40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 646 29. Belated Judgment (II)

Kamas, or to use its full name, C-Kamas. A ring in the human territory, a planet with three orbital defense space stations and four Dark Angels.

It has no nominal governor, and the reason is well known to the world, but the Lion has not participated in the political situation of Kamas in any form.

He allows officials to do whatever they want, whether they are ambitious or simply want to make people's lives better, he never makes his comments.

Fools will regard this attitude as a kind of indulgence or indifference, but the truth is not so. Those who are entrusted with important tasks and hold power but betray trust have never escaped the punishment they deserve, and the angels in black armor will personally bring down the sword of judgment.

Yes, the Lion has never stepped into the political arena of Kamas. He just influences it in his own way, that's all.

A Stormbird slowly flew across the sky of the eastern hemisphere of Kamas. The setting sun shone on its beautiful wings. The dark paint absorbed all the light. Only a winged sword emblem shone in gold on the reserved position on the side.

Nowadays, Stormbird is no longer the first choice of major warbands. In fact, as early as the late Great Crusade, it has been replaced by the cheaper Thunderhawk. However, each warband is willing to keep a few or a company.

It doesn't matter whether it is an antique or not. They are still powerful and reliable. The most important point is that they have strong symbolic significance.

But it is indeed a bit sad to say this - from a war machine symbolizing destruction and bravery, it has been transformed into a Primarch's vehicle representing status and identity.

If the machine spirit can speak, what will it choose?

The lion indifferently got rid of this rare thought and walked down the Stormbird holding a spear.

They landed in a clearing in the forest. The natural scenery around them was almost primitive and well protected here - and this means high profits, in all aspects.

Take, for example, air.

It sounds absurd, but the air of Kamas is a very luxurious enjoyment among some nobles. They will spend a lot of money to buy a can and share it with their family on important occasions, just to be able to get close to the Primarch Lion El'Jonson for a moment

They don't seem to realize that this will not make the imagined "closeness" come true, or even make them more noble.

In Kamas, air is equally supplied to everyone, and the treasure they spend a lot of money to buy may be exhaled from the mouth of a civilian they won't even look at.

Of course, a more reasonable guess is that they know, but don't care. After all, it's just a name.

Purchasing the air of Kamas means getting a kind of stepping stone to try to get in touch with the noble circle close to the lion.

The Primarchs have never been away from the Empire. Whether they want to or not, countless people will choose to depend on them. Some people hate it, some people are helpless, only the lion chooses to hold it in his hands and make good use of it.

With the help of this huge and not very loose circle, the lion was able to control the general situation in the hazy star field. Although the efficiency was still not high and corrupt officials still existed, the situation was slowly improving.

"Sir."

A man in a noble robe stood in front of the open space and bowed slowly to the lion. He seemed to be the only one who came to pick up the plane, which was quite strange.

However, considering that the lion himself came alone and even drove himself, this was not unacceptable.

He was about 30 or 40 years old, with a white face and no beard, and a sinister and serious look.

Of course, the external age of the nobles was not credible. For them, expensive operations such as life extension and plastic surgery were just a matter of waving their hands. They didn't even need to pay, and someone would rush to pay for it.

"Semel."

The lion nodded to him and read his name, but did not stop, but continued to move forward. He just slowed down a little so that Semel could keep up with him.

They walked into the primeval forest of Kamas, but the light of the setting sun completely disappeared after they walked about ten meters.

The thick and dense leaves completely blocked the light, and the dampness and coldness of the soil buried under the dead leaves even changed the "smell" of the air. The lion walked forward with his eyes fixed on the front, unmoved, and the Semmel followed his footsteps with normal manners.

They were like two reckless travelers, moving forward in the dark world without light and full of coldness until two heavy doors appeared in front of them without any warning.

The bottom was made of rock, the surface was black and there were no patterns carved on it. The lion took a step forward and raised his head calmly.

A few seconds later, accompanied by an extremely obvious buzzing sound, the winged sword emblem from the First Legion, now used by the war group, quietly appeared in the center of the door.

The stone began to rub against the metal, making a deep and heavy sound. Colder but very dry air rushed out from inside, blowing past in the form of wind. A deep and wide road slowly appeared, and the lion stepped into it, followed by Semel.

