Valyrian received no response from the Imperial Regent regarding this mission.
The other party insisted that he go to Mordor first.
Someone will meet him there and tell him the details of the mission.
After careful consideration, Valerian finally chose to obey the orders of the Imperial Regent.
The Imperial Guards are the Emperor's guards and hold a very special status in the Empire.
Throughout the rise and fall of the empire over the past ten thousand years, the Imperial Guards have always maintained their ancient traditions.
Refuse to change like the outside world.
But the situation is different now. The actions of the Khorne Demon Army on Terra have caused the Imperial Guard to be widely questioned.
The palace was almost captured by the enemies led by Angron. If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Imperial Regent, no one knows what the consequences would have been.
For this reason, the Imperial Guards had to make changes.
If they cannot protect the Emperor, then what is the point of the Custodes
Valyrian bowed and walked out, the appointment document in his hand.
There were many officers and officials outside Guilliman's office.
They were very busy, shuttling through the dense forest of holographic projections, checking data and giving orders.
These individuals assist Guilliman in governing the entire Imperium of Man, extending his influence to every world of the Imperium.
No one person could manage such a huge empire alone.
The heavy workload is enough to overwhelm the mind of any superman.
The dictators in the history of empires all ended in tragedy.
Valerian left by the same way he had come.
The officials made way for him.
Although their status has been challenged, the prestige of the Imperial Guards is still not something that ordinary people can easily underestimate.
Valerian showed no arrogance at all. He walked towards the door and observed the officials out of the corner of his eyes.
They were unlike the officials Valyrian had seen before.
With smiles on their faces, they looked more positive, as if they had endless energy to expend.
They are full of energy and seem to be full of motivation.
Those officials would occasionally look at this imperial guard.
Discussing in low voices the purpose of his visit and what he and the Regent had talked about.
Valerian had very sharp hearing, and he could hear even whispers very clearly.
But he was not interested in those people's confusion, nor did he intend to explain anything to them.
Instead, he walked straight out of the Senate Hall and headed to where the hovercraft was parked.
Robed servants were waiting for the Custodians.
These servants would serve the Custodians for generations.
They are born to learn how to serve the Custodes and become the best servants.
Each generation of servants will hand over their responsibilities to the next generation at an appropriate time.
In this way, the servants of the Custodes maintain their purity and loyalty.
"Go back." Valerian walked onto the hovercraft and gave the order.
The vehicle flew up lightly and merged into the torrent of flying cars in the huge forest formed by Terra's city buildings.
By this time, it was almost dusk.
The setting sun shines into the city and is cut into countless beams of light by the tall urban forest.
These light beams are almost parallel to the ground and are extremely beautiful.
The hovercraft passed through the tall buildings of the city in the rays of sunset.
Valyrian stood on the edge of the vehicle, overlooking the city.
Unlike the cold cities made of steel and concrete in the past, the giant buildings in the Terra city are now dotted with green botanical parks.
Guilliman's arrival changed a lot of things, and he ordered many of Terra's polluting heavy industries to be rectified.
Those factories need to spend a large amount of money to purchase environmental protection equipment to ensure that exhaust emissions meet standards before they can continue to operate.
Many families and businessmen who own factories are very dissatisfied with this, believing that this absurd policy will weaken the empire's industrial production capacity, push up the prices of industrial products, cause inflation, and ultimately lead to public resentment and intensify riots.
But after persisting, I found that the effect is very good.
The environmental protection technology provided by Regent and Mars is very mature. If used on a large scale, the cost can be greatly reduced.
The change in air quality allows the residents of the hive city to avoid a lot of unnecessary expenses, which in turn improves their quality of life.
Of course, those factory owners and businessmen will always complain.
No matter what they do, they always complain, endlessly.
The Imperial Regent proposed a bill to protect workers, who complained that it would increase production costs, making it unaffordable for the lower classes and leading to unrest.
They hoped that the Imperial Regent would take the workers' protection bill into consideration from the grassroots perspective.
The Imperial Regent proposed a housing law that would allow workers to move freely and form their own unions and representatives.
They complained that doing so would make workers more difficult to manage and increase factory costs, with the public ultimately footing the bill, causing the lower classes to be unable to bear the cost and eventually riot.
Before the Imperial Regent reorganized the Imperial Daily, the news reports often mentioned that the empire was about to fall. Various experts and scholars came together to demand that the Imperial Regent withdraw those bills.
