Sanguinius walked out of the World Eaters' lounge in silence and thoughtfully, and when the archangel just returned to the Blood Angels, he received a notice from the Emperor urgently summoning everyone for a meeting.
The candlelight flickered in the corridor, and the Primarchs hurried past the patrolling Custodians who were on high alert. Fulgrim tried to communicate with the Archangel in a low voice, but the Archangel just smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Dorn had a serious look on his face, with furrows between his brows, and beside him, the hidden shadow stalker was following him.
People entered the main hall one by one. The main hall that was originally full of people had already become empty. Except for people like the Martian Casting General who were previously in a higher position, other mortals were not allowed to enter.
Sanguinius looked towards the stage. The Thousand Sons army that had been kneeling earlier had already disappeared, as if they had never existed.
The seats originally reserved for the Thousand Sons were empty, and the Thousand Sons' legion logo had disappeared.
The facts are set, and no amount of talk can change the reality.
The Space Wolves and Death Guard, which were located on the left and right of the podium, were full of seats. The Lord of Death and the Lord of Winter stood with their weapons in their hands.
The angel glanced sideways and saw that the seat of the Lord of the Order of Silence was empty. Two sages and several soulless people were standing around the throne.
People found their seats sparsely, but did not sit down. They just stood there aimlessly. Except for the Death Guard and Space Wolves, other Primarchs did not bring any guards with them. The empty main hall suddenly felt desolate.
The eyes of the Lord of Death glanced around imperceptibly under his hood. The angel looked sad and pitiful, Fulgrim was incredulous, Dorn was serious as if he would loudly rebuke Magnus in the next second, Corax's face disappeared into the shadows, and Angron was calm as a spectator.
Regardless, he won, Mortarion thought comfortably, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Although what puzzled the Lord of Death was that when talking with the Wolf King just now, although Leman Russ concealed his rudeness and brutality very well, Mortarion still sensed a hint of sadness from him.
Mortarion did not understand why this was so sad, but he tried to change the subject to Horus - he thought he might feel sad for Horus as well.
There were heavy knocks and Malcador struck his staff, signalling silence.
The Lord of Humanity, who was sitting on the throne, stood up slowly, as if walking out of the dusty shadows. Every step he took seemed to step on people's souls, making it difficult for them to breathe.
The light of the blazing flames shone on his golden armor, as if it would last forever.
"Now, listen to my verdict."
His voice was clear and majestic, and kings do not speak lightly. His words shook the whole world, overturned the Milky Way, made the stars tremble, and dimmed the eternal days.
Sanguinius held his breath, and he knew his other brothers did the same.
A deathly silence enveloped the theater, with only the Emperor's calm and imperceptible breathing remaining.
“Let the light of justice shine upon the earth.”
He spoke, and Hammurabi's sword hung over their heads.
"You can speak freely. You want sin and evil to disappear. Even the smallest voice needs to be heard, and even the most obscure words need to be considered. I will never ignore any reasonable and fair demands. This is your birthright as a citizen of the Empire. Your mouth can say what you want to say, and your hand can write what you say."
The king stood there, his voice majestic and solemn, carrying the weight of a weight that struck the soul.
"But words are not a joke. One must not tell lies or fabricate truth or falsehood. Those who deliberately deceive others will be convicted of a crime when the first listener hears their words, and will be executed when the words are finished."
The Emperor paused for a moment, his inhuman gaze gleaming with golden light burning through everyone's soul.
"One of you lied and crossed the boundary of the monument."
The Archangel felt his heart suddenly stop. No, he thought... The Emperor was just beating them up... Thinking about what Russ and Angron had said, Sanguinius... The Emperor was far more forgiving than he thought.
Seeing Magnus's misery before him, Sanguinius vowed that he would never cross that line again.
"I'm disappointed."
The Emperor said,
"They fabricate lies, play tricks, cross the line, peer into the darkness, and tie up their subordinates. Hidden dangers have already been buried, but the arrogant are still complacent, unable to see that they have already stood on the ice abyss and are about to fall."
"The words of the blind and arrogant should not be trusted; the words of the sinners should be discerned. I listened to the words of Magnus the Red Sinner, who had fallen into the abyss of false power, trampled on the limits of the Empire's tolerance, and sold himself and his legion to his own desires."
"The crime is heinous."
