Herrera leaned outside the house trembling, she stayed close to her sister Lisa and kept wiping her tears.
"It's okay..." Lysa hugged Herrera, "Lord Mortarion will find a way."
“… I just,” Herrera sobbed, “I just didn’t expect it to be so soon.”
The two men were talking in low voices. On the other side, several other people hurried over in the night, led by Vox and Karas.
The chill around Karas' body had not yet subsided. He frowned and tried to look around the room nervously, but Vox stopped him.
Seeing the person coming, Lisa was surprised, "Karas? Aren't you in Swamp City?"
"Teleport."
Karas said hoarsely, "First time using it - thanks to the recent stable psychic energy fluctuations."
No one present understood psychic power, so the atmosphere fell silent again. It was already evening, and people stood in the dark, silent.
Inside the house—
Hades poured a cup of tea and looked at the nervous Mortarion in front of him.
Hades drinks tea. Does the old yellow man give the Primarch such a strong sense of oppression? But think about it, Mortarion was also like this in his previous life. Some time before the Emperor came, Mortarion became obviously very anxious.
"Don't be nervous, Death," Hades said, "Uh... although I know this is hard for you to accept."
Mortarion raised his eyes suddenly and stared at Hades, [Do you understand? ]
Hades laughed twice.
"Of course I know,"
Doesn’t he know Old Huangtou yet
Hades watched as Mortarion became visibly nervous.
"—your biological father is coming to pick you up. I know you don't want to, Death, but... uh... well... well... he is your biological father after all."
Mortarion instantly became dispirited again. Look at how much damage his own father could bring to the Primarch.
Hades sighed and drank his tea slowly.
"I know your real father, Neos—he's a jerk, but he's a good man."
"Don't worry, he will definitely praise you highly."
Hades thought to himself that it would be better to add some gold.
"I can find you some gold from my material library. What kind of decoration do you want? But I remind you that it is best to be as big, flashy and shiny as possible."
Hades was thinking, but he saw Mortarion in front of him slowly lowering his head. The hood covered the Primarch's face, so Hades could not see Mortarion's expression.
…It is indeed a hard fact to accept.
Hades thought that not all Primarchs were happy to have a great father born from heaven, especially someone like Mortarion, who was destined to be the unlucky one.
Hades said no more, he planned to let Mortarion take it easy.
He picked up the cup and sipped the tea slowly, wondering whether he should rush up and call him "Old Huangtou" or "Old Man Huang".
Or maybe he called Lao Ma first...
Just as Hades was about to start daydreaming again, Mortarion in front of him shook and said in a weak but firm voice,
[You are my only father, Hadi—]
Hades nearly spit a mouthful of tea into Mortarion's face, but he turned his head away so suddenly that the tea sprayed all over the ground.
“Cough cough cough cough cough cough—cough what?!”
"What?! What did you say?!"
Hades yelled in horror, "I want to be your brother, but you want to be my son?" But before he could react, Hades suddenly felt his "soul" being hit hard by the angry yellow-skinned man's psychic power.
Hades felt little Nurglings flying before his eyes.
He quickly used the Black Domain to block the angry psychic attack of a certain golden giant. Hades breathed a sigh of relief when the wave of psychic energy receded.
He sat back down and looked at Mortarion opposite him. He saw Mortarion standing there with a look of astonishment on his face, at a loss and even a little panicked.
Hades coughed.
"It's okay," he said calmly, "I know your biological father... He might have lost control just now."
Mortarion's mouth moved several times, the Primarch wanted to say something, but in the end nothing came out.
Hades motioned for him to sit down, and Mortarion sat back down slowly.
Hades was silent and pondered for a while, then he slowly spoke,
"I know I have been the one teaching you all these years, Mortarion."
Hades said seriously, "But I still consider me your brother because I am still young."
"If you're really worried," Hades said, "we can make a blood oath - just as a formality."
[…]
What is a blood oath
Hades blinked, "Set the table, put food on it, preferably an animal's head, which can be braised, and then face the table and smear blood around your mouth to show your alliance and loyalty."
Mortarion's body shook.