The light came on, but it was not clear where it came from. They walked in silence until a few minutes later, when the sound of the door closing came from behind.

Then the lion spoke.

"How is Kamas these days?"

"It's still the same, my lord -" Semmel replied slowly, his expression still retaining the sinister look.

"——To be honest, there is nothing praiseworthy. And I think you didn't come back specifically to ask me about trivial government affairs, right?"

The lion sneered and turned his head and glanced at him: "To speculate on the thoughts of the original body without authorization is a felony on the same level as blasphemy."

"And you are not one of those fanatics in the state religion so, what do you need me to do?"

"There's no rush." ​​The lion looked back and said calmly. "We'll talk about it when we get down there."

"As you command, my lord."

Ten minutes later, they stepped onto a high platform, and beneath the high platform was an extremely noisy and busy world.

Rocks and machinery coexist, metal and vegetation coexist in the same room. It is as wide as the general parade square during the Legion period, but the specific structure is as complex as a treasure hunt maze. Even at a glance, there are at least tens of thousands of rooms divided by metal. Most of them are tightly covered by the dark dome, and only a few are exposed.

The lion walked to the center of the high platform and reached out to wake up a control panel. The genetic verification passed quickly, and with a soft sound, solemn military music suddenly sounded around the high platform.

The lion's expression suddenly darkened. He pressed the screen to lower the platform, and then immediately turned to question Semel.

"What's going on? What stupid idiot added this feature without permission?"

"It is the wise Benejov, my lord."

"Tell that tin shell to remove this damn function for me today!" the lion roared. "I asked him to come here to work so that he could improve the weapons. If I really need military musicians to show my status, why don't I invite a group of people to work for me like before?!"

"As you command, my lord." Semmel sighed and bowed slightly.

At the same time, the high platform slowly landed. The lion took a deep breath, returned his expression to normal, and stepped into the maze holding the spear tightly.

He seems to know this place very well, and no matter how many forks appear around the next corner, the Lion can easily choose the right one.

However, it is worth mentioning that until they reached their destination, there was not a single guard or any automatic security turrets on the road.

They stopped in front of a large door made of obsidian.

"You can go get ready, Semel." The lion said in a low voice. "Call everyone here."

The nobleman saluted solemnly, turned and left without saying a word. The lion took a step forward, pushed open the heavy door with one hand, and stepped inside.

Instead of a maze, he was surrounded by a world full of solemnity and mystery. The ground made of unknown silver metal is daubed with strange symbols, and the distance between them is strictly controlled. At a glance, it has a unique beauty of its own.

At first glance, the pillars holding up the ceiling may be thought to be made of stone, but if you take a second look, you will immediately realize that they are actually made of ashes.

There are long-lasting torches hanging on the walls, with a strange texture, like glass with impurities. The flame beating at the top is not the usual red color, but a gentle light golden color.

The lion took a deep breath, lowered his head, and suddenly said: "How is it, are you satisfied?"

A quiet step sounded between the bone pillars, and Khalil strolled out of the darkness, holding a human spine in his hand.

Facing the lion's question, he just shrugged: "I don't know much about mysticism, so I probably don't have the right to evaluate this room you placed in the fortress, Leon. But I must admit-"

He raised his hand, pressed it on the bone pillar closest to him, sighed and smiled.

"——You really put a lot of thought into it. With so many remains of loyalists, it must be quite difficult to collect them, right?"

The lion shook his head and calmly denied it. Khalil walked up to him, handed him the spine, and then asked another question.

"Forgive me for being impatient, Leon. But I really want to know what will happen next? I know that Judge Serrano and Judge Shefa have teamed up to reveal the magic on this horn to you, but, How do you use it here?"

He stopped his voice and raised his hand to point to the ceiling. Among the pure gold, a huge eagle was looking down at them coldly.

The lion smiled.

"Do you get curious sometimes?" he asked, his tone surprisingly pleasant.

"Of course, I'm not some inhumane killing machine that only thinks about how to carry out efficient murders." Khalil smiled softly. "You can't think that I shouldn't be curious, can you?"

The lion looked down at him and said, "Ruth just expressed some unflattering opinions on what you said."

Khalil raised an eyebrow.

