How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 381 I really wanted to write about Macragge on the tip of the tongue but...

When Chapter Captain Thun of the Sons of Phoenix realized what was happening in the Chapter's base, his first reaction was anger: any manager would probably feel similar anger when he discovered that something happened within his jurisdiction that he was unaware of.

Especially since this incident, which he had no idea how it happened, was actually quite high-profile, with countless witnesses, but no one had informed him since the beginning of the incident. It was not until the whole thing was settled and was brought to his attention that he finally had the opportunity to "suddenly realize".

It was only after he was attracted to the open-air dueling cage on the parade grounds by the news that "Akuldona had returned" and spent several hours observing other members of the chapter being beaten by Akuldona in the name of training that he realized something was wrong from the sudden increase in the number of mortal servants nearby, who were apparently carrying out some orders he had not issued.

The storm that this incident caused in Thun's heart could not be simply summarized as "rage": Just imagine, if a person who could sneak into the regiment's base so quietly, and as a matter of course order the mortal servants in the regiment to serve him, when deciding to do these things, was not thinking "I think you are hungry", but something else... Then Thun - not to mention himself or the position of chapter leader, I am afraid that the life journey of the entire Phoenix Sons Chapter as loyal servants of the Emperor would basically end here.

Undoubtedly, this situation revealed a major security risk, a security loophole that was impossible in theory but actually appeared in reality. Toon didn't want to admit that as a Primaris Space Marine who should be fearless, he felt more fear than anger after realizing this problem (in fact, if there was some extra space in the interlayer of his power armor, the hair on his back would almost stand up the lining of his rubber suit), but he did think he needed to ask all the details of the whole thing, and did so in a rage.

"It's a very regrettable fact: in today's empire, as long as you give orders to your servants with a reasonable attitude, your requests will most likely be met without any questions."

The instigator who ordered the servants to carry several long tables piled with food to the open space in the parade ground, as an outsider, made his orders inexplicably run smoothly among the mortal servants of the Sons of Phoenix, and in full view of everyone, with only the few manpower in charge of the kitchen and less than four hours, he "created" a large buffet that could supply all the Astartes in the entire regiment with almost impossible efficiency. The mortal girl stood with her hands on her hips, looked up at Chapter Captain Thun, and explained in a bad mood.

Her attitude was very clear, and even the furious Toon could clearly realize that the resentment in her tone was not directed at him, but at the banquet that was quickly prepared. This did not make the Chapter Master feel any better - in the eyes of Toon, who was somewhat affected by his emotions, this only meant that whether it was making trouble under the noses of the Primaris Space Marines Chapter or preparing all the preparations for a large event with almost impossible efficiency, in her eyes, it was just a trivial matter that was not worth mentioning, and she was not even very satisfied with her own results.

This kind of arrogance made Thun even more angry - especially because the Chapter Master only realized that "something happened" after everything was settled. This made him feel more deeply about his negligence and dereliction of duty, and he felt a strong sense of shame. His hand was already on the weapon at his waist, and only the last bit of sanity controlled him from unsheathing the blade.

This "last ray of reason" did not come directly from the girl in front of Captain Thun. She appeared a little too suddenly, and she did not carry any badges or objects that could show her identity. Not to mention the long string of scary titles in front of her name, even her name itself was completely unknown to Captain Thun. The main reason why he did not strike with his sword for the time being was Akuldona.

This man was originally giving instructions on the open-air duel cage, and helping the members of the Phoenix Sons' Chapter to correct their swordplay. But when Toon realized what was happening, found the culprit who had appeared, and was furiously ready to ask for punishment, Akuldona quietly appeared with his unsharpened practice sword in a position that was most convenient for reacting in time to protect the mortal girl.

For Toon, this was a clear enough signal. First, although he had never publicly admitted it, he knew in his heart that in a one-on-one battle without armor, he would definitely not be able to beat Akuldona - even if he was wearing a full set of armor and Akuldona was only wearing a thin training suit, the latter would still be a difficult opponent for him; secondly, this behavior obviously meant that Akuldona and this mortal girl had known each other for a long time. Considering that Akuldona's previous series of "not very easy to interpret behaviors" were more or less a timely help to the Phoenix Sons, he was willing to consider this girl as a friend rather than an enemy for the sake of this firstborn, but he still felt a bitterness close to being betrayed by Akuldona's behavior of standing between the two of them.