We must continue to maintain the previous low-pay, low-welfare worker system.
Only in this way can we effectively reduce the cost of living and improve people's happiness index.
Make the people of the empire more motivated to serve the empire.
High pay and high welfare can easily make the empire's workers lazy, which is not conducive to the revival of the empire, and even less conducive to the workers' struggle.
Unfortunately, the imperial regent never paid any attention to those businessmen and factory owners, and implemented his reforms with an iron fist.
There are also some people who use various means to resist this reform which they believe is unreasonable.
However, they often end up in punishment camps.
The results of the implementation of these laws were immediate.
Riots and gatherings in Terra have dropped to an all-time low.
You know, in the past, there were riots on Terra every few months.
Even if the Ministry of Justice's law enforcement officers are iron-fisted, it will be useless.
Various public executions can only serve as a deterrent for a period of time.
After a few days, people will forget those fears and the riots will become more intense.
And now, this situation has been greatly improved.
There is even a phenomenon that as soon as someone starts planning a riot, he or she is reported to the legal department by the public and then is arrested all at once.
This is different from the past.
In the past, people would just sit back and watch things happen even if they didn’t participate.
And now, those people have become the eyes of the empire.
They keep an eye on their enemies within the organization, and once they show their hand, they will assist the Ministry of Justice in arresting them as soon as possible, thus nipping all kinds of chaos in the bud.
The sudden arrival of a good era gave Valerian a sense of unreality.
Ever since Guilliman's return to Terra, he had been in a state of dream.
The changes were so great that he couldn't tell whether it was reality or a dream.
Half an hour later, the hovercraft landed on a helipad in the palace.
Valerian walked down and returned to his residence, preparing to take his weapons and some necessary equipment and go to Mordor.
It was a monk-like room without any extra decoration, just bookshelves, chairs and stone walls.
The bookshelves were filled with a variety of Valyrian's favorite books.
Valyrian was a warrior, but he was also a scholar.
Valerian deactivated the force field and drew out his own weapon - intellect.
At this time, the sound of footsteps was heard.
Valerian looked towards the door. From the voice, he recognized the other person's identity.
It sounds incredible.
But for the Imperial Guards, this is just a basic ability.
They have excellent memory and hearing, and can analyze the subtle differences in every sound.
"Lord Valanor," Valerian said.
The person who came was Marshal Valano of the Imperial Guards.
"It seems that my footsteps are too loud." Valano's voice came from outside.
A tall figure covered in golden armor also appeared at the door of Valyrian's room.
"My lord." Valerian picked up the unactivated weapon and turned to look at the Marshal of the Royal Guards. "Is there something urgent?"
"Nothing much, Captain Valerian," Valanor said. "I'm sure the Regent has spoken to you. Are you going to Mordor on a mission?"
"Yes," said Valyrian. "He said a group would be gathering in Mordor."
"I know, but he didn't tell me the details. Did he tell you?"
"No, he was very cautious. He said that someone would explain it to me when I got to Mordor."
Valanor was silent. He looked at Valerian for a long moment before continuing.
"He has many secrets. This is not a good sign. You are already preparing to go to Mordor. Perhaps you should listen to our master's thoughts."
Valerian looked puzzled. "She hasn't spoken for a long time! How can I listen to her opinions?"
"After consideration, I decided to let you into the throne room. Guilliman is too mysterious. He holds a lot of things in his hands. What he showed us is just the tip of the iceberg. I don't have any hostility towards him, but I don't know whether those secrets are enough to endanger the Empire and the Emperor. For this reason, we must be careful."
Valyrian agreed with Valanor's statement.
He also agrees with Guilliman.
But the Imperial Guards serve her.
The Custodes were not created for the Empire.
They had never belonged to the Empire, nor to humanity.
The Imperial Guards were born for a brand new era, but unfortunately, that era has never arrived.
After the Horus Heresy, the Custodes had another responsibility, which was to protect their lord.
In the eyes of the Imperial Guards, protecting the Emperor is the most important and top priority.
Apart from this, everything else can be put aside.
Between protecting humanity and protecting the Emperor, the Custodians would choose the latter without hesitation.
"Follow me," said Valanor. "Perhaps you will receive her enlightenment when you approach the throne. If not, we will do as Guilliman wishes. If so, we will follow her instructions."
Valyrian nodded, and he followed Valanor to the throne.
Follow those ancient corridors to the throne room.
