40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 363 83. The Burning of Five Hundred Worlds (2)

"War is painful, and cleaning the battlefield is even more painful. Everything has two opposite sides. You can't enjoy the pleasure of revenge killings without bearing the casualties caused by war."

Robert Guilliman put down his pen and rubbed his eyebrows. A few strands of broken hair slid down his forehead, causing an itch.

It had been a long time since he had put any effort into his appearance. His short white hair, which had been neglected, gradually grew longer, and together with the stubble that emerged, it became evidence of his hard work day and night.

If a lady from far away in Macragge saw this scene, she would probably be very angry and tell him that as a ruler, he should lead by example. She might also say that keeping up appearances is not part of the job, but is just as important as the job itself.

Robert Guilliman chuckled. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the porthole outside the study.

The stars twinkled outside the window, and the debris of the battleship and the aftermath of the explosion continued. If a battleship is not destroyed immediately - that is, completely broken into pieces - its death will last for a long time.

According to Guilliman's observations during this period, if an ordinary destroyer is hit in the engine, it can watch such an explosion for up to two hours before it completely disintegrates.

He has not yet made similar observations and records on those larger ships, which has nothing to do with the fact that the Word Bearers did not leave much living force on the edge of the Five Hundred Worlds.

Thinking of these things, the smile on the original face gradually disappeared. He stood up and closed the timer he had placed on the table before it went off. Wearing the armor, he began to pace in the study.

The wooden floors bear undue weight, and the creaking sound made Guilliman consider whether to replace them all with metal. After thinking about it, he slowly walked to the study door and looked back at the other porthole. .

There, a distorted sun rotated slowly. It no longer looked like a fireball, but a confused ball of light gathering dirty evil light. It has brought countless bad effects to this galaxy.

Robert Guilliman closed his eyes, turned his head, opened the door, and started walking. The victorious troops followed closely behind him, their steps were uniform, and their footsteps completely overlapped.

Through the repaired elevator, Guilliman quickly arrived at the conference room. As he expected, the place was already bustling with people. On the seats that spread upwards, many officers who had arrived in advance were talking to each other. Even though he had arrived, he didn't stop. At best, he only paid attention to him.

However, this kind of conversation should actually be called a quarrel. It usually happens between the Ultramarines. They will quarrel over a number in the battle report, try to convince each other with their own theoretical models, and sometimes even shake their fists at each other.

Nightblades don't do this, but that's not a good thing. There is another kind of atmosphere among them, which is far more terrible than the quarrel. No one knows where it came from, but Guilliman calls it the 'Silent Smile'.

Just like the literal meaning, if they disagree with an opinion or plan of yours, they will not express any opinion for the time being. They will just smile a very unpleasant smile, and then stare at you without speaking, or simply shake their heads.

It's not until you can't stand it anymore that you take the initiative to speak, and then they will point out the possible shortcomings or shortcomings of something.

It's hard to say which of these two ways of persuading each other in a conversation is better, but which one is more annoying, I'm afraid you don't even need to choose.

Robert Guilliman strode to his long conference table and began to retrieve the plans, tactical supplements, various battle reports and ship status reports that had been reported to him.

There is an extremely huge star map behind him, which shows the appearance of the five hundred worlds of Ultramar. The specific conditions in most areas are temporarily marked as unknown, but most of the worlds they have passed through are painted red, or simply painted with a heavy layer of black.

The thick tapestries and flags woven by the Ultramarines themselves are swaying gently on the four walls of this stepped conference room. It is worth mentioning that a flag belonging to the Midnight Blade is also among them. It is similar to that of the Ultramarines. The flags kept their distance and had a small area to themselves.

".Taken together, I think the Warp is eroding this universe, this world, as we know it."

"The laws of physics we have learned are breaking down, and so is the way we understand the world. Therefore, we must change our understanding of war, and our understanding of the universe, in order to survive the numerous bloody crimes committed by the Word Bearers. He kept his wits about him and traveled a long way, with his legs full of blood, to seek revenge against them."

——Captain of the 135th Company, Ionid Hill.

Guilliman silently intercepted the battle report and planned to speak about it separately in today's meeting.

