Emperor's Bane

Chapter 808 Interlude: The Daily Life of the Legion
【Ⅰ】

"Are you sure we don't need to render those natives harmless?"

asked a member of the Inner Circle of the Dark Angels under the banner of the First Legion.

He was standing on the land of Cadia.

On the fourth planet of the Cadia system in the Cadia sector, the Lion One fortress, which is large enough to accommodate millions of military personnel, was completed less than three months ago: it is the twelfth permanent achievement of the massive Cadia Fortress Project.

Half of the galaxy contributed blood and sweat for these armed mountains, and in just over a decade a great military miracle was created on the desolate land of Cadia: Lion One, as the smaller of the sisters, also has an area comparable to that of a Hive City and an underground transportation network that is more than 700 meters deep.

It has twenty-seven giant artillery pieces carefully protected by several-meter-thick armor and thousands of small and medium-sized firing points, enough to cover hundreds of square kilometers of land around it. Under the indestructible artillery positions are thirteen-story underground cities, each of which is stockpiled with enough logistical supplies and infrastructure to sustain years of combat.

"Honestly, I think it would be a waste if we don't fight an apocalyptic war here."

The old soldier from the inner ring shook his head with emotion.

"Our spending on these worlds is a considerable sum even compared to the Randan War back then. It's no different from one or two apocalypses."

"If, in the end, it's all for nothing, I think Lady Soul Drinker will promote Lord Jonson again."

"Not this time."

"why?"

"Because Lord Luther will take action first."

"what!"

On the city wall that was painted dark green with the sword and wing emblem of the Dark Angel Legion outlined in light silver, two Dark Angels laughed deeply.

"But you know what?"

One of them suddenly stopped talking and carefully leaned close to his companion's ear.

"I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Luther or Lord Morgan go and promote the Primarch."

"I know."

His companion nodded.

"After all, he has been a little bit off lately."

"Hey!"

The two fists, which were in perfect sync with each other, collided heavily.

But after a brief laugh, the Dark Angel's expression finally turned cold.

"Is it really okay?"

One of them looked into the distance, but his sight was blocked by tall towers.

To be fair, if you ignore the Eye of Terror above your head, Cadia is still a habitable world: not only does it have a breathable atmosphere, the temperature remains at around 20 degrees all year round, and even the gravity is not much different from that of Holy Terra.

So, naturally, when the Dark Angels came into this world, they found not only frosted tundra and windswept wilderness, but also towering forests that made them feel at home.

Naturally, in the tundra, wilderness and dense forests, they discovered a large number of wild humans who looked a little troublesome: totems made of blood and human sacrifices seemed a little too un-Imperial.

Naturally, when the First Legion discovered nearly eight thousand five-hundred-meter-high black stone spires of unknown origin and varying designs on the land of Cadia, they turned their suspicious eyes to the raw-eating and blood-drinking natives of this world.

The dark angels had heard of the story of the Easter Island statues.

"If these black stone obelisks scattered around the world were really built by them, then they are definitely capable of threatening our fortresses. Moreover, the resistance of these barbarians to the imperial truth is simply too strong, and all enlightenment activities have failed."

The Inner Circle veteran shook his head.

"If you ask me, it would be better to just ..."

"That's waiting for orders."

His companions held the opposite opinion.

"Besides, these barbarians are not so hopeless, eh..."

He pointed with his chin at a group of squirming figures under the city wall: it was a missionary team of nearly several thousand people, led by a dozen Word Bearers soldiers. A large number of personnel and supplies were tied up on huge landships to survive the next few months.

"At least, the Word Bearers were quite successful in their missionary activities."

"They don't believe in the Imperial Truth, but they are willing to believe in the Emperor."

"Are you kidding..."

The veterans in the inner circle strongly disagree.

"Be it all, brother: you and I are both Terrans, and we both know the Emperor..."

"Be careful what you say."

His brother interrupted him, turning to look at him calmly.

"What are you talking about? Didn't we always force the promotion of the Imperial Truth in the past, and completely ban any belief?"

"It used to be before."

The respondent watched the Empire's missionary team gradually disappear from sight.

"But now, you have to know."

"The Emperor did not deny the missionary work of the Word Bearers Legion in front of the City of Perfection."

“Who knows what he’s thinking now?”