The inner courtyard was very empty, and one had to walk a long way to see the automatic robots emitting red light.
Without exception, they all wore the golden imperial eagle emblem and spoke a long-forgotten processing language.
Occasionally, a child-like cherubim would flutter their mechanical wings and fly through the palace gate holding incense burners and scriptures, leaving a trail of incense smoke in the sky.
The two imperial guards walked silently in the inner court, and they came to the Starry Sky Gate.
Engraved upon the door was the Emperor's personal thunderbolt symbol.
In front of the gate stood several imperial guards.
They held their guard spears and stood motionless like golden statues.
The tribune Heraclius stood among them.
His helmet had been removed, revealing a cold and straightforward face.
"Tribune," Valerian greeted.
Heracles nodded and greeted Valyrian and Valanor, then he asked about other things.
"I heard that the Imperial Regent has found you and given you a new mission."
"Yes, unfortunately, this mission is kept very confidential, so I don't know the details of the mission," Valerian explained to Heraclian.
"As long as we don't violate her wishes, the details of the mission are irrelevant to us." Heraclian said, "Let's go this way."
Behind the Star Gate is a long corridor, shaped into a ridge by a pile of steel.
Small lumen lights embedded in the corridor flickered, and thick coolant pipes were laid on the floor.
Thin sparks danced among the jagged cables.
The corridor connects to the operating core inside the throne, and all these things are part of the throne.
After walking for a distance, Valerian and others entered a hall.
It was a hall with a huge hemispherical floor, covered by a transparent energy shield.
Inside the transparent cover, a scorching energy exchange phenomenon is taking place, and the shining light is almost blinding.
The air was woven together by electric currents, and powerful plasma rays danced above everyone's heads, making the metal device move vividly.
This is just an energy node in the complex network of the Golden Throne.
This light-filled hall is in a very special location, as if it were located at the top of a bottomless, turbid abyss.
Valerian could feel the heavy, muffled sound coming from the ground against his boots.
Go forward and there is another big door.
The Contemptuous Fearless stood in front of the gate, saying nothing and standing silently in the flickering darkness.
They did not move when Valerian and the others passed by.
The mail-covered helmet stares back into the shadows, ever vigilant.
There are many doors and rooms in front of the corridor.
They are all majestic and magnificent.
Some are so large that the plasma inside them releases surging energy, pulsating like a heart, pumping blood to other areas.
Some rooms were very cold and gloomy, like tombs, and no one had visited them for a long time.
There were no living people in most of the rooms. In a few of the rooms, mechanical sages in red robes were standing there, watching the mechanical servants intently as they whispered prayers to the Omnissiah.
After a while, Karelian and others arrived at the Gate of the End.
Guards wearing phlogopite armor and black robes are performing guard duties here.
This is another entrance to the throne room, for use by the Custodes only.
The surface of the Door to the End is a mottled black.
It is made of ancient ceramic steel.
In the middle of the two doors was carved a dark face, cold and sad.
Then the image split in two, the door opened inward, and dusty smoke poured out like a flood, filling the ancient floor.
Valerian followed the open door and saw the scene inside.
Neat rows of pillars stretched out into the fog-shrouded depths.
The huge energy feeder pipe is as big as a Titan, hanging down from the invisible roof. Ordinary people standing in front of such a pipe feel very small.
Valyrian also saw the wiring used to transmit electricity.
There were a huge number of wires, placed in a mess and tied together, crawling into the depths like a greedy giant snake.
The air that spilled out of the porch was golden and thick as milk, like the morning light.
Particles of energy surged in the mist.
Valerian looked at the energy node itself, a massive structure that stretched throughout the underground, making it difficult to estimate its size.
There was a buzzing sound coming from inside the golden armor, and everything behind the door was vibrating due to the heat generated by the high-intensity psychic energy.
Ancient panels that do not belong to this era connect those energy pipes, making sounds like an organ.
The strange tune rose higher and higher in the fog.
It is covered with rust and marks of repeated repairs.
Here the light is broken or distorted.
The blood circulation mechanism made a wheezing sound, and the whole place was filled with a sweet stench like rotting meat.
Amid the tiered terraces and baroque platforms, among the gantries and scholarly cable lines, Valyrian felt like a pearl lost in a shell made of abominable machinery.
Golden light emanated from the platform, as if a sun was imprisoned in this dark throne room.
The ancient kings are buried here, ruling over Terra and all things.