"Explain it to me." The Chapter Master suppressed his anger and asked sternly, "What is going on?"

This overly broad question actually contains so much that it even seems unclear in the current situation. Chapter Master Thun might be asking Akuldona what his relationship is with this mortal girl who suddenly appeared and was very disrespectful; or he might be interrogating the girl, wanting to know her name, and how an outsider in the chapter could command a group of Astartes' servants around under their noses; or he might be questioning the purpose of this huge banquet that quickly occupied the open space in the parade ground. Or maybe he himself couldn't tell the order of these three questions, but the girl had already spoken:

"Out of courtesy between us and Akuldona, I was entrusted to solve your morale problem." As she spoke, she unconsciously put her hands on her waist, looking like a puffy little teapot with two handles. "After arriving, I found that the situation was worse than I had expected, so I arranged this."

Amid the small whispers of confusion from the other brothers of the Chapter who had gathered near the open-air duel cage, Thun gloomily glanced at the busy mortal servants a little further away, then locked his eyes on the little girl who stood with confidence, and said, trying his best to suppress his anger, "We don't need this at all!"

"You need it." The girl's tone was quite firm. "For these listless mortal servants in the chapter, they need some real work to keep themselves busy, so that they can barely find a sense of value that can convince themselves to continue to exist and serve the chapter; for the Astartes warriors, it is almost time for you to stop fasting and restore your combat status as soon as possible. The Imperial Regent's Glory of Macragge has returned to the port, but there is a chapter stationed on Macragge that cannot be immediately assigned to where they are needed and operate at full capacity. What kind of impression do you think this will give him? In addition, it is actually you, the chapter management, who need this the most: Chapter Master, do you realize how much damage you and your leadership team have caused to the entire chapter by neglecting the management of the chapter during this period of time?"

Such a straightforward accusation made Toon's anger occupy his brain for a moment, but before he could say anything irreversible, Akurdona's scream rang out faster than him: "Your Majesty! I didn't expect that the lady is not usually so sharp!" "That's because in your concept of 'normal', it is Vespasian's duty to point out these hurtful facts. I just have to follow behind him and be the good guy who gives out consolation prizes! What's more, under Tarvitz's management, your brothers have never made such a big mess!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka smoothly switched fire, spent a few seconds pressing down Akuldona, and turned back to Chapter Master Thun: "Need I remind you, during the period when the management of the Sons of Phoenix was suspended, to what extent your chapter servants have been reduced in number - and, what impact will this level of reduction have on the operation and management of your entire organization and what loopholes need to be filled? The Imperial Regent has returned to Macragge. Will he allow any idle armed forces that have gathered in this world for various reasons to continue to be idle and do nothing? You plan to let your chapter go out in this state - let's not discuss whether you will accept the next Imperial transfer order normally, or rush to the most intense battlefield to atone for the expedition - are you going to use your entire regiment to deliver food to the enemy?"

Akuldona stood there in a daze, as if he had been tripped by a situation he had never expected. Even so, he could still sense at the same time that Captain Toon was about to explode. At the moment when the latter took a step forward in excitement, Akuldona almost instinctively adjusted his position and accurately stuck between Toon and Fujimaru Ritsuka again, treating himself as an obvious obstacle, and desperately brought the topic back to the present: "For the sake of the throne, please calm down! Having such a banquet should be a good thing. Do we really have to fight before it starts?"

After hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka took a deep breath. To anyone familiar with her, this action was a sign of calling it a day: "Akuldona is right. It is obviously not decent for us to argue like this in public. I suggest that we discuss this issue again after the banquet. This time is enough for both of us to calm down."

Captain Toon understood Fujimaru Ritsuka's concession from this, but it was obvious that he defined this concession as a cowardly act similar to deserting the battlefield, and based on this understanding, he instinctively pursued the victory: "You sneaked into our regiment's base first, and now you ask us to participate in such a suspicious banquet that came from nowhere?"