"……whispering sound!"

The veterans in the inner circle were somewhat frustrated.

"Forget it. We don't take the Imperial Truth seriously anyway."

"Believe in it: the Emperor is absolutely worthy of the faith of mortals."

"Who says it's not?"

"Otherwise, we would not allow these Word Bearers legions to come in."

The Dark Angel stroked his chin.

"But then again, it's remarkable that the Word Bearers didn't immediately start their purge and crusade when they saw the heretics of Cadia: I thought they were all bloodthirsty lunatics no different from the Space Wolves."

"There is a difference: the Space Wolves aren't normally that crazy."

"Ha, too."

The air became quiet.

"But seriously: are the Word Bearers here just to preach?"

"They brought tens of thousands of people and an entire fleet."

"According to what they have heard, they are waiting for Lord Jonson and Terra to give them permission to explore the Eye of Terror. The problem now lies with our Primarch, who refuses to allow any fleet other than the First Legion to enter the Eye of Terror."

“It’s for their own good, too.”

The Inner Circle veteran raised his head, and when he looked at the Law of Faith, which was parked in low-Earth orbit over Cadia and symbolized the Word Bearers Legion and the authority of Primarch Lorgar, he did not feel much respect, but rather some dislike.

Because it is close to the Eye of Terror, the sky of Cadia is dark purple. The Law of Faith, which has been stained with blood due to the long Holy Crusade and has not been cleansed for a long time, looks like a monster walking out of a devil's cave against such a background.

What kind of life would it be like to stay on this battleship?

The veterans in the inner ring sighed.

"How long do you think they'll last?"

"I hope it can last longer. After all, these missionaries and crusaders of the Word Bearers have already converted almost half of the barbarians on Cadia to the Emperor's followers. Although I do not approve of this practice, it is better to deal with the Emperor's followers than with those unevolved species who practice cannibalism all day long."

"But you doubt whether this fleet can enter the Eye of Terror..."

"how?"

The Inner Ring veteran could hear some hesitation from his battle brother next to him.

"is there a problem?"

"It's not a problem."

The Dark Angel who answered found that his communicator suddenly buzzed, and he continued speaking while clicking it.

"But I heard that Lord Jonson is about to give in."

"It is mainly the High Lords of Terra who support the Word Bearers' actions."

"Huh? What does this have to do with them?"

"It doesn't matter."

"However, Terra has always wanted to find out what is going on inside the Eye of Terror. After all, this thing is quite close to the Solar Region. Now that someone is willing to go in and serve as a deminer, the High Lords have no reason to refuse."

"Besides, the High Lords see nothing wrong with giving the Word Bearers some privileges."

"Why? Luo Jia also made them followers of the Emperor?"

The Inner Circle veteran smiled. "That's not the case. What really pleases the Terrans is that the lands under the Word Bearers' rule have been the leaders in paying taxes on time in recent years, and it is said that the taxes they pay have moved the Sigillite to tears."

"Grass!"

The Inner Circle veteran spat.

"How did these missionaries come up with such an outrageous number?"

"I don't know about that. But Luo Jia is indeed a popular figure in Terra now."

"Now that you mention this, I remember it."

While his battle brother was busy talking to the superior on the other end of the communicator, the inner ring veteran was staring blankly at the dense forest and the towering black stone obelisk in the distance. A question popped up in his mind, a question he had never thought about before.

A question that, in theory, had no relevance to a soldier like him.

"Hey, brother."

"Do the worlds under our rule also have to pay taxes to Terra?"

"And the tax amount is... so outrageous?"

“Brother…Brother!”

"Ah! Huh?"

"Sorry, what did you just say?"

"Nothing, what happened?"

The veterans in the inner ring recognized the voice of their company commander on the other end of the communication.

"Nothing serious, just some manpower to be transferred from the fortress in Cadia."

"Where to go?"

"Return to Caliban, and then support the Scalus Sector."

"This month, the thirty-seventh riot against taxation broke out here. Several planetary governors joined forces to rebel, arguing that "if more taxes are imposed, all people will die." One of them was an auxiliary soldier of our legion. The local garrison troops are already destroyed."

"Isn't there a knight family there?"

"Yes, they were the ones who sent the letter for help: all the surrounding galaxies have rebelled except for them."