[No.]
"Well," Hades said, "but I want you to know that I have absolute trust in you, Mortarion."
[I understand.]
Mortarion said hoarsely. The Primarch was silent for a while, as if reviewing the logic of Hades' behavior just now.
Mortarion suddenly asked,
[… How old are you?]
Hades is silent.
"Uh... well... ah... more than ten thousand years?"
Mortarion stared at Hades, who stared awkwardly at the wall.
It broke, and the boomerang hit back.
At best, Mortarion is probably in his twenties or thirties.
Mortarion sighed deeply.
[Then you... If what you said is true, how did you get here, Hades? ]
Hades was silent again because he didn't know either.
"I took a nap, and when I woke up, I was in Barbarus."
Hades said truthfully
The Primarch continued to ask, "How did you get to know... the Neos you mentioned?"
He knows this question!
Hades said quickly, "I was reborn, or I traveled through time, Mortarion - do you understand? I woke up and found myself back in time."
The Primarch stared at him. [Continue.]
"In my previous life, I also started as Barbarus. Alas, that was the beginning of the collapse of the sky. But later I developed, and then your biological father, the Emperor, came to pick you up."
"Your father, a heavenly soldier, came to earth and rescued you!"
"Although Neos is stingy, he gave you a whole legion! Mortarion, you know, a whole legion!"
Hades told Mortarion as briefly as possible, but the Primarch pulled down his hood, shielding his vision, and fell silent.
Could he really still heal Hades, Mortarion wondered.
When did Hades become so ill
The more vividly, eloquently and fascinatingly Hades spoke, the more Mortarion felt like he was on the edge of an abyss. Had these more than a decade of work overwhelmed Hades, or was it an old illness left over from the fight against the alien lords
“… So, that’s it.”
Hades said that he had simplified the process as much as possible, and also gave Mortarion a brief introduction to the composition of the Legion, so that it would be easier for Mortarion to take over the Death Guard later.
Mortarion said glumly,
Hades smiled and said, "Don't worry, God of Death. With the resources of the Empire, Barbarus can be built very well. I will talk to the Mechanical Church then."
Hades's pressure was too great... Mortarion thought, did Barbarus's construction finally overwhelm him? He hadn't shown any signs of fatigue before, but...
[Barbarus is fine now.]
Mortarion said,
[There are no enemies that are powerful enough to threaten humanity. Three major transportation routes were also built under your planning. You personally went to find and open mines, and you also proposed hospitals and schools... All of this was done by you, Hades.]
Hades smiled and said, "I'm a second-round player and have read the guide. It doesn't take just having hands to do this."
In fact, in most things he just started and then ran away, and did the rest under the pretext of training the younger generation.
“No big deal!”
Hades waved his hand confidently, "As long as you have hands."
[I just want you to know that you are important to Barbarus.]
Mortarion said seriously, [So...]
He didn't finish his next words, as they were drowned out by Hades' hearty laughter.
"Of course I'm important!" Hades showed a confident and cool smile, "Believe me, without my brother, there would be no future for beating up the four vendors."
Mortarion looked away disappointedly. No matter what he said now, Hades was immersed in his illusion.
The Primarch slowly took out the test tube in his hand, and Hades's eyes naturally moved over to it. "For me?"
Hades naturally reached out his hand to take it.
Mortarion nodded, trying not to let his hands tremble, and handed the potion to Hades.
This was the best solution he could think of at the moment. This potion could suspend all of Hades' physiological activities and keep his body functions in a fixed state as much as possible... This way, he could delay time indefinitely.
He hasn’t yet developed an antidote for the drug—but he has an idea.
As long as he finds the antidote and a way to cure his adoptive father in the future...
Mortarion thought... There is always a way, there is always a way, as long as technology develops further...
Hades squinted his eyes, stared at the liquid in the test tube, and shook it.
"I can't take drugs," Hades said casually. "There is no one who can take drugs to take me."
Hades unscrewed the stopper of the test tube very smoothly and took a sip.
Mortarion stretched out his hand, trying to stop him, but in the end the Primarch said nothing and could only watch Hades drink.