Kuven, the champion of the regiment who had been a wallflower for a while, had something to say - after all, he watched when Fujimaru Ritsuka came in, which was too open and aboveboard to meet the standard of "infiltration". But he still didn't say what he wanted to say, because Akuldona was always one step faster:
"Captain Thun, please stop talking!" Although he said this in vain, he obviously didn't understand why things had suddenly deteriorated to this point. "I'm very sure that you all came here to solve the same problem! Why make the atmosphere like this?"

"I didn't see any signs of 'solving the problem'." Thun commented angrily, "I only saw an outsider mortal commanding my chapter servants to do things without my permission, and this is undoubtedly a provocation-"

"--that's not what ma'am meant--"

"——That's what I meant." Fujimaru Ritsuka raised his voice a little, and his higher-pitched voice successfully overwhelmed the lower voices of other Space Marines, attracting everyone's attention. "Akuldona, you are actually very observant and have a strong sense of charisma. As the chief court swordsman with many disciples, you have won a lot of honorary titles with your military exploits. But have you ever thought about why, under the above premises, you only got the rank of a second captain in the battle sequence?"

There was not a single derogatory word in Fujimaru Ritsuka's mouth, but even people who didn't know the cause and effect could easily tell that this was a very clear and harsh remark. Faced with this sarcastic remark, Akurdona simply shut his mouth, took a step back, and signaled that he would withdraw from the conversation. He actually didn't care much about Fujimaru Ritsuka's harsh words, because he knew his own strengths and weaknesses. To him, this remark was just a simple statement of a fact that he himself admitted was a little unpleasant to hear. It couldn't hurt him, and he felt that there was no need to refute it. But he did continue to look around privately, desperately giving anyone who was willing to look him in the eye a look that he didn't know what it meant - because he was indeed as observant as what was said in the harsh words, and this observability told him: Fujimaru Ritsuka was angry.

The angry Fujimaru Ritsuka turned back to Chapter Master Toon and raised his voice to a normal level, his tone frighteningly calm: "Sir, since you insist on resolving this issue right now regardless of how ugly the situation will become, let's be clear. You said you don't trust me and think I'm provoking you. Considering the cause and effect of the whole incident, this is a logical emotional reaction and it is natural. It should not be blamed. But do you realize that this 'distrust' between you and me is actually mutual?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka paused at this point and asked in a confirming manner: "Regarding the point of 'Why I don't trust you', Your Excellency, Chapter Master, do you still want me to continue?"

Akuldona still kept his mouth shut, but anxiously winked at Toon, his expression almost twisted. Unfortunately, Toon didn't receive Akuldona's hint at all, or maybe he did, but he didn't want to pay attention to it: "I'd like to hear more about it. I want to hear what else you can say!"

"It is understandable that a chapter's morale is low after the Primarch himself denied the origin of its bloodline. But can the current scenes in the Phoenix Sons Chapter headquarters be explained by a simple phrase of 'low morale'?" Fujimaru Ritsuka showed an unusually cruel frankness here. "Your chapter is immersed in meaningless mourning, and you, as the chapter master, did not solve this problem. As the Emperor's Angel of Death and the embodiment of part of the state religion, you failed to fulfill your responsibility to lead the pilgrims on a joint expedition. Considering that you are also experiencing a crisis of faith, this may not be so unreasonable and can be regarded as excusable. As an Astartes, you abandoned your mission as a professional military force and did not actively maintain your combat status when the situation permitted. If it were not for Akuldo, "Na, I'm afraid you've even neglected your daily training; as the manager of all affairs of the chapter, you didn't take good care of your brothers, nor did you take good care of the servants who have served your chapter for generations. You let them commit suicide in depression or slowly weaken. If this is a way of relying on "inaction" to lead your own chapter to slow suicide, it's quite unique. In the past hundred years since the Indomitus Crusade, you have regarded yourselves as the descendants of Dorne, but in my opinion, you have not learned the indomitable perseverance inherent in the descendants of Dorne. Just a little denial from your superiors, you have completely forgotten your original duties. In this war-torn galaxy, how can I trust such a fragile chapter and its chapter leader?"

After the words fell, the whole audience was silent for a few seconds in astonishment and shock. Then, under Akuldona's desperate eyes, Captain Thun's emotions visibly exploded.

(End of this chapter)