Those black coffins were placed in the throne room, with extremely painful expressions on their faces.
Valyrian tried to move forward, but found that an unknown force was holding them back.
The force quickly receded, as if it was just a simple test. Once it was deemed qualified, the pressure would be released.
Valerian walked in, and the golden light surrounded him as if it had life.
"You have her approval." Valano said excitedly, "Go and seek her response. She will point out the way forward for you."
As Valyrian walked toward the Golden Throne, he expected to see a wounded man.
But it didn’t.
He could only see a ball of light on the golden throne.
Then, golden light engulfed him.
... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..
Inside the Imperial Senate.
Guilliman's voice echoed through the empty room.
"You should take on this responsibility. I need a brand new war apostle."
In front of Guilliman was a thin disciple, with his arms folded and clad in a simple white robe.
His name was Mathieu, and he was a devout Anglican priest.
Of course, his status was not very high, and he did not have his own army or private wealth.
These conditions allow Guilliman to better control the opponent.
"You want me to be your mouthpiece?" Mathieu looked at Guilliman. "A tool in a monk's robe. I have heard from other people that you do not regard the Emperor as a god, and you have never recognized yourself as the savior sent by the Emperor. Why do you want to establish such a position of war apostle?"
"I need someone to inspire those people, and you can accomplish this task very well. To be honest, I don't hate religion, but I hate religion without standards, which is a terrible thing for everyone. The various stupid things that the state religion has done in the past ten thousand years have always made me think about whether to abolish it. But I have never done so, and I don't plan to do so."
Guilliman paused for a moment before continuing, "Because I know that not everyone in the Empire is strong enough to face problems. They need some faith to support them to keep going."
"Compared to those unknown gods, the Emperor's faith is easier to control and can better protect humanity itself. We are fighting a war that the secular world cannot understand, and for this I need everyone's strength."
"You're very straightforward." Mathieu sat in his seat and responded cautiously.
"Lies will not achieve anything, and my time is very short. I will leave Terra soon to continue my mission." Guilliman shrugged. "Before that, I need someone who is not so blind, has a certain self-will, but is pious enough to act as an apostle and tell the people of every world that what we do is right and is a manifestation of the Emperor's divinity."
"Is this a lie?" asked Mathieu.
"That depends on your perspective. From the perspective of the state religion, this is not a lie, because I am the savior sent by the Emperor, her spokesperson, and my words are her will. From a scientific and rational perspective, yes, this is a lie, because the Emperor did not explicitly instruct me to do so." Guilliman admitted it frankly and had no taboos about it.
"You use faith as a tool?" Mathieu whispered.
"Don't be so cynical," Guilliman said. "We all serve the same God, my father. Mathieu, do you think my father liked the old state religion? Was he fond of the stupid, hateful, blind state religion, or was he fond of the enlightened, rational, and beautiful state religion?"
“Whether we regard faith as everything or as a useful tool, its essence remains unchanged. We serve it and fight for its ideals.”
"But your behavior is somewhat disrespectful."
"But it works, doesn't it? The people of the Empire have been exposed to the Emperor's beliefs since school. They are more devout than their parents, but they also have the ability to think rationally."
Guilliman took out a shiny parchment and handed it to Mathieu. "This is your commission. You will become a war apostle of the Indomitable Crusade, preaching the significance of this battle and inspiring people to fight against our enemies in the name of the Emperor."
Mathieu raised an eyebrow, he stood up and scratched the back of his head.
"Is that all? No ceremony?"
"The ritual is the responsibility of the Church of England and Prime Minister Penny. I cannot interfere in everything. Humans must learn to solve their own problems. If I have to decide everything, then once I die, everything will return to normal."
"Is it inappropriate to say this? You are the savior of mankind and the regent of the empire appointed by the emperor. What power can kill you?"
"No one is immortal, not even the gods. They too will die. You see me as a legend, but I know my limits. I can't solve all the problems the empire faces, nor can I defeat every enemy I encounter. One day, I will fail, and die at the hands of the one who defeats me."
Guilliman also stood up. "The enemies we are facing are extremely powerful. They possess all kinds of incredible powers and abilities. It is not impossible for them to kill me. Mathieu, you have a sincere faith, but you must also be careful not to go astray because of your faith."