Hades put down the test tube, smacked his lips, and stared at the remaining liquid in the test tube.
Hades turned his head and looked at Mortarion.
"Is the idea this time good? But it's still a little off."
Hades lifted the test tube and drank the rest of the liquid. He casually put the test tube down and looked at Mortarion to prove that the potion was useless.
"I've already told you that I can't poison your brother, why are you..."
Mortarion watched as Hades slumped over the table.
[…]
[…]
After a long silence, Mortarion swallowed, and the Primarch carefully reached out and felt Hades' pulse.
The medicine is taking effect and the speed has indeed been reduced to the slowest.
Mortarion was silent, and silent. Finally, the Primarch stood up and walked outside to inform the people waiting outside.
… … … …
Inside the house, Hades suddenly stood up and stared at the direction where Mortarion left with a frown.
"Little guy," Hades muttered in a low voice, "your grandfather Nurgle has licked the pot, so why would he be afraid of your little pot water?"
What's wrong with Mortarion recently? Why hasn't he been talking back to him or fighting with him recently
If a child is quiet, he is either acting strangely or courting death!
Hades agreed with this. He wanted to see what Mortarion and his gang were going to do next.
Is it the rebellious phase that has arrived
Hades frowned. The timing was too good. Old man Huang came here at this critical moment to rebel
Hades thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out what was going on. He carefully checked the subspace and made sure there was no interference from the four gods of the subspace.
It can't be the Necrons, Hades thought, but the C'tan part of him didn't sense it either.
Forget it... let's see what they are up to.
Hades lay on the table and closed his eyes. Fortunately, he chose a comfortable position when he fell.
Go back to sleep!
————
People carried Hades to a remote and quiet house. Outside the house, Mortarion convened a meeting of the leadership of the Death Guard.
[… That’s it.]
Mortarion spoke hoarsely, and anyone could see the frustration and despair on the Primarch's face.
[He could no longer distinguish between reality and fantasy, and his physical condition began to deteriorate.]
Before Mortarion finished speaking, the patrol captain Herilla spoke up, almost sobbing,
"Perhaps I should have realized earlier that something was wrong with Lord Hades - in fact, I've heard him say words like old horse since last year."
"Me too," Vox lowered his voice, "He told me I would meet a fellow named Garo - but I looked, and there's no Barbarus with that name - and no one with such a weird name."
Karas shook his head and sighed.
"He once said something similar to me... Sometimes I really felt that it wasn't his fantasy, but later I denied it because that worldview obviously had logical inconsistencies - but now is not the time for us to lament about this, right?"
[Karas is right.]
Mortarion said, the Primarch pulled down his hood, letting the shadow cover his eyes.
[Everyone is here to discuss the future development of Babarus - I hope our construction can be shifted towards medical care as much as possible - without affecting development. ]
Karas and Vox looked at each other. They were the main leaders of the city.
"No objection," Karas said immediately. "We all understand your feelings, Mortarion - in fact, even if you choose to focus on medical development, we will support you."
[No…] Mortarion said, [I want Barbarus to develop. This is the highest priority, above any individual…]
The Primarch spoke, detailing his next plans one by one, with people offering him suggestions from time to time.
Although there was a sad atmosphere, it made the people present more aware of the responsibilities on their shoulders.
However…
"Sir! Someone outside wants to see you!"
A sharp report interrupted the meeting. Mortarion stood up impatiently and was about to scold the messenger, but the messenger was panting, his eyes wide open, and pointed out the door out of breath.
"My Lord! Go and see! Outside—outside—"
The first person to go out to check was almost frozen at the door. Mortarion frowned. Why at this time?! He strode over and walked out of the door. He saw—
Mortarion raised his head, his amber pupils suddenly dilated—
oh,
Heavenly soldiers and generals.
Two footsteps approached him, and he withdrew his gaze from the sky and saw a large, golden figure in front of him.
Mortarion's mouth trembled.
[I guess... your name is Neos? ]
The man nodded.
"My child..."
Mortarion hardly heard a word of the rest.
Mortarion, sweatdropped.
(End of this chapter)