"The thirty-seventh?"

The Inner Circle veterans fell silent.

"It's only three days into the month, right?"

"Seventy-four hours: By the way, what did you ask just now?"

"No...it's nothing."

------

【Ⅱ】

"Fruit...flies? Right?"

"Why did you choose this name?"

"You can understand it as the naming tradition of the primitive world where I came from, pharmacist."

The Dawnbreaker soldier lying on the medical bed had a very childish baby face. Even without looking at his empty honorary shoulder straps and his service example which was written in just a few lines, one could guess that he was a fresh blood in the literal sense: for the Second Legion, such people were the most precious among countless treasures.

Therefore, it was natural that when he saw the pharmacist in front of him, who had served for at least a hundred years, holding a report that seemed to be his health report, he stood there in shock and hesitation, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't say anything...

"I am...what's wrong?"

Primarch, please don't!

This war against the false emperor was the first battle in his life: although it was indeed a shame to be beaten and have to go to the infirmary in the first actual battle, it would be even more shameful if he retired because of it.

At least he should wait until he has a chance to change this stupid name before retiring!

"Ah...ah..."

The pharmacist with a gold nail on his forehead seemed a little hesitant at this moment.

"Well, how should I put it? When I was giving you the last recovery check, I also checked the condition of your gene seed. This is a tradition in the Legion. You also know the special situation of us Dawnbreakers. Every gene seed is very precious to us."

"Of course I know."

The recruit nodded, but his mind was still filled with confusion.

What happened to his gene seeds: he hadn't even been in service for ten years, so it was definitely not time for him to have his seeds picked.

"Uh, your seed... is a little..."

"Oops?"

The recruit looked a little bad.

“Not too bad.”

"That's it..."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s special.”

"what?"

"Very special."

"what?"

"Strictly speaking: it is the most special one I have seen in the past 100 years."

No…wait!
The recruit Fruit Fly's face turned pale: he would rather hear the bad evaluation.

A pharmacist with a hundred years' service will admit that your condition is something he has never seen before: everyone knows what this means.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, wait a moment."

"Don't worry, it's okay."

After speaking in a trembling voice to comfort himself, which even he did not believe, the pharmacist left the recruit's bed, but he did not push the door to leave the room. Instead, he began to search behind the desk on the other side of the room.

As the recruit's face turned pale, the pharmacist first dug out his medical records of the past few months, then several years, and decades, until the entire desk was covered with yellowed papers. The pharmacist threw the last record in a rage, then gritted his teeth and dug out his advanced medical textbooks from under the table.

When the pharmacist threw the refresher coursebook aside after more than ten minutes, the recruit felt that he no longer had the courage to continue reading. However, he could still hear the movements around him: he heard the pharmacist turning on his communicator and asking for help from his so-called peers and predecessors.

After a few minutes, several pharmacists with gold nails on their heads rushed into the infirmary, carrying their medical records and documents. They were first led to the beds of the recruits, holding a health report that the recruits wanted to see very much. Everyone's face was filled with surprise.

The surprise was like discovering that the new recruit was Morgan's own son.

Then they started flipping through records and documents, and chattering and arguing, until the yellowed papers filled almost every space around them. At last, the pharmacists stopped arguing and picked up their communicators.

Peers, predecessors, teachers...

Over and over again, the cycle repeats.

After a few hours, the recruit felt that perhaps all the pharmacists of the Dawnbreaker Legion had already retreated to their rooms. If a bomb was dropped now, the medical progress of the Legion might be set back two hundred years.

But the most important thing is...

These guys, who all had at least one silver nail on their heads, and at most two gold nails, discussed here for several hours, but they couldn't come to any conclusion.

"So, what happened?"

The recruit asked again, but this time no one wanted to answer him. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the gate, waiting for someone to arrive.

New recruits are waiting too.

He didn't wait long.

"..."

"Grass!"

When the new recruit saw the pharmacist with three golden nails on his head pushing the door open, he felt as if the Primarch was waving at him...

Three...golden nails?
------

"Is it him?"

The old pharmacist raised his head: his eyes, having fought alongside the Lord of Mankind hundreds of times, still shone with brilliance.

And excitement.

"The little guy who has four gene seeds in his body at the same time?"

(End of this chapter)