Emperor's Bane

Chapter 731 Five Thousand Worlds
"Where's Kor Phaeron?"

"Where did he go again?"

When he found that only the Scarlet Lord Angortai and a few guards were waiting for him at the gate of Nikea Palace, even someone like Lorgar the Great, the most mild-tempered person among all the Primarchs, could not help but become a little angry.

Of course, although the Great Bearer's anger came quickly, it went away even faster. Before the last question was finished, it had already turned into worry about Kor Phaeron's breach of promise: Angertai could easily see through this matter from the Primarch's most subtle changes in syllables.

He has long been used to it.

"The captain of the first company is leading his personal soldiers to search for the missing backbone of the legion."

Angertai bowed slightly, his words of explanation already prepared, and Luo Jia nodded immediately to show his satisfaction: as long as there was a slightly reasonable reason, the Primarch would never punish his adoptive father for his disrespect.

This has become an open secret in the Word Bearers Legion: if it weren't for the Primarch's blind favoritism, how could an old loser like Kor Phaeron, who couldn't even complete the most basic Astartes transformation surgery, have always occupied the position of First Captain of the Legion, a position full of glory and power?

Among the Astartes warriors who claim to be the Emperor's Angels of Death, Kor Faren has an obese body and multiple hidden diseases. He can only survive by relying on bionic components and drugs. Without his special power armor, he can't even move like a normal person. This has long become one of the most shameful labels on the 17th Legion.

At least half of the ridicule directed at the descendants of Lorgar by other brother troops was due to their Primarch, about 30% was related to the disgraceful First Company Captain, and the remaining small part was due to religion and military achievements.

Angertai knew this very well, but he acted as if he knew nothing: any Primarch was a god that could not be desecrated in the eyes of their descendants, and Lorgar's influence on the Word Bearers Legion went even further. Simply thinking of negative comments about the Great Word Bearer was an unforgivable capital sin.

This is no joke.

You must know that the earliest 17th Legion was the "Iconoclasts" appointed by the Emperor. Their most important war duty was to destroy all records, tainted works, individuals and buildings in the enemy's archives that were considered to contain heresy or witchcraft in the name of the Imperial Truth, naturally including all kinds of religious items.

It was this army whose core value was to practice the Imperial Truth. After being taken over by Lorgar, it was transformed into loyal servants of the God-Emperor's faith at an incredible speed: many battle brothers who had fought side by side with the Iconoclasts could not recognize the Word Bearers when they met them again.

In today's Seventeenth Legion, the shadow of the past on Holy Terra has been completely washed away. Even the old soldiers who once followed the Emperor in the War of Unification have converted to the new concept proposed by Lorgar: If it were placed in other Astartes Legions, this would be an unimaginable fantasy scene.

Look at the Dark Angels. Even though Jonson has taken over them for a century, there are still a large number of Terran veterans who adhere to the traditions of the ancient Seraph era. Even though the Lion of Caliban once vie for the title of Warmaster, he still cannot gain the heartfelt recognition of every one of his descendants.

Those Dark Angels who still looked down on Jonson's abilities had their thoughts written all over their faces: and this did not stop them from occupying high positions in the First Legion and expressing their opinions at will.

From this point of view, Zhuang Sen is an exceptionally generous person.

In other legions: the wolf-shepherd god Horus kept a respectful distance from the Terran veterans under his command, the Lord of Five Hundred Worlds formed those warriors he didn't like very much into a separate regiment specializing in destruction, and the Wolf King of Fenris needed to cleanse out the wild Terran executioners under his command before he could get a barely decent army.

Even gentle Primarchs like Morgan, Sanguinius or Vulcan could not coexist with all of their sons, but their methods were gentler and the retirement of veterans was more dignified: this was the norm in most Legions.

And a Primarch like Lorgar, who cleansed all old traces of the Legion in such a short time, is simply a horrifying existence: However, in Angertai's eyes, this is strong proof that his genetic father is superior to his other brothers.

The Scarlet Lord, like most of his Word Bearers brethren, was adamant in his belief that Lorgar was the most capable Primarch.

