly, his eyes moving to Jin, who was already three Kirkrans in size.
[Perhaps your sage can vouch for the Death Guard.]
Jin lifted his red robe and saluted towards Mortarion. His display screen still showed a standard smiling face, but when the sage looked at the Imperial Guards, many garbled spots of light flashed across it in an instant.
Then Valdor turned and nodded to Mortarion.
We will take him there.
Mortarion let out a puff of poisonous gas from under his mask, as if tacitly agreeing. He looked coldly at the Wolf King who was stretching, and listened to the sounds of the Sister of Silence, the Guards and Hawser's team going away.
Mortarion sat back in his seat, there was no point wasting time with the Wolf King. The Wolf King yawned, and Mortarion was sure that the smell coming out of his mouth was worse than his poison gas.
As if he knew that he would be bored if he stayed, the Wolf King led his wolves back to their own seats in a noisy manner, propped up his cheek in boredom, and shouted at the machine servant to come and serve wine.
Just as the Wolf King returned to his seat and his last wolf cub sat down, another legion arrived. A faint scent of incense instantly filled the entire space. People fell silent, and then - began to stand up.
Fulgrim walked down the steps slowly and gracefully, his Phoenix Guards in purple and gold armor following behind his father. In the darkness, the light from their hair or armor was as soft as starlight.
The crowd began to applaud, and Mortarion heard the wolf king's disapproving grunts.
Fugen walked to the front of the stage, and tucked his silver hair behind his ears neatly and generously as if he was lifting the hem of a skirt. Then he put one hand on his chest and knelt on one knee exaggeratedly. Strands of silver hair slid down and hung beside his handsome nose.
[Your proud son pays you the highest respect! ]
"My Lord is pleased with your presence."
Machado spoke.
Fulgrim rose smoothly and smiled joyfully at the Emperor, a perfect smile, and if it were possible, Mortarion thought, Fulgrim would thrust his lipstick-coated face in front of the Emperor, presenting his face like a perfect vase.
After completing his formalities to the Emperor, Fulgrim turned around and smiled his perfect smile at the mortals. He bowed slightly and said loudly,
[I am glad that we can gather here together to discuss the affairs of the empire.]
A charade, Mortarion realised it without hesitation, the damned guy was canvassing for votes, before the meeting even started, damn it, couldn't the Emperor keep this guy in check and stop him from raping the minds of those mortals with that face of his
Fortunately, Russ barked, and the wolf king excitedly spilled the wine in his hand on his fur. He slapped the armrest of the seat.
[Fulgrim! Your perfume is irritating me! My offspring's noses are going to be broken - stay away from us, or sit next to the stinky one!]
Mortarion and Fulgrim frowned almost at the same time, but this also successfully interrupted Fulgrim's desire to show off. Phoenix led his offspring back to their seats step by step.
Then there was Clarks, who looked silent and normal. Mortarion didn't know him, and he had no presence. In fact, he was invisible throughout the meeting.
But because he looked very similar to Konrad Curze, Mortarion took the initiative to raise his vigilance and disgust towards him to the highest level.
After that, the White Scars think tank sent by the Khan entered the scene together with the joint think tanks of other legions, but the Khan himself did not come.
Rogal Dorn, Mortarion suspected that he came here just because the Emperor was here. This big guy with sharp white hair had just been appointed as the Steward of Terra. He would be the Primarch closest to the Emperor among them and would never leave his side. What a terrible treatment.
I heard Perturabo was furious—and he deserved it.
Mortarion was silent. Some of his brothers had already started chatting. He was ignored again. This was a good thing. Even Fulgrim didn't dare to disturb him this time.
The Archangel was the second to last to arrive before the meeting officially began.
Everyone held their breath, or rather they forgot to breathe. They forgot to stand up, forgot to cheer, and their mouths, which were chatting, were stupidly wide open.
People's eyes were fixed on the archangel flying in the darkness. Each of his wings was sparkling with shimmering light, shining brightly.
The angel stepped lightly on the ground, and looked at his father. He drew a tear mark on the angel's face.
The huge wings that were spread out slowly folded, and his offspring who were left behind just arrived beside the angel. The angel knelt down devoutly and lowered his head.
The light coming down from the stage made his curly, smooth blond hair shine.
[Good day, my father.]
"My Lord is glad to see you. You seem to be in good condition."
The angel bowed his head slightly, as if to acquiesce. Then he stood up, turned around and smiled at the mortals, spread his wings, and flapped them as if to stretch them.
Mortarion remained silent. He knew the difference between an angel and Fulgrim. One was a noisy flightless chicken, and the other was a flying birdman.
None of them are good people. Mortarion began to feel that the Wolf King had become amiable.
Fortunately, the angel did not continue to rape Mortarion's eyes with its large mutant wings, because the last legion arrived -
Mortarion stared at the damned, scarlet figure.
He narrowed his eyes, like a hunter examining the throat of his prey, or an executioner measuring the neck of a sinner.
The Imperial Chancellor, Malcador's voice sounded after the Scarlet King stood up.
"Now, the meeting begins."
Why had Hades not come? Mortarion stared at the empty seat in shock, but Malcador's words still rang in his ears.
"If you want to speak, then swear to declare that everything you say is true. Lies told on stage will be punished most severely. We despise liars and those who distort the truth. Only the truth can become the gold weighing the scales of justice."
No, even if Hades wasn't there, Mortarion would have done what he was going to do, he would have been the first to raise the banner against the sorcerers.
Mortarion waits for his friend, but he also has his own path to follow.
Mortarion stood up first, and under the gaze of everyone, he walked towards the center of the stage.
[In the name of facing death, I swear. ]
4.1k words, great!!!
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(End of this chapter)