"Then, why don't you let him come out and tell me himself?"

"He doesn't want to. He thinks he's asking for trouble unless he has wine to drink. And I don't want to either."

After the words fell, the lion turned around, the door was pushed open, and thirteen people followed Semel and walked in.

They wear uniform clothing, with the emblem of the state religion engraved on their heads. In addition, there are many visual objects that represent their faith and are worn devoutly around their necks or wrists. They were both male and female, and they were all different in height, short, fat, and thin, but they all had the same fanatical expressions.

But as soon as they walked in here, they immediately knelt down in front of the lion and bowed to the ground. The leader read the hymn written with him as the protagonist, and the others raised their heads slightly and sang the hymn in a solemn and harmonious voice.

Semel, who was still wearing a noble robe, stood aside with a calm expression, lowered his head, and observed Khalil, a man who suddenly appeared in the uniform of the Tribunal, with the corner of his eye in a ceremonial manner.

He had doubts, obviously, but since the Lion didn't mention them, he didn't mention them either.

It's no wonder that a very sensible person can become the general manager here. Khalil thought so. However, he was still a little surprised that Leon El'Jonson would actually build such a complex yet important place.

In the past, the lion seemed not to have similar ideas. He just wanted to be a sharp sword. Although he had the majesty of a king, he rarely used it. More often than not, he speaks with his sword. But now, the situation seems to be a little different.

Silently he stepped back and stood behind the lion, waiting for the hymn to end. He wanted to hear it all, but the lion seemed unwilling.

He raised his right hand, forcibly stopping the group of monks from their pious actions, and then showed the spine to a bald woman.

"In the name of the God Emperor." The lion spoke very slowly. "Purify it."

The woman bowed her head respectfully, raised her hands above her head, and then reached out to take the vertebrae. She is not young, as evidenced by the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but her face still has a certain childlike innocence.

Khalil captures this event with precision, as smoothly as a knife to the heart. He frowned, a certain suspicion flashed away, and then, the slowness shown by the remaining twelve people and the similar childishness on their faces confirmed his guess.

The lion turned around and led him towards the door.

His noble supervisor went ahead and left very quickly. The door closed again, and the lion leaned against the door, holding the spear, and slowly closed his eyes.

Khalil heard him take deep breaths, one deep breath after another.

".Will you look down on me for this?" Leon El'Jonson asked after a moment.

"Why do I look down on you?"

"For them," the Caliban said, then gave himself a rare laugh. "I thought I wouldn't have any psychological burden when I started doing this."

"Are they going to die?"

"No." Leon said. "At least not now, but their lifespan will be shortened."

"Are they going to be in pain?"

"I don't know. I only know that I selected these defective children from the society of Camas, and then raised them as tools, filling them with faith to prepare for a certain moment of emergencies."

The old lion lowered his head seriously but stiffly, looked at the judge he invited, and asked the last question.

"I would like to know."

He didn't finish.

Khalil shook his head and expertly did something he had never done before - he interrupted the lion's words simply and without rejection.

Similar things have happened many times since his resurrection, along with changes in his paranoia about honorifics or identities.

Time changes everything and nothing is exception.

"There is no space reserved for these children in the empire's society. There was no space in the past, there is no space now, and you and I cannot be sure whether there will be in the future."

"Furthermore, for now, curing brain defects is still a difficult task. Our understanding of our own body structure is not yet perfect enough to prevent similar things at the genetic level."

"I believe that even in a thousand years, deformed children will still exist in our society and suffer bullying. So there is nothing reprehensible in what you did, even in the eyes of a bigot like me."

"You let them have enough food and clothing, and they don't have to go hungry looking for food in the garbage. The most important thing is that you give them dignity, Leon, and no amount of money can buy this back."

"Even if this dignity comes from fanatical belief, even if they actually have no concept related to it."

Khalil smiled, his eyes lighting up with psychic energy. He flew up quietly, and in the lion's astonishment, he raised his hand and patted his shoulder, and then landed again.

"So, you might as well think carefully about how to invite that war gang later."

Leon El'Jonson looked at him with strange eyes, and after a long time he suppressed a warning: "Don't do that next time."

"What?"

"Psychic energy."

Khalil chuckled.