40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 594 112. Interlude: Old Guys (2)

Robert Guilliman stood up from behind his desk.

"No, there is no need." He told his first captain, Thor Invictus the Unconquerable Sun, firmly.

"Let them see, what do we have to hide? Is it possible that we have to tell these veterans that they are not qualified to know what happened to their original body, legion and brothers?"

"But, Primarch, I'm worried"

"What are you worried about?" Guilliman looked at his son who was hesitant to speak. "Worried that they will feel this is a betrayal of the Legion's culture?"

"More than that." Lieyang whispered. "After all, you are the primary author of the Holy Scriptures."

"so?"

"."

Guilliman took a deep breath and shook his head angrily and amusedly: "Yes, I am the main author, but its implementation is agreed upon by all the Primarchs. Moreover, the culture of the Legion has also been carefully maintained."

"I wrote this holy book in the hope that the separated sub-groups could quickly form combat effectiveness, so every case I wrote into the holy book was carefully selected."

"As long as you read the Holy Scriptures completely, you won't be at a loss when encountering emergencies. It's impossible for them not to see this. My First Company Commander, you are worrying too much."

Really?

Thor Invictus hesitated again and accompanied his primarch out of the office.

Not long ago, there was a huge debate here, and all the company commanders were involved. They came here to persuade Robert Guilliman, but failed, and were defeated one by one by the Primarch.

Rational analysis, passionate eloquence, presenting facts, and reasoning. Even if the identity of the original body was discarded, the captains would not be able to defeat Robert Guilliman in this argument.

However, one wave has subsided and another wave has arisen. The argument had just ended when the company commander received news that the instructor led the veterans into the data room of Macragge's Glory.

The person in charge, a woman who had been an administrator for forty-four years, was very uneasy about this. Invictus, who originally planned to go to the training ground to stretch his muscles, rushed to the place where he was after receiving her message. office and told the matter in detail.

But Robert Guilliman didn't seem to care much about this.

"Actually, Sun." Guilliman mused, calling out the Captain's nickname. "My original intention in setting up that data room was just to alert myself. This is very necessary."

"I would also feel uneasy about the implementation of the Holy Code. The Legion may be bloated, but is the structure of the Chapter too small compared to the war they will face? Moreover, if these separated Chapters I no longer have any contact with the parent group.”

He suddenly stopped speaking and did not continue the topic. The Captain's heart trembled, as he had already guessed what Guilliman had not said.

For a moment, the only sound left on the road leading directly from Robert Guilliman's office to the data room was the footsteps of the two of them.

Outside the thick portholes, the stars were shining brightly, and the soft light from the ceiling cast their shadows behind them, making everything look ordinary.

But it was just another walk accompanied by the company commander. The guards who often stood guard were even used to it. It wasn't until they walked outside the reference room that the difference in this walk slowly became apparent.

How much space can a thousand Astartes occupy?

A more serious answerer will ask for more information, such as whether it is fully armed, whether there are veterans wearing Terminators, and how many company flags are carried.

People who don't care so much will immediately give vague answers, such as a gathering place and several trenches.

Thor Invictus could directly give a definite answer: a thousand Astartes could completely occupy the wide corridors of Macragge's Glory.

From them to the end, waiting Astartes stood in every corner. Corridors that had once allowed a Land Raider to pass unimpeded were now blocked.

The first company commander almost gasped, but his original body laughed lowly, then walked forward, nodded to the veterans who noticed him, and shook hands with those who were close to him one by one, intimately Greetings as if he knew these people already.

The Unconquerable Sun stood silently behind, watching Robert Guilliman fully display his talents in diplomacy - or society, like a silent statue.

However, even if it was a real statue, people would pay attention and salute. The company commander inevitably made eye contact with those soldiers. It could not be called hostile, but it could not be called friendly either.

To him, the looks of those soldiers were full of scrutiny, as if they were observing whether a new recruit was qualified. His acumen made it hard not to notice, and he was doubly annoyed.

Moreover, he was quickly and deliberately brought into the conversation.

"It's good to see you again, my lord." An Iron Warrior made the aquila salute in front of his chest and spoke respectfully. "And this sir, is he your company commander?"

"Yes, he is my Captain, Naric," Robert Guilliman said with a smile. "Thor Invictus, who has served for three hundred and twenty-one years and has experienced hundreds of battles, is my right-hand man."

The Unconquered Sun felt relieved, and after hearing the Primarch's defense, he straightened his chest and accepted the man's gaze. This action contained a sense of injustice. He respected these veterans, but he did not believe that they could serve longer than himself.

Excluding the time spent in the stasis field, Invictus believed that few of them could serve longer than himself. Of course, whether the intensity of the wars they experienced was the same was another matter. He would not ignore the facts just to maintain his self-esteem.

"Three hundred and twenty-one years?" The Iron Warrior called Narik showed a slightly surprised expression. "It's amazing. Hello, Captain Thor, I also know a captain named Thor, Thor Tarvitz, have you heard of his name?"

Invictus nodded solemnly.

"Of course I have heard of the name of the Emperor's Children Chapter Captain Thor Tarvitz."

"He became a Chapter Captain?" The Iron Warrior was slightly startled.

"Now it is." The first captain emphasized. "He has been the Chapter Master since the Emperor's Children were split into Chapters."

"So, have you seen him?"

"No."

"I have." The Iron Warrior said, then stepped forward and stretched out his right hand to Invictus. "Narrick Dragoul, the warsmith of the 114th Battalion of the Iron Warriors. Of course, there may be no battalion now."