His strength is unmatched.

His philosophy is absolutely correct.

He is most like the Emperor.

He is the heir chosen by the Emperor!

If it weren't for the timing of his return and his ambitions, the Great Speaker could have been crowned Warmaster of the Empire: he was the most worthy person for this position, and Horus was just a substitute who got the position by chance.

It is not surprising for Astartes warriors to have such thoughts. It is the nature of every Astartes to worship their fathers. Some of the most extreme individuals even despise other Primarchs because of this.

Even the Ultramarines, who are known for their rationality, would secretly denigrate other children of the Emperor because of their great admiration for Guilliman.

In the eyes of these people, Horus was just a favored minister who was lucky enough to be promoted. The only thing he was good at was kneeling at the feet of the Emperor and flattering him. On the other hand, Jonson was a fool with no brain except killing, who was destined to be eliminated by the tide of the times and go nowhere.

Dorn was stubborn, Sanguinius had no stance, Jaghatai Khan was a wimp who shirked his responsibilities, and Perturabo was a brat who only cared about being strong: they didn't even bother to pity the immaturity of Konrad and Corax, but the Ultramarines were able to show understanding for Angron's lack of ambition.

However, when facing Morgan, even the most extreme Son of Guilliman would stop his chattering and give her a serious compliment: In their eyes, the Spider Queen's self-awareness is her greatest advantage. She knows that she does not have the capital to be independent, so she cleverly attaches herself to the only king in the galaxy.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?
This is too harsh to hear.

But Justinian and Theodora: that was the trend the Macragges liked.

Yes, Justinian and Theodora...

These were the words that Angortai happened to hear from the Ultramarines who were working hard to rescue the enemy as he shuttled through the ruins of Nikaea: at least half of Guilliman's bad reputation was due to these guys under his command who always liked to express their opinions, but they just couldn't learn to shut up.

Seeing this, Angelte could not help but sneer: he had also heard about the heavy losses suffered by Nikea of ​​the Thirteenth Legion. Although it was their own fault, his genetic father held a different view.

"May the Emperor have mercy on my brother."

Luo Jia turned around and saw the Macragge people leaving surrounded by a large number of their descendants: the two looked at each other and nodded to each other silently.

Since the Battle of the Immaculate City, the already not-so-close relationship between the Word Bearers and the Ultramarines has naturally become even worse, but the two legions are not enemies. They just instinctively avoid each other on the road: secretly treating each other as competitors when doing things.

Just like now: when they saw how numerous and powerful the Extreme Marines were still after suffering such heavy losses, both Lorgar and Angertai felt a sense of boredom growing in their hearts.

"There are simply more of them than greenskins."

Angertai's voice was low, but Luo Jia stopped him with his eyes.

“Don’t slander your brother behind his back.”

"My bad, father."

The Scarlet Lord lowered his head, but felt that Luo Jia was hesitating there.

"But you do have a point."

The Great Speaker smiled.

"The Ultramarines are always strong in numbers, so they can always accomplish great things and endure the most tragic losses: my brother Macragge lost a legion commander in the storm of Nikaea, which was more exaggerated than a tragic Apocalyptic War, but this did not actually affect the XIII Legion."

After saying this, the Primarch winked at his offspring, motioning for Angertai to stand closer to him. Then, the Great Bearer bent down and quietly revealed to his child what had happened in the Temple of Nikea.

"Let me tell you, Angertai: When Guilliman found out how many people he had lost, I had never seen him so furious. Morgan, Jonson, and Horus worked together and spent more than ten minutes to barely subdue him. It was the first time I saw admiration and surprise for Guilliman in the eyes of the Calibans."

Lorgar shook his head and sighed: He obviously likes Guilliman like this.

“No one expected him to be so wild.”

"but……"

Luo Jia paused.

"After he calmed down, Guilliman reorganized his Ultramarines right in front of us: Can you imagine? After losing so many senior officers, Guilliman simply counted how many of his descendants on Nikaea were left, and he was able to completely make up for the previous losses." "Selecting from the survivors, he filled all the vacant positions on the spot: Orfeo, the deputy commander of the Five Hundred Worlds Reserve Legion, was appointed as the new Legion Hero. I have met him, and he is definitely capable of taking on this position. What do you think about this?"