Although Ionid Hill was promoted from the front line and took office, he did not live up to his position. In fact, he did quite well, and the Lord Macragge valued his ability to learn.

There are many people among the Ultramarines who have a keen sense of war, but people like Hill who can almost be said to have evolved in war are still in the minority.

With a sigh, he turned to the next battle report, but at this time he heard two footsteps.

"Captain VanCleef." Guilliman greeted without raising his head and made a little joke. "Which officer did you bring to the meeting today? Is it still Adjutant Morets?"

"No, it's our company's fighting champion, Siani from Terra." Van Cleef replied calmly. "He has a tactical vision and wants to tell you about it."

Guilliman finally raised his head, his expression looking somewhat intriguing. He glanced at Siani standing behind Van Cleef with great interest. The latter held his helmet. The calm expression fell into Guilliman's eyes, but there was an urge that made him want to laugh.

"Okay." He nodded gently without exposing Van Cleef. "Speak, Siani of Terra."

"Thank you for the opportunity, my lord. I think—" Siani cleared her throat. "——We need to change our past understanding of war. It has become outdated and has become an outdated way of thinking."

Guilliman raised his eyebrows: "Go on."

In the next ten minutes, Guilliman heard a very rigorous tactical vision report from Siani, starting from pre-war preparations to certain precautions for cleaning up the battlefield after the war.

He spoke clearly and clearly, but always at the speed of a manuscript, without any emotion, only pausing at a few points, and his face looked thoughtful. He spoke quickly, but the faster he spoke, the darker the expression on Van Cleef's face stood aside.

Guilliman laughed secretly, but also gave the report high praise after Siani's report.

"Your report is amazing, Siani." He looked at Siani and said sincerely. "Every detail is thoughtful and you've obviously thought it through."

"Ah" the hand-to-hand combat champion's mouth twitched and he nodded. "Thank you for your compliment. Then, I will leave first, sir, company commander."

"Go ahead," Van Cleef said slowly.

Robert Guilliman watched him leave. After Siani took his seat, he chuckled: "You really worked hard, Van Cleef."

"I can't help it, sir." The company commander said expressionlessly. "I have idiots who like not to say a word for several days. Many points in the report just now were actually his own ideas. If I didn't push him here, I'm afraid he will die. I won’t talk about these things.”

"Is it really that serious?" Guilliman couldn't help but ask a question.

Van Cleef gave the Lord Macragge an answer with a long sigh, and there was a deep sense of frustration on the face of the captain.

Guilliman shook his head in sympathy - there are also similar officers among the Ultramarines, very talented, but always accustomed to keeping silent.

"In addition, I have one more thing I want to report to you." After sighing, Van Cleef spoke again.

"Say it, Van Cleef." Guilliman lowered his head and read the battle report again. It is not difficult for him to perform two functions at once, or even four functions or eight functions. Besides, the person speaking now was Van Cleef, so he didn't have to maintain extra courtesy.

He had known Van Cleef many years ago, although the process was not very pleasant. But, who cares?

"Do you remember the Sons of Aurelion?"

Guilliman stopped sliding the data pad, raised his head, and nodded slowly towards VanCleef.

Of course he remembered this group of loyalists, and he also understood how much painful blood and tears were hidden behind this loyalty. Angel Tai told him everything, completely, without hiding anything.

While lamenting their fate, Robert Guilliman also secretly made a vow.

I will kill the thief who stole your identity, Luojia.

"Their number has been reduced to a point where they can no longer bear any losses." Van Cleef considered his words and made a suggestion very carefully.

"Since Calth, they have not missed any battle, which leaves them with only the last hundred people. I think they should stay away from the war for a while to replenish their numbers and recuperate. After all, they may be the last ones in this universe. Of Luojia’s bloodline.”

Van Cleef shook his head, paused for a moment, and added one word: "Really."

Guilliman looked at him seriously.

"Have you spoken to them?" the Lord of Macragge asked. "It's asking them to run away and be deserters."

"Not yet."

"Invite them to my private chambers," Guilliman said. "I hope to talk to them about this after the meeting."

The update is complete, and I recommend another book.