"The crime of an ordinary man can be cleansed by cutting off his head and death; but the crime of the leader cannot be cleansed by death alone. Ten thousand people are lost in his foolish ideas, and a hundred million people are misled by his false teachings. If they all behave in the same way, even a hundred million deaths will not be enough to cleanse his crime."
Fulgrim felt his heart beating violently. He was witnessing a punishment far more cruel than the death penalty. A father swung a knife at his son. No, no, no - this moment reminded Fulgrim that Emperor should be a monarch first and a father second.
He caught a glimpse of several other Primarchs out of the corner of his eye. Their expressions varied, but all of them looked uncomfortable. Even for Mortarion, Fulgrim saw him gasping for breath under his hood.
The Emperor's wrath was something that no one could bear. Fulgrim could hardly imagine what Magnus had been through... Just a month ago, this arrogant brother was still talking to him about books and scriptures... Why would Magnus...
Phoenix firmly believed that no brother would take the initiative to harm the great Empire, unless... unless... Fulgrim almost covered his mouth and screamed. Magnus' arrogance harmed himself!
He even implicated his descendants!
There was a buzzing in the ears of the Phoenix, whose empathy was too strong, but the Emperor's words still cruelly entered the hearts of each of them.
"I hereby order the judgment of Magnus the Red Sinner."
"Magnus, you played sorcery and implicated the Legion, and even the shadow of death and curse entangled the Thousand Sons, and it is difficult to separate them."
"The Fifteenth Legion, Thousand Sons, is disbanded today."
Fulgrim felt like he was about to pass out, the Archangel looked extremely bad, even Angron's eyes widened, who among the remaining Primarchs, except the Executioner, would be happy to see this scene? !
"Those in the Thousand Sons Legion who conspired with Magnus will be taken to the Terra dungeons to await their punishment. As for those who were innocently implicated and tried to stop Magnus with good intentions, the Empire will do its best to heal their cursed souls and seek other ways for them to live and gain glory."
"Magnus himself, taken to the Terran dungeon."
Fulgrim took a breath - this proved that Magnus would not die, but what would be waiting for Magnus? The Empire had a punishment far more terrible than death. Fulgrim felt his scalp tingling. The legion was disbanded and he was imprisoned in the dungeon... Could the arrogant Magnus really accept all this? !
"Space Wolves, Death Guard, come with me to Prospero and clean up the remnants."
Leman Russ took a step forward, smashed down his great axe, and also smashed down his knees. The Wolf King lowered his head deeply, offering his fragile neck to the Emperor on the platform.
[Leman Russ obeys.]
Mortarion was one step behind the Wolf King. The Lord of Death swayed and finally knelt down slowly. He held his withered sickle and his knees lightly touched the ground.
[Mortarion obeys.]
The Emperor raised his hand, signaling the two Primarchs to stand up. The Lord of Death and the Lord of Winter stood up, and a cold light flashed on their blades.
The emperor had no expression on his face.
"The sinner was executed, but the twisted and blasphemous marks on it have made me realize that some of you have gone too far. My trust in you is not beyond the limit. The purpose of this meeting is to let you recognize the boundaries and never touch the red line - you should not set foot behind the curtain. The Red Sinner will always warn you."
The emperor was silent for a moment, and people waited nervously for his next words.
"I should have withdrawn all Librarian units, so that sorcery would no longer taint the ranks of the Space Marines. Flashes of psychic energy should not be seen."
The faces of the think tank representatives were almost as bad as ever, and the primarchs of the other legions who retained the think tank units also had gloomy eyes.
"But Hades, the Lord of the Order of Silence, found me,"
The Emperor said, his calm golden eyes showed that the Primarchs below were all startled.
"He suggested that each legion maintain a think tank with a minimum alert level to ensure that the legion is warned of possible witchcraft threats at the first opportunity and retain the strength to fight against psychics."
"I accept it."
The Emperor spoke.
"The Legion is allowed to keep a minimum of think tanks for vigilance."
The Emperor uttered his last words, and then he sat back on his throne, allowing Malcador to strike the ground with his scepter as the old man hoarsely called for the meeting to be dismissed.
He saw the survivors trembling and looking at each other in confusion, as if they didn't know what was going to happen next.
Oh, I am really giving myself too much strength by describing the Emperor in a positive way.
(End of this chapter)