The Unconquered Sun also stepped forward, tightly grasped the forearm of the right hand, and nodded to its owner: "Thor Invictus, Captain of the First Company of the Ultramarines Chapter, it's nice to meet you, Narrick the Blacksmith."

"It's the Warsmith." The Iron Warrior grinned. "Don't be vague. The blacksmith is here."

He retracted his arm, stepped back, and gave his body to a man who was taller than him. The man was wearing a gorgeous set of armor, and the dragon head on his left shoulder was particularly conspicuous. Invictus didn't even recognize its model at the first time, which shows how gorgeous it was.

But it is not just gorgeous, those golden outlines and reliefs are just embellishments, and every detail of it is full of a sense of power that is about to burst out.

"Adro Branull." The man introduced himself. "A member of the Fire Dragon Guard, salute you, Your Excellency the First Captain. In addition, as the war blacksmith said, I am a blacksmith-"

He smiled slightly, blinked, and looked at Robert Guilliman again.

"-I am good at making and repairing things, so, my lord, if you don't mind."

"I couldn't ask for more." Guilliman said sincerely. "It is something that all legions want to get help from the Salamanders."

He deliberately used the word "legion". Invictus tasted this subtle difference, but before he had time to think, he saw two people walking out of the open metal door of the data room.

One was wearing the iconic golden armor and fully armed, while the other was empty-handed, wearing a robe without any defense, and was just a mortal.

"How is it?" Guilliman smiled and walked over. "My data room, are you satisfied with it? It's not easy to collect information about the entire empire here."

"You shouldn't ask me this question." The person being asked answered. "I'm just a caretaker."

During the conversation, another person walked out of the door. The weathered and faded armor made Invictus frown. He didn't understand what the technical sergeants and mechanical priests who came to check were busy with.

How could an old warrior be so rude in front of the primarch?

Two seconds later, his worries disappeared again.

"Kefa!" Guilliman called his name, and surprise flashed across his face. "It's you!"

"My lord." The Death Guard called Kefa smiled reluctantly. "I can say the same thing to you again, but I still can't."

He took a step back, avoided Guilliman's hug, and bowed deeply.

"What are you doing?" The Lord of Macragge frowned and asked.

"Thank you," the Death Guard said hoarsely. "At the same time, I apologize for my initial doubts."

"Before entering this archive, my shortsightedness prevented me from understanding why you took the lead in writing a book about splitting the Legion, but now I understand its necessity."

"The will of our father has not been forgotten. It flows in every son of Mortarion, and they carry it throughout the galaxy. Seeing this makes me really unable to remain calm, please forgive me."

Guilliman sighed, strode forward, and pulled him up.

"Don't do this." The primarch said word by word. "You are insulting all of us, Kefa. Why do you assume that the names of heroes will be forgotten by us?"

Invictus saw that the face of the Death Guard was trembling.

"I-" He barely made a sound. "——I'm sorry, my lord."

"Don't be sorry about this, Kefa, there is nothing to be sorry about. Everyone remembers Mortarion's name, his spirit is widely spread in the Empire, and every soldier who is struggling in the trenches on the front line will mention his name. The Lord of Death, the Tough Man, never surrenders. He is our role model, do you understand?"

"I, I understand."

"Very good." Guilliman nodded slightly, his voice suddenly raised. "And you are his son, I ask you to set an example and be a role model, do you agree?"

Kefa Morag straightened his back suddenly, his steel boots collided, and he instinctively saluted.

"Then, I ask you-"

Guilliman turned around and pulled Invictus with him.

"——Accompanied by my first company commander, lead your brothers to the weapons depot and foundry to receive weapons and receive maintenance. Do you agree?"

"I agree, my lord."

The Death Guard sighed slightly and looked into Guilliman's eyes sincerely.

He said softly: "You are still like you ten thousand years ago, always giving orders that no one can refuse."

Guilliman gave no reply to these words, merely turning sideways so that his Captain could turn and lead the way. The Death Guard followed, each saluting the Primarch as they passed, a respect that could not be faked.

Khalil, who was watching all this silently, knew that Mortarion's personal guard probably wore a helmet when he was in the data room, and used the eyepiece to share what he saw with the helmets of all his brothers. inside.

This is not a violation of the rules, at most it is just a loophole. Very smart and saves a lot of trouble.

He couldn't help but chuckle, and was met with another whispered question from the Custodes.

"grown ups?"

"La, what's going on with you?"

"I don't know. I feel like everything is fine. I just wanted to ask you, do you have any questions?"

"What problem can I have?" Khalil responded in a low voice, his smile gone, leaving only his frown. "I just smiled. Does it mean that when I smile, I am going to kill someone? Or solve some 'problem'?"

The Imperial Guard straightened his back and turned into a statue without saying a word. Robert Guilliman on the side expressed his opinion.

"Khalil, with all due respect. If you use statistics, five out of every ten times you smile--"

"——Robert." Khalil looked at him with a smile. "Would you like to guess what this smile means?"

The Lord of Macragge shook his head and pulled Narik Dragur, who was still in the team, into the data room. Looking at his back, Khalil took a deep breath, and then looked at the tribune.

"so."

"What, my lord?"

"Is he telling the truth? Every five times?"

"I can't say for sure," La replied lightly. "But I don't think it's a sin to laugh, sir. It's just that your smile is more scary."

Khalil silently raised his elbows, put his left hand on his chest, and covered the lower half of his face with his right hand, pretending to be thinking.