"Throughout the ages, countless people have waged wars in the name of God, but in reality, they have done so only to satisfy their endless desires. You must always remember why you have this belief. The Emperor loves humanity, and humanity also loves the Emperor. We must understand what kind of humanity the Emperor wants. We walk on the path she guides and ultimately gain true freedom."
"Beware of those who do evil in the name of the Emperor. They are not true believers. A true believer will not distort the will of the one he believes in, nor will he use all kinds of twisted sacrifices to blaspheme what he believes in."
Mathieu nodded and chose to accept the appointment.
Guilliman has a special ability. He can always make others agree with his ideas and ways of doing things.
As for the differences in beliefs, Mathieu did not argue much with the Primarch.
He was not sure if he really understood what faith was better than the Primarch did.
The only thing Mathieu could be sure of was that those people's slander against the Primarch was wrong.
The Primarch was not without faith as they had rumored, it was just that his faith was rather special.
Stupid people simply cannot understand this belief.
Ordinary people think that to worship a god they should offer all their wealth.
Build sculptures and churches for the god so that more people can believe in him.
If others are unwilling, then use swords to threaten them.
They use all kinds of cruel means to torture the other party and use doomsday rhetoric to intimidate the other party until the other party surrenders and believes in their religion.
Such a God is pitiful, and such believers are also pitiful.
Guilliman changed the foolish practices of the previous state religion.
Faith should come from the pursuit of beautiful things, not from fear and terror.
Mathieu chose to accept the appointment of War Apostle. As the Primarch said, everyone needs to work hard for what they cherish, otherwise don't complain about losing those things.
Those who do not know how to fight for their rights can only watch others take away their rights.
... ... ... ..
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..
Mathieu leaves.
Guilliman prepares to summon one last person.
After meeting that man, he prepared to continue his expedition.
Things are over here in Terra.
He had to go into the void, drive away those enemies, and then return to Terra to continue what was going on.
Scientific research to alien worlds and Mars will be handed over to Cawl.
Guilliman had little expectation of what could be achieved from commanding the Archmagos.
Exploring other universes is something we can only do step by step.
After all, strategic shift is only a backup plan that will be used after the Human Empire is unable to win.
At this stage, the Empire will still focus most of its energy on fighting Chaos and conquering those human planets.
Guilliman also has to find a way to go to the Eye of Terror, to search for the lost world where the Eldar store their Webway knowledge, and to launch humanity's Webway plan in a grand manner to attract the attention of the gods.
So far everything is going smoothly as planned. Terra has been successfully conquered, and the empire's politics, economy, and military have also been integrated.
He killed the opposition in batches, and now they have become completely powerless.
The current situation can be described as smooth sailing.
If you keep steady and don't act recklessly, the probability of a crash is extremely low.
If you defend the empire, your life will be safe.
If we quietly promote the Lighthouse Project, it will be useless for the gods to play the Warp Storm card then.
Even if Alert falls, the Empire can still sit back and relax.
Recently, there have been continuous reports of battles coming from Alert Star, and the fighting is very intense.
Calgar fought from day till night to take back the Vigilant Star from the minions of the gods. However, the effect was not very good.
Abaddon has escaped, and now Calgar is fighting the minions of the Four Gods.
The fight was very hard and very desperate.
Guilliman was also very pleased with this. Calgar's performance indeed made Chaos feel that the Nachmond Corridor was the life and death throat of the Empire.
If lost, the empire would surely fall apart.
Just fight there, and fight as long as possible.
As long as the Lighthouse Project is promoted, Guilliman will show Chaos what a surprise is.
Of course, the deaths and injuries of loyalists in the Vigilance Star fraud plan were something that could not be avoided.
If you want to deceive your enemy, you must first deceive your own people.
Once the fraud scheme is revealed, it won’t have that effect.
In other words, Guilliman used the loyalty of those loyalists to the Emperor, to humanity, and to himself to deceive Chaos.
Those loyalists had no idea that Vigilante was of no importance to the Empire.
They fought to the death just to advance a deception plan.
Guilliman knew that doing so was unfair to the loyalists who had died, but he could only say sorry in his heart and move forward with his plan.
War is not about right or wrong or fairness, it only about winning or losing.
Sitting in the chair, Guilliman reviewed his plans and achievements, filling in the details to ensure that they were foolproof.
At this time, Sicarius' voice came.
"Sir, she is here. Should we receive her now?"
"Let her in. We don't have much time. Let's finish this conversation as soon as possible."
Guilliman collected his thoughts and spoke to Sicarius on the comms.