"Indeed, father."

Anglete thought about it.

Orfeo? He was definitely qualified for the position of Legion Hero.

"Not only that, Guilliman also had no trouble filling other positions. He did lose a large number of good men, but such a loss was not enough to completely devastate the Ultramarines. At most, it was a serious injury. This was due to their huge size. There were backups for hundreds of high-ranking officers."

"And ask yourself: I don't think we can do this now."

"..."

Angeltai saw it clearly: envy was overflowing in Luo Jia's pupils.

"So can we, Father."

He took the initiative to speak.

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"us?"

Luo Jia asked back with a smile.

He didn't say anything, but he clearly liked the confidence the Scarlet Lord showed.

"Yes."

Angeltai nodded. His words were not spoken rashly. Long before Nikaea, the Scarlet Lord had already imagined how to develop and expand the Seventeenth Legion after returning to their fiefdom. This was also the source of his confidence at this moment, because he knew that the Word Bearers actually possessed countless advantages.

"Think about it, Father."

Ingreta suppressed his inner excitement.

"When the God-Emperor divided the Primarchs, he actually followed a default rule: the location of each Primarch's fiefdom was actually centered around the home planet of its legion. The Astartes Legions that were closer to their home planets had narrower and more crowded lands."

"On the other hand, the Ultramarines, who are isolated in the southeastern edge of the galaxy, will be able to obtain a large piece of unowned land that Terra is unable to take care of. The Dawnbreakers and the Night Lords will also benefit from this. Their home planet is too remote and there are no neighbors around to share the land."

"And isn't that the case with us?"

Anglete laughed.

"We all know that the human empire has only five star regions in total, and in the Taiping star region where our legion's home planet Colchis is located, there is only one legion, ours. Even the Iron Hands, which is the closest to us, has its home planet far away in the Misty Star Region, and its influence cannot reach the Taiping star region at all."

"That is to say, your Word Bearers Legion is actually the only one among the nineteen legions that can occupy a star field alone. This is a condition that even the Ultramarines envy. Don't take the Pacific Segment Field completely for yourself. Our size will far exceed five hundred worlds. When Guilliman's descendants encounter us again, they will no longer have any numerical advantage."

“A grand goal.”

Luo Jia did not make any specific statement: but the light in his pupils told it all.

"Do you think we can do this?"

"If it were any other Primarch, perhaps this issue would indeed need to be considered."

Anglete bowed slightly.

"But you are different, my lord. You are the most outstanding successor of the Divine Emperor. You have inherited his grace and charm that made the world submit. With the correct guidance of the Divine Emperor's faith and our meticulous cultivation of the Taiping Star Region during the Great Crusade, it will be easy for you to bring the entire western part of the galaxy into your hands."

"By then, even the Five Hundred Worlds will be eclipsed by the might of the Great Crusader State."

"The Grand Crusader State."

Luo Jia murmured.

"I like this name."

"...Come on, Anglete."

He patted his shoulder.

"We talked as we walked: How can we make the entire Taiping Star Region a country of believers?"

"Are you determined?"

"How could I refuse such a brilliant prospect?"

The Great Bearer smiled.

A light, perhaps hope, or perhaps ambition, burned in his heart.

"Take the entire Taiping Star Region into your pocket."

"Guide one-fifth of the galaxy onto the correct path of faith."

“We all know what a great boost this will bring to our cause.”

"We will have countless believers, and with them will come more warriors of faith."

"Then, I will be able to expand my army and launch a new round of sacred expedition."

"I will have half a million... No..."

"I will have at my disposal a million of the most steadfast and purest Astartes."

"I will send holy crusaders to all the unclean places in the galaxy at the same time."

"I will make the entire Taiping Star Region a perfect city flowing with honey and milk."

"I will accomplish countless great things: completing the great ideals that my father left unfinished."

"By then..."

"Let Guilliman envy me."

(End of this chapter)