Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 395: Appointment of the Ancient Sage
Due to Ahlin's absence, now Magna - but not him. The one standing in the aide-de-camp position in Ramizane and Perturabo's private office is the customized mecha that Magna Dorn himself likes very much. His appearance is the Mark 12 Astartes power armor that is currently commonly equipped on ships. This power armor looks more or less like a Mark 4 with a higher proportion. The mecha's power backpack is slightly larger than the normal model, but considering that he has additional transmission and anti-gravity devices, it is not incomprehensible.

——Rami Zane originally thought that he would not be as considerate and flexible as Ahlin in responding to the needs of his two fathers, but the ability to perform unlimited individual teleportation within the ship could greatly make up for problems in other areas.

Even in the thick of a fight in the cafeteria, for example, Whiterace can flash in, mow down anyone who gets in his way, grab his lunch, and then immediately return to his office, even knowing to bring a gyroscopic tray with him so he doesn't spill any of the steaming soup while moving.

No wonder little Magna likes him so much, he is indeed more capable than ordinary mechas.

But unfortunately he couldn't help me deal with this determined guest.

"Excuse me, are you free after your Reka coffee time? Your Highness Kalosini, I arrived five minutes early and hope I didn't disturb your good time."

Oh, my God, who could refuse an audience request from a truly decent old gentleman like Rilano, even though it was probably not a good thing - Ramizarn groaned in his heart and picked up the communication beads. Perturabo had already moved his desk to the suite next to it, so that his calculation work would not be disturbed by the recent frequent audience requests.

Ever since Perturabo confirmed to him that Konrad Curze already had a new body (although they still didn't understand how Curze's ghost was installed in Sharokin's body) and stayed in the time and space point they went to, and explained the reason to him a little, some important members of the ship seemed to remember the doubts they should have remembered one by one or they were not so easy to fool -

Now walking in the corridor is not as easy as before. He always feels that many new members sometimes look at the surroundings and him, the original body, in a strange way. Fortunately, for some reason, the priest brothers can solve most of these problems in advance, so he doesn't need to talk to them one by one. However, there are always a few people with strong will, clear mind, courage and age who need him to come forward to explain in person -

One of them is the ancient sage, Rilano, who is now locking his leg joints to "sit" at his desk.

"I will come straight to the point, sir."

The ancient sage had a very good voice. Different from the voice suitable for chanting hymns, it sounded magnetic and pleasant even when it was produced through a sound machine. One can imagine how popular this ancient sage would be among the ladies in the royal court before he was sealed in the sarcophagus.

"Speak, Elder Rilano."

"What do you think of the Lord of Mankind, the Ruler of the Empire, the noble Emperor we serve?"

The first question is about explosive death. As expected of you, ancient sage. Ramizarn forced a smile. "This..."

"Don't worry," Rilano spread out his arms in a very humane way, with only the simplest mechanical hands on them to keep the balance of the fearless walking. "I have removed all the weapons in advance because I can't guarantee my emotions, but I think removing them will help you say some less frivolous and perfunctory words to me."

We are fully prepared and cannot be fooled.

"Well," Ramizane sighed, "I admit that I may have had some illusions about him at first, but now I feel that... the Emperor is indeed not a god."

Fearless on the other side was obviously a little surprised by this answer. "Can you elaborate on this? Just from such a vague answer, I can't understand your true attitude."

"Because he can lie, make mistakes, steal, condone evil before his eyes for the sake of profit, have likes and dislikes, and cannot create things out of thin air. He is better at plundering, dominating and destroying." Ice-blue eyes stared at the ancient sage's green eyepiece from under his black eyebrows. "Is God like this? If God is like this, then the fundamental difference between God and man is actually just the strength of the individual. He is strong enough, so he is recognized as a new god. The weak are told that if they worship the strong as God, they can get a faint hope. Then is this strong man really a god? In my opinion, this kind of behavior of creating a desperate enough environment and then bringing down miracles through such intense prayers of the desperate people..."

Words that were blasphemous enough to earn the Inquisition an order for extermination echoed under the bright dome painted with blue sky and white clouds, "...the difference between them and Chaos is just that one is excrement that tastes like chocolate, and the other is chocolate that tastes like excrement, right?"

Elder Rilanor, who was choked for half a second by the vulgar metaphor, clenched his mechanical fists. The fragile structure creaked under the powerful servo joints, and seemed very fragile. "Even so, I have seen the time when His Majesty walked on earth. Those were beautiful times! During the Great Crusade, His Majesty's power, His Majesty's dreams, and the future of mankind..."

"Well, if it weren't for the bright future of mankind and the promise of eternal peace after the war, do you think Rogal Dorn would be the first to beat him? Do you know what he did to his own son? Elder Rilano? Many people worship him, adore him, and bow to him... How many are the pure believers? Respectable ancient sage, please tell me. If worshiping the Emperor can't bring any protection, can't improve the people's situation, and can't bring them bread for tomorrow, then why do they worship him?"

"To protect the fragile souls of mortals." The ancient sage regained some composure and replied, "I have conducted an investigation among the new warriors. Chaos is rampant in the empire today, and it is well known that if one's soul cannot return to the Golden Throne, then it will easily fall into the hands of the great enemy of Chaos. The fate of the man who was our father and the betrayers who followed him is the best negative example of how despicable and humble one's soul will become after being corrupted."

"Oh, so that's it." The man with the face of the Emperor's Fourth Son smiled, propped his elbows on the table and crossed his fingers. "Then can any of them tell you exactly what will happen to the souls of humans and Astartes after they return to the Golden Throne?"

(End of this chapter)